EDUCATION/MINORITY EDUCATION - 2008

(January to December 2008) Compiled By K. SAMU Human Rights Documentation, Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India

Orissas spending on education drops (11) Bhubaneswar, Jan. 1: School education in Orissa has not grown significantly in the past one decade. The sector is besieged with some perennial problems like poor infrastructure, inadequate equipment, single-teacher staff, a high rate of absenteeism and too many vacancies. A study prepared by a voluntary organisation reveals that the states spending has dropped from 13.5 per cent in 1995-96 to 9.3 per cent in 2007-08. The study reports, released here on Tuesday , says primary education in the state continues to be a low-priority area. It also says despite several efforts there are about 6,00,000 children aged between five and 13 are still out of school. About 15,000 primary schools in the state do not have a pucca building, while two per cent primary schools do not have any building at all, the study reveals. (Asian Age 2/1/08) Big thrust to secondary education planned (11) New Delhi, Jan. 2: So far, its been elementary education thats been focused upon by the Centre and the states through the formers flagship Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme. But now, the government is all set to provide an equal thrust to secondary education in the 11th Plan with the Scheme for Universalitsation of Access for Secondary Education (SUCCESS) it hopes to launch in 2008-09. Of course, the task will be Herculean, given that the proposed scheme plans to universalise access to secondary education to students in the 15-16 age group (Classes 9 and 10) by providing a secondary school within five kilometres of any habitation and a higher secondary school within seven kilometres of any habitation. The government will also be hoping to ensure universal retention by 2020, said a senior official of the Union ministry of human resource development. Given the scale of the scheme, the ministry has projected a whopping expenditure of Rs 35,566.62 crore on it in the 11th Plan. And this is just the Central share alone on the scheme to which the states will be contributing as well. The money required by 2020 the year proposed as the target for universal retention will be even more. It will be no less than Rs 90,485.11 crore. Of this, Rs 37,119.03 crore will be non-recurring expenditure while the rest, Rs 53,366.08 crore will be recurring expenditure. Compare this to the 10th Plan outlay of just Rs 4,325 crore that secondary education had. It was unable to spend even this small amount entirely, incurring an expenditure of Rs 3,811.68 crore. In 2007-08, some 2.89 crore students were enrolled in Class 9 and 10 together. Hopefully, the huge expenditure which would be involved in the scheme will help improve the gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the secondary level. At present a mere 51.65 per cent for classes IX and X, it is even worse in the case of girls with the GER being just 45.28 per cent. The GER for boys is 57.39 per cent. The task before the Central and the state governments will be Herculean, given that at present, there are 12 states where the GER is below the national average. Among them are Assam with a GER of 49.41 per cent, Bihar with an extremely poor GER of just 22.47 per cent, West Bengal with a GER of 41.46 per cent, Rajasthan with a GER of 43.91 per cent and Nagaland with a very poor GER of merely 26.06 per cent. The picture is equally dismal where the location of schools within a certain region are concerned. According to government figures, there are 15 states and Union Territories that are below the national average in terms of the availability of secondary schools per 100 square kilometres. Among these states are Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland figure on this list too. Not surprising given that these states have suffered from lack of accessibility, a reflection perhaps of the general neglect of the Northeast by successive governments. Increasing the GER expectedly requires an increase in infrastructure too for accommodating the larger number of students SUCCESS will be targeting.

Consequently, the government plans to upgrade upgrade existing primary schools by building more classrooms, laboratories, computer rooms, library rooms, etc. It also envisages the strengthening of existing secondary schools. Apart from this the government also hopes to target disadvantaged groups such as the SCs, STs, minorities and other weaker sections. (Asian Age 3/1/08) MP school boy shoots another in govt school (11) Satna (MP), January 3: In a shocking incident, an eighth class student of a Government school in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh was killed on Thursday when his senior schoolmate allegedly shot at him in the school premises in the second such crime in the country in a month. In a replay of the Gurgaon school shooting last month, police said the assailant whipped out a country-made revolver and gunned down the 15-year-old victim, an eighth-standard student in the school in Chorbani village. It was not immediately known what prompted the shooting during school hours but there were reports that it occurred after a scuffle between the two students, police said of the incident reminiscent of the gun violence in schools in the US. The injured student was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way. The exact cause of the quarrel was not yet known, Satna Superintendent of Police Kamal Singh Rathore said. Police have registered a case and investigations are underway but no arrests have been made so far. On December 11, an eighth standard student of an elite school in Gurgaon was killed when two classmates allegedly pumped five bullets into him at point blank range in perhaps the first such shooting in a school in the country. Old grudge was believed to have triggered this incident. (Indian Express 4/1/08) NMC scheme to reduce dropout rate (11) NAGPUR: What happens when the earning parent of a poor kid, who studies in a corporation school, dies? In many cases, the child has to drop out because there's no one to fund his or her education. In a bid to make such kids stay in school, the Nagpur municipal corporation (NMC) has mooted a proposal before the state government to get an insurance cover for parents of nearly 49,000 students from 251 civic schools. The cover will ensure that the future education of the child is secure in the event of death of any parent, especially the breadwinner of the family. If sources are to be believed, it is such scheme in the country launched by a civic body. Sources said the NMC has sent a proposal of over Rs 20 lakh to the state government for its nod. If it is sanctioned, students from class I to class VIII of 251 corporation schools, which include both 229 primary and 22 secondary schools, will be benefited. Additional municipal commissioner Atul Patne, who has come up with the scheme, pointed out that in government run-schools, the dropout rate is high and in most cases, students discontinue education due to poor financial condition. Thus, the NMC has decided to cover the lives of students parents so that in case of any financial instability like natural or accidental death of their parents, the students do not have to discontinue their education in the middle. At least they can continue their education till XII standard, Patne added. Briefing further about the scheme, he said the lives of parents would be covered under Life Insurance Corporation of Indias Janashree Bima Yojna. The group insurance scheme is designed for people below the poverty line, said Patne, adding of the annual premium of Rs 200 per student. The Central government will contribute Rs 100, while the state government Rs 50 and the NMC would provide the rest of the amount from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme fund. Patne said, in 2007, 3,792 students from class IX to XII had already been covered under the Janashree Bima Yojna and on November 14, mayor Maya Iwnate had launched the scheme. The NMC had already contributed their annual premium of Rs 1,89,650. (Times of India 6/1/08) Modern education at madrasa stuns Governor (11) JAIPUR: Rajasthan Governor S.K. Singh was in for a pleasant surprise on modernisation of education at a madrasa, evolved as a senior secondary school, in the Walled City of Jaipur on Wednesday when he visited the Muslim-dominated localities for distribution of free blankets to poor children. The Governor, impressed with the rapid strides made by Rehmani Model School, called upon the students to set high aims in their life and work hard to achieve them. He said the young students should imbibe the positive values of coexistence and communal harmony. The Governor, after being informed of computer education having been introduced from the first

standard, got another surprise when he was introduced to the madrasas Hindu Principal, Sarla Vyas. He evinced a keen interest in this unexplored secular aspect of madrasa education. Making the customary Islamic invocation Bismillah-ir-Rehman-ir-Rahim (In the name of God) before the madrasa teachers and students, Mr. Singh said the institution should strive to uphold high ideals for promoting national unity and teach the children to rise above petty considerations of class and caste. Division and discrimination on the basis of caste is the bane of Hindu society. Muslims should reject such a schism and prove that they are the children of one God, said Mr. Singh. (The Hindu 10/1/08) Decline in number of out-of-school children: Survey (11) NEW DELHI: In a clear vindication of the flagship Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan making rapid strides, Pratham's Annual Survey of Education Report, 2007 the country's only private survey of school education has reported considerable decline in the percentage of out-of-school children in the age group of 6-14, from 6.6% in 2006 to 4.2% in 2007. The report, to be released next week, is based on the analysis of data collected from 562 out of 584 districts. Jammu and Kashmir is the best performing state followed by Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Haryana. States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are much lower down the order. An interesting facet of decline in out-of-school children is that girls form a major component of it. More and more girls are now going to school. In the age group of 7-10, the percentage of out-ofschool children declined from 5.4% in 2006 to 2.8% in 2007. In the higher age categories of 1114, out-of-school girls have come down to 7.4% in 2007 from 10.3% in 2006. Though declining, 20.8% of girls in the age group of 15-16 were out-of-school in 2007 compared to 22.6% in 2006. Across all age categories, most children go to government schools and even a majority of private schools are government-aided. However, the report is silent on this issue. Even the percentage of children out of pre-school facilities like balwadi/anganwadi has come down significantly: from 38.8% to 24.7% for age 3, 28.1% to 18.2% for age 4, 15% to 7.4% for five year olds and 6.3% to 3.6% for age six. Pratham carried out a learning ability test of children at five levels: reading, arithmetic, English reading level, English comprehension and problem solving. It found an increase in the learning level from the previous year. It was found that in class I, 31.9% can read nothing, 44.2% can read letters, 17% words, 3.9% level-I text and 3% level-II text. In class II, 11.2% cannot read anything, 31.6% letters, 34.4% words, 13.8% level-I text and 9% level-II text. The percentage of those who cannot read anything comes down from class III onwards, whereas those who can read letters, words, class I and II texts increases. In arithmetic, 31.7% children of class I cannot do anything while 42.9% can recognize numbers from one to nine and 20.1% can identify numbers from 10 to 99. Only 3.9% of class I students can subtract and 1.5% can divide. Like reading, the learning level of arithmetic increases in higher classes. When it comes to English reading, 60.9% of class I students cannot read capital letters, 22.9% can read capital letters, 9.4% can read small letters, 4.6% simple words and 2.2% easy sentences. But English reading improves in higher classes. Among those who can read English from class I to VIII, the range of those who can tell meaning varies from 50.3% in class I to 67.1% in class VIII. In the same category (I-VIII), the range of those who can tell the meaning of sentences varies from 70% in class I to 86.1% in class VIII. . (Times of India 13/1/08) Scheme for better madrasa education (11) New Delhi, Jan. 15: The Centre now plans to launch Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM) in the country. The schemes aim will be two-pronged: to improve the quality of education provided by the madrasas and also the infrastructure available to them. By doing this, the government clearly wants to press ahead with modernising madrasa education in the country by re-vamping an already existing scheme called the Area Intensive and Madrasa Modernisation Programme. While introducing a separate Central madrasa board as suggested by the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI), to help madarsas modernise, is clearly not on the governments agenda given its sensitive nature such a board has been opposed by many Muslim community leaders the government plans to go about the business of modernisation in other ways. This is just one of many steps the government says it is taking to improve the educational status of the countrys Muslim community in an action taken report (ATR), prepared by the Union HRD ministry. The ATR has been sent to members of the

National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education (NMCME), which will meet in the capital on Wednesday. Also on the anvil is a proposal to set up 88 colleges in Muslim concentration districts during the 11th Plan, said the ATR. The districts will also be accorded priority in the setting up of community polytechnics. The ATR also says that the ministry has proposed assistance to the University Grants Commission (UGC) for strengthening minority educational institutions in the higher education sector. The proposed scheme for madrasas envisages linkages with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), to provide vocational education to madrasa students, train madrasa teachers in modern subjects like science and maths, provide more money to madrasas to set up book banks and also revise upwards the salaries of its teachers. At present, those teaching the junior classes get a mere Rs 3,000 per month, while it is a marginally higher Rs 4,000 for those teaching senior classes. Introducing the scheme will help the government fulfil one of the objectives in the Prime Ministers New 15-Point Programme for the welfare of minorities, the one promising modernisation of madrasa education by strengthening the existing scheme for madrasa modernisation. It will also help the government say that it is acting upon the observations of the Sachar Report. The report which drew attention to the poor educational status of the Muslim community, both at the primary and the tertiary level, had said that madrasas need to "provide good quality, subsidised mainstream education...". As for higher education, the ministry has told the monitoring committee members that it has already asked the UGC to come up with a national-level mechanism of equivalence after holding discussions with universities as also the Association of Indian Universities. (Asian Age 16/1/08) Arjun slams Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP on minority education (11) NEW DELHI, JANUARY 16: Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh said on Wednesday there is near unanimity in reforms in madrassa education at the end of the day-long meeting of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education. As there are some differences on some issues, including issues related to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a committee has been appointed under the chairmanship of HRD Minister of State M A A Fatimi, which will submit its report within two months. During the meeting, officials said new schemes of modernisation and infrastructure have been launched to strengthen teaching and infrastructure in minority institutions. Singh, while addressing media after the conclusion of the meeting, slammed the three BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for not cooperating on the issue of minority education. They are not cooperating, but we have to move ahead, he said in response to a question whether these three states were giving adequate support towards minority education. For encouraging minority education, the HRD ministry in an official statement said the AICTE gives 20 per cent relaxation in processing fees for setting up institutions. A new Centrallysponsored scheme has been proposed to ensure that each Muslim Minority Concentration District has a polytechnic. The UGC has appointed a committee to suggest a comprehensive policy for a fair share in various schemes for minorities and new guidelines are being developed for the implementation of these schemes during the 11th Plan, the statement said. (Indian Express 17/1/08) MP planning board exams for madrasas, Sanskrit schools (11) BHOPAL, JANUARY 24: Used as they are to short-cuts and irregularities in exams conducted in the most informal ways, thousands of students of madrasas and Sanskrit schools are shuddering at the prospect of taking board examinations. The state Government is seriously considering asking its Secondary Education Board to conduct examinations for students of madrasas and Sanskrit schools, which are now conducted respectively by Madhya Pradesh madrasa Board and Sanskrit Board. While the Madrasa Board was set up in 1998, the Sanskrit Board was set up in 2002. In the hope of getting recognition and Government grants, hundreds of institutions came up over the last few years without doing much to improve the quality of education. The Government admitted that there is little credibility in the examinations conducted by the respective boards, which are mostly approached for getting affiliation by the operators. Both the boards are unhappy with the Governments move to involve the Secondary Education Board in conducting examinations and fear they will be rendered redundant. Why dont they simply dissolve the board, asked a Sanskrit Board official. According to him, fake institutions came in picture only because the Board gave them recognition on the basis of inspections conducted by respective

District Education Offices. The boards dont have staff to carry out own inspections. Education Minister Laxman Singh Gaud at a recent meeting of the departments associated with education, expressed strong reservations over the examinations conducted by these boards, saying they merely promote students. He asked the education department to submit a proposal to involve the Secondary Education Board in the conduct of examinations, a move that has made students and organisers jittery. There are about 5,350 registered madrasas in Madhya Pradesh that got government recognition because they promised to introduce normal curriculum along with religious education. The madrasa Board has written to the education department painting a scary picture of what will happen if the Secondary Board conducts the examination for students who cannot compete with their counterparts who attend regular schools. Sources in the Board told The Indian Express that madrasa students get up to nine attempts to clear five subjects in a year. And unlike the Secondary Education Board, the madrasa Board conducts examinations twice a year. Even those who teach in madrasas are not trained properly. If students of such teachers take regular examination, they cant do well, a Board official said and argued that not all madrasas are bad. The Board is also worried because if the proposed move comes through, they will have little control over institutions. As such we have difficulty getting cooperation from the schools, imagine what will happen if the power to conduct the board examination is also taken away from us, the Board official asked. (Indian Express 25/1/08) States give minority groups tough time (11) New Delhi, Jan. 27: Several state governments continue to flout, at times with impunity, the right of minority communities to run their educational institutions. This, despite the countrys Constitution giving them the right to do so under Article 30. Even the existence of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI), whose mandate it is to look into complaints by minority educational institutions if they are being denied minority status by state governments hasnt acted as a deterrent. Its something which has been taken note of by the standing committee of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education too. In fact, the committee in its periodic report to the Union ministry of human resource development has observed: "The complaints regarding the difficulties in procurement of the "no objection" certificates from the state governments for recognition as minority institutionscontinue to pour in despite the fact that the National Commission for Minority Education has been in place as redressal machinery for such complaints for quite some time." The NCMEI was set up by the UPA government in 2004 to fulfil a promise made by it in its National Common Minimum Programme. The committee has also said, "The grant of minority status certificate is making slow progress in spite of the National Commission for Minority Education." Taking note of the fact that "a large number of petitions are lying pending" before the NCMEI, the committee has suggested that the commission "may be requested to expedite their disposal." Significantly, state governments straddling the political spectrum are guilty of acting difficult when it comes to the granting of minority status certificates. So the DMK led Tamil Nadu finds mention in the standing committees report as also the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The Janata Dal (United) led-Bihar government and the coalition government of Jharkhand where the Congress is a partner too find mention in the committees report. In the case of Tamil Nadu, the committee had this to say: "Procuring a minority status certificate from the state government for minority institutions still presents a insurmountable hazards in Tamil Nadu. These institutions are either denied such a certificate or the decision is inordinately delayed leaving the beneficiaries bewildered." As for the Madhya Pradesh government, the committee said that during a visit to state capital Bhopal in August 2007, it realised that "the recommendations made by the committees constituted by the earlier state governments to look into the problems of minorities are gathering dust in the cupboards.". (Asian Age 28/1/08) Seminar on school curriculum (1) NEW DELHI: Representatives of the eight member-States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), including the latest entrant to the group -- Afghanistan, will converge in the Capital in March to deliberate on issues pertaining to school curriculum in their respective countries. The National Council of Educational Research and Training will organise a SAARC seminar on School Curriculum: Policies, Practices and Educational Issues Among

SAARC Nations to provide a forum for sharing and exchanging efforts addressed at improving the quality of school education for mutual learning. The focus of the seminar is directed specifically on the instrumentality of curriculum and its related policies and programmes to enhance quality of school education. Exchange of ideas and experiences will be on themes like innovation and flexibility in school curriculum; plurality of teacher-learning materials and textbooks; reforming teacher education and pedagogy in practice, said seminar coordinator Amarendra Behera. The countries of South-East Asia share a common culture amid their diversities both within the countries and in the region. Education is one such area that binds these countries as we share a common legacy directed by colonial system of education. So, it is pertinent for these countries to come together and work to better the quality of education of their children, he noted. Papers will be invited from academicians and practitioners representing institutions and countries. The paper may be in the form of country reports in the area of curriculum policies, practices and issues in school education and teacher education. The presentations may focus on the curriculum-related efforts/ programmes depicting concerns and issues addressed along with broad indicators of implementation, outcomes and challenges. The SAARC seminar will immediately be followed by the 13th All-India Childrens Educational Audio and Video Festival. The festival is a forum for exchange of ideas between seven State Institutes of Educational Technology and the Central Institute of Educational Technology, to motivate them to develop programmes addressing specific concerns of children and teachers. The festival is likely to be inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil, though her assent is still awaited. We want the seminar and this event to be held back-to-back so that the SAARC representatives can get first-hand knowledge of the work that we are doing here in India, added Dr. Behera. The Department of Education in Arts and Aesthetics at NCERT will also organise a three-day symposium to sensitise among various stakeholders of education, the importance of arts education in the teaching learning processes. (The Hindu 29/1/08) Steps taken to provide education in tribal dialects (11) BHUBANESWAR: For nearly seven lakh tribal students of the State pursuing primary education in 11,000 schools, here is a reason to rejoice. The State government has embarked upon an ambitious action plan to provide study materials in their own languages. Although Orissa has 62 tribal communities - the largest number for any Indian State - constituting one-fourth of the States population, Santalis have been the lone tribe to avail from books in their mother-tongue Ol-Chiki for their schooling; especially after the language was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Most of the tribal communities of the State have dialects but no scripts of their own. Thus, the government has evolved a five-year plan to develop study materials for the school students in their languages using Oriya script, says the Minister for Tribal Welfare C.P. Majhi, also a tribal leader. At present, books for the students of standard one and two for nine tribal communities are being published under the Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan scheme, he hinted and added that the list includes Bonda, Juanga, Oram, Munda, Kissan, Koya, Kui and Saura tribes. A study conducted by the government has revealed that the major reason behind school drop-outs among tribal communities has been non-availability of books and teachers in their own languages. The initiative to provide teachers and study materials in their own languages has been introduced in 200 schools and it would be doubled by next academic session benefiting about 8,000 primary students, it was learnt.Meanwhile, teachers with expertise in the respective dialects have been posted in these schools to implement the programme. The five-year plan is likely to be extended for three more years beyond 2012 to provide education to the tribals in their own languages. (The Hindu 30/1/08) Approval to scholarship scheme for minorities (11) New Delhi, Jan. 30: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday cleared a prematric scholarship scheme for students belonging to the minority communities the outlay for which is a huge sum of Rs 1,868.50 crores during the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12). And while the UPA government may tout this scholarship as one born only out of concern for the educational status of the minorities, it will surely be hoping to tap the minority votebank, particularly the substantial Muslim population in the country, through this announcement. This scheme is the fourth one that has been announced by the government in the last few months, all

targeting the minority communities. Among the ones announced earlier by the government is the "Post matric Scholarship" which is meant for students belonging to the economically weaker sections of the minority communities. Then there is the "Merit Cum Means Scholarship Scheme" for minority community students as also the "Free Coaching and Allied Scheme". Of the amount approved for the scheme, Rs 1,408.40 crores will be borne by the Centre while the remaining Rs 460.10 crores will be shared by the states. In the case of Union Territories, they would be provided 100 per cent Central assistance. The scheme is to be launched during the financial year 2007-08. The scheme envisages the giving away of 25 lakh scholarships during the Eleventh Plan. The scholarships will be awarded to students belonging to the minority communities for studies in India in government or private schools from Class 1 to Class 12. The scholarship will also cover those minority students studying in residential government institutes and eligible private institutes selected and notified in a transparent manner by the state governments/UTs concerned. Keeping in mind the need to encourage girls to get an education, 30 per cent of the scholarships will be earmarked for girl students of each minority community in a state/UT. The scholarship will be transferable to boy students only if eligible girl students are not available. The maximum ceiling of tuition fee entitlement would be Rs 350 per month, subject to actuals. The rates of maintenance allowance would be Rs 600 per month for hostellers from Class 6 onwards, subject to actuals and Rs 100 per month for day-scholars from class I onwards. Admission fee from Class 6 onwards would be Rs 500 per annum subject to actuals. (Asian Age 31/1/08) NCERT to remove objectionable passages from history texts (11) New Delhi, January 30: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Wednesday assured the Delhi High Court of measures to remove certain objectionable passages from History textbooks of Class VI to XII, beginning next academic session. All objectionable passages will disappear in the new textbooks from April 1, 2008, the NCERT counsel submitted before a Bench, headed by Justice T S Thakur. Counsel for Deena Nath Batra, a social activist, had filed the petition seeking the courts intervention to direct NCERT to delete objectionable references to freedom fighters and other historical figures in its textbooks. However, senior counsel R P Bansal, who represents Batra in the case, expressed his concern on the fact that the old books would continue to be used as reference material by students. What about those children who have been already taught or those who will use the old books as reference? Bansal asked. We cannot stop people from reading the old books. The NCERT is willing to take steps for issuance of new ones, the Bench replied, dismissing his contention. The NCERT had earlier informed the court that it would remove 20 objectionable passages including references to Sikh religious leader Guru Gobind Singh, scientist Aryabhatt, Mughal Emperor Akbar, and describing author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and freedom fighters Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai as militants from its books.(Indian Express 31/1/08) Rs 4,189cr kept for minority scholarships (11) New Delhi, Jan. 31: Just another sop or something that will actually benefit minority community students, only time will tell. But with the announcement of yet another scholarship scheme for students from minority communities this week, the UPA government has, by now, set aside no less than Rs 4,189 crores in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12) to target these students. While all minorities come under the ambit of these schemes, its clearly the educational deprivation among the Muslim community as highlighted in the Sachar report that the government will be hoping to address. As the report which went into great detail on the educational status of the countrys Muslims had observed: "Muslims have not been able to sufficiently reap the benefits of the state intervention and growth in education." It had also noted that "the educational status of the Muslim community, in particular, is a matter of a great concern". Regarding school education among the communitys children, the report said, "The condition of Muslims is of great concern." As for the communitys participation in higher education, the report had observed, "One of the key reasons for the low participation of Muslims in higher education is their significantly low achievement level in higher secondary attainment rates." The biggest chunk of Rs 1,868.5 crores has been set aside under the Central scheme, which got the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) nod on Wednesday. Called the "Pre-matric scholarship for students belonging to the minority communities", the latest scheme is aimed at students from classes I to 10. The governments

plan is to disburse nearly 25 lakh scholarships under this scheme over the next five years. The clearance of this scholarship comes just about two months after the CCEA had cleared Rs 1,530 crores "Post-matric scholarship for students belonging to the minority communities". This scholarship, which is also a Centrally-administered scheme, is aimed at students at the higher secondary level and even those studying in colleges and universities. To be implemented during the 11th Plan, the scheme will be aiming to provide 15 lakh scholarships during the plan period. The aim of the scholarship is to enable students from minority communities to pursue higher education as also technical and vocational courses so that they become employable. Two schemes which are similar are that the Centre has decided that the money will be disbursed among states/Union territories on the basis of the population of minorities they have within their region as per the 2001 census. Also, 30 per cent of the scholarship amount in each case has been set aside for girl students. (Asian Age 1/2/08) In NDA Orissa, a textbook equates BJP with Lashkar (11) BHUBANESWAR, FEB 1: The last thing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would want is to be clubbed with Lashkar-e-Taiba. But in a state where the BJP is part of the ruling front and where the education minister is its own member, a prescribed text book has done just that. The chapter on the Existence of Terrorist Organisations in a textbook on Indian Polity for second-year degree students in Orissa says: Terrorist organizations create tension in in the country. Communal parties like the BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal, Hurriyat Conference and Laskhar-e-Taiba are responsible for fermenting violence... leading to the killing of hundreds in the country and especially Kashmir. The BJP is part of the ruling coalition in the state and its leader Samir Dey is the minister for higher education. Worse, the textbook has been taught here since 2003. The textbook is written by Amarendra Mohanty and Shyama Charan Mohanty and published by a Cuttack-based publisher Kitab Mahal. On Thursday, a party worker in Salepur, about 60 km from the state capital, noticed it and lodged a FIR. Shyama Charan Mohanty is a reader in political science in the Sailabala Womens College, Cuttack while Amarendra Mohanty retired as head of the political science department of the Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. An embarrassed government immediately announced a monitoring committee to screen all textbooks while BJP workers took to the streets and burnt copies of the book. BJP spokesman Nayan Mohanty told The Indian Express, We demand the arrest of the authors and withdrawal of the textbook. Dey said the said the committee will look into legal aspects and act against the publishers. (Indian Express 2/2/08) Panel set up to scrutinise textbooks (11) Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government has decided to set up a monitoring committee to scrutinise books before they are prescribed for syllabus in schools and colleges. We have decided to constitute a monitoring committee which will closely scrutinise all college textbooks before granting approval for their introduction in the syllabus, State Higher Education Minister Samir Dey said. The move has come close on the heels of the claims by BJP about a book meant for second year college students, which allegedly compared Sangh Parivar outfits with terrorist organisations. The derogatory remarks have been made both in Oriya and English versions of the book, published from Cuttack, state BJP vice-president Nayan Mohanty said while demanding its immediate withdrawal from the market. Mr. Mohanty sought immediate arrest of the authors of the two books. PTI (The Hindu 2/2/08) Marks shouldnt be basis for SC/ST scholarship: CPM (11) NEW DELHI:: Stating that the Centres circular setting a cut-off of 60 per cent at plus-two level for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students to avail scholarships was against the norms of social justice, the CPI(M) on Saturday sought reversal of this decision.Contending that the percentage of SC and ST students in professional institutions was already dismally low, the CPI(M) said that the decision would lead to further marginalisation of students belonging to the oppressed sections. The CPI(M) calls on the government to withdraw the decision, said the party politburo in a statement. (Indian Express 3/2/08) SSA has helped 3.68cr children (11)

