Objectives of the practice
Cluny Womens College is an environment friendly institution. The goals and objectives of the Clean Campus Green Campus initiative is to provide its stakeholders a healthy and clean environment and motivate them towards building a sustainable eco-system. The college is located 2.7 KMs from Kalimpong town, away from air and noise pollution. The efforts made by the college to maintain and beautify its lush green gardens all around the campus as well as plants and medicinal herbs inside the college buildings are noteworthy. Simultaneously, it ensures clean physical classroom environment for students and teachers and offers standard indoor air quality. It is a noble step towards the sensitization of the younger generations on the necessity of maintaining cleanliness and green vegetation cover for the future generations too. The college also aims to reducing energy consumption by the use of CFL/LED bulbs and tubes. The college has installed solar panels as an initiative to employ alternative energy source.
Context
Environmental pollution has become a global problem nowadays. This necessitates the creation of mass environmental awareness to minimize the damages done to the environment. At the schools and colleges, the inclination in taking self- responsibility to protect the environment begins for the young students. educational institutions have taken the opportunity to hone this awareness and motivate the students to obtain a sense of promoting clean and green campuses and protect the environment from human induced damages. Green campus initiative mainly focuses on the efficient use of energy and water; minimizing waste generation and reduction of contribution to emissions/ pollution, conservation of energy and also economic efficiency. Clean and green campus promotes personal action to reduce the institute’s energy and water consumption, reduce wastes to landfill, work towards creating clean, bright and airy classrooms for the development of healthy minds and increase their level of performance. It integrates environmental considerations into all contracts and services considered to have significant environmental impacts.
Practice
In Campus initiatives of reducing, reusing and recycling, planting of trees and plants are helping it achieve a green code of living which includes-
Evidence of Success
The success of the ‘clean campus green campus’ initiative is clearly evident in the college. 65% of tubes/bulbs are CFL/LED which reduces power consumption and electric bills. The walls outside the main buildings and inside the classrooms are very neat and stain free. Students have been inculcated with the habit of keeping their classes neat and clean. The nature club conducts regular programmes based on environmental themes, where students and staff members participate in planting trees and plants. Programmes on clean drives (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) are frequently organized by the NSS wing of Cluny Women’s College.
Problems Encountered and Resources Required:
Objectives
Cluny Women’s College has been imparting Value Education since its inception in the year 1998. It fulfils the tasks of inculcating the values specifically mentioned in the National Educational Policy, 2020. Value Education classes are compulsory for all the students enrolled for degree courses in both Honours and Programme in the college, apart from their regular academic courses. It motivates the students to work diligently towards the construction of their own ‘Self’, development of ‘Personality’, and makes them capable of taking the ‘Right Decisions’ at difficult junctures. Value Education also guides the students to take on a range of responsibilities, and reveal the ways to remain committed towards one’s goals and passions, keeping in mind the basic values of life. It is a unique, engaging and an interactive programme, through which the students can practise mindfulness and gain better understanding about their day to day life. Value Education tries to imbibe the essential values of kindness, compassion, empathy and right ethics among the students. It also instils the importance of mental health and personal hygiene in the minds of the students. Moreover, the topic dealt with in Value Education classes also expound on religious and cultural diversity.Â
Context
“A National system of education that is related to life needs and aspirations of the people cannot afford to ignore this purposeful force – viz. ‘Value’ â€. Kothari Commission.
The Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979), pointed out that there was a need to transform the educational system with a need to cultivate the basic values of humanism, democracy, socialism and secularism.
Bertrand Russel said, “Unless men increase in Wisdom as much as in Knowledge, increase of Knowledge will be increase of Sorrowâ€.
The utilization of knowledge towards the holistic development of mankind, can be guaranteed only through dissemination of Value Education among the masses, such that, the utilization of knowledge and the development of technology can be beneficial for human beings until it remains at the hands of responsible world citizens. In this respect, Educational institutions have to take the lead in promoting the values of love, compassion, empathy, truthfulness, spirituality, honesty, kindness and integrity among the students, teachers and parents, so as to adhere to the principles of New Education Policy 2020, which makes Value Education an integral part of educational curriculum.
Practice
Imparting Value Education to the students has always been a part of Cluny Tradition. Being the only Minority Women’s College in the district of Kalimpong, West Bengal, the founders of the college agreed that it was necessary to transmit Value Education within the local and the neighbouring communities for the maintenance of peace, brotherhood and harmony. With the changing economic and political scenario in the 21st century, the then Founder/President of Cluny Women’s College, Sr. Declan Fahy in the year 1998, stressed that Value Education was a pre-requisite, so as to handle the exponential growth of knowledge in a responsible way. She further apprised the authorities of the college that the ‘need of the hour’ was to continue with the dissemination of Value Education to the students of Cluny Women’s College. Hence, the college continues to impart Value Education to all the students studying in the college.Â
Topics Covered in Value Education Classes
Evidence of Success
Value Education is not a compulsory component of the curriculum, yet it has a significant role to play in the lives of the students who enrol themselves for the degree courses in Cluny Women’s College. It has significantly brought about changes in the attitudes of students towards their studies. From the disciplinary committee records, it can be asserted that not a single instance of ragging, personal fights and arguments has taken place in the college. Attendance record for the Value Education classes affirm their readiness to learn more about the values of life. A sizable number of present and past students have mentioned about how value education had helped them to face personal situations and realities of everyday life. Value education has been successful in cultivating emotional intelligence among the students so that they can perceive, control and evaluate emotions. From the survey conducted among all the staff at Cluny Women’s College, it was revealed that co-operation, promptness, dedication and willingness in studies, interest in co-curricular activities could be recorded among the students of all the semesters.
Records from Nature Club activities reveal that the students have developed positive attitude towards nature and environment. The number of students volunteering and participating in the planting of trees, making models for sustainable development as part of the Environment Week and World Environment Day programmes, have witnessed significant growth which depicts their inclination towards the theme ‘Love for Nature’ and ‘ Green Today for a better Tomorrow’.
Regular workshops at the college conducted by Brahma Kumaris, have been successful in helping the students to acquire fundamentals of human values through self-meditation and yoga, so as to attain ‘Peace of Mind’.
Value Education has been constructive in bringing about changes in the behaviour of students, a motivation for self-empowerment and an inspiration to carry on with good and desirable works for the betterment of the human race.
Problems Encountered and Resources Required:
Some students take Value Education classes as an extra burden or do not feel its need, since it is not included in their curriculum (a credit based subject available for evaluation). This has affected their turnout in the value education classes. There should be an initiative to diversify its faculty by incorporating volunteer teachers from the social sciences too. It would help the students to understand and view certain values of life from an even wider perspective. There should be separate arrangement of funds for workshops, and outside the campus initiative viz., (visit to old age homes, Bal Suraksha Abhiyaan, orphanages, or re-habilitation centers) for gaining better understanding of problems and realities of life. Funds for philanthropic activities (e.g. distribution of basic food items during COVID-19 pandemic) are to be allotted for organizing Value Education field programmes, so as to make such programmes a success.Â
