Environment education to be compulsory in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - Environment education will be a part of the school curriculum in Uttar Pradesh from the next academic session.

State environment principal secretary Alok Ranjan told IANS here Thursday: “The government has already taken the first step in that direction by taking a decision to constitute a State Climate Change Board that would chart the roadmap for imparting environment education across the state.”

To be headed by the chief secretary, the proposed board would also set up an Environment Fund to promote research and studies in environment related issues and subjects.

According to Ranjan, Uttar Pradesh was the first state in the country to pave way for setting up a Climate Board, which was being set up as a part of the proposed eight missions under the recommendations of the Climate Change summit.

“Among the areas to be covered by these missions were solar energy, water, agriculture, forests, sustainable habitat, Himalayan ecosystem and above all creating a knowledge base on climate change,” he pointed out.

The Board has also been empowered with a regulatory role in order to ensure that its decisions were implemented on ground.

The state government was in the process of preparing a five-year and a 10-year action plan to set the ball rolling.

“The board would also work towards creating and spreading awareness about the need for preserving our environment, which alone could arrest detrimental changes in the climate,” observed Ranjan, while adding that “making environment education a part of the curriculum would go a long way in that direction.”