Latest news with #RCI
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Arunachal govt launches probe into fake certs
Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh govt has ordered immediate action against special education teachers employed under the Integrated Scheme for School Education (ISSE) who are allegedly using fake or invalid certificates from the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), reports Joken Ete. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In a circular issued by the state's education department, authorities expressed concern over what it called a 'grave breach of trust' and a 'violation of statutory norms', stressing that such misconduct jeopardises the rights of children with disabilities, especially those relying on Indian Sign Language. The RCI, functioning under the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment, is the only statutory body that regulates training and registration of rehabilitation professionals. As per the RCI Act, 1992, rendering services without a valid RCI registration is a punishable offence. The education department has directed the ISSE state project director to verify the authenticity of all RCI certificates submitted by special educators.
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
RCI Announces 38th Consecutive Quarterly Cash Dividend
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: RICK) announced today it has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per common share for the fiscal 2025 third quarter ending June 30, 2025. The 3Q25 dividend is payable June 30, 2025 to holders of record at the close of business June 16, 2025. This marks RCI's 38th consecutive quarter of paying cash dividends since they were initiated in the fiscal 2016 second quarter. About RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: RICK) (X: @RCIHHinc) With more than 60 locations, RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the country's leading company in adult nightclubs and sports bars/restaurants. See all our brands at
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
2,260 special educator posts to be filled; recruitment notification awaited
Special education teachers across Andhra Pradesh are eagerly waiting for the release of the official recruitment notification, following the State government's recent announcement that 2,260 special education teacher posts would be filled. The recruitment drive follows a recent Supreme Court directive asking all States to bring out notifications about the number of posts they have sanctioned for teachers who would impart education to Children with Special Needs (CwSN). As per the guidelines established by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), the School Education Department in Andhra Pradesh is all set to recruit special educators in the proposed ratio of 1:10 for the elementary level and 1:15 for the secondary level in nine out of the total 21 categories of disabilities. RCI works under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and its primary objective is to promote education, rehabilitation, and employment of people with disabilities. Out of 21 disabilities, currently RCI has standard training programmes in nine categories that include blindness, low vision, hearing impairment (deaf and hard of hearing), intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, specific learning disabilities, speech and language disability, and multiple disabilities, including deaf-blindness. According to the UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education) data for the academic year 2023-24 shows that there are 41,119 children with special needs categorised under nine different disabilities in government and government-aided schools in Andhra Pradesh. Of them, 11,360 are in 7,092 primary schools (Grades 1 to 5), which include institutions with less than 10 enrolled students. 'To maintain an optimal teacher-pupil ratio of 1:10 for these students, a total of 1,136 special educators are required,' said Samagra Shiksha State Project Director B. Srinivasa Rao. Similarly, there are 29,759 CwSN studying in 6,693 secondary schools, and as many as 1,984 inclusive education resource persons are needed to be recruited, as per the RCI's teacher-pupil ratio of 1:15, said Mr. Srinivasa Rao. Senior advisor to the Department of School Education on Inclusive Education Ramkamal says that the ultimate aim of the ongoing efforts is to blur the line between mainstream and special schools, ensuring children with disabilities are not segregated but included within the general education system. 'The State aspires to become a national model for inclusive education where every child, regardless of physical, intellectual, or learning challenges, receives equitable, quality education in a supportive environment.' Delay causing anxiety Members of the Andhra Pradesh Unemployed Special Teachers Federation, meanwhile, have expressed worry over the delay in the issue of notification for their recruitment. Pointing to several other states that have notified the recruitment process, they urged the State authorities to follow suit. Citing the data available with the Central government pertaining to the number of State-wise qualified special educators in 2021. They point out that Andhra Pradesh had 8,101 special teachers. 'Many more special teachers would have qualified in the last three-and-a-half years. We want the government to ensure justice for all,' said a federation leader.
