Page 393 - Education
Heritage Xperiential learning school introduces HXLS Makerspace in curriculum
Heritage Xperiential Learning School, Gurgaon is bringing innovation into classrooms through the HXLS Makerspace. It is a workspace where students, teachers and parents can tinker with tools and technology to explore, learn and create prototype solutions to solve problems, related to their passion. With an area of over 2000 sq. ft, the space hosts an array of emerging technology such as 3D printers, laser cutters and augmented reality equipment.The school's existing expedition or project based curriculum will now have components of engineering, product building and design thinking through the HXLS Makerspace. It will introduce learners to tools and technologies pertinent to the 21st century and transform them into creators rather than mere consumers. Students will be introduced to the art of creative coding and digital fabrication.In creative coding, students will be empowered to create programmable solutions with computers by engaging in real world problems and working on design ...
Teacher shot dead on school premises in Bihar
Two unidentified gunmen shot dead a teacher inside the premises of a government high school in Bihar's Vaishali district today, police said. The incident occurred at the L N High School premises in the Bhagwanpur area, when the teacher was about to enter a classroom, Superintendent of Police (SP) Manavjit Singh Dhillon said. Two men on a motorcycle entered the premises during the school hours, opened fire at Radhesh Ranjan (35), killing him on the spot, and fled, he added. The motive behind the crime was yet to be known, the SP said, adding that the police had launched a probe. Angry locals and other teachers blocked the Hajipur-Muzaffarpur highway, near the school, for about 30 minutes, the SP said. The body has been sent for a post-mortem.
HC notice to TN govt on plea to revise school syllabus
The Madras High Court has issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government on a petition seeking that the state board syllabus be revised so that it is on a par with the CBSE, which would enable students here to compete with those from other states in entrance exams like NEET. A division bench of justices V Bharathidasan and N Seshasayee, before which the plea by AK Martin, an advocate, came up, ordered issuance of notice to the state government and posted it for hearing after the summer vacation. Alleging that the present education policy of the state government was a total failure, the petitioner submitted that though students of Tamil Nadu secured high marks (like 1,190 out of 1,200 in the 12th standard exams), they were unable to succeed in competitive examinations including NEET (to qualify for medical courses). He also said that other southern states - Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra - had revised and modified their respective syllabus at par with CBSE which ...
Edu institutes to be developed on waqf properties under Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karykram: Naqvi
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today that the government would construct educational institutions, skill development centres, multi-purpose community centres, hospitals among others on waqf properties "for the first time" under the "game-changer" Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karykram (PMJVK). At the day-long National Waqf Conference here, Naqvi said that the Union Cabinet had last week approved the PMVJK, which has provisions for developing infrastructure on waqf properties for the socio-economic-educational empowerment of Muslims. The programme covers 308 districts, 870 blocks, 331 towns, and thousands of villages, the minister said. He added that the PMJVK would accelerate the utilisation of waqf properties for the benefit of society. There are around 5.71 lakh registered waqf properties across the country. For the first time after Independence, the ministry will construct schools, colleges, ITIs, skill development centres, multi-purpose community centres, hunar (skill) hubs, ..
AMU exams to now commence from May 12
The annual examinations of the Aligarh Muslim University will now commence from May 12, according to Vice Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor. The examinations were earlier scheduled to begin from May 7, but were postponed following the ongoing students protest on the campus. Prof Mansoor told PTI that the University has taken this decision in view of the improvement in the law and order situation in the campus. He said the University had initiated a number of steps for the return of normalcy which primarily centred on the addressal of all genuine demands of students pertaining to Wednesday's violence on the campus. He said a-16 member coordination committee of senior faculty members had been formed to help in engaging protesting students and understanding their problems. The committee will have Prof Jamshed Siddiqui, Dean Students Welfare and will include the President of the AMU Teachers Association. He said there were no proposal for closing the University sine die as the situation at .
IGNOU admission for July session begins
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has begun admissions for its Bachelor Preparatory Programme, PG diploma, diploma and certificate programmes for July-2018 session. The last date for admission is June 30, 2018. The admission process and payment can be made online, the IGNOU said in a statement. First time applicants are advised to click the available programme tab on the homepage of the online admission system and select the desired programme and carefully read the details of the programme, including eligibility criteria, fee details, duration, etc, it said. Bachelor Preparatory Programme (BPP) is a non-formal channel to be eligible for BA/B.Com in Social Work/Bachelor in Tourism Studies of the university.
