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Weekly Update on Education

14 December 2010

 

Over five lakh students opt out of class X boards
Manash Pratim Gohain, The Times of India, December 13, 2010

Over five lakh Class X students from senior secondary schools have decided to opt out of Class X board exams to be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in March 2011. This is the first batch for which the Class X board exam has been made optional and these students will now sit for the schoolbased term-end Summative II exam in April 2011 under the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)..

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Getting Ahead in India Means Getting Out of Town
Vir Singh, New York Times, December 12, 2010

Parth Vaishnav can’t wait to graduate, but he doesn’t think very much of the bachelor’s degree he will receive from the University of Mumbai next summer. And he believes employers won’t value it, either. He is applying to engineering schools in the United States, which he has been told offer the flexibility, diverse courses and hands-on experience he seeks. “Basically, all of us in my class, we were pretty disappointed with our systems,” Mr. Vaishnav said. “In the last three years, we have learned absolutely nothing. Everything was pretty theoretical. Courses in the U.S. offer practical experience. In India, as far as the syllabus goes, you have absolutely no flexibility.

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Shanghai students ranked best in the world at maths and science
Malcolm Moore, The Telegraph, December 8, 2010

It was the first time that mainland China has participated in the annual International Student Assessment (PISA), a survey of almost half-a-million schoolchildren in more than 70 countries by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). More than 5,000 15-year-old students in Shanghai sat the two-hour PISA exam and surprised experts with their stellar academic performance, in another sign of China’s rapid modernisation.The OECD said the result was a “wake-up call” for the rest of the world, with the UK falling to 16th place for science, 25th place for reading and 28th place for maths.

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No lottery in nursery admissions: Dikshit
The Times of India, December 10, 2010

The Delhi government has ruled out having a lottery system for nursery admissions this year. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit said on Thursday that admitting students through draw of lots – much talked about in the post Right to Education Act scenario – was unsustainable both for schools and parents. While Dikshit invited suggestions by Friday from schools on admission norms, in all likelihood the points system will continue with modifications.“The child’s interest is of paramount concern to us but at the same time if the lottery gives rise to a situation where two children of the same parents study in two schools at two corners of the city, that is hardly acceptable,” the CM told TOI after a meeting with all stakeholders at her residence.

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Riots, fire, anger at tuition fees protest – and a defining political moment
Anushka Asthana, The Guardian, December 12, 2010

Sarah Lucas, a teacher from Hove in Sussex, watched the images flash onto her television screen: flames licking up in front of Big Ben; fireworks bursting in the air; eggs hurled by teenagers; masked youths charging at police officers. It was Thursday night, and the news had seeped out into Parliament Square that the vote in the Commons, which would allow universities to almost treble tuition fees to £9,000 a year, had been won. It spread through the thousands of cold and tired protesters: students, lecturers, schoolchildren, parents, trade unionists and anarchists.Lucas watched angrily. Before the election she had worked hard trying to persuade friends to back the Liberal Democrats. At 26, still paying off student debt, unable to get onto the housing ladder, she had thought the Lib Dems offered hope. “I saw them as the party for the young,” she said. To her, the vote on fees was a broken promise.

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Parents Can Seek Transfers From Under-Performing Schools
The Los Angeles Independent, December 9, 2010

Parents of Los Angeles Unified School District students interested in transferring their children out of under-performing schools have until Dec. 17 to complete the Choices application with the district. Each year, more than 422,000 LAUSD students are eligible to transfer out of their low-performing schools through a mostly unknown federal program called the No Child Left Behind Public School Choice.

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Skill development must to create most vibrant workforce
Pallavi Singh, Economic Times, December 12, 2010

With India set to house the world’s largest working population by 2030, the question of demographic dividend is at the centre of the discourse in India’s growth story. If more Indians turn skilled in future they would be employable which in turn would create savings, investments and ultimately growth. But if India’s population continues to rise and the government fails to create a skilled talent pool, it would lead to a dangerous cocktail.It’s now estimated that if India’s skilled workforce continues to rise for another 25 years, the country could command one of the most vibrant workforces in the world by 2035, leading savings and investments to grow as well.

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Study scheme for girl students
The Telegraph, December 13, 2010

Dispur today said the state government was coming up with a special scheme for the girl child so that she did not have to discontinue education because of financial problems. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said this during the foundation stone laying ceremony of the office building of Assam State Commission for Women here this afternoon. “A new scheme will be introduced for the girl child. It is often seen that girls have to discontinue their studies owing to acute financial constraints. With this new scheme coming into action, not a single girl child will be deprived of their right to education because of monetary issues,” said Gogoi.Though he did not elaborate, social welfare minister Akan Bora said the nitty-gritty of the scheme would be finalised once the chief minister makes the formal announcement sometime in January.

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Research Paper
Governance of Technical Education in India Key Issues, Principles, and Case Studies

Andreas Blom and Jannette Cheong

ABSTRACT: Tertiary education, and in particular technical and engineering education, is critical to ndia’s aspirations of strengthening its reputation as a major competitive player in the global knowledge economy. The system is huge and complex, and there is a consensus that reforms are imperative. Issues of fair access and affordable participation in higher education are critical if India is to empower its people with educational opportunities that allow individual potential to be fulfilled, and allow more Indian graduates opportunities for employment and to compete in an international arena.

 

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Picture of the Month


The French President Nicholas Sarkozy said that he expected a three-fold growth in the number of Indian students going to France during his recent visit to India.

 

 

 

 

Student First! Magazine

The inaugural issue of Student First! Magazine is out. Read it here

 

 

 

RTE Coalition

To initiate and continue the discussion amongst concerned groups and individuals on the issue of right of education and monitor the implementation of the RTE Act, an RTE Coalition has been formed. Join the coalition to make universal elementary education a reality in India. Log on to www.righttoeducation.in for more information.

 

 

 

 

School Choice National Conference 2010

18 December 2010, 9 am - 6 pm
The Theatre, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India

To read more click here

 

 

 

 

 

SCHOOL VOUCHERS FOR GIRLS

400 girl children from poor families of North East Delhi receive school vouchers for a period of 4 years.
For details visit  website

 

 

Support Children's Right to Education of Choice!
DONATE

For more details on how to support, log on to www.schoolchoice.in or email us at [email protected]

 


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