Daly College, Indore on Friday announced the appointment of Dr. Gunmeet Bindra as the first female principal in the history of the 150-year-old school.  The tenure of the new principal will be five years.

Daly College, Indore was founded by Sir Henry Daly in 1870 and is affiliated with CBSE and CAIE (UK). Spread over a sprawling 118 acre beautifully landscaped green campus, Daly College is renowned for its sports infrastructure and co-curricular education.

Dr. Bindra is an accomplished educationist with over 35 years of experience in teaching and school administration, she has held many coveted positions including member of the CBSE Governing Body, CBSE Curriculum Committee, CBSE Affiliation Committee, and member of the Board of Trustees and Vice President, Asia Pacific Region of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition. She is also the British Council School Ambassador in India.

Dr. (Ms.) Gunmeet Bindra is an alumnus of the Delhi School of Economics and Calcutta University. She was Director Principal, Delhi Public School, Rajpura prior to joining Daly College, Indore. She also served as the first female Principal of Welham Boys’ School, Dehradun. She started her career as a senior commerce teacher at Sheiling House, Kanpur (1987-92).

The numerous awards conferred upon Dr. Bindra include the CBSE National Award in 2014 presented by the President of India, the Bharat Vidya Vibhushan Puraskar presented by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, the Pride of Doon Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Education Excellence Award, the Uttarakhand Ratan Award and the National Award for Instructional Leadership in the Principals’ category of the awards at the NDTV-Educomp Education Awards 2016.

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Here's Team ScooNews wishing her all the best for her new assignment!

The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet (HPS, Begumpet) recently announced Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat (former Principal of The Scindia School) as its new Principal.

Established as Jagirdar’s College by the Seventh Nizam of Hyderabad – H.E.H. Mir Osman Ali Khan – in 1923, in Begumpet, Hyderabad; it was renamed the Hyderabad Public School in 1951 following the abolition of the zamindari system. It stands strong in the heart of Hyderabad, sprawling over a lush green campus of 122 acres.

HPS Begumpet has illustrious alumni like Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), Shantanu Narayen (CEO of Adobe Inc.), the Owaisi brothers, Ajay Banga (President of Master Card), Syed Akbaruddin (former permanent representative of India at the UN), cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and ghazal maestro Talat Aziz.

Dr. Saraswat is a post-graduate in English, Hindi, and Sanskrit. Subsequently, he also earned a Doctorate in Hindi Literature.

Dr. Saraswat believes in establishing and promoting a culture of excellence and meritocracy in every sphere of school activity. His educational philosophy is simple and can be summarised in two lines. He believes that Education is about providing the correct references and appropriate stimulants to the students for their inherent goodness to express itself on its own.

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He believes that 'Experiential Education' for the youth is the need of the hour and promotes the ideology of 'Leadership through Service' in students.

After a rewarding career in the Doon School where he served for 16 years, he was the founder Principal of two schools. Thereafter, he took on the mantle of the C.E.O of the ‘Sapkal Knowledge Hub’ in Nasik. Prior to joining Hyderabad Public School – Begumpet, Dr. Saraswat served as the Principal at Scindia School, Gwalior starting April 2015.

He joined it at a time when the school needed a firm hand. With his inimitable grit and unflinching determination, he raised the Scindia School to its pinnacle.  He expected nothing less than perfection from the students and faculties because he wanted the school to be “top-notch”. Those who have known him closely believe that he has been an exemplary mentor, a role model, and had raised the bar for all, transforming the Scindia Community and never allowing even the slightest amount of complacency to seep in.

The pictures and videos of the very emotional farewell by the students and the teachers of Scindia School are already doing rounds on social media.

Here's Team ScooNews wishing him all the best for his new assignment!

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Dr. Jagpreet Singh, Headmaster, The Doon School took over as the chairperson of the prestigious Indian Public Schools' Conference (IPSC) from Ms. Nishi Misra, Principal, Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior. The IPSC general body elects the Chairperson, Honorary Secretary and the Joint Secretary cum Treasurer of the IPSC every two years from among the member heads of schools. IPSC is a consortium of 80 elite Residential Public Schools across India, which was established in the year 1939. 

