Library hour likely in State schools

Here comes a good impetus (for a change) from the state government of Kerala. Three Cheers for the Education Minister.

Special TV programmes for SSLC students

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government would give serious consideration to the suggestion made from several quarters to include a weekly `library period' in the timetable for the State's schools. The Department of Education will also consider proposing an amendment to the Kerala Education Rules (KER) in order to make the library room a compulsory part of a school's building plan.

This was stated by Minister for Education E. T. Mohammed Basheer at a press conference here on Tuesday. The press conference was preceded by an "editors' meeting" and an all-party meeting at which the Government's school library project came up for discussion.
Mr. Basheer said the Chief Minister had promised Rs.2 crores for this project. Various committees were in place to oversee its implementation. All the participants in the all-party meeting had pledged their support for this venture. "At the all-party meeting and at the editors' meeting, it was pointed out that the involvement of the PTAs was very vital for this project. It was also suggested that the library council be involved in this venture. We will certainly think of implementing that," he said.

The sustainability of such a scheme also came up for discussion at these meetings, Mr. Basheer said. At the editors' meeting, it was proposed that there should be specific provision for this in the education budget. "We will give this a serious thought and find ways to implement the same. Moreover, many participants felt the need for setting up `newspaper corners' in schools and instituting contests based on articles that appear in newspapers to encourage the reading habit among children," he said.

The State Institute of Education Technology would design and set up an educational and career portal that would provide course and career-related information about educational institutions in India and around the world. The portal's address would be `keralasiet.com.' He said the SIET had also prepared special television programmes for students preparing for the SSLC examinations in March 2006. These programmes will be aired over a period of three months beginning December 26, 2005 for 30 minutes. In DD-4, the programmes would begin at 7 a.m. from Monday to Saturday and in the DD-1 channel from 10 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. on these days.

Source :

http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/30/stories/2005113012790100.htm

Quote : Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity - Aristotle