New Delhi, Feb. 3: Nearly 3.68 crore children have become part of the countrys education system ever since the government launched the ambitious Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan targeting children in the age group of 6 to 14 years, says the Union ministry of human resourceS development. The SSA was launched with the aim of universalising elementary education and the programme is aiming at universal retention by 2010. According to the ministry, the number of out of school children in the 6-14 age group has been steadily declining since the launch of SSA. Nearly 3.20 crore children were out of school in 2001-02, a number which reduced to 2.49 crore by 2002-03. The following year (2003-4), the number of school dropouts decreased further to 1.16 crore though the number showed an upward trend in 2004-05, increasing to 1.35 crore. But ever since, the number had again shown a declining trend with the number of out of school children in 2007-08 having reduced to 0.76 crore according to figures put out by the ministry. There is some good news in terms of the education of girls too. According to the ministry, the enrolment of girls in primary education increased by 18.48 per cent and by 13.66 per cent at the upper primary level between 2001-02 and 2004-05. Hearteningly perhaps, the three states that have shown a notable increase on this front are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar states that otherwise are know for their poor levels of literacy at all levels, from primary to higher secondary. The Tenth Plan had an outlay of Rs 17,000 crores for SSA. The indicated outlay for the Eleventh Plan is a huge amount of Rs 71,000 crores. During the Tenth Plan, the number of habitations covered by SSA increased from 86.96 per cent to 96 per cent at the primary level. As for the number of schools opened in the Tenth Plan under SSA, of the 13,3928 schools that were sanctioned, 99,715 were opened. (Asian Age 4/2/08) RSS chief for modern education in madarsas (11) New Delhi : RSS chief K Sudarshan has favoured modernising the education system in madarsas and said that opening up to new thoughts would be better for the Muslim community as well as the country. "To open up your thoughts and accommodate others is necessary for one to have modern education and the madarsas today lack in it. The sooner they inculcate modern thoughts, the better it is for the religion and the country," Sudarshan said at a book release function here. He alleged that Islam had got "infected with intolerant attitude" by coming in contact with "imperialist powers". The Sangh parivar chief objected to Muslims being called a "minority", arguing there was "no logic" for it as the community constitutes a sizable 17 crore population in the country. The function was also attended by the former Punjab Police Chief KPS Gill and former Minister of State for Home ID Swami. After the release of the book Islamic Madarase Benakab (Muslim madarsas exposed), Gill advocated killing of the terrorists who sneaks into the country. (Pioneer 5/2/08) HRD seeks more funds for madrasas (11) New Delhi, Feb. 5: The revised scheme is ready. The hitch is in the money to be allocated for it. The Union ministry of human resource development (HRD) has sought around Rs 600 crores from the Planning Commission for the revised madrasa modernisation programme. The Planbody, however, isnt willing to loosen the purse strings to the extent the ministry would like it to. So far, it is willing to give the revised scheme for modernising madrasa education a much smaller amount as outlay around Rs 250 crores maintaining it cant allocate more. The HRD has sent the reworked scheme to the Planning Commission, pitching for an allocation of Rs 600 crores during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12). Given the present spending on the scheme, the HRD ministrys demand is many times that amount. While it was around Rs 26.46 crore in 200506, the following year (2006-07) the ministry said the spending would be around Rs 50 crore. Sources said the scheme is with the Planning Commission for "in principle" approval after which it will go to the Expenditure Finance Committee for its nod. The next stage for approval, depending on the scheme size, will be the Union Cabinet or the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), sources added. According to sources, the revised scheme envisages assistance to madrasas to give them a greater push for teaching "modern subjects" like maths and science other than the religious education they impart. As HRD the ministry itself says on its website, it would like to "give more scope for the educational development of madrasas by way of modernisation of education" at the same time "without interfering in their traditional religious education".The ministrys desire to push for the modernisation of madrasas is among the many

measures being taken by the government after the Sachar report brought attention to the poor educational status of the countrys Muslim community. Significantly, the Sachar report quoting National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) had stated that "only four per cent of all Muslim students of the school-going age-group are enrolled in madrasas." While the main thrust for spreading education among Muslim children will be provided by the governments flagship programme, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the revamped madrasa scheme is important too, said sources. There is already a scheme for financial assistance for modernising madrasa education which is administered by the HRD ministry. Called the Area Intensive Madrasa Modernisation Programme, the scheme has yet another element the one dealing with infrastructure development for educationally backward minorities. Its aim is to provide basic educational infrastructure at the primary, upper primary and secondary level where needed. Under the ongoing madrasa modernisation programme, a madrasa is provided the salary for two teachers for teaching subjects like maths, science, social studies and English. It also provides for a one time grant to a madrasa for building a book bank. A madrasa can also avail of a one time book grant for buying science and maths kits. But as the Sachar report noted, the implementation of the present madrasa modernisation scheme was found to have "a number of deficiencies" when it was evaluated. Among the shortcomings were an inadequate number of teachers for teaching modern subjects, their unsatisfactory quality of teaching, and remuneration which was again not adequate. (Asian Age 6/2/08) Saffron outfits termed as terrorist in textbooks (11) Bhubaneswar : A few days after the State Government ordered the suspension of a Reader in Political Science and contemplated action against a retired teacher for jointly authoring a book in which the BJP, RSS, VHP and some other saffron outfits were labelled as terrorist organisations, many more such instances have reportedly surfaced in books, being studied by the students of +2 and +3 courses. With a view to prevent derogatory references in textbooks, the Government has already announced setting up of a monitoring panel to screen textbooks before they are prescribed. According to reports, the Indian Society and Culture book jointly written by three professors of Ravenshaw University and published by Kalyani Publishers have termed the RSS and all its affiliated bodies as terrorists' organisations. The professors, who had written the book included Mandakini Das, Soma Chand and Kalandi Jena. The book has also blamed the Sangh Parivar for communal violence in the country. Similarly in another Indian Culture and Society book written by Raimohan Mohapatra of Bhadrak's Agarpada College and Prafulla Kumar Jena of Patkura based Lokanath Mahavidyala for the +3 students also blamed the RSS and VHP for communal violence. Kalyani Publishers has published this book. In another book, Indian Polity, which is being introduced for +3 Degree students, which was written by one KK Ghai and published by Kalyani Publishers also blamed the saffron outfit and turned it as a terrorist organisation. A Kitab Mahal publication book Democracy, Nation-Building and Ideologies for the +2 students written by Pratap Patnaik of Ravenshaw Junior College and Shyama Charan Mohanty equated RSS, Hindu Mahasabha, VHP and Akali Dal with LeT terrorists outfits. On earlier occasions, derogatory references had been made against Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh, but the Government had not penalised the authors after they apologised. Meanwhile, reacting to the reports, RSS said such misrepresentation regarding the three organisations that are known for their patriotism misleads students, teachers and common readers. "Before publishing such rubbish, the publisher should have cross-checked facts. It appears that they have deliberately misrepresented things to malign the image of the three organisations," said RSS leader Simanchal Khatua. (The Pioneer 7/2/08) PM to review right to education bill at meet (11) New Delhi, Feb. 11: The contentious Right to Education Bill is all set to be discussed at a meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later this week. While some officials describe it as an "internal review meeting", playing down its importance by stating that it is not a "momentous policy meeting on the Right to Education", others say that the review is significant as the ball, as far as the Bill is concerned, is currently in the Centres court. The Bill has been hanging for a long time now owing primarily to opposition to it by the states and Union Territories. They are worried about the financial burden the enforcement of such a law will bring upon them.

"The states have raised a lot of concerns and what is to be done now will be discussed at the meeting," sources said. "Most states have protested against the Bill and the Centre has to decide what is to be done now," sources added. Officials talk about the "various figures" that are bandied to ensure all children in the 6 to 14 years age bracket get an education. While the Kapil Sibal committee had estimated an expenditure of around Rs 3,38,000 crores over five years, the Tapas Majumdar committee had a lower estimate of approximately Rs 1,37,000 crores over 10 years. The Bill also needs to be examined in the light of the enhanced allocation to the education sector in the Eleventh Plan and the downward revision in the number of children in the 6 to 14 years age group, said sources. Also to be considered is the "sharing pattern" between the Centre and the states regarding expenditure, they added. Significantly, the National Knowledge Commission, an advisory body to the Prime Minister in its recommendations on the Right to Education Bill has called for the enactment of a Central legislation "requiring the states to enact Right to Education bills within a specified time period".On the issue of funding, it has unequivocally said, "The Central government must provide the bulk of the additional funds required to ensure Right to Education." In December 2002, the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, which seeks to make free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the 6 to 14 years age group, came into force. A new Article, 21-A, on right to education stating that "The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine," was inserted into the Constitution. A little over seven years since the announcement, the Centre has not been able to ensure that free and compulsory education becomes a fundamental right for the 6-14 years age group. There has been tremendous resistance by the states to the Model Right to Education Bill drafted by the Centre which was circulated among them. The model Bill was drafted with the aim of asking states to either enact appropriate state Acts ensuring free and compulsory education or adapting existing Acts to ensure this. As the ministry itself puts it, "In view of the objections raised and strong reservations expressed by various states/UTs", a meeting of the high-level group comprising the Union minister of human resource development, the Union finance minister, deputy-chairman of the Planning Commission and the chairman of the Prime Ministers economic advisory council was held on November 7, 2007. The views of this group, constituted to examine the legal, financial and constitutional implications of the Right to Education, were then "conveyed" to the Prime Minister.(Asian Age 12/2/08) 42 pvt schools not offering free education to EWS students (11) New Delhi : The Delhi High Court was informed on Wednesday that 42 private schools, which were given land at concessional rates, were not providing free education to poor children in accordance with the land allotment terms. Ashok Agarwal, appearing for petitioner the NGO -Social Jurist, told Justices M K Sharma and Reva Khetrapal that the 42 private schools, which were not following its earlier directions on freeships were liable to face Government action.Agarwal also submitted a list of schools allegedly not offering freeships to poor students. "Most of the school authorities, on being approached by parents of students from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), refused to admit their wards or give any forms to them (parents)," Agarwal said. "The school authorities were not aware of admissions for students from EWS. They informed the parents that they do not have any forms for EWS," he added. The bench, on May 30, had asked private schools, which had got land on concessional rates, to provide freeships to economically weaker students and in case of failure to do so, the lease deed of the school would be cancelled. Advocates, appearing for the schools, informed the court that similar petitions were being heard by another Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur. The court then transferred the cases to that bench. Earlier, the court had directed the Government that the management of such schools, which did not follow the direction, could be taken over. A contempt of court proceeding could also be initiated against them, it had said. (Pioneer 14/2/08) Better access to schools by 2010 (11) NEW DELHI: Children can have access to secondary schools within five km and to higher secondary schools within seven to 10 km of their homes by 2010. This is the target set for the third year of the 11th Plan, according to the Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. Chairing a meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry, Mr. Singh said

universalisation of access to secondary education would be ensured by the end of the 11th Plan period. Expansion of secondary education would involve upgradation of physical infrastructure, recruitment and training of teachers and extensive use of ICT, besides incentives to girls and weaker sections, including the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the minorities, he said. According to an official release, the Minister said other important components of universalisation included strengthening of existing schools to achieve prescribed norms, expansion of the capacity of existing schools, upgradation of higher primary schools to secondary level, expansion of facilities for open distance learning and stepping up allocation to secondary education from 0.9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product to 1.5 per cent of the GDP. Expansion of secondary education would involve upgradation of physical infrastructure such as classrooms, playgrounds, libraries, science laboratories, toilet, drinking water, electricity and telephone facilities besides recruitment and training of teachers and incentives to girls of weaker sections, curriculum revision and examination reforms. A detailed presentation outlining the key objectives of the expansion of secondary education and the availability and access was made by the Ministry at the meeting. The members were told that as a follow up of the Prime Ministers Independence Day announcement, 6000 new high quality schools would be opened one each in every block of which 2,500 would be run on public-private partnership models. There was also a proposal for establishment of one girls hostel with a capacity of 100 each in Educationally Backward Blocks. The members sought special attention to reduce drop out rates, especially for girls, creation of social and parental awareness, accessible and affordable education and emphasis on moral and value education and yoga, among other things.(The Hindu 15/2/08) CBSE revises question paper format for Classes X and XII (11) NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education has revised the design of question papers in all the major subjects of Classes XII and X to assess Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in children that will focus on evaluating their abilities to reason and analyse than simply their memorising power. Announcing this at a press conference here on Thursday, CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly said in the newly designed paper about 10 per cent questions will be very short answer type and about 20 per cent questions will assess HOTS. Based on the National Curriculum Framewok-2005, the Board has redesigned the question papers that will come into effect from March 2008 examinations. Besides testing understanding of information, the focus will be on measuring students abilities to reason, justify, analyse, process and evaluate information, he said. Sample question papers developed on the new design have been published. They are also available on the CBSE website ( www.cbse.nic.in). The format of the question paper will include very short answer type, short answer type, long answer type questions, Mr. Ganguly said. The subjects in which HOTS will be implemented are: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, Political Science, History and Economics in Class XII and Languages, Social Science, Mathematics and Science in Class X. The CBSE examination for both Classes XII and X will commence on March 1. Over 13.13 lakh candidates have registered themselves for both the senior school certificate examination (Class XII) as well as secondary school examination (Class X) this year, 8 per cent more than in 2007. The number of students appearing for Class XII is 5.48 lakh, while that for Class X is 7.65 lakh. As many as 160,414 and 219,796 children from Delhi are scheduled to appear in Class XII and X CBSE examinations. There will be 2,394 examination centres for Class XII and 2,624 for Class X in the entire country. Ninety-one examination centres will be set up in foreign countries for their schools affiliated to CBSE. Also, from this year onwards, special category students appearing for Classes XII and X including blind students, dyslexics, handicapped and spastics will be given additional time. The number of candidates registered in special categories for Classes XII and X this year is 870 and 1,608 respectively. They will be given 60 minutes extra for a paper of three-hour duration, 50 minutes for a paper of two and a half hours and 40 minutes for a two-hour paper. The examination centre superintendent will make the necessary arrangements for them, said Mr. Ganguly. For the first time we constituted district level committees to suggest schools with adequate infrastructure for fixing up of examination centres to facilitate smooth conduct of examinations. Also, Chief Nodal Practical Examiners have been appointed this time to monitor the conduct of practical examinations for Class XII, the CBSE chairman said. The Board has also increased the number of chances to appear in compartment examination from the existing three

to five for subjects in Classes XII and X. Mr. Ganguly also added that the answer scripts of those students who scored a cent per cent in different subjects this past year will be put up on the CBSE website within a week.(The Hindu 15/2/08) Right to Education Bill soon (11) NEW DELHI: The government will soon introduce in Parliament the Right to Education Bill, 2005 guaranteeing free and compulsory education to every child aged between 6 and 14. This is the surest way of ensuring rapid inclusive growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the 80th annual general body meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here on Friday. The announcement comes a day after Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh met Dr. Singh to seek his guidance on the Bill, which is being opposed by States for its huge financial implications. The draft was circulated to the States but the Ministry has not received a positive response. Efforts have been made for long to bring all States on board before the Bill is introduced for, it is they which have to implement it. The Minister has written several letters to the Chief Ministers. Dr. Singh said there was no modern industrial economy which did not have at least 80 per cent literacy, while in India it was still below 70 per cent. We have, therefore, made education a priority area for public policy. The share of expenditure on education in the Central Gross Budgetary Support is going to go up from less than eight per cent in the 10th Plan to over 19 per cent in the 11th Plan. The government was setting up 30 new Central universities, 370 colleges in educationally backward districts, 6,000 top-class schools in each development block, eight Indian Institutes of Technology, 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology, seven Indian Institutes of Management and five Indian Institutes of Scientific Education and Research. The government would shortly unfold a massive mission design to upgrade the quantity and quality of skill formation. The details of the National Vocational Mission were being worked out. Expressing concern over affordability of healthcare and quality of public health, Dr. Singh said: We need reform of our healthcare system, especially our public hospitals. Private healthcare cannot address all health needs of our people. Hence, we are looking at new models of affordable health insurance and other related strategies. (The Hindu 16/2/08) Committee to re-draft Right to Education Bill (11) NEW DELHI: The Centre has set up a committee to re-draft the Right to Education Bill, 2005 by addressing the issues raised by the States and other stakeholders and introduce it in the budget session of Parliament. The Bill guarantees free and compulsory education to every child in the 614 age group. The eight-member committee, chaired by A.K. Rath, Union Secretary (School Education), held its first meeting here on Saturday. The committee comprises officials of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry and academicians. This comes a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that the Bill would be introduced soon in Parliament, describing it as the surest way of rapid inclusive growth. The committee has been mandated to revise the draft of the Bill, prepared by the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) committee, based on the comments received from the States, and feedback from stakeholders, civil society and the media. The major opposition to the Bill is due to the huge financial implications for the States education being a subject on the Concurrent list. Concerns have also been raised over several provisions in the draft Bill, one of them being ensuring availability of a neighbourhood school to every child within three years of commencement of the Act. In case of non-availability of a neighbourhood school, the State would have to provide free transportation to the child to the nearest school or free residential school facilities. The States must also provide special programmes in a neighbourhood school for non-enrolled children in the age group 9-14. The responsibility of enrolling children as they reach the age of six has been put on the parents/guardians, failing which they have to do compulsory community service. Seeing the proposed legislation as an encroachment on their rights, the States are also opposing the National Commission for Elementary Education, as envisaged in the Act that would be a regulatory mechanism. The Centre is also empowered to develop a national curriculum framework, develop standards for training and qualification of teachers for elementary education. There is also a provision of reserving 25 per cent seats in schools for weaker sections, except in some category of schools. The School Management Committees will monitor the working of the school, plan and facilitate its development and manage the assets.(Hindu 17/2/08)

Lack of educational facilities forcing Assamese to migrate to other States (11) Bhopal : Students of Assam are forced to migrate to other States due to the lack of sufficient number of institutes within the State, informed Niru Baruah Neog president Sadou Asom Mahila Karmachari Sastha, who is in the capital for participating in the Assam Cultural Festival. She claimed that the condition of women was much better in their State in terms of employment and education. The function is a joint effort of the Culture Department of the Assam Government and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal. Neog who serves the Assam Legislative Assembly as Superintendent is the head of the woman employees organisation of Assam, which fights for the rights of female employees in the State. Lamenting the handful of technical colleges in the State, which stands as three right now, she said that students of the State were forced to migrate to metros for pursuing technical education. She also accepted that lack of industrialisation in the State was also hindering the overall growth of the State. She informed that there were only a handful of small-scale industries apart from tea gardens in the State. Commenting on the status of the women in the State, she claimed that the people of the State gave equal importance to both boys and girls. The ill tradition of dowry was nowhere to be seen in the State, she said. Neog even claimed that girl children were more close to their parents and they were encouraged in studies and jobs. She added that both of her daughters were pursuing technical education at present. Discussing the achievements of her organisation on the social front she informed that they had got enhanced the maternal leave from 90 days to 135 days. They had also got the State Government to provide House Rent Allowance (HRA) to both working husbands and wives. The State Government earlier allowed HRA only to one of the spouses if both of them were working. She along with her colleagues is running the food stall at the festival, giving the capital residents a taste of delicious Assamese cuisine.. (Pioneer 18/2/08) Madarsa modernisation project under scanner (11) Bhopal : The Madarsa Modernisation Scheme underway in the State by Rajya Shikhsa Kendra (RSK) has come under scanner as the 'Modern Madarsa Welfare Federation' has charged the RSK of depriving them of the benefits of this Centrally funded scheme like the annual Budget and teachers training. However RSK officials have charged the Madarsa Board of slack monitoring and ill co-ordination. Mohhamed Shoib Qureshi, president Modern Madarsa Welfare Federation has charged that RSK was hindering the benefits of the Central Government funded scheme. He claimed that the Government schools generally receive their books in July but the madarsas receive the same only in September or October. Qureshi added that earlier the Directorate of Public Instructions ran the scheme but things started deteriorating when RSK was handed over this responsibility two years back. He also claimed that the RSK this year had failed to allot the annual Budget of Rs 3,000 per Madarsa, which has already been sanctioned by the Union Government and added that the incumbent RSK Mission director RS Julania had also impeded the training meant for madarsa teachers. Farooque Siddiqui, Assistant Manager and State Coordinator for Madarsa Modernisation Project at RSK refuted these charges by saying that teachers' training had been delayed due to the State Government's guidelines not to indulge teachers in non-academic works. He added that that's why master trainers through the District Institute for Education and Training would conduct the training probably in March. Siddiqui attributed the delay in allotment of annual Budget to this postponement of training and stated that we generally allot the Budget after the training to make sure that the funds were utilised in academic works only. He informed that several times in the past madarsa authorities spend these funds on non-academic heads, which becomes problematic at the time of procuring the utilisation certificate. He attributed the delay in distribution of books to the unilateral decision of MP Text Book Corporation to print books for madarsas after printing the books for MP Board students. He even charged the Madarsa Board officials of non-professionalism, as two years back the books given to them were sold as scrap. He also flayed the Madarsa Baord for slack monitoring due to insufficient workforce, which was making it difficult for them to keep track of the exact number of functional madarsas in the state. He claimed that there over 5,000 madarsas were registered in the State but added that according to their studies only 2,702 of them were functional. However Madarsa Board officials were not available for comment on the matter (Pioneer 18/2/08)

Teachers protest against privatisation of education (11) Kapurthala: About 3,000 Government teachers from all over Punjab on Sunday organised a protest rally in the Shalimar garden here against the privatisation of education in the State. Seventeen Government Teachers unions under the Banner of Sarkari School Sikhya Bachao Manch had given the call for a protest march to the residence of Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur on Sunday. Tension mounted at the venue of agitation over the taking out of protest march between the teachers and the police. Executive Magistrate Gurpreet Singh and city DSP S.S. Chinna played pivotal roles in defusing the tension by arranging a meeting between the agitating teachers and Education Minister at her residence in Chandigarh on February 20 to give a sympathetic consideration to their demands. At this the agitating teachers abandoned their plan of protest march in the town and handed over the memorandum to SDM G.S. Khera . The teachers are demanding the withdrawing the scheme of opening of adarsh schools by the private companies, teachers recruited by Zila Parishads and panchayats be adjusted in the education department, filling the vacant posts of teachers, ban on the contractual system of employment, promotions of Headmasters and principals to fill the vacant posts and stopping the victimization of teachers. The police has made elaborate arrangements in the town in wake of the teachers agitation and also cordoned the area leading to the residence of Education Minister. PTI (The Hindu 18/2/08) SC nod for compulsory Tamil in TN schools (11) NEW DELHI, FEB 18: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition which sought scrapping of theTamil Nadu Governments decision to teach Tamil as a compulsory subject from Class I in all the schools in the state. In an appeal filed before the court, the Malayala Samajam and Nair Service Society of Kanyakumari district had contended that compulsory teaching of Tamil from the academic year 2006-07 in state-run educational institutions would undermine the Constitutional rights of minority-run educational institutions. However, a Bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat, while refraining from interfering in it, maintained that the legal provision brought in by the state Government does not, in any way, curtail the rights guaranteed to minority institutions under Article 29(1) and 30(1) of the Constitution. The Bench, also comprising Justice J M Panchal, found no infirmity with the high courts decision which had scrutinised the TN Government Order (GO) dated June 12, 2006 and a subsequent Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act, 2006 making Tamil a compulsory language for schools in the state. Citing similar laws existing even in other states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, where their respective languages Marathi and Kannada are being taught as a compulsory subject in schools, the apex court dismissed the petitions challenging the law in TN. The organisations had challenged the Constitutional validity of the Act contending that it violated the fundamental rights of those who are linguistic minorities in TN and they cannot be forced to give up their rights of imparting education to their children in their mother tongue, namely Malayalam. The petitioners have also contended that the Act was contrary to the mandate of Article 350-A of the Constitution, which says that it shall be the endeavour of every state to provide adequate facilities for instructions in the mother tongue at the primary level of education. According to the decision by the state Government, it was decided to implement the order in a phased manner and in the first phase the order was implemented for primary students for the academic year 2006-07, and then from 2007-08 it will be made applicable up to Class X. (Indian Express 19/2/08) Shame! 21,600 kids deprived of education in Sundargarh (11) Rourkela : It seems like the education system in Sundargarh district has gone haywire. Despite investing huge amounts of money and introducing various schemes, the Government has failed to cater to the educational needs of around 21,600 children in the Sundargarh district. After introduction of the National Literacy Campaign by the Union Government fifteen years ago, Rourkela was the first city to adopt the scheme in the State. Although crores of rupees has been spent on the scheme and the city with its adjacent areas was declared 100 per cent literate, the surfacing of several people who are still dependent on thumb impressions evoked criticism from many intellectuals of the city. Gradually, the Literacy Centre died down too after the financial aid was stopped. The premises of the centre are now being used for other purposes and the staff

which was working is still waiting for their payments. The Government introduced the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the district under the chairmanship of the district Collector. A survey has revealed that every year a sum of Rs 25 to 30 crore were spent in the district during the last four years. Out of this, Rs 30 crore was spent on infrastructural development and a major amount was utilised for training and other aspects. According to the account statement, huge amounts of money was also utilised for tour, travel, conveyance, telephone expenses of the district Coordinator, CI of Schools, DI of Schools to name a few. Shiksha Sahayaks were roped in to ensure and enhance the enrolment and attendance of students in schools. To make the programme more effective BRCC and CRCC were engaged, various teaching programmes were conducted to develop the skill of teachers. However, all these efforts haven't done much in the realisation of the purpose of the project. According to the Child Tracking System (CTC), presently 22,600 children have not even seen a school. According to the report in the district, within the age group of 5 to 14 there are a total of 3,25,952 children, out of which 1,70,078 are boys and 1,55,874 are girls. But among them 11,434 boys and 10,166 girls have not yet gone to any school. According to a report of the Rourkela Municipality area, 2,807 children have not gone to any school, where as in the Sundargarh Municipality the figure is 80. The figures in the Rajgangpur Municipality shows that 1,495 children have not gone to any school till today and the report on the Biramitrapur Municipality places the figure at 435. Likewise, in the Bisra Block the figure is 1,227, in Lathikata block it is 2,218, in Nuagaon block 1,339, Kuarmunda Block 1,484, Bonai Block 447, Gurundia Block 659, Koira block 1,501, Hemgiri Block 676, Kutra Block 447, Lephripada Block 555, Subdega Block 338, Balisankara Block 698, Bargaon Block 258, Sadar Block 290 and in Tangarpali block 936 children have not gone to school. It may be mentioned here that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan started in the year 2003. In addition, the Mid-Day Meal scheme was introduced for more enrolment and attendance of children. However, the figures seen in the reports suggest that all efforts seem to have fallen flat. The number of non-school going children is more in the industrially developed areas like Rourkela, Lathikata, Rajgangpur, Kuarmunda and Koira. (Pioneer 21/2/08) Haryana scheme to check drop-out rate (11) CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Wednesday that an education promotion scheme costing Rs. 280 crore would be implemented in the State from April 2008 to check the drop-out rate in schools and motivate the students belonging to Schedules Caste. Addressing a function here organized by Sri Guru Ravi Dass Mahasabha, he hoped that other States would be inspired and launch similar schemes. Mr.Hooda said that his regime was celebrating 2008 as Education Year for total eradication of illiteracy. He disclosed that 70 per cent students belonging to Scheduled Castes dropped out due to financial constraints. Haryana had launched a unique scheme of providing monthly scholarship ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 400 besides books, works books and stationery free of cost to the students belonging to Scheduled Castes. While extending his greetings on the eve of Guru Ravi Dass Jayanti,he said the teachings of the Guru about casteless society were very much relevant today. President of Haryana unit of Congress Phool Chand Mullana and Kalayat MLA Geeta Bhukkal who is also the President of Sri Guru Ravi Dass Sabha,Sector 20-D, Chandigarh also spoke. The Hindu 21/2/08) UP scanner keeps 1.41 lakh students away from Boards (11) LUCKNOW, MARCH 6: For the first time in Uttar Pradesh, nearly 1.41 lakh students did not turn up on the first day of the Boards this year. Their resolve to cheat was weakened by the vigilant approach the Education Department has adopted in order to caution students from using unfair means to pass exams. Ignoring the fact that literacy is down by a few notches, officials of UPs Education department were very happy about the dropout. The general refrain among them was: Students who wanted to cheat did not dare to write the exams this year. Director of the Secondary Education Department K M Tripathi said, It is a large number, but we are proud of our achievement. We had ensured students who carried cheating material would not be able to enter exam centres. That is why most did not turn up, while some fled the scene when they saw the extent of the checking. The dropout rate was so high in some areas that less than five per cent of candidates were seen writing the paper on day one in concerned centres. In the Government Girls Inter College in Balia, 1,139 students of the Jyoti Model Inter College were supposed to take