Delhi Public School Mathura Road New Delhi, Delhi Public School R.K.Puram New Delhi, Mayo College Ajmer, Mayo College Girls Ajmer, Modern School Barakhamba Road New Delhi, Pinegrove School Dharampur Himachal Pradesh, Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya Gwalior, The Daly College Indore, The Doon School Dehradun, The Punjab Public School Nabha, The Mann School Delhi, The Rajkumar College Rajkot, Welham Boys’ School Dehradun, Welham Girls’ School Dehradun, and Yadavindra Public School Patiala are the some of the member schools of this all India organisation.

Dr. Jagpreet Singh is an eminent Educationist of India.

He studied in Ajmer, Rajasthan. His family runs a chain of hotels in Ajmer and Pushkar, since childhood he wanted to teach and contribute to a child's growth and development. He believes that a teacher is the most powerful influence on a child therefore he started his journey at Mayo College Ajmer, where he served for 24 years as a history teacher, cricket and squash coach, housemaster, and finally Vice-Principal of Mayo College.

During his tenure at Mayo College, he was a part of the Teacher Exchange Program with distinguished institutions like Eton College, UK, and  Kings School, Australia

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Thereafter he moved to The Punjab Public School Nabha as a Headmaster for nearly 10 years and brought laurels to the school nationally.

He was the Honorary Secretary and Sports Director of IPSC schools, prior to the current engagement.

With his vast experience and knowledge in the education sector, he is now the Headmaster of the prestigious The Doon School, Dehradun.

Language learning to be promoted as a skill with the formal credit-earning system said Union Education and Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan during the launch of Bhasha Sangam Initiative for schools, Bhasha Sangam Mobile App and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Quiz App, to commemorate Rashtriya Ekta Diwas which is celebrated on October 31 every year to mark the birth anniversary of Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Shri Pradhan stated that the National Education Policy 2020 outlines the vision to lay emphasis on the promotion of Indian languages. Going forward, language learning will be promoted as a skill with a formal credit-earning system, he added. The Minister said that the country is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to mark 75 years of India’s independence. The initiatives launched today will facilitate our students to embrace the linguistic diversity of our nation and sensitize them about the richness of our culture, heritage, and diversity, he added.

Bhasha Sangam is an initiative of the Ministry of Education under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, to teach basic sentences of everyday usage in 22 Indian languages. The idea is that people should acquire basic conversational skills in an Indian language other than their mother tongue. We are aiming that at least 75 lakh people should acquire this skill during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav period.

Launched the Bhasha Sangam program, an initiative of the Ministry of Education under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, to teach basic sentences of everyday usage in 22 Indian languages. pic.twitter.com/gJTxITO3BK

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 1, 2021

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Initiatives launched under Bhasha Sangam:

1. An initiative for school children that is being made available on DIKSHA, ePathshala, and through 22 booklets
2. Bhasha Sangam Mobile App developed in collaboration with myGov, by a start-up called Multibhashi
3. A Mobile App based quiz with over 10,000 questions on states of India developed by Nazara  Technologies through the Innovation Cell of this Ministry

Bhasha Sangam Initiative for schools

• Developed by NCERT
• 100 sentences in 22 scheduled languages are presented in such a way that children in school will be able to read in the Indian language, in Devanagari script, in roman script and translations into Hindi and English.
• 100 sentences are presented in audio and video form with Indian Sign Language.
• Through this programme of Bhasha Sangam learners in school will be able to get acquainted with all the languages-their scripts, pronunciation
• Available on DIKSHA, ePathshala, and 22 booklets

Bhasha Sangam Mobile App

• This is an initiative of DoHE, in collaboration with MyGov
• The App has been developed by a start-up Multibhashi, selected by myGov through a competition
• The App initially has 100 sentences of everyday usage in 22 Indian languages. These sentences are available in both Roman script and in the script of the given language, and also in audio format. More sentences will be added to the list
• A learner will pass through stages on the basis of testing. There is also detailed testing in the end with the generation of digital certificate
• Available in both Android and iOS

EBSB Quiz App

• EBSB Quiz game is targeted toward children and youngsters of Bharat for helping them learn more about our different regions, states, culture, national Heroes, monuments, traditions, tourist locations, languages, geography, history, topography,
• We already have more than 10,000 questions as part of this quiz. The gameplay is simple – Play Quizzes, Learn & Achieve Grades. Moreover, this quiz has 15 different levels of toughness.
• Currently, the EBSB quiz is available on android OS, the iOS version will be made available soon.
• This game is currently available in English and Hindi. In the next 3 months, the EBSB quiz will be also available in 12 other different regional languages.

Shri R. R Singh, MoS for Education; Smt Anita Karwal, Secretary DoSEL; Shri Sanjay Murthy, Secretary Higher Education; Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov; students and teachers of schools & universities attended the event.

Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) observed its 1st Annual Convocation Ceremony on October 27th, 2021 at the HIAL campus, Phyang.

The Chief Guest for the occasion was Vandana Shiva, a scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist, and anti-globalisation author. Prof. S K Mehta, VC Ladakh University also graced the function with his presence as the Guest of Honour. Also in attendance were other dignitaries from the academic world, industries, and the government apart from Gitanjali J B, Founding CEO & Dean, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), and Sonam Wangchuk, Founding Director, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL).

HIAL convocated 10 HILLs Fellowship students, 11 HIAL Experiential Leadership Module (HELM) students, 15 Eco Responsive Building students, 10 Responsible Tourism students, 6 Organic Food Processing Students, 4 Ecology & Ice Stupa students & 9 Solar Builders course students in its 1st Annual Convocation.

HIAL Experiential Leadership Module (HELM) is a three months course at HIAL, with an intensive introduction and deep dive into how to effectively lead and create impact in a community. Ladakh, being a high-altitude mountain region, challenges are not new to the land. But, after its declaration as Union Territory, it opened new opportunities and challenges to the people of the region.

The Eco Responsive Building course is a flagship course of HIAL that trains students in earth construction and passive solar technology. It is a smart solution that uses indigenous building practices and materials fused with modern techniques to make housing comfortable and most importantly sustainable in this cold desert.

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Overall the course has produced 24 learners – 15 in ERB and 9 in the Solar Builders course. We dream of a future where all houses in Ladakh and similar contexts will be 100% sustainable. HIAL’s Responsible Tourism course enables young entrepreneurs to make the switch towards sustainable practices primarily through live projects like trek itineraries, farm stay development, culinary and hospitality development and simultaneously building the business model.

The Organic Food Processing course created a platform for learners to innovate their food products. The cohort developed some of the very unique recipes ranging from Buckwheat pancake to Seabuckthorn infused chocolate. In addition to creating recipes, making it a commercial success is equally important. Learners were exposed to business development through real projects such as HIAL’s Blue Yak enterprise development or launching their own product in the market.

Applied Ecology: Sonam Wangchuk built the first prototype of ice stupa in 2013, with a vision of conserving water and ecological restoration. Other similar projects like Ice wall by Aba Norphel have been leading contributors to this dream.

Last year, HIAL started offering a short course in this domain through the Applied Ecology course. The first 7 learners worked on diverse projects from vacuum tube experiment that reduces ice stupa piper freezing to Ice stupa manual for mass communication. In addition, all contributed to building Ice stupas across Ladakh. This course was designed to give an overall ecological perspective of the world we live in, climate crisis, and its impacts on the world, Himalaya and Ladakh.

Established in 2018, the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) has the unique distinction of being the first institution located in the Himalayan region, working towards mountain development. In a short span of 3 years, the Institute has grown to prominence at national and international levels through the achievements and innovations in the field of passive solar heated buildings as well as ecology and ice stupa projects.

