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Public education in India has to jump many hoops

Successive governments have taken out the constitutional obligation towards education out of the educational policies. This takes out the fundamental right of universal education out of the equation thus giving rise to inequalities in the system.

Published

7 years ago

June 25, 2016

TeamScoonews

That the New Education Policy has created waves much before it has officially become a policy is amply clear by the media coverage that it has generated, some for the big strides it aims to take while some negative coverage for the way the policy is being handled. The latest is the war of words between Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian over the report of the New Education Policy (NEP) committee headed by him. While Subramanian is threatening to make his report public; Smriti Irani counters by saying that this can only be considered after the States have sent in their responses to it. In fact, this tug of war is symptomatic of the manner in which the entire exercise of drafting the NEP has been carried out.

Smriti Irani claimed that the Narendra Modi government’s NEP was going to be the result of a collective effort of more than 2.6 lakh consultations around 13 themes earmarked for school education at gram panchayat, block, district, State, groups of States and national levels. These consultations took place through a list of questions supplied by the HRD Ministry to elicit recommendations which would serve as inputs for each of the themes for the Draft NEP document.

Now, the questionnaire couldn’t have been drafted by experts, which explains the surprising composition of the committee itself. Headed by a former Cabinet Secretary, it includes 3 retired government Secretaries and a former Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), J.S. Rajput, whose credentials are questionable since his participation in the “saffronisation” of textbooks during Murli Manohar Joshi’s tenure as HRD Minister in the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Available information, most of which is hearsay as the Ministry has refused to divulge any details, point out that no such scheduled meetings took place. Even if higher level meets did happen, they were orchestrated to legitimatise claims that recommendations represented “the voice of the people”, and that officials and education officers dominated proceedings at meetings where school principals, teachers, government invitees and some school management committee members were herded together. In this scenario, it is not surprising that the HRD Ministry has failed to make the content of the “people’s” recommendations publicly available. A similar lack of transparency shrouds the national and regional debates held by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), the NCERT and other national-level institutions.

This methodology shrouded in secrecy by the HRD Ministry is disturbing and problematic. Take for example the total lack of analysis of previous policies and no overview of the consequences of implementing the changes introduced by the National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986, its companion Programme of Action, and their modified versions (1992). Before the NPE, democratic goals and the guiding principles of equality and social justice articulated during the freedom struggle informed policies, although it soon became evident that successive governments failed to meet their constitutional obligations. It is no coincidence that the changes introduced by the NPE coincided with the adoption of the economic reforms programme by the Narasimha Rao government in 1991.

Since the NPE was in line with the economic reforms, it focussed on supplying the economy with employable human capital. It was through implementation of a series of missions and abhiyans to impart market-oriented “skills”, the lowest one being “functional literacy”. It needed a conceptual and curricular delinking of cognitive and aesthetic aptitudes from acquisition of the practical skills which were deemed sufficient for making the mass of citizens employable.

Completely violating the constitutional obligation to ensure universal free and compulsory education of comparable quality, the NPE introduced a policy provision for low-cost, poor quality, non-formal education (NFE) which was to be treated as “equivalent to schooling” for those children who could not “be expected to attend a full day at school”. This excluded a vast majority of children in the relevant age group from the formal system of education. With one swift stroke the NPE discriminated a large swath of students under the guise of providing employable capital.

However, NFE only prepared the ground for a policy of multitrack, discriminatory streams of education. Matters were to become far worse, as under pressure from the World Bank, the 1994 District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) introduced “low-cost” infrastructural and recruitment practices into the government school system across the country. The concept of para-teachers and contract teachers were introduced to cut costs. After the Fifth Pay Commission (1996), recruitment of permanent trained teachers was badly affected in most States. Yet, trained teachers were required to be available for official duty during Census, elections, health campaigns such as polio eradication, and now even “disaster management”. In came the Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for improving quality and all these things resulted in driving the entire system to the brink of collapse.

Limitations of the RTE

While we read glorifying tales of the impact of RTE in the media how it is empowering the under-privileged to get their space under the education sun, the truth is that RTE has a horrible underbelly. RTE became the legal form of discrimination at every level. It excluded pre-school Early Childhood Care and Education for 0-5-year-olds. It excluded secondary education for 15-18-year-olds. It excluded the “special” government schools which were proof that governments could run schools when they were required to. But like already pointed out it provided us a peep into the future. The much-lauded and equally utilised 25% admission for children from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) had a salutary effect by starting a public private partnership (PPP) model which today allows transfer of crores of rupees of public funds to high-fee charging and low-budget private schools alike.

The truth is that across the political spectrum this policy perspective has either been actively contributed to—if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments brought in the NPE and the RTE, the NDA brought the 86th Amendment Bill which defined the limits of the RTE and the concept of knowledge as a “tradeable commodity”, and education as a “tradeable service”—or been accepted as the model of development by all governments in power. The Modi government’s Skill Development campaign not only rests on the foundation of the NPE 1986, but also requires the changes proposed to child labour laws allowing children less than 14 years of age to participate in hereditary trades.

