A new academic year means new notebooks and textbooks, freshly covered with brown paper or plastic sheets. While not having a notebook covered generally results in students being punished in several schools, a group of schools in the city has adopted a different approach.
The D.A.V. Group of Schools has given clear instructions to all their students across branches of their schools in the city to not wrap their notebooks in paper.
“We have nearly 16,000 students and if each student uses 20 notebooks per year, it comes to over 3.2 lakh notebooks. We took a conscious decision to inform students not to cover their books either with brown paper or plastic sheets this year, and this is a small step towards becoming a little more environment conscious,” said Vikas Arya, director of the D.A.V. Group of Schools. The schools have been trying to speak to their students for a few years now about not covering their books.
Positive feedback
“This year, however, a circular was sent to all parents in advance. Notebooks made for the students have sturdy covers and we did not see the need for an additional plastic or brown cover,” said Shanthy Asokan, principal of the D.A.V. Boys Senior Secondary School, Gopalapuram.
The school has received extremely positive feedback from parents and students. “Several teachers were also keen on implementing this. Even with their notebooks, the students are encouraged to be judicious and use paper with care,” she added. With a ban on plastic in the State, schools have also been asking students to not use plastic bags, bottles or disposable cutlery on campus.
