The Delhi Government will now make students studying in schools as “Ambassadors of Change”, who would be sensitised about the menace of air pollution and would also be made partners in generating awareness against the air pollution.
The Government directicted schools in the Capital to conduct “special dedicated assemblies” for this purpose with the involvement of experts from the technical field and civil society.
These directives from the Directorate of Education (DoE) Delhi came in the aftermath of alarmingly high levels of air pollution in the city last month that forced schools to shut down classes for nearly a week as precautionary measure. Even outdoor activities and sports in schools were restricted upto a large extent for the same.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) had issued directives to schools following an advisory from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) that recommended various measures as part of the Graded Response Plan for tackling pollution.
The principals of schools have been communicated to sensitise both students and staff about pollution and reasons behind it. “Schools must sensitise students and staff members about various kinds of pollution with special focus on reasons contributing to rise in air pollution and has negative and serious impact on health for all especially children and elderly people,” stated communication to schools.
It also instructs schools to conduct special dedicated assembles for generating awareness “Therefore, it is important that children are considered ‘Ambassadors of change’ and provided regular awareness. Whenever possible, according to the academic calendar, special assemblies dedicated to issues of pollution may be organised in all schools by staff and by inviting experts from technical organizations and civil society,” said the communication.