Beyond the Classroom: Environment, Displacement, and the Future of Education
Written by Manjiri Indurkar
One thousand and forty-eight. That's the number of ghost villages in Uttarakhand according to the 2011 Census, and it's likely this number has grown in the last fourteen years. This isn't happening without reason; it's deeply connected to the economic and environmental problems the state faces.
On the 27th of March, our CEO Uma Kogekar, spoke with Vishal Kumar from Waste Warriors Society about the environmental impact on education, and one of the first things Vishal highlighted was these ghost villages. They're a direct result of environmental issues like leopard attacks making life unsafe, flash floods destroying homes and infrastructure, and too much rain making farming difficult. Alongside these environmental pressures, people are also leaving because there aren't enough jobs or ways to make a living. This forces families to move to cities, which unfortunately increases poverty there. It also means schools in these villages become empty, children are uprooted from their communities, and their education suffers, sometimes permanently.
This phenomenon of growing urban migration places a significant strain on the teachers in these urban centres. As more families move from rural areas to cities in search of better opportunities, the existing school infrastructure often struggles to cope with the increased student population. This can lead to overcrowded classrooms, making it more challenging for teachers to provide individual attention and maintain effective discipline. Furthermore, teachers in urban schools with high rates of migration often encounter students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, requiring them to adapt their teaching methods and sometimes even learn new languages or cultural nuances.
These students may also have experienced significant disruptions to their education and may arrive with varying levels of academic preparedness and emotional needs, demanding additional support and differentiated instruction from the teachers. The pressure to cater to a larger and more diverse student body, often with limited additional resources or support staff, can contribute to increased workload and stress for teachers, potentially impacting their well-being and the quality of education they can provide. Addressing the educational needs of communities experiencing high urban migration requires not only expanding infrastructure but also providing adequate support and training for teachers to manage these evolving classroom dynamics.
Climate change is now something we talk about regularly, and we're seeing the effects directly on education, both in rural and urban settings. In Uttarakhand, rising temperatures force schools to close earlier, and flash floods cause prolonged shutdowns. As global temperatures keep hitting new highs, many of us use air conditioners at home and in our cars to stay cool. While this helps us indoors, Vishal pointed out that it has a negative effect outside, suggesting we need to be able to tolerate the heat more. This is important to consider, especially when we think about how our use of ACs might be indirectly contributing to the very environmental problems that disrupt children's education. The energy used for air conditioning contributes to the overall warming, which then leads to more extreme weather events that impact schooling.
This isn't an isolated issue confined to rural areas. Even in a major urban centre like Delhi, the impact of environmental degradation on education is starkly evident. Just recently, schools in Delhi have had to shut down for days due to dangerously high levels of air pollution. This is a recurring problem during the winter months, where a combination of factors leads to a thick smog that poses serious health risks, particularly to children.
When the air quality index reaches severe levels, the government is often forced to suspend physical classes, pushing students to online learning once again. This not only disrupts their academic schedule and the quality of education they receive but also limits their social interaction and outdoor activities, further impacting their overall well-being. The closure of schools in Delhi due to pollution serves as a potent reminder that environmental health and the ability to provide consistent education are intrinsically linked, even in our most developed urban spaces.
These interconnected challenges paint a clear picture: the well-being and educational futures of children are inextricably linked to both the health of our environment and the socio-economic stability of their communities. Addressing these complex issues requires a holistic approach that considers environmental sustainability, economic development, and the crucial role of education in building resilient futures.
