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Education and Water Conflicts in Pune, India

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Transformative Pedagogic Practice

Part of the book series: Education for Sustainability ((EDFSU))

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Abstract

This chapter reflects on India’s educational system and environmental challenges that have the potential to be addressed through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). I examine the development, reforms, and structure of India’s educational system with a particular focus on environmental education and the principal role of textbooks in classroom teaching. I discuss the relevance of ESD in India using the example of water resource conflicts. The importance of geography as central subject for ESD-oriented water education in schools is highlighted. To demonstrate the relevance of the topic “water conflicts” as a challenge to sustainable development, I outline the growing water demands as well as intra-urban disparities of water access and controversies on causes of insufficient water supply. I focus in particular on the example of the emerging megacity of Pune.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Hinduism, a guru is a spiritual leader guiding disciples, shikshas, to knowledge. The ancient guru–shiksha relationship is marked by a close relation of the teacher and the learner, in which students learned to cite, e.g., the Ramakrishna, by word of mouth. Traditionally, thoughts from the guru were transferred through oral communication to the shiksha.

  2. 2.

    This statement is based on interviews with national educational stakeholders in March 2012.

  3. 3.

    The census data for 2011 were not available free of charge.

  4. 4.

    Information on CSE was given by a staff member during an expert interview.

  5. 5.

    Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.

  6. 6.

    However, improved drinking water source merely means “one where human use is kept separate from use by animals and fecal contamination. In many cases the water from such sources is not of good enough quality to be safe for human consumption” (UN World Water Assessment Programme 2015).

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  1. University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Stephanie Leder

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Leder, S. (2018). Education and Water Conflicts in Pune, India. In: Transformative Pedagogic Practice. Education for Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2369-0_4

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