Page 395 - Education
Oxford University Press unveils assessment solution in city
UK-based Oxford University Press (OUP) unveiled a new assessment solution 'Oxford STAR' here today to assess the learning process of students by providing analytical reports to schools and parents. The Oxford STAR initiative was piloted across 12 schools present across the country ahead of the launch. The assessment solution is designed to help students, teachers, parents and school administration to profile a student, scholastic ability and skills. It is based on a competency framework, mapped to key skills and behavioural competencies of the student. The assessment provides analytical information on the performance of a student to educators every year. Speaking at the inaugural of the Oxford STAR here, chief executive of OUP Nigel Portwood said "We are always looking for opportunities to develop new products and solutions to support education worldwide.Oxford STAR will provide educators with a better understanding of students' progress and improve learning ...
Harassment-accused JNU professor not in-charge of any girl hostel: HC told
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that varsity professor accused of sexually harassing women students, had resigned from administrative work and did not hold any post of the warden of any hostel or member of any committee.
Never used 'encrypted' question papers to prevent leaks: CBSE
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today clarified that no"encrypted" question papers were used in conducting any board examination this year as a measure to avoid leaks. The clarification by the CBSE comes following reports that the board resorted to the method after reports of leaks of economics (Class 12) and mathematics (Class 10) question papers. "While a number of measures were adopted to make exams fool-proof, no 'encrypted' format question papers was used in conduct of any board examination this year," a senior CBSE official said. The CBSE had conducted the economics retest on April 25, nearly a month after it was leaked, triggering widespread outrage and confusion among students across India. There were also reports of the CBSE's Class 10 mathematics paper being leaked, but the board decided against a retest of the Class 10 paper, saying the examination was "largely an internal segment" of the school education system. The HRD Ministry had set up a committee to ...
HRD ministry won't allow renaming of Dyal Singh college: Javadekar
The HRD ministry will not allow Dyal Singh (Evening) College to be renamed Dyal Singh Vande Mataram College and will take action against its management committee for doing so without consent, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said today. Delhi University, however, maintained that no such decision has been taken. In a statement, the university said it has not changed the name of Dyal Singh (Evening) College. The original name cannot be changed, the HRD minister said after reports that the management had quietly renamed the college and banners of 'Vande Mataram Dyal Singh College' had been put up. Union Food Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal took up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the cabinet meeting today. She said she had briefed the prime minister and "requested" that the college's governing body chairman Amitabh Sinha be sacked and action taken against Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community. "Have requested PM ...
Paramount duty of universities to ensure campuses nurture free expression: President
President Ram Nath Kovind said here today it was the paramount duty of universities to ensure that their campuses emerged as spaces that nurtured free expression and ideas, where experimentation was encouraged and failure was not ridiculed. Addressing concluding session of the vice-chancellors' meet of central universities at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president said it was important that the universities hold their convocations regularly and on time as one year academic calendar is incomplete till convocation was held and degrees were distributed. Underlining the issue of faculty shortage faced by the universities, Kovind, among other solutions, suggested that the ability of each university to attract talent also depended upon its own reputation and quality. "So, compete to become the best among your peers and your success at hiring and retaining talent will automatically improve," he said. The president said the universities should play a leading role in addressing the specific ...
Govt won't allow renaming of Dyal Singh college: Javadekar
The government will not allow Dyal Singh College (Evening) to be renamed Dyal Singh Vande Matram College and will take action against its management committee for doing so without consent, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said here today. The original name cannot be changed, the minister said after reports that the management had quietly renamed the college and banners of 'Vande Mataram Dyal Singh College' had been put up. Union Food Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal took up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the cabinet meeting today. She said she had briefed the prime minister and "requested" that the college's governing body chairman Amitabh Sinha be sacked and action taken against Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community. "Have requested PM @narendramodi ji to sack Dayal Singh College mgmt head Amitabh Sinha for going against HRD min. assurance that name of Dayal Singh College won't be changed.I briefed him that .
Strict action against those who changed Delhi college name: Javadekar
Reacting to the change in the name of Dyal Singh College here, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday warned of strict action against the management people who "dared" to change the name.
Violence at AMU over Jinnah portrait
Police today lobbed teargas shells to disperse AMU students demanding the arrest of protesters who had barged into the campus, shouting slogans over a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah which hangs at the student union office. District magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said two two youths were injured in the police action. Earlier, members of a right-wing organisation had briefly clashed with Aligarh Muslim University students and entered the campus. They were then taken away to a police station from where they were later "rescued" by other protesters, AMU student union members said. The protesters were agitated over the portrait of the Pakistan founder which a local BJP MP wanted removed.
