Jammu & Kashmir
Fake appointments fraud
THE STATE Vigilance Organisation (SVO) of the Jammu & Kashmir government has filed charges against several persons including four senior officials of the education ministry for faking appointments in Budgam district. “A case was registered against six persons after an inquiry revealed that they hatched a criminal conspiracy to make ghost entries in class IV government musters and withdrew salaries,” an SVO spokesman informed newsmen in Srinagar on March 10.
Among those booked are chief education officers Ahmadullah Owesey and Nissar Hussain; headmaster Zagoo-Beerwah Gazala Jabeen of the government high school, Chrar-e-Sharioef Haseena Firdous, principal of a government higher secondary school, and two private beneficiaries.
Uttar Pradesh
Digital literacy initiative
GOOGLE HAS launched a two-month internet education campaign to make 500,000 women and girls across Uttar Pradesh digitally literate. The company made this commitment in Lucknow on March 12 in the presence of Sampat Pal Devi, leader of the Gulabi Gang, a women’s empowerment movement started in UP’s Banda district in 2006.
“The two-month Helping Women Get Online campaign in Uttar Pradesh aims to create awareness about the benefits of the internet for women, and assist them to go online through basic knowledge on how to use the internet,” Google marketing director (India) Sandeep Menon informed media personnel. “We strongly believe the internet can benefit and transform the lives of women in Uttar Pradesh and India,” he added.
The campaign was launched last November with the objective of empowering women with the help of technology. In the next two months, Google will cover 20 cities statewide and help women go online through road shows in residential areas and internet training modules for girl students in educational institutions. To this end, Google has already launched a specially designed website (www.hwgo.com) which hosts content covering the basics of internet usage and curated content relevant for women in India.
Meghalaya
Scholarships enhancement demand
THE MRGHALAYA state government has sought enhancement of scholarship grants from the Union ministries of tribal affairs and social justice and empowerment, to support students in education. “The proposals were submitted to the Centre in August last year and the state government is expecting a positive response on the matter,” education minister R.C. Laloo told the state legislative assembly in Shillong on March 12.
According to Laloo, enhancements demanded for Group-I including Ph D degree students is from Rs.13,000 per year currently to Rs.42,000. For graduate and postgraduates, the enhancement demanded is from Rs.8,600 to Rs.30,300, and for Plus Two (class XI-XII) students from Rs.4,500-18,800. The state government supports the education of tribals from matriculation onwards by way of scholarships and book grants.
Madhya Pradesh
Widespread malnutrition
RESEARCH DATA presented in Indore by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for the year 2004-05 presents a gloomy picture of health and nutrition in the state.
According to the survey unveiled on March 12, malnutrition among children under age five is very high. Sixty percent of them are underweight and 50 percent suffer stunted growth. Moreover, 56 percent of married women, 70 percent of adolescent girls and 84 percent of pregnant women are anaemic, the survey says.
The survey recommends a balanced diet comprising leafy green vegetables and fruits. “Food fortification is a widely acclaimed and accepted solution to malnutrition. Although the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition have initiated fortification of widely consumed staples like wheat flour and oil in the state, greater awareness needs to be created to educate consumers and ensure consumption of fortified foods,” say the NFHS authors.
Punjab
Class VIII exam reintroduction proposal
Although the Right to Education Act, 2009 abolished exams and detention of students until class IX, the Haryana government is considering restarting the class VIII board examinations for children.
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has written to the Union ministry of human resource development on the issue, state education minister Geeta Bhukkal informed the Haryana legislative assembly on March 3. She was responding to a question by MLA Narender Sangwan complaining about the poor performance of students in the class X exams.
However, according to Bhukkal, the RTE Act has to be implemented as per directions from the Centre which the state government cannot change. “That’s why the chief minister has written to the Union government asking the Centre to restart the class VIII board exam,” she said.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs