Pre-primary education in tribal language

Package drawn up by child rights protection commission

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) will implement an educational package for tribal pre-primary children in their own language.

The initiative is aimed at ending the feeling of alienation among tribal children when they get initiated into the world of letters in Malayalam, which is an alien language to them.

Pilot project

The project that will introduce the children to formal education will be implemented as a pilot project in Attappady block in Palakkad district. It will be expanded across the State later.

Titled Early Childhood Curriculum Care and Education (ECCCE), it will be implemented in anganwadis in tribal areas with the active participation of government agencies.

Anganwadi teachers will use languages of different tribal ethnic groups to impart pre-primary education. The curriculum has been prepared, and it includes details of the origin, history, cultural diversity, and social life among different tribal groups.

In Attappady, 37 anganwadis have been selected for the pilot project targeting children from the Irula community. The teachers in anganwadis will be trained with the help of tribal village elders. The project will begin in January next.

“Tribal children should get education in their own language. Unlike other children, they grow up in a world of their own, a world of the jungle, animals, birds, rivers. They speak a dialect of their own, are brought up in a dissimilar culture,” commission member Babu Narikuni told The Hindu.

Many dropouts

“When these children begin their education, at the pre-primary stage in the anganwadis near their settlements, they find themselves lost. The language used for instruction and communication here is frighteningly strange. The process flows on to the primary level too. Majority of these children drop out of school as they find it difficult to fully comprehend classroom teaching and the activities, or read the language and understand textbooks,” added another member, C.U. Meena.

The concept has been developed on the thought that the use of tribal language in the initial years can go a long way in making them comfortable with the process of education.

Oct 22 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Revamped MGNREGA May Take More Ministries Aboard

Yogima Sharma

New Delhi





Govt to rope in depts such as land resources, social forestry to create bigger assets under the scheme

The government plans to rope in various departments and ministries such as agriculture, land resources, horticulture and social forestry to create bigger and more durable assets under the rural job guarantee scheme, going ahead with its plans to revamp the national programme.“Considering the capacity constraint at the gram panchayat level, which is the main implementing agency for allocating works under the scheme, we are considering to substantially increase convergence with other ministries or line departments for creation of bigger and sustainable assets under the scheme,“ a senior government official told ET.
According to the official, besides their technical expertise, these ministries will pump in some portion of their funds to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme, contrary to fears that tweaking of the scheme will lead to lesser funds for wages.
Implementing agencies, other than gram panchayats (GPs), today constitute a mere 10% of the works taken under the scheme.The proposal is to increase this to 20%. “The proposal is under consideration by finance ministry and we hope to finalise it in two weeks,“ the official said. Nitin Gadkari-led rural development ministry had last month announced that the government would increase the material component under the MGNREGA scheme to 49% from 40% to enable states take up bigger works at the district level. “The decision has been taken in response to widespread criticism that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, has become a source of corruption and that no productive assets are being created through the rural job scheme,“ Gadkari had said.
The move attracted widespread criticism, and last week a group of around 30 economists had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him not to dilute or restrict provisions of MGNREGA. The government is of the opinion that the efficiency and productivity of the rural jobs guarantee scheme will improve after its revamp. Explaining the rationale behind tweaking the wage-to-material ratio for selected works under the scheme despite criticism from economists, the official quoted earlier said the entire focus of the government is to give equal weightage to wage employment and creation of durable asset.
“In the context of further improving the quality of durable assets or enabling creation of sustainable assets, this ratio of 51:49 may be a step forward,“ the person said.
Convergence with other ministries will ensure technical expertise and knowledge of implementing bigger projects that are relatively more material intensive. Also, these central agencies will be able to handle the spillover between different panchayats, the official said.
Works that would fall under the revamped MGNREGA scheme largely include construction of check dams, de-silting of traditional water bodies, construction of minor irrigation tanks and canals.
MGNREGA, which has annual allocation of ` . 34,000 crore in the current year, guarantees 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. On an average, 25% of the rural households seek employment under the Act annually.

Oct 22 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Govt ups scholarship for scientists by 50%

Vishwa Mohan

New Delhi:





In what may motivate young scientists to continue their research work in India, without being lured by greener pastures abroad, the government on Tuesday announced hike of over 50% in the fellowship amount received by various categories of research scientists.The hike, which comes into force from this month itself, could help curb brain drain by boosting the research environment in the country .
Nearly one lakh science research scholars and associates, working in different institutions across the country , will be benefited from this move of the ministry of science and technology that comes just two days ahead of Diwali.
Accordingly , the fellowship amount for research associate-III has been increased from Rs 24,000 to Rs 40,000, research associate-II from Rs 23,000 to Rs 38,000, research associate-I from Rs 22,000 to Rs 36,000, senior research fellow from Rs 18,000 to Rs 28,000 and junior research fellow from Rs16,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, respectively .
In addition, the house rent allowance (HRA) as well as the medical benefits will continue to be available to all the categories of research scholars as per the central government norms or the norms of host institutions whichever applicable.
Entitlement for travel by AC-2 tier or AC-3 tier depending upon the category of research fellow or research associate will also be available to the young scientists. Besides, maternity leave for women research scholars will also be available to all categories of research fellows.
The central government also issued directions to the science and technology ministry to put in place a “web-based fellowship assessment and disbursement mechanism“ so that delays in disbursement of fellowship amount could be avoided.
Announcing the decision, Union minister of state for science and technology Jitendra Singh said, “Each ministry and agency can now use the guidelines to make requisite changes over their specific fellowship programmes and courses.“
He also suggested that a hike in the fellowship amount should be undertaken periodically after due assessment and for this purpose the ministry would put in place a proper mechanism. The decision will put an additional burden of about Rs 750 crore on the exchequer.

