Day: February 9, 2022

Pollution in Rivers

 Rivers in the country are polluted due to discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from cities/towns and industrial effluents in their respective catchments, problems in operation and maintenance of sewage/effluent treatment plants, lack of dilution and other non-point sources of pollution. It is the responsibility of the States/Union Territories (UTs), Local Bodies and Industrial Units to ensure required treatment of sewage, industrial effluents to the prescribed norms before discharging into rivers and other water bodies, coastal waters or land and prohibit dumping of puja materials & other items of religious offerings to prevent and control of pollution therein.

 As per the Provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution), Act 1974, industrial units are required to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) and treat their effluents to comply with stipulated environmental standards before discharging into river and water bodies. Accordingly, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take action for non-compliance under provisions of these Acts.

CPCB has issued guidelines for idol immersion and disposal of other puja materials during festivals and Hon’ble National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed respective District Magistrates and other Authorities to ensure implementation of guidelines of CPCB to curb pollution due to immersion of idols in rivers and water bodies. In addition, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has also issued directions under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 regarding the immersion of idols in rivers and water bodies on festive occasions, directions have been issued to States/UTs for restricting idol immersion into rivers and water bodies during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Deepawali, Chat Puja, Viswakarma Puja, etc. as these causes pollution/contamination of water leading to deterioration in the quality of water in rivers, water bodies besides having harmful effect on aquatic life.

Besides, in compliance of the orders of NGT in Original Application No.673/2018 regarding rejuvenation of polluted river stretches in the country, States/UTs are required to implement approved action plans, including installation of wastewater treatment plants, for restoration of the polluted river stretches in their jurisdiction as identified by CPCB and published in their report of 2018, within the stipulated timelines. As per the orders of NGT, regular review on implementation of action plans is undertaken in the States/UTs and also at Central level.

 Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been conducting periodic sampling of major drains (24 nos.) out falling in river Yamuna and at various locations (8 nos.) in the stretch of river Yamuna. CPCB in association with various SPCBs/PCCs have been monitoring the water quality of rivers and other water bodies across the country through a network of monitoring stations under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. As per the last report published by CPCB in September 2018, 351 polluted stretches have been identified on 323 rivers in the country based on monitoring results in terms of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), an indicator of organic pollution. This report of CPCB includes the stretches of river Yamuna in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh which are as below:

River

State

Polluted River Stretches

Priority

BOD Range

(mg/l)

Yamuna

Delhi

Along Wazirabad to Asagpur

I

9-80

Haryana

Panipat to Sonepat

I

4-55

Uttar Pradesh

Asgarpur to Etawah Shahpur to Allahabad (Balua Ghat)

I

12-55

 

Under Namami Gange Programme, 23 projects amounting to Rs.4290 crore for creating/rehabilitation of 1840 mld capacity sewage treatment plants (STP) have been sanctioned in Yamuna river basin. These 23 projects are spread over Himachal Pradesh (1 project), Haryana (2 projects), Delhi (12 projects includes consultancy & public outreach project) and Uttar Pradesh (8 projects). Out of these 23 projects, 6 projects have been completed. Till December 2021, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has utilized an amount of Rs. 1593.32 crore for all the 23 projects for river Yamuna.

In addition, Delhi Jal Board is also undertaking works such as capacity augmentation, improvement in treatment effluent parameters, laying of sewer network, construction of decentralized STPs, sewer interceptor, Septage Management and tapping of drains directly out falling into Yamuna river through the Yamuna Cleaning Cell (YCC) to improve quality of river water of Yamuna.

Dante Aligheiri: Connecting His Life, Love and Literature

Dante, looking at Beatrice passing by (Art Work)

Introduction

Dante Aligheiri, the famous Italian poet, is without any debate, one of the most passionate poets of all time who believed in and lived by the true meaning of Love through his exceptional writings . His works are still considered as the Canvases of Human Mind, sparkling and expressing love through words. Though, the love of his own life remained unrequited and that agony fueled his journey of writing as a neverhealed wound, creating some masterpieces of Romantic Literature.

Early Life of Dante

Born in Florence, Italy around 1265, Dante was the son of Alighiero di Bellincione Alighieri and Bella di Abati, and he grew up among Florentine aristocracy. Scholars surmise that he received formal instruction in grammar, language, and philosophy at one of the Franciscan schools in the city. 

Dante’s Love : Beatrice Portinari

Dante first met Beatrice Portinari, daughter of Folco Portinari, when he was only nine years old and he claimed to have fallen in love with her “at first sight”, apparently without even talking with her. He would later write about his instant love for her in “Vita Nuova”, saying “Behold, a deity stronger than I; who coming, shall rule over me.”

When he was 12, however, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati, daughter of Manetto Donati, member of the powerful Donati family. Contracting marriages for children at such an early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including contracts signed before a notary. Dante claimed to have seen Beatrice again frequently after he turned 18, exchanging greetings with her in the streets of Florence, though he never knew her well.

Dante meeting Beatrice for the first time (Art work)

Beatrice’s Death: Presence in Dante’s work

Beatrice died in 1290 at age twenty four. Beatrice probably never had any idea of the depth of his passion for her, yet she was to become one of literature’s most famous figures.

After Beatrice’s death, Dante withdrew into intense study and began composing poems dedicated to her memory. The collection of these poems, along with others he had previously written in his journal in awe of Beatrice, became La Vita Nuova, a prose work interlaced with lyrics.
Dante describes his meetings with her, praises her beauty and goodness, describes his own intense reactions to her kindness or lack thereof, tells of events in both their lives, and explains the nature of his feelings for her. She represents an idealized love, the kind of love that transcends physicality. Alighieri included her in both La Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy. She is his salvation; the “gentilissima” (most kind) and “benedetta”(blessed). It is Beatrice who serves as his guide in Heaven in Divine Comedy. La Vita Nuova also relates of the day when Dante was informed of her death and contains several anguished poems written after that event. In the final chapter, Dante vows to write nothing further of Beatrice until he writes “concerning her what hath not before been written of any woman.”

Portrait of Beatrice

Analysis of Dante’s Love and Literature

The promise is fulfilled in the epic poem The Divine Comedy, which he composed many years later. In that poem, he expresses his exalted and spiritual love for Beatrice, who is his intercessor in the Inferno, his purpose in traveling through Purgatorio, and his guide through Paradiso.

Beatrice addresses Dante, the author and a character himself, for the first time in Canto 2 of Dante’s “Inferno”: she descends into Limbo and prays that the poet Virgil can rescue Dante. She then reappears in Canto 30 of Purgatorio, when Virgil disappears.

At first sight of her in Purgatorio, he is as overwhelmed as he was at the age of nine and is dazzled by her presence throughout the journey until she ascends again to her place in heaven, the point closest to God that he is allowed to reach.
This expression of sublimated and spiritualized love ends with Dante’s total absorption into the divine.
Their last meeting is set among the blessed in Heaven at the end of their journey into the afterlife.

Dante’s work Vita Nuova, heavily influenced by Beatrice

Conclusion

Dante’s love for Beatrice may have been idealized and unattainable, but at the core of that love is admiration, goodness, and respect. That’s a type of love that we don’t see much of in the media of today’s world. We prize the scintillating and love has become synonymous with physical lust.Dante’s love transcends the physical. It is a love of the heart and the intellect. She represented the ideal of beauty and grace, but was also a real woman.
Beatrice appeared to Dante as the woman/angel that guides him through Paradise, but also remained a real woman who made his heart beat in the streets of Florence.

Gender differences or what?

I completely agree with J Ann when they talk about gender differences and how society had deeply created that image in peoples mind. It is that widely accepted that even if you ask a small child if boys can cry, they simply would say otherwise. All of this questions us the very idea of the kind of generation we are breeding into. Society had laid down certain characteristics as to how a man should behave and how a women should too. This line is so wide that people are terrified of crossing it. 

