Category Archives: Education

Talents on display, sans any barriers

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education
A scene from an exhibition-cum-sale of handicraft products by differently abled children at Town Hall in Kozhikode on Tuesday.
A scene from an exhibition-cum-sale of handicraft products by differently abled children at Town Hall in Kozhikode on Tuesday.

Seminar for teachers of special schools, competitions for students held

Rahmania School for Mentally Handicapped in association with the Association for the Welfare of Handicapped, the Parents Association of Intellectually Disabled, and a host of other organisations organised a quiz for mentally challenged students and a seminar for teachers of special schools here on Tuesday as part of the National Day for the Mentally Retarded observance.

As many as 52 teams from 26 schools across north Kerala took part in the quiz. The team from Emma’s Villa, Wayanad, consisting of Nimisha Banu and Sanil, emerged the winners.

Winners

The team from Love shore, Pannikkode, comprising Mohammed Mubarak and Faseela, and team from Pratheeksha, Mampatta, represented by Vipin and Adarsh, won the second and third prizes respectively.

The team from Manovikas School, Edarikkode, Malappuram, represented by Kabeer and Faisal, bagged the fourth prize.

Media person Y. Irshad was the quizmaster.

The seminar for special school teachers was inaugurated by Deputy Director of Education, Kozhikode, Gireesh Cholayil.

State Secretary of the National Convention of the Educators of Deaf, Kerala, V.K. Abdul Kareem, and Director of the Institute of Research in Learning Disability of Mahatma Gandhi University K. Muhammed Mustafa spoke on the subject ‘Effective Educational Practices in mental retardation.’

Exhibition

An exhibition of handicraft products made by the students of the Rahmania school was organised.

Various events, including painting and work experience competitions for students, were held on December 4 as part of National Day for the Mentally Retarded, which is observed on December 8.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter /  Kozhikode – December 10th, 2014

Natl. Seminar on Tribal Education begins at CIIL

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders
Prof. T.T. Basavanagouda, Director, Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru, is seen addressing the gathering. S. Prathibha, Research Officer, Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru, Kumuda. B. Susheelappa, AEE and Writer, 110 KV Sub Station, Jog Sagara Taluk, Shivamogga district and Prof. C. G. Hussain Khan, Retired Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Karnatak University, Dharwad are seen on the dias. Picture right shows a section of participants.
Prof. T.T. Basavanagouda, Director, Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru, is seen addressing the gathering. S. Prathibha, Research Officer, Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru, Kumuda. B. Susheelappa, AEE and Writer, 110 KV Sub Station, Jog Sagara Taluk, Shivamogga district and Prof. C. G. Hussain Khan, Retired Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, Karnatak University, Dharwad are seen on the dias. Picture right shows a section of participants.

Mysuru :

A two-day National Seminar on ‘Tribal Education in India – A Special Focus on 50 Scheduled Tribe Communities in Karnataka’ organised by Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru began at Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) on Hunsur Road in city this morning.

The major theme of the workshop is ‘Socio-Economic and educational aspects of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka.’ The seminar is being attended by Students, Research Scholars, Lecturers and Professors of Departments of Ancient History and Departments of Anthropology of various Universities.

The programme was inaugurated by Kumuda. B. Susheelappa, Assistant Executive Engineer and Writer, 110 KV Sub Station, Jog Sagara Taluk, Shivamogga district.

Kumuda, in her inaugural address said “Nowadays, most of the youth in India are following Western culture which is not a good sign. We should respect and follow our Indian culture rather than following the culture of Western countries.”

Prof. T.T. Basavanagouda, Director, Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru who presided over the function said, “There are 43 lakh tribal people in Karnataka, out of which 20 lakh tribals stay in forests.” He regretted that these tribal people are illiterate and uneducated. “There are various schemes and funds available from Central and State Governments for the welfare of Tribal people. But awareness has to be created among the tribal people to utilise these funds,” he added.

Prof. C. G. Hussain Khan, Retired Professor, Department of Anthropology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, in his keynote address said “Karnataka has 4.1% of the country’s scheduled tribes.” He regretted that most of the tribal children are malnourished. He also spoke about female foeticide and urged the government to take strict action against those who indulge in female foeticide. “Education is the most important social input for the economic development of any society. But low educational status of tribal community adversely affects the socio-economic condition of tribal people.” he added.

Valedictory function

The valedictory function will be held tomorrow at 4 pm at the same venue. Prof. T.T. Basavanagouda will preside and Prof. C. Basavaraju, Registrar, UoM will deliver valedictory address.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>  General  News  /  Friday , November 28th, 2014

Remembering Obaid – One Year Later

Education, Leaders, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Without Abstract

Obaid Siddiqi passed away on July 26, 2013, succumbing to injuries from an accident in Bangalore.

