The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on 3rd June issued a circular encouraging schools affiliated with the board to organize summer camps with a focus on environmental awareness and eco-friendly activities. The circular, dated 03.06.2024 and numbered Acad-45/2024, highlighted the importance of fostering skills and capabilities in students to become environmentally conscious and adaptive individuals in today’s rapidly changing world, as emphasized in the National Education Policy 2020.
The circular proposed organizing summer camps in schools on the theme “Eco Clubs for Mission LiFE” to enable students to engage in environmental activities and projects, fostering the right attitudes to address environmental concerns. The camps would run for one week, with each day focused on one of the seven themes of “Mission LiFE,” including adopting healthy lifestyles, sustainable food systems, reducing e-waste, minimizing waste, saving energy, conserving water, and avoiding single-use plastics.
The proposed activities align with the concept of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), which was introduced at COP26 in 2021. India has since committed to promoting a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation as key to combating climate change.
To promote these summer camps, schools are encouraged to organize poster-making competitions, painting competitions, and debates, and engage with prominent environmentalists, academicians, and NGOs working in the field of environmental conservation. The circular stressed the importance of adhering to the instructions and guidelines of local administrations and state governments while organizing the summer camps. Ensuring proper arrangements to prevent participants and staff from the heat wave is also important. Schools are required to upload a brief report of the summer camps daily before 15.06.2024 and are also mandated to register and provide details of the activities on specified URLs in the circular.
The official circular can be accessed HERE.
