Double trouble hits education Act

The “dual administrative set-up” in the department of school education is an impediment to the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The Act, which will come into force on April 1, makes free and compulsory education a right to children in the age group of six to 14 years, till Class VIII.

Though only two days are left for the RTE Act to come into force, there is no clarity on its implementation either at the ministers’ level or at the officials’ level.

While school education from Classes I to X is handled by a single department in all other states, it is not the case in AP. In AP, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) department handles education from Classes I to V, while the directorate of school education controls Classes VI to X.

And, there is absolutely no co-ordination between the two bodies over the implementation of the RTE Act.

The two departments have not even held a “joint meeting” over the RTE Act.

In addition, the non-allocation of funds for the RTE Act in the state government’s Budget this year has further compounded the problem. The government is

banking on funds provided by the Centre towards the SSA scheme to implement the RTE Act. Co-ordination between the SSA and the school education department, is therefore, necessary in order to spend the funds appropriately.

The minister for primary education, Mr Ahamadullah, under whose purview the the SSA comes, said, “Funds meant for the SSA would be utilised to implement the RTE Act, but I have not received any communication from the department of secondary education.”

Meanwhile, the minister for secondary education, Mr D. Manikya Vara Prasada Rao, was clueless on the implementation of the Act.

Weaving stories into lessons

Shikari Shambu, Rhino and other characters from V. Adithya’s collection of books get new twists and turns when he narrates stories to his parents. The Standard III student of Kola Perumal Chetty Vaishnav Senior Secondary School creates characters to make his imagination go wild.

“I see his concentration, imagination and comprehension skills have really improved. The story origami workshop especially makes him invent a narrative for every fold,” says Geetha, his mother, who attended one such workshop out of curiosity.

Storytelling workshops have found a new place for parents and children who want to see better academic performance. Teachers too are taking up a lesson or two from these sessions to make the classrooms livelier. Storytellers also are exploring. Besides improving public speaking skills and sparking the child’s imagination, many are applying them to teach subjects like mathematics and languages.

Storyteller Latha Subramaniam combines origami (the art of paper folding) and story to make a session both activity-oriented as well as engaging. Through the process, children also learn about different angles in geometry, symmetry in folds, logical and analytical skills, she says.

“Storytelling cannot hold concentration for a long time, so I couple it with activity and interactivity,” she adds. Besides children, teachers and special educators attend Ms. Subramaniam’s workshops. “I also had enquiries from a few schools who wanted me to hold story-origami sessions from the coming academic year,” she says.

In the West, storytelling is an important method integrated with most subjects to make teaching more engaging and effective.

However, teachers and storytellers say it is yet to pick up in India. A majority of schools still look at storytelling sessions only to improve communication skills. “Many schools are into technology-based teaching. Storytelling is an old but a rich and powerful medium where the involvement is high,” says V. Deivanai, Principal, Chettinad Hari Shree Vidyalayam.

According to storyteller Jeeva Raghunath, integrating stories and lessons is a different genre not all specialise in. “One of the biggest challenges in schools is constraint of time and not everybody would want to be adventurous. Storytelling, especially in teaching history and geography, is a beautiful way to register and understand lessons,” says Ms. Raghunath.

Kathalaya, a storytelling academy, claims its expertise lies in training teachers. “There is resistance from teachers initially, but once you convince them they get creative,” says Deeptha Vivekanand, centre head, Kathalaya. Today, storytelling in the classroom is predominantly used for primary classes in languages, social sciences and mathematics. The bar has to rise, but then if the foundation is strong and one has captivated the child’s interest higher classes are going to be easy, she adds.

Three killed, 17 injured in mishap

Three persons, including a child, were killed and 17 others injured when an RTV overturned in North Delhi this morning. The bus plying between Harsh Vihar and ISBT overturned in Majun Ka Tilla area after one of its tyres burst, police said.

The deceased child was a student of Ludlow Castle School. The injured have been hospitalised. Officials at the Sushrata Trauma Centre said three persons were brought dead to the hospital and 17 injured people are undergoing treatment. Out of the 17 injured, eight are children.

Police: Bomb kills 3 children in NW Pakistan

Three children are dead after a bomb planted near a house explodes in northwestern Pakistan.

Police official Gul Zameen Khan says the children were playing near the house on Wednesday when they spotted the bomb and tried to open it, causing it to explode. The blast partly destroyed the house in Nanger Kani village of Upper Dir.

Mr. Khan said police are investigating why the bomb was planted near the house.

Upper Dir is located in Pakistan’s volatile northwest near the Afghan border, an area that has been plagued by violence from Taliban militants waging war against the government.

Single mothers get an R-Day boost

Single mothers are getting a boost to their status on the 60th Republic Day with the state government favouring a proposal to allow them to give their name in the column meant for parents while admitting their children in school.

Women who are divorced and victims of rape who give birth need not go through the embarrassing ordeal of naming the fathers to school authorities.

The state government is waiting for the advice of the law department before issuing final orders on the issue.

Even now, there is no rule against using mother’s name, but schools, colleges and government departments stubbornly insist on the father’s name for admission and other formalities.

Single mothers also face many ordeals in obtaining permissions from government and in educating their kids and had given many representations on the issue.

“To put an end to this laborious process, the state government is planning to change the guidelines,” said Mr Suresh Chanda, principal secretary of the education department. “We have already given exemption to Jogini women whose children were not allowed to study because they could not give the father’s name.”

Under the Jogini system young girls are dedicated to the local goddess and subsequently forced into prostitution. The age-old evil practice was banned in 1988 by the government.

“More than 42,000 Joginis now can mention their name as parent,” said Mr Manikya Vara Prasad, minister for secondary education. “Similar exemption to single mothers is also under consideration.”

In the last one year, the government received about 350 requests from the single mothers requesting exemption.

The commissioner and director of school education, Mrs Poonam Malakondaiah, took the initiative and sent proposals to the government which are likely to get the nod in a couple of weeks.

“This will bring far-reaching changes in society which is predominantly father-oriented,” said Mrs Malakondaiah. “Women can claim independence in all respects with these changes.”