Friday, March 4, 2011

Infant Mortality Rate In India Down To Fifty



As per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) estimates released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), Ministry of Home Affairs for the year 2009, it is noted that  Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has dropped by  3 points from 53 (during 2008) to 50 infants deaths per 1000 live births during 2009.  The IMR for rural areas has dropped by 3 points from 58 to 55 infant deaths per 1000 live births.
As per the data, the State of Goa has reported the lowest IMR of 11 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 12 infant deaths per 1000 live births during 2009.  While the national average is 3 points drop, the States of Bihar, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Andaman and Nicobar islands have reported 4 points decrease.  Bihar had reported 56 infant deaths per 1000 live births in 2008 but down to 52 in 2009.  Similarly Karnataka recorded drop from 45 in 2008 to 41 in 2009, Orissa IMR has come down from 69 in 2008 to 65 in 2009.  Rajasthan recorded 63 infant deaths  per 1000 live births in 2008 and down to 59 in 2009. Uttar Pradesh IMR has come down from 67 in 2008 to 63 in 2009.  J&K similarly has recorded drop from 49 to 2008 to 45 in 2009 and Andaman and Nicobar islandsfrom 31 in 2009 to 27 in 2009. Daman and Diu have registered the maximum drop of 7 points from 31 IMR in 2008 to 24 in 2009, followed closely by 6 points drop in Lakshadweep from 31 to 25.  A comparative analysis for the last few years is attached.
The Sample Registration System (SRS) is a large-scale demographic survey for providing
reliable annual estimates of birth rate, death rate and other fertility & morality indicators at the national and sub-national levels.  The SRS sample is replaced every ten years based on the latest census frame. At present, SRS is operational in 7,597 sample units (4,433 rural nd 3,164 urban) spread across all States and Union Territories and covers about 1.5 million households and 7.18 million population.

Examination Reforms And Continuous And Comprehensive Evaluation



Introduction

  • Our education system is universally criticized for a number of gaps in our examination system.
  • It is criticized for not keeping pace with the demand of the outside world, for not being scientific and comprehensive for not considering the practical skills required for good adjustment and for its traditional methods of measurements.
  • Time and again various committees and commissions have tried to address the inherent malice in the examination system but for our conventional thinking nothing fruitful has resulted in this direction.
  • NCF 2005 also emphasized the need for reforms in present examination system by making them child friendly and stress free. Hence it is felt that it is high time that we have a serious look in to the issue and bring about some changes taking off its demerits for making examinations an important tool in assessment of child.
  • As part of this the SCERT has conducted a number of meetings, seminars and workshops on examination reforms. The government of A.P. issued G.O.M.S. 122 dated: – 5-10-2005 and constituted a core committee to examine the issues of introduction of grading system and other reforms in examinations. In continuation of this a meeting was organized in SCERT on 6-12-2010. Involving the experts from state and national levels.
Executive summary
  • Our entire education system is centered around examinations.
  • Evaluation means to conduct the examination and to give marks and ranks to students. Student’s knowledge is often limited to by hearting and reproducing the same in the examinations. Their innate talents are not recognized; instead their capability in writing examination is being tested. It is restricted to only by- hearting /rote memory.
  • There is no uniformity in evaluation. different types of evaluation systems are prevailing in different Boards i.e. Government, ICSE, CBSE etc. There is no flexibility in the conducting of tests. It is rigid Board examinations are only helping in classifying students as meritorious and slow- learners i.e. in turn pass/ fail This leads to unhealthy discrimination.
  • The tests and examinations conducted at present are only testing the memory power of the students; they are not measuring the higher order skills of learning. like analysis synthesis and problem solving.
  • The examinations are mechanical Correcting and posting of marks is done routinely. There is no scope for remedial teaching and testing to know how far a student is lagging behind. Examinations are not helping in assessing the all-round development of the student that is co- curriculum social personal qualities and health status  and also they  are not helping to testing their level of competency.

Reforms proposed in the examination system

  • To follow what is espoused in RTE 2009. Evaluation should have a broader framework and it should not be limited to examinations alone. Exams should include students displays, projects, seminars, collection of information and reports.
  • The examinations should not create fear or stress to the student
  • Evaluation should be continuous and comprehensive and it should be the part and parcel of daily teaching learning process. It should not restrict to rote – memory.
  • When construction of knowledge becomes primary in curriculum the evaluation should be continuous and comprehensive i.e. along with the teaching – learning process.
  • The assessment should be based on day to day activities.
  • The examinations should not be restricted / limited to writing but extended to assessment tools like observation, discussion, note- taking / recording, collection of opinions etc. the assessment should not only be teacher – based but also on peer groups, parents and other.
The day to day teaching learning process depends on the experiences of the children. So students participation should be there in this teaching – learning process. Their knowledge, understanding and their application skills should be assessed. Therefore the teachers can record this information in their teachers’ dairies and manuals.
There should be co- ordination among learning evaluation and objectives. Students note books, their written exhibits and all their other objects should be treated as assessment tools. For self- evaluation of students, quality remarks check – list should be utilized. There is no need to test all the teaching items taught in the classroom. But only some important items must be checked comprehensively at random. After evaluation action plan should be prepared for improvement of the child.

Reforms suggested in examinations

  • Examinations are a part of evaluation system.
  • Instead of 3terminal examinations, 2 should be conducted.
  • A test is to be conducted after completion of every unit; with this we will know the children’s achievements and their level. It helps to know the competency level of the child for remedial teaching.
  • The most important item in the test is the nature of questions. They should be above the level of rote- learning.
  • The open – ended questions which allow the students to think and write and express their views on their own should be given importance. To evaluate these questions the indicators should be prepared.
  • Entrance examinations and Board examinations are to be abolished.
  • Teachers are to be encouraged to prepare their own question – papers to conduct examinations.
  • In –service training programmes should conducted for teachers to develop their ability to make question papers innovatively.
  • They must be given adequate skills to prepare Question – Banks.
  • Open book system is to be introduced for languages and social studies. The same test paper is to be used after re – teaching and relearning for slow –learners /non achiever.
SECRT should develop model question- papers basing on the standards of the students and changes should be made as per the school level. Class X Board examinations are to be abolished and they should be made optional. Instead of basing on school study certificate, the students should be permitted to go the next level. Oral tests also should be included in examination system.

Evaluation in co- curricular activities like art and games

The tools/techniques like rating scales, checklists, observation techniques, interviews are to be used to assess the co-curricular activities like physical education, social, personal qualities, art, games, health and sports. The same things should be recorded in the progress reports of the students through grades. The school-implemented activities like wall- magazines, student dairies and teacher dairies and teacher dairies are also to be evaluated.
After conducting the examinations the students progress is to be communicated to their parents as per the RTE Act 2009 children’s’ progress and achievement should also be displayed online.

