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Forensic
Science University to be set up
in Gandhinagar
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The
Gujarat government has decided to
establish a state-run Forensic Science
University in Gandhinagar. The government
will present a Bill in this regard
during the three-day monsoon session
of the Assembly beginning September
25. The new university will start
functioning from the next academic
year. A senior official in the state
Home Department said on Wednesday
that a state-of-the art building
will be constructed on the 20,000
sq mt land adjacent to the present
Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL)
premises in Sector 9 in Gandhinagar.
The government has sanctioned the
land for the construction of the
university building free of cost.
"An amount of Rs 2 crore has already
been earmarked under the budgetary
head of FSL for the university.
Work on the educational institute
will start soon after the Bill is
passed in the Assembly. By the time
a new building for the university
comes up, it will start functioning
from the existing premises of the
FSL Directorate," the official said.
The university will offer a three-year
B.Sc course and a two-year M.Sc
course in Forensic Science. The
forensic science-related subjects
to be taught at the university include
cyber crimes, ballistic science,
besides physics and chemistry. Initially,
the first batch comprising 25-30
students will be admitted to the
university. The teaching faculty
will be recruited from the State
Directorate, FSL and also other
institutes in the country. FSL Director
J M Vyas told Newsline that the
main objective behind setting up
the university is to meet the increasing
demand for forensic science experts
in Gujarat and elsewhere in the
country. In addition, the university
will create employment opportunities
for youths, especially in the police
department and judiciary, he said.
He added that even serving police
officers will get a chance to study
forensic science at the university.
Meanwhile, sources said there is
a staff shortage of about 30 per
cent staff in the state FSL Directorate
and its four regional labs in Ahmedabad,
Surat, Vadodara and Junagadh. The
government is in the process of
setting up a regional laboratory
in Rajkot, too, they added. "When
the Forensic Science University
becomes fully operational, it will
help solve the present staff crunch,"
sources said.
Courtesy:
www.yahoo.com, September 18, 2008
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Scholarship
for higher education approved
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The
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) today gave its approval for
initiation of the new Programme
"Scholarship for higher Education
(SHE)" a component of "Innovation
in Science Pursuit for Inspired
Research (INSPIRE)" at a total cost
of Rs. 820 crores including Rs.
20 crores as implementation cost
during the 11th Plan period. It
will strengthen the innovation infrastructure
of the country by promoting human
resource development. The "Scholarship
for Higher Education (SHE)" will
be operational from the year 2008-09.
SHE aims to enhance the number of
Attachment of talented youth to
undertake higher education in science
intensive programmes by providing
scholarships and mentoring through
summer attachment to performing
researchers. The main feature of
the scheme is in mentorship support
being planned for every scholar
through INSPIRE scholarship. (INSPIRE
is one such innovative programmes
proposed by the Department of Science
and Technology for attraction of
talent to science. The basic objective
of INSPIRE would be to communicate
to the youth population of the country
the excitements of creative pursuit
of science and attract talent to
the study of science at an early
stage and build the required critical
human resource pool for strengthening
and expanding the Science and Technology
system.
Courtesy:
www.yahoo.com, September 18, 2008
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Cellphones
can be valuable learning tool
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Mobile
phones can be highly distracting
at times, so much so that most school
teachers impose a blanket ban on
their use by pupils in classrooms.
However, Nottingham University (NU)
researchers have come up with new
evidence to suggest that cellphones
can be a powerful learning tool.
Elizabeth Hartnell-Young and colleagues
at NU reached the conclusion after
studying the consequences of permitting
pupils in five secondary schools
to use either their own cellphones
or the new generation of 'smartphones'
in lessons. During the nine-month
experiment that involved 331 pupils
in Cambridgeshire, West Berkshire
and Nottingham schools, 14 to 16-year-olds
used the phones for a variety of
educational purposes. These comprised
creating short movies, setting homework
reminders, recording a teacher reading
a poem, and timing experiments with
the phones' stopwatches. The smartphones,
which could connect to the Internet,
also allowed pupils to access revision
websites, log into the school email
system, or transfer electronic files
between school and home. "Pupils
were often surprised at the thought
that mobile phones could be used
for learning. After their hands-on
experience, almost all pupils said
they had enjoyed the project and
felt more motivated," Hartnell-Young
told the annual conference of the
British Educational Research Association
in Edinburgh Thursday. Some teachers
also had to reassess their views.
