Page 217 - Education
45 schools get British Council's international accreditation
A total of 45 private and government schools from the Eastern and Northeastern region were given international accreditation at the International School Award (ISA) of British Council on Wednesday. The ISA, with a presence in 31 countries, is a scheme that accredits schools with an outstanding level of support for nurturing global citizenship in young people and enriching teaching and learning, the Council said in a statement here Wednesday. The 45 schools were from rural and urban areas of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and Chhattisgarh. Twenty of the schools are from West Bengal with 11 hailing from Kolkata, the statement said. The schools were awarded at a function in New Delhi, it said.
KCR giving undue favour to engineering colleges run by TRS leaders, claims CPI; demands inquiry
The CPI on Wednesday alleged that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was giving undue favour to engineering colleges run by some party leaders and this has resulted in a fall in the number of students in state-approved universities. The party also demanded a judicial inquiry in the matter. CPI National General Secretary K Narayana claimed that during 2014-15, there were 447 undergraduates and 676 post graduates- approved institutions with 1,80,583 undergraduate seats and 1,28,457 postgraduate seats in universities in the state. The number, he alleged, has gone down significantly since then. Narayana further alleged that the total undergraduate seats during 2018-19 in Telangana affiliated to various universities have fallen to 94,592 and the total PG seats to about 70,000. About 30 per cent of the UG and PG institutions were closed down due to insisting appointment of faculty for the intake and division without admission, a statement quoting him said. "KCR's undue favour to ..
Delhi air quality comes as shocker for Kashmiri girl students
Accustomed to cooler climes and salubrious environment in the Valley, a group of Kashmiri girl students were in for a rude shock when they arrived in Delhi, at a time when the city is grappling with deteriorating air quality. A group of about 20 students accompanied by two teachers from various schools at Naugaon in Jammu and Kashmir are in national capital for the first time, as part of a national integration tour, organised by the Army. The students, from classes 7-11 arrived here on Monday and have visited the Red Fort, Rajghat and Connaught Place market in Delhi, and Wednesday interacted with Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat. They will also see the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah and take a Metro ride before heading to Chandigarh, an official accompanying them said. When Rawat asked the students, what did they like about Kashmir, many students, replied in unison, "Clean air and water". Mehak Muskan, a student of Army Goodwill School in Kupwara district, said, "We are all coming to Delhi for ...
Girl college students in Karnataka to get free education
The Karnataka government Wednesday decided to bear the education expenses of girl students pursuing pre-university, graduation and post-graduate courses in colleges run by it. The scheme, approved by the state cabinet that met here, would come into effect from this academic year and the government would bear the college fees of 3.7 lakh girls, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byregowda told reporters here. This scheme benefiting 3.7 lakh girls in the state would cost Rs 95 crore to the state exchequer annually, he said. The cabinet also gave its consent to a tourism promotion policy that would encourage films to be shot in tourist destinations in the state. The tourism department would pay an honorarium ranging from Rs one crore to Rs 2.5 crore depending upon the scale of the film project, he said. Among others, the cabinet approved simplifying the procedure for change of land use from agriculture to residential and other purposes, revival of ailing sugar .
As tension simmered 100 metres away, school kids in Bulandshahr given meal early
On December 3, over 150 students at a primary and junior secondary school in Bulandshahr's Chingrawathi village, where a mob of some 400 people violently confronted police that day, were served the mid-day meal early at 11.15am. Unaware of the tension simmering barely 100 metres away, it was rather unusual for the children who are generally given the meal at 12.30pm on the school premises. "That day, we had got an order to distribute the meal early and send the children home," Rajpal Singh, who cooks and serves the mid-day meal, told PTI. The school, which has 107 children in primary classes and 66 in junior secondary, opens at 9am and continues till 3pm. "After the children were fed the meal, they were quickly sent home," Deshraj Singh, the teacher in-charge of the primary school, said. "Some children left their meal midway and some had left their school bags behind, which were later torn by monkeys," he said. Singh, along with two lady teachers and two shiksha mitras, teaches the ...
Rally by 'students' on JNU campus for Ram temple raises security concerns
Several "students" took out a rally calling for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Wednesday on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), inviting disapproval and concerns about safety from the student union, which blamed the security agencies for allowing the participants to "vitiate" the campus environment.
Controversy over rally by RSS-affiliated outfit in JNU, Students union lodges complaint
An RSS-affiliated outfit on Wednesday took out a rally in the JNU campus to campaign for a religious conclave by the VHP on December 9, triggering a controversy as the university students union filed a complaint with the vice-chancellor alleging that the event was organised without permission and the "security breach" had put at risk students' safety. RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) organised the rally in the campus on Wednesday, sources said. Without naming the outfit, the Left-dominated Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union in its complaint alleged that the rally was organised with saffron flags and communal slogans were raised which created an atmosphere of fear on campus. It demanded action against those who participated in the rally and also against the security officers, accusing them of laxity. University administration sources said a report has been sought from the chief security officer in the matter. Saurabh Sharma of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya ...
