Andhra wants to make Kuchipudi compulsory

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April 16, 2015

In a first of its kind initiative, Andhra Pradesh government wants to make learning of Kuchipudi classical dance compulsory in all the state syllabus schools, including the private ones, from Class V to VIII, from the coming academic year.

While the theory classes will be compulsory, the practical ones will be optional. For those opting for the practical, a four-year diploma certificate will be awarded to the successful student.

K Sasibabu, Deputy Secretary of AP youth, tourism and culture department said, “Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is keen that we introduce a comprehensive plan to promote Kuchipudi both in the country and abroad. As part of this initiative, lessons on Kuchipudi will be introduced to high school students.”

The theory lessons for Kuchipudi have been prepared by Dr Vedantam Ramalinga Sastri, principal of Siddendra Yogi Kuchipudi Kala kshetram in Kuchipudi of Krishna district which is affiliated to Potti Sriramulu University. The lessons have been sent to the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) for approval and the state authorities see no issues in it being granted.

SCERT revised guidelines for Non Detention Policy

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digitalLEARNING Network

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April 16, 2015

The Nagaland State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has revised the guidelines of the Non Detention Policy (NDP) with immediate effect. Under the revised guidelines the students will be declared either Qualified or Needs Improvement (Pass or Detained) which means that a student can be detained if the school feels he is not qualified to be promoted to next class.

Director of SCERT Nagaland, Vipralhou Kesiezie informed that the department made the changes for the betterment of the education structure. Under the RTE act 2009 for elementary education, SCERT has reviewed the non detention policy and made the changes.

For all round development of the child, emphasis will be given on three areas cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The child will be evaluated three times in a year with the existing pattern of 40 percent internal and 60 percent external.

Education department includes Gender equality in Class V syllabus

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April 16, 2015

To impart value education to students and that teach them the gender equality at the very early stage of life to become a better citizen of the country, the Education department has updated class V syllabus. The new syllabus will focus on subjects like gender equality and will also impart education on e-learning, which is the need of the hour in today’s time.

The training of the teachers has started from April 15. According to the State Textbook Bureau Officials, the new syllabus has been designed keeping in mind the changing scenario and generation. The officials informed that sensatising students on gender equality, women empowerment are some of the most important issues that has been kept in mind while designing the new curriculum.

While speaking to media, C Borkar, Director of the State Textbook Bureau, Balbharati said, “The new syllabus will give importance to gender education. There are many issues in the country due to less awareness about gender equality. Hence, the department has decided to introduce such topics in the revised syllabus of all subjects in all classes. Last year we revised the syllabus of class III and IV.”

The teachers at the district level will be trained by experts across the state and these trained teachers will train the teachers in the city and taluka level to teach the new syllabus. Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, Balbharati, that makes textbooks for classes I to VIII has informed that science and maths book have enough content about value education.

The department has also emphasised on e-learning which is the need of the hour.

Education Department takes unaided schools to task

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April 15, 2015

Taking unaided schools to task, the education department has sent them circulars, asking them to apply for the approval of their newly appointed school staff; following which the schools will have to face de-recognition. Furthermore, the unaided schools have also been asked to provide free education to girl students till they complete standard 12. Faced with this situation, the unaided school forum have recently sent a legal notice to principal secretary of school education. S.C. Kedia, secretary of unaided school forum said, “The department asked the unaided schools to apply for approval of staff and to provide free education to girl students. We have slapped them with a legal notices on 19 January and 2 March this year respectively. How can they force the unaided schools to follow their instructions when these schools are not asking for any grant from them. Most of the schools were upset over this.” B.D Phadtare, deputy director, school education, said, “The reason behind asking approval of staff from unaided schools is to decide their school fees. This approval will not only help the non-teaching staff but also to teachers from unaided schools. If tomorrow any injustice happens with any teacher or non-teaching staff in these schools, they will at least have some proof to show that they are approved from education department. On top of that the unaided schools will not show fake staff and ask more fees from parents.”

78% Indian teachers support mobile devices in class

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digitalLEARNING Network

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April 15, 2015

Nearly 78% of Indian teachers support the idea of incorporating mobile technology in the edu78% Indian teachers support mobile devices in classcation system as it will have a positive effect on students, found a recent study by Adobe. “The challenge is to provide support to enable greater mobile adoption,” said Kulmeet Bawa, Director Enterprise (South Asia), Adobe. The survey, titled Transforming Education with Mobile and Digital Technology, was conducted among school teachers in 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. India constituted 22% of the study sample. While 83% teachers said accessibility to digital facilities while making lesson plans will help students comprehend concepts better, 86% felt institutes need better infrastructure to use the digital facilities.

