KOCHI: Kochi has become India’s first child-friendly school city. There will be no physical punishment and excess baggage anymore for children in the 118 primary schools in the city.
“Everyday children should feel proud to go and share their experience with their parents and siblings and look forward to return to school next day,” former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who officially made the declaration of the city’s new status, said. “The launch of this child-friendly initiative can lead to a path not taken by others”.
Launched three months ago by the district administration, Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the program ensures safe and proper transportation, clean kitchen and dining space, at least four game periods in a week and safe drinking water.
All these schools will be complying strictly with the ten norms set by the IAP. The classrooms should be well ventilated and illuminated. There should be periodic health checkups and health awareness programs, provision for first aid and adequate number of toilets proportionate to the number of students.
Conditions in schools were evaluated based on the inputs that the school authorities provided. These inputs were crosschecked with the help of an external agency to identify the schools that required intervention to meet the conditions. The district administration convened several meetings of the Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) to drive home its importance and one teacher in each school was appointed as nodal officer for the program. Textbooks were split according to school terms to cut on the weight of the backpacks of the children. There will be no more packing students into auto rickshaws beyond their capacity. A survey conducted in the city schools showed that around 15 percent students were identified with some kind of learning disabilities. Periodic health checkups aim at detecting and resolving the problem in the tender age itself. In the first phase, 118 primary schools in the city have been covered under the Child Friendly School Initiative program. “The project will cover all schools in due course, but as a first step only the primary schools are included in the project,” District Collector Dr. M. Beena said.
Kalam asked the textbook publishers to print only one book that contains the chapters from all the subjects for every month or quarter of teaching according to the syllabus to be covered within that period. This way each student will have minimum four books in a year. Each student will carry only one book at a point of time. Each book should be designed in such a way that for every alternate page, there should be a white page for taking class notes.
By following this practice, students can carry only one book and one file folder with loose sheets. This one model may be studied and followed, whether it is NCERT, state boards and other systems of education such as ICSE to reduce the burden on children. It will also facilitate a lively learning environment, which will enhance the love for studies leading to capacity building.
