Environment studies: SC okays model syllabus

The Supreme Court today approved the model syllabus for environment prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The Court had, last year, made enviromental studies a compulsory subject upto senior secondary level in schools.

A two-judge bench of Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Justice B.P. Singh appointed NCERT as a nodal agency to monitor the implementation of the environmental education upto class XII. This model syllabus took shape after the NCERT consulted more than 500 institutions, state governments, Central Pollution Control Board, individual experts and NGOs. For the students of class I to class VIII, the subject will be part of their Social Science subject. Students of class IX to class XII will study environment as an additional subject. Separate marks will be awarded for this paper.

The bench noted that no state government had raised any objections. State governments can however put forward any suggestions before July 13. This brings to fruition more than a decade old public interest crusade by environment lawyer M.C. Mehta.