EDUCATION - 2004 - Indian Social Institute

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