In a country where joint families are slowly giving way to nuclear households, a quiet gap has been growing between children and their grandparents’ generation. Schools have long focused on academics, sports and digital learning, but conversations across age groups often remain limited to family spaces. But now, the Central Board of Secondary Education (“CBSE”) is planning to change that. The CBSE inter-generational activities programme will bring students and senior citizens together on school campuses, creating opportunities for dialogue, shared learning, and mutual respect.
Here’s everything you need to know about the CBSE Intergenerational Programme that aims to bring grandkids and grandparents closer:
The initiative aims to build empathy, preserve cultural memory and strengthen emotional well-being among students. With rising concerns about loneliness among elderly citizens and increasing screen dependency among children, CBSE’s move signals a shift towards value-based engagement. By introducing planned inter-generational activities, the board intends to encourage storytelling sessions, skill-sharing workshops, heritage discussions and community service projects involving grandparents and local senior citizens. The effort reflects a broader push within the education system to promote social awareness alongside academic growth.
According to plans shared by the Central Board of Secondary Education, schools affiliated with the board will be encouraged to organise structured interactions between students and elderly community members. These may include oral history sessions where seniors share experiences about India’s past events, traditional art and craft demonstrations, mentorship conversations, and joint environmental or social responsibility drives.
What will the school programmes include?
- Organise celebrations that honour senior family members
- Invite grandparents to share life stories and experiences
- Create intergenerational discussions that build respect and understanding
- Host storytelling sessions, traditional games, art and cultural programmes involving elders and students
- Invite grandparents to key occasions such as Independence Day, Children’s Day and the International Day of Older Persons
The larger aim is to build empathy, reinforce family connections and give children real opportunities to learn wisdom, values and history directly from the older generation.
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