We have all been conditioned to believe that women are born to be weak, emotional, always in distress, home makers and always crying. While on the other hand men are strong, not emotional and always the hero. This have been taught to us in the forms of books, academic sessions, moral policing, films etc. It has become so much rigid that people who do not feel the same are alienated and ridiculed. They are forced to believe that they are not normal when in reality no barrier has been kept or the definition of normal haven’t been defined yet to be judge of someone’s gender. 

We can understand this very closely if we take a dive into our childhood. Ever since we were kids there always have been certain set of rules for a girl child and a boy child, the latter being more liberal than former. Girls were asked to come home early while boys weren’t. Young boys were taught to not cry and be strong and if you cry then it simply means that you are a girl and being a girl was projected as a shame. Directly or indirectly we all have been a part of this system which fosters a toxic environment for people who do not identify their sex and gender as same to grow. At this point of time, they would feel dejected, left out from society and people always mock them, making them feel inferior of who they chose to be. 

Although recently things have taken a turn, we now live in a world where people come out and chose out be who they are than living beneath a mask that society force them to wear. We see a greater representation of gender diversity in all forms in books, media, novels, social media etc. All of this had made people more comfortable with the idea of acceptance than denial. Numerous people live in denial of who they actually are and find it hard to fit in with the right crowd. 

We can see examples of people exhibiting different sorts of characters despite the gender factor in today’s world. In 21stCE, the idea of acceptance has become much easier with lot of people coming out of their shells and being who they actually are. Celebrities like Harry Styles, have recently been center of attention in terms of their representation for gender issues. Harry dressed up in a way he loved and broke all barriers of gender disparity. And because of which celebrities, especially in the K pop industry have increasing become gender diverse in terms of their representation. 

It doesn’t take much to understand and be empathetic to people who feel lost when in terms of identifying who they want to be. After all, we all want to be accepted and loved for who we are than anything else. We all should move forward to a nation, transparent and more open to needs and diversity in gender and inclusion from all sides so that people can learn to be who they want to be and not forced to.

Language is Manmade , not “Human Made” !








This is a very simple title, yet a major loophole that our society is facing for many decades. This is not about giving rights to a specific gender but the suppressions which a language creates in the backdrop of society and makes it a center of concern. Never thought language can create such discrimination against two genders.
In colloquial context we see that every day we speak our language and communicate flawlessly yet we never recognized the ocean of problem which a language brings every day.
Profoundly, the title itself gives us the best example as to how we use the word “Manmade”, linguistically whenever a thing is made by a human it is denoted as manmade. But the question here arrives is that why don’t we spell it as human-made?
There are many endless words where the wordings are based on one gender-biased, for say: countrymen, mankind, etc and mostly these words denote men and women were often neglected or ignored since the formation of words.
“Language has always been a media through which many cultures and communities bounded and created a sense of harmony with each other”.
Whereas we can notice that Gender Discrimination has always been a core of fear since civilization. It has become one of the cliché topics when it comes to feminism and cause of this people are ignorant as they assume that the world is changed and there is no more discrimination in today’s society.
Taking back to the advent of the problem we can observe that many writers, critics have battled to always protect the women community as they are always considered the “weaker section of the society”. We can’t deny this fact but, inevitably, they are still subjected when it comes to literature and language.
 