Systemic Reforms In Education



POSITION PAPER ON SYSTEMIC REFORMS

Executive Summary:

  • On the advent of 86th Amendment to the constitution of India to grant the Right to Education to all children of 6 to 14 years and the RTI Act, 2009 a fresh need / demand for systemic reforms has come in.
  • There has been continuous dropout rate among the students, low levels of learning and shortage of teachers.
  • Many of the government schools including private schools are ill-equipped in both men and material.
  • Teacher’s absenteeism has been a menace for over decades.
  • Due to the prevalence of ill-health, labour migration, malnutrition, faulty implementation of mid-day meal scheme, rigid rules and regulations of schools, rote-memory based exams, lack of facilities for mentally and physically challenged children in schools etc. have kept children away from schools.
  • Allocation of budget to school education is meager.
  • There are lack of sound measures for the empowerment of teachers like lack of training facilities, lack of teachers commitment, improper planning etc.
  • There has been broad erosion of teaching professions.
  • Teachers have been deployed for non-teaching jobs.
  • Mixing of politics and education have given scope for politicization of teacher unions, court litigations etc.
  • Non-reflection of modern teaching strategies in teacher education courses.
  • Schools have been existing in isolation in the system. Neither the community nor the Panchayat Raj Institutes have been actively participating in school management though SMC / SEC are there.
  • There is also overlap of functions among the PRIs.
  • The Teacher Resource Centers (TRC/CRC) are not properly equipped and they are not functioning for what they are. CRCs are doing a postman job rather than academic job.
  • Mandal Resource Centers also face the scarcity of funds and lack of Committed Resource Persons.
  • DIETs at district level face financial crunch and are concentrating on Pre-Service education.
  • There are lack of quality oriented teacher educators.
  • SCERT is also facing the problem of Qualitative staff. Only the people with service are given promotions as merit is not taken into consideration.
  • SCERT suffers from the problem of academic leadership.
  • SCERT couldn’t provide dynamic academic leadership to the faculty of DIET/ IASE/CTE.
  • There is lack of relationship with the institutes of academic excellence of national importance like NCERT, NCTE and NUEPA.
  • Lack of allocation of budgetary funds lead to dependence of SCERT on the planned schemes.
  • The teacher service lacks professionalisation. The professional bodies don’t work with a view to professionalize teachers.
How to go ahead?

    1. Measures should be taken to implement RTE in true letter and spirit to ensure every child to have access to schooling up to class X.
    1. The schools must be child-centered and pave way for the holistic development.  Schools must respect diversity and ensure equality of opportunity for all children.
i.      Providing enabling environment to learn.
ii.      Schools must be reformed to attract the students with all facilities.
    1. The school system should trust school teachers and assign them roles in preparing work plans.  They should be enabled to join the apex bodies like SCERT / SSA.
    1. Measures should be taken to democratize the schooling system.  Community should own the schools. Community participation should be ensured in the management of CRC, MRC and DIETs.
    1. Number of schools should be increased after due rationalization process.
i.      PTR should be maintained.
ii.      Multi grade teaching should be the focal issue in strengthening the schooling system.
iii.      The advent of ICT should be properly made used of.  Eg. GIS.
iv.      Examination system should be reformed in such a way that examination is part of teaching learning process.
    1. Decentralization should be the principal of School administration.  The school, DIETs / SCERT etc should be assigned respective duties.  Accountability can be fixed through proper means.  There should be autonomy to SCERT.  All institutions should have autonomy in decision making process.
    1. Implementation of the 73rd and 74th amendment in true letter and spirit.
    1. Measure should be taken to strengthen the community and local self governments to enable them to run the school.  They should be enabled to solve the problems on themselves.
    1. There can be number of institutions for the betterment of the system but they should not play similar roles. Role clarity among institutions should be there to avoid duplication of works.
    1. There should be perspective planning in the system. Simple and short projects can be planned with a long term goal.
    1. There should be proper reporting of the progress of work and it should be disseminated among all stake holders including parents and community.
    1. There is a need for continuous evaluation of the schemes and projects by all participative institutions and restructure the schemes accordingly on the basis of the feed back.
Hence, all out efforts should be put into reform the school system to enable it to be accessible to all children irrespective of cast, creed, sex, place etc., in true democratic sprit.

Work And Education



Position Paper Work and Education
Work means is an activity directed towards making or doing something . It also means making one’s work or capabilities or both available for someone else’s purposes for monetary or other forms of return.  These activities are related to producing food articles of daily use, looking after the physical & mental well being of people.
Work is an integral part of the curriculum. The Kothari commission 1964-66 Eshwari Bai Patel 1977 and National policy on Education 1986 suggested that important place should be given to work experience in the curriculum. Gandhiji expressed that knowledge should be gained through work experience only. Work implies a commitment to other members of the society as one is contributing one’s work and capabilities for fulfilling their need. Routine and repetitive activity carried on for the sake of production which the child does not like should be avoided. Work should help in the physical & psychological development of child.
Work is an arena for learning for children in home, school, society or at workplace . Children begin to absorb the concept of work as early as when they are of two years old. Children imitate their elders and like pretending to do work. Learning takes place only when work is involved. Work is the tool for learning. Montessori system integrates work concepts and skills from the beginning. Cuffing vegetables, cleaning the classroom, gardening and washing clothes are all the part of the learning cycle.
Introduction of work will enable children to learn values, basic scientific concepts, skills and creative expression. Children gain an identity through work and feel useful & productive as work adds meaning and brings with it membership to society & enable children to construct knowledge.
There is immense potential for utilizing the knowledge base of the vast production sections of the society as a powerful means for transforming the educational system. Through this work the skills of marginalized children can be turned into a source of their own dignity as well as a source of learning for other children and further decreasing the gap between the rich & the poor. Work helps to develop the personality & helps in the welfare of the society.
Work is of there types :
It is production, manufacture, service, production of articles, food production. It helps in recognizing the labour while production & inculcates dignity of labour.
  • Integration of work in education gives identity and respect for their hard work. It also creates joyful environment & given satisfaction for the work done.
  • There  are hurdles in learning as there is no relationship between work and the education in school. Students are not showing any interest in involving as the work education is not integrated in the curriculum.
  • Work experience in schools should help in self learning and knowledge construction. At present the work experience that is taught in teacher education does not help in knowledge construction. Therefore work based learning methodology should be included in teacher education.
  • Work is given at most importance in Indian society. In our society it is a common feature to extend co-operation in different situations. Working in a group helps to develop interpersonal relationship co-operation, tolerance and respect.
  • Machines have taken place of man due to globalization. Therefore there is a loss of respect and identify towards work there after a gap is formed in human relationships.
  • In this context there is a need to rethink about the integration of work in the curriculum.
  • Work should be a focused item from preprimary stage to secondary stage in the syllabus. Work based pedagogy should be implemented. Learning experiences should be developed according to the level of the students while introducing in the curriculum.
  • The learning experiences in the curriculum should reflect the local culture, tradition &different trades like agriculture, carpentry, tailoring, pottery etc. The learning experiences should be in such a way that the students may get involved in the work areas and attain knowledge.
  • There is a need to develop the child physically, psychologically, socially, emotionally while participating in work.
  • Integration of work & education should help in removing the discrimination of caste, class and gender and see that the children, learn to do all the work in the society.
  • The learning experiences at the primary level should be of their needs. The learning experiences at the upper primary & High school should be useful in their daily life. There should provide an entry to vocational education for secondary level students.
  • Peer education should be encouraged. The students who has excellent work skills should be allowed to share so the remaining students will learn. Teacher should facilitate the work, work as a medium of instruction.
Recommendations :
  • Work education should be as a teaching strategy at the primary level. It should be integrated in the syllabus.
  • The activities should reflect the nature of the lesson in the text book. The activities may be project work or activities that help to develop their creativity.
  • Work education at secondary level is vocationalised education it means the activities related to work education should also be learnt with general education.
  • At secondary level the students should learn the concepts by practically doing it for ex. while learning lessons like electricity, magnetism,  instruments, the related practical work like fuse wiring repairing of Radio, T.V., Computer and Cell phones should be taught. This will help to lay foundation for vocational education after school education.
  • Material related to work and education should be provided to each school. Special room for work education should be constructed.
  • Full time special instructors should be appointed at secondary level so that students are trained in the concepts of work education. The schools should utilize the services of Janasikshana samtha, Bala mahila Pragana DIET in the district and see that the work education is implemented in their schools properly . In co-laboration with these institutions in service training programmes should be conducted & monitoring should be taken up.
  • Activity based curriculum should be developed by integrating work education at the primary & secondary school levels it means that lessons and work experience should not be different, knowledge should attained through work.
  • Teachers should be prepared to implement the above curriculum. It can be achieved by giving inservice training.
  • New technologies like fashion technology, computer training, wiring, cell phone repairing etc. can be introduced in the syllabus & the training programme on these subjects may be arranged with the co-laboration of Janasikhana samtha, Bala Mahila Praganam & work experience department of DIETs in the districts.
  • In the teacher education syllabus as per the NCF 2005 recommendations the present work experience subject is to be changed as work and education.
  • Teachers competencies should be develop through in-service training at primary stage.
    • Continuous training should be given to the subject teachers and work education instructors on modern technologies at upper primary & secondary level.
    • At primary stage work education should be included in the periods allotted to the subjects.
    • At upper primary stage two periods a week should be allotted for work education within the subjects.
    • At secondary stage two separate periods in a week should be allotted for work education.
    • As a part of work education the secondary level students should be allowed to participate in the social service activities. The curriculum should be developed in such a way.
  • Local professional belonging to different trades should be invited to the school and see that their products are demonstrated (Ex. Pottery, Carpenter, Tailor, Mechanic etc). In the same way the students should be taken to different productive centers manufacturing centers as field visit. There should allowed to visit the persons who are service oriented (Nurses, doctors) in the group and collect the information, record it, and analyse it. Project work shall be given in these aspects so that the analyzing skills are developed.
  • Monthly calendar should be prepared on the implementation of subject related work education and work experiences in schools.
  • Competencies of expression skills, co-operation, team work, respect towards work, appreciation, observation, report writing, portfolios, seminar organization can be evaluated through work education. The progress of the  students can be evaluated by grading.
  • Instructors belonging to different trades, teachers, subject experts and the trade professionals should be the members while framing the syllabus on work education.
  • Work books should be developed & supplied to the teachers on class wise activities on work education.
Conclusion :
The school curriculum from the pre-primary to the secondary stages should be reconstructed for realizing the pedagogic potential of work as a pedagogic medium in knowledge acquisition, developing values and multiple-skills formation. As the child matures, there is a need for the curriculum to recognize the child’s need to be prepared for the world of work, and a work-centred pedagogy can be pursued with increasing complexity while increasing complexity while always being enriched with the required flexibility and contextuality. A set of work-related generic competencies (basic, interpersonal and systemic) could be pursued at all stages of education. This includes critical thinking, transfer of learning, creativity, communication skills, aesthetics, work motivation, work ethic of collaborative functioning, and entrepreneurship-collaborative functioning, and entrepreneurship-cum-social accountability. For this evaluation, parameters would also need to be redesigned. Without an effective and universal programme of work-centred education, it is unlikely that UEE ( and later Universal Secondary Education too) would ever succeed.

