more-in Though a number of schools, over the last few years, have prescribed workbooks on environmental studies, held tree planting drives and hosted workshops and seminars on conservation of flora, nothing much has been done about animal welfare. However, the situation may soon change, thanks to the Madras High Court directive. Hearing a public interest litigation petition, the Madras High Court had directed the Tamil Nadu Curriculum Framework committee to consider including animal welfare as a part of the curriculum. M. Anandakrishnan, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, who heads the committee, said, “We were considering including animal welfare as a part of this and it is an important part of being a responsible member of society.” The committee is currently involved in revamping the syllabus and curriculum for classes I, VI, 1X and XI for the 2018-19 academic year. While a few State board schools have activity workbooks for environmental studies at the primary level, there is not much focus given at present on issues regarding animal welfare, green cover in urban spaces and other such concerns related to the environment in a majority of the institutions. “There are several innovative ways in which animal welfare can be brought into classrooms for lower classes in particular to develop compassion. Veterinarians could be invited to speak to the students or the concept of a ‘pet day’ can be introduced. While children are generally taken to Vandalur Zoo on field trips, schools can also explore the option of taking them to farms on the outskirts of the city,” said Prema Daniel, Director, Velammal Juniors, who has worked with framing the curriculum for kindergarten and primary classes in schools across the city. She suggested that it be seamlessly integrated with EVS or social sciences for primary children, instead of it being introduced as a separate paper. The last few years have seen an increasing number of cases of animal cruelty coming to light on social media. In the wake of this, animal activists from the city said that schools had been calling them to campuses to speak to the students to raise awareness. Shravan Krishnan, an animal rights activist, said it was important to hold discussions on animal welfare in schools. “Most times, irrational fears of the parents are also passed on to the children and it is important for children to learn to co-exist in a country like ours where we are surrounded by animals everywhere. They can be taken on field trips to shelters in the city,” he said.

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