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Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Himachal Pradesh CM hands over appointment letters to 312 drawing teachers
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday handed over appointment letters to 312 drawing teachers at a ceremony here. On the occasion, he also gave a send-off to five students from government schools who were embarking on an educational tour to Japan. The students would visit various academic institutions and historical sites across Japan. During the event, the Chief Minister launched several educational initiatives, including the student-centric news platform edsk Express, baseline school ranking accreditation report, geo-tagged and geo-fenced smart 'Upsthiti' (attendance monitoring system) and the Vidya Samiksha Kendra. Congratulating the newly appointed teachers, the Chief Minister highlighted the significant progress that the state has made in education quality over the past two and a half years. He said, "When the present Congress government came to power, the state ranked 21st nationally in terms of quality education. Today, we have moved up to the fifth position." He said that during the survey, it was also found that Himachal Pradesh is at number two in Class 3, fifth in Class VI and fourth in Class IX in providing quality education to the students. The Chief Minister said the teachers have made immense contributions in elevating the state's educational standing and emphasised the need to prepare for future challenges collaboratively. He said the government was seriously considering not retiring teachers in the middle of an academic session to avoid disruption in students' learning. CM Sukhu said his government was committed to bringing reforms in the education sector, with several initiatives already underway. "The previous government opened various schools for political gains, but our focus was to ensure that no child was deprived of education and that they receive quality instruction," he said. The government has already appointed 5,100 trained graduate teachers (TGTs) in medical, non-medical and arts streams. A rationalisation drive has also been initiated in schools where student-teacher ratios were imbalanced. The government was also establishing Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools equipped with all subject-specialist teachers, for which recruitments would begin soon, he added.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
CM gives appointment letters to 312 drawing teachers
Shimla: Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday handed over appointment letters to 312 newly selected drawing teachers in a formal ceremony held in Shimla. He also gave a send-off to a group of five students from govt schools embarking on an educational tour to Japan. Sukhu launched several educational initiatives, including the student-centric news platform 'Edsk Express', the baseline school ranking accreditation report, the geo-tagged and geo-fenced 'Smart Upsthiti' (attendance monitoring system), and the Vidya Samiksha Kendra. "When the present Congress govt came to power, the state ranked 21st nationally in terms of quality education. Today, we have moved up to the 5th position," said Sukhu. During a survey, it has been found that Himachal was at 2nd number in Class 3, at 5th place in Class 6, and at 4th position in Class 9 in providing quality education to the students in the country, he added. Sukhu said the state govt was seriously considering not retiring teachers in the middle of an academic session to avoid disruption in students' learning. He further said the govt had already filled 5,100 TGT (trained graduate teacher) posts in medical, non-medical, and arts streams, and a rationalisation drive was also initiated in schools where student-teacher ratios were skewed. Stating that robotic surgeries were set to begin soon and outdated MRI, CT, and ultrasound machines were being replaced to facilitate the patients, Sukhu said robotic surgeons would be offered packages of Rs 1 crore to attract top talent to the state. Reaffirming the govt's stand on the old pension scheme (OPS), Sukhu said: "There was pressure to revert to the UPS, but we will not step back from OPS. We did not bring it back for political gains, but to ensure a dignified life for govt employees post-retirement." He also criticised opposition leaders for misleading people over the job trainee policy, clarifying that trainees would be regularised after two years of service. Education minister Rohit Thakur said the state was on the path to achieving 100% literacy, although the journey had been challenging. MSID:: 123187450 413 | Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Will replicate Guj's success stories: Delhi edu minister
Gandhinagar: Ashish Sood, Delhi minister for home, power, urban development, and education, said that the BJP-led Delhi state govt will adopt and replicate success stories of Gujarat's education system. He was speaking on Sunday, a day after his visit to Surat on Saturday. In Surat in connection with an urban development project, he also visited a municipal school where education is imparted using digital platforms. "Delhi should have been a model for the country in education, but when the BJP took over, there were just about 700 or 800 smart classrooms in govt schools in the national capital. We intend to roll out 7,000 smart classrooms in the coming months," the minister said on Sunday. Commenting on Gujarat's Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), a centralised project to monitor learning outcomes in govt schools, Sood said, "We will definitely adopt the concept of the VSK and implement it in Delhi with better ideas." tnn You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Kanya Kelavani-Shala Praveshotsav: Getting potential drop-outs back to school— has Gujarat aced the test with its enrolment drive?
