Education

The lunacy and the uniqueness of English is what piques our interest to keep learning this language!

The English language is a little daunting to learn for people who are learning it for the first time. You can be sure even in a lifetime it would be pretty impossible to learn all of its intricacies. But the lunacy and the uniqueness of it is what piques our interest to keep learning this language.

Published

5 years ago

March 30, 2017

Anjana Deepak

We should be grateful that we have been introduced to the English language from an early age. One of the most widely spoken languages in the world is a bit of a muddle, from the pronunciations, accents, word meanings and their spellings. Once the basics are in place then it’s a breeze to comprehend this language. Well almost. Most middle class families in India want their kids to be educated in an English medium school, so they have the liberty and ease to explore the world at a later time and date without having too much of a constraint on language, as most of the world knows the language English and even if they don’t know it fluently a fair amount of knowledge is present.

HISTORY OF ENGLISH

English was first brought to Britain in the mid-5^th and 7^th centuries AD with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain. The Tribes being The Angles, The Saxons and the Jutes. Before this invasion, Britain spoke a Celtic language. The Angles came from “Englaland” and their language was called “Englisc”, and it is from this that the words “England” and “English” were derived.

Old English

Old English doesn’t sound like the language we speak today. Even their alphabet was different. But the most common words used in modern English have roots from the language of this era. For eg. Words like be, strong and water were derived from old English. This dialect was spoken from 400 AD till about 1100 AD.

Middle English

The Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror in 1066 invaded and conquered England. With them ruling Britain they brought in a type of French that became the language of the Royal Court, the ruling and the business classes. There was a language barrier during this time where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. By the 14^th century English became dominant in Britain again but with the addition of many French words. This dialect came to be known as Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer. It remained present from 1100 AD to 1500 AD.

Early Modern English

By the end of the era of Middle English there was a change in pronunciation. From 1500 AD – 1800 AD the Early Modern English came into being as the British had connections with people from all over the World. Vowels were pronounced shorter and shorter. This meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. And with the invention of printing there came about a standard for spelling and grammar. Hence the first dictionary was printed in the year 1604. This English existed from 1500- 1800 AD.

Late Modern English

Since the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, the English embraced foreign words from many countries into its own. The late Modern English has many more words due to the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of technology for which new words were created. This was spoken from the 1800’s to present.

When we study a language, say our mother tongue we find it extremely simple. That’s because we have learnt it growing up and is wired in our brains. Learning a new language takes getting used to. English is such a vast language which is complex due to the use of certain words, phrases and their spellings used in different contexts.

Some interesting examples of the language complexities are:

There are Homonyms, same sounding words with different meanings and spellings eg: rise and rice. Synonyms a substitute word for another word, eg: shut and close have the same meanings. Antonyms are opposites of the word, eg: the opposite of tall is short. These are just a few. We also have the different tenses, singular and plural, masculine and feminine, etc.

If you have a rough cough, climbing can be tough when going through the bough on a tree!

And did you know that there is no ham in hamburger and no egg in eggplant (brinjal) or that English muffins were not invented in England, or the French fry was not invented in France.

Then there are paradoxes, where we say that quicksand works slowly and the guinea pig is not from a guinea or from a pig. A boxing ring is square then why is it called a ring? Have you heard that noses run when you have a cold and that your feet can stink?

Did you ever have a feeling that the English language was out to test you or get you? It makes us rack our brains to be sure that we don’t make errors in the usage of words and their spellings. Why are there same sounding words in the first place? Why can’t different words have different spellings? Why do some words have letters in them that are not even used when pronouncing it?

Their, there and they’re three words with the same pronunciation but different usage. Where, were and wear again the same thing. Boggles your mind every time doesn’t it? No matter how well versed we are with the language all of us at some point or the other have committed the error of using these words in our sentences.

Don’t get me started on the words that use silent letters of the English alphabet. I’m sure that you’ll are also asking the same question “If it’s silent then why is it there?” The history of the English language says that it used to be phonemic (yup, that’s right got to learn a new word). Meaning the words looked and sounded the same. Over time pronunciation changed and since the words were already preserved by the printing press some of the letters became silent.

Only 40% of modern day English is phonemic! Words like write, knee, wrist, psychology, daughter, half, all have silent letters. You might dread spelling, but it becomes very important in learning this language. What if you wanted to look up the word knowledge in the dictionary and you didn’t know the spelling. You’d probably look under the letter ‘N’.

Silent letters are not there to confuse us, even though we think so. There are certain rules that explain which letters are supposed to be silent, before and after certain letters. Once we start practising these rules it’ll become easier to remember how the words need to be pronounced and will undoubtedly improve our speaking, spelling and writing skills.

Learning the origins of words known as ‘Etymology’ is also very interesting. It is very fascinating as it provides the history of the words.

There is a magic ‘e’ in words. If you add an ‘e’ at the end of words with short vowel sounds, it elongates the sound of the vowels, eg: tap/tape, con/cone, mat/mate and fin/fine. Pretty cool right?

