US based SHCOE has partnered with K12 Inc.—the provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in grades K–12—to launch Independence Career Online High School .
SHCOE became the world’s first AdvancED/SACS accredited online school district in February of 2011 and serves both non-traditional teenage and adult learners. Powered by SHCOE’s career online education model, Independence Career Online High School will enable adult students to complete an 18-credit high school diploma as well as earn a credentialed career certificate. Career certificates will include: Childcare, Transportation Services, Office Management, Homeland Security, Protection Services, and General Career Preparation.
Established in 1999, K12 Inc. provides individualised public and private schooling options in 33 states and around the world. K12 also provides a complete continuum of individualized education products and solutions to over 2,000 school districts in the United States, as well as direct to consumers seeking high-quality online curriculum for enrichment, homeschooling, or remediation. K12 has delivered over 4 million online courses to students in 70 countries worldwide.
SHCOE partners with K12 Inc. to launch career online high school
New admission portal for distance education
The University of Mumbai has learnt a lesson from last year’s admission and exam-related goof-ups. This year, admissions to the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) may not be done via the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL). Admissions will not only be done through a portal, three options are being considered, including MKCL, but also will be decentralized and around 20 colleges will now act as IDOL’s study centres. A meeting was held with officials from IDOL and the varsity to discuss the admission strategy for distance education programmes.
A senior official said, “There were a lot of goof-ups last year. Besides technical issues, the rate quoted by MKCL is Rs 125 to fill each form online. So, MU is looking at other options besides MKCL. The contract for admissions may go to another portal.”
AICTE Moots New Courses from Std IX

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has designed the National Vocational Curriculum Framework under which students can take up courses in industry sectors such as automobile, tourism, IT starting from standard IX.
S S Mantha,Chairman, AICTE gave details of this 1,000 hours system, which combines skill and education – skill to be provided by the industry and educational content by the institutions.
He said, “Nearly 80% of the workforce doesn’t have a system to provide training. Of the 12.8 million new entrants to the workforce, only 3.1 million get training. The vocational education scenario is not very encouraging as only 3% of the total population goes for it. To bridge the gap between industry and academia, we have framed this curriculum where students will get an opportunity to enter at the level they find appropriate.”
Mantha said, “The levels for vocational courses will begin from standard IX and standard X would be the second level. After that standard XI and XII would be third and fourth level, which students can pursue while in junior colleges. After the third, fourth and fifth levels, students can bag their diploma in polytechnic. If students do the sixth and seventh in polytechnic college, they will get the advanced diploma, and if they pursue the fifth, sixth and seventh level while in university, they would get the bachelor’s degree.”
IFC Invests in Global Indian International School
Global Indian International School (GIIS) was initiated by Global Schools Foundation (GSF) with the aim of providing quality education to the expatriate community in Singapore. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has invested 25 million Singapore dollars (equivalent to $19.4 million) in GIIS to increase access to quality primary and secondary education in emerging markets in Asia, including lower-income countries.
The amount has been invested for Greenfield and acquisition in the lesser developed countries in South and South East Asia. India has significant opportunity in K-12 space and a significant part of the loan facility will be used in India. The project includes the construction of new schools in India and the acquisition of schools in Southeast Asia and South Asia. This facility will allow the GIIS brand to expand its footprint in India by providing the necessary capital for growth.
“Global Indian International School’s ability to implement high standards of educational delivery helps drive innovation in the private primary and secondary education sector and fulfills the growing need for quality education in emerging markets,” said Vipul Prakash, IFC Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services in Asia. “The company’s expansion into new, underserved markets will not only help expand access to affordable education, but also set standards for other private providers in those markets.”
“IFC’s long-term loan will allow us to accelerate our expansion plan and reach more students throughout the region,” said Atul Temurnikar, Co-Founder & Chairman of Global Schools Foundation. “As we enter new countries, we expect to also benefit from IFC’s deep industry knowledge and on-the-ground expertise in local markets.”
Private education has a key role to play to boost enrollment levels and the quality of learning in emerging markets. While most of Global Indian International School’s target markets for expansion are close to achieving universal enrollment in basic education, the quality and student enrollment levels in secondary education continue to lag.
The investment is in line with IFC’s education sector strategy in Asia, which includes supporting service providers that operate scalable business models that can reach lower-income households, establish best practices, raise standards, and provide employment opportunities for skilled professionals.
CBSE discontinue Sample Papers for classes IX, X
The Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to discontinue issuing of ‘blue prints, sample question papers and marking schemes’ in all major subjects for class IX and X.
The Board used to provide a model template to serve as a guide for entailing uniformity in assessment, and proper coverage of the curricula. However, the Board officials say that it has been noticed that a large section of students and examiners are ‘punctiliously’ following these documents, which is preventing the open-ended approach and diversity in expression, style and content.
Opposition walkout on private engineering colleges issue in Kerala
CPI-M led LDF Opposition in Kerala staged a walkout dissatisfied with the government response to an High court order regarding effective steps to improve the quality of education in private engineering colleges. Both Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb assured the House that government would adhere to the court directions and take steps to ensure that infrastructure and faculty in private professional colleges were of high-quality. The court had also made the observation that pass percentage in most of these institutions was very low.
Need for better investment in early childhood education, says report
Several recent reports have strongly indicated that the most vulnerable children in New Zealand are at risk of missing out on quality early childhood education.
NZEI executive member Hayley Whitaker says these findings should send a clear message to the Government that its changes to early childhood education policy are putting our most vulnerable children at risk.
“The Government needs to restore funding for early childhood education so that all children get better access to qualified teaching and better teacher:child ratios.
“These reports need to be taken seriously because good quality early childhood education is a key indicator for long term success at school. And this is especially crucial for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.”
“ECE is one of the single biggest influences on education achievement and the effects are still apparent at age 15 and older,’’ Ms Whitaker says.
The reports*, from the Government’s own advisory groups as well as independent research, show that New Zealand is falling behind in its investment in early childhood education.
This comes in the wake of changes to funding for early childhood education that removed an earlier target of 100 percent qualified teachers in ECE centres by 2012.
Instead, the Government has reduced the required teacher qualification rate to 50 percent and reduced the 100 percent funding band to 80 percent.
The reports have concluded that the quality of early childhood education is suffering, partly as a result of these changes.
“The Government’s own advisory groups’ reports make it clear that adult:child ratios, group size and teacher qualification are cornerstone indicators for high quality ECE for children,’’ Ms Whitaker says.
“Quite simply, the evidence shows that children who attend early childhood centres with a higher proportion of qualified, registered teachers get access to better quality early childhood education than those who attend centres with a lower proportion of qualified teachers.”
For instance, a report by Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/NZ Childcare Association found that children in “100 percent qualified” centres are more likely to have conversations with teachers, partake in shared sustained thinking with teachers and engage in complex play.
The Early Childhood Education Sector Advisory Group has recommended that the Government ensure that from 1 July next year all centre-based services be required to have at least 80 percent registered teachers.
For under twos, the working party recommends a reduction in the adult:child ratios of be 1:3 for children under one and 1:4 in the 1-2 age group. The current ratio is 1:5.
While the Government, in its last Budget targeted “high needs” areas in order to increase participation rates, Ms Whitaker says it is vital that all ECE services are adequately funded to ensure that quality education is provided.












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