Introduction

Population Education is an educational programme which aims at making learners aware of the inter-relationships between population and sustainable development since it also aims at inculcating in them rational attitude and responsible behaviour towards population and development issues, co-curricular activities can play a very important role in achieving this.

It is widely agreed that the purpose of education is that students shall be trained not only to know the right things but also to behave in the right way. A close relationship between right knowledge and right action is sought for – Here the former is mostly taken care by the Curricular Activities and the latter part is taken care mostly by the Co-curricular Activities.

The Curricular Activities are mainly cognitive in nature and concentrate on intellectual development of the students. However, the objective of education is not confined to intellectual development only but also an all round development of personality, i.e., besides intellectual growth, education shall also cater to the emotional, physical, psychological ad social development. The development in these areas may take place if curricular activities are supplemented with the co-curricular activities. Thus CCA may be defined as – The Activities undertaken to strengthen the classroom learning as well as other activities, both inside and outside the classroom to develop the personality of the child.

Historical Perspective

Historically this is not a new field for we know that such activities were common places in Greek and Roman times as well. Our Modem Olympic Games are based on early Greek athletic contests. In India, there is ample evidence from of ancient scriptures, like Upnishads, Mahabharata, etc. which reveal that in the ancient Gurukuls and Ashrams of the Vedic Rishis and Gurus, the pupils were expected to participate in a number of co-curricular activities, such as taking the cows to pastures, milking the cows, cleaning and decorating Ashrams or Gurukuls, cooking, wrestling, arching, singing, dancing, etc.

All our great philosophers/educators, right from Plato and Aristotle to Herbert Spencer and John Dewey, have stressed the importance of providing opportunities in schools to organizing activities which are known as Co-curricular Activities.

It was during British rule that Indian education system suffered a great drawback that it became too literary or bookish.

The Co-curricular activities regained its original importance when many of our national leaders focussed upon its need. Dr. Zakir Hussain, then Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi has been credited with giving co-curricular activities their due place in the form of physical and socio-cultural activities when he prepared the Basic Education Curriculum on the lines suggested by Gandhiji. Later, in the post independent India, all Education Commissions/Committees set up from time to time and the National Policy on Education also have promoted the importance of involving children in schools in all kinds of co-curricular activities.

Importance of co-curricular activities regained socio-psychological perspective. The importance of activities lies in the fact that there had been an attempt to find a more satisfactory term like CCA instead of earlier being known an Extra-Curricular Activities - which made it appear as something outside of the real function of the school and consequently, as non-essential.

The co-curricular activities, as already mentioned earlier is very important for realizing the goals of Education.

Further they also have certain social and psychological implications. For instance, students who participate in drama or any cultural activity, come in contact with various people, like organizers, fellow participants, teachers, etc. This contact or interaction with various persons satisfies the need of socialization, self-identification and self-assessment - these in turn satisfy the need of belongingness.

Similarly, out door activities like tours, rock-climbing, camping, etc. provide ample opportunities where the students develop the spirit of fellow-feeling, sympathy, co-operation, sacrifice etc. Human beings have a psychological tendency to influence their fellow beings by their achievements. Activities like sports and games provide the children many such occasions when they can display their qualities and attain appreciation. At the same time in the course of their participation, they learn how to develop sportsmanship and how to behave when they win or lose an event.

Activities for Adolescents

Adolescence is a very crucial period in the life of an individual. It is a twilight zone in which society, neither accords them full adult responsibility and roles nor considers them children. During this period children move from a period of sheltered, cared and dependent life towards independent and responsible life of adulthood. The adolescents tend to assert their identity, start taking their own decisions, distancing from their parents, depending more on their peer groups and demonstrating strong preference for privacy. Though these are normal developments among them that occur because of hormonal changes, the achievements and adjustments in life depend to a great extent on the experiences and behaviour patterns acquired during this period.

Since all kinds of developments - physical, social, emotional and psychological are taking place almost simultaneously and the effect of development of one aspect has a bearing on the development of other aspect, it becomes pertinent to ensure the all round development of the adolescent child and hence the need of co-curricular activities.

Further, these activities channels their energies to proper direction. Also, these activities give adolescents a feeling of competence and self-confidence and help them develop useful and enjoyable skills. It may be music, sports, rock-climbing or any other hobby that may interest them.

Relevance of CCA in Population Education

The National Population Education Programme was launched in India in 1980 in almost all the states with an overarching objective of institutionalising Population Education in formal and non-formal education. Although text-books continue to be the mainstay of the teaching learning process in schools for various reasons. It was realised right from the inception of this Programme that the CCA will have to play a significant role in conveying the elements of Population Education not only to the students but also to the community at large.

