LIFE Trust India is conducting a research study on education to understand the external
factors affecting our current programmes. One part of our research includes collecting
daily newspaper articles on education and collating them in the form of snippets, which
cover only the highlights of the article. We believe these snippets can be useful for all the
Members specially working in the areas of education.
Given below is the copy of the same.
Now, ATKT lifeline for SSC, HSC failures
DNA, July 11, 2009

Those students who failed in the SSC and HSC board exams of the Maharashtras
State Board of Education, will now be allowed to keep terms (ATKT) like their
counterparts in university courses.

This will apply for the admission process for the 2009-2010 academic year. This
means 3.64 lakh students, who failed their board exams this year, will be able to
move to a higher class.

This move will however benefit only those students who have failed in a
maximum of two subjects.
Now, students can access answer sheets
DNA, July 11, 2009

State information commissioner Vijay Kuvalekar on Friday ruled that answer
sheets (Photostats) should be made accessible to both SSC and HSC students,
who had appeared for the board examinations, on request.

This is in keeping with section 8 of the Right To Information act (RTI) according
to which answer papers cannot be treated as confidential documents.
ATKT will kill exam stress, say experts
DNA, July 11, 2009


The school education minister’s decision to introduce ATKT for the SSC and
HSC students has divided the cities educationists.
While some say that it will lead to less exam stress some feel that it’s an
indulgence which will lead to a disintegration of quality education.
SC moved on EVMs
DNA, July 11, 2009

NGO Election Watch Group and two electronic engineers on Friday moved the
Supreme Court for action on examining the defects in electronic voting machines
(EVMs) as alleged by BJP veteran leader LK Advani.

The petitioners have sought the setting up of an expert panel to ascertain if EVMs
are indeed tamperproof.
New Era School receives notice from parents
Mumbai Mirror, July 11, 2009


Around 150 parents of students of the New Era School went on an indefinite
hunger strike on Friday, demanding that the management keep the school at
Hughes Road operational, as per an HC order.
The parents had sent the management a contempt of court notice a day earlier.
We do not want a municipal body, say Vasai, Virar villagers
Mumbai Mirror, July 11, 2009

Residents of 53 villages in Vasai and Virar are up in arms against the formation of
the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) as per a recent Government
Resolution (GR) of July 3. Villagers are threatening to stage a protest rally in
Vasai on July 26, and are even planning to file a public interest litigation (PIL) in
the HC.

Angry locals say the VVMC will do nothing for them and would only favour
urban residents.
MLA joins protest against school shift
DNA, July 12, 2009

Local BJP MLA, Mangal Prabhat Lodha has gone on an indefinite hunger strike
to protest against the aditya Birla group’s decision, not to open its school in the
current premises, in Gowalia tank.

The school management has maintained that the school is structurally unsafe
hence they want to shift it to Fort.
He got 27 in maths but will join college
DNA, July 12, 2009

Abdul, son of a mechanic who lives in Antop Hill, failed his Maths paper in this
year’s SSC board examinations.

However the ATKT rule has given him and his family a reason to rejoice.

Among the 3.64 lakh students who will benefit from the scheme, Abdul can't
believe his luck. "I scored 27 in maths and my family has been asking me to look
for a job ever since," said Abdul, who can now complete his graduation. "After
graduation I can get a better job in the future," he said.
New teaching jobs beat recession
Hindustan Times, July 12, 2009

If you are a mid-career professional looking for a teaching break, this economic
downturn may well be the best chance you’ll get.

Several governments are hiring mid-career professionals from various fields as
school teachers, a profession plagued by the absence of academically
accomplished young personnel.
Hindi catches on in Amrikan schools
DNA, July 13, 2009



Uncle Sam is generously funding US schools to teach students foreign languages
deemed vital to its economy and national security. First, it was Chinese and
Arabic, and now there is a great effort to teach Hindi.
A few years ago, Edison, a New York suburb with a bustling Indian population of
doctors, engineers and techies, became one of the first school districts in the US to
use federal money to teach Hindi. Edison received a three-year grant of $897,500
in 2006. Part of the grant was for expanding the Hindi programme to other school
districts.
Besides Edison, nationwide, two other districts, Dallas and Houston in Texas, also
offer Hindi as a foreign language. Edison officials are now in talks with
administrators in Piscataway High School in New Jersey to help them introduce
Hindi next fall.
ATKT students to pay for the 1.50 lakh extra seat
Mumbai Mirror, July 13, 2009

While the state’s decision to introduce the Allowed To Keep Terms (ATKT)
scheme has brought cheer to SSC and HSC students, the government still has the
job of creating over 1.5 lakh extra seats in junior and degree colleges to
accommodate these students. What’s more, these extra seats will come at full cost
to students, which could be as high as Rs 15,000, depending on the college. That’s
because these seats will not be aided by the government.

Also, students who are eligible for admissions under ATKT will not get seats in
reputed colleges. They will mostly get admission in unaided or night colleges.
Admissions will start only after the final admission list (for regular students)
comes out in the first week of August.

The decision to allow the ATKT scheme is applicable from the current academic
year (2009-2010). The scheme will allow students who have failed in a maximum
of two.
Faculty at top institutes await higher pay
Times of India, July 13, 2009

In early February, the Goverdhan Mehta Committee finalised its report on the pay
structure for faculty and staff at central government institutes. But five months on,
there is no news on what became of it.

What's more, while the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Indian Institutes of
Management (IIM) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) had demanded that
faculty members be given incentives for research as well as upgrading their
professional skills, the final report drawn up by Mehta omitted all these
recommendations.
While the revised salary under the Sixth Pay Commission came into force in
August 2008 for central government employees, and later for teaching staff of
universities, faculty members of higher and technical institutes continue to receive
compensation based on the old pay structure.

Hope it is useful for all.
Regards
Poonam A. Lalvani
Managing Trustee
Add: B-1, Neelam Centre, S.K. Ahire Marg, Near Glaxo, Worli, Mumbai - 400 025
Contact: 022-24910287, 022-24910288
Telefax: 022-24910285, Email: empower@lifetrustindia.org
Website: www.lifetrustindia.org