Oct 22 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Ministries to put up RTI replies online from Oct 31

New Delhi TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Taking transparency to another level, the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday directed all its ministries and departments to suo motu display Right to Information (RTI) applications and responses thereof, on their respective websites from October 31.However, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) instructions in this regard do leave scope for withholding RTI replies that contain personal information relating to an individual.“It may be noted that RTI applications and appeals received and their responses relating to the personal information of an individual may not be disclosed if they do not serve any public interest,“ said the DoPT note, which was circulated to all Union ministries and departments on Tuesday .
To facilitate uploading of RTI applications and appeals received and their responses on the website, a new feature has been added to the CPIO FAA module on the `RTI Online' portal on pilot basis for DoPT. Through this feature, an option is given to the central public information officers (CPIO) and first appellate authority (FAA) to upload the reply to RTI query and the first appeal respectively on to the department's website. This particular fea ture will now be extended to other ministries and departments as well. To display the RTI applications received in the ministry or department and the reply given using this feature, web services will be provided through a URL to each ministry or department by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) or Department of Personnel and Training “The concerned ministry or department needs to consume this web service (by writing a program) to display the desired contest on its respective website,“ the DoPT note said while asking the ministries and departments to take the help of NIC or DoPT experts in this regard.
“An immediate action is requested so that the facility to upload the reply to RTI application and first appeal respectively on the website of the respective ministry or department may be started with effect from October 31, 2014,“ the DoPT directed.

International Journal of Development Issues

Table Of Contents: Volume 13 Issue 3

Published: 2014, Start page: 188Special Issue: Swami Vivekananda and human development

Icon key: You have access to this item Backfile Earlycite Abstract only

 Select all

• Add to Marked List 
• Track Citations 
• Email to a Friend 
• Send to Citation Mgr

Sustained human development as a psycho-social evolution from individuality to personality

Dilip Dutta (pp. 188 - 203)

Keywords: Social responsibility , Yoga , Human mind , Human personality , Origin of Vedânta philosophy , Psycho-social evolution , Sustained human development , Vedas , Upanishads

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (142 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Vivekananda’s interpretation of Vedanta philosophy and values for sustained human development

Swami Sarvapriyananda (pp. 204 - 211)

Keywords: Ethics , Human development , Vedanta philosophy , Spirituality , Swami Vivekananda , The doctrine of Oneness

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (78 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Vivekananda and the inner quest of humanity

Pravrajika Vivekaprana (pp. 212 - 219)

Keywords: Barrier of ignorance , Human struggle , Intrinsic truth , Laws of habits , Laws of nature , Privileged class ,Subconscious evolution , Self-confidence , Ultimate freedom

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (78 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Human development and transcendence: a Vivekananda view

Swami Tyagananda (pp. 220 - 224)

Keywords: Natural selection , Swami Vivekananda , Human development and evolution , Samadhi , Transcendence ,Unfoldment and development of nature and the life forms

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (67 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Vivekananda’s message of human excellence

Swami Purnatmananda (pp. 225 - 230)

Keywords: Human development , Swami Vivekananda , Horizontal human development , Human divinity , Human excellence, Vertical human development

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (69 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Vivekananda and Bertrand Russell on conception and development of human being

Jay L. Shaw (pp. 231 - 241)

Keywords: Advaita concept of oneness , Human excellence , Independent thinking or judgment , Metaphysics of neutral monism , Phenomenal & ultimate reality , Religious ceremonies or rituals , Unity-in-diversity , Harmonious development

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (102 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

The power of karma yoga in human development

Shelley Brown (pp. 242 - 249)

Keywords: Ancient wisdom , Harmony of Oneness , Karma yoga , Light of the soul , Selfless intent , Sublime nature of human being , Calm concentration , Attitudinal correction , Alexander technique

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (82 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Towards eradication of poverty and inequality: Vivekananda’s perspective for sustained human development

Swami Baneshananda (pp. 250 - 259)

Keywords: Poverty , Inequality , Sustained human development , Human divinity , Social determinacy , Social philosophy ,Social transformation , Socioeconomic forces , Capability , Functionality , Legitimate goals , Unselfish love

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (98 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

“Surplus in Man” and the capability-based sustained/total human development

Dilip Dutta (pp. 260 - 275)

Keywords: Mental health , Self-control , Moral philosophy , “Surplus in Man” , Capability approach to human development ,Demands of duty , Deontological theories of morality , Holistic approach to daily life , Vedanta , Transpersonal psychology ,Sustained/total human development , Yoga system

Type: Research paper

• Abstract
• HTML
• PDF (140 KB)
• Reprints and Permissions

Editorial

Swami Vivekananda and his quest for sustained human development in both East & West

Dutta Dilip

Type: Non-article

• Abstract
• HTML

Newcastle University to launch new course degree in Film and Media studies

Newcastle: Over the years Newcastle University has Filmmakers have been creating waves in the news front for winning prestigious awards in movie making. With award winning directors as the university’s faculty, Newcastle has launched a new degree in Film and Media studies for passionate filmmakers. The students get to learn and be trained directly by under award winning directors and filmmakers. 

