Conservation is the name of the game

Updated on: Monday, January 25, 2010

In a recent circular to all its schools, the CBSE asked that students be administered an oath pledging that they would conserve their heritage. The oath that was taken on January 12, observed as Heritage Day, was a bid by the CBSE to sensitise students to the need for conservation.

The CBSE also instructed schools to involve students in the protection of monuments around their neighbourhoods and encourage them to hold seminars, exhibitions and quizzes around the topic of heritage conservation.
The CBSE aims to encourage students to respect their heritage — not to scribble or deface monuments — and hopes that this move will also help students to score better in their social science evaluation. In short, students could get better marks if they pledge and take the initiative to conserve the monuments around them.
Said CBSE Chairperson, Vineet Joshi in a circular, “The pledge may be administered at a local monument for which the schools can contact the local ASI office, State Archeological Department or INTACH. A separate notice will also be issued to the heads of these organisations by us so that the children can visit them from school.” The detailed circular also mentioned the role of students who can act as guides for visitors and take them around various monument to explain their history, architectural features etc, reports IANS.

The CBSE had already stressed the ‘adopt a heritage scheme’ as part of a project in social science, where students could adopt an historical building and take measures to protect and create an awareness about it.
Said Joshi in the circular, “They can also distribute post cards, greeting cards and posters as souvenirs for visitors…Making a CD or collecting archival sources can also be done. The CD may contain interviews of the visitors, actual caretakers, and those in authority by asking pertinent questions.”

With its target being the entire school fraternity, the CBSE hopes heritage conservation will become a mass movement. However, many schools have already been instilling conservation into their students before the circular came out. Now that it has become official, one hopes that conservation becomes a real involvement with students.

Conservation is the name of the game

More Education news