In more than half a century of work in India, Obaid built institutions and inspired many young minds. The Department of Biological Sciences  (DBS) at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences  (NCBS), Bangalore, stand today as the finest examples of his vision and approach to science. In the process, he became the tallest (literally as well) Indian biologist of his generation, yet he remained modest, friendly and scientifically intense in his association with his peers and students.

At the DBS, TIFR, then known as the Molecular Biology Unit, Obaid pioneered the study of neurogenetics in India using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model organism. Obaid was closely connected to the stars of bacterial and phage genetics. Returning from a sabbatical with one of them, Seymour Benzer at Caltech, he pushed the transformation of the Molecular Biology Unit into a new area. Drosophilaneurogenetics as a field was born in the 1970s with the idea of identifying mutants that affected neural function and behaviour. Obaid took up the challenge of using the fruit fly as a genetic system to understand chemosensory behaviour. Using elegant behavioural and electrophysiological assays, his group identified the very first set of taste and olfactory mutants in Drosophila, which have subsequently helped understand the complexity of chemosensory perception in insects. In NCBS he went on to develop a group that studied learning and memory in the context of olfactory behaviour. These studies in a relatively simple organism have implications for understanding brain function at all levels.

When we decided to organize this Special Section of the Journal of Biosciences for Obaid’s first death anniversary, many of his friends readily agreed despite earlier contributions to the Journal of Neurosciencesissue in 2012 on Obaid’s 80th birthday. The collection of articles is indeed impressive and a testament to his science and his popularity with people across generations.

We start with Maurice Fox’s brief “Commentary” on how biology came to TIFR, and follow this with temperature-sensitive paralytic mutants (Ganetzy and Wu), odorant receptors (Ray et al.), taste neuron projections (Kwon et al.), air-puff-stimulated flight circuit (Sadaf and Hasan), Pdf clock mutant (Seki and Tanimura), and Drosophila-derived insights into brain development and disease (Reichert).

Obaid was a mentor and an inspiration for the three of us, either directly or indirectly. He showed us how science is done without shouting from rooftops, and his death remains a personal loss to each of us.

ObaidMPOs04dec2014

During the last days of this Special Section, Obaid’s long-time associate and a friend to the three of us, KS Krishnan, also passed away suddenly. But KSK contributed to this tribute by reading all invited articles and providing his comments. He did this on the weekend prior to his death. We owe our gratitude to KSK and mourn this loss to the Indian biologist community. So long, dear friend. We hope the reader will enjoy this labour of love.

By:  Shahid Jameel1, 2  , Utpal Banerjee3 and K VijayRaghavan1, 4

(1)

New Delhi, India
(2)

Hyderabad, India
(3)

Los Angeles, CA, USA
(4)

Bangalore, India
source:  http://www.link.springer.com / Springer Link / Journal of Biosciences – Published by Indian Academy of Sciences / Published Online / July 26th, 2014

LU to honour famous alumni on foundation day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders

Lucknow  :

Lucknow University’s 94th foundation day on November 25 will be homecoming for its alumni. To mark the day, LU alumni society will felicitate illustrious alumni who have made a mark in their life and brought laurels to their alma mater. Jharkhand Governor Syed Ali Naqi is likely to be conferred with the lifetime achievement award. Naqi completed his MA from LU.

Those who will be felicitated this year include Khan Masood Ahmed, the vice-chancellor of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University, DJ Narain, the director of Film and Television Institute of India, SWA Naqvi, the director of the National Institute of Oceanography, Rachna Govil, the executive director of Sports Authority of India and NK Verma, the managing director of ONGC Videsh Ltd, Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh, judge, Lucknoew bench of Allahabad High Court.

Masood Ahmed did his BSc (statistics, mathematics and physics) from Lucknow University in 1971 and then MA in economics with advanced statistics and econometrics in 1973.

A 1990 batch of Indian Information Service, DJ Narain is an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur. He was a lecturer of monetary economics at Lucknow University.

Working on the biogeochemistry of the oceans, Naqvi did his BSc in physics, chemistry and mathematics from LU in 1972 and then MSc with specialization in physical chemistry in 1974.

NK Verma joined ONGC in 1980 after completing MSc in applied geology from LU. In 1986, he obtained an MTech degree in petroleum exploration from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.

Justice Ashwani Kumar Singh graduated in law from LU in 1978. He was enrolled as an advocate in December 1979 and he practiced mainly on criminal side at Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. He took oath as a permanent judge in December 2010.

Established in 1920, LU is one of the oldest universities in the state. In the past, the university has honoured some distinguished alumni such as Justice AS Anand, former Chief Justice of India, senior journalist Vinod Mehta, former Union ministers NKP Salve and Harish Rawat and renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Padma Shri Dr Naresh Trehan.

