Teaching environmental issues to the primary level students is going to be easier for the teachers now, as an education pack by the United Nations Education Project (UNEP) on environmental studies has been translated into Marathi along with several other regional languages.
The pack will be released by Pune mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale on September 5 at S. M. Joshi hall.
Educational Pack in Marathi, Regional Languages Soon
Addressing a press conference here, consultant to the UNEP Vinitaa Apte said the education pack was designed in French two years ago.
“An English version was released last year in New Delhi. However, as these study materials were not available in regional languages, we have translated them into Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Urdu.”
Of these, Hindi, Marathi and Urdu translations were done by Pune teachers while Bengali translation was done at Delhi.
Apte said the pack tries to make the environmental studies more interesting and entertaining. “It consists of maps, questions and answers, a 9 minute cartoon film with a character Ozzy Ozone and plots for drama, which can easily be narrated to children.”
She added they have taken care that the pack is not literally translated. “It’s an adaptation, meeting the standards of regional language and Indian study pattern,” she said.
For further dissemination of the education pack, Apte said she intends to undertake district level workshops for primary and secondary teachers in co-operation with Zilla parishads. Her organization Maitree received a partial funding from the Indian Overseas Bank for printing the pack.
The release function will also be attended by joint secretary of ministry of environment and forestry Dr Badri Nilrathna and the regional co-ordinator of UNEP Atul Bagai.