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OBC Quota in Panchayats
‘Schools can’t shift students to branches’
CCEA nod to 6,000 model schools
Assam blasts: 5 more held
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Meltdown
Ticket denied to son; Alva sees red
Somnath hospitalised
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OBC Quota in Panchayats
New Delhi, November 6 Citing the success of reservation for women in panchayats, particularly in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam argued before a Constitution Bench that the quota for OBCs would prove to be a proactive affirmative action in integrating such classes with the mainstream. Subramanian clarified that the quota would not be applicable to the creamy layer of the backward castes. Reservation for women in panchayats helped the fair sex to have an equal status in society, especially in states like Punjab and Himachal Pradesh where the patriarchal system was well entrenched, he said in his day-long contention. Similarly, reservation for SCs and STs also helped these disadvantaged sections to have a say in governance and enhanced their self-esteem. The same way, the OBC quota would also help the backward classes, not castes, catch up with other sections, he contended. The five-member Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, was hearing the arguments in the K. Krishna Murthy and others versus Union of India case. The petitioners have challenged the validity of various provisions of the 73rd Constitutional amendments relating to Pthe anchayati Raj. Subramanian was responding to various clarifications sought by the Bench, which also included Justices R.V. Raveendran, D.K. Jain, P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal. The judges, particularly Justice Raveendran, wanted to know why there should be a quota for OBCs in the panchayats as these classes were well represented in the assemblies and Parliament without any such provision. The Bench wanted to know specifically the type of imbalance that would be addressed through the quota and whether the provision would divide the country on caste lines. The additional solicitor general clarified that though the OBCs were the manifestation of the economically and socially backward castes, for the purpose of reservation in panchayats these classes would exclude the creamy layer from these castes. The Centre informed the court that so far 17 states had provided reservation to OBCs in the Panchayati Raj institutions. The petitioners expressed the concern that similar provisions were being made in the assemblies as well, the recent example being in Andhra Pradesh, which was against the Constitution.
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‘Schools can’t shift students to branches’
New Delhi, November 6 The verdict was given yesterday by a Bench comprising Justices R.V. Raveendran and Aftab Alam in a case relating to a student, Saurabh Chaudhary, who had been asked by Central School in Chennai to move out to another branch within the city. The school had contended that Saurabh had failed to meet the cut-off percentage in the Xth board exams conducted by the CBSE earlier this year to opt for the science group with mathematics and was asked to go to its other branch in the city. The student had scored 80 per cent in English, 70 per cent in Hindi, 39 per cent in mathematics, 46 per cent in science and 50 per cent in social science. “One can have no objection to a school laying down cut off marks for the selection of suitable stream/ course for a student giving due regard to his/her aptitude as reflected from the Class X marks where there are more than one stream. “But it would be quite unreasonable and unjust to throw out a student from the school because he failed to get the cut off marks in the Class X examination. After all, the school must share at least some responsibility for the poor performance of its student and should help him in trying to do better in the next higher class.” Since the Central School branch, where the student did his tenth, had only the science stream with mathematics in Class XI, the court directed it to admit Saurab despite his failing to meet the cut off norms. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Principal had appealed against the verdict of the Madras High Court, which had also directed the school to admit Saurabh.
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CCEA nod to 6,000 model schools
New Delhi, November 6 In the first phase of the implementation, 2,500 model schools will be set up in the educationally backward blocks (EBBs) designated across India. Setting up of schools will be the state governments’ responsibility, and each such model school will have infrastructure and facilities at least of the standard as in a Kendriya Vidyalaya and with stipulations on pupil-teacher ratio, ICT usage, holistic educational environment, appropriate curriculum and emphasis on output and outcome. Main objectives include having one good quality secondary school in every block; having pace-setting role for schools; innovating with curriculum and pedagogy and serving as a model in infrastructure, curriculum, evaluation and school governance. Land for the schools will be identified and provided by the state governments free of cost; also states will be able to decide on the medium of instruction in these schools, which will have classes either from VI to XII or from IX to XII. Management will be run by state government societies - as in the case of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathans. The HRD ministry points out that there will be a continuous evaluation of the working of the schools by state government agencies through a regular and well structured system of field visits. Besides, an independent agency may be assigned the task of monitoring of the scheme, including progress of construction for each state. Financial requirement for setting up these schools during the 11th Five Year Plan will be Rs.9,321 crore, of which the estimated central share will be Rs 7,457 crore. The Planning Commission has already allocated Rs 12,750 crore for this scheme under the 11th plan, while Rs 650 crore has been provided in the budget for 2008-09. Sharing pattern will be in the ratio of 75:25 between the Centre and states.
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Assam blasts: 5 more held
Guwahati, November 6 The arrested persons have been identified as Chandra Bodo, Raju Bodo, Bhola Bodo, Bhupesh Bodo and Arabinda Bodo. A police source informed that they were arrested on the basis of specific information regarding two blasts in Guwahati city. The police is trying to verify if these persons had a direct link with any terrorist group. A team of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam Police has brought the arrested persons from Nalbari to Guwahati for further interrogation. They were arrested in connection with two blasts that rocked the CJM court and the Panbazar area in the city.
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Meltdown
New Delhi, November 6 The software genius, however, was concerned that the world’s rich countries might cut their health spending in the wake of global economic meltdown. “Getting the generosity of governments will now be even more challenging. It will take a strong voice on health issues to see that such issues remain a priority,” Gates said. In the Capital to rededicate himself to the ongoing public health initiatives in India, Gates yesterday predicted dramatic reduction in the occurrence of wild polio virus type 1 in India by 2009, and a similar reduction in polio virus type 3 by 2010. He said he was more convinced than ever that India would lead the way for polio eradication in the world. India, meanwhile, is considering ways of introducing IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) and bivalent vaccines along with the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to maximise results in the high risk areas of Bihar and UP. Bill Gates, admitted that the government was seriously considering adding the IPV in some rounds of pulse polio campaign next year. “I applaud the consideration of innovative approaches, including the addition of IPV campaigns and the use of a bivalent vaccine. India needs to employ new tools and technologies to get better results. Experts will discuss this issue next week and our foundation can be a major partner in the effort,” Gates said. India, over two years, has seen historic lows of the occurrence of type 1 virus (they are still high with 54 cases out of the total 496 so far this year), which is a more virulent strain. The next year is being seen as pivotal for the control of type 1 virus, with Gates today referring to the recent case of a nine-month-old in the Capital, found infected with polio. In India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has over the past year more than doubled its funding for polio eradication. The foundation is running what it calls the Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, a $100 million programme to support cutting-edge health research.
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Ticket denied to son; Alva sees red
New Delhi, November 6 Alva, who has been sulking since her son Nivedith was not given nomination in Karnataka elections, was critical of adoption of “different yardsticks” in deciding party nominations for coming elections in six states. She wondered why her son and grandson of former union minister C.K Jaffer Sharief were not given nominations while relatives of more than 24 leaders were given tickets in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and J&K. AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chavan, who is in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka who appeared to be in Alva’s firing line, dismissed her charges as “unsubstantiated and born out of frustration”. Speaking separately to mediapersons, Chavan said, “Since she is general secretary of the party, any decision on it will be taken by the Congress high command and Central Disciplinary Action Committee.” Alva spoke of “total mismanagement” of the elections but made it clear that she was not blaming the central leadership of the party but the “local leadership”.
— PTI
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Somnath hospitalised
New Delhi, November 6 Chatterjee is still undergoing treatment for chest congestion and is likely to be in the hospital for a few more days. Sources in the Lok Sabha secretariat said today the Speaker had cancelled all his engagements for the next five days. These included anti-defection hearings.
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New judges of Uttarakhand, Delhi high courts
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