Page 191 - Education

'Percentage of students enrolled in civic schools declining'

A report released by the Praja Foundation, an NGO, said Wednesday that the exodus of students from government-run schools in Mumbai has not stopped. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's ploy to distribute freebies such as tablet computers in civic schools is only a "cosmetic" measure, and it does not help provide "quality education", it said. As per the report, in 2013-14, 4.01 lakh students (45 per cent of all students) were enrolled in municipal schools, which dropped to 2.97 lakh (37 per cent) in 2017-18. "Enrolment in all types of schools in Mumbai has fallen by 11 per cent in last five years while percentage share of the private unaided and unrecognised schools has risen significantly," said Nitai Mehta, Founder and Trustee, Praja Foundation. Milind Mhaske, director of the Praja Foundation, said while the number of schools with upto 100 students increased in the last five years from 311 in 2013-14 to 426 in 2017-18, 229 schools have closed in the last ten years .

A glimmer of hope

Aser 2018 finds some improvements in primary education

IIT-Delhi gets Rs 50-cr grant for School of Public Policy

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and Tata Trusts signed a pact on Wednesday, under which the trust will give a grant of Rs 50 crore to the institution over a period of five years for the School of Public Policy.

Teachers test cancelled after question paper leak in Odisha

The Odisha Teachers Eligibility Test (OTET) was cancelled Wednesday after alleged question paper leak, said the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), president Jahan Ara Begum. While the OTET examination was going on Wednesday, images of the question paper went viral on the social media. "After ascertaining that the questions circulating on the social media matches with that of the original questions of the test, we were left with no option but to cancel it," the BSE president said. The new dates of the OTET exam will be announced soon, the BSE said. More than 1.11 lakh aspiring teachers were supposed to appear in the OTET in at least 250 centres across the state The BSE president said an internal probe into the alleged question paper leak has been ordered and the Board has handed over the case to the crime branch of state police. The first sitting of the examination had just begun and soon the questions were found doing the rounds in social media.

JU professor barred from campus, teaching duties for sexist remarks, summoned by WBCW

Jadavpur University on Wednesday barred from its campus International Relations' Professor Kanak Sarkar, who has drawn all-round condemnation for his series of sexist and inappropriate comments on virginity, and ordered him not to take classes or be involved with the examination processes pending inquiry by women's bodies and the university.

75% Kerala school students don't have computer at home: Survey

A survey conducted among schoolchildren in Kerala revealed that 75 per cent of them do not have a computer at home.

Cabinet okays revised cost to construct 13 central varsities

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave its approval for Revised Cost of Estimate (RCE) for the construction of 13 new central universities, to facilitate completion of the project within 36 months.

Left students union to march to Parliament over communalism, privatisation of education on Feb 18

Alleging communalism of education, threat to campus democracy and privatisation of education, Left students' unions will march to Parliament on February 18 against the government, a statement from the unions said Wednesday. The unions, including SFI, AISF, AIDSO, PSU and AISM, have made a slew of demands from the government for the education sector. "Communalism has been another severe threat to the secular fabric of education system. Syllabuses have been changed drastically, under the BJP governments in various states, which replaced science and history with myths and puranas. Historical facts are distorted and the Sangh parivar agents are appointed at the head of different institutions and universities," they alleged in the combined statement. Their demands include the establishment of a nationwide fully state-funded and free common education system from kindergarten to post-graduation, increased government spending on education, protection of federal character of education, release

Prof barred from teaching, entering campus after FB post likening virgin woman to sealed bottle

Jadavpur University on Wednesday divested professor Kanak Sarkar of teaching duties and barred him from entering the campus with immediate effect, pending inquiries, following outrage over his Facebook post in which he likened a virgin woman to a "sealed bottle" . "In view of the recommendation of the department of International Relations, Prof Kanak Sarkar is divested of his teaching duties with immediate effect. Substitute arrangements will be decided in the meeting of the Board of Studies on January 18," a university notification said. Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das told reporters that Sarkar won't be allowed to "take classes or enter the varsity campus with immediate effect" till the inquiries of the university-appointed committee, the State Women's Commission and National Women's Commission are over. "We took the step after talking to students and department of International Relations and the internal code of conduct committee of the institute on the issue," he said. Sarkar, a ...

Will be happy to teach students of St Xavier's free after term

Jadavpur University Vice Chancellor Prof Suranjan Das Wednesday said he will be happy to teach students of both St Xavier's College and University free in future, after his term as the VC comes to an end. "As my present term (in JU) comes to end in coming days and I will not be saddled by official responsibilities any more, I shall be happy to teach in the post-graduate course (in St Xavier's) in my subject for free," Das said at the convocation of St Xaviers College here. Das said he cherished the unique opportunity to be part of the process, led by Father Felix Raj, who was presently the Vice-Chancellor of new St Xavier's University, "which sowed seeds of autonomous status of college." Das was conferred the Nihil Ultra award at the convocation. "I had closely observed how the college had used effectively the status of autonomy to attain new mark of excellence, I compliment them for introducing new courses initiating academic steps," he said. Das, who had been the VC of

Jadavpur University professor Kanak Sarkar divested of duties for 'virgin brides' remark on Facebook

