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Education

City corporation to tickle students’ brain cells

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The New Indian Express              13.08.2013

City corporation to tickle students’ brain cells

Students, don’t you think you have better and smarter options for learning things than by pouring over black letters printed on white paper? And how about getting an all-new way of learning experience during the lengthy hours spent in classrooms?

 Listening to the call of an ever-evolving world, the City Corporation is arranging state-of-the-art smart classrooms for science stream students in select government higher secondary schools by launching an ambitious project, ‘Brain House’

 It will soon identify a set of higher secondary schools in the city to launch the project. “We would draw up a detailed plan to ensure that students in these schools have state-of-the-art learning facility. The aim is to provide them with an advanced learning experience in science and mathematics,” said K S Sheela, Education Standing Committee chairperson of the Corporation.

 An expert committee will be formed to identify the schools and thrash out the details on how to execute the project.

 An amount of Rs 15 lakh is earmarked for this project, which would also help the students to prepare for the engineering entrance examination and work out model question papers. Though said to be benefiting the higher secondary students only, the students studying in tenth standard too can utilise these classrooms. ‘Brain House’, a 2013-14 budget announcement, is a key project in the education sector this fiscal.

 The criteria for selecting the schools will depend on the number of students and the facilities the schools have to accommodate the technology. “It will be good if the system can be arranged in labs. We expect that a school can be provided one system each, which would cost Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh,” said Sheela.

Some private firms have already approached the civic body to set up the technology, and tenders will be called or expressions of interest invited from government or accredited agencies for implementing the project.

 

PMC science junior colleges from August 1

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The Times of India           30.07.2013

PMC science junior colleges from August 1

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is set to start its junior colleges for science stream in the city from August 1. Admission process for the colleges has already started.

According to a statement issued by senior Congress corporator Aba Bagul, the authorities have selected the Rajiv Gandhi Academy of e-learning at Shivdarshan and the Nanasaheb Parulekar Vidyalaya in Vishrantwadi for setting up the junior colleges.

"These junior colleges will not only focus on the syllabus of the class XI and class XII, but will also prepare the students for the engineering and medical entrance exams along with other competitive exams," Bagul said in the statement.

The initiative is a result of a 10-year agreement signed with the Pace Institute, Mumbai. According to the statement, there are future plans to upgrade these junior colleges to full-fledged colleges.

The junior colleges will admit 300 students out of which 150 students will receive free education. Selection of the students, who will receive free education, will be done by the PMC where 30% of the 150 seats are reserved for students from the PMC-run schools and the remaining 20% is reserved for candidates from economically weak backgrounds.

These centres will also enrol students of standard IX and class X where they will be given special classes with focus on strengthening their understanding of various concepts related to physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics.

 

Civic body to buy textbooks for students of standard IX, X

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The Times of India             12.07.2013

Civic body to buy textbooks for students of standard IX, X

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation standing committee on Thursday gave its consent to purchase textbooks for students of class IX and X of the PMC-run schools.

It has been over three weeks since the new academic year started, but students of these two classes are yet to receive their textbooks. TOI had reported about the non-availability of the textbooks on Wednesday.

As many as 5,000 students from these schools are awaiting nearly 62,000 textbooks. The books for Urdu medium schools, semi-English medium schools and Marathi medium schools are yet to arrive. Textbooks for language subjects, science and social sciences are also yet to be procured.

The proposal had been pending before the standing committee since mid-June. The proposal could not be passed as the meeting was adjourned. When the civic officials were asked about the deadline, they had said the books would reach the students in a week's time.

The administration has decided to buy the books directly from publishers. "There will be no tender system for procurement of these books. A provision in the rules allows the civic administration to buy textbooks directly from publishers without inviting any tender," said standing committee chief Vishal Tambe while speaking to reporters after the meeting.

He said the PMC will approach the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharati) to get the books. This will reduce the time period for procurement. Schools in the city opened for the new academic year on June 17. The PMC runs 320 schools in the city, which includes Marathi, English and Urdu medium schools. More than 85,000 students are studying in these schools.

 


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