– Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs

Chhattisgarh

Safety audit directive

Raipur, september 10. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai directed officials to immediately inspect and conduct safety audits of hostels, paying guest (PG) premises, coaching centres, schools and large educational buildings following a building collapse in Delhi earlier this week, in which a student from Chhattisgarh’s Durg district was among seven killed.

“Administrative responsibility is not limited to taking action after an incident. It is also our responsibility to identify potential risks in advance and eliminate them. Immediate inspections and safety audits must be conducted for hostels, PGs, coaching centres, schools, and large educational buildings across all districts,” said the chief minister, addressing a high-level review meeting of divisional commissioners, inspectors general of police, collectors, superintendents of police and senior officials through video conference from his official residence.

Meghalaya

CK-12 Foundation initiative

Shillong, september 26.  The state government has partnered with California (US)-based CK-12 Foundation to introduce interactive and AI-enabled learning in 31 government and government-aided schools in the East Khasi Hills, beginning with mathematics and science for classes VI-XII.

This initiative being rolled out under the Meghalaya Programme for Adolescent Wellbeing, Empowerment and Resilience (MPOWER), will pilot digital and blended learning in rural and urban schools. Forty-seven teachers and four principals have been trained in digital learning practices, including the CK-12 Learning Platform and interactive classroom resources.

MPOWER will provide ICT infrastructure, including devices and connectivity, while monitoring implementation and outcomes. The pilot aims to strengthen conceptual understanding, student engagement and teachers’ digital capabilities.

“Students will access interactive and adaptive resources and Flexi, CK-12’s AI-powered tutor, for personalised, step-by-step support,” said MPOWER project-director Sampath Kumar, addressing a media conference.

Delhi

CISCE mental health conclave

New Delhi, September 27. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is set to launch a Student Mental Health and Well-Being programme on October 10 (World Mental Health Day) engaging 1.6 million students and 32,000 teachers. The programme will culminate in a National Student Mental Health Conclave in late November at CISCE’s Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad.

“We need to create a culture in which students are heard, their experiences are understood, and their voices shape how schools think about mental health, resilience, and support. This conclave is our effort to take that conversation from classrooms to a national platform,” said Joseph Emmanuel, Chief Executive and Secretary, CISCE, addressing a press conference.

The first phase of the programme — School-Level Mental Health and Well-Being Dialogues — will be held from October 4-31 in affiliated schools, with students of classes VI-XII participating in weekly discussions on academic stress, emotional well-being, digital life and relationships, substance abuse and healthy choices, resilience and help-seeking.

The second phase will comprise virtual Regional Student Mental Health and Well-Being Conclaves across 18 regions from November 4-14.

Mizoram

Vidya Samiksha Kendra study tour

Aizawl, September 11. Education minister Vanlalthlana visited a Vidya Samiksha Kendra school (VSK) in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar to study its technology-driven education monitoring system and explore its possible adoption in the north-eastern state, says an official communique.

An initiative of the Gujarat government, VSK uses technology to monitor schools, teachers and students and support improvements in the education system. “Mizoram is working to integrate technology in education and we intend to follow Gujarat’s example to meet the state’s requirements,” said Vanlalthlana, speaking on the occasion.

Gujarat

Marwadi U tragedies

Rajkot, September 25. A fifth-semester student of the Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) School died by suicide after jumping from a building on the campus of Marwadi University — recognised by the Gujarat government as a Centre of Excellence — said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-1) Hetal Patel. The incident comes six days after a third-semester female student of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Science School and native of Andhra Pradesh, committed suicide by jumping from the hostel building.

Addressing a press conference, the DCP said: “In the latter case, Hemnath, a native of Andhra Pradesh, was distressed about his health, and no suicide note has been recovered. Hemnath had undergone a few surgeries recently and had confided in his hostel roommate that if his health issues persist, he wanted to die. The Kuvadava police have initiated a probe.”