At a government-run school in Maninagar, Minister of State for Co-operation, Jagdish Vishwakarma, is leading the Kanya Kelavani-Shala Praveshotsav, a three-day statewide school enrolment drive. Students of Classes 9-12 took part in a quiz where they were asked: 'Fifty years back, an incident happened that was taken note of by the world, what was that?' 'Bandharan Hatya Divas' (Constitution Assassination Day)', a girl studying in Class 10 at Sri Ramkrishna Vidyalaya answered after two-three attempts by others. She got a silver idol of Lord Rama as a reward. The annual drive, which kicked off on Thursday, sees the chief minister, ministers, state and district officials travelling to urban and rural areas to encourage parents to enrol their children in schools. On Friday, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was at a government primary school in Gandhinagar's Pundrasan village, where he urged parents to ensure enrolment of their children in schools and avail the benefits of government schemes. When the drive started, Gujarat would record a nearly 40% drop-out rate in Classes 1-7. Launched by the then CM Narendra Modi, now the Prime Minister, in 2003-04, where his team of ministers and bureaucrats would lead enrolment drives in Class 1, the state's flagship initiative has over the years incorporated a technology-driven tracking of children by assigning them a unique identity through the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK). This year, it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to 'predict' drop-outs so that there could be specific interventions. The objective of the drive is to ensure no child, who is eligible to go to school, is left out. The focus this year has gradually shifted from primary to secondary and higher secondary schools. However, the disproportionate number of secondary and higher schools available for children from the economically weaker sections becomes a deterrent. For instance, against the 32,000 primary schools run by the government or municipal bodies, there are just 6,100 government-run or grant-in-aid schools for secondary and higher secondary sections. 'The focus this year is enrolment in Classes 9 and 10. Among the three government schools to be visited by officials on each day of the drive, two are secondary and higher secondary schools and one is primary,' Principal Secretary, Education, Mukesh Kumar, told The Indian Express. As per the Education department records, the drop-out rate of Classes 9 and 10 was 21 per cent in 2023-24 against 23.8 per cent in 2018-19 — a decline of only 2.8 per cent in five years. The reasons range from availability of schools in the neighbourhood, especially in case of girls; parents migrating for work to other districts to children aiding the family income by engaging in skill-based labour. 'After this success (decline in drop out rate in primary classes and increase in enrollment), it was also very necessary to reduce the drop-out rate in Classes 8 and 9. That is why the state government is intensively mapping all students of Class 8 for them to get admission in Class 9 and Class 10 for Class 11 admission through the VSK. Efforts are being made to get all such students admitted in the nearest government or aided secondary schools,' the state government said in a statement issued this week. The state government has set a target of getting 25.75 lakh students enrolled for the 2025-26 academic session. Of these, most (10.56 lakh) are eligible for admission in Class 9, 6.5 lakh for admission to Classes 10 and 11, and 8.75 lakh for admission in Class 1 and Balvatika (equivalent to nursery). Further, the Gujarat State Open School, an initiative to facilitate distance learning for secondary and higher secondary students, was revived this year and rules are being made 'student-friendly', government sources say. Children who dropped out after Class 8 are also being sought out and enrolled in Gujarat State Open School Board. Details of students enrolled in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) are also being integrated with VSK for tracking. As per the state government records reiterated at every education programme and attributed as the 'success' of Shala Praveshotsav, the drop-out rate in Classes 1 to 5 has declined from 20.93 per cent in 2001-02 to 1.07 per cent in 2023-24. Also, the drop-out rate in Classes 1 to 8 was 37.22 per cent in 2001-02, which came down to 2.42 per cent in 2023-24. However, as per the AI-enabled Early Warning System (EWS) data accessed by The Indian Express, the potential dropouts identified for Classes 1-8 for the current academic year is 1.67 lakh from 50.42 lakh — of which 55 per cent are likely to be girl students. In its initial year, the data has been generated for Classes 1 to 8 which will be analysed and replicated for secondary and higher secondary classes, said government sources. As a statewide EWS predictive data of possible drop-outs has been generated for the first time this year, Banaskantha has the highest number at nearly 18,000 students, including a higher percentage for girls — at 60%. With over 15,300 students, Kutch is also among the top districts with the highest number of students who are likely to drop out of school, followed by the tribal district of Dahod and Surat city with nearly 12,000 students each. Ahmedabad city stands at 7,200, Jamnagar has over 6,700, Surendranagar at nearly 6,400, Rajkot with over 5,600, Morbi at over 5,500, Bhavnagar at over 5,600 and Chhota Udepur has nearly 5,200 such students. This was based on data sets recorded by the VSK on parameters like students' attendance, academic performance, behaviour patterns, economic background, migration, parents' mindset, number of children in the family, population, etc. Based on the AI-generated algorithm, such children are being monitored and before they drop-out, schools are informed so that authorities can take preventive actions. 