Page 446 - Education

Assam-Mizoram border dispute not to feature in Delhi meeting :

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today informed the Assembly that the talks to be held in New Delhi tomorrow between chief secretaries of Assam and Mizoram would not touch the border dispute between the two states. Lal Thanhawla said that state chief secretary Arvind Ray would talk about the reported atrocities committed by the Assam Police personnel on Mizo students and reporters on March eight and ten. The meeting, to be chaired by union home secretary and attended by home ministry officials and chief secretaries of the two states, has been convened by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The border dispute erupted in the wake of protests by Mizo students, which turned violent recently as Mizo Zirlai Pawl tried to construct a rest house on NH 154 near the border on February 27 on land owned by the first state chief minister Ch Chhunga at Zophai area near Mizoram-Assam border area.

No proposal to establish tribal varsity in Bastar: Govt

The HRD Ministry today said there is no proposal under consideration to establish a new central tribal university in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district. Minister of State for HRD Satya Pal Singh said replying to a written question in the Lok Sabha. "A proposal was received from Chhattisgarh government to set up a regional study centre of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in Bastar. However, it was decided that university should first stabilise its operations at its main campus before any expansion is considered," Singh said. "At present there is no proposal under consideration to establish a new Central tribal university in Bastar in Chhattisgarh," he added. According to the Ministry, as per 12th Plan (2012-17) as approved by the National Development Council (NDC), the thrust is on consolidation of higher education system. "However, expansion will mainly be done by scaling up capacity of the existing institutions in place of setting up new institutions," Singh said.

HRD Ministry rules out ranking of Kendriya Vidyalayas

The government today ruled out any plan to rank Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in the country on lines of universities and colleges. "No such proposal is under consideration at present to rank the Kendriya Vidyalayas," Minister of State for HRD Upendra Kushwaha said in response to a written question in Lok Sabha. The HRD Ministry was earlier mulling ranking its over 1,000 Kendriya Vidyalayas with an aim at improving the institutes by holding a competition among them on lines of its National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF). The ministry officials had said last year that with a maximum 1,000 points, the KVs would be graded under four categories, with 80 per cent and above (excellent) under A category, 60-79.9 per cent (very good) in B category, 40- 59.9 per cent (good) in C, and below 40 per cent (average) in D. It was suggested that over 1,000 KVs would be assessed under seven parameters, including academic performance, which will carry the highest weightage of 500 points, followed by ...

'61% parents use social media to keep tab on kids'

While social media has been associated with a negative impact on children, 61 per cent parents feel that the online medium has enabled them to keep a track of "tweens", according to a survey. "Tweens" is a term given to children between the early elementary grades and those entering teenage.

UK teacher wins $1M teaching prize for inner city work

A British school teacher won a highly-competitive USD 1 million teaching prize today for her work with inner-city children in London, helping students feel welcome and safe in a borough with one of the highest murder rates in the country. Andria Zafirakou beat out some 30,000 applicants from around the world to win the annual Global Teacher Prize, which honors an exceptional teacher who's made a significant contribution to the profession. The Alperton Community School teacher was awarded for her work in the London borough of Brent, one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country. Her students come from some of the poorest families in Britain, and many of their parents don't necessarily speak English. She is the first British teacher to win the award. British Prime Minister Theresa May sent her a video message praising her "enormous dedication and creativity." "Being a great teacher requires resilience, ingenuity and a generous heart," the prime minister said. "These are the ..

Hyderabad varsity students condemn rape bid; Demand security

Students Union of the University of Hyderabad today condemned the alleged rape attempt on a 19-year-old girl on the campus by four juveniles and demanded that the varsity ensure their security and safety. The union also said it would soon hold a general body meeting to discuss about the "increasing instances of sexual harassment and assaults" on the campus. "We, the Students Union 201718, University of Hyderabad, strongly condemn the increasing instances of assault and abuse inside the campus and demand strengthening the boundary walls, installation of street lights, orientation with the security...," the release said. Terming the incident "a shame" on the part of the university administration, the union also sought improvisation of internal mechanisms in order to improve the status of security and to ensure that the campus remained "a free space that it has been for all the students." Four juvenile boys were yesterday arrested for allegedly attempting to rape the girl ..

Osmania University partners UMSL to offer dual degree courses

: City-based Osmania University (OU) will start offering dual degree courses in partnership with University of Missouri-St Louis (UMSL) by June this year. OU Vice Chancellor Prof S Ramachandram had an early morning video conference today with UMSL officials to firm up the subjects that will be part of the programme, a release from the University said. The conference is a follow-up to a meeting the Vice Chancellor had with officials of the University of Missouri-St. Louis in May last year. Forty students, 10 each from the four courses,will get an opportunity to study in Missouri University, the release said, adding that Osmania University was working on the modalities. University of Missouri was also interested in bringing its courses in criminology and criminal justice and in optometry to Osmania, it said. UMSL currently has a partnership with about 75 universities in nearly 50 countries. Most are student-exchange relationships, some more active than others, the release ..

South Asia's first ever coworking & coplay space launched in Gurugram

While co-working spaces in the cities are mushrooming, they usually offer a standard experience - a chair and desk with WiFi in an air-conditioned environment. Monkey Business, a first of its kind co-working space in south Asia that provides onsite childcare was launched in South Point Mall, Gurugram recently.Spread over 3,000 sq ft, Monkey Business is a haven where young parents can concentrate on work while their child plays and learns.Companies too can hire seats for their women employees, especially new moms, here.The thoughtfully designed play zone includes a nap area, a feeding and diaper changing room."Monkey Business was designed from my family's life experience. When we had our twins, my wife had to take a sabbatical from work because we did not want to leave our kids with nannies. This is how the idea of Monkey Business was formed," said co-founder, Monkey Business, Gagan Mathawan.The launch event featured Qissebaazi, an enthralling story and poetry narration by acclaimed ...

Indian education sector needs holistic relook: experts

India needs to have a comprehensive relook at its education sector to prepare its youth which comprise over 50 per cent of the 1.3 billion population for the future, educationists and experts have suggested. Speaking at the sixth Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) in Dubai, the experts called for a shift in the policy to meet the challenges of the changing times. "A relook at the Indian education sector is inevitable given that the current system was developed in the pre-Independence era for just five per cent of the population and that too for clerical roles, with no room for creativity or promoting social reorganisation," said Aditya Nataraj, Founder director Kaivalya Education Foundation, a social change organisation working in the field of education. He suggested a shift from a system of "monitoring, inspection and suspension" to one that "enables, empowers and inspires" young people. Kavita Sanghvi, Principal MET Rishikul Vidyalaya, said the biggest challenge before ...

Sexual harassment charges against JNU prof: JNUSU approaches DCW

The JNU Students Union (JNUSU) today approached the Delhi Commission for Women seeking its intervention in the case of alleged sexual harassment of a group of women students by a professor of the university's School of Life Sciences (SLS). According to the police, an FIR was registered against the professor at the Vasant Kunj police station in southwest Delhi. He had yesterday resigned from two administrative posts in JNU -- the director of the Human Resources Development Centre (HRDC) and the director of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) -- on "moral grounds", but claimed that the allegation against him was a "motivated move" by students with vested interests. JNUSU President Geeta Kumari today said, "It is more than 36 hours since the FIR was filed, but still no action has been taken against him. He continues to enjoy his privileges in the JNU campus. The JNU administration has not even suspended him from his academic duties." "As of now, nine students have come forward to .

Guj CM lays foundation stone for Rs 35 crore sports university

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today laid the foundation stone of the Swarnim Gujarat Sports University in Desar town, about 17 kilometres from here. He said that the complex would come up over the next 18 months on an area of 135 acres and would cost Rs 35 crore to build. He said that the university would open the doors for people of the state to pursue careers in a wide variety of sporting disciplines. Officials said that the SGSU would offer courses in the fields of physical education and sports management besides coaching. The SGSU would have modern facilities like a science centre, synthetic athletics track, sports industries centre, multi purpose indoor hall, grounds for different games, hostels, indoor swimming pool, fitness testing centre and staff quarters, they added.

Four minors arrested for attempting to rape 19-year-old

Four juveniles were today arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a 19-year-old student at the University of Hyderabad campus here, police said. The incident occurred near a lake in the campus last night, when the woman and her male classmate, both post-graduate students, were chatting, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Madhapur Zone) Vishwa Prasad told reporters. The juveniles, aged between 16 and 17, had entered the campus by jumping the compound wall with an intention to steal copper wires, he said. After noticing the two students, they initially demanded money and their mobile phones. When the duo resisted they made an attempt to rape the woman after robbing them, the DCP said. "It was valiant fight by the woman's classmate with the juveniles, which prevented the possible sexual assault," he said. The four hit him with sticks and stones resulting in bleeding injuries. Besides, they also tried to strangle him with a belt, he said. The woman resisted their attempts to .

Niti says will kickstart transform school education

NITI Aayog along with three states -- Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha -- will kick-start a system-wide transformation of school education, the government think tank said today. "Three participating States of #SATH-E's programme -Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & Odisha - with #NITI will kickstart a system-wide transformation of school education #TransformingIndia," NITI Aayog said in a tweet. The government had yesterday said that NITI Aayog will release comprehensive roadmap and detailed timeline for its initiative Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education (SATH-E)' project today. These roadmap, which operate between 2018 to 2020, lay out detailed interventions which will taken by the three participating states- Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha aiming to become 'Role Model States' in school education. These roadmaps present the customised, action-oriented programmes, outlining interventions at the individual, district and State level. "The SATH-E Roadmaps .

