MP Government Launches ‘Aas Pass Ki Khoj’ Programme to Create Awareness in Students

In an attempt to create awareness in students of government schools about the local culture—festivals, rituals and traditions—in their respective regions, the Madhya Pradesh government has introduced a programme named ‘Aas Paas ki Khoj’ (search in the vicinity).

As part of the project, students from 2966 schools, spanning 51 districts, will be required to carry out different activities aimed at promoting and enhancing their awareness about their culture, while also fostering their critical thinking, creativity and imagination. Based on their activities, they will prepare projects works, which will be collected in a book. The education officers have been notified to conduct these activities by making groups of students from class 6, 7 and 8.

In a circular, Madhya Pradesh Rajya Shiksha Kendra laid the objectives of the programme as instilling a sense of pride in students for their culture and gratefulness for national heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country, creating awareness about the nation’s environment and fostering respect and the responsibility towards preserving historical and cultural monuments. The programme is also directed to promote enquiry-based learning in students and towards making them active participants in the learning process.

For the purpose of achieving the said objectives, students will visit locations of historical and cultural importance, read folk literature of the region, gather information related to local customs and traditions, national heroes and services offered by government, prepare a scrapbook on locally available crops and prepare maps of their village or towns. Further they will also be made to engage in activities directed at creating environmental awareness—collecting information about disaster management, forest resources and pollution.