strategies for promoting peace education among … hemant vihar, kanpur name of the student : ms....

APRIL - 2007

Strategies for Promoting PeaceEducation among SAARC CountriesA consultative meeting was held on 26 and 27 February2007 under the chairpersonship of Prof. Krishna Kumar,Director, NCERT to discuss issues related to promotion ofpeace education in the SAARC region. The meeting wasattended by eminent educationists, academics, experts onpeace education, and members of the focus group on PeaceEducation, and Joint Director, NCERT. Head, DEPFE wasthe convener of the meeting.

The members were apprised of the wide-ranginginitiatives, which emerged from the position paper oneducation for peace. NCERT’s interest in initiatingprogrammes which would facilitate sharing of experiencesin the SAARC countries and building shared structuresfor promoting peace education in the SAARC region washighlighted. The members suggested that a region-wisepool of 8-10 people may be formed, who could monitor thework in the region. The need for research on conflicts inthe SAARC region was pointed out. The members were ofthe opinion that sharing and dissemination of informationis required about what has already been done. This wouldinvolve advocacy, development of database on existingmaterials, initiatives, translation of existing materials, casestudies on nature and location of conflicts, etc. Thesuggestions included exchange of resource persons/socialscientists and organising an India Chapter on the trainingof teachers/development of reading materials/anthologies etc.

Science Talk

CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY

National Science Day is observed every year on 28 Februaryto mark the novel discovery of the Raman Effect by thegreat Indian physicist Sir C.V. Raman.

It offers an opportunity to bring issues of science on tocentre stage. Its basic objective is to spread the message ofthe importance of science and its applications amongthe people.

This year’s theme for National Science Day celebrationswas ‘More Crop per Drop’. The theme’s focus was on effortsto build an eco-water-literate society that valued water. It

LIFE ETERNAL THROUGHLEARNING

The intertwined Hansassymbolise the integration of three

aspects of the work of theNational Council of EducationalResearch and Training (NCERT):(i) Research and Development,(ii) Training, and (iii) Extension.

The design has been adapted from anAshokan period relic of the third

century B.C. found in excavationsnear Maske in the Raichur district

of Karnataka.

The motto has been taken from theIsavasya Upanishad and means

life eternal through learning.

2 NCERT NEWS/April-2007

advocated the optimum use of water in allaspects of human activity and waterconservation by all means.

The Department of Education in Science andMathematics, NCERT, on this occasionarranged for a popular lecture – ‘Making EachDrop Count’ by Dr. A.K. Singh, Project Director,Water Technology Centre, Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute, New Delhi.

During his deliberations, Dr. A.K. Singhmentioned that India has the largest irrigatedarea in the world having productivity around2.5 tonne per hectare (t/ha). This productivitycan be raised to 4 t/ha with proper managementof inputs, especially soil and water. Dr. Singhalso discussed methods of reusing and recyclingof waste-water for irrigation without adetrimental effect on crops and the soil, whichis another aspect that needs to be tackled in asystematic manner, in addition to themanagement of the poor quality of groundwater.

This lecture was attended by several facultymembers of NIE, school teachers from NavyugSchool, Cambridge School, Army Public School,St. Mary’s School and Apeejay School.

To celebrate this day NERIE organised ameeting under the chairpersonship of Prof. D.SBhattacharjee, Principal, NERIE. Scienceteachers from different states of the North-Eastincluding faculty members of NERIE werepresent. In keeping with the theme ‘More Cropper Drop’, Prof. M.K. Satapathy (HeadDESM&ICT) delivered a lecture on ‘SustainableAgriculture: Water Conservation and CropProductivity’.

WORKSHOP ON SCIENCE MAGAZINE

A four-day workshop was held from 28 to 31March 2007 at NERIE, Shillong.

Ten writers from different states of North-East attended the workshop. Experts from thestates of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh andTamil Nadu had earlier contributed througharticles. A total of 30 articles were identified indifferent areas like conservation of water andenergy, flora and fauna of North-East India,pollution, global warming, health and nutrition,aquatic world, disaster management, scientistsof India, scientific invention and discoveries,medicinal science, oceanography, informationand technology, evolution and existence, planets

in the solar system, forestry in human life etc. Adraft manuscript of the identified articles wereprepared. The programme was jointlycoordinated by Dr. B. Devi (DCDEVE) andDr. Daksha M. Parmar.

JNNSEC-2006 EXHIBITS WIN PRIZES IN

CHILDREN SCIENCE CONGRESS-2007

Twenty best exhibits selected from the JawaharlalNehru National Science Exhibition for Children-2006 held at Pune during 23-26 November 2006were displayed in the Children Science Congress-2007 organised together with the 94th IndianScience Congress Association Meeting held atAnnamalai University, Chidambaram, TamilNadu, during 3-7 January 2007. Followingexhibits of JNNSEC-2006 received Certificates ofMerit and cash prizes in this Congress.

1. A SIMPLE LOW COST HIGH POTENTIAL

MULTIPURPOSE IRRIGATION PROJECT FOR REMOTE

RURAL AREAS

Name of the School : Kupwara PublicSchool, SogamRoad, Kupwara

Name of the Student : Mr. Bilal RashiKhan

Name of the Teacher : Mr. DipyenduMesuaa

2. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE LUNGS

Name of the School : PuranchandraVidyaniketan,Hemant Vihar,Kanpur

Name of the Student : Ms. Medha MishraName of the Teacher : Mrs. Sushma

Jaiswal

NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

The National Steering Committee deliberated onvarious activities initiated by NCERT for thedissemination of NCF-2005 during the one-daymeeting held on 16 March 2007 at NCERT, NewDelhi. The committee reflected on the progressof review process. It also deliberated on theshorter version of NCF-2005 (draft). Recognisingthe multiple initiatives of various departmentsof NCERT and also the effort of States/UTs inthe dissemination of NCF, the committee offeredconstructive suggestions for wider participationacross the country.

3NCERT NEWS/April-2007

Language and Beyondeducation to children with hearing impairment.Prof. D.S. Bhattacharjee, Principal, NERIE, inhis speech stated that such a programmeshould be carried forward in all the states of theentire North Eastern region. Prof. U. Konwarhighlighted the significant themes of InclusiveEducation according to the NCF-2005.Mr. Carmo Norohna also discussed issues ofInclusive Education and emphasised on theRight to Education for All.

Sr. Merley cited pathological causes andconsequences of hearing loss in learningdevelopment. She also familiarised theparticipants on classroom procedures inhandling deaf students in the classroom anddiscussed mainstreaming deaf education. Theprogramme coordinator presented the History ofDeaf Education in the country and the researchescarried out so far. Dr. S. Devi discussed theimportance of first language in learning thesecond language, in this case sign language beingthe first language of the hearing impaired. Therest of the programme was carried out by thehearing impaired resource persons andinterpreters. The resource persons talked aboutthe basic Indian sign language known as ‘A-level’.Four units of this course were completed. In thisprogramme, a discussion was also maderegarding the variations of sign language in theNorth Eastern region in comparison tomainstream India. The feedback from theparticipants received was that some sort of aresearch-cum-workshop programme regardingDeaf Education is still necessary in the NE region.

ORIENTATION PROGRAMME ON MULTILINGUAL

EDUCATION

Orientation Programme of State KeyFunctionaries in North-East States in promotingMultilingual Education as Resources of Child’sCognitive Development and National Harmonywas held at Don Bosco Youth Centre during 12–16 March 2007. Twelve participants fromManipur, Assam, Mizoram and Meghalayaparticipated. Prof. A.K. Mohanty, J.N.U., Delhi,focused on the importance of multilingualeducation and mother tongue for the cognitivedevelopment of the child. Prof. Ch. Yawanta,

TEACHING OF ENGLISH AT THE SECONDARY STAGE

An Orientation Programme of Key ResourcePersons of North-East States in Teaching ofEnglish at Secondary Stage was held at DonBosco Youth Centre, Shillong during 5–9 March2007. Nine participants from various DIETs/SCERTs of the North-East attended theprogramme. Prof. A.K. Mishra highlighted thesignificant themes on language educationaccording to the NCF-2005. Dr. P. Barua fromGuwahati University discussed in detail themethods of English language teaching.Dr. J. Chatterjee, CIEFL, Shillong and Dr. T.K.Bamon emphasised on reading and listeningskills. The latter also discussed the psycho-social aspect of teaching and learning secondlanguage. Dr. P. Thungam, NEHU, Shillongbrought out an innovative method of teachinglanguages through dramatisation method.Participants were asked to enact theirperformance based on a topic chosen by them.Ms Mellisa Wallang (DLSSAPE) was thecoordinator of the programme.

SIGN LANGUAGE FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED

When it comes to disability, it is all aboutchanging our attitude towards the disabled...

An Orientation Programme for SpecialEducation was organised at St. Francis Mount,Umbir during 19–23 March 2007.

There were 43 participants from all NorthEastern regions. The resource persons were:Mr. Bikramjit, AYNNIH, Mumbai; Ms. SonaChoudhury, S&CHH, Shillong; Mr. CarmoNorohna, Director, Bethany Society, Shillong;Sr. Merley Tom, Director, Ferrando Speech andHearing Centre, Shillong; Prof. U. Konwar, NE-RIE; and other faculty members of NERIE. Therewere two interpreters for sign language; Sr. SiniAntoney, Ferrando Speech and Hearing Centre,and Ms Kathleen from USA working at Ferrando.The programme was inaugurated by theMinister of Higher and Technical EducationMr. R.G. Lyngdoh. In his speech, Mr. Lyngdohlauded the efforts of NERIE for organising theprogramme which, he is confident, wouldenhance the methodology in imparting


Manipur University, talked abut linguisticapproaches and methods to tackle the situationof MLE. Dr. S. Lamare, St. Edmunds College,Shillong, focused on the importance of

developing MLE in India especially in the North-East. Dr. R.K. Brajananda, Human RightConsultant, talked about the rights of childrenand minorities and cited numerous examplesfrom the North-East. Prof. A.K. Mishra,DLSSAPE-NERIE, discussed on constructivismand the National Curriculum Framework 2005in relation to language education, while Dr. S.C.Roy, DLSSAPE, spoke on TLM. Participantswere asked to elaborate on specific stateproblems and suggestions were offered throughan interactive process. Dr. Ch. Sarajubala Deviwas the coordinator of the programme.

MANUAL FOR BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN HOME

LANGUAGE AND SCHOOL LANGUAGE

A four-day workshop was organised to developthe manual at the elementary stage at NERIE-Shillong, during 26–29 March 2007. Resourcepersons included faculty members fromShillong College, Mother Angelis School, Tura,DIET, Sohra, the Principal of Upper PrimaryGovernment School, Jayantia Hills, Shillong andProf. M.S. Ningomba from Manipur. Internalresource persons included Prof. A.K. Mishra,DLSSAPE; Ms Mellissa Wallang, Dr. Ch.Sarajubala Devi, DLSSAPE; Mr. Bijoykumar,DCDEVE and two JPFs from NERIE. Theresource persons analysed the textbooks(English) used by the Meghalaya Board, listedvocabularies and glossed in Khasi and Garo.They also analysed grammatical structuresincluded in the lesson. The coordinators will tryout the manual in some selected schools ofMeghalya before finalising the manual.

RESOURCE MATERIALS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH

LANGUAGE IN NORTH-EAST

A four-day workshop was held to developresource materials for the elementary stage, atthe North East Regional Language Centre,Guwahati, from 5–8 February 2007. Theworkshop was attended by sixteen mastertrainers belonging to DIETs/SCERTs of Assam,Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and someteachers from Assam. Prof. A.K. Mishra andDr. Sima Saigal, DLSSAPE were the coordinators.

Guidance and Counselling

CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME

A programme was organised from 14–16 March2007 at NIE campus, NCERT, New Delhi to(i) enable the key personnel in guidance andcounselling perform leadership, support andsupervisory functions for strengtheningguidance activities in their states, (ii) providethem a common platform for sharing theirexperiences with respect to implementation ofthe guidance programme. Fifteen participantsincluding Directors, Assistant Directors of Statelevel guidance agencies/SIEs/SCERTs, Dist.counsellors, counsellors incharge and other KPRin guidance and counselling attended theprogramme. The participants were from eight

northern states including Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Bihar, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi,and Rajasthan. They were exposed to differentareas of guidance and counselling with referenceto NCF 2005, an overview of guidance andcounselling services in the country, effectiveguidance practices in participating states,current issues such as academic stress, careerinformation, child sex abuse, disastermanagement and HIV/AIDS addressed bygovernment and non-government organisationsand the counselling skills/practices. Lateraction plans were prepared by the participantssuitable for their respecture statesfor implementation.


DIPLOMA COURSE IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

The Department of Educational Psychology andFoundations of Education, NCERT, New Delhioffered a six months Diploma course forteachers, teacher educators, and untrainedguidance personnel from the State EducationDepartments within the country as well as inthe SAARC and other Asian countries. Thecourse was based on ‘Teacher as a Counsellor’-model as teachers have a special role to play tocounsel and guide students. However, they needprofessional orientation and training. The courseaims to empower teachers to be a guide and amentor rather than only an expert. It is expectedto bring about changes in the attitudes andperceptions of teachers and their ways ofinteracting with students. This year the coursewas offered from 12 September 2006 to 12March 2007. Thirty-six teachers attended the

course of which seven were deputed by theGovernment of Bhutan, five by the Governmentof Sri Lanka and twenty-four from other partsof the country.