the exam. But only 62 turned up. A majority of the students in this batch were also from other districts. District Inspector of Schools, Balia, Vijay Mishra said, The arrangements were foolproof. It is surprising that so many students decided to stay away. I am more surprised that there was not a single complaint from the organisers about any mischief. Over 2,500 students did not turn up in Balia alone. Other districts where there was a high dropout rate are Kannauj and Gazipur. (Indian Express 7/3/08) Right to Education Bill in current session: Arjun (11) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has said that the Right to Education Bill will be introduced in Parliament during the current session. Speaking to The Hindu here on Sunday, Mr. Singh said that the Bill would ensure that education became a matter of right for all children between six and 14. It would go beyond the legislation enacted by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, making education a fundamental right for this age group. It would bring the right to education on a par with other judicially enforceable rights. He hoped that funds needed for making this a reality would be taken care of by the Planning Commission. The Minister said the UPA government had carried out its mandate to a very large extent. The issue of secularism had been kept in focus and there was considerable success in de-saffronising education. He said the government was right on track in implementing the recommendations of the Sachar Committee. (The Hindu 10/3/08) Over 4 lakh students drop out of UP board exams (11) LUCKNOW, MARCH 12: After six days of examination, 4.47 lakh examinees have dropped out of the state board exams indicating the Governments success in the crackdown on cheating. The figure is 10 per cent of the total number appearing for the examination this year. This dropout rate is increasing by the day. On Day I of the exams it was 1.41 lakh. Officials predict that the figure will rise further. Already, 141 FIRs have been registered in the state against teachers and outsiders involved in the use of unfair means. Exams in 30 centres have been cancelled and 2,295 students have been caught cheating. Detailing the actions taken so far, Secondary Education Minister Rang Nath Misra blamed the erstwhile Government led by the Samajwadi Party for the decline in the UP Board examinations reputation. He said the Mayawati Government was bent on improving the image of UP Board and the dropout was a reflection of the same. This is just the beginning. From next year, we will start monitoring the registration of the students from Class IX to restrict malpractices. We will devise innovative ways to stop the use of unfair means, he said. He cited the example of Bulandshahr, where the district administration has installed cameras in 12 examination centres. The teachers, however, wonder if the dropout is a result of the crackdown. It is a matter of investigation, said RP Mishra, chief of the teachers association. Some cases, meanwhile, have been reported of examinees running off with question papers and answer-sheets to avert getting caught cheating. One of the incidents took place in Muzzafarnagar district, where five boys ran away. The other took place in Lucknow on Wednesday. Kamta Ram Pal, the district inspector of schools, Muzaffarnagar, told The Indian Express: Minutes after the question papers were distributed in the higher secondary boards, a few students rushed out of the classroom and escaped by scaling the boundary wall of the exam centre. FIRs have been lodged against all of them, he added. In Lucknow, Mohd Asif, appearing for his secondary boards, escaped when it was time to submit the answer-sheets. An FIR was registered against him as well, Pal said. (The Indian Express 13/3/08) J &K literacy rate on the rise (11) Srinagar: An all-round thrust on education, fuelled by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and interventionist steps, is pushing up literacy rate in Jammu and Kashmir, as it shrugged off a dismal scenario in the militancy-hit years. A quiet reconstruction is underway in the border State, as new classrooms are being built, teachers given advanced training while drop out rates decline, partly because of an efficient mid-day meal scheme. Post-1989 was difficult for us. It wrought havoc. Education was the worst-hit. Teachers training was the worst-hit, Muhammad Rafi, Director, School Education, Kashmir, told a group of journalists from Karnataka. A significant number of schools, particularly in the valley, became defunct in those years during which there was a gross deficiency of teachers, according to him. By 2010, Government aims to fill up gaps 100 per

cent as far as physical infrastructure for elementary education is concerned. Now the Government is on a sharper focus mode. 93 per cent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir have access to school education within one km of their home. As per the 2001 census, Jammu and Kashmirs literacy rate was 55.5 per cent (male: 66.6 per cent; female: 43 per cent). A national sample survey conducted in 2004 showed the literacy rate in the State at 65.33 per cent as a result of a sustained education campaign. But things have definitely become rosier now, the education department officials said, adding that the education sector is now clearly on a revival mode. We can safely assume that the literacy rate now (in 2008) is in the region of 70-75 per cent, said Mr. Rafi. Continuous and comprehensive effort has give rise to this spurt; its discernible. One is struck with awe during visits to some of the Government-run schools in and around Srinagar as well as those in the neighbouring Budgam district. Whether its in Zakura, Narpora and Narkura, there is a common thread in all these schools -- they are all run as professionally as one could find in any other parts of the country, and some of them even have computer labs. A lower female literacy rate remained a worry, and officials say special attention is being given for enhancing their enrollment and reducing drop out rates. Free text books are being given to girl students as well as those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. We are trying for a convergence between madrasa education and modern education. English is already a regular subject from class I, Mr. Rafi said. (The Hindu 18/3/08) All-party meet sought on school education (11) NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha members on Monday asked the government to call an all-party meeting to review the school education system to make education less stressful, student-friendly and more relevant. Sensing the mood at the end of a calling attention motion on the need to overhaul the education system to reduce the burden on children and give them a healthy environment in schools, Mohan Singh who was in the Chair directed the government to convene an allparty meeting and asked the members to discuss the matter at length. Cutting across party-lines, members expressed concern over the present system of education that often drove children to taking anti-depressants, drugs and even suicides, particularly when they wrote the Class X and XII exams. They disagreed with the government that the schools did not give any homework to children between Class 1 and V and encouraged them to go to their classes without books, as mentioned in the statement of Minister of State for Human Resource Development M.A.A. Fatmi. Mr. Fatmi said that based on the National Curriculum Framework-2005, the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) prepared the curriculum, syllabi and new textbooks that were aimed at reducing the burden while making learning child-friendly. He said the Central Board of Secondary Examination had redrawn the examination system to test more of conceptual knowledge and understanding, than rote memory, and continuous and comprehensive evaluation was introduced with marks assigned for internal assessment. According to Mr. Fatmi, all the States and examination boards were expected to take similar action based on the recommendations of the National Curriculum Framework, 2005. The Minister sought to partly blame society and parents for increasing the pressure on students to perform well. It needs to be recognised that societal, parental and peer pressure are also responsible for increase of stress among the schoolchildren, particularly as they have to compete for the few places available in premium academic institutions. Moving the calling attention, Sandeep Dikshit and Priya Dutt of the Congress cited incidents of suicides by students and surveys of increasing suicidal tendencies. They said people wanted to create a stress-free education system where children could unleash their creativity and pursue their dreams. (The Hindu 18/3/08) HRD Ministry on the mat on higher education (11) New Delhi : Myth and reality provide a sharp contrast in India's performance on the higher education front since independence.The outcome Budget of the Human Resource Development released on higher education on Wednesday seeks to present a rosy picture of the higher education in the country."There has been a virtual explosion in the number of universities and colleges. As against 20 universities and 500 colleges at the time of independence, the country has now 413 universities, 251 State universities, 24 Central universities, 10 deemed universities, five institutions established under State legislation and 33 institutes of national importance and there are 20,677 colleges, including 2166 women's colleges," it says.But the document ignores

the reality rubbed in by numerous other Government documents that show that these "achievements" appear grossly "inadequate" in the context of the phenomenal increase in the number of students seeking higher education. The latest Planning Commission document for the XI th Five Year Plan underlines the truth and puts India's performance in higher education in perspective."Our Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is only 11 per cent, which is very low compared to the world average of 23 per cent and 36.5 per cent for the countries in transition, 54.6 per cent for developed countries and 22 per cent for Asian countries," it says.Three hundred and seventy districts are with the GER, which is even less than the national average, the document approved by the National Development Council in December last year, notes. The Planning Commission conclusions are ominous. "Despite the expansion that has occurred, it is evident that the system (higher education) is under stress to provide a sufficient volume of skilled human power, which is equipped with required knowledge and technical skills to cater to the demands of the economy," it observes. The situation is worse in the field of science, an issue on which the HRD Ministry appears out of tune with the view of the Knowledge Commission and Prime Minister's Scientific Advisor.The Planning Commission document had warned that India could take advantage of its demographic dividend -- the fact that 70 per cent of its population is below 35 years only "can expand opportunities for our youth in diverse fields of basic science, engineering and technology."But there is no sign in the outcome Budget, which comes only four months after the Planning Commission's document, that the HRD Ministry is prepared to face the reality. (Pioneer 20/3/08) HRD Ministry fails to implement Moily plan (11) After one-and-a-half years of much loud talking on the part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and HRD Minister Arjun Singh to expand the intake capacity of higher education institutions, the just released Outcome Budget has disclosed the abject failure of the ambitious programme. When the 93rd Constitutional Amendment effecting 27 per cent reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was brought in, the Prime Minister instituted a13-member Oversight Committee (OSC) under Veerappa Moily to draw a roadmap for a special intake policy so that the general category students do not suffer for the lack of opportunity for admissions in higher education institutes. The OSC recommended expansion of the intake capacity of higher educational institutes over a period of three years beginning 2007 at the rate of 54 per cent. The Government allocated Rs 16,000 crore for the purpose. The Outcome Budget said during 2007-08, 5,754 seats were expected to be increased and added both in Central Universities and Centrally-funded Technical Institutions. The Outcome Budget says the expansion programme could not be implemented as the approval of competent authority could not be obtained to implement the recommendations. Sources said, HRD Minister Arjun Singh did not like the intrusion of OSC in his agenda, and despite Government commitment with Rs 16,000 crore did not allow the expansion programme to gain momentum. While the Outcome Budget did not specify the authorities responsible for the failure of the scheme to take off, sources pointed out that HRD Ministry was hell bent to sabotage the scheme. The Outcome Budget did not explain what happened to Rs 16,000 crore allotted for higher education institutions when expansion programme could not be implemented. (Pioneer 26/3/08) Health education to be part of school curriculum soon (11) New Delhi, March 25: Courses pertaining to health and hygiene will soon be part of school curriculum across the country and in this regard, Union Health Minister A Ramadoss will meet the HRD Minister this month. The main emphasis of the programme will be on health, hygiene and immunisation. The Government plans to screen and examine school children for diseases and deficiencies like vitamin deficiency, blindness, deafness, dental and cardio vascular problems at least once a year by doctors from either government or private hospitals. The programme, the ministry believes, will serve a dual purpose. It will not only promote better health care among children but also communicate the same to their immediate family members. To make it a success, teachers will be specially trained as per the requirements of the programme. The Minister is concerned about childrens health and efforts are on to roll out a uniform curriculum. Kids should know about basic healthcare. The programme will have a holistic approach, said a senior official. The ministry is in touch with state Governments, as the programme will be

introduced in partnership with the states. To promote good health among children, states have been told to withdraw junk food and carbonated drinks from schools canteens. (INDIAN EXPRESS 27/3/08) Controversial Ramayan in DU textbook rocks House (11) New Delhi : A controversy over a Delhi University graduate course textbook containing allegedly objectionable remarks on Lord Ram, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman with reference to the Ramayan rocked the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday. The Opposition BJP has created a ruckus in the House and sought Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's intervention in the matter before walked out. The issue was raised during the Special Mention under Rule 280 by Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Prof Jagdish Mukhi soon after Question Hour was over. Mukhi alleged that the students of second year BA (Hons) in Delhi University were being taught a distorted history syllabus through a book Culture in Ancient India which, he said, was an attack on the sentiments of the Hindus across the world. The textbook includes an essay by the late poet and literary critic AK Ramanujan titled Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation, and is part of the university's Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme as recommended reading for History. The BJP has alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's daughter Upender Singh, who teaches in the university's History department, was among the teachers behind the compilation of essays for the book. Through the book, the followers of Marx were trying to insult Hindus, Mukhi alleged, and asked Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to take up the matter with the Union Human Resource and Development Ministry. Soon, other BJP MLAs in the House joined the issue seeking Dikshit's reply in the matter while creating a din in the House and raising anti-Congress slogans. Speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh asked four BJP MLAs - Sushil Chaudhary, Subash Sachdeva, Harcharan Singh Balli and Kulwant Rana - from the Assembly after they refused to heed his request to maintain a silence to carry on the House proceedings. (Pioneer 27/3/08)

Beaten for refusing to take tuitions, 15-yr-old girl dies (11) New Delhi : Fifteen-year-old Rinki Kaushik died late on Wednesday night at Maharaja Agrasen Hospital. She was beaten by her teacher on November 10, 2007 because she refused to attend his private tuition classes. Rinki a Class X student of Dinkar Model School (a private school) was beaten with a stick by her teacher Dhirender Kumar Dinkar which aggravated the nerve disorder that she had suffered in a motorcycle accident about seven years ago. Once the blood started clotting in her brain she was admitted to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital for treatment. The clots were removed but her condition remained critical. On January 7 this year Rinki slipped into coma. Her body was sent for postmortem to a Government hospital. According to the report issued by it , Rinki died of septicemia (blood infection). An FIR was lodged on February 12 under Sections 325 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. No arrests have been made in the case so far. "The police don't help the middleclass. I have requested them several times but they still haven't arrested the man. He is roaming free on the streets. The police claim that they have seen several cases like these before," said Naresh Kaushik (Rinki's father). The Education Department had earlier cancelled the license of the school. Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh after consultation announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh and promised to take action against the teacher and the principal. The compensation was announced in the State Assembly. "There is no place for corporal punishment in education and such incidents will not be tolerated by the Government," Singh had then claimed. Not only has the family lost a daughter, Ruby - her 17-year-old sister is giving her Class XII Board exams, the last one was on Thursday. After a half-hour protest at Kondli Chowk, Rinki's body was cremated. (Pioneer 28/3/08) Sex education in 1.5 lakh schools soon (11) NEW DELHI: Commenting on the 'milder' version of the new sex education manual that was submitted to the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco), director-general K Sujatha Rao said, "We hope the nine states that raised objections over the material earlier will lift their ban on sex education as a subject after seeing the new manual. We are making separate advocacy manuals

for teachers and principals." According to health ministry officials, the first meeting of the 10member review committee was held on August 8, 2007. Since then, nearly 10 extensive meetings were held between the committee and civil society representatives to finalise the prototype. The government plans to make sex education a co-curricular activity in over 1.5 lakh higher secondary and senior secondary government schools. Such classes had started in 2005. "But last year's controversy stalled the programme. We hope to initiate sex education across the country again by early next year once the manuals are finalized," an official said. "Trained teachers educate children about the need to say no to peer pressure, teenage sex and about HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception. If sex education is not imparted to children, they could make wrong decisions that could have an adverse impact on their future and health," Rao said. The decision to review the original sex manual was taken after nine states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, banned sex education last year, fearing it would corrupt young minds. Proponents of the ban felt sex education would make students imbibe decadent western morality. Some politicians even accused Naco of encouraging permissiveness among young people. Among the course elements that had generated much heat were discussions on homosexuality and descriptions of sexual acts, including masturbation. They have now been dropped. Constant gender demarcation - girls shown as the victim and the boy as the aggressive adolescent - was also objected to. "How can we close our eyes to the truth that they need right education, otherwise they will get wrong information from the Internet or TV?" Rao said. A survey conducted by Naco among 40,000 Indians had revealed that 8.4% had non-regular sexual partners in the past six months, putting them at risk of contracting infections. Less than half of the sexually active adolescents used condoms consistently. According to WHO, early sex education delays the start of sexual activity, reduces sexual activity among young people and encourages those already sexually active to have safer sex. Researchers have found no support for the contention that sex education encourages sexual experimentation or increased sexual activity. "Banning sex education would be hypocrisy. Our survey has shown that 15% of total deliveries in India involve teenage girls," an official said. (Times of India 30/3/08) Tara Akshar: 42,000 rural women get literate (11) New Delhi : Twenty-year-old Anjana and 36-year-old Harpyri of Mewat District of Haryana never went to school. But when finally education came to them, it came with high-tech - a laptop! What got the women of backward districts from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and a few other States, into a literacy programme conducted by Development Alternatives and funded by UK Government's Department For International Development (DFID) was both the magic of persuasion and teaching through laptops. As many as 42,000 rural women have learned to read and write as part of the one-month literacy programme through a computer-based literacy programme Tara Akshar under the Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme in the last one year. The total number of women who got enrolled into the course in the year 2007-2008 was 43, 202, out of which 42, 353 have passed the exam at a success rate of 98%. The drop-out rate is just 1% Tara Akshar teaches completely illiterate people to learn to read and write Hindi (Devnagari) in just 4 weeks. "We now have 291 centres across Northern India, where people who do not know how to read and write are learning that in 30 days. Currently, we are targeting women whose ages range from 8 to 50," says Kiran Sharma, Project Director, PACS. According to the World Bank Development Policy Review 2003, over one third of Indians above the age of 7 are illiterate i.e. over 300 million people. This however is an official figure, and the illiteracy rate could be much higher than this. Students, who undergo the programme, attend classes of 100 minutes a day held every day for six days a week. The first 18 days are spent inculcating the sounds of letters and letter groups by the use of advanced memory techniques on a laptop. The next 12 days are spent enhancing the learner's ability to read words and sentences. Writing is taught throughout the programme and on the 30th day a written comprehension test is given to the students. (Pioneer 30/3/08) Furore over saffron dress code in Ajmer government college (11) JAIPUR: An alleged attempt by authorities to impose a code of dress in saffron colours for teachers and students has created furore in the Government College, Ajmer. At least four women

lecturers were sent back last week for sporting salwar kameez and not adhering to the new code sari and blouse. Two of them were Muslims and they were turned away after they had signed the duty register. The college authorities have reportedly asked the teachers, who were shown leaving the college premises on local television, to keep quiet. The dress code instructions, pasted on the door of the staff room and on the noticeboard, have, however, disappeared in the wake of wide-ranging protests. The authorities wanted men teachers not to wear jeans and Tshirts and switch to white pyjama and kurta. The recommended dress for girls was a saffron coloured pyjama and a pink kurta, while boys were asked to wear black trousers and white shirts. The college, affiliated to the Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, is a co-educational institution with perhaps the largest student enrolment in the State. Over 100 of its 225-strong faculty are women. The dress code is a blatant attempt on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the State to saffronise education, alleged P.C. Vyas, educationist and former chairman of the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer. The BJP plan is to take over the education sector to run it according to its own agenda. There is already unease among the managements of minority institutions over their future in the wake of the passage of the Rajasthan Religious Freedom Bill, Prof. Vyas said. One of the victims, Sunita Pachori, told The Hindu on the phone that she was not allowed to take classes on the day (last week) on account of her disobedience. Her colleagues Bharti Prakash, Kosar Aliya and Sabiya Khan had a similar experience. As such, over 50 per cent of the women teachers in our college already wear sari. However it is difficult to accept the Principals assertion that salwar suit is not a modest dress, Ms. Pachori said. Muslim teachers are feeling victimised as they find the switchover from salwar kameez to sari difficult. Moreover, salwar suit is considered more modest than sari by the Muslim community, pointed out Muzaffar Bharti, secretary, Muslim Ekta Manch, an apex body of the Ajmer Muslim panchayats. However, Principal Sher Singh Dochaniya, when contacted, denied government pressure to adopt the dress code or any attempt at saffronisation. It is a well meaning attempt on our part, he said conceding that there was opposition to it. We were not acting on the directions of the government or the Minister, Mr. Dochaniya said when asked about the charge that Minister of State for Education Vasudev Devnani, an RSS hardliner, was behind the move. The code was tried for three days in March and we were successful to a great extent, he said expressing optimism over its acceptance. (The Hindu 4/4/08) Flurry of teenage suicides worries Lucknow (11) Lucknow, April 9: With five teenaged students committing suicide in the state capital in the past nine days following examination pressures, parents, teachers and the state government have started pressing the panic button. While schools and parents are contemplating psychological counselling for children, the state government is planning several measures to check suicides among young students. "To begin with, we have started setting up grills and wire meshes on the railings of the bridges across Gomti river to check suicides. With the results of high school and intermediate examinations scheduled to be declared next month, we apprehend another upsurge in suicide cases. We also plan to install grills on staircases in high rise buildings," said a senior government official. Parents and teachers, meanwhile, are extremely worried about the spurt in suicides by children in their early teens. "As teachers, we are now trying our best to ease the pressure on the child and remove the fear of failure that invariably forces the child to take the drastic step. From the next academic session, we will be inviting a qualified psychologist to counsel the children and help them cope with the stress levels," said Ms P. Kumar, a senior teacher in a prestigious girls school. The principal of a local boys school, on the other hand, said the school authorities were drawing up a list of possible symptoms of depression and stress in children. "We will be sending this circular to the parents and will also be holding workshops to sensitise them towards the problems of stress that their children may be facing. Parents, often tend to ignore the symptoms and it is already too late by the time they realise it," he said. Anxiety is also taking its toll on parents who are now apprehensive about what is going on in their childs mind. "I recently met the mother of one of the children who committed suicide last week and was shocked to learn that the child was laughing and talking to her mother till about half an hour before she ended her life. The mother said the girl did not display any signs of anxiety or depression. In such cases, how do we identify the problem and provide comfort to the child?" says Ms Reena Mathur, whose daughter is taking her board examinations. Psychologists,

however, feel that inability of parents and teachers to identify stress levels in the child and the mounting peer pressure is responsible for this trend. "Communication at all levels between parents and a child is most important. Today, parents do not have time for their children and as a result, the childs feelings keep penting up until he can take it no more," says Dr Vivek Agarwal, a leading psychiatrist. (Asian Age 10/4/08) IITs to go for 27% quota in 3 phases (11) NEW DELHI, APRIL 16: Within a week of the Supreme Court verdict upholding 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions, the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) declared on Wednesday that they would implement the quota in phases, from this year onwards. But the three new IITs in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh will implement the 27 per cent quota in one go. Addressing a press conference at IIT-Delhi on Wednesday, the seven IITs, along with Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University and Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad, announced their decision to implement 9 per cent reservation for OBC students from the coming academic session, beginning July this year. The quota implementation is scheduled to be completed in three years, by 2010. This year, the institutes will have 9 per cent seats reserved for OBC students at the undergraduate as well as post-graduate level. By JEE2010, the seats will gradually increase to 27 per cent, based on the proposals submitted by individual institutions to the empowerment committee and accepted by the Government of India, said Prof S C Saxena, director of IIT Roorkee. The IITs are the first set of central government institutions to declare their roadmap for quota implementation. There are about 4,000 seats in all the seven IITs. These seats would be increased to about 4,500 in 2008-09, apart from the 360 seats to be offered by the three new IITs. At present, the sum total of students admitted every year in the seven IITs, IT BHU and ISM Dhanbad is 4,880. With 9 per cent reservation of seats for OBC, the institutes will witness 13 per cent increase in the intake of students in 2008, which by 2010 will be 54 pc. Asked if the existing infrastructure could support the increased intake, the directors said they were prepared for the challenge. The grant of Rs 770 crore is sufficient for building the infrastructure, and we are taking the OBC reservation as a challenge that we will overcome, said Surender Prasad, IIT-Delhi director. Wednesdays decision was taken at a joint admission board meeting held here. The group decided to go by the Supreme Court directive on the issue of creamy layer. There will be two separate merit lists for the different categories. Regarding the verification of category status of a candidate, the existing rules and norms of the Government of India shall apply, said Prasad. A decision to admit 120 students to each of the new IITs that are being set up in Rajasthan, Patna and Hyderabad was also taken at the meeting. The three institutes will implement 27 pc reservation for OBCs from this year itself. (Indian Express 17/4/08) Panel for recruitment in madrasas (11) Kolkata: The State Cabinet on Thursday ratified a decision to set up a special panel for the speedy recruitment of teachers to madrasas, already been recognised by the government as minority institutions. Teachers for madrasas would be recruited through the West Bengal Madrasa Service Commission that would be set for the purpose, Minister of State for Minorities Development and Welfare, Abdus Sattar, later told The Hindu. Such a commission will be the first of its kind in the country, he added. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been laying emphasis on development of minorities in the State. Speaking at function here earlier this month, Mr. Bhattacharjee had said that the way to ensure greater number of Muslims in government offices was by providing them proper education and training facilities. The total budgetary allotment for his department in the present fiscal was nearly Rs. 319 crore. The present staff strength in madrasas was around 12,000, he added. (The Hindu 18/4/08) Sex education in Maharashtra on hold; panel to study issue (11) Mumbai : Members cutting across party lines on Wednesday took the Democratic Front (DF) Government to task in the State Assembly for its decision to introduce sex education for classes IX and XI from the next academic session, prompting the Speaker to stay the move and direct the Government to set up an experts' panel to study the issue.In a virtual repeat of protests witnessed in the House last year, the Opposition and ruling alliance members dubbed the State

Government's move to introduce sex education as a subject for IX and XI class students in the State as "irrational" and "nonsensical". Coming down heavily on Education Minister Vasant Purke for making an announcement in the State Legislative Council on Tuesday about introducing the subject for high school students, leader of the Opposition Ramdas Kadam said the Minister should had taken the lower House into confidence before making such a major announcement. Raising the contentious issue through an adjournment notice, Kadam made a hard-hitting statement: "If the State Government contemplates taking such controversial decisions, we as parents will have to re-consider whether we should our children to schools or not". While most of the members made no bones about their displeasure about the State Government's move, some of them went to the extent of demanding resignation of the Minister for taking such a "unilateral" decision. Taking cognisance of the strong sentiments expressed by the members from the Treasury and Opposition Benches, Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar stayed the State Government's move and directed the Minister to appoint an experts' committee to study the implications of the move. "The State Government shall not go ahead and implement its decision to introduce sex education as a subject for ninth and eleventh class students, till such time a high-level committee - comprising experts from education and other fields as also legislators - studies the issue in detail and makes it recommendations," the Speaker ruled. Today's is not the first occasion when the legislators have reacted sharply to students being imparted sex education. During the Budget session last year, the ruling and Opposition members had strongly opposed the move to introduce sex education as a subject for sixth class students in CBSE schools in the State. The aggrieved members had created ruckus in the State Assembly then, tearing the CBSE books, rushing to the well of the House and gheraoing Minister of State for Education Hasan Mushrif. So much so that the Speaker had to adjourn the House. After the House had reassembled, the Minister made it abundantly clear that the DF Government had no plans to introduce sex education as a subject in the schools governed by the Maharashtra School Board. (Pioneer 24/4/08) Education behind bars (11) COIMBATORE: If prisons are to be considered centres of reformation, prisoners ought to learn something new while serving their sentence. And what better than learning how to read and write? The Coimbatore Central Prison, along with Valar Kalvi Thittam (the Governments continuing education programme), has embarked upon imparting basic education to illiterate prisoners. Of the more than 2,000 inmates, 612 are illiterate, prison officials say. The programme is aimed at these prisoners who have not had formal education. A Continuing Education Centre has been set up in the prison. And, the Valar Kalvi Scheme has appointed two instructors who will carry forward the programme in the jail. The prisoners have welcomed the programme, says G.Jothi Raja, Co-ordinator of the Valar Kalvi programme. Two of the inmates serving life sentence, who are graduates, have also been appointed as instructors. All the illiterate prisoners are divided into groups of 20 with one team leader. The classes are held every day in the morning and evening for two hours. They are taken through the basics of English and also given training in sharpening their numerical skills. Individual interest improvement, income generation improvement, and improvement of quality of life, are some of the other components of the programme.Most of the prisoners are unable to find employment after their release. Though a number of non-Governmental organisations in aid of prisoners have sprung up, not many prisoners have been able to cope with the societal stigma after their release, says P.Munivelu, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, Coimbatore Range. (The Hindu 28/4/08) Central Madarsa Board proposed (11) Lucknow: The National Commission for Minorities Education has recommended setting up of a Central Madarsa Board for streamlining the Madarsa education. A draft Bill for the purpose has been submitted to the Union Government, Chairman of the Commission, Justice M S A Siddiqui said here at a seminar on Responsibilities of minorities and Urdu lovers in promoting the Urdu language. He said that while the Christian institutions have taken full benefit of the Commission by sending their complaints and getting redressal, Muslim institutions have failed to do so. (The Hindu 27/4/08)

Content of sex education modified in Rajasthan (11) Jaipur, April 27: The BJP government in Rajasthan has modified the contents of sex education introduced for the six lakh students of Class 11. The government has asked the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education to remove what it said were objectionable parts of a book, titled Jeevan Kaushal. "We have asked authorities to amend the contents because the issue was raised in the Assembly. Also, several teachers organisations objected to it," said minister of state for education Vasudev Devnani. The government also consulted yoga guru Ramdev on this subject. The government has already rejected sex education introduced by the Central board, saying it would "corrupt young minds". But the BJP government introduced a textbook, Jeevan Kaushal, to impart sex education for the students of Class 11. Four months ago, then education minister Ghanshyam Tiwari released the book and gave it a clean chit, saying there was nothing in it. Mr Tiwari later lost his education portfolio to Mr Kalicharan Saraf. A section of pro-Sangh teachers called on the ruling party leaders and requested them to scarp the book on sex education. The government ordered that two pages of Jeevan Kaushal be modified and objectionable parts be removed. "It has been done keeping in mind the ethos and values of our society," Mr Devnani said. (Asian Age 28/4/08) Plea to adopt Right to Education Bill (11) NEW DELHI: Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, a network of over 3,000 organisations from across the country, on Saturday impressed upon the government to adopt the Right to Education Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament. A delegation of Wada Na Todo that met Union Human Resource Minister Arjun Singh here said the Central government should guarantee the fundamental right to free and compulsory education up to 18 years of age. A memorandum submitted to the Minister said the quality of education across schools should be standardised. (The Hindu 5/5/08) Minority students passing matric to get Rs 10,000 (11) PATNA: The Bihar cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposal to grant a sum of Rs 10,000 each as incentive to all minority students passing matriculation examination from Bihar School Examination Board. A sum of Rs two crore has been earmarked for the purpose and, if needed, the amount would be enhanced. Briefing journalists after the meeting, cabinet secretary Girish Shankar said the minority students, who passed the matriculation examination in 2007, would also be eligible for the incentive. The cabinet also decided to provide all medical facilities, including outsourced services such as scanning, radiation, ultrasound etc, in government hospitals free of cost to all the patients who live below the poverty line. The government has also decided to open an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) at Kalyanbigha village in Nalanda district during the financial year 2008-09. A sum of Rs 42 lakh has been sanctioned for the purpose. To develop basic infrastructure, including road, drainage and dividers in the urban areas, the government has released Rs 100 crore for 2008-09 under the Chief Minister's Integrated Urban Development Scheme. Under the scheme, work would be allotted by a district-level managing committee which would consist of, among others, the local MLA. The government has also given its nod for creation of 531 posts of panchayat secretary. The state cabinet also cleared the promotion of Bihar Police Service officers Arvind Kumar, Manju Jha, I N Mishra, Ajay Mishra, Gopal Prasad, S P Shukla and Awadhesh Kumar Sharma in the payscale of Rs 14,300-Rs 18,300. The road construction department, building department and rural works department have been divided into separate cadres and accordingly the engineers' cadre would be trifurcated. The cabinet has also sanctioned Rs 433.51 crore for renovation of zamindari bund. (Times of India 7/5/08) Free tuition polishes the knowledge of child workers (11) PUDUKOTTAI: They polish artificial gem stones during the day and improve their learning skills in the evening. As many as 241 children, all drop-outs from primary or middle schools in and around Viralimalai, work hard at the artificial gem-cutting units to supplement their family income. Yet, they have a burning desire to pursue education. An interim remedy, evolved by a service organisation, Grama Seva Sangam, of allowing them to work in the day and develop their learning skills through a tuition in the evening has brought cheers to them. The Sangam has established 22 non-formal centres (NFC) in various parts of Viralimalai block, enabling the drop-

outs to undergo free coaching at their doorsteps. In a few cases, the work spots are a little away than the NFC. In the interior Kothaarapatti village, about nine km from Viralimalai, 15 little girls, on return from the work spot at Malaikudipatti, three km away from the hamlet, make their way to the NFC to learn the three Rs -- arithmetic, writing and reading for two hours from 6 p.m. on weekdays. The NFCs, manned by an animator each, adopt the play-way method to attract the children and ensure their participation, says Sangam Director M. R. Palanichamy. Animator K. Indira develops both the learning ability and soft-skills of the children, a majority of whom are girls. Using play-way teaching materials, she explains the importance of lotus and the solar system. Co-ordinators P. Sarojini Devi and Lawrence said that periodical tests were conducted to monitor the childrens progress for admission to regular stream in a phased manner. The break in their education, especially after the winding up of the Child Labour School in the district in 2004, has given a serious setback to the academic skills of students. After sustained coaching for a period ranging between one to three years, the children would be brought under the regular stream of education, Mr. Palanichamy said. (The Hindu 8/5/08)

