Page 422 - Education
Afghan official says airstrike kills 20 Taliban fighters
An Afghan official said an airstrike on a Taliban training camp in northern Afghanistan killed at least 20 insurgents and wounded many more today, while the Taliban said the airstrike hit a religious school during a graduation ceremony, killing dozens of civilians. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting accounts. Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said "initial reports" indicate the airstrike in the Char Dara district of Kunduz province killed around 20 Taliban fighters, including a local commander, and wounded many more. "I can confirm that a Taliban training center was bombed and no civilians were present," he said. The Taliban said in a statement that the airstrike hit a madrasa, or religious school, killing and wounding more than 100 clerics, religious students and other civilians. In a separate incident in the southern Helmand province, at least 48 schoolgirls fell ill at a high school in what provincial authorities suspect is a case of mass ...
Scam in distribution of scholarship unearthed
A scam in the distribution of scholarship for minority community was unearthed today in Assam's Morigon district where a person misappropriated Rs 28 lakh by opening bank accounts in the names of fake students, the police said. Morigaon superintendent of police, Swapnanil Deka told reporters here that the person in Bhuragaon revenue circle misappropriated the fund by opening 250 fake accounts in different nationalised banks in the district and siphoned off the scholarship money in the past one month meant for poor minority community students studying in high schools. Police have arrested the man, who runs a customer service point of a nationalised bank, todayunder charges of misappropriating education department scholarship money sanctioned by the central government, he said. Morigaon district inspector of schools and all the branch managers of the different banks where the accounts were opened have been summoned to verify the accounts of every scholarship holder, Deka
Bill tabled in Assam to bring Madrassas under norms
The Assam government today introduced a Bill in the Assembly to bring Madrassas of the state under the prevailing statutory norms and standards and to restrict growth of such institutions. On behalf of Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary introduced The Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation of Services of Employees and Re-Organisation of Madrassa Educational Institutions) Bill, 2018. In his statement of objects and reasons, Sarma said the Bill is brought so that the Madrassa schools conform to the prevailing statutory norms and standards, and it also has "a further objective to restrict any further growth of such venture Madrassa educational institutions in the state". In a separate Bill tabled today, the government proposed to fix minimum pay for teaching and non-teaching staff of private schools across the state. The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation and Management) (Amendment) Bill,
Assam seeks to regulate pvt school fees, penalise violators
The Assam government today proposed to regulate the fees charged by private schools and revise their fee structures with penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh and withdrawal of registration for violators. On behalf of the Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary today introduced The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2018 in the state Assembly. In his statement, Sarma said: "As there is pressing demand from various individual guardians of the students and the association for fixation of fees, it has been decided to constitute Fee Regulatory and Fee Revision Committees to fix the maximum fees." As per the Bill, the government shall constitute one or more Fee Regulatory Committee to determine the fee structure for any standard or course of study in any non-government school imparting education in primary, middle, secondary and higher secondary level and it will be headed by a ...
Paper leak; SC to hear pleas against CBSE's decision to re-conduct exams
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a batch of petitions challenging the CBSE's decision to re-conduct Mathematics and the Economics examination for Class 10 and 12 respectively after the question papers were allegedly leaked. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said since many petitions have been filed on the same issue, it would list them all for hearing on April 4. Separately, the Delhi High Court today asked the CBSE about its plans, if any, to re-conduct the class 10 Maths test. The counsel, representing Kerala-based 15-year-old Rohan Mathew, sought urgent hearing of the plea by the top court challenging the decision to re-conduct the examination. Besides seeking an independent probe into the leak, the student has also sought a direction to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to declare the results on the basis of the examinations already conducted. The CBSE, on March 30, had announced that it would re-conduct the ...
HC seeks CBSE, Centre's reply on plea for court-monitored probe
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Centre to file reply on a plea seeking a court-monitored investigation into the paper leak case.
