Creating a Healthy School Environment

One of the lofty aims of education is to shape young individuals into caring, thinking sensitive and value enriched citizens of the country. These are achievable when the schools provide a nurturing environment and create a value based climate within the school.

The schools affiliated to CBSE are seen as powerful resources of Human Resource Development. This is possible and can be ensured only if the schools themselves are convinced of the positive benefits of a value enriched environrnent.

The conflicting role models tlrown up by the social context as well as the explosion of media often result in giving out ambiguous signals to young minds. It thus becomes even more mandatory that the schools serve as agents of change and transformation by bringing out the best from within each child. The inspiration, motivation and upliftment of spirit should go hand in glove with transaction of academic knowledge.

The Central CBSE Board of Secondary Education has received feedback about certain schools where the school authorities forcibly keep the children back in Classes IX & XI under various pretexts. This has been viewed very seriously. The CBSE Board requires all heads of institutions to reflect on the long term objectives of imparting holistic education in schools. It is impossible to create vibrance and a joyful and friendly learning ambience to ensure there is collaborative synergy between learners, teachers, heads of the institutions, parents and the management of the school.

Unless the heads of schools realize their own responsibility towards all these stakeholders there will be a serious backlash from all these quarters. Cases of indiscipline, rowydism, bullying, smoking and other kinds of drug abuse in some institutions have also been reported to which a blind eye is turned by the school authorities. The Adolescence Education Programme and the Life Skills Programme as well as the Comprehensive School Health Progranme advocated by the CBSE Board focuses on the growing concerns of adolescence which need to be addressed with an urgency and immediacy and unless stringent action is taken at the right point of time in collaboration with the parents of the adolescents it may become a matter of serious concern. Life Skills Education is an excellent tool for bringing about positive behavioural changes in individuals.

It is essential that all stakeholders involved in imparting value based education within the school enviromnent should come together to find an answer to some of these areas that ultimately concern all of us.