"Using this technology gives them
more freedom to express themselves
without needing to be constantly
supervised," said one. Other teachers
found that pupils who lacked confidence
gained most from the project. Increased
temptation to steal phones was one
worry. "I thought, well, four of
these smartphones are going to end
up on eBAY tomorrow," one teacher
said. That fear turned out to be
misplaced. Teachers' unions also
voiced similar fears. "Pupils nowadays
come to school equipped with mobile
phones, MP3 players, and portable
games consoles when teachers would
like them to just bring a pen,"
said Chris Keates, general secretary
of the NASUWT teachers' union.
Courtesy:
www.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
September 13, 2008
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President
Patil to launch a national portal
for teachers
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President
Pratibha Patil will launch a national
portal for teachers here today on
the occasion of Teachers' Day. The
primary purposes of the portal by
the National Knowledge Commission
in partnership with the Azim Premji
Foundation is to build knowledge,
share knowledge and create a vibrant
network of teachers. One of the
important ideas articulated by the
National Curriculum Framework-2005
is that the school curriculum should
be an inclusive space that extends
beyond the conventional curricular
realm of textbooks into the realm
of teaching-learning processes that
enables children to participate
in their own learning and provides
the teacher with the opportunity
to plan according to the pace and
context of the learner. The objectives
of the portal are to provide a forum
for sharing and interaction for
teachers outside the formal training
environment and to support the development
of a knowledge community amongst
teachers. It is a forum to share
best practices and to support the
creation of a body of knowledge
to motivate teachers to access,
apply and add value to existing
knowledge. Another objective is
to strengthen initiatives on teacher
development and to make help available
for professional development of
teachers.
Courtesy:
www.newstrackindia.com, September
05, 2008
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Now,
children can take their siblings
to school
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Girls
who are forced to drop out of school
and to take care of their younger
siblings can now take along their
brothers and sisters to school.
In order to reduce the drop-out
rates and improve the retention
of girls in schools, the government
has decided to allow them to bring
siblings with them in the classrooms.
In a notification sent to all state
governments, the ministry of human
resource development (MHRD) has
asked the states education departments
to attach creches and pre-school
sections (anganwadis and balwadis)
to schools so that girls can participate
in schooling. "Often the girl child
is expected to take care of the
young sibling at home. We have tied
up with Integrated Child Development
Services (ICDS) scheme of the ministry
of woman and child development (WCD)
for this since their anganwadi and
balwadi schemes run in many government
schools. We are encouraging the
younger sibling below six years
to come to school with the elder
sister and also avail of mid-day
meals. The schools must be gender-sensitive
and the girl child must feel welcome
in the school atmosphere," said
RK Rath, secretary, school education,
MHRD. Schools have also been asked
to arrange for toys and other materials
to keep the younger siblings engaged
while the elder sister attends the
classes. In case the youn-ger ones
refuse to be separated from their
elder sister, the teachers would
allow them to sit in the classrooms,
next to their didi. The MHRD official
said this will not only help free
the girls from sibling responsibilities
but also ensure their regular attendance.
The scheme also equips the youn-ger
siblings with pre-school skills.
A study to assess the impact of
the scheme is yet to be conducted.
However, officials feel the results
have started showing as more girls
are now coming to school. Parents
too have no problems sending them
as the meal is free. "Younger children
also develop interest in going to
school if their elder brother or
sister is already in it. Through
the Early Childhood Care and Education
scheme we help these siblings develop
some basic pre-school knowledge
so that it is easy for them to join
the mainstream school when they
are eligible," Rath said. The centre
is paying addition Rs15 lakh per
district for the scheme under the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The schools
have also been told to work out
ways to be flexible in terms of
timing and learning modalities besides,
hiring more female teachers and
providing separate toilets for girls.
Courtesy:
www.dnaindia.com, September 02,
2008
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