Quizzing can elevate the level of awareness of participants, especially students from backward areas. A proof of this was the recent quiz programme organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature-India, ‘Vana, Vignana, Vinoda’, on nature and environment for tribal students of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with the Tribal Welfare departments of the respective states.
The quiz programme, which was conducted at different levels all through February and involved tribal students only, revealed that students know about the nature around them but face the handicap of being articulate about it. The quiz format seemed to have been of much help when it came to crystallising their thoughts on relevant subjects.
The month of February saw the WWF organising school and district level quiz competitions in the tribal districts, followed by the State level competition on February 25 at CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (CII-GBC), Hyderabad. The competition at the State level was won by the students of Vemanpalli Tribal Welfare Ashram High School, Mancherial.
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“Some of the participants have seen Hyderabad for the first time,” pointed out WWF State director Farida Tampal. “They are happy to learn through fun and understand what they need to do for bettering the environment,” she observed while overseeing the competitions at the CII-GBC.
Class IX students of Kalwakurthy AHS in Nagarkurnool B. Pallavai, G. Mahalaxmi and B. Pujitha, were first-time participants in any quiz show and asserted they had learnt much from this form of education. “We now know what is polluted air and use of chemicals in agriculture farms,” they revealed when asked to quote an example of the increase in their awareness about environment.
Students from both the Telugu states who had arrived to participate in the quiz were shown around the CII-GBC campus that in itself is a model of energy and environmental sustainability. The students were especially keen to understand the concept of saving energy through simple means and that of the vertical garden. Ms. Tampal was of the view that the Wild Wisdom Quiz in Telugu would make a greater impact as it involves tribal students who are the immediate stakeholders of nature and natural resources. WFF Advisory Board chairman Anil Kumar Epur and WWF volunteers attended the State level and inter-state level quiz competitions at CII-GBCtook part.
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