Schools in Kerala have introduced modules on fake news detection for students of Classes V and VII as part of a larger initiative on cyber safety and the digital inclusion drive in the state.

The IT textbooks for these two classes were revised and launched in June with modules on fact-checking at a time fake news has become a menace to the society.

Britain recently announced that its schoolchildren would be taught how to spot extremist content and fake news in the wake of the recent anti-immigration riots.

“We have introduced modules on how to detect fake news for all students of Classes V and VII from this academic year (that started in June). The fact-checking modules will be introduced to students of Classes VI, VIII, IX and X once their textbooks are revised the next academic year,” K. Anvar Sadath, CEO of the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the technology arm of the Kerala general education department, told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

At present, schools teach how to identify fake news in only Classes V and VII because only their textbooks have been revised this year. “This means that about 20 lakh students of Classes V to X will be taught how to detect fake news starting the next academic year, which in itself is a significant initiative since everyone is vulnerable to fake content.”

The students are taught how to cross-check and verify the information they might be receiving on social media or via messaging apps. “Let’s say they get a message saying schools are closed for a day due to rain. They would be taught how to ensure the authenticity of the information,” he said.

They would be also taught to verify the information with the official websites of the education department or district authorities. “The students will get to learn why it is dangerous to trust everything they find online and when to delete or ignore such content.”

For example, a chapter titled “Let’s Search and Find” in the Class VII textbook displays a conversation between two students. While one of them says she fell for a fake message claiming there were no classes, her classmate tells her how his teacher has taught them how to verify such information on official websites.

He said Kerala is the only state where IT is a mandatory subject for students from Classes I to X. “This makes it even more important to impart skills to identify fake news at a time all kinds of false information is floating around in cyberspace.”

KITE, Sadath assured, has always tried to keep pace with fast-changing technology to provide the latest updates to students.

“What they learned in 2020 is vastly different from what they are going to learn in 2025. Our job is to provide the right kind of learning modules for students and teachers to help them keep abreast with the latest developments in technology. It is the same with providing the latest tools and knowledge to check facts,” Sadath observed.

KITE has already trained 80,000 teachers in artificial intelligence, its benefits and dangers. “Similar modules on the benefits and dangers of AI will be introduced in high schools (once the textbooks are revised next year),” he added.