Quick-fix solutions

Coming back to the approach used by the HRD Ministry. It is fundamentally flawed as even after “widespread” consultation has taken place, there is no vision, principle or logic on which one set of suggestions should have precedence over other alternatives. No strategy either underlies or could be formulated out this wasteful exercise, which flies in the face of government claims that there are no funds for education and has resulted in savage cuts made in budgetary allocations over the past 2 years.

However, miraculously this does not mean that an agenda is not being advanced. If on one hand, there is no vision for reviving the stagnant public education system, on the other hand, it has to be admitted that government “policy” is herding parents to the gates of commercialised private institutes. The NGO Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2012) showed that in just 2 years after the implementation of the RTE Act, there was a 5.8% increase, up from 29.8% in 2010-11, in private school enrolment for primary (Classes I–V) students.

In State after State, governments are compelled to close or merge schools because students are deserting them. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and even Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, once stellar examples of the success stories of the public education system, have stated that the policy is inevitable. Thousands of teachers are becoming redundant by the process of “rationalisation” because it saves public funds on paying their salaries. Holding on by a hairs length, people’s organisations in some States have been able to push back this dismantling of the state-funded and maintained school system for one more year.

Stark inequalities

Clearly, India’s education system is reproducing social inequalities and not removing them. Earlier the lack of political will to address caste, class and gender failed to universalise education, and today discriminatory policies are reinforcing inequality. Illiterate children are not a result of poverty but due to negative attitudes and misplaced priorities of policy (ASER 2015). Segregating the poor and the disadvantaged and educating them in institutions catering exclusively only to them will deny the fundamental right to education to a majority of children even as privilege masquerades as merit.

Regarding the medium of instruction, contrary to all egalitarian preferences for the mother tongue as the language of learning, fluency in English is driving even poor families to take on the crushing fee-burden of private “English medium” schools and is generating the self-defeating demand that government schools should shift from the vernacular to the English medium.

In this darkening scenario, a ray of light has been the recent landmark judgment of the Allahabad High Court (August 18, 2015) which emphasised the democratic and educational importance of shared schooling for children from all sections “. . . in changing society from grass-root level. The initial level mixing among all children will have different consequences.” It went on to say that the division of schools into “elite”, “semi-elite” and “common man’s schools” based on privilege and wealth have neither an educational basis nor social value in a democratic society.

“After more than 65 years of independence, these (common men’s) schools are still struggling to have basic amenities for children…. It is not difficult to understand why conditions of these schools have not improved. The reason is quite obvious and simple…. There is no real involvement of administration with these schools. Any person who has some capacity and adequate finances sends his child/children to elite and semi-elite primary schools. They do not even think of sending their wards for primary education to… third category schools, i.e. common men’s schools. The public administration therefore has no actual indulgence to see functioning and requirements of these schools.”

This enforced integration ordered by the court cannot be deemed a denial of “democratic choice” for the affluent elites because the judgment holds choice itself as the reason for the vast majority of India’s children being denied their fundamental right to education. The State government was thus directed to ensure that “the children/wards of government servants, semi-government servants, local bodies, representatives of people, judiciary and all such persons who receive any perk, benefit or salary, etc. from State exchequer or public fund, send their child/children/wards who are in age of receiving primary education, to primary schools run by Board… and ensure to make penal provisions for those who violate this condition”.

A resounding nod to the common school system

The judgment’s resounding endorsement of the Common School System in modern democratic societies is grounded in historical fact. No system of quality education has ever been universalised without the participation of the state. The judgment should not only be implemented forthwith in Uttar Pradesh. It should be extended to cover all States of India.

The other beacon of hope is the sustained struggle of students from numerous institutes of higher education to defend the democratic right to both knowledge and dissent.

So can we expect a radical change from the HRD Ministry? The “special touch” which the present regime has brought to the education system has more to do with bringing the system firmly under the official control of the Center with centrally sponsored Teachers’ Day events, Swachch Bharat campaigns, Sanskrit Week, compulsory sessions of the Prime Minister’s radio speeches, yoga days, and even decisions on which festivals children will be allowed to celebrate with their families.

In an underhanded style of working, historical and sociological facts are distorted to facilitate indoctrination through textbooks. Finally, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s (RSS) student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) being used to declare radical Ambedkarite, Marxist and even independent-minded university students and teachers as extremists and anti-nationals, initiating disciplinary action and even slapping charges of sedition against them are an undisguised threat to the future of the country’s educational institutions.

Clearly, the HRD Ministry has learnt nothing from its misadventures, and education and educational institutions will continue to be in turmoil.

This post is based on an article originally published here

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CuriousJr Empowers More Than 750 School Children In Madhya Pradesh To Learn To Code And Create Apps Through Mobile Devices

CuriousJr strives to bridge this gap, providing access to coding education to people across the country

Published

2 days ago

May 26, 2023

Team ScooNews

CuriousJr, India’s pioneering mobile-based coding platform for K12 students, has successfully enabled students from various locations in Madhya Pradesh, including Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, and Jabalpur, to acquire coding skills and develop a diverse range of apps on their mobile phones.The platform has till now enabled more than 750 school students of Madhya Pradesh mostly hailing from the remote areas of the state.

In today’s digital era, coding has become an indispensable skill, and CuriousJr is dedicated to making it accessible to all. With its user-friendly interface and interactive learning modules, the app/platform caters to students of all ages and backgrounds.

Mridul Ranjan Sahu, Co-founder, and CEO of Curious Jr, expressed, “Our core objective has consistently been to democratize coding education and guarantee its availability to a wide range of students. We are delighted by the students in Madhya Pradesh who have enthusiastically embraced our platform, honed their coding skills, and unleashed their creative potential to develop groundbreaking applications. Our ultimate aim is to ignite a passion for coding in more students and motivate them to pursue careers in the dynamic field of technology.”

CuriousJr’s initiative has provided an opportunity for school children in Madhya Pradesh, who possess a passion for coding but lack access to laptops, to learn coding and develop their own apps using smartphones. Through this initiative, students have gained valuable problem-solving and critical-thinking skills while nurturing their creativity.

A student from Bhopal, Anurag Sharma, shared his experience, saying, “My journey with CuriousJr over the past year has been nothing short of wonderful, offering an incredible learning experience. It has made coding an engaging and captivating process for me. I have discovered a whole new world of possibilities and found coding to be remarkably intriguing. I am immensely grateful to CuriousJr for providing me with such an enriching experience!”

CuriousJr’s efforts in Madhya Pradesh mark just the beginning of its mission to make coding accessible to all, regardless of their geographical or socioeconomic background. The app/platform continually enhances its features and expands its reach to enable more students to learn to code and develop invaluable skills for the future.

CuriousJr aims to enable students without access to laptops to learn coding on their mobile devices, considering that 88% of K12 students in India lack laptop accessibility. The team envisions and innovates coding for small displays, empowering students to study and code on mobile devices. The COVID lockdown raised awareness about coding, leading the government to make it a mandatory subject in the school curriculum. However, the majority of users and schools still lack access to laptops or desktop computers, posing a challenge for mobile-based code learning. CuriousJr strives to bridge this gap, providing access to coding education to people across the country.

News

Indian Army Helps Construction of School for Blind

In the year 2021, Phase I of the project was executed by constructing the blind school building

Published

2 days ago

May 26, 2023

Team ScooNews

To empower visually challenged children living in remote areas of Assam, Gajraj Corps from Indian Army has helped the construction of a school for blind children at Vill Khatkati in district East Karbi Anglong in a phased manner.

In the year 2021, Phase I of the project was executed by constructing the blind school building. This year, Indian Army as part of Phase II of the project has constructed another building which caters for additional classrooms and administrative setup towards enhancing the overall functionalities.

As part of ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’ Gajraj Corps of Indian Army has been undertaking multifarious projects in under developed areas of Assam with an aim of providing humanitarian assistance to the less privileged. The Blind School was eventually dedicated to the nation and handed over to Mrs Madhumita Bhagwati, DC, East Karbi Anglong by Indian Army in presence of civil administration and local populace.

Citizens from nearby villages gathered in large numbers on the occasion and conveyed their appreciation to the Indian Army for construction of the school building. Which was done after taking local aspirations into consideration. Mr Babu Bongong, Gaon Bura of Khatkati Village and Christopher Prince Fernandes, President United International Mission conveyed populace’s content and expressed their gratitude to the Indian Army besides lauding the efforts made by Army towards the onerous task of guarding the borders as well as undertaking efforts to mitigate sufferings of people and improving quality of life of the deprived and physically challenged children of North East states of our Country.

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Transforming Education through Mann Ki Baat

Mann ki Baat has impacted all sections of the society, who have been inspired to contribute towards fulfilling the great goals he has set before the nation

Published

4 weeks ago

May 1, 2023

Team ScooNews

Mann ki Baat, started on 3^rd October 2014 is a very popular programme of the Prime Minister of India which has completed 100 episodes in the last nine years where he has raised hundreds of varied issues for making the country better. All these issues are based on deep and sound researches, feedback from various stakeholders and practitioners from the length and breadth of the country. Through Mann ki Baat he brought the concerns, including various educational aspects before the country with facts and figures and received tremendous response from the public each time. It has impacted all sections of the society, who have been inspired to contribute towards fulfilling the great goals he has set before the nation. On 30th April, 2023 the 100^th episode of the Mann ki Baat took place and at this juncture, the glimpses of the numerous initiatives of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India and it’s various autonomous institutions highlight the impact the programme has on Indian education system.

MoE undertook several initiatives such as identifying young artistic talents through Kala Utsav, programmes for Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, National Yoga Olympiad, encouraging Toy-based Pedagogy for schools to promote traditional Indian toys and games, Pariksha pe Charcha, NIPUN Bharat for early Literacy and Numeracy, National Digital Library for schools, NDEAR for digital education, Manodarpan and Sahyog, PM e-Vidya, SWAYAMPRABHA channels and many more. Academicians and professors of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) too were inspired by many of the ideas that the Prime Minister brought to the notice of academia. It took several initiatives to give them a tangible form.

In the sixty-sixth episode of Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister gave a call to promote its traditional games and toys, and expressed his concern about the toy industry’s quality and the children’s health issues caused by cheap toys (made of plastic) pouring the market from unorganized sources. In the previous episodes of June and July 2020, he had already talked about being Vocal for Local and discovering ways to be engaged at home during the national lockdown through traditional games. National Education Policy 2020 too emphasized upon the joyful learning. These were taken very seriously by the Ministry of Education and within two years, through toy based pedagogy the message to promote Indian toys has reached every household. Giving space to the traditional toys in the school system, the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational stage and the Draft National Curriculum Framework for School Education, the learning-teaching materials for Foundational stage, the Handbook of Toy based Pedagogy for all stages and subjects of school education, organizing International Webinar, national and regional seminars and webinar, toy hackathon, national toy fair for school education, including a separate category of Indigenous Toys and Games in Kala Utsav from 2020 where two hundred boys and girls participated, embedding training modules in NISHTHA for Foundational and Secondary stages where more than 21 Lakh teachers have taken the module of Toy based Pedagogy are some of the significant initiatives undertaken by the NCERT and other institutions in school education and as a result of his vision for incorporating traditional Indian games and toys into the classroom for school activities the idea has penetrated into the system.

In many of his episodes of Mann ki Baat, the Prime Minister narrated the tradition of practicing yoga for mental, physical and spiritual health from ancient times, and declaring 21^st June as International Yoga Day on that day in 2015 at the UN General Assembly, made the academia think of various ways to make it a part of practice for all students of the country. The Ministry of Education proposed the National Yoga Olympiad for schools under different age groups and the NCERT has been organizing this 3-day national event from 2016 onwards. For three years, the event could not take place due to COVID-19, and online Quiz had been organized instead. Hundreds of students from in the age groups of 10-18 years (Class VI-XII) reach the National level starting from school, district and state level competitions. So far, more than sixteen hundred students have participated. Thus, a very large number of schools and students take part in the different levels of event. This is the impact which Mann ki Baat has upon the people.

Mental Health and Well-Being of his people, specially children has always been a concern of the Prime Minister and he raised several issues through Mann ki Baat about the stress, pressure of examination, peer and parental pressure, all related to mental health of students. This has made several recommendations and initiatives by the Ministry including very effective programmes of Pariksha pe Charcha and Manodarpan. While Pariksha pe Charcha is an annual event where he address the students to overcome the examination stress, there are several activities under the Manodarpan since July 2020 to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional well-being during COVID-19 and beyond. There is a 24×7 helpline for students, parents and teachers to address the rising mental health concerns of students’ well-being and promote mental health in the school system as a whole. The webpage of Manodarpan contains advisory and guidelines for students, parents and teachers, Directory of counsellors (approximately 350 counsellors, both school and college/university level) along with other support materials. Regular weekly online interactive sessions are organized and a mental health survey has been conducted to know find out the status of mental health of the students and teachers and the issues faced by them.

There have been several nation-wide digital educational programmes, specially during the COVID-19 period by the Government of India through several national educational institutes such as NCERT, CBSE, UGC, IGNOU and NIOS, etc. Maximum use of technology contributed towards fulfilling quality and universal education through programmes like NISHTHA, e-pathshala, NROER, NIPUN Bharat Abhiyan, PM e-Vidya, SWAYAMPRABHA, DIKSHA etc. to support the uninterrupted education of crores of children. Analysis of the daily rising hits show the popularity of the programmes and their outreach. These have been very supportive and several studies have been conducted of its effectiveness by NCERT. A study was conducted by RIE, Mysuru where student-teachers were included who will become the future teachers and teacher educators, whose opinions therefore play a significant role in utilizing the digital resources. The study says that 77% of the student–teachers are aware of PM-Mann Ki Baat, and they find this program useful in teaching, training and subject content as well. The study also shows that percentage of the student-teachers’ awareness is 81% for e-pathshala, 78% for DIKSHA, 78% for SWAYAM, 52% for NISHTHA, 38% for NROER and only 36% for SWAYAM Prabha. NIPUN Bharat Mission has proved to be an effective teaching methodology after the New Education Policy 2020 and various initiatives have been taken up the NCERT under the guidance of Ministry of Education.

Some of the initiatives taken up by the Ministry of Education and the NCERT have been studied by the faculty members, and a special issue of Indian Educational Review (IER), one of the prestigious journals of NCERT, April 2023 has been brought out highlighting the impact of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, having ten research papers, three in English, two each in Marathi, Gujarati and Kannada, and one is in Odia.

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Students from 28 MCGM Schools in Mumbai showcase technology-based artefacts

In the event, 23 projects were created by 75 secondary school students, on a wide-range of topics
related to secondary school STEM curriculum

Published

4 weeks ago

April 29, 2023

Team ScooNews

On 26 th April, students from 28 MCGM schools from the M-Ward (Chembur, Govandi, and
Tilak Nagar) in Mumbai, showcased STEM-based artefacts related to their curriculum, that
they created using various tech-based resources and programs, at the “TELTA21 Mela”
event. The event was conducted at Shivaji Nagar Municipal School number-2, Govandi
(West). 23 projects were created by 75 secondary school students, on a wide-range of topics
related to secondary school STEM curriculum. The event was organised by the TELTA21
(Technology Enabled Learning for Teachers; Adolescents of the 21st century) project,
which is a collaborative effort by the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE) at
the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and Capgemini.

Teachers, school principals, and parents of students from schools all over the M-ward
attended the event to witness the presentation of multimedia projects by students on a wide
range of topics such as AQI, BMI, Force and Electricity, Submarines and automobiles,
Gravity etc. which were created using a variety of technological resources. In addition to the
presentations, digital badges and certificates were given to the students and schools who had
successfully participated in the initiative, and had created projects for the event.

The event was inaugurated by Mr. Vijay Jadhav, Administrative Officer M-East-Ward, along
with Mr. Anurag Pratap, Vice President and CSR Leader, Capgemini, and Dr. Amina
Charania, Associate Professor, TISS and Lead of the TELTA-21 Project, Mrs. Asha More,
Deputy Education Officer (PPP-Cell), and Dr. Mythili Ramchand, Co-Chairperson, CETE,
TISS interacted with the students and provided encouragement and feedback regarding the
projects created.

Mrs. Asha More, Deputy Education Officer (PPP-Cell) said, “From my interactions with the
students, it is clear that the initiative has sparked the curiosity of the students, which has led
to them research their topics in detail. I feel this initiative will help students in their further
studies, and will unearth the inner scientist that is hidden inside them.”

Mr. Vijay Jadhav, Administrative Officer, M-East-Ward said, “The projects I saw were
innovative and I was impressed by the community-driven nature of some of the projects. It
was surprising to see students of such young ages present such projects so successfully. All of
us at the BMC Education Dept. are thankful to the TISS for giving an opportunity to students
across the M-Ward to showcase their skills, and hope that we get to see more such projects in
the future.”

The TELTA21 Mela is an annual event that was conceptualized with a view to provide
students across MCGM schools in the M-Ward a platform to showcase their artefacts that
they have worked on throughout the academic year. The event is aimed at creating a common
platform where government officials, teachers, principals, and parents of students can interact
and share ideas, and witness the creative output of the students.

Dr. Amina Charania reflecting on the growth of the event said, “The annual Mela is one of
the most awaited events for the TELTA-21 community, where students showcase their
creative artifacts using digital technologies, situated within the topics from the curriculum,
and their lives. Compared to last year's annual mela, we have seen an increase in students'
confidence, ability to question, reasoning and their agency to create with technology.”

About TELTA21:
The TELTA21 project aims to:
– Provide equitable opportunities to students irrespective of gender and socio-economic status
of the students.
– Enable students to emerge as 21st century learners: producers of ICT resources, who can
undertake authentic and research-based learning with technology and acquire digital agency*
to improve their own life and community wellbeing.
– Prepare teachers to use constructivist teaching-learning with technology (CTLT) in regular
classroom practices, use distance technologies for active collaborative learning to foster
agency and 21st-century skills in adolescents.
– Develop evidence-based implementation maturity-matrix for technology enabled education
for the states to adapt and integrate in their systems at larger scale.

About CETE:
CETE is an independent centre at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Established
in 2015, the Centre has been engaging with, and promoting innovation in school curriculum,
teacher education and higher education curriculum and pedagogy. CETE is working towards
revitalising the education sector through research, academic programmes, teaching, field
action, policy advocacy, partnerships and collaborations.
The Centre’s flagship action research programme, the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx)
(https://clix.tiss.edu), was awarded the UNESCO-King Hamad Prize for the ‘Use of ICTs in
Education’ (2017 edition). CLIx is a collaboration between TISS, MIT and the Tata Trusts.

About TISS:
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936 as the Sir Dorabji Tata
Graduate School of Social Work. In 1944, it was renamed as the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences. The year 1964 was an important landmark in the history of the Institute, when it
was declared Deemed to be a University under Section 3 of the University Grants
Commission Act (UGC), 1956. Since its inception, the vision of the TISS has been to be an
institution of excellence in higher education that continually responds to changing social
realities through the development and application of knowledge, towards creating a people-
centred, ecologically sustainable and just society that promotes and protects dignity, equality,
social justice and human rights for all.

