Schools these days impart so much more than just knowledge. From giving happiness lessons to being all-inclusive, old traditional schools have come a long way. However, it is not just a school’s duty to look after a nation’s young minds, the state can share the responsibility too.
In a very positive step, the officials of an Indonesian city have hatched a plan to wean children off smartphones by giving them fluffy chicks to raise. Around 2,000 four-day-old chicks will be handed out to pupils at elementary and junior high schools in Bandung in the coming weeks in an attempt to distract the kids from their gadgets reports Hindustan Times.
According to News 18, students will have to feed their new pets before and after school and they can keep them at home or on school premises if they don’t have space in their backyard. Authorities in the city, around 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of the capital Jakarta, have dubbed the unusual project “chickenisation”.
Bandung’s Mayor Oded M. Danial held a symbolic hand-over ceremony to launch this pilot program, reports CNN. At the ribbon-cutting held on Thursday, a dozen chicks in cages were distributed with a sign that read: “Please take good care of me”. “There is an aspect of discipline here,” said the mayor. But the project isn’t just about curbing schoolkids’ phone habits, he added, it is also part of a national plan to broaden pupils’ education launched by President Joko Widodo.
A concerned mother, Yayah Ratnasari, expressed hopes as this initiative might encourage her son to become a poultry farmer. “It’s more beneficial for them to take care of chicks than play with smartphones,” she said. But her teenage son Rabil was less enthused. “It’s more interesting playing with a smartphone,” he said.
In today’s age and time, smartphone addiction is a real concern and individuals need to go on a digital detox. We’re glad to see the Indonesian authorities’ creative approach to this serious issue.