Assam
Education progress report
In an initiative to record teachers’ attendance in government schools statewide scientifically, and streamline the administration of the state’s education ministry, education minister Pradyut Bordoloi announced a pilot project to provide teachers with mobile phones equipped with biometric GPS registration. The minister was addressing the state’s legislative assembly on December 17 in reply to a debate on a supplementary demand for grants to his ministry. “Teachers will be paid their monthly salaries based on recorded data,” he said.
According to Bordoloi, the state government’s education budget has increased substantially since the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government took office in March 2001 when it was a mere Rs.1,800 crore. With 7.5 million students in the state, the government spends Rs.10,000 per child per year in elementary education; Rs.21,687 in middle school and Rs.20,000 in higher education, the minister informed the house.
Punjab
Online tutorials programme
The state government is all set to introduce online tutorials in government senior secondary schools in an initiative to prepare Plus Two students for the entrance exams of professional colleges/universities, said Punjab’s education minister Daljit Singh Cheema, speaking to media in Ludhiana on December 15.
According to the minister, to begin with 100 schools from the state will be chosen for the programme. “Online lectures will be provided to students preparing for competitive exams,” said Cheema, adding that interactive sessions for students will also be arranged to clarify doubts in any subject. The tutorials will be offered after school hours and the service will be free of charge, the minister said.
The online tutorials will be particularly useful for Plus Two students in rural areas, the minister said. “The tutorials idea has been adopted bearing in mind that sufficient coaching for competitive exams is lacking in villages,” he added.
Puducherry
Heritage building row
Puducherry education minister T. Thiagarajan was gheraoed by parents of a government-run French language school for girls on December 1. The parents were demanding speedy renovation of the 19th century school building.
Agitated over delays in completing renovation work, some parents closed the main gate when the minister and officials began their inspection, said a government spokesman addressing the media in Puducherry on December 2. Later, security personnel accompanying the minister forced the gate open to enable the minister and his aides to exit the school premises.
Earlier, heated arguments had erupted between the parents and ministerial delegation over renovation delays and the government’s plan to shift classes to other premises.
The minister responded by announcing that experts from IIT-Madras and the Archaeological Survey of India will inspect the school building and based on their recommendations, the government will take appropriate action. Until then, classes will be held in the premises of neighbouring buildings, he said.
Haryana
Medical education initiative
Presiding over a review meeting of medical education and research officials in Chandigarh on December 5, Haryana’s chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said his government will constitute a high-level committee of reputed medical practitioners and educationists to suggest ways to improve medical education and research in the state.
During the meeting, Khattar urged department officials to ensure that equipment in all medical colleges is in working condition to facilitate students and out-patients. The chief minister asked medical colleges to furnish a list of all defunct medical equipment, and expressed displeasure over the lack of a fire-fighting system in the auditorium of the University of Health Sciences, Rohtak.
Uttarakhand
Unnati English project
Chief minister Harish Rawat launched a pilot project christened Unnati (‘progress’) on December 1. The objective of the project is to improve the English communication skills of students in government secondary schools. Inaugurating the project at the Rajkiya Inter College, Ajabpur Kalan, Dehradun, the chief minister opined that education is meaningless “if it doesn’t equip the future generation to survive the challenges of today’s highly competitive world”.
Promising full financial support for the project, Rawat said it will be reviewed after three months and if results are satisfactory, the programme will be made an integral part of the state’s education system.
Speaking on the occasion, state education minister Mantriprasad Naithani added that a three-month study programme is ready for government school students. “Hindi, Garhwali, Kumauni and other languages have their own importance, but knowledge of good English is necessary for a bright future,” he said.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs