Page 370 - Education
Excess fees case: Delhi HC issues notice to govt, private schools
Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the state government and private schools in connection with refunding of excess fees.The high court issued notices after an NGO, Delhi Abhikbhavak Mahasangh, sought court's directions to the government to attach bank accounts of 457 unaided private schools that have failed to refund excess fee collected by them several years ago.According to the plea, the schools had collected the excess fees citing the need for paying teachers in accordance with Sixth Pay Commission.The state government, too, passed an order and allowed the private schools in 2009 to increase their fees to meet financial requirements to pay teachers.However, high court-formed committee, led by Justice (retd) Anil Dev Singh, recommended against it in 2011.The committee found out that 531 private schools had charged excess fees and recommended that it be returned to the parents with nine per cent interest.However, after seven years, only 74 schools have adhered to the ...
Kovind stresses on value-based education, culture of discussion
President Ram Nath Kovind today stressed on the need for a culture of discussion rather than dispute and called for value-based education to promote ethics and make children sensitive towards the less privileged people in the society. Lauding the contribution of Pune in nation building, he said modern India owes much to the educational, reformist and progressive ideas that originated in the city. Kovind was speaking at the inauguration of Sadhu Vaswani International School at Sadhu Vaswani Mission here. "The city of Pune has been a centre of education for Maharashtra and for the country. The story of modern India owes much to the educational, reformist and progressive ideas that have flowed from this city, and for which our nation is truly appreciative," he said. He said it was in Pune in 1848 that Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule opened "what is believed to have been the first modern school in India exclusively for girls". "In their determined efforts to fight caste and ...
Oxford and Cambridge worth billions in assets: Report
Two of the world's best-known universities, Oxford and Cambridge, own a property portfolio across the UK worth around 3.5 billion pounds, according to a report based on freedom of information (FOI) requests. The two universities, collectively referred to as Oxbridge, own more land than even the Church of England among the UK's most asset-rich institutions. "The property holdings of Oxbridge colleges are worth a combined 3.5 billion pounds, while the universities collectively hold property investments worth 863 million pounds. These figures do not take into account the value of many historic college sites, which are held at depreciated cost, claims a Guardian' report, based on an extensive survey of Oxbridge landholdings since 1873, through a combination of FOI requests, archival research and UK Land Registry records. The two major Cambridge landowners are St John's and Trinity colleges, which have 10,500 hectares worth 1.1 billion pounds and make up more than half of the 17,000 ...
Sisodia meets Delhi govt school topper in CBSE class 10 exam
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today met Divya Raghuvanshi, who stood first among Delhi government school students in the CBSE class 10 exam, and wished her luck for her future endeavours. Sisodia met her at the Delhi Secretariat. "Scoring 98% in her 10th Board Exams, Divya Raghuvanshi topped in #DelhiGovtSchools with 490 marks out of 500. Had a long informal interaction with her, her family, teachers & principal about her success & beyond. Lots of good wishes to her for her life ahead! #FeelingProud (sci)," he tweeted. The Central Board of Secondary Education had declared Class 10 exam results yesterday. At 69.32 per cent, government schools in Delhi had the lowest pass percentage among all categories of schools affiliated to the CBSE. The overall pass percentage was 86.70. Delhi recorded a pass percentage of 78.62, with girls stealing a march over boys. The pass percentage of girls is 79.15 as opposed to boys who have a pass percentage of 78.12.
Tripura to adopt NCERT curriculum: Education Minister
The BJP-IPFT government in Tripura has decided to adopt NCERT curriculum for schools in the state instead of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) prescribed curriculum, Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said here today. Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) is following the SCERT books at the school level, it has not yielded desire results so far prompting the state to switch over to NCERT curriculum in order to boost the states education system, Nath said. "It is more likely that CBSE pattern syllabus and tabulation system will be followed at the school level for better outputs," he said. "A six-member expert committee headed by former Vice Chancellor of Tripura Central University Prof Arunoday Saha has been constituted to prepare a roadmap for adopting NCERT curriculum. Once the committee submits its finding, the government will take an appropriate decision," Nath said. The Education Minister said two officials of SCERT went to NCERT ..
Why no action against pvt unaided schools for non-refund of excess fees: HC to govt
The Delhi High Court today asked the AAP government why it had not taken action against the private unaided schools which had not refunded the excess fees charged by them, citing implementation of the 6th pay commission, despite a court-appointed panel's recommendation to return the money. The court said it had passed an order seven years ago for refunding of excess fee collected by the schools to the parents but it had not been done yet. It said the schools had collected the money several years ago but no benefit was rendered to the parents as they had not even received back the principal amount paid by them to the schools. A bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Vinod Goel issued notice to the Delhi government on a plea for attaching bank accounts of the errant schools and sought its response by July 23, the next date of hearing. "The Directorate of Education shall file a detailed affidavit elaborating clearly and unequivocally the steps that it has taken and proposes to undertake .
