Organized by Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under the ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan,’ launched an inter-ministerial initiative in 2021 named Toycathon to challenge India’s innovative minds to conceptualize novel toys and games based on Bharatiya civilization, history, culture, mythology, and ethos.

While the impact in other states and union territories remains unclear, Jammu and Kashmir’s SCERT, despite initial excitement, took on the responsibility and, over the course of three years, struggled to effectively implement the initiative.

Lacking a concrete plan, those at the helm held repeated meetings with staff who were ill-equipped for the task. The responsibility was then handed down from SCERT to the District Institutes of Education (DIET) and ultimately passed on to the schools.

Schoolchildren were tasked with using outdated materials and prehistoric themes, while receiving minimal innovative or practical guidance from mentors already overwhelmed with other schemes, syllabus completion, and various other curricular and non-curricular responsibilities.

Over two years, tens of thousands of students from both provinces of J&K UT participated in Toycathon, with SCERT’s Director, Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas, proudly claiming that J&K was the first UT to organize the initiative on such a massive scale. Manhas also hosted Toycathon grand finals in both provinces, attended by........

© Kashmir Observer