Air pollution: Citizens initiate talks with teachers about do's and don'ts

NEW DELHI: In a bid to raise awareness about the alarming air pollution in the city, first of its kind the citizens' groups has started an initiative of an intensive teacher training programme where the environmentalists will interact with the teachers.

"As you all know, children are the drivers of change for the future generation. The fact that Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida are among the most polluted cities (India has 14 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world ) is a clear indication that air pollution and its impact on our health has now reached emergency levels," the citizens wrote in a letter to school authorities.

A four-hour intensive and interactive training workshop to make the teachers 'Air Pollution Warrior' was conducted by experts from our partner 'Care For Air'. "Following this teachers will be ready to hold sessions in your school of choice for grades 9 to 12, to start with," noted a statement.

"The programme is a standard-based K-12 curriculum that will be introduced in four phases over a period of 9 months. Developed by teachers and educationists, all lesson plans and activities have been integrated with the CBSE SEWA requirements and do not add any extra burden on teachers or students," reads the statement. It added that children are the drivers of change for the future generation. "The fact that 14 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world are located in India is a clear indication that poor air quality and its impact on health have now reached public health emergency levels. Enabling them to learn about the interplay and interconnectedness of their actions to Environment and Health from a young age will help groom informed and environmentally conscious citizens of the country," the statement noted.

To begin with, a half-day teacher sensitization workshop will be held where Phase 1 and 2 activities will be shared to them to incorporate it into their respective classes. Every school that signs up for the programme needs to set up a "My Right To Breathe" as

first step.