EDUCATION - 2004 - Indian Social Institute

EDUCATION - 2004 

Compiled & Edited By 

K. SAMU 

Human Rights Documentation, 

Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India 

Blaming a book, mob destroys invaluable pages of history (11) 

PUNE, JANUARY 5: POUNCING on what should have been the subject of a literary debate, 

hooligans in Pune today robbed the country of a treasure trove when they ransacked the 

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, home to a large number of rare books, manuscripts and 

priceless articles. Days after forcing historian James Laine to apologise for his-observations on 

the parentage of Maratha warrior king Shivaji — the Oxford University Press had to even recall 

Laine's Shivaji: Hindu king in Islami India — a 200-strong mob, calling itself the Sambhaji Brigade 

of the Maratha Seva Sangh, landed at the Bhandarkar institute this morning and went on the 

rampage. Snapping telephone lines, the mob tore books, rare writings and damaged artefacts 

and several framed paintings and photos. The departments of Mahab-haratiya, manuscripts, 

publication, postgraduate teaching and research bore the brunt of the attack. (Indian Express 

6.1.04) 

Joshi to push education bill in Cabinet (11) 

New Delhi, Jan. 8: Next week the government will come out with a more "practical ' version of the 

compulsory education bill. The draft bill seeks to send every child under 14 to school even if it 

takes some arm-twisting of parents and people who employ children. There were indications on 

Thursday that the Human Resource Development minister Murli Manohar Joshi was some hurry 

to see a real version of the proposed Free and Compulsory Education for Children Bill." If early 

elections are called, Dr Joshi may not be able to introduce the bill in Parliament. But he is keen 

that it gets Cabinet approval at least — and gets listed among the "achievements" of his tenure. 

The minister met senior bureaucrats on Thursday to review suggestions on the draft bill, which 

was made public over two months back. Officials were told to draft a modified bill and send it to 

the state government for their comments as early as next week. The modified draft will 

incorporate suggestions from by state governments, politicians and educationists. Comments in 

the media and on the web will also be taken into account, officials said. (Asian Age 9.1.04) 

‘Her’ replaces ‘Him’ in new education bill (11) 

New Delhi, Jan. 15: The . new version of the Compulsory Education Bill is serious about political 

correctness, at least while referring to young persons. In the old version, the draft-writers resolved 

the old dilemma of referring to a child as him or her by resorting to the slightly awkward phrase 

"him or her." So the first draft made clear that skipping school was okay for a child if there was no 

approved school "within the prescribed distance from his or her residence." In the new draft, there 

is no "him or her" stuff. It does away with the "him," and almost uses just the feminine pronoun for 

a child. For example: "No child shall be denied admission in an approved school located in such 

vicinity of 'her' place of residence as may be prescribed." The modern usage is intentional. In the 

section on definitions of the terms used in the Bill, it is made clear: "the female gender, wherever 

used in pronouns in relation to a child, includes the male." This marks an inversion of the usual 

way the Government of India writes — it is the masculine pronoun which is meant to include the 

feminine. Perhaps the human resource development ministry needs to make the.point. (Asian 

Age 16.1.04) 

Private schools must take poor students: HC (11) 

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on recognised private schools, 

asking them to honour their undertaking to admit poor students against 25 per cent of seats. The 

schools had agreed to do so while receiving land at concessional rates from the Delhi Development 

Authority (DDA). A division Bench comprising Justices B C Patel and B D Ahmed directed 

the Delhi government to find out whether the schools were complying with the undertaking. The 

court was disposing a public interest litigation filed by Social Jurist, a group of lawyers, in May,

2002. Directing the government to file a compliance report within four months, the Bench asked 

the directorate of education to hand over to the DDA a list of erring schools. The DDA will then 

take action against them. Some of the prominent schools that are now under the scanner include 

Modern School (Vasant Vihar), Delhi Public School (Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj, East of Kailash), 

Blue Bells (Kailash Colony), Apeejay (Sheikh Sarai), Cambridge (Rajouri Garden), Cyan Bharti 

(Saket), Laxman Public School (Hauz Khas), J D Tytler School (Munirka) and Green Field Public 

School (Vasant Vihar). The PIL, filed by Ashok Ag-garwal on behalf of Social Jurist, said there are 

1,500 unaided recognised schools in Delhi. More than 1,200 of them were allotted public land at 

throw away prices. The reason was, the PIL said, to help the schools in discharging their social 

obligation by providing free education to children from the weaker sections of society (Times of 

India 21.1.04) 

New education channel, 4 FM stations launched (11) 

New Delhi, Jan. 26: Human resources development minister Murli Manohar Joshi said on 

Monday that the country must prepare for a major increase in demand for places in colleges and 

universities in the coming years. His assessment was based on the projected results of his 

ministry's education-for-all campaign — the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan — aimed at ensuring that 

every child between 6 and 14 completes elementary school by 2010. More children passing out of 

school will put more pressure on the higher education system. "I have created chaos." he said, 

referring to his favourite education scheme and its impact in the future. The country will need 

more facilities for middle-school in the next five or six years, and for higher educiation in about 

four years after that. "If we don't prepare in time, we will fail in dealing with the situation," he said. 

Even the distance-learning facilities available now will not be able to handle the demand. 

He was speaking at the launch of a new education channel on television, and of four 1-M radio 

stations, broadcasting educational programmes. Information and broadcasting minister Ravi 

Shankar Prasad also attended the inauguration. (Asian Age 27.1.04) 

DU, JNU, Jamia teachers’ strike on January 22 (11) 

New Delhi: Classes at all central universities will remain suspended for a day on January 22 due 

to a strike by the teachers. The strike has been called to protest against some new proposals and 

regulations issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The bandh call, given by the 

Federation of Central University Teachers' Association (FEDCUTA) will be followed by teachers 

of DU, JNU and Jamia. The issues at the centre of the controversy are the UGC's recent 

directions on common entrance tests and the "model act" proposed for regulation of universities. 

"UGC's new regulations on common entrance exams are against the universities' autonomy We 

are also against the proposed model act as it will encourage blatant commercialisation of higher 

education," said FEDCUTA secretary, Jaswinder Singh. DU teachers are hoping that students 

and clerical employees will also join the agitation. (Times of India 7.1.04) 

Municipal schools in Gujarat churning out illiterates (11) 

Ahmedabad: Jeetu Thakore, 12, does not know how to read and write. Give him a book and he 

can barely manage to stutter, forget making sense of what he is reading. Jeetu has passed his 

exams and is currently studying in class VI in a municipal school in Ahmedabad. Over 60,000 

primary school students studying in classes III to VII in municipal schools in Gujarat do not know 

their alphabets and numbers and cannot read and write! This revelation has been made by a 

report prepared by the Gujarat Council for Education, Research and Training (GCERT), which 

comes as a strong indictment of the state-funded education system in urban Gujarat. The survey 

was carried out in 1,283 municipal schools in six cities of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, 

Bhavnagar and Jamnagar in December 2003. "Over 4.91 lakh students in these schools were assessed 

for their reading, writing and numerical skills as well as their understanding of the subject 

of which 60,000 were found to be extremely weak in reading, writing and numerical skills," said 

secretary in-charge of GCERT, Bharat Upadhyaya. Interestingly, the GCERT survey report may 

just be the tip of an iceberg as there are indications that the number of school-going illiterates 

may be much higher. (Times of In dia 5.2.04) 

Assam’s education programme for children of militants (11)

GUWAHATI, FEB. 4. The Axom Sarba Siksha Mission, a society under Education Department of 

Assam, is devising a special mechanism for providing education to the children of the militants of 

the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Boroland, who 

have been handed over by the Royal Bhutan Government. The State Home Secretary, B.M. 

Mazumdar, on Tuesday told The Hindu that the mission had been instructed to arrange for the 

education of all those children who were now living with their "combatant" mothers in jails. The 

Royal Bhutan Government handed over 27 children, in the age group of two to 12 years, on 

December 24 following operation "All Clear" in which 30 camps of ULFA, the NDFB and the 

Kamatapur Liberation Organisation were destroyed. The Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, on 

December 30 announced that the Government would take full care of these children and provide 

them better education and health care. The children, accompanied by their mothers and other 

combatant women, were brought to Tamulpur in Nalbari disrict in two buses from Bhutan's 

bordering district Sam-drup Jongkhar, where the Royal Bhutan Army had kept them since 

December 15. (The Hindu 5.2.04) 

Admission of poor students in schools (11) 

NEW DELHI, Feb. 7. — All unaided public schools in the Capital which have failed to admit 

poor students as per their lease agreements in return of getting land at concessional rates are 

in for trouble in the coming days. The Delhi government's education department is planning to 

cancel the recognition or recommend the cancellation of lease of all such unaided schools 

which are found to be violating the agreement. The Delhi education minister, Mr Arvinder 

Singh Lovely, told The Statesman: "Once we have reviewed the reports submitted by all the 

schools, we are going to take stringent action. We are planning to cancel the recognition of all 

such schools which are not complying, or we could take over the schools ourselves." This is not 

all. The education department is also planning to make it mandatory for all such schools that have 

been granted land at subsidised rates to give admission to poor students up to 25 per cent of 

their seats from the next academic session. "We are going to make it mandatory for unaided 

public schools to comply with the agreements signed by them and admit poor students from the 

next academic session," said the minister. (Statesman 8.2.04) 

Few India girls get to complete school (11) 

New Delhi: Here's yet another confirmation of India's poor record in the field of school education. 

The latest South and East Asia regional report of Unesco Institute of Statistics says India has the 

highest number of out-of-school girls in South and East Asia. The report says almost 45 per cent 

of the 28 million out-of-school girls in East and South Asia are from India. They are children who 

are officially of school-going age but do not receive primary education. 

Based on the figures of 2000-2001, the report says in India, only half of the children who 

enter primary school reach class V. The dropout rate is 53 per cent and survival rate is 47 per 

cent, the lowest in South and East Asia. Despite this dismal scenario, public funding in education 

has not risen in India. The report says India spent 4.1 per cent of its GDP on education in 2000- 

2001. Out of the total government expenditure, India spent 12.7 per cent on education. 

Pakistan spent only 1.8 per cent of its GDP on education. Bhutan did better with 5.2 per cent, 

Malaysia spent 6.2 per cent and Iran 4.4 per cent of its GDP on education in 2000-2001. (Times 

of India 10.2.04) 

Cheating a way of life for students in Bihar (11) 

Patna: "There are no students in Intermediate colleges of Bihar; there are only examinees," said 

a senior official of the Bihar State Intermediate Council while reacting to the recent violence in the 

state against measures to stop cheating in the ongoing Intermediate exam. At least two people 

died at Sasaram, over 100 km from here, when the police opened fire at the examinees indulging 

in arson and violence after their six colleagues were expelled for allegedly cheating at an examination 

centre. Several vehicles were set on fire and many government offices and the railway 

station vandalised. Earlier at Biharsharif, 80 km from here, the Inter examinees set ablaze the examination 

hall of Nalanda College there and tried to throw a senior district official in his burning 

vehicle. In fact, over 200 of the 2.43 lakh examinees writing the Inter exam at 243 centres in the 

state have so far been expelled. Alarmed over the ugly manifestation of "might is right" by the

students, Nageshwar Prasad Sharma, chairman of Bihar State Intermediate Council, which 

conducts the Inter exam in the state, regretted that some politicians were trying to derive political 

mileage out of the unrest. Sharma also berated private coaching institutes for the increasing 

tendency among students to clear Intermediate, the minimum eligibility for admission to technical 

courses and also for the post of primary teacher. "Most of these coaching centres, operated by 

organised mafia, promote 'cheating practices' among examinees," he said. (Times of India 

13.2.04) 

Rajasthan to make primary education compulsory (11) 

JAIPUR, FEB. 14. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government in Rajasthan will make primary 

education compulsory for children. A Bill for the purpose would be tabled in the next session of 

the Assembly, the Education Minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari, announced in Ajmer over the weekend. 

Inaugurating a teachers' conference organised by the Rajasthan Shikshak Sangh, Mr. Tiwari 

also announced that the process for appointing 30,000 regular teachers would begin shortly and 

the number of Government middle schools would be increased significantly. Mr. Tiwari called 

upon the teachers to extend cooperation in educating nearly 1.10-crore children between 6 and 

14 years who were still deprived of formal schooling. He said the teachers preventing the dropout 

of students from schools would be felicitated. The Minister said the Rajiv Gandhi golden jubilee 

schools opened by the j previous Congress regime would be j converted into regular schools and 

j 30,000 new schools would be opened i to promote education. Besides, attempts were being 

made to supply text-books free of cost to students till the 12th standard. (The Hindu 15.2.04) 

Stress on environmental education (11) 

NEW DELHI, FEB. 14.Aimed at reviewing the draft syllabus prepared by the National Council of 

Education Research and Training (NCERT) and taking upon issues significant to the introduction 

of environmental education at different stages of school education, a two-day "National 

Consultation Meeting on Environmental Education" ended in the Capital today. 

Over v 60 eminent environmentalists, educationists, nongovernment organisations, representatives 

from various national and State- level organisations and experts working in the area 

of environment from all over India participated in the conference. The conference was organised 

in view of a directive from the Supreme Court to the NCERT to prepare a model syllabus for all 

stages of school education. "The NCERT had initiated the process of syllabus development by 

approaching a large number of experts to seek their comments and views on this subject. The 

present National Consultation meeting was a follow-up of this process," said NCERT officials. At 

the two-day seminar, the major issues discussed about "Environmental Education in Schools" 

included context and concerns curricular policy issues and models content and its organization, 

pedagogical issues and operational implications. (The Hindu 15.2.04) 

Six AIIMS students rusticated (11) 

NEW DELHI, FEB. 17. Tension prevailed at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here on 

Tuesday following rustication of six students who were allegedly part of the group that vandalised 

the Institute Director's office on Monday evening. Also, a First Information Report (FIR) has been 

lodged at the Defence Colony police station and a case of contempt of court would be filed 

against the students, claimed AIIMS officials. The action by the authorities came after the 

students reportedly resorted to violence and vandalism at the Director's office last evening 

following withholding of their semester examination results by the Institute. Speaking to 

newspersons on Tuesday, the AIIMS' acting Deputy Director of Administration, Mayank Sharma, 

defended the action taken by the Institute and said, "The Supreme Court had in its rulings ratified 

the need for 75 per cent attendance and we have only been trying to implement it. While things 

went on well till September 2003, the students then refused to answer the roll call. On Monday, 

the students came to meet the Director, P. Venugopal, about the same, but things turned violent 

and they vandalised public property. Also, five security guards received minor injuries in the 

altercation that ensued." Mr. Sharma said cases had been registered against the students for 

assaulting and injuring government officials on duty, violating court orders, damaging government 

property and obstructing government officers from discharging their duties. (The Hindu 18.2.04)

Anger against profound illiteracy (11) 

Ahmedabad, Feb. 17: The shocking revelations of a state government survey that most students 

of class IV, V and VI in AMC schools do not know to read or write has angered top municipal 

officials. It is learnt that municipal commissioner R K Tripathi recently lambasted the administrator 

of AMC school board N. N. Kureshi for low standards. Sources in the AMC said that though the 

corporation spends crore of rupees, the municipal school board is not able to show results with 

education standards being abysmally low. The school board officials said they do not know the 

exact number of students who are no! able to read or write at this stage. However, they said such 

.students are in large number in each and every class of four to sixth. Vice-president of the school 

board Jagdish Bhavsar said we are aware of the problem of municipal schools. However, this is a 

slate-wide problem and it also persists in private schools, he added. The state government has 

launched vagle abhiyan two weeks ago to identify these students all over the state. The AMC 

schools have also been included in it, informed Mr Bhavsar. (Asian Age 18.2.04) 

JNU students protest cultural policing (11) 

NEW DELHI, FEB. 19. Protesting against the "authoritarian attitude" of Jawaharlal Nehru 

University administration regarding the celebration of hostel nights, the Jawaharlal Nehru 

University Students' Union held a demonstration on the campus here today. While the final 

decision on the issue is yet to be taken, Sabarmati Hostel's cultural night celebration planned for 

Thursday evening has been given the green signal. "This is like cultural policing. How can they 

tell us that we can't celebrate in a particular manner? Students in this campus will decide on their 

own form of celebrations and cultural expressions and no attempts to interfere in this right will be 

tolerated. This is a very authoritarian attitude," said president, JNUSU, Rohit, amid strong 

sloganeering. Earlier, JNU administration had declared its unwillingness to spend University 

funds for hostel nights, regarded by students as a part of JNU's tradition. While most of the funds 

come through selling coupons, a certain sum is also sanctioned from the Vice-Chancellor's office 

for the celebrations. According to sources, the Vice-Chancellor, G.K. Chadha, had refused to 

release these funds for the hostel nights on the grounds that they would rather spend the money 

on welfare activities. (The Hindu 20.2.04) 

Schools may agree on 10% quota (11) 

New Delhi: The Delhi government is likely to settle on 10 per cent reservation of seats in public 

schools for underprivileged students. The government is also considering funding the books and 

uniforms for students admitted under the free seat category. According to Delhi education 

minister, Arvinder Singh Lovely, the government is scrutinising land lease documents provided by 

the schools. Meetings are also on with public schools and a final decision is likely to be announced 

next week. "Discussions are on with schools and the percentage of seats to be reserved 

will be finalised very soon. Also, whatever figure is agreed upon, will of course have to be 

approved by the court," said Lovely Public schools have asked the government to reserve 

between 5 to 10 per cent seats. Though officials are tightlipped over the matter, sources indicate 

that a figure of 10 per cent is likely to . be agreed upon. "The figure is not 15 per cent as stated by 

some media reports," said Lovely Another concern being raised by schools is the funding of 

books and uniforms for students admitted under the free seat category Sources say that this worry 

for schools is also likely to be taken care of by the government. (Times of India 20.2.04) 

Schools’ meet stresses on educating mases (11) 

New Delhi: School education in the city is abuzz with activity The stir over integration of 

underprivileged students in the mainstream was reflected at the annual meeting of Delhi's largest 

body of public schools, National Progressive Schools' Conference (NPSC). The 31st annual 

conference, which was inaugurated on Friday, is based on "shifting paradigms of education” The 

CBSE chairman, Ashok Ganguly, was felicitated at the meeting. The concept of equity in 

education was raised by prominent scientist professor M G K Menon in his keynote address. 

'Achieving 100 percent literacy is vital for the country to become developed. We need to take 

education to the masses," said Menon. (Times of India 21.2.04) 

SC order on IIMs makes Dr Joshi feel great (11)

New Delhi: THE SUPREME Court's disposal of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Friday for 

quashing the management school fee-cut order left Minister of Human Resource., Development 

Murli Manohar Joshi feeling "great". "I feel great. My stand has been vindicated an elated Dr 

Joshi told reporters here. Having drawn a lot of flak for his decision to slash fees charged by the 

six prestigious Indian Institutes of Management — from Rs 150,000 to Rs 30,000 — Dr Joshi 

felt that the Supreme Court move had exposed those "sponsoring propaganda" against the 

ministry. A bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S H Kapadia rejected the 

PIL filed by advocate Sandeep Parekh and two IIM graduates Saiket Sengupta and Anish 

Mathew challenging the Government's decision to reduce the fee. The HRD Minister could not 

keep the sting out of his voice when he hammered on how the "sponsored" campaign against 

the ministry had been exposed. "Many people with vested interests have been opposing the 

decision to slash the fees. These people have been trying to prevent the public from benefiting 

from getting a higher education," said Dr Joshi. (Pioneer 28.2.04) 

Inform court of denial of primary education: Chief Justice (11) 

TIRUNELVELI, FEB. 27. The Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice B. Subhashan Reddy, 

today appealed to officials and the public to ensure that primary education was imparted to every 

child and inform the court, if they came across any instance of denial of elementary education to 

less-privileged children. "A postcard or a telegram explaining the denial of primary education to 

children below 14 is enough. We are there to restore the fundamental right." Justice Mr. 

Subhashan Reddy was speaking at a function here to mark the inauguration of a new building for 

'Satta Udhavi Maiyam" (Legal Aid Centre) constructed in the court complex at Rs. 15 lakhs, 

allotted from the senior counsel and former MP, P.H. Pandian's Local Area Development Fund, 

and the laying of the foundation stone for a law library, to be established tin an outlay of Rs. 9 

lakhs, also allocated by Mr. Pandian. Referring to the title of Palayamkottai — 'The Oxford of 

South India' — Mr. Justice Subhashan Reddy said the literacy rate in the district, which now 

stood at only 73 per cent, should reach cent per cent. "While the neighbouring Kanyakumari and 

Tuticorin districts have a literacy rate of 88 and 81 per cent, Tirunelveli district, which boasts of 

reputed educational institutions, should also become a role-model." (The Hindu 28.2.04) 

1 st March 

Riot-hit Muslims turn to education (11) 

Ahmedabad, February 29: A DIRECT fallout of the 2002 riots in Gujarat is the growing awareness 

among Muslims about the need for modern education. As a result of this, several new schools 

have come up in Ahmedabad's minority-populated areas in the last two years. Simultaneously, 

enrolment in already existing schools in minority-dominated areas like Juhapura, Shah Alam, 

Dani Limda, Shahpur, Behrampura have gone up. Intellectuals and NGO volunteers working 

among the community acknowledge the phenomenon. "The awakening among the community 

about the need for quality education started after the 1992-93 riots," said Prof Abid Shamsi. That 

was the time Muslims started realising that they needed good education in order to dispel misconceptions 

about the community, he said. But nothing much had been done about it till the 2002 

riots that shook the community "The 2002 riots gave a fresh impetus to the move for better 

education. Hence many Muslim groups have come forward to spread awareness among the 

community," said Dr Hanif Lakdawala of the Institute for Initiatives in Education. The institute has 

organised many workshops for Muslims, stressing on subjects like education, employment, social 

reforms and the danger of minority communalism. (Hindustan Times 1.3.04) 

3 rd March 

Valley literacy target hits volunteer block (11) 

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2: FOR the first time in 15 years, the Human Resource Development 

Ministry was hopeful of introducing the adult literacy scheme in Jammu and Kashmir. But the 

scheme put together in the 80s, involving around 27,000 volunteers, will now have to be modified 

to employing paid teachers, the Kashmir government feels. HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi 

hoped there will be no bottlenecks in implementing the scheme now that peace has returned to 

the Valley. The ministry had been sending officials to Srinagar to hold meetings with bureaucrats.

The Central officials brought up a strategy to mobilise 27,000 educated volunteers who would go 

around and teach the estimated eight lakh unlettered adults in the districts of Srinagar, Kupwara, 

Baramulla, Anantnag, Badgam and Puhvama. J&K officials, however, sounded less optimistic 

about tracking down these volunteers. And now, even CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has told the 

ministry that it would be extremely difficult to find these volunteers and expect them to bring the 

adults to school and then teach them. The CM believes it would be more practical to employ 

teachers. HRD officials have communicated the demand to Joshi but the funds involved in 

employing teachers could prove a snag. (Indian Express 3.3.04) 

6 th March 

HC order forces Govt to act on seats for poor students (11) 

New Delhi: DELHI GOVERNMENT is going to formulate a policy to implement the Delhi High 

Court's order asking it to admit 25 per cent poor students in their respective schools from the new 

academic session. Talking to The Pioneer, the Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said the 

government is going to formulate the terms and conditions which will decide the yardstick of the 

poor students and what criteria should be adopted for them. He said that the government is also 

considering the financial aspect in this regard and how poor students would be benefltted. 

Mr Lovely said that it was government's duty to ensure the compliance of Delhi High Court's 

directions in this regard. He also said that he had held a several meetings with senior officials of 

education departments, education secretary Geeta Sagar and public schools' principals about the 

formulation of such a policy. The policy would be finalised by Monday or Tuesday, he added. 

He categorically said that public schools will have to comply with the Delhi High Court's order 

from the new academic session. (Pioneer 6.3.04) 

9 th March 

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan: HRD Ministry keeping strict vigil (11) 

New Delhi: THE MINISTRY of Human Resource Development is tightening the monitoring 

system of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) scheme, since progress has not been 

satisfactory in many States due to administrative apathy. In a meeting of the ministry officials with 

the chief financial officers of different States, certain changes to increase effectiveness of the 

SSA were discussed. "'We are tightening the monitoring of audit systems. Earlier, it was done 

every six months but now a quarterly check will be done. We want that maximum utilisations of 

funds takes place to make implementation more effective," said a ministry officials. The HRD 

Ministiy plans to increase the scope of the audit. "The audit will be done at the State, district, 

block and village level," said sources. The scheme has been performing well in some States like 

Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. Even Uttar Pradesh has started recruitment of 

teachers and the scheme has reported progress. But the recent visits by the officials in the 

elementary education in Rajasthan and Maharashtra have been dissatisfactory. (Pioneer 

9.3.04) 

12 th March 

Govt to IIM: Fee cut political agenda, keep off or else (11) 

AHMEDABAD, NEW DELHI, MARCH 11: IN what raises serious questions over the 

Government's motives, HRD Ministry's Joint Secretary V S Pandey, the official who signed the 

fee-cut order, told the IIM Ahmedabad Society on Tuesday that the fee cut was a "political 

agenda" and openly dared the institute to come in the Government's way. This assumes added 

significance as the application seeking an "undertaking" from the Government on IIMs' autonomy. 

At the Tuesday meeting, not only did Pandey threaten to supersede or dismiss the society, he 

warned: "The Government has the power to take over the management of the institution. Do you 

want that? You are forcing us to do so. (Indian Express 12.3.04) 

14 th March 

NCERT deliberates on environment lessons for school students (11) 

NEW DELHI, MARCH 13: A NATIONAL Consultation Meeting on Environmental Education was 

organised by the NCERT today to deliberate upon issues of implementing Environment Education 

at different stages of schooling. Over 70 experts, including Directors of State Councils of

Educational Research and Training, State Institutes of Education, Chairmen of School Boards 

and academics participated in the meeting and put forth their point of view. ; The meeting, 

organised by NCERT on the directives of the " Supreme Court, discussed is-- sues such as 

scheme of studies in relation to environmental education, weightage to be given to the subject, 

time to be devoted by the schools on this topic, method of evaluation, reformulation of existing 

teacher education. (Indian Express 14.3.04) 

23 rd March 

Higher education needs higher allocation (11) 

CHENNAI, MARCH 22. The Union Planning Commission Member and noted educationist, K. 