HC notice to TN govt on plea to scrap tenders for hi-tech
: The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the Tamil Nadu government on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition alleging illegalities in two tenders totally worth Rs 520 crore for setting up smart classrooms and information and communication technology labs in government schools in the state. A Division Bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice P Rajamanickam also directed the school education department and the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation to file their response by January 8 to the PIL which sought to quash the tender procecss. According to petitioner Periasamy Pachamuthu Perama, the two tenders had been floated - one for smart classrooms in 3,000 primary and middle schools in rural areas and the other for hi-tech labs in 3,090 high schools and 2,939 higher secondary schools. He alleged that the tenders were finalised by the authorities without involving the specific committees formed to govern the tenders. Though there were ...
NE students meet President Kovind
Twenty six students and seven teachers from all the seven states of the North East Wednesday interacted with President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi, a defence press release said. The students and teachers are currently on an 11-day tour to the national capital since December 1. During the interaction, the President enquired about their well being and challenges faced by the youth of the region and encouraged them to work hard and contribute towards the development of the region, the release said. The tour is being organised by the Aizawl Battalion of the Assam Rifles under the aegis of Directorate General Assam Rifles (DGAR). The team also interacted with Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Lt Gen Asit Mistry, General Officer Commanding of Delhi Area as part of the tour and visited several places of historical importance. Events like meeting with vice chief of Army Staff, visit to Rajputana Rifles Centre and Agra are also ...
Anger in Bangladesh over schoolgirl's suicide after reprimand by teachers
Anger has mounted in Bangladesh following the suicide of a teenaged Hindu girl who killed herself after being humiliated by her principal and teachers in a prominent Dhaka school. Ninth-grade student Aritry Adhikary's father Dilip has accused the principal of Viqarunnisa Girls School and two teachers of abetting his daughter's suicide as they had reprimanded her for carrying a mobile phone during an exam. According to a police complaint, on December 3 the girl went to school with the phone where one of the teachers seized the device and summoned her parents the next day. Dilip Adhikary has alleged that when he and his wife went to the school along with their daughter they were also subjected to humiliation. "As we went to meet the school's principal, Nazneen Ferdous, my daughter immediately touched her feet and begged her forgiveness," he said. "We also asked for her forgiveness thinking about our daughter's uncertain future. Then we all started crying even as I pleaded with them to ..
Work hard, compete for Army's 'Super30' prog: Gen Rawat to Kashmiri girl students
Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat Wednesday exhorted girl students from Jammu and Kashmir to work hard and compete for Army's 'Super 30' coaching programme and build their career through good education. He was interacting with 18 girl students from various schools in the Valley, at the South Block here. "There is no other place like Kashmir when it comes to scenic beauty and a sublime environment. But, terrorism has vitiated the atmosphere, he said. "Unlike Kashmir, you do not see bunkers in Delhi or gun-toting security personnel everywhere. People roam here at night in peace. The Kashmir Valley also had peace and people in Srinagar even used to go for strolling in parks at night or for a movie, but it's not there anymore," he said. In his address, Gen Rawat reiterated that "infiltrators come from Pakistan to our side and create trouble". "So, if you also want progress and development in the Valley, take this message from here, and tell the people there that guns are not good," he ...
Haryana plans to revamp School Education Department
Haryana's School Education Department is going to be revamped and the Secondary Education Department will go through radical changes, an official said here on Wednesday.
Students' event to uphold secularism, constitutional values
A section of IIT-Madras students have announced an event to celebrate constitutional values and upholding secularism Thursday commemorating the death anniversary of B R Ambedkar and demolition of Babri Masjid. Jointly organised by Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) and ChintaBar, both independent student bodies recognised by the institute, the event includes cultural programmes and speeches by students, a student associated with APSC told PTI. "There is spread of hate politics in the country and as a student community we want harmony over hatred. Tomorrow is the best way to express ourselves," the student said. A poster issued by the students said, "Resist the politics of hate. Celebrating constitutional values and upholding secularism. A cultural evening commemorating Ambedkar's death anniversary." Last year, Ambedkar's texts were read out by students on the campus to commemorate his death anniversary.
Real-world learning experiences boost kids' knowledge: Study
Real-world learning experiences, like summer camps, can significantly improve children's knowledge in a matter of just days, a study suggests. Researchers from the Ohio State University in the US found that 4- to 9-year-old kids knew more about how animals are classified after a four-day camp at a zoo. It was not that children who attended just knew more facts about animals, the researchers noted. The camp actually improved how they organised what they knew -- a key component of learning. "This suggests organisation of knowledge doesn't require years to happen. It can occur with a short, naturalistic learning experience," said Layla Unger, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. "It highlights the enriching potential of real-world programmes like summer camps. They aren't just recreation," Unger said. This study is one of the first to show how quickly knowledge organisation changes can occur in children. "We didn't know if it would take ...