LU rectifies rules, Aadhaar not needed for admission
The Lucknow University has amended a guideline that had made Aadhaar number mandatory for candidates filling online admission forms. "Aadhar card is not compulsory in the online application process of University of Lucknow. Inadvertently, there was an oversight in the admission form filling guidelines regarding this and this error has been corrected," the varsity's Director (PR) Prof NK Pandey said in a press note. No form would be rejected on the basis of not filling of the Aadhaar number, he said in note issued last night. Significantly, in March this year, the Supreme Court had put an interim stay on the requirement of Aadhaar for filing application forms of various competitive examinations. When the Lucknow University admission process started early in April, the state university had declared submitting of Aadhar or at least its enrolment number as one of the mandatory requirements.
HC asks JNU prof not to take charge of hostels housing women
The Delhi High Court today directed a JNU professor, accused of sexually harassing women students, should not take charge as warden of any hostel in the university campus which houses women. While also directing the professor not to interact with the students, the court also questioned the varsity over the absence of women members in a fact-finding committee, set up by it to probe his alleged misconduct. It passed the direction after it was informed by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) counsel that Prof Atul Kumar Johri had resigned from administrative work and was no more the warden of any hostel or member of any committee. The court said the university will consider the advisability of sending Johri on leave and this decision can be taken by the varsity after the fact-finding committee, set up by JNU, gives its findings. "In my view, it is also in the interest of the professor to reduce the chance of interaction with the complainants or potentional witnesses," Justice Rajiv ...
HRD ministry will not allow renaming of Dyal Singh College: Javadekar
The HRD Ministry will not allow Dyal Singh College (Evening) to be renamed and will take action against its management committee for doing so without consent, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said here today. "We had earlier also asked them to reconsider the move. We will not allow the college to be renamed. "If there are two Dyal Singh colleges, they can call them A and B or 1 and 2 to differentiate but the original name cannot be changed, the minister told reporters. The minister's comments came following reports that the management had quietly renamed the college with banners of 'Vande Mataram Dyal Singh College' being put up. "The ministry will take action against the college management committee for going ahead with the renaming despite me making a statement in Parliament that it cannot be done, Javadear added. A controversy had erupted last year with various sections vehemently opposing the move to rename the college.
Confident AMU admin, students will resolve Jinnah portrait row with sensitive approach: Naqvi
Asserting that Muhammad Ali Jinnah is not a role model for Indian Muslims, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said he was confident that the patriotic Aligarh Muslim University administration and the students there would resolve the row over the Pakistan founder's portrait with a "sensitive approach". Minority Affairs Minister Naqvi also said things have changed in India after 1938, when Jinnah was accorded life membership of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students' union. He said the issue should be resolved keeping public sentiments in mind. Jinnah is neither an icon of India nor the ideal (role model) of Indian Muslims. The AMU administration and students there are patriotic and there is no question of raising questions over their patriotism, Naqvi said. I am very much confident that the issue will be resolved with a sensitive approach, he said. The minister also pitched for not letting the controversy escalate further. BJP MP from Aligarh, Satish Gautam, had yesterday ..
VC hasn't given us a hearing since we got elected to union: DUSU prez
Ever since we got elected to the Delhi University Students Union, the Vice Chancellor has not given us a hearing, DUSU president and NSUI member Rocky Tuseed alleged, after he was allegedly restricted from entering the 96th Foundation Day celebrations of the university yesterday. Yesterday, Tuseed alleged that security guards and Delhi Police personnel did not allow him in when he tried to enter the venue. "It is the absolute limit of anarchy and great display of authoritarianism. I, under my personal capacity as a student, was going to take part in the event. Later, I had planned to meet the Vice Chancellor (Yogesh K Tyagi) of our university for a simple audience to speak to him about the important issues concerning students," he said. "But the security guards and Delhi Police pulled me out without citing any reasons. Neither have we received any invitation to any programme, nor were we given an appointment to meet the VC," he added. The event at Viceregal lodge was attended by ...
Delhi govt asks schools to involve students in combating vector-borne diseases
The Delhi government has directed all schools in the national capital to involve students in spreading information on prevention and control of vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. "Involving students is of great importance in awareness creating activities as they can act ambassadors to spread information and messages for prevention and control of vector borne diseases," a communication sent to schools by the Directorate of Education (DoE) read. "Students are the most receptive to health messages who may bring about the desired behaviour change in their homes and their surrounding environment," it said. The DoE has listed activities, including sensitising students during morning assembly about prevention and control of mosquitogenic diseases, pasting a list of do's and dont's on notice boards, organising drawing and quiz competitions, and encouraging students to wear full sleeves clothes, among others.
Author offers to draft sports curriculum
A former badminton player, who penned a book on sports culture in India, has written to the Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, offering to formulate a sports curriculum in educational institutions. Kanishka Pandey, whose father Dr Ajai Shanker Pandey is a senior IAS officer of UP cadre and currently on deputation as officer on special duty with the governor of Rajasthan, is the author of the book 'Sports: A Way of Life'. The book was launched by national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand last year. "The current university students have failed miserably in understanding the value of sports in their lives and the onus lie with their parents, their teachers and their curriculum," Pandey wrote in his letter to Javadekar. Pandey called for not just improvement in infrastructure but also the overall curriculum for sports. "This will help in expanding the talent pool base besides it will also help in developing human beings with solid moral character," he said. "If you ...
Pre-school children to be assessed on behaviour, sharing habits:NCERT draft guidelines
Children going to play schools will be assessed on their behaviour, sharing and caring habits, and holding crayons and pencils properly, among other parameters, according to new draft guidelines framed by the NCERT. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed learning outcomes for pre-school children which will have to be implemented by play schools. Some of the parameters for assessment include, "Is the child easygoing or tense? Is he or she able to express her feelings verbally? How does a child interact with other children? Does the child share materials?" "Does he or she easily get frustrated? ? Does the child initiate any task or activity or waits to be invited? Does he or she spend time in activity areas? Does he or she moves on own from one activity area to another or requires teacher's help? All these parameters need to be kept in mind by pre-school teachers while assessing children," the draft of the guidelines read. The teachers will also
School bus attacked by stone pelters in Kashmir, student injured
A class 2 student suffered a head injury when the school bus carrying him was attacked by stone pelters in militant-infested Shopian district of South Kashmir this morning, triggering angry reactions from the chief minister and political leaders. Police said the bus of a private school was attacked by stone pelters in Zavooora area, injuring the student identified as Rehan Gorsai. The injured child was referred to SMHS Hospital where doctors attending on him stated his condition to be stable. The bus was carrying close to 35 students. The incident evoked sharp reaction from Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who said perpetrators of this senseless and cowardly act will be brought to justice soon. "Shocked and angered to hear of the attack on a school bus in Shopian. The perpetrators of this senseless and cowardly act will be brought to justice," she tweeted. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack on the school bus. "How does pelting stones on school ...
Student injured in stone pelting
A student of a private school was injured today when his school bus was attacked by stone-pelters in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A group of miscreants pelted stones on the bus of Rainbow High School at Zavoora in Shopian, resulting in head injury to a class 2 student, a police official said. He said the injured student has been rushed to SKIMS Hospital here. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack on the school bus. "How does pelting stones on school children or tourist buses help advance the agenda of these stone pelters? These attacks deserve our unequivocal condemnation & this tweet is mine," Omar wrote on his Twitter handle.
211K Indian students in US varsities, says latest report
As many as 211,703 Indian students are currently studying in various American universities, a latest official report has said. India ranks second in number of foreign students studying in the US. China tops the list with 377,070 students. In its latest biannual report on international student trends, 49 per cent of the F and M student population in the United States hailed from either China (377,070 students) or India (211,703 students), and interest continues to grow. Over the reporting period, both China and India saw proportional growth between 1 and 2 per cent, with China sending 6,305 more students and India sending 2,356 more students. It is this level of participation from China and India that makes Asia far and away the most popular continent of origin. In fact, 77 per cent of all international students in the US call Asia home, said the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) report of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security ...
Badal hits back at Amarinder on history books
Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal today trashed Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's claim that chapters on Sikh history were dropped when the state's school syllabus was aligned with NCERT courses during the Akali Dal-BJP government's term. "The CM is lying in his claim that the decision to delete Sikh history from the books meant for Class 12 of the Punjab School Education Board was taken during the Akali-BJP regime," the former chief minister said in a statement. "All the chapters on Punjab and Sikh history which they have deleted now continued to be taught to class 12 students through the SAD-BJP regime, including the period from 2013 to 2017, Badal said. "If the decision to exclude all these chapters on Punjab and Sikh history was taken during the SAD-BJP regime in 2013, then how come it was still being taught up to 2017," Badal asked. Badal asked the chief minister to compare the old books with the new ones. "The sad fact is that they have removed Sikh history and replaced