In new NCERT syllabus, art gets mainstream (11) NEW DELHI, MAY 8: The Government Boys Senior Secondary School in Trilokpuri has neither running water nor classroom fans music and drama classes are far down the line. While the picture of arts education is brighter at resource-rich private schools, even here the time and space afforded to arts is a pale glimmer of that marked for mainstream subjects. That is set to change. The new syllabi from the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), for Classes 1-10, which will be circulated later this year, will upgrade arts education theatre, music, dance and the visual arts from extra-curricular pastimes to subjects squarely positioned in the school curriculum. Students arent given a chance to explore creativity in our education system, says classical singer Shubha Mudgal, who chaired the focus groups for art education while developing the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005. And when they are, its in limited bursts for annual days or the celebration of Independence. Chand Singh Bijiyan, principal of Government Boys Senior Secondary School in East of Kailash, puts this down to disinterest: Government school students usually wish to take up science, or commerce streams, to find jobs. Few go into the arts. But by making art education subjects compulsory up to Class 10, graded and examined in secondary classes, the NCERT is catalysing a shift in the perception of arts and culture. Arts education is seen as a non-serious subject that, unlike other subjects, lacks a formal procedure for assessment, says Jyotsna Tiwari, reader, Department of Education in Arts and Aesthetics, NCERT. Evaluation is thus imperative but not to assess whether a child becomes a perfect artist, rather a childs experience over time, their freedom of expression and joy. While maintaining distinct identities for the four core art subjects, the policy recommends infusing arts into all areas of learning. Take the song Nimbooda, says Mudgal. At one level about Bollywood, glamourised by Aishwarya Rai. But at another, its a way to engage with the Rajasthani community, the geography of the state, what kind of weather nimbooda trees grow in, and so on. Or a class in theatre, for instance, would teach teamwork, conflict resolution and interpretation, says a National School of Drama (NSD) employee. This is the first time theatre, as a subject, will be taught at schools. We suggest three levels starting from experience-based theatre exploring concepts and emotions, ranging to skilled performance, theatre history and criticism, he adds. Injecting policies into the syllabus could go a long way in revitalising art education: Taking arts out of the hobby slot and giving students a life option, says Anuradha Kapoor, NSD director. The theatre and education movement in Britain during the 50s and 60s was very important in creating a whole generation of artists and an extra alert audience, this can happen in India too, she says. Linking art with career options is another endeavour. Unless students have an introduction to theatre while at school, professional training in theatre is compromised, adds Kapoor. But educationists and artists both ask: how prepared are schools to overhaul years of neglect in art education and finally implement long-standing recommendations, dating back to 1952 Education Commission reports? . (Indian Express 9/5/08) RSS schools plan to teach in English (11)

Lucknow, May 20: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is finally shedding its conservative image and is opening up to the needs of the modern world. The Sangh is planning to adopt English as a medium of education in its schools and for this it has organised a camp in Mathura to educate its teachers in English. Teachers from 12 branches of Saraswati Shishu Mandirs in the "Brij Kshetra" are now attending the workshop, which runs for four hours daily. Mr Thakur Das, a RSS functionary in charge of the Shishu Mandirs, says that the workshop is meant to help teachers upgrade and polish their knowledge of English. "We want our teachers to be confident in the subject before they start teaching students from the next academic session. Most of our teachers comes from a Hindi medium background and are not fluent in English," he explains. The instructors at the workshop are using the interactive method to help teachers shed their hesitation in conversing in English. "The majority of the teachers here have a very basic working knowledge of English and we are encouraging them to speak in English so that we can point out the grammatical flaws. However, most of them are very keen to learn and this makes the task easier," said one of the instructors. A senior RSS functionary told this correspondent that the decision to introduce English as a subject in the Saraswati Shishu Mandirs was taken after considerable deliberation by the Sangh Parivar. "We had parents telling us that their children suffered a major handicap because they were not proficient in English. With globalisation and increased competition, our students were being left behind in the race merely because they were not good at English. We decided that we would now focus on English without giving up our traditional curriculum so that our students can compete with the rest," he said. Parents, meanwhile, have welcomed the Sangh decision to allow English as a medium of instructions in the schools. "We prefer the Saraswati Shishu Mandir because it inculcates traditional Hindu values in the child, but without English our children faced a certain handicap. Now with English forming a part of syllabus, we feel that children will get complete education in these schools," said Mr Prem Nath Tripathi, whose three sons study in the Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Lucknow. (Asian Age 21/5/08) Scientists to train UP school teachers (11) Lucknow: May 27: Learning science in UP schools could soon become a joyful experience. Scientists at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) here are preparing to train teachers to make the science subjects more interactive and easier to understand for students. "We want to change the age-old science teaching methods in classrooms that not only make the subject rather uninteresting for students but also force the student to learn by the old method. Our new programme aims to equip the teachers with simple techniques that will assist students in understanding science and move out of the classroom," says Dr A.K. Singh, a scientist and CIMAP spokesperson. According to Dr Singh, "Teachers, who will undergo our training programme, will learn to set up simple projects to help students understand sciencebased topics. It will help students understand the relation between the cause and the effect. The student will get to understand scientific principles through outdoor experiment and easy examples," he added. The innovative training programme will be implemented in a phased manner. CIMAP has sent out letters to various schools and the response has been overwhelming. "In the initial phases, we will train teachers of 15 schools in Lucknow and Sitapur districts," says Dr Singh. (Asian Age 28/5/08) Another suicide rocks IIT Kanpur (11) Kautilya SinghPosted online: Sunday, June 01, 2008 at 2318 hrs Print Email Kanpur, May 31: The Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur (IIT-K) was rocked by another suicide second within a span of one month on late Friday night when a B Tech final year student was found hanging in her hostel room. Toya Chatterjee, who had failed in two of her papers in the final semester, was found dead in the girls hostel on the eve of the institutes annual convocation scheduled for Saturday. Her father, Kunal Chatterjee, unaware of his daughters failure had arrived here on Friday to see Toya get the degree at the convocation ceremony. He went to meet Toya in her room around 11 pm and found the door locked from inside. He, along with other girls of the hostel, broke open the door to find her hanging with a rope from the ceiling fan. A student of Bio Sciences and Bio Engineering, Toya was declared ineligible for getting her degree on Saturday, as she had failed in her final semester. Instead, she was told

to apply for the summer course, on passing which she would have been awarded the degree in July this year. She had gone to her parental home in Kolkata for a week but did not inform them about her failure. IIT-K Director Sanjay Govind Dhande said Toya was suffering from depression and was not physically fit. On several occasions, her parents had been apprised of the matter by the Dean of Student Affairs and Project Guide, he said. She often remained absent from the classes, and was an average student, he added. Though the IIT-K authorities referred to Toya as an average student, her performance shows otherwise. She had cleared CAT examination and had offers from all the six IIMs in the country. On April 18, Prashant Kumar Kureel, a first year B Tech student, had also committed suicide. November 6, 2005: PhD student Abhilash commits suicide by consuming poison. November 30, 2005: Swapnil Chandrakant Bhaskar jumps to death from a building. May 3, 2006: Shailesh Kumar Sharma hangs himself to death. April 25, 2007: J Bharadwaj jumps before a moving train. April 18, 2008: Prashant Kumar Kureel hangs himself to death in his hostel room. May 30, 2008: BTech final year student Toya Chatterjee hangs herself to death. (Indian Express 1/6/08) Concern over dropout rate among tribal girls (11) BHUBANESWAR: Governor M.C. Bhandare has urged universities in the State to initiate steps to promote education of tribals and the visually-impaired. Addressing the Vice-Chancellors conference here, Mr. Bhandare expressed concern over the rising dropout rate among tribal girls from schools and colleges. Orissa has a vast tribal population. Their development depends largely on literacy and education, he pointed out and felt that universities, being centres of learning, should evolve strategies to accelerate tribal welfare through education. Mr. Bhandare reiterated his suggestion to set up special cells in universities to streamline education of the visually-impaired. The universities should create employment opportunities for them, he stated, and asked the V-Cs to submit details of the initiatives that they had taken on the issue. Reviewing the issue of land encroachment on Utkal University and North Orissa University campuses, the Governor emphasised the need to rehabilitate the BPL families. The university authorities should discuss the matter with the administration and ensure the recovery of the land. While 241 families encroached upon 8.55 acres of land of Utkal University, 31 families occupied nearly two acres of land of North Orissa University at Baripada. Mr. Bhandare also asked the V-Cs to go for egovernance and filling of vacancies in various faculties. (The Hindu 7/6/08) Row over reference to caste in papers, books (11) Lucknow: June 10: Casteist and communal references in textbooks and question papers in educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh continue to evoke strong protests. A question paper for Hindi II in BA in Meerut University evoked strong protests from students on Monday evening while BJP and ABVP activists also raised heckles on the campus. The first question in the paper said, "Your Gods and Goddesses are irrelevant and ugly. You are a fool because you have faith in them and that is why you cannot progress. If you are a Christian, you will have faith in one God and his Son and you will be rid of all ghosts and evil beings. Hindus-Muslims are stupid and if you read their scriptures, your eyes will open." The students were required to explain the above paragraph with reference to context. Responding to the protests, Prof. S.P. Ojha, vice chancellor of Meerut University, has set up an inquiry into the matter. He has assured the delegation of students that strict action would be taken against the teacher who had set the paper. Former BJP MLA from Meerut, Laxmikant Bajpai, told this correspondent that if action against the concerned teacher was not taken within two days, the BJP would launch a major agitation on the issue. "It has become fashionable to abuse Hindu religious sentiments at every available opportunity, but we will not tolerate this any longer," he said. Meanwhile, in Kanpur, unsavoury references to the Kurmi and Kahar caste groups in a textbook of class 8 had led to a major controversy. A textbook called Prerna under the Child Glory series published by Vikas Books Limited, Delhi, carries a story by Munshi Premchand titled Bade Ghar ki Beti. In the story, there are references to Kurmi and Kahar caste groups but what is actually offensive is the explanatory note published at the end of each page (Page 51 in this case) by the publisher. A dialogue in the story goes thus: Woh bade ghar ki beti hai to hum bhi koi kurmi-kahar nahin hai. The footnote at the end of the page explains that Kurmi-Kahar means nikrisht, neech (lowly, depraved). Talking to reporters, former BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said that while there was no objection to the caste references made in

Munshi Premchands story, the explanatory notes by the writer/publisher were "highly objectionable and deserved to be condemned"."After reading the explanatory notes, children are bound to develop a disdain for these castes. Moreover, this is an insult to the caste groups as such. We demand that the textbook should be withdrawn immediately and action should be initiated against the writers and the publishers. Meanwhile, a senior official in the chief ministers secretariat said that the government had repeatedly asked the concerned officials to ensure that no such objectionable matter that hurts the sentiments of any social group, was allowed in textbooks. "We will probe the matter and ensure action against the guilty persons," the official added. (Asian Age 11/6/08) Catholic bishops slam single-window system (11) KOCHI: The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) has slammed the single-window system for Plus One admission and reiterated that school managements have the right to admit students to management and community seats legally. A statement issued at the end of a two-day KCBC meet here on Wednesday demanded withdrawal of the textbooks that the bishops felt would poison young minds with anti-religious feelings and atheism. The Social Studies textbook for the seventh standard tends to twist historic events and local history. The statement said a protest day would be observed on June 30 at the State-level against the inclusion of textbooks that conveyed anti-religion message in the school curriculum. The meet took serious note of the State Womens Commission move to recommend a minimum age for women choosing the vocation of nun. The move stems from ignorance of religious communities and the canon law. The canonisation of Blessed Alphonsa on October 12 will be celebrated by the Catholic Church in Kerala. Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil will lead a thanksgiving mass in Rome on October 13. The celebrations in Kerala will be held at Bharananganam on November 9. The bishops council would evolve a policy document on Dalit Christians in Kerala. It said the Catholic Church in Kerala would continue its pro-life activities as it called on parents to have more children and bring them up morally. The statement said the Church would prepare programmes to encourage parents to have more children. The council decided to put together a new textbook for sex education at the parish level. (The Hindu 12/6/08) Education Department circular puts schools in a spot (11) CHENNAI: Several schools in the State, particularly those with private managements, are in a fix following a recent circular from the States School Education Department urging them to implement reservation for MBC and SC/ST candidates in Class XI admissions. Heads of government-aided schools point to the challenge in accommodating all the students passing Class X from their school, and then having to admit candidates who belong to the MBC or SC/ST category. Last year, the Madras High Court ruled that there shall be no admission test or cut-off marks or re-admission system in State Board, Matriculation or Anglo-Indian schools in Tamil Nadu if Class X students seek admission to Class XI in the same school, last June. This would mean that no student seeking Class XI admission in the same school can be denied admission. And a new student falling in any of the above-mentioned categories, too, cannot be denied admission if he or she is eligible for reservation. Queried on how this would be possible, School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu said this was subject to the availability of seats. All the students of a particular school, seeking Class XI admission will be admitted and for the remaining seats, reservation has to certainly be implemented, he said. However, schools are facing a lot of pressure since the demand for different streams in Class XI is not uniform. Almost all the students want the computer science stream, school heads noted. I. Elizabeth, headmistress of Nirmala Girls Higher Secondary School in Madurai, says: In our school, a total of 705 girls have passed Class X this year. As per the rules, we have to admit all of them and only then take up applications from other students. The latest directive makes it difficult to accommodate all of them. According to her, implementing reservation group-wise is difficult. It would help if the Government gave schools an option to ensure that reservation was followed in the overall admission rather than in each stream, she said. S. Gopalan of Sethupati Higher Secondary School in Madurai asks what students passing out of high schools would do. In our school, 255 Class X students have passed and we have only four sections in Plus One. The norms say each section can have only 40 students. Where will the remaining students go? he asks. Though the

circular was sent to schools ahead of the academic year that has just begun, the Government Order in this connection was issued in 1994, said Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchis general secretary D. Ravikumar. The challenge is felt more in private schools. If they are allowed to increase the number of seats, they can accommodate more students, he said. President of the Association of principals of Matriculation Schools in Tamil Nadu N. Vijayan said while they were yet to receive the circular, most private schools were already trying their best to accommodate such candidates. (The Hindu 12/6/08) Kerala textbook says don't believe in god (11) Kochi : The CPI(M)-led LDF Government's attempt to brainwash school children in Kerala through a new Marxist textbook and turn them away from religion and god has unleashed massive protests across the State. Everybody, barring the Left, is up in arms, demanding immediate withdrawal of the textbook. The focus of mounting anger is the social studies textbook introduced for Class VII students under the State syllabus this academic year. Parents and religious organisations claim that the textbook propagates atheism, materialism and anti-religious sentiments. The Opposition parties have dubbed the textbook as part of the CPI(M)'s strategy to preach Marxism to impressionable minds. The Education Department, presided over by Education Minister MA Baby of the CPI(M) who has been waging war against educational institutions managed by religious organisations, says the textbook aims at "making learning more creative and socially-oriented". Though Kerala on Friday witnessed the fourth consecutive day of intense protests demanding withdrawal of the textbook, sources close to Baby said there was no plan to either withdraw it or amend its contents. The maximum the Government could agree to would be to appoint a panel to review the book, they said. A Marxist scholar, who used to advise the former EK Nayanar-led LDF Government, said every chapter in the book was an effort to teach young students the growth of the Communist movement in Kerala through struggles against landlords and 'upper caste domination', land and education reforms, etc. The textbook presents 'testimonials' and photocopies of Marxist declarations to propagate the CPI(M)'s policies. It begins with 'analytical testimonials' on the 'drawbacks of feudalism and upper caste domination', including a full page 'note' that had been drafted by the late Marxist leader AK Gopalan for his party.The textbooks tells students how 'abominable' the education, economic, food supply and agriculture systems were before the first Communist Government headed by EMS Namboodiripad came to power. The relevant chapters are written by those with proven Marxist credentials. A full page is devoted to prove how 'inhumanly' the Brahmins treated Dalits and serfs, who were made to eat their meals mixed with the leftovers of the feudal lords and their women. The climax of the 'Marxistisation' exercise comes in a section that narrates an imaginary interview between the headmaster of a school and the parents of a boy seeking admission in the school. The boy bears a Christian name, the father is Anwar Rashid and the mother is named Lakshmi Devi. The surprised headmaster asks the parents what religion should he enter for their child in the required column, but the parents do not want any religion or caste specification to be mentioned. Then comes the father's 'revolutionary' statement: "Let him choose the religion of his choice (when he grows up)." The CPI(M) insists that the textbook does not hurt any religious sentiments, distort the history of any political party or ridicule any leader. DYFI national secretary P Sreeramakrishnan described the textbook as "an attempt to make some movement in the school curriculum which has thus far been stagnant, shallow and non-creative". A former KSU leader, however, pointed out that non-Communists would find the textbook offensive. The former KSU leader said he was surprised by the Congress's complaint that the textbook ridicules its leaders. The book, he said, quotes Jawaharlal Nehru's will: "I do sincerely desire to declare that no religious ceremony be performed for me after my death. I do not believe in any such ceremonies. To be forced to do them even as a formality is hypocrisy ...".He said, "The Congress doesn't know whom to follow: Jawaharlal Nehru, who was not religious, or his daughter Indira Gandhi, who violated the last wish of her father immediately after his death by giving him a traditional Hindu funeral." (Pioneer 21/6/08) Cong wants Kerala to withdraw textbook promoting atheism (11) Thiruvananthapuram, June 20: The CPI(M)-led Left Government in Kerala is facing widespread protest from the Congress and various minority organisations over some controversial portions in

a latest Class VII textbook. The textbook, they say, has been designed to propagate atheism. While the agitation launched by the Congress and its students wing, Kerala Students Union, during the past three days have turned violent in several parts of the state, leaders of several Muslim organisations, including the Indian Union Muslim League, have sought immediate withdrawal of the textbook. Kerala Catholic Bishops Council will observe June 30 as protest day. The row over the textbook began after the Education Department, managed by CPI(M) central committee member M A Baby, was forced to withdraw a handbook meant for Class VIII. In the handbook, a page referring to Gandhi Jayanti carried a frogs picture. This academic year, the Class VII textbooks for schools in the state were revised. A chapter titled Life without religion in the Social Science book had a question-answer session between a school headmaster and the parents of a student. As the parents hailed from different religions, the headmaster asked what should be written in the column specified for describing the students religion. The parents replied that the student should be free to choose his religion when he attains maturity. KSU state president Hybee Eden said, The Left Government is trying to foist atheism on an entire generation. The book should be immediately withdrawn. Director of Public Instructions A P M Muhammed Haneesh said the textbook takes a broader view of secularism. An atheist should have the freedom to live as an atheist. That is what the textbook conveys. Children born to interreligious couples have the freedom to leave the religion column blank when they join school. This practice has been in Kerala for long time and the textbook has been prepared in tune with this custom. As of now, there is no question of withdrawing the book, he said.(Indian Express 21/6/08) HRD rapped for underutilisation of allocated education funds (11) New Delhi, June 21: The Finance Ministry has pulled up the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry for poor utilisation of funds in a meeting held earlier this week, terming its performance not satisfactorythe same term it used a month back to indicate the ministrys shortfalls on financial targets. The reprimand comes at a time when the ministry has plans to open a host of new institutes. While the ministrys allocations have been increased by 18 per cent this yearfrom Rs 6,480 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 7,593 crore for 2008-09, there appear to be serious discrepancies in the way the funds are being used. The situation is particularly grim in the distance education sector, with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) spending just Rs 40 crore up to December 2007 against an allocation of Rs 108 crore. Not a paisa was spent out of the Rs 502 crore allocated to the National Mission on IT and Communication Technology, while Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore only spent Rs 25 crore out of Rs 55 crore. The funds allocated towards the development of languages also remained untouched. While the Directorate of Hindi spent just Rs 5.10 crore out of Rs 9 crore allocated, the Hindi Shiksha Mandal in Agra used only Rs 2.8 crore of the Rs 17 crore it had access to. The situation was no better in the elementary education sector, with lapses evident in schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya. Although the HRD Ministry maintained that the states were responsible for not utilising the disbursed funds effectively, the Finance Ministry was not convinced by the argument and demanded a more proactive approach towards resolving the situation. Incidentally, it is not only the Finance Ministry which has raised this issue. The Planning Commission and the Parliamentary Standing Committee also echoed the same view. (Indian Express 22/6/08) Action against unauthorised educational institutions (11) NEW DELHI: Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh has asked the University Grants Commission (UGC), All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Distance Education Council (DEC) to take immediate action against unrecognised and unauthorised higher educational institutions. The three statutory bodies have been asked to submit action-taken reports by the month-end. The Minister issued the instructions on Sunday, just days after he made an appeal through advertisements in leading newspapers asking students and parents to be extra-cautious while seeking admission in the private higher educational institutions that have mushroomed over the past decade. As of June 13 this year, the UGC had a list of 21 fake universities across eight States. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with eight such institutions; followed closely by Delhi which has seven. The remaining seven are in Bihar,

Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The AICTE list of unapproved institutions runs much longer. At the last count, AICTE found 169 institutions conducting courses in the field of technical education without obtaining its approval. Besides, there is another list of 104 institutions conducting technical education programmes in collaboration with foreign universities without AICTE approval. (The Hindu 25/6/08) Sex education between 11 and 16 vital: Study (11) New Delhi: June 24: All that comprehensive and inclusive education on sex while you are in the age group of 11 and 16, is going to help you build the sexual confidence in later life. And if this education comes from parents or guardians, it will only boost your confidence level. These are the findings of a new study, which has analysed the levels of sexual confidence based of few indicators. The study states that level of sexual confidence indicates benefits of sexual education, with greater confidence being associated with higher satisfaction. The study, A Path to Sexual Confidence, reveals that comprehensive and inclusive sex education between the ages of 11 and 16 is vital for people to develop sexual confidence in later life. It also shows those who have more confidence are better equipped to protect themselves against STIs and unwanted pregnancies. The study explored the effectiveness of sex education by examining data from 26,000 people worldwide. "Parents and guardians are the most effective source of knowledge to help young people to achieve higher levels of sexual confidence," states the study. (Asian Age 25/6/08) Vishwanath cries foul over attempt to saffronise school education (11) MYSORE: Senior Congress leader H. Vishwanath has cried foul over the BJP Governments reported bid to saffronise education by revising the history syllabus for primary and secondary schools in the State. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Vishwanath referred to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageris statement that a blueprint was ready for revision of the history syllabus and claimed that the Government was planning to distort history to suit its communal agenda. The BJP Government will erase the contribution of freedom fighters and glorify people such as Godse and Golwarkar, Mr. Vishwanath feared. If the Government wishes to revise the syllabus for the modern era, subjects such as science and mathematics should be taken up for the exercise. Why should they change the history syllabus? the former Minister asked. He also criticised the Government for its efforts to hand over primary schools to religious institutions. The blueprint also proposes to hand over primary schools to maths, Mr. Vishwanath said. With maths imparting religious education to students, the secular character of primary schools will be lost, he said. It will lead to sowing the seeds of communalism in young minds, cautioned Mr. Vishwanath, who held the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio in the S.M. Krishna Government. Claiming that the BJP Government, which does not even have a majority, was out to implement its hidden agenda, Mr. Vishwanath threatened to launch an agitation if the Government did not retrace its steps. (The Hindu 27/6/08) Teachers, students threaten stir (11) BHUABNESWAR: The Association of Santali teachers and students of Mayurbhanj has threatened to stop functioning of the government schools operating in tribal belts in the district unless the government published study materials in Ol-Chiki, the language of the Santhalis that entered into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in recent years. It has further warned to prohibit the government employees from entering into their territory if their genuine demand is ignored. Association secretary S.Kisku told the media that teachers of about one hundred primary schools were trained in teaching in Ol-Chiki medium under the District Primary Education Project and Sarba Sikshya Abhiyan to commence teaching in the language during the current academic session. Besides, it was also decided to publish books in Ol-Chiki script for the session. There is a move to publish the books in Oriya scripts for reasons best known to the officials, he rued. Mr. Kisku further alleged that three books published earlier in Ol-Chiki script have not been distributed among the schools that has raised suspicion among the Santali community about the intention of the authorities. The government must explain its stand on the issue immediately failing which it would remain responsible for the unrest among the tribal community, he warned. Most of the tribal communities of the State have dialects but no scripts of their own. Hence the

government has evolved a five-year plan to develop study materials for the school students in their languages using Oriya script, explained officials. At present, books for the students of standard one and two for nine tribal communities are being published under the Sarva Sikshya Abiyan scheme, they added. The communities are Bonda, Juanga, Oram, Munda, Kissan, Koya, Kui and Saura tribes besides Santal that has its own script. But they failed to explain why books are not being published in Ol-Chiki script despite its availability and decision at the government level.(The Hindu 29/6/08) Textbook row: church to observe protest day today (11) KOCHI: The Catholic church in Kerala will observe Monday as protest day to reiterate its demand for the withdrawal of the Class VII social science and other controversial textbooks. Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, head of the Syro-Malabar Church and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), in a circular here on Sunday said the controversial portions in the textbooks were aimed at teaching children to reject religion. Parishes cautioned The Cardinals circular was read out in all parishes of the Syro-Malabar Church during the Sunday mass and it cautioned that the controversial textbooks were prepared with a view to propagating communism. The Cardinal called upon the faithful to observe Monday as protest day and told them to hold awareness programmes and discussions in educational institutions on the textbooks. Sunday was observed as protest day by the Varappuzha archdiocese. Protest marches and meetings were held at the parish level in the archdiocese, said a spokesman for the archdiocese. Archbishop Daniel Acharuparampil would inaugurate a protest rally at High Court Junction at 10 a. m. on Monday. The rally would move to the Kanayannur taluk office where a protest meeting would be held at 11 a.m., the spokesman said. The Archdiocesan unit of the Kerala Latin Catholic Association held a meeting on Sunday evening as part of its protest action. The meeting reviewed the preparations for Mondays protest rally. The Cardinals circular said that all religious groups had seen through the content of the textbook which used Jawaharlal Nehrus words instead of Karl Marxs to confuse the people. The circular said communism was the single biggest threat to modern day democracy and claimed that secularism upheld by the Constitution was aimed at giving equal respect to all religions. Instead, the communists were propagating denial of religion. The circular said the textbooks provided a lopsided view of Mahatma Gandhi who chose the path of non-violence and opposed armed struggles. The textbook showed that the communists had not left the path of hate and guns. Communists, the circular said, did not participate in the Independence movement.(The Hindu 30/6/08) Rising school fees force 1-child norm (11) New Delhi: June 29: Increasingly rising school expenses in most of privately managed schools in large cities, including metros, have deterred even well-to-do young parents not to have more than one child, as they think they are better positioned to afford schoolings as education expenses in school have grown disproportionately, as against their annual income in the last 7-8 years. According to the nationwide survey carried out under the aegis of the Social Development Foundation of Assocham on "Rising School Expenses vis--vis Dilemma Of Young Parents", as school expenses, excluding tuition fees, have risen from Rs 25,000 in 2000 to Rs 65,000 per annum in 2008. That, too, on a single child, while the annual income on an average of well-off parents have risen not by more than 28 per cent to 30 per cent during the period. In the random survey, nearly 2,000 working parents were interviewed in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Dehra Dun, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Chandigarh by the Assocham research team in April-May 2008, in which it also came to limelight that 9 out of 10 parents find meeting their wards school cost very difficult. Assocham secretary D.S. Rawat said, "Nearly one in 10 respondents indicated that the cost associated with schooling has actually affected even their choice of school. 65 per cent of parents spend more than half their take-home pay on their childrens education, placing significant burden on their family budget. More than half of metropolitan parents, who send their children to private schools say the cost of education is a strain on families. Nearly, 60 per cent parents, however, complain that education is now being run like a commercial business enterprise. The high tuition fees no more justify the services offered at schools and the erratic fee hike effected each year by management of schools." "These expenses include uniforms, books, stationery, transport, sports activities, school trips, contributions to

