KUANTAN – Pahang Regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today revealed the target of having at least 50% of educational institutions in the state being recognised as green schools or institutions through the Eco-Schools and Eco-Campus programmes.
The royal said this was one of the four cores outlined in the Pahang Greening Education Partnership Roadmap 2023-2030, which aims to empower the younger generation with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to deal with increasingly pressing environmental challenges.
“The Greening Education Partnership is an initiative of the United Nations aimed at delivering robust and comprehensive actions to prepare every student to acquire knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to face climate change.
“It was also established to inspire the country to continue empowering students with the skills needed for inclusive and sustainable economic development in the context of the transition towards a digital and green economy,” he said.
Tengku Hassanal said this in his speech during the opening ceremony of Pahang Eco-Schools at SK Tunku Azizah here today, organised by the Green Growth Asia Foundation in collaboration with the state government and the Pahang Education Department.
Also present were Tengku Puteri Raja Tengku Puteri Ilyana, who is royal patron of the Pahang Eco-Schools Programme, and Tengku Puteri Raja Tengku Puteri Ilisha Ameera, along with Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
The Eco-Schools programme, said Tengku Hassanal, was the most important element in making the roadmap a success and the best platform to set an example and increase awareness and recognition of environmental issues through education.
A total of 100 primary and secondary schools in Pahang will initially be involved in the programme.
The plan also aims for all of the schools involved to integrate climate change education into their curriculums and for all of the higher education institutions involved to offer sustainable development management courses.
It also entails the principal or headmaster and at least two teachers from each school in Pahang attending a climate change education course as well as all schools in Federal Land Development Authority settlements under the programme becoming education centres for sustainable community development.
Tengku Hassanal added that the Eco-Schools programme is the largest education programme for sustainable development in the world, with 95 participating countries involving 20 million students and one million teachers.
Educational intervention for sustainable development, according to the Pahang royal, also makes youth the agents of change in building a net-zero-carbon society.
Tengku Hassanal also urged all parties including government agencies, the private sector, and international and non-governmental organisations to support, contribute, and share their expertise to ensure the plan succeeds. – Bernama, June 13, 2023
