Education

School might lose its recognition if the ISCE board considers the State government's request. Pic: Nikita Malusare The already-battered parents of Vibgyor High school students in Marathahalli, Bengaluru, were in for a rude shock on July 18, 2014, Friday late evening. In the backdrop of widespread criticism in the media, the Department of Public Instruction, Karnataka, wrote to ICSE board, requesting that the recognition given to Vibgyor High school in Marathahalli, be withdrawn. A press release from Commissioner for Public Instruction, Mohammad Mohsin, stated: “The Department has viewed seriously on a sexual assault on a child studying in that [Vibgyor]…

This write up was originally posted by Nitya Ramakrishnan on Whitefield Rising website, and has been re-posted here with permission. This article in  Times of India outlines what happenned. 16 individuals/groups are involved. And most of us are in this list! Interestingly, the choice each one makes determines the outcome of this case and potentially affects the next rape about to happen. So are we inadvertently supporting rape? The teacher that locked the little 6-year-old in a room, in the school (per the article in TOI) The Rapists The teacher that seems to have found out and brought the doctor The…

Facts as outlined by Police on Vibgyor High school case: "Alleged act on July 2nd. Complaint received on 14th. Full co-operation by School during investigation. Two people in custody as of 16th. Investigation at 80% completion and they are likely to conclude by 18th." It implied they were very close to conclusion. July 17th: On request from Vibgyor parents and in a gesture of solidarity for the victim, Whitefield Rising requested all on the group to support a protest meeting organised by the parents. Their objective was to get Mr Rustam to answer the many questions they had. They had…

Parents protesting on Vibgyor High premises in Marathahalli on Thursday. Pic:Nikita Malusare Sending a child to school just isn’t the same any more. The latest incident that reinforces this unfortunate truth is what happened at the Marathahalli branch of Vibgyor High School, one of the more reputed private schools in the city, catering largely to educated upper middle class parents, many of them migrants to the city. On 2 July, a child studying in the first grade was punished with ‘isolation’ in another room of the same school, during which two men, at least one among them reportedly being a…

In my last article, I responded to the indignation against an elitist school refusing an underprivileged kid admission on grounds of social disparity. My response was focused on considering the impact on that kid if he were to get admitted into such a school. Many people who responded to this article were concerned about my choice of focus, and made suggestions towards a solution. While some people stated that they wanted a solution, and we should not let such social discrimination remain in schools, others went on to suggest means to remove such discrimination. They claimed that by measures such…

Editor's note: This is a response to the opinion published on Citizen Matters last week, titled When Bengaluru's reputed school says no to admitting a "low class" kid... Pic courtesy: ESAF Bangalore FB page Simplicity is misunderstood in two ways, exemplified by two statements: 1. “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” - Albert Einstein 2. "Given multiple explanations for a situation, the simplest is the best one to assume” — a  reformulation of Occam’s razor I heard as a kid. The first statement is often misinterpreted mainly because, in such matters, no two people can…

That afternoon, we had been looking for the Durga Book Store in Shivajinagar. I had been told that it might still be there, a bookstore where residents of Frazer town and Benson town had shopped in the 50s as had others from the city. There were many who had memories of going there during their school days. It had been the popular bookstore at that time. We found it. It was still there. Just across the road from Russell market. In a little lane off the Noronha road, right at the corner. When we went in there, it was in…

Let me introduce you to a livewire 5th grade kid I tutor in Bengaluru - Let's just call him Mo (obviously not his real name). All Mo wants to do with his life is to go to the National Defense Academy and join the Indian Army. Mo meets a Mig Yes, he is slow with reading English, and very hesitant while speaking it, thanks to his less-than-lousy Kannada medium education so far at the free local Government School. But he understands what you say in English completely.   Mo & Co. learn to pose He and I work on his…

Students pursuing their master’s in physical education from Bangalore University (BU) are not provided with a proper sports ground, which eventually results in fewer number of physical education teachers in the city. After the students graduate in Masters in Physical Education, they are required to clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) in order to apply for jobs in primary and high schools for the post of PEd teacher. There is only one college affiliated to BU that provides the course of MPed, University College of Physical Education. The college has one ground where students train in multiple sports. The SoftCopy…

With the month of March marching in, there arises a common fear among students - the fear of examinations. The Central Board of Seconday Education(CBSE) has commenced its Class 10th and 12th Annual Examinations all over the country. The exams conducted by this board are some of the toughest exams faced by the students. Therefore, the students are under a lot of pressure from different sources like parents, teachers and peers to do their very best. Meanwhile, the Pre-University Education Board of Karnataka (PUE) is also conducting exams for 2nd PU from March 12th. The Karnataka PUE Board examination is…