The education department is gearing itself to launch a cleanliness drive on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized the participation of schools in the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.
The Director General (DG) of School education Radhika Jha has directed senior education department officials to make preparation for the cleanliness drive. The school heads have been directed to ensure participation of students and teachers in the drive which will go on till October 31. The Primary Education Director RK Kunwar told The Pioneer that apart from cleanliness activity in the school campus, debates and essay contests would also be organised in the schools to create awareness about hygiene and cleanliness. “The debates and essay contests would be based on the importance of hygiene and the role it plays in a healthy lifestyle. These contests would be organised on October 1,” he said.
The school heads have been asked to whitewash the buildings and ensure participation of all students to clean school toilets, classrooms, the rooms where the Mid Day Meal (MDM) is prepared and the school compound. There are more than 23500 schools in Uttarakhand and students of all these schools would participate in this drive. Education experts are of the belief that the government schools of state would be immensely benefitted by the drive as the sanitation is a major issue in these schools. In all primary schools in absence of a sanitation worker the onus of keeping the campus clean lies on the student and teachers. A retired teacher U S Gusain said that participation of parents should be taken in this drive and the school heads can take the help of Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) in this respect.