Nearly 9 lakh students in around 2,500 schools across Ahmedabad will take a written pledge to conserve electricity and water before the Diwali vacation, following instructions from the Ahmedabad city district education authorities. Schools have been asked to conduct awareness programmes and explain the importance of energy and water conservation to students before the holiday begins.
The instructions cover schools in both the eastern and western parts of the city. Students will be told that electricity and water are essential resources and that conserving them is a shared responsibility. The planned pledge will ask students to save energy and water themselves and encourage their families to adopt similar practices at home.
Ahmedabad city district education officer Rohit Chaudhary said the programme was being organised in view of concerns about possible energy and water crises. According to the report, schools have been instructed to make students aware that individual responsibility is important when resources face pressure.
The pledge will be taken in written form at schools. The education department has also asked institutions to organise the activity in a way that combines social responsibility with the students’ Diwali celebrations. The programme is scheduled to take place before schools close for the vacation.
The circular also addresses the amount of homework assigned during the Diwali break. Schools have been instructed not to place students under excessive homework pressure so that they can spend the vacation with their families. Chaudhary said homework during a holiday should remain limited and should allow students to enjoy the festival rather than spend the entire break completing assignments.
The education authorities have further asked schools to guide students about cybercrime. Schools are expected to make students aware of cyber-related offences and provide advice on avoiding becoming victims, as concerns about cybercrime continue to increase.
The conservation initiative places schools in a public-awareness role beyond classroom instruction. Through the written pledge and family-level messaging, the department expects students to carry the conservation message into their homes during the holiday period. The instructions issued to schools set out the immediate next step: conduct the pre-vacation programmes and obtain the students’ written commitments before the Diwali break begins.
