Madhya Pradesh: Happiness textbooks ready
Bhopal, February 4. The Madhya Pradesh government is set to introduce ‘happiness’ as a compulsory subject in its secondary and higher secondary school syllabuses in the academic year 2022-23. MP was the country’s first state to establish a happiness department in 2016.
Addressing the media, Akhilesh Argal, CEO of the Rajya Anand Sansthaan (state happiness department), said draft textbooks on the subject for classes IX-XII are almost ready. “After giving final touches to these books, they will be sent to the State Council of Educational Research and Training for clearance,” he said.

Delhi: New NCERT director
New Delhi, February 4. Dinesh Prasad Saklani has been appointed director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). A history professor with the department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology at HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand, Saklani previously taught in the tourism department and IAS Coaching Centre of HNB Garhwal University as guest faculty.
The appointment of Saklani, a life member of the Indian History Congress, comes at a crucial time when NCERT is in the process of developing the new National Curriculum Framework.

Odisha: Testing violation charge
Bhubaneswar, February 9. The state government issued a show-cause notice to the highly ranked DAV School, Chandrasekharpur for allegedly violating government guidelines relating to reopening education institutions during the pandemic lockdown.

According to a government spokesperson, the school had issued a notice to students regarding conduct of periodic tests in the offline mode. The school’s directive came despite a state government order that students should have the option to write tests in the offline or online modes. Conducting on-campus offline tests would be stressful for some students and the school’s action violates government guidelines, said the directorate of secondary education in a letter to the principal.

Rajasthan: Vedanta Nand Ghar largesse
Jaipur, February 8. The Rajasthan government recently signed an agreement with the Anil Agarwal Foundation of the Vedanta Group to establish 25,000 of its proprietorial Nand Ghar anganwadis statewide. The foundation will construct these pre-primaries at a cost of Rs.750 crore (Rs. 3 lakh per anganwadi).

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said: “The development of Nand Ghar anganwadis will ensure youngest children learn in an environment with the best infrastructure and are provided quality education and nutrition.”

West Bengal:English teacher training
Kolkata, February 11. The United States consulate signed an agreement with the education ministry of West Bengal to provide English language training to government school teachers. A total of 25 English teachers employed in government and aided schools in eight districts of the state have participated in a TESOL (Teaching English to the Speakers of Other Language) Core Certificate Programme (TCCP) offered by the consulate. The US government is providing this programme through TESOL International which trains English teachers worldwide.

Assam: New medical college
Guwahati, February 14. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid the foundation of the 20-acre Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital to be constructed with a project outlay of Rs.998 crore in the state capital.

The proposed medical college will have attached hospitals at Panbazar and Kalapahar, for which the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital, Panbazar and the Kalapahar TB Hospital will be upgraded, said the chief minister speaking on the occasion.

“We are striving to make Guwahati a hub of medical tourism of South-east Asia and infrastructure development is vital to achieve that,” he said.

Gujarat: Elocution competition suspension
Ahmedabad, February 16. The state government suspended a probationary youth development officer from Valsad district for organising an elocution competition for private school students on a controversial topic. Local newspapers reported a girl student winning the competition for speaking on the subject ‘My role model — Nathuram Godse’. Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

The management of the private school clarified that it merely hosted the event, not organised it. “Not just the subject, even judges for the competition were selected by the Valsad district office,” said Archana Desai, administrator of Kusum Vidhyalaya, which staged the elocution competition. Meanwhile, an inquiry has been ordered, said Harsh Sanghavi, minister of state for sports, youth and cultural activities.