A total of 1,311 schools in Tamil Nadu do not have access to electricity while 385 schools have been found to be functioning with dysfunctional power systems, official data has revealed. According to the Annual School Report prepared by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), 1,311 schools in Tamil Nadu do not have access to electricity and 385 schools have dysfunctional power systems. The list included schools situated in the city limits of Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. Tirunelveli tops the list of districts with schools without electricity.

The Annual School Report Card for 2013-14 is based on a survey conducted by the District Information System for Education (DISE) in coordination with the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). According to the survey, as many as 1,311 schools in the state do not have power connection, while 385 schools have dysfunctional electrical facilities, which meant that despite power connection, fans and lights were not in working condition because of poor maintenance.

The report noted that with average temperature touching 40 degrees Celsius this summer in Tamil Nadu, oppressive heat might have made students’ life in schools really difficult, affecting their concentration. Though some schools were equipped with fans, lights and computers, impaired power supply rendered them worthless, the report added.

Of the 1,311 schools, 85 per cent (1,110) were situated in rural areas. The conditions were particularly worse in Tirunelveli district, where of the 219 schools without electricity, 218 were in rural areas. Next on the list were Thoothukudi and Vellore districts with 112 and 111 schools respectively. What was more worrying was that some schools in relatively developed cities, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchy, also lacked electricity connection.

India has announced the launch of the International Visiting Professorship Programme. Under the programme, 12 global science scholars will be invited to deliver talks about science in India. As per plans, the visiting professors will deliver three talks every year, one each in a school, a college and a research institution.

The programme being termed as ‘The Maithreyi International Visiting Professorship‘ is being jointly supported by the Centre’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The programme is aimed at providing the necessary exposure to Indian students to learn from the experience of academicians, scientists and scholars from across the globe. Students are expected to benefit from their knowledge and experience. The talks delivered by the visiting professors will also be recorded and made available on the Internet.  Transcripts in English and Hindi will also be made available in the videos. A live web-interaction session with the ‘Visiting Professors’ on Rajya Sabha Television is also being planned as a part of the programme.

Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that the 36 talks and 12 Radio/Television interactions will make the best science scholars of the world come face to face with India ,  imparting knowledge to the Indian students.

Under this programme, 1,000 science academicians from United States will also visit India and deliver talks in centrally recognised universities. The government has also arranged for 12 hours of lecture classes per academic year in public-funded schools and colleges in India where 5,000 scientists of many central agencies such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will deliver lectures on science.

IGNOU’s Gyanvani will not be accessible to the thousands of learners across all age groups, many of whom have no access to formal education. Effective October 1, the All India Radio (AIR) has taken off air all 37 Gyanvani educational FM radio stations, the formidable teaching tool of Indira Gandhi National Open University. The move follows the varsity’s alleged failure to clear the outstanding dues.

In a communique dated September 12 to IGNOU Vice Chancellor M Aslam, the AIR Additional Director-General warned that all channels will be closed following non-payment of the dues, depriving lakhs of Gyanvani listeners their crucial learning resource.

Conceived in 2001, the Electronic Media Production Centre (EMPC) of IGNOU was the producer of an educational programme for students in English, Hindi and other local languages and was being broadcast by AIR every day between 6 AM and 11am, with a repeat between 5pm and 10pm. The general public too could tune in.

An educational FM radio network, Gyanvani aired programmes covering different aspects and levels of education. It had separate programme modules catering to the needs of people pursuing primary and secondary education, adult education, technical and vocational education, higher education and extension education.

Gyanvani’s plight has been blamed on the lack of coordination between the MHRD, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Prasar Bharati and IGNOU. The national open university gets grants from the Centre to promote higher education.

A probe initiated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development into charges of plagiarism against some teachers of the Delhi University has apparently irked the university’s teachers union which has now moved the ministry seeking investigations into similar allegations against the Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh.

“We have come to know that the MHRD has set up a committee to inquire into allegations of plagiarism regarding some professors at Delhi University. We wanted the MHRD to be aware that there is a pending case of plagiarism against Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh. The issue is part of the White Paper submitted by us, but since there is already a specific committee investigating charges of plagiarism, we have requested the Ministry to include this case too,” said Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) president Nandita Narain.

She alleged that the “case of Prof. Dinesh Singh’s suspected attempts to pass off five publications authored by someone else as his own,” was reported in December, 2012.

“The university had defended the V-C by claiming that his researcher profile on “ResearcherID”, a website maintained by a news wire, had been hacked and that a complaint had been lodged with the Delhi Police. However, its replies to RTI queries following the incident reveal glaring inconsistencies in the university’s claims,” she said.

The DUTA has also alleged that the university had remained silent on the details about the police complaint it had lodged.