By Our Staff Reporter
DEHRADUN, 6 July: In order to undertake science popularization and science communication activities in rural areas, supplement school science and mathematics education, develop curiosity, interest & motivation of students to learn science and develop interest in science and mathematics, undertake professional development of science and mathematics teachers and to meet the objectives of the programme, mobile science laboratories for 13 districts of the state the “Lab on Wheels” programme will be implemented in phases. These buses will popularize science, take science to nook and corner of the state and facilitate the learning of curriculum-based concepts in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics etc. through lab experiments, hands-on exhibits/models, activities & demonstrations.
The First Phase of the “Lab on Wheels” programme was flagged off on Saturday by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, initially for four districts of the state namely Almora, Champawat, Dehradun and Pauri. During the launch event of the program he stated that strong STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education programme for innovation eco-system is very important for creating an innovative society which facilitates the birth of new ideas and also provides platforms for the successful exploitation of these ideas. He interacted with many school children presenting in demonstrating models kept in the “Lab on Wheels” vehicles.
Nitesh Kumar Jha, Secretary, Science and Technology stated that the hands on experiential learning and science practicals are very essentials for making a good career in life, and many schools lack the infrastructure, tools or resources to create an interactive and sustainable approach to experiential learning as envisaged in the NEP. He mentioned that Science cannot be learnt without props. i.e. experimental setup.
Prof Durgesh Pant, Director General, UCOST mentioned that Science and technology are the important and essential components for the progress of any state. The progress of the state is guided by growth in its S&T sector. Therefore there is a pressing need to strengthen STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) education by creating additional infrastructure for hands-on and engaging activities in non-formal learning environment for experiential learning which has been reemphasized in New Education Policy. There is also a need to have an adequate level of awareness & literacy of science and technology at all levels in the society.
Banshidhar Tiwari, Director General, School Education assured the all possible help from Education department and appraised the initiative taken by UCOST. He mentioned that the school education system will get boost up by this initiative, he congratulates all students, teachers and implementing agency for such a motivational program in the state.
This initiative is in sink with the New Education Policy (NEP) has emphasized experiential learning and exploration of concepts by students themselves using hands-on approach. Therefore, to sync educational practices with NEP and to address the problem of STEM education in the state, suitable interventions are necessary with urgency. It will be a daunting task to establish such a huge number of laboratory facilities in schools at short time. However, in order to fill the gap of science laboratories and to complement science education in the schools of rural and hilly areas of the state, “Lab on Wheels” vans in each district may be an ambitious and quick step so that students of under-resourced schools are not deprived of experiential learning environment. These vans are equipped with all the essential resource material and accessories for the programme as per requirement in sync with NCERT/state curriculum of 6 to 10 standards in STEM. These vans will be operated in coordination with education department for planning and execution of visit roster in schools.
During the events scientist form UCOST, officials from Education Department, Trainers and demonstrators from Agastya International along with several students from Govt. inter college, Bhimawala, Dehradun and their teachers were present during the program.
