Friday, August 6, 2010

School Children - Teaching them to care for the elderly - HelpAge Seminar. Intergenerational Gap

This news item talks of HelpAge Seminar for Teachers, NGOS etc on
teaching children respect and treat elders with love. The idea of
distributing a booklet to all kids and to have curriculum include
Elder Care is good. Didn't we have Moral Education classes in our
School days?
======= Read on ...


'Elderly deserve a better deal'

Staff Reporter
The population of the elderly is likely to touch 33 crore in 2050

HelpAge India for inculcating values and care for the elderly in
school education

HYDERABAD: The population of aged in the country is set to swell
rapidly. While the current aged population stands at about 9 crore, it
will leap to 15 crore by 2025 and come 2050 the numbers would be 33
crore, forecast social service organisation HelpAge India.

Faced with a growing population, the already-inadequate social
security system for the elderly would be inefficient in catering to a
growing chunk of the population.

Hence, there is an impending need to bring about changes in the
attitudes of the younger generation and the society in general, the
organisation said.

Floating this as the agenda, a seminar, 'Value education on age care
in schools' was organised by HelpAge India here. Principals of
schools, representatives of the government and different NGOs took
part. We should inculcate values of respect and care for the elderly
in our school education. The elderly should not be seen as a burden
but as contributing entities, said Country Head (Advocacy, Resource
and Communications), HelpAge India, Kapil Kaul. "We should be able to
harness their wisdom."

Besides, the seminar also focussed on ways to prepare the country's
youth for old age. "They need to understand what old age means, how to
manage on their own, how to stay healthy," said Mr. Kaul. R.
Satyanarayana, Commissioner and Director of School Education who was
the chief guest assured HelpAge India of assistance from the
government's side. He suggested the organisation prepare booklets on
care for the elderly, which can then be distributed to school teachers
across the State. A module on care for the elderly during annual
training programmes organised by the school education department was
also mooted.

"If we can leverage the system," Mr. Satyanarayana said referring to
the 1.56 crore student population and 4.5 lakh-strong teacher
community in the State, "to inculcate values, nothing like it." He,
however, remarked, that values are more than taught, they are best
caught.

Speaking on the deteriorating family structures, with more families
going nuclear, Shyam Mohan, vice chairman, HPS, emphasised on the need
for social values among the country's youth.
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http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/06/stories/2010080662910200.htm

1 comment:

  1. The seminar conducted by the Help Age India on the Value Education On Age Care give information about the Elder Care In Hyderabad.

    ReplyDelete