Page 200 - Education

Parliament nods bill that scraps 'no detention' policy

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed after a brief discussion the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that seeks to scrap the "no detention" policy up to Class 8th for improving "learning outcomes".

Spending on 9 out of 21 central scholarship schemes declines in 2017-18

Spending on nine out of a total 21 central scholarship and fellowship schemes for students registered a decline between 2016-17 and 2017-18, the HRD Ministry informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Among the schemes where the expenditure recorded a decline are those for students hailing from the Northeast and belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. The ministry did not cite any reason for the decline. In reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for HRD said the scholarship/fellowship amount for postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral studies has been increased by 55 per cent from December 1, 2014. The amount spent for postdoctoral fellowship for SC/ST candidates saw an increase to Rs 22.6 crore from Rs 12.62 crore in 2015-16 and an increase to Rs 35.13 crore in 2016-17, but it declined to Rs 28.66 core in 2017-18. The amount spent for PG scholarship professional courses for SC/ST saw an increase from Rs 4.38 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 9.14 crore in 2015-16 but

OxfordCaps to expand presence in India

Singapore-headquartered OxfordCaps Thursday said it aims to expand its presence in cities like Indore, Pune and Bengaluru from May onwards as it looks to cash in on the growing opportunity in the student housing segment in India. OxfordCaps' platform allows university students to book ready-to-move-in student accommodation in Singapore and India (Delhi-NCR and Dehradun). The company is also looking at cities like Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Coimbatore to expand its presence, a statement said. "Keeping in mind the price-sensitive Indian students and their parents, we will be launching a new vertical - OxfordCaps Dorms by May 2019. There is a big section of the market which falls in the bracket of Rs 8,000-10,000 room rent per month, which we shall target and cater to without compromising on the quality of the living experience," OxfordCaps Founder and COO Priyanka Gera said. According to a Jones Lang La salle (JLL) 2018report, there are approximately 34 million students in

Rajasthan government doing 'Congressisation' of education system: Ex-Education Minister

Former state Education Minister Vasudev Devnani on Thursday accused the Rajasthan government of doing "Congressisation" of the state's education system by following a policy of minority appeasement.

Parliament approves NCTE amendment bill

Parliament Thursday approved a bill to provide retrospective recognition to central and state government funded institutions offering B.Ed and related courses that are not recognised under the National Council for Teacher Education Act. The National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill would help over 17,000 students who have obtained B.Ed degrees from those institutions which do not have NCTE approval for the course under the 1993 law, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said in Rajya Sabha. The bill would rovide post-facto approval to the students from several state and central universities, whose degree have no recognition under the 1993 law, the Minister said replying to the debate in the Upper House where it was passed Thursday. Lok Sabha has already passed this bill on July 23, 2018. Javadekar said this amendment would help several central and state universities that were running Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and related courses without having any ...

Rajya Sabha passes National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that seeks to retrospectively grant recognition to certain institutions running teacher education courses as well as grant retrospective permission to start new courses.

CM sets up committee to look into demands of para-teachers

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Thursday set up a high-level committee headed by Education Minister Neera Yadav to consider the demands of para-teachers, who are on strike for last three months in support of their various demands. Das appealed to all the para-teachers to return to work and said the state government is serious about their demands and their interest would be taken care. The para-teachers are demanding among others regularisation of their service and wage hike. Development Commissioner D K Tiwari, Finance Commissioner Sukhdev Singh and Education Scretary A P Singh are the other members of the committee, an official release said here. The chief minister issued directions that the committee will consider para-teachers demands for hike in honorarium, formulation of new rules for appointment of TeT (teachers eligibility test) passed candidates, it said. Das also directed the committee to recommend other demands after considering as per legality. The chief

50 per cent rise in children from EWS studying in private

There has been a 50 per cent rise in the number of children belonging to EWS families studying in various private schools under the Right to Education Act, with the number rising from 20 lakh in 2014-15 to over 33 lakh in 2017-18, the Rajya Sabha was informed Thursday. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar was replying to Supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on the number of students studying/admitted under Section 12(1)(c) mandating all private unaided schools and special category schools to admit in class I, to the disadvantaged and economically weaker sections of society. "From 20 lakh studying in 2014, this year in 2017-18, 33 lakh students are studying. But, many states have to declare, because it is in the state domain and state governments have to notify how much fees they will reimburse per student to private school," he said. The Minister said as many as 22 states have notified the rates, but in West Bengal no notification has been issued. Javadekar .

Casio contributing to education in Thailand

As multi-formulae scientific calculators are proving a boon for students in an advanced mathematics competition, a 'math competition' was held in Thailand to solve the problem of advanced mathematics.This competition was held in cooperation between OBEC (Office of the Basic Education Commission) of the Ministry of Education of Thailand and Japanese electronics manufacturing company Casio.In South-East Asian countries, STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), which promotes education specialised in science, has actively been introduced.The purpose of the 'math examination' is to use a scientific calculator to solve mathematical problems and compete with each other with an aim to increase the interest of the students in the subject while having fun.The scientific calculator is produced by Casio. Students must use these calculators to solve the problems within a time limit of one hour.Dr Thanarat, an official from OBEC, said: "According to Thailand's ...

Modi has fled Parliament: Rahul

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday kept up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying "it seems he fled to Lovely Professional University (LPU) to lecture students" instead of answering questions on the Rafale deal in Parliament.

