Srijan Foundation

Control freak wreaks havoc in education

Is Govt Taking Its Anger Out On Non-SSC Schools For Challenging Earlier Orders?

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: The state government’s latest diktats on school education seem to have born out of an urge to get even, say non-SSC schools and parents of kids who study in these schools. These institutions and parents have come together twice in the last one year to drag the state to court for its policies and have managed to convince the judiciary of their partisan nature both times.

The latest government move comes barely a couple of months after the state’s second defeat in court against non-SSC schools and parents who challenged its decision to reserve 90% of seats in junior colleges for SSC students. The Bombay high court rubbished the decision, calling it “self-contradictory’’ and “unconstitutional’’.

The HC ruling on the state’s percentile system in 2008 was as scathing. The court had found the system “hurried’’, “flawed’’ and “illegal’’ and said the new rule promoted “mediocracy over meritocracy’’ and hurt “students’ right to equality’’.

Non-SSC schools and parents of students going to these schools are again getting ready to challenge the decision. Teaching Schools A Lesson TOI gives in a nutshell the new law laid down by the state and how it impacts non-SSC schools and their students
THE NEW LAW ON ENGLISH

All schools, irrespective of their boards, will have to follow the SSC English curriculum from classes I to V.
THE QUESTIONS How will kids cope in Std VI?

Every expert agrees that the English curriculum followed in SSC schools is of a lower standard than that taught in most non-SSC schools. Educationists and schoolchildren’s parents are now worried that students may find it difficult to adjust to texts of a higher standard after being reared on a diet of “mediocre texts’’ for five years.

Should govt control other boards?
Why should the government want to control the curriculum of other boards? Then, what’s the point in having different boards?

Should other boards be dragged down to SSC level?
The SSC board has consistently been trying to upgrade its curriculum to match those of other boards. Now why does the government want to drag other boards down to the SSC level?

Why should schools’ freedom be curtailed?
Boards like ICSE and CBSE allow schools the freedom to create their own syllabi up to Std VIII; this allows flexibility and innovation. Why should ICSE and CBSE schools be deprived of this freedom?

THE NEW LAW ON MARATHI
All schools will have to introduce Marathi as a compulsory second language from Std I to Std VIII.

THE QUESTIONS
What happens if you have to move out of the state? Will kids, taught Marathi as second language till Std VIII, be able to take up another language in Std IX if they have to move out of the state?
Who’ll be responsible for the trauma?

A significant percentage of Mumbaikars have transferable jobs (people working in the government, defence forces, banks, multinational firms, the media). A transfer for parents can often be a little unsettling for the kids. Shouldn’t your children be spared of the additional trauma of coping with a new second language in school? Wouldn’t Hindi as an option make much more sense?

Meddling In Administration
The government has listed other new administrative rules that ICSE, CBSE, IB and IGCSE schools will have to comply with to get a no-objection certificate (NOC). Some of the rules will gladden parents, but there are several that schools fear can be used by the state to arm-twist them at will

NOCs will be given for three years after which they will have to be renewed. The first NOC will be given by the state; the following ones will be given by the deputy director of education.

NOCs can be taken back at any point by the government; schools must comply with its terms and conditions.
During the admissions, schools must procure bona fide birth certificates from students.
The government fee structure will be applicable to these schools.

Club for a CAUSE

The Monday Charity Club, Which Helps People In Need

Priya M Menon | TNN

This group of housewives gets together once a month, always on a Monday. And though they do take the time to catch up on each other’s lives, their concern extends to a larger section of society — the needy and the underprivileged. Topics discussed range from problems faced by working parents to discrimination against the girl child.

“I wanted to encourage housewives to do social work,” says 79-yearold Savithri Vaithi, who established the Monday Charity Club in 1970. From the age of 16, Savithri has been an untiring social worker, visiting the slums of Chennai.

The club, however, was established on a very modest note. “I used to teach women cooking and baking,” says Savithri, who holds a diploma in medico-social work. “I sounded them out about starting a charity club and we established it with the first group of students in my house in Alwarpet,” says Savithri. Kausalya Seshadri, 73, a founder-member and one of Savithri’s former students, says, “We wanted to start a ladies’ club not to just while away time but to do charity every month. Helping others gives us great personal satisfaction.”

Since the club consisted of housewives, Monday was a convenient day for them to meet. “We usually meet on the first Monday of every month, between 11 am and 1 pm,” says Kausalya. Any programme the club organises — be it lectures by eminent people or demonstrations — are also held on Mondays

Though they began with 20-odd members and the aim of doing one charitable deed a month, the club has grown exponentially over the years.

Today, it has 170 members and several ongoing charitable ventures. “We don’t just momentarily dole out help but are doing projects on a sustainable basis,” says 73-year-old Malini Kasthurirangan.

One of their older projects is the Book Bank, which helps college-going students. “They can enrol by paying Rs 20, borrow the prescribed textbooks for degree courses and return them after the academic year,” says Savithri.

Other projects to help needy students include funding poor students and Vidya Daan. “We request schools to recommend good students who need our help,” says Kausalya. They then ‘adopt’ students of Class VII, looking after their educational needs till Class XII.

The club was instrumental in setting up Vishranthi old age home. And the ‘Undrugol’ (literally meaning walking stick) project caters to people above 60 from lower socio-economic backgrounds. “We personally visit households and identify people,” says Savithri.

They are then given a photo-identity card. On the first Wednesday of every month, they come to the club to collect provisions — 5 kg rice, 1 kg dal, 1 kg oil and a little bit of tamarind, red chillies and dhaniya plus Rs 30 as pocket money. “This helps these elderly people live with their family and be independent at the same time,” says Savithri.

While the club has attracted sponsors over the years, today they are low on funds, admits Kausalya. Yet another concern is the fact that the club mainly consists of elderly people.

“Most of us started out together and are now grandmoms and even great-grandmoms, we are looking for younger members,” says Savithri. “Social work is our focus but we also do fun things together, like go on picnics.”

“We need younger people to take over from us, so I have enrolled my daughter-in-law and her sister,” says Kausalya. “We are even thinking of changing the day we meet to Saturdays as most women work these days.”
For more details, call 24994806
priya.menon@timesgroup.com

DIVINE SERVICE

This group meets once a month to spring-clean temples

Kamini Mathai | TNN

HAPPY TO HELP: Members of the group at work

For about eight years now, on the fourth Sunday of every month, a group of people from various parts of Chennai and its suburbs meet up to spring-clean a temple somewhere in Tamil Nadu. While it began in 2001 as four friends thrashing out their idea for service to society, today the group has expanded to more than 400. And they call themselves the ‘Uzhavarappani Group’.

The original four founders of the group are B Srinivasan, a cooperative store employee in Tambaram, artist T Saravanan, S Ganeshan, an auditor and S Ayyappan, a store owner. They are still the main planners and get the requisite permission from the temple authorities.

“Our mentor, whom we used to call Krishnamoorthy Ayya, the man who inspired us to start, passed away sometime ago. But the core team remains the same. Usually, the four of us narrow down on the temple and then inform the members of the group and decide where and what time we can organise pick-ups etc,” says 48-year-old Srinivasan.

Transport is arranged for members who live in different areas in the city with each bus carrying around 50 people. “No one has ever written about us, we have never advertised our services. Still, the group has grown so much. It is only because of the conscientiousness of the volunteers,” says Srinivasan. He adds that since they have been doing this for years, it is so well organised that word just spreads and the volunteers arrive.

“We try and get to the temple by 8am so we can work till 6pm. The members are divided into various groups, which have their functions cut out for them. It’s all very well planned — one group takes care of cutting grass, another does whitewashing, the third group cooks food for the entire group, while the fourth polishes all the brass in the temple.

We always pick a temple that is dilapidated,” says Srinivasan. The group has people from all walks of life — from artists and government employees to doctors, housewives and businessmen

“We never ask people for money as this is a free service,” says Srinivasan. “But we usually have donors within the group who voluntarily take on various expenses, like the food served or the bus charge,” he adds.
To date, the group has cleaned more than 90 temples in Chennai and its surrounding districts.

“We know there will always be temples to clean and we are ready to clean them. Kancheepuram district alone has more than 1,000 temples. So, we have our work cut out for us for years to come,” says Srinivasan.
kamini.mathai@timesgroup.com

A BUILDER OF YOUNG LIVES

Samarpita Banerjee

Pune: Renuka and Anjana enter the room with a twinkle in their eyes. And why not? They had a big news to announce. “I scored 87 per cent in my class VII exam,” Renuka announces. “And I 85 per cent,” chimes in Anjana.

