Morals and values are back in the curriculum of the state secondary education board.

The move has been prompted by the incidents of violence in affiliated schools — the most recent being the death of Class IV student Somnath Karmakar, who was punched by one of his friends at Ashwini Dutta Vidyapith, Liluah.

The board will soon issue a directive to the schools stating that sessions on value education be held at least once a week for all classes up to the 10th standard. Officials feel the course will help students “control anger and increase their tolerance level”.

The decision marks a turnaround in the policy of the Left Front, which expunged value education from the curriculum soon after sweeping to power in the late 70s.

In keeping with the policy of the Left Front government, schools affiliated to the Madhyamik board have not been allowed to conduct prayers or classes on moral science, which are a must in missionary and other private schools.

“Today’s students, exposed to a very complex life, often suffer from restlessness. Peer pressure and the load of the syllabus keep them under constant strain. This is borne out by the recent violence in some schools,” said Ujjwal Basu, president of the secondary education board.

In this situation, he feels, students need to be provided adequate training in inculcating “good behaviour and good mentality. Also, we need to teach them how to develop the habit of tolerating others and controlling anger”.

The board has decided to include the new topics under the “lifestyle education system”, which now mostly focusses on sex education.

Echoing Basu’s views, city-based psychiatrists say the increasing psychological and social pressure are bringing down the tolerance level of the students. “Social tolerance in our society is growing in inverse proportion to social expectation,” said neuro-psychiatrist Sabyasachi Mitra.

Cricket, for instance, is not just a game now. “Whenever a child takes to the field, his parents and coach expect him to win... Circumstances are forcing kids to think that violence is the only solution to any problem,” Mitra pointed out.

“Besides, several children are now exposed to domestic violence, leaving an impact on their psyche,” he added.

Another psychiatrist, Aniruddha Deb, said: “The young students often come across incidents that applaud violence.”

Most psychiatrists are unanimous that the tolerance level is markedly lower among children from nuclear or single-child families.

A common manifestation of the decreasing tolerance level is violence in schools — three incidents, including the one involving Somnath, were reported in the past month.

On April 30, 16-year-old Mohammed Imran, from Ekbalpore, lost his life after he was hit on the head by some boys in Hastings for ignoring their “order” to vacate the place.

On April 14, 17-year-old Rabin Ash was battered to death with a stump over an lbw dispute in a Howrah club match.