Maharashtra

Govt-Educate Girls MoU

Mumbai, march 17. The state’s education ministry recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay awardee Educate Girls, an NGO.

Awarded the Magsaysay — ‘Asia’s Nobel Prize’ — for its transformative impact, Educate Girls has brought over 2 million dropped out girl children back into mainstream schools, broken gender stereotypes in rural India, and has a 90 percent retention rate.

This initiative will especially focus on reaching out to girls, women students and socially and economically disadvantaged groups. To improve the open education system, educational resources and technology-based education systems and innovative pedagogies will be developed. Moreover, opportunities will be explored to connect students with various government schemes, scholarships, fee concessions and skill-based courses. This will improve their employability and encourage them to pursue further education, said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking on the occasion.

Gujarat

First convocation

Gandhinagar, march 23. The convocation ceremony of the first batch of 46 graduates of the Australia-based Deakin University — the first foreign varsity to establish a greenfield campus in India — was held at GIFT City, Gandhinagar (Gujarat) with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel as chief guest.

“Prime minister Narendra Modi adopted the approach of ensuring that the best higher education in the world is available to the youth of Gujarat in their own backyard. As a result apart from Deakin University, sector-specific universities including Forensic Sciences University, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Maritime University and Rakshashakti and National Law University have also been established in the state,” said Patel, addressing graduates and their proud parents.

Rajasthan

Multilingual initiative

Jaipur, march 22. The state has launched a multilingual education initiative in government schools incorporating local dialects into classroom teaching to make learning more engaging. The programme will initially be implemented in 11 districts before being expanded across the state in phases. Government surveys conducted in 24 of Rajasthan’s 50 districts identified more than 30 dialects, with ‘Wagdi’ and ‘Mewari’ among the most widely spoken by students.

Supported by Unicef, this initiative has been piloted in select schools in Dungarpur and Sirohi districts, where use of local dialects has improved students’ learning outcomes. Moreover, student attendance in pilot schools has increased from 58 to 66 percent with children’s basic reading and writing capabilities also indicating  significant improvement.

The education ministry has developed workbooks, storybooks and activities in 11 local dialects for smooth implementation of the programme.

Karnataka

Debt-trap tragedy

Bengaluru, march 25. Caught in a debt trap following online gaming addiction, Anishkar Chouhan, a medical undergrad student, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room at the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences.

“Anishkar had developed addiction to online gaming over the past few years and had reportedly incurred repeated financial losses. Recently, he is believed to have lost Rs.80,000  — money he had borrowed — while gaming online. Investigators suspect that mounting debts and increasing pressure from lenders to repay borrowed amounts compelled him to take the extreme step,” said Superintendent of Police Pradeep Gunti, addressing a press conference.

Authorities are examining his financial transactions and online activity to better understand the circumstances leading to his suicide. Anishkar came from an academically accomplished family. His elder brother is a final-year medical student at the same institution while his sister is enrolled in an MD (Doctor of Medicine) programme in Bengaluru.

Himachal Pradesh

Anganwadi co-schools 

Shimla, march 2. To integrate early childhood education with formal schooling, the Himachal Pradesh government has declared all 18,925 anganwadi centres as ‘Anganwadi Co-Schools’, according to an official communique.

A state-level joint committee, chaired by secretary (education) Rakesh Kanwar, has been constituted to effectively implement guidelines issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Education Ministry for co-locating Anganwadi centres within schools, says the communique.

“Under the leadership of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state government has taken determined steps to strengthen the foundations of early childhood care and development of children. With clear focus on nutrition, quality education and inclusive growth, the government is committed to ensuring that every child in Himachal Pradesh receives the support and opportunities needed to thrive and succeed,” said Kanwar, addressing the media.