Twitter Lessons in 140 Characters or Less
Education Week, 16 Oct 2009

The Twitter feed for Lucas Ames’ class in American history has shown some lively exchanges of ideas and opinions among students at the Flint Hill School. One day this month, 11th graders at the private school in Oakton, Va., shared articles on the separation of church and state, pondered the persistence of racism, and commented on tobacco regulation in Virginia now and during the Colonial period—all in the required Twitter format of 140 or fewer characters. Those are exactly the kinds of interactions Mr. Ames had hoped for when he decided to experiment with the microblogging tool in his classroom this school year. More [+]

City schools will start Nursery Admissions only after Dec 15
The Times of India, 23 Oct 2009

NEW DELHI: Parents looking for a nursery seat for their child may relax for now. If the Directorate of Education (DoE) has its way, all city schools will have to start their nursery admission procedure only after December 15. Though quite a few schools have already announced an earlier schedule, DoE officials say that fresh guidelines will be issued in the next few days to make the schools toe the line. Said education director P Krishnamurthy, "DoE had set the admission schedule from December 15-31 last year. It will be the same this time too. No school should start the admission procedure before December 15.'' More [+]

Sibal visits US to woo leading universities
Economic Times, 26 Oct 2009

NEW DELHI: After Europe, Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal is reaching out to the United States to develop partnership with education institutions of global repute. In a first-of-its-kind effort, Mr Sibal, who is currently in the US, will meet with members of the Obama administration, university officials, and industry representatives, to build up education partnership with the US. The minister will also firm up the contours of the proposed India-US Education Council. Mr Sibal will be meeting with the US secretary of education Arne Duncan. Plans for greater collaboration will figure in their meeting. Special focus is expected on charter schools, vocational education options and twinning programmes at the higher education level. More [+]

Rs 2cr is what some IIT coaches make
The Times of India, 21 Oct 2009

MUMBAI: While a lot has been written about how senior IIT faculty earn half the salary that their freshly minted students do, here's a shocker: faculty at some of India's well-known IIT coaching classes earn a whopping Rs 2 crore per annum. That's 50 to 100 times more than the compensation for IIT teachers. "The highest salary that a teacher can earn at our institute is Rs 2 crore per annum. This includes their performance-related bonus. And this is all in white money," says Vivek Khanna, vice president, Resonance, a Kota-based coaching centre. "We run on pure capitalism. Our salaries are based on the competency of the teacher. Performance-related bonuses form a large part of the salary. Our students regularly fill out assessment forms for the faculty. Our faculty have to appear for tests in their subjects every month. A faculty member who tops the test is made the head of department for a particular subject," says Khanna. More [+]

Midday meal loses flavour in PC punch
The Times of India, 23 Oct 2009

RANCHI: Union home minister P Chidambaram, during his visit to the state on Thursday to review the law and order situation and progress of developmental schemes, claimed that the midday meal scheme in schools, sponsored by the Centre, is a great success. His statement came 24 hours after a surprise and random check was conducted jointly by the Transparency International India (TII) and Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra (NBJK) on 15 schools in Chouparan block, Hazaribag, on Wednesday. The visit revealed the midday meal was not served in 13 schools! More [+]

Hindus prefer Madrassas to govt schools in UP
Daily Times, 25 Oct 2009

NEW DELHI: A study has found that Hindus would prefer madrassas to local government primary schools in Indian province of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The study also found a madrassa in the UP has a large number of Hindu children among its student. Muslim students at Madrassa Islamia Arabia Alimul Uloom in Devgaon area of UP’s Barabanki are taught Urdu and Arabic, while Hindu children are taught Sanskrit, according to the study conducted by the Lucknow-based Better Education Through Innovation (BETI), in collaboration with UNICEF. More [+]

Govt schools falter on social skills, say experts
The Times of India, 26 Oct 2009

NEW DELHI: Meticulous planning and measures to ensure teachers remain accountable for the performance of their students have ensured that examination results of Delhi's government schools are on an upward curve. But these recent incidents have left educationists wondering whether lack of discipline and of social skills in students may finally prove to be the toughest hurdle in the way of the government school juggernaut. More [+]

Without his help, this poor student would've quit studies
The Times of India, 26 Oct 2009

AHMEDABAD: It was just a few months ago when Binay Agrawal, a student of second year, Post Graduate Programme in Management, shook hands with Anurag Chaudhary, a participant of Post Graduate Programme for Executives on the campus of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). A life cycle of struggle, compassion, encouragement and finally victory flashed through their minds. It seemed like a leaf out of Charles Dicken's Great Expectations where the secret mentor meets his protégée for the first time. More [+]

Profit is the key to success in ‘Swedish schools’
Spectator - UK, 2 Oct 2009

For us Swedes, it is gratifying to see David Cameron put our free schools model at the heart of his reform agenda. He has chosen well. In a few short years, the voucher system has transformed education in Sweden and led to the creation of almost a thousand new schools. But the Conservative leader has failed to grasp a key aspect of their success. To flourish, these schools must be allowed to make a profit. More [+]

Number of teaching posts sanctioned and full time teachers (including para-teachers) in position

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