Rajasthan
School ragging lacuna
A class XI student of a private higher secondary girls school near Jodhpur was allegedly ragged and stripped by five of her classmates, prompting police to register a case against the accused and the schools management, says assistant commissioner of police Swati Sharma.
In the absence of a law against ragging in schools, we have decided to register a case against the accused girls and the school administration under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, police commissioner Ashok Rathore informed the media in Jodhpur on July 14. The anti-ragging law applies to college students which is not the case in this instance, he added while declining to identify the school.
The state governments education ministry has also initiated an inquiry into the incident and directed the district education officer to submit a report within two days. The secretary of the school said an internal committee has been constituted to probe the incident. Meanwhile the accused girl students have been suspended.
Punjab
Secondary education revamp
Disappointed by the consistently low class X board exam scores of students, Punjabs education minister Daljit Singh Cheema has commissioned a comprehensive study of this phenomenon.
Addressing a brainstorming event with 500 teachers at the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) auditorium in Mohali on July 13, the minister said the governments intention is not to embarrass teachers but to analyse poor exam results and draw up a blueprint for improvement.
Cheema invited suggestions from teachers and directed education ministry officials to act on them. The minister also instructed PSEB chairperson Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal to convene a meeting with subject experts to implement constructive suggestions on syllabi and textbooks. A mid-service training programme for teachers of schools with poor results will be announced soon, he added.
Bihar
Faculty indolence ban
Ex officio chancellor of all public universities in the state, Bihars governor Ram Nath Kovind has issued a circular to the states higher education institutions directing faculty to mandatorily put in a minimum five hours of work per working day, a government official informed media personnel in Patna on July 1.
The governor had discussed this issue with vice chancellors of state universities in two meetings held on January 18 and May 14 this year, the circular said. The academic calendar of universities and colleges in Bihar comprises 180 working days in a year, it added.
The circular also directs proctors of colleges and universities to report unauthorised absence of faculty to the governors secretariat on a daily basis.
Haryana
Moral education order
Haryana education minister Ram Bilas Sharma announced the state governments decision to introduce moral education into the curricula of all government secondary schools (classes VI-XII) statewide. The minister made this announcement at a special function at Kurukshetra University, a government official informed media personnel in Chandigarh on July 5.
All religions focus on character-building. Therefore, extracts from religious texts like the Bhagavad Gita, Quran, Bible and Guru Granth Sahib have been incorporated into the moral education curriculum, said the minister. The state government has developed the curriculum in collaboration with social organisations and educationists, he added.
Nagaland
New private varsity
In a boost to higher education in this educationally underserved state, the Nagaland legislative assembly passed the St. Joseph Catholic University (Nagaland) Bill, 2016 by voice vote on July 14. The Bill was introduced in the assembly on July 12 by parliamentary secretary of higher and technical education Deo Nukhu.
Addressing media personnel in Kohima on July 14, the minister said the university will offer business management, applied sciences, engineering and technology, agriculture, architecture, law, education, and medical sciences study programmes. This private university will be managed by the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and Collaborators, DMI Foundation, Nagaland.
Meghalaya
Temp teachers pay hike
The state government has approved a 100 percent hike in the salaries of ad hoc or temporary teachers in all secondary and higher secondary schools, officials informed the media in Shillong on July 21.
Temporary secondary teachers will now get Rs.20,000 per month, up from Rs.10,000 and higher secondary school teachers Rs.24,000 from the current Rs.12,000. Science teachers monthly salaries will be Rs.22,000 from the present Rs.11,000, said D.P. Wahlang, the commissioner and secretary in-charge of education. The total additional payout will aggregate Rs.40.29 crore per year, he added.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs
