Education Notes

Maharashtra Emerging education hub With the newly constituted Gondwana University — sited in the heart of the Naxal insurgency affected Gadchiroli district — having admitted its first batch of students in August, the demand for a separate divisional office of the Maharashtra Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (MSHSEB) located here, is gaining ground. “Currently, all education-related matters have to be approved by the Nagpur divisional board, which is a drain on resources and time,” said Bhaurao Patre, a senior office-bearer of Shikshak Bharti teachers organisation, while addressing the media in Gadchiroli on September 26. According to Patre, the number of colleges affiliated with the university is 177. Moreover there are 217 high schools and over 100 junior colleges in the district, with the number increasing to 816 high schools and 579 junior colleges if institutions in the neighbouring Chandrapur district are taken into consideration. “These figures make a strong case for setting up a divisional office of MSHSEB in this district,’’ he said. Jharkhand Green light for higher education By an order issued on September 11, the Jharkhand high court directed the state government to initiate steps towards setting up educational infrastructure on government-acquired land at Nagari, situated on the outskirts of the state’s capital Ranchi. While issuing its directive, the bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Chandra Tatia and Justice Jaya Roy observed that land acquisition was not dependent on the will of the people, and the state government should proceed to implement the project. The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by two students on behalf of the National Law University, Ranchi, and Bar Association of the Jharkhand high court. The petitioners prayed for implementation of a project to establish a National Law University, Indian Institute of Management-Ranchi, and Indian Institute of Information Technology. They contended that the acquired land at Nagari was not fertile as contended by respondents to the petition. Earlier on July 16, the high court had ruled out return of land acquired by the state government in Nagari way back in 1957-58. Following the court’s order, respondents who have been resisting the acquisition had pulled down a boundary wall at the site. Kerala State board approves LearnNext The Hyderabad-based Next Education India has customised its self-learning bestseller e-learning product LearnNext, for the Kerala State Examination Board. Thus far the company has customised LearnNext for 20 state boards countrywide for several subjects including maths, physics, chemistry and biology for classes VI-X, says a statement issued by Next Education. “LearnNext content includes life-like animation to explain complex topics with practice tests for students to improve their comprehension of subjects. It also generates performance and comparative analysis reports based on the performance of all students who have taken online tests,’’ says a company spokesperson. According to company sources, with an annual revenue of over Rs.100 crore Next Education is growing at 100 percent year-on-year, has over 800,000 registered customers including more than 50,000 students countrywide.  Haryana NVEQF pilot project launched A pilot project of the…