Education News
NCPCR seeks suspension of ‘Desh Ka Mentor’ programme
Concerned over children being exposed to unknown people through the Delhi government’s ‘Desh Ka Mentor’ programme and the potential for crime and abuse, apex child rights body NCPCR has said the scheme should be suspended till all the loopholes are taken care of. Claiming that the programme, which aims at providing career guidance to school children, will expose them to certain dangers, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights last month wrote to the Delhi chief secretary and again earlier this week to say the response received was “ineffectual”.
“It has been stated in the response that ‘to protect against violation, mentees are assigned mentors who are from the same gender, it is imperative to place here that abuse or assault or sexual or otherwise, is not gender biased but same gender does not necessarily assure the safety of any child in any terms,” the NCCPR said in its letter to Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev on Monday.
The programme should be suspended till all loopholes pertaining to the safety of children are “overhauled”, it said, adding that the response received appears to be “ineffectual in completely dousing the safety issues pertaining to the exposure of children towards unknown people leading to potential crime/abuse”. The ‘Desh Ka Mentor’ programme was launched by the Delhi government in October. Under the programme, students of Classes 9 to 12 of Delhi government schools will be guided by dedicated mentors in exploring diverse career and life options.
It entails ‘adopting’ up to 10 government school students to be mentored by citizens who are successful in their respective fields.
Education News
Number of Indians taking IELTS increased over 15% since pre-Covid years
The number of candidates appearing for the IELTS exam in India for studying in or migrating to an English-speaking country has increased by up to 15 per cent since the pre-pandemic years, according to official figures.
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a globally standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. The exam is trusted by more than 10,000 organizations around the world as an indicator of English language proficiency.
The statistics have been shared by IDP Education Limited, which owns the IELTS in India. “The growth in the current year IELTS numbers versus the pre-pandemic normal year is in the range of 10-15 per cent,” said Piyush Kumar, regional director (South Asia and Mauritius), IDP Education.
Last week, IDP launched 23 new offices across India. “Students will now have access to world-class counselling services both via virtual and in-person mode through these new offices to study in prestigious universities and institutions across Australia, USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland,” Kumar said.
Stalin urges PM Modi to favourably consider Tamil Nadu’s request for NEET exemption
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “favourably consider” the State’s request for exemption from NEET for students’ admission to medical colleges.
Making a fervent appeal when the Prime Minister virtually launched 11 new government medical colleges in the State, Stalin said, “admission policy of Tamil Nadu plays an important role in our health infrastructure and to protect this, we have been continuously demanding exemption to Tamil Nadu from NEET. I appeal to the Union Government to consider our request favourably.”
Thanking the Prime Minister for sanctioning 11 new government medical colleges, the Chief Minister sought continued support from the Centre for the health sector.
Education News
Private schools violating RTE rules to lose recognition
The basic education department has decided to initiate the process of withdrawing recognition of schools not complying with RTE rules. Close to one lakh ‘weaker’ students have been admitted in private schools under RTE provisions for the academic session 2021-22.
The decision was conveyed by basic education additional director Lalita Pradeep, who came to the rescue of the parents of ‘weaker’ children enrolled in private schools after receiving several complaints. Under RTE Act, children belonging to economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups are admitted in recognized unaided private schools to the extent of 25% of the total capacity of their entry level classes, either pre-primary or Class 1.
The department has received complaints pertaining to school management harassing parents for unnecessary documents, striking off names of children without reason, not allowing children to attend school even after their names were approved by the government, charging money from students and not giving them receipts. Informing basic education officers (BSAs) about the complaints, Pradeep said under RTE rules private schools are required to submit a recognition certificate from the state education department for seeking affiliation from any board (CBSE or ICSE).
Education News
Transgender Teacher assured job by Kerala Education Minister
Transgender teacher Aneera Kabeer met education minister V Sivankutty and submitted a memorandum seeking help after losing her temporary job at a government school in Palakkad. Sivankutty said he had spoken to the deputy director of education in Palakkad, and her job at the school will be retained. She can continue in the temporary post in the Government Higher Secondary School, itself, and the government will soon find a suitable placement for her,’’ said the minister.
Earlier, Kabeer had approached the state legal services authority for a lawyer to apply for euthanasia as she was finding it difficult to find a job. The education minister intervened in the issue and asked her to personally meet him in the state capital. She alleged that no schools are giving her jobs due to her gender.
Education News
Subhas Sarkar launches Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar
Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar launched the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar (SVP) 2021 – 2022 virtually while emphasizing the importance of water sanitation, and hygiene and the role these factors play in determining the health of the students, attendance, dropout rate, and learning outcomes. He added that having the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools secures a healthy school environment and protects children from illness and exclusion.
Explaining further, the Minister of state highlighted that the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar recognizes, inspires and awards schools that have undertaken exemplary work in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene while also providing a benchmark and a roadmap for schools to make further improvements in future.
The Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar was first distributed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, in 2016-17 to create self-motivation and awareness about sanitation. All categories of schools, that is, government, government aided and private schools in both rural and urban areas can participate in the Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar 2021-22.
The participating schools will be assessed via an online portal and mobile app in 6 sub categories where the system will generate their overall score and rating automatically. These sub-categories are: Water, Sanitation, Hand Washing with soap, Operation and Maintenance, behavior change and capacity building and the newly added category on COVID-19 preparedness and response.
IGNOU Launches Online PG Courses In Environmental & Occupational Health
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched postgraduate programmes in Environmental and Occupational Health in virtual mode. The School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, IGNOU is offering postgraduate programmes- MA and Diploma programmes in Environmental and Occupational Health. The programmes were launched in presence of the Governor of Jharkhand- Ramesh Bais.
According to the governor, “these programs are in line with the mission of Environmental and Occupational Health to reduce and prevent adverse effects on human health caused by environmental and occupational exposures to such as chemical and biological contaminants through education and research.” The programme will provide the theoretical understanding and transferable skills to the general public and industrial workers in particular, he added.
IIT Gandhinagar Offers Indian Knowledge Systems Course On “Precolonial Literatures”
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Gandhinagar) is offering a unique elective course, Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). After five successful seasons, the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) discipline of the IIT Gandhinagar is back with the sixth edition of the course, this year the theme is ‘Precolonial India’s Treasure House of Literatures’, the release mentioned.
According to IIT Gandhinagar, the course is centred on the fact that India is renowned the world over for its rich literatures dating back to several millennia. “The precolonial India not only had a great diversity of languages, from pan-Indian Sanskrit to hundreds of regional languages, but it also encompasses a plethora of themes, literary techniques, and sociocultural functions.
This literaturescape deeply impacted the Indian continent at all levels and was highly instrumental in the shaping Indian civilization.” the release mentioned. Interested candidates can apply online at- iitgn.ac.in. The course will be held in hybrid mode from January to April and will be livestreamed on IITGN’s YouTube channel.
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