The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to design and develop a new advanced online programme on human rights for senior police personnel.

The programme, to be developed jointly by NHRC and IGNOU, will have separate modules on human rights subjects. IGNOU’s regional centres will be used as training centres for disseminating human rights education and content will be in the form of electronic and printed books, said Ravindra Kumar, IGNOU’s vice chancellor, on August 2.

As part of the MoU, the offline and online curriculum of the existing programme on human rights — a basic programme and training of trainers programme — which targets lower-level police personnel, will also be updated and uploaded.

Gujarat
Undergrads e-tablets scheme
An estimated 350,000 undergrad students will benefit from a state government scheme launched recently by chief minister Vijay Rupani under which e-tablets will be distributed to them at a subsidised price of Rs.1,000. Under the scheme, first year college students statewide will get seven-inch NAMO (new avenues of modern education) e-tablets, which have a market value of Rs.8,000 each.

“The state government has allocated Rs.200 crore for this scheme with the objective of realising prime minister Narendra Modi’s dream of building a new India. I am confident these tablets will open new frontiers for our students,” said Rupani launching the scheme on August 11.

West Bengal
South Point gets BSI certification
The Kolkata-based South Point School, managed by the South Point Education Society, is the first school in eastern India to receive the OHSAS (occupational health and safety) management 18001:2007 certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI).  

According to South Point Education Society trustee Krishna Damani, an OHSAS implementation team comprising administrative, teaching and other support staff was constituted to implement BSI standards in the school. The team with the support of a reputed consultant practised a process-based approach to identify the various hazards and risks associated with daily school activities, and documented safe operational control procedures to be adopted. “With the implementation of the system, over 12,000 parents are secure that their children are safe,” said Damani.

Implementation of OHSAS standards which includes installation of GPS devices in buses and strengthening transport security, requires an additional annual expenditure of Rs.18 lakh, he added.

 
Madhya Pradesh
Muskan’s children’s library
In a novel initiative, 11-year-old Muskan Ahirwar, a class V student, has started an evening library from her make-shift house in Durga Nagar, a slum on the outskirts of Bhopal, to encourage children in her neighbourhood to read books and realise the importance of education. Muskan started Bal Pustakalaya (children’s library) with 25 educational books last year which has since grown to 1,000.

Acknowledging Muskan’s initiative, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the girl at her residence on August 4 and awarded her a cheque of Rs.2 lakh to help her set up a one-room library. 

Meghalaya 
New higher education initiatives

Chief minister Mukul Sangma announced the establishment of an engineering college on a campus near Shillong Polytechnic in the state capital, and a college of architecture and urban planning in Tura in the West Garo Hills district.

Speaking at a function of the state’s tourism and travel management ministry in Shillong on August 3, Sangma said the state government has also mooted promotion of a Meghalaya Technical University. “Education can become Meghalaya’s strength to create opportunities and a destination for students from all South-east Asian countries,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh
Higher ed improvement drive

In its report to improve the quality of higher education in the state, a five-member committee constituted by governor Ram Naik, ex officio chancellor of all state universities, has recommended a five-year tenure for vice chancellors (VCs) of universities as against the current three years, an official spokesperson informed the media in Lucknow on August 2.

The committee, constituted on June 17, was chaired by S.S. Upadhyay, legal advisor to the governor. Thus far, the committee has held eight meetings with educationists, VCs and other experts in higher education, the spokesperson added.

For affiliation of colleges with universities, the panel has recommended that a three-member committee including the sub-divisional magistrate, a professor of the university and a senior government officer, should inspect colleges and submit a videographed report of the facilities available.

Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs