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Capping weight: Schools say curriculum and bags need redesign

Agencies
November 28, 2018

Bengaluru, Nov 28: Schools in Bengaluru are not happy with the HRD ministry’s circular on capping the weight of bags carried by class 1-10 students. They are, in fact, demanding a comprehensive study and reworking of the curriculum and also want the Centre to frame guidelines to redesign school bags.

According to the institutions, the fancy school bags themselves are as much a burden on the students as books. “Parents are fascinated by fancy school bags and empty school trolleys weigh about 1.5kg to 2 kg,” they pointed out, adding that bags shouldn’t weigh over 700g when empty.

J Bhuvaneshvari, principal, Presidency School, south Bengaluru, told TOI: “We have already provided cubby facility for students up to class 10, but what we actually need to ask now is how will the government manage the weight of fancy school bags available in the market. The MHRD should also look into this aspect, instead of only focusing on reducing the load by decreasing books and homework.”

Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Karnataka Associated Management of English Medium Schools (KAMS), said, “At an age when a student’s mind must be used for better learning, the government is blocking the child’s way of learning. The department of state educational research and training (DSERT) must rework the curriculum and school bags available in the market should be redesigned.”

According to the circular, schools should not prescribe any other subject except language and mathematics for class 1 and 2, and language, environmental sciences and mathematics for classes 3 to 5 as mandated by NCERT. The weight of school bags for students of class 1 and 2 should be up to 1.5 kg, while that of classes 3 to 5 should be between 2kg to 3kg. Bags of class 6 and 7 students shouldn’t be more than 4kg, while that of their seniors — class 8 and 9 — should not be above 4.5kg. A class 10 student’s bag shouldn’t weigh above 5kg.

Terming it a baseless circular issued without any basic survey, M Srinivasan, founder, GEAR Innovative International School, said, “How can one expect a student to learn just language and mathematics at a young age? The ‘no homework’ policy is totally confusing and will not help in their development. Managements of several schools are mulling holding a meeting to discuss this and put forward what they think could be the consequences of this circular, along with their suggestions,” said Srinisvasan, who is also the president of Karnataka CBSE Schools Association.

Asked about plans to redesign the curriculum to reduce the load, Shalini Rajneesh, principal secretary, primary and secondary education, said, “We are working on redesigning the curriculum.”

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News Network
April 30,2020

Riyadh, Apr 30: Saudi Arabia on Thursday recorded 1,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 22,753, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The ministry also announced 5 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 162 and 3,163 respectively.

Riyadh with 440 cases topped the list, followed by 392 cases in Makkah, 120 in Jeddah and 119 in Madinah.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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News Network
May 22,2020

Rajan Kurian with wife Berly Rajan Kurian, son Brian, daughter Bella and mother Valsa

Dubai, May 22: A 43-year-old Indian businessman won USD one million (approximately Rs 7.59 crore) in the Dubai Duty Free draw.

Rajan Kurian, who owns a construction business in Kerala, had bought the ticket online.

Mr Kurian said he was grateful for the win, considering the gloomy circumstances prevailing in the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I will set aside a good part of my win to help the needy. I feel grateful with the win but I need to share it with people who need it," he said. 

Mr Kurian said some of the money will go into growing his business.

"The last few months have been tough with the COVID-19 situation. My business has come to a standstill. This money will be put to good use," he said.

An Indian expat also won a BMW motorbike in the lucky draw held on Wednesday.

A longtime resident of Dubai for 30 years now, 57-year-old Syed Hydrose Abdulla, who works as a public relations officer in a beverages company, had also bought the ticket online.

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Debasisdhara
 - 
Saturday, 18 Jul 2020

Lucky prize money send me please

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