Venkatasubrama-nian, is the proud winner of the Professor M.V.Pylee Award (Distinguished 

Academician of India 2003} instituted by Pylee, former Vice-Chancellor of Cochin University of 

Science and Technology (CUSAT). The award, comprising Rs.2 lakhs in cash and a citation, is 

the latest honour conferred on Dr. Venkatasubramanian who rose from a district education officer 

to founder-Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry Central University. A couple of days before receiving 

the award this past week, Prof. KVS (as he is popularly known) voiced his concern over higher 

education and public health systems, which are part of his portfolio. In a chat with The Hindu, he 

said a new trade regime, explosion of technology and a media revolution were all imposing an unprecedented 

change on higher education, which was stagnating due to "paucity of funds". 

The Kothari Commission in 1965 wanted 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product allocated for 

education. Today, the allocation was not even 2 per cent. And 85 per cent of the allocation was 

spent on staff salary and perks. Less than 15 per cent went for development. The total allocation 

must be 7 per cent if India was to turn a real knowledge-superpower, he said. The suggestions of 

Prof. KVS (who co-authored a task force report on making India a knowledge superpower) 

include: remove the deadwood, reduce the number of non-teaching posts, change the norms for 

funding universities, monitor rigorously academic and other performances of institutions and allot 

accordingly. (Hindu 23.3.04) 

25 th March 

Only 1/4 th funds for education plan utilized (11) 

New Delhi, March 24: Centre's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, this financial year shows a big gap 

between plans and their implementation. Only a fourth of the total amount approved for the 

nationwide education project was actually spent by the states. Throughout the year, the human 

resource development ministry has showcased its education-for-all campaign, which aims to send 

every 6-14 year-old into school. It has reported a major drop in the number of out-of-school 

children. But going by the statistics just released by the ministry, it might have not done that well 

in improving the quality of education. The unutilised funds would have gone into constructing new 

schools, building additional classrooms and toilets, recruitment of teachers, free text books and 

grants for training teachers and maintaining schools. (Asian Age 25.3.04) 

2 nd April 

Will fresh grant help primary education? (11) 

New Delhi: Whether the recently-sanctioned $ 1 billion grant from the World Bank, EU and DFID 

will help improve primary education in India is doubtful if one goes by the record of public expenditure 

on elementary-level schooling. Ever since HRD ministry started the Sarva Shiksha 

Abhiyan (SSA) — its flagship programme on elementary education in 2001, it has been 

complaining of lack of funds. But whatever the Centre has allocated to the states for its 

implementation has largely remained unutilised. In 2003-04, the states were only able to spend 

67 % of the funds allocated under SSA. The Centre allocated Rs 2,732 crore. The HRD ministry 

has so far released Rs 2,362 crore to the states which in turn have spent only Rs 1,848 crore. 

The worst performers are Jharkhand, Himachal, Oris-sa, Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal. 

Delhi spent just 25%, Himachal 35% and Jharkhand, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa between 

42 and 47%. Even as the ministry promises to spend the $ 1 billion grant to provide 

elementary education to all the 80 lakh out-of-school children, the targets set under SSA for 

2003-2004 have gone amiss. (Times of India 2.4.04)

8 th April 

20% reservation likely in schools (11) 

New Delhi: The Delhi government is in the process of finalising details on the reservation of seats 

for students from economically weaker sections in public schools. According to sources, the 

government has decided on enforcing 20% reservation in all schools. Officials say schools will 

have to follow the order irrespective of the reservation percentage specified in their land lease 

documents. The quota will be applicable for all the annual admissions that take place to all the 

classes in a school. Authorities say that this will be communicated officially to schools as soon 

as the final decision is cleared, which may take about a week. "We all have a responsibility 

towards the society. The government is committed to the cause and will be finalising the course 

of action very soon, said education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely. (Times of India 8.4.04) 

10 th April 

UGC plan for univs: you raise money and we control you (11) 

NEW DELHI, APRIL 9: HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi wants to subsidise the IIMs and says 

no, this doesn't mean interference. If you thought that was anti-reform, take this. Now his Ministry 

and the Universities Grants Commission have come up with a draft guideline for universities 

across the country, most of them less fancy and much poorer than the IIMs: raise your own 

money and the Council of Ministers has the right to interfere. When contacted, V N Rajasekharan 

Pillai, Vice-Chairman of the UGC, said that that the purpose of the guidelines was to provoke 

discussions. "Nothing can be considered final as yet," he said. What discussion will 

happen is anybody's guess since although suggestions are open till the end of the year, the 

questionnaire sent with the draft strangely does not seek opinion on the two key issues: raising 

money and interference. While the draft guideline urges universities to ensure "mobilisation of 

financial resources to become self-sufficient," it brazenly opens the door to in-your-face political 

meddling. For, the guidelines suggest that for the first time the Council of Ministers of the Centre 

or the state will have a hand in running the universities through the Visitor. (Indian Express 

10.4.04) 

20 th April 

SFI leader hits out at Centre’s education policy (11) 

KANNUR, APRIL 19. The Students Federation of India (SFI) all India president, K.K. Ragesh, has 

said that the BJP-led NDA Government's claims about 'shining' in all fields, including the education 

sector, conceal its real agenda of commercialising and communalising the education system. 

Speaking at a press conference here today, Mr. Ragesh said that the country had nearly five 

crore children in the age group of 6-14 who were denied admissions to schools across the country. 

The Thapas Majumdar Committee, appointed by the Centre, had recommended to the 

Government to earmark Rs. 1,36,922 crores over a period of 10 years to ensure admission to 

these children. The Government's claim of 60 per cent achievement of this target by spending 

Rs. 16,000 crores and ensuring admission of three crore children in schools was not true, he 

said. As per the Human Resources Development Ministry report, only Rs. 5,788.76 crores had so 

far been spent for the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan project. Referring to the Central Government's claim 

that there had been a rise in the number of professional colleges, Mr. Ragesh said that the 

Government had slashed the budgetary allocation for higher education over the years. The 

allocation of Rs. 2164.7 crores in 1994 had dropped to Rs. 1749.4 crores in 2003-2004, Mr. Ragesh 

said. (The Hindu 20.4.04) 

22 nd April 

Seats for poor: List schools, orders court (11) 

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21: THE Delhi High Court today directed the Delhi Government to publish 

the list of unaided private schools who had been allotted land at concessional rates on the 

condition that they would reserve 25 per cent seats for the weaker sections of the society. 

A bench, comprising Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice B.D.Ahmed, also directed the government 

to indicate in an advertisement the percentage of admission allotted by each school to 

children coming from poor families. Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said: "We 

have no problems with the order. We will disclose the names of the schools that are not following

the guidelines within a week." The court's order came on an application filed by the Social Jurists, 

a lawyers group, pointing that the schools were exploiting the situation against public interest and 

violating the lease conditions. Social Jurists's counsel Ashok Aggarwal had submitted that the 

government's inaction amounted to violation of fundamental rights of poor students, universal 

declaration of human rights (1948) and the 1989 UN convention on rights of the child. 

On the last date of hearing, the high court had asked the Delhi Government to investigate 

whether 1,500 such schools were complying with the order. (Indian Express 22.4.04) 

23 rd April 

Court endorses NCERT’s model syllabus (11) 

NEW DELHI, APRIL 22. The Supreme Court today endorsed a model syllabus prepared by the 

National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT), introducing environmental 

studies as a compulsory subject from class one to 12. A Bench consisting of Justice N. Santosh 

Hegde and Justice B. P. Singh, while giving its approval to the NCERT's proposal, appointed it as 

the nodal agency to monitor its implementation. The Bench was informed that the NCERT 

prepared the syllabus after consulting over 500 institutions, State governments, the Central 

Pollution Control Board, experts and NGOs. Students from class one to eight will be taught about 

a clean environment as part of social science, while classes nine to 12 will have environmental 

study as an additional regular subject, the marks for which will be counted in the final 

examination. It was submitted that no State government had objected to the model syllabus. The 

Bench, however, said States could submit their suggestions to the court by July 13. In December 

last, the court had directed all the States and educational agencies to introduce environment as a 

compulsory subject in all classes up to the higher secondary level from the academic year 2004- 

05. (The Hindu 23.4.04) 

NCERT syllabus on environment study approved (11) 

New Delhi, April 22: The model syllabus for environment studies drawn up by the National 

Council for Education Research and Training was approved by the Supreme Court on Thursday. 

Environment studies has been made a compulsory subject upto Class 12 by the Court. A bench 

comprising Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Justice B.P. Sirigh, gave the approval to the model 

syllabus drawn up by NCERT. The bench also appointed the NCERT as the nodal agency to 

monitor the implementation of environment education upto the higher secondary level across the 

country. After giving its approval to the model syllabus, the court also asked the states to put 

forward suggestions, if any, for improving the model syllabus. They can come up with 

suggestions by July 13, the court directed. The NCERT has put together the syllabus after 

consulting over 500 institutions, state governments, non-governmental organisations and experts 

from the field. Environment would be taught as part of the general science subject upto Class 8. 

For students of Classes 9 to 12, environment will be an independent additional subject. (Indian 

Express 23.4.04) 

24 th April 

Paper leak traced to CBSE office (11) 

New Delhi: The crime branch of Delhi Police on Friday named Hemant Sharma, a CBSE employee, 

as the 'source' who leaked the CBSE-PMT paper to Ranjeet Verma, the main accused in 

the paper leak case. The police on Friday also arrested a manager with a coaching institute, 

Sachdeva New FT College, for buying the question papers from Sharma. Sharma, who worked 

as a computer assistant with the CBSE controller of examinations, Pavneh Kumar, was arrested 

on Thursday afternoon. "The accused was a good technician, but he used his skills for a 

destructive purpose," said CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly. (times of India 24.4.04) 

25 th April 

Education week goes by unnoticed, thanks to polls (11) 

New Delhi, April 24: Unesco's worldwide education-for-all week ended on Saturday, with the 

human resources development ministry making what some would say was just token fuss over it. 

In part, they blame the elections. The "national-level" function to mark the Unesco week was held 

here on Friday. Union elementary education secretary Kumud Bansal was the chief guest. Had

HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi not been out campaigning, he might have inaugurated the 

week, officials speculate. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan — India's own programme for 

universalisation of primary education — happens to be Mr Joshi's pet project. Only last 

November, the ministry hosted an international Unesco conference successfully lobbied for a big 

$500 million loan from a World Bank-led consortium to help finance the campaign for the next 

four years. At Friday's function, the ministry said, 400 children participated in art, creative writing 

and other competitions. Earlier in the week, a voluntary organisation — taking its cue from the 

real-life elections — organised children into an exercise in which they cast "votes for education" in 

street-side ballot boxes. (Asian Age 25.4.04) 

27 th April 

20% seats to be reserved for poor in city’s private schools (11) 

New Delhi, April 26: Now it will be mandatory for all private schools in the capital to give 20 per 

cent reservation to the economically weaker sections people at the time of admission in all 

classes. However, those schools, who were allotted land at throw away price by the DDA, will 

have to give admission to poor students as per the agreement. This . decision of the government 

will be notified in a day or two. While confirming this decision, Delhi chief minister Ms Sheila 

Dikshit told The Asian Age, "a decision has been taken following the high court order. Now it will 

be mandatory for private schools in the capital to give 20 per cent reservation to the economically 

weaker sections people at the time of admission. It will be applicable from the coming academic 

session, the city’s chief minister added. Recently, the Delhi high court gave strong directions to 

the Delhi government to publish in newspapers the list of un-aided private schools, who failed to 

discharge the obligation of admitting a fixed percentage of children from economically weaker 

sections. (Asian Age 27.4.04) 

28 th April 

Curb commercialisation of education, says SC (11) 

New Delhi: Striving to curb commercialisation of education by private schools in Delhi, the 

Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the authorities concerned to verify whether the educational institutions 

were complying with various conditions, such as imparting free education to poor 

students imposed on them, while allotting them land at concessional rates A three-judge Bench 

of Chief Justice V N Khare, Justices S B Sinha and S H Kapadia by a 2:1 majority judgment 

dismissed the appeals by almost all the public schools, thus challenging a high court order which 

had empowered the government to intervene in cases of schools' excess fees. In its October 

1998 judgment, the HC had provided a methodology for fixing of fees, in which consultation with 

representatives of the parents was mandatory. However, the court had said that if thereafter the 

government found the fees to be excessive, it could intervene in the matter and the schools could 

approach a statutory committee for redressal of their grievances. The majority verdict by Khare 

and Kapadia ordered the education director to check the land allotment letters of all public 

schools and inquire whether they were admitting underprivileged students. (Times of India 

28.4.040) 

30 th April 

Parents want schools to refund donations (11) 

New Delhi, April 29: Welcoming the Supreme Court's guidelines to prevent commercialisation of 

education as an "appropriate step to save the parents," Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh on 

Thursday demanded immediate withdrawal of fee hike by schools in the capital. 

"Details of fee hike during the last five years should be called for and checked and arbitrary 

increase be arranged to be refunded to all the aggrieved parents," Delhi Abhibhavak 

Mahasangh president Vijender Kumar Gupta said in a release here. The Supreme Court had on 

Tuesday set stringent guidelines to prevent commercialisation of education by private schools in 

Delhi and directed the authorities to verify whether schools were adhering to the conditions linked 

to allotment of land to them at concessional rates by the government. A three-judge bench of the 

Supreme Court had dismissed the petitions filed by almost all public schools in Delhi, challenging 

a Delhi high court order asking the government to intervene in cases of excess charging of fees 

by them. (Asian Age 30.4.04)

5 TH May 

Quota for poor:: At least one school falls in line (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 4: FIVE days after the Delhi government's education department released a 

list of 144 public schools which have been defaulting on providing reservations to underprivileged 

students, the Indian School, which figures on the list, announced that applications for 

underprivileged students would open for the current session from May 17. Most school authorities 

are, however, only professing an inability to act immediately on the order — which also called for 

enforcing a 20 per cent quota. Almost 55 per cent of Delhi's public schools have been notified. 

Indian School is planning to add another section to its current student body — from nursery to 

standard five; its principal, Poonam Chopra, said: "When school opens after summer vacation on 

July 5, we plan to have the new section in place — depending on the response to the notice." 

While the infrastructure provided to the new batches will remain the same, Chopra added: 

Initially, we will start a Hindi section because it will be difficult to contain these children to English 

medium fully. As part of the larger plan, we are drafting a new curriculum and next year we plan 

to go ahead in a big way." (Indian Express 5.5.04) 

NCERT gears up to counter text books piracy (11) 

New Delhi: If you thought piracy was limited to only movie CDs, you need to take a closer look at 

your school text book. If missing pages, printing errors and poor paper quality leave you 

frustrated, then you may just be using a pirated version of the prescribed text. Plagued by 

rampant book piracy, the National Council of Research Education and Training (NCERT), now 

seems to be gearing up to tackle the menace head on. "Fake publishers replicate our books using 

inferior material and push them into the market by offering greater discounts. Retailers are 

also a part of the nexus and they push pirated books to students as they get a hefty commission," 

said NCERT head of publications, Puran Chand. The council is now planning to counter book 

piracy by strengthening its distribution network. While the number of distributors has been 

increased from 160 to 386, two more distribution centres have also been opened. The new 

centres are located at Ranchi and Guwahati. Another step being taken is the introduction of a 

water mark on each page of an NCERT text book. Officials say though watermarks had been 

used earlier as well, they weren't always present on every book. "A strong network means our 

books reach markets faster than copied versions," added Chand. The council is expected to print 

more than six crore books this year. Officials say piracy is more common in books for classes IX 

to XII as they are printed mostly in two colours. (Times of India 5.5.04) 

6 th May 

Introduction of Vedic astrology courses in varsities upheld (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 5. The Supreme Court today dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) filed by 

a scientist and two others challenging the University Grants Commission's move to introduce 

'Vedic astrology' (jyotir vigyan) courses in the Indian universities. A Bench, comprising the Chief 

Justice, S. Rajendra Babu and Justice G.P. Mathur, rejected the SLP which was directed against 

the April 2001 judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court declining to entertain a writ petition. 

The petitioners, P.M. Bhargava, scientist, K. Subash Chandra Reddy and Chandana Chakrabarti, 

had in their writ petition questioned the decision of the UGC in according permission to the 

universities for starting graduate, post-graduate and research courses in jyotir vigyan. They had 

contended that the guidelines issued by the UGC were totally irrational, as Vedic astrology could 

not be held to see the unforeseen. They submitted that as a pseudoscience, astrology was 

considered to be diametrically opposed to the findings and theories of modern Western science. 

The High Court dismissed the petition holding that it could not interfere in the policy decision of 

the Government unless it was found to be contrary to the law or made on extraneous 

considerations. (The Hindu 6.5.04) 

7 th May 

SC notice to Centre on leak of quesTION PAPERS (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 6. The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre, the Human 

Resource Development Ministry, the University Grants Commission, the Central Board of

Secondary Education, the Union Public Service Commission and the Central Bureau of 

Investigation (CBI) on a petition seeking a thorough probe into the recent leakage of question 

papers in various parts of the country. The notice was issued by a Bench, consisting of Justice 

S.N. Variava and Justice H.K. Sema, on a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate R.K. 

Gupta. He contended that at least 13 papers had been leaked in the last 12 months. This had 

shaken the confidence of the youth in the examination system, besides demoralising them. The 

petitioner said such incidents pointed to the alarming situation in the field of education and 

caused frustration among the deserving candidates. The leak of question papers of the premedical 

examination April 11 showed that the authorities had not learnt any lesson from the 

incident the previous year and taken any remedial measure. (The Hindu 7.5.04) 

8 th May 

Interview issue: Govt told to inform schools (11) 

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the directorate of education to issue a 

public notice in national newspapers, informing private schools about a petition against the 

current practice of forcing children and their parents to face interview for admission in nursery, 

lower KG and upper KG. Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice R C Jain said the notice should be 

issued with an intention of apprising schools about the case. This, the Bench said, will enable the 

schools to approach the court and forward their arguments. Although the petition has been filed 

against one school, Montfort, the court was of the view that since the final order would affect 

several schools across the city, the latter should be given an opportunity to be heard. 

The court has already issued notices to Montfort School, its principal and the directorate of 

education. It will now hear the case on May 21. Some parents filed a petition before the Bench of 

two judges, after a single Bench this year, rejected their plea to ban interview of kids and their 

parents. (Times of India 8.5.04) 

13 th May 

Public schools directed to admit poor students (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 12. Making its intentions clear that there would be no climb down on the 20 

per cent quota for poor students in public and unaided schools, the Delhi Government has 

warned that any violation of this provision would lead to withdrawal of recognition or stoppage of 

aid to the erring schools. It has also warned against arbitrary fee increase on the plea of grant of 

free education to students belonging to weaker sections of society. The new system comes into 

force from May 1. In a circular issued to all the public schools across the Capital, the Directorate 

of Education has made it clear that no school would refuse the application for admission from any 

student belonging to the weaker sections of society. At the same time, it has been made clear 

that there should be no increase in the fees, funds and charges for other students on the plea of 

granting free education to poor students. All public schools have been directed to submit the 

enrolment of students as on April 30 and the fee structure schedule. "I will be visiting some of the 

public schools for inspection in the coming days. I will also hold a meeting with federation of these 

schools to ensure smooth compliance of these orders. However, any school not adhering to these 

provisions would face punitive action including de-recognition," warned the Delhi Education 

Minister, Arvinder Singh Lovely. (Hindu 13.5.04) 

15 th May 

Papa cooks in SCERT gender-bender (11) 

New Delhi, May 14: The issue of "gender sensitisation" is now set to get its due place in the 

young minds studying in government-run, government-aided and municipal schools in the capital. 

The 50 textbooks for school students up to Class 8, launched by the State Council of Educational 

Research and Training in the new academic session, have been written keeping in mind the issue 

of "gender sensitisation." Particularly, 'the books for Class 6 to Class 8 . gender perspective, 

making it the first of its kind effort in the country at the primary and middle-school level. SCERT 

director Janaki Rajan said the textbooks sought to make education more gender-friendly. She 

said gender disparity is a mindset that can be changed only through quality education that 

naturally propagates equality without repeatedly raising a hue and cry about the rights of the girl 

child. While gender sensitivity is subtly apparent in subjects like mathematics and science books,

it is in civics that one gets to see the "presence of the female element" in abundance. (Asian Age 

15.5.04) 

16 th May 

De-saffronise school books: Academics (11) 

New Delhi, May 15: REVERSAL, REPAIR, reassessment and review are the much-repeated 

words in the academic community's recommendations for the new government's education policy. 

Also being sought is an immediate assessment of the damage to the institutions and to the 

education policy during in the last six years, and undoing the damage. "It is like coming to a town 

after it has been hit by an earthquake. First, the damage done has to be assessed and then steps 

have to be taken to undo the damage," says Prof Krishna Kumar of the Central Institute of Education, 

Delhi University The first concern seems to be saffronisation of school curriculum that the 

academics want reversed immediately, especially the use of history textbooks as an instrument of 

communal propaganda. Curricular reforms are needed with greater empowerment of the state 

and regional authorities within a national curricular framework, stresses Kumar. Former head of 

the Social Sciences department in NCERT, Arjun Dev, feels the academic nature of the NCERT 

has been destroyed. "It no longer comprises academicians but people who implement an 

ideology. In fact, most appointments to academic institutions... consisted of people who would 

follow the ideological agenda of the BJP or those who would agree to implement their agenda. 

Those appointments ought to be reviewed," says Dev. (Hindustan Times 16.5.04) 

20 th May 

CBSE cuts down chemistry syllabus for Classes XI, XII (11) 

New Delhi: Chemistry students of Classes XI and XII are in for a surprise this year. The Central 

Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to reduce the curriculum load by deleting 

certain topics from the syllabus for the March 2005 examination. The decision was taken after 

reservations were expressed about the extra burden put on students by the New National Council 

of Education Research and Training (NCERT) books. CBSE has come out with a circular listing 

topics from the syllabus which will be non-evaluative for next year’s exam . The decision has 

been taken after holding a series of orientation programmes and workshops with teachers. Study 

of science should be a pleasure and not a burden on the students, said director (academics) G. 

Balasubramanian. The bulk of changes at the Class XII level relate to the matter present in blue 

and green boxes in the NCERT’s text book. (Times of India 20.5.04) 

21 st May 

Poor education leads to dropouts (11) 

New Delhi, May 20: "We do not want classes in tents. It distracts us while studying," says Savita, 

a member of Bal Panchayat. She was echoing the voice of thousands of youth across the 

country, whom she had met in the last six months during several interaction sessions to highlight 

the problems faced by adolescents. Speaking at a press conference on the eve of a three-day 

national consultation entitled "Young People: Towards a healthy future" to begin from Friday, 

Savita said the poor quality education was leading to an increase in dropouts particularly girls. 

On drug abuse, another member said, "Nobody knows better than us, what it means to grow up 

in an environment where different is of substance abuse, from tobacco to inhaling toxic 

substances, is so easily available for young people." The consultation will address youth-related 

issues of health, particularly reproductive and sexual health, and rights and development. The 

idea is to develop a strong and vibrant network of youth, locally and internationally, to bring 

together their diverse viewpoints related to the issue. The aim will be to improve policies and 

programmes at the national and state levels in order to replicate proven strategies. Mr Bruno 

Oudmayer, country director of Plan India, welcomed the 10th Five-Year Plan initiatives for making 

adolescent concerns as a priority issue. With adolescent in the 10-19 years numbering 230 

million, it's high time that their concerns merit serious attention. (Asian Age 21.5.04) 

23 rd MAY 

De-saffronisation high on new HRD ministry agenda (11)

New Delhi, May 22: The new human resources development minister might have one part of his 

work cut out for him: "desaffronisation" of school text-books. But the decision to roll back another 

controversial decision of the previous government — the big IlMs fee-cut — could take some 

deliberation. The school-books controversy is hinted at in the draft common minimum programme 

for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance which says, "The UFA will take immediate steps 

to reverse the trend of communalisation of education that had set in the past five years." It is an 

apparent reference to the changes in NCERT text-books, which the then Opposition felt sneaked 

in the Sangh Parivar's view of history-Former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi also drew flak 

for slashing the annual fee at the six Indian Institutes of Management. The 80 per cent fee-cut 

was seen as the thin end of the wedge: Dr Joshi, the IIMs said, was out to erode the autonomy of 

these world-class management schools by first tinkering with their fee structure. But rolling back 

Dr Joshi's populist decision — taken when the elections were round the corner — may yet prove 

problematic. The Marxist parties, now big players at the Centre, had largely kept aloof from this 

controversy: they probably found it hard to criticise something which, on the face of it at least, 

was meant to give poorer students access to quality technical education. (Asian Age 23.5.04) 

25 th May 

133 private schools fail to give seats to poor (11) 

New Delhi, May 24: Delhi government has forwarded for action to the DDA and land and 

development officer a list of erring un-aided recognised private schools who were allotted land at 

throwaway prices on the condition of giving 25 per cent seats, to poor students and grant them 

freeship but failed to do so. In a compliance report filed in the court, director of education 

Rajendra Kumar said as many as 133 such schools failed to comply with the land allotment 

conditions and their names have been handed over to the two land alloting agencies for action, a 

division bench of chief justice B.C. Patel and justice B.D. Ahmed had on January ordered the 

directorate of education to give copies of the report to the DDA which will take action against 

"erring" schools within four months. The court also ordered the directorate to frame rules with 

regard to those schools which were to adhere to the rules framed by the city government in this 

regard and disposed of the petition. (Asian Age 25.5.04) 

Arjun Singh begins with top tangles: IIMs, NCERT (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 24: THE National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) 

curriculum and the Indian Institute of Managements fee cut, two of the biggest controversies that 

have plagued the Human Resource Ministry in recent years, are first up on the new minister's 

itinerary. Arjun Singh wants a meeting with DM directors later this week. And tomorrow, he has 

convened a meeting with NCERT officials. Controversial NCERT director J.S.Rajput is expected 

to attend the meeting. Singh has made it clear that he would not be "starting with prejudices" and 

that even if there is "detoxification" there would no "witchhunt". Singh said he would go through 

the Shunglu committee report and find out if it could provide any backdrop \ for discussions with 

the IIM directors. "I am always ready for dialogue," said Singh, implying that he would try to 

dissipate the animosity which had developed between the IIMs and his predecessor Murali 

Manohar Joshi's bureaucrats. The IIMs had suspected that the bureaucrats wanted to use the 

Shunglu report essentially to exercise their control over the IIMs. In their first meeting with Singh, 

bureaucrats apparently tried to convince him about the primacy of the Shunglu report. Later, 

Singh wondered aloud before reporters, "...but money should not be wasted." The minister 

reiterated that there would be no assault on IIM autonomy and said, "I will have to understand the 

rationale behind the fee cuts." (Indian Express 25.5.04) 

26 th May 

15 'unpopular' subjects axed from TN syllabus (11) 

CHENNAI.MAY25: FIFTEEN 'unpopular' subjects including four languages will soon be dropped 

from the Higher Secondary School curriculum in Tamil Nadu. The state School Education 

Department recently issued an order notifying the government's decision to do away with the 

subjects for which there was not much demand. According to the order, the Language papers — 

Gujarati, Persian, German and Latin — will be scrapped from the school curriculum "since the 

number of candidates appearing for these papers is less than 50. Eleven other subjects —

Ayurveda, Psychology, Drawing and Painting, Sociology, Foundation Science, Siddha, Indian 

Music,'Western Music, Logic, Advanced English and Philosophy — will be dropped from the list of 

subjects for Higher Secondary classes due to poor demand. However, Advanced Tamil "shall be 

retained as one of the optional subject in Group III and IV," the order said. The Department has 

decided to introduce Computer Science as one of the subject from IX standard and later extend it 

from VI to VIII standard. The authorities have also decided to introduce science experiments for 

classes IX and X. One period per week will be allotted for practicals. (Indian Express 26.5.04) 

Delhi takes the lead in 'de-saffronisation' (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 25. Even before the new Manmohan Singh Government at the Centre could 

initiate steps for proposed "detoxification" of textbooks at the national level, the Sheila Dikshit 

Government here in Delhi has taken the lead in de-saffronisation of textbooks meant for children 

studying in schools across the Capital. The Directorate of Education in collaboration with the 

State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has introduced 47 new textbooks 

in various subjects rejecting the old ones issued by the National Council of Educational Research 

and Training (NCERT). The new textbooks, already being distributed in schools, would be out in 

the market before the summer vacation ends on June 30. These textbooks are meant for children 

studying in Class I to VIII after which the course prescribed by the Central Board of 

Secondary Education applies. "We were not in favour of introducing the NCERT textbooks as 

they contained distorted history. We did not want to pollute the minds of young students with false 

historical facts and therefore the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, instructed that Delhi should come 

out with its own textbooks for these classes," explains the Delhi Education Minister, Arvinder 

Singh Lovely. According to the Minister, work to translate and print these textbooks in Urdu has 

begun. "Under the directions of the Chief Minister, it had also been decided to introduce English 

language and grammar books in primary schools of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi," he 

added. (The Hindu 26.5.04) 

27 th May 

Rajasthan to introduce NCERT syllabus (11) 

JAIPUR, MAY 26. The Rajasthan Government has decided to introduce the syllabus of the 

National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in all Government schools from 

the primary section onward in the new academic session beginning in July this year. English will 

be taught as a compulsory subject from the first standard for the first time in the State. 

