The Bangalore-based S.V. EduSports Pvt. Ltd (estb. 2009) which provides sports and fitness education to over 300,000 students in 400 K-12 schools countrywide, launched a new integrated sports education programme on March 4. Christened MILES, the programme is designed to develop the sports, social and emotional skills of children in class VI upwards.

“Children are increasingly dropping out of specialised sports in middle school, leading to visible patterns of higher obesity and unhealthy social choices in these impressionable years. Miles is designed to get children playing and physically active again. It achieves this by enabling children to choose, design and lead their sports programme resulting in higher and sustained engagement levels. Miles also incorporates the patented ‘Leading2Play’ pedagogy designed by San Francisco-based former NBA basketball star and sports psychologist Dr. George Selleck,” says Saumil Majmudar, promoter-director of EduSports.  

Pearson presents PAC India

Pearson India — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pearson Plc, UK, a global leader in education — announced the launch of its Pearson Assessment Centre of Excellence (PAC) India division, in Delhi on March 3.

According to Pearson India spokespersons, PAC India will “leverage the power of assessment to drive personalised learning with curriculum, assessments, and certifications that are globally benchmarked and prepare learners for their future”.

“Assessment plays an important role in achieving and measuring the efficacy of our products and services, and having a dedicated centre of excellence in India will expedite the process. We want learners to reach their educational aspirations through meaningful feedback. Our team of experts will measure student performance and ensure validity and reliability of test scores which will help schools modify their teaching methods appropriately, and ensure better learning outcomes,” said Deepak Mehrotra, managing director, Pearson India, speaking on the occasion.

24MRC Network education awards

24MRC Network Pvt. Ltd (estb. 2010), a Delhi-based company engaged in  market research and organisation of exhibitions, conferences, seminars and awards events, staged its 24 MRC Network 2015 Leadership Awards (Education) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Delhi on February 25.

“Every year, 24MRC Network celebrates educators who have contributed significantly to improving the quality of education, research and development and innovations to enhance students’ education experiences. In India, several colleges and institutions in the states offer world-class programmes in engineering, medicine and business management. The awards celebrate their contribution to the development of Indian education,” says Avinash Singh, co-promoter and director of 24MRC Network. 

Among the award winners were BALC (Bharatiya Academy of Linguistics and Communication), Bengaluru; Council of Information & Broadcasting, New Delhi; Cyberfort Technologies, Bhagalpur; Cimage, Patna; Dalal Global Institute of Technology, Jhajjar; Hotel & Catering Management Institute, Chandigarh; HRIT Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad; Indian Institute of Finance, Greater Noida; Jamia Group of Institutions, Nandurbar; KCG College of Technology, Karapakkam; KIPM College of Engineering & Technology, Gorakhpur; Kshitij Education India, Gurgaon; Networkers’ Guru Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon; Pace Institute of Technology and Sciences, Ongole (AP); Rathinam Technical Campus, Coimbatore; Rising Kids Preschool, Ahmedabad; the Ryan International Group of Institutions, Mumbai; Swami Devi Dyal Group of Professional Institutions, Panchkula; Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut; Thassim Beevi Abdul Kader College for Women, Kilakarai (TN); and the TIT Group of Institutions, Bhopal.

British Council–EFLU conference

British Council India and the Hyderabad-based English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) hosted their fifth International Teacher Educator Conference (ITEC) in Hyderabad from February 27-March 1.

The theme of ITEC, which attracted 913 participants including 125 speakers from 21 countries, was ‘Ensuring Quality in English Language Teacher Education’. The conference was inaugurated by E.S.L. Narasimhan, governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Subjects discussed and debated over the three days ranged from multilingualism to inclusive education, story-telling techniques to teaching grammar and technology usage in classrooms.

“During the three-day conference, several important messages emerged from the numerous sessions. Plenary speakers and panel members debated the formidable problems confronting English language teacher education in India, and encouraged teachers to focus their attention on making small changes, leading to bigger innovations. A second key message was of the need for teachers to focus on ensuring quality across the system — from policy level down to learners in individual classrooms. Thirdly, many speakers highlighted that ensuring quality is not an easy endeavour, nor an end in itself. Achieving quality in the classroom is an ongoing process with multiple obstacles — some of which are within teachers’ control and some are not,” says Amy Lightfoot, English language advisor to EFLU.