Mumbai: ‘Just let us teach’

Colleges must plant at least 75 saplings between October 3 and 13 to create their Amrit Vatika

As part of the BJP-led government's nationwide campaign, Meri Mati Mera Desh (My Soil My Nation), the State Directorate of Higher Education in Maharashtra has issued directives to colleges to initiate preparations for the campaign, creating concerns about additional workload and academic disruptions for colleges.

The directives mandate that colleges across the state establish a dedicated "vatika" or garden area by planting a minimum of 75 saplings within their premises. Furthermore, colleges are required to collect soil from their campuses and deliver it in urns to designated colleges in their respective talukas. These urns will be further sent to Mumbai with the ultimate goal of creating an ‘Amrit Vatika' in Delhi through an ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra', aiming to secure a Guinness World Records entry. The yatra will involve collecting of 7,500 urns across the country.

The initiative has sparked frustration and anger among colleges because of added burden

State director of higher education, Dr Shailendra Deolankar, said, "This ‘Amrit Vatika' will symbolise our commitment to achieving the ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' goal." He emphasised the importance of colleges adhering to the timeline outlined in the September 8 circular and submitting reports to the department.
According to the circular's timeline, colleges must plant at least 75 saplings between October 3 and October 13 to create their Amrit Vatika. Subsequently, between October 14 and October 20, colleges must collect soil from their garden and deposit the urns at the designated college in their taluka. These urns from various talukas across the state will be sent to Mumbai between October 28 and October 29. The circular encourages participation from all corners of the state, including friends, family and relatives, with the goal of securing a Guinness World Records entry.

The Meri Mati Mera Desh campaign, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Mann Ki Baat programme in August, aims to pay tribute to the nation's courageous heroes. However, this initiative has sparked frustration and anger among colleges, as they believe it adds to their already extensive workload alongside the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).

A college principal in south Mumbai said, ‘What does the government expect from us? To stop teaching and conduct such activities? We want to ask the government when and how we can implement the NEP. There are many things teachers have to do."

The principal of a college in the western suburbs said, "These tasks need planning. We have to assign a team to carry them out. When we assigned the work to a teacher to lead the preparation, a question arose about who would then complete their work to keep up with the academic calendar. It's not just about allocating space for the Vatika; once the Vatika is established, we will need someone to maintain and take care of it."

Dr Mini Madlani, the principal of KPB Hinduja College, simply replied via a text message, "Yes, we have started the preparations."

7,500
No. of urns to be collected across country

Oct 14 - 20
Time frame for colleges to deposit urns