Category Archives: Education

Govt schools to start LKG, UKG

Education

Bangalore:

Now on, the government schools will start providing kindergarten classes as well. As many as 31 government schools in Bangalore Rural will get LKG and UKG classes from this academic year.

The initiative is part of a pilot project headed by the department of public instruction and department of women and child welfare. The classes will be held either in the anganwadi centres if they are attached to the schools or free classrooms in the government schools. The project was taken up after the realization that many parents are attracted to private schools as they offer kindergarten.

This was attributed as one of the reasons why the enrollment dropped in the government run schools. The 31 government higher primary schools will also begin class 8 as part of the continuous comprehensive evaluation system. The system considers class 6 to 8 as higher primary and class 9 and 10 as high school.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / by Sruthy Susan Ullas / TNN / July 09th, 2012

Farmer’s daughter discovers green pesticide

Business & Economy, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bangalore:

This 15 year-old from Puttur saw her dad losing his cocoa crop to pests. It spurred her to start work on making a bio-pesticide with five plant extracts. The invention finally took her to an international competition in the US in May.

When Sindoora Saraswati walked on to the stage, hundreds of government school children gathered at the Shikshakara Sadan were bowled over. “I am a farmer’s daughter. I also hail from a village, like many of you. Whatever small thoughts you have, start implementing them,” she said.

This Class 10 student from Vivekananda English Medium School, Puttur, best describes scientific temper. Sindoora was speaking as part of Intel India’s ‘Intel Future Scientist Programme’ in Karnataka. She was part of the five-member team that represented India at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the US.

Raghavendra Ramachandra, who just completed his Class 12, astounded the fair with his project in organic chemistry along with Sindoora. He will be at Sweden this December to witness the Nobel award ceremony. His project was about using sunlight to rejuvenate fuel.

Intel India, with an aim to instill scientific temper among students and teachers, is planning to reach out to seven districts in the state. Four specially designed mobile vans will be sent on a Vigyan Yatra to attract onlookers with science exhibits with on-board scientists and science material. They are expected to tour each district for three days, conducting science workshops for students. They plan to reach out to 500 teachers and 5,000 students.

The programme will consist of seven modules delivered over two days of training, comprising inquiry-based learning and facilitating scientific inquiry. It will help science teachers present their curriculum from an inquiry-based perspective to help build a spirit of research and innovation in students.

Primary and secondary education minister Visvesvara Hegde Kageri said: “The government is also coming up with a lot of initiatives to encourage children to take up Science. Entrepreneurs and companies should come forward to adopt schools. If organizations want to invest money in social service, they should look at education as a priority.”

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore> Scientific Temper / TNN, June 28th, 2012

Puttur boys make state proud

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

Mangalore:

Two class X students of Sri Ramakrishna High School in Puttur have made the state proud by winning bronze medals in the International Sustainable World Energy Engineering Enviornment Project Olympiad (ISWEEP) held as part of the International Science Fair in Houston, Texas, USA in May.

The duo – Karthik Bhat A, 14, and Ramnath Rao , 15, – won the prize for their innovation of a bio-pesticide that can be used for preventing damages caused by termites to buildings. They developed the bio-pesticide using the leaves of Schleichera Oleosa tree that grows in the Western Ghats. “Chemical pesticides will create several health issues and many farmers suffer from life-threatening diseases like cancer because of over exposure to them. The bio-pesticide will help prevent such diseases,” they said.

The Science Society of India (SSI) sponsored the students to participate in the science fair.

“I consider traveling to USA with kids from different countries to participate in the event an achievement in life. If not for the event, I would never have visited a foreign country as my parents cannot afford it,” said Karthik, son of Gopal Krishna Bhat, a farmer of Bettamapady near Puttur.

Ramnath son of Satheesh Rao Bekal, an employee in a grocery shop, said that the victory in an international-level science competition had motivated him to take up more research works in the field of bio-pesticide. Vasanthi Kedila, the science teacher of Karthik and Satheesha said that they had become role models for students in the school.

