The brain child of the Principal of the college, Principal Dr. Padma Rangan and an outcome of a discussion she had with a CMCA (Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness) Resource Person, Ms. Brinda Ganesh, Mahatma Night Degree College students got an opportunity to participate in the Community Yuva – Life Skills Programme. Mahatma Night Degree College of Arts and Commerce, Chembur, Mumbai is a pioneer partner with the CMCA for the Campus and Community Yuva – Life Skills Programme.
About CMCA:
CMCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming our young into concerned, thinking and acting citizens for an inclusive and sustainable India. CMCA’s structured Citizenship and Life Skills programmes run in hundreds of government and private educational institutions.
About Campus and Community Yuva – Life Skills Programme: Conceptualized in 2012, the Campus and Community Yuva – Life Skills Program is the college counterpart of the CMCA Club Program. The program is a partnership between CMCA and young people for a collective process of learning, reflecting and acting together to bring about Democratic Societal Change while also strengthening Life Skills which are essential to lead a personally fulfilling life.
The Campus and Community Yuva – Life Skills Programme was organized for the students in the academic year 2017-18. 16 sessions were conducted for the S.Y.B.Com. ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions. Sessions were conducted every Wednesday in room number 401 of the college.
The resource person from CMCA was Ms. Brinda Ganesh and the teacher-coordinator for the college was Associate Professor Dr. Lata Krishnan. Several senior resource persons participated and contributed to the sessions organized for the students. We thank Ms. Brinda Ganesh and Ms. Effy Acharya for their participation and support.
First Term:
- Introduction to CMCA and the findings of YUVA Nagrik Meter Survey readings
- Democratic Citizenship Values – With Democratic Citizenship Values of 21%, the need for raising awareness among the youth of India was brought out
- Urban Local Governance – “The Right Move” movie was relayed in the subsequent session with the follow up on Urban Local Governance
- Help Line numbers – Students were familiarized with the help line numbers of BMC, its different departments and other agencies
- Eco-Friendly Ganesha – The signature campaign (with more than 200 signatures) for Eco-Friendly Ganesha was initiated by two students at the college level and resulted in the installation of an eco-friendly Ganesha in the computer lab of the college this year
- Inspiration – Students attended the CMCA event “Inspiration” on 9th August, 2017
- World Democracy day (Campaign) and Club Launch was celebrated on 14th September, 2017 where in students participated in a skit highlighting the 4 C’s and the use of help-line numbers
Second Term:
- Preamble of our Constitution – Understanding the key words in the Preamble of our Constitution as well as a peep into the Preambles of few other countries was covered
- Challenges that pose Indian Democracy – Caste System was explained with the help of an interesting “Bindi” activity. Reservation viewed as Affirmative actions by few countries was discussed
- A session on Fundamental Duties – Being informed about the much less known Fundamental Duties made the College Curriculum special
- An activity on Social Scientific Temper – Apart from respecting our Constitution and practicing Fundamental Rights, CMCA Yuva emphasised on developing Social Scientific Temper through yet another interesting activity
- Critical Thinking : To build critical thinking in students a discussion on “India Shining, India Pining” was taken up
- Celebrating Diversity and Composite Cultures – We conclude this year with Celebrating Diversity and Composite Cultures with the help of an eye opener Audio Visual “The DNA Journey”
- Valedictory Programme – On 4th April, 2018 Certificates of completion of the CMCA’s Campus and Community Yuva – Life Skills Programme 2017-18 were awarded to all the students of the S.Y.B.Com. class of the college
Plans for the next year …
In the new academic year of 2018-19, the college is moving forward and participating in the CMCA’s Campus Yuva Citizenship and Life Skill Education Program. The Campus program is an intensive six month course on Active Citizenship introduced in colleges to inculcate in the students the knowledge of rights, obligations, societal values, constitution and leadership roles. The sessions are interactive and experiential which encourage students to express their thoughts on various issues and opportunities for community participation. This process of delivery not only imparts civic education but also develops critical skills for active citizenship.
The CMCA announces a WORKSHOP series for college students. Young people are concerned about their future, their career and life. CMCA workshops empower students with values and skills which are important in everyday life and for any work place. CMCA programmes instil life skills like empathy, critical thinking, team work, communication, confidence and more. CMCA students learn to work in a team, focus on solutions, live with differences, are gender sensitive and value different opinions. These programmes are an innovation – transforming in education for democracy into a more empowering and democratic learning process for young people in India.