Jinnah portrait row: AMU postpones examinations till May 12
Amid the ongoing protest in Aligarh Muslim University over the portrait of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, examinations in the varsity have been postponed till May 12."Examinations in Aligarh Muslim University have been postponed till May 12 due to the ongoing protests," Public Relations Officer, Umar Salim Parizda told ANI.The controversy surrounding Jinnah's poster triggered after BJP Aligarh MP Satish Gautam wrote a letter to AMU's Vice-Chancellor seeking an explanation on the portrait of Pakistan's founder in the students' union office.The portrait of Jinnah has been hanging on a wall in the students union's office at AMU for decades.Last week, a clash broke out between students of the AMU and the police over the matter.Internet services were also suspended in the varsity to prevent the communal flare-up over the issue.
Case registered against RJD MP's college for altering India's map
A case has been registered here against a medical college belonging to a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s Member of Parliament for having an altered map of India on the college's prospectus.The altered map is printed on the cover page of Katihar Medical College prospectus for postgraduate courses.The medical college, established in 1987, is owned by a trust belonging to RJD's Rajya Sabha MP Ashfaque Ahmed Karim.The case, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, has been registered against the college administration on the complaint of the district magistrate.
'Azadi' slogans in purported AMU video; official says it was about freedom from terror
Even as the indefinite dharna and boycott of academic activities by students in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) continued, a video of protesting students shouting slogans of "Azadi", apparently against right-wing groups, went viral on social media. AMU PRO Professor Shafey Kidwai said, "Students were on an indefinite protest at the Bab-e-Syed gate of the university, and were raising the slogan - Bhagwa Rang aur Aatank se Azadi. These are not anti-India slogans, and do not relate to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India." He added, "The students are protesting, so that the police and administration act against the so-called Hindu organisations, which had given provocative speeches and raised highly objectionable slogans. A case was also registered in this context." Kidwai said the students were holding protests in a democratic manner and had three demands. "The university administration is talking to them. But, when the district administration speaks to them, only then a ...
Increase in retirement age will affect promotion of UP med teachers: Forum
The Uttar Pradesh government's proposal to raise the retirement age of medical teachers from 65 to 70 years, if implemented, will adversely affect the promotion prospects of middle-aged teachers in the state, a forum today claimed. The chances of middle-aged teachers becoming head of departments will become remote and they will also not get research projects, the office bearers of the SGPGI's faculty forum said. The move will adversely affect the promotion prospects of these teachers, they said. Chairman of the Faculty Forum of the SGPGI, professor Ashok Kumar, and secretary M S Ansari said that the doctors will oppose the implementation of this move and if needed boycott their duties. The forum's members are also planning to meet the UP governor and convey their grievances. When contacted, Director General of Medical Education Dr KK Gupta said, "There is a shortage of capable specialist teachers in the higher medical institutes in the state, and hence, there is a proposal to raise ..
Jhalawar students to be sensitised on good-touch-bad-touch
Students up to 14 years of age studying in government schools and Anganwadi centres will be sensitised on 'good-touch-bad-touch' under a campaign in Jhalawar district of Rajasthan. The special campaign will begin tomorrow under which government teachers will be trained and given presentation, printed and other relevant materials on sensitising students, District Collector Jitendra Kumar Soni told PTI. He said that teachers of 1,700 government schools and workers of 1,500 anganwadi centres of eight panchayat samitis will be trained over next one month. The campaign is for boys and girls in the age group of 6-14 years. The teachers will be given tips on how kids can be sensitised about good or bad touch by people in their surroundings. Kids of this age group do not understand about touches and therefore they need to be taught about this, he said. The collector said that private school association has also shown interest in the campaign and they will be covered under the exercise. ...
No complaint of vandalism from St. Stephen's yet: DU Proctor
Even two days after unidentified men smeared communal graffiti, Delhi University's St. Stephen's College is yet to file an official complaint, a varsity official confirmed on Sunday.
AMU students not anti-national, don't harbour pro-Pak feeling: ex-VC Zameer Uddin Shah
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students are not anti-national and they do not harbour any pro-Pakistan feelings, university's former vice chancellor Lt Gen (retired) Zameer Uddin Shah today said, amid a controversy over a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah on its campus. His remarks come days after protests and violence rocked the AMU campus over the portrait of Pakistan founder Jinnah in the students union office of the university. An indefinite sit-in and boycott of academic activities by students over the issue entered the fourth day today. Shah said the matter could have been amicably settled had Aligarh MP Satish Gautam, who is also a member of the AMU Court, raised the issue with the university authorities. But, Gautam wrote to AMU authorities about the portrait and sent the letter by ordinary post which took five days to reach them. In the meantime, Shah said, the MP released the letter to the press and right-wingers, who resorted to arm-twisting. "Arm-twisting methods have only .
