Annual Report 2008-2009 and through their practical experience learn about human rights values and duties. Adoption of this kind of an approach would not only make human rights education in the school system interesting but also all encompassing in terms of building their overall human personality and character as it would enable them to understand basic meaning of concepts like rights, freedom, democracy, tolerance, peace, secularism, etc. 6. In order to bring about a smooth integration of human rights education at different levels in the school system, due emphasis needs to be given on training of teachers who would be dealing with this subject so that they are able to internalize basic human rights concerns as well as overcome barriers imposed by their own conditioning. The training of teachers should be of practical and participatory nature rather than theoretical. Their training should also draw attention to the practice of corporal punishment in schools which is a serious violation of children’s rights. 7. It was felt that in order to spread the culture of human rights education in schools, teachers from other disciplines too should be acquainted to this component through in-service training and other kinds of training imparted to them from time to time. Likewise, parents of school children should also be oriented and sensitized to the discipline of human rights education. 8. Efforts should simultaneously be made to ensure that human rights education is imparted to children who are not studying in schools or those in difficult circumstances. 9. For universalizing the contents of human rights education in schools, it was unanimously expressed that the Recommendations of NHRC with regard to - Module on Human Rights Education for Teaching Professionals Imparting Education in Primary, Secondary, Higher Secondary Levels, and Human Rights Education at the University and College Levels be used for reference purposes as it contained comprehensive information on different human rights concerns, some of which could be easily integrated into the syllabus of human rights education in the school system. 10. For inclusion of human rights education component in the school system, it was articulated that the Central and State Governments should either enhance the existing budget for education in schools or have a separate budget altogether for human rights education. 11. Emphasis was also laid on preparing a comprehensive plan of action for integration of human rights education in the school system at the national level. For this purpose, cooperation of different stakeholders both from within and outside the country may be solicited from the point of view of knowing their experiences and best practices. This would also facilitate in planning and preparing a road map for future actions. 12. Likewise, each State/Union Territory should also draw a plan of action for implementation of human rights education in the school system including a mechanism for its effective implementation. 109

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