New Delhi, April 15. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia held the first annual general meeting (AGM) of the Delhi Schools of Specialised Excellence Society. The society, which will start functioning from the new academic year 2021-22, has drawn up a plan to establish over 100 schools of specialised excellence (SSE) in the national capital region.

These “world-class” schools will provide gifted students special assistance in developing STEM, humanities, performing and visual arts skills to prepare them for the imminent era of hyper specialisation, said a state government communique issued on the occasion.

Punjab

Automatic promotions largesse

Chandigarh, April 15. A day after the Central government announced cancellation of CBSE class X exams and postponement of class XII exams amid rising Covid-19 cases, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced automatic promotion of children in classes V, VIII and X in state government schools.

“Since the state had shut down all educational institutions till April 30 to safeguard children in the 11-20 age group, some relief needed to be given to them from the pressure of board exams,” explained the chief minister.

Meghalaya

Offline exams as scheduled

Shillong, April 14. Meghalaya’s offline state board class XII examinations will be held as per schedule with observance of all Covid-19 safety protocols, deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong informed the media after a cabinet review meeting.

“The state government has urged parents not to panic and allow students to write the examinations scheduled to begin on April 16 and continue until May 12,” he said.

Meanwhile, additional chief secretary of education D.P. Wahlang is investigating the feasibility of conducting in-school class X examinations, he added.

Jammu & Kashmir

New development programmes

Jammu, April 25. Four model residential schools will be established in the tribal areas of Jammu and Kashmir, said Shahid Choudhary, tribal affairs administrative secretary, unveiling a programme for fast-tracking development projects in the Union territory.

“Several development projects are in the pipeline including filling vacancies to strengthen the tribal affairs ministry, developing a portal for scholarships disbursement and real-time online monitoring, e-office, educational plan and Forest Rights Act implementation,” said Choudhary.

Odisha

Madhusudhan Law University

Cuttack, April 28. Madhusudan Law College, Cuttack (MLC, estb.1869) was upgraded to the status of a university on the birth anniversary of 19th century legislator and journalist Madhusudan Das.

“No institution can make progress without the collective responsibility of society. Therefore, I appeal to all stakeholders, particularly all former principals, teachers and students of this great institution to extend their support and cooperation to this ambitious new venture,” said Prof. Kamaljeet Singh, founding vice chancellor of Madhusudan Law University, speaking on the occasion.

Haryana

Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum

Sonipat, April 9. Delivering the keynote address at the top-ranked private liberal arts and sciences Ashoka University’s Entrepreneurship Education Conference, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said several former students of Delhi government schools have successfully nurtured their family businesses based on their learning from the state government’s entrepreneurship mindset curriculum (EMC).

“There is urgent need to develop an entrepreneurial mindset within our students in a way that they can contribute to the economy. Our students need to become job providers rather than job-seekers,” said Sisodia.

Bihar

BSEB’s New Record

Patna, April 13. The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has set a new record by becoming the first school exams board countrywide to declare the class X and XII board exam results for three years in a row.

Within 25 days of the conclusion of class XII exams on March 13, education minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary announced the BSEB’s class XII results on April 5. The class X results were announced a day later on April 6.

“This year the board leveraged new high-speed software for processing results. We tabulated the scores of more than 10 million answer sheets within 25 days, setting a new record for speedy results announcement. In recent years, the board has introduced digital technology which has eliminated human intervention making the results tabulation process quick and fair,” said Anand Kishor, chairman of BSEB, speaking on the occasion.

Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs