Assam
Disqualification warning
Assam’s ministry of education has warned it will disqualify school headmasters appointed on the basis of invalid B.Ed certificates. According to an official circular issued on October 25, “many school teachers” have obtained mandatory B.Ed certificates from the UP-based Bharatiya Shiksha Parishad which is not affiliated with any recognised university. “As such, it is not authorised to issue any degree or diploma,” it said.
Several headmasters appointed on the basis of such certificates will be disqualified from their positions, says the ministry’s circular. “Holders of these certificates will be deemed accomplices in fraud, are liable to be prosecuted and will not be entitled for selection to any post,” it added.
Uttar pradesh
Reservation demand
“Instead of writing to the prime minister, Mayawati should implement 8.44 percent reservation for Muslims from within the 27 percent quota for backward classes,” suggested All India United Muslim Morcha (AIUMM) national president, M.A. Siddiqui, speaking to the media in Rae Bareli on October 8. According to Siddiqui, if the state government does not suo motu implement reservation for Muslims, UP chief minister Mayawati’s September 17 letter to the prime minister will be exposed as “fake sympathy and a political move” ahead of the upcoming UP assembly polls.
“In order to provide reservation for Muslims and give them opportunities in accordance with their population, consideration can be given for required provision in the Constitution through an amendment to which my government is committed to provide complete support,” Mayawati had said in her letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Siddiqui said it was unfortunate that “so-called secular parties” always considered Muslims their vote bank, and warned that the minority community will not tolerate this. Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan added that Mayawati’s letter to the prime minister demanding reservation for Muslims was an “insult” to the community and just a political gimmick ahead of the 2012 polls.
Tripura
RTE funding call
The right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (aka RTE Act) is difficult to implement because of some stringent conditions, Tripura’s school education minister Tapan Chakraborty informed the media in Agartala on October 21. Speaking to newspersons after returning from a meeting of the National Advisory Council in New Delhi, the minister said factors like infrastructure, teacher training and no detention stipulations of the RTE Act, are likely to prove major roadblocks.
“In the schedule of the Act, there is specific mention of infrastructure requirements for all elementary schools. For states with resource constraints like Tripura, it will be very difficult to fulfil these infrastructure norms within the time frame fixed by the Act,” Chakraborty told reporters.
Challenges are also likely to be posed by the RTE Act’s requirement of providing safe and adequate drinking water to all children, particularly in the hill districts and playgrounds in urban areas. Hence funding from the Centre is necessary, he said.
Jharkhand
Madarsa funding appeal
The jharkhand mukti Morcha (JMM), a crucial ally of the BJP-led state government of Jharkhand, demanded full implementation of the Bihar Madarsa Education Board Act, 1981 to help minority institutions receive government grants. “Approval for grants-in-aid was given only to 186 madarsas, leaving out 592 other madarsas and 24 Sanskrit schools. Let the government adopt the Bihar Madarsa Education Board Act till we legislate our own Act for these institu-tions,” JMM leader and deputy chief minister, Hemant Soren stated at a press conference in Ranchi on October 11.
“The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar recently approved Rs.108.20 crore as grant for 2,459 madarsas. We can have a physical verification of the 592 madarsas situated across Jharkhand, and on that basis a decision on grant to each can be taken,” he added. Soren expressed the hope that the JMM’s demand would be included in the agenda of the next cabinet meeting.
The JMM leader also drew the attention of the Arjun Munda-led government to allocate adequate funds for the Sidho Kano University in Dumka, to enable the varsity to cons-truct permanent infrastructure for its several faculties, and “smooth payment” of salary to teaching and non-teaching staff. “Recently, new faculties have been announced, but there is no infras-tructure in place. The university’s administrative office is functioning from the welfare department building in Dumka, while hostels need renovation,” he said.
Himachal pradesh
Autonomy erosion fears
Claiming that academic autonomy of state universities is being eroded by financial constraints, a meeting of north India’s vice chancellors in Shimla on October 1 suggested setting up of a corpus fund with the help of the Centre and corporates to help these institutions.
The two-day conference culminated in a Shimla Declaration which highlights the need for financial support, resource mobilisation and financial and academic autonomy for state universities. Refer-ring to ‘autonomy’, the Shimla Declar-ation says that the academic autonomy of state universities is endangered because even decisions taken by highest academic councils are subject to approval of the state government, resulting in implementation delays.
“Along with financial support, universities should be permitted greater and genuine administrative autonomy to facilitate better academic output. Moreover, the majority of members on the executive body of the university should be drawn from academia,” states the declaration.
The declaration stressed the importance of inter-university collabor-ation and social responsibilities of universities. Addressing the valedictory session of the conference, Chief Justice Kurian Joseph of the Himachal high court decried violence on university campuses.
Swati Roy with bureau reports