Masti ki Pathshala for a week

More than one crore school students in Madhya Pradesh will live for a week their ultimate fantasy of doing everything other than learning from books.

More than one crore school students in Madhya Pradesh will live for a week their ultimate fantasy of going to school empty-handed,doing everything other than learning from books.

The children got a pleasant surprise today,the first day of the academic year,when they were told that they would be free to do what they like next week they can wander in the village,chase butterflies or hear tales from grandparents.

Even when they get textbooks on April 8,they will not have to carry them home till the month-end because schools will take care of their bags. Schools will return to traditional teaching when they reopen after summer vacation.

Only time will tell how this idea of attracting children to school and keeping them interested plays out but Madhya Pradeshs initiative to implement the Right to Education legislation in its spirit is surely going be a hit with students.

Called School Readiness programme,the circular about this brainchild of Education Minister Archana Chitnis was issued a couple of days ago and district project coordinators under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) were told to convey the message to respective schools.

Chitnis said the idea was to take fear out of schooling and to make learning activity-based,in keeping with the objectives of the landmark legislation. She said organising gatherings of grandparents and elders in schools and getting them to share their experiences will make children feel comfortable in the school setting.

Students will be allowed to roam and collect information on birds,trees,animals,history and geography of nearby places and write in their own words what they see and observe. Those who are yet to learn to write will make drawings. Senior students will read out stories from books in the library.

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The students were garlanded and given toffees today. The first-timers went to school in groups with those who have already enrolled.

When they were told that they will play and do whatever they like,their expressions said it all, Khandwa DPC Sanjay Mandloi said,adding,it was a masti ki pathshala.

Dewas DPC Vijay Shrivastava said the concept was very good and sure to appeal to students. He said students would be happy to do something as easy as measuring the classroom and taking part in competitions.

Commissioner State Education Centre Manoj Jhalani said the experiment was the states own initiative. He admitted that all textbooks,distributed free under SSA,were yet to reach schools. But he he rejected the allegation that the government was buying time to facilitate distribution.