Announcing the decision here this evening, the State Education Minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari, said 

the new books on the NCERT pattern had been published by the State Government at a lesser 

cost. The books will be provided free of cost to all students up to the middle level and to the 

specified categories at the secondary level. As part of the NCERT curriculum, the subjects such 

as disaster management, road safety, human rights, fundamental duties of citizens, consumer 

protection and participation in democratic process will be introduced to raise the standard of 

schools to that of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Mr. Tiwari said the subjects 

other than those listed in the NCERT syllabus, such as work experience and health and physical 

education, would be continued. English will find place in the school curricula in all classes for the 

first time. The State Government decided to bring about the significant change in the pattern of 

education following a report submitted recently by the B.L. Jaiman Committee appointed on 

January 1 this year. (The Hindu 27.5.04) 

28 th May 

Desaffronising education will not be easy (11) 

New Delhi, May 27: FOR HRD minister Arjun Singh, sorting out the IIM fee-cut controversy may 

prove easier than 'desaffronising' textbooks. Senior ministry officials say that Singh's 

predecessor, Murli Manohar Joshi, left no loopholes and reversing his decisions will be no easy 

task. And as the decision concerns the education of lakhs of schoolchildren across India — and 

some in Kendriya Vidyalayas abroad — textbooks cannot be desaffronised overnight. At best, a 

few "very objectionable portions" can be subtly altered with due process. After meeting the Delhi 

chief minister on Thursday, Singh said that though a number of suggestions had been received 

from academicians regarding changes required in NCERT textbooks, "no action" would be taken

y his ministry "which puts the students to undue inconvenience". "For one, there was a court 

case on the matter, when in the tenure of Murli Manohar Joshi, the NCBRT altered the 

curriculum," said a senior ministry official. "In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that the books 

were okay And now those books are in place in thousands of schools across the country. Even 

many state boards have just simply adopted the NCERT curriculum." ; Officials believe that to 

alter the curriculum, Singh will first have to constitute the Central Advisory Board on Education 

(CASE) — which has been out of existence since 1994. (Hindustan Times 28.5.04) 

Sheila presents 'authentic textbooks to Arjun (11) 

NEW DELHI, MAY 27. Having received accolades from various sections of society for taking the 

lead in printing "authentic" textbooks depicting "true historic facts", the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila 

Dikshit, today presented a set of these books to the new Union Human Resources Development 

Minister, Arjun Singh. Mr. Singh immediately asked officials of his Ministry to examine the 

feasibility of introducing the Delhi concept at the national level. The Delhi Chief Minister had taken 

the lead in "de-saffronisation" of the education system in the Capital's government schools last 

year and rejected the textbooks brought out by the National Council of Educational Research and 

Training (NCERT) and asked the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) 

to come out with new textbooks that did not distort history and had more content about Delhi and 

its rich history and heritage. During her 20-minute meeting with Mr. Arjun Singh today, the Chief 

Minister apprised him of the steps taken by the Delhi Government to put an end to the efforts of 

the previous NDA Government "to pollute the minds of the students by presenting wrong facts 

about historic events". (The Hindu 28.5.04) 

29 th May 

Education cess will bite some more than others (11) 

New Delhi: Finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the burden of the proposed cess on 

all Central taxes for funding education will not be put on people who can't bear it. "It will fall on 

those who can take it." Chidambaram justifed the cess, proposed in the UFA government's 

Common Minimum Programme, saying it was for the "laudable purpose of fund ing education of 

our children and grandchil dren". But he prom ised, "We will apply the doctrine of proportionality 

in distributing the burden of the cess and the burden will not fall on people who cannot bear it." 

The FM described the CMP as "a bold declaration on reforms" that "reaffirms every reform 

initiative we have taken since 1991". (Times of India 29.5.04) 

31 st May 

TN school alleges bias in UK varsities (11) 

London, May 30: An international school based in Tamil Nadu has claimed that overseas 

students are being given preferential treatment over British-born applicants by British universities. 

Alastair Reid, the principal of Hebron boarding school, believes it is the first evidence that admissions 

officers are favouring overseas students because of the extra money universities make by 

taking them. The school in India says that this year its non-British students have been showered 

with offers of places from universities, even though in some cases their predicted grades would 

not normally gain them a place. By contrast, British-born students who were predicted A grades 

had received rejections from most of the British universities to which they applied. Reid, whose 

360-pupil school caters for the children of many British voluntary workers in India, said: "This year 

we have been badly let down. Our universities increasingly see only the glint of money at the 

expense of talent. Many of our 'overseas applicants,' who pay overseas fees, have received a 

barrel load of offers, even though, as it happens, their grades thus far have been significantly 

inferior." Overseas students are charged the full cost of a course, which ranges between £8,000 

and £20,000 a year depending on their subject, while British students have to pay just £1,125. 

Although the UK government contributes between £3,484 and £13,936 towards the cost of British 

undergraduates, universities claim that they will continue to lose money on such students even 

after the introduction of top-up fees of £3,000 in 2006. (Asian Age 31.7.04) 

1 ST June 

Arjun promises to balance books (11)

London: Accusing the previous government of "tampering" with education, HRD minister Arjun 

Singh has said the new government will undo the damage. "Unfortunately, during the last four to 

five years, there has been a large-scale tampering with the syllabi. Therefore, it is natural we 

would have to take a decision on the syllabi after a very careful consideration only. The review 

would be done in the next eight to ten days," Singh said participating in a BBC Hindi special programme 

Aapki Boat BBC Ke Saath broadcast on Sunday night. He said the new government 

would stop attempts made by the previous government to "saffronise" education. "During the 

previous government's tenure, various chief ministers had raised the syllabi issue in the Central 

Advisory Board on Education (CABE). Instead of addressing the objections, NBA government 

chose to make CABE a defunct body; its meeting has not taken place during last four years," 

Singh said, adding that he was committed to restoring the CABE, so that the "matters which used 

to be raised democratically, are once again done in the same manner." (Times of India 1.6.04) 

SC: State language can be made compulsory in minority schools (11) 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that a state government can make learning of its 

regional language compulsory even in linguistic minority schools in order to strengthen national 

integration and cement the gap between different cultural segments in society. If a government 

decided to make the state language, like Marathi in this case, a compulsory subject in the school 

syllabi of a Gujarati school, it cannot be said to be violative of the fundamental right of the 

minority community to establish and administer schools. It was appropriate for the linguistic 

minority in a state to learn the regional language, the court said. "The resistance to learn the 

regional language will lead to alienation from mainstream resulting in linguistic fragmentation 

within the state, which is an anathema to national integration," a Bench of Chief Justice S 

Rajendra Babu, Justices A R Lakshmanan and G P Mathur said. The Bench rejected an appeal 

by a Maharashtra Gujarati school challenging the state's decision to make learning Marathi 

mandatory in its schools. (Times of India 1.6.04) 

2 nd June 

New SCERT texts are vote bank history: Delhi BJP (11) 

New Delhi, June 1: Referring to the recently-introduced SCERT history books by. the Delhi 

government as vote bank history," Delhi BJP chief Harshvardhan demanded their "immediate" 

withdrawal. Threatening an agitation otherwise, he charged that the Communists were making an 

attempt to seize control of the academic centres with Congress' assistance. Claiming that despite 

the SCERT books being qualitatively "inferior" to those published by NCERT under former Prime 

Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's dispensation, he charged that Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit 

was using political force to get them accepted. "After the UPA came to the power at the Centre 

Ms Dikshit lost no time in rushing to the newly-appointed HRD minister, Mr Arjun Singh, to secure 

legitimacy for her move," he said on Tuesday. (Asian Age 2.6.04) 

Arjun: No reason in file for IIM fee cut (11) 

New Delhi, June 1: Union human resources development minister Arjun Singh said he had gone 

through the files relating to the decision to reduce the fees of the IIMs by the last government and 

did not find a single reason in the files to justify this." In an interview to The Asian Age, Mr Singh 

said the fee cut appeared to be "an action out of the blue, to get at these people, who were not 

amenable to certain diktats, in a manner that would hurt them most. Now that has recoiled." The 

minister said the primary concern of his ministry will be to assure the IIMs that their autonomy will 

be respected and safeguarded. He said he sat through the meetings with the IIM heads on the 

controversial fee issue "and made no suggestions" from his end so that they felt free to discuss 

the issues at hand. He said all were agreed on a plan of action and whatever decision is taken 

will be in keeping with the autonomous nature of these institutes. He said the approach had been 

ad hoc and ham-handed and this had to be corrected. The minister was optimistic that the June 

meeting would finally resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the IIMs. (Asian Age 2.6.04) 

BJP sees red in de-saffronisation (11)

NEW DELHI, JUNE 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party today alleged that the Congress has "connived 

with the Communists" to impose a totally biased, anti-national and distorted perspective of India's 

history on students of the Capital that would soon spread to other parts of the country as well. 

In its first reaction to the Sheila Dikshit Government's decision to "de-saffronise" school textbooks 

in the Capital, the Delhi BJP president, Harsh Vardhan, claimed that the Congress-Communist 

alliance was trying to distort historical facts for the sake of "vote bank politics". These books were 

presented by the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, to the new Union Human Resources and 

Development Minister, Arjun Singh, on May 27. Referring to the textbooks prepared by the State 

Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Dr. Vardhan alleged that these carried 

the stamp of Marxism. He also distributed to the media a report prepared by an "unknown group 

of scholars" on SCERT textbooks. Pleading the case for continuing with National Council of 

Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks, Dr. Vardhan warned the Delhi 

Government that the party would launch an agitation to protect "true" history. "The vote bank 

history of the Congress-Communist alliance would be resisted in every nook and cranny of the 

country," he said. Claiming that the SCERT books were qualitatively inferior to the NCERT's, he 

alleged that these were full of factual errors. "The culture of rubbishing India's ancient glory, 

falsification of facts, undermining important events and over-emphasising on trivia, which 

characterises the history textbooks of West Bengal and Kerala, is being sought to be introduced 

in Delhi and the nation as a whole." (The Hindu 2.6.04) 

3 rd June 

NCERT: Another Joshi man on his way out (11) 

New Delhi, June 2: WANTED: A new director for the NCERT. Candidate must have no saffron 

leanings and should be able to figure out how best to yet again revamp the school curriculum, 

without generating controversy. Close on the heels of the removal of a senior bureaucrat on 

Tuesday, the HRD ministry announced on Wednesday that it was looking for a new NCERT 

director. A spokesman said a search committee has been formed under the chairmanship of 

former UGC chief Prof. Yash Pal. The official reason is that present director Dr J.S. Rajput's term 

ends on July 13. Ministry officials, however, said this was clearly part of HRD minister Arjun 

Singh's "detoxification" agenda. "He (Rajput) would have certainly got an extension had the NDA 

government returned to power," a senior official said. Rajput was at the centre of controversy 

after the NCERT revamped its curriculum for schools. (Hindustan Times 3.6.04) 

4 TH June 

SCERT books are full of errors (11) 

New Delhi, June 3: Q: If an Indian marries a foreigner, do you think the latter should be given 

status of Indian citizen or not? Explain., Q: What sort of rights can a foreigner get in India? 

Elaborate., Q: Also, ask your teachers about the conditions in which a citizen can lose "her" 

citizenship? These are the questions that all students of Class 7 studying in Delhi government-run 

schools will be compelled to answer from the current academic session. These questions have 

been raised in the third chapter of civic science of Class 7. The chapter talks about citizenship. 

The chapter talks extensively on the difference between a foreigner and a citizen of the country. 

Experts believe that by raising these questions, efforts have been made to distort the very 

concept of citizenship. The chapter talks more about the difference between an Indian and a 

foreigner, instead of discussing what is the meaning of the word citizen. Not only that, the book is 

full of grammatical errors. All references are made in feminine gender. Right from the beginning, 

the way chapters have been written, it seems that the writers are discussing about female citizens 

only. The books published by the State Council for Educational Research and Training will be 

distributed among all the students of the Delhi government-run schools. (Asian Age 4.6.04) 

6 th June 

Compulsory teaching of regional language not a violation: Court (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 5. The Supreme Court has held that a policy decision of a State that all 

schools must compulsorily teach the regional language of the State is not violative of the minority 

rights. A Bench, consisting of the Chief Justice S. Rajendra Babu (since retired), Justice A.R. 

Lakshmanan and Justice G.P. Mathur, in a recent ruling said that "while living in a different State,

it is only appropriate for the linguistic minority to learn the regional language. The resistance to 

learn the regional language will lead to alienation from the mainstream of life resulting in linguistic 

fragmentation within the State, which is an anathema to national integration." Learning of different 

languages would bridge the cultural barriers and contribute to cultural integration. "It is not 

possible to accept the proposition that the people living in a particular State cannot be asked to 

study the regional language," the Bench said dismissing a petition. The writ petition filed by Usha 

Mehta stems from a policy decision of the Maharashtra Government whereby the study of Marati 

language was made compulsory in schools in the State. As a result, the English medium schools 

run by Gujarati linguistic minorities were compelled to teach four languages — Hindi, English, 

Marati and the mother tongue Gujarati — as against the accepted "three language formula." 

The petitioner questioned the constitutional validity of the imposition of Marati language as 

compulsory study in the minority schools on the ground that it violated Articles 29 (1) and 30 (1) 

(rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions). (Hindu 6.6.04) 

Lok Jumbish workers want jobs in literacy campaign (11) 

JAIPUR, JUNE 6. Workers of Lok Jumbish -- a project launched by the Rajasthan Government 

for universalisation of elementary education in 1992 --have demanded that they be absorbed into 

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan after the stipulated scrapping of Lok Jumbish on June 30 next. The State 

Government reportedly is in favour of discontinuing the project after its third phase ends on June 

30. Though a Prospective Staff Pattern meeting of the Education Department had made a 

recommendation last year to shift the Lok Jumbish staff to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, no decision 

has been taken on the issue. The Lok Jumbish Karmachari Union has pointed out that workers 

have completed 6 to 12 years of contract service and their dismissal at this stage would deprive 

them of their livelihood. "Most of the 948 workers will not be able to find job anywhere else and 

their families would be adversely affected," said D.K. Chhangani, president of the union. The Lok 

Jumbish workers from all over the State staged a demonstration at Statue Circle, near the State 

Secretariat, here on Thursday and demanded that either the project be continued or they be 

absorbed into the total literacy campaign with which they had been "informally" associated in the 

13 districts, where Lok Jumbish was in force, for the past two years. (Hindu 7.6.04) 

10 th June 

City BJP at Kalam door over textbooks (11) 

New Delhi, June 9: A delegation of Delhi BJP leaders met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on 

Wednesday, seeking the withdrawal of the newly-introduced textbooks of the Delhi State Council 

Educational Research and Training for government schools. The BJP delegation alleged that the 

new SCERT textbooks for the government schools up to Class 8 were filled with "numerous 

factual and typographical errors." They also held that the books had been written under the 

influence of the Left. The BJP wants the SCERT textbooks to be replaced by the NCERT books 

that were being used earlier. Putting forth their arguments before the President, the delegation 

requested him to direct the Delhi government to withdraw the SCERT books. After the meeting, 

Delhi BJP chief Harshvardhan said not only were there factual and typographical errors, the 

SCERT books are also more expensive than the NCERT ones. "These books are shoddily written 

and reveal the poor scholarship at work," Dr Harshvardhan said. (Asian Age 10.6.04) 

12 th June 

Reverse 'Joshi legacy, ‘ say academics (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 11. Unhappy with the United Progressive Alliance (UFA) Government for not 

beginning the task of "de-saffronising" educational institutions and withdrawing the controversial 

textbooks introduced by the National Democratic Alliance (NBA), academics today demanded 

early reversal of the "Murli Manohar Joshi legacy". The academics, in particular, demanded the 

withdrawal of the history textbooks introduced by the National Council of Educational Research & 

Training (NCERT) at the earliest so that they are not in circulation for another year. With a view to 

mounting pressure in this regard on the new Human Resource Development Minister, Arjun 

Singh, academics, historians and lawyers came together this afternoon under the SAHMAT 

banner. Prabhat Patnaik of Jawaharlal Nehru University said what the academics were 

demanding was not just a question of overturning the decision of a Government they did not

agree with. "These books were not written professionally and not based on the basic values of 

the Constitution," he said, adding that there was a need to free academic activity, including 

textbook writing from political interference. Historian Aditya Mukherjee said that while there were 

many errors in the textbooks, a matter of equal concern was the bias that had been brought in the 

presentation. "Communalism is not just another bias. But it is like racism or anti-Semitism. 

Removal of the communal bias is the civilisational and Constitutional imperative of the 

Government." (The Hindu 12.6.04) 

13 th June 

Committee to make 'quick review' of history textbooks (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 12. The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry today decided 

not to withdraw the history textbooks of the National Council of Educational Research and 

Training (NCERT) as of now and has, instead, set up a three-member committee of eminent 

historians to do a "quick review" of the books. Late this evening, the Ministry announced that 

since "these textbooks have been mostly printed for the current year and in a substantial number 

of schools teaching has already started based on these books," it would be "impractical to 

withdraw these books at this stage and replace them with more appropriate books without 

causing dislocation in the studies of millions of students." Still, working on the premise that this 

"impracticability" should not result in children "learning either communal views or distorted facts of 

history," the Ministry decided to order a quick review of the books by a panel of "eminent historians 

of impeccable credentials." Their brief will be to suggest what needs to be done in the short 

term and "if they so recommend", the Government will direct NCERT and the Central Board of 

Secondary Education to issue appropriate directions to the teachers to "transact the curriculum 

as per those recommendations." (Hindu 13.6.04) 

16 th June 

Writer’s block may hit HRD detox plans (11) 

New Delhi: The HRD ministry's plan to "detoxify" school education by making deletions and additions 

in NCERT history textbooks, reworked during former HRD minister M M Joshi's "saffron" 

tenure, may run into some legal fine print. An NCERT rule which clearly states that making 

changes in books is not permissible without the consent of authors may prove to be a serious 

hurdle in the way of the proposed revision of texts, leaving the authorities with little option but to 

scrap the books. At the moment, authors of the present set of textbooks are hopeful that the 

newly-constituted panel to review their books will give them a chance to explain their work. But 

should this not happen, or if the authors are unhappy over the changes, they may well exercise 

the option to move court. Prof Settar, one of the three members in the review committee for textbooks, 

told The Times of India: "I hope NCERT has some rules to allow such changes. But if 

deletions and additions to existing books invite legal problems, the panel may recommend scrapping 

of books." (Times of India 16.6.04) 

Government detoxifying education: Arjun Singh (11) 

SHILLONG, JUNE 15. In its bid to undo the "saffronisation" of education initiated by the previous 

NDA regime, the present Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has 

started a "detoxifying" process, the Union Human Resources Development Minister, Arjun Singh, 

said today. "The process got under way with the setting up of a three-member panel of eminent 

educationists of the country three days ago. Mr. Singh told reporters here. We are not desaffronising 

education but detoxifying it. The panel was asked to look into the issue and give 

reports by 15-20 days, he said. (Hindu 16.6.04) 

17 th June 

Independent panel to review SCERT books (11) 

New Delhi: In a scenario where textbooks change with government, the Delhi State Council of 

Educational Research and Training (SCERT) wants to increase the longevity of its recentlypublished 

school texts by getting an endorsement from an "independent panel". It has engaged 

the Ratan Tata Trust, to be assisted by Oxford University professors, to review its books. This is 

the first time in the country that a private agency and professors from a foreign university have

een engaged to review the school books. Experts from the Ratan Tata Trust, along with Jean 

Aichison, from department of linguistics, and Teresa Smith, from department of social policy, 

Oxford, will visit Delhi schools to assess the response of students and teachers to the new books 

and suggest revisions and changes, if any. The panel will review all the textbooks, including 

English, Hindi, Maths and History. SCERT promises to incorporate all the changes recommended 

by the panel when it reprints books next year. The first feedback is expected in October. The Indradhanush 

series of Hindi-medium textbooks prepared by SCERT were recently prescribed in all 

Delhi government and Municipal Corporation-run schools. For all subjects, these books are for 

students from Class I to VIII. "We don't want any political party or government to raise fingers at 

us and say our books are n (Times of India 17.6.04) 

Politicians pocket 50% college fees in Mumbai (11) 

Mumbai, June 16: The engineering colleges owned mostly by politicians, have spent the fees 

collected "From students on every-thing except education. A perusal of the balance sheets of 

some of these institutions reveals that at least 50 per cent of the fees collected from students was 

used to pay the rent and maintenance of the college buildings. The colleges charge Rs 60,000 as 

a fee per student but only half the amount goes into creating better educational facilities for them. 

The Asian Age, on June 12 had reported on these institutions turning into profit making centres. 

The All India Federation of University and Colleges Organisation in its recent report has 

castigated these institutions on several counts including shortage of teachers. The K.B.P college 

of engineering at Satara, owned by the NCP leader and Union minister for food and agriculture 

Sharad Pawar, charges a fee of Rs 60,000 from each student. But the cost incurred by the 

college for providing education to one student is only Rs 23,764. A part of the balance amount is 

spent on paying rent and maintenance charge of the college building. Interestingly, the building is 

owned by the management and hence no amount is paid as rent. (Asian Age 17.6.04) 

Three men and your child’s history book (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 16: LET'S not change school textbooks every five years, please." This is the 

refrain of the three historians appointed by the HRD ministry to suggest what should be done to 

NCERT's controversial history textbooks. In fact, one of them, Prof S. Settar, scholar of ancient 

history and the S. Radhakrishnan Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies 

in Bangalore, says he's not going to "pre-judge" anything and so does not know, for sure, "if 

changes at all would be needed." HRD Minister Arjun Singh's choice of the three panel members—Settar, 

Prof Barun De and Prof J S Grewal—has befuddled the Left which has been 

clamouring not just for a rewrite but for "withdrawal" of all existing NCERT books. Even followers 

of former Minister Murli Manohar Joshi's camp have not hit out at any of the three. Reason: none 

in the panel is among the usual suspects of "Marxist historians." What has helped is that none is 

from New Delhi where the line between academia and politics gets more blurred than anywhere 

else. (Indian Express 17.6.04) 

18 th June 

NCERT changes hue from saffron to red (11) 

New Delhi: Banned in the NCERT during Murli Manohar Joshi's tenure as HRD minister, Leftists 

are now returning to the research council. On Thursday, the new HRD minister, who is also 

president of the NCERT executive council, nominated four new members. Of the four, one was a 

CPM member till last month, while another was at the forefront of protests against Joshi's 

"saffronisation" of history books. Historian Mridula Mukherjee, professor of education in Delhi 

University Anita Rampal, poet Chandrakant Deotale and scientist M P Parmeswaran are now part 

of the executive council which governs NCERT. All decisions regarding NCERT are approved by 

this committee. (Times of India 18.6.04) 

Saffron sees red in books for schools (11) 

New Delhi/Lucknow: It is "saffron” Murli Manohar Joshi calling Arjun Singh red? Former HRD 

minister M M Joshi, charged with "communalising" education during his tenure, hit back at the 

new minister Arjun Singh accusing him of "communistising" school books. Irked with Singh who is 

trying to undo Joshi's ministerial task, Joshi said: "The UPA government seems to be bent upon

handing over higher education to market forces and commercialising it. Changes made in the 

textbooks were based on historical facts. I challenge the new government to point out anomalies." 

(Times of India 18.6.04) 

Arjun wants to prepare a minority report now (11) 

New Delhi: After IIMs and NCERT, it is human resourse development minister Arjun Singh's turn 

to hear out the minority educational institutions. The ministry is planning to organise a high-level 

meeting, possibly next week, of minority institutions affiliated to it mainly to discuss their grouses 

and setting up of a Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, as promised in the UPA's 

Common Minimum Programme. Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, which had 

been upset by former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi's insistence on forgoing their entrance 

exam and hold a common test for entry to professional courses, are likely to be invited to this 

meeting. Following the Supreme Court judgment in the T M A Pai case, AMU and Jamia along 

with all other universities were told last year to go in for a single common entrance exam for entry 

to professional courses like MBA and MCA. Both institutions resisted the order and went ahead 

with their own exam this year. They claimed they enjoyed certain autonomy as they were created 

by Acts of Parliament, had a minority status and could not be ordered around by the HRD ministry 

on certain issues like admissions and examinations. Ministry sources said this issue is likely to 

figure in the meeting. The setting up of a Commission for Minority Educational Institutions is also 

likely to be taken up at the meeting. In the CMP, the UPA government has promised to amend 

the Constitution to establish such a commission. Through this body, minority professional institutions 

will be affiliated to central universities. Also on the agenda is the CMP's promise to promote 

modern and technical education among the minority communities. Sources said next week's 

meeting will be the first move by the new government to discuss this issue. Besides, the minister 

may also review ongoing schemes for the minorities, mainly modernisation of madarasas, promotion 

of Urdu and Punjabi languages. (Times of India 18.6.04) 

20 th June 

History textbooks: Leave ‘em alone please (11) 

New Delhi: History textbooks seem to have become a political football with ministers changing 

them around at will. But what about the people who actually use them? The teachers and the 

students? Isn't all this chopping and changing disruptive? And what do schools make of this 

political interference? Some are quite supportive. Says Bluebells School principal Suman Kumar, 

who has also taught history: "It is a big relief. I think what the HRD ministry is doing is bringing 

history back." Kumar says the new NCERT textbooks were damaging as "portions of history were 

deleted, sequential details done way with." Agrees St Mary's School principal Annie Koshi. "We 

were quite unhappy as details like Gandhi's assassin and his party affiliation were not there in the 

textbooks. Other facts were distorted." "Why glorify the past culture without talking about evils like 

caste, sati, social stigmas and other problems? History can teach students to tackle with issues in 

the present, but that is not possible with the new books, says H.S. Bhalla, who teaches history at 

Mother’s International School. (Times of India 20.6.04) 

22 nd June 

Inquiry into NCERT appointments (11) 

New Delhi, June 21: THE HRD Ministry on Monday gave additional charge of the post of 

secretary to the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) to deputy 

secretary Vivek Bharadwaj and ordered an inquiry by additional secretary Kumud Bansal into all 

appointments in the council in the past five years. It was learnt that while there was no complaint 

against ministry official Anil Kapoor — who had so far been holding additional ., charge as 

NCERT secretary — the change was made to circumvent any later allegations of tampering. 

About the inquiry that has been ordered, ministry sources said it followed a complaint by CPI(M) 

MP Nilotpal Basu who alleged irregularities in appointments made in the NCERT. Bansal has 

been given 15 days' time to complete the inquiry On June 7, the ministry had asked the joint 

secretaries of all its seven bureaus to submit lists of senior appointments made in the past year. 

At that time, ministry sources had indicated that the new dispensation was essentially looking for 

information on the appointments which had been made in contravention of rules and to be able to

ing in fresh appointees. Meanwhile, several academics within the council alleged that the 

inquiry was a witch-hunt aimed at harassing outgoing NCERT director J.S. Rajput, who was 

accused of being close to former HRD minister M.M. Joshi. Rajput is accused of having 

implemented Joshi's saffron agenda when he ordered a complete revamp of the NCERT's 

national curriculum framework and textbooks under this syllabus. Scheduled to retire in July, he 

was not offered an extension. (Hindustan Times 22.6.04) 

23 rd June 

NCERT panel set to make saffron books history (11) 

New Delhi: The three-member panel, constituted by the HRD ministry to review "saffron" history 

school books, met for the first time on Tuesday to hammer out "detoxification" options. The panel 

suggestions ranged from omission of "obvious objectionable" portions to looking at an open book 

market. The Left also pumped up pressure demanding withdrawal of existing textbooks, with historian 

Man Habib suggesting that fresh editions of older textbooks (by R S Sharma, Bipin 

Chandra, Satish Chandra and Arjun Dev) be immediately circulated among students. Prof S 

Settar, one of the three panelists, said reverting to old books was difficult as they had not been 

updated for a long time. "It would be going back to other extreme because these books are nearly 

40 years old." As per the HRD ministry's brief, the panelists discussed the option of omitting 

objectionable passages from the existirig textbooks and providing alternative material to teachers. 

But they conceded that this approach may also be difficult as it would be impossible to ensure 

that teachers follow the panel's instruction and the child does not read controversial passages. 

There are six books written during Murli Manohar Joshi's tenure, which are in question. The panel 

meeting which will continue for another two days will do an extensive review of these books 

Settar said the search for alternative material for history textbooks was underway. "We've to 

examine how deeply textbooks have been affected and whether any prejudices have been 

projected. Charges and countercharges cannot be brushed aside easily," he said. (Times of India 

23.6.04) 

Controversial text may be withdrawn (11) 

New Delhi, June 22: The three-member panel set up by the HRD ministry to review the 

controversial history text books are looking at ways to replace "objectionable portions, distortions 

and factual errors with historical facts." The historians were also considering withdrawing the 

controversial NCERT text books during the next academic session. The historians given charge 

by the HRD minister, Mr Arjun Singh, to "desaffronise" the textbooks are Prof S. Settar, a visiting 

professor, at the Bangalore based National Institute of Advances Studies and distinguished 

historian of ancient India, Prof Barun De, an expert on Modern India and Prof J.S. Grewal, former 

vice-chancellor of Gurur Nanak university. The historians, who reached Delhi on Tuesday 

morning had discussions over the textbooks throughout the day. The meeting of the historians 

would continue for a couple of days, before they come to any conclusion. However, there is no 

deadline set by the government as yet to come to a conclusion. The panel members also met the 

additional secretary, Mr Sudip Banerjee in Tuesday morning to discs the issue. Since withdrawal 

of text books, "might not be possible at this academic session," the members were looking at the 

possibility of removing the "saffronised version and factual errors." (Asian Age 23.6.04) 

24 th June 

Scrap history textbooks: Students (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 23. Protesting against "communal flavour" in the NCERT textbooks, a large 

number of students today demanded scrapping of the present history textbooks and even 

submitted a memorandum - signed by hundreds of students from across the country - to the 

NCERT textbook review committee now meeting here in the Capital. A delegation of students 

from Youth for Peace met the former Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies at 

Shimla, J.S. Grewal - a member of the textbook review committee - to submit the memorandum. 

"History gives you a sense of identity and perspective. Students tend to imbibe whatever their 

textbooks say. But if students start imbibing this at a young age, then it will be difficult to change 

their perspective. The committee must scrap these books because not even one more batch of 

students should be subjected to this," said Moyna Manku, a student of History at Delhi's Gargi

College, at a press conference here. "I did Arts during my senior secondary. And I studied the 

previous syllabus. I know the difference between the present books and the earlier ones," she 

added. Pointing out faults in the present textbooks, Sahir Raza, who is now waiting to get 

admission to college, said: "There are so many factual errors in the booksrhat a book of errors 

has been printed by the Indian History Congress. And worst of all is the fact that they have tried 

to glorify someone like Hitler in these textbooks. The fact that Nathuram Godse assassinated 

Mahatma Gandhi has not been mentioned in the Class IX books. And since our questions papers 

are based on the same books, we have to learn such facts if we want to get good marks. Why do 

we have to study history that is incorrect?" (The Hindu 24.6.04) 

To spend promised funds, HRD looks at districts with SC, ST, Muslim numbers (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 23: AS the HRD Ministry prepares to receive a massive influx of funds from 

the proposed education cess, it has begun identifying 250 districts where a large portion of this 

will be spent. Universities in some of these districts could be given sums upto Rs 5 crore — a 

massive jump from the maximum of Rs 75 lakh that they had been receiving from the Centre until 

now. The priority, official sources said, is to look for districts with a large Scheduled Caste or 

Scheduled Tribe presence as well as those where a significant minority population has lagged 

behind in the education stakes. In some areas, for example, female literacy rates are less then 10 

per cent. The net can then be extended to cover 250 districts. With the total number of districts in 

the country numbering around 600, more than 40 per cent would be receiving this educational 

support from the HRD Ministry. (Indian Express 24.6.04) 

25 th June 

Withdrawal of controversial textbooks recommended (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 24. The panel of three historians entrusted with the task of undertaking a 

"quick review" of the history books prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and 

Training (NCERT) today recommended their withdrawal. But, given the problems involved in 

withdrawing the textbooks in the middle of the academic year, the Human Resource Development 

(HRD) Ministry was guarded in its response to the recommendations made by the historians and 

has decided to monitor the situation before taking a final view. Though the panel had been asked 

by the Ministry to remove the distortions and communally-biased portions from the textbooks 

since their withdrawal was impractical in the middle of an academic year, the three historians 

were of the view that the errors and biases were far too many and frequent to be corrected. "It is 

not advisable to continue with these texts for even a year," said a member of the panel and 

former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, S. Settar. Having arrived at this 

conclusion after three days of discussion and close scrutiny of the texts, the historians have 

recommended that the history textbooks brought out by the NCERT since 2002 be replaced with 

available reading material which conform to the NCERT syllabus for this academic year. (The 

Hindu 25.6.04) 

26 th June 

Move to bring madrassas into mainstream (11) 

New Delhi, June 25: SOCIAL SCIENTISTS and com mentators have long advocated 

modernisation of madrassas and their integration with the mainstream. The argument seems to 

have found buyers at last. On July 3, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate a 

conference where clerics, religious leaders and educationists will discuss with government 

representatives ways to bring madrassa teaching at par with mainstream education systems. 

The 100-odd delegates will include representatives of all minority communities and political 

parties. Intellectuals of the calibre of Man Habib, Mushirul Hasan, Yashpal and Rafiq Zakaria 

have been invited. "We want to know if there's any way to give madrassa education recognition, 

so that its students can enter mainstream university courses. If the community desires, the 

government will help modernise madrassas so that they are able to meet university 

requirements," said a source. The government could help set up a board to conduct centralised 

madrassa exams, sources said. West Bengal, UP and Bihar have Madrassa Boards, but most 

madrassas conduct their own exams. In the absence of fixed standards, only a few universities 

like Jamia, Agra or AMU take in madrassa students — that too mostly only in language or reli-

gious study courses. (Hindustan Times 26.6.04) 

Did NCERT panel of experts exceed brief? (11) 

New Delhi: THE THREE-MEMBER review committee which decided to recommend scrapping of 

NCERT books appears to have overstepped its brief and took the controversial decision without 

consulting the affected authors and identifying the so-called distortions. The decision has sparked 

a major controversy with writers like Makhan Lal and Meenakshi Jain, whose books could be 

dumped if the Government accepts the committee's recommendations. The two writers have 

attacked the committee for not giving them the chance to present their views and accused it of 

acting under political pressure. While constituting the three-member committee comprising S 

Settar, JS Grewal and Barun De, the Human Resources Ministry had clearly spelt out its mandate 

through an order dated June 12, 2004. The order asked the committee to remove "distorted and 

communally biased" portions and include "short passages which will fill the gap which some of 

these books are supposed to be having or could develop after removal of the aforesaid 

mentioned passages." (Pioneer 26.6.040) 

Arjun on madarsa mission (11) 

New Delhi, June 25: Arjun Singh is going to unveil a plan for minority education, including 

modernisation of madarsas, at a national conference of minority educational institutions here on 

Julys. Nearly 100 individuals and institutions have been invited. The invitees include Rafiq Zakaria, 

Mushirul Hasan, Irfan Habib, the Delhi Archbishop and Congress leader Salman Khursheed. 

"The main focus of the conference will be to begin a process of implementing the 

assurances in the common minimum programme (CMP)," an official of Singh's human resource 

development ministry said. For instance, the conference would deliberate the CMP's commitment 

to amend the Constitution for the establishment of a "commission for minority education 

institutions that will provide direct affiliation of minority professional institutions to central 

universities". The CMP also says: "The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) will promote modern 

and technical education among all minority communities and ensure social and economic 

empowerment of minorities through more systematic attention to education and employment." 

This is not the first time the Centre is giving attention, at least on paper, to minority education, 

modernisation of madarsas and recruitment of a large number of Urdu teachers. (Telegraph 

26.6.04) 

28 th June 

Centre’s decision to change history books criticised (11) 

NEW DELHI, JUNE 27. The Delhi Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party president, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, 

has criticised the decision of the Union Government to change the history books being taught in 

the schools of the country during mid-session and replace them with what he called "books promoting 

Congress and leftist ideology". "There should be a nationwide consultation with known 

historians, educationists, psychologists and culture experts before changing the books 

recommended by NCERT. Unless this is done, unnecessary interference in the curriculum may 

adversely affect the future of crores of children and a bad precedent will be established," he said 

in a statement issued here today. Dr. Harsh Vardhan also demanded that the Government should 

make the report of the recently appointed committee of experts public. The committee, which was 

constituted by the Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh on June 12, submitted its 

preliminary report on June 25. The report recommends that all history books of NCERT should be 

replaced by new ones in all schools across the country. Strongly criticising the working of the 

committee, the Delhi BJP president said it never made any effort to contact or seek the views of 

the writers of NCERT books. (The Hindu 28.6.04) 

5 th July 

Education board's back in new avatar to shape policy (11) 

New Delghi, July 4: WIPRO chief Azim Premji, Jnanpith and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta 

Devi, architect Charles Correa and poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar are among 32 nominees 

who will be part of the 106-member powerful Central Advisoty Board of Education being 

constituted by HRD Minister Arjun Singh The CABE is being revived after 10 long years-the last

CABE, somewhat smaller in size had completed its term in 1994 - and will meet from time to time 

to advise the Ministry on all aspects of the country’s education policy. (Indian Express 5.7.04) 

8 th July 

Textbook solution to Ram Janmabhoomi dispute (11) 

Lucknow, July 7: THE UTTAR Pradesh Education Board appears to be blissfully oblivious to the 

distortion of Indian history in school textbooks. The latest row concerns history textbook Bharat 

Ka Vrihad Itihaas. A passage on Ayodhya on page 296 of the book reads that the place where 

the Babri Masjid once stood is the Ram Janmabhoomi. The writer adds that documentary 

evidence has conclusively established that the site was, in fact, the birthplace of Lord Ram. 

The Deeni Taleem Council is planning to move court on the issue. Writer Rajaraman — principal 

of Dayanand Inter-College, Narval, Kanpur — made these changes in the 2003-04 edition of the 

book. When asked by the Hindustan Times how he made these changes without verifying the 

facts, a non-plussed Dr Rajaraman said he had picked up a passage from Pages on Indian 

Archaeology by Dr Shiv Swaroop Sahai. That book was published by Republican Press, South 

Malaika, Allahabad. Sahai is the head of department} of Ancient History at Sri Murli Manohar.P.G. 

College in Ballia. Originally written by Sri Netra Pandey, the book is being taught since 1982. 

After Pandey's death, Rajaraman incorporated a separate section on India's historical cities... 

Rajaraman admitted he had not taken-' the UP Board's permission to make those, changes. "Yes, 

I think I erred in not taking the permission of the board," he said. (Hindustan Times 8.7.04) 

10 th July 

Court seeks report on school quota or poor (11) 

New Delhi, July 9: THE DELHI High Court on Friday sought a report from the DDA, MCD, land 

and development officer and the education department about unaided private schools, which 

have failed to provide free education to underprivilged children. These schools had agreed to the 

condition of free education in return for allotment of land at cheap rates. Taking exception to the 

failure of the Delhi government and the land owning agencies to crack the whip on the defaulting 

schools, a bench comprising Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice B.D. Ahmed asked them to file 

their report by September one, a week ahead of the next hearing. The bench asked the government 

to publicise the list of such schools in newspapers as also on the notice boards of the 

schools. The Delhi High Court expressed surprise on the Delhi Government's order, according to 

which the condition would be operative from May 1, this year. Petitioner Social Jurist's counsel 

Ashok Agrawal pointed out that despite the court's order, schools were not admitting students 

from weaker sections of the society Earlier, the high court had asked the Delhi government to 

probe if over 1,500 such schools, which had been allotted land on the condition of giving 25 per 

cent seats to poor students and grant them free education, were complying with it. (Hindustan 

Times 10.7.04) 

13 th July 

Let Left sulk, HRD may not touch books (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 12: LOOKS LIKE the HRD Ministry would rather have the Left frown — by 

setting aside the recommendations of the three-member panel on NCERT textbooks — than 

invite the wrath of students and parents by changing the books in the middle of the academic 

session. Sources say, the Ministry plans to make its dilemma over the issue public. And its 

decision-makers are of the view that changing the books at the moment will do more harm than 

good. Over the past few days, the Ministry has carefully weighed popular views — some 

principals have been consulted —and the possibility of the BJP-led Opposition launching an 

agitation on the subject has also been assessed. Sources in the Ministry admit that it is also the 

complicated nature of the recommendations made by the panel comprising Professors S. Settar, 

Barun De and J.S. Grewal that has led to the impasse. The Ministry is expected to suggest to 

parents and teachers that they replace the NCERT textbooks with any of the five or six 

alternatives the experts have identified. What the Ministry pro-"poses to do is announce that it 

completely accepts the panel's views that the textbooks have "factual errors" and there are 

passages which are prejudiced. (Indian Express 13.7.040)

14 th July 

Rajput closes NCERT chapter (11) 

NEW DELHI: IT WAS a quiet farewell for NCERTdirector ProfessorJ.S. Rajput today, with the 

camps as sullen and divided as they were during his tenure. Loyalists wished he had got more 

credit for his achievements while opponents were convinced the "politics in education" does not 

end with his tenure. "I have demitted office today with a Supreme Court judgment in the forenoon 

approving the syllabus prepared by NCERT for environmental education in schools from Class I 

to XII," said Rajput. "This will be mandatory for all schools and NCERT has been appointed the 

nodal agency to monitor this. Professionally, this is an extremely satisfying day for me as this 

syllabus was prepared by an NCERT group under my chairmanship." Rajput had one more year 

to go but opted out after the NDA government was voted out of power. A formal handover took 

place this afternoon where IGNOU V-CH.P Dikshit took over as officiating director. While some of 

his staffers turned up at his office on his last day in work, most celebrated his exit. (Indian 


Teachers meet Arjun Singh (11) 

NEW DELHI JULY 13. The School Teachers' Federation of India (STFI) representatives today 

met the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Arjun Singh urging greater allocation 

of funds to primary and secondary education. The delegation requested greater allocation of 

funds trom the proposed education cess and proper supply of mid-day meals infrastructure 

facilities such as school buildings, furniture, laboratory, library, toilets, drinking water, free books 

to poor children and recruitment of teachers. The Minister assured to take positive steps in this 

regard. STFI president, D. Rami Reddy, led the delegation, it s general secretary, Tushar 

Panchanan, Treasurer, Pradeep Biswas, vice president P Rajagopalan and others accompanied 

him. (The Hindu 14.7.04) 

'Failure to reverse saffronisation' criticised (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 13. Historian Irfan Habib believes that the present United Progressive 

Alliance-Government is more afraid of its opponents than concerned about its constituents, who 

had voted it to power. This is more so in the case of its failure to reverse the "saffronisation" 

process, initiated by the previous regime. Speaking at a convention on education organised by 

the Students Federation of India (SFI) here today, Prof. Habib asked: "If we were to agree with 

what our predecessors said, why did we vote for a change?" According to him, the priority should 

have been reversal of the "saffronisation" and "communalisation" of history textbooks, which, 

unfortunately, figured lower on the list of priorities of the Human Resource Development Minister, 

Arjun Singh. "De-saffronisation" was a major issue on the Common Minimum Programme agenda 

and the old textbooks should have been totally rejected by now. "There appears to be a curious 

nervousness about the matter in the Ministry and it appears that by not changing the curriculum, 

the Ministry has approved the deeds of the previous regime," he said and demanded 

reinstatement of the textbooks used before the "saffronisation." According to Prof. Habib, all that 

had been achieved in the field of education in the past 50 years had been altered by the BJP 

Government; they needed to be replaced urgently. The fact that the BJP Government had been 

voted out of power meant that the people had rejected all their policies. The HRD Minister's 

statement that he would continue some courses such as astrology if the people so wanted 

suggested that he had little understanding of the people's mandate. (The Hindu 14.7.04) 

15 th July 

HRD okays NCERT Std X social science book (11) 

New Delhi : An NCERT executive committee meeting chaired by HRD Minister Arjun Singh on 

Wednesday decided to retain the NCERTs social science textbook for Class X, saying its history 

component is not that "big" and will not have too much "communal impact on a student's mind". 

But the members were unable to arrive at a unanimous decision on whether to opt for the 

alternative textbooks, as suggested by the panel, or fall back upon the pre-M.M. Joshi era books. 

(Indian Express 15.7.04) 

16 th July

'History of India can't be history of North India’ (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 15: SO long, "saffronisation" was the cliche used in the criticism of the NDA 

regime's history textbooks. But the panel of scholars appointed by the new HRD Ministry has 

come out with a stinging indictment that accuses the writers of being parochial— with a strong 

"north India" bias. So much so that it has "nothing to offer" to CBSE students in over 1,000 

schools in the four states of south India. In fact, the report, submitted to the HRD Ministry by 

Professors S Settar, J S Grewal and Barun De, is relatively milder in its attack on the issue of 

"saffron bias" or factual errors than on this issue. The report, obtained by The Indian Express, 

singles out the section on ancient India: • "One of the major drawbacks of this text is the lopsided 

treatment of ancient Indian history...Ancient India is identified with the Indo-Gangetic Zone. The 

events of the rest of the country—the entire peninsula, the northeast and parts of extreme east— 

are more or less viewed as of no relevance by those who prepared this syllabus." (Indian 


Under Mulayam nose, textbook finds temple under Babri mosque (11) 

LUCKNOW, JULY 15: MULAYAM Singh Yadav may be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh but 

the history text book of Class XI in the state tells students that a Ram temple lies under the 

remains of the Babri Masjid. "The place where Babri mosque is situated at present was the birth 

place of Shri Ram. A temple existed there for centuries which was disfigured by " Babar to build 

the mosque at the same site. The mosque has now been razed while recovery of artifacts below 

that site during excavation has proved the existence of a temple at the site," says the history text, 

BharatKa Vrahad Ithihas, on page number 296. The same book in its edition in 1990 did not have 

any such reference. The text was revised in 200.7. The All India Babri Masjid action Committee 

(AIBMAC) has written to the chief minister, asking him to revise the text. "We have demanded 

that the chief ministerform a committee to look into the wrong representation of facts in history 

books. But nothing has happened so far and our students are forced to swallow wrong facts 

which smack of saffronisation of school books," Zafaryab Zilani, convenor of the AIBMAC and a 

member of the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board told The Indian Express. (Indian Express 

16.7.04) 

17 th July 

Mid-day meal bomb ticks in Andhra (11) 

Hyderabad, July 16: The ghastly death of schoolchildren in Kumbakonam today has a lesson for 

the organisers of mid-day meals in Andhra Pradesh. The infrastructure is not up to scratch though 

nearly 75 lakh students of primary and middle schools in Andhra are fed mid-day meals at Rs 300 

crore annually. It is an incentive to stall dropouts and promote school enrolments. "Only 34 per 

cent of schools (in the state) have proper buildings to run classes, leave alone the kitchen," says 

Narayana, who runs an NGO that has a charitable school in Telengana. It is luck that a 

Kumbakonam has not occurred in Andhra so far, he adds. "The threat is right there in all our 

schools run in buildings with thatched roofs." Such roofs are common in the stated coastal 

districts. About 70 per cent of schools in rural Andhra do not have toilets; only 30 per cent have 

separate kitchens and around 42 per cent have good classrooms, according to an official of the 

school education department. In parts of Warangal and Adilabad districts, schools are run either 

in local temples or under the shade of trees. "Food is prepared either in the office or classrooms 

or even under the open sky (in rural Andhra)," says Narayana. (Telegraph 17.7.04) 

20 th July 

Hindi medium students protest against 'discrimination' (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 19. Over a week after students appearing for the Delhi University-conducted 

entrance examination for MA (Honours) Political Science protested against the absence of the 

question paper in Hindi, members of the Progressive Students Union (PSU) staged a dharna in 

front of the Political Science Department today protesting against "discrimination against Hindi 

medium students". While students believe they are being given a raw deal because of the 

medium of their study, the University maintains that there is little it can do to help them as being a 

Central University it had to deal in a language that is common to all. "We don't have a problem 

with the English medium and are not trying to wage a battle against it. All we are asking for is an

equal status for us. Why should we be discriminated because we don't come from an English 

medium," asked one of the protesting students. Held on July 8, the entrance examination had led 

to a number of students getting agitated and demanding an apology. The Department points out 

that since it had ensured that the questions were explained to the Hindi medium students on the 

day of examination, the students should not have reasons to complain. But the problem for these 

Hindi medium students does not end with the entrance examination. Even if they do manage to 

get into the course, the path to a postgraduate degree is not an easy one. (The Hindu 20.7.004) 

History won't be changed; NCERT (11) 

New Delhi: There may not be a change in history books in the current academic session. A 

majority of the NCERT executive committee members, who met on Monday to decide on the 

change in textbooks, were of the view that a mid-session change in history textbooks may cause 

inconvenience to students attending CBSE schools across the country. But the committee members 

favoured withdrawal of existing "saffron" NCERT history textbooks, written during Murli 

Manohar Joshi's tenure, from the next academic session. The HRD ministry is likely to go by the 

majority view. The final decision will, however, be announced by HRD minister Arjun Singh in 

Parliament on Tuesday. While the committee was of the view that there should not be a change 

in textbooks, members said an advisory should be issued to teachers to minimise the "communal" 

effect. The committee has advised the ministry to conduct a series of workshops with CBSE 

school teachers to tell them how to avoid controversial passages in the existing books. (Times of 

India 20.7.04) 

21 st July 

Pre-Joshi history books to be used in next session (11) 

New Delhi, July 20: The Left has finally had its way in getting the government to agree on 

restoring the pre-Murli Manohar Joshi era history textbooks with appropriate modifications in 

schools from the next academic session. The government is likely to go for a totally different set 

of textbooks in the session after that. To remove the "saffron tinge" from the existing text books, 

the government on Tuesday announced that the books used in the pre-Joshi era would be 

restored with appropriate modifications in the next academic session. Keeping in view the 

advanced stage of the current academic session, the government has decided to continue with 

the existing text books in the current session. It has, however, been decided that the NCERT text 

books, which were replaced by the present ones, will be printed in sufficient numbers and sent to. 

each CBSE-affiliated school. These books will also be available in the market in six weeks and 

can be used for reference. Workshops will be organised to help teachers transact the curriculum 

with the current text books and refer to the old ones. The CBSE. will also be directed to suitably 

set question papers. Human resources development minister Arjun Singh informed the Lok 

Sabha that the NCERT executive committee had accepted the report of the historians as far as its 

findings that the history books were biased and full of inaccuracies rendering them unsuitable for 

continuation. (Asian Age 21.7.04) 

Schools happy with existing saffron books (11) 

New Delhi, July 20: The decision of the UFA government to continue with the existing 

"saffron" history textbooks for this academic session, keeping in view the practical difficulties 

students might face in shifting to "alternative books" mid-session, has been welcomed by a large 

section of the teaching fraternity. The UFA government on Tuesday announced that the textbooks 

used in the pre-Murli Manohar Joshi era would be restored with appropriate modifications in the 

next academic session. A shift to "alternative books" in mid-session as suggested by the 

historians on the NCERT review panel could have created a lot of confusion for students 

particularly those studying in Class 10 and 12. Keeping in view the advanced stage of the current 

academic session, the government has decided to continue —with the existing history text books 

in the current academic session. It has been decided that the NCERT text books which were 

replaced by the present textbooks will be printed in sufficient numbers to enable at least five 

copies to be sent free to each CBSE affiliated school. These books can be used by teachers and 

students for reference. Workshops will be organised to help teachers transact the curriculum with 

the current textbooks and refer to the old ones. (Asian Age 21.7.04)

Another TN school catches fire, none hurt (11) 

Chennai, July 20: Barely did the nightmare of the Kumbakonam blaze end when yet another 

school went up in flames at Sengunram village, about 30 km north of Chennai, on Monday 

evening. The 45 children of the Nethaji Subhas Chandra Bose School had a providential escape 

as they were at home after paying homage to the Kumbakonam school students, who had 

perished in a blaze on Friday. All the schools in Tamil Nadu had observed a holiday on Monday 

after holding prayer meetings in memory of the 90 students killed in the Kumbakonam blaze. 

