Students book a date with world record attempt
Nearly one million students from Class 6 to university level will simultaneously read books in 2,500 institutions as part of the campaign
LUCKNOW: Students in Lucknow will make an attempt to enter the World Book of Records on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
Nearly one million students from Class 6 to university level will simultaneously read books in 2,500 educational institutions, as part of the ‘Padhe Lucknow, Badhe Lucknow’ campaign that begins from Tuesday.
During the session from 11am to 11:45am, students will read about Mahatma Gandhi’s life. But, they have the option of reading other material.
The campaign is initiated by UP governor Anandiben Patel and coordinated by University of Lucknow, reads a tweet of Lucknow University.
“As part of the programme’s theme, students will read books on the life of Mahatma Gandhi or the Freedom Struggle. In case
books on these subjects are not available, students can read any other book of their choice, provided it is not their school textbook,” said Anil Mishra, director, Lucknow University data resource centre.
The governor has taken the initiative to inculcate reading habits among students. Earlier, as governor of Madhya Pradesh, she took a similar initiative ‘Padhe Bhopal’ that saw participation of nearly 2.5 lakh students. This initiative was recognized by the World Book of Records, he said.
The governor had expressed concern that in today’s ‘machine era’, the new generation students had lost interest in reading books – they were more drawn to mobile phones, TV, Internet and other activities, which resulted in decline in moral values.
In the light of this, ‘Padhe Lucknow, Badhe Lucknow’ concept was designed, said Mishra.
Students enrolled in LU, degree colleges, technical educational institutions, Dr Shakuntala Misra University, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, King George’s Medical University, all schools (from class 6–12), Madarsa Board, Ashram Board and Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan are part of this campaign.
To take stock of the proceedings, the governor would be visiting the LU first and also visit a few educational institutions. Five teams of the World Book of Records have also reached the city. They will visit some institutions participating in this event.
It is compulsory for all schools and colleges in Lucknow district to participate in this activity. Books will be provided by the institutions, said Mishra.
All the reading activities have to be documented by the respective institutions.
They have to take photographs and videos that will be uploaded on the portal developed by University Data Resource Centre (UDRC), University of Lucknow. The link of this is available on LU’s website (www.lkouniv.ac.in).