Jharkhand
New composite schools
Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani announced five new composite schools in Ranchi, Palamau, Dumka, Chaibasa and Hazaribagh districts to provide education to students from class I until postgraduation — all on one campus. The minister was participating in the Vidyalaya Chale-chalayein Abhiyan — Jharkhand’s school enrolment drive programme — at Kalamati village.
The government will run the composite schools on lines of private schools with students provided bus transport services, according to an official statement issued on April 19 in Medininagar (Palamu district). In a reference to IIT-Dhanbad (formerly Indian School of Mines), the minister has exempted SC, ST and OBC students from paying tuition fees, the statement added.
Gujarat
Mass cheating case
Saurashtra University authorities have registered a case of mass cheating against 51 students for allegedly using mobile phones during their final B.Com examinations in Gujarat’s Amreli district.
An official communique issued on April 4 by the university in Ahmedabad said the case was registered after a video went viral on social media showing students writing the exam while speaking on mobile phones at an examination hall in a college affiliated with Saurashtra University. Vice chancellor Pratapsinh Chauhan said a five-member expert committee had been specially constituted to investigate the matter.
Telangana
ISB-SMU Concord
The Indian School of Business (ISB) and Singapore Management University (SMU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which the two top-ranked B-schools will share best practices and leverage each other’s expertise in business management education and research.
The MoU of five years duration between ISB which has campuses at Mohali and Hyderabad, and SMU, encourages faculty and student exchanges to develop new thinking and practices in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship and to design joint programmes, said an ISB statement issued on April 15 in Hyderabad.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajendra Srivastava, dean of ISB, said: “ISB’s academic partnerships have played an important role in its evolution and growth over the years. In keeping with this, we see enormous potential in associating with SMU and working towards a stronger, mutually beneficial, institutional connect to develop expertise and insights relating to Asian and emerging markets that will be of immense value to the world.”
Added SMU president Arnoud De Meyer: “We are pleased to work with a like-minded partner focused on innovation and entrepreneurship in business education, to exchange and deepen our expertise in teaching, research and student programmes.”
Nagaland
RAISE for special needs children
The state’s social welfare secretary, Dellirose M. Sakhrie, formally launched the Regional Action on Inclusive Education (RAISE)-North East project — a five-year pilot on inclusive education — in Kohima on April 12, and requested the citizenry’s help to empower special needs children through education.
RAISE has been designed to complement the Central government-funded Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme and will improve the quality of education for children with disabilities in government and government-aided schools in select districts of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura.
The Kohima-based Cherry Blossoms Society is partnering with the RAISE N-E project, which is supported by three international agencies — the Christoffel Blinden Mission, Light for the World and Liliane Fonds, apart from 15 other NGOs.
Speaking on the occasion, RAISE N-E director Bibhu Dutta Sahu said the project’s main objective is to provide equal education opportunities to special needs children.
Haryana
New teacher transfers policy
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced a new transfer policy for government school teachers on April 10. The policy stipulates that school teachers posted in remote areas of the state will receive additional incentives, and teachers obliged to travel long distances from home will be given residential accommodation.
Speaking at a function to mark the inauguration of Vega Global School in Gurgaon, the chief minister said: “To improve the quality of education in rural areas, a special teachers’ training programme has been launched and the process of teachers’ recruitment for regular posts is also underway. Assessment of government school teachers is going on and those who fare well will be felicitated.”
Khattar also announced the sanctioning of new projects for Gurgaon district including a bus-stand and a Justice Tower to be built over 7.5 acres at a cost of Rs.75 crore.