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Professor Rakesh Chandra wrote a letter to the UP Governor, asking him to include philosophy as a subject in the government colleges of Uttar Pradesh. He also advocated philosophy to have an introductory course at the secondary level in schools.
According to a recent analysis, there are a total of 197 government colleges functioning in the state of Uttar Pradesh but only 12 of these colleges have Philosophy as one of its subjects. On Tuesday, 26th March 2019, a professor belonging to the philosophy department of the University of Lucknow, Professor Rakesh Chandra, urged Ram Naik who is the UP Governor and the Chancellor of universities, to include philosophy in all government colleges of UP.
Professor Rakesh Chandra said that apart from instilling habits of critical thinking and analysing in students, teaching philosophy as a part of their college curriculum will also enhance their public speaking, writing and reading skills. It will prove to be of use in conveying cultural heritage and provoking students to engage in curious questioning about knowledge, reality, and value.
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Chandra also recommended that an introductory course in the subject of philosophy should be started in schools at the secondary level. His letter to the governor mentioned that the department of philosophy will be glad in helping to develop the core syllabus and curriculum for schools and colleges. This would be done by them by using both traditional and modern methods of teaching.
Professor Chandra brought to the notice that India is well known for philosophy and the subject is a very important contribution of our country to the world. He explained in his letter the three ways in which philosophy has been represented in India. First, it is represented as a rational and critical review of the contents of economics, theology, and politics; then it is shown to be a system of ideas on reality, knowledge, and values, and at last, it is represented as an inherent network of views regarding nature, man and destiny.
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His letter implored philosophy to be taught to students as the knowledge of critical thinking and ethics is important even more now as the social media explosion makes it difficult for us to segregate opinion from true knowledge.
