Jammu & Kashmir
Ban on new B.Ed colleges extended
Kashmir University has extended a two-year moratorium imposed by it against promotion of teacher training (B.Ed) colleges in J&K, to check the mushroom growth of private teacher training colleges.
The decision to put greenfield teacher training colleges on hold was taken unanimously at a high level meeting chaired by the university’s vice chancellor Riyaz Punjabi. “The meeting followed a communication from secre-tary, higher education at the Centre, to ascertain the viability of starting new B.Ed colleges in the state,” says a spokesperson of Kashmir University.
The spokesperson added that all private sector colleges will be required to produce no-objection certificates for verification of allotted sites, and none of them will be allowed to migrate without permission. Moreover, taking note of reports that students of affiliated colleges are getting degrees without attending classes regularly, Punjabi asked college managements to strictly adhere to university norms.
Puducherry
AISF opposes foreign investment in education
The All India Students Federation (AISF) has opposed the Congress-led UPA-2 government’s “attempts” to allow foreign direct investment in the education sector. “The move will jeopardise the national character and quality of our education, and deny education access to millions of poor students following inevitable commercialisation of the education sector,” says a resolution adopted at a three-day 27th annual conference of the Communist Party of India affiliated AISF, which concluded on February 16.
Releasing copies of resolutions passed at the conference, outgoing general secretary Vijendra Kesari said this attempt by the Central government will push the education sector into the hands of multinational companies. Delegates to the conference unanim-ously voted against FDI (foreign direct investment) in the educational and strategic sectors while accusing the UPA-2 government of pursuing “neo liberal economic policies”. It also opposed all initiatives to dismantle the University Grants Commission.
Rajasthan
Satellite studio rural education boost
Rajasthan is all set to become the first state in India to provide online education and training to rural citizens by connecting panchayat samitis (village councils) through satellite links. “The state government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to establish a satellite studio at the nodal Panchayati Raj Sansthan, Jaipur,” Rajkumar Sharma, science and technology minister told reporters in Bundi on February 19.
The Rs.5 crore satellite studio will connect 237 panchayat samitis with District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET), for providing online training in various vocations and skills development. Moreover all panchayat samitis in the state’s 33 districts will be inter-connected for data sharing.
Also the health minister of Rajasthan, Sharma informed the media that hospitals will also be connected with the studio, and telemedicine services will be provided.
Meghalaya
Criminal complaint against blasphemous illustration
A convent school in Meghalaya filed a criminal complaint on February 18 against a Delhi-based publisher, for publishing an illustration of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a beer can in the other, in a cursive writing textbook. Authorities of St. Joseph Girls Higher Secondary School, Shillong where the cursive writing book was supplied to students of classes I-IV, filed a FIR (first information report) against the Delhi-based Skyline Publication. The local police has seized 30 such books.
“It came to our notice only a few days back. We have asked students to return the textbooks,” the headmistress of the school Sr. M.Thaddeus Syiemiong told the media.
In the cursive writing book for class I, for the alphabet ‘I’ the word ‘Idol’ is used. Against this word an illustration of Jesus Christ with the blasphemous representation was printed. Meanwhile the state police is investigating the FIR.
Orissa
British Council-state government MoU
The Orissa state government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the British Council for implementation of a programme which will enable government school students to interact with their counterparts in the UK. The MoU was inked on February 17 by the secretary of school and mass education Bandana Jena and Sujata Sen, director of British Council, East India, in Bhubhaneshwar.
Orissa is the second state in eastern India besides Chhattisgarh where the British Council’s ‘connecting classro-oms programme’ is being implemented. “The children of state-run schools can interact with their counterparts in the UK over the internet under this programme,” said Sen, adding that 370 schools countrywide will be covered in the first phase.
Sikkim
Special Merit Scholarship Scheme
The Sikkim state government has finalised a list of 50 class V toppers from various schools in the state, for the purpose of funding their education under a Special Merit Scholarship Scheme, according to a press release issued in Gangtok on February 16. The students have been selected on the basis of their performance in their class V final exam, as well as a screening test conducted by the Union HRD ministry in January.
Under the scholarship scheme, the state government will bear the entire education expenses of 10 best students in top private schools outside the state. The remaining 40 will be given admission into the best private schools in the state, with their expenses borne by the state government.
According to a Sikkim government spokesperson, chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has launched the scholarship scheme to enable students to “study seriously” and compete with the best in Sikkim and beyond.