“They have made us proud. They were selected by SSI a few months back,” she added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Mangalore / TNN / June 30th, 2012

Laurels for Manipal Institute of Jewellery Management student in national level contest

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Records, All

Manipal:

Dinu D, a second year student of Manipal Institute of Jewellery Management (MIJM), Manipal University won the best design/idea award in MIA ‘My Expression’, a national-level design contest conducted by Tanishq.

The contest started in January 2012 and continued for five months till May. Of the 3,000-odd designs submitted online by professionals and students from well-known design institutes of India, Dinu’s design ‘Honey Comb’ was awarded the best design/idea in the final round.

His achievement entitled him to Tanishq Certificate and cash prize of Rs 1-lakh presented at a function in the Titan corporate office in Bangalore. He also has the opportunity to co-create designs for MIA collections with Tanishq design team. Since MIA is a recent collection introduced by Tanishq , this contest was held for the first time.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Mangalore / by Jaideep Shenoy, TNN / June 29th, 2012

Mangalore youth gets huge scholarship for mathematics

Education

Sudhanva S. Kamath. / Photo: By Arrangement / The Hindu

Mr. Sudhanva was also qualified to participate in Karnataka Regional Mathematics Olympiad in 2010. He has won national fellowship from the Govt. of India.

Sudhanva S. Kamath comes across as an ambitious youth of Mangalore. Ever since he scored full marks in Mathematics in Class 10, he has been keenly interested in the field of science. Post PUC, he is pursuing a four-year undergraduate B.S. Honours programme at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

He aims to carry out research in Mathematics, particularly in Graph Theory, like his father Shyam Kamath, a faculty in NIT-K Surathkal.

A lover of mathematics, he wants to major in the same subject.

When asked what drew him to it, “Perhaps the intricate beauty in it,” he replies. “Not limited by nature, it is a world where you can take your imagination to highest levels. One cannot live without Maths,” he says.

Mr. Sudhanva was also qualified to participate in Karnataka Regional Mathematics Olympiad in 2010. He has won national fellowship from the Govt. of India. This 18-year-old qualified for ‘Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana’ (KVPY) fellowship program under which he is provided up to Rs 80,000 each year for the duration of his course.

The eligibility was determined by KVPY aptitude exam, which he sat in 2010 after his Class XII.

Out of 75,000 students who appeared for the exam, Sudhanva was one among those who were selected for the fellowship.

He said that the aptitude exam gave him a chance to see how science was interpreted in the real world. “This was different from usual competitive exams. They test your skill in solving problems, and how you approach or attack them. They check whether you have the aptitude for research,” he told The Hinduduring his recent visit to Mangalore.

This youth enjoyed solving math problems. He is working on a project on graph theory under his father, whom he sees as a role model. “I have seen him in research mode and am inspired by his work. There were very few teachers in school who have also inspired me,” he said. Once he completes his honours degree, he will be eligible to pursue a Ph. D. programme. The website dedicated to KYPY (kypy.org.in) informs that generous scholarships (Rs. 4000 to Rs. 7,000 per month) are provided (up to the pre-Ph.D. level) to the selected students.

Like any normal teen, he too often gets stressed out. “When problems seem impossible to solve, I take a break, and then try to look at them in a different light. This often helps.

“Other times, problems become more interesting when you aren’t able to solve them,” he said. Did he consider himself lucky? Well, one couldn’t attain everything with pure hard work, the whiz-kid believes. “Luck may often play a role in getting you somewhere,” he said.

Apart from mathematics, he is into music, which soothes him. He also plays the harmonium and piano. He is an avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Mangalore / by Safoora Ali / June 29th, 2012

South Korean youth delegation in city

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, World Opinion

India-South Korea Youth Exchange programme

Mysore, June 28

A South Korean Youth Delegation of 20 members including 10 women visited the Amba Vilas Palace here this morning.

