Planning education to care for the earth - IUCN Knowledge Network

Planning education to care for the earthFollowing an integrative approach, the curriculum consists of generalobjectives, grade-level objectives and content outlines covering populationand environmental concerns important to Nepal. The draft curriculum wasintensively discussed at a national workshop in which 23 secondary schoolteachers from different parts of the country and almost as many populationand environment experts participated. Based on the revised curriculum,textbook writing for grade 6 is in progress. Such conferences, seminars andtraining workshops are a regular feature of the EE programme.Tests and pilot tests of resource materialsIn the past two years, EE resource materials have been tested for theirrelevance and effectiveness. Students have been tested to assess theirknowledge and attitudes with regard to the environment before and afterusing the materials. Nearly 2,500 primary school pupils from 10experimental and 10 control schools in Dhankuta, Kathmandu and Dangtook the tests. Pilot primary school curricula, texts, teachers’ directives, andother resource materials were further tested during the 1992 academic year.New EE resource packages for government training centres are beingevaluated. The principal objectives are to ensure that the EE resourcematerials are effective and relevant for the learners, and to find ways toimprove them.Co-curricular and extra-curricular activitiesEEP emphasizes a practical approach to all environment-related teaching andlearning activities. Primary education texts, teachers’ directives, and the EEresource packages for training centres also contain specific instructions forpractical application of the texts.Environmental camps, art workshops and competitions are being organizedfor primary and secondary school children in collaboration with local NGOssuch as Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness (ECCA) andNepal Centre for Women and Children’s Affairs (NCWCA). These extracurricularactivities have yielded effective results. Although they reach onlya limited number of students, they demonstrate the value of exposinglearners to practical activities as an integral part of their core curricula, whileproviding them with the opportunity to participate in extra-curricularactivities.Training, extension and awareness-raisingThe NCS places great importance on imparting EE through existing traininginstitutions. Six training centres collaborate with NCS in providingenvironmental education to government employees, private sector employeesand extension workers: the Nepal Administrative Staff College, the Women’sTraining Centre, the Hotel Management and Tourism Training Centre, theCentral Agricultural Training Centre, the Training Division of the Ministry146