NHRC issues notices to Centre, CSBE, Delhi Police over paper leak
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to Centre, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Delhi Police over paper leak of class 10 and 12 Board exams.The Economics question paper of class XII and Maths question paper of class X were leaked on social media, hours before the examination. The Economics exam was held on March 26 and Maths on March 28.Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports about the papers leak, the Commission has observed that prima facie, it seems the concerned authorities have failed to keep the faith of the students, intact.Maintaining that the humiliation being faced by the innocent students is amounting to violation of their Rights to Dignity and Education, the Commission has issued notices to the Secretary, Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry; Chairman, CBSE; and Delhi Police Commissioner and sought a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.The NHRC also directed the HRD Ministry to inform the Commission about
IIT Delhi, DU among top 200 universities: Study
Only IIT Delhi and University of Delhi figure in the world's top 200 universities compared to 49 from the USA, 30 from United Kingdom, 11 from Germany and 8 from China and Australia, according to a study by an industry body. A joint study by ASSOCHAM and Yes Institute said it becomes imperative for the country to learn from global best practices. "The top talent goes to developed countries for studying, research and contributing intellectual capital as well as economic value to other countries. An estimated six lakh Indian students are studying abroad, spending over USD 20 billion annually," the study said. Only 16 per cent of the Indian firms carry out any in-firm training themselves, as against 80 per cent of Chinese firms. The study indicates that only a small portion of Indian graduates are considered employable. The National Employability report 2013 pegged that employability was less than 25 per cent in almost all job functions across education streams- science, commerce, arts ..
SC to hear pleas against CBSE re-test on Wednesday
The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday petitions challenging the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) March 28 decision to re-conduct the maths exam for Class 10 after its question paper was leaked.
Exam paper leak: NHRC sends notices to HRD secy, CBSE chairperson and Delhi police chief
The The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today sent notices to the HRD ministry, the CBSE and the Delhi police chief over the leak of question papers of two subjects, seeking a detailed report in four weeks. The NHRC has also observed that such instances would "adversely affect the credibility of the institutions in which the students have absolute faith". The notices have been sent to the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the commissioner of Delhi Police, seeking a detailed report in four weeks, a senior NHRC official said. "The HRD ministry is also expected to inform the Commission about the steps taken regarding counselling of the aggrieved students and to make the process of conducting board examinations trustworthy and foolproof to avoid recurrence of such painful incidents in future," the rights panel said in a statement. The HRD ministry had last week announced that the ...
CBSE's answer to leaks: 'Encrypted' question papers to be printed by schools
Facing flak over paper leaks, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today put in place a 'leak-proof' system of "encrypted" question papers, which are supposed to be printed by the schools. With just one dummy run, the system was implemented today and it faced multiple glitches. The CBSE sent a confidential note to all examination centres in Delhi on Saturday, which carried a set of ten instructions to be followed to introduce the new system. "In the light of the recent developments, CBSE has devised a mechanism of providing encrypted question paper at the examination centres just before the commencement of examination, the note read. The instructions issued by the board to the centres included identifying a safe and secure room for installation of computers and printers and ensuring high-speed internet connection. All computer teachers/staff were supposed to report to the examination centre by 7:30 AM on all exam days to handle downloading and printing of the encrypted ...
Govt introduces bills to repeal 2 Acts
The Assam government today introduced two bills in the Assembly to repeal The Assam Junior Colleges (Provincialisation) Act, 2012 and The Assam Secondary Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1977, as the two Acts have become redundant. The bills were introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on behalf of Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Sarma said The Assam Junior Colleges (Provincialisation) Act, 2012, has become redundant after serving its purpose of provincialising services of teaching and non-teaching staff in 53 junior colleges. On the other repealing Bill, the education minister said the Assam Secondary Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1977, has become useless after the government enacted the Assam Education (Provincialisation of Services of Teachers and Re-Organisation of Educational Institutions) Act, 2017.
US embassy warns aspirants over bogus visa rules
The United States Embassy has cautioned Indian aspirants to be fully aware of bogus visa rules while applying for a student visa to the country.At a session titled, "Open House at the Consular Section - The right way to apply for a US Visa", Elizabeth Lawrence, Fraud Prevention Manager at the US Embassy, said," A lot of students approach bogus visa agents in order to help them to obtain visas. We caution the students to use the right sources with EducationUSA, where they can conduct research with all programmes and courses they want to apply in the US universities and make sure that they make the best of their future goals."She also warned aspirants to be wary of agents who provide false information to guarantee them a student visa.Lawrence further said, "We also request individuals to not to lie during a visa interview. We do not have a set of rules of what documents to bring during the interview. However, if an individual wishes to bring their own documents such as educational ...