Tension continues in AMU, exams postponed
Aligarh Muslim University on Sunday postponed all examinations amid the prevailing tension within the campus over the portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
NEET: Tamil medium students given Hindi question paper in TN
Nearly 100 Tamil medium NEET aspirants were given question papers in Hindi at a centre in Madurai and the pupils were later provided with the Tamil version after a delay of about three hours. The incident happened at a matriculation school, a NEET centre, where a school official said when a question paper pack was opened and distribution began for four halls in the centre they came to know that they were in Hindi. Students in these four halls were, however, Tamil medium students and they told them that they could answer only in Tamil. There was no confusion in respect of question papers for other rooms in the centre since they were in English and Tamil, she said. The school official said they apprised the local NEET/CBSE coordinators. After taking their directions, question papers in Tamil were arranged and there was a delay of about three hours due to it, the official said. Since there was a delay, the students were provided lunch and refreshments, she added. Asked on ..
Over one lakh candidates write NEET in Kerala
Barring a few complaints from female students who were asked to shorten their long sleeved-clothes, NEET was held at various centres across Kerala today, without any major glitches. However, tragedy struck a Tamil Nadu student, who appeared for the exam at a centre in Ernakulam district, as his father died of heart attack this morning. In a Facebook post, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed grief over the death of 46-year-old Krishnasamy Sreenivasan, father of Kasturi Mahalingam, hailing from Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu. He also said arrangements would be made to transport the body of Sreenivasan to his home town. Last year, the test was mired in controversy after a girl candidate from Kannur district alleged that she was forced to remove her innerwear, while some others had to shorten sleeves and cut the pockets of their jeans to meet the prescribed dress code. According to officials, nearly one lakh candidates, including many from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, appeared ..
German high schoolers complain English exam was too hard
High school students in Germany have gathered tens of thousands of signatures in an online petition to complain about an "unfair" final English exam, saying the test was much harder than in previous years. By Sunday, the students from the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg had gathered almost 36,000 signatures even though only 33,500 people took last month's statewide exam. They complained that text excerpts from American author Henry Roth's 1934 novel "Call it Sleep" were too difficult and obscure to analyze and asked for the grading to be more lenient this year. The final high school exams in Germany called the Abitur are a rite of passage that all students who want to enter university have to pass. Only those with excellent grades and test scores will get into the most coveted university programs, with medicine among the hardest. But other subjects like engineering or language studies also offer only a limited amount of places. Many German students, parents and teachers ...
Oxford college in 'dirty protest' over unisex toilets
An Oxford University college has become the scene of a so-called "dirty protest" after it introduced gender-neutral toilets recently. Male students of Somerville College reportedly urinated on the floor of the "gender-neutral" cubicles in the college bar last week and wrote on the wall: "We want our... urinals back," according to an email sent by the president of the junior common room, Niall Macklin. Somerville students voted in January to replace "male" and "female" signs with the words "gender-neutral toilets with cubicles". The lavatories in question no longer feature urinals but have cubicles with male and female symbols, according to The Sunday Times. In a message entitled "I can't believe I am writing this", Macklin wrote: "Someone took it upon themselves to urinate on the floor of one of the cubicles and inscribe 'We want our... urinals back'. If you have a problem with the changes, please use the democratic process and not dirty protests. "Otherwise if you could refrain from .
Delhi govt orders pvt school to disburse pending salaries
The Delhi government has directed Guru Harkishan Public School in Punjabi Bagh area to disburse salaries to teachers and employees after a probe found an inordinate delay in salary disbursement since March last year, according to an official order. The government has also asked all schools in the national capital to ensure that salaries of all employees are disbursed maximum by the 7th of every month. Following complaints from teachers of Guru Harkishan Public School, the Directorate of Education (DoE) had ordered an inquiry into the matter. The school authorities were not available for comment on the issue. "An inquiry was conducted by a team constituted by the department to inquire into the allegation and as per their report, some delay might have occurred due to the introduction of the centralized accounting system or due to transfer of funds from the cash-rich branches to non-cash rich branches of the GHP schools," an official order said. "The reply of the school was examined and .
In a class of its own: homeschooling gathers ground
Ruchir Raju-Deepti did not go to school -- but did not miss classes either. Today, the 29-year-old Ahmedabad resident runs a digital media company. As parents, teachers and students worry about examinations and other pressures in schools, many are opting out of the system that they feel is a burden on young shoulders. Ruchir, who uses his parents' names as his surname, was schooled at home, and is all for non-formal education. "I have learnt things I wanted to learn - like science and maths from different people and different sources -- and never felt the need to go to school or college," he said. Ruchir, whose company employs 10 people, also sat for the 12th standard examinations through the National Open School to get an idea of what such tests entailed. "I feel that instinctively humans are not meant for going to school. It is a new practice in human evolution," the entrepreneur, who provides various digital media solutions through his online platform 'www.ideoxide.com', said. His .