HIAL aims to reform the model of higher education by developing responsible citizens as well as encouraging the direct application of knowledge to solve community challenges. Empowering the innovators and entrepreneurs, who will tackle these challenges and be the architects of the future for the Himalayan region.

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HIAL also established its 'Incubation Center' for innovation and entrepreneurship maintenance and supervision. The objective is to promote entrepreneurship using institutions that serve as focus centers among locals. It is a forum to foster, promote and develop innovation and business skills amongst students, scientists, graduates, and students in the region.

Enterprise is on the brink of rapid expansion in India. Investors, corporate ventures, media, startup groups, service providers, mentors, and educational enterprises will grow. And the incubator – where start-ups are born – is an essential trailer in the wheel. Likewise, a start-up is nurtured in an incubator that offers it the opportunity, before it reaches the world, to shape its company.

HIAL Alumni Community (HAC) was founded on Convocation day. Creating an engaged, supportive alumni network is crucial to an institution’s success. A dedicated alumni network enables the institution to gain by lending their assistance to the students, the institution, and each other, from our graduates' knowledge and expertise. HAC plans to create a community network dedicated to keeping the alumni well informed, as our graduates are our most dedicated supporters, our finest ambassadors, and their personal and professional networks are essential for marketing and promotion of the brand HIAL.

Montessori Group, a longstanding provider of quality Montessori education offering training, partnerships, quality assurance, social impact, and support for families and practitioners, has appointed Professor Sugata Mitra to the Board of Trustees for a term of three years from September 2021. 

Sugata Mitra is Emeritus Professor at NIIT University in Rajasthan, India, and was previously the Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University. At Montessori Group, he joins a diverse Board of Trustees chaired by author, inspirational speaker, and CEO of Nosh Detox, Geeta Sidhu- Robb.  
 
Professor Mitra brings a wealth of experience in conducting and guiding research in children’s education to the board. He is best known for his Hole in the Wall experiment, where a computer was embedded in a wall in an Indian slum, and children were allowed to freely use it. The experiment aimed at proving that children would learn to use computers and the internet without any formal training. Professor Mitra termed this Minimally Invasive Education.  
 
He has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics and is credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and educational technology.  
 
Montessori Group Chief Executive Officer, Leonor Stjepic, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Sugata Mitra to the Board of Trustees. He brings extensive experience and understanding of children’s education, which will be of great benefit to us in terms of research, which is a key part of our strategy going forward.” 
 
Professor Mitra said: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of Trustees. My research often reflected Maria Montessori’s findings, so this appointment seems fitting. During my term as Trustee, we plan to conduct some high-quality research on children’s education that has visible impact.” 
 
This appointment is one of a number of appointments that include The Duchess of York Sara Ferguson, being asked to be Chair of the new International Montessori Ambassadors group that will help the organisation reach more children. 

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog successfully completed two-month-long and first of its kind, digital skills and an exclusive entrepreneurship ATL Tinkerpreneur summer Bootcamp held across the country.

Designed for high school students across the nation, ‘ATL Tinkerpreneur’ saw a record-breaking 9000+ participants (including 4000+ girl participants) across 32 states and 298 districts.

The Bootcamp witnessed participation from 820 ATLs, 50+ live expert speaker sessions were conducted with over 4.5 lakh views, and imparted 30+ digital and entrepreneurial skills.

‘Tinkerpreneur’ – the name derived from the phrase ‘enabling students to tinker from the comfort of their homes and become an entrepreneur this summer was a Bootcamp focussed on cultivating a hands-on innovative mindset among students.

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Spread across a span of 9 weeks from 31^st May 2021 to 1^st August 2021, ‘ATL Tinkerpreneur’ enabled the participants to develop a business idea and create an end-to-end strategy for setting up a new venture. Over the course of the Bootcamp, the participants learned the required digital skills, created and developed a business model around a digital product, generated a marketing plan, developed/established an online store, learned business finance, and culminated it by presenting their pitch deck in front of Industry experts.

