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Municipal schools turning a new leaf

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 07:25 administrator
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The Hindu 26.08.2009

Municipal schools turning a new leaf

G.V.R. Subba Rao

Philanthropists respond to plea made by the VMC to adopt a school each

— PHOTO: RAJU V

Govindarajulu Dharma Enam Trust Municipal high school being given a new look with the help of sponsors, in Vijayawada.

VIJAYAWADA: Municipal schools in Vijayawada may no longer present the familiar sight of students taking lessons under the shade of trees or on the damaged floors. These schools are likely to have facilities on a par with corporate schools.

White boards, desk type benches, water filters in each room, window and door curtains and vitrified tile flooring are some of the discernible features that would not be missed by visitors.

Some philanthropists have responded to a plea made by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation to adopt a school each. Some charitable trusts and Rotary clubs have expressed willingness to adopt these schools. Currently, a school at Patamata is being given the facelift, and it is likely to be ready in a week.

The city-based Manasa Charitable Trust is one of the first few organisations to respond to the plea and act as well. The trust has adopted Govindarajulu Dharma Enam Trust Municipal Corporation High School at Patamata and it is refurbishing the classrooms and the school premises. Four ceiling fans, tube lights, water filters, white boards and desk type benches are being provided in each class room. The VMC conceived the idea of pooling all resources (donations) and developing one school in a full-fledged manner, as the officials have observed that the sharing of the charities by many schools is not benefiting anyone fully. “We gave them (donors) broad guidelines. And, they have to decide budget and designs. We expect the Patamata school to become an indicator for future donations. And if anyone wishes to improvise, they are welcome,” says P. S. Pradyumna, Municipal Commissioner.

G. Nanda Kishore of Manasa Charitable Trust is not willing to speak on budget. “It’s a charity. All we want is to develop these schools. We will develop six schools in a phased manner,” he says.

The Corporation has selected six schools by following some criterion like pass percentage in SSC in previous academic years, availability of playground, number of class rooms and so on.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 07:31
 

Need to focus on education of urban children, says study

Thursday, 20 August 2009 05:35 administrator
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The Hindu - Karnataka 20.08.2009

Need to focus on education of urban children, says study

Staff Reporter

Call for intervention to bring them into the mainstream

 

Study conducted under the banner of SSA Recommendations made to improve quality of education

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A study conducted by the Technical Support Group of the Ministry of Human Resource Development in some of the largest metropolitan cities in the country has revealed a need to focus on the educational requirements of schoolchildren living in urban areas.

The study, conducted in 2008-09 under the banner of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Bhopal, Bangalore, Chennai, Patna, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata, calls for special intervention in bringing the children into the mainstream.

The SSA is a programme for achieving universal elementary education, supported by the MHRD.

The programme aims to provide equitable education of satisfactory quality to all children in the age group of 6-14 years.

Though the research does not cover any cities from the State, it does mention the total number of urban deprived or out-of-school children in the State as 3,030, one of the lowest among a tally of 15 other states. Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,00,199 urban-deprived children.

It was found that a number of initiatives for elementary education do not reach schools in the urban areas. The study calls for a diversity of approaches to tackle the educational problems. Among them is the need to coordinate and converge interventions across departments and local bodies responsible for elementary education in the urban areas.

Major problems

Some of the major problems and issues identified during the research were unavailability of land for opening schools and for running the schools on rent and lack of basic amenities.

The study notes that making primary education accessible to children across the country has been one of the major challenges.

The quality of elementary education in the country has also been a cause of worry. In order to improve the quality of primary education, the SSA has recommended a series of steps.

These include improving the student-teacher ratio, providing training to teachers and providing textbooks and academic support to the children.

Efforts are under way in several cities for the enrolment of the urban-deprived children. For instance, Chennai is running bridge courses with the active involvement of non-governmental organisations for bringing into the mainstream out-of-school children coming under the Chennai municipal corporation.

It is estimated that the 10 aforementioned cities together have around 3.11 lakh out-of-school children in the age group of 6-14 years against a combined population of 76.31 lakh people.

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 August 2009 05:44
 

MCD plans English medium schools

Wednesday, 19 August 2009 06:25 administrator
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The Times of India - Delhi 19.08.2009

MCD plans English medium schools

TNN 19 August 2009, 05:17am IST

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), has decided to introduce English as the medium of instruction in one school in each of its 267 wards. These schools will be called Pratibha Nigam Vidyalaya.

"A number of middle and lower-middle class parents are finding it difficult to send their children to public schools due to their higher fees. We want to provide an alternative system of education that is at par with public schools. The MCD will also provide free mid-day meal, uniform and textbooks to the children in such schools,'' said Prithvi Raj Sawhney, chairman of the education committee of the MCD.

A proposal in this regard will be tabled in the standing committee meeting of the MCD which will take place on Wednesday.