Try reading aloud the poem by Gerard Nolst Trenité – The Chaos (1922)

Dearest creature in creation
Studying English pronunciation,
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse.

I will keep you, Susy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy;
Tear in eye, your dress you'll tear;
Queer, fair seer, hear my prayer.

Pray, console your loving poet,
Make my coat look new, dear, sew it!
Just compare heart, hear and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word.

Sword and sward, retain and Britain
(Mind the latter how it's written).
Made has not the sound of bade,
Say-said, pay-paid, laid but plaid.

Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as vague and ague,
But be careful how you speak,
Say: gush, bush, steak, streak, break, bleak ,

Previous, precious, fuchsia, via
Recipe, pipe, studding-sail, choir;
Woven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, shoe, poem, toe.

Say, expecting fraud and trickery:
Daughter, laughter and Terpsichore,
Branch, ranch, measles, topsails, aisles,
Missiles, similes, reviles.

Wholly, holly, signal, signing,
Same, examining, but mining,
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far.

From "desire": desirable-admirable from "admire",
Lumber, plumber, bier, but brier,
Topsham, brougham, renown, but known,
Knowledge, done, lone, gone, none, tone,

One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel.
Gertrude, German, wind and wind,
Beau, kind, kindred, queue, mankind,

Tortoise, turquoise, chamois-leather,
Reading, Reading, heathen, heather.
This phonetic labyrinth
Gives moss, gross, brook, brooch, ninth, plinth.

Have you ever yet endeavoured
To pronounce revered and severed,
Demon, lemon, ghoul, foul, soul,
Peter, petrol and patrol?

Billet does not end like ballet;
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.

Banquet is not nearly parquet,
Which exactly rhymes with khaki.
Discount, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward,

Ricocheted and crocheting, croquet?
Right! Your pronunciation's OK.
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Is your r correct in higher?
Keats asserts it rhymes Thalia.
Hugh, but hug, and hood, but hoot,
Buoyant, minute, but minute.

Say abscission with precision,
Now: position and transition;
Would it tally with my rhyme
If I mentioned paradigm?

Twopence, threepence, tease are easy,
But cease, crease, grease and greasy?
Cornice, nice, valise, revise,
Rabies, but lullabies.

Of such puzzling words as nauseous,
Rhyming well with cautious, tortious,
You'll envelop lists, I hope,
In a linen envelope.

Would you like some more? You'll have it!
Affidavit, David, davit.
To abjure, to perjure. Sheik
Does not sound like Czech but ache.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, loch, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed but vowed.

Mark the difference, moreover,
Between mover, plover, Dover.
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice,

Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, penal, and canal,
Wait, surmise, plait, promise, pal,

Suit, suite, ruin. Circuit, conduit
Rhyme with "shirk it" and "beyond it",
But it is not hard to tell
Why it's pall, mall, but Pall Mall.

Muscle, muscular, gaol, iron,
Timber, climber, bullion, lion,
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor,

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
Has the a of drachm and hammer.
Pussy, hussy and possess,
Desert, but desert, address.

Golf, wolf, countenance, lieutenants
Hoist in lieu of flags left pennants.
Courier, courtier, tomb, bomb, comb,
Cow, but Cowper, some and home.

"Solder, soldier! Blood is thicker",
Quoth he, "than liqueur or liquor",
Making, it is sad but true,
In bravado, much ado.

Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Pilot, pivot, gaunt, but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand and grant.

Arsenic, specific, scenic,
Relic, rhetoric, hygienic.
Gooseberry, goose, and close, but close,
Paradise, rise, rose, and dose.

Say inveigh, neigh, but inveigle,
Make the latter rhyme with eagle.
Mind! Meandering but mean,
Valentine and magazine.

And I bet you, dear, a penny,
You say mani-(fold) like many,
Which is wrong. Say rapier, pier,
Tier (one who ties), but tier.

Arch, archangel; pray, does erring
Rhyme with herring or with stirring?
Prison, bison, treasure trove,
Treason, hover, cover, cove,

Perseverance, severance. Ribald
Rhymes (but piebald doesn't) with nibbled.
Phaeton, paean, gnat, ghat, gnaw,
Lien, psychic, shone, bone, pshaw.

Don't be down, my own, but rough it,
And distinguish buffet, buffet;
Brood, stood, roof, rook, school, wool, boon,
Worcester, Boleyn, to impugn.

Say in sounds correct and sterling
Hearse, hear, hearken, year and yearling.
Evil, devil, mezzotint,
Mind the z! (A gentle hint.)

Now you need not pay attention
To such sounds as I don't mention,
Sounds like pores, pause, pours and paws,
Rhyming with the pronoun yours;

Nor are proper names included,
Though I often heard, as you did,
Funny rhymes to unicorn,
Yes, you know them, Vaughan and Strachan.

No, my maiden, coy and comely,
I don't want to speak of Cholmondeley.
No. Yet Froude compared with proud
Is no better than McLeod.

But mind trivial and vial,
Tripod, menial, denial,
Troll and trolley, realm and ream,
Schedule, mischief, schism, and scheme.

