Getting them back to school

A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development simplistically records poverty and academic disinterest as major reasons for children dropping out of school.

A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in September shows that out of the estimated 20.41 crore children in the age group of 6-13 in India, an estimated 60.41 lakh (2.97 per cent) are out of school. This proportion of out-of-school children is lower than the figure of 4.28 per cent in 2009 and 6.94 per cent in 2006, a fact worthy of cheer. This study is indicative of the fact that government-sponsored retention schemes and policies have had some positive impact. Methodologically, the report conducts household surveys and broadly defines ‘out-of-school’ as including all children who do not attend school for more than 45 days in an academic year. Had the report conducted a survey based on administrative records and defined ‘out-of-school children’ more narrowly, the results may have been significantly different, perhaps far less optimistic. But the picture is gloomy if we look more closely at the status of marginal groups in this study. The survey reveals that a higher percentage of female children (3.23 per cent) are out of school than males (2.77 per cent); more children from rural areas (3.13 per cent) are out of school than from urban (2.54 per cent) areas. A staggering 4.43 per cent of Muslim children, 4.7 per cent of Scheduled Tribes and 28.07 per cent of children with special needs are estimated to be out of school. Other surveys in the recent past also concur with this data of identifying Scheduled Castes, ST and Muslim children as constituting a major chunk of the out-of-school children, and record a very disproportionate progress in terms of bridging regional, gender and rural/urban divides.

The report simplistically records poverty and academic disinterest as major reasons for dropping out of school. Such analysis is where such studies fall short. As the MHRD report “Education for All” of August 2014 shows, too much emphasis is given to infrastructural reform, providing transportation, books, uniforms, etc. Although this is significant, the overarching insights from such a study require policymakers to officially acknowledge the prevalence of exclusionary practices in schools, so as to address them directly. In such complex conditions, deploying an intersectional analysis can be a useful methodological tool of study, such as noting the discrimination faced by a ‘lower caste-rural-girl child’ in school as against an ‘upper caste-urban-boy child’. The school cannot be perceived as an instrumental sphere for the potential labour force of a growing economy. Rather, it is a space for community development, a learning process that can potentially undermine caste and gender prejudices by the mere fact of children sitting together and sharing a common meal, increasing their self-worth.

Keywords: Ministry of Human Resource Development, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, out of school children, school dropouts

Nov 19 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Kisan Vikas Patra With KYC Welcome





The point is to use the data that is captured

A new avatar of the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) launched by the government to encourage people to save more is welcome. It will reduce some demand for gold as investment, curtail imports and help savings, investment and growth. Household financial savings rate dropped to 7.2% of GDP in 2013-14. It should be raised. The answer lies in both reining inflation, improving the appeal of financial savings and offering a wider variety of financial products. KVP offers an annual return of 8.7%, a tad higher than the 10-year g-secs yield of 8.2%, making it attractive for risk-averse investors. It also offers flexibility.Investors can exit after a lock-in of 2.5 years, and also pledge their certificates as collateral for loans. Clearly , an instrument such as the KVP provides comfort to people with limited access to formal finance and makes available long-term funds for investment. It will also keep many away from fraudulent schemes.The redesigned scheme has welcome safeguards to prevent misuse. Banks and post offi ces will have to document addresses, even if a person buying a KVP does not have to quote her permanent ac count number. Remember, in the IPO scam, fake addresses had been ram pant, but were not spotted. New, big data analytics should mine through the data on KVP investors, once made available as a database. Managing big data holds the key to tracking the source of funds. The country has the IT prowess, and that should be harnessed to use big data analytics.
Ideally, the government should have capped the cash component, and also fixed a ceiling on the amount to be invested to ensure that KVP is not seen as a disguised amnesty scheme to launder black money . That there are no tax benefits is welcome, given that tax sops are a drag on the exchequer. However, the government should also promote other instruments such as inflation-indexed bonds (IIBs) by making them available on a large scale that is comparable to the value of gold demand. Risk-averse investors should be able to subscribe to IIBs, and that will augur well for the economy .

