In schools, green concern takes a back seat

Rules state that one class every week should be devoted to the subject, for classes V to VIII. Yet, 8220;Only standard V is taught the subject, once every 15 days,8221; admits Shailesh K Shah, a teacher at the Choksey High School.

However, a meeting of all school principals of the zone, chaired by the education officer, directorate of school education, was held at the very same school in July, where principals received guidelines to create their own teaching pattern of the subject! And the schools8217; teachers from class V to VII participated in a private training programme on June 29, 30 and July 1, coming back armed with booklets on the topic. A staffer of the Abhinav Vidyalaya English Medium School also admitted that environmental studies was not included in their time-table and syllabus. 8220;We do not teach this subject,8221; says M Patankar at the school office.

While the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan teaches environmental studies only for standard I to IV, principal B Rahguraman says, 8220;We have not received any circular or guidelines from the MSCERT.8221;

The teachers8217; handbook is only for the Marathi medium schools, because 8220;English medium schools are expected to be more resourceful and innovative,8221; explains D Tapkir, head of the publication department at the MSCERT. So how successful are English schools at designing their own methodology?

8220;We are waiting for the English translation of the handbook,8221; is the frank answer from most principals. Father K Misquitta of St Vincents8217; High School says that he is waiting for more directions from the MSCERT. No concrete plans for the translation are in the offing at the MSCERT; a pity, because the book titled Nisarga Vedh Discovering Nature, contains not just theory and poems, but games, quizzes and 40 do-it-yourself activities, from simple ways of saving electricity and cooking gas, creating fertiliser from waste, to preparing bio-gas with three to five kilos of cow dung!

But there are exceptions like the Saraswati Vidyalaya Union High School, where the principal says they have 8220;framed a general syllabus, taught once every week.8221; Or The Convent of Jesus and Mary High School, which delves into science textbooks and its library, to teach the subject once a week. Some schools say they make up for the lack of regular classes with environment-oriented extra-curricular activities.

Though 10 trial copies of Nisarga Vedh were released on August 15 at the MSCERT, teachers can buy them for Rs 50 each at the MSCERT only after the proof-reading and errors are corrected, says Tapkir. He is confident that the first 5000 copies should be ready after another week.

Printed in Pune, the book, edited by B A More, director of MSCERT, Pune, will be distributed to schools in Maharashtra through the District Institutes of Education and Training DIET. Students will not have to appear for a final examination, but will be graded on the subject at the end of the year.