What makes the achievement of these two girls worth acknowledging is the fact that they belong to poor, uneducated parents who work as nomadic construction workers. And for this marvellous achievement, full credit goes to their mentor, Nirmala Hiremath, or didi, as she is lovingly called.

Hiremath has been working for the children of construction workers across the city for the past 23 years and runs the Tara Mobile Crèche (TMC). The crèche takes care of some 6,000 children every year. “We have children ranging from the age group of 15 days to 15-16 years. At the moment, we are running 16 day care centres across the city and till date we have opened and closed 128 sites,” said Nirmala, elaborating on the structure of the TMC.

So, how did it all begin? “The idea of starting such a crèche first came to social worker Meera Mahadevan when she came across many half-naked children of construction workers playing on a site in Delhi. The sight moved and motivated her so much that she started a day care centre for such children in Delhi in 1969. The Mumbai and Pune branches opened in 1972 and 1980 respectively, and we work collectively under the name Mobile Crèches. Since then, the programme has grown considerably and all the three organisations now function as separate entities,” says Hiremath.

Elaborating on the aim of the organisation, Hiremath adds, “Even as thousands of people come to the city from other states to work as construction workers, and build the ‘Modern India’, their children are left to fend for themselves among piles of rubble and construction material. They do not get proper food and hygiene. They have to work as domestic helps at homes and most of them cannot attend schools. In the process, they lose their childhood. Our aim is to ensure that we are able to reach out to more and more such children and make them capable enough to enter the mainstream instead of following the path of their parents.”

Since its inception, TMC has faced many problems. “Initially, the developers did not support the idea because it becomes an added responsibility and they even had to give us a room which is in a good condition to act as a house for new-borns. This problem persists even today. At times, they give us a small room with a tin ceiling without a fan or water supply,” says Sandhya Gujar, a volunteer who has been with TMC for the last 17 years.

However, facing these problems as challenges, the TMC team, headed by Hiremath spreads awareness around the city about the fundamental right of every child — the right to education. “Today, the situation is much better. Because of the awareness, schools are accepting our children. Also, more developers and builders are giving us support by contributing one-third of the expenses.”

The organisation has also opened a hostel for students who do well in schools. “Since the parents are nomadic, they keep shifting from one site to another and it becomes difficult for us to track down the children. Continuity in education is very important. That’s why we have opened the Seva Sadan hostel. Today, we have 13 students staying there.”

Numerous students, who once were a part of the TMC, have now entered the mainstream and doing quite well. Twenty three-year-old Sidhu Kamde today works in a call centre. “I owe everything to TMC and didi,” says Sidhu.

Fighting palsy, she learns

the alphabet at 21, graduates at 30

Karthika Gopalakrishnan | TNN 

Chennai: Ummul Khair has made the journey of a lifetime in the last 10 years. Her body is affected by cerebral palsy but it is her mind that the sociology graduate has always relied upon to take her forward — from learning the alphabet at the age of 21 to completing her college education almost a decade later.

“I was at Vidya Sagar when I was five years old but I could not go to school once my family moved to Bangalore. I was at home for nearly 12 years. I watched my cousins study and wanted to be independent as well. I did not want charity,” she said after receiving her degree certificate at the 14th graduation ceremony of MOP Vaishnav College for Women on Sunday.

During a family visit to Chennai, Ummul got in touch with Vidya Sagar founder Poonam Natarajan and that helped her on her way.

“We had looked after her all along and were scared about letting her stay alone.

But Poonam akka convinced us that Ummul could study. We had only thought about making her walk, never about making her study. Today, we are extremely proud of her. When we cry, she gives us courage saying she will study and do well,” said her mother, 65-year-old Umaira Batul, with tears in her eyes.

The family currently resides in Bangalore’s Shivaji Nagar. Umaira’s husband Mohammad Azham Khan (85) used to sew plastic baby sheets with pillows, diapers and clothes for infants. Ummul’s younger brother works at a hotel.

Since she had never enrolled in school, Ummul learnt the alphabet when she was 21 and took three years to clear the class X board exams conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling. After completing her class XII on a sponsorship at Lady Andal Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chetpet, she enrolled for a degree in Sociology at MOP Vaishnav College for Women.

“I am lucky to have got the opportunity to study. In all aspects, it has helped me learn. The teachers and students were always supportive. ‘Sari Day’ was one of the most memorable occasions as my classmates even helped me wear a sari. It was a lot of fun,” Ummul recounted.

Along with her internships in college — counselling alcoholics and working with a human rights organisation — her world view was further moulded after a trip to the US in June last year as part of the Global Leadership Programme.

“I participated in everything, even adventure sports where we were suspended 40 feet in the air. There is a lot of accessibility for disabled individuals in the US. I was able to go anywhere I wanted,” she said.

After returning to the city, Ummul went on to finish her course and is now pursuing a course in law at the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law College. Hoping to be able to fight for the rights of the disabled in a few years, Ummul was not at all taken aback by the standing ovation she received during Sunday’s graduation ceremony.

The dignitaries on stage rose from their chairs and the students cheered. Unfazed by it all, Ummul exuded confidence. She knew she deserved it.

THE HONOURS: Ummul Khair receives her degree certificate from BS Raghavan, former chief secretary of Tripura. (Below) Students of MOP Vaishnav College For Women take the oath during the convocation at Kamrajar Arangam on Sunday

Mr Watwani has sent this.

Girl tops exam, beats disability

Visually Impaired Is An Ace

Ikram Khan | TNN

Bangalore: She can’t see but is showing the way. Sumaiya Khan, 15, topped the exams at St Michael’s High School (RT Nagar) and promises to continue her sterling performance in college next year.
Sumaiya was adjudged the best student after securing 94% in her preparatory exams.

The gutsy lass, who has coped with darkness since birth, is looking to achieve distinction in the SSLC exams. “I’m studying eight hours a day and hope to get more than the preparatory exam marks,” she said.

“She is a brilliant girl. What amazes me is her focus and determination to challenge and beat the best. I’m confident she will do our school proud this year,” said school principal Naushad Nazir of head girl Sumaiya.

Her mother Nikath, a nursery teacher at the same school, said Sumaiya was a lot easier to teach, simply because she was always willing to learn and compete with normal children.

“She chose to study in a normal school and from the day she started, she has managed to top the class. She has won many debates and singing competitions. She loves challenges and that helps her scale new heights,” said Nikath.

After winning the Best Visually Challenged Student, a state award conferred by the National Federation of the Blind, a couple of years ago, Sumaiya was the lone child who made it to the final list of Horlicks Wiz Kids International School competition.

“I was selected from among 6,000 students and the onus was on me to make Bangalore proud. I gave it my best shot and all my teachers and friends were delighted and appreciated my effort,” said Sumaiyya. She made it to the final 12 round of the talent and quiz test.

Sumaiya was stood first in the International Chinthana Science exam and did well in the Winnova Genius Talent Search. Her favourite subject is social studies and she aims to give the civil services exam a shot. Knowing her steely resolve, her parents Abdullah Khan and Nikath are confident she will do well there too.

Top French honour for Pondy Sanskrit scholar

Bosco Dominique | TNN

BIRTHDAY GIFT: S Sambanda Sivacharyar, Sanskrit scholar and research assistant of French Institute of Pondicherry

Puducherry: He has been working more than 10 hours a day for the past five decades, collecting palm leaf manuscripts in different scripts from various parts of country and categorising them after researching their content.

On his 83rd birthday, S Sambanda Sivacharyar, Sanskrit scholar and research assistant at the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP), got the pleasant news that he had been selected by the French government for one of the oldest and prestigious civil awards ‘Ordre des Palmes Académiques’ for his contributions to the study of the languages, texts, history and cultures of the Indian subcontinent.

The scholar, who joined IFP in 1969, extensively collected and studied Saiva manuscripts on palm leaves under the guidance of pandit N R Bhatt. He was instrumental in publishing critical editions of the Saivagamas, one of the 28 main texts (agamas) of Saivasiddantha (philosophy and scriptures of the Saivas), tracing the historical evolution of its doctrines and the Saiva ritual system dating back several centuries.

He is currently in charge of the upcoming edition of Suksmagama of the IFP, which has one of the richest collections of palm leaf manuscripts on Saivasiddhanta.

The institute’s palm leaf manuscript collections have been included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

The researcher said palm leaf manuscripts available in the institute were in several scripts including Tamil, Grantha, Telugu, Malayalam, Tigalari, Sarada, Nadinagiri and Newari.

His work primarily focussed on cataloguing the manuscripts based on their contents and transliterating the contents from one script to another, Grantha to Devanagiri script, for instance, enabling present generation researchers to access and understand ancient contents.

“IFP has about 8,000 bundles of palm leaf manuscripts mostly on Saivasiddhanta followed by grammar, palmistry and Thevaram in various scripts. We have categorised a little more than 25% of our collection and brought out several publications on Saivasiddhanta. transliterating the contents from ancient scripts to Devanagiri script,” Sambanda Sivachariar told TOI. He said in ancient times, Tamil-speaking people used Grantha script to write Sanskrit and most of the manuscripts on religious text were written in Grantha.

“The use of Grantha to write Sanskrit declined subsequently in the last century and Devanagiri became a widely popular script for Sanskrit,” he said.

Born on January 6, 1927 in a family of temple priests, Sambandan learnt temple rites at the tender age of seven from his father and the Vedas from eminent scholars before joining the Ahobila Math Sanskrit Padashala, Madurantakam. He studied at Raja’ College, Thiruvaiyaru and Mylapore Sanskrit College.

Before joining the IFP, he worked at the manuscript library of Theosophical Society and the Government Manuscript Library, Chennai and was also closely associated with the Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur, Thiruvanandapuram Manuscripts Library and Mysore Oriental Research Library in 1950s.

He has to his credit the establishment of a printing press with Grantha and Devanagiri scripts and printed and published many books on Agamas. Presently, he is editing an almanac, ‘Thiru Koil Anushtana Vakya Panchangam’ for the past 15 years and running a publishing company, which comes out with books on temple rituals.
bosco.dominique@timesgroup.com

Rotary on the Spot Poster Painting Competition 2009

Rotary South-West had organised “On the Spot Poster & Painting Competition” for children of Age group 3 years to 17 years on Sunday,  the 01st Feb 09   at Civil Services Sports Ground Ashoka Hotel, Chankyapuri, New Delhi.

More than two thousand children participated in the painting Competition   accompanied by their parents and guardians.

It was a wonderful sight to see hundreds of children intent and concentrating on painting using pencils, crayons, and water colours.

The subjects for painting were

1. Pride of Delhi
Metro, Flyovers, Commonwealth Games, Tourism, Republic Day, Rotary Blood Bank.
2. Conservation of Resources
Water, Energy, Oil.
3. Social Crime
Crime against Women, Child abuse, Road Rage, Blue line menace, Corruption.
4. Social Responsibilities
Pollution, Blood Donation, AIDS, Civic Sense, Care for elderly, Hunger, Disaster Management, Health & Humanity, Master Plan 2021, Solid Waste Management, Traffic Sense, My Family, Mobile Mania, Women Safety.

Children painted beautiful posters in all age groups. The entries were evaluated by a panel of eminent judges. Smt Kiran Walia, Minister of Health & Family Welfare gave away the prizes to winners.8 prizes per age group were awarded.

All Children were given the participation certificate signed by Smt Kiran Walia & Rotarion executives. Lunch/Snack coupons were also given to each participant. There was also and exhibition on road signs and road sense by the Delhi Traffic Police.

To entertain children there was even a  magic show.

Credit for organisng the function goes to Rotary South West President Mr Manoj Bansal, Secretary V Narayanan, Mr Pankaj Agarwal, Mr Ranjan Chopra & many other Rotarians who actively participated in the program.

26 Jan 2009

Children took part in the function held in Sector A Pocket C at Vasant Kunj. The function was organised by the ARWA. Mr Yoganand Shastri, Speaker of Delhi Assembly was the chief guest. Local municipal councillar Mrs Yadav was also present.

Smt Chetan Basra was the MC.

Three itmes were presented by the children from Kishangarh and Meharauli.  Mr Prasad, Mrs Rajagopal and Mrs Chetan Basra had prepared the children.

Mr Watwani has sent the following.

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight through, and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. They are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2.. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are NOT the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today.
It’s already tomorrow in Australia .”
(Charles Schultz)