As we are aware that it takes a rather long time for any new educational concern to become an integral part of school syllabus and textbooks, and hence in view of the urgency to make students aware of the new components like adolescent reproductive health, etc. which have been lately included in the reconceptualised Population Education, there is a need to adopt an approach that extends beyond prescribed courses, because of its very vide scope. The reason being - as it is not all the components of Population Education could be integrated in the textbooks of various subjects at all school stages because of the limitation, of subjects concerned. For the transaction of those ‘leftover’ components, the CCA has been an effective medium. Secondly, even those components, which are there in the textbooks, can be communicated much more effectively if reinforced through CCA. Finally, for any educational innovation like Population Education programmes to be successful, it is essential that it interest the target group and CCA help in generating that interest among the target group. The Project Evaluation study conducted by IIPS, Bombay has revealed that students who participated in Population Education related activities show better awareness of and more positive attitudes towards population issues.

Type of Activities

The school has a strategic role to play in planning and organising within its scope a wide range of co-curricular activities., Major objective is to promote learning through creative self-expression and at the same time offering enjoyment, relaxation, satisfaction and recreation to the students. There are a number of ways in which learning through CCA can be planned. A suggestive list of activities in 6 broad categories viz. literary, art and craft, dramatics and music, social action, specific projects and celebration of special events, for example Days/Weeks are given in the tabular form.

Some of important CCA which can be undertaken to make the teaching of Population Education effective are discussed below:

Village Adoption

In this activity, schools are encouraged to adopt villages for intensive work relating to all aspects of Population Education. Messages related to the themes of Population Education may be communicated in several ways. The approach, in general is that of integration with community development in which messages related to various themes under P.E. are transmitted to the people.

Population Education Laboratories/Club

Through Population Education Laboratories as set up in schools, ways and means of transmitting Population Education messages may be evolved and innovative materials and programmes for the same may be developed.

In general, the activities organised in Population Education Laboratories and in Village Adoption Programme are organising Quiz, Group Singing, Lectures, Celebration of P.E. Day, etc.

Celebration of Important Days/Weeks/Events

Generally, the schools celebrate special Days/Events/Weeks by organising relevant activities. With a view to make Population Education an integral part of the school programme, celebration of special events/days/weeks related to population issues and themes like World Population Day, World AIDS Day, Women’s Day, Environment Day, Population Education Week etc. are encouraged. On such occasions, Population Education activities are organised which convey the messages in a subtle manner.

Debate

Under debate, opposing points of view are presented and defended by the members of two teams. It is an effective technique for probing into controversial issues. The advantages and disadvantages of an issue are presented in the debate. It helps students in taking rational position on any issue.

Debate is useful when we wish to explore a topic from several point of view. The issue to be debated should have positive and negative aspects that can be argued for and against by students. The students may be asked to form two teams. One team may be in favour of the motion and the other against the motion. The task of each team is to identify the supporting arguments and assemble the relevant evidence for an assigned position. Each team may then select three or four speakers to represent their group’s views in the debate. The teacher may chair the debate. When all the speakers have presented their views, the chairperson may then sum up the points made by students during the debate. Alternatively, a panel of judges may be formed for evaluation and selection of best speakers from both the teams.

Painting Competition

The objective behind this activity is to involve the students in this competition so that they give some thought to the topic of painting and then are able to manifest their thoughts in the form of their art work. This is one of the most popular activities in schools. The topic for the painting may be given to the students well in advance so that they are able to gather information and support material on population issues (the topic of painting) as reference for authentic depiction in their art work.

Alternatively, the topic for painting competition may be given on the spot. In that case the teacher may initiate some discussion on the given topic and indicate possibilities of population related issues and ideas which can be expressed suitably in the form of visuals.

The advantage of holding this activity is that children of all ages can participate. In fact, the competition must be organized separately for Secondary/Higher Secondary, Upper Primary and Primary stages ) in schools.

The students may be asked to bring with them the art related materials like colours, brushes, paper etc. and allow them to prepare their art composition. A panel of judges may be invited for evaluation and selection of best paintings from each school stage. The selected paintings may be exhibited at appropriate places in the school premises.

Role Play

Role play means presenting small spontaneous plays which describe possible real life situations. A situation is given to the group and they take on the roles of the people involved. The role play amounts to initiating someone else’s character. It is an important activity as it allows students to practice such situations before they may meet them in their real life. It also provides them an opportunity to practice skills that are significant for protecting themselves from risky or adverse situations.

For organizing this activity, the teacher may discuss population related issues on the basis of which either the students themselves prepare a small play, or the teacher gives a play. The students may volunteer for enacting the roles of the character involved in the play. They should be encouraged to expand on their roles. After the role play, the teacher may discuss the appropriate actions needed with respect to the action taken under each role in the play.

Essay Competition

The Essay competition can also make a significant contribution in creating awareness regarding population issues. This is because it provides opportunity to students to gather information from various sources on the topic of Essay. At the same time, while writing the essay students understand and appreciate various aspects of the given topic as exercise which develops in them the competence of logical and rational thinking which is very important for a curricular area like population education.

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