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Karnataka Schools May Teach Yoga From Next Year

The Karnataka government is planning to introduceg yoga studies in schools from next edcuational year with a committee readying syllabi for Class I to X. The government formed three committees to frame yoga syllabi for lower primary, higher primary and high schools.
Mangalore-based yoga trainer N Kushalappa Gowda, a member of the yoga textbook committee, told that syllabi have been submitted to the textbook observation committee. After the observation committee gives the green signal, the textbooks will be sent out for printing. What’s not clear is whether yoga will be introduced as life-skill studies or as an academic subject. Introduction of yoga is expected to help students keep good health and sharpen their concentration.
The syllabus includes history of yoga and important asanas. Since teacher shortage is acute, Kushalappa said a few faculty members from each school will be identified for yoga teaching .

IIML to Launch Analytics Programme With Kelly School

The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIML) in association with Kelley School of Business, USA will soon launch a one-year certificate programme in business analytics for executives. The course is aimed at providing analytics knowledge through online and in-class education.

The certificate programme will combine business strategy, business analytical tools and applications of analytics in selected business areas, namely finance, marketing and operations. The purpose of this programme is to develop skills and a mindset for participants that will allow executives to identify and seize business opportunities using business analytics tools.

The programme will have both in-residence and online learning channels, so that students need not take long breaks from their work but at the same time get benefits of continuous learning environment. Another unique feature of the programme is training on enterprise miner. The programme consisting of 240 hours is divided into four modules, each module of 9 to 10 weeks duration. Each module would have five days of mandatory on campus residency requirement and rest will be delivered over internet. Online classes will be held for two hours twice per week on Fridays and Saturdays.

IIML director Devi Singh said, “This programme is a step towards innovating new measures of teaching and learning. It will also help in widening the horizon of innovative professional education in the country.”

First India-New Zealand Education Council Meeting Held, 5 MoUs Signed


Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development and Hon’ble Steven Joyce, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, New Zealand, co-chaired the first meeting of the India-New Zealand Education Council held on October 19. The council has been constituted to draw up a framework and devise mechanisms of co-operation and set the agenda for improving educational relations between the two countries. Senior academicians, industry leaders and government officials from both the sides also attended the meeting. Both the ministers expressed satisfaction at the vibrant engagement between the two sides in the field of education and hoped that the council will further strengthen the collaborative efforts.

Both leaders renewed their commitment for collaboration and partnership in higher education. India and New Zealand expressed their commitment to earmark US$ 1 million annually to enhance the co-operative activities through specific programmes designed by the council. The programmes will include joint research, student mobility, faculty development, qualifications framework as well as vocational education and training, among others.

The members of the council recognized skill development, especially catering to the needs of the industry and keeping pace with the exponential growth in global mobility of workforce, as one of the major challenges facing the two countries and pledged further collaboration. The council also noted the need to set up more institutions of excellence, for which enhancement of the quality of faculty is a key challenge.

Compulsory Education to Handicapped Children


According to Section 26(a) of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Right and full Participation) Act, 1995, every child with a disability has access to free education in an appropriate environment till he attains the age of eighteen years.

A Centrally Sponsored Scheme called “Inclusive Education for the Disabled at the Secondary Stage (IEDSS)” was launched in April, 2009. The objective of the scheme is to enable all  students with disabilities, who complete eight years of elementary education, to pursue secondary education (classes IX to XII) in an inclusive and enabling environment. The budget  provision for the scheme for 2010-2011 is Rs.70.00 crore.

Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which is a flagship programme to universalize elementary education, the policy of zero rejection of children with special needs is followed. These  children are educated in the most appropriate environment suitable to their learning needs.

The proviso to Section 3(2) of the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 states that a child suffering from disability, shall have the right to free elementary education in accordance with the provision of the said Act. The emphasis under SSA and IEDSS is to mainstream the children with special needs in regular schools having an inclusive environment.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Bihar to breathe life into Buniyadi Vidyalayas or Gandhian schools


Bihar has begun a move to revive 391 Buniyadi Vidyalayas (also known as basic schools) that were built in accordance with Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of providing elementary holistic education to every child.