Nov 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

India 6th worst terror-hit country

Kounteya Sinha

London





Attacks Increased By 70% From 2012 To 2013, Toll Up From 238 To 404:

India was the sixth worst-affected country by terrorism in 2013 -the other five being war zones at present. This came out in the Global Terrorism Index 2014 report which also said that the number of deaths from terrorism increased by 61% between 2012 and 2013.There were nearly 10,000 terrorist attacks in 2013, a 44% increase from the previous year. But India witnessed a much higher increase of terrorist attacks during the same period -while terrorism increased by 70% in India from 2012 to 2013, the number of deaths increased from 238 to 404.
The report said that in India there remains significant terrorist activity including on the border between India and Pakistan.
As many as 43 different terrorist groups were found to be operational in India and were categorized into three groups: Islamists, separatists and communists. They were found to have planned and carried out attacks.
Over 80% of the deaths from terrorist incidents in 2013 were recorded in just five countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria. On a scale of one (low est impact of terrorism) to 10 (highest risk of terrorism) -Iraq which has emerged as the world's worst-affected country with terrorism is the only entry with a score of 10. India had a score of 7.86.
The largest year-on-year increase in deaths from terrorism was recorded between 2012 and 2013 increasing from 11,133 to 17,958. As many as 87 countries experienced a terrorist incident in 2013, slightly up from 81 in 2012. The number of countries experiencing over 50 deaths in one year hit an alltime high in 2013 at 24, five greater than the previous high of 19 countries in 2008.
About India, the Index said, “The number of attacks increased with 55 more attacks in 2013 than 2012. But the majority of terrorist attacks in India have low casualties. In 2013 around 70% of attacks were non-lethal.
“Communist terrorist groups are by far the most frequent perpetrators and the main cause of deaths in India. Three Maoist communist groups claimed responsibility for 192 deaths in 2013, which was nearly half of all deaths from terrorism in India.
“Police are overwhelmingly the biggest targets of Maoists, accounting for half of all deaths and injuries. This is mainly through armed assaults, which killed 85, and bombings and explosions, which killed 43,“ the report said.
The dispute with Pakistan over Jammu & Kashmir is the source of Islamic terrorism in India, according to the report. In 2013 three Islamist groups were responsible for around 15% of deaths in India. This includes Hizbul Mujahideen which was the only group in India to use suicide tactics in 2013.
“Islamist groups in India commonly use armed assaults targeting the police or bombings targeting private citizens. The majority of attacks occur in Hyderabad and Jammu & Kashmir,“ the report said.
Globally, four terrorist groups -al-Qaida, Boko Haram, ISIS and the Taliban were responsible for 66% of all deaths from terrorist attacks in 2013 in which the perpetrator was known.

Nov 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

`Go low-tech during disasters'

Sumeet Keswani

Kathmandu





Low-tech methods need to be combined with high-tech devices for effective communication in times of disaster. This measure was suggested by an IMD official at a conference on climate change here. A low-cost flood early warning system monitored by local communities was also showcased.The conference on `Mountain people adapting to change' was held here from November 9 to 12 by ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) to bridge scientific data, policies of the eight countries that contain some part of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) and local practices in the region.
The north-western Himalayas have recently seen a series of natural disasters. The 2010 floods in Pakistan, the 2013 flash floods in Uttarakhand, the recent floods in J&K -all have underlined the need to understand the impact of climate change on the region and find ways to mitigate it. The lead time in predicting mesoscale weather systems -which can lead to flash floods -is 10 to 35 minutes, said Anand Sharma, director, IMD-Dehradun, and a panelist at the conference. Communication though can be improved.
“We had given a warning 72 hours in advance for the Kedarnath floods. But pilgrims who were already on their way couldn't be contacted, with no power and poor cellphone networks,“ Sharma said.“I have been suggesting using tonealerts and hand-winding radios. They need no power or cellphone networks.“
Mats Eriksson, director, climate change and water, knowledge services, at SIWI (Stockholm International Water Institute) suggested a bottom-up approach. “The communities need to reach out to know what they need to do.“
With this in mind, ICIMOD, along with CICERO (Centre for International Climate and Environmental ResearchOslo) and Aaranyak, an environmental research organization in north-east India, has come up with a communitybased flood early warning system (FEWS). A sensor on a transmitter installed on a riverbank detects rising water levels and sends an alert to a receiver installed with a community living upstream. Locals then warn people living downstream and the district authorities.
Eight such systems, each of which costs $800, were installed in the Jiadhal and Singora rivers in Assam. In 2013, one of these sent a critical alert to villages before being washed away, said Nand Kishor Agrawal of ICIMOD.
The correspondent was at the conference on invite by ICIMOD

