Lack of road, rail, and air connectivity had in the past obstructed development in Meghalaya. During the last nine years, however, the BJP government at the Centre has brought about positive changes in the state and the northeastern region.
26-27.02.23
‘Less than 25% kids can read simple English in Assam’
Basic reading ability and arithmetic skills have dropped at the primary level in schools inAssam, with not even 25% students in the age group of five to 16 being able to read simple English sentences, revealed the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 published on school education in the country.
ASER last assessed children’s ability in English in 2016. In Assam, 24.3% of the Class V children can read simple English sentences in the 2022 survey. The proportion, however, registered a marginal increase from 22.3% in the 2016 survey. In Assam, of the 50.6% of children in Class VIII, who can read sentences in English, 69.6% of them can also tell the meaning of the sentences.
The survey byPratham Education Foundationestimated Learning loss between 2018 and 2022, showing diverse outcomes. ASER 2022 surveyors went to 26 districts in rural Assam where a total of 15,413 households and 25,502 children in the age group of three to 16 were surveyed.
In Assam, the Percentage of children in Class III in government or private schools, who can read Class II level reading matter, has dropped from 19.9% in 2018 to 17.9% in 2022. Nationally, too, the corresponding figure at the all-India level has declined from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022.
The survey showed nationally, 69.6% of children enrolled in Class VIII in government or private schools, can read at least basic text in 2022, a fall from 73% in 2018. But a reverse trend was visible in Assam in this category. The corresponding figure has increased from 60.8% in 2018 to 68.8% in 2022.
The All-India figure for children in Class III who are able to at least do subtraction dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022. Steep drops of more than 10% points have been visible inMizoram(from 58.8% to 42%). For Assam this figure has dropped from 29.8% in 2018 to 24.5% in 2022.
Odisha likely to become high income state
Odishais already a middle-income state and by 2036 there are all possibilities of transforming the state into a high-income state, saidOrissa Economics Association(OEA) secretary Amarendra Das while attending OEAs Odisha Vision 2036 conclave in Bhubaneswar.
The association is preparing OEAs Odisha Vision 2036. The conclave was organised by the OEA in collaboration with the department of analytical and applied economics, Utkal University and school of humanities and social sciences, the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) Bhubaneswar.
Budget will announce details of Rs 1,000 dole for women: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin
Chief minister M K Stalin called upon the people in Erode East to vote for the DMK alliance in the byelection, as their vote would be deemed a validation of “https://exam.pscnotes.com/good-Governance“>Good Governance” given by his government. “Your vote for the ‘hand’ (Congress symbol) would mean recognition for our government,” Stalin said campaigning for Congress candidate E V K S Elangovan – the last day of campaigning.
Facing criticism from opposition parties that the DMK has failed to fulfill its election promises, Stalin said the schedule of implementation of the scheme to give 1,000 to Women will be detailed in thebudgetin March second week.
Set up drug treatment centres for kids, judicial colloquium tells Union government
The union and state governments should take proactive steps to establish dedicated drug treatment and rehabilitation centres for children, the regional judicial colloquium onPOCSOAct, juvenile , and drug abuse among children that was organized here by theKerala high courthas recommended.
The colloquium for the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala made the recommendation on Sunday, the final day of the two-day programme held at Kochi Marriott Hotel. The programme was aimed at sensitizing the stakeholders in different domains of the justice delivery system handling cases involving children.
A recommendation for setting up dedicated drug treatment and rehabilitation centres for children was made by the colloquium in tune with the directives issued by The Supreme Court in a 2016 judgment (Bachpan Bhachao Andolan Vs. Union of India) and as per the provisions of a 2018 central scheme, titled Central Sector Scheme of Assistance for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drugs) Abuse and for Social Defense Services.
50 schools in Karnataka will get KV-like facilities
Fifty public schools inKarnatakawill be equipped with additional to allow quality Education on the lines of theKendriya Vidyalayas. The State Government has allocated Rs 100 crore for the technological upgrade of these schools.
So far, infrastructure in three public schools in the district has been upgraded. Construction of new school buildings is being carried out by the Public Works Department.
Under the project, renovation of the public school at Karadigudda in Dharwad has been completed at a cost of Rs 2 crore. Work for the upgrade had started in 2021 and new infrastructure includes a library, science room, laboratories and a Sports room.
Telangana has 9,000 RTI pleas pending, ranks 10th in country
In terms of of disposal rate ofRTIpleas,Telanganaranks 10th among states with 8,902 pleas pending with thestate Information Commission(SIC) as of June 2022, according to the Report Card of Information Commissions in India (RCICI) published by SatarkNagrik Sangathan(SNS) in December last year. Since August 2022, the SIC has been functioning without a chief commissioner.
Between July 2021 to June 2022, a total of 7,169 complaints and appeals were registered in and 9,267 were settled, including those pending from the previous years. The Average annual disposal rate per commissioner stands at 1,545, placing the state at 11th rank.
The state also lags when it comes to issuing showcase notices and imposing penalties on departments. The state recorded 52 cases where a penalty of 2 lakh was imposed, but gave compensation of 6,000 in only one case to the RTI applicant. The RCICI report also said that the SIC failed to publish even a single annual report since it was established in 2017.
Around 86% of the RTIs filed in the state are by social workers and journalists. But RTI activists said that over the years certain departments have stopped bothering to reply to queries.
Andhra Pradesh secures investments worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 3 years
Despite being handed a raw deal during bifurcation,Andhra Pradeshhas emerged as a top destination, garnering investments to the tune of Rs 40,361 crore in the first seven months of 2022 alone.
Though it was left without a capital city, after it lost undivided AP’s bustling economic engine and capital Hyderabad to Telangana, and failed to get special category status (SCS), AP has galloped ahead of other states in parameters such as industrialization, economic Growth, and gross value added (GVA).
AP ranked numero uno in terms of actual industrial investment that came into the country in the January-July 2022 period, as per DPIIT’s July 2022 report. AP and Odisha, with investments of Rs 40,361 crore and Rs 36,828 crore, respectively, accounted for 45% of the total 1,71,285 crore investment inflow into the country in the first seven months of 2022, as perDPIITdata. AP also surpassed the national Average on certain parameters and achieved higher growth than some of the developed states.
Goa govt cancels 80,000 ration cards for not availing of food quota
The has cancelled nearly 80,000 ration cards of beneficiaries across Goa for non-claiming of rations in the past six months.
“These ration card holders have not lifted their quota from August 2022 to January 2023, owing to which they were cancelled,” said director of civil supplies and consumer affairs Gopal Parsekar.
Parsekar said those beneficiaries who have found themselves cancelled from the ration benefits can reverse the cancellation by submitting a letter to the department. The letter can be submitted to civil supplies inspectors at the taluka level, citing the reason for not collecting the ration, along with the KYC form.
Parsekar also said that the former beneficiaries must also give an undertaking stating that they will avail of the quota henceforth.
PM Shri Yojana in 846 Maharashtra schools for high quality education
The state Education department has decided to implement PMShri Yojana, which provides for comprehensive development of 846 schools in the state.
State project director ofMaharashtra PrathamikShikshan Parishad (Maharashtra Primary Education Council), KailashPagaresaid, “In the second phase of this scheme, schools will be selected from among 408 groups, 28 municipalities, 383 local self-governments, and municipal councils.”
The scheme is implemented through the committee headed by the school education minister at the state level, by the chief executive officer at the district level, and by the municipal commissioner at the municipal level.
The state project director will be the chairman of thestate implementation committee.
Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, access and , human Resources and school Leadership, inclusive practices and gender issues, management, monitoring and administration, and beneficiary satisfaction will be the six key pillars of development under this scheme.