Rajasthan
Exam paper leakage scam
In a written directive dated April 7, the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) ordered the state government’s education director in Bikaner to initiate disciplinary action against 18 centre superintendents accused of a security lapse, which resulted in leakage of RBSE’s class X and XII board examination question papers. These 18 accused officials have been charge-sheeted by the police following an investigation spanning eight districts of the state.
According to a RBSE spokesperson, the accused officials removed question papers of the next evening’s shift together with those of the morning shift from the police station where they were in safe custody. As per board instructions, question papers can only be removed from police custody 30 minutes before each examination.
One centre superintendent of the Government Higher Secondary School, Niwai, has already been suspended in this regard, he added.
Delhi
Murder charge against school principal
Delhi’s modern school, Vasant Vihar was closed on April 24-25 following protests by angry parents and students who alleged that “negligence” of school authorities caused the death of 17-year-old Akruti Bhatia, a class XII student who suffered an asthma seizure in class on April 23, and died en route to a hospital.
The school management has decided to set up an external inquiry committee comprising eminent citizens and academicians to look into the allegations of negligence.
When the school authorities called a press conference on April 24 to explain the facts and circumstances of the case, students and agitated parents disrupted it. “She (principal Goldie Malhotra) killed my friend. Does she have any answer why the oxygen mask was removed from Akruti when she was battling for life? Does she have any answer as to why an ambulance could not be arranged for Akruti,” asked an angry student before a battery of television cameras.
Managing trustee Ashok Pratap Singh informed the media that an inquiry will be ordered to find out if there was any lapse on the part of the school. The inquiry committee will include people unconnected with the school, and will submit its report expeditiously. Meanwhile school principal Goldie Malhotra has resigned.
Kerala
CPM calls for dialogue
Addressing a press conference in Thrissur on April 6, Communist Party of India — Marxist (CPM) politburo member S. Ramachandran Pillai said the party is ready for a dialogue with church leaders to iron out differences over education reforms. However he warned against mixing of politics and religion as was being done by “certain parties,” adding that the CPM had always acknowledged the valuable contributions made by the church in the field of education.
The press conference was called in Thrissur because bishops and prelates of the powerful Catholic church have often criticised the CPM-led LDF government’s education reform agenda, accusing it of rubbishing religion and promoting atheism. Recently, pastoral letters were read out in churches urging the faithful to reject the “political forces” propagating atheism and promoting material philosophies.
Gujarat
Education department introduces Kaizen
The education department of the Gujarat state government has signed an agreement with the Kaizen Institute of India Ltd to put the Japanese management technique of Kaizen into practice to enhance departmental efficiency and productivity, the institute’s director Jayanath Murthy informed a press group on April 8. Kaizen facilitates continuous improve-ment at every level and across every organisational function, to eliminate waste and improve productivity.
The Kaizen Institute of India is an affiliate of the eponymous parent institute, founded in 1986 by Masaaki Imai with its headquarters in Switzerland. With over 30 offices around the world staffed by 200 consultants, the Kaizen Institute and its affiliates serve a wide range of industries including auto, pharma, banks and governments.
Uttar Pradesh
Anti-English party manifesto
The Samajwadi Party manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls promises closure of English medium schools which charge “high” fees, imposition of a ceiling on teachers’ salaries, a ban on computers (to stimulate employment), and seizure of assets of people with “excess wealth”.
Promising cheap and easy education, the party’s manifesto released in Lucknow on April 11, promises free education for girl children up to graduation level and closure of English medium schools. “The party is not against English medium schools but English should not be made compulsory,” SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who released the manifesto, informed a press conference. “The party will promote vernacular languages in education, administration and courts,” he added.
Nagaland
Education revamp proposal
Nagaland chief minister Neiphin Rio has called for a complete reorientation of the present education system in the state, given the changing employment scenario in which excellence has become the key word for success. “We need education that will equip our students with the skills they need to meet market needs and compete in the global job market,” said Rio on April 19, while addressing the 23rd biennial conference of the Angami Students Union in Mezoma village, 35 km from Kohima.
According to Rio, although Nagaland has made quantitative strides in education, attaining 75-80 percent literacy against the national average of 65 percent, the existing education system is obsolete, as it was designed to cater to the requirements of government jobs. “As a result, educational institutions in the state are churning out graduates ill-equipped to meet the demands and challenges of industry and business,” says Rio, proposing a radical revamp of the state’s education system.