Nov 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

VC seeks Rs 20cr to expand AMU library, admit girls

Eram Agha

New Delhi





It appears that every dark cloud indeed has a silver lining. The silver lining in the AMU affair is that Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor Zameeruddin Shah has sought a Rs 20 crore grant from the HRD ministry to expand the main university library so that it can accommodate girls from the Women's College.He will also use the funds to start a bus service for the girls of the college, which is 3km from the university campus.
Speaking to TOI here, Shah clarified that his sexist remark was made in jest. “It was a simile,“ he said, referring to his statement that girls in the library would attract boys. He stressed he was in favour of girls coming to the library and in June last year wrote to parents asking if they would be fine with their wards travelling unescorted from college to the AMU campus. “Barring one, no parent said `yes',“ he said. In a letter addressed to the Union HRD ministry , Ali garh Muslim University vice-chancellor Zameeruddin Shah has said, “Despite being open for 18 hours from 8am to 2am for seven days a week it (the library) is always overcrowded. It was constructed to cater to 7,000 students but now the strength is 28,000.It is not at all feasible to take more, we are also examining if it is feasible to get Women's College girls, the problem is of space and we need funds for expansion of the library .I will be projecting a requirement for special allocation of funds to MHRD.“
Shah has clarified to HRD minister Smriti Irani that AMU has not violated the fundamental rights of women. He said, “The safety of girls moving from their college to the main library after dark is a major security hazard because of the lumpen elements of Aligarh city . There have been several cases of chain snatching and eve-teasing.This aspect can be taken care of if the College has bus service. Unfortunately , there was a total ban on purchase of new vehicles by universities, till it was clarified that replacements for condemned vehicles could be restored to.“

Search The – Internet Better



Right now, this very moment, you have access to the greatest amount of data you've ever had in your entire life. And as the internet continues to grow with every passing second, this rich content ­ in the form of text, pictures and even high-definition multimedia ­ will keep increasing. The biggest problem we face, however, is accessing all this information when we need it. And this is where search engines come in. Most of us tend to use the usual services ­ Bing, Google and Yahoo!. But did you know that there's more to web search than just these big names? Here's a quick primer that will help you... 

META SEARCH

For better results, it is recommended that you use at least two or three search engines. But for most of us, querying different services can prove to be cumbersome. In such cases, it makes sense to use meta search engines, which pull data from multiple services, eliminate dupli cates, and use their own algorithms to reorder the results. Here you could look at http:www.dogpile.com (queries Google and Yahoo!), http:www.zapmeta.com (Altavista, Entireweb, Gigablast, and (Altavista, Entireweb, Gigablast, and Yahoo!, among other services) and http:www.search.com (Bing, Blekko, DMOZ aka Open Directory, and Google).Now, if you're looking for multimedia, you site is not a meta search engine in itself, but lets you query services such as Flickr, Fotopedia, Google Images, Open Clip Art Gallery and Pixabay for images; Jamendo, ccMixter and SoundCloud for music; and YouTube for videos. 

NATURAL LANGUAGE SEARCH 

Most search engines rely on keywords to carry out searches. But if you're looking for a service where you can ask questions in spoken English, try http:www.ask.com. This engine understands queries in natural language to give you exactly the kind of result you were looking for. Type “how large is a whale“, for instance, and the site returns with “whales reach lengths of 100 feet and can weigh up to 200 tons...“. 

