Chitwan: Students of the schools situated around Chitwan National Park are a lucky lot as they will get a chance to study ABCs of conservation from this academic session.

The District Education Office, Chitwan, has included conservation education in curriculum in the schools situated around the park. Six issues—biodiversity, climate change, wildlife, forest, sanitation, and tourism—have been inserted into conservation study and students will be taught about these issues, said Chitwan’s School Inspector Baburam Dwadi.

The Education Regulations has it that 20 percent course study can be included in Social Study subject based on a certain region. Any issue dominant in a particular region can be included in education, Dwadi said.

With the new change, all 46 schools of Madi under two school resources centers will start conservation study from this academic calendar. Course design is in final phase now with the support of the Terai Land Arc Programme, according to Inspector of Madi School Resource Centre Huma Nath Sharma.

In Damauli, alll community schools in Tanahun district have been closed from Sunday to observe over a month-long monsoon holiday.

The schools, issuing notices, informed that classes will reopen from August 7. The teachers from outside the district left for their home to celebrate 41-day holiday.

According to the District Education Office, Tanahun, the schools started observing monsoon holiday from this year.

It is said that the monsoon holiday was given to celebrate the season of paddy plantation in the country heavily dependent on agriculture. There are around 600 community schools in the district.

source: RisingNepal(2011),"Conservation education added in schools' curriculum ", RisingNepal, 26 June 2011