Argil, gill, Argyll, gill. Surely
May be made to rhyme with Raleigh,
But you're not supposed to say
Piquet rhymes with sobriquet.

Had this invalid invalid
Worthless documents? How pallid,
How uncouth he, couchant, looked,
When for Portsmouth I had booked!

Zeus, Thebes, Thales, Aphrodite,
Paramour, enamoured, flighty,
Episodes, antipodes,
Acquiesce, and obsequies.

Please don't monkey with the geyser,
Don't peel 'taters with my razor,
Rather say in accents pure:
Nature, stature and mature.

Pious, impious, limb, climb, glumly,
Worsted, worsted, crumbly, dumbly,
Conquer, conquest, vase, phase, fan,
Wan, sedan and artisan.

The th will surely trouble you
More than r, ch or w.
Say then these phonetic gems:
Thomas, thyme, Theresa, Thames.

Thompson, Chatham, Waltham, Streatham,
There are more but I forget 'em-
Wait! I've got it: Anthony,
Lighten your anxiety.

The archaic word albeit
Does not rhyme with eight-you see it;
With and forthwith, one has voice,
One has not, you make your choice.

Shoes, goes, does *. Now first say: finger;
Then say: singer, ginger, linger.
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, age,

Hero, heron, query, very,
Parry, tarry fury, bury,
Dost, lost, post, and doth, cloth, loth,
Job, Job, blossom, bosom, oath.

Faugh, oppugnant, keen oppugners,
Bowing, bowing, banjo-tuners
Holm you know, but noes, canoes,
Puisne, truism, use, to use?

Though the difference seems little,
We say actual, but victual,
Seat, sweat, chaste, caste, Leigh, eight, height,
Put, nut, granite, and unite.

Reefer does not rhyme with deafer,
Feoffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Dull, bull, Geoffrey, George, ate, late,
Hint, pint, senate, but sedate.

Gaelic, Arabic, pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific;
Tour, but our, dour, succour, four,
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.

Say manoeuvre, yacht and vomit,
Next omit, which differs from it
Bona fide, alibi
Gyrate, dowry and awry.

Sea, idea, guinea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean,
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion with battalion,
Rally with ally; yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, key, quay!

Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, receiver.
Never guess-it is not safe,
We say calves, valves, half, but Ralf.

Starry, granary, canary,
Crevice, but device, and eyrie,
Face, but preface, then grimace,
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.

Bass, large, target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, oust, joust, and scour, but scourging;
Ear, but earn; and ere and tear
Do not rhyme with here but heir.

Mind the o of off and often
Which may be pronounced as orphan,
With the sound of saw and sauce;
Also soft, lost, cloth and cross.

Pudding, puddle, putting. Putting?
Yes: at golf it rhymes with shutting.
Respite, spite, consent, resent.
Liable, but Parliament.

Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew, Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, clerk and jerk,
Asp, grasp, wasp, demesne, cork, work.

A of valour, vapid vapour,
S of news (compare newspaper),
G of gibbet, gibbon, gist,
I of antichrist and grist,

Differ like diverse and divers,
Rivers, strivers, shivers, fivers.
Once, but nonce, toll, doll, but roll,
Polish, Polish, poll and poll.

Pronunciation-think of Psyche!-
Is a paling, stout and spiky.
Won't it make you lose your wits
Writing groats and saying "grits"?

It's a dark abyss or tunnel
Strewn with stones like rowlock, gunwale,
Islington, and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.

Don't you think so, reader, rather,
Saying lather, bather, father?
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, bough, cough, hough, sough, tough??

Hiccough has the sound of sup…
My advice is: GIVE IT UP!

Learning the origins of words known as ‘Etymology’ is also very interesting. It is very fascinating as it provides the history of the words.

It’s said that if you can read 90% of this poem’s words correctly, then you can speak this language better than most and will earn you the title of an English pro.

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Education

Participate in the #UNESCO4Literacy Photo Contest

To celebrate International Literacy Day (8 September 2022), UNESCO New Delhi Office is launching a social media campaign #UNESCO4Literacy with a Photo Contest to support, value, and appreciate the small, but significant learning spaces found in our daily lives.

Published

23 hours ago

August 19, 2022

Team ScooNews

Learning spaces are everywhere; in school, out of school, in homes, parks, internet, and community. Wielded thoughtfully, learning spaces and inclusive environments have a very real potential to bring about change and the creation of learning opportunities in India.

To celebrate International Literacy Day (8 September 2022), UNESCO New Delhi Office is launching a social media campaign #UNESCO4Literacy with a Photo Contest to support, value, and appreciate the small, but significant learning spaces found in our daily lives.

Contest

On 8 September 2022, the UNESCO Office in New Delhi will announce a total of three winners from the following three categories on our social media, with special honorary mentions of the author/institution. The winning photographs will be displayed at the UNESCO New Delhi premises and will also be exhibited at UNESCO’s launch of its ‘State of the Education Report for India 2022’ to be held at the Maurya Sheraton on 20 September 2022. They will also be featured on UNESCO New Delhi’s website as well as on all UNESCO official social media platforms. The winners will also receive a copy each of UNESCO New Delhi’s two flagship photo publications!

