To pave the way for clean and hygienic environments in all government schools, so that the children who go to them stay healthy, the district administration of Pali in Rajasthan has started a campaign named ‘Swachch Vidyalay, Swasth Vidyalay’. In an exclusive conservation with Indian Masterminds, District Collector of Pali, Namit Mehta, shared details about this initiative.
SWACHCH VIDYALAY – SWASTH VIDYALAY
Many programmes are being run in the schools of Pali district by the health and education departments, while there are many other initiatives which the administration is undertaking at the local level.
Mr. Mehta informed that the objective of ‘Swachch Vidyalay Swasth Vidyalay’ is to bring all the initiatives under one umbrella.
“We are mainly focusing on the hygiene and cleanliness in the school. Apart from this, we are also looking after the health parameters of the children. There are two main issues that children mostly suffer from, namely anemia and eyesight issues, more so in rural areas,” he said.
To prevent kids from anemia deficiency, every Saturday, the health department gives them a dose of iron folic acid tablets. This is being done under the state government’s ‘Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakam’ initiative.
The initiative has been divided into two phases. There are 1700 schools in total and the programme is being implemented in 900 schools right now. The officer said that the first phase will be completed by the end of November and the second phase will then start from December.
BEAUTIFICATION FROM PLASTIC WASTE
Through this initiative, the administration is encouraging awareness among students about not using single-use plastic and other plastic waste products. They are also teaching them many ways on how to use these waste items for beautification.
“After the ban of single-use plastic all over the country, we have also taken the initiative where school kids are beautifying their schools with used plastic water bottles. They have made eco-bricks using these bottles around the plants. These are some small steps that we are taking forward to make them aware about plastic hazards,” Mr. Mehta said.
HABIT OF DRINKING WATER
Through this campaign, the administration is also encouraging school children to drink as much clean water as they can. Rajasthan being a desert state, the administration of Pali is developing the habit of drinking clean water in children by giving a 2 minutes water break after every hour.
Mr. Mehta told Indian Masterminds, “For this, with the help of Bhamashah Yojana Scheme, we have distributed water bottles to every school student in every school that comes under phase one of the initiative.”
NO-BAG DAY INITIATIVE
No-bag day, an initiative by the state government, came into force for the mental, physical and intellectual development of children. Government school students are given a day off (Saturday) from their syllabus studies. On this day, only extra-curricular activities are practised.
“Though the campaign ‘Swachch Vidyalay Swasth Vidyalay’ is taking place daily, on Saturdays, we teach kids other things apart from their daily curriculum. Like good touch, bad touch, menstrual hygiene, etc., and some days are designated as sports days,” the officer informed.
PRIZE DISTRIBUTION
To motivate the teachers and workers of the schools, the administration has kept a prize for the best performing school in each block. Through the District Innovation Fund with every District Collector, a fund of Rs. 1 lakh will be given to the best performing school. Through this fund, the winning school can get all work done for the improvement of the school.
“This is a very important campaign where the subject matter is children. If we teach children about the importance of hygiene and cleanliness at the right time, then it helps in creating a good personality in them. Hence, we are constantly working and motivating the kids for inculcating these good habits in them,” Mr. Mehta said in conclusion.
