State Government of Madhya Pradesh has passed an ordinance curbing the use of mobile phones in school premises by students and teachers.
The announcement was made on Tuesday, following complaints of excessive use of mobile phones by students and teachers during school sessions. The ban is supposed to spark a row of protest from teachers across the state.
The largest state in North India, Uttar Pradesh has over 56,000 schools without electricity. Soon their electrification process is going to be started, informed the state government official.
State government has sanctioned about Rs. 1.7 crore for the project covering primary and secondary schools of over 71 districts. The whole electrification process will be completed in different phases starting with 1,000 schools in remote areas.
After approving the increase in student intake in the engineering colleges of Gujarat state, the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) has sent a notice of excessive intake by the colleges. AICTE had earlier approved to increase the student count by 455 seats. The state colleges went ahead and increased the intake by 1,025 seats, an extra of 570 seats against the orders.
The council has not yet decided as what will happen to the candidates that have been admitted, in addition to the 455 seats, as was approved. The state colleges argue that they admitted the students only on reasons that the council will approve the request and put the number as 1,025.
AICTE, however, has stressed that the teacher-student ratio was high and under those circumstances the seats cannot be extended, more than what has been agreed and approved by the board. The board has said that there is a dearth of instructors and professors in the state and more students would bear the impact on the education and training.
The state directorate will pledge their case and everything has to be set right before the next academic session begins. In case of lapse, it would be very difficult for the students to obtain admissions in the same colleges. The state directorate has assured that the students won’t suffer unnecessarily.
According to the latest reports many schools in the country have started installing CCTVs in the campus to keep an eye on the children. School authorities have proclaimed that cameras and other equipment had to be installed for security reasons. However, some parents have discouraged such measures and said that it would affect the behaviour of their children.
Cameras and CCTVs have been installed at most of the public places like metro stations, shopping malls and other places where public flow is maximum. But, it is for the first time that CCTVs have found their way to educational institutes.
There has been a wide debate over the issue of maintaining discipline in the campus by using such arrangements as CCTVs. School authorities who have gone ahead with the proposal are of the opinion that constant monitoring of the children is a prerequisite to maintain discipline in the campus.
According to one official, a reputed school in Kolkata has installed 32 cameras that help to maintain a vision of different places in the campus. People now doubt that such measures can be effective. Instead, they fear that the thought of being watched all the times would have adverse effects on the children.
Last year, there was an incident of a student being shot in the school. Similar incidents have been reported, but their frequency is very low and it rarely happens that children get seriously hurt in a school. Still, that gives school authorities some reasons to bank upon.
The master plan of the school should be built around the classroom – rest of the facilities and rooms are built with the classroom at the core of school design.
Educational philosophy of the management
The ancillary rooms like the art & craft room and other facilities need to be designed keeping in mind the education philosophy of the management. For example, if dramatics are to be stressed then an auditorium, amphitheatre etc. will form a part of the core design. Similarly, different education focus may be in IT, art, vocational education etc. The arrangement of these blocks should be done considering the daily schedule of the pupils and accordingly placed so that there is efficient use of their time and time is not wasted in commuting from one part of the school to another.
Cost of construction
The simpler the design the less will be the cost. Fancy and ornamental things should only be used to create a pleasant environment beyond that if any expenditure has not educational value as well it should be avoided.
Adaptable to future changes in education
Further, it is not about today – the management should have a long term vision of what schools will be in the future and accordingly, design to accommodate these needs. It is not only expensive to renovate a building but, also very difficult as children and their safety has to be considered and the fact that most schools are full to capacity! The only time a school may be remodeled is the 45 days summer break – which makes it impossible to carry out major repairs through the lifetime of the school.
Orientation of the school
The orientation of the building should be such that natural light and ventilation are maximized while protecting the children from harsh weather as well. For example, North East facing windows will prevent direct sunlight thereby reducing cooling costs.
Variety of learner and learning’s
The school design should also be such that it accommodates the multi-dimensional learning needs of a variety of learners- each of whom may have their own pace of learning.
Caters to a variety of sizes
Further, as a school may cater to 2 years to 17 years old to adult teachers- the design has to be such that all these children are comfortable. The younger ones need their colourful spaces, smaller furniture and the older ones need areas which they can relate to – benches, IT stations etc.
Attractive
Finally, the school should be welcoming and inviting for the children. It should be colourful and yet not distracting.