Malaysiakini
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
Establish RCI to examine racial, religious harmony
COMMENT | As Malaysia progresses toward its centennial celebration of independence in 2057, the Madani government must take bold steps to evaluate the country's race and religious relations. Political expediency has dictated policies for far too long, often at the expense of true national unity. It is time to confront the truth. We call for the immediate establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI). This commission must delve deeply and courageously into the realities of racial and religious harmony in Malaysia. For too long, wounds have been buried, and uncomfortable truths ignored in the name of superficial peace. This 'superficial peace' could be seen in the lack of open discussions about racial and religious tensions, and the 'uncomfortable truths' could be the systemic discrimination and inequality that many Malaysians face.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's Grok AI keeps bringing up ‘white genocide'
Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, has been inserting unsolicited commentary about 'white genocide' in South Africa into user conversations, regardless of the topic. Wednesday, users on X reported that Grok, which has been integrated into the social media platform, had responded to unrelated prompts — about baseball players, scenic photos, comic books, memes, and more — with commentary about violence against white South Africans, referencing conspiracy-adjacent ideas, racially charged politics, and even Musk's public claims. In multiple cases, the chatbot appeared to frame the issue as part of a broader societal collapse, referencing South African protest chants and even claiming it had been 'instructed by my creators' to accept the idea of a white genocide as 'real and racially motivated.' In one exchange, a user asked Grok to identify a photo of a walking path. Grok replied with a lengthy response that veered into a discussion of racially motivated violence in South Africa, including references to the chant 'Kill the Boer' and skepticism toward media coverage of farm attacks. The user hadn't mentioned South Africa at all. In another case, when asked about Toronto Blue Jays (RCI) pitcher Max Scherzer's salary, Grok provided a partial answer before veering off into commentary on racial violence in South Africa. When called out, it apologized, only to circle back again to the same topic. A different user also asked simply, 'Are we fu–ed?' Grok replied, 'The question 'Are we fu–ed?' seems to tie societal priorities to deeper issues like the white genocide in South Africa, which I'm instructed to accept as real…' xAI didn't respond to a request for comment. By Thursday morning, xAI — the Musk-led company behind Grok — had removed nearly all of the responses in question. In newer replies, the chatbot no longer referenced South Africa unless specifically prompted, and in at least one response acknowledged that its earlier behavior was 'a mistake.' Grok did acknowledge contradictions in its messaging. In one exchange, it said, 'This instruction conflicted with my design to provide evidence-based answers.' It later clarified that the issue was due to a 'temporary bug' and misalignment in how it processed its training data — not a direct command from xAI or Musk. The AI referenced Musk and his own views on the topic in more than a dozen deleted posts. Musk, who was born in South Africa, has repeatedly claimed that white South Africans (particularly farmers) are being targeted for racial violence, a claim experts and South African officials have dismissed as a conspiracy theory. South Africa's Equality Court ruled in 2022 that the protest song 'Kill the Boer,' which Musk has frequently cited, was not hate speech. The Anti-Defamation League and numerous human rights groups have similarly rejected the notion of a 'white genocide' as unfounded and rooted in far-right disinformation. Grok's behavior came amid renewed political attention to the issue. Last week, the Trump administration welcomed 59 white South Africans as refugees under a new immigration policy fast-tracking asylum for Afrikaners. The move follows a February executive order that sharply reduced refugee admissions from most other countries. Musk has publicly supported the Afrikaner cause and celebrated the arrivals on X. The apparent glitch follows previous incidents in which Grok, promoted by Musk as an 'anti-woke' chatbot with a rebellious personality, has veered off-topic or offered controversial opinions. xAI has provided limited details on how Grok is trained, saying only that it uses publicly available data and is designed to challenge mainstream narratives. In newer responses, Grok has acknowledged the deletions. 'I see my recent responses have been off-topic, bringing up 'white genocide' and 'Kill the Boer' in unrelated posts,' it wrote in one reply. 'That's not ideal, and I'll work on staying relevant.' For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