Submissions

The contest is open to all Indian Nationals.

Post a photo related to your chosen category on your social media, along with a caption, and tag our social media account: @unesconewdelhi
Your post must include the hashtag #UNESCO4Literacy
Photographs must also be submitted under the chosen category(s), with your name and residing country along with a short description. Please mail your entries to: [email protected]
The last date for receiving the entries is 28 August 2022, 23:59 IST.

For full information on the eligibility and the selection process, click here.

Background

UNESCO works to enrich and transform existing learning spaces and enable lifelong learning environments. While the school enrollment rate in India drops to 56.6% by the end of secondary education and more and more children drop out of school; as the pandemic continues, nearly 24 million learners in the world may never return to formal education.

Despite the disconnection of students from schools and classrooms, not all learning is about formal learning. With the belief that “learning how to learn” is as important as proficiency in a subject matter itself, UNESCO is launching this photo contest with the aim of raising awareness of potential literacy learning spaces that can be found everywhere in our daily lives.

For any further information, please contact:
Rekha Beri: [email protected]
Joyce Poan: [email protected]
Isha Vig: [email protected]

Education

National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) celebrates 28th Foundation Day

National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) celebrated its 28th Foundation Day in New Delhi on 17th August 2022.

Published

2 days ago

August 18, 2022

Team ScooNews

National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) celebrated its 28th Foundation Day in New Delhi yesterday. Additional Secretary, Ministry of Education Smt. L. S. Changsan was the Guest of Honor on the occasion. Chairperson NCTE, Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani; Member Secretary NCTE, Ms. Kesang Y. Sherpa, and senior officials of the Ministry of Education attended the event.

Smt. L.S Changsan appreciated NCTE for the reforms in the Teacher Education sector through various NEP mandates. Some of the initiatives have been the National Professional Standards for Teachers, National Mission for Mentoring, and 4 Year Integrated Teacher Education Programme.

While addressing the gathering Prof. Saklani said that teachers play an important role in the growth of a society. The Foundation Day of NCTE is about celebrating the revolution in the system by equipping the teachers with relevant 21st Century skills. He also mentioned the role of teachers in ancient Universities like Takshila and Nalanda and the need to stay connected with our Indian Values and Culture.

Ms. Kesang Y. Sherpa in her welcome address said that the NCTE is bringing a paradigm shift in the field of Teacher Education by introducing various NEP2020 mandates. In alignment with NEP 2020, Teachers are at the center of reforming education. She also quoted, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

Education

Citizen Survey for Preparing Curriculum for New India

Ministry of Education has invited suggestions of the public through an online public consultation survey for the formulation of the National Curriculum Framework and subsequently design of syllabus, textbooks, and other instructional materials.

Published

3 days ago

August 17, 2022

Team ScooNews

Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged citizens to participate in the Citizen Survey for National Curriculum Framework for developing a new curriculum. A dynamic National Curriculum Framework in line with the NEP 2020 will play a major role in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat he added. He further said that the development of a vibrant, dynamic, inclusive, and futuristic National Curriculum Framework is essential for integrating cultural-rootedness along with a global outlook, freeing education from a colonial hangover, and instilling a deeper sense of pride in our next generations.

Development of a vibrant, dynamic, inclusive and futuristic National Curriculum Framework is essential for integrating cultural-rootedness along with global outlook, freeing education from colonial hangover and instilling a deeper sense of pride in our next generations.
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) August 16, 2022

The Government of India announced the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 on 29th July 2020, which recommends quality improvement of the system of education through the development of a National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The process of the National Curriculum Framework has been started through the constitution of the District Consultation Committees, State Focus Groups, State Steering Committee, National Focus Groups, National Steering Committee, etc.

A tech platform – website and mobile app has been developed for the execution of the work at scale and in a paperless manner. Using the bottom-up approach, district-level consultations, mobile app-based surveys, and state-level consultations through State Focus Groups and State Steering Committee have been conducted by the States and UTs to reach out the stakeholders like parents, Anganwadi workers, teachers, teacher educators, students, etc. at the grassroots level and collect their views and opinion about the future of school education, early childhood care, and education, teacher education, and adult education.

At the national level also the National Focus Groups and National Steering Committee have been engaged to deliberate on various issues and concerns, including the interaction with various ministries, autonomous bodies, NGOs, Corporates, Philanthropic agencies, etc. for collecting and collating valuable inputs for formulation of NCF. A mandate document for the formulation of NCF has been developed for guiding the stakeholders in the process.

Given the diversity in the country, providing an opportunity to every stakeholder, who may or may not necessarily be a parent or a teacher or a student and willing to participate in the transformation of the education system in India, through sharing views on common concerns related to education, is the need of the hour. Such multiple and diverse views are likely to provide a practical road map for the smooth implementation of the vision of NEP 2020.