According to the police, the thatched shed on the terrace, housing two kindergarten classes 

for 45 children, caught _,fire presumably due to an electric short-circuit and was completely 

gutted. All the benches and other school furniture were destroyed in the fire, which was put out 

by fire tenders with help from locals. The school officials too rushed to the spot. The state 

government has ordered replacement of all thatched structures with non-inflammable 

material in schools and July 30 is the deadline. "But for it being declared holiday ' in memory of 

the victims of the Kumbakonam fire, our 'children would have been in the school when the 

fire broke out," said a local resident. (Asian Age 21.7.04) 

22 nd July 

Joshi 'forgets' to return ICHR's Freedom files (11) 

New Delhi: Twelve confidential files related to the prestigious "Towards Freedom" project of the 

Indian Council of Historical Research taken by former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi on 

March 9,2000, have gone missing. The files, No. 18-30/72-ICHR/Admn. in three parts, each 

containing 170, 210 and 131 pages, were never returned despite a reminder by ICHR's then 

member-secretary R C Agrawal to Joshi's PS Alok Tandon on August 19, 2002. The matter has 

been brought to the notice of new dispensation in the HRD ministry and search for the files is on. 

The .issue of the missing files resurfaced recently when ICHR chairperson D N Tripathi, a Joshi 

appointee, wanted to revive the "Towards Freedom" project and asked for the files only to be told 

these are missing for five long years. Much to Joshi's chagrin, Tripathi has asked the officiating 

member-secretary A K Ambasth to recover the files. He says Joshi's office had no business to 

keep files of an autonomous body for so long and not return them despite a reminder. "Unfortunately 

all this happened in the earlier regime," Tripathi told TNN over phone from Gorakhpur. 

According to him, the files of autonomous bodies are never kept by the administrative ministry. At 

best, these could be shown to the ministry. (Times of India 22.7.04) 

NCERT asked to review curriculum (11) 

New Delhi, July 21: A day after the announcement that the "saffronised" history textbooks 

introduced in Dr Murli Manohar Joshi's tenure as HRD minister will be out of schools in the next 

academic session, the government on Wednesday asked the National Council for Educational 

Research and Training to start work on reviewing the national curriculum framework to avoid 

"distortions." Education secretary B.S. Baswan, in a letter to NCERT director H.P. Dixit, has 

stated that "the NCERT may initiate action for curriculum renewal." The present curriculum 

framework was released four years ago. The NCERT's executive committee, in its meeting on 

Monday, had also expressed concern over the quality and content of textbooks other than in 

history. It had stated that while the proposed curriculum framework review will take care of the 

concerns in the medium term, it was important that all textbooks are subjected through a quick 

review to take corrective steps wherever required. In his letter to the NCERT seeking initiation of 

the review process, Mr Baswan asserted that the council may ensure that the processes as laid 

down or that have evolved over a period of time, were not violated. "You are aware of the criticism 

regarding the short-circuiting and the inadequacies of procedures followed during the 

finalisation of the earlier review," he said, adding the textbooks of the NCERT had drawn serious 

academic criticism during the last few years. (Asian Age 22.7.04) 

NCERT asked to initiate action for curriculum renewal (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 21. After bringing back the history textbooks replaced by the Murli Manohar 

Joshi regime, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has initiated the process for a 

review of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education brought out by the previous

dispensation. The Education Secretary, B.S. Baswan, today dashed off a letter to the National 

Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) asking it to "initiate action for curriculum 

renewal" in "harmony with the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution." On Tuesday, the 

Human Resource Development Minister, Arjun Singh, had informed the Lok Sabha that the 

school curriculum framework was going to be reviewed. While this was one of the rec- 

ommendations of the three-member panel of historians entrusted with the task of undertaking a 

quick review of the history textbooks currently in use, the Ministry has decided to go in for a 

curriculum renewal on the premise that the National Policy on Education mandates such an 

exercise every five years. "Since the present curriculum framework was released four years ago, 

it is time to initiate the process of review and renewal of the curriculum," the Secretary pointed out 

in his letter to the NCERT Director. (The Hindu 22.7.04) 

23 rd July 

Joshi gave Rajput a parting gift (11) 

New Delhi: For the UPA, if there is anyone as culpable for "saffronisation" of education as M M 

Joshi, it is former NCERT director J S Rajput. But Unesco thinks otherwise. The day his tenure at 

NCERT got over, Unesco awarded Rajput with the prestigious Jan Amos Comenius Medal for 

outstanding educational research and innovation. The award is, in fact, a parting gift from Joshi 

who proposed his name just be fore the general elections. The last date for submitting the names 

of the candidates was March 31. 'As you may know, the ministry of human resources 

development of your country proposed your candidature," the letter from Unesco's International 

Bureau of Education informed Rajput. Named after a 17th century Czech educationist, the 

medal is awarded every two years for outstanding educational research and innovation. Unesco 

director-general Koichiro Matsuura took the decision on this year's award following the 

proposal of the jury convened by the Council of the International Bureau of Education. The 

decision was announced on July 13. (Times of India 23.7.04) 

Tamil Nadu School fire toll now 93, 1 critical (11) 

Chennai, July 22: The death toll in the Friday blaze in Sri Krishna School in Kumbakonam has 

gone up to 93 with two girls succumbing to their burn injuries at the Thanjavur Medical College 

Hospital on Wednesday and one girl dying in the wee hours of Thursday, Thanjavur district 

collector Dr J. Radhakrishnan said on Thursday. A ten-year-old boy Vignesh was in a critical 

condition and all efforts were-underway by the team of specialists brought from Chennai to save 

him as also another girl at the Thanjavur hospital, the collector said in a phone interview. He said 

while 12 children are undergoing treatment in the burns ward at the Kum-bakonam government 

hospital, two are at the Thanjavur hospital and two others in the Chennai Apollo. Three children 

are in private hospitals, in Madurai While Janani and Meena died on Wednesday, Man- : 

ammal succumbed to injuries around 3 am on Thursday, the collector said. He said the relief 

and rehabilitation works were progrossing at fast pace .and almost all the 740-odd,survivors were 

accommodated in other nearby schools and began attending classes. (Asian Age 23.7.04) 

24 th July 

Student’s suicide sparks violence in State (11) 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. JULY 23.: The suicide of the 22-year-old engineering student, 

Rajani S. Anand, who had to discontinue her studies owing to her inability to pay the tuition fee, 

had its reverberations in the State, especially the capital city, and the Assembly which is in 

session. The Opposition Left Democratic Front, which sought the adjournment of the normal 

business of the House to discuss the suicide, relented only after extracting the promise to order a 

judicial inquiry into the incident from the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony. The SFI called for a Statewide 

education bandh on Monday demanding the plugging of the loopholes in the law for 

controlling self-financing professional colleges and launching of criminal action against those 

responsible for the suicide. Rajani, a Computer Engineering student of the College of 

Engineering, Adoor, run by the Institute of Human Resource Development in Electronics, hailed 

from Vellarada in Thiruvananthapuram district. She committed suicide by jumping from the sevenstoreyed 

Housing Board building in the capital, which also houses the Office of the Commissioner 

of Entrance Examinations, on Thursday. She had reportedly knocked every door, from that of the

anch of a nationalised bank to that of moneylenders, for help to continue her studies. (The 

Hindu 24.7.04) 

25 th July 

Rajput defends rewriting history books (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 24. Defending the decisions taken by him on rewriting of history textbooks in 

schools, the former director of the National Council for Educational Research and Training 

(NCERT), J.S.Rajput, today said the "process that has started will not stop. We need to prepare 

ourselves for the challenges ahead....! believe what I did was right and that I could have probably 

done better". Speaking at a panel discussion here as part of the Save Education Movement, the 

former NCERT director accused the UFA Government of trying to stall the release of some other 

publications that had been approved during his tenure. Defending his actions, Mr. Rajput said he 

was not alone in the decisions taken, but had made the moves after a consensus was reached. "I 

had the support of others. No one person can change the character of an organisation," he said. 

Accusing the Left parties of trying to impose their ideology on students and confusing them by 

making them doubtful of the materials being read by them, Mr Rajput asked: "What kind of 

impression do you expect on a child by informing him that what he is reading is actually wrong? 

Now students have been asked to refer to another book if they find any communal part and then 

compare it with an earlier book to know the non-communal aspect of it. Is that fair on students?" 

(The Hindu 25.7.04) 

26 th July 

Left organisations to intensify stir (11) 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 25.: The Left student and youth organisations have decided 

to intensify the agitation against the Government following the suicide of an engineering student, 

Rajani S. Anand. Leaders of the SFI, the AISF and the AIYF have expressed their resolve to 

waylay Ministers and also boycott official functions. They have sought the resignation of the 

Education Minister, Nalakath Soopy, and the Minister for Welfare of Backward and Scheduled 

Communities, M.A. Kuttappan. Murder cases should be registered against the Ministers, the 

Adoor Engineering College Principal and the bank manager who allegedly denied the loan to 

Rajani, they said. (The Hindu 26.7.04) 

29 th July 

Why can’t Delhi have a university of its own: Court (11) 

New Delhi, July 28: "Why can't Delhi have its own university?" The question seems very relevant 

in a scenario when thousands of students based in the capital fail to get admission in the Delhi 

University colleges every year. Posing this question, the Delhi high court on Wednesday sought 

to know how many Delhi students were eligible for admission in the under-graduate courses in 

the current academic year. A bench comprising Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice B.D. Ahmed, 

which took up the public interest litigation by NGO Delhi Study Group challenging the admission 

policy of the Delhi University colleges, also sought to know the role of the Delhi government in 

setting up a university to cater to those students who fail to get -admission in the Delhi University 

colleges. Making an observation, the bench asked, "Why can't Delhi have its own university?" 

The PIL had alleged that influx of students from other states has resulted in "severe distortion and 

regional imbalance." Referring to the admission policies of other states like Maharashtra, 

Karnataka etc., where certain percentage of seats are reserved for students belonging to those 

states, the petitioner sought the court's direction for framing guidelines for reserving 85 per cent 

seats for Delhi-based students in the DU colleges. (Asian Age 29.7.04) 

Panel must be set up for textbook consistency, says Kalam (11) 

New Delhi, July 28: Asserting that there was growing concern among various sections of the 

society over the frequent changes in the content of textbooks which they rated as unjust for 

children, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday suggested that an "apolitical" standing 

council should be set up to ensure "consistency" in school textbooks. Speaking at the valedictory 

function of the Platinum Jubilee Year celebrations of the CBSE, the President also called upon 

the board to switch over to digital technology while setting and distributing question papers to

make the system "secure." He suggested the introduction of an open book system of examination 

to eliminate the possibility of a leakage. Dwelling on the importance of creativity and consistency 

in education, Dr Kalam said, "I have received representations from parents, educationists, 

students and social workers about the indiscriminate and too frequent changes 'taking place in 

syllabus of school textbooks." '(Asian Age 29.7.04) 

30 th July 

Arjun ready with his minority education revamp plan (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 29: SPECIAL panels for minority education, allowing Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan 

funds to reach madarsas and affiliating minority professional institutions to Central universities 

are among a bouquet of measures HRD Minister Arjun Singh is giving final touches to. An action 

plan, based on these ideas thrown up at last month's convention on minority education, is expected 

to be announced in August either at a press conference or in Parliament. Five key 

measures have been outlined: • National Council for Minority Education to address specific 

school education issues in respect of minorities: funds, syllabus, textbooks. • Commission for 

Minority Educational Institutions, an autonomous body that will help professional institutions run 

by minorities get affiliated to Central Universities. • A separate division in the HRD Ministry, 

headed by an officer with the rank of director or above, will monitor minority issues. This officer 

need not be a bureaucrat, he could be an expert on minority education. (Indian Express 30.7.04) 

Admissions closed, you may leave (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 29: FORGET about the capital's schools taking the 20 per cent quota for the 

economically backward seriously despite court orders and Delhi government's warnings. A day 

before the government deadline expires, News line did a reality check. And it found that some 

schools have not only shut their doors on these admission-seekers but are also intimidating and 

humiliating them. This reporter, without disclosing her identity, went with Rekha Tiwari to seek 

admission for her five-year-old daughter, Megha, to Mother's International School in South Delhi. 

Saroj Singh from NGO Nav Srishti was also present. Even approaching the building was 

traumatic for the mother. First she was asked to sit outside, away from the main office. When 

Saroj and this reporter approached school manager K S Basu, he raised his voice, before the 

quota deadline expires saying no quota was being implemented. "I asked you to sit down only 

because I thought you had come for some other work. Haven't you read the three big notices that 

have been pasted from the entrance till my office? Admissions are closed," said Basu. Reminded 

of the order, Basu snapped: "What order? We closed our admissions much earlier. We have 

another school for poor children on our campus, you can admit your child there." (Indian Express 

30.7.04) 

31 st July 

Why should History books keep to the Left ? (11) 

New Delhi” POLITICISATION OF education needs to be stopped. If the UPA considers the NDA 

history texts to be biased, the earlier texts are full of flaws, distortions and have Marxist leanings. 

This is what leading scholars have briefed President APJ Abdul Kalam about as they sought to 

promote a healthy national debate on history. In a letter addressed to the President, eleven 

scholars headed by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, had asked the Government to work for a 

lighter, fulfilling and stimulating education, based on innovative "pedagogy and promoting great 

human values and achievements" of the Indian culture. According to its signatories, the real 

issues at hand include correcting historical distortions in the teachings on Indian culture and 

heritage and the modernisation of Indian education. The signatories included scholars like 

Padman Subrahamanyam, Nanditha Krishna, R Nagaswamy, P Parameswaran, Tavleen Singh, 

Prema Pan-durang, P R Krishneswaran, Brahmachari Abhayamrita Chaitanya, Kapil Kapoor and 

Makarand Paranjape. (Pioneer 31.7.04) 

Rajasthan HC notice to HRD Min on NCERT syllabus issue (11) 

Jaipur: THE RAJASTHAN High Court has issued notices to Union Human Resource 

Development Ministry and Department of Secondary and Higher Education for its order of June 

12, 2004, incorporating changes in the NCERT curriculum. The notices are returnable on August

11. The notices were issued after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by NT Bhardwaj, 

former Vice Chancellor of Kota University and a school student Danishi Bhargwa, in the double 

bench, comprising of Chief Justice Anil Dev Singh and Justice Harbans Lal, challenging the 

validity of the order. They also pray for staying of the order. RS Rathore, senior advocate, who 

has filed the petition, said preparing of curriculum is a continuous process and accordingly a 

three-member committee revised the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 

(NCFSE) in 2000. This was challenged by Aruna Roy, through a petition in the Supreme court. In 

its Judgment, the Supreme Court, accepted the contention of the HRD and dismissed the petition 

to set the matter right. (Pioneer 31.7.04) 

Sarva Shiksha drive flops in Delhi (11) 

New Delhi, July 30: The Literacy Mission and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan do not seem to be a priority 

area for Delhi government, both in terms of fund utilisation granted by the Centre for the scheme 

as well as the initiatives taken by it. Endorsing this lackadaisical position are the figures which 

were released by the Centre recently for five states in which Delhi figured at the rock bottom in 

terms of fund utilisation. In an outlay of Rs 52 crore for which the Government of India had 

sanctioned Rs 21 crore, the Delhi government utilised only Rs 5.4 crore. (Asian Age 31,7,04) 

4 th July 

Diverse views on ways to increase Muslim literacy (11) 

NEW DELHI, JULY 3. Opinion among the Muslims over the strategies to be adopted to overcome 

illiteracy in the community varies widely. While some are for a separate board to promote 

education, others say the community itself has to wake up to the problem. So diverse were the 

opinions expressed at a conference here today on " A Dialogue on Minority Welfare and 

Education" that Urdu writer laved Akhtar "hung his head in shame," when the Vice-Chancellor of 

the Aligarh Muslim University, Naseem Ahmed, suggested 75 per cent reservation for Muslims in 

the aided or un-aided Muslim educational institutions which should not include the Scheduled 

Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Dalits and Other Backward Classes of non-Muslims because, 

according to him, the problem was more serious among the Muslims. Despite some protest over 

Mr. Ahmed's statement Mr. Akhtar was vocal in expressing himself "I have no problem with the 

University or its Vice-Chancellor but it is shameful to ask for reservation for Muslims and not 

share it with non-Muslim SC/ST and OBCs," he said. By the time the session ended it was 

obvious that Mr. Akhtar had a larger fan following than Mr. Ahmed. Earlier, introducing the subject, 

Mushirul Hassan, Vice-Chancellor of the lamia Millia Islamia University, suggested the 

setting up of an All-India Muslim Education Board to ensure implementation of the existing 

mechanism and monitoring of the implementation. The primary and secondary schools needed to 

be modernised and the community needed to rise to the occasion instead of depending totally on 

the Government for funding, he said. (The Hindu 4.7.04) 

5 th July 

Arjun wants HRD’s own minority panel (11) 

NEVV DELHI July 4: PERMANENT mechanism for the redressal of grievances pertaining to 

minority-related education issues will be established in the HRD Ministry. Announcing this, Arjun 

Singh said that he had noticed how such a "forum" was missing in his Ministry at present. The 

Minister, speaking at the end of the two-day convention on minority education in the Capital, told 

the assembled academics and bureaucrats that such a forum could either be a separate unit 

under the ministry' or could be a separate ' body answerable to the Parliament. The CMP has 

laid down the setting up of two commissions concerning minority welfare. PM Manmohan Singh 

even reiterated the pledges when he addressed the inaugural session of the convention 

yesterday. There will be the commission for minority educational institutions to provide direct 

affiliation to minority professional institution with Central Universities. There will also be a 

separate national commission to look into the overall welfare of religious and linguistic 

minorities. (Indian Express 5.7.04)

3 rd Aug 

Kerala suicide echoes in CPM agenda on fee (11) 

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 2: THIS will make former HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi happy. The 

CPM has begun demanding a "Central legislation to regulate admission and fee structure in 

higher education and to establish commercial control over private and self-financing institutions". 

The CPM Central Committee's decision to include this as an important item in their deliberations, 

which ended yesterday, and even list the demand in the final statement is based on political 

compulsions. The party's Kerala unit has been agitating following the suicide of a 22-year-old 

woman student in Thiruvananthapuram. The student allegedly could not obtain a bank loan to 

pursue her engineering studies at the state-owned Institute of Human Resource Development in 

Adoor. The scale of the agitation and the passion with which student and youth organisations of 

the CPM's Kerala unit became involved forced the state-based members of the Central 

Committee to bring this issue to the centrestage. Otherwise, the Left had little or no complaints 

with the way the detoxification exercise was being carried out. ((Indian Express 3.8.04) 

4 th Aug 

Bill making primary education free soon (11) 

Bangalore: Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the government will shortly 

introduce a Bill making primary school education free and compulsory. On monsoon, he said, 

concerns had receded and hoped improved rains would aid the agricultural sector. Speaking after 

inaugurating the export oriented unit of Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Chidambaram said the 

government expected the gross domestic product (GDP) growth to be between 6.2% and 7.4% 

this fiscal, against 8.4% achieved last year. He assured the government would take all steps 

to control inflation due to rising global oil prices. Global crude oil prices hit a 21-year high on 

Monday, touching $44 per barrel, due to perceived threats of terrorist attacks in the US. 

The minister said India was no longer a third world country, although many of its people had "third 

world" standards of life. "There are parts of India that belongs to the first world, and there is 

another part, which lives in third world standards," he said. (Times of India 4.8.04) 

5 th Aug 

BMC spends Rs 60 lakhs for data already available (11) 

Mumbai, Aug. 4: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has spent Rs 60 lakhs to discover that 

78,000 children in the age group of four-15 years do not go to school in Mumbai. However, the 

Brihanmumbai Municipal Shikshak Sabha or BMSS, a teachers association, says that every year 

primary school teachers conduct a similar survey. There was no need of outsourcing such a 

service. The BMC had commissioned the work of conducting surveys in all the 24 wards in the 

city to an NGO called Pratham in January 2004. The report submitted by them in July 2004 

provides statistics which the primary teachers dispute. They say that the number of children who 

do not attend school varies between 2 lakhs to 2.5 lakhs. This is a huge difference compared to 

Pratham's figure of 78,000. The primary school teachers who conduct a survey each year say 

that the BMC should not have spent money on such an exercise. The census officers of the state 

government conduct such surveys each academic year. "This year too, the report will be 

submitted in a month's time at no cost. The BMC should have a rough idea from the previous 

year's statistics which are available," said Suhaba Sheikh, a primary school teacher from Kurla. 

Ms Farida Lambe, spokesperson of Pratham said. "The primary school teachers also add school 

dropouts. We actually visited 27 lakh households to find out children who do not go to school. 

Slum areas like Dharavi, Bainganwadi and some slums of Charkop and Malad had maximum 

number of children who have never seen a school." (Asian Age 5.8.04) 

6 th Aug 

Professional courses: Admission process in Disarray (11) 

NEW DELHI, AUG. 5. The process of admissions to various professional courses for 2004-2005 

across the country is in total disarray and it is time that a 13-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court 

took up the issue to clear the mess created due to different interpretations of the judgments in the 

T.M.A. Pai Foundation and Islamic Academy Education cases, feel experts in the field. Though

the situation is the same in almost all the States, the confusion is felt more in the southern States 

than in the north since the bulk of the self-financing colleges are situated in the four southern 

States and the demand from students is high. As a result, the admission process has not been 

completed even during -the first week of August when, normally, the classes begin. In the T.M.A. 

Pai case, a 11-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that unaided institutions would have the 

maximum autonomy not only in the admission of students but also in determining their own fee 

structure. A five-Judge Bench, giving clarifications, stated that the percentage of the quota for 

students to be admitted by the managements and the Government in the minority or non-minority 

unaided professional colleges shall be fixed on the basis of "their needs." (The Hindu 6.8.04) 

8 th Aug 

Textbook case of being incorrect (11) 

THE RAJASTIIAN School Education Board needs to go to a correction facility for playing with the 

future of around one lakh school students. Responsible for preparing syllabus books up to Class 

XI, it engaged 15 writers last year for the Class XI history book. A Mathura-based publisher was 

given the contract to print and publish the textbook. When the book landed with the teachers, they 

were horrified to find no less than 500 mistakes of every conceivable kind, including factual, 

grammatical and linguistic, in the 336-page Bharat Ka Ithas Va Sanskriti. The publisher was told 

to provide new books with the corrections. But he demurred and the Board, surprisingly, agreed 

to his request to provide a corrigendum instead of a new set of books. Needless to say, the corrigendum 

booklet is almost the same in size as the textbook. The students, though, are yet to see 

it as the booklets are gathering dust in the Board’s godowns. (Pioneer 8.8.04) 

35-member panel to look into minority education (11) 

New Delhi, Aug. 7: In keeping with the Common Minimum Programme and to put into effect the 

suggestions made during the two-day long dialogue on minority education last month, the government 

has constituted a 35-member National Monitoring Committee for minority education. 

The committee has been set up with a view to raise the level of educational access and quality 

among the minority communities including modernisation of madaris. On the view that some 

madarsas were not comfortable with the idea of modernisation including computer education, 

human resource development minister Arjun Singh said that the committee would not impose its 

views on anyone. "The madaris themselves want that education in their institutions should also 

be relevant in the current context. We did not find any resistance but there were words of caution 

from madarsa authorities," Mr Singh said. On the role of the Monitoring Committee, Mr Singh said 

that it will make recommendations on issues related to reservation, recognition and affiliation of 

minority institutions. It will also monitor the ongoing schemes of HRD ministry and advise on the 

contemporary approach towards "traditional methods of instruction." (Asian Age 8.8.04) 

11 th Aug 

BJP takes on Arjun, says CABE full of anti-nationals (11) 

New Delhi: Strongly criticising HRD minister Arjun Singh at the first meeting of the freshlyconstituted 

Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) for his detox programme, education ministers 

of BJP-ruled states alleged that the UPA government was trying to get their seal of 

approval on its CMP. They also attacked the CABE's selection process. CABE is the highest 

advisory body on education that was reconstituted by Singh recently after a gap of 10 years. 