Maha to form policy to encourage skills of tribal students
The Maharashtra government will come up with a policy under which tribal students from 1100 ashram schoolsin state would be encouraged to explore their talent and skills in their field of choice, Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savra said today. "A policy decision to promote skills of tribal students in tribal art, adventure sports etc will be taken. A talent search will also be conducted," the minister told reporters. He said tribal students from three Ashram (residential) schools who participated in "Mission Shaurya"expedition to scale Mount Everest earlier this month would be given a cash incentive of Rs 25 lakh each. "Those students who could notachieve the feat will be given Rs 10 lakh each," he said. A total of five tribal students from Chandrapur district had scaled the world's tallest mountain peak. He saidtribal studentswould be encouraged to take up professional education in a fieldof their choice and the expenses will be funded by the state government.
Haryana to provide free JEE, NEET coaching to meritorious students
The Haryana government has launched a scheme, Super 100, to provide free coaching to meritorious students of state-run schools for JEE and NEET exams, an official spokesperson said today. Under the scheme, students of the various government schools who secure over 85 per cent marks in their Class 10th examination will be provided free coaching for JEE and NEET preparation for two years, she said. The students will have to sit for an entrance test to be selected for coaching under Super 100. A total of 225 students will be selected after the test, which is scheduled for the second week of June, she said. The Haryana government has allocated an initial budget of Rs one crore for the scheme, the spokesperson added. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with a private social organisation for the coaching, she said. The government has directed the district education officers (DEO) to apprise meritorious students in their respective districts of the scheme. The DEO of Ambala, .
DUTA holds hunger strike against UGC circular on faculty reservation
The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) today organised a mass hunger strike to protest the UGC circular on faculty reservation mechanism for universities, it said in a statement today. Following an Allahabad High Court order - upheld by the Supreme Court - the University Grants Commission (UGC) had on March 5 announced a new mechanism for implementing faculty reservations, which is calculating total posts department-wise rather than institution-wise. The UGC had said that its new reservation formula was in response to a direction of the Allahabad High Court in April last year. It is believed that the move would cut down the number of posts available for SC and ST candidates. Teachers and students took part in the satyagraha and mass hunger strike at the Parliament Street between 10 am and 5.30 pm today, DUTA said. The teachers' body said the Ministry of Human Resource Development has filed a special leave petition to undo the move that has sparked a controversy. "If the UGC
HSC results: Girls outshine boys in Maha
Girls outperformed boys in this year's Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) Class XII exams, results of which were declared today. The overall pass percentage stood at 88.41 per cent. Over 14,16,986 students had given the HSC exam this year, of whom 12,52,817 cleared it. The passing percentage of girls is 92.36 vis-a-vis 85.23 per cent of boys. The results for all the nine divisions - Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Amravati, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Latur and Konkan - were simultaneously declared by MSBSHSE chairperson Shakuntala Kale. Of all the divisions, Konkan division scored the highest passing percentage of 94.85 per cent, while Nashik scored the lowest with 86.13 per cent.
Kovind for values-based education, culture of discussion
Advocating the culture of discussion rather than dispute, President Ram Nath Kovind today called for values-based education to promote ethics in the society. "Lessons that a child imbibes in the school that may not be formally tested in the board examination, but these are the lessons of culture, character, compassion and courage. The child who internalises these values will always be sensitive towards the world outside," he said. Kovind was speaking at the inauguration of Sadhu Vaswani International School at Sadhu Vaswani Mission here. He also recalled the contributions of social reformers from Pune like Mahatma Phule, Savitribai Phule, M G Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar in the field of education. "Each one of them placed an emphasis on education, culture of discussion rather than that of dispute, and of addressing the disagreement while being mindful of the other person's dignity," he said. Lauding the efforts of Sadhu Vaswani Mission in the field of ...
TN CM writes to PM over changes in matric scholarship for SC/ST
In a letter to PM Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami today raised concern over certain 'revision of guidelines' for the post-matric scholarship scheme for SC/ST students, saying the move could cause "serious resentment" among the community. As per the revised guidelines, fees claimed against the management quota/spot admission seat in any institutions/universities will not be reimbursed with effect from April 2018. The chief minister, in his letter to the prime minister, said non-reimbursement of fees for management quota seats under the new guidelines "will create a huge setback in achieving the goal of social equity and social justice as it will deny opportunities to the poor SC/ST students in the fields of higher and technical education". He said that a large number of SC/ST students from poor economic backgrounds, unable to get admission in the government quota on merit, have been availing of this benefit in the scheme under the management quota seats in self-financing ...