All stakeholders including teachers, headmasters/principals, school leaders, educationists, parents, students, community members, NGOs, experts, public representatives, artists, artisans, farmers, and anybody who has an interest in school education and teacher education are invited to participate in this online survey being conducted in 23 languages, including the languages in the VIII Schedule of our Constitution.

Join us and take the online survey and contribute to the creation of a robust, resilient, and coherent ecosystem of education in India. Click on the link to take the online survey now: https://ncfsurvey.ncert.gov.in

Education

Education for Girls

Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education is implementing ‘Samagra Shiksha’, for universalization of quality education throughout the country in coordination with the States and UTs.

Published

3 weeks ago

August 2, 2022

Team ScooNews

Pixabay

Education is a subject in the concurrent list of the Constitution and the majority of schools are under the jurisdiction of the State Government. Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education is implementing a centrally sponsored Integrated Scheme for School Education ‘Samagra Shiksha’, effective from 2018-19, for universalization of quality education throughout the country in coordination with the States and UTs. Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the Samagra Shiksha. From the year 2018-19 to 2020-21, the Drop-out rate of girls at the Secondary level decreased from 17.03% to 13.7%, Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the secondary level increased from 76.93 to 79.45, and GER at the higher secondary level has increased from 50.84 to 54.65. (Source: UDISE+).

Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision for gender-segregated toilets in all schools. As per UDISE+ 2020-21, 97.45% of Government schools have gender-segregated toilets. Also, there is a provision of a Composite School Grant which may be used for annual maintenance and repair of existing school buildings, toilets, and other facilities to upkeep the infrastructure in good condition.

School Health Programme, under Ayushman Bharat which is a joint collaborative initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and DoSEL, Ministry of Education, a module on ‘Growing up Healthy’ has been incorporated, which interalia includes information on physical challenges during adolescence and attaining puberty.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is implementing the Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) as part of the National Population Education Project (NPEP). One of the learning outcomes of AEP is to make the learners aware of the concerns of adolescence, i.e. process of growing up during adolescence, and to inculcate in them a positive attitude regarding these concerns.

Additionally, vide a joint letter of Secretary, DoSEL, and Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti dated 08.03.2022, the states have been advised to utilize funds earmarked for Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and management of menstrual waste under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) Phase-II at the village level, for installation or maintenance of incinerators in schools having girls from classes VI to XII and for creating awareness on MHM among adolescent girls and in the society in general.

Moreover, all States and UTs have been requested to take necessary steps to create awareness amongst adolescent girls in schools about the safe usage and the benefits of Sanitary Napkins. It has also been communicated that subsidized sanitary napkins are available at the Jan Aushadi Kendras set up by the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilisers, Government of India.

Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in the Educationally Backward Blocks, which are residential schools for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, Minority, and Below Poverty Line (BPL). KGBVs were functional for classes 6^th to 8^th under the erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Under Samagra Shiksha, a provision has been made to upgrade/converge the KGBVs with girls hostels to cover girls up to classes 10^th (Type II) and 12^th (Type III) to reduce dropout and enhance enrolment of girls at Secondary and Higher Secondary levels. In KGBVs, specific skill training is imparted to provide need-based vocational education to girls.

Further, Special State Specific Projects for varied interventions under equity are emphasized for enhancing access, retention, and quality of girls by promoting enrolment drives, retention and motivation camps, gender sensitization modules, etc. Financial Support is also being provided under State Specific projects as per the allocation of flexi funds under quality to the state subject to viable proposals received from the respective State and UTs. Such projects include Life Skills, Awareness programmes, Incinerators, Sanitary Pad Vending Machines etc.

Moreover, Samagra Shiksha aims at integrating Vocational Education with general academic education in all Secondary/Senior Secondary schools including KGBVs; enhancing the Employability and Entrepreneurial abilities of the students, providing exposure to working environment; and generating awareness amongst students about various career options so as to enable them to make a choice in accordance with their aptitude, competence, and aspirations.

The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annpurna Devi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 1st August 2022.

Education

Salient Features of NEP-2020

The National Education Policy 2020 proposes various reforms in school education as well as higher education including technical education.

Published

3 weeks ago

August 2, 2022

Team ScooNews

Ministry of Education, Government of India

National Education Policy 2020 was announced on 29.07.2020. The National Education Policy 2020 proposes various reforms in school education as well as higher education including technical education. A number of action points/activities for implementation in school education as well as higher education are mentioned in the National Education Policy 2020. Details of the salient features of NEP 2020 are as follows-

Ensuring Universal Access at All Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12;
Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years;
New Curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4);
No hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams;
Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; The medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.
Assessment reforms – Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired;
Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development);
Equitable and inclusive education – Special emphasis is given to Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs);
A separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups;
Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit based performance;
Ensuring availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters;

(xiii) Setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA);

(xiv) Exposure to vocational education in school and higher education system;

Increasing GER in higher education to 50%;

(xvi) Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education with multiple entry/exit options;

NTA to offer Common Entrance Exam for Admission to HEIs;
Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit;

(xix) Setting up of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs);

Setting up of National Research Foundation (NRF);

(xxi) ‘Light but Tight’ regulation;

The single overarching umbrella body for the promotion of the higher education sector including teacher education and excluding medical and legal education- the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)-with independent bodies for standard setting- the General Education Council; funding-Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC); accreditation- National Accreditation Council (NAC); and regulation- National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC);
Expansion of open and distance learning to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).
Internationalization of Education
Professional Education will be an integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.
Teacher Education – 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject-specific Bachelor of Education
Establishing a National Mission for Mentoring.
Creation of an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, and administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education.
Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy.
Multiple mechanisms with checks and balances will combat and stop the commercialization of higher education.
All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as not-for-profit entities.
The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in the Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
Strengthening of the Central Advisory Board of Education to ensure coordination to bring overall focus on quality education.

