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Revamp elementary education No mushrooming of B.Ed colleges, please
Guru Jambheshwar University of
Science and Technology, Hisar
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Revamp elementary education The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) has recently placed Haryana at number 23 in the Educational Development Index in India. Though the Haryana Government has allocated Rs 1,585 crore for the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, efforts and investments made have not been commensurate with the results. NUEPA has released District Report Cards containing immense and useful data pertaining to infrastructure, basic facilities and educational growth in respect of elementary education for the year 2005-06. The data relating to 19 districts (Mewat district being included mainly in Gurgaon) has been put to analytical study and it is found that the progress in most of the areas of elementary education is not encouraging. There were 8,859 primary schools in 2005-06 in the state. This number has drastically decreased from 9,615 in 2202 to 6,081 in 2006-07. It is a matter of concern. It can be explained that many of these schools might have been upgraded. But this explanation hardly holds ground because the strength of the primary and upper primary schools, put together, also shows a decreasing trend from 11,938 in 2002 to 10,104 in 2005-06. It is all the more disturbing that 2.7 per cent of the primary schools and 2.89 per cent of the upper primary schools are functioning without buildings despite the fixed norms laid down by the Education Department. On an average, each primary school doesn’t have more than 3.7 classrooms, while an upper primary school possesses only 3.8 classrooms. Other facilities like provision of common toilets, girls’ toilets, drinking water, blackboards, etc., exist in more than 60 per cent schools. The whole scenario depicts a dismal picture in matters relating to provision of infrastructure and other facilities in schools. Resultantly, the enrolment is falling by 1.32 per cent and 3.48 percent in primary and upper primary schools, respectively, as compared to 2004-05. Thus, the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan is faltering in its targets. A strong educational management information system (EMIS) at all levels of administration, with stress on timely monitoring, sense of commitment and accountability, decentralisation of control and authority, a large network of non-formal education as an alternative to formal schooling, should be the watch word of administration. It is learnt that the Education Department is launching a ‘learning enhancement programme’ in government primary and elementary schools. It is a welcome step towards qualitative improvement in education. In fact, there is a need to make the schools an attractive place for the kids. Non-formal education also requires a face-lift. The teachers’ perception and community’s participation also needs to be given a new direction. Such steps would definitely bring out qualitative change in the paradigm of elementary education in the state. The writer is former director,
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No mushrooming of B.Ed colleges, please ENTRY of the private sector into the area of higher education has started taking its toll in the form of lowering the standard of education. Punjab has witnessed the mushrooming of B.Ed colleges of late. These colleges have come up not only in smaller towns but also in the far-off rural Punjab. Despite the clamour that there are a large number of unemployed trained teachers in the state, the government has permitted private parties for the opening of B.Ed colleges. The process of opening of these colleges is handled by three agencies. The proposed college has to get affiliation to the university of the area according to the rules and regulations laid down in the calendar and passed by the respective bodies of that university. The government demands an affidavit from the promoters of colleges stating that they will never demand grant in aid at any stage and later issues an NOC after obtaining the affidavit. Besides, the government also acts as regulatory authority and coordinating agency in respect of qualifications of principals, teachers and other technical staff is concerned. Also, the promoters of the colleges have to obtain a clearance certificate from the regional office of the National Council of Teachers Education {NCTE) located in Jaipur. The multiplicity of the agencies involved in the process is also taking its toll. The universities are bound by the regulations, but the government steps into either to regulate or amend the norms laid down by universities. The study of the process of admission to B.Ed colleges this year presents an interesting spectacle. Most of these self-financed colleges had not appointed principals and the faculty as per the norms laid by the university and the NCTE. Panjab University officials conducted surprise checks and found some shocking facts. Whenever a committee was setup for inspection, the management managed to appoint a principal, even borrowed from the neighbouring states. “Most of the staff come from Rajasthan,” says Prof Prithipal Singh Kapoor, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University and a Senator of Punjab University. Similar was the case with the teaching staff. As soon as the inspection was over, the principal and the staff moved to other such colleges. When this situation came to the notice of universities, the promoters began to press the government for relaxation of the qualifications of principal and teachers on the plea that suitable candidates were not available as per the norms. Consequently, the government came into the picture. There were series of meetings which led to the issue of numerous notifications pertaining to the relaxation of qualifications. The first detailed notification was issued on April 13, 2006, which gave details about the holding of the entrance test, counselling and the number of seats in the colleges and reservation regulations. However, it had to be amended in August 2006, which was followed by many more till the process of admission could be completed. The fixation of tuition fee is also a major issue in these institutions. The managements have fixed quite high tuition fee and promoters continue to press the government for fee hike. All this is telling adversely on the standard of higher education.
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Guru Jambheshwar University of
Science and
Technology, Hisar Dr Lakshmi Ragupati of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests expressed concern over the lack of awareness about handling and disposal of electronic waste in the country. Speaking at a daylong workshop on electronic waste management he said policy makers, NGOs, the IT industry and academicians must help the common man understand the problems caused by e-waste so that environmental damage could be controlled. He said India was particularly prone to such damage by e-waste as it had also become the world’s dumping ground for disposal of e-waste. GJU Vice-Chancellor R. P. Bajpai suggested that eco-friendly biological inputs could replace hazardous materials in the manufacture of electronic equipment. He said lack of adequate legislation was resulting in improper disposal of e-waste in landfills around the country. Dr Bajpai expressed concern on the unscientific methods of e-waste disposal and said standard disposal mechanism should be evolved to prevent further environmental damage. German scholars Daniel Wiemken and Sebastien Kolzsch gave presentations on European model of e-waste management. Dr Shyamla Mani of the Centre for Environmental Education, in her keynote address said as a developing country India needed simple and low cost technology for e-waste disposal. She said Bangalore alone generated about 8,000 tonnes of computer waste annually. The workshop attracted dozens of participants from around the country. CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar Dr U. S. Walia of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and Dr R. N. Katiresan of Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, were honoured with gold medals at the convention of Indian Weed Science Society for their contribution to weed science research. As many as seven scientists were awarded fellowship of the society for their contributions to the field of weed sciences. They were: Dr Samunder Singh and Dr Ashok Kumar Yadav of Haryana Agricultural University , Dr A. S. Rao of Andhra Pradesh University , Dr A. K. Gogoi of ICAR, Dr Geeta Kulshreshta of IARI, Dr H. V. Najjapa of Bangalore and Dr J. S. Mishra of Jabalpur. A former vice-chancellor of HAU Dr J. B. Chaudhry was the chief guest. He said besides weed management practices and use of chemical preparations, biotechnology should be used to control weeds. — Contributed by Raman Mohan
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Armed ForcesIndian
Army, Additional Directorate General of Recruiting, Rtg TGC Entry,
AG’s Branch, Army Hqrs, West Block III, R K Puram, New Delhi 110066
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Elementary