upgrade schools, school aids etc. The total expenses for learning would be many times higher than school fees," said Mr Rawat. Transport is one of the most expensive components of a childs schooling. This costs parents an average of 12,000 per child per year. Parents spend 9,600 per child per year on lunches. Packed lunches cost more than school lunches on average. Shoes cost parents Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per child per year. Footwear works out as being more expensive than textbooks. Branded footwear like Nike, Addidas, Rebook have taken place in todays world.(Asian Age 30/6/08) Bid to saffronise school education condemned (11) MYSORE: Senior Congress leader H. Vishwanath has cried foul over the Bharatiya Janata Party governments reported bid to saffronise education by revising the history syllabus for primary and secondary schools in Karnataka. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Vishwanath referred to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageris statement that a blueprint was ready for revision of the history syllabus and claimed that the government was planning to distort history to suit its communal agenda.+ The BJP government will erase the contribution of freedom fighters and glorify people such as Godse and Golwalkar, he feared. If the government wishes to revise the syllabus for the modern era, subjects such as science and mathematics should be taken up for the exercise. Why should they change the history syllabus? the former Minister asked. He also criticised the government for its efforts to hand over primary schools to religious institutions. The blueprint also proposes to hand over primary schools to maths, Mr. Vishwanath said. With maths imparting religious education to students, the secular character of primary schools would be lost, he said. It will lead to sowing the seeds of communalism in young minds, cautioned Mr. Vishwanath, who held the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio in the S.M. Krishna government. Claiming that the BJP government, which does not even have a majority, was out to implement its hidden agenda, Mr. Vishwanath threatened to launch an agitation if the government did not retrace its steps.(The Hindu 27/6/08) From today, A is for Apple for all Class I students in UP (11) LUCKNOW, JUNE 30: Tomorrow, over 86 lakh primary school students in UP will begin to learn a new language-English. They will first learn the meaning of star, sky, diamonds and then the rhyme, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The language will be introduced in Class I from the academic year beginning July 1. Since English is taught from Class III now, Class II students, too, will get their first lessons in the language this year. There are around 46 lakh students in Class I and about 40 lakh in Class II. Text books are ready and being sent to district headquarters while the District Institutes of Education and Training are busy preparing for orientation classes of teachers. The books, prepared by the State Council for Educational Research and Training, introduces the language with the help of colourful pictures, illustrations, cartoons and rhymes. The books will be distributed free to students. The decision to introduce English from Class I was taken earlier this year after an official study found that students feared the language when they first studied it in Class III, and the fear continued, making them hesitant and lacking in confidence. The first expectation is that students of our parishadiya schools should be able to compete with students of private schools as in majority of cases, the lack of knowledge of English becomes a hindrance. Moreover, for introducing them to computers or technologies, English plays an important role, said R P Singh, Secretary, Basic Education. The introductory remark on the books spells out that hope, English language will enhance the quality of life of our children and widen their thinking. Officials says books will reach all schools by July 7. Work on revising the English books of class III and above, where the language is already taught, has begun. New teachers have not been recruited. All our teachers are qualified and experienced. A bit of orientation and they will handle it well, said D C Kanaujia, Director of Basic Education. (Indian Express 1/7/08) Education is the key to make Haryana No. 1 (11) Haryana is going ahead on a mission to provide the Right to Education to every child, as this is the best way of ensuring rapid and inclusive growth in the long run. Journey from literacy to education is a huge leap forward in the direction of providing equal opportunities to all, so that everyone can participate in todays vibrant economy. Education for all becomes even more

important in the context of modern global knowledge economy. Keeping with the changing trends and needs, Haryana has increased the budgetary allocation for Education Department from Rs 1,600 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 3,200 crore in the current year. We have also declared 2008 as the Year of Education. Today, education is not only considered a beacon of light to kindle the rays of literacy but is also a key component of planning for development. The state Government is aware that educational opportunities are the tools to bring about socio-economic changes that transform a society into a just and an equitable order. It is by establishing such an order that the noble ideals of our Constitution can be realised and, therefore, to this end my government has been working tirelessly. The inspiration to promote quality education in Haryana came to me from my grandfather, Chaudhary Matu Ram, who was a crusader in spreading education and abolishing untouchability. He was also the founder president of Jat Educational Society. Three years ago when we formed Government in Haryana, we focussed on a multi-pronged strategy to ensure that our children get quality education. We took a conscious decision to deviate from the conventional practices and launched reforms in all the three tiers primary, secondary and higher education. The underlying idea was to lay emphasis on inclusive development in which benefits of education and development would reach all social groups. To drastically reduce dropout rate of students belonging to weaker sections of society, a comprehensive scheme at the cost of nearly Rs 280 crore was formulated under which all girl students belonging to Scheduled Caste families were given a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 400. Similarly, boys belonging to these classes were given a monthly stipend ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 300 per month. For meeting all school-related expenses, one-time allowance ranging from Rs 740 to Rs 1,450 was given. Similar benefits for girls belonging to BPL families are being considered. The results of these efforts are before us as the dropout rate of students belonging to Scheduled Castes and weaker sections has come down significantly. Also, parents who used to withdraw students from schools due to economic reasons are now encouraged to send their wards to schools. These innovative schemes have the potential to go a long way in empowering weaker sections of society. The state Government has decided to make women the drivers of this collective effort for educational transformation. To ensure that women get higher education, we have set up Bhagat Phool Singh College in Khanpur Kalan in Sonepat district. Sakshar Mahila Samooh scheme has been implemented to ensure participation of educated women in developmental process. To improve the quality of education in the state, we have enacted a legislation to pave the way for private universities in Haryana. We are also setting up Rajiv Gandhi Education city at Kundli in Sonepat district where 25 per cent seats would be reserved for students from the state. Similarly, we are upgrading Deenbandhu Chhottu Ram Engineering College at Murthal to University of Science and Technology and setting up a medical university at Rohtak. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also sanctioned a Central university and an Indian Institute of Management for Haryana. .. (Indian Express 1/7/08) Council works on Indias future educational needs (11) NEW DELHI, JUNE 30: As India works towards its mission to give secondary education to all by 2010, it is quality teaching and demand assessments that are becoming an important area of concern. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is in the process of conducting a massive manpower assessment in the teaching sector to figure out just how many teachers India require s now and over the next few years. A manpower demand and supply assessment of sort has been started by NCTE to study the needs of the Indian education system. Once completed, the study will be able to tell us just how many teachers are required for our future needs as well, said a senior official from the HRD ministry. That apart, NCTE will also be mapping the existing teacher training institutes in the country. NCTE will map various teacher training institutes in the country to understand how they are spreading out and if there is need for a review of the way they are coming up. At present, most teacher training institutes are coming up in the southern part of India. However, large swathes across central, northern and northeastern India have a far smaller representation of teacher training institutes. Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and the North-East, particularly Assam, have very few of these institutions which are crucial for giving education to all. Minority areas also show less number of such institutes. All this will be seen and understood more clearly once the studies are done, added the official. While NCTE has been considered quite active in the southern states and Maharshtra in terms of monitoring and regulating teacher

training institutes, the case is not the same elsewhere. It has often been pointed out that there is an unevenness in the quality of these institutions with a mushrooming of low quality private institutions and NCTE has not monitored these well enough. The quality of training being imparted to teachers is under the scanner with the Planning Commission recently having asked the National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT) to evaluate the teacher training institutes in the country before and after funds are allocated to them under the 11th Plan. Over Rs 4,000 crore are lined up for allocation towards teacher education under the 11th Plan. The need for an assessment prior to allocation of funds is being felt because the Plan Panel was not very pleased with the performance of teacher education programmes under the 10th plan. The 11th Five Year Plan document clearly expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the District Institutes of Education & Training (DIET) and State Council for Education Research & Training (SCERT) and pointed out that they failed to effectively influence the quality of teacher education. (Indian Express 1/7/08) Cry for special kids (11) New Delhi, July 2: A central panel set up to examine the sensitivity of Indias education system towards children with special needs has accused state governments across the country of not even maintaining a count of such children. No state has an effective and accurate mechanism to count differently-abled children or analyse their needs, a standing committee of the Central Advisory Board on Education (Cabe), Indias apex education advisory body, has said. In a report submitted to human resource development minister Arjun Singh today, the committee has also recommended that the BEd programme for special needs education be revised, top HRD ministry officials said. The current Cabe, including the standing committee, has been wound up, but the report has only now been finalised. The committee has said that the current curriculum for the BEd programme is outdated. They have also suggested that the revision be conducted on a more regular basis, a source said. All states have been asked to establish mechanisms to accurately determine the number of differently-abled students and analyse their needs, a member on the committee said. The report comes even as the Centre upgrades its commitment to the secondary education of differently-abled students from integrating them into the mainstream to making Indias education system inclusive. The change in commitment, to be articulated in a new scheme currently under examination by the Planning Commission, places the onus of ensuring comfort and dignity in secondary education on the educational institution. At present, though schools cannot refuse admission to a student because of a disability, the latter is responsible for merging into the mainstream. We were shocked that the states have not even kept data essential for ensuring adequate facilities and special needs teachers, the committee member said. While 16 states had inadequate data, the remaining could not produce any statistics on special needs children, the member said.(Telegraph 2/7/08) Rs 20cr for secondary education (11) New Delhi: July 1: Secondary education in the country is all set to get a boost. The UPA governments ambitious Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), worth Rs 20,000 crore in the Eleventh Plan, has got the nod of the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC). The scheme, which aims at universalising secondary education and improving its quality in the Eleventh Plan, will now go to the Union Cabinet for approval. While Rs 20,000 crore is the non-recurring expenditure for the scheme, the recurring expenditure is estimated to be little less than Rs 15,000 crores. The total requirement for this scheme is estimated to be Rs 90,485.11 crores by 2020. The year 2020 has been set as the target for universal retention at the secondary level. The Centre, as envisaged under the scheme, will bear a substantial portion of the expenditure on this scheme. The expenditure for this Centrally-sponsored scheme will be in the ratio of 75:25, with the Centre putting in the larger percentage. In the case of the north-eastern states, the Centrestate share in the expenditure will be in the ratio of 90:10, said sources. Each state will have to come up with its proposals for upgrading secondary schools, which will then need the approval of the joint centre-state board. The expenditure will be on basically improving the existing secondary school education system and not on the construction of new schools at this level. The reason being is that the existing secondary schools need better infrastructure, more classrooms, libraries, laboratories, separate toilets for boys and girls and the filling up of teacher vacancies,

said sources. Around 30,000 secondary schools will be covered under RMSA. As the government has said in the past: "The goal of RMSA is to make good quality secondary education available, accessible and affordable to all young students in the age group 15-16 years (classes 9 and 10). The scheme envisions providing a secondary school within a 5-kilometre radius of any habitation and higher secondary school within a 7-kilometre radius by 2015. As per estimates, around 2.89 crore students were studying in classes 9 and 10 during 2007-08. (Asian Age 2/7/08) Notice to Kalpakancherry panchayat on textbook issue (11) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Local Administration Department will serve notice on the Kalpakancherry grama panchayat in Malappuram district for adopting a resolution that the controversial social science lesson for Class VII need not be taught in the schools under its purview. Official sources told The Hindu here on Thursday that the panchayat in Tanur block governed by the Indian Union Muslim League over-stepped its powers and, as a preliminary step, notice would be issued for withdrawing the resolution. According to the 73rd amendment to the Constitution, administration of schools up to the upper primary level had been delegated to grama panchayats. But powers of the panchayats had been limited to maintenance of infrastructure and complementing the educational quality improvement initiatives by organising training programmes or helping teachers to conduct additional classes for weak students in consultation with the parent teacher association. The resolution is seen as an attempt of the panchayat to intervene in the academic affairs. If the panchayat refuses to withdraw the resolution, the department will have to dissolve the committee, appoint an administrator and conduct elections within six months, sources said. When the Karakulam grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram published a book, Panchayati Raj Kuttikalku (panchayati raj for children) last year, it had drawn flak and was described as a move of the panchayat to interfere in the academic affairs of the schools. The book was published by the Grameena Patana Kendram of the panchayat. The book was proposed to be distributed among the students for extra-curricular studies to acclimatise them with the changes in local governance. The proposal was dropped in the wake of the protest. (The Hindu 4/7/08) NCERT asks Goa board to explain why it withdrew textbooks (11) New Delhi: : Soon after the Goa Governments withdrawal of History and Hindi textbooks for Class X, the National Council for Education Research, Training & Education (NCERT) on Thursday shot off a letter to Goa Education Board chief Bhaskar Naik demanding an explanation. The Board had withdrawn the books on June 27 after some NGOs and anti-tobbaco groups had objected to contents of the textbooks. The anti-tobacco organisation, National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), had objected to the photograph of a French Naval commander shown smoking, saying it would propagate smoking among students. The Goa Education Board had withdrawn the books saying that the Marathi translation of the History textbook had several errors. Naik had further said that the decision to withdraw the NCERT book was taken in view of 24 mistakes and objections raised over the French commanders picture. We have written to the Goa Education Secretary and Goa Education Board chief asking them to explain the withdrawal of books. I have also clarified that NCERT never filed any affidavit or admitted any mistakes in the textbook, said Bishnu Charan Patra, NCERT spokesperson. (Indian Express 4/7/08) SFI resents move to saffronise education (11) BANGALORE: The Students Federation of India (SFI) has warned of an agitation if the Government goes ahead with its plan to saffronise the school curriculum. Delivering the keynote address at a State-level education convention organised by the SFI State unit in Bangalore on Saturday, SFI national joint secretary P.K. Biju said that the federation would resist the move to saffronise education. Mr. Biju took exception to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageris statement that the content of textbooks would be changed on the lines of Gujarat. Terming this as a violation of secular and democratic principles, he said that the SFI would not allow such things to happen. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government in Gujarat had changed textbooks and included content that would upset communal harmony. The Yeddyurappa Government might introduce similar content in the State if such moves were not

opposed, he said. SFI State president B. Rajashekhara Murthy said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had managed to get only 34 per cent vote share in the Assembly elections. This shows that 66 per cent of people are not supporting you. Any attempt to violate the democratic and secular principles by the government will face resistance from the people, he said. Mr. Murthy alleged that the Government was trying to privatise the education sector in the State by citing poor infrastructure facilities in government schools. If Mr. Yeddyurappa has any concern for development of the education sector, he should earmark a minimum of 30 per cent of the total budgetary allocation for it. The Centre should set aside 10 per cent of its budgetary allocation for the sector, he said. Speaking on the occasion, former legislator and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader G.V. Srirama Reddy said that present-day education system had no relevance to society. It focussed on amassing wealth rather than inculcating values, he said. Mr. Reddy termed the attempt to saffronise the education system and divide society on the basis of religion as a tough challenge before students. He urged the SFI to take the lead in launching a struggle to save the students from being lured by communal forces. (The Hindu 6.7.08) Centre to check dropouts (11) Shillong, July 7: Union tribal affairs minister P.R. Kyndiah today unveiled a slew of measures to empower tribal students in the field of education. The move aims at checking the dropout rate among tribal students by opening hostels for Scheduled Tribe girls and boys. Addressing the media today, Kyndiah said to check the high dropout rate among the tribal students and increase the literacy rate, the Union tribal affairs ministry will set up girls hostels in all states and in the Union territories. There is a high dropout rate in the country, especially among the girl students and we hope that the hostels for the tribal girls will attract them to pursue higher studies, Kyndiah said. The central assistance for the construction of girls hostel in all states will be 100 per cent of the cost of the construction. Besides, the girls hostels, the Scheduled tribe boys hostels will also be constructed with 100 per cent central assistance and the cost will remain at 50 per cent in all other areas of the country. The aim of the Union tribal affairs ministry is to improve the facilities in the naxal affected areas so that the boys in these areas are not misled by the militants. Kyndiah said his ministry will also provide scholarships to the tribal students who want to pursue top class education. Under the Top Class Education for Scheduled Tribe Students Scheme, the ministry will provide sponsorship to the students who want to become commercial pilots under private sector. According to Kyndiah the ministry has identified 127 institutes both in the government and private sectors for providing top class education to the tribal students for the academic year 200708. These students can pursue graduation and post graduation courses. Kyndiah said these institutes will deal with management, medicine, engineering, law and commercial courses. The tribal students will be awarded scholarship covering full tuition fees and other non-refundable dues in respect of government and government funded institutions, Kyndiah said. However, there is a ceiling of Rs 2 lakh per year per student for private sector institutions and Rs 3.72 lakh per year for the private sector flying clubs for commercial pilots training. Other benefits under the project include living expenses of Rs 2,200 per month, books and stationery worth Rs 3,000 per year per student and cost of a latest computer system along with the accessories limited to Rs 45,000 during the course. Kyndiah said under the Top Class Education Scheme, grants were released to 23 institutes benefiting 79 students in the first year of the operation of the scheme in 2007-08. Other features of the human resource development package for the tribals include Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship to pursue M. Phil and Phd courses, National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for higher studies abroad for tribal students and post matric scholarships. (Telegraph 8/7/08) Raj Thackerays ultimatum to English medium schools (11) MUMBAI: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Monday intensified his campaign for the Marathi language by giving an ultimatum to English medium schools. Addressing a press conference, he said English medium schools here and in other places did not teach Marathi as a compulsory language from standard one to ten. All English medium schools are free to teach German, French and other languages but Marathi is not an option; it has to be compulsory, he said. He read out a letter he planned to send all the English medium schools in the city and Maharashtra. In the letter, he said not teaching Marathi was going against the States

ethos and if the language was not made compulsory, the MNS would launch an agitation. The schools have been given one academic year to effect this change. Mr. Thackeray said the schools used the resources of Maharashtra and so they must teach Marathi compulsorily. If there were complaints from parents regarding this, the schools could forward them to him, he said. If the schools did not respond to this letter, the MNS would react, he threatened. All the Southern States had made their languages compulsory in schools. Why am I criticised for raising the issue of Marathi when the Southern States made their languages compulsory in schools, nobody accused them of being divisive, he said. He also issued a series of threats against those who did not respect the Marathi language and culture and said they would be dealt with in the Marathi way. Mr. Thackeray, when asked by a reporter to explain the Marathi way, said, You still dont know what it is? Mr. Thackeray also took on shopkeepers who had not yet put up signboards in Marathi. They were legally bound to do so but not everyone had fallen in line, he said. The party is sending letters exhorting shopkeepers to comply within a month. Referring to the migrants issue, he said even though Mumbai paid the highest amount of taxes, it was Uttar Pradesh which decides who will be the Prime Minister. Reading out the Census 2001 figures, he said over 92 lakh people had migrated from Uttar Pradesh and 52 lakh from Bihar. He said in Maharashtra, the Census figures showed that 21 lakh people from Uttar Pradesh had come here. He also said that the migrants sent out money and he had information that in a year, 82 per cent of the money orders from Maharashtra went to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and the amount was Rs. 1556 crore. Mr. Thackeray did not spare a daily English newspaper for writing Bombay, instead of Mumbai. He issued a warning that if the paper continued with this, he would not be able to stay quiet. (The Hindu 15/7/08) School teachers threaten State-wide agitation (11) CUTTACK: Taking a cue from the Puri Rath Yatra, the disgruntled teachers of the State are planning to take out Education Rath throughout the State in the winter this year to emancipate education and relieve them from sufferings. Speaking to newsmen here on Sunday, the members of Orissa Secondary School Teachers Association (OSSTA), the largest teachers body of the State, have threatened to launch massive agitations across the State for what they called unshackling the education from governments captive. OSSTA general secretary Kishore Kumar Panda informed that the teachers agitations would start in phased manner from this month and continue till the end of winter. Teachers across the State will first picket in front of all the district inspector (DI) offices on July 19 and stage protest meetings. During the winter session of the Assembly, the teachers would agitate in front of the legislators residence and on the day the House would discuss on education, all teachers will court arrest, Panda said. The teacher leaders maintain that the school education in the State is in doldrums. Having around 72,000 teachers across 7,139 secondary schools, OSSTA has been agitating for release of block grants to 2,375 schools so as to facilitate pay revision of teachers of these schools. There were increments in the salary of these teachers since January 2004. The teachers also expressed concern over delay in supply of textbooks to students of Class VIII to Class X even as the academic session has already begun for nearly three months. They also criticized about the ongoing mess in the state Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and the lackadaisical manner in which this years Matriculation examination was held. KORAPUT: Ajit Kumar Lima, the secretary of All Orissa Elementary Trained Graduate Teachers Association, Koraput district branch said that the association has demanded for filling up of the 6,000 vacant headmasters posts in the Upper Primary Schools, being managed by the State Government by promoting the working trained graduate teachers to the cadre level-3. The posts were lying vacant for the last 12 years, Mr. Mahanty said. (The Hindu 15/7/08) Textbook row: remove certain portions, says expert committee (11) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 15: Appointed by the Kerala Government to examine the textbook row, an expert committee on Tuesday recommended that certain portions in the social science textbook introduced in Class VII should be removed. The 18-member committee, headed by Left historian Dr K N Panikker, submitted its interim report to Education Minister M A Baby. The Government was forced to form the panel in the wake of mounting pressure from the Congress-led Opposition and various community organisations, seeking removal of the textbook,

which, they said, was designed to propagate Communism and atheism. The most controversial portion in the textbook was a chapter entitled No religion for Jeevan, which depicted the enrollment of a child called Jeevan in the school, leaving the column for religion in the school register vacant. This chapter, the focal point of the raging agitation, was meant for propagating atheism, said the agitators. The panel has recommended the removal of the chapter. (Indian Express 16/7/08) Curriculum panel to act on report (11) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said here on Wednesday that the curriculum committee would take action on the report of the expert committee set up by the government to examine the Social Science textbook of Class VII. Talking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister said the expert committee had recommended modification of the controversial portions of the textbook. The content was to be improved so that it would be on a par with NCERT textbooks. The curriculum committee would examine the recommendations and take necessary action, he saidMr. Achuthanandan said that besides action on the expert committees report, he had promised the Opposition that the curriculum committee would consider suggestions of the expert committee set up by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). However, the Opposition was adamant on its demand for withdrawal of the textbook and had declined to call off its hunger strike. The Chief Minister said that he had taken the lead in holding talks with the leaders of the Opposition to facilitate ending of the fast. Earlier, the government had consented to a discussion of the issue in the Assembly, as it wanted to settle the issue amicably. It also promised to make amends based on the report of the committee. Asked about the refusal of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to resign from his post, Mr. Achuthanandan said that the party would not intervene in the matter. The Speaker himself could decide such issues. It did not want to raise any controversy over the Speakers Office. He said the outcome of the confidence motion would depend on the success of the Congress in influencing MPs belonging to other parties. The nuclear deal would compromise the countrys independence and sovereignty. He said the government had settled the issues related to acquisition of land for providing rail and road connectivity for the Vallarpadam project amicably on Tuesday. The Cabinet decided to acquire land needed for the Muthalapozhi fishing harbour (1.5 acres) on a fast track basis. (The Hindu 17/7/08) Kerala textbook row: Govt to remove controversial portions (11) Thiruvananthapuram, July 17: The Kerala Government on Thursday decided to remove certain controversial portions from the social science textbook for Class VII in state-run schools. But it ruled out withdrawal of the textbook, a demand of the Congress-led Opposition. By deciding to bring in changes to certain parts of the text, the Education Department did a balancing act of placating the Opposition, without causing a major embarrassment to the CPM-led Left Government. Recently, a Government-constituted expert committee had recommended changes in the textbook, which, the agitators said, was designed to propagate atheism and communism. Emerging out of the state curriculum committee meeting, Education Minister and CPM central committee member M A Baby told the media that according to the suggestion of the expert committee, a few controversial portions would be re-written. The expert committee had found nothing atheistic in the text as had been alleged by certain quarters. However, to avoid the room for misconstruing the text, we have decided to make some changes in it, he said. Accordingly, the sub-chapter No religion for Jeevan meant to convey the message of secularism would be overhauled. That portion, according to the Opposition and community organisations, was meant to spread atheism. In the revised portion, the title would be replaced with freedom for belief. In the content too, the reference to inter-caste background of the students parents would be avoided. The Minister said the revised portion would be brought out as a four-page pamphlet, which would be printed and distributed in all schools in a short period. Baby said a new English version of the social science textbook would be published at the earliest, as the existing version was full of grammatical errors. Meanwhile, the Congress and Indian Union Muslim League have decided to go ahead with the agitation, demanding withdrawal of the textbook. The Congress political committee, which met here on Thursday, decided to fully back the anti-textbook

agitations launched by Youth Congress and Kerala Students Union, its youth and student outfits, r espectively. (Indian Express 18/7/08) Dropouts in schools: SC notice to Centre, States (11) New Delhi : Expressing concern over the high dropout rate in Government schools across the country, the Supreme Court on Friday set out to undertake a reality check on the causes and possible remedies to contain the rising trend. A Bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam issued notices to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and all State Governments and Union Territories on a PIL seeking direction to remove discrimination between different categories of students while imparting education in Government-supported schools. The PIL filed by Social Jurist, an organisation of lawyers and social activists, submitted that the system of establishing different categories of schools for children of varying economic backgrounds was unconstitutional and arbitrary as it denied various Fundamental Rights relating to Right to Education. The petitioner's counsel Ashok Agarwal said that the State has failed to provide equal opportunity of good education to all children, particularly belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Muslim community. The petition said the elementary education in the country was in a deplorable condition with a large number of schools lacking both academic and physical infrastructure, resulting in large-scale dropouts among children between 6-14 years. "The dropout rate is very alarming," the Bench said after Agarwal pointed out that the dropout rate further adds to child labour and deprives the child of a decent childhood and education under Article 21. In this regard, the petition quoted data collected from different surveys conducted by Government agencies and sought a direction for evolving a standard framework for admission on the principle of equal opportunity. (Pioneer 19/7/08) Kerala textbook row: headmaster killed (11) Shaju PhilipThiruvananthapuram, July 19: The agitation seeking withdrawal of Class VII social science textbook took a tragic turn on Saturday after a primary school headmaster was beaten to death by a group of agitators in Malappuram in north Kerala. Violent incidents were reported from across several schools in the state. Even tiny tots were not spared in the battle as seven primary school students were reported injured in Idukki, after agitators entered their school. According to the police, activists of Youth League, the youth outfit of the Indian Union Muslim League, stormed into a classroom at Kizhissery in Malappuram, where a teachers training programme was going on. James Augustine, 45, headmaster of AM Lower Primary School in Valillapuzha near Manjeri, was a participant at the programme. He was brutally beaten up by the Youth League men inside the classroom. He died in a hospital in the evening. The victim, according to his colleagues, had no political affiliations. The unprecedented incident has evoked widespread grief and protest from all quarters. The death of the teacher, which is snowballing into a major controversy, is likely to change the track of the textbook agitation. The Students Federation of India, the student outfit of the CPM, has called for an educational bandh in Kerala on Monday. Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan deplored the incident and said stringent action would be taken against the culprits. The agitation over the textbook, spearheaded by the Congress, the IUML and Christian organisations, had been staged on streets for the past one month. It entered schools on Friday, a day after the state Government decided to remove certain controversial portions in the textbook referring to atheism. Unsatisfied by the Governments climbdown on the issue, the Congress-led Opposition decided to intensify the agitation, demanding withdrawal of the textbook. On Friday, Youth League activists disrupted teachers training programmes in north Kerala districts. Several teachers were manhandled by Youth League workers in Malappuram. On Saturday, the police had taken precautionary measures in many schools in the wake of a boycott call given by the Opposition-affiliated teachers unions. However, agitators disrupted the conduct of cluster meetings in many schools in the presence of the police. Scuffles between activists of Youth League and DYFI, the youth wing of the CPM, were reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Alappuzha and Kasargode districts. Youth League activists laid siege to several schools and manhandled teachers participating in the training programme. (Indian Express 20/7/08) Tribal kids to get free English-medium education in new Chhattisgarh scheme (11)

