LUCKNOW - Grabbing the attention of young children in classrooms can be tricky. So the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to use puppets to teach children in junior classes.

Uttar Pradesh’s State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will train primary school teachers in puppetry so that they can use the traditional art form to teach classes 1 to 5.

According to officials, the puppetry training programme for teachers has been undertaken by the state as a pilot project.

“The main idea behind the project is to make classroom teaching interactive through puppetry,” SCERT’S joint director (training) Mahendra Singh told IANS.

“Unlike the conventional style of teaching that mainly remains confined to blackboard and chalk, puppets would be able to hold children’s attention in the classroom on different topics of their syllabi,” he added.

For training teachers in puppetry, the SCERT has tied up with the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) - an autonomous organisation under the aegis of the union ministry of culture, officials said.

“As per our academic calendar, under the pilot project teachers from various districts will learn puppet making, voice modulation and other techniques related to the art at the upcoming 15-day training programme in Guwahati,” said Singh.

Initially, five primary school teachers each from Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Gonda, Faizabad, Bareilly, Basti, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Meerut, Lucknow, Varanasi and Saharanpur districts will attend the training programme.

“Though the teachers will be selected by the officer in charge of primary education, their age should not be more than 48 years. We have put this rider due to the perception that young teachers tend to grasp teaching methodologies better,” Singh said.

According to officials, depending upon the feedback and success of the project it would be extended to other districts across the state.

“The teachers, who undergo the training in the first phase of the project can act as master trainers for other teachers and help in the dissemination of puppetry techniques in classroom teaching,” Balmukund Kumar, official in charge of primary education in Moradabad district, told IANS.

“Imparting education through puppetry would be quite useful in dealing with sensitive topics like sex, reproductive system and others where even teachers hesitate in discussing them with children,” he added.

(Asit Srivastava can be contacted at asit.s@ians.in)