No TV from 7pm to 9pm in Dharashiv villages: ZP to promote new mandate to encourage schoolchildren to study

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Dharashiv Zilla Parishad has announced its intention to launch a campaign in all villages under its jurisdiction that will mandate keeping televisions switched off between 7pm and 9pm in all households, in a bid to improve academic habits among school students. ZP president Archana Patil said on Thursday that the move will ensure that children dedicate time to studies.Patil said special teams will be appointed to implement and monitor the initiative across villages, aimed at creating a disciplined study environment at home, especially for students from economically weaker sections (EWS) studying in ZP schools."We intend to start this initiative from mid-May, so that students get used to the schedule before schools reopen in June. In every village, a siren will be sounded at 7pm and 9pm to signal switching off and on TVs and other electronic gadgets," Patil said.She added that this initiative will be implemented in each of the over 700 villages in the district with the help of ZP employees, ranging from teachers to Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers.Alongside this, the ZP administration has also decided to restart semi-English-medium education in its schools from the coming academic year to address the steady decline in enrolments. Officials said many parents have been shifting their children to private English-medium schools, putting additional financial pressure on poor families.The measure comes after enrolment in ZP schools dropped by around 9,000 students over the past two years, following the discontinuation of semi-English sections. The decline also led to 247 teaching posts becoming redundant.The administration is further focusing on improving infrastructure, including building modern toilets in all schools and prioritising the construction of new classrooms instead of repairs. In addition, efforts are being stepped up by ZP officials for women's empowerment and nutrition. Nutritional support will be provided to pregnant women and adolescent girls through anganwadis, while tracking of expectant mothers will be strengthened to tackle malnutrition. Simultaneously, health services will continue to be delivered through ASHA workers.