Spreading Environmental Awareness Through Environmental Education in Schools: The Case Study of a Sikkimese Green School
| Published date | 01 July 2021 |
| Date | 01 July 2021 |
| Author | Jwala D. Thapa |
| DOI | 10.1177/2322005820985574 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Spreading Environmental
Awareness Through Environmental
Education in Schools: The Case
Study of a Sikkimese Green School
Jwala D. Thapa1
Abstract
The subject of environmental education (EE) in India, also known as environment studies (EVS), was
introduced through the intervention of the Supreme Court of India (SC). At that time, there was also
global recognition towards the creation of ‘environmental citizens’ through inculcating environmental
awareness in school-going children, with the motto of ‘catch them young’.
Since then, EE in India has seen an evolution in itself through enveloping the studies of various
topics related to the natural environment. However, one of the concerns has been that it is taught
in a theoretical manner and that since it is not treated as a graded subject, schools have not given it
the importance it deserves. However, the study of a green school of the Himalayan state of Sikkim
shows that active participation of state machinery, coupled with a practical interpretation of its
principles, can lead to positive results. It also shows that the creation of environmental citizens needs a
holistic approach, through both amalgamation of theory with practice and syllabus with stringent state
intervention and results-oriented action.
This article, which uses doctrinal, as well as field research, techniques of interview and observation,
looks into these aspects through studying a school in a mountain village of West Sikkim in India.
Introduction
Creating environmental citizens has been one of the foremost intentions of the environmental education
(EE) movement in India, as well as abroad. The Tibilisi Declaration, 1977, a slew of measures by the
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (SC), the overall green movement in the world, as well as in India,
louder voices about environmental concerns like pollution and global warming, et cetera have signicantly
increased the initiatives towards the introduction of EE from the primary school education level itself.
This article covers a background analysis of the factors, both global and national, that led to the move
towards the introduction of EE in India. Then, it covers a case analysis of a school in Sikkim, considered
the greenest state in India, to understand the initiatives taken by the state to encourage environmentalism
amongst school children.
Asian Journal of Legal Education
8(2) 234–246, 2021
© 2021 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/2322005820985574
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Corresponding author:
Jwala D. Thapa, House No. 142, Gangtok Road, Namchi, South Sikkim 737126, India.
E-mail: jwaladthapa@gmail.com
1
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
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