The 106-member CABE comprises the HRD minister, Union cabinet ministers, state education 

ministers and nominated members, eminent in the field of education, industry, culture and 

social and voluntary sector. The BJP ministers described the nominated CABE members, scriptwriter 

Javed Akhtar and members affiliated to SAH-MAT, as anti-national persons who had 

nothing to do with education. Arjun Singh retorted sarcastically, with: "The RSS is nationalist, they 

(CABE members) are anti-nationalist." Just before he walked out along with four other BJP 

education ministers, Rajasthan's Ghanshayam Tiwari told Arjun Singh, "It is a political agenda of 

the UPA government. We are with you if you want to discuss education. The agenda of this 

conference is arbitrary and unconstitutional. The changes being effected in the history textbooks 

are not only violative of the Supreme Court order but are also the President's views." (Times of 

India 11.8.04)

12 th Aug 

Delhi objects to many of the clauses in new Education Bill (11) 

New Delhi, Aug. 11: The Delhi government has taken strong exceptions to a number of clauses in 

the Union Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2004 and asked the Centre to have a "broader" 

purview in its review draft so that Delhi's concerns could be attended to more effectively. 

"Prima facie the Delhi government felt that there should be an alternative bill as the bill had 

provided more than just the skeleton that it was to provide to the states. Additionally, education 

being on the concurrent list, the Delhi government would like to have enabling rather than disabling 

provisions," a top government official said. The bill creates four unequal tracks of 

elementary education system in which schools run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and the 

Sainik Schools will remain outside its purview. This apart, the Central government and state 

governments will have powers to keep outside the purview of the Bill any such schools or 

category of schools as they may specify by a notification. In the opinion of the Delhi government, 

"this provision legalises the hostile discrimination perpetuated against children of the lower strata 

of society within the government schools itself." (Asian Age 12.8.04) 

BJP Ministers return to education board meeting (11) 

NEW DELHI, AUG. 11. After threatening to boycott the concluding day's proceedings of the first 

meeting of the reconstituted Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the Education 

Ministers of five Bharatiya Janata Party ruled States attended the deliberations today and had by 

evening bagged chairmanship of one of the seven CABE committees constituted to address certain 

issues raised over the past two days. However, the Education Ministers of Rajasthan, 

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand maintained that there would be no going 

back on their decision to reject the changes made by the new order at the Human Resource 

Development Ministry in the history textbooks published by the National Council of Educational 

Research and Training. "The arbitrary changing of history and social science textbooks ordered 

by the HRD Minister, Arjun Singh, in contravention to the Supreme Court's judgment will not 

apply in our States," the Rajasthan Education Minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari, said at press 

conference after the CABE meeting. His differences with the Ministry on the constitution of CABE 

and the inclusion of the National Common Minimum Programme on its agenda notwithstanding, 

Mr. Tiwari — who led the BJP charge against Mr. Singh at the inaugural session of the CABE 

meeting on Tuesday — said he had decided to accept the HRD Minister's "request" that he chair 

the Committee on Universalisation of Secondary Education. (The Hindu 12.8.04) 

13 th Aug 

Report blames Education department for fire (11) 

CHENNAI, AUG. 12. Nearly a month after the fire tragedy in a Kumbakonam school that killed 94 

children, a network of 11 non-governmental organisations campaigning for rights fixed the 

responsibility on the Education department. In a fact-finding report, was released here today, the 

network also made suggestions to ensure that such incidents do not recur. The Sri Krishna 

School building, where the fire occurred, was granted approval though it was clear that it had 

violated all norms of safety and stability and the Tamil Nadu Education Rules. Further, the danger 

was that a number of schools all over the State functioned in such cramped places, exposing the 

students to danger, S.S.Rajagopalan, educationist, said. However, he made it clear that the 

intention was not to "merely find fault" with the authorities, but to ensure that such disasters did 

not recur. Mr. Rajago-palan suggested a committee be constituted in every district to monitor 

whether schools adhered to rules and if they did not, their recognition be cancelled immediately. 

"There are no dearth of rules governing education and structural stability. The truth is that they 

are constantly and consistently being violated. The Education department should grant 

recognition only if a school has fulfilled all infrastructure criteria specified in the rules," 

Dr.Rajagopalan said. (The Hindu 13.8.04) 

15 th Aug 

Kalam: Education system needs revamp (11) 

New Delhi, August 14: CALLING FOR massive reforms in India's education system, President

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has sought corporate participation to beef up the government's efforts to 

mobilise adequate resources for the nation's" endless journey through knowledge and 

enlightenment". "The mission of education by the central and state governments as a joint venture 

is the foundation to ensure the creation of enlightened citizens set to make India prosperous, 

happy and strong," the President said in his address on the eve of the 58th Independence Day. 

Be it examination reforms that include renewal of the evaluation system and entrance tests, 

reduction of dropouts, standardisation of teaching and in equality of access to educational 

resources, Kalam came up with innovative ideas to set the rot right. Tracing the root cause of 

poverty to illiteracy, unemployment and lack of basic healthcare, the President called for a sharp 

increase of public spending in these sectors through a process of " prudent enhancement and 

expenditure management". Devoting a major part of his address to education, the President also 

suggested increased allocations in this vital sector to at least 6 to 7 per cent of the GDP. 

(Hindustan Times 15.8.04) 

16 th Aug 

PM cuts short Arjun-RSS debate on education (11) 

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 15: CUTTING through the Arjun Singh-RSS debate on "detoxification" 

of the education system, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said higher education should 

not be made "a prisoner of either bureaucracy or ideology". In his maiden Independence Day 

speech this morning, the Prime Minister stressed the need to "integrate science and technology 

into all our development processes" and said, "The promotion of scientific temper must truly 

become a massive national movement". "We cannot make higher education a prisoner of either 

bureaucracy or ideology. It must develop on the foundations of professional excellence and 

intellectual integrity. The pursuit of excellence and concern for social equity must inform all our 

educational processes," Singh said. His statement is of particular significance because HRD 

Minister Arjun Singh has been running a crusade against the infiltration of the "Hindutva 

worldview" into the syllabus and bureaucracy and is determined to replace it with a "secular" 

approach. But by speaking against "ideology" entirely, the Prime Minister appears to be saying 

that one set of ideological hardliners should not be replaced by another at the cost of academic 

excellence and intellectual integrity. In other words, professional qualifications rather than 

ideological leanings must be the touchstone. (Indian Express 16.8.04) 

18 th Aug 

U.P. approves Ordinance on Urdu varsity (11) 

LUCKNOW, AUG. 17. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet today approved an Ordinance for setting up of 

an Urdu University in Rampur city and made the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Azam Khan, its 

Pro- Chancellor for life, a move objected to by the Governor, T. V. Rajeshwar, who had 

reservations on an earlier Bill that was withdrawn from the Assembly. "The State Cabinet 

presided over by the Chief Minister, Mu-layam Singh Yadav, approved the Ordinance for setting 

up of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jau-har University in Rampur and designated Minister for Parliamentary 

Affairs Azam Khan as its Pro-Chancellor for life," the Chief Secretary, V. K. Mittal, told 

reporters here. The terms and conditions for setting up the university will be the same as 

mentioned in the Bill tabled in the Vidhan Sabha earlier this month, he said. The Government had 

introduced the Bill but withdrew it without citing any reason after the Governor expressed reservations 

over making Azam Khan as the Pro-Chancellor for life. The Samajwadi Party had then 

made it clear that the Government would pursue the Bill despite objections. Meanwhile, the 

leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Pramod Tewari, said that his party's opposition to any 

individual being made pro-chancellor for life would continue. (The Hindu 18.8.04) 

19 th Aug 

Textbook change under Left pressure: Joshi (11) 

New Delhi, Aug. 18: Strongly opposing the changing of NCERT textbooks by the United 

Progressive Alliance government, former human resources development minister Murli Manohar 

Joshi on Wednesday said in the Rajya Sabha that it is being done without any logic and under 

pressure from Leftists. Questioning the premise of the change attempted to be brought about by 

the government, Mr Joshi said while the new HRD minister has been talking about "de-loxification

and de-saffronisation of text books," nothing of the sort had been pointed out by the panel 

appointed to review the books and no religious faction or community had made any such 

complaint. Charging that the panel comprising S. Sattar, J.S Gre-wal and Barun Dey had Leftist 

links and that its members were also members of the Indian History Congress, Mr Joshi said the 

alternate books which the panel had recommended were written by those historians with whom 

the members had co-authored the books. (Asian Age 19.8.04) 

21 st Aug 

Punjab has more schools but few students (11) 

CHANDIGARH, AUG 20. An increase in the number of Government-run primary schools and a 

major rise in per capita expenditure notwithstanding, the education sector in Punjab has shown a 

disturbing aspect over the last 10 years by registering a decline in the number of teachers as well 

as enrolment of students. These are among the main conclusions of a study on "Cost-benefit 

analysis of Primary Education in Punjab: Action points for implementation", which was conducted 

by the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC). The Punjab Government's 

Department of Planning commissioned this vital study which analysed the primary education 

system in the State during the sessions falling between 1992-93 to 2001-02. There was an overall 

decline of 26.98 per cent in enrolment in Government primary schools, which the investigators 

attributed to inadequate strength of teachers and poor infrastructure. The rate of decline in enrolment 

of girls in primary schools stood at 9.86 per cent. However, the study brought out an 

interesting aspect that during the same period, enrolment of Scheduled Castes (SCs) students 

had risen by 25.88 per cent, while number of girls, starting to go to school, from this section 

increased by 37.06 per cent. Special incentives were identified as a causal factor for this trend. 

Providing elaborate evidence that majority of the children being enrolled in the Government 

primary schools belonged to the economically weaker sections or the SCs, it was also brought 

out that situation became more grim as these students did not have family or societal back up for 

completion of their educational and career requirements. This was one of the major factors 

leading to deterioration in the standards of education. (The Hindu 21.8.04) 

25 th Aug 

Madrasa Board set up in U.P.; Congress, BJP decry move (11) 

LUCKNOW, AUG. 24. The Uttar Pradesh Government today announced to constitute a Madrasa 

Board for conducting high school and intermediate examinations of students studying in 

Madrasas, even as the Congress and Opposition BJP criticised the move. The State Cabinet 

meeting here, chaired by the Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, decided to bring in an Ordinance 

to set up the Board. Briefing mediapersons, the State Chief Secretary, V. K. Mittal, said 

with the setting up of the Madrasa Board, all the 1,100 madarsas in the State would get statutory 

recognition. Out of the total madrasas, only 291 were being aided by the State Government while 

there are 4,500 teachers in the madrasas of the State. The Samajwadi Party's (SP) ally, the 

Congress said: "This is a mere damage control exercise on behalf of the Chief Minister to 

appease minorities who were confused over the increasing proximity between the SP and BJP," 

said the UP Congress chief spokesperson, Akhilesh Pratap Singh. Though we do not oppose any 

move to further development of either the minorities or the majority community, but the State 

Government would have to ensure that the level of education was not compromised," he added. 

(Hindu 25.8.04) 

Minority colleges entry test annulled (11) 

Bangalore, Aug. 24: The Justice Venkataraman Committee constituted to oversee admissions to 

professional courses, on Monday annulled the entrance test conducted by the Karnataka religious 

and linguistic minority professional colleges association and directed the association to conduct a 

fresh entrance test or admit students based on the CET merit list. A press note issued by the 

Venkataraman committee stated that the Karnataka religious and linguistic minority professional 

colleges association had not intimated the committee about the date and place of the entrance 

test. "The association claimed to have published an advertisement in the newspapers on August 

12 but it had failed to inform the committee about the test. Thus the association has virtually 

prevented the committee from overseeing the entrance test conducted by it in a fair and

transparent manner," the release added. The release further said that the Justice Venkatra-man 

committee had received numerous complaints alleging serious irregularities in the conduct of the 

entrance test. "The religious and linguistic minority professional colleges association has been 

instructed to conduct a fresh entrance test giving due intimation to the committee or admit the 

Karnataka and non-Karnataka candidates based on the state CET merit list," the press release 

stated on Monday. (Asian Age 25.8.04) 

UP madarsas to be recognised (11) 

Lucknow: In a decision of far-reaching consequences, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government 

moved to consolidate its Muslim vote bank by deciding to recognise nearly 1,100 madarsas run 

by minority institutions and conduct their annual examinations. The decision to fund the madarsas 

was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet presided by the chief minister on Tuesday, although it 

also formed part of Mulayam's budget speech. The timing of the decision is crucial since byelections 

to 12 Vidhan Sabha seats are scheduled to be held in the near future. While most of the 

madarsas are affiliated to Dini Talmik Council of UP, an autonomous body they would now be 

brought under Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Shiksha Parishad, which is to be set up soon. (Times of 

India 25.8.04) 

26 th Aug 

7,400 poor students admitted to public schools (11) 

NEW DELHI, AUG. 25. In what can be termed as one of the first major achievements of the 

Sheila Dikshit Government, nearly 7,400 children from the weaker sections of society have been 

admitted to public schools under the 20 per cent quota for poor in the education sector. However, 

nearly 25 schools that have failed to fulfil their obligation in this regard are being served show 

cause notices which could even lead to their de-recognition by the Directorate of Education. 

Insiders in the Delhi Government informed that reports had been compiled which indicated that 

7,400 students had been admitted to various public schools across the Capital under this new 

scheme which came into effect from July this year. As the scheme was implemented late during 

this academic session, only 7,400 poor students could be admitted but this number is likely to 

touch nearly 40,000 next year. The Education Minister, Arvinder Singh Lovely, today reviewed the 

situation at a high level meeting held at the Directorate of Education where directions were issued 

to draw up the list of schools that had failed to implement the policy direction of the Government 

and also prepare a list of the those schools who had partially fulfilled the scheme criteria. 

Sources said that around 75 schools could face strong action from the Directorate of Education 

including de-recognition if they did not comply and failed to come up with a satisfactory 

explanation. The Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, who directed Mr. Lovely to ensure that the weaker 

sections also get an opportunity to join the mainstream along with other students of public 

schools, had taken up the matter of admission to poor students under this quota vigorously. 

Sources said that admission of 7,400 students from the poor strata of society was a big 

achievement as no such thing had happened in the past. This is going to open up a lot of 

opportunities for the poor students in future also and the Delhi Government is determined to 

expand this avenue further from the next academic session. (Hindu 26.8.04) 

29 th Aug 

Poor student’s quota gives way to corruption (11) 

NEW DELHI, AUG. 28. The Sheila Dikshit Government might have done well to get poor students 

admitted to public schools across the Capital, but it has in the process opened up new avenues 

for corruption at the lower level. The quota for the poor has provided an opening to affluent 

parents, who were unable to get their wards admitted to these leading pubic schools, to bribe 

their way through. A large number of such cases have come to light and have also been brought 

to the notice of the Directorate of Education by concerned school managements where parents of 

wards from affluent sections have managed to get income certificates from SDMs' offices allegedly 

by paying a certain consideration to lower level staff. These are parents whose wards had 

been denied admission to such leading public schools in the normal course and have adopted 

this new route to get them enrolled in those very schools. All this is being done allegedly in 

connivance with lower level officials at the SDMs' offices. "Leading a campaign against corrupt

practices at the Secretariat in the Players Building is fine, but what is happening in the field 

offices is very different. Nothing moves without paying money and in such cases one just has to 

shell out a certain amount to acquire a lower income group certificate without any questions being 

asked," a senior official remarked. (The Hindu, 29-2004) 

Poor students get `free education’ in private schools (11) 

NEW DELHI, Aug.28 : They are among the 7,400 students of economically backward section 

who have got admitted in a private school with a free education. But, it will not be a free lunch all 

the way. Unable to help their children in their homework, parents are having to spend money on 

private tuitions. But, still there is a satisfaction that their children will finally get a good education. 

“I wanted my children to get quality education which was not possible in government schools. I 

had too literally plead to people to let my children into their schools,” said a Nangloi resident, Ms 

Nazma Begum. But still the students can not relax. They need to pay attention to trivial things 

like presentation of homework and maintaining notebooks that the other students might take for 

granted. (Statesman, 29-8-2004) 

30 th Aug 

Govt ignored primary education: MPs panel (11) 

New Delhi: Just a 3.5% decline in the school dropout rate in a decade, a mere 33% recruitment of 

teachers, 370 Kendriya Vidyalayas functioning without permanent buildings — government's 

efforts on primary education are nothing more than a lick and a promise. Parliament's standing 

committee report on human resource development says "primary education has not really been 

the priority area of the government". Debunking the government's claim that the Sarva Shiksha 

Abhiyan has resulted in an "outstanding" decline in the number of out-of-school children from 2.3 

crore in April 2003 to 61 lakh in December last year, the committee said it was an “illusion”. 

"Monitoring of the developments and failures is ensured regularly," the committee has told the 

government. Lack of teachers and absenteeism are major causes for the high dropout rate, 

according to the committee report. "Because of this, the dropout rate has come down by just 

3.5% during the last decade — from 42.6% in 1991 to 39.1% in 2001." The government's policy 

to substitute regular trained teachers with under-trained Shiksha Karmis has been criticised by 

the committee. "Instead of directly attacking the problem of teacher absenteeism, the department 

(of education) has created a cadre of semi-trained teachers. Sincere steps should be taken to 

ensure that only fully trained teachers were into teaching process." Noting the abysmal state of 

adult education, the committee pointed out that only 77% of the allocated funds were used. "An 

increase of a mere Rs 17 crore from last financial year would not be adequate in the face of the 

gigantic task before the government," the report said. The committee recommended that children 

who drop out should be integrated into the continuing education programmes under adult 

education. (Times of India, 30-8-2004) 

1 st September 

Attorney-general to simplify school admission process (11) 

New Delhi, Aug. 31: The attorney-general will now have a new task — to devise ways to end the 

virtual "harassment" of children who want admission in schools. This was directed by the Delhi 

high court on Tuesday as it continued with its tireless efforts to simplify the admission procedure 

to pre-nursery classes and thus deal with the practice of interviews of children and their parents. 

Taking a serious view of the trend, Justice D.K. Jain and Justice S.R. Bhat has sought Attorney- 

General Milon Banerjee's assistance in deciding whether or not interviewing children and their 

parents is required for admissions to nursery and pre-primary classes. "Keeping in view the 

importance of the issue, we think it appropriate to request the attorney-general to assist the court 

in the matter," the bench said, while issuing a notice to A-G's office. Besides this, the court has 

also invited individuals, schools or educational institutes to suggest alternate ways for helping in 

this matter. "All bodies, individuals and schools interested in assisting the court in the matter may 

file their submissions in the form of affidavits within two weeks," the bench ruled. The court took 

up the issue after a plea was filed by three parents challenging a single bench judgement which 

had rejected the plea for banning interviewing of children and their parents. The petitioners' 

counsel, Mr Ashok Agarwal, had informed the court that several schools have already put up

anners inviting applications for admission to pre-primary classes. (Asian Age, 1-9-2004) 

2 ND September 

NCERT fails to meet deadline. (11) 

Distribution ofpre-2000 history text books still underway 

New Delhi, Sept. 1: The six-week deadline set by the executive committee of the National Council 

for Educational Research and Training to make available pre-2000 history text books to all 

schools following the CBSE syllabus, as part of the government's drive to "detoxify" the history 

textbooks gets over on Thursday, but the distribution work is still underway. The NCERT has 

blamed the nationwide truckers strike that was called off on Saturday for the delay. But officials 

say that they have stepped up distribution work and hope to achieve the target in the next couple 

of days. The executive committee of NCERT, which met on July 19, had decided not to change 

the history text books for the current academic session, keeping in view students' interest but "desaffronise" 

them from the next session. The committee had decided that the books which were 

replaced by the present text books would be printed in sufficient numbers to enable at least five 

copies to be sent free to each school under the CBSE syllabus, as reference material. The 

executive committee had decided to make these books available to teachers as reference 

material within six weeks. "While the publication work was complete on time the distribution 

aspect suffered a minor setback due to the nationwide truckers' strike. Despite this crunch, 

NCERT is hopeful of achieving its target of providing these books to the schools in the next 

couple of days," officials said. The nationwide distribution status shows that CBSE has been 

supplied 22,000 copies in English and 1,500 copies in Hindi for Classes 6 to 8 and 8,800 copies 

in English and 300 copies in Hindi for Classes 10 and 12 till August 31. The directorate of 

education, Delhi government was supplied the books for Class 11 and 12 on August 26. 

(Asian Age, 2-9-2004_ 

6 TH September 

CBSE plans grading system up to class VIII - (11) 

New Delhi: Students up to Class VIII will be spared the percentile race. The CBSE will now be 

introducing the grading system in Class VI to VIII. Till now, the CBSE had kept grading till Class 

V, under its continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system. A nine-point grading 

system will also be used in Class X in 2006. Speaking to TOI, CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly 

said: "We are recommending schools to go for the grading system from this academic session 

only, though perhaps the implementation nationwide may take longer." The introduction of 

grading in Class VI to VIII is seen as a positive move by many teachers. Ganguly revealed that 

while no "mark bandwidth" has as yet been issued, "We will ensure that there's flexibility in the 

issue. What we want is to link it (the grading) to Class IX and X." As a part of this, the 20% 

internal assessment in Class IX may be evaluated in the five-point grading system, he added. 

Meanwhile, schools are happy about the decision. Said Bharati Sharma, principal of Amity 

International: "I think this will help students understand subjects rather than just score in them. 

Right now, even half a mark creates tremendous pressure on a child." (Time of India, 6-9-2004) 

Academics angry with PM - (11) 

New Delhi: Prominent "Left-oriented" academics are not too pleased with PM Manmohan Singh's 

recent remarks against the role of ideology in education and "fundamentalism of Left or Right." 

Accusing the PM of "playing into the hands of BJP and RSS", these intellectuals chose the 

platform provided by Sahamat, a cultural organisation that is part of the Left family, to air their 

discontent. While historian Man Habib expressed his anger over the PM's remark on ideology in 

education, economist Prabhat Patnaik accused the government of failing to keep the promises it 

made to the poor and deprived. Habib said: "By making such remarks, Manmohan Singh has 

accepted half of RSS's case that previous textbooks were biased. What has Left fundamentalism 

got to do with books written by Bipan Chandra who extolled Mahatama Gandhi and Jawaharlal 

Nehru? If this is the case, Gandhi and Nehru were also Left fundamentalists. Manmohan Singh 

has to decide or he will be left out alone." Singh had said, "I do not favour fundamentalism of 

extreme Right or Left," and had stressed on the need to ensure "that education did not become a 

prisoner of ideology." While battle lines are drawn on the ideological front, the government's

economic policies also did not find favour with these academics. "The UPA government is 

backtracking on the Common Minimum Programme even before the ink on the document could 

dry," Patnaik said. "On employment guarantee scheme, the Congress had promised employment 

to all rural and urban households. In the CMP, it limited the scheme to rural areas only. Now in 

the final budget announcement, they are going to start it in only 150 districts of the country. It is a 

matter of concern and worry," Patnaik added. ( Times of India, 7-9-2004) 


No" students, Delhi to close 53 schools – (11) 

New Delhi, Sept. 7: The Delhi government has decided to shut down more than 50 schools in the 

capital. The reason: There are no students. As many as 53 middle, secondary and senior 

secondary schools run by the Delhi government — some of them more than 15 years old — do 

not have more than 300 students each on their rolls. As a result, it has become difficult for the 

administration to run them. The existing students will now be accommodated in other schools. 

The education department of the Delhi government closed 30 schools in 2003. The government 

has so far closed 25 schools in 2004. The Delhi government-run senior secondary school near 

Kinari Bazar, Gali Barf Wali in the walled city area has only 47 students. Residents of the area 

claim that the school is more than 15 years old. Now, the government has decided to shut down 

the school. The students of the school will be adjusted in another school in the same locality. 

Besides, a government-run senior secondary school near Sushila Mohan Marg will also be closed 

down as it has only 50 students. Another government-run senior secondary school in Molar Band 

has just 55 students. A middle school situated near the Railway Colony in the Paharganj area has 

only 71 students. Yet another middle school in the Paharganj area has just 77 students. Apart 

from these, there are several government-run schools in the capital where the number of students 

are less than 300. These schools, too, will be closed down. They include a senior secondary 

school in Chhawla (291), a middle school in R.K. Puram Sector-4 (291), a senior secondary 

school in Kangan Heri (290), a senior secondary school in Dichaon Kalan (290) and a middle 

school (Urdu medium) in Bulbuli Khana (288). Sources further confirmed that teachers of these 

schools will also be accommodated in the nearest government schools. (Asian Age, 8-9-2004) 

Literacy race: Jains take the honours / Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims Lag Behind – (11) 

New Delhi: Literacy rates point to demographic shifts in the years to come. The 2001 Census 

shows Jains, with a literacy rate of 94.1%, are the most educated. They are followed by 

Christians at 80.3%, Buddhists at 72.7%, Sikhs at 69.4%, Hindus at 65.1% and Muslims at 

59.1%. 'Other Religions and persuasions', however, show the lowest literacy rate of 47%. Higher 

literacy rates are generally expected to go hand in hand with a decrease in the male-female 

literacy gap and that holds true except in the case of Muslims. Among the six major religious 

groups in the country, while Jains and Christians with the highest literacy rates show a difference 

of less than 10 percentage points in male and female literacy rates, Hindus have the biggest 

difference of 23% with Buddhists at 21.4%. Muslims, despite lower literacy rates than both Hindus 

and Buddhists, have a lower gender literacy difference of 17.5%. It is also a generally held belief 

that higher rates of female literacy lead to better population control. A comparison of female 

literacy rates with the percentage of population in the 0-6 age group across religions shows that 

the Jains with the highest female literacy rates of 90.6% do indeed have the lowest proportion of 

10.6% in the 0-6 age bracket. However, Christians with the next highest female literacy rate of 

76.2% have a higher 13.5% of population in the 0-6 age bracket than Sikhs, who have a lower 

12.8% of 0-6 year olds despite a significantly lower female literacy rate of 63.1 %. Hindus have 

15% proportion of 0-6 year olds with a female literacy rate of 53%, while Muslims have 18% in the 

0-6 age bracket with a slightly lower female literacy rate of 50%. Female literacy rates for Sikhs 

and Jains are very encouraging in all states except Rajasthan for Sikhs and Mizoram for Jains 

showing female literacy rates above 60%. The nation-al female literacy rate is 53.2 %. (Times of 

India, 8-9-2004) 

ICHR to hunt and slay saffron content – (11) 

New Delhi: Historians at the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) will soon undertake a 

massive hunt — it will scrutinise all history written under ICHR grants in the past five years for

shades of saffron and ask the authors to change the text. If the authors refuse, the council might 

also drop the projects. In response to a circular from the HRD ministry sent out last month, which 

wants research councils to weed out all saffron content from recent projects, ICHR has decided to 

set up expert committees of prominent historians to scrutinise special projects and themes of 

junior and senior fellowships commissioned by the council during former HRD minister Murli 

Manohar Joshi's tenure. "A number of professional organisations and archaeologists have been 

in receipt of ICHR grant in the past five years. We have to get their (researchers), objectives and 

activities examined. Keeping in view the stupendous task, the council will have to appoint threefour 

committees of experts," ICHR has said in a letter to the HRD ministry, promising to submit 

the action-taken report in a couple of months. ICHR chairman D N Tripathi said if communal 

references were found in any of the projects, he would ask the author to alter the text. "If that 

doesn't happen, we will simply junk the work." (Times of India, 8-9-2004) 


`Detox' drive: I&B ministry shelves saffron books – (11) 

New Delhi: The controversy over Veer Savarkar could spread to other Hindutva icons too. 