RAIPUR, JULY 20: In an ambitious scheme, 125 children belonging to the most poverty-stricken and backward tribal communities of two districts of Chhattisgarh have been enrolled for free education in prominent schools in Raipur starting this academic year. As many as 35 private English-medium schools have already come forward to adopt five children each every year under the scheme, named Udan (flight), and will provide free education as well as food and accommodation to students belonging to the Kamar, Bhunjia and Baiga tribes from the remote forest areas of Raipur and Kawardha districts. The beneficiaries were selected on the basis of their performance in screening tests organised by the schools in the tribal areas of Gariaband, Mainpur, Chhura and Devbhog in Raipur district and in Kawardha. Children studying in Classes I to VIII were eligible to compete for the opportunity. Claiming that Udan was the only scheme of its kind, Raipur district collector Sonmani Bora, who is coordinating the implementation of the project, asserted that parents are enthusiastic that they can send their children to schools in the state capital. He also said a tripartite agreement would be signed between the district administration, the school management committee and the institution adopting the child to ensure that each student would continue to receive similar facilities till the completion of their schooling. In addition, said Bora, a proposal has been forwarded to the state Government to provide funds for other children from these backward communities so that no child was deprived of the opportunity to pursue a higher standard of education. Talking about the source of funds, he said a separate corpus would be created with a share from the district administrations brisk scheme, the Kamar and Bhunjia development authority and contributions from the public. Bora said a proposal was also being sent to the Human Resource Development Ministry, requesting it to earmark at least five per cent seats in Chhattisgarhs Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas for children belonging to these most backward tribal communities. (Indian Express 21/7/08) Muslim girls benefit from govt scholarship schemes (11) New Delhi, June 20: The UPA Government may be still grappling with the Muslim factor in the Nuclear Deal. But it can be proud of one thing the girl students in the minority communities are surging ahead like never before, courtesy its various minorities-friendly initiatives. The annual assessment carried out by the Government for the year 2007-08 has found that girls have bagged around 62 per cent of the various scholarship schemes initiated by the Minorities Ministry last year; 67 per cent of the scholarships in the case of the merit-cum-means scheme have gone to girls while it is 58 per cent in the case of the post-matric scholarships. As per the data, the Muslim community has secured 72.7 per cent of the total scholarships while Christians and Sikhs have secured 17.55 per cent and 6.54 per cent, respectively. Gender-wise break up of scholarships availed gives a more encouraging picture which defies many conventional perceptions. In the case of the Muslim community, girls have bagged 61 per cent of the post-matric scholarships sanctioned in 2007 while boys have got only 39 per cent. It is 63 per cent and 37 per cent in the case of the Christian community and 30.48 and 69.52 per cent in the Sikh community. The annual assessment carried out by the Ministry has been an eye opener for even us. We never expected this kind of a turnaround. If we are able to sustain this momentum for a while, then there is no stopping the girls, said the official concerned. The most important significance of these figures, according to the official, is the fact that these scholarships are meant for higher education. If girls have secured more than 60 per cent of the scholarships for higher education, then it means there will be more women professionals from the minority communities, he said. What adds more sheen to the whole affair is the fact that all these scholarships are awarded purely on the basis of merit, he added. It may be recalled that the Sachar Committee report had stated that the graduation rate amongst Muslims was only 5 per cent 12 per cent among males and 6 per cent among females in urban areas; 5 per cent for males and only 1 per cent for females in rural areas. (Indian Express 21/7/08) Sex education syllabus to get more appropriate (11) New Delhi: July 29: The new syllabus on sex education will be framed in a more "appropriate" manner and states will be given authority to make changes according to local needs. After deliberations with states education department and AIDS control societies, NCERT has decided to shift the focus on the issue of sex education in its textbooks from use of condoms to abstinence, while informing children about AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases. This

comes after stiff opposition from a number of states on the contents of the textbooks on the issue. At a meeting of representatives of 20 state education department and AIDS control societies on Tuesday, it was proposed to remove "objectionable" skill development programmes like group activity on human anatomy and graphic pictures showing human physiology. All controversial material including objectionable words and pictures will also be removed, with a focus on syllabus which is acceptable in rural areas. (Asian Age 30/7/08) 11 students stripped, tonsured by seniors (11) Jaipur: July 31: Eleven students of a state-run polytechnic college in Bikaner were subjected to torture while seniors ragged them: their heads were tonsured, they were stripped and abused by their seniors. The police has registered a case against six such senior students but no arrest has been made so far. The victims included one dalit and two tribal students. The victims were freed only when the police swung into action on Thursday. The terrified students narrated harrowing experiences. "We have lodged an FIR against the student involved in the ragging incident. A manhunt has been launched and the guilty will not be spared," said Bikaner superintendent of police Hawa Singh Ghumriya. The 11 "freshers" were beaten brutally and taken to a barber shop where, according to the police, the seniors hired three barbers to tonsure their heads. The police also recorded the statements of the barbers, who said they were threatened by the students. The police registered a case under the SC/ST [Prevention of Atrocities] Act. The college administration did not take any action against the seniors. "This is not first time that such an incident has occurred here. The same group of seniors also did the same in the past, but the administration has not taken any action," said Bhagwan Singh of the ABVP. (Asian Age 1/8/08) `Dropout rate of SC/ST students has gone up' (11) New Delhi (PTI): In an indication of the non-performance of various schemes initiated for SC/STs, a CAG report shows that school dropout rates for students from the communities have actually gone up while the enrolment rates have dipped. In a performance audit of the Educational Development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India, the Comptroller and Auditor General has highlighted among other things, alarming gaps in the government's policy implementation as far as Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) for SCs and STs is concerned. Two indicators of educational development -- gross enrolment rate (GER) and gross dropout rate (GDR) displayed an adverse trend in respect of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe boys and girls, the report says. The gross dropout rate represents the percentage of students who drop out from a given grade or cycle or level of education in a given cycle/school year. The drop out rate in respect of Scheduled Caste boys and girls increased in 2003-04 with reference to 2001-02 in several states. The increase ranged from 0.04 to 28.98 per cent in 200304. Similarly, the drop out rate for Scheduled Tribe boys and girls also increased in 2003-04 in several states with reference to 2001-02. The gap between general candidates and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe was 6.7 per cent and 15.1 per cent in 2001-02 and rose to 10.4 and 16.6 in 2003-04 respectively.(The Hindu 3/8/08) World Bank lauds Rajasthan for education project (11) JAIPUR: A joint review mission of the Union Government and the World Bank has praised the works launched under the second phase of the District Primary Education Project (DPEP) in nine districts of Rajasthan between September 2000 and March 2008 and cited the States success as an example worthy of emulation by others. State Education Minister Kalicharan Saraf said that the World Bank had recently given second rank to Rajasthan on a scale of eight points proving a successful execution of DPEP. The State spent Rs.400.31 crore, amounting to 97.34 per cent of the sanctioned amount, on the implementation. Mr. Saraf said the objectives of DPEP were to improve enrolments in schools, reduce the dropout level and enhance the learning level. With 2.48 lakh children enrolled in schools, the dropout rate was reduced from 60 per cent to 27 per cent during seven and a half years of the project. The project was executed in Bundi, Churu, Alwar, Dausa, Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Jaipur and Hanumangarh districts. Mr. Saraf said while the gender gap was reduced from 12.45 per cent to 5.92 per cent, as many as 1.74 lakh children with special needs were enrolled in schools. The appointment of 38,000 new

teachers in 2005-06 and 19,000 in 2007-08 led to a significant reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio from 52 to 34.22 . (The Hindu 3/8/08) Scheme on secondary education soon (11) MADURAI: The Central government will soon announce a nation-wide scheme for achieving universalisation of secondary education. It will be a sequel to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which deals with primary and upper primary education. Sources in the School Education Department told The Hindu here on Sunday that the Tamil Nadu government had already submitted a perspective plan on secondary education to the Human Resource Development Ministry. Draft particulars of the new scheme had been placed before the Union Cabinet. The scheme was aimed at strengthening secondary education network in States. Known as Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, the scheme would focus on Standards IX and X. Funds for its implementation would be shared by the Centre and State governments, according to officials. Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for School Education, said he had information that the plan for universal secondary education had already been placed before the Union Cabinet. I came to know from the Union Finance Minister and the Union Human Resource Development Minister that the Cabinet would take it up soon for approval, he said. According to him, Tamil Nadu is the first State to have prepared and submitted both annual plan/perspective plan for secondary education and we have also requested (the Centre) to deal with Tamil Nadu on a priority basis as it is ready with an action plan. (The Hindu 4/8/08) Over 90% students in distress: survey (11) CHENNAI: A recent survey conducted in Chennai revealed that over 90 per cent of school students, especially girls, experienced significant levels of psychological distress. With intervention, many of the stress-related and behavioural problems could be reduced, says the study. The survey, a collaboration between the Schizophrenia Research Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, sought to compare the mental health programme in two schools in Chennai a private school in Kolathur and a government-aided school in Virugambakkam. While more students from the government-aided schools experience psychological distress, in both schools, the XI standard students had more issues than IX standard students. Some of the most frequently reported problems were: feeling under strain constantly, depression, unhappiness, difficulty in concentrating, incapacity to make decisions, a feeling of worthlessness, lack of self confidence and inability to enjoy normal day-to-day activities. The physical and mental health of adolescents and schoolchildren has been a matter of concern in recent years. Study-related pressure, the need for excellence in various spheres of activity and heightened family expectations have taken a toll on the psychological well being of adolescents, according to R.Thara, director, SCARF. Coupled with this there are unhealthy coping mechanisms like drugs and alcohol abuse. The need to run school mental health programmes cannot be overemphasised, Dr.Thara added. SCARF has decided to bring out manuals for children, teachers and parents, besides extending the programme to more schools. (The Hindu 6/8/08) Cabinet to take up Right to Education Bill today (11) New Delhi, August 7: The Right to Education Bill is expected to be on the agenda at Fridays Cabinet meeting. The long-pending Bill, which envisages free and compulsory education to all children between 6 and 14 years has been on hold for some time but got into revival mode late last year. The Bill had its latest run with trouble with the Law Ministry over the wording of Article 21A that envisages free and compulsory education and provisions for equitable quality. The Law Ministry suggested these be removed as they could lead to litigation. The HRD Ministry objected to the same saying it was necessary to be included to ensure that systemic changes are instituted in the schooling system through the Bill. The two ministries have fnally sorted out the issues in question. The Bill envisages that government schools shall provide free education to all children and the schools will be managed by school management committees. Private schools shall admit at least 25 per cent of the children in their schools without any fee. The National Commission for Elementary Education shall be constituted to monitor all aspects of elementary education. While the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) put up the first draft of the Bill

in 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent it to a high-level group which asked the states to enact it. The states rejected the Bill saying it would burn a hole in their finances. Early this year, the HRD Ministry prepared a draft based on the CABE version and sent it to ministries concerned. The Planning Commission then circulated the new draft keeping out private schools from all provisions. (Indian Express 8/8/08) Cash-strapped Govt puts right to education on back burner (11) New Delhi: The scarcity of funds has forced the UPA Government to put on hold its ambitious Right to Education (RTE) Bill. The UPA's dream project, aimed at providing free and compulsory education to children in the age group of six to 14, has now been referred to a Group of Ministers (GoM). The Government had earlier planned to introduce the Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament. But with the States refusing to agree to fund it to the extent suggested by the Centre, the matter has been put on the back burner. With the Central finances in a precarious position, the Government has decided not to be too adventurist. The scheme would have required nearly Rs 55,000 crore in the first year itself. The financial requirement for implementing the measure for seven years (from 2008-09 to 2014-15) is estimated to be Rs 2.28 lakh crore. Sources said the Government could table the Bill in the monsoon session so that the actual implementation part was required to be undertaken only after the general elections. The Cabinet on Friday discussed the Bill and sent it to a GoM. The group would be chaired by Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh and include Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said the reason for referring the Bill to the GoM was to devise a fund-sharing formula between the Centre and the States to implement the programme. Sibal said the Bill was a priority for the Government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had indicated that it should be implemented during the UPA Government's regime. Ministry sources said that the Bill stipulates duties and responsibilities of the appropriate Government, local authority and parents for providing free and compulsory education. Mooted in 2006, the Bill specifies the responsibility of teachers and schools, besides containing provisions for protection of child rights and redressal of their grievances. The Union Cabinet on Friday also decided to provide a similar cover to retired Government officials as enjoyed by serving officers in case of prosecution. The Government would make amendments in the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment) Bill, 2008, and introduce it in Parliament. Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sibal said the officials who have the privilege of being tried before the court only after the Government's sanction, would have the same privilege after their retirement too. Earlier, the privilege applied to only the serving officials of the cadre. Sibal said that the amendment was moved with the intention of saving Government officials from harassment after their retirement as "they don't have resources and access to save them after they retire from service". However, he said that if prosecution was sanctioned against a retired Government servant, his property could be confiscated if he did not pay the fine as ordered by the court. The Union Cabinet also approved an MoU on sharing hydrological information between China and India about the Brahmaputra/Yaluzangbu river during the flood season. "The MoU will enable India to improve flood forecasting and timely warning for mitigation measures in the downstream reaches of the Brahmaputra," he said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decided to augment uranium resources by another 75,000 tonnes through mining for the country's nuclear power programme. It approved a Rs 200-crore plan outlay for the project. (Pioneer 9/8/08) Teachers, activists demand enactment on Right to Education (11) BHUBANESWAR, Aug. 11: Hundreds of teachers, trade union leaders, child right activists and educationists staged a mass dharna in front of the Assembly demanding the enactment of the central legislation on the right to education here on Saturday. The dharna had been organised by the National Campaign Committee on Right to Education (RTE) through Common School System (NCCRTECSS), which observed the day as Saman Sikshya Divas- National Demand Day for Right to Education through Common School system. Addressing the protest gathering, one of the conveners of NCCRTECSS and national executive member of campaign against child labour, Mr Ranjan Mohanty said: The RTE must be rooted in the framework of the common school system

(CSS) and should apply to all schools including private unaided and aided schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, the 6,000 model schools proposed in the XI Plan and all other special category schools operated by the central and state governments. All schools should have norms and standards pertaining to infrastructure, student teacher ratio, classrooms, curriculum and teaching quality equal to that of Kendriya Vidyalayas, he further said. Speaking on the occasion member of Orissa Sikshya Abhijan Dr Ambika Nanda opined: The cumulative gap building up since Kothari Commissions recommendations in 1966 must be filled up within the next five years, followed by maintenance of annual educational expenditure of at least 6% of the GDP. The protestors later submitted a memorandum to the governor Mr MC Bhandare highlighting their demands. The seven-member delegation led by convener of national coordination committee of Indian Teachers Organisations and one of the conveners of NCCRTECSS Prof Abani Boral urged upon governor Mr Bhandare to place the memorandum in appropriate quarters of the Union government to table the Right to education bill in the Parliament in the coming session to ensure that the right of every child to quality education up to 18 years of age or to 12th standard through common school system based on the principle of neighbourhood school admission policy is assured. Mr Bhandare reportedly assured the delegation to take up the matter with Union minister for human resource development.(Statesman 12/8/08) SC seeks status report on Govt schools (11) New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Delhi Government to provide details about the State of infrastructure and teaching staff vacancies in its 919 schools, after a petition complained that the situation in these schools was equally dismal. Dealing with a petition filed by a NGO complaining the State of affairs in Government schools in the Capital, the Director Education appeared personally to apprise that work on providing infrastructure, clean drinking water, hygienic toilets and adequate teaching staff had been satisfactorily achieved following the orders passed by the Court. Furnishing status about 222 Government-aided schools, the official stated that in July 2007 the existing vacancy of teaching posts was 2,500 that has considerably scaled down to 104 in July 2008. Besides the work of providing fans, tube lights, clean drinking water, fire fighting equipment and clean toilets is almost complete in these schools. But painting the real picture, the petitioner's advocate Ravindra Bana informed that these statistics are of Government-aided schools, while the bulk of Government schools are directly run by the Delhi Government. When the bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and JM Panchal sought details about the same, the Education Department officials present in court sought six weeks time. The Court also suggested the Government to ensure that the grant sent to Government-aided schools should be credited directly to the teaching staff without any intervention by the school management. (Pioneer 20/8/08) Focus on reducing middle school dropout rate (11) PUDUCHERRY: The Union Territory, which achieved zero dropout rate at the primary school level last year, is all set to focus on student retention in the middle school level, aiming to bring down the dropout rate to zero by the end of next year. Measures to achieve zero dropout rate up to Standard X by 2012 are on the anvil. It was last year that a national survey ranked Puducherry along with Kerala for achieving zero dropout rate in the primary school level. Earlier, the dropout rate was around four to five per cent in this category. A few years ago, the dropout rate from Standard VI to VIII (middle school) was around 10 per cent. But it has been reduced to 2.39 per cent now. The percentage of girls who drop out of school was higher than boys, Director of School Education G. Ragesh Chandra said. The dropout rate at the high school level was around six to 10 per cent. However, the Union Territory did not face any difficulty in student retention after Class X owing to assured seats in higher secondary classes, he added. In fact, the governments incentive schemes and the mid-day meal scheme for students had worked hand-inhand in reducing school dropout rate. According to the Central government, the mid-day meal scheme should be up to Standard VIII. In the Union Territory, meals are provided from pre-KG to higher secondary classes, he said. Apart from this, the students were given free uniforms, text books, footwear, stationery items, dictionary, raincoats and bicycles, he said, adding, Parental awareness that education is must has led to reduction of school dropouts. Now, there is no burden on the parents to send the children to school as everything is being taken care of. With

the Central government aiming to achieve zero dropout rate up to Standard X by 2015, the Union Territory would now strive to achieve it by 2012. The middle school level would be the focus for this year and next year, Mr. Chandra said. The Directorate has planned to bring back the dropouts to schools through the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). We have started alternative schools for the dropouts. It consists of three to six months training by way of bridge courses after which the students are mainstreamed. We have mainstreamed over 840 students till date, State Project Director of SSA R. Parthasarathy said. Reaching out to children of nomadic tribes and migratory population, the Directorate had started an exclusive school in their habitation and another school had been proposed at Villianur, Mr. Chandra said. We will look at the reasons for students dropping out of schools and solve the problem through counselling or special coaching, he said. (The Hindu 22/8/08) Education is no more a dream for them (11) BERHAMPUR: Japika Behera and Dikhya Mohanty of Kandhamal district are among the extremely talented girls, however, their teachers have always doubted about their continuation of studies as both belong from poor families. But the things have changed for better for both of them. The State of Bank of India has adopted twenty five talented schoolgirls from extremely poor families of Kandhamal district, including Japika and Dikhya. Many of these selected girls had lost their fathers and their mothers were struggling to meet the ends. In spite of struggling in life they outshone in education. The bank had decided to meet the cost of education and other amenities of these girl students till class X. The scheme was started for the first time in Kolkata Circle by the SBI in 2007 under its community service banking , said Dhananjay Dalai, the Manager of SBI, Phulbani branch . Seventeen of the selected girls are from Phulbani, four each from Baliguda and G. Udaygiri. The bank has decided to adopt more girls from poor families in other areas also, said B. N. Behera, the Branch Manager of SBI, Baliguda branch. According to him, the factors for selecting a girl for adoption depend on the economic status of her family and academic record. Most of the girls adopted by us secured above 80 per cent marks in their last examination, he said. The schoolteachers of Japika Behera of Rudhangi in Phulbani were doubtful whether this extreme talented girl who stood first in her class would be able to continue her studies or not. Her family had lost all its money and property in the treatment of her father who had died of cancer. Her mother, Janaki Behera was a menial labourer. Yet she had not discontinued the education of her school going daughter. With the SBI taking over the charge of education of her daughter she feels her dreams for her daughter would be fulfilled. Dikhya Mohanty a father less girl who was thrown out of her fathers home along with her mother had stood first at the Penji street primary school. She is also in the list of girls selected by the SBI for adoption. (The Hindu 23/8/08) NGOs reject sex education module (11) New Delhi: Aug. 25: Thirty-three NGOs from across the country have rejected the revised sex education module prepared by Naco under the Adolescence Education Programme (AEP). The NGOs include the Delhi-based Tarshi, which hosts a confidential telephone helpline for adolescents providing information and counselling on sexuality and reproductive health issues. From the 60,000 calls they have received so far, an 18-year-old girl has rung up to ask if kissing or touching of nipples can lead to conception. Tarshi executive director Radhika Chandiramani pointed out that the Naco material was clearly out of sync with the lived realities of young peoples lives, especially since the average adolescent had little information on matters relating to sex. Jaya Sharma, director, Nirantar, an NGO actively working in the field of adolescent education for the last two decades, agrees. "The curriculum fails in one of its main objectives, which is to address the whole issue of teenage pregnancy. It does not provide any knowledge of what causes conception since it does not touch the issue of sexual intercourse," said Ms Sharma. "Words like intercourse and masturbation will not be mentioned as we are not teaching them the Kama Sutra," Sujata Rao, director-general of Naco, clarified. "Nor does the revised module on life-skill education mention words like condom or safe sex. Rather, it will be focusing on the aspirations of youngsters and will also talk about being faithful to ones partner and abstinence. There should be no hypocrisy on the subject," said RaoThe earlier module had created a furore and had been rejected by states including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar

Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. Naco had subsequently formed a committee last year and after endless parleys managed to finalise a new tool kit. Agreeing that the earlier texts had "too much sex", Ms Rao said the current one was more interactive and user-friendly, with not too many illustrations and drawings. (Asian Age 26/8/08) Kendriya Vidyalayas logo: Arjun Singh drops lotus (11) New Delhi, August 29: When the 79th meeting of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Board of Governors (BoG) quietly decided to change the logo of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and its 850 Central Schools on June 26 this year, little did they think it would lead to a political controversy. But when a board headed by Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh decides to omit the lotus symbol also the BJP party symbol from the emblem to enable a broader reflection of the national ethos, its hard not to see any politics in the act. This new emblem, say officials, was chosen from amongst several proposed by the art teachers of various KVs and after a close selection in which HRD minister Arjun Singh is said to have taken keen interest. At its BoG presided over by Vice Chairman Ashok Thakur, Additional Secretary, HRD ministry, the KVS ratified the logo makeover and chose to do so by replacing the blooming lotus in the lower half of the emblem with a globe showing children reaching out and a satellite in the sky. The minutes of the 79th BoG clearly list two items under the head Ratification of decisions taken by the Chairman of KVS (HRD minister Arjun Singh) one of which is on the changed logo. The minutes further read that the board ratified the changed logo as approved by the Chairman, KVS. The new logo was designed by Sudhir Kumar, art teacher at Delhi Cantts KV number 3. The minister liked what he saw and gave his provisional approval which was then ratified by the BoG. The globe that has replaced the lotus in the new logo has, in fact, been borrowed from the UN logo, said officials. The 43-year-old logo that has been replaced was said to have been designed by some artists of the time and was supposed to be a borrowed one. When the KVS was established in 1963, the old logo with the lotus was actually just given to them by the then education ministry presided over by M C Chagla. Whereas the old logo was an amalgam of various similar logos, the new one is an in-house effort. In the old logo, the lotus stood as a symbol of education as the lotus blooms even in filthy water, education purifies all and rises above all narrowness of thought. The new logo reflects the new scientific temper, globalisation and dynamism of education besides technological innovations introduced through satellites and computers, said Dr U N Singh, Joint Commissioner(Academics), KVS. The KVS sent off letters to their school principals in Tehran, Moscow and Kathmandu informing them of the emblem change and directing that the new logo be on all letterheads, documents and correspondence between KVs, KVS and regional offices. Dr Singh says that the organisation would rather steer clear of political controversies and pointed out that the BoG had as members not only eminent educationists, officials from various state Governments, directors of both CBSE and NCERT, but also members of the Opposition parties and the logo change was a collective decision arrived at considering the dynamic nature of education. We have retained the Sanskrit motto taken from the Upanishads and that is very much reflective of the Indian culture. The new logo was decided upon after several deliberations and keeping in mind the present spirit of education and the scientific temper and globalisation of education besides the changed National Curriculum Framework (NCF) that has broadened horizons and also focused on computer education, said Dr Singh. The basic reason for the change was that for the last 40 years, we were operating with the same logo while our functions and reach had transformed in a major way meanwhile. We are now a global organisation with schools in other countries and so, it was decided to create a new logo which would reflect the KVs as they are now, Pragya Richa Srivastava, Joint Commissioner, KVS, said. The lotus was not used in the old KVs logo as a political symbol but as one associated with the Hindu goddess of wisdom Saraswati, she added. (Indian Express 30/8/08) SC moots right to language option in school to Karnataka (11) New Delhi : Can the State have a right to decide what language should be employed as medium of instruction to teach your child at school? The Karnataka Government says in the affirmative which has thrown open an interesting question of law before the Supreme Court with the Karnataka Unaided Schools Management opposing the same. What has come in favour of the schools is a full-court decision of the Karnataka High Court that ruled that the Government order

of April 24, 1994 could not be sustained as it violates the right of use of language of the students. The Government order made it binding on all primary schools in the State to instruct students in mother tongue to promote the use of Kannada among children. Aggrieved by the HC order, passed in July this year, the Karnataka Government appealed to the Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan on Friday to quash the same. The apex Court has issued notice to the school management association seeking their response within four weeks.Before the High Court, the Karnataka Unaided Schools Managements Association had claimed that since the child has no right to exercise a choice, the onus is on the parents and on the schools to decide for their welfare. The Government order then becomes an obstacle to the child being taught in a language other than the mother tongue. Accepting the schools' contention, the HC struck down the Government's decision as unconstitutional. (Pioneer 30/8/08) Govt announces scholarship schemes worth over Rs 3,000 cr (11) NEW DELHI: In a bid to encourage students to pursue higher education especially in the field of sciences, government on Thursday announced scholarship schemes worth over Rs 3,000 crore. A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its approval for implementation of a central sector scheme of scholarship for college and university students at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore during the 11th Plan period. It also approved renewal of the scholarships of the national scholarship holders till completion of their courses, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. This would help the meritorious students, belonging to poorer sections to pursue higher studies. The scheme would be operational from 2008-09, he said. Through another decision, the meeting approved initiation of a new programme called 'Scholarship for Higher Education' (SHE) - a component of 'Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research' (INSPIRE), at a total cost of Rs 820 crore. SHE, which will be operational from this year, aims at attracting talented youth for higher education in science intensive programmes by providing scholarships and mentoring through summer attachments to performing researchers. The CCEA also gave its nod for introduction of a new centrallysponsored scheme of 'inclusive education of the disabled at the secondary stage' in place of the existing scheme of integrated education for such children. The Rs 1260.80 crore scheme seeks to benefit 5.2 lakh disabled children for enrolment in the secondary stage during the 11th Plan period. (Economic Times 18/9/08) Unicef scheme vends girls education dreams (11) Transformation of A. Asha, a class IX student of a Tamil Nadu school, from a regular absentee to a bright student can provide hope of better academic achievement to girl students in 15 states. Her academic record has improved over the last eight months after a sanitary napkin vending machine and an incinerator came up at her MC Palli secondary school in Krishnagiri district, 350km southwest of Chennai. She is now one of our brightest students. Her performance has improved a lot, said M.V. Murali, the principal of the school that installed the machine with assistance from UNICEF. The class IX student used to miss school at least five days a month. During those days, she stayed in a solitary hut outside her tribal village Eklanatham with an old woman as she was considered unclean. But since the vending machines have arrived she has not missed any classes. Back home, her newly attained menstrual hygiene knowledge has helped her convince her parents against keeping her at home. Now, she and 150-odd girls in her school feel the difference. R Subhashami acknowledged she has overcome talking about menstrual hygiene. Menstruation is not a stigma. It is a natural course and we are not ashamed about it, she said with a beaming smile. It is this smile and sense of confidence that made the vending machine worth the money Murali had to spare from the schools shoestring budget. The machine cost the school Rs 10,000. An analysis of attendance data in 30 schools by the District Education Office also demonstrated the link between the machines and higher attendance and enrolment rate of girls. Absenteeism has reduced, M Bhaskaran, the districts Education Officer said. Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have already initiated the process for installing machines. States like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are following the suit, said Devraj, a UNICEF programme officer. Empowering girl students is not all that the experiment has achieved. It has also provided an alternative source of income to thousands of women in Tamil Nadu enrolled with the Self Help Groups (SHGs) that manufacture the sanitary napkins. The schools have provided us an

