Jharkhand New composite schools Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani announced five new composite schools in Ranchi, Palamau, Dumka, Chaibasa and Hazaribagh districts to provide education to students from class I until postgraduation — all on one campus. The minister was participating in the Vidyalaya Chale-chalayein Abhiyan — Jharkhand’s school enrolment drive programme — at Kalamati village. The government will run the composite schools on lines of private schools with students provided bus transport services, according to an official statement issued on April 19 in Medininagar (Palamu district). In a reference to IIT-Dhanbad (formerly Indian School of Mines), the minister has exempted SC, ST and OBC students from paying tuition fees, the statement added. Gujarat Mass cheating case Saurashtra University authorities have registered a case of mass cheating against 51 students for allegedly using mobile phones during their final B.Com examinations in Gujarat’s Amreli district. An official communique issued on April 4 by the university in Ahmedabad said the case was registered after a video went viral on social media showing students writing the exam while speaking on mobile phones at an examination hall in a college affiliated with Saurashtra University. Vice chancellor Pratapsinh Chauhan said a five-member expert committee had been specially constituted to investigate the matter. Telangana ISB-SMU Concord The Indian School of Business (ISB) and Singapore Management University (SMU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which the two top-ranked B-schools will share best practices and leverage each other’s expertise in business management education and research. The MoU of five years duration between ISB which has campuses at Mohali and Hyderabad, and SMU, encourages faculty and student exchanges to develop new thinking and practices in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship and to design joint programmes, said an ISB statement issued on April 15 in Hyderabad. Speaking on the occasion, Rajendra Srivastava, dean of ISB, said: “ISB’s academic partnerships have played an important role in its evolution and growth over the years. In keeping with this, we see enormous potential in associating with SMU and working towards a stronger, mutually beneficial, institutional connect to develop expertise and insights relating to Asian and emerging markets that will be of immense value to the world.” Added SMU president Arnoud De Meyer: “We are pleased to work with a like-minded partner focused on innovation and entrepreneurship in business education, to exchange and deepen our expertise in teaching, research and student programmes.” Nagaland RAISE for special needs children The state’s social welfare secretary, Dellirose M. Sakhrie, formally launched the Regional Action on Inclusive Education (RAISE)-North East project — a five-year pilot on inclusive education — in Kohima on April 12, and requested the citizenry’s help to empower special needs children through education. RAISE has been designed to complement the Central government-funded Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme and will improve the quality of education for children with disabilities in government and government-aided schools in select districts of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura. The Kohima-based Cherry Blossoms Society is partnering with…
