Celebrity Advocate.

UNICEF India

Kareena Kapoor, Celebrity Advocate, Unicef India.
She was in the Capital to inaugurate Child-friendly Schools and Systems Package introduced by UNICEF.
 
1. What is the concept of Child-friendly schools and Systems (CFSS)?
 
A. CFSS envisions a school where the infrastructure, learning environment and learning processes all aim towards children’s well-being, holistic development and inclusive learning. The content and methods of teaching are made in such way which will encourage the joyful participation of every child. Along with this teacher continuously assess children’s learning and gives individual support to ensure that each and every child is learning well. Also the community members are closely involved in supporting and monitoring the quality of the school’s learning environment.
 
2. What was the motive of UNICEF behind launching CFSS package?
 
A. The motive is to make schools child-friendly and ensure secure, safe, rights-based, quality education, for each and every child. The CFSS package highlights the need for involving qualitative aspect of the Right to Education. The CFSS package explains what child-friendly education means in the Indian context and how it can be implemented to ensure inclusive learning.
 
3. Have you visited any of such schools personally where this model has been inculcated?
 
A. I recently visited Rajasthan with UNICEF to see such child-friendly schools and to meet some of the girls and boys who are benefitting from these programmes. I was so happy and inspired to see the school as it was clean and the children were having their good time. These are places where children are full of joy when they interact with teachers, where children feel safe and secure and where interactive and creative tools are used to ensure that children are happy and learning.
 
4. What message would you like to give?
 
A. In India the basic focus is on literacy. What CFSS is trying to reinforce is overall rights and development to a child’s education, right to participation, right to quality education vis-à-vis proper hygienic environment. With this aim I truly wish more schools adopt this package and we get many more bright students who will make India proud