Rajnath to grace occasion

Union home minister Rajnath Singh will grace Lucknow University’s convocation scheduled on January 19. The home ministry has accepted university’s invitation. The university’s degree committee has proposed four names for honoris causa. The names include Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court, Dhananjaya Y Chadrachud; film actor Amitabh Bachchan; singer Anup Jalota and IAS of Gujarat cadre Jayanti Ravi. The committee will finalise one out of these four names.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / November 18th, 2014

N.R. constituency gets Rs.3.71 crore for development of 5 schools

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders
NR MLA Tanveer Sait performed ‘Guddali pooja’ for road development works yesterday in teachers layout on Dr. Rajkumar road , taken up under the CM’s Rs. 100 crore special grant for the city. Corporator Rajani Annaiah, leaders Manjunath, Annaiah and others are also seen in the picture.
NR MLA Tanveer Sait performed ‘Guddali pooja’ for road development works yesterday in teachers layout on Dr. Rajkumar road , taken up under the CM’s Rs. 100 crore special grant for the city. Corporator Rajani Annaiah, leaders Manjunath, Annaiah and others are also seen in the picture.

Mysuru :

Under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shikshan Abhiyaan, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development has released Rs.3.71 crore for constructing additional classrooms in 5 government high schools in N.R. Constituency.

N.R. MLA Tanveer Sait on Sunday visited the Government High School at HUDCO layout, Bannimantap and exchanged ideas with officials on the construction of 10 classrooms in the school.

Speaking on the occasion, Tanveer Sait said the school was built 23 years ago and some of the classrooms have become dilapidated over the years. As such, it has been decided to demolish such classrooms and construct 10 new ones at a cost of Rs.76 lakh, and added that the MUDA will rebuild the school’s toilet.

The MLA also said that under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shikshan Abhiyaan, Rs.43 lakh has been released for construction of 5 classrooms at Nizamia Government High School on Ashoka road, Rs. 76 lakh for construction of 10 classrooms at Government high school, Giriabovepalya and Rs.28 lakh for construction of 3 classrooms at Government High School, Rajendranagar.

Pointing out that MUDA too has come forward for developing the infrastructure in these schools, Tanveer Sait said Nagarjuna construction company has been awarded the contract for the construction of classrooms and toilets in the 5 schools and added that the works are expected to be complete in 4 years. The Abhiyaan’s planning officer Betta Nayaka, MUDA Engineer Veerabhadrappa, Sudhakar of Nagarjuna construction, BEO Susheelamma,  MCC officer Nagaraj,  BJP leader Dhanaraj,  NR Constituency Educational Committee President  Prof. Nabi Jaan,  Secretary  Fayaz Ahmed Shariff and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday , November 10th, 2014

Services of Abul Kalam Azad recalled

Education, Leaders
Yogi Vemana University Vice-Chancellor B. Syamasundar and faculty members paying tributes to Abul Kalam Azad in Kadapa on Tuesday. / Photo: By Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Yogi Vemana University Vice-Chancellor B. Syamasundar and faculty members paying tributes to Abul Kalam Azad in Kadapa on Tuesday. / Photo: By Special Arrangement / The Hindu

The invaluable contribution of India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad for expansion of reach of education to masses and improvement of its quality was recalled on the occasion of his birth anniversary on Tuesday.

Participating in the National Education Day observed in this connection, educationists and other dignitaries paid rich tributes to the man who played an instrumental role in the establishment of the University Grants Commission and the Indian Institutes of Technology. Addressing the faculty and students of Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) at Tirupati, School Guru Eduserve’s Project Manager Prabhakaran predicted a rise in number of courses offered online and said that the online mode of education would facilitate expansion of learning to the grass-root level rather than the face-to-face mode of instruction. The programme was held by SPMVV’s Department of Communication and Journalism.

In a separate event, the members of Muslim Joint Action Committee (MJAC) paid homage to Maulana Abul Kalam Mr. Azad and recollected his contributions to the country. Yogi Vemana University (YVU) Vice-Chancellor B. Syamasundar garlanded Mr. Azad’s portrait in a function held at Kadapa. On the occasion, Mr. Syamasundar pointed out that Azad had rightly accorded more priority to education policy than the industrial policy. YVU Registrar C. Sambasiva Reddy said Azad had strove for national integration and tolerance to all religions. Coordinator of History and Archaeology Ramabrahmam explained Mr. Azad’s role in the independence movement and his support to reservations.

Paying tributes to Mr. Azad at the Congress office, District Congress Committee president Shaik Nazeer Ahmed said Azad had strived for the poor, weaker and downtrodden sections.