Students along with their ATL in-charges were mapped in small groups with Mentors-of-Change. All those who registered got access to a repository of digital and entrepreneurial curated learning resources, do-it-yourself content, simple assignments, etc. to empower the participants to create their own digital products and ventures.

Emphasising on inculcating a hands-on and innovative mindset during the finale session, Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog Dr. Chintan Vaishnav said, “The whole Bootcamp was designed to instill an innovative mindset as well as to help students go from an idea to a venture in a short time, by trying-failing-and trying again. We wanted them to experience both the creation of a solution as well as a business around it. As they learned these skills by 'doing', we expect these learnings to stay with them throughout their life's journey.”

Speaking during the virtual finale session of the Bootcamp, Founder Infosys Mr. Narayana Murthy said, "A leader has to be a uniter and not a divider. The most important responsibility of a leader is to raise the aspiration, confidence, energy, and enthusiasm of the people and teammates around. The leader must do whatever is necessary to make a person feel an inch taller in the leader's presence.”

He further added, addressing young innovators, “if you become a leader, ensure that people that come to you leave with higher confidence in them. His or her main job is to craft a vision that is aspirational and individually rises above region, religion, caste, and economic clauses. A leader has to imagine something that nobody has dreamt of, moving towards this requires a lot of sacrifice, hard work, discipline, deferred gratification, confidence, hope & enthusiasm. Such attributes come to the people when the followers trust the leader."

Ask questions & be true to your conscience! ????

True behavior is how you behave when nobody recognizes and yet to behave correctly. This will likely help you take upon new challenges & you will keep improving: @Infosys Founder, Narayana Murthyhttps://t.co/ZwlUmd7ENv pic.twitter.com/WUsCCZhHio

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— Atal Innovation Mission Official (@AIMtoInnovate) July 31, 2021

Meanwhile, participants leveraged the knowledge and hands-on involvement of 650+ Mentors (including 180+ women mentors), inculcated and applied their inputs and improved upon their ventures. With inputs from industry leaders, regular sessions by guest speakers in 6 regional languages (Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada) and a positive environment provided students a thorough introduction to entrepreneurship along with an opportunity to network with fellow innovators from across the country.

An exclusive Tinkerpreneur web portal was also created with a curated 9-week content for self-paced learning. The portal enabled the students to submit quizzes, assignments and enabled the mentors to review student assignments and share feedback.

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It’s that time of the year again when parents of first-time school entrants across the Delhi NCR prepare to go through one of the toughest endurance tests of their lives. They hope for the best but prepare for the worst as they research schools, interact with other parents/older students, scour school websites and invest inordinate mental and physical energy into ensuring that their three-year-old gets admission into a 'good' school. Admittedly, the definition of good in most cases is based on subjective criteria.

Therefore, it would be worthwhile to look at some of the best co-ed day schools in Delhi NCR, adjudged so by various credible sources based on objective criteria. The selection of these schools is based on a sample survey of parents in Delhi NCR and inputs from educationists, principals, teachers, and senior school students of various schools. These six schools have also been consistently ranked among the top schools across Delhi NCR and India over the past few years by various publications. So here’s the final list:

• The British School, New Delhi
• Heritage Xperiential Learning School, Gurugram
• Step by Step, Noida
• The Shri Ram School, Delhi
• Vasant Valley School, Delhi
• Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram

Let’s now take a look at what makes each of these schools special.

