RCI to transfer BEd, MEd courses to credit
accumulation system
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10
The Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has announced that it will soon transfer two of its most successful courses - BEd and MEd (special education) - to the credit accumulation system. Along with these courses, the other manpower development courses offered by the RCI will also be transferred to the new system. The decision is an outcome of the intensive deliberations held over two days by more than 28 senior experts from highly recognised institutes like the NCERT, IGNOU, the University of Delhi, the National Council of Teachers Education, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University etc at New Delhi on August 4 and 5.

The credit accumulation system will facilitate the scheduling of each student’s workload and allow measuring the amount of study required for each examination in a realistic manner. Based on the system, the RCI recognised institutes will fix the proportion of credits to be assigned to lectures, class-work, experiments and practical-work periods of training, tutor guided activities, individual work, assignments, extra curricular activities, theses and other activities.

Says Padma Bhushan Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia, Chairman, Rehabilitation Council of India, “The credit system of education will be a new beginning as far as special education is concerned. The new system will definitely encourage more and more students to go in for degree and diploma courses on disability, thus adding to the trained manpower in the country.”

The RCI had been working actively to evolve the credit accumulation system since February 2002 when it had organised a meeting of experts of Secunderabad. Soon after that, the general guidelines on the system were developed. Since the duration of the diploma courses has now been extended from one year to two years, the RCI has revised the existing curricula so that the new system can also be introduced in the extended programme.

SCHOOL BUZZ
World conference on children’s concerns
Smriti Kak

ONE should cheer the youngsters who feel there is not enough attention paid to the problems and concerns of children. The first world conference on children’s concerns would be organised in the national Capital from November 22 to 24 to inculcate awareness and contribute towards betterment of the children of the world.

The conference is being organised by the Delhi Public School Society in collaboration with the Centre and Delhi Government, besides a few corporate sponsors. The conference, hosted by Delhi Public School, R K Puram, would provide opportunities to listen to experts from across the globe on topics related to leadership and cognitive skills, vocational and distance education, cross-cultural learning, education and assessment systems in school and role of information technology.

It would involve all stakeholders in the field of education, the educationists, policy makers, administrators, consultants, parents and students.

The conference is aimed at attuning children to the rapidly changing times, and to provide opportunity to partake in their educational development. It is being seen as a platform to facilitate greater initiative in educational planning and enable children to become responsible leaders of a brave new world.

Kargil Vijay divas basket ball tourney

To pay tribute to the heroes of the Kargil War, a Kargil Vijay Divas basketball tournament was held from 26 July to August 3 in Army Public School, Noida. The tournament was open to senior boys and girls of various schools in Noida and Greater Noida.

Army Public School stole the show with the Petals of Army Public winning the coveted place in the girls’ league and the Bravos of the same school winning the boys series.

The finale saw the Cheetals of DPS, Noida, go down to the Petals of Army Public School and the Tigers of Amity International School put up a stiff resistance to the Bravos of Army Public School.

Mrs Raji Sandhu, Principal of Khaitan Public School, Noida, was the chief guest.

She motivated the participants and all present by emphasising the need for commitment towards the society and the country and also stressed the need for the spirit of participation.

Twelve schools participated in the tournament. An inaugural game was organised between the elders and the future, which was won by the elders. The event was organised by the LEAD Foundation in association with the Army Public School and ATS Greens.

SOS greets British adventurers

SOS Children’s Village welcomed the British adventurers, Richard Meredith and Philip McNerney to their headquarters.

The duo has arrived in the Capital from their last stop from their 16,000 kms marathon car run, which began from Luton and will finish in Seoul.

Meredith, a 54-year-old author and McNerney a 26-year-old university graduate drove a Daewoo Kalos sponsored by the General Motors.

If they finish their expedition and reach Korea they will trigger a guaranteed 50,000 euro donation to the SOS.

So far the journey, which is likely to finish on the 28th of this month, has been dubbed the ‘world’s longest shopping expedition’ and has covered 13,500 kms through 20 countries.

Respect Mother Nature Student of Bal Bhavan, Laxmi Nagar, planted trees in their school as part of the campaign, ‘Respect the Mother Nature’. Students from the junior classes were taught the ways to care for trees. Techniques of watering the plants, adding manure, removing weeds were shown to the children. The students also pledged to adopt a tree on their birthday and look after it.

Children of Bal Bhawan, Laxmi Nagar, planting trees on their school premises.

PRINCIPALSPEAK
A rededication to freedom

THIS Independence Day let us wake up to a revolutionary change in our perception – wake up to the voice of our inner selves which deems us to free ourselves from narrow and morally crippling beliefs that have restricted our true development.

The world today is shattered by the sound of guns, an aggressive stance, assertion of political power and selfish interests, poverty of values and consequent discontent.

Let us resolve to once again free our nation from a superficial and destructive worldview by stepping back on the path of humanity and high morality.

Today, we have to seek freedom from selfish goals, from upholding a false image, from corruption of thought and action, inflated egos, which ruin relationships and violent means of settling deputes.

This calls for an inner revolution – the building of a free moral personality to serve a truly moral state. To be a true patriot we don’t merely have to view ourselves as ‘I am an Indian’; we now need to realise ‘I am human’.

This 15th August we need to rededicate ourselves to the peaceful but sure realisation of the dream that inspired our freedom struggle; the dream of establishing a classless, co-operative, free and happy society.

This is more a day of dedication than of rejoicing. Each of us must begin with ourselves. It is time not, merely, to follow footsteps, but create milestones of our own. We need to build our self-esteem and not blindly accept goals and parameters laid by dominating nations, who have tried to pour their corrosive material and mental effluents into our country under the garb of developmental aid.

The invasion is frightening - it has decided what we view, what we perceive as desirable and what we emulate. The Americans are writing the script for our nation through the television channels.

It is truly “inscribing its signature on our bedecked faces and shrinking clothes”- and shrinking values as bottle blondes and spaghetti strapped Indians animatedly discuss non-issues like unhappiness of not being happy, digressing a nation from its real issues.

So, let us turn off the television and turn our eyes inward to build our own identity. Developing self-esteem requires an act of revolution or several mini revolutions in which we begin to separate ourselves from group thought and establish our own sense of authority. In upholding our own opinion we will have to free ourselves from group energy, which may be overpowering. This fact of finding our voice is spiritually significant. It will be measured by the genuineness and courage necessary to express and maintain them.

Courage does not refer to an intractable stubbornness; it refers to a spiritual maturity to stand one’s ground as a reflection of a genuine belief. We need to build this courage. Today, individually and collectively we should pledge ourselves to the oneness of our composite culture rising above narrow considerations. In serving a nation we need to be free of narrow self-interests.

When there is Righteousness in the heart.

There is beauty in character.

When there is beauty in the character.

There is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home

There is order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation

There is peace in the world.

I wish all the readers a happy Independence Day.

Madhu Chandra, Principal, Birla Vidya Niketan

Central school students to learn lessons on
 Ayurveda, lifestyle
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10
In a major boost to Ayurveda, a School Health Programme including yoga and lifestyle education based on the ancient system of Indian medicine would be implemented in 20 central schools across the national Capital beginning August 18. This is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) project launched to promote indigenous systems of medicine.

About 17 experts, including well-known Ayurveda practitioners, have been selected to deliver 20 lectures each on different topics to the students under the WHO-sponsored project.

According to sources in the Central Council of Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, which has been assigned the responsibility of coordinating and implementing the ‘Vidyarthi Swasthya Yojana’, the project primarily targets class 8 students and is aimed at creating health awareness among them, the natural way.

“These classes would not only create awareness about Ayurveda among the young and impressionable minds but also lay the foundation of a healthy lifestyle for them,” Raghunandan Sharma of Ayurveda India, one of the experts selected for the project, said.

Besides the medicinal value of kitchen spices and local medicinal plants, the classes would also impart lessons on yoga, concentration and meditation, he said.

The experts would also help the students in drawing a diet and lifestyle regimen, “which would be of immense help to them in their student life and later,” Mr Sharma added.