1.      How Women are Neglected by Language  as Language reflects Patriarchal world:
She says, “Women can either read and choose to stay trapped in their bodies by a language that does not allow them to express themselves, or they can use the body as a way to communicate.” – Helene Cixous (in; “The Laugh of Medusa” ).
This very quote is taken from the famous article written by a critic, writer, and feminist; Helene Cixous who has explained how a woman had gone through repression in history and how literature and language had given an upper hand to the men in society to suppress women.
In “The Laugh of Medusa”, she explains how women should find their voice and the Language is the symbol of how a person portrays themselves. “Writing is for you, you are for you, your body’s yours, take it”. Thisline highlights that it’s high time that women should raise their head and minds and be themselves by being flawlessly independent and break the walls which portray women as fragile and frail.
The author claims that there is a very close relationship between women’s bodies and their writings and both have been repressed by men for centuries. Literature, in particular, explains to us how women as a writer were hard for the audience to accept them due to cultural prejudices laid against them since ages.
Writers like Virginia Woolf show us the patriarchal world through one of her works namely “Room of one’s own” through the lens of all the women present in the world and the problems they go through.
“A Woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. This quote is quite relatable for the women of contemporary society, but this was a major issue which women of the 18th and 19th centuries were facing, to be independent they always needed acceptance to flourish in their fields and for that, they always needed acceptance which was a great hurdle in their lives. For their personal growth, they were bounded to be under 4 walls and do all sorts of wifely duties which gave the society that women are doing dutiful jibs under their husbands present.
But unfortunately, those women were never accepted who was unique and out of the box because society was not people’s perspective, rather it was the male perspective.
Even in “Room of one’s own”, Woolf mentions Judith Shakespeare ( was considered as Shakespeare’s real sister), her character portrays us the devastation a woman goes through while struggling for getting justice.
It also portrays us that many decades of literature didn’t accept women’s works as they were not considered as talented and rather, they were judged based on patriarchal society.
 
2.       Females were Disowned yet contributed best Literature:
As when we look into 18th century British literature, we can see that several female writers have given an immeasurable piece of works which is still remarkable to date.
It would be a disgrace if we forget to mention  Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Virginia Woolf, who were the pillars of 18th-century literature. Whether it is a broody romantic novel of wuthering heights or it is jane Eyre, every writer has spilled their hearts and provided the real situation of women in the era.
Some great writers are unforgettable like J.K Rowling who made us believe in fantasy and made childhood more fascinating by giving us Harry Potter which always provides us nostalgia going back to those days.
Unfortunately, these writers have always struggled to prove their identity to the world, that these immense writers like J.K.Rowling, Emily Bronte, had to change their names to get worldwide recognition. Even in the postmodern age, the situation didn’t change and the process of women hiding their originality, their names was like a custom they followed for ages.
But these female writers never let their readers down and always provided the best piece of art even having so many hurdles in their life.
It’s a long way to go, but still, the situation is better as women are gaining recognition and fame in society, the world, and literature through their masterpieces of works.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

YOGAASANAS



I’ve seen many people say ‘fitness is my passion’ but have never tried doing yoga. Why? Did you know that yoga is one of the most relaxing and fun way to be fit? Every Asana, every movement builds up the strength in your muscles and relaxes your mind and body. Yoga helps build flexibility and strength. When you hold a pose for a long time, you realize that your balance has also improved which surely gives you the confidence to continue practicing yoga for a healthier life.
It is said that yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word “yuji” which means union. In simple terms, it’s the union of your body, mind and soul. Oh also, an Asana is a body posture which starts with simple poses but with time and experience, it can get more complex and interesting. In this article, I’ll mainly be talking about Surya Namaskar/ Sun Salutation.
Surya Namaskar is a powerful force in practicing yoga. It consists of 12 yoga poses. It has a very positive impact on the mind and body, it’s also a great cardiovascular workout. There are many benefits of practicing this workout, it mainly helps with stimulating the nervous system, helps in flexibility, is an amazing solution to weight loss and improves cognitive functioning.

1) Pranamasana / Prayer pose :
Stand at the edge of your mat while keeping your foot together. As you inhale, lift both of your arms from the sides and while exhaling, bring your palms together and form a praying position.

2) Hastauttanasana / Raised arms pose :
The main purpose of this pose is to stretch your entire body so to do that you must breathe in, lift your arms up and then take it back while keeping your biceps close to the ears.