The British School, Delhi

Awarded as the top British international school in the world in 2018, The British School, Delhi, has dominated the progressive learning landscape in Delhi-NCR for most of the 58 years of its existence. This international, not-for-profit school, located in the heart of the diplomatic area of New Delhi, offers the National Curriculum of England adapted to an international context from EYFS to year 9, the IGCSE in years 10 & 11, and the IBDP in years 12 and 13. Its focus is to provide high-quality education to expatriate and local families by drawing on the best facets of a rich and culturally diverse community. The British School’s Enrichment Programme helps students develop skills in multiple fields, enabling them to explore their areas of interest while encouraging opportunities for leadership, teamwork, and independent thinking. With students from 66 nationalities, the school provides student-centered education in a safe, stimulating and multicultural environment. 

Heritage Xperiential Learning School (HXLS), Gurugram

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HXLS, ranked number one in the National Rankings published by Education World, the largest survey of its kind in the country, consistently for the last two years. Heritage is perhaps the country’s most innovative mainstream education model. It is widely recognised for its project-based curriculum. It has no examinations until Grade 8, despite which it produces the best academic results in the city. Its CBSE Class 12 result, 2020 was an average of 92.6%, and IB students averaged  38.2 in 2021. Academic excellence, a distinctive socio-emotional learning programme, focus on overall development, and 21st-century skills are its hallmarks. Its 12-acre campus has one of the best infrastructures among schools in the NCR. This unique school has broken all stereotypes of conventional education, including not having uniforms. Heritage has adopted a futuristic model of education based on principles that countries like Finland follow. Until last year its three Gurgaon campuses were not allowing admissions from Delhi, but from this year they have opened up some seats for applicants from Delhi.

Step by Step, Noida

The school is dedicated to providing a unique educational opportunity from preschool to school leaving certification. It was established in 2008 with a vision of providing quality education to students and the mission to “provide a caring, healthy and challenging environment where children prepare to meet with confidence, imagination, and integrity, the challenges of life. “The school got its CBSE affiliation in 2010 and was authorised to offer the IGCSE examinations and got the IB authorisation in 2012. It has a 1:8 teacher to student ratio. It is the school’s constant endeavour to keep itself updated and introduce teaching methodologies based on the latest research in education. The school prides itself on making learning as exciting and meaningful for children as possible. The school also allows for admissions from Delhi applicants.

The Shri Ram School, Delhi

The Shri Ram School broke the mould of conventional education in Delhi three decades ago in promoting a collaborative school environment as opposed to a competitive one. It was born out of the ideology that children must be given an environment that makes them want to come to school every day. The school is founded upon the belief that education is not only a tool to achieve professional milestones, but also a means to make lives better. This progressive, child-centered school is affiliated with CISCE and offers the IB DP and the NIOS Certificate. The school’s mission is to provide a diverse education to all students in a safe, supportive environment that promotes sound values, self-discipline, motivation, and excellence in learning. The school has the following campuses, the Junior School in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, the Senior School in Moulsari Avenue, DLF Phase III, Gurgaon, and The Shri Ram School, Aravali in DLF Phase IV in Gurgaon.

Vasant Valley School, Delhi

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Established in 1990, the school is known for its small and intimate learning community and individual attention to each child. It is the school of choice for many families in Delhi and one of the hardest to get admission into. The school is affiliated with CBSE and is known for its good results. Whilst high academic achievement is a priority, the school aims to create a community of well-rounded individuals with the belief that learning is a life-long process, and all students and teachers are challenged to exceed their own expectations. Their curriculum goes beyond the prescribed CBSE syllabus, and the process is as important as the outcome. The school has various programmes that nurture the cerebral, social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and creative development of every child. Vasant Valley School aims to nurture independent minds and create a space where students are encouraged to actualise their innate and unique potential. Its 10-acre campus is located in Vasant Kunj.

Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram

An initiative of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, Shiv Nadar School Gurgaon was founded in 2012 with the purpose of bringing the finest learning experiences to students. The school’s mission is “we will provide students an environment that challenges them into discovering their talents and skills. We will inspire the joy of learning by fostering a culture of creativity. Our students will be ethical, respectful, happy, and purposeful citizens of society.” Students at Shiv Nadar are encouraged to immerse themselves in multi-dimensional and experiential learning and are encouraged towards value-led pursuits so that they can comprehend their role in the larger context of community and the world. Considerable emphasis is placed on sports and arts curriculum in addition to academics. The school set in a 6-acre campus has 1835 students and offers both CBSE and IB curriculum.

