Schools across the State will soon take systematic efforts to become more environment-friendly. With the eco clubs in schools all set for an overhaul, a series of initiatives are being planned, according to School Education Minister, Thangam Thennarasu.
A Government Order regarding the same will be issued soon. As many as 30 new posts have been created for officers, who will function at the Chief Educational Officer’s office and coordinate with schools in each district. “We are in the process of identifying assistant PG teachers [for these posts] to closely work with the eco clubs in schools,’ Mr. Thennarasu told The Hindu on Wednesday.
In addition to this, an assistant director has also been appointed to coordinate with the officers in each district. “We do have eco clubs in schools now. Some are functioning under Central government initiatives and some under State government schemes. However, we think it is important to make the efforts uniform and consistent,” he said.
To start with, all the high schools in the State will have regular programmes on environmental awareness, consciously cut down on use of plastics, take up tree-planting initiatives and also practise source segregation on campuses. “We will subsequently extend the initiative to all primary, middle and higher secondary schools as well,’ Mr. Thennarasu said.
The activities will be planned and executed throughout the year. “There is no point in holding campaigns in a sporadic way.”
The district-level coordinators to be chosen will be selected based on their background and their awareness of environmental issues. “We want the students to be exposed to serious issues that are impacting the environment all over the world. They have to be sensitised to the problems so that they learn how to care for the environment and adopt environment-friendly practices.”