At Chittoor, the district administration celebrated the birth anniversary of Azad in a grand manner with the participation of a big number of students, teachers and officials. Mayor Katari Anuradha flagged off the rally with about one thousand students at Gandhi Circle and it passed through arterial junctions culminating at Ambedkar Bhavan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Andhra Pradesh Bureau / Tirupati-Kadapa-Chittoor, November 12th, 2014

National Education day celebrated at Bearys Institute of Technology

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education

Mangaluru :

National Education day commemorating the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was celebrated at Bearys Institute of Technology here on Tuesday.

As a part of this, BIT-Innovators club conducted an elocution competition for the students on the topic “Technical Education in India- Challenges and concerns”.

Prof Sheikh Moidin, head, Department of Information Science Engineering, gave an introductory talk. Speaking on the occasion, Principal of BIT, Dr Palakshappa K spoke in brief about the achievements of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of India.

Fayiz C.K of Seventh Semester Mechanical Engineering, who won the first place in the elocution contest, said there was a time in India when education was not everyone’s cup of tea. It is the result of the dreams of a great educationist like Moulana which all are witnessing today in the form of the great edifices of higher education in India. It is the responsibility of every student to make those dreams come true, he added.

Prof S Abdurrahman, Campus Director Dr.M.Sainath and the Heads of departments, along with the faculty and students were present at the occasion.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / November 11th, 2014

Dr.Najma Heptulla Inaugurates Office of Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education

Dr.Najma Heptulla, Union Minister for Minority Affairs unveiled and garlanded portrait of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad here today on the eve of his 125th Birth Anniversary. The Minister also unveiled the Foundation Stone for launching of activities of Maulana Azad National Skills Academy (MANAS) set up by National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) under the aegis of Ministry of Minority Affairs.

The office of MANAS was also inaugurated by the Minister located at Maulana Azad Bhawan, Opposite New Delhi Railway Station Reservation Counter, Chelmsford Road, New Delhi. The office space has been leased out by Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF). To begin with, MANAS will operate from 4 rooms and first Floor premises in the Maulana Azad Bhawan. The open space in front of the building is also planned to be utilised for construction of training facility for MANAS.

Delivering the inaugural address, Dr Najma Heptulla, who also happens to be Grand Niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad informed about the life and time of Maulana Saheb. She described him as a towering figure on the Indian political scene and a scholar rated high in the realms of Urdu Literature. He was a dogged freedom fighter and an un-failing upholder of secular and democratic values, she said.

She also highlighted his contributions in shaping the Education System of the country as First Education Minister of Independent India. He gave lot of thrust to Adult literacy, Universal primary education — free and compulsory for all children, girls education, diversification of secondary education and vocational training.

The Minister specially appreciated the commendable efforts by MANAS and NMDFC to completely renovate the Maulana Azad Bhawan in record time of one week. With the efforts of MANAS, the entire building in neglected condition so far has been repaired, painted, polished, open space levelled/cleaned and brought to its present shape for use as office and training centre.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Government Press Release> News / AT / Delhi – November 10th, 2014

Erode girls win handball championship

Education, Sports
The triumphant Erode handball team receiving the prize fromM. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, in Tiruchi on Sunday.
The triumphant Erode handball team receiving the prize fromM. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, in Tiruchi on Sunday.

Erode clinched the title in the State sub-junior handball championship for girls, which concluded here on Sunday.

The two-day tournament, played for the M.A.M. Rolling Trophy, was jointly organised by Tamil Nadu Handball Association (TNHBA), Tiruchi District Handball Association (TDHBA), and M.A.M. Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

Teams from 24 districts took part in the tournament that was played on knockout basis.

Erode defeated Tiruvannamalai in the final. Thanjavur got the better of Coimbatore in the third place playoff. R. Vimala of Tiruchi and S. Amirtha Varshini of Erode were adjudged best player and best goalkeeper respectively.

M. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, and president, Handball Federation of India, gave away the prizes in the presence of A. Saravanan, general secretary, TNHBA; M.A. Mohamed Nizam, secretary, MAM Group of Institutions;  M.A. Fathima Mansoor, correspondent of the school; S. Amala Ruban, principal; SP. Annamalai, president, TDHBA; and R. Karunakaran, secretary.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Tiruchi – November 11th, 2014

Blue Boys Team of Fathima School Invent Water Alarm

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Science & Technology

BlueBoysMPOs11nov2014

Chennai :

To create environmental awareness in Saidapet, three teams — the Eco-friendly, the Blue Boys and the Go-Green — were started in Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

The Blue Boys team contributed with a water alarm.  Afrith of Class 10 invented the alarm.

One day when Afrith was alone at home, he saw water overflowing from the tank, which led to the invention.  He decided to create an alarm to alert people when water overflows from the tank.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by S.N. Vijetha / New Delhi – November 11th, 2014