Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs

DELHI

National Teachers Awards

New Delhi, September 5.

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the National Teachers Awards on 44 educators from across the country on Teachers Day (September 5). Instituted in 1958, the national awards are conferred upon outstanding primary-secondary teachers under a three-tier district, state and national selection process to honour educators who have improved the quality of school education and enriched the lives of students.

“Our education system in which teachers play a major role, should be such that students develop feelings of respect for constitutional values and their duties as citizens,” said President Kovind, speaking on the occasion.

MIZORAM

Refugee children admitted

Aizawl, September 3.

Four hundred children from Myanmar who have taken refuge in Mizoram after fleeing a military coup in February last year, have been admitted to government and private schools statewide, said education minister Lalchhandama Ralte, addressing a media conference.

According to the minister, the school education department has directed all district and sub-divisional education officers to admit refugee children from Myanmar in local schools and enable them to continue their schooling.

“Although they are yet to be granted refugee status by the Centre, the Mizoram government is providing education to them on humanitarian grounds as the RTE Act does not discriminate against children on a nationality basis,” said the minister. The government cannot ignore the educational needs of refugee children as they are not only “our fellow humans but also belong to Mizo communities,” he added.

JHARKHAND

Munda Overseas Scholarships

Ranchi, September 23.

Chief minister Hemant Soren felicitated the first cohort of six tribal students selected for the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Overseas Scholarship programme — instituted in the memory of Jharkhand’s eponymous tribal icon who studied at Oxford University a century ago — and promised to raise the number of scholarships to 25.

“We will bring not only tribal students but other backward communities within the ambit of this scheme,” said chief minister Soren, speaking on the occasion. The overseas scholarship scheme approved by the Jharkhand cabinet in December last year, covers tuition fees, residential living and miscellaneous expenses.

The overseas scholarship scheme rolled out by the state government will enable ten students per year from the scheduled tribe category of the state to pursue higher studies in British universities.

MADHYA PRADESH

School turns flour mill

Shivpuri (MP), September 17.

A government primary school principal in the state’s Shivpuri district was suspended after an official inspection revealed that the school’s premises were being used to operate a flour mill.

When inspecting officer Rohini Awasthi solicited whereabouts of the principal, she was informed that he rarely came to work and that a local political leader has been utilising the premises to operate a flour mill, said a school department official, addressing a media conference. Shivpuri district collector Akshay Kumar Singh has suspended the principal and initiated appropriate action against several accomplices.

ODISHA

Gifted students’ initiative

Bhubaneswar, September 5.

In an official function to mark Teachers Day, chief minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation for construction of a Rs.100 crore Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya campus, Andharua, to house 1,000 meritorious higher secondary students.

“Through our ongoing school transformation process, we will instil confidence in the minds of children so they can succeed in this competitive world. We will make every effort to realise the dreams of every student and build a strong, new and transformed Odisha,” said the chief minister, speaking on the occasion.

TELANGANA

Global Be Well Day

Hyderabad, September 30.

The city-based CHIREC International School, a constituent institution of the UK-based Cognita Group of 85 schools in 12 countries with an aggregate enrolment of 58,000 students, celebrated Global Be Well Day (GBWD).

Explaining the importance of GBWD, Aneesha Reddy, head of strategic initiatives and community outreach at Chirec International said: “Lives and livelihoods changed around the world due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Several studies indicate that during the pandemic lockdown, 25-40 percent of children suffered from anxiety as against 7 percent in the pre-pandemic era. The GBWD programme of Cognita schools worldwide greatly lifted the spirits and morale of children.”

Throughout GBWD, students, parents and staff members of Chirec International engaged in purposeful dialogues and activities to embed well-being into children’s daily life routines.

Also read: CHIREC International School, Hyderabad