My world of fantasies!

Bollywood is pressing hard for the animation courses to be included at the school level. Now apart from other creativities, visuals will also come alive to your classes...

Pragya Singh

The ministry of Human Resource Development is likely to introduce a new course of Animation in schools governed by CBSE from Intermediate level as soon as it receives a detailed model for this stream from Bollywood industry which wants government to initiate animation courses in all schools and colleges as early as possible, said Kapil Sibal, union minister for HRD. He pointed out that a delegation of Bollywood called him to introduce the animation courses at school levels in view of its demand in the industry.

World of opportunities
Sibal has emphasised the need for introduction of such skillful and resourceful courses in all CBSE controlled institutions and other colleges also since people with skill are hardly available and that India is able to successfully absorb shocks of anticipated human resource crisis as Sibal foresees a great human resource crisis taking India into it’s grip. Padmaja L, teacher, Fr Agnel’s School, Vashi, feels, “We have been stressing the need of vocational education in this country for the last few years. If animation becomes a subject at school level it would be a wonderful decision especially for those who want to make their career in this field.” With the emergence of technology in Broadcast Media and Cinema, animation has shown wonderful scope with thousands of jobs. Anita Almeda, teacher, DPS Bangalore agrees, “This subject will hold a child’s attention and give their creativity an outlet. However, I feel the subject should be optional and not compulsory as some children may not be talented in this area. It would also help if the government recognises it.”

Animation excites
Students are quite excited on the government’s move as it will give them an opportunity to explore their creative side. Annabel A, class VIII, St Anthony’s GHS, excitedly says, “We are bored of studying science and humanities and want to study something different which is not only unique but creative and innovative. Animation is one subject which has vast opportunity to explore your creativity. At the same time it is interesting too.” Ashish Garud, class X, St Mary’s School says, “At a time when the world, especially the technological world is advancing so much, this would be an added advantage. Animation can help unleash creativity and also make students learn how to use the software.” This new move has sent a new wave of freshness among students and is sure to receive an immense positive response from them.

Integrated development
The inclusion of animation as a course at the school level is definitely poised for an integrated development for the students. Many feel that apart from opening an artistic outlet, it will help them develop a visual flavour, which may not be possible currently. Abigail A, student, feels, “The visual expression of minds ready to take the leap in dynamics of pattern through exploring lines, spaces, shapes, textures, painting, silkscreen printing and dyeing, colours on paper and fabric. If blended with mixed media together, it can be demonstrated in sketchbooks as well. It will help in providing us with a broader picture of some of the technological changes that have emerged in the world of media and animation. Thus providing us with a way of integrating this technology in the designing process. The importance of the development process, from concept to consumer, continues to surface in the subject as you explore the various designing software and programmes pertaining to visualisation.”

PROVISIONS IN THE PIPELINE...

• Kapil Sibal has emphasised needs for introduction of such skillful and resourceful courses in all CBSE controlled institutions and other colleges also since people with skill are hardly available so that India is able to successfully absorb shocks of anticipated human resource crisis

• He also clarified that the government will make sure that colleges run by private institutions adhere to their disclosure norms as pronounced in the prospectus and in case any discrimination is discovered by the regulator, the institutions guilty of any omission will be prosecuted

• The MHRD will not interfere with the private sector education but if established norms are violated, the law will take it’s own course

Residents to use waste to light up Reclamation

Sukhada Tatke | TNN

Mumbai: Don’t be surprised if, a few months down the line, you don’t find the BMC’s garbage collection vehicles in the environs of Bandra Reclamation. Local residents have come up with an idea to not only collect and treat the garbage generated in the area but convert it into electricity. The electricity, in turn, will be used to light up the Reclamation promenade.

The project aims at taking care of five tonnes of garbage per day generated from Reclamation, Bandra market, Rang Sharda auditorium, Spastic society, IES high school, Lilavati hospital and the green waste from the promenade. Members of the Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers’ Organisation (Bravo) approached BMC officials on Monday with a proposal to set up a solid waste management plant and provide them space of approximately 500 sq metres for the purpose. Additional municipal commissioner Ashish Kumar Singh said, “I have asked the residents to make a detailed presentation and we will provide as much help as we can. If this is a success, the model can be replicated at other places in the city.’’

Residents made the proposal based on a survey they conducted, which found every building in the area generates anywhere between 7 to 70 kg of wet waste daily. “We will start by setting up a 5-tonne garbage plant, then set up another one. The segregated garbage will reach the plant where it will be further segregated and treated,’’ said Vidya Vaidya, secretary of Bravo. “Installation cost will be between Rs 28 and 30 lakh, with Rs 3 lakh annual maintenance cost,’’ she added. The plant will be partly funded by the Celebrate Bandra Festival association. Corporate bodies have also promised funding.

