Balbharati, the Maharashtra state bureau of textbook production and curriculum research which is renowned for its effort to improve the quality of textbooks seems to teach children the interrupt the only universal rule in academics. After getting praised for its unique student engaging education app—Diksha, now gets the flak for introducing Quick Response (QR) code. Recently, it has been discovered that the textbooks of class 10 have a QR code after each chapter which links to extra material for reference and interestingly that is Wikipedia—the common website that we should cross check before we trust the given information.  From Sridevi was Mithun's Wife to Indian Women Cricket Winning The ICC World Cup, Did You Know Wikipedia is Not a Reliable Source of Information?

Yes, the institute which was established by the government of Maharashtra to spread accurate education to all is urging students to depend on the unauthentic source. According to earlier reports, Balbharati planned to copyright its books in order to prevent commercialisation. They restricted private publishers to use their content, and those found without necessary permission will have to face legal action.

Hence, the publishers will require a license from the bureau which is to be renewed every year. But Balbharati has no problem publishing QR codes linking to Wikipedia and not creating original content for students. Because, the website is an open platform, where anyone can write or edit as per their knowledge resulting in serious mistake; which makes it an unreliable source of information for such young students.

The QR code programme started last year, but the recent publications reveal that there is a QR code after every chapter. One of the teachers was quoted in Mid Day, “The Internet has become an important part of students' lives. But this was not expected from Balbharti, being the official body of curriculum development.” All the students can also scan the code through Diksha; the app which has been created to encourage digital learning that was launched earlier this month. After much appreciation to take students beyond the lessons through relatable content, directing them to Wikipedia is a significant blooper by Balbharti educationists.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 05, 2018 10:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).