DIGITAL LIBRARY, e-LIBRARY AND VIRTUAL LIBRARY



Note Submitted by Prof.K.Nageshwar MLC to Govt. of Andhrapradesh, India.
Digital libraries have become a core ingredient, a collective memory of the educational environments of today and of the future. Hybrid libraries have already become widely used components of many universities around the world.
In several countries (USA, UK, Germany) a national digital library for education in science, engineering, and technology is being developed as an important ingredient of the national educational infrastructure. While the development of a Digital library is a continuous process of collecting, classifying, conceptualizing, and using information, the process is paralleled by rapid technological advancements. Together, these  developments lead to the evolution of Digital library frameworks and methodologies for their application. Digital libraries in each country are dependent on the language used by it’s educational community, the national culture, and the national traditions in education. Digital libraries are becoming a core ingredient, a collective memory, of the educational environments (global, national, institution or domain-oriented) of today and of the future.
what a digital library is, in particular, how it might differ on the one hand from a conventional bricks-and-mortar library and from the World Wide Web – on the other. What major challenges would be encountered when making a digital library with the same contents?
To digitise an entire library would be a formidable undertaking. One challenge would be the sheer magnitude of the task of converting all the library’s contents into digital form by scanning them into the computer. Scanning books is much easier if they can be taken apart by removing their spines, but in this application the job would probably have to be done non-destructively. Dealing with old and fragile material would be particularly time-consuming. But an over-riding problem would be the legality of the whole enterprise. Typically only a small percentage (if any) of a library’s content is out of copyright and it would be impossible for the library to obtain permission to digitise from all copyright holders.
• How would library users benefit?
Making the digital library available over the web would open up readership to a host of potential new users. A major advantage for existing library users would be convenience of remote access – from workplace or home, if they had an Internet connection, or perhaps from branch libraries.
• In what ways would digital library differ from the World Wide Web?
The digital libraries are focused collections of information that has been carefully selected and organized, in contrast to the web in which anyone can add information and organization is haphazard. Digital libraries have boundaries; the web does not. Digital libraries can bring information to people who lack access to the web.
Digital libraries present many exciting new opportunities. They can incorporate a huge variety of different content types. While one naturally thinks first of textual documents, upon reflection digital libraries can contain any media type – for example, images, maps, audio, video, even virtual manipulatives. So can conventional libraries, of course, but it is more difficult for them because of physical packaging and different viewing requirements for library users. Digital libraries are viewed on general-purpose computers, which can present all kinds of media in a
relatively uniform way. Moreover, they are not restricted to conventional media: digital libraries can include raw data and even interactive software modules.
A digital library is the same as a traditional library, or a traditional information retrieval system, except that the material is represented digitally.
• A library that encodes journals, books, and information into a digital format.
• A collection of texts, images, etc., encoded so as to be stored, retrieved, and read by computer.
• A collection of digital representations of information content, along with hardware, software, and personnel to  support the functions of a traditional library plus knowledge worker operations like searching, browsing, and navigation.
• An integrated set of services for capturing, cataloguing, storing, searching, protecting, and retrieving information.
Digital Library notes the possibility of capturing dynamically changing information, something a conventional library cannot do.
• A collection of a very large number of digital objects, comprising all types of material and media, that are stored in distributed information repositories and accessed through computer networks.
• A large collection of information that has been stored in digital form. A digital library can include documents, images, sounds, and information gathered from ongoing events (e.g. continuous pictures from a weather satellite).
• Digital libraries can include reference material or resources accessible through the World Wide Web. Digitised portions of a library’s collection or original material produced for the web can also be included in a digital library.
A related term is “virtual library”. While this might be considered synonymous with “digital library” in that both emphasize the intangible nature of the material stored, it is more often used to denote a portal to information that is available electronically elsewhere. Digital libraries are especially critical in developing countries. One reason for this is that traditional sources of information – for example, books – are often hard to obtain there, and digital libraries make it possible for large numbers of people to access them at a potentially low replication cost. Another is that web access in developing countries is typically low, widening the knowledge gap between the developed and developing world. Digital library technology can ameliorate this, because – despite many people’s assumptions to the contrary – it does not have to depend on the Internet for distribution.
Developing countries are eager consumers of digital libraries. But it is crucial for sustained development that these countries are not relegated to becoming “read-only cultures” in the digital revolution. One way to ensure this is by participating in producing information collections. If you live in a developing country, this course will help by showing the question was whether the World Wide Web is a digital library. The web lacks two crucial elements: organization and selectivity. A library is an organized collection, organized according to some overall principles and not as a tangled web of links. And the information in a library has been selected according to some criteria, whether explicitly articulated or not.  Libraries are “curated” collections, literally ones that are “taken care of” by some guiding body, such as Librarian. No one takes care of the web. But since the early days of the web, people have tried to bring order to it and make it easier to find things by developing “search engines.”
• It is easier to update a digital library with new material;
• Content can be easily presented in many different formats (images, maps, audio, video, data series, etc.);
• Content is more easily accessible: it is easier to distribute new data over computer networks than to update paper copies;
• Content can be published: We can easily create our own content and publish it in a digital library.
• Possibility of resource reuse: We can share resources in ways that are not practical with paper-based materials;
• Ease of integration: as work will be in digital form it becomes easier to incorporate authentic content into our own work.
To establish a Digital Library (after technology is installed as software components), serious efforts are required to collect (harvest, integrate, gather, register) the digital resources, and to maintain and continuously extend them.Governance,maintenance, and a community must be arranged around the Digital Library to make it sustainable.
Source : UNESCO Reports

Indian Education: Looking Ahead – Kapil Sibal.



As India continues to make sustained and significant economic progress there is need to tackle much more aggressively the problems of structural inequities, especially on the education front. Consider the fact that more than 100 million youth – the combined labour forces of Britain, France, Italy and Spain - are projected to join the workforce by 2020. This is a great potential resource provided the workforce is empowered with education and skills to leverage on the available global opportunities. If we fail to provide our youth with the requisite education and skills we will not only fail to utilize our demographic advantage but we will end up alienating large sections of our young population as well. This has made it imperative for us to expand our education base so as to be able to provide   quality, affordable and merit-based education for the entire young population. To make this a reality, I have set out three principles that we must broadly embrace: First, access…providing access to educational opportunities to all who desire and need it; second, affordability…making education a reality by reducing financial barriers; and third, building quality and accountability…that we are teaching what is relevant and at global levels and delivering good value for money. The expansion in education, over the second decade of the twenty-first century, that we are envisaging, is unprecedented in modern history. Let us assess the situation.
Presently the   Gross Enrolment Ratio in  higher education is a mere 15% we seek to enhance it   to 30% by the end of 2020,   in real terms it  would mean tripling of the enrollment from around 13 million to 40 million. At the secondary school level around 40 million students enroll in 9th to 12th standard every year, if only 10% were to enroll for vocational educational, that is 4 million as against the present 1 million seats this will mean a mammoth expansion of vocational education. In regard to school education the demand has grown by leaps and bounds – everybody, from the poorest of the poor to the well off, acknowledges the value of education. Our data reveals that nearly 100 per cent children are enrolled in primary school; 98% of our habitations have a primary school within onekilometre, and 92% have an upper primary school within three kilometres. Transition rates from primary to upper primary levels have improved substantially. As a result many more children from much marginalized backgrounds are accessing school. But despite these impressive statistics, as many as 10 million children in the age group 6-14 years may be still not attending school due to the huge dropout rate. The Right to Free & Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act) that has come into effect from 2010 is aimed to ensure that these out of school children get the right to education. The progress in universalisation of elementary education over the first decade is truly inspiring. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which is the main vehicle for implementation of RTE Act. has helped  to open more than 300,000 new schools, construct 250,000 school buildings, 11,00,000 additional classrooms, and 3,40,000 toilets, appoint over 11 lakh teachers, provide in-service training to over 14lakh teachers and  supply free textbooks to 8.70 crore children, with the result that  an additional 40 million students have been  enrolled. While we are making massive efforts to boost educational attendance and attainment at the elementary school level, we are also working for enhancing the enrollment and the quality  at the middle and secondary school levels too to take care of not only the influx of students from the elementary stream but by motivating the present dropouts to enroll.  I am thus hoping to enhance the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of secondary education from around 50% presently to over 75% by the end of the decade. A Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) programme has been launched for the purpose. Already over 5 lakh teachers have been provided in-service training. And by the end of the decade I expect that each child passing out from the secondary school should be computer literate as we have mounted a mammoth programmeof ICT in schools. Other initiatives include a continuous and comprehensive evaluation system for CBSE board for class 10 from the year 2011, and uniform Pan-India curriculum for math and science for board exams from 2011 academic session and uniform curriculum in commerce by 2012.
In regard to  vocational education, it  is presently not very attractive to those who are unable to pursue higher education. We are thus seeking to devise a vocational education and training system, National Vocational Qualification Framework, that is meant to meet the needs and aspirations of the students, the labour market and to be in tune with the ethos and values of the local community and society. This framework would set common principles and guidelines for a nationally recognized qualification system, covering schools, vocational education institutes and institutes of higher education with qualifications ranging from secondary to doctorate level, leading to international recognition of national standards. The framework will be a competency based modular approach with provision for credit accumulation and transfer. Students would have the scope for vertical and horizontal mobility with multiple entry and exits. This would be especially useful to promote the creative genius of every child including children with special needs. Sector Skill Councils and Industry would collaborate in the development of quality standards, competencies, model curricula, assessment standards and testing procedures. Linkage between education providers and employers would be ensured.
In regard to higher education we have taken several steps to address the expansion, by setting up:
  • 16 new Central universities in the various States,
  • 8 new IITs in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh,
  • 7 new IIMs,
  • 5 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISERs) at Pune, Kolkata,Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram ,
  • 10 new NITs at Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,Goa, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Puducherry,
  • 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) up on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis , and
  • 374 Model Degree Colleges, one each in identified educationally Backward Districts where Gross Enrolment Ratio is less than National average.
Further with the view to facilitate teaching resource sharing and providing access to open educational resources we have set up the National Mission on Education through ICT to link twenty thousand of degree colleges and ten thousand departments within universities. The private sector is also contributing in this effort.  In order to increase the number of quality faculty positions in science, a scheme of Operation Faculty Recharge is being launched to provide appointment for 1000 faculty positions created and to be filled at national level through global advertisement. We have taken several concurrent steps to address the quality aspects in higher education. We have introduced  in Parliament the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 to provide for mandatory accreditation of all educational institutions  and another bill to set up a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) for regulating higher education. This is in accordance with the general principle of moving from “inspection approval” based mechanism of recognizing institutions to a “verification assessment” method. On the academic front the semester system has been initiated, regular up gradation and updating of syllabi has been mandated and choice-based credit system introduced. We are working on a   national depository for holding in electronic form of all academic degrees, diplomas and certificates issued by all educational institutions.
There are several other initiatives that we have taken such as improving the quality of teachers and faculty at various education levels, redressal of disputes, prohibition ofmalpractices  and others which will materialize soon  and whose impact will be felt in the course of next two years or so.
Thus my vision is that within this decade every Indian, including the disadvantaged, the marginalized and the minorities, will have access to quality and affordable education be it at the primary, secondary or professional level. Indian education of future will thus be: Different and unique. Dynamic, vigorous, bold and functional, serving the needs of not only of the Indian society but the global community I am confident   that India will  emerge as the international hub for education in the next 20 years and what the BPO and IT sectors are today for India, education should  be in 2030. (PIB Features)