Jadavpur University professor Kanak Sarkar who wrote a controversial post on 'virgin brides' has been divested of his duties with immediate effect on Wednesday.Om Prakash Mishra, head of the International Relations department, has forwarded the recommendation to the Vice Chancellor of the university.As per reports, the professor had compared a woman's virginity to a sealed bottle or packet in a Facebook post."In view of the recommendation of the Student-Teacher Committee of the Department, Prof. Kanak Sarkar is divested of his teaching duties with immediate effect. Substitute arrangements would be decided in the meeting of the Board of Studies scheduled on January 18, 2019," the recommendation stated."The committee deliberated for over three hours and they have recommended to me to divest him of his responsibilities as teacher in the department. It was also recommended by the committee that professor be debarred from teaching responsibilities in the university. There was also a demand

99-year-old school caught in Centre, Delhi govt tussle over land

The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that it was concerned over the safety of children studying in a 99-year-old school here, whose building is in a dilapidated state and urged the AAP government to relocate it. The Ministry of Defence said the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) has maintained that the Army should either make available an alternate land for the school or give a no-objection certificate for its construction at the same site. The Delhi government has sought for construction of the school at the same site to avoid any possible inconvenience to the students, it said. Rajputana Rifles Heroes Memorial Senior Secondary School at Delhi Cantonment, which was built on the land belonging to the Ministry of Defence was taken over by the Delhi administration in August 1975 and is getting full assistance from the state government. The Centre's submission were made in an affidavit in regard to a PIL by NGO Social Jurist, which has alleged that the school was in a .

Shipping body MASSA publishes list of preferred maritime institutes

Shipping body MASSA Wednesday said it has, for the first time, come out with a list of 40 Indian maritime institutes that are well-equipped to impart quality training to seafarers and students for merchant navy. "Maritime Association of Shipowners Shipmanagers and Agents (MASSA) has finally published a list of 40 Indian maritime training institutes as preferred academic establishments, which are well-equipped to impart quality education to Indian seafarers and Indian students keen on joining merchant navy," the association said in a statement. It said the exercise is aimed at helping Indian students to identify prestigious maritime institutes and also help Indian and foreign shipowners and marine crewing agencies worldwide recognise credible Indian maritime institutes for sourcing well-trained maritime workforce needed to operate around 50,000 specialised cargo ships across the globe. "No fee was charged to the maritime institutes, which participated voluntarily in this nine-month ...

Bombay HC seeks probe report on death of 3 students of Palghar school

The Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra government on Wednesday to submit a progress report on its probe into the death of three students of a residential school at Virar in Palghar district of the state in 2014. A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by parents of the three boys, all aged 14, who had allegedly escaped from their private residential school in August 2014 after being admonished by a teacher on their poor performance in an exam. Their bodies were found a day after their escape in a river close to the school. The medical report said the children died of drowning, and the charge sheet filed by the Virar police claimed that the students committed suicide. However, their parents filed the plea in HC seeking that the probe be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The parents told the bench on Wednesday that they suspected some foul play, and that the CBI must be directed to inquire ...

Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test cancelled after paper leaked

The Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) was cancelled and a probe ordered after its question paper was leaked on the social media on Wednesday, even as the first sitting of the examination was underway.

Paper leaked, Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test cancelled

The Board of Secondary Education (BSE) cancelled the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) and ordered a probe after its question paper leaked on social media on Wednesday.

Five students injured in bus collision in Kolkata

At least five students sustained minor injuries after two buses collided Wednesday morning in the central part of the city's Kankurgachi area, police said. Around 6.50am, the school bus of DPS Ruby Park slammed into another bus of West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) on Maniktala Main Road near Kankurgachi underpass in Phoolbagan Police Station area, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. The injured students were rushed to nearby ESI hospital, where they received preliminary treatment, he said. "The school bus was intercepted and the students were taken to school in another vehicle. We are talking to the drivers to find out more about the incident," the officer added.

Indian universities move up in global ranking with 49 institutions

India has improved its showing in the prestigious university rankings of Times Higher Education Emerging Economies with 49 institutions making it to the list including 25 in the top 200. China remains the most represented nation in the annual 2019 listing, claiming four of the table's top five positions with Tsinghua University topping the chart, according to the London-based Times Higher Education (THE), a global organisation that produces data, analysis and expertise on higher education. Leading India again is the Indian Institute of Science (14th), followed by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (27th). However, both of them slipped back a place this year, largely due to increased competition. The 2019 ranking comprises nearly 450 universities expanded from 378 last year from 43 countries, across four continents. This year's table presents a mixed picture for India, with several new entrants and high risers, alongside several institutions that dropped back. India has ...

DU appoints Shakti Singh as new DUSU president

DUSU vice-president Shakti Singh was promoted to the post of president on Tuesday.The Delhi University made the formal announcement after the High Court on December 18, 2018 had ordered Singh to take charge as DUSU president."The university had been delaying the decision for no reason since long. This comes after we created pressure upon the authorities. We still have many demands in line including demands for specially-abled students, fee reduction in the revaluation, filling posts of DU administration which has caused problems for students amongst others. If the university does not act upon these demands in the future, we would call a massive protest and would even demand the resignation of the Vice Chancellor," said ABVP's Siddharth Yadav.The DUSU elections were held in September.In November last year, Shakti Singh had staked claim for the top post of the Union, after Ankiv Baisoya resigned from the post of president following his suspension from the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi ...

50% Class V students can't read Class 2 text: Report

About 50 per cent students from Class V and 25 per cent from Class VIII from government schools across the country cannot read a simple text --letter, words, simple paragraph -- or a "story" with difficulty of Class II level, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) - 2018 report published on Tuesday said.