According to highly placed sources in the I&B ministry, 'saffron' books commissioned during the 

tenure of the NDA government are being shelved. The books include the complete works of Been 

Dayal Upadhyay and the biographies of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Veer Savarkar. Though 

the ministry has not officially taken a decision to scrap these projects, sources revealed that their 

"relevance" was being examined afresh. They defended the "reappraisal" on the ground that the 

ministry is "well within its right not to publish a book already commissioned on the ground of poor 

quality of its manuscript". An amount of Rs 50 lakh is available as budgetary allocation for the 

complete works of Upadhyay, a BJP ideologue. That money, sources said, would be utilised for 

other purposes. Though the officials fight shy of admitting that the three projects are going to be 

sent to the scrap yard, they admit that the saffron works are not on the ministry's priority list any 

more. They pointed out that the last reminder to the author of Savarkar's biography had been 

sent in February. "It is possible to cancel or delay the projects without terminating the contracts if 

they exist," they said. Sources say the work on compiling Upadhyay's works has not made any 

progress either in the past few months. With different I&B wings severely hit by a drastic cut in 

fund allocations, the ministry is clearly not willing to spend money on books which are 

ideologically incompatible with the Congress-led UFA government's viewpoint. (Times of India, 7- 

9-2004) 


Central project may not find enough students (11) 

KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 8: A LITTLE more than two decades of neglect of the English language 

at the primary level is beginning to threaten a Union Government project for Std VI to XII 

schools for tribal boys and girls set up under the Central Board of Secondary Education in five 

districts of West Bengal. Under the project, five new English-medium schools are to be set up for 

classes VI to XII to provide quality education for tribal students. The state administration has 

already admitted to the lack of adequate number of tribal students educated in English. "We're 

planning to have a separate English-medium school in Siliguri from class I to V next year so that 

these new schools can be supplied with students," said Upen Kisku, the State Minister for 

Backward Classes' Welfare Department (BCWD). At present, the Minister hopes that the students 

from the state government-run or -aided schools would help see the scheme through. "Initially, 

there will be some problems and these will be accentuated by the state government's decision to 

banish English from the primary level," says the director of St Beanney Bengali-Medium primary 

school chain, Father Michael Raj. (Indian Express 9.9.04) 


56 Pvt schools refuse to give details on quota (11) 

New Delhi: Fifty-six private schools of the city have refused to submit data to the Delhi 

government which had sought details from them to find whether they were following the high 

court directive of providing 25% free seats to underprivileged students. Some private schools in 

Delhi which purchased land at subsidised rates from the government or other civic agencies got

the land on condition that they would reserve 25% seats for the underprivileged students. Since 

the schools were not following the condition, Social Jurist, an NGO filed a public interest litigation 

which made the high court pass the direction in January this year. The Delhi government, in an 

affidavit to the high court, claimed on Wednesday that it has decided to issue showcause notices 

to these schools. The directorate of education, Rajendra Kumar, submitted the affidavit. 

(Statesman 11.9.04) 


Unrecognised schools cause despair in kids (11) 

New Delhi, Sept. 12: Ritesh Jain, 10, has no friends in the school. All his friends, with whom he 

would play, are now one year senior to him. Young Ritesh is the victim of the "education mafia" 

that runs thousands of unrecognised schools across the national capital which promise a lot and 

give nothing. Ritesh's father Anand Jain, a resident of Nirman Vihar in East Delhi, had got him 

admitted to one such school in the area. After completing his primary education, Mr Anand 

realised that his son was refused admission in the secondary schools. The reason: his son had 

passed out from an unrecognised school. By the time he realised the mistake, it was too late. Mr 

Anand now blames it on the system and the tall claims made by the owners of these schools that 

they will get the students admitted in regular institutions. "I can say only one thing. It is the duty of 

parents to verify the status of the primary or middle school in which they want their child to get 

admitted. Delhi is full of cheats. It is all because of an unrecognised school that my son has lost 

an year," he says. His grudge is that these schools have mushroomed all across the city and it 

becomes difficult to verify their credentials. "This is a dangerous trend, as it means playing with 

thousands of children. It poses problems for a child when they have to seek admission in regular 

or recognised schools," he says. – (Asian Age 13.9.04) 


Minorities identify obstacles in education (11) 

Lucknow, Sept. 13: The National Committee for Monitoring Minorities Education has 

identified red tapism. excessive government interference and lack of -resources as some of the 

impediments in the growth of education levels among minorities. The NCMME set up by the 

Union ministry for human resource development held its first meeting in Lucknow on Sunday 

where it heard views from a cross-section of people from minority communities. Chairman of 

NCMME, Mr Zafar Ali Naqvi told The Asian Age that the committee would now tour all state capitals 

and then prepare a report for every state which would be submitted to the HRD minister by 

the end of this year. "HRD minister Mr Arjun Singh has taken the initiative of identifying the 

problems in minority education and hence this committee has been set up. Our first meeting 

today has thrown up several suggestions which we will incorporate in our report. At a later stage, 

we may even set up similar committees in every state," he said. Majority of the speakers felt that 

while the overbearing attitude of the government in opening up new educational institutions for 

minorities was a deterrent, the non-availability of bank loans for students belonging to minority 

communities actually served to discourage higher education among the communities. (Asian Age 

14.9.04) 


Anthem gives Gujarat a miss, Modi fumes (11) 

GANDHINAGAR, SEPT 16: THE omission of "Gujarat" from the national anthem in two text 

books published by the Kerala Education Department has struck the wrong chord in the 

Mahatma's land. Chief Minister Narendra Modi has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan 

Singh, urging him to take prompt action in the matter. In the letter, a copy of which has also been 

sent to Kerala CM Oommen Chandy, Modi has described as "shocking" the omission of "Gujarat" 

from the national anthem in the text books. He has also drawn the attention of the PM to the fact 

that the same thing had happened last year and the Kerala Education Minister had then given the 

assurance that the error would be corrected. But the error has been repeated this year again, 

Modi pointed out. He said the absence of "Gujarat" in the national anthem in the Std IX Mathematics 

text book published by the Kerala Education Department also raises questions about the 

motive of certain functionaries of the Kerala government. Raking up the issue while addressing a

function in his hometown of Vadnagar on Thursday, Modi threatened to launch an agitation in Gujarat 

from October 2 to October 31 if the Central Government, Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) 

and the Kerala government failed to apologise for "a deliberate attempt to omit 'Gujarat' from the 

national anthem in the text books". (Indian Express 17.9.04) 

21 st September 

Five months over, no textbooks for students (11) 

DEHRA DUN, SEPT. 20. The Uttaranchal Education Department has failed to provide textbooks 

of several subjects to thousands of poor students in government schools even five months after 

the current academic session began. Indications are that these books may not be available for at 

least one more month. Parents willing to buy these books, provided free of cost by the State, 

cannot do so from the market as no private publisher was allowed to print them. According to top 

Education Department officials, the delay was due to the inability of the Government Printing 

Press at Roorkee to print these books. "Even if the press left all other jobs and worked 24 hours 

to print these books it needs more than a month," the officials admit. What is surprising is that the 

Uttaranchal Government, known to give works that could be done by its staff to private hands, 

has failed to do so in this case. "Perhaps education is not a priority for the Government," 

observed a teacher. The absence of books is not all the students face. A large number of schools 

are without teachers or buildings. A few schools have been given computers without the 

institution having any access to electricity or teachers trained in computers under the much 

publicised 'computer education for all' scheme. "The computer and IT scam if probed by the CBI 

would reveal the mass scale loot going on in the State", observed the principal of a school 

in Rishikesh. (The Hindu 21.9.04) 


Now, Savarkar thrown out of Karnataka textbooks (11) 

Bangalore: Be it Andamans or Karnataka, it seems a "delete" Savarkar campaign is on. As the 

debate over the historical position of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar grips the nation following the 

removal of his plaque from the Andaman jail, students in Karnataka have nothing to study about 

this freedom fighter as his profile, along with his picture, has been deleted from the class VII 

Social Science book this academic year. Until last year, chapter 11 on "Struggle for Freedom __ 

II Phase" discussed the role played by Savarkar. But this year, his name has gone missing along 

with other "controversial figures" like Chandrashekar Azad and Bhagat Singh. "The deletions 

were not intentional or politically motivated. Our idea was not to project controversial characters 

at the class VII level, which is why these names were removed," said S Settar, visiting professor 

at National Institute of Advanced Studies. (Times of India 24.9.04) 


Protest against commercialization of education (11) 

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 24. Protesting against "commercialisation" and "communalisation" of education, 

the All India Democratic Students' Organisation today organised a march from Ramlila 

Maidan to Parliament House here. A delegation, led by the president of AIDSO, Pratap Samal, 

also handed over a memorandum addressed to the Union Human Resource Development 

Minster, Arjun Singh. "We are protesting against the fee hike and the attempts to commercialise 

and communalise education. There has been distortion in subjects like history," said 

member, AIDSO, Sau-- rabh Mukherjee. Other issues include demand for allocation of at least 

10 per cent of the Union Budget for education, ensuring autonomy of education at all levels and 

withdrawal of "unscientific" courses. Concentrating on similar issues, in particular "against the fee 

hike, commercialisation and communalisation of education", the All India Save Education 

Committee is organising a "Save Education Convention" in the city on Saturday. Formei 

Supreme Court Judge, Kuldip Singh, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Rajinder Sa-char, 

Professor Sunanda Sanya and other distinguished educa tionists are expected to participate in 

the convention. (The Hindu 25.9.04) 

Back home, education quota tops PM agenda (11) 

New Delhi: After having mooted quotas in the private sector, the Manmohan Singh government is

set to step into what was another 'no fly' zone by seeking to map out quotas for socially and 

economically disadvantaged sections of reliljgious and linguistic minorities in educational 

institutions. '?" . The politically loaded move will top the agenda of the first Cabinet meeting after 

the Prime Minister's return to the Capital with his office readying a proposal to set up a national 

commission to formulate guidelines and sift , claims for inclusion. Consultations with HRD 

ministry have been concluded. The proposal, marked as high priority, complements the UPA 

government's efforts to explore reservations for scheduled castes and tribes in the private sector. 

The move to provide a quota for religious and linguistic minorities is seen to be more "doable" in 

the immediate context. Quotas in educational institutions, perennially controversial, have gained 

currency again in the wake of the debate over reservations in the private sector. After the Mandal 

shock of the early 90s, reservations have not raised much dust. (Times of India 25.9.04) 

Minority School push (11) 

New Delhi, Sept. 24: The human resource development ministry will soon bring an ordinance to 

set up a national commission for minority education in order to make it easier for minority 

educational institutions to get affiliated to central universities. The ministry believes much damage 

has been done during former minister Murli Manohar Joshi's tenure, when he gave minority 

educational institutions a hard time. The proposed ordinance, currently being worked out, will 

speed up the creation of the commission, which, in turn, will be able to address the problems of 

minority institutions without delay. Parliament will enact a law when it meets in November to give 

the commission the required legal backing. The government does not have to wait for another two 

months for the commission to start functioning if it brings an ordinance. According to the ministry, 

the commission will be a quasi-judicial body that will act as a facilitator between minority 

educational institutions and central universities. The BJP, Joshi in particular, may object to the 

introduction of an ordinance since political parties believe it gives the government an opportunity 

to dodge a discussion on a sensitive subject. (Telegraph 25.9.04) 

Convention highlights Centre’s nefarious plans against education (11) 

NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. - In the era of globalisation, the dominance of corpo-rates is inevitable. If 

education has its 'intake of privatisation, the system is no longer left with the social, 

characteristics it should stand for. This was stated by eminent educationist, Prof Sunando Sanyal, 

at a convention organised by the All India Save Education Committee. Eminent educationists, 

scientists and' people who form the intelligentsia' were present on the occasion. Prof Sanyal, in 

his speech, pointed out the attitude of various governments at the Centre towards education. 

Long before the proposal of the Model, Act was made by the NDA government, it was the ,, 

Congress at the time of Rajiv Gandhi which provided a blueprint for destroying the prevailing 

education system, said Mr Sanyal. He added that a major attack on education was the 

promulgation of the National Policy on Education, 1986, by the Rajiv Gandhi' led government. 

Prof Sanyal talked about how the uni-'versities in West Bengal are getting corrupted by their 

administrators. Fake mark sheets and certificates are very easy from any private institutions in 

the state. He said that the state government in West Bengal only claims to be progressive; they 

had indeed introduced privatisation to the central universities in the state. A fee hike in higher 

education has kept the downtrodden section of West Bengal deprived. (Statesman 26.9.04) 

Minority-run institutions get HRD boost (11) 

New Delhi, Sept. 26: In a move to give a boost to minority education as promised in the common 

minimum programme of the United Progressive Alliance government, the human resources 

development ministry is planning to bring an ordinance to benefit minority-run educational 

institutions. That the HRD ministry is contemplating to bring an ordinance comes in the wake of 

the assurances given by HRD minister Arjun Singh in the first meeting of the national monitoring 

committee on minority education held last month where he had said that the government would 

be working towards affiliating minority professional institutions to the Central universities. The 

proposed ordinance would seek a special status for minority educational institutions along with 

greater autonomy, sources said. The ordinance, which is expected to give protection to such 

institutions by affiliating them to the Central universities, would be taken to the Union Cabinet for 

approval. The step is being considered to be a follow-up to the UFA government's proposal

egarding minority education in the CMP. It can be mentioned that it has been pledged in the 

CMP that the "UPA government will amend the Constitution to establish a Commission for 

Minority Educational Institutions that will provide direct affiliation for minority, professional 

institutions to Central universities." (Asian Age 27.9.04) 


Vocational courses in school syllabus under study (11) 

BHOPAL, SEPT. 28. Serious thought is being given in Madhya Pradesh for making the syllabus 

at the High School level more flexible by introducing special vocational courses that can be 

incorporated as full-fledged subjects along with those being taught in schools. A senior 

bureaucrat, involved in the decision-making process at the highest level, expressed the view that 

major steps would have to be taken to overhaul the school education system. He said "it is 

unfortunate that we have continued to retain a system of education where almost 75 per cent of 

the students fail to clear the tenth class examination conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Board of 

Secondary Education every year". "The number of those who fail to clear the Class X 

examination is massive. Therefore, it is obvious that those rejected through the formal 

examination system would constitute the majority of our electorate," he added. Last year, only 

25.88 per cent students could pass the Class X examination conducted by the State Board. This 

year, 29.19 per cent students could clear the examination. (The Hindu 29.9.04) 


In Modi’s Gujarat, Hitler is a textbook hero (11) 

Ahmedabad: Gandhi is not so great, but Hitler is. Welcome to high school education in Narendra 

Modi's Gujarat where authors of social studies textbooks published by the Gujarat State Board of 

School Textbooks have found faults with the freedom movement and glorified Fascism and 

Nazism. While a Class VIII student is taught 'negative aspects' of Gandhi's non-cooperation 

movement, the Class X social studies textbook has chapters on 'Hitler, the Supremo' and 'Internal 

Achievements of Nazism'. The Class book presents a frighteningly uncritical picture of Fascism 

and Nazism. The strong national pride that both these phenomena generated, the efficiency in 

the bureaucracy and the administration and other 'achievements' are detailed, but pogroms 

against Jews and atrocities against trade unionists, migrant labourers, and any section of people 

who did not fit the holocaust. The section 'Ideology of Nazism' reads "Hitler lent dignity and 

prestige to the German government within a short time by establishing a strong administrafive set 

up. Times of India 30.9.04) 

Historians lash out at Sangh Parivar (11) 

New Delhi, Sept. 29: Moving ahead towards an agenda for secular education, eminent Leftoriented 

historians and academics, at a seminar in the capital on Wednesday, lashed out at the 

Sangh Parivar. They pointed out the damaging effects of the saffron agenda pursued during the 

previous regime of the BJP-led NDA government. The history text book controversy and the 

"saffron agenda" pursued by the previous government once again came up for discussion with 

well-known historians like Prof. Satish Chandra and Prof. Arjun Dev. They asserted the need to 

prepare books that present a "holistic" picture of India and encourage a critical approach in 

education. The seminar was organised by Anhad, a non-governmental organisation. Speaking on 

the theme "Towards An Agenda For Secular Education," the historians criticised the previous 

BJP-led NDA government for attempts to include astrology in university syllabus and saffronise 

education, saying that such attempts "would weaken the natural ethos of the society." Writer and 

historian, Prof. Satish Chandra said, "Our education should incorporate all values of life but the 

saffron brigade is bent upon teaching only Hindutva. The agenda of education should be 

rationalism, pluralism and human rights," he asserted. Commenting on what kind of history 

should be read, he said, (Asian Age 30.9.04) 

Cabinet okays education quota paneL for minorities (11) 

New Delhi: Taking a step towards setting up quotas in educational institutions for socially and 

economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities, the Union Cabinet on 

Wednesday approved formation of a national commission to examine the issue. TOI in its edition

of September 25 had reported that the Cabinet would consider quotas in education on Prime 

Minister Manmohan Singh's return from the US. 

The quotas would be within the 50% ceiling stipulated by the Supreme Court. The commission 

would recommend specific welfare measures in keeping with the ruling UPA's common minimum 

programme. It is expected to give its report by March 31 next year. The Cabinet also approved 

the terms of reference for the commission. It would suggest criteria for identification of socially 

and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities, information and 

broadcasting minister S Jaipal Reddy said. 

The panel would suggest necessary legal, constitutional and administrative modalities for 

implementation of the recommendations. (Times of India 30.9.04) 

2 nd October 

30 Lakh school dropouts in Bihar: New data (11) 

New Delhi, Oct. 1: Till December 31, 2003, the number of school dropouts between 6 and 14 

years in Bihar stood at 7.46 lakhs. The revised figures provided by Bihar to the human resources 

development ministry puts the number at 29.80 lakhs. The difference in figures submitted by 

West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are amazing and put a question mark on the competence of the 

state governments surveying and tabulation skills. The December statistics put the number of 

dropouts in West Bengal at 4.39 lakhs and the reviewed number is 10 lakhs. Uttar Pradesh follows 

with a jump from 2.10 lakhs to 7.27 lakhs. With figures from a;'. the states taken together, an 

estimated 70-80 lakh children remain out of school at the national level as against the 61 lakh 

children till December 2003. The revised figures take into account the dropouts till the first few 

months of 2004. When the final figures upto September 30 come, the picture is likely to change 

further. The December figures had come in for criticism as these were shockingly low compared 

to the data available at the start of 2003 which put the number of drop outs at the national level at 

2.38 crores. Asian Age 2.10.04) 

Gujarat textbook mum on riots (11) 

Ahmedabad, October 1: THE POST-GODHRA riots of 2002 may have brought international 

media attention to Gujarat but the state's history textbooks don't think the events are worth even a 

mention. The Class VIII social sciences textbook — published by the Gujarat State Board of 

School Textbooks — makes no mention of the Godhra episode or of the anti-minority pogrom that 

followed. But it does have the Akshardham attack — an event that took place much after the riots. 

The omission is in tune with the thinking of the B JP and Sangh Parivar, which has always tried to 

underplay the riots. It has become almost a trademark of chief minister Narendra Modi to say in 

public that the adverse publicity the riots gave rise to was a conspiracy by the national English 

media to defame the people of Gujarat. In fact, one industry association in the state had 

described the riots as a 'social mishap'. 

Besides the omission, the book has plenty of spelling and grammatical errors — mostly due to inefficient 

translation from the original Gujarati version — as well as several historical inaccuracies. 

For instance, the move of eminent lawyers like C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru, VaUabhbhai Patel and 

Ra-jagopalachari to quit the legal profession and join the freedom movement has been described 

as a 'negative aspect' of Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation call. (Hindustan Times 2.10.04) 

HRD pats Modi school survey (11) 

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 1: THIS would be good news for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. 

At a time when his government is being accused of glorifying Hitler in school textbooks, Union 

HRD Minister Arjun Singh's education planners have showcased a particular Gujarat education 

programme which has improved the quality of primary schools in rural areas. 

At a recent meeting of education officials from all states held in Delhi, the Government highlighted 

some good projects in primary education from some of the states. And topping the list was the 

Gujarat SCERT's field survey conducted with support from Bhavnagar University and HM 

Ahmedabad. 

It was one of the most elaborate education surveys ever carried out in the country. The "learning 

achievements" of children in Classes III to VIII were evaluated in each district. The sample size 

was quite big in each district, and the questions devised by the survey planners were innovative.

The evaluators compared learning levels vis-a-vis "competency" levels anticipated in the 

textbooks provided to them. Special focus was laid on language skills, Mathematics and 

Environment Sciences. Kumud Bansal, Education Secretary, today said the results were very 

interesting. 

The survey identified "hard spots" and suggested teaching and learning remedies. Accordingly, 

the Gujarat SCERT devisee teacher training module for each class. (Indian Express 2.10.04) 

7 th October 

Coming soon: Mars in multimedia at Madarsas (11) 

Calcutta: When teachers take up the history of the Taj Mahal or the topography of Mars, students 

in about 50 madarsas across the state can soon expect lively classes embellished with multimedia 

presentations. Attempts are being made to put madarsas firmly on the information technology 

expressway with the West Bengal Board of Madarsa Education signing an MolJ with Intel, a 

software giant, to train teachers in preparing teaching and learning material. After the training, 

they will conduct classes in computer laboratories of their respective madarsas, where students 

from Classes VI to XI will be taught various subjects with the help of multimedia presentations. 

More than 40,000 students are expected to benefit from the tie-up. "Intel is providing training in 

computer operations free of cost," said board president Abdus Sattar. The heads of about 44 

madarsas have attended two one-day training workshops. From Monday, two 10-day workshops 

have started for selected teachers simultaneously in Calcutta and Malda. "This is the first time 

such a project has been undertaken by the state madarsa board," Sattar said. The agreement 

was signed under the board's technical aided learning system project. "They gave us an idea on 

how to operate computers and make CD presentations. It was very interesting and students will 

be attracted more to their classes," said Sheikh Mohammad Nurud-din, teacher-in-charge of Akra 

High Madarsa. (Telegraph 7.10.04) 

15 th October 

Gujarat defers promulgation of Ordinance on universities (11) 

GANDHINAGAR, OCT. 14. In the face of stiff opposition from students and academics, the 

Gujarat Cabinet today decided to defer the proposed "Common Universities Ordinance." The 

move was viewed by the Congress and the party-affiliated student organisations as an attempt 

towards "saffronisation" of the higher education. The Urban Development Minister, I. K. Jadeja, 

said the Cabinet met here today under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, 

decided to defer the Ordinance. The Government would give the move "more considerations" and 

discuss it with all those concerned. The Pradesh Congress Committee described it as a "people's 

victory" and said the decision "forced by the students, the academics and the people" was a "big 

slap" on the face of the BJP Government trying to destroy the autonomy of the universities in the 

State. (The Hindu 15.10.04) 

19 th October 

Arjun conspiracy theory: Now it’s Gandhian thoughts (11) 

AHEMDABAD, OCTOBER 18: FIRST the Mahatma and now the Mahatma's thoughts. Union 

HRD Minister Arjun Singh today used the 51st convocation at the Gujarat Vidyapith to tell 

students how "communal elements had conspired to kill Gandhian thoughts and principles after 

killing the Mahatma". Stating that he had acepted the invitation to speak at the convocation only 

because "it was my duty to tell students about the conspiracy", he exhorted the students to 

beware of "active communal forces" and, quoting Jawaharlal Nehru, said: "Eternal vigilance is 

the price of liberty". "Students carry a lot of responsibility and therefore they have to be vigilant," 

he added. Singh alleged that the previous government had deliberately removed from the first 

page of the NCEKT books, the preamble of the Constitution in 2000. "It's necessary to discover 

the people who are afraid of the Constitution's preamble and why are they afraid of it?" he said. 

He also termed the removal of Gandhi's death from textbooks as "manipulation of history". "I'm 

quite upset over the issue," he said, adding such changes were prompted by the same ideology. 

He devoted his 20-minute speech to attacking "elements who divide people in the name of 

religion, caste, language and region. It is due to these communal forces that the land of Gandhi

witnessed one of the most heinous crimes, which forced the people of this coutry to hang their 

heads in shame. (Indian Express 19.10.04) 

26 TH October 

HRD to probe Joshi’s KV clearance (11) 

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 25: ANOTHER Murli Manohar Joshi decision has been reversed by 

Arjun Singh's Ministry, now enforcing the detoxification drive with excessive zeal. Ninety-seven 

Kendriya Vidyalayas, all launched during Joshi's tenure, reportedly do not fulfil necessary 

conditions and the Ministry says it does not know whether it can fund them in the future. The HRD 

Ministry has now referred the case of these schools to the Cabinet. What is worse is that 

indirectly the Ministry has accused Joshi of impropriety by saying that these schools were sanctioned 

with orders issued by the then HRD Minister's office and with little consideration for norms. 

