Antaram A meaningful Pause for Solutions in Education
Education is the bedrock of a strong nation and a prosperous world. Without it, an individual, a family, society, nation and the world cannot function and grew. But what do we really mean when we say education ? Does it only mean the capacity to read, write and pass examinations ? Or is it the ability to lead a happy and fulfilling life ? Is it something which should be similar for all or can it be personal ? Does India today need an education which is relevant to her ethos and history or do we need an education which homogenises the experiences of a few ? Do we need to seriously ponder on the need of establishing new orders and solutions for education in India and the world ? if yes, what are those solutions ?
India has a huge network of contemporary schools. While the extent of this network is admirable, it also invites deep and damaging criticisms for its inability i) train students in basic creative and analytical aptitude, ii) prepare them for life’s challenges, and iii) instill the depth of character and human values required for them to be good citizens, and caring members of the society it sometimes seems that all the three aspects above simply can’t be done at scale.
To address these multifarious challenges, a serious and thorough brainstorming and debate on these issues is needed on one hand, and glimpses of some actions and possible solutions on the other. India has millennia of accumulated wisdom and experience in the domain of education and even today there are several large and small scale, private / civil society and governmental efforts that harmonize conflicting requirements, and find solutions to the complex challenges.
The Vrindavan cluster of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (IIT Delhi) has been working on holistic interventions in government schools in the cluster villages. This work is being done in collaboration with several other organizations such as Government of Uttar Pradesh (through the Brij Teerth Vikas Board), Akshyapatra Foundation (local resource persons), Vision India Foundation (VIF, providing on-the-ground fellows), Bharat Vikas Nyas (funding and other support for events), Parmeshvari Devi Dhanuka Vidyalaya (reputed school in Vrindavan town, part of the Vidya Bharti network), and individuals including relevant government officials such as the SDM, and Basic Shiksha Adhikari of Mathura district. The interventions were also preceded by visits to several schools all over the country known to deliver education differently and catering to the holistic needs of the child, such as the Muni international School (Delhi), Gyan Prabodhini (Pune), Riverside School, Rishi Valley School, Sri Aurobindo Ashram school (Delhi), Gyan Prabodhini (Pune), Riverside School, Rishi Valley School, Sri Aurobindo Ashram school and more, incorporating all these experiences, this team team has put together the concept of a conference on education titled Antaram – A Meaningful Pause for Solutions in Education.
The conference aims to understand, contemplate and reflect holistically on education, share innovative interventions and models of both the successes and failures of individuals and institutions kindling change in education in India, and subsequently find simple and implementable solutions for meaningful education in India and the world through active youth engagement. To achieve this, the conference will feature leading educationists, thinkers, practitioners of various education thoughts, leaders and representatives of visionary schools across India, grass-root leaders including government teachers, principals, civil society representatives, education-entrepreneurs, change-makers from Central and State Governments including bureaucrats and ministers. The subsequent pages provides more details of the conference, including the proposed two day schedule.
MeT Department forecasts thunderstorm
Meteorological Department has forecast thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds and lightning at isolated places over North India, including Delhi, and also in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
In the national capital, the mercury slipped by several notches this morning, a day after the city was hit by a dust storm and rain.
The minimum temperature settled at 23.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal. The MeT department said, cloudy weather will continue for the next three to four days.
Talking to AIR, senior MeT department official, Kuldeep Shrivastava said, the Monsoon is expected to reach Delhi by the 29th of this month.
The MeT department has also predicted rough to very rough sea condition over East Central, West Central and Southwest Arabian Sea, Odisha, West Bengal Coasts and North Bay of Bengal. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into these areas.
India, China inks two agreements on Brahmaputra, export rice.
India and China signed two bilateral agreements following the meeting between the Prime Minister and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit. The agreements include continuing to share Brahmaputra water data during flood season and exporting non-Basmati rice to China.
Talking to reporters in Qingdao, Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said, the two countries have set a trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2020. He said, during the hour-long meeting between Mr Modi and Mr Xi, both countries agreed on several initiatives to take forward the spirit of Wuhan Informal Summit. He said, the Chinese President accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation for a Wuhan type informal summit in India next year.
The Prime Minister also held bilateral meetings with Presidents of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Mr Modi reached Qingdao yesterday on a two-day visit to take part in the SCO summit.
PM Modi, Mantra for SCO,Security & Connectivity
The SCO summit concluded with the adoption of the Qingdao declaration. The declaration calls for implementing the three-year plan to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism. It also calls for implementation of the treaty on long-term good neighbourliness, friendship and co-operation.
All the heads of SCO countries held a restricted meeting before the summit.
Mr Modi will have bilateral meetings with Presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan later in the day. Yesterday, Mr Modi met with the Chinese President after arriving in Qingdao on a 2-day visit.
Mr Modi will have bilateral meetings with Presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan later in the day. Yesterday, Mr Modi met with the Chinese President after arriving in Qingdao on a 2-day visit.
Both sides signed two agreements, one on continuing to share Brahmaputra water data during the flood season and the other on exporting non-Basmati rice to China. The two countries also set a trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that connectivity with the neighbourhood and in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation region is India’s priority as he stressed that his country was committed to extend full cooperation to a successful outcome of the summit.
