Considering the importance and the crisis of climate change in recent times, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) is upgrading the whole syllabus of Environmental Science for Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) curriculum after a decade. Semester I and II of both curriculums were upgraded last year, and upgrading of Semester III and IV contents for B.Sc. and M.Sc. courses have been proposed for the upcoming session. The Board of Studies of Environment Science at RTMNU comprising Dr Pravin Meshram, Dr Sanjay Pal, Dr Bharti Tapase, and Kaustav Chatterjee, has made certain modifications in the syllabus and introduced changes. “The Board of Studies has designated new paper named ‘Climate Change and Its Consequences’.

 

It has been introduced in Semester I of M.Sc. It has been included for the first time in the syllabus,” Dr Sanjay Pal, Associate Professor and Ad-hoc Chairman, Board of Studies (Environment Science), told ‘The Hitavada’. “Students must be aware and get educated about the present scenario of climate crisis and its impact along with unprecedented loss of natural resources and biodiversity. To make the syllabus job-oriented, we have modified all subjects and introduced new papers as per the current requirements,” said Dr Pal. According to him, earlier the paper was completely based on theory. But, now, practical papers have been included in the new syllabus which will increase students’ interest and also allow them to get industrial exposure. India is well on track towards achieving its Paris Agreement targets well before the deadline of 2030. RTMNU Board of Studies has included the norms of Paris Agreement in Semester III and IV of M.Sc. curriculum. This has been proposed to the University, Dr Pal said.

 

The department could not conduct any industrial visits in the first year after implementation of the new syllabus due to COVID-19 pandemic, but the practical exposure would definitely give more knowledge and raise the interest among students from next year, he felt. “Climate change is real and its impacts are being felt. It is time we educate our youth about this topic. We need a climate-literate world. The basic concept of environmental education has changed completely during past decades. Hence, the syllabus needs to be in line with change,” said Kaustav Chatterjee, Member, Board of Studies and Vice-President, Reva Enviro Systems Pvt Ltd, Nagpur. The newly framed paper on Climate Change covers the fundamentals of climate change, its impact, economics, international scenario, Paris Agreement, adaptations, consequences, mitigation, NAPCC and Clean Air initiatives.

 

Other topics like climatology, cloud physics, Ocean Science, bioinformatics, genome analysis etc also are introduced in the new syllabus by the four-member Board of Studies. “In Semester III and IV, more focus has been given on job-oriented sectors like air and water pollution abatement, environment impact assessment, environment legislation, advanced waste water treatment, environmental management etc. We have tried to make the syllabus in line with the needs of various industrial and corporate sectors,” Chatterjee added.