Council to impart forest related knowledge in schools
Two memoranda of understanding were signed in New Delhi by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).
The MoUs have been signed to launch the Prakriti programme to promote awareness about forests and environment, stimulate interest among the students of NVS and KVS in maintaining a balanced environment and for acquiring skills that reflect care and protection towards forests, environment and society.
The aim is also to provide a platform to school children to learn practical skills towards judicious use of resources and to mobilise a cadre of youth for raising a people’s movement committed to conservation of forest and environment. Through this collaboration, knowledge shall be imparted to students/teachers of NVS and KVS on environment, forest, environmental services and contemporary areas of forestry research by way of lectures and interactive sessions by scientists of ICFRE institutes.
Visits of students/teachers of NVS and KVS schools will also be arranged to the laboratories and field/experiments of ICFRE institutes for hands-on experiences.
The MoUs, signed for a period of 10 years, are expected to make the youth of the country sensitive about national and global issues of environment and forests and help them to become responsible citizens.
ICFRE, through its nine institutes and five centres located across the country, is guiding, promoting and coordinating forestry research, extension and education at the national level.
The council is currently focusing on contemporary issues of national and international importance particularly in the areas of climate change, forest productivity, biodiversity conservation and skill development.
NVS was established with the primary objective of providing modern quality education to the talented children predominantly from the rural areas, without regard to their family’s socio-economic condition. At present, it has 660 functional residential schools. KVS was established in 1963 to provide uninterrupted education to wards of the transferable Central Government Employees. KVS established Kendriya Vidyalayas all over the country to impart quality education, promotion of national integration, adventure activities and physical education.
The MoUs were signed by ICFRE director general SC Gairola, NVS commissioner BK Singh and KVS commissioner Santosh Kumar Mall. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change secretary CK Mishra, director general of forests Sidhanta Das and other officials were also present on the occasion.
