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School playgrounds not must anymore
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HRD ministry allows managements to make
alternative arrangements
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Puja Pednekar
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Considering
the paucity of open spaces in big cities, the HRD ministry has issued an
advisory to all schools. It says that playground should be removed as an
infrastructural requirement for schools under the RTE Act. Instead, schools
managements have been given the freedom to make adequate arrangements in
adjoining playgrounds/municipal parks for children.
Vikram Sahay, director, department of school education and literacy, issued the advisory after several state governments and school managements appealed to the HRD ministry to reconsider the inclusion of playground as one of the infrastructure requirements in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
“Due to paucity
of open spaces in the metropolis, big cities and other crowded localities,
there are genuine difficulties in providing the playground facility within
the school premises,” Sahay said in the advisory. He said it will be
considered as sufficient compliance if schools facing such difficulties make
adequate alternative arrangements for students to play.
“Inclusion of
playground as an infrastructural requirement in schools was to ensure that
children have sufficient open space for sports and other activities during
school hours. It is not necessary that school management provides this
facility within its premises,” he added.
Schools in Mumbai welcomed the decision. A majority of private schools and more than 40% of civic schools don’t have a playground on their premises, a recent survey by Child Rights and You showed. Many schools have either adopted neighbouring open spaces or send children to sports clubs for physical activities. Some schools like Podar International School, Santa Cruz, have bought a playground in the vicinity.
Yogesh Patel,
director of Swami Vivekanand International Schools in Kandivli and Gorai,
said, “I am happy with this decision. As we are located in the prime suburbs,
we don’t have a playground on our premises. We send children to play in the
municipal playground in the vicinity.”
Courtesy(visited
(23.11.12)
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Friday, 23 November 2012
School playgrounds not must anymore!!!
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
CBSE introduces value education kit.
New Delhi: With an aim to reinforce values in students, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced an education kit to help them carry forward these objectives. The kit was launched by the minister for human resource development M M Pallam Raju on Thursday. The board has recently decided to introduce ‘value-based questions’ of three to five marks in all major subjects in class XII board exams. The kit is expected to serve as a broad guideline for teachers on moral education across all classes.
The kit consists of a value education teachers’ handbook and a CD with eight songs. The kit also has values cards for students from nursery to standard 12. “Universal ideals of love, peace, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, non-violence and sacrifice are the cornerstone of education,” Raju said during the launch of the kit.
Although
value education would be inculcated among all students in age-appropriate ways,
the board has issued specific guidelines to assess students for three to five
months in each subject at the summative assessment level in classes IX and X.
For higher classes, the CBSE has decided to follow an interdisciplinary approach in value education where values are intermingled with the content of all the major subjects in classes XI and XII . The board has also decided to add 5% weightage in the major subjects (English, Hindi, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, accountancy, history, geography , business studies, entrepreneurship and economics ) in classes XI and XII through questions which will be integrated with the content of the subject and analysed on the basis of the values it reflects.
For higher classes, the CBSE has decided to follow an interdisciplinary approach in value education where values are intermingled with the content of all the major subjects in classes XI and XII . The board has also decided to add 5% weightage in the major subjects (English, Hindi, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, accountancy, history, geography , business studies, entrepreneurship and economics ) in classes XI and XII through questions which will be integrated with the content of the subject and analysed on the basis of the values it reflects.
The
value education curriculum will offer a number of exciting learning experiences
through the kit, values cards and songs on the themes of solidarity, unity,
peace, and conservation of nature. The teachers’ handbook is a valuable
resource for them to come up with ideas to conduct lively and interactive
sessions in their classes. The activities, designed by education experts, allow
for more critical thinking about economic, social and moral issues as well as
about universal human values.
Is hitting children hit among parents?
65% of Indians spank their children:
Study
Shreya
Bhandary
Mumbai: When parents lose their cool, children feel the heat. A survey of 10 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bangalore, found that 65% of parents spank their children (14% at least once a week).
Surprisingly, mothers are more
disposed to raise their hands while a majority of fathers prefer to spare the
rod. Again, housewives more than working women end up resorting to physical
punishment.
The most common reasons cited for
spanking a child are irritation leading to frustration and the need for
discipline. Given the high stress levels in metros, counsellors caution against
corporal punishment affecting young minds adversely.
Stay-at-home moms hit
their kids most often
Maximum Children Earn
Ire At Meal Time: Survey
Shreya
Bhandary
Reports of children taking extreme steps or running away from home after being disciplined stare at us from newspapers every other day. Yet, in a shocking finding, a study tells us that almost seven out of 10 parents hit their children in Mumbai. Across India, 65% parents admit they are not averse to spanking their kids.
The Supreme Court had banned corporal punishment in schools in 2000.
Surprisingly, mothers — 77% across India and in Mumbai — were found most liable to raise their hands against children. Housewives came across as the harshest though it is usually believed that they have more time for their kids than mothers juggling family life with a job (See box). The survey by a well-known education group in Mumbai was carried out across 10 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bangalore.
“What was shocking was that spanking was more evident in the cities than in rural areas. The survey shows that in most cases, stay-at-home mothers resort to physical punishment for their children,” said Swati Popat Vats, director of Podar Jumbo Kids.
It was also noticed that 84% of the 4,022 parents who were part of the survey were not in agreement on any kind of physical punishment but felt helpless most of the times. Parents said one of the main reasons why they hit was when the child irritated them and they lost their cool. And this seemed to be happening most often at meal times.
“In most of the households, the fathers were working full time and their absence from home left the mothers to take the responsibility of disciplining the children. It often led to spanking to gain control,” added Vats.
In an endorsement of having sufficient
gaps between children, the survey by the Podar Institute of Education found
that larger the age difference between siblings, lesser was the beating.
School principals across the city told TOI
that they often end up counselling parents on how to discipline their children.
“So many parents have ended up thrashing their children in front me and we had
to intervene,” said Lalitha Hariharan, principal of Rizvi Springfield School,
Bandra (W). “Parents are always frustrated but they need to find alternative
ways of disciplining their children. Hitting children does not put across the
point. Instead, children end up rebelling against their parents.”
Parents’ associations, too, are worried.
“Often parents come and ask for help in counselling their children when, in
fact, they need counselling too,” said Lata Nair, vice-president of PTA United
Forum.
courtesy (visited 7.11.12)
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/11/01&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00401&ViewMode=HTML
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