Gujarat
Primary admissions age bar
The Gujarat government told the high court that a fine of Rs.1 lakh will be imposed on primary schools admitting children below three years of age.
If a school flouts this rule for the second time, it would face derecognition with immediate effect, government counsel informed a division bench of the court which admitted a public interest litigation writ. According to the petitioner, guidelines issued by the state government in 1996 state that children below the age of three years on August 31 in the year of application should not be admitted into primary school.
Government counsel Manisha Luvkumar assured the court that the state government will shortly issue a resolution prohibiting admission of under-age children in primary schools.
Rajasthan
Teachers Day promises
The Rajasthan government is set to introduce a new syllabus enriched with Indian culture and values in its schools in the academic year 2016-17, Vasudev Devanani, minister of state for education, announced in a Teachers’ Day (September 5) address in Jaipur.
The new syllabus for classes I-XII will require major changes in existing textbooks to incorporate Indian culture, moral science, latest technologies and also include stories of mahapurush (great leaders), the minister said. Students should learn about our great leaders and draw lessons from their lives, he added.
During his address, Devanani also addressed the issue of school hours which were increased by 40 minutes in July. Following objections from teachers’ associations, the education ministry will reduce the school day by 20 minutes and abolish separate winter and summer timings.
Chhattisgarh
Textbook content row
A chapter in a class X social science textbook prescribed by the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education which argues that working women are one of the causes for mass unemployment in India, caused an uproar in the state legislative assembly in mid-September. Following widespread protests, the state’s BJP government has agreed to delete the controversial chapter, education minister Kedar Kashyap informed media personnel in Raipur on September 23.
Soumya Garg, a teacher residing in the tribals-dominated Jashpur district, filed a complaint in August with the state women’s commission stating that the chapter violated Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees equality before law to all citizens. “Women depicted in this manner will not only cause prejudice against them but also discourage girl children,” Garg said in her complaint.
The text published by the education board in 2008 states that the ratio of unemployed men increased after independence because women started working in all sectors. “An investigation will be conducted to identify those responsible for such content. This will be followed by appropriate action against the guilty,” said Kashyap, adding that the education ministry will soon constitute a committee to evaluate the content of all secondary and higher secondary government school textbooks.
Arunachal Pradesh
Teachers Day awards
Thirty teachers were conferred merit awards at a function in Itanagar to commemorate Teachers’ Day (September 5). In an address to the teachers’ community, Bamang Felix, secretary in the state government, described teachers as “unsung heroes” and exhorted them to take teaching outside the four walls of classrooms to the population beyond.
“Teachers are the most influential human beings on earth who can lead a society to prosperity...” said Felix in his address. Lauding the contributions of teachers in the development of Arunachal, the minister said there is no retirement age for a teacher who contributes to society even after retirement, in some way or other. “We talk about education policies and prepare plans for the education sector. However, ultimately education depends on teachers and their lessons in classrooms,” he added.
Odisha
Teachers Day protests
The School Teachers’ Federation of Odisha (STFO), an umbrella organisation of 14 teachers’ organisations, observed a statewide ‘black day’ on Teachers’ Day (September 5) to protest the government’s alleged negligence towards them.
They staged a dharna in Bhubaneswar protesting against non-implementation of a 1994 grant-in-aid order to schools. “Since the government is yet to take any decision on our demand, we are observing Teachers’ Day as black day,” STFO convenor Prakash Chandra Mohanty informed media personnel in Bhubaneswar.
On August 26, the state government constituted a seven-member committee to discuss the teachers’ demand of full grant-in-aid, following which seven of the nine teachers’ organisations had withdrawn their protest. However STFO, which is the state’s largest teachers association, is continuing with its protest now in its 27th day.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs