For over a decade now, consumer groups in the country have been pitching for introduction of consumer education in the school curriculum — the idea being that consumer awareness should begin at that level. Unfortunately, not many states have taken to the idea . About five years ago, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) deliberated on the issue, held a workshop wherein the participants discussed ways and means of making consumer education part of the school system. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) too prepared a handbook for teachers on imparting consumer education at the secondary school level. These efforts however did not translate into concrete action. Meanwhile, a few consumer groups began to impart consumer education through extracurricular activities in educational institutions and started ‘consumer clubs’. The idea soon gained currency and more than schools, colleges began to take active interest in promoting the consumer movement. Some of the colleges in Haryana, for example, began to invite the local community to their weekly meetings of consumer clubs and also started helping those who wanted to file cases before consumer courts.
Encouraged by these developments, the Union ministry of consumer affairs has now decided to promote more such clubs in schools around the country. In order to concretise and systematise this, it has also drawn up a list of activities for such clubs and has also offered to provide the required funds for such clubs in middle and higher secondary schools. The consumer club scheme drawn up by the Union government envisages a minimum of 50 students in each consumer club and one such club in a school. The club will be under the charge of a teacher and there would be a coordinating agency for a group of 20-50 of such clubs. The job of the coordinating agency will be to provide the necessary direction to the club, provide them with resource materials, liaison with the school authorities and maintain the accounts of expenditure of the club.
The ministry will provide financial support at the rate of Rs 10,000 per year for each club, out of which Rs 2,000 will be retained by the coordinating agen- cy. The funding will be available only for two years, after which the clubs are expected to become self-sufficient. The government also suggests that the clubs collect Re 1 a month from each student.
According to the ministry of consumer affairs, the response to the scheme has been overwhelming. Several state governments including West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura have already sent in the lists of schools that are keen to set up consumer clubs. Given the limited funds set aside for the purpose, the government has decided to restrict the scheme to 500 schools in large states and 250 in smaller states.
Besides discussions and debates, the clubs are expected to organise exhibitions, stage plays and come up with innovative ideas to promote consumer awareness among students. The success of this scheme depends on the interest shown by schools and the coordinating agencies in achieving the objectives of the clubs.
