The Delhi-based education first, which bills itself as the world’s largest private education company, is awarding the EF Global Citizen Scholarships to students adjudged to have substantially helped to break down barriers of language, culture and geography. “Winners will be awarded all-expenses paid educational tours of China, where they will travel with American and Chinese students and attend a series of collaborative workshops,” says an Education First spokesperson.
The scholarship programme has two goals: to challenge students to assess their roles in the world, and to put words into practice. “The China tour award is not simply a reward for a job well done; it will endow students with insights and information they can use to transform into leaders of global citizens,” adds the EF spokesperson.
Ryan Foundation’s tenth ICFPA
Under the aegis of the Ryan Foundation, the mumbai-based Ryan International Group of Institutions (RIGI), which comprises 115 K-12 schools countrywide, staged its 10th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts (ICFPA) in New Delhi between December 16-19.
Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar and tennis star Mahesh Bhupati were chief guests at the four-day ICFPA which attracted 5,000 school children from 14 countries. The child delegates brought soil from their countries which was collected in a pot. As a mark of global togetherness, Kapil Sibal planted a sapling in the pot. “Like the plant which will provide shade after growing, I hope these children will also transform into protectors and champions of children when they grow up,” said Sibal speaking on the occasion.
The four-day festival of dance, music and theatre attracted 20,000 spectators to the National Bal Bhavan, Little Theatre Group, Pearey Lal Bhavan and Shri Ram Centre where children’s delegations performed culturally distinct group and solo dances. “The objective of this unique initiative is to bring children from different parts of the world to perform at a single venue. Over the years the festival is growing with public expectations and I am happy that it is entering its 10th successful year. I hope children of Delhi will enjoy the performances and learn to appreciate and respect cultural diversity,” said Mme Grace Pinto, promoter-director of RIGI.
Presented by Ryan Foundation in association with National Bal Bhavan and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the 10th ICFPA attracted 5,000 children from Bangladesh, Germany, Iran, Israel, Latvia, Nigeria, Nepal, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Zambia, Finland, Indonesia, Italy, Switerzland, Thailand, among other countries.
IACM franchising bandwagon starts rolling
The Delhi-based IACM SmartLearn Ltd (estb. 1997), a computer hardware, networking and electronic security systems training institute, has finalised plans to appoint 500 franchisees in tier-II, tier-III and six major metro cities over next four years. “This will transform IACM into the largest education franchising brand in the country,” says Ravinder Goyal director of IACM.
Starting last month (December) IACM launched a road show titled ‘Show me the business’, a nationwide chain of seminars which will visit 100 cities across the country highlighting entrepreneurship opportunities with IACM. “Never before has an education institute embarked on such a large scale mass contact programme to enrol franchisees, particularly from small towns,” says Goyal. “We are planning to plough close to Rs.250 crore to finance the ambitious expansion of computer hardware, networking and electronic security systems training across India,” he added.
Varkey Foundation’s Guruvar awards
Initiated by the Varkey Gems Foundation (VGF) to acknowledge the vital role that teachers play within the national community, the Guruvar Awards, billed as the biggest teachers’ awards in India, announced its annual winners on December 23 in Mumbai. Sixteen winners were selected from over 100,000 nominations across the country, and felicitated as India’s best gurus.
“I believe the Guruvar Awards will be a powerful and interactive platform to express gratitude to those who have contributed so much in shaping our lives,” said Sunny Varkey, chairman of the VGF, speaking on the occasion.
The 16 winners were selected from among 48 finalists through an intensive selection process. While 32 finalists received Rs.1.25 lakh and a certificate each, the 16 winners received Rs.10 lakh and a certificate.
The winners of the Guruvar Awards 2009 who were felicitated by Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal were:
North zone. Dayiita Birla Datta (Dehradun); Rajni Rawal (Delhi); Surinder Bir Kaur (Amritsar); Geet Oberoi (Delhi).
South zone. Nalini Chandran (Thrissur); Suresh Mannarasala (Alappuzha); Lakshmi Prassanna (Bangalore); S.M.A. Jinnah (Madurai).
East zone. P.D. Johny (Shillong); Indrani Singh (Jamshedpur); Pradipta Kumar Pal (Bhubhaneshwar); Merly Kizhakayil (Guwahati).
West zone. Ayaz Khan (Rajkot); Bijal Damani (Rajkot); Awanish Upadhyay (Datia); Archana Rodrigues (Thane).
Constituted by Padmashree Sunny Varkey, VGF is a philanthropic trust. The mission of the trust/foundation is upliftment of children’s education.
British Council award for Coimbatore school
The G. Ramaswamy Naidu Matric Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore has been granted the prestigious ‘international school’ award of the British Council for three years (2009-12). The principal of G. Ramaswamy Matric Higher Secondary, Seetha Poovaiah was conferred the award by Sally Goggins, director of the British Council on November 9.
The school was selected on the basis of student projects and activities on ten themes including festivals, transport, AIDS awareness, monuments etc. “This really involved a lot of hard work and commitment from my side and of course the co-operation of staff, parents and students,” said Poovaiah speaking on the occasion.