He said, S stands for security of citizens, E for Economic Development for all, C for connecting the region, U – uniting the people, R – respect among nations and E – Environmental protection.
The Prime Minister also said, Afghanistan is an unfortunate example of the effects of terrorism. Citing Afghanistan as an “unfortunate example” of effect of terrorism, Modi said he hoped the brave steps towards peace taken by President Ashraf Ghani will be respected by all in the region, apparently referring to a cease-fire announced by the Afghan leader for the Eid festival. His reference to ,the Taliban announced its first ceasefire in the war-torn country in nearly 17 years.
On Thursday, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani offered a temporary ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid.It is the first time since the 2001 US invasion that the Taliban militants have declared a ceasefire in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani offered a temporary ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid.It is the first time since the 2001 US invasion that the Taliban militants have declared a ceasefire in Afghanistan.
Mr Modi said, that connectivity with their neighbourhood in the SCO region is India’s priority. He called for setting up a roadmap for the 25th anniversary of SCO in 2026.
The Prime Minister asserted that only six percent of foreign tourists in India are from SCO countries, which he said can be doubled easily by increasing awareness about the shared cultures.
“Increasing awareness of our shared cultures can help boost this number.We will organise a SCO food festival and a Buddhist festival in India,” he said.
“We have again reached a stage where physical and digital connectivity is changing the definition of geography. Therefore, connectivity with our neighbourhood and in the SCO region is our priority,” Modi said.
The SCO currently has eight member countries which represents around 42 per cent of the world’s population and 20 per cent of the global GDP.
Three coaches of Mumbai-Howrah Mail derail
Three coaches of Mumbai-Howrah Mail were derailed in Maharashtra’s Nashik district in the wee hours of Sunday.
No casualties have been reported so far.
However, 12 trains on the route have been cancelled while one short has been terminated following the repairing works.
The incident took place at about 2 am in the morning, near Igatpuri railway station in the district.
The cause for the derailment has not been ascertained yet. — AN
India-United Nations Development Partnership
FROM THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
India-United Nations Development Partnership
22 projects have been approved in 25 partner countries
“India played a very important role in shaping the Sustainable Development Goals,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during anniversary celebrations of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund at United Nations Headquarters. “India is for all of us a very important inspiration.”
The India-UN Development Partnership Fund, established by the Government of India to work with developing countries in a spirit of South-South cooperation, has forged partnerships with 25 partner countries on 22 development projects during its first year. The United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) manages the Fund.
“The Fund shows a further deepening of South-South cooperation, an increasingly valuable dimension of our work for development,” the Secretary-General emphasized. “The Fund focus on supporting people in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) reflects our ambition to help those left furthest behind and to reach them first.”
The Government of India has committed $100 million over the next decade to the Fund, to support projects that are in alignment with the 2030 Agenda. It adheres to the principles of South-South cooperation, and places a priority on national ownership and leadership, equality, sustainability, development of local capacity, and mutual benefit.
For example, a Climate Early Warning System is being implemented in 7 Pacific Island Countries to increase resilience to natural disasters; a governance project in Swaziland will engage citizens in the collection of data on poverty in order to inform sound public policies; a climate-response project in Chad will help restore degraded lands and enhance agricultural production systems; and a governance project in Uruguay will enhance the government’s public service delivery through digital processing and monitoring tools.
“We in India are acutely aware of the development challenges facing countries of the South, ” said H.E. Mr. Syed Akbaruddin, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. He went on to challenge the United Nations to speed up their processes of project implementation.
In April 2018, the Government of India established a separate Commonwealth Window under the India-UN Development Partnership Fund aimed at partnership with developing countries in the Commonwealth. Under this window, an additional sum of $50 million over the next five years has been committed for partnerships with developing country members of the Commonwealth. Projects supporting biomedical waste management in Grenada, clean energy in Tuvalu and census data collection in Vanuatu have been approved under this window.
“The India-UN Development Partnership Fund exemplifies South-South cooperation at work,” said H.E. Mr. Adonia Ayebare, Permanent Representative of Uganda and President of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation. “India is putting into practice what we have been discussing for so long.”
“The speed at which projects have been implemented through the Fund is impressive,” said Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme. “The best ideas, from wherever they are sourced, should be made accessible to everyone on the planet.”
“UNOPS is honoured to be called to the table by India and UNOSSC,” said Ms. Grete Faremo, Executive Director, United Nations Office for Project Services. “We stand ready to work closely with you to implement projects of the Fund.”
H.E. Mr. Walton Alfonso Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, conveyed the appreciation of LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, for India’s “timing and response to countries requests”. “India’s climate leadership is exemplary,” he stressed. “We cannot achieve the SDGs without international support.”
“We do not have the luxury to waste time, ” said H.E. Ms Fekitamoeloa Katoa Utoikamanu, High Representative for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS. “The Fund’s focus on unlocking the potential of the people in the most vulnerable countries could not be more timely.”
Mr. Jorge Chediek, UNOSSC Director, and Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation, moderated the event, which was attended by United Nations officials and over 45 Permanent Representatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment