| Sibal
considers scrapping Class 10 board examination New
Delhi: The Union Human Resource Ministry is considering to scrap the board
examination for Class 10 students. Disclosing this, the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal
said the present examination system is putting both the students and parents to
trauma, so an alternative system of evaluating the student based on percentile
should come into force. The committee chaired by National Council for Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) Director Krishna Kumar, recommended to scrap the
board examination at class 10 level in March this year. The Kumar committee also
felt that the board examination has diminished the personal warmth of the teacher-student
relationship, which was extremely important during adolescence. It said the teachers
should serve as the final examiner at the school level. The minister said the
final decision in this regard will be taken in consultation with the sate governments
and the educational institutions. Sibal
also made a proposal to have a single board in the country to make the 10th board
examination optional and make the admission process smooth. Introducing a 100-day
plan, HRD minister said the single board at the all-India level will replace various
boards in the country and will hold a uniform examination for all students, which
will be similar to the pattern of combined law entrances organised by law institutions.
"By a single board, a student can decide which university he wants to go. It is
happening in the law courses. The aim is to reduce the trauma," Kapil Sibal said.
Highlighting the level of stress that students and parents have to undergo during
examinations, Sibal said that government wants to make 10th board exam optional
for those students who wish to continue studying in the same school, saying that
internal assessment would be sufficient for the promotion. "If a student wants
to go for pre-university course, he may appear for 10th board exam. But in case
of a student pursuing the course in the same school, he need not appear in the
class-10 exam for promotion to class-11," Kapil Sibal said. New
Delhi urges Islamabad to show sympathy to Sarabjeet Singh Top New
Delhi: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has urged Islamabad to show sympathy
to Indian prisoner Sarabjeet Singh after Pakistan's Supreme Court rejected his
mercy plea and upheld the death sentence in his alleged involvement in the Lahore
bomb attacks in 1990. "We have consistently urged the government of Pakistan to
take a sympathetic and humanitarian view in this case. It is our hope that they
will find it possible to do so," Krishna told reporters here on Wednesday. Earlier
on Wednesday, a three-member bench led by Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed dismissed
Sarabjit's review petition on the grounds of non-pursuance of the case by his
lawyer. Sarabjit's counsel had failed to appear in court for the past few hearings,
including the last one on Monday. Rana Abdul Hamid, the lawyer who was representing
Sarabjit, had been unable to appear in court after he was appointed last year
an additional advocate general by Punjab province. Sarabjit Singh is a resident
of Amritsar in Punjab. He was arrested near the Kasur border in Pakistan in August
1990. As per his family, he had actually strayed into Pakistan's territory in
an inebriated state. He was awarded death sentence by a Lahore anti-terrorism
court in October 1991 for allegedly carrying out serial bomb blasts in Pakistan.
Sarabjit challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, however, the apex court
quashed his appeal in September 2005, saying that the review petition was not
filed within the time period as mentioned in the law. Normal
life hit by ULFA's bandh call Top Guwahati:
The 12-hour bandh called "Assom Bandh" called by the United Liberation Front
of Assom (ULFA) to protest against the against the killing of the cadres of ULFA
and other militant groups by the security forces had mixed response. Normal life
in Guwahati was affected, as shops,business houses, banks were largely remained
closed. Though the militants said that they will not disturb the examinations
of schools and colleges, most of the educational institutions were closed as a
precautionary measure. The bandh was by and large peaceful till the afternoon
as no untoward incident was reported. According to official sources though all
the government establishments are functioning normally, the traffic was very thin.
But the railway and air services remained unaffected by the bandh. Strict vigil
being extended at Neelachal hills and at Kamakhya Temple where lakhs of devotees
are expected to partake in the ongoing four-day Ambubachi Mela. Nandan
Nilekani to head Unique Identification Authority Top New
Delhi: The Union Cabinet has appointed the Infosys Chief Nandan Nilekani as
the Chairman of National Authority for Unique Identity. Minister for Information
and Broadcasting Ambika Soni said the new authority will function under the planning
commission, and Nilekani will be enjoying cabinet status. Ms Soni said the authority
will have the responsibility to lay down plans and policies to implement the Unique
Identification Scheme and will operate the unique identification number database
for the citizen's of the country. In January the Government of India has notified
the creation of the National Authority of Unique Identity. The ambitious plan
of unique identification has been allocated Rs 100 crore in the interim budget
of 2009-10. The unique identification number aims at eliminating the need for
multiple identification mechanism prevalent across various government departments,
and it will ensure that each Indian citizen will carry a permanent identifier
from birth to death. The permanent identifier which will also cover children,
will help in at establishing citizenship, reducing identity related frauds, addresses
security issues and prevent leakages in different government schemes. In the beginning
the Unique Identity number will be given to all voters who are on current electoral
rolls, and gradually, the other persons including those below 18 years of age
will be added to the database. Photographs and biometric data will be added to
make the identification perfect. Bihar
engineers threaten to go on indefinite strike over a killing Top Patna:
Engineers in Bihar have threatened to go on an indefinite Statewide strike
from first week of July to protest against the alleged murder of one of their
colleagues recently. Members of Bihar Engineering Services Coordination Committee
(BESCC) have demanded compensation of 2.5 million rupees for the family of the
deceased, besides a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "We demand
CBI probe into the death of Late Yogendra Pandey and a compensation for his family
members," said Rajivnath Prasad Singh, a member of BESCC, who also threatened
to go on indefinite strike from July 2 if their demands were not met. "After a
meeting BESCC has decided that if our demands were not fulfilled by July 1, it
would go on the indefinite strike from July 2. The ongoing pen down strike would
continue till July 1," Rajivnath added. Yogendra Pandey, an engineer by profession,
died after falling from the III rd floor of the Sitamarhi Collectorate on June
18 under mysterious conditions. Even though police claim that a suicide note was
found on Pandey's body, his family and colleagues claim that he was pushed from
the third floor of the building. Bihar Engineering Services Coordination Committee
(BESCC) during a late night meeting on Wednesday (June 24) decided about this
indefinite strike. However, they are continuing with their pen down strike which
will last till July 1. |
