Service learning, a teaching method that combines classroom lessons with community service, has a high impact on education, as it is mutually beneficial to both students and society at large, R. Selvarajan, director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, National Research Centre for Banana (ICAR-NRCB), said on Thursday.
Mr. Selvarajan, addressing the inaugural session of the two-day conference on “Service Learning and Global Sustainability: Bridging Research and Community Development” co-hosted by the Deaneries of Academics and Research Development at Bishop Heber College, said agriculture had the potential to engage students in not just academic analysis, but also in understanding the rural communities of India.
He cited the example of the Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) programme to re-orient graduates of agriculture and allied subjects in community service. “All the technology being developed in state agricultural universities or ICAR is being taken to the farming community through RAWE,” said Mr. Selvarajan.
The official added that although research was important on its own merit for generating knowledge, educational institutions should ensure that the community’s needs were met through service learning.
In his keynote address, Rev. Maher Spurgeon, consultant, director for South Asia, United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, said, “Service learning is reciprocal. Both the student and the community can grow through this important pedagogy tool.”
The conference was inaugurated in the presence of A. Suresh Kumar, Bishop’s Commissary, J.G.R. Sathiaseelan, vice-principal (Aided), Bishop Heber College, and senior officials. Its proceedings were released in four volumes during the inauguration ceremony.
Academicians from Singapore, Hong Kong, Rome, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and local institutions will be helming the technical sessions during the programme. The conference is scheduled to end on February 28.
