Karnataka high court, issued notices to the state government on public-interest litigation (PIL) filed against Karnataka Unaided Schools Management Association (Kusma) for allegedly denying admission to students belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities.
It may be recalled that the association had initiated a protest against the state government over RTE, by calling for a week-long closure of schools under it starting from July 16. While it had sought clarifications from the state over the Act, a few other private school associations came forward to support its shutdown stir.
So, city-based lawyer S Vasudev filed a PIL against the association and his main contention was that closure of the schools was unwarranted and unconstitutional. However, the protest turned out to be a flop-show and the association, finally, called off its closure plans.
When the petition came up for hearing on Thursday, a division bench-headed by Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen-asked Vasudev why the petition when the private schools have dropped their closure plans. To this, the petitioner replied that though the shutdown plan has been called off, the perpetrators should not be left scot-free. He argued: Who has given Kusma the right to shut down around 1,800 schools?
In his petition, Vasudev had sought a direction to the state government and its education departments to implement the Supreme Court judgment of April 12, 2012, that stipulates all institutions to give free and compulsory education under the Act.
Government of Assam (GoA) and Pearson has announced a joint initiative to provide vocational skills training for young people in schools in Assam. This public-private partnership will serve as a platform for the introduction of the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF), a more ambitious national program to integrate skills, training and qualifications in schools. The GoA-Pearson undertaking is without precedent in India, making Assam a progressive leader in reforming education and learning, to improve employment opportunities for young people.
Punjabi Academy, an academy which was formulated with a view to promote and revive consciousness about Punjabi culture and literature, has announced its “Annual Literary Awards” for the year 2011. The Awards were announced by the Award Committee of the Punjabi Academy with the approval of its Chairperson, Shiela Dixit, Chief Minister, Delhi.
Mukta Vidya Vani, a pioneering initiative of the National Institute of Open Schooling, (NIOS) for using Streaming Audio for educational purposes, was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal , on the occasion of the 22nd General Body Meeting of the NOS Society.
Google has introduced a comprehensive training program for young professionals in India in alliance with NIIT Limited. The programme ‘Google Web Academy’ aims to bridge the digital skill gap in the country and help students and professionals capitalize on the emerging job market for the online industry. Under the initiative, NIIT will be Google’s first partner to offer specialised courses through its centres across the country.