The civic agency imparts primary education to 9.5 lakh students through its 1,746 schools. "One school has been chosen in each ward after consultations with deputy education officers (DEOs) and area councillors, keeping in mind factors like the student strength, infrastructure and number of teachers. A total of 40 students will be enrolled in such schools in Class I through draw of lots.''

Beginning next year, this process will be initiated in one batch in a chosen school in each ward of MCD and if everything works out, according to Sawhney, MCD will try to introduce English as a medium of instruction across all schools.

The civic agency has also decided to train the teachers and equip its existing staff in teaching through English medium. The civic body will soon begin a special training programme for its teachers to enable them to teach in English. "We have enough teachers and many of them are already equipped to impart education in English,'' added Sawhney.
 

‘Adopt rainwater harvesting’

Monday, 03 August 2009 04:54 administrator
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The Hindu 03.08.2009

‘Adopt rainwater harvesting’

Special Correspondent

School administration, experts call for action as situation appears grim

Photo: R. Eswarraj

Learning experience: Students at an awareness programme on rainwater harvesting at Lourdes Central School in Mangalore. —

MANGALORE: Symbolic suggestions on the need to harvest rainwater seemed to have cut ice with the audience rather than speeches, at a session at Lourdes Central School here on Saturday.

A video of a middle-aged man’s umbrella flying away and an elderly man using it as a bucket to collect rainwater, dozens of men and women emulating him; another man using his helmet to do so as he walks in the rain; a youngster storing water in gumboots and finally a boy choosing to directly collecting water in his mouth and swallowing it, impressed parents and students.

Decennial celebrated

The occasion was to mark the decennial of the school which was celebrated with the school unveiling its rainwater harvesting (RWH) apparatus. While the school will collect rainwater from its roof, it will use water collected from the nearby church to recharge its ground around a borewell, school principal Grace Naronha said. The school has spent Rs. 70,000 on the project and has involved students of class 10 and 11 in it. The students have been given the responsibility of spreading awareness about rainwater harvesting. A couple of them gave a multimedia presentation on the subject on the occasion and answered questions from other students. J.R. Lobo, Deputy Project Director of the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project (KUDCEMP) said Mangalore had faced severe water scarcity in the past. When he was Commissioner of the Mangalore City Corporation, it had to purify saline water and pump it to Mangalore from the Thumbe Dam.

He urged parents to harvest rainwater and use it for everyday purposes. Water supplied by the corporation should be used drinking, he added.

He asked them to immediately repair all leaking taps, and close taps as and when not in use.

“Every drop of water has a cost,” he told them, reminding them that water was a scarce commodity. Pointing out that 97 per cent of the water on the planet was saline, 79 per cent was in the form of icebergs, and only 20 per cent was underground. Thus only one per cent of the non-saline water was available for human consumption and it had to be used judiciously. A crisis was already at hand, he added.

Appeal

Parent convener of the school Ivan Monteiro urged Mayor Shankar Bhat to make RWH compulsory in Mangalore, beginning with government buildings. The corporation could offer incentives such as reduced water charges for families that opted for RWH. He also demanded setting up of a rain centre to disseminate information on RWH and promote it. He wanted plumbers to be given training in setting up of RWH apparatus.

School students presented a mime that ended with the message, “Save water or else nobody can save you.”

Last Updated on Monday, 03 August 2009 04:56
 

3 municipal primary schools inaugurated

Friday, 31 July 2009 05:29 administrator
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The Hindu - Delhi 31.07.2009

3 municipal primary schools inaugurated

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Municipal Corporation of Delhi Standing Committee chairman Ram Kishan Singhal inaugurated two municipal primary school buildings constructed at a cost of Rs.2.76 crore at Madanpur and Swaran Park in Najafgarh Zone of the Capital on Wednesday.

He also initiated work to strengthen a 2.5-km road from Tikri Kalan to Nizampur. Delhi Deputy Mayor Azad Singh, MLA Manoj Shokeen and area councillor Mohan Singh were among those present on the occasion.

The Deputy Mayor said the two-storey school building at Madanpur has 10 classrooms while the three-storey school building at Swaran Park has 21 classrooms. He said the road between Tikri Kalan and Nizampur was being improved and strengthened at a cost of Rs.1.1 crore.

“The MCD is making all-out efforts to provide better primary education to future citizens of the country by providing better environment and services in MCD primary schools,” said Mr. Singhal.

Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain inaugurated a municipal primary school at Madanpur Khadar. The building has 20 classrooms and has been constructed at a cost of Rs.63.09 lakh.

Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. Sain observed, “Most of the children studying in municipal primary schools belong to the poor strata of society and our aim is to provide better school buildings on the outskirts of the city to provide better educational facilities and environment to these students.”

“The MCD provides free education, textbooks, uniforms, socks, shoes and mid-day meal to the children studying in the municipal schools so that their parents need not worry about the expenses on education of their children,” he added.

Last Updated on Friday, 31 July 2009 05:32
 
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