Formal Environment Education

 Environmental education is an essential tool for achieving effective resource management and sustainable development.  Environmental education in its broadest sense encompasses awareness raising, acquiring new perspectives, values, knowledge and skills, and both the formal and informal processes that lead to changed behaviour in support of a sustainable environment. It considers the environment in its totality and a continuous lifelong process beginning at the pre-school level and continuing through all stages. It also utilizes various educational approaches to teach and learn about and from the environment with stress on practical activities and first-hand experience. It is through this process of education that people can be sensitized about the environmental issues.

A study was conducted by PSCST  to access the environment education at primary, secondary, senior secondary , university and professional college level in Punjab. The study pointed that Punjab School Education Board was following  NCERT pattern and the environmental content in the syllabus was adequate as per that. However, Environment education was generally inadequate at secondary, senior secondary and at higher education.

However, with the objectives of further strengthening environment education in the formal school system a World Bank-aided project, has been undertaken by Punjab education Department through MoEF, GoI.  Apart from Punjab, seven other states -- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Maharastra and Uttaranchal  were selected for the pilot implementation of this project.The project, titled 'Study of status of infusion of environmental concepts in school curricula and the effectiveness of its delivery', was a small component of the India Environment Management Capacity Building Project of the World Bank. It commenced in October 1999 and was completed in July 2001, and this is being followed by implementation in 100 schools in each state.

 The project was designed in two phases. In the first phase, a critical content analysis was undertaken in order to find out the status of environmental content in the textbooks currently being used in the schools. On the basis of the findings, the second phase of pilot implementation was designed, to ensure that environmental education is covered through infusion in existing subjects and not as a separate subject. Various activities were being undertaken includes the development of Educational material like Greening of Books of classes VI, VII and VIII (Hindi, Punjabi, Science & Social studies), development of Environment Education programs & also Trainings for educational administrators, Teachers & NGO's.

Subsequently in 2003, the Supreme Court of India had made environment studies a compulsory subject upto the senior secondary level in schools. The Supreme Court appointed the NCERT as the nodal agency for monitoring environment education up to class XII and its implemention. In April 2004, the apex court approved a revised model syllabus devoloped NCERT after consulting more than 500 institution, state Governments, CPCB, individual experts & NGOs.  For students of class I to VIII, the subject will be a part of the social science aspect of the syllabus. Students of  IX to XII will study it as an additional subject. The apex court has now asked NCERT to seek the opinion of the states on the model syllabus before implementing it (Source: Down to Earth, June, 2004).

However, at college and university levels in Punjab, environment education needs to be strengthened. At present there are very few Environment related degree` and courses offered by various universities in the states. The details of various courses  are given below:-

On this front, the University Grants Commission has also made environment studies a compulsory subject for all under graduate students. A compulsory environment education course was introduced by Punjab University, Chandigarh and its affiliated colleges, but its implementation has been poor due to lack of training of existing staff.

Similarly, realising that the industry Managers and leaders also  need to be sensitized towards environmental issues and concepts of Environmental Management so that they can play an important role in introducing environmentally sound practices in their operations. The MoEF has taken an initiative to introduce/enhance environmental concepts in the Business/Management Education. A committee comprising representatives from Management Institutions, AICTE, UGC, Industry and MoEF is already looking into various aspects like course content and syllabi of the existing courses so that gaps could be identified and suggestion could be given for enhancing/introducing the environmental content where necessary (Source: MoEF).