In Hindi the word 'Bal' means a child and 'shree' denotes fame and also used as an aura of glory. Shree also stands for Goddess of Wealth and Goddess of Knowledge. The epithet ‘Bal Shree’ was considered to be the most appropriate for defining the attributes of those very creative young ones, who possess unmatchable qualities, unique approach and innovative ways and thereby they not only enrich the society but also cover themselves with glory. Such children are an asset to the society and therefore, it was considered to honour them as Bal Shree.
History
Bal Shree Scheme was conceived in 1993. After working out its modalities, it was finally launched in 1995. It was last in the year 2015 for the year 2011 & 2012 and has since been discontinued.
Areas of creative expression
The Bal Shree Honour is awarded to creative children in the age group of 9–16 years in the following areas of expression.
The selection of creative children in four areas is done at three levels:
Local Level
Zonal Level
National Level
Local Level
At this level National Bal Bhavan and all affiliated State Bal Bhavans undertake preliminary screening for selecting candidates for National level camp. A 2- days camp for member children is organized at State Bal Bhavans. After local selection 8 children are nominated by the affiliated Bal Bhavans for their respective Zonal level camps. An additional nomination is sent in case the nominee is a child of special needs or from tribal areas.
Zonal Level
In the zonal level, the country has been divided into different zones – North, East, West, Central, and South. As there are large number of Bal Bhavans in the southern region, South Zone has further been divided into two zones – South-I and South-II Zones. Every year different Zonal Centers are identified for organizing zonal selection camps. As there are certain states where there are no Bal Bhavans, representation of these states are ensured through the Chief Secretaries of these states. Children selected at the local levels participate in these 3-days zonal level camps where the second round of selections is made by local experts, specialists from the Zone and National Bal Bhavan. The local resource persons are thoroughly briefed by the National Bal Bhavan before the start of the camps.
National Level
This is the final level where the qualifying students from different States are provided a common platform to prove their creativity in their respective fields at the 4-days National Level Camp held at National Bal Bhavan. New Delhi. A panel of experts and resource persons drawn from the various streams is identified to administer the tests. In the National Level camp the psychological tests are also conducted by experts. These include verbal tests and tests on creativity. On the basis of these tests and other tools, the children are finally selected.
Criteria of Selection
While selecting children, the process and product are assessed on the basis of:
Originality
Innovative approach
Fluency
Flexibility
Divergent thinking
Elaboration of ideas
Creative process culminating into meaningful product
Effective functioning in the group
Analytical and critical approach
Tools used for selection of children
There are two types of tools used for selection of children
For identifying the creative talents of children, an exhaustive list of activities is planned in four identified areas. The tools are specific to the activity as well as according to the different age groups. These tools are continuously being evolved and every time new and innovative tools are administered for identifying creativity of children.
Psychological Test
Standardized Psychological tests on creativity are administered.
Norms of National Bal Shree Honour Scheme
The participant must not be below 9 years nor above 16 years of age as on 1 April of the year of participation.
The three age groups would be 9 to 11 years, 11 to 14 years and 14 to 16 years. The age group will be decided on the basis of age as on 1 April of the year of participation.
As has been regularly intimated to State Bal Bhavans since 2001, a child can participate in Bal Shree selection process a maximum of 2 times, be it at any level, that too provided the stream or age group is different at the time of participation for the second time. A Bal Shree Awardee is debarred from participating again in the Bal Shree selection process.
