The Mumbai-based Early Childhood Association (ECA, estb. 2010) organised its first annual national conference on the theme ‘ECE — 21st Century, Transformations and Challenges, What we Know, What we Show and How we Grow’, at the Sea Princess Hotel, Mumbai on February 25-26. Over 150 delegates from across the country attended the sessions, panel meets and workshops of the conference to refine the goals and set the agenda of the association for the new academic year.
The highlights of the conference were the launch of a quality indicators booklet and checklist, Quality Indicators to Assess and Evaluate Early Childhood Programs for early childhood educators; two panel discussions — on child protection and quality in teacher training in early childhood education; a round table discussion titled High Five! during which all delegates were free to present their ideas and learn from each other; and conferment of the ECA awards.
The awardees were Dr. Mithu Alur (individual most committed to inclusive education); education NGO of the year (Pratham and Farida Lambay); most committed journalist/media focusing on ECE (Dipti Khera for her essay entitled ‘good touch bad touch’) and Kranti Vibhute for ‘changing traditional rhymes’.
The conference ended with all members resolving to encourage promotion of early childhood centres; promote teacher education programmes; and set up ECA focus groups for teacher education, nutrition, child protection, inclusion, curriculum development, nature education, family involvement and role of male parents.
For membership and other enquiries contact ecaorg@yahoo.com or visit www.eca-india.org.
Tripartite English learning venture
Linguaphone Group, the global UK-based language training provider, has announced a joint English language training partnership for India with Birla Shloka Edutech Ltd and the Melewar Group, Malaysia.
The tripartite agreement was inked by Yash Birla, chairman of Birla Shloka Edutech, Tunku Iskandar, group managing director of the Melewar Group and Derek Price, chief executive of the Linguaphone Group, in Mumbai on May 2. Under the terms of the agreement as master licensee for India, Linguaphone will provide the group’s Direct English language training programme across the country.
Birla Shloka Edutech is a diversified education solutions provider currently reaching over 800 schools and 6,500 teachers across India, and is a promoter of progressive preschools, K-12 schools, teacher training/resource centres, super speciality colleges and undertakes whole/ partial school transformation projects across the country. The Melewar Group is a Malaysian business conglomerate, founded in 1963 with a strong commitment to training and education. Working together, they will promote the Direct English programme in corporate and retail markets in India.
“English has been a major contributing factor in the growth of the Indian economy. There is a significant need for all cross- sections of society to be well versed in the language. We were looking for a product that addresses this fast growing requirement of a diverse nation. The Direct English programme, with its ‘whenever and wherever’ approach, uniquely meets this requirement — hence the tie-up,” said Yash Birla, speaking on the occasion.
Added Tunku Iskandar of the Melewar Group: “Having already introduced Direct English to Malaysia and Singapore, the Melewar Group is very pleased that Linguaphone has agreed to also allow this joint venture between the Melewar and Yash Birla groups to bring Direct English to India.”
Created in 1997, Direct English is based on a unique learning programme developed by Louis Alexander, a globally renowned authority on English language learning. The programme combines highly interactive bilingual materials, with personalised tutorials and conversation classes to deliver world-class English language training for children and adults of all abilities through a network of licenced partners in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
“English is now the most widely taught foreign language worldwide and essential for international business and communication. Combining two already strong forces in the Asian training market, this new partnership is a significant development for the Linguaphone Group’s ongoing expansion of Direct English across Asia and we look forward to working together to bring Direct English to India,” says Derek Price, chief executive of the Linguaphone Group.
Learning Star’s fast start
Learning Star International School (LSIS), Bhuj Gujarat) has won an entry into the Limca Book of Records for completing its admissions process in record time. LSIS is backed by an eminent advisory board comprising football star Baichung Bhutia, the Canada-based Dr. Lal Mattu, Prof. James Tooley of Newcastle-upon-Tyne University, and UK-based David Williams, among other renowned educationists.
“We are thankful to Asia Motors Works Ltd who invited us in February this year to establish a school in Bhuj for its residents and the company’s employees. Learning Star opened for admissions on March 3 and classes commenced on April 11. It was a huge challenge considering we were new to Gujarat; but with passion and dedication the task was accomplished with God’s help. That’s the simple secret behind this record. LSIS, Bhuj is our flagship institution. We intend to establish more such activity-based CBSE-affiliated schools in the country and abroad,” says Francis Joseph, director of Learning Star International Schools.
Scindia Kanya hosts heritage fest
The Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya (SKV), Gwalior (estb. 1956) held its first heritage festival for girls titled Dharohar from April 17-19 on the school campus. The fest’s theme was the Mughal period of Indian history. Eight premier schools from India and abroad, viz, All Saints College, Nainital; Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, Pilani; Indian High School, Dubai; Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls, Jaipur; Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer; Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar; the Scindia School, Fort Gwalior; and the host school participated in the three-day event.
“The prime objective of the festival was to make youth conscious of the importance of preservation of our national heritage. Several competitive and non-competitive activities covering the disciplines of art, music, literature, knowledge, technology, storytelling, fashion and cooking were organised,” says a SKV spokesperson.
