Himachal Pradesh
85 principals under scanner
The state government has urged speedy completion of a preliminary enquiry into cases pertaining to misuse of funds and grants by 85 principals of government schools across Himachal Pradesh. Speaking to mediapersons in Dharamsala on February 23, an education ministry official stated that principals facing enquiry are of Government Senior Secondary schools in Sirmour, Mandi, Shimla, Una, Solan, Kangra, Bilaspur and Kullu districts.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to deputy directors of higher secondary education in the districts, the state government has ordered that the preliminary enquiries should be completed within a fortnight. Complaints against the principals have been pending for a long time despite repeated requests and instructions to deputy directors to complete investigations, the letter reminded them.
Andhra Pradesh
Varsities network initiative
In an innovative initiative to revamp the higher education system in Andhra Pradesh, chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu chaired a video-conference connecting academics and education experts of top-ranked universities countrywide.
According to a state government communiqué issued in Hyderabad on February 16, the chief minister proposes to convene monthly video-conferences to stimulate innovative education ideas. “Education should support employment and lead to development,” he said, requesting academics to propose solutions to upgrade universities, suggest new teaching-learning methodologies, integrate technology into extant and new institutions, and stimulate research and development.
Odisha
Budget axes preschool outlay
The state government’s budget for 2015-16, presented in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on February 17, has sharply reduced the allocation for construction of anganwadis under the Centre’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme.
According to a report of the Odisha Budget and Accountability Centre (OBAC), a non-profit NGO, against the budgeted Rs.839 crore, the revised expenditure in 2014-15 was Rs.676.41 crore. The 2015-16 budget has further reduced the outlay to Rs.300 crore. Currently, there are 71,306 functional anganwadis in Odisha, of whom only 22,843 are run in government-owned buildings.
“Although the importance of anganwadis in providing quality education to preschool children is paramount, the overall budget of the women and child development ministry which supervises early childhood education in the state, has been reduced from Rs.4,666.65 crore to Rs.4,162.62 crore in 2015-16. Preschool education is the worst hit,” says Surendra Sahoo, a spokesperson of OBAC.
Gujarat
Smart schools roll-out
The Gujarat state education ministry has approved a definition of ‘smart schools’ and is all set to roll out 6,500 smart schools statewide in 2015-16. Under the approved definition, a smart school should be equipped with information and communication technology (ICT)-driven aids including LED television and projector, laptop, printer with scanning facility, biometric attendance device for teachers and students, wi-fi, e-content, Building as Learning Aid (BaLA), internet connectivity and school management software, requiring an approximate expenditure of Rs.17.5 lakh per school, an education ministry official informed media personnel in Ahmedabad on February 17.
School management committees constituted under the Right to Education Act will be entrusted with the safety and security of ICT hardware and other equipment installed in smart schools, said the official. “The selection of schools for installation of smart school ICT equipment is based on the latest Gunotsav performance grades. Schools with A+ and A grades will be included in the pilot project,” says Gujarat’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan director, Mukesh Kumar.
Nagaland
RTE Act amendment plea
The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has written a letter to the state government and the department of school education requesting revocation of the ‘no-detention until class VIII’ provision (s.16) of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, a government spokesman confirmed in Kohima on February 4.
“Ever since this policy was introduced, 15,000 class IX students have dropped out of school in Nagaland,” NSF president Tongpang Ozukum and general secretary Esther Rhakho said in the letter submitted to the secretary for school education.
“Since students are routinely promoted till class VIII, they don’t bother to study. When they face examinations in class IX, it becomes a humungous task for them and they fail to get through,” the letter added. “It is also noticed that teachers in classes I-VIII give less importance to teaching-learning, knowing students will be promoted under any circumstances,” said the federation’s memorandum.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs