Himachal Pradesh 85 principals under scanner The state government has urged speedy completion of a preliminary enquiry into cases pertaining to misuse of funds and grants by 85 principals of government schools across Himachal Pradesh. Speaking to mediapersons in Dharamsala on February 23, an education ministry official stated that principals facing enquiry are of Government Senior Secondary schools in Sirmour, Mandi, Shimla, Una, Solan, Kangra, Bilaspur and Kullu districts. In a strongly worded letter addressed to deputy directors of higher secondary education in the districts, the state government has ordered that the preliminary enquiries should be completed within a fortnight. Complaints against the principals have been pending for a long time despite repeated requests and instructions to deputy directors to complete investigations, the letter reminded them. Andhra Pradesh Varsities network initiative In an innovative initiative to revamp the higher education system in Andhra Pradesh, chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu chaired a video-conference connecting academics and education experts of top-ranked universities countrywide. According to a state government communiqu© issued in Hyderabad on February 16, the chief minister proposes to convene monthly video-conferences to stimulate innovative education ideas. œEducation should support employment and lead to development, he said, requesting academics to propose solutions to upgrade universities, suggest new teaching-learning methodologies, integrate technology into extant and new institutions, and stimulate research and development. Odisha Budget axes preschool outlay The state government™s budget for 2015-16, presented in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on February 17, has sharply reduced the allocation for construction of anganwadis under the Centre™s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme. According to a report of the Odisha Budget and Accountability Centre (OBAC), a non-profit NGO, against the budgeted Rs.839 crore, the revised expenditure in 2014-15 was Rs.676.41 crore. The 2015-16 budget has further reduced the outlay to Rs.300 crore. Currently, there are 71,306 functional anganwadis in Odisha, of whom only 22,843 are run in government-owned buildings. œAlthough the importance of anganwadis in providing quality education to preschool children is paramount, the overall budget of the women and child development ministry which supervises early childhood education in the state, has been reduced from Rs.4,666.65 crore to Rs.4,162.62 crore in 2015-16. Preschool education is the worst hit, says Surendra Sahoo, a spokesperson of OBAC. Gujarat Smart schools roll-out The Gujarat state education ministry has approved a definition of ˜smart schools™ and is all set to roll out 6,500 smart schools statewide in 2015-16. Under the approved definition, a smart school should be equipped with information and communication technology (ICT)-driven aids including LED television and projector, laptop, printer with scanning facility, biometric attendance device for teachers and students, wi-fi, e-content, Building as Learning Aid (BaLA), internet connectivity and school management software, requiring an approximate expenditure of Rs.17.5 lakh per school, an education ministry official informed media personnel in Ahmedabad on February 17. School management committees constituted under the Right to Education Act will be entrusted with the safety and security of ICT hardware and other equipment installed in smart schools, said the official. œThe selection…
