Education

On June 27, Bengaluru’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) formally launched its digital academy, virtually, with the government's participation. Along with NIMHANS director B.N Gangadhar, who was at the office of the Union Health Minister JP Nadda in New Delhi, 500 doctors from 15 states logged in. "It was a formal event. We announced the course, launched digital books and shared the link to the website. We also discussed the agenda, and the benefits of distance education in this sector," Gangadhar said. Mental illnesses present an ever-growing cause for concern across the world. Statistics that emerge from…

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A one-day workshop on “Human Eye and the Colourful World’ for high school teachers of science will be conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium on July  12, 2018.  This chapter, from class X text book, will be discussed in detail while clarifying conceptual understanding, suggesting interesting activities to teach optics in general and the said chapter in particular. Common misconceptions and textbook errors, if any, will also be discussed. Eligibility: Science Teachers of Classes VIII to X Date& time: 10.30 am to 3.30 pm, July 12, 2018 Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Sri. T. Chowdaiah Road, High Grounds, Bangalore-560001 Interested teachers must…

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In April 2018, a teenage student from a reputed girls’ school in Gopalapuram Chennai typed out a long answer to a question on ‘the first crush you’ve had’ on a social media site. Just that in this case, her first crush happened to be a girl classmate. Soon, a couple of other girls from her class had taken a screenshot and started circulating it. The girls were teased, ridiculed, and labelled. Worse, several teachers of the school got to know about the post and allegedly censured and verbally abused the girl, even calling her a prostitute. The situation was aggravated…

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The Ministry of Human Resource Development in association with the Swacch Bharat Mission and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is launching the “Swacch Bharat Summer Internship 2018 (SBSI)” for students all across the country. PM Narendra Modi, in his latest Mann Ki Baat program addressed the people and encouraged all the students to be involved in this initiative boost the country’s tourism and to contribute towards the welfare of the society.  He said that this is a great opportunity for people who really want to work for the betterment of the society and bring about a positive change.…

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A Children-centric Chennai school Unkempt buildings, broken toilets, steep absenteeism and disinterested students? Fits your idea of a government or Corporation school? Think again. Perceptions and ideas develop over time and, once hardened, it is rather difficult to demolish them. While there’s no denying the fact that such schools continue to exist, the opposite holds true as well. And, one such example is the Chennai High School in Kottur. With a renewed focus on obliterating absenteeism and moulding well rounded individuals, the team of teachers led by an inspiring and resourceful Head Mistress is making heads turn. Tackling absenteeism in…

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Two weeks ago, when B.PAC - Bangalore Political Action Committee, rated K J George and Haris the best performing MLAs, Bangaloreans were taken aback. While this ‘best’ was a relative term, it is obvious most lay citizens aren’t happy with any elected representative, given the state of the city. But how can we really evaluate an MLA’s performance on the ground and in the assembly? The MLA rating project was part of BPAC’s multi-pronged strategy to increase voter participation, from supporting voter enrollment to MLA rating, candidate awareness etc. The survey looked at the following parameters and weightage: 20 -…

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With elections around the corner and all the political leaders sharing their vision for the state, we thought we at Makkala Jagriti would share our wish list for government schools in the state. This wishlist comes from the experience of working with government schools at grassroot levels. Focus on holistic development in each school It is well-known fact that Holistic development of children is very important for making them well-balanced human beings and preparing them for life. The very thoughtfully drafted National Curriculum framework also talks about Holistic Development: ‘The National Curriculum promotes the holistic development of the child. It…

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Would you believe it if you hear that Chennai has around 160 public libraries? While the Connemara and the Anna Centenary libraries are icons in their own right, the city has a total of 162 part and full time libraries open to the public. From military quarters to hospitals and the regional passport office, part-time and branch libraries have been functioning modestly from a range of spaces across across different wards. The Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Act, notified in 1948 provided for the establishment of public libraries for both rural and urban areas across the state. As per the Act,…

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இரண்டு வாரங்களுக்கு முன் சென்னை கோட்டூர்புரத்தில் அமைந்துள்ள ‘பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவிற்கு’ (http://tnstc.gov.in/periyar-science-tech.html) என் இரண்டே முக்கால் வயது மகளை அழைத்து சென்றேன். வாழ்க்கை பயணத்தில் சென்னை வந்து பல வருடம் ஆகியிருந்தாலும், பள்ளிப்பருவத்தில் சென்னையில் இருக்கும் உறவினர் வீட்டிற்கு வந்தபோது ஒரு முறை மட்டுமே அங்கு சென்ற ஞாபகம். ‘பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவின் ஒரு பகுதியான  பிர்லா கோளறங்கத்தின் உள் அமர்ந்து கோள்களையும், நட்சத்திரங்களையும் கண்டது மட்டும் இன்னும் பசுமையான நினைவாக உள்ளது. நான் சென்றது ஒரு விடுமுறை தினமாதலால் பல பள்ளிகள், சில கல்லூரிகள் என மாணவ மாணவிகளின் பெருங்கூட்டம். பிர்லா கோளரங்கத்திற்கான நுழைவு சீட்டு கூட கிடைக்கவில்லை. அறிவியல் மையத்திற்கு மட்டுமே கிடைத்த நுழைவு சீட்டை எடுத்துக்கொண்டு நானும் என் மகளும் பயணித்தோம்.      பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவில் உள்ள காட்சிக்கூடங்கள்: பெரியார் காட்சி கூடம் Periyar Gallery போக்குவரத்து காட்சிக்கூடம்…

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Rows of eight-storied buildings on both sides of Ezhil Nagar Main Road of Perumbakkam paint an impressive picture of the resettlement colonies constructed by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB). The residents, who were evicted from the slums alongside Adyar and Cooum Rivers after the 2015 floods, live in these buildings which are apparently quite well-maintained. But is life really as rosy for the residents here? The glaring deficiencies can only be spotted once one steps inside these colonies and looks deeper.     In an earlier article on the Perumbakkam resettlement, Citizen Matters exposed the pathetic conditions in a primary…

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