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Education

Maharashtra govt to map schools

Monday, 19 April 2010 05:20 administrator
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Busiiness Line 19.04.2010

Maharashtra govt to map schools

To remove human interference in site selection; help perspective plan.

Rahul Wadke

Mumbai, April 18

Maharashtra Government has decided to map 98,000 schools in the State, using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with a view to ensure optimum number of schools.

The State government would be inviting Expression of Interest soon from private parties for supplying GIS software, a government official said.

The software allows to capture, store, update, analyse and display all forms of geographic information.

It creates multidimensional electronic maps with multiple layers of information, which serves as a useful tool for decisions makers.

Professor (Ms) Fauzia Khan, Minister of State for School Education said that GIS would be used for mapping the existing schools and for selecting sites for new schools in the State.

In many instances local field officers, due to vested interest do not provide accurate information, therefore specific sites are chosen over others.

Use of GIS will remove human interference in site selection and help the government in preparing a perspective plan for school education, she said. Professor Khan said that population, linguistic preferences, physical infrastructure and connectivity would be some of the parameters which would be included while planning new schools with the help of GIS.

Currently the State spends about Rs 20,000 crore for paying salaries for teaching and non-teaching staff of 98,000 schools every year.

Therefore, it is paramount that the money is well spent and students receive quality education, with the help of better technology, a state government official said .

According to the government norms, primary school should be setup every 1 km radius and secondary school every 3 km radius.

Maharashtra currently has 70,000 primary schools, 20,000 secondary schools and 8,000 higher secondary schools.

School data at village, taluk, district and State level would be included in the GIS system which will help in the perspective planning of the ministry.

Mr Rajesh Mathur, Vice-Chairman of NIIT GIS Ltd told Business Line that if demographic profile, age of students and commuting distances between school and home are fed in the software, it will provide locations ideal for schools as well as locations to be avoided.

GIS is a data driven software that provides you analytical tools. Data is a prerequisite to get any kind of output from the software, he said.

Mr Mathur said that the market for GIS software and services is growing by 25 per cent annually and the trend is expected to continue for some time.

The government is one of the biggest customers procuring the software, for its various infrastructure projects.

Last Updated on Monday, 19 April 2010 05:26
 

Doctors screen students with learning disability in civic schools

Tuesday, 13 April 2010 10:38 administrator
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Indian Express 13.04.2010

Doctors screen students with learning disability in civic schools

Jinal Shah Tags : education Posted: Tuesday , Apr 13, 2010 at 2350 hrs

Mumbai: In a first-of-its-kind, doctors from the B Y L Nair Hospital are surveying 10 civic schools to identify class 10 students with learning disability. The idea is to screen students ahead of their board exams. So far, the doctors from the Life Centre for Learning Disability have identified 190 students with learning problems.

The project includes BMC schools in Matunga, Dadar, Parabhadevi, Worli and Parel.

“Though there is an increasing awareness about learning disability (LD) in private schools, many civic schools teachers are unable to identify such students. Under this project, we are trying to screen class 10 students at the beginning of the year. The schools have provided lists of academically weaker studenPsychologists and social workers made teachers aware of the symptoms of learning disability and other related problems. Students once identified will be referred to Nair Hospital LD centre for further assessment,” said Dr Henal Shah, associate professor, department of psychiatry at Nair Hospital.

According to Dr Shah, poor awareness among teachers and parents pose a major problem in identifying children with learning disability.

“Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, doctors at LD centre have trained over 1,500 teachers in the last two years to identify such students. However, this has not helped much. Among the BMC schools, government-aided schools and private run, civic schools are least participating,” said Dr Shah.

ts to the doctors for screening. Doctors conduct certain tests on the students to identify the ones with the learning disabilities,” said Poonam Lalwani, managing trustee of Life Trust, NGO working with BMC schools

Since 2007, the Life Centre for Learning Disability at Nair Hospital has issued certificates to 950 children in city schools, both public and private. With only two LD centers in the city —at Sion Hospital and Nair Hospita—¿ to certify students, educationalists say there is a need for more centers to reduce the waiting period.

Learning disability (LD) is a lifelong disorder which affects the manner in which individuals with normal or above average intelligence select, retain and express information.

Some of the prominent forms of LD include dyslexia (difficulty in reading and comprehension), dysgraphia (Difficulty in writing) and dyscalculia (difficulty in arithmetic). According to the data, there are over 6,00,000 students appearing for SSC exams every year in India, out of which 5 to 15 percent are dyslexics.

 

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 April 2010 10:54
 

Bring state-run schools under one body: panel

Wednesday, 17 March 2010 11:09 administrator
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Indian Express 17.03.2010

Bring state-run schools under one body: panel

Maroosha Muzaffar Tags : education, delhi Posted: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 0053 hrs
Education
Convert schools with double shifts to single shift, hire more teachers, NCERT committee proposes
New Delhi:All schools run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Delhi Cantonment Board and the state government across the Capital should be administered by one “unified body” — the Delhi government.

This is the first recommendation of the committee set up by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on ‘Development of a Policy Framework for Implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’ in the NCT of Delhi.

According to the committee, all state-run schools should be administered by “one unified body and its schools managed with due regard to decentralisation of responsibility”.

The committee was formed by the NCERT in January to develop the policy framework to implement the Act in Delhi that will be notified from April.

It further recommends that the body — the Delhi government — “should also accord approval to all proposed academic changes, such as in textbooks, pattern of evaluation and medium of instruction. It should also be referred to for closure of any school”.

The committee, which has come up with 29-point framework, also recommends converting double-shift schools to single-shift ones. It also lays emphasis on teachers’ salaries and recognition of “small schools” and recommends implementation of government salaries for teachers in private schools recognised under the RTE Act and “consideration of grants in exceptional cases for payment of salaries of teachers.”

The committee says “where a government or MCD or NDMC school is witnessing declining enrollment, or the pupil-teacher ratio is lower than 1:30, this should be taken into consideration before giving recognition to another unaided private school within one km radius” of the school.

Another recommendation factors in the lack of teachers in schools. “To ensure a class is not deprived of a teacher, it is recommended that about 10 per cent extra teachers are selected and placed on a reserve panel to be tapped whenever there is need for a substitute teacher.”

To check the dropout rate among children, it proposes to provide incentives of about Rs 50 to children who help identify those students who are not attending classes or are not enrolled in the school.

Regarding the issuance of birth certificates, the panel says, “Birth certification is the right of a child, and those children who enter the state-run schools without a formal birth certificate should be provided a certificate through the school.” It goes on to say that “the government may bring an amendment in the Birth and Death Registration Act thereby creating an obligation on the state to provide birth certificate to the school children. This should be made a duty of the school. It also supports the UID project of the Central government”.

Other recommendations
* Traffic marshals, drawn from the National Cadet Cops and National Service Scheme, to assist students
* Safety and security, especially of girl students, by establishing police beats with women constables at schools
* Unified website for all state and state-recognised schools in Delhi. The website will provide information regarding results along with remarks and reports of the progress of students
* No fee should be charged from the students of elementary schools
* Principals of 75 per cent schools should be selected through direct recruitment; 25 per cent through limited departmental examination
* Strengthen the State Council of Educational Research and Training and District Institute of Educational and Training in Delhi.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 11:15
 
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