Jammu University postpones 3rd-yr English exam after paper leak
The University of Jammu has postponed today's English exam of its third-year students over purported leak of the question paper, an official said. "It is for the information of all concerned that the examination of English B to be held on 2nd April 2018 for the Annual pattern Part 3rd class, is hereby postponed," the varsity declared on its website. However, a university official, on the condition of anonymity, said the question-paper leak led to the postponement and an enquiry has been ordered into the incident. Though the university did not mention the reason for the decision, it said the fresh date would be notified separately. "Rest of the examinations shall be held as per notified datesheet," the order, signed by university's controller of examinations, said. Repeated attempts to reach out to the controller of examinations and registrar of the university did not fructify.
CBSE protesters detained
School students protesting against the government's handling of the CBSE paper leak were detained here on Monday.
NCC being offered as elective to focus on patriotism, moral obligations: HRD
The HRD Ministry today said the objective of implementation of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) as an elective subject is to focus on citizenship, patriotism and moral obligations of a person. It, however, ruled out any plan to make NCC training mandatory for students in all colleges. Minister of State for HRD Satya Pal Singh said in response to a written question in Lok Sabha that the government does not propose to make NCC training mandatory for students in all colleges of the country. "However, the UGC has requested the vice chancellors of all universities to explore implementation of NCC as an elective subject in their respective curriculum," he said. "The objective is to focus on citizenship, patriotism and social and moral obligations of a person. It is also expected to enhance life and leadership skills of the cadets," he added. Singh also said the UGC provides financial support to autonomous colleges for introducing NCC as an elective subject with credit points.
Afghan official: 48 schoolgirls sickened, possible poisoning
An Afghan official says at least 48 schoolgirls have been sickened at a high school in southern Helmand province in what authorities suspect is a case of group poisoning. Dr Nisar Ahmad Barak says the girls were admitted today at his hospital in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, with headache and vomiting but that they are all now in stable condition and receiving treatment. He didn't have any other details and could not speculate on what type of poisoning may have been involved. Ahmad Bilal Haqbeen, deputy director at Helmand's education department, says the girls are all from 11th grade at the city's Central Girls School. He says an investigation is underway. Most of Helmand province is under the control of the Taliban who oppose girls' education.
When will class 10 maths re-examination be held: HC asks CBSE
The Delhi High Court today asked the Central Board of Secondary Education about its plans, if any, to re-conduct the class 10 Maths test the question papers for which had been leaked recently. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar sought information on possible re-examination for the class 10 Maths paper after CBSE said it was still ascertaining the extent of the leak before announcing the date for the fresh test. The court put the query to the secondary and higher secondary education regulator while issuing notices to the CBSE and the Centre seeking their stands on a plea for a court- monitored probe into the recent leaks of the Maths and Economics question papers of class 10 and 12, respectively. During the brief hearing, the bench asked the CBSE as to how could it wait till July to re-conduct the test and keep the students on "tenterhooks" till then. The court observed that it would not only waste an academic year of the students, but would also be .
Approval to 6 central varsities for setting up yoga depts: HRD
The government has identified six central universities to start departments of yoga there, the HRD Ministry said today. Minister of State for HRD Satya Pal Singh listed the six universities in response to a written question in Lok Sabha. The varsities are--Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Visva Bharati, Central University of Rajasthan, Central University of Kerala, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University and Manipur University. "The UGC has already conveyed the approval for starting the yoga department in these central universities," Singh said.
Delhi HC issues notice to CBSE regarding Class 10 exam
The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), the Delhi Police, and Ministry of Human Resources and Development on a petition seeking Class 10 Math's paper be held earlier.The High Court also directed the Board to hold a court-monitored probe into the matter of CBSE question paper leaks.The court has fixed the next date of hearing as March 16.The Delhi High Court had earlier in the day agreed to hear a petition seeking direction for a court-monitored probe in the matter.The plea, filed by many individuals and parents, also demanded the CBSE consider mitigating/compensating by awarding liberal marks to all students in the re-examination.
