Himachal Pradesh

Sky high examination centres

The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education has established an examination centre in the Spiti Valley, Kibber, at a height of 14,200 ft. above sea level. The centre will facilitate one class X and eight class XII students to write examinations scheduled to commence on March 4, but postponed to March 20 due to heavy snowfall.

“Board examinations in seven centres of the Spiti Valley and 26 centres of the Kinour district have been delayed due to inclement weather,” said Rakhil Kahlon, secretary of the board, adding that examination papers and materials are being sent by helicopter to these stations. “A total of 1,340 students of class X and 887 of class XII are registered from these snow-bound areas,” she added.

Statewide, 145,617 class X and 103,617 class XII students have registered to write this year’s HP board examinations for which 1,596 examination centres have been readied to be monitored by 3,200 superintendents and deputy superintendents appointed by the board. Kahlon said 247 flying squads of the board will also oversee smooth conduct of the examinations. This year for the first time the board is allotting secret roll numbers to all examinees to prevent favouritism and misconduct. The class XII board exam results will be declared in April, and of class X in May.

Goa

Sesa Goa’s football academies

Addressing a media conference in Jamshedpur on March 23, Greek national Sioulas Anastasios, who was appointed technical director of the Sesa Football Academy (SFA), Goa in February, said the institute is planning to establish a Sesa Baby School to train footballers in the age group 8-12 years. “The basic purpose is to expand our operations. The proposed school will accommodate pre-teen football talent,” said Sioulas.

With coaching experience of 25 years in two continents, Sioulas was in the steel city to support the SFA team participating in an Under-20 tournament. Sited within SFA premises, the school is likely to be launched in June. However, the size of the initial batch is yet to be decided, he said.

Sioulas, who has played for top professional football clubs in Greece, Cyprus and Hungary informed newsmen that sports instructors from 27 schools are being trained in SFA’s two academies at Sanquelim and Sirsaim. Physical training instructors and coaches of these schools will in turn train children in their schools with experts from SFA making regular visits to oversee their progress.

Kerala

Bosch Rexroth skill centres

Bosch Rexroth India, a specialist in drive and control technologies, will establish knowledge centres in 16 education institutions across Kerala in public-private-partnership mode with the state government. To start with, a centre of excellence will be established on the campus of the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, and a skill development centre in the Government Polytechnic, Kalamassery, said a statement issued by the company, a 100 percent subsidiary of Bosch Rexroth AG, Germany. The objective of the PPP is to offer 300,000 undergraduate students in the state hands-on experience in real work situations. A memorandum of understanding on technical collaboration between the state government’s higher education department and Bosch Rexroth India, was signed on March 5.

The cost of establishing a knowledge centre is estimated at Rs.5.38 crore and of a competence-cum-skill development centre at Rs.4.39 crore. The centres will provide hands-on training in hydraulics, pneumatics, PLC’s, sensorics, motion logic controllers, CNC control systems, mechatronics, and robotics.

Assam

Stern RTE notification

The Assam government has issued a notification to all private unaided non-minority schools to ensure that students from disadvantaged and weaker sections are provided private school education under s. 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and the State RTE Rules, 2011.

“All private unaided non-minority schools and schools of specified category shall admit in class I at least 25 percent of the strength of the class, children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in the neighbourhood and provide free and compulsory education till its completion,” it said. The notification will come into effect from the academic year beginning 2013-14.

In another notification, the state government directed all privately managed aided and unaided schools in Assam imparting education upto elementary stage to obtain recognition from the local District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO). “All such schools shall apply for recognition before June 30, failing which the school concerned will cease to function. The DEEO shall conduct inspection of such schools to ascertain whether they fulfil the norms and standards specified in the Rules and submit the report to a District Level Board,” said the notification. 

New Delhi

UGC’s accreditation notification

The University Grants Commission issued a notification on March 4 making accreditation mandatory for all higher education institutions on pain of derecognition. According to the notification, all higher ed institutions should be accredited by the accreditation agency after graduating two batches or six years, whichever is earlier, with the onus upon institutions to apply for accreditation within six months from March 4. The accreditation will be valid for five years and it shall be mandatory for each accredited higher education institution to apply for re-accreditation six months before expiry of the five-year period.

The notification has been issued against the backdrop of the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority (NARA) Bill hanging fire for the past two years. This delay has prompted the Union human resource development ministry to make accreditation mandatory through an executive order. The notification provides stringent penal provisions including derecognition of defaulting institutions under the UGC Act, 1956.

Swati Roy with bureau reports