Abbreviation

Short NameFull Form or Abbreviations
3GThird Generation
AAAAsian Athletics Association
AAFIThe Amateur Athletics Federation of India
ACAnte Christum (Before Christ), Ashok Chakra, Air Conditioner
ADBAsian Development Bank
AFIAthletics Federation of India
AFMCArmed Forces Medical College
AIArtifical Intelligence, Air India
AICTEAll India Council for Technical Education
AIFFAll India Football Federation
AIIMSAll India Institute of Medical Science
AITUCAll India Trade Union Congress
ALGOLAlgebric Oriented Language
AMAnte Meridiem (before Noon), Amplitude Modulation
APECAsia Pacific Economic Cooperation
ARPANETAdvanced Research Project Agency Network
ASCIIAmerican Standard Code for Informa­tion Interchange
ASEANAssociation of South East Asian Na­tions
ASLVAugmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
AT&TAmerican Telegraphic and Telephone Co. Ltd.
ATCAir Traffic Control
ATMAutomated Teller Machine
AVSMAti Vishisht Seva Medal
B2BBusines to Business
B2C Business to Consumer
BARCBhabha Atomic Research Centre
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BBSBulletin Board Service
BCBefore Christ
BHELBharat Heavy Electri-cals Ltd
BIOSBasic Input Output System
BITBinary Digit
BPLBelow Poverty Line
BPOBusiness Process Outsourcing
BPRBusiness Process Re-engineering
bpsbytes per second
BSEBombay Stock Exchange
BSFBorder Security Force
BSNLBharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
C2CConsumer to Consumer
CAChartered Accountant
CADCom­puter Aided Design
CATCommon Admis­sion Test
CBICentral Bureau of Investigation
CBSECentral Board of Secondary Education
CDACCentre for the Development of Ad­vanced Computing
CDMACode Division Multiple Access
CEOChief Executive Officer
CFSLCentral Forensic Science Laboratory
CGICommon Gateway Interface
CIACentral Intelligence Agency
CIDCriminal Investigation Department
CISCComplex instruction-set computing
CITUCentre of Indian Trade Unions
CNNCable News Network
COMSATCommunications Satellite Corporation
COPRA Consumer Protection Act
CORBACommon Object Request Broker Architecture
CPI(M)Communist Party of India / Marxist
CPWDCentral Public Works Department
CRISCentre for Railway Information System
CSIRCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research
CTBTComprehensive Test Ban Treaty
CYMKCyan, Yellow, Magenta, Kinda
D.Litt.Doctor of Literature
D.Phil.Doctor of Philosophy
D.ScDoctor of Science
DC Direct Current
DIGDeputy Inspector General
DMADirect Memory Access
DMKDravida Munetra Kazhagam
DNADeoxyribo-nucleic Acid
DTPDesktop Publishing
DVCDamodar Valley Corporation
DVDDigital Versatile/Video Disc
E & OEErrors and Omissions Excepted
EDIElectronic Data Interchange
EISExecutive Information System
E-MAILElectronic Mailing
EMIEquated Monthly Instalments
ENIACElectronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator
ENTEar, Nose and Throat
EOFend of file
EOTEastern Daylight Time
EPABXElectronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange
ERNETEducational and Research Network
FAQ Frequently Asked Question
FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
FBTFringe Benefit Tax
FBTRFast Breeder Test Reactor
FBWFly-By-Wire
FCIFood Corporation of India; Fertilizer Corporation of India
FDIForeign Direct Investment
FEMAForeign Exchange Management Act
FICCIFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
FIFAInternational Football Federation (Fed­eration Internationale de Football Associa­tion)
FIRFirst Information Report
FMFrequency modulation
FRCPFellow of the Royal College of Physicians
FRCSFellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
FRCSFellow of the Royal Geographical Society
FRSFellow of the Royal Society
G7Group of Seven (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, japan and Canada) G8 includes G7 plus Russia
GATEGraduate Aptitude Test in Engineer­ing
GATSGeneral Agreement on Trade and Ser­vices
GDPGross Domestic Product
GMATGraduate Management Admission Test
GMTGreenwich Mean Time
GSLVGeo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Ve­hicle
GSMGlobal System for Mobile Communica­tions
GSPGeneralised System Preference
GUIGraphical User Interface
HALHindustan Aeronautics Limited.
HIVHuman Immunodeficiency Virus
HMIHimalayan Mountaineering Institute
HTMLHyper Text Markup Language
HUDCOHousing and Urban Development Corp.
HVACHeating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
i.e.id est (that is)
IAAIInternational Airport Authority of India
IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency
IARIIndian Agricultural Research Institute
IASIndian Administrative Service
IATAInternational Air Transport Association
IBMInternational Business Machines
ICSEIndian Certificate of Secondary Educa­tion
ICUIntensive Care Unit
ICWAIndian Council of World Affairs
IDAInternational Development Agency
IDBIIndustrial Development Bank of India
IEEEInstitute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers
IELTSInternational English Language Testing System
IFCIndustrial Finance Corporation, International Finance Corporation
IFSIndian Foreign Service; Indian Forest Service
IGNOUIndira Gandhi National Open Uni­versity
IIPAIndian Institute of Public Administration
IISCOIndian Iron and Steel Company
IISSInternational Institute of Strategic Stud­ies
IITIndian Institute of Technology
ILAIndian Library Association
ILOInternational Labour Organisation
IMAPInternet Mail Access Protocol
IMFInternational Monetary Fund
INAIndian National Army
INTUCIndian National Trade Union Con­gress
IOCIndian Oil Corporation
IPInternet Protocol
IPCIndian Penal Code
IPCLIndian Petro-Chemicals Corporation Ltd
IPIInternational Press Institute.
IPOInitial Public Offering
IPSIndian Police Service; Inter Press Service
IQIntelligence Quotient
IRCInternational Red Cross
IRDPIntegrated Rural Development Programme
IRSIndian Revenue Service
ISBNInternational Standard Book Number
ISDNIntegrated Services Digital Network
ISIIndian Standards Institution; Inter Services Intelligence
ISKCONInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness
ISOInternational Standards Organisation
ISROIndian Space Research Organisation
ISTIndian Standard Time
ITBPIndo-Tibetan Border Police
ITESInformation Technology enabled services
ITIIndian Telephone Industries<br> Industrial Training Institute
ITUInternational Telecommunication Union
IVFIn-Vitro Fertilisation
IVMIn-vitro Maturation
JCOJunior Commissioned Officer
JEEJoint Entrance Examination
JPEGJoint Photographic Expert Group
LASERLight Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
LCALight Combat Aircraft
LCDLiquid Crystal Display<br>Least Common Denominator
LCMLowest Common Multiple
LICLife Insurance Corporation (of India)
LLB Bachelor of Laws
LMCLarge Megallanic Cloud
LTTELiberation Tigers of Tamil Elam
M.A.Magisiter Artium (Master of Arts)
M.DDoctor of Medicine
MBAMaster of Business Administration
MBBSBachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
MCCMarylebone Cricket Club
MCIMedical Council of India
MICRMagnetic ink character recognition
MIDIMusical Instrument Digital Interface
MIPSMillion Instructions per Second
MITMassachusetts Institute of Technology; Master Instruction Tape
MLAMember of Legislative Assembly
MNCMulti-National Corporation
MODEMmodulator demodulator
MPMember of Parliament; Madhya Pradesh
MPEGMotion Picture Experts Group
MRCPMember of the Royal College of Physicians
MTCRMissile Technology Control Regime
MVCMaha Vir Chakra
NAACNational Assessment and Accreditation Council
NABARDNational Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
NAFEDNational Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation
NALCONational Aluminium Company Ltd.
NASANational Aeronautics and Space Ad­ministration
NASDAQNational Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation
NASSCOMNational Association of Software and Service Companies
NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NAVNet Asset Value
NCERTNational Council of Educational Research and Training
NCSANational Centre for Supercomputing Applications; National Computer Security Association
NDANational Defence Academy
NOCNo Objection Certificate
NPANon-performing Assets
NPTNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
NRFNational Renewal Fund
NSUINational Students Union of India
NTPCNational Thermal Power Corporation
OBCOther Backward Classes
OCROptical Character Recognition
ONGCOil and Natural Gas Corporation
OOPObject Oriented Programme
OPECOrganisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
OSCAROrbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio
PANPermanent Account Number
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae Doctor)
PILPublic Interest Litigation.
PINPostal Index Number
PSLVPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle
PWDPublic Works Department;
R&DResearch and Development
RADARRadio Detecting and Ranging
RAMRandom Access Memory
RAWResearch & Analysis Wing
RBIReserve Bank of India
RDXResearch Department Explosive (Cyclotrim-ethylin Trinitrate)
RISCReduced instruction-set computing
RNARibonucleic acid
ROMRead Only Memory
RPMRevolutions Per Minute
RTIRight to Information
SAILSteel Authority of India Limited
SARSSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome
SCSISmall Computer Systems Interface
SEBISecurities and Exchange Board of India
SENSEXSensitivity Index (of Share Price)
SEZSpecial Economic Zone
SGPCSiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee
SIMSubscriber Information Module
SLVSatellite Launch Vehicle
SMSShort Message Service
SMTPSimple Mail Transfer Protocol
STDSubscriber Trunk Dialling; Sexually Transmitted Diseases
TADATerrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act
TCPTransfer Call Protocol<br> Transmission Control Protocol
TELCOTata Engineering and Locomotive Company
TFTThin-Film Transistor
TIFRTata Institute of Fundamental Research
TISCOTata Iron and Steel Company
TOEFLTest of English as a Foreign Language
UAVUnmanned Aerial Vehicle
UGCUniversity Grants Commission
ULFAUnited Liberation Front of Asom
UNESCOUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi-sation
UNIUnited News of India
UNICEFUnited Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (now, 'United Nations Children's Fund')
UNUUnited Nations University
UPAUnited Progressive Alliance
UPSCUnion Public Service Commission
URLUniform Resource Locator
VATValue Added Tax
VCRVideo Cassette Recorder
VIPVery Important Person
VIRUSVital Information Resources Under Siege
VRMLVirtual Reality Modelling Language
VRSVoluntary Retirement Scheme
VSSCVikram Sarabhai Space Centre
WHOWorld Health Organisation
WMOWorld Meteorological Organisation
WTOWorld Trade Orga-nisation
WWFWorld Wildlife Fund
WWWWorld Wide Web
WYSIWYGWhat you see is what you get
XMLExtensible Mark-up Language
YMCAYoung Men's Christian Association
ZIPZone Improvement Plan