extremely good market to sell our product, said S Nagalaxmi, who has trained women in SHGs in 18 states to make sanitary napkins at home since 2003. (Hindustan Times 21/9/08) Eight Delhi students win battle for school admission (11) NEW DELHI: They are young, they are raring to study and no one's going to stop them! Eight students in Delhi have just won a legal battle against various government schools for denying them admission. Six of the youngsters had filed one petition while two others had filed another in the Delhi High Court earlier this month. The schools Friday agreed to give admission to all the eight and submitted their reply in the court. Vipin Chandra Pal Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Babarpur had denied admission to two girls, Naazneen and Nasara, on the ground they were over 18 years old. Lawyer Ashok Agarwal, who appeared for the girls, submitted before the court that the school could not decline admission merely because they had crossed 18 years. "I have come across many such cases wherein government schools have refused to give admission to the students on one pretext or the other. But with these students winning their legal battle, a message has gone in society that the right to education is undoubtedly full of difficulties but it is not impossible," Agarwal told IANS. He also added he was conscious of the fact that it was not easy for every student or parent to approach a court of law. "They cannot afford to pay any money for litigation. So to make it easy, we need dedicated lawyers who can come forward and take up their cause in courts of law without charging any money on any account." Six others Mamta, Kiran, Reena, Pushpa, Niraj and Abhishek - had approached various Delhi schools for admission in different classes but they were allegedly denied permission. Thanks to their petition, they are to get seats now. Kiran, who wanted admission to Class 7, was denied on the ground that she had studied in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh and the transfer certificate had not been countersigned by the authorities there. "I am happy that finally my dream of studying will be fulfilled. My admission was denied for a clerical error which is not my fault; then why is my education suffering? I was a topper in my previous school and will try to perform here as well," Kiran told IANS. Niraj, Abhishek, Reena, Pushpa and Mamta had failed to pass a subject in Class 10, but they cleared their compartment - or repeat - examination. Yet they were denied admission to Class 11 in a government school in north Delhi. "It is not fair on the part of the school authorities to deny us admission at an important juncture of our lives. A student takes a new course of life after one clears the Class 10 exam; the authorities should realise the importance of education," Reena told IANS. The students then moved the court, saying the right to education was their fundamental right. (New Indian Express 23/9/08) Tribal students face uncertain future (11) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The future of over 18,500 children hailing from the tribal and coastal areas across the State hangs in the balance as the Union government funds allotted for their education have dried up. The money, nearly Rs.2 crore, disbursed annually through the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) had played a major role in sustaining the 484 Alternative Innovative Education Centres that imparted customised elementary education to children belonging to the tribal and coastal communities in the State. The SSA is a national programme launched in 2003 with the intention of achieving universal elementary education. However, since July this year, the monetary demands of these centres have been met from the coffers of the SSA by diverting the funds allocated for its various State-level activities such as teacher and computer training programmes and education for girls and backward caste students. This arrangement is ad hoc and unless the State government intervened and provided necessary financial support, the education programme will be badly hit, says a senior official of the SSA. The Central assistance for the alternative centres has been annulled in an attempt to formalise the centres by converting them into schools. But many, including the SSA official, are sceptical of the move. The success of the alternative education system is due its informal and flexible approach to education, and the moment it is formalised it will die, the official cautions. Every alternative centre consists of a motley group of children of varying ages who are intellectually competent to study up to class IV. Since there is no class-wise segregation like that in schools, a 14-year-old will be able to complete his education in a years time if he/she desires. The centres have a combined strength of 18,760. Out of this, 9,000 are from the tribal areas and the rest from the coastal regions. Unlike students from the coastal region, the main problem confronted by students from the tribal areas is

accessibility to school. They have to walk up to 15 km, often braving imminent attacks from wild beasts, to reach the nearest school. A formalised system of education complete with the marking of attendance on a daily basis will not work in the tribal context. Moreover, the teachers too are reluctant to work in a tribal environment, the CESS official said. Most of the candidates from the tribal areas who were given training in teaching by the State government in 1997 got themselves relocated to better places. (The Hindu 6/10/08) Group of Ministers clears compulsory education Bill (11) NEW DELHI: The Group of Ministers (GoM) entrusted with the task of scrutinizing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 (RTE) cleared the draft legislation on Tuesday. The Bill is expected to be put up for Cabinet clearance next week. Barring a few changes to the language of the draft legislation, the GoM has cleared the Bill without diluting its content including some of the contentious provisions like 25 per cent reservation in private schools for disadvantaged children from the neighbourhood at the entry level. The Bill was referred to the GoM on August 8 after the Cabinet took it up in the absence of Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh. Besides Mr. Singh, other members were Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Union Minister for Science & Technology Kapil Sibal who drafted one of the earliest incarnates of the Bill and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Another issue that the HRD Ministry feared would run into trouble pertains to the penal action prescribed in case schools conduct admission tests or any other screening procedure. Similarly, there is a bar on charging capitation fees. Equally contentious is the provision for having a School Management Committee in every school to make parents and the community stakeholders in the school. Since the RTE is aimed at standardizing elementary education and is billed as a first step towards a common school system, these provisions will be equally applicable to government and private schools; resulting in the private school lobby making concerted efforts to dilute the Bill. The Bill required to operationalise the Fundamental Right to Education enacted in 2002 has been in the making since. As per the Ministrys estimates, enacting the legislation would require an additional allocation of Rs. 12,000 crore annually during the remaining years of the XI Five Year Plan as the balance requirement would be met from the funding for Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan the ongoing mission-mode programme to universalise elementary education. (The Hindu 8/10/08) Education bill may be tabled in next session (11) NEW DELHI: The drama and uncertainty over the Right to Education Bill finally ended on Tuesday with the group of ministers asking HRD ministry to make some minor changes in the earlier draft that was sent to the Cabinet in August but could not be cleared. The GoM met at HRD minister Arjun Singh's residence and asked that definition of local authority in the bill be made more specific. It also wanted that the bill should mention central notifications that would be issued. "The GoM suggested no big change in the bill. Only minor editing changes were suggested. HRD ministry will include the changes and send it to Cabinet soon. In all likelihood, the bill will be introduced in the coming session of Parliament," a source said. The bill has been hanging fire for more than four years. After dithering and stiff resistance from finance and law ministries, when the bill came up for clearance before the Cabinet in August, it was sent to a GoM. Referring to GoM was a matter of concern since the bill came to Cabinet after being debated and reworked many times by a high level committee headed by HRD minister. However, sources said the GoM's clearance this time was final and it was unlikely that there would be a rethink. To cost the exchequer Rs 12,000 crore every year, even private unaided schools will not be out of its ambit since 25% of seats will have to be reserved for poor children in the neighbourhood. The Centre will reimburse the cost to these schools. The legislation has a host of features that stresses not only on reaching out to every child in the 6-14 age category but also on quality and accountability of the state and the education system. Sources said the legislation is aimed to deal with criticism that state-run schools lag behind in quality. To ensure that the law gets effectively implemented, the bill has provisions prohibiting teachers from undertaking private tuitions as well as not letting them being used for non-educational purposes. To ensure that parents have equal stake in the system, the bill provides for school management committees in

all government and aided schools. These will monitor and oversee the working of the school, manage its assets and ensure quality. (Times of India 8/10/08) National literacy programme to get a boost (11) NEW DELHI: The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has redesigned the National Literacy Mission programme to infuse new zeal into it and to check relapse into illiteracy for want of further learning avenues. Lok Talim is the name selected by the Ministry for its redesigned programme for basic literacy and continuing education. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhis Nai Talim, the name seeks to represent Indias composite culture; Lok being a Hindi word for people and Talim an Urdu word for education. The Ministry has finalised the contours of the programme and a detailed note for the Expenditure Finance Committee is already in circulation. Since the programme will continue to be volunteer-based like the NLM, the Ministry hopes to be able to implement Lok Talim with the funding that has been earmarked for Adult Education in the XI Five Year Plan by the Planning Commission. Also, not much funding is being sought for setting up physical structures. Wherever possible, the effort will be to use the primary school building or premises of the primary health care centre to conduct classes. Unlike the NLM set up 20 years ago Lok Talim will not have a one-size-fits-all approach. Along with the volunteer-based approach, a variety of options will be available to the programme managers to implement Lok Talim. Co-existing with the volunteer-based approach will be other instruments like the resident instructor for particularly remote and backward areas. Besides, there are provisions for residential camps of four-month duration for adolescents and weeklong residential camps for 10 months for self-help groups and panchayats to manage the programme. Also, an attempt will be made to ensure simultaneous availability of programmes for non-literate, semi-literate, neo-literate people and school drop-outs. A key component will be the seamless transition from one phase of literacy to another; making the programme quite akin to mainstream schooling. Since the NLM has over the recent years become bureaucratic resulting in peoples representatives getting elbowed out by an I-manage-you-participate regime the effort will be to take the literacy programme back to the people in more ways than one. This has become imperative as the target for the XI Plan is to achieve 85 per cent literacy by 2012. (The Hindu 10/10/08) The Illiterate students of Punjab primary schools (11) CHANDIGARH: The first survey of basic education skills among government primary school children in Punjab shows that more than 50 per cent of the Class V children cannot read a story in Punjabi, over 25 per cent cannot write Punjabi letters, almost 40 per cent cannot subtract and almost 70 per cent do not know how to divide. The survey, part of a Parho Punjab (Read Punjab) project under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, is an effort to quantify the poor standards of primary education in the State. The data gathered from over 11,000 primary schools shows that more than 6 per cent of the children in Class V could not even recognise numbers correctly. Students of Class I to V were tested for reading of letters, words, paragraphs and stories. In Class I, 76 per cent students could not read the letters. In Class III, nearly 45 per cent did not know how to read words. In Class V, 53 per cent of the students could not read a basic story in Punjabi. The survey results will help us in further implementing the Parho Punjab project because now we have complete information about each and every child. The survey results will be the baseline from where we have to begin, said the Director-General School Education-cumState Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Krishan Kumar. To ensure that the weaker students do not get left behind, they would be grouped together. Students with reading and mathematics data are grouped together for attention. The teachers involved in the project also know the level of the students they are handling, he added. (The Hindu 10/10/08) Minority Stephens has right to select own head, says apex court (11) New Delhi, October 13 Upholding the power of St Stephens College to appoint its own principal, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Delhi University and ruled that minority educational institutions have a constitutional right to appoint heads of their institutions. The Government cannot encroach upon this right of an institution, the apex court observed while dismissing Delhi Universitys appeal challenging the High Courts recent order that allowed Stephens to select a qualified person as its principal. In a reprieve for the college locked in a

legal battle over the process of selection of its principal, the Supreme Court bench of Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal today approved its status as a minority institution. Its a valuable right guaranteed under Article 30, otherwise you are encroaching into it, the Bench warned as senior advocate P P Rao pressed hard, challenging the High Courts decision. Rao submitted that the university had the right to frame regulations for prescribing standards of education and uniformity in national interest. But the argument did not convince the apex court. The Bench observed, You show us one minority college not maintaining the (educational) standards. Otherwise we will be making minority institutions only a farce. The apex court upheld the High Courts ruling that the right of a minority educational institution to appoint its head cannot be taken away by any rule, regulation or any enactment made by state even if the institute is receiving 100 per cent government aid. Delhi University had appealed against the High Court order on the ground that Article 30, which grants minorities the right to establish and administer their own institutions, was not an absolute right. On August 21, the High Court quashed Clause 7 (2) of the Delhi Universitys Ordinance XVIII, which gave the varsity the power to appoint principals of all colleges under its jurisdiction. Allowing the colleges petition, the Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar made it clear that the pertinent clause would not be applicable for Stephens, which is a minority institution. (Indian Express 14/10/08) Special schools demand separate Act (11) CHENNAI: The All India Confederation of Organisations for persons with mental disability has demanded the formulation of a separate Act to regulate the functioning of special schools in Tamil Nadu. About 100 non-governmental organisations running special schools in the State pressed their demand at an interactive meeting held here on Thursday. During the meeting they said, of the 254 special schools in the State, the government ran only one. The rest belonged to nongovernmental organisations. These special schools are currently regulated under the Private Schools Act. This makes it difficult for us as some of the rules in the Act are not applicable to special schools, said S Namburajan, secretary of the Confederation at the meeting with the State Commissioner for the Disabled Meenakshi Rajagopal. For instance, the current Act insists on a ratio of one teacher per eight students. But with the shortage of teachers trained in looking after children with special needs, this often became difficult, the school heads said. At present there is only one institute that runs a diploma in vocational training and it is in Chennai. This year, only six candidates enrolled. How are we supposed to find teachers? asked Namburajan. In response to the demand, Meenakshi Rajagopal agreed to work on an act to regulate special schools that would incorporate the suggestions made by the various heads of schools. The Commissioner also donated cheques of Rs 1 lakh to special schools by way of continued ad hoc salary grant for special education professionals employed by them. (New Indian Exp 24/10/08) Girls education: Call for scientific survey (11) Former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University Dr B G Sudha has emphasised the need for a legal framework to arrest the practice of discontinuing girls education and marrying them even before they turn 18 years. She was speaking after inaugurating a 4-day national-level seminar on Strategies to reduce the problem of premature withdrawal of girls from schools in secondary education organised by Ashirwad Rural Development Society and sponsored by National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi here on Friday. Dr Suma said that the problem of premature withdrawal could be redressed only on the basis of a data collated by conducting a scientific survey on the financial and social status of such girls. Pointing out that financial problems play major role in premature withdrawal of girls from schools, particularly of those hailing from economically weaker section of the society, she said that avenues should be developed to ensure financial stability for such families. Apart from this, a mechanism should be put in place to enlighten uneducated parents on the need to educate their daughters. She advocated appointment of councillors to guide girls in schools, as done in western countries. Educationist Dr Srikantaswamy, who presided over the inaugural, observed that high literacy rate has been registered in societies dominated by maternal families as against social system with predominance of paternal families. He cited high literacy rate in Kerala as an example for this phenomenon. Education of girl child hailing from rural parts has took a severe beating owing to blind faith and lack of wider perspective on the part of rural populace. Restricting girls to family life

has been marring their higher education prospects. Education of girls has not reached the expected level in spite of programmes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, provision of bicycles and Akshara Dasoha. He suggested government, in addition to welfare measures, should also focus on altering the mindset of parents. More than 60 subject experts from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and others states took part in the seminar. Education experts Dr Somashekhar, Dr Swarupa Deshpande, managing director of Ashiwarad Society P N Manjula and others were present. Deccan Heralad 25/10/08) More Muslims studying, but can't find jobs (11) NEW DELHI: It's crunch time for Faidul, and Nazma, his mother, is worried. He is in class 10, and the sole hope of his parents for a better future. The three-member family lives in a small house in Pahari Imli, Old Delhi. They earn a meagre living making necklaces at home, from material provided by contractors. Faidul is an indifferent student, and Nazma is desperately looking around for somebody to help him. They can't afford a regular tuition. "Once he clears 12th, he will get a job. Otherwise, he will have to spend his life like us," she says. But Faidul has to help in the necklace work at home apart from going to school. Between them, Nazma and Faidul symbolize the hope and the shackles of a large section of the Muslim community. Like other underprivileged sections in India, Muslims have taken to education in a big way, hoping to escape from poverty. Attendance of Muslim children in schools has increased much more rapidly than other religious communities. This rush to school is even more marked in rural areas and among girls. But is better education leading to better jobs? It is too early to say, but trends of employment still show much lower opportunities, even for educated Muslims. In rural areas, while 7% of Hindu graduates were unemployed, among Muslims this was more than double at 15%. In urban areas too the unemployment rate among Muslim graduates was double that of Hindus. A comparison of data collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 1999-2000 and in 2004-05 shows that in rural areas, attendance of Muslim boys (5-14 years old) increased by nearly 12% compared to about 9% for other communities, and for Muslim girls it increased by 16% compared to about 13% for others. As a result, 76% of Muslim boys and 71% of girls were attending school in 2004-05, quite close to boys (84%) and girls (71%) from the Hindu community. In urban areas, the pace of increase in school attendance in the 5-14 years age group was practically the same for Muslim boys compared to other communities, while it was almost double, at 12%, for Muslim girls compared to Hindu girls. Here too, the gap is fast closing, except that the pressure of finding work appears to be telling on the boys more, costing them their education. A similar, though somewhat muted, trend is visible in the older age group of 15-19 years. Attendance rates among Muslim boys have increased at nearly twice the rate as Hindu boys, both in urban and in rural areas. The participation of Muslim girls too has increased at a faster pace than their Hindu counterparts in this age group. The highest increases have been shown in the Christian community. In the 20-24 years age group, there has been a very rapid increase in attendance in higher education centers among Muslim youth, except for men in urban areas, where there has been a decline in attendance. In the urban areas, the gap between the two communities becomes deep in the older age groups, primarily because of steep fall in attendance of Muslim males. Like Faidul, they are under pressure to earn as well as learn. But, does better education lead to better jobs? The NSSO reports reveal a mixed picture. Between 1993-94 and 2004-05 the proportion of employed who had studied beyond secondary level increased much more for Hindus than for Muslims. In rural areas the increase was about 6% for Hindus, but only by about 3% for Muslims among men, and around 3% for women from both communities. In urban areas, among men, the increase was about 7% for Hindus compared to 5% for Muslims while among women it was 8% for Hindus and 6% for Muslims. (Times of India 27/10/08) Women education thwarted in India (11) When you educate a man you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educate a family and by educating a girl you educate the future. India 's rural areas have been left behind in the wake of high growth in cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad . One cause of rural poverty is the liability for children in rural areas to obtain basic education. While schools also exist in rural India , many children are not able to attend because they are needed instead to earn money for their family by working in factories or fields. Without a foundation of basic education, these children are

trapped in a life of hard labour and barely sustainable wages. Another basic problem in the rural areas is that boys are often viewed as future leaders and so more deserving of education. This of course is a warped view in which discrimination folds back on itself. Women are certainly equally capable of leading. In any event however studies show that even when boys become the leaders, they are better leaders if their mothers were educated. The world of humanity has two wings, one is women and the other men. Not until both the wings are equally developed, the birds cannot fly. Should one wing remain weak, the flight is impossible. Not until the world of women becomes equal to the world of men in the acquisition of virtues and perfection, the success and prosperity cannot be obtained as they ought to be. 70% of our population in rural areas depends on agriculture. Education will provide them with an alternative means of employment. Sadly, education is a lowly priority in rural India due to the need for helping hands with daily chores. While the children living in rural areas continue to be deprived of a quality education, part of the reason is due to their teacher. A large number of teachers refuse to teach in rural areas and those that do are really under qualified. Many of the teachers also lack the enthusiasm to teach because of their meagre salary. Another setback is the lack of resources which compounds the problem. The use of high-tech devices such as computers is very rare. Another condition of the schools is the inadequate facilities. The classes are taught in some schools which are located in warehouses while others in small houses. Many of the rural schools operate without electricity. It is high time the government reduces the level of adult illiteracy rate with sufficient emphasis on female literacy to reduce the current disparity between male and female. We must remember that when you educate a man you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educate a family and by educating a girl you educate the future. So, for a bright and prosperous future of India we must move together to improve education so that in the future no girl stands to say that education locked my potential to be what I am today. (Central Chronicle 28/10/08) Major relief to Government-aided schools (11) Chandigarh: Giving a relief to the Government Aided Schools staff, the Education Department in Punjab has decided to release 95 per cent grant-in-aid to the aided schools without any pre audit for the first three quarters to avoid delay in disbursing their pays timely. Besides, the grant-in-aid release would now be regulated at the level of Circle Education Officers instead of by the Directorate, Upinderjit Kaur, State Education and Languages Minister, said in a meeting with delegations of Aided Schools Staff Associations here. The Minister asked the officers that the delay in disbursement of pays to the aided schools would not be tolerated. She announced that the grant for the first three quarters would now be released without any pre audit to avoid this delay and the fourth quarter grant during a financial year, would only be released after auditing the grants of first three quarters. To regulate the grant-in-aid schemes efficiently and to avoid unnecessary delays in the release of grants, the Minister ordered to decentralise the work at the level of Circle Education Officers instead of at the Directorate level. Dr. Kaur directed the District and Block Education Officers (DEOs and BEOs) to inspect the Govermdnt Aided Schools periodically and submit the report to the Government so that functioning of these privately managed schools could be streamlined. The Minister assured the delegation that the matter regarding withdrawal of cases registered by the Chandigarh Police on the aided school teachers during their agitation, would be discussed with the Union Territory Administration and Police. She told the delegations that their demands regarding pensions and other allowances including interim relief would be considered sympathetically in a meeting with the Finance Minister at the earliest. The Education Minister assured the associations that the ban on the recruitment in these schools including conversion of posts would also be considered by the department. The decision regarding step up promotional scales would also be taken up after careful consultation on the award of Court, she added. -- PTI (The Hindu 29/10/08) 'Average of 4,000 students drop out per year' (11) PANAJI: Of the batch of students that enrol for standard I in Goa each year, an average of 4,000 students drop out before they can complete schooling. Around 20% of the students that enroll for standard I in the state make it to standard X. Statistics of the Directorate of Education (DoE) from 1997 to 2007 indicate that while on an average around 22,000 students enroll for standard I around 20,000 make it to standard X for any given year. The statistics for the corresponding

years show an average of 18,000 of these registered for the Secondary School Certificate Examinations of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE). And an average of 60% of these clear the standard X board exams. Goa Board data indicates that the overall pass percentage at the standard X of 2005 recorded 53.77 pass percentage. The figure improved in 2006 and 2007 with pass percentages of 63.69 and 68.95 respectively. This rose to over 70% last academic year. Out of the 18,000 odd students who appeared for the exams, only 12,600 were declared successful. During 1996-97 the schools saw an enrollment of 21,017 students in standard V, out of which only 17,874 appeared at the ensuing board exams. Further, only 9,611 out of the 17,874 registered candidates managed to clear the exams. Statistics of the DoE, further reveal that the talukas of Sattari, Sanguem, Quepem and Canacona rank among the least literate, while Bardez, Tiswadi, Bicholim and Ponda are the most literate. Ramesh Gawas of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) says,Statistics have been indicating the same trend ever since 1967. And the situation cannot be justified or accepted by the Goan society at large when we boast of a literacy rate of 82%. The trend has continued due to a lack of scientific approach to the figures, says Gawas. He states that there is an urgent need for a study to be carried out by the state wherein the data is analysed with the socio-cultural aspects in view. B G Naik, deputy director of education for South Goa says, The drop outs are highest in standards eight and ninth. And the students dropping out mostly seem to be migrants for whom education is secondary to earning a living. However, Narendra Kamat, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan head of Bardez taluka, says, Since there is no study and we only have figures to look at, no definite reasons for the conditions can be established. (Times of India 5/11/08) HRD ready to table education bill in Dec (11) NEW DELHI: Nov. 4: Having crossed a major hurdle now that the Union Cabinet has given its nod to the Right to Education Bill, the Union ministry of human resources development is all set to introduce it in Parliament when it reconvenes in December. The ministry would certainly be praying for an easy passage for a bill that has been pending for long and which has cleared several obstacles before getting Cabinet approval. The December session of Parliament will probably be the last opportunity for the ministry to table the Bill in the Lok Sabha before the country heads for general elections. The ministry, when the Bill is tabled, will be keeping its fingers crossed and hoping that it is not referred to a parliamentary standing committee. For if this does happen, it will certainly ring the death knell for this long-pending Bill. The Bill is the enabling legislation for notifying the 86th constitutional amendment, which gives every child between the age of six and 14 years the right to free and compulsory education. The Bill, despite its noble intentions, has not been legislated into an Act primarily because of the huge cost such a provision would entail both for the Central and state governments. As per the latest estimate, one which the ministry put before the Cabinet, the expenditure on making education free and compulsory for children in the six to 14 age group would be Rs 2.28 lakh crore for the first seven years. In addition, the government will have to spend Rs 12,000 crore per annum. Under the Right to Education Bill, schools won't be allowed to charge capitation fee. Any school caught charging it would be penalised with an amount which would be 10 times the capitation fee charged. The Bill also prohibits screening during admissions and has stipulated a fine of Rs 25,000 for the first contravention and Rs 50,000 for subsequent contraventions. (Asian Age 5/11/08) Students left with begging bowls - Tribal school demands govt recognition (11) Students beg at Bhubaneswar railway station on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee Bhubaneswar, Nov. 11: Naveen babu amdo okarey (Naveen Patnaik where are you)? cried out hundreds of tribal students while begging for alms at railway station here this morning. The 300odd students, who have hit the streets to press for their demands of recognition of their school at Mayurbhanj, have run out of food now. With nowhere to go, the students have started begging at several places, including temples, to manage funds for their stay here till the chief minister calls them for a discussion. We are begging now to collect money at least enough for lunch. We will be begging again for dinner, said Rani Kisku, a Class X student of Sarbasakha Jagakalia Residential School. She added that the collection has reached Rs 263, certainly not enough to give proper lunch to all. The Scheduled Caste (SC) nd Scheduled Tribe (ST) students from Mayurbhanj about 300km from here have been camping here since the past week. We

have run out of food and dont have enough money for return bus fare, said Tarini Munda, another student. The students of the school at Sanparas village in Mayurbhanj districts Raruan block have been demanding of taking over of the school by the SC &ST welfare department. The students and their guardians accompanying them are determined not to budge till the government listens to their plea. We are prepared to face the tough situation and beg everyday till Naveen babu listens and accords recognition to our school, says Bichitrananda Mishra, a guardian. Several enquires have been conducted and correspondences were made with the government since 1998 for taking over of the management of the residential school set up in 1995 run by donation from villagers at present. The institution, which is under the tribal sub-plan block area, has classes from I to X with hostel facilities for both boys and girls. However, now the school management is not being able to provide quality food to the 600-odd students because of paucity of funds and on the other hand not being able to close the school as a number of students are dependent on it. A recognition from the SC & ST welfare department will solve the problems and we have been demanding it for years, said Rosalin Mishra, a teacher. But we are still in dark why the department is hesitant to look into our genuine demands. Either way, our students will beg; so why not beg here, she rued. Its strange that the chief minister has no time for us but we are also determined to make our voices heard, said Jemma Nayak, another student, saying that they have plans to beg at Ram Mandir this evening. (Telegraph 12/11/08) Double barrier for backward girls - Community adds to education gap (11) New Delhi, Nov. 11: Muslim girls are about three times less likely to go to college than Christian girls, the latest government data suggest, implying women may lag in education because of their community background as well as their gender. About one in 17 Muslim girls goes to college against nearly one in 10 Hindu girls, one in eight Sikh girls and one in six Christian girls, the data collected by the University Grants Commission (UGC) show. They also show that Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class girls have poorer access to higher education than higher-caste girls. Gender disparity is not new 12.42 per cent of Indian boys enrol in college against 9.11 per cent of girls. Nor is community disparity Muslims, SC/STs and the Other Backward Classes have traditionally had poorer access to education than higher-caste Hindus. But the new data show stark caste and community-based differences even within an overarching gender disparity, suggesting that girls from backward communities face double discrimination, human resource development (HRD) ministry officials said. The data further imply that the traditional imbalance in representation of Muslim, SC/ST or Other Backward Class students in higher education is only getting exaggerated further, a higher education official in the ministry said. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe girls are four times less likely to go to college than high-caste girls, indicating a widening of the gap despite quotas and scholarships, the official said. Fewer than one in every 20 Scheduled Caste girls accesses higher education in India, compared with one in every five for girls from the higher castes, the data show. Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class girls fare marginally better than their Scheduled Caste counterparts. The statistics have been collated from UGC-sponsored studies that used fundamental data from the last National Sample Survey, 2004-05. The UGC today shared these data with the vice-chancellors of central universities and directors of institutes like the IITs and the IIMs. India has 15 per cent reservation in higher education for Scheduled Caste students and another 7.5 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes. This year, reservations for Other Backward Class candidates were introduced all central educational institutions have to reserve 27 per cent seats for them by 2010-11. The Constitution doesnt allow religion-based quotas, but the United Progressive Alliance has launched several schemes to help Muslims, especially girls, gain better access to higher education. Under the eleventh five-year plan, the HRD ministry plans to build model colleges in each of 370 educationally backward districts. Many of these districts are minority-dominated. (Telegraph 12/11/08) A leap in literacy in tribal belt (11) Srikakulam: An education revolution, unheard of in the annals of tribal history, is sweeping the tribal hamlets of Seethampeta agency, thanks to the relentless efforts of the captain of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) and his team of officers. A visible change in the thick jungles of Seethampeta agency is children carrying books and bags and going to schools.

