Betting on Education for Sustainable Development is like betting on the personal values-based leadership of the learners that can grow by discovering and internalising vital skills, knowledge and attitudes that will help them become trailblazers in sustainable development. From a pedagogical point of view, embedding it in the existing school subjects can make learning more relevant and fun
Community-led public schools in Nepal are often dismissed as underachievers incapable of providing quality education.
Yet despite the multiple challenges they face, from scarcity of adequate funding to having to deal with human resources, often not only under qualified but also lacking drive and motivation, to local governments that struggle with their newly entrusted responsibilities in the field of education, community-led schools could become beacons of a new learning paradigm centred on inclusion and sustainability.
The fact that these schools have been successful in providing inclusive education should not be dismissed nor overlooked, because so far, with no system in place to ensure that private schools can thrive as social businesses that also provide for disadvantaged students, community-led public schools are the only vehicles that potentially can ensure social mobility in the country.
More resources, more qualified and competent teachers in these schools are surely indispensable, but at the same time, it would be not only unfair but also a tragic mistake to think of them as a failure: despite the challenges, such schools, after all, are marching on to meet the learning needs of millions of children. With their inclusive approach a foundational bedrock of their work, community public schools, spread especially across rural Nepal, could enhance their quality education not only with better qualified teachers and more resources but also by embracing sustainability.
After all, which institution could better foster and value ecology and sustainable living than learning centres found in habitats traditionally rich in biodiversity, flora and fauna? The Berlin Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development that was recently endorsed during the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, convened online by UNESCO in partnership with the Government of Germany from May 17 to 19,2021, could offer an important blueprint for community schools to become more relevant. The summit saw the launch of Education for Sustainable Development 2030 as a new strategy.
I am using the verb "embedding" intentionally because so far sustainability has been considered as a nice "add on", an enjoyable extra-curricular activity normally promoted by "green" social clubs. This model proved only partially useful, and, given the challenges ahead the planet faces and considering the ambitious Agenda 2030, we need to make a giant quantum leap, truly harnessing traditional learning with elements from education for sustainable development.
"We are confident that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), anchored in SDG 4.7 and as an enabler for all 17 SDGs, is the foundation for the required transformation, providing everyone with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to become change agents for sustainable development", the Berlin Declaration explains.
There is a recognition that ESD is not just about environmentally friendly schools or school gardens but instead is a transformative tool to enhance and strengthen the holistic growth of students. Betting on ESD is like betting on the personal values-based leadership of the learners that can grow by discovering and internalising vital skills, knowledge and attitudes that will help them become trailblazers in sustainable development.
That's why embracing ESD can be a win-win from a pedagogical point of view because embedding and fusing it in the existing school subjects can make learning not only more relevant but also more fun.
Imagine elementary students learning about mathematics by exploring the nature surrounding their schools, counting, for example, the number and the different types of plants co-existing with them in the area. Unfortunately, right now this is not happening.
Learn from Our Planet, a new report released by UN- ESCO during the conference, shows that Education is not giving students sufficient knowledge to adapt, act and respond to climate change and environmental crises. Just last day I was observing outside a pharmacy a couple, male and female, throwing on the ground, despite some trash bins being in the proximity.
For them it was granted that someone the next day would come and pick up their waste.
I regretted not having said anything then, but perhaps a new crop of young people can grow with a mindset that rejects such kind of irresponsible behaviour and make people notice it. Imagine a student graduating from a community-led public school that becomes a champion of sustainable patterns. She would have kindly but firmly reprimanded that couple.
With the second Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) Nepal submitted last December to the UNFCCC, the country has come up with a very ambitious vision and a detailed plan on a more sustainable and eco-friendly future.
The economy needs to transition towards a net zero emission, and despite Nepal having a very negligible carbon footprint, why not envision a soon-to-be middle income economy that has the ambition and determination and awareness to lead in the war against climate change? This can also be a big incentive for tourism.
That's why ESD must be leveraged throughout the curriculum because it is really going to offer us plenty of ideas and opportunities we must exploit if we want to meet the challenge of the century. Community-led public schools can become platforms for such transformation.
Instead of being the usual laggers, they can turn into pioneers, embracing the most important cause local politicians should not hesitate from championing as well. The return on such "mission" investment is surely guaranteed.
Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE, an NGO
A version of this article appears in the print on May 25, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
