The School Scholar Program

India is grappling with an extreme water crisis, making it one of the most vulnerable countries globally. One of the key contributing factors is the lack of accessible and understandable water education. The shortage of expertise, along with limited institutional capacity and a constrained workforce, has further intensified the situation. As a result, the co-creation of practitioners, who can undertake projects to analyse and solve water problems, is significantly hindered. Our initiative aims to address these challenges through education that simplifies the complexity of the water crisis. We aim to engage with students from classes VI to XII through online or offline sessions wherever possible. This will be a facilitated online platform, offering educational materials, videos, and interactive tools in multiple languages. Through this approach, we aim to equip school students with a fundamental understanding of water-related concepts, empowering them to translate this knowledge into sustainable water management practices.

India has been rich in water resources since ancient times. However, over time, many challenges such as overextraction, contamination, climate change, the lack of proper governance and guidelines, etc., have severely impacted water resources in India (Jain, 2017; 2019). India relies heavily on groundwater, which is being extracted at a rate exceeding 250 cubic km per year: the highest in the world, to irrigate crops and for drinking and other purposes (Poeter et al. 2020). The Concurrent use of surface water has also risen due to urbanization and Industrialization. Moreover, Climate change is intensifying water-related disasters and degrading water quality in the country (Gupta, 2020). Salinity and seawater intrusion poses serious threats to the water resources (Chakraborti et al. 2011). Taken together, the ongoing water crisis poses significant risks to poverty reduction, food & nutritional security, public health, and social equity. Addressing this crisis requires integrated water resource management based on scientific knowledge and technological intervention to ensure sustainable use of this vital resource for future generations. In this context, water education can play a critical role in making water-related knowledge accessible and understandable. Engaging school students in water resource management concepts can contribute to the development of a large, informed, and responsible future workforce, capable of supporting and strengthening sustainable water management programs.

The Synthesis of Knowledge through detailed literature research and a thorough review of NCERT textbooks will be the basis for designing practical lecture sessions. These lectures will cover the fundamentals of the hydrological cycle, methods for estimating water resources, water quality, and sanitation, structural and non-structural measures for water resource management, the impact of climate change, water governance, and notable successful stories. Each session will be delivered either online or offline and will include at least one hour dedicated to Q&A sessions. The overall quality of the program will be further enhanced by the expertise and experience of the resource persons involved.

Dr. Pankaj Kumar Gupta is a hydrogeologist with extensive experience in soil and groundwater management, both in India and internationally. He holds a PhD in hydrology and has taught at IIT Delhi and the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramanujan Fellowship awarded by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), Government of India. Dr. Gupta has also delivered a talk on soil-water quality management on the PM eVidya channel, organized by the NCERT. He has authored numerous journal articles, books, and scientific publications focusing on groundwater and its sustainable management.

The SCHOOL SCHOLAR program aims to build capacity to fulfil the existing gaps in sustainable water management through targeted education and awareness initiatives. The goal is to empower students to actively participate in water resource management practices. To achieve this, the SCHOOL SCHOLAR program will provide deeply researched and authentic information to foster awareness among the students, and students will also have the opportunity to engage with the subject matter experts.