Thane leads in project selection for Children's Science Cong
As many as 30 projects made by school students from Maharashtra have qualified for the final competition at the upcoming National Children's Science Congress (NCSC), an official said Wednesday. Of these 30 projects, seven, including on issues like menstruation and puberty, have been prepared by students from schools in Thane district. The 26th NCSC will be held at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from December 27 to 31. Out of the 74 projects presented by children from across Maharashtra, 30 were selected for the NCSC after evaluation by a team of academicians at an event held in Osmanabad district last week, NCSC's state coordintator Surendra Dighe said. A total of 20 girls and 10 boys from the state will present their projects at the NCSC, he said. Students from two private schools in Thane and Raigad districts will present their studies on solid waste management of sanitary napkins, puberty and menstruation, he added. The Thane-based school's principal expressed happiness that ...
Vidyashilp Academy: First Fairtrade School in India Celebrates Fairtrade Week
/ -- Vidyashilp Academy celebrated the Fairtrade week with an array of activities to help raise awareness about trade practices that affects the daily choices in life. Being the first Fairtrade school in India, the school joins a huge network of schools internationally. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/766744/Vidyashilp_Academy_Logo.jpg ) Becoming a Fairtrade certified school is a long process which requires bringing together groups of students, educators and parents who form the steering committee along with other knowledgeable members from the community to ensure that the school practices & activities are influenced. The Fairtrade week is an important time set aside on the school calendar to enlighten students and parents in the hope that they will take the message forward and adopt these practices in their own lives. As a school, Vidyashilp Academy has made commitments to India's farmers by becoming ambassadors of the movement, by taking the idea of Fairtrade to their ..
MICA Ahmedabad wins Samsung E.D.G.E. 2018
Samsung India has concluded the third season of its campus program Samsung E.D.G.E. with the participation of over 2,500 of the brightest students from 18 top institutions across India.The team from business school MICA Ahmedabad called 'Jenga', comprising Kanchan Supekar, Sruthy Whence and Jyot Singh Gill emerged as the winner at the national finals held in Gurugram on December 3.The team 'Overmorrow' from National Institute of Design, Bengaluru came second followed by 'Deadweight Loss' from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.The third consecutive year of Samsung E.D.G.E. called out the brightest minds of the country to participate in its campus program. This year 2,553 students (851 teams) from 18 leading campuses from all across the country participated in the program. The competition, spread over three months, invited participation of students from diverse domains such as B.Tech, Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Design.Eight teams which won at the ...
DTU BTech students studying in evening shift ask varsity to make it full-time
Delhi Technical University students who have enrolled into BTech evening shift course demanded the course be converted into full-time, alleging the varsity did not inform them that it was part-time. According to a varsity official, the evening shift course was earlier open to only diploma holders and candidates having work experience. It has been running for the last 40 years. However, the norms were changed in 2017 after it was found that some candidates were furnishing fake work experience certificates or false documents, he said. Students said they discovered about the nature of their course only after filing RTIs. They had filed an RTI in June in when they were informed it was a full-time course. But, in response to another RTI in September, it was stated that BTech evening was a part-time course of four-year duration. The students said they will not get jobs after completing this course and their future is at stake. They have also met Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia in ...
AIDSO demands scrapping of the semester-oriented CBCS
The All India Democratic Students' Organisation on Tuesday demanded scrapping of the semester-oriented Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) in the Calcutta University and called for finding a solution to the present impasse over attendance. In a letter to the Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee, the AIDSO said due to "illogical rule in attendance of the CBCS system, thousands of students are facing difficult situations in their colleges." The students' organisation submitted the letter to the VC at the College Street campus and she promised to look into their demands and discuss the matter in the next meeting of the Syndicate, the highest decision making body of the CU, a university official said. The DSO also said in the letter that even as regular attendance of classes remained the duty of every student, the organisation was of the view that many students, including those who are doing some kind of job beyond class hours due to financial ..
National Gandhi Museum chairperson Aparna Basu passes away
Chairperson of the National Gandhi Museum Aparna Basu has died following illness, officials said Tuesday. Basu was 87. Basu, who held the chairpersonship from 2013, was not well for a week and hospitalised for chest congestion and high blood pressure. She died at the hospital on Monday, Museum Director A Annamalai said. The last rites will be held on December 6 at the Lodhi Road Electrical crematorium, an official statement said. Basu was also a trustee and patron of the All India Women's Conference and a trustee of Sarabhai Foundation in Ahmedabad. She was chairperson of All India Committee for the Eradication of Illiteracy and also on the governing body of Indraprastha College of the Delhi University, according to the statement. She was a graduate of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and did her doctorate from the same university. She was a former professor ofModern Indian History in the University of Delhi.