With Earth Day approaching on April 22, a number of schools from Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru have decided to participate in the Swachh School Awards, keeping in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
The initiative, which has been organised by NGO United Way that has operations in the three cities, aims at ensuring schools – both public and private – have adhered to all the rules laid down to ensure a clean India.
Speaking to DNA, Anil Parmar, Senior Manager of United Way Mumbai said that there are two factors that define a ‘Swachh School’. “Firstly, we need to ensure the schools have proper infrastructure including sanitation facilities, cleaning drinking water etc. for its students. Secondly, students must be culturally aware of right cleanliness and sanitation practices,” he said..
The contest covers good practices across categories like awareness & education on cleanliness, community engagement for betterment of environment, cleanliness infrastructure, waste management, sanitation & hygiene, drinking water, water conservation, energy conservation.
Citing examples of schools that have stepped up when it comes to creating awareness about sanitation and hygiene, Parmar spoke of schools in the three cities that have segregated dry and wet waste. “There are children who don’t finish their dabbas. The schools tell them to deposit the wasted food at a point within the school premises where a team collects it. This waste is then reused as compost,” he said.
Parmar added that students – who are from Class 1 and Class 10 – end up taking what they have learnt at school to their homes. “If an adult tells another adult not to litter, then nobody cares. But when a child chides and adult for littering, then the adult thinks about his/her actions,” he said.
Currently, 50 schools have registered themselves for the Swachh School drive, but Parmar says that since it’s summer vacation, the number isn’t bad. “We expect the number of schools to go up to 500 by April 30, which is the last day of registration,” he said.
The schools will then be scrutinised by the NGO and the best ones will be awarded. “They won’t be cash prizes, but rather funding for projects within their school to make them better,” added Parmar.
Schools can participate in this contest by visiting https://www.unitedwaymumbai.org/swachhschool
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