The schools were meant to provide education that connected seamlessly with lives of children. Training in spinning, carpentry, farming and weaving was also part of the pedagogy in these schools. Here, teachers were also expected to have skills in different crafts.

“After the central government approved 122 model schools, the state government has decided to run them in the basic schools set up on Gandhian principles,” Biihar Education Minister P.K. Shahi told IANS.

Shahi said decades of neglect had caused the standard of the basic schools to drop.

He hoped that setting up of model schools within basic schools would revive Gandhi’s dream education system. Gandhi aimed at the creation of small, self-reliant communities through training children in qualities of heart, head and hand. He wanted to bridge the separation between education and work. The first Buniyadi Vidyalaya was set up by Gandhi in 1939 in Brindavan in Bihar’s West Champaran district.

Amarjeet Sinha, principal secretary, education department, said the government would revive the schools in earnest.

District officials in Champaran district said the ‘Mahatma ke school’ (schools of the Mahatma), as known locally, have been struggling for survival. No effort was made by the union government either to keep the institution alive.

A few years ago, the Supreme Court took serious note of the plight of basic schools in West Champaran.

The court then issued a notice to the union government, the state government, West Champaran district administration and National Human Rights Commission to ensure proper functioning of the schools and preserve Gandhian heritage.

Debate on Physical education by foreign delegates


Panjab University on Monday  concluded a  three-day conference on ‘International Forum of Physical Education and Sports Sciences’, where around 100 papers on topics related to physical education were presented.

Some other papers presented during the conference include exploring perceptions on physical activity among college students, the effect of different types of warm-up on standing broad jump, assessment of physical parameters of kabaddi players in relation to their playing positions, comparison of strength, endurance and flexibility of hockey players from rural and urban schools and SWOT analysis of sports tourism in India.

The conference showed participation of delegates from over 18 countries, including Belgium, Sweden, USA, Brazil, Malaysia, India, Slovakia, Nigeria, Turkey and Germany.

The Advisor of the conference and vice-president of Global Affairs and Research, HOPSports Inc, USA, Dr Ming-kai Chin said, “In the recent years, we have seen a significant growth in development of physical education, sport and health in terms of research and practical application in India”.

Dario Novak, a delegate from Croatia, presented a paper on current practices and researches related to physical education across the world. He said he focussed on current perceptions of physical education, guidelines and pathways describing it, and relevant solutions.

“The educational curriculum requires a change in order to include more physical education classes. Also, the emphasis of physical education should be on enhancing motor skills. However, if the focus is shifted to fun and enjoyment, many problems will be solved,” he added.

Rise in the number of students going abroad for education

In last three years more number of students have started moving abroad for studying under graduate courses as there is consistent rise in number of students taking Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

Campuses in the West have for long been attracting youth in India and Indoreans too are in the race. While studying in famous institutes of US is still a dream of many since past several years, better opportunities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand are attracting youth for the last couple of years. In the last five years, there is a rise of 200-250 students moving abroad.

According to city-based experts, who cater to the need of students who wish to go abroad, availability of scholarship, work permit followed by citizenship are encouraging students to move to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Nitin Goel, founder and director, Indian Institute of Careers and Higher Education (IICHE) said, “Though most of the students still prefer US to study under graduate and post graduate courses, of late Canada followed by Australia and New Zealand are attracting students from the city.”

As per the estimated figures, nearly 1,200 to 1,500 students make beeline for institutes abroad every year. Approximately, 700-800 students go to US for higher studies including UG, PG and PhD courses while 200-250 students choose UK. Though UK is still the second favourite destination of students, number of students moving to Canada, Australia and New Zealand has seen a rise with 50, 70 and 40 students respectively moving to these countries.