3) Hastapadasana / Standing forward bend :
While breathing out, bend forward from gbe waist but remember to keep the spine intact. After exhaling completely, bring your hands down and place them next to your feet.

4) Ashwa Sanchalanasana / Equestrian pose :
Push your right leg back but make sure to push it as far as you can and bring the right knee to the floor and look up but also keep in mind that the left foot is in between your palms.

5) Chaturanga Dandasana / Stick pose :
in and take the left leg back and bring the whole body to make a straight line.

6) Ashtanga Namaskara / Salute with eight joints :
Exhale while bringing your knees down to the floor, take your hips slightly back and slide forward. Make sure your two hands, two feet, two knees, chest and chin are on the floor.

7) Bhujangasana / Cobra pose :
For this pose, slide forward and raise your chest up to form a cobra pose. It’s advisable to keep your elbows bent and keep your shoulders away from your ears and look up the ceiling.

8) Adho Mukha Svanasana / Downward facing dog pose :
The inverted ‘V’ pose. Breathe out and lift your hips and the tailbone to make an inverted ‘V’. If it’s possible, try keeping your heels on the ground.

9) Ashwa Sanchalanasana / Equestrian pose :
Push your right leg back but make sure to push it as far as you can and bring the right knee to the floor and look up but also keep in mind that the left foot is in between your palms.

10) Hastapadasana / Standing forward bend :
While breathing out, bend forward from the waist but remember to keep the spine intact. After exhaling completely, bring your hands down and place them next to your feet.

11) Hastauttanasana / Raised arms pose :
The main purpose of this pose is to stretch your entire body so to do that you must breathe in, lift your arms up and then take it back while keeping your biceps close to the ears.

12) Tadasana / Mountain pose :
While exhaling, straighten your body and bring your arms down. Observing the sensations taking place in your body is the key point to master this pose.

Therefore, this completes Set 1. While doing Surya Namaskar, make sure to do 2 sets. For the second set, start with the left leg and bring the right foot forward in step 10.
The main purpose of doing yoga is to make sure you relax and enjoy this form of exercise. Always give yourself and your body enough time to adapt to this method and never rush into anything.

World Population Day

11th July is celebrated as THE WORLD POPULATION DAY every year. This day is devoted to focusing on the relevance of population issues. World Population Day was rooted by the Governing Council of the United National Development Programme in 1989, as an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

The theme for 2021 is rights and choices.

  1. Population in India
  1. Understanding our population 

The total number of children a woman bears is inversely proportional to the following:

  • Literacy
  • Per capita income
  • Development 

It’s been proved that as the above-mentioned factors rise, the total fertility decreases.

The total number of children a woman bears is directly proportional to the following:

  • Infant mortality rate
  • Poverty
  • Illiteracy
  • Unemployment

It’s been proved that as the above-mentioned factors rise, the total fertility rises too.

Our population is growing but at a decreasing rate. It is not an explosion. The total fertility rate, i.e. the average number of children a woman beers, has significantly decreased from 5 to 2.2-2.3 in the last 50 years. The replacement fertility rate, i.e. the number of children a woman needs to have so that the population replaces itself from one generation to another generation is 2.1. Approximately 20 states and UTs in India are very close to it.

  1. Why is overpopulation a concern
  • Resources

Well, the rate of growth in the number of human beings is greater than the growth of resources. This means the more the population grows, the difficult it gets to sustain everyone.

  • Environmental destruction

As the number of people grows, more resources and places to live are required to destroy natural habitat. This leads to the loss of animal habitat and they’re seen wandering around in human civilization.

  • Unemployment

An increase in the number of people, increases the demand for jobs to sustain oneself and we as a nation have failed to provide jobs.