Gudi Padwa school enrollment in Maha to attract more children

The primary education department of the Gondia Zilla Parishad in Maharashtra has planned a school enrollment drive for children on the occasion of Gudi Padwa tomorrow. "The drive, initiated by the then Gondia district collector Dr Vijay Suryawanshi in 2015, has been a success, helping attract students to Zilla Parishad schools," Gondia ZP education officer Ulhas Narad said. The enrollment in the first standard in 2014-15 was 3,700 but it jumped almost three-fold to 10,120 during the academic year 2015-16 when the drive was launched, the official informed. In 2016-17, a total of 11,952 students were admitted in the Gudi Padwa enrollment drive and around 13,000 during the academic year 2017-18, Narad said. The education department has planned to make the awareness-cum-enrollment drive a success, he said. Explaining the rationale behind launching the drive on Gudi Padwa, Suryawanshi, now district collector of Raigad near Mumbai, said "Gudi Padwa marks the beginning of the ..

Agitating engineering college students gherao principal

Agitating students of the Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College (JGEC) have gheraoed the principal since yesterday following which he was taken ill, a college official said today. Principal Amitava Roy has fallen ill and doctors recommended hospitalisation, but the students refused to take him to hospital and said he be treated at his office, said the official who does not want to be quoted. Roy has been treated at his chamber, he said. The JCEC authorities also directed all the male students of the 2nd year to vacate the hostel but they were yet to do it. The students, mainly of the second year, were demanding action against a Computer Science teacher alleging that he had beaten up two second-year students on Thursday evening after they had an altercation with some first-year students, the official said. The agitating students and the authorities held talks but it did not yield any result yesterday. Since then the students were on dharna and did not let the ...

Jaya gave thrust to education: Minister

The late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa worked towards removal of poverty in the state through education for which enough funds were allocated, Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan said today. With this in mind, the present AIADMK government allotted Rs 27,932 crore for education in the Budget for next fiscal, the Minister said. He was inaugurating six classrooms in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School here. The facilities, including toilets, were built at a cost Rs 84 lakh. The sum was allocated from the MLA Constituency Development Fund, he added. The Minister said 100 middle schools and as many high schools would be upgraded as high schools and higher secondary schools, respectively. He said Rs 2.16 crore through NABARD would be utilised to renovate the old building units in the school. The Minister said the school uniforms would be changed from the coming academic year. The syllabus too would be revised to equip students for competitive examinations such as ...

70 TN students hospitalised for eye irritation

As many as 70 students of a state-aided school here were hospitalised after they complained of eye-irritation reportedly due to exposure to glaring lights at the annual day function, police said today. Thirty-five adults, including parents and teachers, were also admitted to a nearby hospital, they said. Bright lights were put up on the stage during the annual event of the Erwadi Elementary School yesterday, police said. Some of them were too bright for the children to bear, they said. The lights were switched off after the students complained of irritation and swelling of eyes, they said.

Rape attempt on university student

Four unidentified persons allegedly attempted to rape a 21-year-old woman student after assaulting her on the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus here, leaving her with minor injuries, police said today. Her male classmate also sustained minor injuries when he tried to save her from the attackers, police said. The incident occurred at a secluded place on the campus last night, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Madhapur Division) N Shyam Prasad Rao told PTI. After escaping from the attackers, the two post-graduate students alerted other students about the incident even as the four persons fled the scene, the police official said. A case has been registered against the attackers and a search was on to nab them, he said. Meanwhile, the University sources said that an internal inquiry was on into the incident. The university, in coordination with student organisations, would take necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of the students in the campus, the sources

NIT-Warangal expels five students, suspends two for 2 yrs

The National Institute of Technology-Warangal has expelled five students and suspended two others for two years as part of a disciplinary action against them in connection with a clash between two groups reported near the Institute recently. The disciplinary action was initiated by the administration yesterday against the students following a violent clash between two groups of students that occurred during an annual fest near the Institute's stadium on March 11, college authorities said. A B-Tech final year student was injured after he was stabbed in the "ghastly incident." Action was taken against seven students (all Msc students) under relevant sections of PG (Science and Management) Rules and Regulations of the Institute after their "involvement was proved" following an enquiry conducted by an Enquiry Committee and also based on the findings of the Deans' Committee, they said. "The competent authority of the Institute, after going through the Report of the Enquiry ..

Bengal village school sets example in instilling patriotism

Setting a novel example, people of this nondescript village in Nadia district stops all works for 52 seconds at 10.50 am every weekday to sing the National Anthem. People at home and those in moving motorbikes, auto-rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians on road stand still wherever they are and start singing. At that particular hour, students of the state run Abhainagar Primary School sing the 52-second-long National Anthem and it is echoed to nearby areas through loudspeakers. "We thought this would instill patriotism among the students and the people. We had requested the villagers, wherever they are, to sing the national anthem along with their children at the school. They agreed and the practice continues," said the school Headmaster Safikul Islam. A loudspeaker has been fitted around 100 feet away from the school building and those who hear the National Anthem being sung through it, join the chorus, Islam said. "I and two others were passing by the school with crops on .