Noida students in awe as India makes it to dark side of moon

All government schools in Gautam Budh Nagar district and some private schools organised a screening of the live telecast of the Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon for students. The decision was taken after the Uttar Pradesh education department ordered all schools in the state on Tuesday to show their students the live telecast of the moon landing.

While school dispersal times are usually between 1.30pm and 2pm, students were asked to return to school by 4.30pm to attend the screening.

Despite heavy rainfall in Noida and Greater Noida, hundreds of students turned up to watch the screening, according to the principals of many government schools.

At the Navjivan Balak Inter-College in Bhangel, 300 students watched the telecast on a smart screen. “There are 1,000 students in the school but only those who live nearby were asked to attend the screening. Even after rainfall, there was enthusiasm among students to watch the screening,” said Rajesh Kumar Singh, the principal.

According to Aditi Basu Roy, district president of All India Principals’ Association (GB Nagar chapter), and the principal of Grads International School, Greater Noida, only 40% of private schools held a screening for students. Roy asked her students to watch the landing at home and were given homework on it, said Roy.

At Delhi Public School (DPS) Noida in Sector 30, students came for the screening along with their parents. But DPS Noida was among the few private schools that organised a screening. Most private schools in Noida and Greater Noida asked students to watch the screening at home.

Kamini Bhasin, principal, DPS Noida, said, “There was a lot of excitement among students to watch the telecast.”

On the other hand, many government schools said they lacked technological equipment to organise screenings. According to official data from the district education department, out of 511 government schools in Gautam Budh Nagar district, only 161 are equipped with smart classes.

At Tugalpur Primary School, Gautam Budh Nagar, screening of the moon landing was organised on laptops and mobile phones.

The Uttar Pradesh Prathamik Shikshak Sangh (UPPSS) opposed the government order to organise the screening and wrote to the director, department of education. Dharmveer Singh, district inspector of schools, also opposed the mandatory screenings.

At Panchsheel Balak Inter College in Sector 91, Brajesh Singh, minister in-charge of Gautam Budh Nagar, and district magistrate Manish Verma, among other officials, attended the telecast with 200 students. “It is exhilarating to watch the Chandrayaan-3 landing with students who are getting inspired by the achievements of our country,” said Verma.

Aishwarya Laxmi, Gautam Budh Nagar Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), said, “The directives were mandatory for all. Schools that did not hold the screening will be served notices.”