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RTE Proper execution urged

Project director, Bihar Education Project, and Secretary, information and public relations department, Rajesh Bhushan while addressing a seminar organised by the Human Rights Association of Bihar at Chandragupta Institute of Management Patna (CIMP), stressed on various shortfalls which needed special attention. He also spoke about the lack of infrastructure that includes both shortage of school buildings as well as teachers. He mentioned that many children in teh age of school going children were still out of school. He further said that as primary education under social agenda programme has always been a high priority of the respective state governments, the state should play a major role in implementing the Right to Education Act, in a more effective manner.

He said that after implementation of Right to Education Act, schools would not be allowed to take entrance examination, capitation fees and demanding birth certificates at the time of admission of children in Class 1. He further said that all unaided schools would provide free education to at least 25 % children from the neighbourhood, adding that such schools would be compensated by the state government for the losses that they would incur. This system is also to include 220 days of compulsory teaching in a year and 45 hours of minimum teaching in a week have been also incorporated in the said Act, Sinha said.

UNESCO launches online course on e-Governance in the Caribbean

The University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC) is offering an online course on Local e-Governance in the Caribbean for a third time.

The course would be offered for eleven weeks from 19 September to 2 December 2007. UWIDEC will also provide a limited number of scholarships which would be awarded on a competitive basis. The course does not require any formal tertiary or higher education qualification, but it does assume that participants will have relevant post-secondary experience and training. The first course was developed and run for the first time from September to December 2005 and the second, from April to June 2006, with the assistance and support of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

State support sought by Sibal with beginning of the RTE countdown

The Right to Education Act is to be implemented from April 1. HRD minister Kapil Sibal asked all the chief ministers to cooperate in universalising elementary education through a new message 'elementary education of equitable quality is now the right of every child' and a short awareness film. Making six suggestions, Sibal has chosen to launch RTE from Delhi. States have been asked to initiate social mapping exercises to ensure availability of neighbourhood schools.

Sibal has also asked CMs for special training for out-of-school children so that they can be enrolled in the age appropriate class. Since RTE stipulates a teacher student ratio of 1:30, Sibal has asked states to maintain it. To achieve the ratio, CMs have been asked to put in place a system of re-deployment of teachers to address the problem of imbalance in the teacher deployment, keeping in mind the domestic responsibility of the women teachers. Stressing on the importance of teachers in the implementation of RTE, Sibal has asked states to fill teacher vacancies. Sibal also stressed that states should prepare a plan that facilitates all untrained teachers.

Azim Premji University aims to improve education system

Expected to get established in Bangalore, Azim Premji University (APU), is aiming at sharpening the existing skills of those working in education. Recently, the Bill on Karnataka's first private university was cleared by the Assembly. B S Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister, supported the Bill saying that it'll realize Premji's vision of contributing to quality universal education.

The university is driven by the foundation's vision to contribute towards a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society, help with systemic reforms and improve the education system. The university will offer long-term programmes (1-5 years) and short-term programmes. They will focus (in the first phase) on education and allied fields. The programmes will offer in-depth exposure, learning and research in areas like pedagogical methods, education technology, education management and child development. A residential campus is also on foundation's plan to enable community development.

Common education standards for the state

The Common Core Standards for English and Mathematics, created by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association with encouragement from the Obama administration, may become national benchmarks for all K-12 students. Open for public opinion, the draft standards are a product of almost a year's worth of work, by April 2.

Most experts agree that the draft standards look pretty good. The standards are written in plain English, and the goals they set seem reasonable: For example, they say that kindergartners should learn to count, first-graders should be able to retell a story, and third-graders should learn fractions. Jack O'Connell, California Secretary of Education, called the standards 'rigorous.' These standards are to be the international benchmarks that are to help American students fight for tomorrow's global, mobile jobs.

Education blueprint unveiled by Obama

Planning to make sweeping changes to the 2002 No Child Left Behind education law, Obama's administration is receiving mixed reaction from educators. Teachers unions feel that teachers are being scapegoated by the overhaul; it was praised by a school board leader but with suggestion for more flexibility; and so on. The Obama administration is asking Congress to toss out the old system under NCLB in which schools either passed or failed and replace it with one that labels schools one of three ways: high-performing, needs improvement or chronically low-performing, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says.

The changes were announced by President Obama during his radio address, noting American students are losing ground to peers internationally in math and science and in high school graduation rates and facing the prospect of not reaching their full potential. The blueprint is part of the planned enhancements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the most recent version of which was nicknamed No Child Left Behind by the Bush administration. The law, which pushes school improvements mostly through annual testing in reading and math, is overdue for a reauthorization and Obama wants Congress to do it this year, with a handful of radical changes.

Europe’s economic recovery requires eSkills

In worst of financial crisis, Europe is looking forward to get out of it and digitisation might be the key to this attempt. Business should be competitive to cope internationally and professionals are required to be trained in e-skills. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, unleased the Europe 2020 plan that detailed the blueprint for Europe's recovery and a sustainable social market economy that is competitive, innovative and inclusive. Information and communication technologies (ICT) like mobile phones and the Internet are an essential part of this.

Europe comprises of almost four million ICT professsionals which is more than double the level of 1995. These experts increasingly work in fields like the automotive, banking, finance, graphic arts and media sectors – and other ICT user industries – (54.5%) and less than half now work in the traditional ICT industry (45.5%). Far from being an ICT sector issue, Europe's growing e-skills shortage is affecting the productivity and the competitiveness of all types of organisations (large and small) across society.

PKR 25billion invested in projects to boost development

Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) plans for upcoming five years would include projects worth PKR 25 billion with objective to utilise the extraordinary capacity of this sector to boost the country's overall development. PKR 25.07 billion would be initiated in the sector of software exports, inclusing IT markets and industry size (PKR 40 million), promotion of IT industry through media (Rs100 million), promotion of entrepreneurial start-ups (PKR 80 million), development of effective Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime (PKR 10 million) and awareness about opportunities for Pakistani companies (PKR 20 million), establishment of business incubators (PKR 200 million) and proactive match-making (PKR100 million).

For the quality of IT education, project worth PKR 27.4 billion would include vocational/technical skills programme (PKR 15 billion), scholarships for IT education (PKR 1.5 billion), IT infrastructure in educational institutions (Rs10 billion), centres of excellence for IT training (PKR 440 million), strengthening of boards of Technical Education (PKR 300 million)and so on.


University in Ghana by NIIT

NIIT, a leading institution of ICT training, is planning to establish a university in Ghana soon. Kapil Gupta, Managing Director of NIIT Ghana, mentioned that the aim of opening a university at Ghana is to expand the provision of ICT education for meeting national developmental agenda, to support poverty reduction and enhance wealth creation.

Gupta mentioned NIIT's plan to extend the institution's state-of-the-art ICT training campus to the three northern regions by establishing a centre in Tamale. He expressed NIIT's commitment to support Ghana's strategic national human resource development and capacity building plan through ICT training. Information Communication Technology has become an essential tool for the economic growth and advancement of many countries and NIIT Ghana has been at the forefront of ICT education.

IT literacy to Saudi sectors by ICDL

New programmes on IT are to be introduced by the ICDL (International Computer Driving License) Saudi Arabia, the governing body and certification authority in the Kingdom, targeting youth, users of governmental and non-governmental e-transactions and the health sector to further expand IT literacy among specific community segments, in line with comprehensive government efforts to move towards a digital society. At present, only a few IT training opportunities for Saudi youth are available, who represent a large and important segment of society.

ICDL Saudi Arabia understands its responsibility towards these segments and set a plan to introduce a comprehensive, engaging and up-to-date program that can provide children and young adults with proper IT knowledge and skills. At the same time, the organisation plans to launch initiatives for improving e-governance and capabilities to use e-transactions through a specified training program. ICDL Saudi Arabia will also create specialized certification programs for the country's medical sector. ICDL Saudi Arabia is the local arm of the International Computer Driving LicenseInternational Computer Driving License, the world's largest vendor-neutral end-user computer skills certification initiative. Endorsed by education ministries, universities and government organizations in more than 168 countries, ICDL regional and country branches certify enrollees on fundamental IT skills, use of basic computer applications, and Internet use.


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