Delhi students to be schooled in kindness

School Web Desk

New Delhi, October 2

After hearing from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, the Delhi Directorate of Education has issued a new circular granting PETA India permission to run its humane education programme, Compassionate Citizen, in Delhi government schools.

 “Children have a natural affinity for animals, and this programme is designed to help them carry their compassion into adulthood,” says PETA India Associate Director of Education and Youth Outreach Puja Mahajan. 

”PETA India thanks the Delhi Directorate of Education for helping to give impressionable young students the gift of humane education, which will stand them in good stead.” 

 Compassionate Citizen was developed for students aged 8 to 12 and consists of a teacher’s guide, reproducible activity sheets – including a colouring sheet and a kindness pledge that children can sign – a full-colour wall poster, an engaging 23-minute video, and an insert listing easy ways teachers and schools can encourage students to help animals. 

The digital option is easy for teachers to use with students who are learning online. The programme fits well into school curricula via language arts, science, social studies, environmental, and values-education subjects and can benefit animal rights and eco clubs.

 An earlier version of it was endorsed by the Animal Welfare Board of India, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), and the education ministries/departments of Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, while the revamped version (which includes worksheets that can be used digitally) has already been endorsed by the Directorate of School Education of Haryana.

The programme has been used by over 1.9 lakh schools, including private, public, international, CBSE-affiliated, KVS, and government schools in the states and union territories mentioned above, reaching approximately 89.8 million children across India.