Practice More Important Than Age In Learning To Use Computer Mouse

Children as young as 5 years old can learn how to use a computer mouse, new research suggests.
While age is an important component in determining how well a child controls a mouse, the study also found that how frequently a child practices may be even more important.
“Learning how to use a computer has become as important as writing and reading in the classroom,” says Alison Lane, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Ohio State University.
“Since the frequency of computer mouse use is as important as age, it might be beneficial to introduce children to the computer at a young age so that they can slowly develop skills over years of practice,” explained Lane.
Lane conducted the study with Jenny Ziviani of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Their results appear in a recent issue of the journal Computers & Education.
The study examined the computer-mouse skills of 221 Australian children between the ages of 5 and 10 years.
“We wanted to examine the influence of previous experience on children’s mouse competence,” Lane said.
The tests used to measure the children’s mouse control consisted of subtests assessing point and click, dragging, and pursuit tracking movements with the mouse.
One of the subtests, called Chipmunk Fun, required the children to click on as many chipmunk faces as they could within a 20-second time period. The children performed this test six different times, and each time the size of the targets and where the targets were located on the screen would change.
“The way children approached the game seemed to depend on their age,” said Lane. “The older children were more interested in the goal of the game, which was speed, whereas the younger children focused on the nature of finding the target and clicking the chipmunk’s face as opposed to clicking as many as possible,” she said.
While the children’s approach to the game was age-dependent, and the speed and accuracy with which they played the game was also strongly dependent on their age, Lane and her colleagues discovered that the frequency of computer mouse use was also vital to determining their skill level.
Other research has found that younger children require more practice to achieve the same mouse movement capabilities as older children. One group observed that children within the range of six to eight years old required more than twice the amount of practice as did ten-year-old children.
There is debate about the best age to introduce a computer to children, and the amount of practice time they should have, Lane explained.
Lane and colleagues found that the largest increases in the children’s computer-mouse accuracy and speed was observed between ages 6 and 7 and between ages 8 and 9. Between the ages of 9 and 10, performance appeared to plateau.
Past research has found that children’s reaction times tend to increase around age 6 or 7, and that they start to develop enhanced spatial accuracy and speed around age 8.
“The improvements in speed and accuracy at these ages are most likely due to the children’s motor skill development,” said Lane.
While older children were faster and more accurate, they were not as smooth with their mouse motions as younger children. This finding came as a surprise to Lane and her colleagues because they expected that smoothness would improve along with speed and accuracy.
Their research found that smoothness continued to decrease as the
children grew older. Lane suggests that this may be due to the
competitive nature of the older children, who were willing to sacrifice
fluidity for speed.
While there were no significant differences between girls and boys in terms of speed and accuracy with the mouse, results showed that girls were slightly more skilled at showing smooth mouse control than were the boys in the study.
Overall, Lane said the results suggested that children had to practice at least once a week or more with a mouse to show the best gains in terms of accuracy, speed and minimization of errors.
“We need more study to determine the optimal duration and content of practice sessions for children at different development stages,” she said. ”But practice definitely helps with speed and accuracy.”

Foreign Universities Campuses In India

A legislative proposal, The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation for Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 has been introduced in Parliament on 3.5.2010 and has been referred to the department related Parliament Standing Committee on Human Resource Development. The proposed law seeks to put in place a mechanism to facilitate the entry and regulation of reputed foreign educational institutions, while preventing the entry of those of dubious quality.
So far there is neither a centralized policy, nor any regulatory regime for Foreign Educational Institutions (FEIs) in the country. Only AICTE has issued regulations concerning entry and operation of FEIs in India namely, Regulations for Entry and Operation of Foreign Universities/Institutions Imparting Technical Education in India, 2005, which however, as the nomenclature suggests, is limited to technical education. AICTE has reported that it has received complaints against the following Institutions having foreign collaborations and AICTE has issued show-cause notices to these institutions:-
(i) Leeds Met India, Bhopal
(ii) London School of Commerce and School of Business and Law, Kolkata
(iii) Centum Leaning, Delhi, University of London
(iv) Gems B School, Hyderabad – M/s South Asia University, London, UK
(v) Hyderabad Schools of Business, Hyderabad – Ed Excel of UK
(vi) Bangalore Management Academy, Bangalore-Edith Cown University, Australia.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Lok Sabha

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Right to Education Enforced from 1st April, 2010



The year 2010 was a landmark year for education in the country. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, representing the consequential legislation to the Constitutional (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, was enforced with effect from 1st April, 2010.The RTE Act secures the right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. The Act lays down the norms and standards relating to pupil teacher ratios, buildings and infrastructure, school working days and teacher working hours. The process of aligning the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan strategies and norms with the RTE mandate was initiated.
PREPARATION OF MODEL RULES UNDER THE RTE ACT
The Model Rules under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act have been prepared and circulated/sent to State Governments to adopt/adapt the same while making their own rules.
FRAMING OF CENTRAL RULES:
The Central Rules under the RTE Act titled “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010” was published in the Gazette on 9th April, 2010.
NOTIFICATIONS UNDER SECTION 29 AND 23 OF THE RTE ACT.
The Central Government has issued the following Notifications on 5th April, 2010.
(i)                 in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 29 of the Right of       Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the Central Government has authorized the National Council of Educational Research and Training would be the academic authority to lay down the curriculum and evaluation procedure for elementary education, and to develop a framework of national curriculum under clause (a) of sub-section (6) of Section 7 of the Act; and
(ii)         in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 23 of the Right of                Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the Central Government               has authorized the National Council for Teacher Education as the academic                           authority to lay down the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for               appointment as a teacher.
LAYING DOWN MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT AS A   TEACHER
The National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) has vide Notification dated 23rd August, 2010 laid down the minimum qualifications for a person to be appointed as a teacher in schools.
FORMATION OF NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Section 33(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides for constitution of a National Advisory Council (NAC) by the Central Government. The functions of the NAC shall be to advise the Central Government on implementation of the provisions of the RTE Act in an effective manner. The National Advisory Council was constituted under the chairpersonship of Minister of Human Resource Development.  Notification to this effect has been published in the Gazette of India on 8th July, 2010.
GUIDELINES ISSUED UNDER SECTION 35(1) OF THE RTE ACT:
a)               Clarifications regarding  Duties of teachers under Section 27: “Duties relating to election to the local authority or the State Legislatures or Parliament relate to actual conduct of elections and the consequent deployment of teachers on the days of poll and counting, the time spent on training imparted to them and collection of election material for such deployment.  All other duties relating to electoral roll revisions will be undertaken on holidays and during non- teaching hours and non-teaching days.”
b)               Procedure for admission in schools under section 13(1) and section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act – i.e. the unaided and ‘specified category’ schools shall follow a system of random selection out of the applications received from children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections for filling the pre-determined number of seats in that class, which should be not less than 25% of the strength of the class and for remaining 75% of the seats (or a lesser percentage depending upon the number of seats fixed by the school for admission under section 12(1)(c), in respect of unaided schools and specified category schools, and for all the seats in the aided schools, each school should formulate a policy under which admissions are to take place
c)               Applicability of RTE to Minority Institutions – Institutions, including Madrasa and Vedic Pathshalas especially serving religious and linguistic minorities are protected under Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution.  The RTE Act does not come in the way of continuance of such institutions, or the rights of children in such institutions and schools of minority organizations covered within the meaning of section 2(n) of the Act, will be governed by the provisions of the RTE Act, 2009.
d)              Relax the minimum qualifications required for appointment of teacher for a period not exceeding five years as required under Sub-section (2) of Section 23 of RTE Act to a state along with the prescribed format for seeking relaxation by the State.
e)               For maintaining PTR mentioned in the Schedule to the Act, the States may undertake two processes within a period of six months
i)        Rationalize the deployment of existing teachers to address the problems of urban-rural and other spatial imbalances in teacher placements and
ii)      Initiate the process of recruitment of new teachers to fill vacant posts as per the PTR stipulated in the Schedule.

SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is the main vehicle for implementation of RTE Act, 2009.
The major achievements of SSA till September, 2010 are
(i)                                                                                   Opening of 309727 new schools,
(ii)                                                                                 Construction of 254935 school buildings,
(iii)                                                                               Construction of 1166868 additional classrooms,
(iv)                                                                               190961 drinking water facilities,
(v)                                                                                 Construction of 347857 toilets,
(vi)                                                                               Supply of free textbooks to 8.70 crore children,
(vii)                                                                             appointment of 11.13 lakh teachers
(viii)                                                                           In-service training to 14.02 lakh teachers.
(ix)                                                                               Central budget provision for SSA for 2010-11 is Rs.19000 crore, out of which Rs.15212 crore has been released to States/UTs till 30.11.2010.
GRADING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTED IN CLASS 10
2010 saw the initiation of the grading system at the class 10 level . It has  also been decided to do away with Class X board examinations from 2011 in CBSE schools affiliated up to senior secondary level, for such students who are not moving out of the CBSE System.  Further, students of class IX and X will be assessed on the basis on CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) to be implemented at the school level.
MODEL SCHOOLS
The government has decided to set up 6000 high quality model schools at the rate of one school per block.  During 2010-11, 401 model schools in 5 States have been sanctioned and Rs.229.51crore released as first instalment of central share,
The Project Approval Board(PAB) has also recommended 53  more schools in 3 States as mentioned below:
(i)         Assam                                    24
(ii)        Uttar Pradesh                            3
(iii)       Tamil Nadu                             26

RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

This scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhanceaccess to secondary education and improve its quality and the implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10. It is envisaged to achieve an enrolment rate of 75% from 52.26% in 2005-06 at secondary stage within 5 years by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation.
During 2010-11, based on the Annual Plan proposals submitted by the State/UTs government upto 30.11.2010, the Project Approval Board (PAB) has approved following interventions in 13 States/UTs:
Ø  New/ upgraded schools                :           1257
Ø  Additional class rooms                 :           8511
Ø  Science lab                                    :           4101
Ø  Computer room                             :           2554
Ø  Art/craft/culture room                   :           5359
Ø  Library                                          :           5095
Ø  Separate toilet block
& drinking water facilities            :           4330
Ø  In service training of teachers       :        459215
NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

“National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education” developed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) was released this year. Two significant developments – the National Curriculum Framework, 2005 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, have guided the development of this Framework.  The document deals with preparing and re-orienting teachers for enabling the child to learn through activities, discovery and exploration of his environment and surroundings in a child friendly and child-centred manner, inclusive education, perspective for equitable and sustainable development, gender perspectives, role of community knowledge in education and ICT in schooling as well as  e-learning
COBSE UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSES CORE CURRICULUM FOR MATHS,  SCIENCE  AND COMMERCE FOR THE COUNTRY FORPLUS TWO STAGE

The Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) approved in two meetings, in the first one in Delhi a common core curriculum in Science and Mathematics, and in a later meeting in Jaipur, a common core curriculum for commerce, for the plus two stage, for the country.  Most of the Boards were in favour of the implementation of the core curriculum for science and maths  from the year 2011 and for commerce from 2012..
MOU SIGNED BETWEEN HRD AND RAILWAY MINISTRIES

An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Railways to develop educational infrastructure in the form of around 50 Kendriya Vidyalayas in civil sector (about 20 during the 11th Plan and the balance during the 12th Plan), 10 Residential Schools on the pattern of Navodaya Vidayalayas ( to be set up by Ministry of Railways in collaboration with Ministry of HRD on mutually agreed terms), an appropriate number of Model Degree Colleges and Technical and Management institutions of National Importance to meet the demand for education including wards of Railway employees, either as per the norms specified under the existing schemes/programmes and projects being executed by Ministry of Human Resource Development or through special programmes and projects mutually agreed by the parties or through innovative financing under Public Private Partnership Models or any combinational thereof.
NCTE PORTAL LAUNCHED
An  NCTE Portal was launched which provides for on-line application for recognition of teacher education institutions, on-line submission of appeals, on-line registration of teacher education institutions, teacher educators and teacher trainees, and electronic processing of applications submitted on-line through MIS-integration.

MOU SIGNED BETWEEN HRD AND UIDAI

Ministry of Human Resource Development and Unique Identification Authority of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 27th October, 2010 The proposed MOU would be helpful in tracking student’s mobility by creating an electronic registry of all students right from primary/elementary level through secondary and higher education, as also between the institutions.  It would also be useful in the implementation of Mid-Day Meal Scheme.  Imprinting of UID number on performance record of individual students (Marksheet.merit certificate, migration certificate) will also be helpful to prospective employers and educational institutions.  UID number will help in tracking problems of fake degrees.  UID can also be utilized while dematting of academic certificates as also education loan and scholarship schemes.

SAAKSHAR BHARAT
The Prime Minister launched Saakshar Bharat on 8th September, 2009and it was operationalised w.e.f. 1st October, 2009.  By 31st December, 2009, which is within six months of the Government’s  decision, the Mission has been rolled out in 167 districts in 19 States, covering over 81,000 Gram Panchayats, with a budgetary outlay of Rs.2524 crore up to 31st March, 2012.   In all 3.82 crore non-literate adults will be benefited in these districts. The Government of India’s share of Rs.374.35 crore, as the first installment, has been sanctioned.  In 2010-11,  43 more districts are being taken up for implementation  of Saakshar Bharat to cover  over 11000 Gram Panchayats.

AN AUTONOMOUS OVERARCHING AUTHORITY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF YASH PAL COMMITTEE AND NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE COMMISSION.

The restructuring of the Higher Education sector, in the context of a knowledge economy that thrives on innovation, the ceaseless germination of new ideas and raising the consciousness of people, requires a new spirit of regulation that respects the autonomy of institutions amidst the need for accountability with opportunities for access to all.  The establishment of an over-arching institution with power, inter-alia, to prescribe academic standard, norms of accreditation and mechanism for financing and governance of institutions, will enhance the endeavour to promote credible standards of higher education and research in the country.  A Task Force has been constituted for aiding and advising the Government in the establishment of the Commission.  The Task Force has submitted its report to the government on 21st October, 2010.
A LAW TO PREVENT, PROBIBIT AND PUNISH EDUCATIONAL MALPRACTICES

There is public concern that technical and medical educational institutions, and universities should not resort to unfair practices, such as charging of capitation fee and demanding donations for admitting students, no issuing receipts in respect of payments made by or on behalf of students, admission to professional programmes of study through non-transparent and questionable admission processes, low quality delivery of education services and false claims of quality of such services through misleading advertisements, engagement of unqualified or ineligible teaching faculty, forcible withholding of certificates and other documents of students.  Responding to this concern, a comprehensive legislation that would prohibit and punish such practices has been introduced in Parliament in the month of May, 2010 to provide for prohibition and punishment for adopting of unfair practices.
A LAW FOR MANDATORY ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH AN INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AUTHORITY