In fact, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh has directed that "responsibility should be fixed for this 

major lapse". Singh has reassured parents that the future of the children would not be affected in 

any way. But in all likelihood, Joshi's role in permitting these schools to come up would be 

probed. The Ministry has even described the very setting up of these schools as "a whimsical and 

arbitrary use of power". The government said the ministry did not have the "necessary sanction 

either from the government or the executive committee of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan to 

start these schools". (Indian Express 26.10.04) 

29 th October 

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a national agenda: Arrjun Singh (11) 

NEW DELHI, OCT. 28. The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Arjun Singh, today 

described the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) initiated by his predecessor, Murli Manohar Joshi, as 

a "national agenda" which should not be affected by political differences. Addressing a 

conference of Education Ministers from all States and Union Territories here, Mr. Singh said that 

the SSA was the heart and soul of the education system and urged all States to implement it on a 

mission mode. Stating that the money collected through the education cess was being parked in 

a non-lapsable fund, he said: "We have to go beyond paying platitudes and prove ourselves in 

making SSA a success as we cannot take shelter under excuses of resource crunch anymore." 

During the discussions, some Ministers made out a case for continuing with the ongoing 

pattern of funding even after the Tenth Plan Period wherein the Centre picks up 75 per cent of the 

bill on SSA with each State giving the remaining 25 per cent. Mr. Singh assured them that he 

would take up the issue with the Planning Commission during the mid-term appraisal of the 

Tenth Plan. Under the current scheme, the States will have to pick up 50 per cent of the expenditure 

from the Eleventh Plan. Responding to his plea that political differences be kept out of the 

SSA, the Ministers including those from parties outside the United Progressive Alliance 

committed themselves to the universalisation of elementary education. (Hindu 29.10.04) 

8 th Nov. 

Ordinance to help minority education (11) 

New Delhi, Nov. 7: The Centre is planning to bring an ordinance soon to facilitate affiliation of 

minority educational institutions to Central universities. The step is part of the efforts by the 

government to ' improve the education standard among minorities. The proposed ordinance 

has already been drafted by the law ministry. The Union human resources development ministry 

is I currently looking into the ordinance before it is sent to the Cabinet for its approval. The 

issue of the ordinance is likely to come up in the next meeting of the Cabinet, HRD ministry 

officials said. According to officials, since there were only few Centrally-affiliated universities in 

the country, the government's efforts would initially have a limited focus. The proposed ordinance 

is a step in the direction to fulfil the promises made by the UPA government in the common 

minimum programme. In the CMP, the government has promised to amend the Constitution to 

establish a commission for minority educational institutions that would provide affiliation for 

minority professional institutions to Central universities. After taking charge, HRD minister Arjun 

Singh had held a series of meetings to gather views on ways of improving quality of minority 

educational institutions. (Asian Age 8.11.04)

9 th Nov. 

India again gets red grade (11) 

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 8: INDIA has done it again. In its Global Monitoring Report, the 

UNESCO has ranked the country with 34 others in the lowest category. The report was released 

in Brasilia tonight. It means that despite the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the UNESCO feels that India 

would not be able to ensure that every child goes to school by 2015, the target date set for 

UNESCO's "education for all" goal. This year, as before, the UNESCO has prepared an EDI 

index or "Education For All Development Index". India is ranked 105th. But the country can take 

heart from the rankings of some of its sub-continental neighbours. Bangladesh comes 107th, 

Nepal 110th and Pakistan 123rd. The number of countries in the UNESCO list totals 127. A 

number of developed countries where education for all was achieved long ago are not included in 

the study. A few other developing countries have been omitted because of lack of data or faulty 

statistics. What is interesting is that the island nation, Maldives, is ranked 20th in the list. And 

China, with a larger population than India, takes the respectable 54th rank. (Indian Express 

9.11.04) 

10 th Nov. 

Female teachers get a raw deal in India: Report (11) 

New Delhi: The 2005 Education For All Global Monitoring Report, which focuses on I the theme 

of " quality of education" not surprisingly emphasizes the role of teachers. Sadly, India 

conies out in a poor light on this count as well. For instance, the report has been critical of India's 

efforts towards improving gender parity among students, which it says is in part a direct 

consequence of the gender distribution in the teaching profession. While female teachers 

constitute a huge 90 % at the pre-primary level, this ratio - shows a drastic fall to 36 % at the 

primary level. Contrast this to about 80 % in Western Europe and 54% in China. At the secondary 

and tertiary levels as well, female teachers constitute just 34% and 37% respectively of India's 

teacher population. The report cites studies that show Bangladesh has improved its female enrollment 

and literacy ratios due an increase in the proportion of female teachers. There is also 

interesting data on the student-teacher ratio. The report says that research, though not conclusive, 

shows that reducing the size of classes has a positive impact, especially for children of 

disadvantaged social groups. India has a student teacher ratio of 40:1 at the primary level, which 

is much more than the 'ideal' class size. The report does not spell out what the ideal size would 

be, but here are some pointers. The global average at the primary level is 22:1, while developing 

countries average 28:1. (Times of India 9.11.04) 

12 th Nov. 

Cabinet clears panel on minority education (11) 

New Delhi: In a step towards promoting education among minority communities, a national 

commission is being set up to grant direct affiliation of minority educational institutions to a 

scheduled university. The government on Thursday announced that it would promulgate an 

Ordinance to achieve this objective. The establishment of such a commission would help in safeguarding 

the constitutional guarantee to minorities regarding setting up and administering 

educational institutions of their choice, finance minister P Chidambaram said after a meeting of 

the Union cabinet. The scheduled universities for this include six affiliating Central universities — 

University of Delhi, North Eastern Hill University, Pondicherry University, Assam University, 

Nagaland University and Mizoram University. The three-member commission would comprise a 

chairman, who should be a high court judge, and two other members. All the members should, as 

far as possible, be chosen from among the minority communities. The term of the members of the 

commission, including the chairman, would be five years. The commission would advise the Central 

or any state government on any question relating to the education of minorities that may be 

referred to it. (Times of India 12.11.04) 

21 st Nov. 

Education scheme for girls in 18 districts (11) 

BANGALORE, NOV. 20. Sixty-five educationally backward blocks have been identified in 18

districts of the State under the National Programme for Education of Girls at the Elementary Level 

(NPEGEL), which aims at enhancing the quality of girls' education with a component of 

incentives. According to the director of the Sarva Siksha Abhyan (SSA), Rajkumar Kathri, the 

major focus of the programme was to bring girls, especially those from the Scheduled Castes and 

Scheduled Tribes, to schools through various interventions. The programme will sensitise school 

authorities to the need for making the institutions more responsive to the requirements of girls, 

especially those from the "hard to reach" groups. Various criteria were evolved for the 

identification of educationally backward blocks. One of them was the female literacy rate in 

blocks, and those with rates less than the national average of 46.58 per cent were chosen. Blocks 

where members of SCs and STs formed at least five per cent of the population, and slums in 

urban areas recognised by the Karnataka Slum Clearance Board were selected. The gender gap 

was also taken into consideration. (Hindu 21.11.04) 

23 rd Nov. 

Just one-fifth get child benefits (11) 

New Delhi, Nov. 22: Just about 20 per cent of children in the age group of 3-6-years are 

beneficiaries of early childhood care and education programmes of the government across the 

country, states the 'Education For All: India Marches Ahead' report released by the Union human 

resource development ministry recently. The 2001 census figures show that there were about 157 

million children in the below-six age group in the country. "Although more and more children are 

progressively participating in Centre based play-school activities, a significant number of children 

in the 3-6-years age group continue to remain outside the reach of early learning and pre-school 

activities," the report states. The sorry state of affairs is despite the fact that the National Policy 

on Education, 1986, views ECCE as a crucial input, "a feeder and support programme for primary 

education." The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002, under Article 45 of the Directive 

Principles of State Policy further enjoins the state "to provide early childhood care and education 

to all children until they complete the age of six years." ECCE is administered by the department 

of women and child development of the human resource development ministry. The department 

of elementary education enhances coverage to 3-6-year-old children with pre-school education 

through programmes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. (Asian Age 23.11.04 

Arjun to set up N.E. education panel to push through plans (11) 

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 22: BEFORE Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could fly out of Imphal 

after announcing a comprehensive development package, HRD Minister Arjun Singh was 

finalising crucial education strategies for all eight states (Sikkim included) of theNorth-East. 

Today, he decided on a high-power committee comprising chief ministers and education ministers 

of all the eight states to push through all the education programmes and policies and complete 

them in the stipulated time period. It is a 25-member committee which the HRD Minister will head 

himself. A government press note said that the committee would "address specific issues relating 

to education, women and child development in the Northeastern region, including Sikkim". 

This step to pursue the North-East education agenda with seniormost bureaucrats and top 

politicians on board follows Arjun Singh's statement in June this year that his ministry would 

channelise more funds for improvement of the education infrastructure in the North-East. 

This 25-member committee will also include the Union Minister for Development of the North 

Eastern Region, ministers of state in the HRD Ministry, the three secretaries in the HRD Ministry 

(higher education, elementary education, and women and child development) and the additional 

secretary of education. (Indian Express 23.11.04) 

25 th Nov. 

New entrance exam policy (11) 

New Delhi, Nov. 24: The government on Wednesday announced a new policy regarding entrance 

tests for admission to all professional educational institutions. The policy is in keeping with the 

United Progressive Alliance government's commitment to respect the autonomy of educational 

institutions. Under the new policy, it will be mandatory for all educational institutions like the 

National Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Information Technology, National Institute of 

Forge and Foundry Technology, Ranchi, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and

other Central government institutes to base their admissions through the All-India Engineering 

Entrance Examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education. In keeping with 

the UPA government's policy of respecting the autonomy of educational institutions, the policy 

has been made optional for all other educational institutions like Central and deemed universities. 

(Asian Age 25.11.04) 

266 th Novc. 

KG admissions are a nightmare for city children (11) 

Mumbai, Nov. 25: Even a job interview may not be as tough as the first interview of the child 

seeking admission to kindergarten. It has become more of a trauma for the parents than the 

children who have to undergo the test. Some of the schools have separate tests for boys and girls 

showing their sexist bias. "The boys, who are considered stronger compared to the fairer sex 

were asked to prove their strength by kicking the punching bags. The girls were given a simpler 

task of dancing to the tune of songs played from a music system," the parents of a three-and-ahalf-year 

old girl said. The parents were in for further shock when their daughter was asked to 

walk on an iron plank laid out in a zig zag manner. The child refused to walk alone and didn't 

shake a leg though she enjoyed the music. The principal of Holy Family School at Bandra, Dr 

Francis Swamy said that there is nothing wrong in it and most of the schools follow this practice. 

"This is done basically to judge whether the children are handicapped," he said. Mr Swamy said 

that some of the schools instruct the children to lift a pen from the table. (Asian Age 26.11.04) 

27 th Nov. 

Chairperson appointed for minority education panel (11) 

NEW DELHI, NOV. 26. A fortnight after it promulgated an ordinance to set up the National 

Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, the Government today appointed retired judge 

M.S.A. Siddiqui as its chairperson with the former Union Minister, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, 

and academic Valson Thampu as members. The three members will hold charge for five years 

from the day they take office. The Commission — billed as an appellate authority to leal with all 

ticklish issues pertaining to minority education — has been set up in keeping with a commitment 

made by the United Progressive Alliance in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP). 

Though in the NCMP the Government committed itself to amending "the Constitution to establish 

a Commission for Minority Educational Institutions that will provide direct affiliation to minority 

professional institutions to Central Universities," the Human Resource Development Ministry after 

examining all aspects came to the conclusion that legislation would suffice. (The Hindu 27.11.04) 

28 th Nov. 

Stir to mark Education Rights Day (11) 

NEW DELHI, NOV. 27. To raise a voice for every child in the country who fails to make it to 

school, the National Alliance for Right to Education and Equity (NAFRE) will launch a nationwide 

campaign starting with Education Rights Day this coming Monday. Beginning with a dharna to be 

staged at Jantar Mantar on Monday, the campaign will culminate with a human chain and a 

candlelight rally later in the day. While calling for an end to disparity in the education system, 

NAFRE has demanded that the Kothari Commission's recommendations for a common school 

system be implemented at the earliest. Some of the other issues being raised by the organisation 

include six per cent allocation from the GDP, withdrawal of anti-people and free and compulsory 

education bill, and drafting of a new pro-people bill, withdrawal of price hike and Constitutional 

right to work. "We feel, since the advent of globalization in our economic policies, the issue of 

employment has become vital for the people of our country in the rural and urban areas. So, we 

strongly feel that to address this vital issue with all force, we need to unite and stand by our 

convictions. We need, Constitutional Right for all unemployed persons aged 18 years and 

above," said the organisation in a statement issued today. (The Hindu 28.11.04) 

30 th Nov. 

Dharna in support of common school system (11) 

NEW DELHI, NOV. 29. In Support of their demand for withdrawal of the Free and Compulsory 

Education Bill and introduction of the common school system across the country, the National

Alliance for Right to Education and Equity (NAFRE) staged a dharna in the Capital today. The 

beginning of a 10-day long campaign for the common school system and constitutional right to 

work across the country, the NAFRE described the campaign as an attempt to propagate the 

issue as a human rights one. With participants from 15 States across the country, NAFRE 

claimed that over 10,000 people from across the country had come to the dharna which is also 

demanding the right to work. "Education should help people find employment. Specially in a 

country like India, where it will be difficult to motivate people towards education unless it helps 

them earn a living in the end. The Government needs to create job opportunities, and one 

important way is by introducing land reforms to help the rural population," said Ambarish Rai, the 

national organiser of NAFRE. While expressing its opposition to commercialisation and 

privatisation of education, NAFRE members today noted that disparity in education continued to 

be one of the major problems facing India, with the Government failing to allocate six per cent of 

the GDP towards education despite promising it in the common minimum programme. (Hindu 

30.11.04) 

1 st Dec 

Panel looks at exam reforms (11) 

New Delhi, Nov. 30: The existing examination system, which forces students to mug up 

facts, is one of the major causes of the "burden" on schoolchildren across India, feel many 

members of the 30-member National Steering Committee, which was set up by NCERT to review 

the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2000 and draw up a new one. The 

members pointed out that the fact that the examination system fails so many each year is a 

matter of serious concern. According to estimates, nearly 80 per cent of Class 10 and Class 12 

students fail to pass every year. The National Steering Committee, chaired by scientist and 

former UGC chairman Prof. Yash Pal, met for the first time on Tuesday. It was constituted on 

November 16. The Yash Pal Committee report — "Learning Without Burden" of 1993, which 

shows the way to reduce the load on schoolchildren, is the basis of the review being conducted in 

accordance with the 1986 National Policy of Education. The NCERT hopes to present the final 

review document to the Central Advisory Board of Education of the HRD ministry for approval 

some time "in the summer of 2005". (Asian Age 1.12.04) 

6 TH Dec. 

Orissa hosts global meet on democratic education (11) 

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 5: Austin, student of ninth standard studies computer programmes at his 

home in New York city of America. He doesn't want to be put in conventional school curriculum 

and discipline. So do Zeazinnin Seibel from New Mexico and Sidharth from Orissa. Over 100 students 

along with nearly 500 educationists across 17 .countries of world are currently discussing 

on different approaches to bring democracy in education system. The 12th International 

Democratic Education Conference, which began here on last Friday, is documenting a wide 

range of ideas put across by delegates from different countries. The IDEC is an initiative^ that 

aims at evolving and practicing methods to enable a child learn in a holistic way. Education, over 

the time, has been one sided — the teacher giving lectures and the pupil expected to understand 

all that is said. Democracy in education is aimed at taking the pupil into planning process and 

design of such methods, which would be relevant and contextual for child to comprehend. "It is 

the need of hour to set students free from conventional education system. Students should be 

given liberty to choose the subject they want to learn. (Asian Age 6.12.04) 

12 th Dec 

SCERT starts cleansing school books (11) 

New Delhi, Dec. 17: The State Council for Education Research and Training has initiated the 

process to bring in changes in its recently-introduced textbooks in the Delhi government-run 

schools in the wake of recent controversies. The new textbooks will be introduced from the next 

session. Speaking to The Asian Age, SCERT director Janaki Rajan said: "We are discussing all 

aspects of the objections, which we have received. Contents of the textbooks will be changed 

accordingly. The process is on." "In certain cases, it's not possible to make changes in the 

textbooks on the grounds on which objections have been raised. We are looking into all aspects,"

she added. According to sources, experts have raised objections over several issues that have 

been included in the newly-introduced books. Earlier, contents of the third chapter of Civic 

Science textbook of Class 7 created a lot of controversy due to an interpretation of the citizenship 

issue. The chapter talks extensively on the difference between a foreigner and a citizen of the 

country. Experts believe that by raising these questions, efforts had been made to distort the very 

concept of citizenship. (Asian Age 18.12.04) 

23 rd Dec 

Most Orissa students leave school by Class 5 (11) 

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 22: : When India is making big stride in global education, Orissa continues to 

stumble in primary level. Last year, exactly 57.5 per cent of students have left their education by 

the time they attained standard 5. The school dropout rate is atrociously high even as the state 

government claims to have taken all possible steps to arrest the trend. Members of Orissa 

Legislative Assembly were shocked when the state school and mass education minister 

Nagendra Pradhan presented statistics of school dropouts last week. Nearly 33.6 per cent students 

had to leave their education in primary level — Standard three — in the year 2003-04. 

Ironically, the percentage of gross enrolment was 103.48 at primary level education. In case of 

girls, the percentage of dropout was high. Nearly 35.4 per cent of girl students left education 

midst as against 31.9 per cent of boys in primary level. The rate dramatically shot up in upper 

primary education. Almost 57.5 per cent students severed their ties with education by the time 

they complete standard five. Again the rate of dropout was high in case of girls. The rate of 

dropped out girl students was 58.6 per cent as against 56.5 per cent of in case of boys. In rural 

areas, the rate of dropout in upper primary was 60.92 per to the 48 per cent in urban Orissa. 

(Asian Age 23.12.04) 

27 th Dec 

NCERT body meets to review school syllabus (11) 

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 26: THE two-day meet of the National Focus Group (NFG) formed by 

NCERT to review curriculum framework began today in the Capital. The group consisting 14 

members is meeting under the chairmanship of Prof. Vijaya Mulay, president, India Documentary 

Producers Association. The discussion will focus on the issues concerning educational technology 

programs in the country. And its implementation and status in the education format in cities 

and rural areas. The members of the group come from diverse organisations dealing with production 

and utilization of educational technology and media programmes. NFG is one of the 21 

groups formed to review the National Curriculum framework. Inaugurating the meeting, Prof 

Mulay said: "Educational technology must not be misunderstood with media and technological 

aids. Instead it involves active participation by teachers in preparation of curriculum framework. 

Numerous challenges are there in this exercise but we must review the curriculum within the 

broad guidelines of the constitutional framework and not as dictated by media". (Indian Express 

27.12.04) 

29 th Dec 

NCERT to launch scholarship programme to woo dropouts (11) 

New Delhi: The statistics say it all. As many as 54% of students drop out of schools between 

classes I and VIII. A staggering 69% drop out between classes I and X. The numbers get worse: 

Only 31% children appear for the class X public exam. And of them, only 40% pass. 

Universalisation of education or a colossal waste of resources? Prompted by the above figures — 

part of a MHRD report (Selected Educational Statistics, 2000-2001), the NCERT is planning to 

launch a programme for school dropouts. Modelled along the lines of the national talent search 

examination conducted by the NCERT for regular school students, this particular 'talent' search 

has a more basic agenda — of getting students back in the classrooms. Starting off as a pilot 

project from 2006, the programme is targeted at those who dropped out after completing class 

VIII. It will offer 100 scholarships to those who pass the qualifying exam. The scholarships will for 

studies till the post-graduate level. Said V K Jain, in-charge of the programme, "Every year, we 

keep losing students due to various reasons — financial problems at home, failure in school, etc. 

This programme will at least try to get the children back to school and pursue higher studies."

What perhaps is better news is that the scholarship amounts may be revised and could double. 

NCERT will also give a window period of one year between each course to the students. "The 

aim is to extend as much help as we can to these students. Not everyone may benefit but then, if 

it helps even a few, the objective would be reached," added Jain. Amen. (Times of India 

29.12.04) 

30 th Dec 

In Joshi’s absence, History Cong loses its sting (11) 

BAREILLY, DECEMBER 29: THERE was a wave of support for HRD Minister Arjun Singh at the 

foothills of the Himalayas, where 1,200 historians are quietly celebrating M.M. Joshi's exit from 

the Ministry. This is the first Indian History Congress since the return of Congress at the Centre. 

And as the temperature plummeted, the History Congress suddenly became a congregation 

dealing with cold facts. The rage against a "rampaging" BJP-led government that made it such an 

interesting forum for six years is a thing of the past. For the first time since 1998, the History 

Congress is being patronised by the Union Government. The historians did not hesitate to accept 

HRD funds, now that bete-noir Joshi is no longer running the show. Joshi had refused his 

ministry's involvement in this annual assembly of historians. Had Singh not stayed away because 

of the state mourning, it is likely he would have been mobbed by his Centrist and Left-of-the- 

Centre academic supporters. Even historian Professor Man Habib, who was moving around with 

his small band of admirers, said: "Historians would definitely congratulate Singh for the 

volume of work (read detoxification) done by him". Singh's brief speech was read out at the 

inaugural session yesterday. It showed why he is a master in playing to a gallery of professors 

and researchers. He stressed the importance of the Preamble and underlined the 

words, secular and socialist which were music to the ears of both the Centrists and the Left. 

(Indian Express 30.12.04) 

1 st Dec. 

Mulayam sees Urdu Bill through (11) 

LUCKNOW, NOVEMBER 30: RELATIONS between the Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav 

touched a new low today, as the ruling Samajwadi Party managed to get the controversial Urdu 

University Bill cleared at the state Assembly, despite strong protests from allies Congress and 

CPI(M). The fate of the Bill is still uncertain as it has to be sent back to Governor TV Rajeshwar 

for approval, who has already expressed reservations about a provision in the Bill that makes a 

state minister a pro-chancellor for life in the university. Sources say, the Samajwadi Party is well 

aware that the Governor would never approve of the Bill, but it nonetheless went ahead with the 

agenda to give an impression to the minority community that it was due to Congress opposition 

that the university could not take shape. Mulayam made it clear that he was in no mood to 

entertain the Congress' demand for an amendment in the Bill. "The University will be built and 

Azam Khan will remain its lifetime pro-chancellor. We will move another Bill in the Assembly for a 

private university if the present exercise goes in vain," he said. (Indian Express 1.12.04) 

15 th Dec 

Minorities education Bill draws flak 

New Delhi: Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday criticised the government for seeking 

creation of a national commission for minority educational institutions, saying that a bill for this 

purpose was politically motivated and aimed at appeasing Minorities. Criticising the government 

for not consulting all political parties on the measure, Opposition members said the move would 

lead to curtailment of powers of AICTE, UGC and other bodies that decide on accreditation and 

affiliation of institutions of higher learning. From the treasury benches, as also RJD and SP, the 

bill received full support with the hope that this would raise the standards of education among the 

minority ccommunities. The members were participating in a combined discussion on "the national 

commission for minority educational institutions bill" and a statutory resolution disapproving an 

ordinance which it seeks to replace. Initiating the debate, Bachi Singh Rawat (BJP) criticised the 

UFA government for not consulting the BJP, the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha, before 

coming out with this kind of a bill. (Times of India 15.12.04)

Bill on panel for minority bodies passed (11) 

New Delhi, Dec. 16: Amid a BJP walkout over "appeasement" of minorities, the Lok Sabha 

on Thursday passed a bill to create a national commission for minority educational institutions. 

The commission is meant to make it easier for minority institutions to seek affiliation with a 

recognised university: it will handle disputes between the university and the institution on this 

ssue. The bill seeks to ratify an ordinance promulgated by the United Progressive Alliance 

government. During the debate spread over two days, the Opposition charged the 

government of pushing through the egislation in a hurry, over-looking legal and procedural 

aspects. BJP member Bachi Singh Rawat, who moved a resolution opposing the bill, said the 

National Democratic Alliance did not oppose the "spirit" of the proposed legislation: minority 

institutions must get affiliation, But it should have been a : more considered effort, and 1 the bill 

should have been sent to the standing committee for scrutiny. Opposition members said the 

commission will dilute the powers of regulatory bodies like the University rants Commission/ 

Union HRD minister Arjun Singh rejected that the UGC or other institutions would be affected. He 

said the new commission was necessary to deal with the kind of discrimination minority education 

institutions had faced during the NDA term. (Asian Age 17.12.04) 

21 st Dec 

CPI against bill on minority education now (11) 

New Delhi, Dec. 20: The CPI, which had supported the Minority Education Commission Bill in Lok 

Sabha, came out against the legislation on Monday apprehending that it could "disrupt the 

communal harmony in the country." On second thoughts, the CPI wanted the government to bring 

amendments to the legislation, which include empowering the states to take a final decision on 

the implementation. Incidentally, the CPI also opposed the new bill replacing Pota, accused the 

government of "lacking a political will to mop up domestic funds, rolling out a red carpet to * inflow 

of foreign direct investment." Meanwhile, the CPI(M) which too had supported the Minority 

Education Commission Bill in the Lok Sabha plans to oppose it in the Rajya Sabha. The CPI, 

which would have liked to toe the CPI(M) line cannot do so, since they do not have any member 

in the Upper House. Asked why did the Left support the bill in the Lok Sabha last week, a senior 

CPI(M) leader said, "We wanted to see the repercussion." The bill, which has been passed in the 

Lok Sabha, is aimed at facilitating the minority educational institutions to secure affiliation to a 

central university. (Asian Age 21.12.04) 

22 nd Dec 

Nod for minority educational institutions Bill (11) 

NEW DELHI, DEC. 21. The Rajya Sabha today passed the Bill to constitute a National 

Commission for Minority Educational Institutions. The House witnessed heated exchanges as the 

opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) 

Government for taking recourse to the ordinance and eventually walked out after its proposal for 

referring the Bill to a select committee was rejected by a voice vote. The Bill was passed by the 

Lok Sabha last week. Replying to the discussion on the Bill, the Human Resource Development 

Minister, Arjun Singh, said it was not the last word because there were sensitivities and 

complexities involved and there were several issues on which separate sections of minorities had 

differing views. A beginning had to be made which was spurred by apprehensions expressed at 

the minority education and welfare meeting on July 6. "This two-day dialogue was attended by 

over 300 representatives of all minorities cutting across affiliations. The Common Minimum 

Programme (CMP) of the Government took this matter on a high priority and the dialogue was 

given importance as the Prime Minister himself initiated it. All fears and apprehensions of the 

minorities were spelt out. The dialogue also brought out gravest apprehension as for the last 

three to four years their rights were trampled upon by the previous Government," Mr. Singh" said. 

He cited two examples to buttress his point. (The Hindu 22.12.04)

EDUCATION - 2004 - Indian Social Institute

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