Professor Charles Harvey, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences said: “Algorithms is a wonderful documentary which brings to life a world which most people know nothing about.

 “We are incredibly fortunate to have such talented filmmakers working at Newcastle University and I am thrilled that their remarkable efforts are being recognized.

 “Our students benefit greatly from their expertise and even more will do so when we launch our new degree in Film and Media next year and our single honours degree in film in 2016.”

Most recently one of the senior lecturers at the university has been nominated for the famous Grierson awards for his much popular documentary Algorithms. It follows three boys over three years as they compete in blind chess tournaments in India and abroad and visits them in their homes where they reveal their struggles, anxieties and hopes.

 “It is a great privilege to be nominated for a Grierson,” said Dr McDonald who made the film with his wife Geetha.  The filmmaking couple remortgaged their home to raise the cash required to make it. “Making the film has been a real struggle, but it’s had a great response wherever it has screened and now for the film to receive this nomination for a Grierson is a real honour for us.”

Ian was inspired to make the film after reading an Indian newspaper clipping about blind chess back in 2006. “It was a community that was almost unknown to the outside world,” said Ian. “Yet it was thriving and that fascinated me. 

“To be part of their world for three years was a transformative experience. It changed my understanding of ability and disability and reminded me of the forgotten significance of touch.

 “Chess is really a mind game and is one of the few games where a blind person can play on par with a sighted opponent. In fact I made the mistake of challenging one of the boys to a match and he beat me in five minutes flat!” 

 Algorithms have already received accolades from all over the world. They are:  

• Best Film Trophy at Film South Asia, Nepal, 2013

• Audience Award at the RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Films, UK, 2013 

• Prix du Patrimoine Cultural Immaterial at the Jean Rough International Film Festival, Paris,  2013

• Special Mention in the Best Documentary category at the Durban International Film Festival, South Africa, 2013

• Best Editing Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival, India, 2014

• Best Story Award at Krasnogorski International Festival of Sport Films, Moscow, 2014

• Algorithms were released in in Los Angeles this week and will open in New York cinemas later this month, and are expected to be released in the UK in November.

Ian’s success is just the latest to be enjoyed by Newcastle University filmmakers. Last year, Tina Gharavi was nominated for an outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer' BAFTA award I am Nasrine, her story of a young Iranian girl who comes to live in the UK.

 Teaching fellow Geoff Lowe is also a BAFTA winning producer. An interactive film he made about colour played at the National Gallery this summer as part of its acclaimed Making Colour exhibition.

Most Indian women engaged in unpaid housework

NSSO urged to use time-use surveys to ascertain homemakers’ economically productive activity

Close to two out of every three Indian women are, in their prime working years, primarily engaged in unpaid housework, new NSSO data shows.

This phenomenon, on the rise over the last decade, is least common in the southern and north-eastern States and most common in the northern States, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in particular.

In data released on Sunday, the National Sample Survey Office’s 68th round, which covered one lakh households in every State and Union Territory, looked at women’s usual employment status.

Over 60 per cent of adult women, the NSSO found, are primarily engaged in housework — slightly more so among urban women. The data shows that women, in both rural and urban areas, are increasingly reporting domestic work as their main occupation.

Even though a majority of the women surveyed were engaged in productive activity — collecting firewood or rearing household poultry — they could not be classified as ‘workers’ as the value added by and the number of hours spent on these actions were not sufficient to constitute ‘economically productive activity’.

Feminist economists like Indira Hirway, Director and Professor of Economics at the Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad, have urged NSSO to implement ‘time-use surveys’ which would allow researchers to understand how much time home-bound women spend on economically productive activity.

Among women who spend most of their time on domestic duties, the survey noted that over 60 per cent said they did so because there was no other family member to help out with the household chores.

A third of women doing domestic work also said during the survey they would be willing to take up regular paid home-based work, particularly of tailoring.

The right question

The survey did not ask women engaged in domestic work if they would like to take up work outside the house.

“There is undoubtedly one segment of women doing domestic work who do not want to take up paid work outside the house. But we cannot assume that this is the case for all women, and the NSSO should be asking them this question,” labour economist Preet Rustagi, Professor at the Institute of Human Development, said.

Moreover, while the NSSO asks home-bound women what they would need to take up paid work (easy finance, for instance), it does not ask if women would like someone to share the domestic burden with them.

Keywords: Unpaid housework, NSSO data