Topics like climate change, forest protection, energy consumption, waste management will be taught to schoolchildren — Environment Ministry

By Hana Namrouqa – Sep 04,2017

Plans are under way to introduce environmental education to school curricula, with the aim of achieving a higher sense of public awareness towards the environment, according to a government official (Photo by Amjad Ghsoun)

AMMAN — Plans are under way to introduce environmental education to school curricula, with the aim of achieving a higher sense of public awareness towards the environment, according to a government official.

A committee from the ministries of environment and education has been formed to identify and select which environmental topics will be taught to school students, head of the committee and spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment Issa Shboul said.

“The national education system should incorporate environmental education to acquaint students with the elements of the environment, the threats they face and ways to protect nature in a problem-solving approach,” Shboul told The Jordan Times.

The syllabus will outline the status of environment in Jordan and the main problems wearing down the country’s environment, Shboul said, adding that eight main topics will be taught to schoolchildren.

The topics include climate change, forest’ protection, energy consumption, waste management, electronic waste, green economy, sustainable development and air pollution, among other issues that the committee deems of priority, he noted.

“It is of the utmost importance to teach children at a young age about the environment, its threats and how to protect it. Instilling ethical responsibility towards nature at children means creating a future generation that places environment protection as the priority,” Shboul noted.

The official said that the committee has been meeting for a few months now to draft curricula on environmental education.

“The syllabus will target six or seven graders and up. We are in the drafting process and we expect that environmental education will be introduced as of the 2018/2019 school year,” he concluded.

http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/environmental-education-enter-national-curricula%E2%80%99