Arunachal Pradesh
Engineering education drive
The Union human resources development ministry has cleared the decks for setting up Arunachal’s first government engineering college at Toru in Papum Pare district, technical education minister Tapang Taloh informed media personnel in Itanagar on April 2.
“Thousands of students from Arunachal travel to other states every year to pursue higher and technical education which involves huge expenditure. The new engineering college will not only facilitate students to acquire engineering degrees with meagre financial outlays, but also reduce the economic burden of poor parents,” the minister said.
The new college apart, the ministry has also sanctioned upgradation of the Dera Natung and Jawaharlal Nehru colleges. On April 15, chief minister Nabam Tuki laid the foundation for the new college at Toru.
Andhra Pradesh
Teacher training colleges under scanner
After taking engineering colleges to task, the Andhra Pradesh government is now evolving strategies to clamp down on ‘non-performing’ teacher training colleges in state. Currently, there are 253 D.Ed and 300 B.Ed colleges operating in ten districts statewide, a government spokesperson informed media personnel in Hyderabad on April 1. According to the spokesperson, the government is considering denying operational permission to most of these colleges in the academic year 2015-16 beginning July.
Comments S. Jagannath Reddy, director, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT): “Efforts are being made to close down D.Ed colleges which have been flouting rules for years leading to deterioration of teacher education in the state. If the government has its way, more than 50 percent of D.Ed colleges in the state will be denied permission to operate.”
Bihar
Super 30 student bags full scholarship
Abhishek Gupta, a student of Super 30 Patna, a voluntary organisation which provides free-of-charge tuition to students from poor households to write IIT-JEE — arguably the most competitive public entrance exam worldwide — has been offered a full scholarship by Tokyo University, says an April 16 communiqué issued by the university.
Gupta has been offered admission into the four-year international environmental sciences programme of the College of Arts and Sciences, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo University. The scholarship covers Gupta’s admission and tuition fees, monthly allowance and residential accommodation expenditure.
Impressed with Super 30 founder-promoter Anand Kumar’s IIT admissions track record — 308 students have been admitted into IITs — Tokyo University authorities invited Kumar to Japan. The scholarship award to Gupta is a response to Kumar’s visit to Tokyo University in 2014.
Punjab
Tablets primary education initiative
Following the successful introduction of a tablet-based education programme in primary schools in the Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran districts on a pilot basis last year, the California-based Pixatel Systems Inc is set to adopt 50 primary schools statewide in association with the US Agency for International Aid (USAID) in the academic year 2015-16. The project will provide an adaptive learning platform focusing on teaching students maths, said project organiser Jasjit Singh, addressing news personnel in Amritsar on April 20.
“In Punjab, more than half of class V students cannot solve class III maths sums. We are distributing tablets in rural schools to ensure no child is left behind. The no- detention until class VIII provision of the RTE Act is a big flaw of educational policy, with children being promoted without learning their previous syllabus. This solution works in conditions of serious infrastructure constraints such as lack of electricity, internet accessibility, poor teacher quality and low technical exposure for students and staff,” said Singh.
Comments Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee member Kiranjot Kaur, a major sponsor of the project: “This is an opportunity for us to reshape education in Punjab”.
Gujarat
GLS awarded varsity status
The Gujarat Law Society (GLS, estb.1927) has been granted university status under the Gujarat Private University Act, GLS president Sudhir Nanavati informed media personnel in Ahmedabad on April 14. GLS was promoted 85 years ago by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, G.V. Mavlankar, first speaker of the Lok Sabha, and city-based philanthropist I.M. Nanavati.
In February this year, the state government conferred GLS the status of a private university under the Act. “It’s a long-cherished dream of GLS which turned into reality today,” said Nanavati, speaking on the occasion.
The society runs eight self-financed institutes which will now be under the GLS University umbrella. Admissions to GLS University institutions will start in the next academic year beginning June, added Nanavati.