GUWAHATI, Feb 20 - Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya on Tuesday launched the WWF-India Ek Prithvi programme in Assam at a function here.
Assam is the eighth State in the country where WWF-India is implementing the Ek Prithvi programme. It is a pan-India programme designed to build conservation leaders by raising awareness about environment, engaging them in conservation action and building positive attitudes towards a sustainable lifestyle.
Along with the programme, the Ek Prithvi Leadership Manual and Teachers Manual in Assamese language for classes I to XII were also released. Developed for principals and master trainers, the publication focuses on the importance of embedding environment education in school.
The launch commenced with the welcome note by Archita Baruah Bhattacharyya, State Coordinator, WWF-India, Assam State office, who spoke about the various education and conservation initiatives taken up by WWF-India in the State.
The publication was released by the Education Minister, Commissioner and Secretary, Elementary Education, Preetom Saikia, Director, SCERT, Dr Nirada Devi, DFO-Guwahati Wildlife Division, Pradipta Boruah, Prof Ranjit Chowdhury, Advisor, WWF, and others from WWF-India.
Addressing the audience, Radhika Suri, Director-Environment Education, WWF-India, stated that environment education needed to take the whole-school approach where every teacher and every child were engaged in action and inspired to adopt sustainable living methods.
�With a focus on internalising eco-friendly habits and behaviour, we can build a generation of conservation leaders,� she added.
The Education Minister, in his address, stressed the importance of adopting a holistic approach towards environmental issues. He reiterated the commitment of the State Government towards conserving wildlife and assured complete support from the Government in implementing the Ek Prithvi programme in Assam.
Preetom Saikia applauded the Ek Prithvi programme and the efforts of WWF-India towards implementing it.
Dr Nirada Devi appealed to principals, teachers and trainers to take the programme forward in the State. Pradipta Boruah assured to work together with WWF-India in educating students to become environment leaders and spoke about the conservation work at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
The launch was followed by �Leadership and Teacher Training�, which was conducted by Radhika Suri and Neha Raghav from WWF-India. The objective of the training programme was to orient SCERT officials, DIET nodal officers, principals and teachers towards implementing the Ek Prithvi programme.
The teachers� training concluded with an assurance from the participants to meet the objective of building conservation leaders in the State.
The Ek Prithvi programme will empower more than 1,100 students in the State in the first phase. It starts from three schools namely, No. 144 Mayong LP School, Mayong HS School and Lokapriya GNB High School in Morigaon district.