At the end of the three-day heritage festival, the Gwalior Heritage Foundation under the patronage of H.H. Shrimant Jyotiraditya Scindia announced cash awards of Rs.100,000 to the three winning teams with the highest scores in competitive events and performing exemplary work in preserving the natural heritage through student involvement. The winning teams were Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior; Mayo College Girls, Ajmer, and Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls School, Jaipur.
During the closing ceremony presided by Rajmata Shrimant Madhvi Raje Scindia, it was announced that any school may bid to host the heritage fest next year with the Gwalior Heritage Foundation and its patron H.H. Shrimant Jyotiraditya Scindia committed to sponsoring the prize money and running trophy. The host will retain the Dharohar name, logo and identity kit and will have the liberty to design its own events and seek independent sponsors to facilitate the staging of the fest.
Kinderpillar-Ivy League Kids rollout
A new chain of quality preschools under the brand name Kinderpillar-Ivy League Kids (KILK) is all set for launch from Chandigarh in the new academic year. The moving spirits behind KILK are Roopa Grewal, director of the Canam Group, Priyanka Khosla, director of INIFD, and America’s leading early childhood education curriculum expert Ellen Booth Church.
Comments Booth Church, a well-known authority on preschool education and consultant to the Cartoon Network and PBS, among other television channels: “While designing the curriculum for Kinderpillar, I have applied all my experience to create learning environments that will holistically promote the mental, physical, social, and emotional development of children in a stress-free way. Our objective is very simple: not to create academic wizards but independent thinkers and problem solvers with lifelong love for learning.”
With hand-picked teachers and staff coached and mentored by Booth Church, KILK preschools will provide children with a developmentally appropriate, stimulating environment in which they can learn and grow to their fullest potential. “Our goal in Kinderpillar preschools is to give all children a head start through quality education and watch them grow into confident, secure and empowered individuals with positive traits and high self-esteem. We will provide developmentally appropriate practices and support services in our globally benchmarked learning facilities,” says Roopa Grewal, director of KILK, adding that 32 Kinderpillar preschools will become operational by the end of 2012 in different parts of the country, and 300 by the end of 2015.
TBS invites admission applications
Launched in April, the Bangalore School of Early Childhood Education (TBS), Whitefield invites admission applications. “For parents, one of the most important things in the education of their children is a strong foundation. And that is what our school promises — a homely rustic environment and a progressive preschool which relies on teaching methods of the 21st century,” says Usha Mohan, director of TBS.
According to Mohan, the preschool will offer children a comprehensive mix of skill-sets and IT-enabled curriculum which will allow them to interact with students around the world with the help of virtual classrooms. “TBS will be connected to a school in Italy through the Global School Partnership Grading programme. Our standards are painstakingly arrived at with the careful incorporation of EQ, IQ and SQ as well as Reggio Emelia and Rudolph Steiner concepts, together with Carl Rogers and Howard Gardner’s teachings,” adds Mohan. TBS is headed by Lakshmi Chakra, a US-educated teacher with experience of teaching early childhood development abroad, especially in the kinder-garten and Montessori approaches to teaching.
KiiT International’s Kloud 9 launch
KiiT International School, Bhubaneswar — Odisha’s first IBO-Geneva affiliated school — launched Kloud 9, a national children’s magazine at a glittering ceremony in the city’s Hotel Mayfair lagoon on May 2. The inaugural issue was released by PadmaVibhushan Mahasweta Devi, Padma Shri Ruskin Bond and Dr. Narendra Jadhav, member of the Planning Commission, in the presence of editors of several newspapers and magazines.
“This quarterly whose chief editor is Ruskin Bond, loved by all children, offers K-12 students from across the country an opportunity to publish their work. We have plans to reach out to all schools countrywide and some abroad. In our first issue, we feature contributions from school children in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Pondicherry and Indore among other cities. In this issue, more than half the pages are contributed by school children. Eventually when more students start participating, 90 percent of the editorial content will be contributed by them,” says Surendra Mohanty, publisher of Kloud 9.
Pipedream Labs introduces Dr. Ajax
A team of talented artists and educationists at Design Labs Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, spearheaded by IIT-Bombay alumna Neha Khandelwal, has launched Dr. Ajax — a comic book series. Dr. Ajax is a monthly publication which chronicles mystery and investigative stories centred around interesting scientific phenomena, in the graphics format.
“Dr. Ajax, the protagonist is a misunderstood genius. Twisted yet intelligent, a brilliant scientist, an expert in nano-robotics, ardent follower of Charles Darwin and a zoologist, who solves mysteries about ecological wonders, biological blunders, scientific miracles, nature and the future,” says a Pipedream Labs spokesperson.
According to Khandelwal, the promoter-director of Pipedream Labs, the subscription package of the series (Rs.1,600 per year) includes additional literature and DIY (do it yourself) kits, all centred around the idea of ‘curiosity’. “At Pipedream Labs, science and art sit in the same room and sip coffee,” she says jokingly. “With four titles already out and one due every month, Dr. Ajax is here to stay,” she adds.