PANJIM: Students in all schools in the State will soon be given lessons against cruelty to animals as the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has issued a circular asking schools to start a programme on ‘compassionate citizens’.
The circular issued by SCERT director N C Honnikeri asks schools to follow brochures issued by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment Towards Animals) in order to sensitize students against cruelty of animals and to show CDs to students educating them on the issue.
“PETA India has now distributed the programme (compassionate citizen) to all Goa government schools to use with children ages 8 to 12. Compassionate Citizen is PETA India’s version of the internationally recognised PETA US’ humane-education programme Share the World, which is designed to sensitize children to be kind to animals. It can be easily included in school curricula via languages, science, social studies, environmental and values education subjects. It is also perfect for use in environmental and animal rights school clubs,” a statement by PETA says.
The programme has been endorsed by the Animal Welfare Board of India and the Central Board of Secondary Education. Other States endorsing the programme include Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“It’s said that when you teach a child to be kind to a mouse, you do as much for the child as you do for the mouse,” says PETA India Senior Education Coordinator Puja Mahajan. “Tolerance and compassion are vital because they are essential to the effort to stem violence in society at large,” she added.
