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Around 30 school administrators, including teachers and principals, from across the city participated in a seminar on Saturday.
They proposed programmes that should be undertaken by schools to indoctrinate values regarding old age from childhood.
“In the race for development, care for the elderly has become institutional responsibility which only provides physical support. We want schools to introduce value education in their curriculum to make the students aware of the importance of the elderly,” said Kapil Kaul, country head, Helpage India, a non-govermental organisation.
Helpage India has till now organised 30 meetings with school principals and teachers across the country pressing for curriculum-induced values to sensitise students on issues of aging.
“Since Independence, 300 million young Indians migrated from their place of birth in search of jobs and this trend will keep increasing in the next few decades,” added Kaul.
A special team of experts will work on the deliberations that have come out of the seminars and develop a report. The report will then be submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources Development and the education ministry for consideration.
“Schools already have programmes on the elderly as part of moral education. All of us have put forward suggestions which will be proposed to the government. The government will then formally introduce value education on aged people,” said Sunita Sen, principal, Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan.