SOCIAL SEARCH 

Searching websites is one thing, but trawling blogs, social networks and tweets for content is quite something else. Here, our favourite tool is http:www.icerocket.com. Simply type your keyword or phrase, and you can then select from any one of its tabs: Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, or Search All for results. It's a great way to keep an eye on what's trending on the interweb. 

MAGE SEARCH 

Bing, Google and Yahoo! let you search images, but you might want to try http:www.tineye.com, which is a `reverse' image search engine. You can upload a picture, or send a web link to its servers, after which Tineye uses image identi fication technology to tell you where the picture came from, how it's being used, if modified versions exist, and it even identifies higher resolution versions. The site, which regu larly crawls the web for new pictures, has indexed 7.3 billion images from the internet to help you find what you're looking for. 

VIDEO SEARCH 

If it's online videos you're looking for, try http:www.blinkx.com. This service helps you find clips from hosting services, v-logs, news channels, and more. You can search by category (news and politics, sports, science and nature, technology, movies, and celebrities), keywords and sometime even by content (like song lyrics) ­ and with your results, Blinkx also suggests possible channels to which you can subscribe. 

KID SEARCH 

http:www.kidrex.org is designed exclusively for youngsters, and leads to content that's safe for kids.

Alternatively, most search engines provide filters that block content that might not be suitable for children. Bing, Google, and Yahoo! have their SafeSearch option, which can be found under `Preferences' on the respective sites. Still, it should be noted that these filters are not perfect and some material does get past them, so keeping a parental eye on these is advised. 

MEDICAL SEARCH

http:www.imedisearch.com is a customized Google engine specifically built to search medical-related resources. But unlike Google, which cannot distinguish between reputable and non-reputable medical sites, iMedisearch only displays data from credible websites that have been carefully selected by a practising clinical pharmacist. Additionally, the site separates results based on users ­ whether general public, physician, or nurse ­ to deliver relevant and accurate results.Text: Savio D'Souza

Singapore’s KEF to invest above Rs. 1500 cr in India - 

KEF Holdings, a specialist in innovative offsite construction technology, headquartered in Singapore, plans to invest more than Rs 1,500 crore in India in social sectors, including education, over the next five years. The company is planning to invest in education sector that could transform public school education in Kerala. This initiative would be supported by Faizal and Shabana Foundation.

KEF group’s chairman Faizal E Kottikollon, stated, “In line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ vision, KEF Holdings is committed to supporting change by focusing on three basic needs – infrastructure, education and healthcare. KEF will change infrastructure development in the country by bringing in best practice, technologies and processes from across the world and integrating them to offer assured quality and a significant reduction in time and money.”

On the education front, Kottikollon wants to focus on public schools as he believes “that is where society can get the greatest bang for the buck.” Earlier, to help improve school education for the economically weaker sections of society, his foundation promptly took up redeveloping the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School for Girls at Nadakkavu, Calicut.

After obtaining all requisite clearances from the authorities, he rebuilt the school by constructing modern structures and facilities replete with laboratories, gymnasiums and an astro-turf playground. The construction process was completed without losing a single day’s schooling for girls. Teaching faculty was also given importance, as Kottikollon included IIM Calicut to bring in special courses for teachers. The school soon got listed as one of the top five schools in Kerala and with this Kottikollon hopes to make it one of the top 5 schools in the country.

The Faizal and Shabana Foundation also decided to transform 100 public schools in that state and for this, Kottikollon hopes to get the state to commit its funds, while his trust will put up Rs 500 crore on its own. “Each of these schools will have at least 2,500 students, thus giving us the ability to transform the lives of some 2,50,000 students.” He believes that a similar competitive spirit will spread to other states as well when they watch the transformation of Kerala’s public education.

KEF Holdings would also channel investments through its two business verticals, KEF Infra and KEF Health. KEF Infra will cater to India’s education, healthcare, commercial and residential sectors through offering design, engineering, manufacturing, assembly and project management. KEF Health will aim to reduce the cost of healthcare through industrialising infrastructure, creating evidence-based care-paths and promoting disruptive healthcare technology.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/11/singapores-kef-to-invest-above-rs-1500-cr-in-india/#sthash.9Amvt1rp.dpuf