This is contrast to the common sight of children carrying firewood and loitering around hopelessly a decade ago. The ITDA has invaded the dark fortresses of illiteracy through special vehicles of education comprising 41 ashram schools, four gurukulam schools, 20 savara schools for primitive tribal groups, 287 alternative schools and 470 girijan vidhya vikas kendras etc. All these are aimed at total enrolment of girijan children in the age of 5 years and above. Despite the best efforts of the officers concerned, there is still a drop-out rate of 15 to 20 per cent. Special efforts are still being made to reduce the rate. The recent door-to-door survey in the tribal hamlets has resulted in bringing back 1,229 children back to school. Among the school-going age children, the ITDA has succeeded in motivating more than 80 per cent of children to studies. These 80 per cent have no problem going to school. Ashram schools for girls are literally bubbling with life. For example, the government girijan samkshema ashram school at Haddubangi village has registered 98 per cent pass percentage with several students recording high ranking of 90 per cent and above in the tenth class examination. Four boys schools at Seethampeta, Savarabonthu, Killooyi and Peddamadi mandals and five girls schools at Haddubangi, Bandapalli, Budambo and Chinakosta have been covered under computer education programme of NIIT. ITDA Project Officer M. Surendra has told The Hindu that the light of literacy is shining in the agency hills and valleys and throughout the seven girijan mandals special and alternative schools have been opened within a half a km range to every tribal hamlet to bring the last child into the temple of learning. The ITDA can boast of more than 80 per cent literacy rate in the 5-20 years age group. (The Hindu 16/11/08) Education should cater to societal needs: Haragopal (11) KHAMMAM: The education system should be humanised and made responsive to societal needs, said G. Haragopal, retired professor of University of Hyderabad, on Sunday. Addressing the state conference of the PDSU here, he said that the global meltdown had its bearing on the economy as its education system got transformed as one to generate human resources catering to the needs of the U.S. economy. He said Indian doctors, engineers and scientists should hereafter be bound for our rural areas and tribal habitations left far behind in development and not for America. He pointed out that Indian students pursuing professional courses in U.S. universities, which turned into crime centres, had been coming under attacks quite frequently. It is time to realise that the American model will not suit Indian context, he said. The Left parties were instrumental in stopping the insurance bills and the government moves towards privatisation. The government, which, at one time, preferred going all out for disinvestments, seemed to have understood the relevance of the public sector to the Indian economy. CPI (MLNew Democracy) central committee member Y. Sambhasiva Rao said that the U.S., which had thrown many countries into economic crisis by propagating globalisation and free market, could find itself caught in the grips of a great crisis. It had its bearing on markets in Europe and Asia as well. The G 20 nations were struggling to overcome the crisis. Over 40 per cent of the people in the country were still below the poverty line. Education had become costly and beyond the reach of the poorer sections and the middle class because of privatisation. The student community must fight the policies that were aimed at benefiting the multinationals at the cost of the tribal communities and the disadvantaged sections. CPI (ML-New Democracy) leader and Yellandu MLA Gummadi Narsaiah welcomed the delegates who came from different districts in the State. He said that the PDSU had a place of its own in fighting for student-related issues and it should continue to play a vital role in safeguarding the interests of the student community. (Hindu 17/11/08) Curriculum change in Orissa schools likely (11) BHUBANESWAR: Teaching in the State schools will no longer remain a one-way affair. The State government is all set to introduce new syllabus and innovative approach of schooling from the next academic session when students will take the lead in classrooms and teachers will play the role of facilitators. As a first step towards making education interactive, new textbooks would be introduced in Class I, III, VI, and VIII from the next academic session. In the subsequent year students of Class II, IV, VII and IX would get new set of textbooks. In the third year, case of left out classes V and X would be taken up. Our main objective is to teach students through discussions on life related experiences. Children should be allowed to construct knowledge for

themselves, said Professor Sevak Tripathy, director of State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), here on Thursday. Gone are the days when teachers used to start talking on subjects as soon they were entering classrooms. As per the new plans, teachers will just initiate a topic and then listen to students. If doubts crop up, teachers will be there to clear those. The reform will lessen study burdens on students. We want our students understand a subject rather than follow it, Prof. Tripathy said. The much talked about reform is not an initiative spearheaded by some progressive-minded educationists. The SCERT went to five different places of the State and held consultations with teachers, students, parents, administrators, retired teachers, NGO workers and general public at large. During consultations students themselves opined that they did not like the way they were being taught and they got bored seeing the teacher continuing lecturing for hours. Moreover, higher-class students complained that they were getting more information from other sources than from their textbooks. Another suggestion was to update information base of textbooks. Based on the feedbacks, we have prepared the new syllabus. We dont even want to impose this on students. We will keep the option open to either revert to earlier syllabus or do further modification if students and teachers dont accept our initiative, he said. Simultaneously, teachers would be oriented about newer techniques of imparting teaching. Teachers education is very important. The introduction of textbooks would be followed up with teachers training. It is difficult to expect results immediately. In the long run, we stand to gain, SCERT director exuded confidence. Proposed change in textbooks has already got approval of a 23-member core committee headed by Secretary of School and Mass Education. Total enrolment in primary level (class 1 to VII) is estimated to be over 60 lakhs and there are about 53,614 schools excluding schools in the private sector, and non-formal schools run by village education committees and NGOs in the State . Similarly there are about 5,684 secondary schools having a students strength of more than 12 lakh. (The Hindu 21/11/08) Govt textbook review bill on fast track (11) NEW DELHI: Nov. 23: After a recent probe ordered by Union human resource development minister Arjun Singh into textbooks being taught in schools run by organisations affiliated to the RSS, the Central government has decided to fast track the creation of a National Text Book Council. The council would be mandated to review textbooks for schools outside the government system. Official sources stated that Mr Singh, has asked the National Text Book Council Bill be prepared at the earliest. This comes after allegations were levelled by Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and a few Members of Parliament that textbooks taught in the Sangh-affiliated schools were propagating anti-minority feeling amongst students. "A clarification on these allegations has also been sought by the Prime Ministers Office," sources added. It is understood that the minister wants to introduce the bill in the upcoming Winter Session of the Parliament so that it could pave way for creating a regulatory mechanism to screen all school books before they are introduced for teaching. Apart from reviewing textbooks, the council would ensure that no book propagates anything against the Constitution, defames the country, challenges the sovereignty and integrity of the nation and incites contempt against any religion or community. Currently, there is no mechanism to regulate textbooks of schools operational outside the government system. Sources pointed out that a similar National Text Book Council Bill, 2007, was earlier proposed by the HRD ministry but due to objections raised by the finance ministry the process was not continued. The HRD ministrys order is being viewed as one that aims at sending a strong message to minorities that the government will strictly monitor teaching in the Sangh-run schools. Sangh affiliated organisations, such as Saraswati Shishu Mandir Prakashan and Vidya Bharti Sansthan, are currently under the scanner.(Asianage 24/11/08) Half of Haryana schools don't have principals (11) CHANDIGARH: Not all is well on the education front in Haryana. An RTI information has revealed that nearly 50% of government schools in the state are without headmasters. Out of the 2004 sanctioned posts, 984 have been lying vacant 607 in high schools and 377 in middle. The information has been provided by the education department in response to a query posted by Sat Pal, a Jind resident. According to the department, while 75% posts are filled via promotions, 25% are done through direct recruitment. "These vacancies exist even after the recent promotion of 426 teachers to headmaster posts," claimed Ramesh Malik, spokesperson of the Haryana

Masters Association. "Besides the 377 vacant posts (of headmasters), there are another 1200 middle schools where there is no provision of headmasters despite the fact that these institutions meet all conditions prescribed by the education department," he added. In fact, lack of teachers and headmasters has remained the bane of school education. The Girls High School at Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district got a headmaster about six months ago, after 14 long years. "Three years ago, the class X result was zero here," revealed Balbir Singh, a social activist of the village. The residents had to meet education minister Mange Ram Gupta for the appointment of teachers and headmaster. "We asked the minister to either fill up the vacant posts or shut down the school," added Harpal Singh, former MLA. Teacher appointments have helped matters. The number of girl students has gone up to 285 from 115 three years back. This, despite the fact that three posts of teachers are still lying vacant in the school. The nearby Mochi and Chobara village schools fare no better. They, too, are without headmasters. Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, education secretary Rajan Gupta claimed the government has already initiated the process of filling up all vacant posts of headmasters. The education minister had recently stated that promotions to fill these vacant posts have been pending for last many years due to a variety of reasons, including litigation. (Times of India 3/12/08) Protest against NKC recommendations (11) BERHAMPUR: The city unit of the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) organised a demonstration in Berhampur on Monday in protest against the recent recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) which allegedly lead to drastic privatisation of education in the country. The agitators also protested against the recent revelation that the transport department of the Sate Government had illegally handed over a patch of land of Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) adjacent to the Khallikote Autonomous College to the Reliance company for the establishment of a shopping mall. Led by the Berhampur secretary of the AIDSO, Somnath Behera and the its Khallikote College unit president, Bhabani Shankar Mishra the student activists took out march from the old bus stand to the office of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), southern division. They handed over a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to the RDC. Mr Behera said they wanted dissolution of the NKC as they felt it was surrounded by controversies including allegations of promoting privatisation of education in the country. The NKC has also recommended disposal of extra land with the universities to private parties which we are opposed to, Mr Behera said. It may be noted that in 2005 the NKC was constituted to advise the Prime Minsters Office on policy related to education, research institutes and reforms needed to make India competitive in the knowledge economy. According to the AIDSO activists the wrong vision of planners had begun to show. Now the rulers found private companies more important than education institutions to use prime land in the heart of a city, they said. They demanded that the State Government immediately hand over the land of the OSRTC to the Khallikote Autonomous College for its expansion rather than selling it off to the Reliance although the land was in the midst of an educational zone in Berhampur. (The Hindu 9/12/08) Call to redefine minority status of educational institutions (11) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State should redefine minority institutions in the spirit of Article 30 of the Constitution of India if there is to be any education reform in the State, according Joseph Pulikkunnel, the director of the Indian Institute of Christian Studies. He was presenting a paper on Public-private partnership in education with special emphasis on Kerala experience at the three-day international seminar on Democratic and Secular Education-Kerala Experience that concluded here on December 6. The State should redefine minority institutions and provide the status to only those institutions run by organisations that have the sole intention of conserving the culture of minorities, confined to a geographical area, with a membership open to all members of that community, he said. These institutions shall be established and administered by the elected representatives of that community. In the first half of the 19th century, when protestant missionaries in collaboration with the Bishop of the Syrian Church set up a college in Kottayam, the money came from the government of Travancore. The churches which were democratic in their functioning in those days also supported the running of many schools with money collected from the Christians. So, from the very beginning of modern education in the State, it

was supported by public money and government funds, he said. It is usually claimed that the high literacy rate in the State is due to the private sector. This is a misconception. The government had its primary role in the development of education in the State. It was a result of the joint effort of the public and government funds that the education sector marched ahead in the State, he said. Till recently, efforts of private capital in education were considered a service. Now even courts seem to have redefined education as an industry. If education is an industry then the government has every right to control it, he added. (The Hindu 10/12/08) Project to provide primary education to all (11) KOZHIKODE: Kozhikode district panchayat president K.P. Kunhammadkutty said here on Wednesday that a comprehensive project would be chalked out to make the district total primary education district. Mr. Kunhammadkutty was presiding over a review meeting of the District Literacy Mission here on Wednesday. The project is proposed to be implemented with mass participation. He said a survey would be conducted with the help of three-tier local bodies and the Literacy Mission before preparing the project. A draft in this regard will be submitted at the meeting of presidents of block and grama panchayats scheduled to be held on December 23. The district has scored 86.4 per cent marks in the review of the continuous adult education programmes for the last 10 years by a team led by Indian Institute of Public Opinion director Shafali Pandit. A review report presented at the meeting said the marks given to the district point to the need for continuing the literacy activities. The meeting also decided to intensify the activities of literacy councils by forming local support groups. It has been proposed to start neighbourhood study centres led by the continuous adult education centres, as part of the Vijayolsavam project of the district panchayat. The project aimed at equipping all students to get at least C+ grade in SSLC examinations. (The Hindu 11/12/08) New generation classrooms in government schools (11) MADURAI: T. Hemalatha, a Standard IV student of a panchayat school near Madurai, welcomes you in English. The activities in her classroom resemble those of a convent school. In the next room, Vignesh Kumar, a student of Standard II, does basic science experiments on his own while other students are engaged in learning from cards, charts and attractive display material. This is a sample of the latest high impact learning method at Panchayat Union Primary School, Veerapandi (Madurai West), where there is a visible change among teachers/students of government schools, thanks to the Activity Based Learning (ABL) introduced under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Our student strength is now 146 whereas it was only 85 a couple of years ago. Village students are now raring to come to school because of interesting classrooms, said K. Selva Kumaresan, a motivated headmaster of this primary school. A visit organised for presspersons on Wednesday by the SSA officials to a few schools showed the new generation classrooms in government schools. High sounding English rhymes heard in private schools are emanating from panchayat schools also where trained teachers are handling ABL and converting dull classrooms into learning laboratories. For instance, A. Kavitha, a second standard student in the same school, is among those who are getting well-versed in English phonetics, vocabulary etc. ABL is making a great impact in all schools where it is implemented. The resistance from some teachers and associations to this innovative teaching methodology is gradually coming down, K. Natarajan, Chief Educational Officer (SSA), said. Panchayat presidents, parents and villagers too seem to be enthused since government schools are able to offer what is available in private schools. We are ready to do anything for Veerapandi school because it is providing quality education to children. In fact, the village panchayat is giving additional 10 cents of land to the school, said P. Gunasekara Pandi, panchayat president. Parents like R. Sharmila are a happy lot these days as their children are learning good habits and cleanliness, along with an interest to go to school without fail. A visit to a middle school at Aalathur in Madurai West Panchayat Union revealed the effective implementation of a concept called mind map under SSAs Active Learning Methodology (ALM) meant for students of Standard VI and VIII. The regular class textbooks are taught in a different methodology. Students prepare a mind map which identifies their difficulties and they ask the class teacher for help, according to N. Ammayappan, District Elementary Education Officer (in charge). A sample lesson on Vijayanagar Empire taken for Standard VII students by Mary Nirmala , Headmistress of Aalathur school,

showed that learning process had undergone a sea change. It is no longer a conventional system. There are four important things done by students Read, Recite, Review and Reflect, explained A. John Kennedy Alexander, Assistant Elementary Education Officer. The new learning methodologies are engineering a change in classrooms of government schools where English is one of the tools chosen to usher modernity. (The Hindu 11/12/08) Quota cloud on minority schools (11) New Delhi, Dec. 12: Schools run by minorities will be required to implement quotas under the governments proposed law to make education compulsory for all children. In the past, the Centre has routinely cited constitutional provisions to grant minority institutions immunity from quotas and other kinds of government control. But the Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, expected to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha next week, does not exempt minority educational institutions from its ambit, The Telegraph has learnt. Among other things, it requires all private schools to reserve a quarter of their seats for children from the economically weaker sections. Article 30 of the Constitution, however, says: All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 29 allows minorities to conserve all aspects of their culture, language or script. The articles, read together, effectively exempt minority educational institutions from any government order on seat reservation or admission policy, other than those about minimum quality standards. But the education bill specifically states that Articles 29 and 30 both fundamental rights will not apply to it. To counter critics, the government will argue that the right to education too is a fundamental right, and cannot be suspended by any other constitutional provision, sources said. The bill also requires the formation of school management committees made up by school officials and representatives from among the parents and the local government to monitor the implementation of the law. So far, minority schools have been run solely by their trusts. Sources involved in drafting the bill said they were concerned about the legal implications of not shielding minority institutions from the planned regulations. The OBC quota law for higher education cites Article 30 to exempt minority institutions, who dont need to reserve seats for SCs and STs either. A few years ago, education minister Arjun Singh set up a National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions to ensure strict application of Article 30. But government officials now argue that a law that aims to make education free and compulsory for all children between 6 and 14 cannot be held hostage to any exemptions. The law aims to implement what is a fundamental right. We cannot achieve education for all if some institutions are not party to the law, an official said. (Telegraph 13/12/08) Govt did nothing to curb suicides among students (11) New Delhi: Elders cutting across party lines on Monday grilled the Government on the issue of students committing suicide due to examination related stress and charged that the Government had done little to address the problem which had claimed more than 16,000 lives between years 2004 and 2006. Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari, however, said several measures were taken to address the problem and also asked parents to refrain from passing on their anxiety to their children during the examinations and demand high percentages. Fielding a volley of queries during the question hour, she also said examination stress was not the main cause and that socio-economic factors were also responsible for suicides. Raising the issue, JD(U) member Shivanand Tiwari said more than 16,000 school students all over the country had taken the extreme step due to examination relation stressed between 2004-2006. He charged that the Government had not taken the issue seriously. Supporting him, BJP leader and former HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said ongoing changes in the economy were having an adverse affect on students who had to perform very well to ensure a bright future. Failing to do so saw the students committing suicides, he said. Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan sought to know if the Government had devised any scheme to look after not so intelligent students. She said average students felt the burden in higher classes when faced with competition from intelligent students, thereby leading to several problems. (Pioneer 16/12/08) Education Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha (11)

NEW DELHI: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Monday by Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) M.A.A. Fatmi. The introduction of the Bill came after several abortive efforts to draft the enabling legislation without which the fundamental right enacted in December 2002 cannot come into effect. Besides giving every child in the 6-to-14 age group the right to free and compulsory education, the Bill also seeks to evolve norms and standards for primary education; complete with minimum qualifications for teachers, pupil-teacher ratio, and a ban on private tuitions by teachers. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that every child in the target age-group has access to a school in the neighbourhood within three years of the enactment of the law, the Bill also tries to rope in the private sector in this endeavour. Private schools will have to reserve 25 per cent of seats in Class I every year for children from the disadvantaged sections of society in the neighbourhood. The government will reimburse these schools. The Bill prohibits collection of capitation fee, screening of either the parent or the child at the time of admission, detention or expulsion in any class till completion of elementary education, and physical punishment. The Bill provides that no child be denied admission for lack of age proof. (The Hindu 16/12/08) 400 slum children go to school, thanks to a Rajkot couple (11) Ahmedabad : They decided not to have children of their own. And, instead, dedicated their life for providing education to slum children. This is because, the couple felt their progeny could divert their mind from their main goal of helping slum dwellers. At a time, when parents are going all out for their children, this couple stands out. Jitu and Rehana both residents of Rajkot got married in March 2002 and have been working on this noble cause ever since. Refusing to reveal their last names, Jitu says, "In 2002, when riots broke out in state, I married Rehana and both of us took two oaths. First was not to have children but to improve living standards of less privileged. Second was not to have any property in their name nor be associated with any NGO." Rehana agreed to this and the duo have helped realise the dreams of many underprivileged children since. "It was not an easy task as slum dwellers didn't accept us automatically. After continuous efforts, we got permission to play with their children. Then, we started narrating stories and teaching them poetry," he says. The couple made most of this opportunity and tied up with a local school for formal education of the children. "Once parents of tyhe children understood importance of education, we approached Nirmala Convent School. They offered to enrol the kids in their classes for free," adds Rehana. However, their effort did not end there. It was time to arrange for school bags and uniforms. "We got donations from many people, including those from Mumbai. The funds were enough to provide for their school bags and dresses. One of the donors from Rajkot decided to give cycles to students for transportation," she adds. Jitu and Rehana's initiative supports over 400 students today, over 350 of whom are admitted in private schools with fee waiver. "After education, we decided to focus on give awareness on health and hygiene not just to students but also elders," says Jitu. The couple found that a new baby would get born every year in a family. This prompted them to start family planning programmes as well. Their concentrated efforts brought down the birth rate in the slums significantly. Today, they spend most of their time in the slums and earn a token amount, which is spent for wellbeing of the families. (Times of India 17/12/08) Principal spurns food from Dalits (11) Lucknow, : A day after a college principal was arrested for forcibly cutting the hair of a Dalit student citing it against rules in Jaunpur district, another principal of a school allegedly refused to taste the food cooked by some Dalit students of her school during an examination in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh. The principal Madhuri Pandey, a Brahmin by caste, refused to taste the food prepared by six Dalit girl students as part of their practical examination in the Home Science subject, education department sources said here on Thursday. The principal has been charged with practising discrimination with the girls and police and the education authorities are jointly investigating the case. (Deccan Herald 19/12/08) Student suicides on rise in Kerala (11)

Kochi: Gods Own Country, Kerala, is known for its high literacy rate, advanced social development index and healthcare achievements, but it also known for the ever-increasing incidents of atrocities against women, especially girls under 18 years of age. However, sociologists, psychologists, police and parents are right now worried about the rise by each passing year in the number of suicides by students, mostly between 15 and 18 years of age. The number of students who had committed suicides in Kerala in the past years was over 1,000. The other strange matter perhaps is that more than 60 percent of these students had been girls. The pattern of suicides for the past five years, and even for the years before that, proves that girls take the extreme path more than boys. Sociologists and psychologists try to explain this bewildering situation by connecting it to the change in social attitudes, perspective on love and sex, attitude of possession by parents, tight competition in studies, etc. The police relate it, especially the suicide of girls, to the increase in cases of sexual harassment, abuse and torture in the hands of unscrupulous lovers, classmates and even relatives. Teachers, at least a good section of them, try to find fault with the freedom the children get compared to their student years and their access to modern communication implements like camera phones, Bluetooth and Internet, which a play a very big role in trapping unsuspecting girls in inescapable traps. All of them try to offer theories, but the bottomline is nobody has a plausible explanation for the everincreasing incidents of student suicides. According to the figures available with the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) of the Kerala Police, 169 students had committed suicide in the current year till August 31 in the State. This roughly translates to a monthly average of 21, and the number could cross 260, the highest in Kerala in a year, by the end of this month. The more shocking aspect of these statistics is that of these 169 students who committed suicide, 119 were girls. The trend of rise in the number of student suicides over the years is horrifyingly explicit when one considers the figures for the past years. SCRB records put the number of student suicides in the State in 2005 at 165, which meant that the monthly average was below 15. But in 2006, this number underwent a sudden leap, touching 222, showing an increase by 57 over the year, taking the average up to 19 suicides a month. The number of girls who committed suicide in 2006 was 130. The number of students committing suicide kept rising in 2007. SCRB records show that 242 students committed suicide last year, and 143 of them were girls. The monthly average rose to 22 suicides a month meaning that one child ended life every 32 hours in this tiny state. The police also report that there is a marked difference in the pattern of suicides by students, especially girls. Suicide is a path chosen at purely individual level as per definitions but, of late, Kerala has been witnessing an alarming rise in the rate of group suicides, sometime two and often three girls together. The Kerala society, whose psyche had already been shattered by the daily reports of sex abuse on minor girls from poor backgrounds by the rich and influential, is now standing shell-shocked after the suicide (a confirmation is yet to come) by three girl higher secondary students at their school in Ambalappuzha, Alappuzha, last month and by two Plus 2 girls in Kannur on the railway track. Those who prefer to differ with the traditional psychologists who blame the deterioration of frustration tolerance and capacity for management of stressers (stress-generating components) say that the increase in the number of suicides of students - as well others - has a direct relation to the social order which has gone an upside-down change since the start of economic liberalization and globalization. They say that the frustration tolerance levels about which traditional psychology speaks of has no relevance to the new realities of commodified human life, sex and even human beings -especially females. The customary tools with which human beings used to resist themselves to the influences of the exterior society are in no way sufficient to withstand the invasion of new norms, ethos and mannerisms of the new globalized times. Acts like prohibition of mobile phones and such implements in the academy and on-campus counseling in a bid to stop crimes against modesty and life were only "deranged counter-measures" which would in no way help save the children from the criminal ways of the new society, says Aneesh Panicker, Kochi-based psychologist. "The problem is the very basis of the notion of counseling, like psychology itself, is wrong. Instead of resistance, a counselor would ask his subject to adjust, which in other words means accepting wrongs as a necessity. This is where our parents, teachers, policy-makers, police and even the State are going wrong. They are trying to save our children from evil influences, the reasons of which they are bound to safeguard. Now that is plain hypocrisy or total ignorance" Panicker said. (Pioneer 20/12/08)

New curriculum to be introduced for State board schools (11) Bhubaneswar: A new curriculum and syllabus will be introduced for the students of the State board schools in the coming academic year, starting from April, 2009. The new curriculum would be based on innovative approach of schooling when students will take the lead in classrooms and teachers will play the role of facilitators. As a first step towards making education interactive, new textbooks would be introduced in Class I, III, VI, and VIII from 2009. In the next year in 2010, students of Class II, IV, VII and IX would get new set of textbooks. In the third year in 2011, case of left out classes V and X would be taken up. The reform will lessen study burdens on students. The Government wants students to understand a subject rather than follow it, said a senior official of the State School and Mass Education Department. As per the new plans, teachers will just initiate a topic and then listen to students. If doubts crop up, teachers will be there to clear those. The introduction of textbooks would be followed up with teachers' training. Proposed change in textbooks has already got approval of a 23-member core committee headed by Secretary of School and Mass Education. (Pioneer 24/12/08) Rohtak emerging as countrys education capital (11) CHANDIGARH: The Member of Parliament from Rohtak, Deepender Hooda, said on Thursday that Rohtak district is fast emerging as the countrys education capital. Addressing a press conference in Rohtak, 70 km from Delhi, Mr. Hooda, son of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, disclosed that approval had been granted so far during his tenure as MP to set up 12 educational institutions of international, national and regional repute in the district at a cost of Rs.2,000 crore. He said his vision was to develop Rohtak and nearby areas as an education corridor in the coming years. Mr. Hooda said that out of the six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) approved to be set up all over the country, the first was being set up in Garnavadhi village in his parliamentary constituency. The classes will begin from the next academic year in Sanghi village. The cost of setting up this IIM would be Rs.800 crore and it is being set up over an area of 200 acres. Mr. Hooda said the first Health and Medical Education Institute is also being set up in the district in the name of former Chief Minister Bhagwat Dayal Sharma and the work has already begun. The Union Commerce Ministry has already given approval for the Footwear Design and Development Institute to be set up in IMT Rohtak at a cost of Rs.100 crore. Also, a Regional Centre of Foreign Languages of Hyderabad University would be set up in Rohtak. The largest IIT of North India is also being set up in Rohtak, he added. (The Hindu 26/12/08) Stress on mainstream education (11) MADURAI: Majority of the people in the country are not aware of the care needed for special children (Mentally retarded Children) and these children were denied mainstream education for no fault of theirs said V.N. Rajasekaran Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University. He was addressing the parents of special children at Bethshan Special School here on Saturday, who underwent training at the awareness-cum-training packages in disability programme brought together by Indira Gandhi National Open University and Rehabilitation Council of India. Earlier, he gave away certificates to the parents who underwent 40 hours of training as part of the programme. The programmes were aimed at the development of disabled children in order to promote their integration and inclusion in the mainstream community, and would also help the parents to not only look at their own children but disabled children in general said Prof Pillai. The training was held at Bethshan Special School in which 55 members participated. These packages have been developed for parents and family members of children with such disabilities in order to generate knowledge and skills among the parents regarding how they could foster development of the child in daily course of time. A few parents gave feedback on the programme and said that the training basically gave them confidence and helped them to understand the necessary practices to accept and nurture the children. M.Shanmugham, Director, IGNOU Regional Centre, Madurai, said that special education was much needed and IGNOU was ready for a tie-up and support special schools that were willing to join the programme. Officebearers of Bethshan Special School were present. (The Hindu 28/12/08)

Now, students can seek exam marks details under RTI (11) MUMBAI: In a landmark judgment that will change how examinations are conducted in the country, the Central Information Commission has ruled that authorities must usher in transparency and reveal questionwise marks awarded to candidates, under the Right To Information Act. The ruling will bring cheer to India's large student population, which has been fighting for access to copies of answer sheets ever since the RTI Act was passed. In March 2006, Treesa Irish from Kerala became the first student to fight tooth and nail to be allowed to see her exam answer scripts. She lost the battle when a full bench of the Central Information Commission ruled that the data she had requested was of a personal nature, and that its disclosure had no relation to any public interest and would therefore be prohibited under section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The CIC also held that the relationship between the exam-conducting authority and the examiner was fiduciary in nature, and therefore information must be kept confidential under section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. However, Irish was hardly alone. Students under several education boards across the country have sought copies of their answer booklets under the RTI Act. All failed in their quest, with public information officers conveniently referring to Irish's case as the precedent. That is, until Ajeet Kumar Pathak, a class XII student from Bihar, demanded that the CBSE board provide him details of questionwise marks awarded to him in the chemistry paper. Here too, the CBSE board stated, ``The larger public interest does not warrant disclosure of such information.'' Pathak then filed his first appeal, which was again defeated, with the authority ruling that ``no candidates shall have the right to obtain questionwise marks''. But in a dramatic twist, the CIC overturned those rulings. Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, who ruled on December 22 that questionwise marks awarded must be shared with the candidate, said, ``None of the exemption clauses in the RTI Act were applicable in this case.'' Gandhi said that this ruling was now ``in principle'' applicable to all authorities conducting examinations across the country. In Maharashtra too, several students have taken the RTI route to get their hands on copies of their answer sheets. Basanti Roy, divisional secretary of SSC board, said that to date, there has been no provision in the law to part with answer sheets, and that several students had to be turned down. ``But we will wait for orders to flow in from the state government on providing questionwise marks,'' Roy added. Currently, the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Examination lets students demand verification, which allows for marks to be recalculated by opening the answer booklets. Verification also helps ensure that all answers have been marked. However, there is no provision for reassessment, which requires the moderator to read through and reassess the content of the paper. NCERT joint director G Ravindra said that this ruling was in line with the National Curriculum Framework of 2005, which emphasized transparency in conducting examinations. ``NCF 2005 had suggested several exam reforms, including transparency and stress-free exams. However, NCERT is an advisory body, and it was upto boards to implement NCERT recommendations,'' added Ravindra. Karnataka was the only state in the country that decided to go ahead and hand over answer sheets to students. Educationist and former chairman of the Mumbai board J M Abhayankar said that while the CIC ruling was something to cheer about, boards must be proactive and provide copies of answer booklets. Abhyankar himself had presented a report to the state government on exam reforms in 2002, but it remains on paper. ``I had recommended that the Maharashtra board also give copies of answer booklets to students. But the state did not accept the recommendations under some pressure,'' he said. He added that providing copies of the answer scripts would ensure better evaluation. (Times of India 29/12/08)