If admissions criteria and practical considerations permit, admit your three-year-old into any of these schools blindfolded. They feature regularly, year-on-year, on some of the most respected, scientific, and objective ranking surveys; you really need to look no further.

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Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay

It’s been 18 months since the COVID-19 outbreak started and education for millions of children is still disrupted. As of today, primary and secondary schools are shuttered in 19 countries, affecting over 156 million students.

This should not go on. Schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen.

In their efforts to limit transmission, governments have too often shut down schools and kept them closed for prolonged periods, even when the epidemiological situation didn’t warrant it. These actions were frequently taken as a first recourse rather than the last measure. In many cases, schools were closed while bars and restaurants remained open.

The losses that children and young people will incur from not being in school may never be recouped. From learning loss, mental distress, exposure to violence and abuse, to missed school-based meals and vaccinations or reduced development of social skills, the consequences for children will be felt in their academic achievement and societal engagement as well as physical and mental health. The most affected are often children in low-resource settings who do not have access to remote learning tools and the youngest children who are at key developmental stages.

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The losses for parents and caretakers are equally heavy. Keeping children at home is forcing parents around the world to leave their jobs, especially in countries with no or limited family leave policies.

That’s why reopening schools for in-person learning cannot wait.

It cannot wait for cases to go to zero. There is clear evidence that primary and secondary schools are not among the main drivers of transmission. Meanwhile, the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools is manageable with appropriate mitigation strategies in most settings. The decision to open or close schools should be based on risk analysis and the epidemiological considerations in the communities where they are situated.

Reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated. With the global vaccine shortages plaguing low and middle-income countries, vaccinating frontline workers and those most at risk of severe illness and death will remain a priority. All schools should provide in-person learning as soon as possible, without barriers to access, including not mandating vaccination prior to school entry.

Ahead of the Global Education Meeting on July 13, we urge decision-makers and governments to prioritize the safe reopening of schools to avoid a generational catastrophe.

Closing schools mortgages our future for unclear benefits to our present. We must prioritize better. We can reopen schools safely, and we must.”

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Photo of Ms. Henrietta Fore courtesy & © UNICEF/UN0154449/Nesbitt

Photo of Ms. Audrey Azoulay courtesy & ©  UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office

1st July 2021

Union Education Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ released the Report on United Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 for School Education in India.

As per the UDISE+ report 2019-20, the Gross Enrolment Ratio at all levels of school education has improved in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19. Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved at all levels of school education.

Releasing the report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus 2019-20 (UDISE+) which depicts the status of School Education in India.
For details, visit: https://t.co/dtenSUgGgz pic.twitter.com/68eJmnR26L

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 1, 2021

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According to the report, in 2019-20, enrolment of girls from primary to higher secondary is more than 12.08 crore. This is a substantial increase of 14.08 lakh compared to 2018-19. Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) at both Secondary and Higher Secondary levels have improved.

The UDISE+ report shows a remarkable improvement in the number of schools with functional electricity, with functional computers, internet facilities in 2019-20 over the previous year.

Another major improvement is seen in the number of schools with hand wash facilities. In the years 2019-20, more than 90% of schools in India had hand wash facilities as compared to only 36.3% in 2012-13.

The UDISE+ system of online data collection from the schools was developed in the year 2018-19 to overcome the issues related to manual data filling in paper format and subsequent feeding at the block or district level, which was in practice in the UDISE data collection system from 2012-13. The present publication relates to UDISE+ data for the reference year 2019-20.

Highlights of Report on United District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20:

• In 2019-20, total students in school education from pre-primary to higher secondary have crossed 26.45 crores. This is higher by 42.3 lakh compared to 2018-19.
• The Gross Enrolment Ratio at all levels of school education has improved in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19.
• • Gross Enrolment Ratio increased to 89.7% (from 87.7%) at Upper Primary level, 97.8% (from 96.1%) at Elementary Level, 77.9% (from 76.9%) at Secondary Level and 51.4% (from 50.1%) at Higher Secondary Level in 2019-20 (from 2018-19).
  • Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has improved by nearly 10% in the secondary between 2012-13 and 2019-20. GER for secondary has reached nearly 78% in 2019-20, compared to 68.7% in 2012-13.
  • Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has improved by more than 11% in the higher secondary between 2012-13 and 2019-20. GER for higher secondary has reached 51.4% in 2019-20, compared to 40.1% in 2012-13.
• In 2019-20, 96.87 lakh teachers have been engaged in school education. This is higher by about 2.57 lakh compared to 2018-19.
• The Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved at all levels of school education.
• • In 2019-20, the PTR for primary has become 26.5, PTR for upper primary and secondary has become 18.5, and PTR for higher secondary has become 26.1.
  • In 2019-20, the PTR for primary has become 26.5, whereas it was 34.0 in 2012-13. In 2019-20, the PTR for the upper primary has become 18.5, whereas it was 23.1 in 2012-13.
  • In 2019-20, the PTR for secondary has become 18.5, whereas it was 29.7 in 2012-13.
  • In 2019-20, the PTR for higher secondary has become 26.1, whereas it was 39.2 in 2012-13.
• To ensure universal accessibility of education for persons with disabilities, all-out efforts have been made. The enrolment of Divyang students has increased by 6.52% over 2018-19.
• In 2019-20, enrolment of girls from primary to higher secondary is more than 12.08 crore. This is an increase of 14.08 lakh compared to 2018-19.
• • Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls has increased to 90.5% (from 88.5%) at Upper Primary level, 98.7% (from 96.7%) at Elementary Level, 77.8% (from 76.9%) at Secondary Level and 52.4% (from 50.8%) at Higher Secondary Level in 2019-20 (from 2018-19).
  • The Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls at the higher secondary level has increased by 13% between 2012-13 and 2019-20. It was 39.4% in 2012-13 and has become 52.4% in 2019-20. The increase is more than that of the boys. GER of boys for higher secondary is 50.5% in 2019-20, it was 40.8% in 2012-13.
  • Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, the GER for girls at both secondary and higher secondary levels has increased more than that of the boys.
  • GER for girls at the secondary level has gone up by 9.6% to reach 77.8% in 2019-20, it was 68.2% in 2012-13.
     
• Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) at both Secondary and Higher Secondary levels have improved. Improvement of GPI has been most pronounced at the higher secondary level, which has gone up to 1.04 in 2019-20 from 0.97 in 2012-13.
• More than 80% of schools in India in 2019-20 had functional electricity. This is an improvement of more than 6% over the previous year 2018-19.
• The number of schools having functional computers increased to 5.2 lakh in 2019-20 from 4.7 lakh in 2018-19.
• The number of schools having internet facilities increased to 3.36 lakh in 2019-20 from 2.9 lakh in 2018-19.
• More than 90% of schools in India had handwash facilities in 2019-20. This is a major improvement, as this percentage was only 36.3% in 2012-13.
• More than 83% of schools had electricity in 2019-20, an improvement of almost 7% over the previous year, 2018-19. In 2012-13, about 54.6% of schools had electricity.
• More than 82% of schools conducted medical check-ups of students in 2019-20, an increase of more than 4% compared to the previous year 2018-19. In 2012-13, about 61.1% of schools conducted medical checkups.
• More than 84% of schools in India had a library/reading room/ reading corner in 2019-20, an improvement of nearly 4% compared to the previous year. In 2012-13, about 69.2% schools had library/ reading room/ reading corner.

For details, see the link:

https://www.education.gov.in/hi/statistics-new?shs%20term%20node%20tid%20depth%20=394&Apply=Apply

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