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Context

• The government has ordered implementation of ‘Naavu Manujaru’ Programme from this academic year.

Details

• In the Karnataka State Budget of 2024-25, the government announced this new programme aimed at instilling Constitutional values among children.
• This initiative is part of a broader effort to transform educational institutions into centres of social harmony, tolerance, and scientific temper.

Aim of the Program

• To inculcate values enshrined in the Constitution among children.

Objective

• Transform all educational institutions in the State into centres of social harmony, tolerance, and scientific temper.

Implementation

Weekly Discussions

• Two hours per week (three periods of 40 minutes) dedicated to discussions and dialogues in all government, aided, and unaided primary and high schools in the State.
• One period for value education and two periods for Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) are adjusted to this schedule.

Guidance and Oversight

• Officers are to provide appropriate guidance for the programme's implementation.

• Nodal Officers to be appointed at the district level.
• Reports to be submitted to the Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT).

Funding

• No special grant will be allocated for the programme.
• The Department of School Education and Literacy has released a specific format for implementation.

Lessons on Harmony

Discussion Topics

• Social harmony and its significance, based on local and national festivals, folk games, and sports.
• Thoughts of social reformers.
• Visits and information sharing on outbound/local famous places and cottage industries.
• Discussions on nuclear and non-nuclear families, elimination of inequality, and constitutional values such as equality, liberty, and fraternity.

Scientific Temper

Awareness Creation

• Foster awareness among children about scientific temper, environmental consciousness, and the reconciliation of superstitions and science.
• Engage students in discussions on home remedies, science experiments, and activities designed to cultivate a questioning attitude and curiosity.

Co-existence

Group Activities

• Plan activities to highlight the importance of:
• Midday meals, community lunches (sahabhojana), and school garden management.
• Inclusive participation in indoor and outdoor games and traditional sports.
• Raise awareness on the significance of equal opportunity.

Role of DSERT

• DSERT is the implementation authority of this programme aimed at enhancing students' capacity to think independently, rationally, and to understand the pros and cons of every issue.
• It will also contribute to the overall development of the students. It will be executed in all schools of the State soon.”**

Department of State Educational Research and Training The Department of State Educational Research and Training, popularly known as DSERT is the academic wing of the Department of Public Instruction. It aims at providing academic leadership in school education as well as improving the quality of education provided in primary and secondary schools in the state. The DSERT was formed as a small academic unit of the Department of Public Instruction. It was then known as the State Institute of Education (SIE), and it originally started functioning from the northern district town of Dharwad in 1964. This unit was later shifted to Bangalore and the other academic units of the department of public instruction – State Institute of Science (SIS), State Educational Evaluation Unit (SEEU) and Educational Vocational Guidance Bureau (EVG), were merged in 1975 to form a single monolithic Department of State Educational Research and Training.

READ ABOUT: NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY (NEP) 2020:

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/national-education-policy-nep-2020

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Which state recently launched the 'Naavu Manujaru' Programme? a) Tamil Nadu b) Karnataka c) Kerala d) Andhra Pradesh Answer: b) Karnataka

SOURCE: THE HINDU