Tamil Nadu
IIT-M sports quota
New delhi, february 2. From the new academic year beginning July 2024, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras will introduce two supernumerary sports quota seats in every undergrad program, announced director V. Kamakoti. The idea was mooted by IIT-Madras before the IIT Council in 2023.
Addressing a press conference, the director said: “IIT-Madras is set to offer Indian nationals two supernumerary seats per undergraduate programme under the Sports Excellence Admission (SEA) programme. We are the first IIT to introduce sports quota and the idea is to reward and encourage students who have achieved a certain level of sports excellence.”
Candidates will also be required to have obtained the minimum class XII marks to fulfill the eligibility criteria for IIT admissions.
Gujarat
Careless teachers fined
Gandhinagar, february 6. Over a period of two years, an aggregate fine of Rs.1.54 crore was imposed on 9,000 government school teachers statewide for committing totaling errors while marking classes X and XII board exam answer sheets.
Responding to a query during Question Hour, Gujarat’s education minister Kuber Dindor admitted that 9,218 teachers — 3,350 class X and 5,868 class XII — had committed totaling errors during assessment of board exam answer papers in the academic years 2022 and 2023. A fine of Rs.1,600 has been imposed on all these teachers.
Uttar Pradesh
Budget largesse
Lucknow, february 5. In the Uttar Pradesh budget 2024-25 presented in the state assembly, a sum of Rs.1,000 crore had been budgeted for provision of free sweaters, shoes, socks and bags to over 20 million class I-VIII government school children. Also Rs.1,000 crore for Operation Kayakalp (makeover) for government primary schools.
Addressing a press conference, finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said: “The procurement process for providing uniforms, sweaters, school bags, shoes, and stationery for students has been discontinued. Instead, a sum of Rs 1,200 per student is being directly transferred to the bank accounts of parents through DBT (direct bank transfers).”
Delhi
New safety rules
New felhi, february 19. All government and private schools in the national capital have been directed to constitute committees for ‘surprise bag checking’ to ensure no student brings any object that may cause harm to other children, says a Directorate of Education (DoE) circular.
“It is imperative for all schools to implement a streamlined framework for ensuring good safety practices for students, parents and staff. Heads of schools should also ensure that CCTVs are installed in schools and functional all the time. Visitors should not be allowed to enter classrooms and staff rooms,” says the circular.
Himachal Pradesh
Teachers study tour
Shimla, february 22. Under the state government’s International Tour for Teachers program, 102 school teachers will depart for a five-day tour of Singapore to familiarise themselves with “new technologies and teaching methods in education”, said chief minister Sukhvinder Sukhu.
“The first batch of 102 teachers selected from across the state are scheduled for departure on February 24 and a second batch of 98 teachers on March 15,” said Sukhu.
Added education minister Rohit Thakur: “The government is filling vacancies in the education department on a priority basis.”
Odisha
First Skill India Centre
Sambalpur, february 20. Union minister for education and skill development Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the country’s first Skill India Centre (SIC). It will annually upskill over 1,200 Indian youth in high demand vocations such as media & entertainment, leather products, tourism & hospitality, and IT-ITeS.
“New-age and future skills courses are available at considerably higher cost in global markets. The introduction of low-cost courses through SIC will empower our youth and make them a part of the evolving jobs market,” said the minister speaking on the occasion.
Skill India centres in Angul, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Talcher and Deogarh (all in Odisha) are currently under construction.
Punjab
Compulsory subject
Chandigarh, february 10. The state’s school education department issued a show cause notice on a private school in Jalandhar for failing to teach Punjabi as a compulsory subject.
“The state government is committed to maintaining the dignity of the language and any disrespect towards it will not be tolerated at any cost,” said education minister Harjot Singh Bains, addressing the media.
According to a notification issued under the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act, 2008, it is mandatory for every school in the state to teach Punjabi as a compulsory subject in classes I-X.