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Delhi Education Minister launches report on arts curriculum for underserved students

The curriculum was launched as a pilot in selected Sarvodaya schools following training for teachers

Published

1 month ago

April 26, 2023

Team ScooNews

Delhi Education Minister Atishi on 18th April 2023, launched Delhi Arts Curriculum report on the innovative arts curriculum developed for students from underserved communities in Delhi. Developed by NalandaWay Foundation, Delhi Arts Curriculum has enabled students aged three to ten to develop specific competencies in five different art forms: visual arts, music, dance, theatre, and media arts, as per a press statement issued by the foundation.

In addition, the curriculum also focuses on the development of social-emotional skills, it said.

Himanshu Gupta, Director Education & Sports, Govt of Delhi, said, “The Delhi Arts Curriculum, developed as a means to include arts in the education of all children in Delhi Government schools, has stemmed from the recommendations put forth in the National Education Policy, 2020. The curriculum was launched as a pilot in selected Sarvodaya schools following training for teachers. I have seen the students engage actively in Nalanda Way art classes, exploring the world of visual art, music, dance, theatre, and media arts, and tapping into the artist within…”

“The report titled “Delhi Arts Curriculum: Findings from the Pilot Study”, addresses the need for children to engage in joyful and artistic experiences as a part of mainstream education. Coming at a time when learning loss is a pertinent challenge, the report provides important findings and recommendations to integrate art into the learning and development of every child. We are now working towards exploring the next steps of intervention to ensure the inclusion of arts education in all Delhi Government schools,” he added.

Sriram V, Founder & CEO, NalandaWay Foundation said, “For us, arts have been a key driver for social change. Three years ago, when we signed the MoU with the Delhi government to introduce an arts curriculum in government schools, we used the opportunity to introduce visual arts, music, theatre, dance, and media arts every day for all ages from all ages 3 to 13 years. At the end of the artful academic year, we were thrilled by the outcomes for children as well as teachers. The arts curriculum led children to appreciate art, learn art skills and improve socioemotional skills- an increase in student attendance, participation, confidence, and social skills was observed; while for the teachers, it led to improved creative confidence in teaching arts.”

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The Hyderabad Public School – Begumpet Celebrates 100th Anniversary with Centenary Summer Camp for School Children

HPS’ alumni base boasts of successful and well-known CXOs who run global corporations or are influencers in their fields.

Published

1 month ago

April 24, 2023

Team ScooNews

The Hyderabad Public School – Begumpet has announced its Centenary Summer Camp for school children, as part of its ongoing Centenary Celebrations. The camp will be held from April 24th to May 20th, 2023. The summer camp was inaugurated by actor Anumolu Sushant as the Chief Guest in presence of the Mr. Gusti Noria, President of The Hyderabad Public School Society, and Principal Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat.

The Centenary Summer Camp aims to provide a unique and engaging learning experience for children, in a safe and fun-filled environment. The camp will offer a range of creative activities, including summer carnival musical play, western dance class, calligraphy, and culinary class. The school’s Olympic standard sports infrastructure will be offered to sports enthusiasts to dive into team sports. Through the Abacus and Vedic math programs, this summer camp will be a unique way to prepare the kids for a new academic session. It will be led by experienced instructors and teachers from HPS, who will ensure that the children receive quality education and care.

This camp intends to expose students to sporting stalwarts, who will inspire them towards higher goals through interaction and mentoring. A series of Special Sessions have been organized with Telangana’s First AFC – a license holder in football Mr. Shyamlam, Relay Olympian and Representative for India in Tokyo Olympics 2021 Mr. Alex Antony, Gold medalist in sports management Mr. Ranadeep Mukherjee, and former Indian cricketer Ms. Diana David.

Vice Principal and Head of Summer Program Ms. Amrita Chandra Raju, said, “As we celebrate our centenary year, we want to offer children a unique learning experience, which is why we have invited renowned sports figures and Olympians to add an element of adventure. The summer camps at HPS have always been a stimulating environment for students to acquire skills like leadership and teamwork. With the new school year around the corner, this is an ideal opportunity for us to nurture our students and foster creativity.”

The half-day HPS Summer Camp provides a unique opportunity for the imagination, curiosity, and creativity of children to run wild across four enthralling weeks. More than 300 children have registered for the month-long array of interactive educational and creative activities. The summer camp will culminate with a unique exhibit of activities on 20th May at a grand ceremony.

About HPS

Established 100 years ago, The Hyderabad Public School, also known as HPS, has the distinction of being one of the oldest educational institution systems nurturing leaders of tomorrow. The HPS way makes learning the focus instead of teaching, helping it to stay in tune with changing times and delivering top-notch education to its students. What sets HPS apart is its ability to provide an ecosystem for all-round development, incorporating learning methodologies that rely on self-discovery, encourage curiosity and develop value-based leadership and management skills of the students. With a 120-acre campus, state-of-the-art labs, naturally ventilated classrooms, unparalleled sports infrastructure, residential facilities, and best-in-class faculty students, both day and boarding, have access to the best of facilities and teaching staff. Interestingly, Shaheen – the majestic Eagle – is the mascot of the School and is a reflection of the institute’s philosophy to always conduct oneself with dignity and respect and yet soar above the rest.

