Imphal, August 16 2009: In one of the major innovative initiatives mulled to be taken up by the Department of Education (S), excursions and tours to historical and important landmarks of Manipur will now be a part of educational experience of every student studying in Government schools.

The tours will be organized by private organisations which will soon be called for expression of interest with details of proposed route of travel, itinerary of interesting and historical places, costs etc.

"This initiative, other than imparting a holistic educational experience to the students, will also give a boost to the local tourism potential and in fact kick-start the tourism industry of the state in line with the broad vision of making the state a big tourist destination", said Director of Education (S) M Harekrishna.

The Government has been earmarking adequate funds for organizing tours for schools but students have not benefited much as this has not been planned in a systematic and meaningful manner by the respective schools.

Most of the times, schools take the students to a couple of often visited places having no historical or educational value.

Educational excursions have thus been reduced to just mindless sightseeing, merry making and shopping.

The proposed plan of handing over organizing educational tours to private players will address this deficiency.

The move will also enthuse the students as different tour packages will be tailored according to the educational needs of the students.

"For example, students residing in Imphal have heard a lot about siroy lily but has any of them seen the real flower in its natural habitation in Ukhrul? For that matter, students in Machi Village in Chandel may not have visited Kangla.

EduTour will take these students to places which they would really love to see and learn on the spot," elaborated Harekrishna.

One of the attractions of EduTour will be the tour guides who will not only take the students to remarkable places of importance but will also actually inform the students about the significance of the place with its notable historical connections and salient background.

Students will also be provided literature about the places they have visited for quick recall and future reference.

Besides the underlying concept of learning with fun and promoting local tourism economy, EduTour will also bring students belonging to different communities closer and get them to talk, play and eat together.

"And this is what we need in Manipur in these times of ethnic tension, communal divisions and violence.

We need to bridge the artificial gap between the communities and create opportunities of constant interaction.

Edu Tour will be a small but important initiative in that direction," continues Harekrishna.

Interested private organizations willing to organize educational tour programmes may contact the Directorate of Education (S) for details.

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