The Times of India       01.02.2011

PUNE: A primary school run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in Talawade has become the first civic school in the township to use solar power to run its computers.

Vishnu Jadhav, education officer, secondary education, said, "The school (number 98), which is one of the best municipal schools in Pimpri Chinchwad, currently runs five out of its 14 computers on solar power."

The school's principal, Adinath Shewale, said, "Solar panels have been installed on the terrace of the building. The 4.5 to 5 KV power supply generated is sufficient to run the computers for six hours a day. Steria India Private Limited has sponsored the setting up of the panels as well as the computers."

Shewale said the school wanted to inculcate the message of environment conservation among its students. "We undertook the project in September 2010 to use non-conventional energy to partially meet our energy needs. The school intends to eventually run all the 14 computers in the school computer laboratory on solar power."

Steria's corporate social responsibility head Chaitrali Inamdar said, "We spent Rs 4.5 lakh on installing the computers and the panels. We want to provide five more computers, which will also run on solar energy."

The students are taught to use computers from Standard III onwards, so that they can appear for the MSCIT examinations, conducted by Jnana Prabodhini, in Standard VII.

"There are 12 rooms in the three-storied school building, out of which seven are used as classrooms. The rest of the rooms have been used to create a library, computer laboratory, science laboratory and activity room for children," said Shewale, adding that since the PCMC school board pays the electricity bill directly, the school authorities have not been able to calculate the energy being saved through this effort. 

The Hindu        28.01.2011

MCD to give merit scholarships

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is organising a competition for awarding merit scholarships to students of Class IV and V in its primary schools on Friday.

According to the MCD Education Committee chairman Mahinder Nagpal, about 52,000 students of MCD schools would be taking part in the competition and about 3,500 students each in Class IV and V, scoring over 60 per cent marks in the competition would get scholarship of Rs.500 and Rs.700 respectively on the basis of merit list which would be brought out in March.

He added that an amount of around Rs.42 lakh under the Plan head would be spent on the scheme.

The MCD is running 1,746 primary schools having an enrolment of around 9.5 lakh children. In addition, it runs attached nursery classes in 923 primary schools along with 33 independent nursery schools with enrolment of 50,000 children.