JNV NEWS: HRD allows Navodaya Vidyalaya test

The human resource development ministry has brushed aside objections raised by senior law ministry officials to allow Navodaya Vidyalayas to continue admission tests, using support it has received from the country's top law officer. Armed with a favourable legal opinion from the attorney general(AG), the HRD ministry dismissed concerns raised by law ministry officials at a meeting on Wednesday, government sources have confirmed to HT. 
Top law ministry officials and the AG have expressed divergent opinions on the matter, but the HRD ministry cited the top law officer's opinion, reportedly ratified by law minister M Veerappa Moily, to stick to its view.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Educatio — popularly referred to as the Right to Education (RTE) Act — specifically bars schools from using any method other than random selection to admit students. It also requires schools to admit economically weak students from the neighbourhood to 25% seats.
This clause has left the HRD ministry in a dilemma for months now because the more than 500 Navodaya Vidyalayas it runs admit students through a national entrance test. These schools are aimed at tapping intelligent rural children.
The HRD ministry sought the view of the law ministry, former Chief Justice of India AS Anand and the AG. Both Justice Anand and the AG have said Navodaya Vidyalayas are a separate class of schools that do not need specific exemption under the RTE Act to continue with their admission tests.
Law ministry officials, however, argued that the Act ought to be amended instead of relying on interpretations.

JNV News: Sonia gifted 7 training center to Navodaya

Indian Express
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), which impart modern education to talented children of rural and remote areas, are now set to train their teachers.

The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has sanctioned seven Leadership Training Institutes for the faculty of the over-500-strong chain of schools. The institutes will come up on the Navodaya school campuses itself — in Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Goa, Udaipur, Rae Bareilly, Puri and Shillong.

Significantly, Rae Bareilly, which is Sonia Gandhi's constituency, will also get a National Sports Academy. Sonia is expected to lay the foundation stone of the academy next month.

“The idea is to train our teaching staff in modern pedagogy, upgrade their teaching skills and expose them to different teaching experiences with the aim of bettering the overall teaching environment at Navodaya schools. The institutes will offer a range of courses to teachers, right from their induction stage up to refresher training and so on,” said an official from the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya News: Navodaya schools to get Net

Calcutta Telegraph

New Delhi, Dec. 22: The Navodaya Vidyalayas, located mostly in rural and remote areas in the country, are set to get broadband connectivity soon.

Human resource and development minister Kapil Sibal, who is holding the additional charge of the telecom ministry, has asked BSNL to provide broadband connectivity to the 583 schools, which mainly cater to meritorious rural children.

“The minister had asked BSNL last week to provide broadband connectivity to the Navodaya Vidyalayas. BSNL has started working on the project,” a top official revealed.

The move will help the schools improve their teaching methodology by taking advantage of technology. These schools will be connected to each other through broadband network which will enable them to share lectures and e-learning materials.

The schools can also have their virtual labs by using Internet. Students can do science experiments in their computers at these labs without using chemicals, an official in Navodaya Vidyalya Samiti, the organisation running such schools, said.

Although the schools have computer labs, they do not have access to Internet. About 2.07 lakh students are registered in these schools which are perceived as islands of excellence. The schools have established themselves as among the best with 97 per cent pass out rate in board examinations.

About 74 per cent of the students are from families with annual incomes less than Rs 48,000. Nearly 11 per cent students in these schools are first generation learners of their families.

Unlike the Kendriya Vidyalayas, the Navodayas are located in remote and rural areas. They admit students from Class VI onwards through entrance tests.

The initiative to connect the schools through broadband is aimed at providing a level playing field to students who are mainly from rural backgrounds. These students, unlike their counterparts in private schools in urban locations, remain handicapped in the areas of e-learning despite doing well in studies.

In a similar initiative, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) has decided to provide interest-free loans to its nearly 40,000 teachers to purchase laptops. The KVS runs 1,073 schools in the country.

It will provide interest-free loan of Rs 27,000 to each teacher and the loan will be recovered in three years. .

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya News: Navodaya schools exempted from RTE provisions

New Delhi: The 444 Navodaya Vidyalayas all over India have been exempted from the provisions of the Right To Education (RTE) Act.

According to the RTE Act, it is mandatory for all schools to implement two key provisions of the act, which include no screening procedure for admission into schools and giving 25% reservation to children from economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had earlier sought the opinion of former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand. He had said that the Navodaya Vidyalayas as special category schools. The attorney general had also given a similar opinion later.

The law ministry too had agreed with the attorney general's opinion and had suggested that instead of categorizing the Navodaya Vidyalayas as special schools, the RTE Act must be amended.

The HRD ministry, on the contrary, had said that the RTE Act did not require any amendment as Section 2(p) of the act puts Navodaya Vidyalayas in the same category as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.

There have been three reasons given by the ministry for letting Navodaya schools off the RTE provisions. The Navodaya schools begin only from the 6th standard and not class 1 like other schools. Also, these schools are located in all districts and have 75% seats reserved for children from rural areas.

The seats in Navodaya schools are also reserved for children from SC and ST communities in relation to their population in the district, and not less than the national average. One third of seats at the Navodaya schools are reserved for girl students and 3% students are reserved for disabled children.

The schools also do not have any fee structure for class IX and only Rs.200 is charged per month from classes IX to XII. Navodaya Schools have argued that they do not require having 25% reservation for rural students as they already cater to these students.

Regarding the issue of not holding any screening procedure for admissions , Navodaya schools have asserted that they are special schools that are primarily meant for meritorious students. Admission to Navodaya Schools requires students to give a tough entrance examination conducted by the CBSE. The schools have said that not conducting this test fro admission into the schools would reduce their academic quality.

Navodaya Vidyalayas News:HRD putting process in place ahead of RTE rollout

NEW DELHI: With barely few months left for the Right to Education (RTE) Act to be implemented across the nation, the HRD ministry says it has put most of the system and process in place.

On Saturday, as the ministry engages in a brainstorming session on RTE, sources said the Centre has taken a huge step, pledging Rs 2.31 lakh crore for RTE that will be spent over the next five years. The funding pattern stands changed to 65:35 for five years. Besides, the Sarva Shiksha Abhijan's (SSA) budget has been increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 19,000 this year. Supplementary plans for states have also been done.

The key issue yet to be decided will be the screening process in residential schools like the government-run Navodaya Vidyalayas and private boarding schools. The defiance of screening rules by the Delhi government is also likely to come up for discussion, sources added.

Lack of funds for recruiting teachers has also been dealt with. The Centre has not only approved hiring of 4.55 lakh teachers out of the 5.08-lakh vacancy, but also agreed to pay for their salaries. There is also a dire need for nearly five lakh teachers, which come under the state governments' domain.

Though only 2.74 lakh classrooms out of 14.25 lakh additional classrooms have been sanctioned, sources explained that it is less because of the 33% ceiling on SSA work.

Centre has decided to pay for two sets of uniforms for girls and children belonging to SC/ST and BPL category. While, states will pay for the uniform of general category boys.

In order to enhance academic support, the government has already sanctioned 1,077 additional Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas.

Many states like Arunachal Pradesh, Oriss, Sikkim, Manipur and Union Territories without legislature like Delhi and Chandigarh have notifed the rules. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and others have already formulated the draft rules.

The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights have come up in Assam, Arunachal, Bihar, Delhi, Sikkim, J&K, MP, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Rajasthan. Many states have also issued child right orders, stating that there will be no expulsion and detention in class.