Australia looks forward to enhance education ties with India

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April 15, 2015

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said that they are looking forward to enhance the cooperation between the two countries in the field of education. During her four-day visit to India, Bishop made the remarks while addressing a gathering of students at St. Stephen’s College in Delhi. Asserting that India is the second largest source country of students who wish to study overseas, the minister said, “India is second largest source country of students who wish to study overseas. We look forward to extending the cooperation in the field of education to facilitate more student-exchange programmes between the two countries”. She also briefed students about the ‘New Colombo Plan’ which supports Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the Indo-Pacific region. “The number of Indian students studying in Australia is more than the number of Australian students studying in India. We have to catch up there. The plan will provide grants to students to pursue their higher studies in India,” she said. It may be mentioned that the New Colombo Plan was launched by Australian Premier Tony Abbott during his visit to India in September last year. The Colombo Plan was initiated in 1950 and students had visited universities in Australia to live and earn and then return to the home country, taking back a rich experience. The new plan involves a scholarship programme for study of up to one year and internships or mentorships, and a flexible mobility grants programme for short- and long-term courses, internships, mentorships, practicums (practical section of a course of study) and research. It intends to encourage two-way flow of students in the region. A letter of intent was also signed between University of Melbourne and St. Stephen’s College to extend mutual support to each other in the academic field. St. Stephen’s College Principal ValsonThampu, however, said details of the cooperation have not been worked out yet.

‘Delhi’s education system needs to be overhauled’

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April 15, 2015

The education system in the national capital is all set to be overhauled, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia recently said at the inauguration of a conference on ‘Innovation to make cities financially sustainable’, organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s education minister, said the ‘entire concept’ of education system in Delhi needs to be changed as it gives least importance to teachers. “Teachers play a primary role in the field of education, yet in our present system, they are least significant. In our system, education is imparted in a very unscientific manner and we are working towards changing it.” He further added: “We are working towards promoting the role of a teacher as the pilot of the education system and everybody else, including the education minister, will act as a support staff,” Sisodia added. “We need well-trained teachers in our schools.” Furthermore, the deputy chief minister criticised private schools for being ‘profit-making institutions’, and expressed his dissatisfaction with government schools due to their poor standards.

Govt to set up 1K crore fund to cover default repayment

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digitalLEARNING Network

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April 15, 2015

In case of default of education loan repayment, central government is planning to create 1000 crore credit guarantee fund that banks can draw in case of defaults. The move will encourage the banks to lend loan to students. The proposal of giving funds to banks came after the government asked banks to give education loans to the students. The government believes that no child should miss out on an opportunity to pursue studies due to lack of financial resources. According to the RBI data, the banks outstanding totaled Rs.63500 crore till February 20, 2015. The Finance Ministry has also proposed to give loan for skill development courses and extension of the education loan tenure which is 5-7 years at present. The Indian Bank Association has listed 1100 accredited education institutes for banks to extend education loans. The list does not include skill development training institutions.

India is a huge market waiting to be explored

Startup News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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April 14, 2015

There are 1.4 million schools in India, around 25% of which are private schools. That is a huge market waiting to be explored, says Seliha Muvva, Director, Edukul India, which provides an interactive app and platform for the schools

Give us a brief of the various reasons behind starting the Edukul India.

Rearing two kids, I came to realise the huge communication gap between the teachers and the parents. The parents are unaware of whatever is happening in the school. At the same time, the teachers are completely exhausted. The schedule in the school is punishing. Reining in 30 children in a class is not a joke! Even kids, not to speak of others, have not got any secure platform to learn, connect and enjoy at the same time.

What are the various difficulties and hurdles in doing business on the ground level?

The schools are our customers. These institutions are like forts where the principal is the king. Getting across to meet them is the toughest job.

What is the market size of the services offered by you in India at present?

There are 1.4 million schools in India, around 25 per cent of which are private schools. That is a huge market waiting to be explored. We are targeting not only the desktop but, also the smart phone users.

What is the major benefit for organisations and individuals adopting your solutions?

It takes the teaching and learning experience to higher level. The teachers can individually connect with every student. For the teachers, it reduces the work load by simplifying the everyday tasks and even delegates some tasks to the parents. We are also the mobile first platform in education which will make the SMS packages obsolete for the schools.

What is the vision of your company for next two year?

Getting every teacher in India to use the Edukul app, designed only for a teacher, is my avowed objective. It will be launched in May.

What are the various methods you are using to increase the visibility of your organisation?

Although a few-months-old start up, we have successfully got the product tested in two schools. Now, we will work on increasing our visibility through digital marketing and print media.

How do you differentiate your services from your competitors?

We are the only ones in the market to provide an interactive app and platform for the schools.

How do you engage the customers? Can you cite any special case study?

We interact with the teachers and the students in the schools every week. A 10-year-old boy once came up to me during an interaction and told, “It is too slow. Fix it up faster as we get so much of work to do on Edukul”. It helped us move quickly and revamp the site.

What are the major stakeholders and sectors you are focussing on?

We are focussing on the education sector and reaching out to our stakeholders – parents, teachers and students through the schools.

What are the various initiatives taken by your organisation to emerge as a market leader?

Although we can’t disclose them as of now, yet we will certainly share the initiatives once we have emerged as the market leader in the education sector.

NP Singh directs schools to follow RTE norms

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April 14, 2015

Private Schools, affiliated CBSE and ICSE schools in Noida has been directed by Noida District Magistrate NP Singh to follow Right to Education Act and admit poor students to school. He has asked the school authority to ensure fee fixation and get the approval from fee fixation committee as per the rules in RTE. He emphasised on the complaints raised by the parents on unjust fee hike by private schools. He has also directed the schools to get approval of the fitness certificate of school buses from the transport department. The DM has also laid stress on giving admission to the children of farmers and authority employees. There is a 10 percent reservation for them. Schools were also asked to CCTV cameras for security and take measures for women and female students’ safety. Private has been asked to adopt villages and provide free education to deserving students.

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