  • Poverty

A direct relation between poverty and population has been proved by researchers. This means as poverty rises, so does population and vice versa. Along with these, overpopulation brings:

  • Social religious conflicts
  • Climate change
  • Outbreak of diseases
  • Social unrest
  • Political instability 
  1. Benefits of having a bigger population
  • A high population is an asset, which can be utilized gracefully. We can have an ample number of professionals in all the fields and can even outsource our services. There is more production of goods.
  • 4-2-1 problem, i.e 1 child looking up to 4 grandparents and 2 parents, is avoided.
  • We’ll have a balance between the ones earning and the ones depending on pensions because if the number of children born is dropped suddenly, the ones depending on pensions will far outgrow the ones earning and that would be very hard to sustain.
  • How not to tackle population
  • Population Regulation Bill or a 2 child policy

Implementing such a policy is punishing someone for having kids in the form of banning them from elected offices, eliminating them from government schemes and subsidies, government jobs, and even snatching their food by excluding them from PDS. What do you think are the probable effects of these?

A population reduction? NAH. This coercion will lead to even more poverty in the nation which is in the first place one of the root causes of a high population. Furthermore, this may lead to a poor sex ratio as in the case of China which saw sex-selective abortions, foeticides, and even bride price practice which is in simple words buying a bride and might even lead to people bringing girls from poor nations to marry them.

  • Forced sterilization

Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi led one of the Forced sterilization drives, which is never the answer. Because it violates the choice of the couple, and the right to reproduce which is a basic human right. Even if it doesn’t violate a right, it is unethical to the very roots. Approximately 10 million men were sterilized during that drive and it had no substantial effect on the population growth but had various side effects like deaths and the spread of diseases.

  • Blaming Muslims 

How many times have you heard the statement that Muslims give birth to more children so that one day they can outnumber the Hindu population, or even politicians asking their Hindu following to have more and more children to just come in way of Muslims outnumbering them? Well India’s last census, conducted in 2011, revealed that Hindus make up 79.8% of the population, while Muslims make up 14.2%. and Muslims have more children because of their developmental and literacy levels. Because in states with a higher development, the total fertility rate of Muslims is less too, and the fall in the total fertility rate of Muslims is less than the fall in the total fertility rate of Hindus. All politicians are doing is find a shortcut to avoid tackling the matter with sincerity and propose these stupid ideas.

Forced population control measures are a problem, the solution lies in the development.

  • How to tackle population?
  • Understanding and choosing better leaders for ourselves, voting for the ones who focus on development rather than playing a blame game.
  • Mass education about family planning and contraceptive techniques.
  • Creating job opportunities, improving healthcare facilities and focusing on education would tackle a lot of other significant issues along with overpopulation.
  • Improving access to contraceptives
  • Increasing investment in family planning projects
  • Takeaway

The need of the hour is to plan instead of punishing, utilizing the asset it’s blessed with instead of declaring it a disaster and blaming everything on it and stabilization of population instead of trying to control it. And lastly, having a government that owns up to its responsibilities.

references

https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/IND/india/population

https://www.statista.com/statistics/263766/total-population-of-india/

REALITY SHOWS

Reality shows have now become the latest end. Their initial popularity with the masses, helped in the number of such shows produced today. Reality shows take the form of various competitions and challenges where celebrities or the common man participate. There is or essentially no script involved and the interest of the show lies inherently in the personality of the audiences and the tasks. Many of these competitions are judged by eminent personalities within the field. There was a need for a change in the television industry from the onslaught of the various soaps that were telecasted.