The visit is as part of the ‘India-South Korea Youth Exchange Programme-2012’ organised by the Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs in association with District Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK).

The delegation was accorded a warm reception at the Palace Board office. They were presented with Mysooru Peta and white T-shirts with the insignia ‘Welcome to Mysore’.

Deputy Commissioner P.S. Vastrad, Mysore City Corporation Commissioner Dr. M.R. Ravi, City Police Commissioner K.L. Sudheer, Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya, NYK Delhi Convenor Prakash Vaidya and District NYK Co-ordinator M.N. Nataraj were present.

Briefing the delegation on places to visit in and around city, Vastrad pointed out that such youth exchange programmes would strengthen cordial relationship between the two countries. He lauded the city as a cultural capital of State with a lot of greenery and innumerable heritage tourist spots to visit. He disclosed that the city was usually chosen as a pilot for several national projects.

The delegation members were shown paintings of Dasara festival and those depicting the days of the Maharajas. The members also enjoyed riding on bicycles in the premises of the Palace.

Lok Sabha member R. Dhruvanarayan greeted the delegation and left. Former Corporator D. Nagabhushan and Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President S. Sudhakar Shetty were also present.

The delegation members later left on a trip to visit Chamundi Hill, Srirangapatna and Brindavan Gardens at KRS.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / June 28th, 2012

Wadiyar moots URSU University

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Royal reception to Wadiyar couple

Caption: ROYAL SALUTE: The scion of the Royal family Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar and his wife Pramoda Devi Wadiyar being accorded a royal welcome on their arrival at Ursu Boarding School to attend a function yesterday.

Mysore, June 25

Based on the achievements of IT czars N.R. Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji, who have displayed to the world that anything could be achieved by acquiring knowledge, we are planning to launch an Ursu University over the next five years, declared scion of the Royal family Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar here yesterday.

Speaking at a function organised for resumption of hostel facility at Sri Chamarajendra Ursu Boarding School at Krishnaraja Boulevard in Chamaraja Mohalla in city under the auspices of Sri Jayachamaraja Ursu Education Trust, he said that efforts would be made to provide quality education to students of schools and colleges coming under the jurisdiction of the Trust to achieve the aims of the royal family’s commitment to provide quality education to people.

Wadiyar further said that the Trust had been launched in the 19th century keeping in line with western countries that established such Trusts to provide education to their people and added that the Trust would be developed to suit the requirements of modern day education.

Dwelling upon the concerns of the royal family to the people, he said that the Trust had plans to utilise latest technology for the purpose of educating people.

School not closed

Dismissing reports that the 75- to-100-year-old school had been closed, Wadiyar claimed that the school had been temporarily shut for repair works such as providing underground drainage and water facilities and urged people not to be carried away by rumours. He also said that steps had been taken to curb illicit activities in the premises owing to lack of adequate security.

Wrong information

Blaming the media for reporting false information about the school, Wadiyar said that a case had been pending in a court of law between the Chamaraja Ursu Education Trust and the University of Mysore. He added that he had personally donated Rs. 20 lakh when the Trust ran short of cash besides claiming that the Trust belonged to the royal family and not any one else.

Trust President Pramoda Devi Wadiyar presided over the function in which members of the royal family Meenakshi Devi, Kamakshi Devi and Indrakshi Devi and Trust Vice-President Bharathi Urs were present.

Palace is not 100-years-old

Meanwhile, Wadiyar said that the Mysore Palace was not 100-years-old and that it was not proper to celebrate its centenary now.

Speaking to media persons, he said that the works on the present Palace which began in 1896 were completed in 1943 and claimed that he had photographic evidences that the works had not been completed in 1912 as being reported in the media of late. I have already clarified the matter with the Palace Board in the board meeting, he said.

However, Wadiyar refused to react when a reporter asked him whether he would agree if the Palace Board came out with a centenary celebration of the earlier or the last ruler of Mysore Sri Jayachamara-jendra Wadiyar.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / June 25th, 2012

Minister for Education launches Ireland India Institute at DCU

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, has launched the Ireland India Institute, a new national centre at Dublin City University to drive enterprise, research and academic collaboration between Ireland and India.

Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU with DCU students, Rachita Singh and Abina Philip at launch of DCU’s Ireland India Institute

Through a series of targeted initiatives, the Institute aims to practically support strategic partnerships in business, education and research between the two countries. The initiatives will include:

  • An Ireland-India Research Fund, which will help fund research into the grand challenges affecting both states in areas such as sustainable technologies, health and multiculturalism
  • The provision of Ireland India Institute Scholarships to support Indian scholars and researchers in their studies in Ireland
  • An Ireland India Institute Seminar Series which will bring some of the most significant thinkers and business leaders on contemporary India to Ireland
  • In addition, the Institute will provide a suite of academic and extra-mural programmes in areas relevant to contemporary India.

In a key development, Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indian entrepreneur and founder, chairman and managing director of Biocon, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies, has agreed to become patron of the Institute.

Commenting on the launch of the Institute, Mazumdar-Shaw stated: “I am delighted to be patron of this important Ireland-India initiative.

Contemporary Ireland and India face the same global challenges, issues such as healthcare, ageing and sustainability. The Institute will help focus our joint efforts in achieving common solutions to these challenges. It will become a focal point for the study of contemporary India and a meeting place for all friends of India.  I welcome DCU’s continued strategic focus on my country which is based on academic and research excellence.”

Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, who formally launched the Institute, commented: “Dublin City University’s strategic focus on contemporary India has resulted, already, in a series of research collaborations with the sub-continent’s most prestigious Institutions, particularly in the areas of science and technology. The establishment of the Ireland India Institute will see DCU build on that record to host a national centre for the study of contemporary India. As Minister I have sought to drive the international agenda in our higher education institutions. I am delighted with this response to that drive.”

Professor Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University, stressed the importance of engagement with India as part of his overall vision for DCU: “On becoming President of DCU I made engagement with contemporary India a strategic priority for the University. Our faculty and researchers have, since that time, made great strides in developing active research projects with our Indian partners in Institutions such as IIT Madras, IISC Bangalore, JNU and IIT Delhi and others. That unprecedented degree of collaboration will be developed and fostered in the coming years through the Ireland India Institute which will become the hub for all those in Irish enterprise and academia who seek to develop our common goal of deeper Ireland India collaboration.”

The Ireland India Institute is hosted at Dublin City University and at www.irelandindiainstitute.ie.

source: http://www.businessandleadership.com / Home> Exporting / by Bernice Barrington / June 18th, 2012

CET: City lad tops in Homeopathy

Education, Records, All

Caption: Pritesh Kumar, Shreyas A. Nayak

Bangalore, June 6

The results of Common Entrance Test (CET)- 2012 were declared this morning in which Pritesh Kumar, a student of Sadvidya Composite PU College in Mysore city, emerged topper in the Homeopathy discipline.

This was announced by Medical Education Minister S.A. Ramdas at a press conference held at the CET Cell in Malleshwaram, in which he announ-ced that Archana, a student of National Public School, Bangalore, stood first in Medicine and Dental disciplines.

M. Deepa, a student of MES Kishore Kendra, Bangalore, has secured the first place in Engineering while S. Naksha, a student of Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, has topped in the Architecture discipline.

A total of 1,20,945 candidates appeared for the examination conducted on May 20, May 21 and May 23. This year’s test was tougher than previous year’s, say experts.

The process of seat selection for diploma students who will clear the CET for lateral entry into engineering courses will be held at the National Insti- tute of Technology, Karnataka (NIT-K) on June 13.

Meanwhile, Shreyas A. Nayak of Marimallappa’s PU College who had secured 98.3% in II PU has bagged 6th rank in Engineering. He is the son of Ananth Nayak, Manager, Bank of Maharashtra, Urs Road and Akshata.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / June 06th, 2012