“This biogas can be used as a source of renewable energy to produce electricity,’’ said bio-gas expert Srinivas Kasulla who is providing his expertise to the residents. The residents also plan to involve members of the Stree Mukti Sanghatna to operate the plant, thereby providing employment to needy women.

Corporator Ashish Shelar said, “I have supported the project from the beginning and will help it get clearance from the BMC.’’

PROCESSING THE WASTE
The plant can handle 5 tonnes of segregated organic biodegradable waste per day. It will use a biomethanation process developed by BARC Process temperature will be managed through solar panels Daily 350 cubic metres of biogas will be generated The biogas will be used to generate electricity

RAINWATER HARVEST
The surface runoff water will be collected in a catchment It will later be filtered and decontaminated It will be treated for oil, rubber It will be stored and then distributed for non-potable use

Now, teachers in Orissa to come in uniforms

Minati Singha | TNN

Bhubaneswar: From now on, teachers will also come to schools in uniforms. The state government has introduced a dress code for teachers of Class I to VIII in the municipal areas of Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Cuttack on a pilot basis from August 15.

The proposed dress code for women teachers is pink sari with black blouse, while male teachers would wear light blue shirts and black pants. The government feels that it would inculcate discipline and professionalism among teachers and help curb absenteeism among them.

School and mass education minister Pratap Jena said, “We are not ordering the teachers but requesting them to come in uniform as it would improve the school ambience and they will also feel good. We have decided to introduce it in urban areas first and, after receiving the response, it will be implemented across the state.’’

Initially, about 10,000 teachers in three municipal areas would come in uniforms. “We discussed the idea with teachers’ associations and they are happy. They gave us the colour plans,’’ commissioner-cum-secretary, school and mass education department, Aparajita Sarangi, said. Teachers have welcomed the move. “We will look more dignified in uniform. It will increase our self-esteem,’’ Anadi Charan Das said. “Children will respect teachers in uniform more. It would give the impression of authority and students are less likely to disobey a person in uniform,’’ a parent, Sanjukta Pati, said.

Students get lessons in farming

Chittaranjan Tembhekar & Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: Caught in the concrete tangle of urban life, city kids can well be forgiven for supposing that milk comes out of tetrapacks and wheat from plastic pouches. In a bid to let the children experience the thrill of growing their own food, a handful of schools have put farming on the curriculum.

Since the onset of the monsoon this year, 85 Std III students at Kharghar’s Vishwajyot High School have been tilling the earth at a farm in Owe Camp village, a few kilometres from their school.

In addition to farming, the children have learnt the art of catching crabs, handling farm animals and climbing trees from the kids at the neighbouring gram panchayat school, who often join their parents on the farm. Vishwajyot has adopted the gram panchayat school so that children from both institutions
get a chance to interact with each other.

“Our students will spend four periods a week farming. Not only will they sow the paddy, but they will even shift the crop to a safer place once it starts growing and will harvest it after four months, at the end of the crop season,’’ said Sushama Dhumal, principal of Vishwajyot.

Smruti Koppikar, a parent of a Std V student at Tridha, a Vile Parle school that follows the Rudolf Steiner method of education, can still recall the expression on her daughter’s face when she came home from school one daywith a packet of rice that she had helped to grow on a farm on the outskirts of Mumbai. “The look on her face was priceless,’’ said Koppikar. Tridha has made farming compulsory for Stds III and IV.

“In the city, we all live in boxes made of cement, but in the village we get to work with soil, mud and grow things ourselves,’’ said Koppikar’s daughter Ananya, recalling her experiences on the farm. Ananya especially loved her stint on a farm on the outskirts of Panvel when she was in Std III, where a farmer showed the kids how he used a bullock to turn the soil over, and then got the children to take the bullock around one by one. In Std IV, Ananya spent time on a farm in Titwala where she helped grow her own wheat and rice.

“On a farm, children get hands-on experience of what it’s like to work with the soil, something that cannot be packed into the pages of a textbook,’’ says Koppikar.

While most schools get kids to troop down to the nearest farm, some, like Sahyadri, a school run by the Krishnamurti Foundation, have their own plot of land on campus that children can cultivate.

Farming is an activity that Sahyadri—a school set up on Tiwai Hill, 800 m above sea level, some distance from the Pune Nashik highway— has introduced for kids in Std VII. “It’s an experience that will stay with them throughout their lives,’’ says Amresh Kumar, the school principal.