Why should a college opt for the Campus Yuva Citizenship and Life Skills Education Programme Workshops?
A National Urban Baseline survey on Democratic Citizenship values and attitudes of youth in urban India called Yuva Nagrik Meter 2015 was conducted. The respondents were students, college-educated and coming from cities. The findings are alarming and rather than reaping a demographic dividend we could be looking at a demographic disaster. Few findings from the survey:
- Is young India ready to preserve and cherish our democracy?
Answer – The national score on democracy among young people in urban India stand at 21%
Source – www.cmcaindia.org/yuva-nagarik-meter - Gender Equality – 39% girls and 43% of boys “agreed” that women have no choice but to accept a certain degree of violence
- 51% boys and girls “agreed” that the main role of women is to take care of the household and bring up children
- Diversity – 65% of college students favour prohibition of meeting between boys and girls belonging to different religions in public places
- Democratic Governance – 74% of High School and college students do not know that the Legislature is responsible for enacting laws
- Social Justice – 49% college students “agreed” that people who work as domestic help cannot demand minimum wages and other facilities
- Adherence to Law – 43% “agreed” that it is alright to violate rules because one can always get away with bribing officials
There is a Supreme Court Judgement (Hon’ble Shri Ranganath Mishra vs. Union of India and Others) which obligates the State to educate the citizens in the matter of Fundamental Duties so that a right balance between Rights and Duties may emerge. In this context, a Fundamental Duties Course is mandated by the Supreme Court at the under-graduate level. In the few colleges which do run the course, students do not relate to the course as it is highly theoretical and does not speak to their lived realities.
Workshops are interactive and appropriate for engaging in themes such as Diversity and Social Justice; Equality and Gender; Composite Culture; Social Scientific Temper; Harmony with Nature and Compassion for Living Creatures; Freedom of Expression and Personal Liberties.
When the students participate willingly and are brave to express their thoughts freely they will become agencies of CHANGE and the programme is sure to achieve its objective.
4th April 2018
Dr. Padma Rangan (Principal) and Dr. Lata Krishnan (Teacher Co-ordinator)
The CMCA Nagrik Life Skills Program for the year 2017-18 has been concluded. I take this opportunity to thank both of you and the staff for the constant support extended. It has enabled us to reach out to the students who will spread the message of CMCA. We hope our presence has made a difference in their attitude towards civic and other relevant issues. We had 16 sessions throughout the year and covered the importance of being active and responsible citizens.
First Term:
Sessions were conducted for 2 combined divisions of Second year Commerce students. We began with Introduction to CMCA and the findings of YUVA Nagrik Meter Survey readings. With Democratic Citizenship Values of 21%, the need for raising awareness among the youth of India was brought out. This is the first time CMCA curriculum was being implemented in the College.
“The Right Move” movie was relayed in the subsequent session with the follow up on Urban Local Governance. Students were familiarized with the help line numbers of BMC, its different departments and other agencies.
The signature campaign (with more than 200 signatures) for Eco-Friendly Ganesha was initiated by two students at the college level and resulted in the installation of an eco-friendly Ganesha in the computer lab of the college this year.
Students attended the CMCA event “Inspiration” on 9th August, 2017.
World Democracy Day (Campaign) and Club Launch was celebrated on 14th September, 2017 where in students participated in a skit highlighting the 4 C’s and the use of help-line numbers.
Second Term:
For this term we were given combined sessions so as to do justice to the subsequent 3 sections in the College Curriculum. Understanding the key words in the Preamble of our Constitution as well as a peep into the Preambles of few other countries was covered. Challenges that pose Indian Democracy (Caste System) were made to understand with the help of an interesting “Bindi” activity. Also reservation viewed as Affirmative actions by few countries were discussed.
Being informed about the much less known Fundamental Duties makes the College Curriculum special. Apart from respecting our Constitution and practicing Fundamental Rights, CMCA Yuvalays emphasis on developing Social Scientific Temper through yet another interesting activity. This section is very relevant and helps in building Critical Thinking Skills in the youth.
We conclude this year with Celebrating Diversity and Composite Cultures with the help of an eye opener Audio Visual “The DNA Journey”.
A special thanks to Dr. Padma Rangan who has now made MES College a pioneer partner with the CMCA Yuva program and to Dr. Lata Krishnan for facilitating every session.
We welcome any feedback from your side, which can help us make it an even more enriching experience for the students. Once again we thank you for all the support given to Team CMCA and look forward to the continuance of this mutually empowering association.