Bihar
All is well
Addressing the state’s legislative assembly on July 3, Bihar’s education minister Brishen Patel said the government will provide water bottles and backpacks to all government school children free of charge. “We are considering water bottles and backpacks for students of government schools so they need not suffer from an inferiority complex in comparison to private school students who go to school in proper uniforms,” Patel informed the house which approved the state’s education budget of Rs.24,715 crore for 2014-15.
The minister said the number of schools in the state has risen to 73,592 currently, against 52,112 in 2005-06, and the number of teachers to 417,000 against 146,000. “Student enrolment in primary schools statewide has increased to 20 million at present as against 14 million nine years ago,” he added.
Nagaland
Teachers’ conference consensus
The consensus of opinion at a government school teachers’ conference held in Kohima on July 3-4, was that instead of being complacent about the state’s high literacy (80.1 percent), teachers should focus on delivering quality education. The two-day conference convened for the first time, was organised jointly by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and the school education department of the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE). Over 1,000 primary and secondary teachers were in attendance.
Speaking at the conference, secretary of school education, Yitachu said under the no-detention provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009, teachers have an enormous responsibility to develop India’s human resources. “The legislative intent of the RTE Act is for good, but if teachers neglect their responsibilities, the very purpose of the Act will be defeated,” he warned.
Goa
Salgaocar Institute initiatives
The Raia/Panaji-based V.M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE) has signed an academic collaboration with the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Ireland, under which all academic programmes of DIT will be offered by VMSIIHE. “The tie-up will help students acquire international exposure as DIT will be supervising our academic programmes at regular intervals,” VMSIIHE director Irfan Mirza told mediapersons in Panaji on July 8.
VMSIIHE is affiliated with Goa University, and also has a strategic tie-up with the international hospitality chain — the Marriott Group — for knowledge-sharing and training purposes, added Mirza.
Odisha
Patnaik invites private varsities
While inaugurating the Xavier University at Nijigarh in Pipili tehsil of Puri district on July 7, and remarking that the top-ranked universities of the world were Harvard, Yale, Stanford and MIT — all private institutions — chief minister Naveen Patnaik invited private investment, particularly in higher education, in Odisha.
“People look to the new generation of private universities to take up leadership roles in terms of academic commitment and raising standards in higher education,” he said affirming that his government is committed to providing quality education to students and making Odisha a hub of higher and technical education. “We are trying to ensure that higher education facilities benchmarked with global standards are nurtured and fostered in our state. Xavier University is a testimony to this effort.”
Punjab
Child abuse warning
Taking cognisance of the rape of a 12-year-old student in a government school in Ludhiana, state education minister Daljit Singh Cheema suspended headmistress Joginder Kaur and two teachers — Tarwinder Kaur and Yojna Sharma — of the Government High School in Sunet village, Ludhiana district.
“This incident is a blot on the education system,” he said, adding that school heads will be held directly responsible for anti-social activities and that maintaining discipline in school premises “is the sole responsibility of school heads”.
The 12-year-old was allegedly raped by a student of the school on July 9, according to a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother with the Ludhiana police, following which the accused was arrested.
Chhattisgarh
Student loans interest cut
Fulfilling a promise made by chief minister Raman Singh, the state government has reduced the rate of interest payable on higher education loans advanced under the Mukhyamantri Uchcha Siksha Rinn Anudan Yojana (‘chief minister’s higher education fund’). This was announced by higher education minister Prem Prakash Pandey in Raipur on July 9.
In 2012, Singh had reduced the rate of interest payable on student loans of upto Rs.4 lakh to 4 percent. Now youth can avail education loans from nationalised and private banks at 1 percent, said Pandey, adding that students of Naxal-affected districts will get interest-free loans.