Current Scenario

• Heritage Schools: 61 schools to uphold history & culture of freedom fighters.
•  Alongside this, the state has made reforms in the school curriculum – renaming primary-level subjects: Mathematics as ‘Anandmay Ganit’ and English as ‘Mudung’ to reduce learning stress.
• Libraries: Classes 3-8 must have a mandatory time to develop reading.
• Spiritual Growth: Yoga, arts and physical education introduced in junior classes.
• Infrastructure: Heritage schools will be provided with better infrastructure and cultural branding.

Background

• Revolutionaries were educated in various schools which were operating in Raipur in the pre-1947 period.
• Heritage scheme Heritage scheme centres on identifying and honouring those who have made sacrifices to our country by associating them with schools.
• Education reforms aim at eliminating stress and institutionalizing learning in a student-friendly way.
• This is under the broader picture of the state planning to modernize school and at the same time maintaining tradition.

Significance

• Cultural Pride: This assists the children in associating with their freedom fighters and heritage.
• Joyful Learning: Decreases early education stress on exams.
• Reading Habit: Weekly library time to develop curiosity in the students.
• Holistic Growth: Art, yoga & health are included so that all round development takes place.
• Replication Potential: Model has the potential to be replicated to other districts.

Glimpse of CG History

Boycott of Educational Institutions (1920-21)

The students of Chhattisgarh took part in an active boycott of schools and colleges during the Non-Cooperation Movement by protesting against the British system of education.

• Newspapers gave students inspiration to relinquish government institutions by Samajveer Samachaar Patra and its editor.
• Some of the students who broke away from British schools in Bilaspur were the Lakshman Prasad, Pancham Singh, Narmada Prasad, Jamunaprasad Verma, Vidyaratan Verma, Tribhuvan lal, Murlidhar Mishra and Brijesh Mishra.
• Shivshankar Sahay and Ramlal Vaishya have given up government schools as well.
• Writer Maulana Hasrat Mohani came to Raipur on 7 February 1921. His speeches incited 53 students of Narmad School to abandon the spot and join the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Establishment of National Schools in India (1921 onwards)

Against the British system of education was established National Schools to offer indigenous and vocational education.

• Establishment of National schools in Chhattisgarh: On 15 February 1921, philanthropists Seth Gopikrishna, Balakrishna and Ramkrishna of Daanatoli started a National School in Raipur, which was run by a committee with Vamanrao Lakhe as minister.
• There were more than 240 students who got enrolled during the movement and studied in Hindi medium. The curriculum consisted of spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, carpentry and agriculture which encouraged people to be self-reliant more than they are dependent on the jobs provided by the government.
• Advocate Ramnarayan Tiwari, in Dhamtari, abandoned his legal profession, and became a headmaster.
• Babu Chhotelal Srivastava established a National School in his very own home in Dhamtari to which he managed and funded until the convenient time, when in 1924, it had to afford to shut since he could not maintain the costs.

Spread of National Schools

Soon the concept of National Schools circulated throughout Chhattisgarh:

• At Bilaspur a school had been begun in the house of Badri Nath Sao, taught by Yadunandan Prasad Srivastava.
• In Rajnandgaon leaders such as Dr. Baldev Prasad Mishra, Padumlal Punnalal (Bakshi) and Vashilal set up similar schools.
• Not only did these schools impart education but they awaited nationalist awakening as well.

Quit India Movement (1942)

• The Quit India Movement saw the next high point in the student movement.
• Students of Raipur of high schools and Chhattisgarh College held a strike and massive procession in main roads on 10 August 1942.
• An evening-meeting was also held at Gandhi Chowk, at which were present the leaders, Ghanshyam Verma, Badri Prasad Shukla, Ranveer Singh Shastri, K.M. Thite, Kapileshwar Singh Thakur-most of them were afterwards arrested.

Innovation in the Present Day: Heritage Schools Program of Raipur

The history of these educational movements is reborn nowadays.

• The Chhattisgarh government has declared that 61 government schools located at Raipur will be developed as Heritage schools which have been in operation since the pre-Independence period.
• These organisations will recognize the efforts of freedom fighters and make the region more historical.
• Online collections and cultural stories are going to be developed in order to engage students in their heritage.
• At the same time, the curriculum is being transformed to foster cultural pride, such as re-naming of subjects at the most basic levels:
  • Mathematics to Anandmay Ganit
  • English to Mudung
• This reform is guided by integrating historical awareness and unadulterated fun in learning to connect all the sacrifices of the past, to the educational vision of the present.