BIODIVERSITY TO BE INCLUDED IN SCHOOL CURRICULUM

BIODIVERSITY TO BE INCLUDED

IN SCHOOL CURRICULUM

The school curriculum in Kerala is set to acquire a new dimension with the introduction of biodiversity as a topic of study for students at all levels.The expert committee for revision of school curriculum, due to submit its report to the government on Thursday, has recommended the introduction of biodiversity education from pre primary to higher secondary classes.The committee chaired by P.K. Abdul Aziz adopted the recommendation based on a proposal from the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB). The board has mooted an across-the-curriculum strategy for biodiversity education, with the thrust on orienting textbooks on different subjects like science, geography and languages to deal with the scientific and aesthetic aspects of biodiversity.The proposal stresses the need for a bottom-up approach to biodiversity education, with the panchayat as a classroom and Panchayat Biodiversity Register (PBR) as a reference book.

At the lower primary level, it seeks to introduce students to Nature in their immediate vicinity by encouraging outdoor activities like observing birds, plants and animals along with non- living objects like rocks, sand and pebbles and identifying them.For upper primary students, it prescribes a different approach by encouraging children to collect plants, flowers, seeds, fruits and medicinal herbs and make notes of their domestic uses and local names. Collecting information on common weeds, pests and birds and their habitat and life cycles is another recommended activity.At the high school level, the committee has proposed the introduction of genetic, species and ecosystems diversity. It recommends group activities for students to collect and document information on biodiversity at the panchayat level, identify endangered species and come up with ways to protect them.The PBR can be used as a handbook to identify the local diversity of species and understand the changes, it says.

The report says higher secondary students may be assigned the task of preparing or updating PBRs under able supervision and guidance. It moots the constitution of student- teacher groups to undertake projects and generate inputs for a computerised database on local biodiversity.The school curriculum, according to the report, should focus on conservation issues, ecosystems and their degradation, endangered species, sustainable development and extinction of species. It says students should be encouraged to visit protected areas and local nature study sites to experience the wilderness and collect information on local biodiversity. Biodiversity should be introduced as pictorial and interesting facts that children can enjoy and not mug up for exams, it adds.Chairman, KSBB, Oommen V. Oommen, who is also a member of the panel said, the across- the- curriculum strategy had been mooted to create awareness about environmental problems and sustainable development among students. “For example, the collection and graphic representation of biodiversity information and interpreting data about the environment could be incorporated in the Mathematics syllabus, while Arts classes could be oriented towards expressing feelings and attitudes about Nature and the Social Studies curriculum could include the impact of pollution and climate change on the environment.”

Prof. John Kurakar