HPS’ alumni base boasts of successful and well-known CXOs who run global corporations or are influencers in their fields. In 2019, the Harvard Business Review placed three of its alumni among the “Top 10” best-performing CEOs globally. These include Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayan, and Ajay Pal Banga. The HBR rating is a testimony to HPS having found the secret sauce to creating leaders of tomorrow. Significantly, Mr. Banga was recently nominated for the post of President of the World Bank by US President Joseph R. Biden.

In 2023, HPS is proudly celebrating its centenary completion and is gearing up to achieve its vision of becoming one of the top schools globally by 2050.

About HPS Centenary Celebrations: The Centenary Celebrations, which began in January 2023, comprise a year-long series of events for students, staff, parents, and alumni.

For further queries, contact:

[email protected]; 9603576330

[email protected]; 9899344798

News

National Education Policy Will Come To Effect From June Next Year in Pune

Deepak Kesarkar said New Education Policy will implement In Maharashtra State

Published

2 months ago

April 11, 2023

Team ScooNews

State School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar announced on 10th April that the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) in Maharashtra will be implemented from June next year. Also, engineering and medical education will be taught in Marathi in the future.

He said that this decision has been taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that education policy becomes important in the future.

After almost 34 years, the New Education Policy will be implemented in the country, and the new policy will be implemented in the state from the coming academic year.

Many major changes have been made in the education system through the new education policy. The format of school education in the country was till now 10+2. But the new policy does not mention that the class 10 or class 12 exams will be off the board. The 10+2 system of education will be replaced by a new system of 5+3+3+4.

According to the new pattern, the importance of the board exam will be reduced and the exam will be held in a semester pattern. Presently the board exam is held once a year. But henceforth the examination will be conducted twice a year as per the semester pattern. That is, education from class 9 to class 12 is divided into eight semesters. Kesarkar also mentioned that there is a thought of taking the entrance exam for college admission.

Kesarkar informed that instead of 10+2, now there will be a 5+3+3+4 pattern of education, up to class 5, education will be in the mother tongue, regional or home language, efforts will be made to make pre-primary education of international standard, vocational education will be included from class 6.

Students themselves along with fellow students and teachers will do the assessment, students will be given vocational skills after education, subjects will be allowed for graduation without distinction between arts and sciences, education will be equal in government and private schools and the curriculum of schools and teachers will also be changed, explained Kesarkar.

News

CBSE makes changes to Class 10, 12 board exams for 2024

Based on these new guidelines for CBSE Board Exams, students will get more multiple choice question, MCQ’s for the board exams next year, 2024

Published

2 months ago

April 10, 2023

Team ScooNews

Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE has revised the board exam pattern for Class 10 and Class 12. Based on these new guidelines for CBSE Board Exams, students will get more multiple-choice question, MCQ’s for the board exams next year, 2024.

Based on an official notice released on April 6, 2023, the new changes have been brought in keeping in mind the recommendations of the National Education Policy, NEP 2020.

The central board had already announced that it would be aligning itself to the vision put forth by NEP 2020 by including more competency-based questions in Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations.

Hence, due to this, CBSE will be giving more competency-based questions to candidates during their board exams. Students would get questions which would be based on real-life applications.

For Classes 9 and 10, CBSE will be increasing the weightage of the competency-based questions asked. For the academic session of 2022 to 2023, these questions would comprise of 30 percent of the paper. For the Board exams 2024, around 50 percent of the questions would be MCQ based. The competency baaed questions will be asked in the form of MCQs, Case study based or source-based questions

For Classes 11 and 12, for Board Exams 2024, the competency-based questions, in the form of MCQs, Source based or Case study based, would make up 40 percent of the paper.

Constructed response questions (Short Answer Questions/Long Answer type Questions, as per existing pattern) for Classes 9 and 10 would be 30 percent and 40 percent for Classes 11 and 12.

News

Uttar Pradesh government to open Sanskrit schools

To promote Sanskrit education in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has decided to open 10 new government Sanskrit secondary schools

Published

2 months ago

April 7, 2023

Team ScooNews

Ten districts in Uttar Pradesh will soon get Sanskrit medium secondary schools. The states are Varanasi, Rae Bareli, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad, Shamli, Jalaun, Etah, Amethi, and Hardoi. At present, only one government Sanskrit secondary and one government Sanskrit degree college are operating in the entire state. All other such institutions are being run privately.

The establishment of new Uttar Madhyama (intermediate-level) Sanskrit schools is among the top priorities of U.P. chief minister Yogi Adityanath. After getting an in-principle consent from the state government, the officials of the state directorate of education have formally requested for the allocation of funds towards the construction of these new Sanskrit schools, added officials.

It is worth mentioning that for the creation of assets of Sanskrit schools, the state government made a provision of ₹100 crore in the 2023-24 budget. Meanwhile, the government is also gearing up to open Government Sanskrit Secondary Schools of intermediate level in another five districts – Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Chitrakoot and Mathura – which are being developed as the key religious centres.