Objective quality assurance frameworks are needed for the student community to make informed choices about institutions and courses.  Presently, accreditation is voluntary as a result of which less than one-fifth of the colleges and less than one-third of all universities have obtained accreditation.  Mandatory accreditation in the higher education would enable the higher education system in the country to become a part of the global quality assurance system.  A legislation has been introduced in Parliament in May this year to provide for mandatory accreditation of all institutions of higher education and creation of an institutional structure for the purpose.  This is in accordance with the general principle of moving from “inspection approval” based mechanism of recognizing institutions to a “verification assessment” method, the attainment of which has often been stressed in public policy discourses.
A LAW TO REGULATE ENTRY AND OPERATION OF FOREIGN EDUCATIONAL PROVIDERS

A large number of foreign educational institutions are reportedly operating in the country.  Some of them are resorting to various mal-practices to allure and attract students, particularly in smaller cities and towns.  There is as yet neither any centralised policy nor regulatory regime for Foreign Educational Institutions in the country.  The regulation on entry and operation of Foreign Educational Institutions is in the public interest to maintain the standards of higher education within the country as well as to protect the interest of the student’s community.  An ideal regulatory framework could be one in which reputed institutes are able to enter and operate in terms of India’s national policy, while at the same time sub-standard or ‘fly-by-night’ operators are checked and controlled.  The legislative proposal to regulate entry and operation of foreign educational institutions has also been introduced in Parliament.
A LAW TO ESTABILISH A TRIBUNAL FOR FAST –TRACK ADJUDICATION OF DISPUTES CONCERNING STAKEHOLDERS
The existing justice system suffers from delays and prolixity.   Educational disputes need a fast-track and affordable adjudication mechanism.  For this purpose, a legislation to establish Tribunals at the states and at National level, has been introduced in Parliament to perform the role of providing an independent, enforceable, speedy, fast track adjudication of disputes in a quasi-judicial manner in regard to students, teachers and other employees, between institutions and between institutions and the regulators.  This  legislation has already been passed by the Lok Sabha and is before the Rajya Sabha for consideration.
A LAW TO PROVIDE FOR ESTABILSHMENT OF UNIVERSITIES FOR INNOVATION
Another facilitating process has been set in motion, which contemplates creating institutions of excellence to attract world class faculty, advanced learning facilities and pure research oriented atmosphere.  .  Despite having one of the largest higher education systems in the world, only a few institutions of learning have been able to make a mark on the global stage.  The contribution of the alumni of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Sciences and the Indian Institutes of Management(IIMs) have been widely recognized all over the world. Recognizing this, the government has proposed establishment of Innovation Universities aimed at world class standards.  These Universities would be at the fount of making India and global knowledge hub and set benchmarks for excellence for other Central and State Universities.  The proposal would also facilitate participation of reputed private sector agencies in establishment of these universities in PPP mode. A legislative proposal in this regard has been already formulated by the Ministry and the proposal in the stage of inter-ministerial consultations.
A LAW TO PROVIDE FOR NATIONAL ACADEMIC DEPOSITORY
The ministry has also formulated a legislative proposal for creating and maintaining a national electronic database of academic records and awards in de-mat form.  What is envisaged is a shift from the current practice, through dematerialisation of certificates, to a technology-based solution that would ensure confidentiality, authenticity and fidelity, enabling online verification and easy retrieval of academic qualifications. Holding of academic qualifications in an electronic depository would provide immense benefit to educational institutions, students, alumni and employers by enabling online access of academic qualifications, eliminating the need for persons to approach educational institutions for obtaining transcripts of such qualifications or for verification as well as reduce the need for institutions to preserve records related to academic performance of students over a long time.  The system could also eliminate fraudulent practices such as forging of certificates and mark sheets through facilitating online verification.
INDIAN INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY (IITs)
The Government has set up eight new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh (Indore) and Himachal Pradesh.  Out of these 8, Classes for B.Tech. couses have been started from 2009-10 in IITs at Mandi (H.P) and Indore (M.P.). classes had already been started from July-August 2008 in 6 new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjaband Gujarat .
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (IIMs)
In view of the felt need for expansion of facilities for high quality management education, during XIth Five Year Plan seven new IIMs have been established in the country.  The IIMs at Rohtak, Ranchi & Raipur have commenced their academic session from 2010-11.  The IIM at Tiruchirappalli will be operationalized in 2010-11 with executive programmes and the IIMs at Udaipur & Kashipur would become functional from 2011-12.
LOW COST ACCESS –CUM-COMPUTING DEVICE UNVEILED
The Union Minister for human Resource Development unveiled a low cost computing-cum-access device in July this year. The price of the device is expected to be around $35 per piece.  The aim is to reach such devices to the students of colleges and Universities and to provide these institutions a host of choices of low cost access devices around Rs. 1500/- ($35) or less in near future.
GATE ONLINE IN TWO SUBJECTS
Indian Institutes of Technology at Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee and the Indian Institute of Science Bangaloresuccessfully conducted online Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2010 for two out of 21 papers this year. Examinations in two subjects, namely Textile Engineering and Fiber Science (TF), and Mining Engineering (MN) were conducted using computers by these institutes. About 1700 candidates were registered for these examinations which were conducted simultaneously in eight cities over two shifts.
E-GOVERNANCE MODEL FOR AICTE

The  web portals of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Board of Accreditation (NBA) at URL://www.aicte-india.organd URL://www.nba-india.org respectively were launched in order to bring in transparency, accountability, efficiency and swiftness in its decision-making process. Through this portal, the        processing of applications for approvals has been made on line this year.
INDIA  AUSTRALIA EDUCATION COUNCIL TO BE CONSTITUTED

A landmark initiative to constitute the India-Australia Education Council has been agreed on by India and Australia A first of its kind, this Council will bring together government, academia, business and industry of both the countries to further bilateral collaboration in the education sector. Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, and Ms.  Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Australia decided upon this in a meeting held in Melbourne, Australia, in recognition of the fact that education is central to sustained, inclusive and equitable growth.
HRD MINISTRY FINALIZES SCHEME FOR INTEREST SUBSIDY FOR EDUCATION LOANS
Ministry of Human Resource Development has finalized the modalities for implementation of a new Central Scheme to provide full interest subsidy during the period of moratorium on educational loans for students belonging to economically weaker sections (with parental family income from all sources of less than Rs.4.5 lakh annually) from scheduled banks under the Educational Loan Scheme of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for pursuing courses of studies in professional/technical streams from recognized institutions in India.  The modalities have been finalized in consultation with the Indian Banks’ Association. The Scheme is effective for all IBAapproved educational loans sanctioned in form of eligible students’ in respect of approval course of studies from the academic year 2009-10.
YALE UNIVERSITY ENTERS INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH IITKANPUR AND IIM KHOZIKHODE FOR DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES

Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Kozhikode,  Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Kanpur and Yale University, USA have entered into a partnership to advance higher education in India through academic leadership development programmes for higher education leaders in India and through research on Indian higher education..The flagship programme of the partnership will be a new “India – Yale University Leadership Programme,” to be developed by Yale University in consultation with IIM – Kozhikode and IIT – Kanpur, that will expose university and academic leaders in India at the levels of vice-chancellor, director, and deans to the best practices of academic administration and institutional management in the United States.
NATIONAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK
The HRD Ministry has initiated the process for the preparation of   a National Vocational Education Qualification Framework. The first two  round tables have been organized by the All India Council for Technical Education, (AICTE) for the development of a national vocational education qualification framework, the first one with regard to the automobile sector, and the second one with regard to the  IT, ITES and Telecom Industry. More round tables are proposed to be organized in order to address a gamut of vocations.  Subsequent to the discussions, to develop the course curriculum, core groups have been constituted for the preparation of the curriculum for the automobile, for the telecom and for the IT  sector.. These groups are to submit their recommendations to the HRD Ministry within 3 months.