State has won 2 awards and 'Green School' tag for 196 institutions this year
A team of experts from Finland accompanied by delegates from the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) had toured various government schools in the rural border belt of Amritsar last year to explore collaboration in field of sustainable practices and effective solid and liquid waste management.
The visit was organised under the Green Schools Programme, an initiative of the PSCST and School Education Department, under which educational institutions undergo rigorous audit processes on six essential standards of water, energy, livelihood, food, land and air to optimise resource management.
Done at the national level, in collaboration with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the initiative has recognised Punjab’s leadership in promoting environmental sustainability and awareness in schools. While the programme has 11,917 schools registered in Punjab, 7,406 have completed environmental audit and 196 have qualified for the status of ‘Green School’ this year. Among these, 171 are government schools and 25 are private institutions.
PSCST Executive Director Pritpal Singh and Joint Director Kulbir Singh Bath, who received the awards for schools from renowned environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk and Sunita Narayan, Head, Centre for Science and Environment, said Punjab schools were undergoing sustainable reforms. The PSCST had carried out rejuvenation of schools, bringing the number of ‘Green Schools’ from 70 in 2023-24 to 196 in 2024-25.
Prithpal Singh, Executive Director, PSCST, said, “We have set up 8,000 eco clubs in schools and colleges under the programme and allotted Rs 1 lakh per district for its implementation at the ground level through these clubs. In each district, teachers were imparted special training in sustainable practices and nodal officers were appointed. We are also running environment education programmes in educational institutions.”
The programme not just covers Schools of Eminence but also senior secondary schools in the rural border belt. For example, Government Senior Secondary School, Jabbowal, has set up two compost units to recycle its dry organic waste and the garden waste is used to make bricklets. Four Schools of Eminence in the district conduct water audit to cap wastage and have also set up plastic banks to deposit single-use plastic for recycling.
Government Senior Secondary School in Kot Khalsa teaches vermicomposting, mulching and waste management as a part of its curriculum. “The idea is to educate students on waste management enabling them treating waste at home. Making them to practise sustainable lifestyle means we need to make it a part of their life and education. A lot of our students work with local village community at their level by managing small organic farms and treating agriculture waste,” said Sanjeev Sharma, a teacher of vocation at GSSSS, Jabbowal, and an environment mentor for students. The Jabbowal school team of students, along with Sanjeev, has also won Wipro Earthian award this year.
