– Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs

New Delhi, August 18. Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ released the annual Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovations Achievements 2020 (ARIIA, estb.2018) which ranks higher education institutions and universities for innovation and entrepreneurship development in six categories.

Under the category of Centrally-funded institutes of national importance, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi are top-ranked followed by IISc, Bangalore and IIT Kharagpur. Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology is top-ranked among private universities, followed by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai and the Vellore Institute of Technology.

This year a new category of women’s higher education institutions was introduced to encourage women and gender parity in innovation and entrepreneurship. The Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore, is top-ranked in this category of ARIIA 2020.

Punjab
Smart Connect Scheme

Chandigarh, August 12. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh launched a Punjab Smart Connect Scheme (PSCS) under which smartphones were gifted to six class XII students in a symbolic gesture. State ministers and MLAs were entrusted with the task of symbolically distributing 20 smartphones each to students in various districts to mark launch of the scheme.

During the first phase ending November 30, 1.74 lakh class XII government school children including 1.11 lakh in rural Punjab will be gifted smartphones valued at Rs.92 crore under PSCS.

Nagaland
Absenteesim notices

Kohima, August 9. Showcause notices have been issued to eight teachers including the headmaster of a government school in Phek district for being absent from school since end-March after imposition of the national emergency lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak.

Addressing media, Thuvopisu Vesathu Dozo, chairman of the School Management Board (SMB) which issued the notices, said: “Despite the government’s orders directing teachers to be present in their schools, these teachers were absent from duty. We want teachers to make their presence felt so students can clarify their doubts and attain quality education.”

Shanavas C, principal director of school education, clarified: “There are no holidays for teachers. Schools may have shut down due to the pan demic but teachers are required to be present in their schools for preparing notes and worksheets for distribution to students.”

West Bengal
Rebel headmaster

Midnapore/Kolkata, August 12. Defying government directives on schools closure following the Covid-19 outbreak, the management of Hatsarberia B.C. Roy High School in the state’s Daspur area of Paschim Mednapore district restarted classes for class X students.

“We started classes following all social distancing norms and standard protocols. Our students were very enthusiastic about attending school after staying at home for several months,” said headmaster Brindaban Ghatak explaining his decision. “Several parents had also requested us to restart classes,” he added.

In a late evening development, an education ministry official said the headmaster has been issued a show-cause notice.

Goa
Tripartite agreement

Panaji, August 13. In a unique collaborative initiative, the Goa government has signed a tripartite agreement to introduce dual world-class German vocational education and training in the state’s Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

“This agreement between the Directorate of Skill Development and En trepreneurship, Siemens Ltd and the Germanybased international development agency GIZ, will ensure optimal upskilling of ITI graduates, including green skilling on a par with the latest technological developments in industry, thereby enhancing the employability of graduates of our ITIs,” said the state’s skill development minister Vishwajit Rane speaking on the occasion.

Siemens and GIZ India will also undertake intensive training of ITI instructors and handhold them throughout the process.

Ladakh
New education board

Kargil, August 24. The Union territory of Ladakh is set to establish a new territorial board of school education that will fulfill “realistic needs” of students based on local conditions of the region. This decision was taken after a committee for review of educational boards for schools met in Kargil under the chairmanship of the executive councilor for tourism and Zanskar affairs Phunsog Tashi.

The committee also suggested equal representation from Kargil and Leh districts in the new Ladakh Board of School Education to make the process more inclusive in the larger public interest, said government officials speaking with media.