Now, traditional games to wean U.P. school kids off mobile phones
“Chhupan Chhupai”, “Ankh Michauli” and “Chor Sipahi” are among traditional Indian games that will be played in govt schools on “Bagless Days”
Traditional Indian games like “Chhupan Chhupai” (hide and seek), “Ankh Michauli” (blindfold), and “Langdi Tang” (one-legged tag) will now be used to wean school children enrolled in classes 1 to 8 in government-run primary and upper primary schools of Uttar Pradesh off mobile phone that has become an addiction for them.
The initiative will help around 2 crore children studying in more than 1.50 lakh government primary and upper primary schools, said state basic education department officials aware of the move.
“The new National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 envisages keeping children connected to their cultural traditions while being modern, and it is part of this very vision that experts of the State Institute of Education (SIE), Prayagraj, at the behest of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) of U.P. are going to use this initiative in preserving indigenous and traditional games while also helping the school kids lead a more physically active life,” said a senior state basic education department official.
To make this possible, they plan to design and make an illustrated big-book based on these traditional games for children that the teachers will make these kids play in schools on designated “Bagless Days” to be launched under NEP-2020.
Principal, State Institute of Education, Prayagraj, Naval Kishore said permission had been sought from the SCERT UP to prepare a big book (a large version of a book used to share or exercise with the whole class). This big book will be used by teachers for children on ‘Bagless Days’ in schools. This will help in reducing the growing mobile phone culture among schoolchildren, he added.
Deepti Mishra, the assistant deputy education director of the institute and coordinator of the State Institute of Education’s Samagra Shiksha wing, said, “Today, children are completely forgetting the traditional games because of video and mobile phone games, reels, WhatsApp memes and YouTube.
They have become so engrossed in this that now they do not want to go out of the house and play outdoor games like “Chor-Sipahi” (thief and cop), “Rassa-Kassi” (tug of war), or “Chiippi Phod” (seven stones) etc.
“If children play these games, their mental and physical growth and ability will also be better,” she added.