BHUBANESWAR, MARCH 20. Police baton-charged a group of agitating teachers who prevented teachers from entering an examination evaluation centre. The teachers representing the Odisha School College Teachers’ and Employees’ United Forum were protesting a notification withdrawing a compulsory affidavit clause for availing grants-in-aid. Some protestors were detained.
State education minister Badri Narayan Patra said alternative arrangements have been made for evaluation by the state government, and the teachers protest would not impact declaration of examination results.
Sikkim
Yoga training scheme
GANGTOK, MARCH 20. The state government introduced a training scheme for school teachers to provide basic yoga training to students. With yoga having been made compulsory in all government schools from the academic year 2016-17, 266 primary school teachers have been certified as basic yoga teachers thus far.
Two-week training sessions have been organised by the directorate of primary education in all the districts of the state since March 7. Moreover, ten master trainers have been certified to train school teachers.
Gujarat
New sports varsity
VADODARA, MARCH 17. Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani laid the foundation of a greenfield Swarnim Gujarat Sports University (SGSU) in Desar town, 17 km from Vadodara. The Rs.35- crore complex being constructed on a 135-acre site is scheduled for completion in 18 months.
Rupani said the university will offer courses in physical education and sports management, besides sports coaching. The SGSU campus will include a science centre, synthetic athletics track, sports industries centre, multi-sports indoor facility, grounds for field sports, hostels, indoor swimming pool, fitness testing centres and faculty housing.
Punjab
Indic culture university
CHANDIGARH, MARCH 15. The Haryana assembly unanimously passed a Bill to establish a Maharishi Valmiki Sanskrit University at Kaithal (70 km from Patiala), to provide higher education with special focus on Sanskrit literature, the Vedas, philosophy, Indian culture and Indic languages.
“The Maharishi Valmiki Sanskrit University Kaithal Bill, 2018 envisages establishment of a teaching-cum-affiliating university and is the government’s response to ‘dynamic changes’ worldwide,” said B.M. Chudasama, minister of education while moving the Bill.
Assam
Massive teacher shortage
GUWAHATI, MARCH 13. There are over 32,000 vacancies including 28,000 teachers’ posts in government schools, education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed the legislative assembly. Of them, 15,852 teacher vacancies are in English-medium middle and high schools of the state, with 12,121 in primary schools, added Sarma. In English-medium primaries, 999 class III teachers’ posts are vacant and 2,113 in class IV.
The minister assured the house that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government is taking steps to fill the vacancies. Assam has 51,950 government schools, including 47,818 primaries.
Maharashtra
Strip-search complaint
MUMBAI, MARCH 3. Pune rural police has registered a case against two women guards of an educational institute, for strip-searching two minor girl students to check against examination malpractice.
The women guards of the Gurukul School of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology strip-searched the class XII girls who were writing state board exams. “We have filed a case under ss.354 (sexual harassment), 8 (sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 on the complaint of the class XII students,” said a police press note.
Meanwhile, guidelines have been sought from the state’s education ministry on the procedure to check students entering exam centres, said a police spokesperson.
Bihar
New agriculture colleges
PATNA, MARCH 8. Three greenfield agriculture colleges are slated to be established in Patna, Gaya and Arrah (Bhojpur district) under the third Agriculture Road Map (2017-22) of the state government to boost productivity in the state’s rural areas.
Agriculture minister Prem Kumar provided this information to the legislative assembly while replying to a discussion on his ministry’s Rs.2,749.77-crore budget demand for 2018-19. A scholarship scheme will also be formulated to train manpower for the development of agriculture education and research in the state, he added.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs