It just teaches to arrive at the final answer using a trick, but doesn’t focus on the concept of multiplication. The focus of primary classes should mainly be on teaching and honing the basic concepts of Mathematics, writes DEVANIK SAHA
During his high voltage election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that he wants to make India a global superpower. As of today, US, China, UK, France, Germany, etc are major superpowers and their supremacy has been strongly fuelled by technological advancement.
Advanced technological capabilities and a robust educational system are the prerequisites for being a superpower. Unfortunately, with the recent trend of saffronising science and attributing scientific developments to ancient Hindu texts, India appears to be on a backward track.
Recently, Dinanath Batra, the RSS ideologue, who is famous for promoting Hindu nationalism through his books and more for getting Wendy Doniger’s book on Hinduism banned, said that Vedic Mathematics should be made a part of school curriculum nationwide. Given Modi and some other BJP leaders’ affinity towardsVedas and ancient Hindu texts, this statement would have received a hero’s welcome from them.
So what is Vedic Mathematics (VM)IJ Where is it exactly used forIJ Where did it originate fromIJ
Vedic Mathematics originates from a book titled Vedic Mathematics published by Bharati Krishna Tirtha in 1965. The book primarily contains 16sutras, each of which contains a quick mental calculation trick. However, the book’s first page mentions that its title is misleading and that the arithmetic techniques in the book have nothing to do with theVedas. In a Frontline article published in 2006, Professor SG Dani of IIT Bombay pointed out that the book contents have practically nothing in common with the mathematics of theVedic period or even the subsequent Indian mathematics.
He further says that Tirtha has liberally interpreted three-word Sanskrit phrases to associate them with arithmetic. Hence, there is ample evidence within the book as well as through external research that the book’s linkage toVedas is a sham, but let’s analyse if VM deserves to be included in the school curriculum.
The techniques and tricks of VM are designed for quick mental arithmetic and are used by students in entrance and competitive exams. Neha Manglik, a 22 year old girl who recently scored a 100 percentile in CAT, mentioned that she learnt VM to improve on her problem solving speed. VM techniques are taught at various coaching institutes and colleges to help students solve problems quickly and gain an edge over others who haven’t learnt it.
But integrating VM with the school curriculum will have a disastrous effect on students and the education system. With the recent boom of education in India, many private sector organisations and NGOs have emerged offering several technology tools and specialised curriculums for helping students to learn conceptually. I was a Fellow with Teach For India, an education NGO, and taught Grade 3 for two years in a municipal school in New Delhi. When I was a teacher, a significant portion of my time went into designing innovative activities which would help students understand Mathematics conceptually and not in a rote way.
Dinanath Batra’s comment led to newspapers featuring some articles on VM; most of them gave an example of how VM helps to solve big multiplication equation like 113*128 in 4-5 seconds as compared to the lengthy algorithmic process we learn in schools. At the first go, it sounds extremely fascinating, but if we go into the depth, it becomes clear that the VM method is just a shortcut and making it a part of the mainstream curriculum is absolutely against the basic concept of multiplication.
Conceptually, multiplication means repeated addition. It doesn’t mean learning tables or using a cross sign to finish an algorithm. The fundamental meaning of multiplication is repeated addition, which has no mention in VM. Hence, 113*128 means (113+113+113…..128 times), whereas VM just teaches to arrive at the final answer using a trick, but doesn’t focus on the concept of multiplication.
let us consider another example of finding the Highest Common Factor (HCF) for algebraic equations. There are two equations: x^2+5x+4 and x^2+3x+2. Now, to find the HCF, we will need to factorise both the equations, find the factors and then see which the biggest common factor is. The equations are factorised as X^2+5x+4= (x+4)(x+1) and x^2+3x+2= (x+1)(x+2). Therefore, the HCF is (x+1), but VM proposed to solve this equation by subtracting both the equations and elimination of the highest and lowest powers, which again is just a shortcut and not conceptual learning.
Therefore, as illustrated in the examples above, inducting VM in the school curriculum would encourage students to just learn tricks and techniques to solve problems. Using shortcuts in Math in schools would take the children further away from conceptual learning, with which most teachers have been struggling for years.
The argument presented by Hindu educationists that it will help weak students to improve their memory and help them get over with the fear of Math, is a disgrace to the painstaking efforts made by thousands of Math teachers to teach their students. At a time, when only 30 per cent of graduates in India are considered worthy of employment, the need for inculcating tangible skills in students from an early age becomes even more pressing.
Shortcuts, tricks and techniques should never be part of a curriculum. Being a teacher myself, I had put in immense efforts to try several activity based experiments and methods to make Math interesting for my students, even though I had the option to teach them VM and help them get marks quickly. At best, it can be taught as a supplement and a support tool for doing calculations in higher classes and in preparation for entrance exams and tests. But it needs to be noted that VM should only be introduced at the secondary level. The focus of primary classes should mainly be on teaching and honing the basic concepts of Math.
Therefore, at the school level, the principal focus should be on teaching Math the standard way it has been done till now. At a time when the education system is in shambles, educators should focus on improving the basics rather than politicising education and promoting Hindutva principles, at the cost of endangering the future of students and India.
The writer is the Founding Member and Data Editor at The Political Indian