China denies spending more on foreign students
Amid mounting criticism at home, China has denied spending more on foreign students with hefty scholarships compared to domestic primary and high school education and promised to raise standards for scholarships for foreigners. The education ministry is mired in controversy after a We-media article criticised the ministry for spending only half the money on Chinese primary and high school students, a total of 1.64 billion yuan (USD 255 million) in the ministry's 2018 budget, than on foreign students, who have a budget of 3.32 billion yuan, state-run Global Times reported today. In 2016, 442,773 foreign students were studying in China's schools and other education institutions, 11.07 per cent of whom received government scholarships. About 15,000 Indian students, mostly medical students, study in China. The medical courses in China are popular as they are cheaper compared to private medical colleges in India. China sees the rise of the foreign students as part of its diplomatic push to
Pakistan celebs extend support to students in harassment incident
Actor Mahira Khan is among the Pakistani celebrities who have lent their support to a campaign against an examiner in an Islamabad college, who has been accused of sexually harassing students. The "Raees" star as well as her colleagues in industry took to Twitter to support the students who have complained against the invigilator at Islamabad's Bahria college. "Make an example out of him. May justice be served to all these brave girls and God knows how many before them," Khan tweeted. "Sanam Teri Kasam" star Mawra Hocane also tweeted in the support of the students. "... I've spoken to relevant authorities at Bahria college, action has been taken already. Looking forward to a severe punishment #TimesUp," she wrote. Pakistani actor and singer Meesha Shafi, who had recently accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment, tweeted, "All strength and power to this brave sister for sharing her disgusting and alarming experience. #BahriaCollege kindly take immediate action. We are all watching and we
Heat wave forces schools to shut early in Kangra
With day temperatures hovering at the 40 degrees Celsius mark, the Kangra district administration in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh has directed all schools to shut by 12.30 pm, officials said today. Schools will now open at 7.30 am and end at 12.30 pm instead of the earlier 9 am to 3 pm, said an official. Sandeep Kumar, deputy commissioner of Kangra in Dharamshala, has instructed deputy directors of elementary and higher education in the district to implement the new timings with immediate effect. The step has been taken to save school going children in the picturesque Kangra valley from the intense heat wave, an official said.
Teachers in Pondy govt schools to be appointed on contract
Puducherry Education Minister R Kamalakannan today said as many as 520 posts of teachers in government schools were vacant and the government has decided to fill up the vacancies by posting teachers on contract basis. As the concurrence of the Finance Department of Puducherry government was not available immediately to post teachers on regular basis, the government had decided to post teachers on contract basis, he told reporters here. The government had decided on this step to manage the situation to ensure that government schools produced increased pass percentage in public examinations, he said. He also released the results of Class XI public examination conducted by the state government in March this year and said a pass percentage of 89.35 was registered in Puducherry and Karaikal regions. Of the 15,246 students who appeared through government and private schools in the two regions, 13,622 students had emerged successful, Kamalakannan said. He further said students .
DU teachers, students hold hunger strike against colleges' autonomy
Scores of teachers from the Delhi University observed a hunger strike here on Wednesday demanding ad hoc teachers be made permanent ones and protesting the bid for autonomy by the varsity colleges.
Marks-based evaluation is failing India's education system:
Top-scoring students may be basking in glory in this exam results season but noted personalities say the marks-based evaluation is failing India's education system with creativity and innovation taking a backseat. Most of the schools and higher education institutions are in a race to ensure top scores and good percentages and not on producing good human resource, according to them. There is shortage of high quality institutes and also not much incentives to original research, they say. Chairperson and Managing Director of leading biotech firm, Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said in an era of design thinking, data science and innovation, educational assessment must change from marks-based evaluation to IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional quotient)-based systems. "Project-based experimental learning is essential," she told PTI. Former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair said the marks-based system is outdated and creates unhealthy ...
Class 10 girl commits suicide after failure in exam
A girl allegedly committed suicide at her house in Dabri area here after failure in CBSE Class 10 examinations, police said today. The girl identified as Khushboo first slit her wrist and then hanged herself yesterday, the police said, adding that she was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead. She had failed in Mathematics and Science and was upset about it. No suicide note was found, they added. Her parents iron clothes for a living. Two other students had also allegedly committed suicide for not scoring good marks in the Class 10th CBSE board examination in separate areas of Delhi yesterday. The two students, Rohit Kumar Meena (17) and Pragya Pandey (15), had scored 59 per cent and 70 per cent marks respectively and were unhappy about not scoring well, they added. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared the Class 10 board exam results yesterday. The overall pass percentage was 86.70.
SC gives go-ahead to declare CLAT-2018 results on Thursday
The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave its nod for the declaration of CLAT-2018 results on Thursday while giving more time to the Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) to probe complaints received by it on glitches in the conduct of online exam.