Policy and Governance Update - CSF EdMonitor via

Policy and Governance The Department of School Education and Literacy, under the HRD Ministry, said the decision to use the Aadhaar number as an identification document for receiving benefits under various school-related schemes needs more deliberation. So far, the centre has identified 31 schemes where the Aadhaar number can be used as identification for providing various benefits. The Union HRD Ministry has planned to include more information about the electoral process in school syllabus.The commission aims to focus on more than 60 per cent of the future voters ( 15 to 17-year-olds) to teach them about the importance of their democratic rights. The poll panel has also suggested NCERT to develop a booklet on elections till the introduction of new curriculum. The Education Department of Rajasthan has decided to merge anganwadis or pre-schools into government schools for providing better facilities to students. In the first phase, around 13,000 anganwadis will be merged with schools at every gram panchayat. The move is being taken to improve the poor learning outcomes—reading letters and alphabets being recorded by students in primary classes.

Educators In the third year, the Delhi government will run a leadership programme by focusing on developing qualitative learning outcomes for students, by building Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya in every zone, and sending teachers to Finland for training. The government is also planning to build school of excellence in every zone which would have an ambience and environment like the private schools. The ‘Mile Banche Madhya Pradesh’ programme in Madhya Pradesh has received an overwhelming response with over 1.26 lakh volunteers. The volunteers registered for the programme will play the role of a ‘teacher’ in government-run schools on February 18. They will motivate children in primary and middle schools to cultivate the habit of reading by browsing through various interesting books along with textbooks.

Edtech The Primary and Secondary Education Department Minister, Tanveer Sait said the Integrated Computer Training Programme’s phase III has been completely scrapped and the new proposal will be implemented in the coming academic year. The IT@School Programme will be emulated in the state with government teachers and principals being trained in teaching computers. The Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar, Jammu & Kashmir motivated the master trainers for e-learning under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). Training centres are being established at all the 220 smart classrooms across 22 districts of the state covering the targeted 34000 teachers in two months. DISCLAIMER: This document is being furnished to you for your information. You may choose to reproduce or redistribute this report for non-commercial purposes in part or in full to any other person with due acknowledgement of Central Square Foundation (CSF). The opinions expressed in articles contained in the CSF EdMonitor are solely those of their respective authors and, as such, are not necessarily endorsed by CSF.  CSF makes every effort to use reliable and comprehensive information, but does not represent that the contents of the report are accurate or complete. CSF is an independent, not-for-profit organization. This document has been prepared without regard to the objectives or opinions of those who may receive it. Copyright © 2017 Central Square Foundation, All rights reserved.