Growing concern over psychological problems faced by the students and the divide between school atmosphere and social issues has led to the introduction of life skills training in schools.
Educational reforms that focussed on holistic development of children by connecting knowledge to life outside schools was one of the key issues mentioned in the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2005).
The need for life skills training was also pointed out by the Committee on School Health (Renuka Ray Committee, 1960).
World Health Organisation (WHO) defines life skills as ‘the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life'. WHO's Mental Health Programme supports life skills education in schools across the world.
Components
Problem solving, critical thinking, effective communication skills, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, building self-awareness, empathy, and coping with stress and emotions are the 10 basic skills focussed in the programme.
According to WHO, the three components of the programme are critical thinking /decision-making skills, interpersonal /communication skills, and self-management skills.
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) had adopted the life skills training module from 2003-04. According to CBSE, life skills, school health and wellbeing are valuable indicators of progressive schooling across the globe.
Objective
The objective of the programme which focussed on children in the age group of 10-18 was to empower students by helping them to develop a sense of self-confidence, eco-sensitivity and right approach towards life.
According to P. Elango Jayaprabhu, district coordinator of the programme and lecturer at District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Thirumoorthy Nagar, resource persons from the institute conducted training for one teacher and two students from each school, who would then organise the sessions in their schools. According to Elango, problem solving and creative thinking helped students address daily-life issues.
Students and teachers from over 560 Government and Government-aided schools in Coimbatore and Tirupur were trained under the programme, he said.
S. Ponkeerthana, Standrad IX, and N. Mohanapriya, Standard XI, students of Corporation Higher Secondary School, Ramakrishnapuram, said that the training provided them an opportunity to discuss many issues they faced without any hesitation. The training sessions helped to dispel a lot of misconceptions, especially on topics like HIV/AIDS, they said.
According to D. Prabhakaran, Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sulur, weekly two sessions on life skills were conducted for students of all classes.
Parents did not show much interest in the programme because it did not fetch the students any marks. This attitude should change and children should learn many of these basic values at their home.
Parents should play a more proactive role in moulding the character of children, he said.
But, lukewarm response from many schools had raised concerns about the effectiveness of the programme.
Many matriculation schools did not show much interest in the programme, Mr. Elango said.
Many CBSE schools said that they did not dedicate separate class hours for life skills education but instead integrated the life skills training into other co-curricular activities.
No comments:
Post a Comment