By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 9 Mar: The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has developed the book, ‘Hamari Virasat Evam Vibhutiyan’, which will now be introduced in all private schools across the state. Additionally, measures will be taken to reduce the weight of school bags in private schools, and one day each month will be observed as ‘Bag-Free Day’. The initiative will be officially launched in the first week of April, with private school organisations and administrators giving their approval.
State Education Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat stated that the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 are being rapidly implemented across Uttarakhand. In this regard, an important meeting was held last Friday with private school organisations and administrators, where it was decided to implement the SCERT-developed book ‘Hamari Virasat Evam Vibhutiyan’ in private schools, class-wise.
Rawat explained that the introduction of these books in private schools will help students, including those from India and abroad, learn about Uttarakhand’s rich folk heritage, cultural diversity, the separate state movement, socio-cultural movements, folk songs, folk dances, historical and tourist sites, and great personalities of the state.
Furthermore, private schools will now follow the same guidelines as government schools regarding the prescribed weight of school bags to prevent unnecessary burden on children. Additionally, a ‘Bag-Free Day’ will be introduced in private schools once a month to reduce academic stress and allow students to engage in new learning methods. The official launch of this initiative is scheduled for the first week of April.
The minister also stated that private schools will be connected to the Vidya Samiksha Kendra to ensure their participation in increasing Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).
Additionally, the meeting resulted in key decisions such as: Launching a ‘Teaching Sharing Programme’ between private and government schools; sharing laboratory and sports ground facilities to optimise available resources.
Dr Rawat also urged every private school teacher to participate in the ‘Literate Uttarakhand Campaign’ by educating at least one illiterate person and called on school administrators to contribute to the ‘TB-Free India Campaign’ by adopting tuberculosis patients as ‘Nikshay Mitra’ under social responsibility.
All private school administrators agreed to these initiatives.