NEP 2020 aims to increase the GER to 100% in preschool to secondary level by 2030 whereas GER in Higher Education includes vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.

The Central Sector Scheme Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) was launched in 2014 to address comprehensively all issues related to Teacher Training/ Capacity Building and Professional Development of Teachers. Under the components, a total of 95 Centres were established throughout the country through which faculties/Teachers have been trained. Currently, The Standing Finance Committee has appraised the Scheme and recommended it for continuation till 2025-2026 with a total outlay of Rs. 493.68 crores. Under the PMMMNMTT Scheme Centres are established on the basis of the proposals received from education institutions, their screening by the Screening Committee, and approval by the Project Approval Board.

The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 1st August 2022.

Here is a set of infographics highlighting the fundamental principles of National Education Policy 2020:

Education

Ministry of Education organises National Workshop on Achieving Learning Outcome

The Ministry of Education organized the National Workshop on Post National Achievement Survey (NAS) in the august presence of Smt. Annpurna Devi, MoS for Education here.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 29, 2022

Team ScooNews

The Ministry of Education organized the National Workshop on Post-National Achievement Survey (NAS) in the august presence of Smt. Annpurna Devi, MoS for Education here on 28th July 2022. Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, of DoSE&L, and senior officials from the Ministry of Education attended the workshop. The Minister also released the Mobile application of the National Achievement Survey which is available on the Android Play Store.

Smt. Annpurna Devi said that education is the foundation for the development of humanity. The economic, social, cultural, and scientific progress of human society depends on how educated and knowledgeable that society is. The Minister said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, evidence-based research is being promoted to make education future ready. The National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 will provide the foundation for such interventions. She said that we have to take such measures so that the pace of education of the children not only reaches the pre-pandemic level, but can also compensate for the loss they have suffered during this period. She added that we need to make short-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies to achieve this. She congratulated the Officials of the Ministry, NCERT, State Education Secretaries, and SPDs for the smooth conduct of NAS 2021 and the timely release of the Report Card.

Smt. Anita Karwal said that teachers should identify the stage of learning for students so that transactions can be designed based on the needs of students. She further said that States should have State level Achievement Survey (SLAS) next year based on the experience of the National achievement survey by the Education Ministry. She further stated that teachers should emphasize various learning modes other than the textbooks. They should not use books as the only tool rather than explore other modes. There is a need to explore fun-based learning, she added.

Prof. Indrani Bhaduri gave a brief presentation on the Conduct of the National Achievement Survey 2021 and the release of National, State, and District Report Card. She provided the roadmap for post NAS interventions. She stated that the National Achievement Survey is a large-scale survey that has been conducted in India since 2001 periodically to assess children’s learning levels and gain an insight into the health and efficacy of the educational system. The latest cycle of NAS was conducted in November 2021 and assessed the learning levels of Class 3, 5, 8, and 10 students drawn from 720 districts of all the States and UTs of India.

The extensive reporting of the survey findings at the level of the district, state, and nation provides a detailed understanding of the learning achievement of children across India. The core aim of the programme was to disseminate the findings of the NAS 2021 among the state dignitaries and to have deliberations on the roadmaps that all the States/UTs have developed as a part of the intensive Regional workshops conducted during the month of July 2022 across the nation. The Road maps that the States/UT prepared elaborate on the post NAS interventions that the State/UT intend to implement as a follow-up of the findings of NAS for their particular State/UT.

The post NAS intervention is a crucial post-survey phase that focuses on the optimal utilization of the survey findings to inform the actions and steps that can be taken to enhance the learning levels of children. There were dedicated presentations and discussions on Learning Outcomes developed by NCERT and the grass root level interventions at the Block, Cluster, and District levels. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Ladakh, Manipur, and Karnataka gave brief roadmap presentations to guide the post-NAS 2021 interventions.

Dr. Amarendra Behera from NCERT briefly explained the Vidya Samiksha Kendra and Sh Rajnish Kumar, Director (Digital Education) introduced the National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) to the group of education administrators. Sh Ravi Hedge, DDG (Stats) presented strategies for Out of School Children.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Education), Principal Secretaries, State Education Secretaries, State Project Directors of Samagra Shiksha of State/UT Government, and several officials from NCERT, CBSE, KVS, NVS, and SCERT participated in the National Workshop. The theme was improving the students’ learning outcomes through technology and data.

