Environment Education in the School Curriculum
Sanskriti Menon, Centre for Environment Education
Over
the last few years, environment education in the formal school curriculum has
been influenced by two national policy documents: the National Curriculum
Framework 2005 of the National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) and the directive of the Supreme Court in response to a 1991 petition
filed by Shri M C Mehta. The Supreme Court gave its final pronouncements on the
matter of the writ petition in December 2010.
The key
document illuminating the way forward for EE in the formal school system, as
approved by the Supreme Court, is the Affidavit filed by the NCERT and which
advocates the infusion approach. This means that an environment perspective is
to be added to all subjects, from Standard I to XII. (See interview with Dr
Jaishree Sharma, NCERT)
There
are many advantages to the approach, since EE draws from the different subjects
of science, social studies, maths, language, art etc. However, experts and
practitioners point out a number of constraints as well, the main one being the
lack of opportunities for synthesis of the learning that may take place in
different subjects. Another major constraint is the lack of a common course at
the XI and XII level which is taken by students of all streams into which the
core content could be infused. This may necessitate a separate subject of 50
marks at the XI and XII level.
A
letter dated 15 March 2012 from Ms Jayanti Natarajan, Minister of State for
Environment and Forests to Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister, Human Resource
Development, highlights the need for careful infusion as well as exclusive time
and space in the school time table for EE. (see box)
According to Dr Jaishree
Sharma, NCERT, infusion has been done carefully and systematically in the
latest set of textbooks developed after the National Curriculum Framework,
2005. Key steps were orientation of textbook writers to the syllabus for EE
that they needed to infuse and, after the textbooks were developed, a report of
the content infused.
It remains to be seen how the
different State Education Departments are able to implement the infusion
approach. Given the importance of textbooks in Indian schools as the primary
teaching aid, there is an enormous scope and need for some very creative
textbook writing efforts that meet the challenge of infusion of environment and
sustainability perspectives into subjects.
Dr
Jayashree Bahulikar, member of the Board of Studies for EE of the Maharashtra
State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education says, “We have been
working over the past few months with the Boards of Studies of the different
subjects. In this process we find that textbook writers typically feel that they
already carry environment related content, such as poems and lessons on the
beauty of nature. Firstly, they need to understand that the infusion now
required to be done has to be of specific topics of the EE syllabus approved by
the Supreme Court. Secondly, the traditional approach of textbook writing has
to change. The idea is not only to provide information but to help students
construct their own learning which is emphasized in the NCF 2005 as well as the
State Curriculum Framework 2010 in Maharashtra. The textbooks thus need to help
the students learn by doing and build upon the students’ experiences and
knowledge. Thirdly, teacher training that takes place to orient about the new
textbooks will also need to highlight the EE content in the different subject
text books. Otherwise the point of infusion will be lost.”
Shri BMS Rathore, Joint
Secretary, EE Division, MoEF, sees a lot of synergy between the efforts of the
MoEF and MHRD for EE. (See interview with BMS)
Ultimately, the objective is to
help students develop appropriate competencies for taking steps towards
sustainability. For this, teachers need adequate capabilities for Education for
Sustainable Development. These two critical aspects need to remain central to
the efforts of all concerned agencies, even as the discussions continue on
marks, grades, and time table space.
Need for ‘Exclusive Time and Space
for EE’ in addition to Infusion Approach
Excerpt from a letter dated 15 March 2012 from Ms Jayanti
Natarajan, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, to Shri Kapil Sibal,
Minister, Human Resource Development, Government of India.
“The infusion approach, in the
absence of focused attention on Environment Education (EE) may lead to dilution
of focus. Past experience shows that the EE in schools through infusion
approach has only worked in cases which brought in some influences that had been
external to the regular curricular teaching, and were focused specifically on
EE. Studies that involved questioning teachers across the country on infusion
approach to EE have shown that ownership for EE with subject teachers remains
weak. The EE has often been taught in a completely fragmented way, in isolated
and unconnected project-based activities in different subjects. Also, the
assessment of EE under the infusion approach has remained problematic. The
schools may continue to measure the EE content in the same cognitive manner, as
they measure other subject contents, thus defeating the very purpose of EE.
This however does not mean that the
infusion approach is to be abandoned; on the contrary there is an urgent need
to provide for strengthening of the infusion approach, where content on
Environment in different subjects could be dealt meaningfully. Exclusive time
and space needs to be built in the school time table to translate the EE
content into the EE experience, using project work, observations, and going out
in nature, thus allowing learning beyond the confines of text books. A separate
period to integrate the teaching and learning of infused content therefore is
required. This would in-fact provide for an integrated and inter-disciplinary
learning experience, that draws up on the infusion and other skills learnt
through different subjects. Measures need to be developed to determine the
adequacy of infusion and projects, quality of teaching and learning. The
strategy to succeed needs capacity building of the whole school through
trainings and materials.
The MoEF has key stake in EE, with more than 27 years of
experience that has engaged state Nodal Agencies, Centres of Excellence and various associated expert institutions. It
has a stake in keeping the priorities of environment and sustainable development at the core of education
systems in order to keep the citizens aware of the concerns and actions required to resolve them. MoEF
may continue to provide the expertise gained over the years, particularly with
school systems, through programmes like Environment Education in the School
System (EESS) and Strengthening Environment Education in the School System
(SrEESS). The EESS targeted capacity building of teacher trainers, textbook
writers and curriculum development. The flagship programmes of the MoEF like
National Green Corps (Co-curricular Eco Club approach), offer great insights
and opportunities to support universalization of EE.
The experience of MoEF in Environment Education, developed
along with its Centres of Excellence, State Nodal Agencies and other
institutions, can come to the fore to strengthen HRD Ministry and the NCERT in
implementing the directives of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in letter and spirit.
I would therefore urge that the infusion approach to Environment
Education be taken with utmost care.
I assure you of my Ministry’s utmost support in treading a different path. This would go a long way in building up a leadership of children and youths on environmental issues that we face in the country.”
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