Environmental and Nature Education in India: Policy, Practice, and Challenges

Malaya Padhan

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2023.v05i06.55117

Environmental and Nature Education in India: Policy, Practice, and Challenges

Author(s)	Malaya Padhan
Country	India
Abstract	Environmental and nature education is increasingly recognised as essential to advancing sustainability, particularly within the framework of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In India, environmental education has been formally integrated into the school system through the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 and reinforced by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Both frameworks emphasise interdisciplinary, experiential, and action-oriented learning designed to foster environmental literacy. However, significant challenges persist in translating policy into practice. This paper reviews the Indian education ecosystem to critically examine barriers in the effective implementation of environmental education. Drawing on global frameworks, national policy documents, and scholarly literature up to 2023, the analysis highlights systemic gaps, including limited teacher preparedness, curriculum overload, lack of experiential pedagogy, infrastructural deficits, and inadequate monitoring. The findings also point to deeper socio-cultural exclusions, particularly the neglect of indigenous knowledge systems and the absence of intersectional justice perspectives. At the same time, innovative practices such as eco-clubs, ICT-enabled learning, and community-based conservation efforts illustrate potential pathways for renewal. The discussion underscores the urgent need for contextualised, justice-centred, and participatory approaches that align environmental learning with local ecological realities and social equity concerns. The paper concludes with recommendations to strengthen teacher training, develop eco-literacy indicators, invest in school infrastructure, and embed community participation. By addressing these systemic gaps, India can move closer to embedding environmental education as a transformative practice that empowers learners as active agents of ecological and social change.
Keywords	Environmental education, Nature Education, sustainability, National Education Policy 2020, Education for Sustainable Development, environmental literacy, Environmental curriculum
Field	Sociology > Education
Published In	Volume 5, Issue 6, November-December 2023
Published On	2023-11-08
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2023.v05i06.55117

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Environmental and Nature Education in India: Policy, Practice, and Challenges

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