However, the question that emerges today is…how real are these reality shows? May critics believe that there isn’t even a modicum of reality in any of these shows. They are often scripted and only aim at high TRP’s. The shows have a planned course and the masses are simply captivated. Though they provide raw drama and an undisputable display of anger, love, guilt and jealousy, these are often tactics used to keep the audiences fastened rather than a genuine display of emotion. There are many others, who are loyal supporters of reality shows and believe that they have indeed provided a platform for the common man to exhibit his talent and gain success. Various dance and singing reality shows as well as quiz shows for children and adults provide them with a means through which provide, they can showcase their talent and intelligence Through these shows they often gain various opportunities to prove their courage. But sadly, one cannot deny that the USP of many of these shows is emotion and melodrama and as a result the purpose of the show is often side-lined. The recent crop of reality shows have come up with themes that tends to belittle important social institutions. In spite of the fact that it has its own pros and cons various channels and producers are misusing the originality of these shows by introducing new themes and shows to keep the masses entertained. Some of the most popular Indian reality shows include ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, ‘Big Boss’ and ‘Indian Idol’. Many movie icons are also willingly accepting the task of anchoring these shows so as to connect with people and exploit the scope of T.V as a medium of maintaining one’s popularity.

However, there is a need to ensure that this genre does not deteriorate like the previous trends. The shows must always be well researched and fresh in its approach rather than look at reality T.V as a formula and launching shows that have little creativity and uniqueness.

Guidelines for identification, admission and continued education of migrant children

 In order to mitigate the impact of challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic for out of school children, it was felt necessary for every State/UT to devise a proper strategy for preventing increased drop outs, lower enrolments, loss of learning and deterioration in the gains made in providing universal access, quality and equity in the recent years.

Thus the Ministry of Education had issued guidelines for identification, admission and continued education of migrant children.

In order to ensure that school going children have access to education with quality and equity and to minimize the impact of the pandemic on school education across the country, the Ministry of Education has prepared and issued detailed guidelines on steps to be taken by the States and UTs during school closure and when the school re-open.

The main features of the Guidelines are :      

A.        Continued Education for Out of School Children (OoSC) and Children with Special Needs (CWSN)

 

  • Continuation of non-residential training for identified Out of School children through volunteers, local teachers and community participation.  
  • Continuation of home based education for CWSN children through Volunteers/ Special Educators.

 

B.        Identifying Out of School Children

 

  • States and UTs to carry out proper identification of OoSC for 6 to 18 years age group through a comprehensive door to door survey and prepare action plan for their enrolment

 

C.        Enrolment Drives and Awareness Generation

 

  • Enrolment drives may be undertaken at the beginning of academic year such as Praveshotsav, School Chalo Abhiyan etc.
  • Undertake awareness generation among parents and community for enrolling and attendance of children
  • Create awareness on practicing 3 Corona appropriate behaviors – wear mask, six-feet distance and washing hands with soap for which IEC material shared on 06.11.2020 with the States & UTs.

 

D.        Student Support while Schools are closed

 

  • Students to be provided support including counseling, large scale awareness & targeted home visits
  • Using Manodarpan web portal and tele-counseling number for counseling services and psycho-social support.
  • Distribution of educational material and resources, supplementary graded material, workshops, worksheets etc to support home-based education
  • Exploring option of classroom on wheels and classes in small groups at village level
  • Increasing the access of children to online/digital resources, TV Radio etc. to reduce learning loss
  • Ensuring easy and timely access to the provisions of uniforms, textbooks and MDM
  • Timely disbursement  of stipend to enrolled CWSN girls through DBT
  • Strengthening of Child protection mechanism at local level

 

E.        Student Support on School Reopening

 

  • Preparation and running of School readiness modules/Bridge course for initial period when the schools re-open so that they can adjust to the school environment and do not feel stressed or left-out.
  • Identification of students across different grades based on their learning levels
  • Relaxing detention norms to prevent drop out this year.
  • Ensuring reading with comprehension and numeracy skills by encouraging children to  read books beyond syllabus and creative writing & problem solving.
  • Large-scale remedial programmes/Learning Enhancement programmes to mitigate learning loss and inequality.

 

F.         Teacher Capacity Building

 

  • Effective utilization of the online NISHTHA training modules and online training module for Corona responsive behavior to be launched on DIKSHA portal soon.
  • Use of alternative Academic Calendar prepared by NCERT for joyful engagement of children in learning.

*****