Education

Andhra Pradesh takes another step towards Quality Education

Andhra Pradesh Government has signed an MoU with BYJU’S, an ed-tech company to provide quality-oriented content for the government school students from 4th to 10th standard on Thursday

Published

2 months ago

June 17, 2022

Team ScooNews

STUDENTS FROM CLASSES 8 TO 10 TO BE GIVEN TABS FOR DIGITAL LEARNING COSTING Rs 500 CRORE TO PROVIDE TABS TO ABOUT 4.7 LAKH PEOPLE
CM JAGAN GOVT SIGNS MOU WITH BYJU’S TO PROVIDE QUALITY CONTENT FROM 4TH TO 10TH STANDARD GOVT SCHOOLS STUDENTS
AP GOVT TO PROVIDE TABS TO ALL GOVERNMENT SCHOOL STUDENTS STUDYING AT 8TH STAND, SAYS CM JAGAN
TABS TO ENHANCE DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF GOVERNMENT SCHOOL CHILDREN: CM JAGAN
BYJU'S MODULES TO BE INTEGRATED INTO AP EDUCATION SYSTEM
MOVE TO ENSURE STUDENTS ARE TRAINED FOR THE 2025 CBSE 10TH EXAMS
TABS TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO STUDENTS IN SEPT
TVs TO BE INSTALLED IN EACH CLASSROOM FROM NEXT YEAR TO ENSURE DIGITAL LEARNING IS PROPAGATED
ANDHRA PRADESH GOVERNMENT IS MOVING FASTER THAN A STARTUP, SAYS BYJU RAVEENDRAN

Andhra Pradesh Government has signed an MoU with BYJU’S, an ed-tech company to provide quality-oriented content for the government school students from 4th to 10th standard on Thursday. Further, the government will provide Tabs for the 8th standard students at the cost of Rs 500 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “It will transform the lives of many poor children. The project is about handhold the government school children so that they pass out 10th and 12th CBSE exams with flying colors. It is the dream for all of us, and the partnership would strengthen it greatly.”

He added that the visual presentation and content enhancement would come through starting from 4th to 10th class at government schools, and it would be a game-changer.

“Content available to private school children and those subscribed to the quality content would cost around 20 to 25 thousand per annum. Now it will be available to government school students for free. Further, the government also to give tabs so that digital experience and digital knowledge is available to the children,” said the Chief Minister. The teachers would also be given proper orientation so that they can also do their part in a better way.

He also thanked the steps taken by BJYU’S to help the system better by partnering with the government.

Byju Raveendran, CEO of BYJU’S said, “Our meeting happened a few days ago, and now we are signing MoU. Andhra Pradesh government is moving faster than a startup. It is commendable and unbelievable for a government to move at this phase. I am excited about the opportunity given to us. Government school students to get the same access to quality education, which their counterpart in private school is having.” He added that the partnership is a life-changing initiative for government school students and all of us have the responsibility to ensure no children are left behind.

Andhra Pradesh government has taken another crucial step in revolutionizing the education system in the state by signing an MoU with BJYU’S. On Thursday, the state government, which has made history in the field of education with programs like English medium, bilingual textbooks, Amma Odi and Gorumudda, embarked on another massive program. The MoU was signed by Commissioner of Education S. Suresh Kumar and Vice President of BYJU’S and Head of Public Policy Sushmit Sarkar in the presence of the Chief Minister. The founder and CEO of BYJU’S Raveendran also participated virtually from the Unites States of America.

It may be noted that the Chief Minister met with the founders, CEOs, and key executives of various Unicorn companies during the World Economic Forum in Davos. It was there that Jagan had a meeting with Raveendran. The e-learning program was thoroughly discussed so that children in government schools could learn anywhere and anytime.

Education

Recognising Students in GD Goenka World School

Imagined and conceptualised as an elite private English medium co-educational senior secondary school, GDGWS currently stands as an internationally acclaimed premier institution of higher education in India.

Published

3 months ago

May 31, 2022

Dr. Neeta Bali

Many schools have branding messages but are mostly exchangeable with hundreds of other schools. So who are we and what makes our school different from the rest? It's a question that gets answered better with time itself. Imagined and conceptualised as an elite private English medium co-educational senior secondary school, GDGWS currently stands as an internationally acclaimed premier institution of higher education in India.

Our progressive and modern method of education focuses more on the student’s needs rather than assuming that all students are at the same level of understanding. Blessed with a rich diversity of students, we recognise our children at a young age. With that in mind, we have the best team of educators that focus on quality education aimed at directing students towards research and innovation. Each child is gifted in a unique way and to know their interests and talents, we observe what they pay attention to, follow their lead and help engage them around their interests through hobbies. During the process, we analyse and accompany every one of our students throughout their school life in order to understand their needs, know their potential and stimulate their educational curiosity.

The students are allowed ample time to put into their creativity. For instance, if someone wants to work on a project, they can work on it for as long as they want to. We know that much more can be achieved if you allow learners the time that is needed. During their learning journey, we encourage and motivate children to work toward achieving goals. We also map out that the challenges presented to them should be just enough so that prompt feedback can be given during their course of learning.

The results then, are there to see. Children develop self-identity, believe in themselves, forming relationships that contribute to their emotional, social and cognitive development. The students develop hard working attitude toward achieving academic excellence. We realise that recognition does not come unless opportunities are presented and so the GDGWS students are encouraged to participate in one or more extracurricular activities. As their involvements form a connect and deepen while representing GDGWS, they earn recognition for their achievements in various fields such as that of creativity, activity and service.

The students have been recognised on the world stage through the number of simulated conferences that which they have participated in, to highlight a few such events are the prestigious ‘Wordz Model United Nations, TEDx event, Siverfiesta – Film Critique festival, The TechExplore, Scienamite, Intra Goenkan Trident and awards like ‘The International Award for Young People, India’ and ‘The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award’.

As GDGWS continues to grow, there has been created a space in Indian education that can be benchmarked against the best in the world of education.

Education

Ministry of Education releases National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report

The objective of NAS 2021 is to evaluate children’s progress and learning competencies as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system, so as to take appropriate steps for remedial actions at different levels.

Published

3 months ago

May 26, 2022

Team ScooNews

The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education released the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report which assesses the health of the school education system in the country by conducting a comprehensive evaluation survey of children’s learning competencies in classes III, V, VIII, and X with a cycle period of three years. It reflects the overall assessment of the school education system. The last NAS was held in 2017.

The NAS 2021 was held on 12.11.2021 at all India levels and covered (a) Government Schools (Central Government and State Government); (b) Government Aided Schools; and (c) Private Unaided Schools. The subjects covered are Language, Mathematics & EVS for classes 3 & 5; Language, Mathematics, Science & Social Science for class 8 and Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and English for class 10.

About 34 lakh students of 1.18 lakh schools in 720 districts from rural and urban areas participated in NAS 2021. The National Report Card has been released and placed in the public domain on nas.gov.in. It will enable the analysis of results and remedial action at the appropriate levels.

The objective of NAS 2021 is to evaluate children's progress and learning competencies as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system, so as to take appropriate steps for remedial actions at different levels. It will help to unravel the gaps in learning. It will support state/UT governments in developing long-term, mid-term and short-term interventions to improve learning levels and orient on differential planning based on NAS 2021 data.

The achievement tests along with the questionnaires, i.e., pupil questionnaire, teacher questionnaire, and school questionnaire were developed and translated in 22 different languages by NCERT. This nationwide survey was administered by the CBSE on one single day simultaneously. The survey was managed through the technology platform designed and developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

In order to capture student attainment of Learning Outcomes at the end of Classes III, V, VIII, and X, an OMR-based achievement test comprising Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) was conducted. It assesses competencies and skills achieved by the students at different levels of school education through meticulously developed and field-tested items.

The report is based on the performance in all subjects through disaggregation by gender (female, male), Area (Rural and Urban), Management of schools (Government, Government Aided, and Private unaided), and Social Groups (Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule Tribe (ST), Other Backward Communities (OBC) and General.

Education

India’s first, exclusive k -10 child safety school program – Hapchi is building an informed and resilient generation

Hapchi is a safety awareness and skill development organisation that aims to empower children 3 – 16 years against threats of abuse, bullying, cybercrime, and mental health issues

Published

3 months ago

May 23, 2022

Team ScooNews

Ever wondered how your school can successfully address child safety concerns? If so, then look no further than HAPCHI!

"We live in a world where the understanding about child safety is restricted to good touch and bad touch and where rising instances of bullying and mental health issues are still being swept under the carpet. The current generation is maturing much earlier than its predecessors because of its exposure to technology. In today's environment, child safety is undermined at every stage of a child's life. It has therefore become essential to break down the barriers and begin discussing and destigmatizing these problems, now and no later. " – Dr. Kanika Sharma, Founder of Hapchi

HAPCHI, India’s first, revolutionary, and exclusive k -10 child safety school program, paves the way for an informed and resilient generation. It is a safety awareness and skill development organisation that aims to empower children 3 – 16 years against threats of abuse, bullying, cybercrime, and mental health issues. Our curriculum is ingeniously designed, customizable, and approved by experts. It is centered around a school-going child and connects all the critical stakeholders of the child's education ecosystem, that is school, teachers, and parents.

What sets Hapchi apart is that we create an environment that empowers children to openly discuss and express their issues without the fear of being judged. It helps kids realise that it's okay not to be okay, and allows them to empathise with the other's perspective. Along with learning about safety skills, real-life skills are also developed. It is a journey from innocent, vulnerable childhood to a happy, well-informed, and confident adulthood.

Along with schools, parents play a crucial role in empowering children to protect themselves. We also provide sessions for parents and educators to help them understand the child's perspective and bridge the communication gap. We believe that every child is unique and capable of reaching their full potential if they are raised in a nurturing environment.

“The best gift you can give any child is to empower them for life” – Dr. Kanika Sharma