Education

Recently I took the Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) civic club members of VET school, where I volunteer, to a plastic waste recycling factory, 'KK Plastic Waste Management' on Kanakapura Road.We are all aware that we should segregate garbage. Of course, we have all heard of separating kitchen waste, plastic, paper, metals etc. But when it has to be actually put into practice, people hesitate because (a) old lazy habits die hard, and (b) people are not sure how to dispose of each of these categories. However, there is a practical solution for each of these categories of waste.…

It was with absolute shock and disgust that I read a news piece about the government's decision to introduce Kurkure in the midday meals offered at anganwadis in the State. The "justification" offered is that children these days are addicted to this spicy snack so this would be an incentive for them to attend the anganwadi. Have we forgotten why the Midday Meal was introduced less than a decade ago? Was it not meant to address child malnutrition, protect children from classroom hunger, and increase school enrolment and retention?  Am I mistaken about the Supreme Court directive (2001) that made…

84 students from seven schools will perform streetplays on child rights and right to education in various parts of Bangalore this November. Bal Jamoore, is an initiative by CRY to make children think and act as social agents of change who respect and stand up for equal rights to all. Pic: Deepthi Sarma. The training program for Bal Jamoore was held on 30th and 31st of October at the CRY office, Cox town. Each participating school has a team of 12-15 students for the street play. The training programme is divided into two segments. The first segment helps the students…

Five days after an ABIDe-led committee was constituted to discuss Karnataka's draft rules for implementing the national Right to Education (RTE) Act, it has already received several suggestions from senior educationists and NGOs. To propose a way through the confusion regarding the implementation of the RTE Act the chief minister's task force for Bengaluru, ABIDe (Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development Task Force), formed a working group on September 23. The group plans to collect suggestions from the public and hold discussions with parents, teachers, NGOs, school associations and other stakeholders to discuss the draft rules proposed by the state…

When the results of the SSLC examination were announced back in May, BBMP schools in the city had fared so poorly it was almost as if the Palike itself had flunked the public examination. The thirty-three high schools under the Palike secured a pass percentage of 33 per cent -- its most abysmal result in the last few years. To put this figure in perspective, the state average was 68 per cent -- more than double of what the BBMP schools secured this year, and a far cry from the ambitious target of 75 percent set in the 2009-10 BBMP…

A childhood's memories Of looking and waiting For something exciting From the grove of coconut trees A busy woodpecker An agile tree climber Two young boys Who made little noise If we missed these We simply counted the trees What rekindled these memories Was Visthar's coconut trees! Situated in an eco-friendly campus in Dodda Gubbi off the Hennur Road in east Bangalore, Visthar is a treasure trove of nature's bounty that drives one to reflect inwards while celebrating life. A veritable hub of socio-cultural and environmental consciousness this organization turned twenty one recently. Famous for hosting annual festivals and events that…

A brief newspaper item carried last month talked about city schools enforcing the importance of eating healthy - that parents had been told to send nutritive packed lunches and educational authorities were giving the thumbs down to food high in sugar, salt and oil content.The report went on to say how parents are struggling to meet these expectations in the face of their young ones demanding novelty each day. As a mother lamented that her three year old did not like salads and she had no time to pack chapattis or dosas every day, the thought came up: what were…

It's been thirty years since John Lennon passed but his spirit clearly still lives on. Nehru Bal Sangh, Bangalore, more commonly known as NBS, once again organised their much awaited inter- school cultural competition Cascade, at Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park with the theme of ‘All we need is love.' Nehru Bal Sangh (NBS) is a United Nations recognised and accredited, voluntary, non-profit organisation with branches in 18 states of India. NBS is run by young student members who engage in social causes such as fundraising for organisations including the Spastic Society and Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA). In the past…

One afternoon last week I met R Sunder Rajan, the founder of Just Books at N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), IIM, Bangalore, where the two-year-old startup is incubated. Rajan belongs to a new generation of entrepreneurs, who has slipped into something totally different after years of working in IT firms.  Rajan spent 15 years at the IT firm IFlex, after joining them as a fresh graduate from Regional Engineering College, Trichy. The soft spoken and mild-mannered Madurai native in his late thirties says, “My father says I am the first in the family to ever handle a…

Dr Shyamala Mani, Associate Professor at the Centre for Neurosciences (CNS), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), was conferred the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the French Government on June 14th, 2010. The award, given to individuals for their contribution to academia and education, was awarded to Dr Shyamala for her research on neonatal lesions and the effects of malnutrition on the fetal brain. Dr Shyamala Mani. Pic credit: cns.iisc.ernet.in. Originally hailing from Vellore, Dr Shyamala completed her graduation in Psychology from Delhi University and then went on to complete her Master…