Indiannica Learning Announces Launch of New Website

/ -- New design for new experience and engagement Indiannica Learning Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as Encyclopaedia Britannica (India) Private Limited), a subsidiary of Navneet Education Limited, announced today the launch of its newly designed website - https://www.indiannicalearning.com. The completely revamped website features a streamlined and simplified design, improved functionality, and enriched content areas. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628495/Indiannica_Learning_Logo.jpg ) Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sumit Gupta, Managing Director, Indiannica Learning said, "We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new website in the New Year. With this website, we intend to further our mission of enriching experiences of every user we connect with through a website that is faster and easier to navigate. The newly-designed contemporary interface will also make it easier for us to engage with parents and educators to promote knowledge and learning." The new website, with ...

Teenage girl dies after falling from school's roof

A 17-year-old girl died after falling from the roof of a three-storey school building in the northern part of the city, police said. The girl, a Class 11 student of Arya Kanya Mahavidyalaya in Bidhan Sarani, suffered serious injuries after she fell from the roof around 3 pm on Wednesday, they said. She later died at the state-run Medical College around 9 pm, an officer of Amherst street police station said. Police have lodged a case of unnatural death, and are talking to the school authorities and the girl's guardians for further investigation, the officer said. Officials of the Hindi-medium higher secondary school for girls refused to comment on the incident, but maintained that it adheres to all safety aspects of students in the institution.

Delhi ups academic faculty positions at SCERT, DIET

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday announced the government has increased the number of academic faculty positions at SCERT and DIETs.

DU's academic council meeting adjourned

The Delhi University's academic council meeting was adjourned on Wednesday after its members entered the well of the house over the reviewed report of the UGC regulations 2018 not being included in the agenda. A high-power committee was constituted to review the UGC regulations 2018 regarding service condition of teachers but the committee report was not placed in the agenda of the meeting, sources said. The committee had recommended absorption of ad-hoc teachers with immediate effect and the extension of other benefits like paid maternity leave to them, they added. Source's claimed the academic council member demanded the report be placed before them. They entered the well of the house and even boycotted the lunch and the meeting finally adjourned around 7 pm.

Pak PM Imran Khan's teacher Geoffrey Langlands dies

Major (retd.) Geoffrey Langlands, a former British officer who stayed on in Pakistan after the end of the colonial rule and became one of the country's most famous educators, with students including Prime Minister Imran Khan, died in Lahore on Wednesday. He was 101. Langlands has been honoured with Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Order of British Empire by the Queen of England for his contribution to humanity and education. Among Langlands' students were Prime Minister Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. "Saddened to learn of the passing of my teacher. Apart from being our teacher, he instilled the love for trekking and our northern areas in me - before the KKH was built," Khan tweeted along with pictures of him with Langlands. "I was 12 years old in the school (Aitchison College Lahore) picture," he said. British High Commissioner Thomas Drew said Pakistan has "lost a great friend and teacher of generations of its students." Born .

Punjab approves online transfer policy for teachers

To make the process of transfers more rational and transparent, the Punjab cabinet on Wednesday approved the online transfer policy of the school education department.

Class 11 girl injured after falling from school building roof

A class 11 student was seriously injured after falling from the roof of a three-storey school building in the northern part of the city on Wednesday, police said. The 17-year-old girl suffered serious injuries on her spinal chord, ribs and other parts of her body after falling from the roof of Arya Kanya Mahavidyalaya, a higher secondary girls' school. She was hospitalised in a serious condition, the police said. It was being investigated about how the girl reached the roof from her class room and whether she accidentally fell from the roof on the adjacent street. The school authorities refused to comment on the incident but maintained that all safety aspects are looked into with regard to the security of the students.

65 state-run & aided school to start English as the medium of

West Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee Wednesday said the government has given consent to 65 state-run and aided schools to start English as the medium of teaching from this month. Chatterjee told reporters here that "while Bengali studies will continue in the said 65 schools, we will also introduce English as medium of teaching in these schools side by side, from class one, in this month itself." He said the government wanted to retain Bengali as mother tongue in those institutions but was also in favour of realising the dreams of lower middle class parents - who had lesser economic power - to impart English teaching to their children to fare well in their future career. "We have asked the said department (school education) to accept the application of 65 schools to start English medium teaching from class one and take initiatives to start classes from this month," he said. Admissions will start from 2019. The minister said manuals for English medium teaching

26 Hindi chairs established in foreign countries to promote it: MEA

A total number of 26 Hindi chairs have been established in various countries and fellowships for research in the language are offered to foreign nationals of all the countries, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday. Noting that the promotion of Hindi in foreign countries was a high-priority area for the External Affairs Ministry, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said 27 teachers were sent to Indian missions, posts and cultural centres in 2018-19, of which 21 were supported by the MEA's Hindi Division and six by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). Singh said a total of a total of 26 Hindi chairs have been established by the ICCR in various foreign countries. Scholarships to study Hindi at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels, and fellowships for research in Hindi are offered to foreign nationals of all the countries, the minister said in a written reply. The Hindi Division of the MEA supports Hindi teaching in foreign universities, schools and other ...

Rahul Gandhi expresses concern over student suicides in Kota

Expressing concern over the growing number of aspiring engineering and medical students committing suicides in Rajasthan's Kota district, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday advised students not to panic and urged parents against pressurising their wards.