'A sensible use of this data will help not only improve learning levels among children, but also their comprehensive growth. The VSK, which was started in Gujarat, has already been replicated in 17-18 states and funded by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan,' Kumar told this paper. Experts and activists, however, question the lack of transparency in government records. Raising concerns, Sukhdev Patel an education activist from Ahmedabad, told this paper, 'The exercise of Shala Praveshotsav seems like drawing a target around the arrow after it was shot. The enrolment data should be made public and the manner in which it has been arrived at.' At the Pundrasan Government Primary school, CM Patel enrolled 197 children. He also appealed to the members of the School Management Committee to get more actively involved in the functioning of their respective schools. The SMCs were instituted in non-granted schools, as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE), aimed at ensuring community participation in the governance and monitoring of elementary education. However, after it was revealed that a majority of such committees lie either only on paper or are defunct, the Gujarat government directed restructuring these decision-making bodies at government primary schools. As per a Gujarat government notification from 2011, in a 12-member SMC, 75% members should comprise parents of students, with weightage to be given to the economically weaker sections. Among the rest of the members, one should be from the elected wing , one teacher, one person nominated by the parents. One of the objectives of the committee is to seek out eligible children and enrol them in schools from the villages and the neighbourhood. On the reconstitution of SMCs, Principal Secretary Kumar said, 'Till the time we don't nudge them, how will they improve?' The first-ever restructuring of the SMCs across 32,800 government primary schools, since these were formed following the implementation of the Act in Gujarat, was followed by a virtual interaction between Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the members of the SMC in April this year. To identify eligible children to be admitted in Class 1, data from the Health department from 2019 was integrated with the Education department's Child Tracking System (CTS). Further, birth record data from 2023-24 is also used for enrolling children in Balvatika. The TeCHO (Technology for Community Health Operations) app used to track vaccination of children has also been integrated with the CTS application to create pre-enrollment data. These details are then shared along with contact details of parents to the respective schools. VSK is also collecting details of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and of private pre-primary schools from 2023-24. This is used to identify children to be admitted in Balvatika and Class 1 and a list is prepared to ensure 100 per cent enrolment. From 2025-26, to ensure students are enrolled in their nearest government or grant-in-aid schools, primary school principals and CRC co-ordinators will be roped in. The Socio-Economic Review (SER) 2023-24 revealed that the number of primary schools declined by 1,027 in the last five years — from 45,315 (including private schools) in 2019-20 to 44,288 in 2023-24. This reflected in the decline of 7.67 lakh in enrolment in Classes 1 to 8 in primary schools — from 86.14 lakh to 78.47 lakh. While government primary schools in rural areas reportedly increased from 2,225 in 2019-20 to 2,310 in 2023-24, government or municipal bodies run schools in urban areas either closed or merged as they declined from 31,337 to 30,626 during this period. On the other hand, the number of secondary and higher secondary schools increased during the same period, from 12,445 to 13,037, including around 6,100 run by government or grant-in-aid schools. This, however, resulted in a decline in the total enrolment — from 28.67 lakh in 2019-20 to 27.41 lakh in 2023-24. While the total number of secondary and higher secondary schools increased, the number of only-girls secondary and higher secondary schools decreased from 594 to 576 in the last five years. Meanwhile, the drop-out rate in primary education in Gujarat from Class 1 to 5, which stood at 22.3 per cent in 1999-2000, was reduced to 1.04 per cent in 2022-23.
Time of India
27-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Edu dept wants students' evaluation report by Monday, teachers say deadline difficult to meet
Pune: The state education department has set a target for students from Std II to V to achieve at least 75% learning competency under Nipun Bharat programme. But teachers are facing difficulties meeting the June 30 target. Govt schools across the state have been provided with specific action plans for first language and mathematics subjects for students in these grades. Teachers are directed to evaluate students' competencies and submit reports through Vidya Samiksha Kendra by Monday. Schools reopened two weeks ago and teachers said that the deadline was difficult to meet. Director of primary education Sharad Gosavi said, "Teachers and headmasters are required to make regular efforts to help students achieve the expected competency levels. The department expects teachers to utilise all necessary educational resources to provide enjoyable foundational education to students." You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune After imparting the lessons, schools must verify whether students have acquired the expected learning abilities. Zilla parishad school teacher Santosh Jadhav said, "We have just begun school and students are still settling in. Sending their performance reports immediately is a tough task. That is why there is a lag in submissions from several teachers."
