Nalanda to start session from 2014

New Delhi: The proposed Nalanda University will embark on its fresh journey from 2014 and will offer courses in History and Ecological Studies in the beginning.

Chancellor Amartya Sen said that they are going to start with School of Historical Studies and School of Environment and Ecological Studies from 2014.

"Then we are going to start with School of Economics and Management and School of Information Technology," Sen said at a function here.

Stressing of increased Public Private Partnership for building the university, Sen lauded the efforts of the Centre as well as the Bihar Government for giving shape to the university, located in the town of Rajgir and  contains within it a memory of the ancient Nalnda University.

Sen said that they were trying to build the University within its resources.

During his conversation with Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, organised by the University, he said that the University is getting support from very large number of Asian Countries and it is already in partnership with several universities across the world.

Nalanda University was established in November 2010. The University came into being by a special Act of the Indian Parliament a testimony to the important status that Nalanda University occupies in the Indian intellectual landscape.

Member, University's mentor group, Sugata Bose said the university has approved 26 faculty position, 13 each for school of historical studies and 13 for school of Environment and Ecological studies and the faculty will be appointed by July, 2013.

The classes will started by July, 2014, he said. 

Psychological abuse to kids as damaging as physical attack

London: Bullying and calling names can be as damaging to a young child's physical, mental and emotional health as a slap, punch or kick, a new study has found.

The study looked at the effects of verbal abuse and found it can be just as harmful to a child's development as a physical attack.

According to an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report on psychological maltreatment in journal 'Pediatrics', psychological abuse may be the most challenging and prevalent form of child abuse and neglect.

"Yelling at a child every day and giving the message that the child is a terrible person, and that the parent regrets bringing the child into this world, is an example of a potentially very harmful interaction," said Dr Harriet MacMillan, McMaster University's Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine and the Offord Centre for Child Studies.

"We are talking about extremes and the likelihood of harm, or risk of harm, resulting from the kinds of behaviour that make a child feel worthless, unloved or unwanted," MacMillan said.

Psychological abuse was described in the scientific literature more than 25 years ago, but it has been under-recognised and under-reported, MacMillan said, adding that its effects "can be as harmful as other types of maltreatment."

The report says that because psychological maltreatment interferes with a child's development path, the abuse has been linked with disorders of attachment, developmental and educational problems, socialisation problems and disruptive behaviour.

"The effects of psychological maltreatment during the first three years of life can be particularly profound."

 This form of mistreatment can occur in many types of families, but is more common in homes with multiple stresses, including family conflict, mental health issues, physical violence, depression or substance abuse. 

Varsity opposes plea of Alagiri trust college

Madurai: The state-run Anna University of Technology opposed in the Madras High Court bench the plea for temporary affiliation by an engineering college set up by a trust in which Union Minister M K Alagiri is a member.
   
Registrar of Anna University of Technology, Madurai, E B Perumal Pillai in a counter affidavit said the high court could neither arrogate itself the powers to grant affiliation nor issue a positive direction to a university to grant affiliation.
   
Opposing the plea of Dhaya College of Engineering, set up by the M K Alagiri Educational Trust here, the Registrar also said the university had no powers to grant temporary affiliation as sought by the college.
   
He also quoted a Division Bench's judgement relating to the Madras University and said no college could claim affiliation as a matter of right.
   
The college had sought temporary affiliation from the university for the year 2012-13, besides permission to participate in the ongoing counselling for engineering admissions.
   
The college, set up last year, was denied affiliation on the ground that there were some defects in the infrastructure. But the college officials had said they had rectified all the defects pointed out by the AUT team. 

Punjab makes great strides in Education department

Amritsar: Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia lauded the state education department for working hard to improve the state's countrywide ranking in elementary education.
 
In a statement here, Majithia said it was a matter of pride that the state was ranked third, a major leap forward by any state in improving elementary school education.
 
He said this was the result of efforts made by the education department officials and staff and the pro-people policies of the SAD-BJP government in the state.
 
Majithia claimed that in the recent report released by the union Human Resource Development Ministry, Punjab had earned accolades for improving the education scenario.
    
He said the state left behind larger states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala in successfully implementing school education programmes for all.
    
"It is a major leap forward. The state was at the 7th place last year and in just one year we have progressed to the 3rd position", he said.
     
The smaller states of Puducherry and Lakshdeep were the only states ahead of Punjab, because of their smaller size, but amongst the bigger states, Punjab was ahead of all, the minister asserted.
    
He said the report is prepared by keeping all aspects, including the infrastructure available in schools, teachers and staff, results and approach to the schools.
    
The new development followed the recent number one ranking of the state in general infrastructure development, changing economic progress patterns and future prospects of Punjabs economy, he said. 
 
Majithia gave credit to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for their efforts to take the state to the new heights of development and progress.
     
Their government would continue working hard to take the state forward in economic progress, achieve a better human index by launching new society oriented schemes for the poor and downtrodden, he said.
 
Majithia took pride in that Punjab, which was turning backward economically in the past due to political-social and religious disturbances, had today surged ahead of states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala to make progress in education. 

Delhi Government to set up 94 schools

New Delhi: Delhi Government will set up 94 new schools across the city in the current academic session, Delhi Education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said.
 
He said the schools are being set up to meet rising demand for admissions in government-run schools. The government currently runs around 800 schools in the city.
 
Lovely was speaking after inaugurating a newly constructed school building of Rajkiya Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Gandhi Nagar.
 
27 new class rooms and five modern science laboratories have been constructed in the schools at a cost of Rs two crore.
 
He said Government has upgraded school buildings of 186 schools in Trans-Yamuna area in the last two years.
   
Lovely said modern play grounds would be provided in each of the nine districts to promote sports amongst school children.