According to a recent study conducted by one of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), there has been a steady annual rise of 7% Indians travelling overseas for a degree. More than 53,000 Indians went abroad in 2000 and at the end of the decade, the count shot up to 1.9 lakh. Prashant Hemnani, founder and director of Globalizers, a coaching institute said, “There is 10-15% rise in number of students travelling abroad for higher education. Earlier, people used to worry about the cost of education but actually the cost is not high in comparison to the rewards that foreign education offers.”

ViewSonic Receives Best Monitor Brand Award

Viewsonic Corp has received Best Desktop Monitor Brand award during SME Channels Achievers’ Awards 2012. This annual event of SME Channel had been witnessed by more than 500 people from the IT Industry which honored IT companies in 70 different categories.  The event was inaugurated by Dr Ajay Chaudhary, Joint Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Sharing his pleasure on this occasion  Kuldeep Ramaiya, Country Manager, ViewSonic said, “ViewSonic is committed for bringing in innovative technologies in their display solutions. Since 25years we have always introduced breakthrough technologies for our consumers in the display solution. We are glad to receive this recognition from the one of the most important IT Channel event. We are thankful to the entire team of SME Channel for recognizing our Monitor segment which is technically highly efficient with unique features, unmatched picture quality, and great experience. This platform would definitely connect us with the channel community and would apprise them of our latest products and various promotional schemes. We promise to reach the acme in the display fraternity with these kinds of unparallel innovations” In this occasion ViewSonic displayed a host of their latest display range: Projectors: Pro8200, PLEDw500, PLEDw200, PJD5126, Digital Photo Frames: VFA770w, VFM670w Monitors: VX2453mh, VX2753mh, VP23656s. The visitors also witnessed the latest innovation from ViewSonic , World’s First Android based 22” Smart Display VSD220, which is soon going hit Indian market.

Boxlight Launches Wireless Speaker Digital System

Boxlight, the global leader in Audio-visual products has announced one of its kind products in India, the audio speaker and wireless microphone comboSoundLite+. It is a unique digital speaker system combining two high efficiency, full range 10W speaker with a dual channel 20W class D amp and wireless handheld mic / transmitter. With its portable design, the SoundLite+ has proven to be the best speaker worldwide and is now being launched in India. This portable, wireless, high sound quality speaker comes with the new 2.4G technology. The SoundLite+ is easy to install and perfect for both ceiling and polls wit snap – together assembly and auto channel sync for connectivity.

The SoundLite+ uses frequency expansion technology to reduce the signal noise and enhance the transmission reliability of the wireless microphone. It is the perfect innovation with its power saving, providing long operation qualities, frequency auto matching and multi transmissions. Microphone priority allows you for audio pause during presentations to enable speeches. The transmission can be used as a stand-alone microphone as well as match to multiple input including other audio players, music players and cell phones, enabling full room audio and conference call capabilities.

The India representative, Boxlight, Joy Ghosh said that “We are delighted to announce the launch of SoundLite+, as BOXLIGHT is the only company to be able to introduce the most innovative and affordable audio and wireless range of speakers in the Indian markets.

BOxlight’s SoundLite+ is available at a launch price of Rs 21,000 along with one year warranty.

Work should be done at school, rather than at home: French President Francois Hollande

French President Francois Hollande has vowed to ban homework as part of wide-ranging reforms to the country’s education system.

Hollande has expressed worries over the fact that privileged children benefit from parental assistance on take-home assignments and that disadvantaged children do not have support at home.

“An education program is, by definition, a societal program. Work should be done at school, rather than at home,” the New York Daily News quoted Hollande, as saying.

According to a report by France 24, Hollande’s extensive education reform plans also include increasing financial aid while combating truancy.

He also intends to provide incentives for teachers in difficult area, the report said.

According to the report, France ranks below most nearby European countries, as well as the United States, on international tests, which has prompted a desire for restructuring.

Source: ANI

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