Uttar Pradesh: Facelift for govt schools
Lucknow, April 3.

To ensure 100 percent enrolment in primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath launched a statewide ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ (attend school campaign) from Shravasti district, which has UP’s lowest literacy rate.

“Government schools must achieve all the goals of Operation Kayakalp which aims at giving schools a facelift. Towards this end, all state-run schools have been directed to offer basic facilities such as toilets, drinking water, furniture and uniforms to students, and also ensure deployment of adequate teachers under the campaign,” said the chief minister, addressing media on the occasion.

Delhi: Withdrawn invite indignation
New Delhi, April 14.

Delhi University’s top-ranked Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College for Women withdrew an invitation to BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan, following protests from members of its students’ community.
After LSR’s SC-ST (scheduled castes and tribes) community advertised an interview with Paswan to commemorate the birth anniversary of SC-ST leader Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) unit of the college persuaded the SC-ST association to withdraw its invitation on the plea that BJP is “against the interests of marginalised communities”.

“I prepared my presentation on the contributions of Babasaheb Ambedkar beyond drafting of the Constitution, his role as an economist, diplomat and an educationist… At a time when the country is celebrating 75 years of its independence, one thing that we ought to learn from the makers of our Constitution is their ability to listen, absorb and respect other viewpoints,” said Paswan in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter.

J&K: Commerce education drive
Jammu, April 4.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) signed a five-year partnership agreement with Directorate of School Education, Kashmir for promoting commerce education among students of the Union territory. Under the agreement, commerce education will be promoted in government and government-aided secondary and higher secondary schools.

“Commerce education can play a critical role to promote the growth of industry and the whole economy. Kashmir’s talented youth need to transform into major contributors,” said a joint statement released on the occasion.
Earlier, ICAI announced a 75 percent fees waiver for all chartered accountancy courses for students from the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and North-eastern states.

Gujarat: Mission Schools of Excellence
Ahmedabad, April 5.

The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide a loan of Rs.7,500 crore towards the state government’s Mission Schools of Excellence project, to improve the quality of education in Gujarat’s 35,133 government and 5,847 grant-in-aid schools.

Under the Mission Schools of Excellence project, the state government has budgeted expenditure of Rs.10,000 crore over the next five years. A World Bank delegation visited Gandhinagar to study the Schools of Excellence project. Led by the bank’s global education director Jaime Saavedra, the delegation also visited the state education ministry’s command and control centre in the state capital.

Haryana: Exam malpractice arrests
Chandigarh, April 7.

A principal, teacher and two staff members of a government school in Haryana have been arrested for aiding and abetting students to indulge in malpractice while writing a class X board examination, said Hemendra Kumar Meena, additional superintendent of police, Meham district.

Those accused and their accomplices allegedly distributed pre-written answers to students inside the examination hall. According to a police statement, a case has been registered and further investigation ordered.
Meanwhile, hours before the arrests of the accused, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala slammed the BJP-led government of the state, claiming there have been 40 cases of mass examination malpractice statewide in seven years.

Mizoram: Enrolments boost
Aizawl, April 7.

Student enrolment in government schools has risen significantly, according to reports from schools across the state, said education minister Lalchhandama Ralte, addressing a meeting at Sakawrdai village bordering Manipur.
“The state government has taken several measures to improve the education system and recruit more teachers, prompting parents to send their children to government schools. School admissions have increased two-fold in some schools, and new classrooms will have to be constructed or the capacity of the existing ones increased at a few places,” the minister added.