Earlier, Sanskrit students used to get a scholarship budget of ₹2 lakh in the state. Recently, officers of the secondary education department sent a proposal to the state government to grant scholarships to all the students studying the subject from school to college level in government-run, unaided, and self-financed Sanskrit schools and colleges running across Uttar Pradesh at ₹131 crore.

News

India’s Vast Network of Independent Schools Urged to Join Forces and Share Deep Knowledge for Global Education Progress

340,000 plus Indian independent schools invited to join first representative body for the worldwide independent K -12 education sector

Published

2 months ago

March 30, 2023

Team ScooNews

The 340,000 plus independent (private) schools across India were today urged to join forces with schools from across the world in the first worldwide representative body for the K-12 independent education sector – the Global Independent Schools Association (GISA). A vital aim of the organisation will be to improve education provision throughout the world, in all sectors, by sharing knowledge.

According to recent figures from the World Bank, over 50% of secondary school pupils and 13% of primary school pupils in India are enrolled in an independent institution – whether not for profit, profit, run by a private body such as a non-governmental organization, religious body, special interest group, foundation or business enterprise.

The new body, launched today, with an urgent call for knowledge sharing between the independent sector and governments to help improve education worldwide. Crucially, GISA hopes to make its voice heard as a valued partner in achieving SDG4: ensuring inclusive, equitable, quality education for all by 2030.

This global association seeks to co-ordinate, represent, and give a voice to the global K-12 independent education sector – filling a “representation void” of a sector that educates 350 million children around the world – including 52% of secondary school children in South Asia and 45% of primary school children in Latin America.

“I am delighted to represent Nord Anglia Education, India, and join other providers of international education in India to launch the GISA India Chapter”, said Christopher Short, MD Nord Anglia Education India. “GISA gives us an excellent platform to promote the benefits of international schools in India and highlight how we can work alongside the National system to promote high standards and educate the next generation of leaders”, he added.

GISA aims to become the “go-to” voice for the independent education sector, showcasing its impact and acting as a resource for the world’s governments and global institutions to tap into, talk to, and lean on in times of crisis. It will provide a forum for the sector to share its vast accumulated knowledge and expertise within the independent sector. At the same time, it aims to work with policymakers and governments worldwide to help raise standards in schools of every background, whether public, independent or third sector.

Some of the leading names in global K-12 independent education have united to form this new body. GISA’s Executive Board, which will shape its strategic direction, includes Andrew Fitzmaurice, CEO of Nord Anglia Education; Sunny Varkey, Founder of Gems Education; Nadim Nsouli, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Inspired Education; Frank Maassen; Group CEO of Cognita; Brian Rogove, Group CEO of XCL Education; and Dino Varkey, Group CEO of GEMS Education. The association launched with a call to action to attract members from around the world, whether they are a single classroom private school in a low-income country, a school run by a charity or foundation, or a school operating within a multinational chain.

GISA will enable its members to exchange knowledge, jointly develop resources, and benefit from access to advanced research and reports, as well as innovative workshops and exclusive events. Additionally, the association aims to organise an annual conference where policymakers, sector representatives, non- governmental organisations, and renowned thinkers will come together to engage in high-level discussions on accelerating the achievement of high-quality education for all.

Andrew Fitzmaurice, CEO of Nord Anglia Education and Chairman of the GISA’s Executive Board, said: “Independent schools are often centres of innovation that introduce new methodologies, pedagogic styles, and technologies. GISA members can provide considerable insight and best practice, which can be shared to benefit state and independent schools everywhere. From important areas such as supporting the professional development of teachers to the latest uses of technology in teaching and learning, we can make an even greater impact on education by working together.”

Speaking in support of GISA, Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said: “Getting the independent sector to raise its voice in service of the public good is hugely important. Tomorrow’s economy will be unforgiving for those without a strong education and skills for the future. Unless the independent sector joins others – governments, business, NGOs – to work out how we educate and skill up a new generation, valuable expertise will remain siloed, and solutions will be lost.”

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of GISA in India,” said Francis Joseph, India lead of GISA Global. “With India’s rich history of academic excellence and cultural diversity, independent (private) schools in the country can play a critical role in shaping the next generation of leaders and innovators. The deep knowledge across India’s vast network of independent schools can play an important role in helping to improve global education. It is a key responsibility of private school operators to work together with governments and policy makers in the country”.

Francis Joseph is known in the Indian education sector for his work with the Government of Maharashtra in establishing a mother-tongue education board, namely Maharashtra International Education Board. He also worked with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in establishing free-of-fees schools affiliated to CBSE/ICSE/Cambridge/IB Schools, as well as participating in various education policy decisions such as The Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Act, 2020.

For more information about GISA and its mission, please visit the organisation’s website at www.gisa.global

For further information please contact: Dr. Ashok Pandey
GISA India, National Chapter [email protected]

United Kingdom; 10 Queen Street Place, London, United Kingdom EC4R 1BE.
India : C/O : GEMS International School, Block C2, Palam Vihar, Gurugram, Haryana 122017 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gisa.global