The course consisted of core components inguidance and counselling processes andprocedures, major principles and perspectivesof human adjustment and career development,their application in counselling, psychologicalassessment and appraisal, and the use of careerinformation in guidance and counsellingpractices. Guest lectures and workshops oninculcating counselling skills were also arrangedby way of enrichment in the course content. Thetrainees were taken to field trips and on aneducational tour to Mumbai where they visiteda number of professional organisations.Culturalmeets were organised to encourage the sharingof experiences amongst different countries.

Women’s StudiesREPRESENTING INDIAN WOMEN 1875-1947A VISUAL DOCUMENTARY

The Department of Women’s Studies, NCERT,in collaboration with the Centre for Women’sDevelopment Studies and RIE, Mysore organisedan exhibition at RIE whose focus was onunderlying narrative of representing ‘IndianWomen 1875-1947 – A Visual Documentary’which covered over 250 visuals. The archivalphotographs based on the theme were not onlya visual treat but helped in understanding thecountry’s multifaceted history.

RARE PHOTOGRAPHS ON

• Visualising the family• The learning experience• The worlds beyond• The national movement• Towards the Midnight Hour

There were four panels on specific women–noted social reformer, Pandita Ramabai, two earlywomen photographers – Debaleena Mazumdar andAnnapurna Dutta, a pioneering doctor, DwarkabaiKamlabar and school teacher, Sarah Massey.

The exhibition was inaugurated byProf. Rameswari Varma, member of the focusgroup on ‘Gender Issues in Education’ and theChief Guest was Shri T.S. Satyan, photographer.

DECLINING SEX RATIO (FEMALE FOETICIDE)CONCERNS AND STRATEGIES

The Department of Women’s Studies, NCERTorganised a three-day National Consultationon Declining Sex Ratio (Female Foeticide) –Concerns and Strategies, at the NIE Campusfrom 28 February to 2 March 2007 in which52 social scientists, educationists, doctors,policy planners and administrators, mediapersons, advocates, religious leaders, NGOsand activists deliberated on varied perspectivesof female foeticide.

FOCUS ON

• Female Foeticide – Key Factors in DecliningSex: A Critical Analysis

• The Legal Angle: Acts and Gaps andSuggested Action Points

• The Medical Angle: Ethics, Reality andIntervention Strategies

• The Social Angle: Efforts, Interventions andFuturistic Strategies

• The Education Angle: Reality and Possibility• Role of Media: A Critical Analysis and

Possible Interventions• The Political Angle: Interventions and

Commitments• The Religious Angle: Facts and Acts


A brain storming session was also held toidentify the future course of action.

ACTION POINTS THAT EMERGED FROM THE CONSULTATION

Need to form a consortium for preventingincidences of female foeticide by involvingpersons from different dimensions of thisproblem to carry the issue forward and takesuitable actions and debate on differentreligions from the gender perspective with aview to critically analyse what they preach.• The government should set targets for

correcting the declining child sex ratio.• The sex ratio at birth and gender

differentials in infant mortality rate(IMR)should be included as health andgender parity indicators.

• Auditing of ultra sound clinics (sonographiccentres) has also been recommended.

• The government should ensure that privateas well as government channels allocatesome time for telecasting relevant messages/programmes.

Professor Poonam Agrawal participated ina two-day (16-17 March 2007) NationalSeminar Seminar on ‘Female Infanticide :Contemporary Scenario, Issues and Challenges’and presented a paper on ‘Female Foeticide – aCritical Assessment of the Problem and theProbable Corrective Measures’ organised by theCentre for Women’s Studies and Development,Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. ProfessorAgrawal also participated in a National Seminaron ‘Women’s Studies in 21st Century-VariousParadigms’ from 27–28 March 2007, organised

by the Centre for Women’s Studies andDevelopment, Banaras Hindu University, andpresented a paper on ‘Making WomenLinguistically Visible’. She also chaired one session.

Book Shelf

ARTS EDUCATION

A Resource Book for Teachers (Class IX) has beenbrought out by the Council recently, which is meantfor the teachers of arts at secondary stage. The bookfocuses on concepts of visual and performing artsto be learnt by students in Class IX.

UNITS OF THE RESOURCE BOOK

• Unit I on visual arts.• Unit II on Indian music, both vocal and

instrumental.• Unit III on theatre arts.• Unit IV relates to the origin of dance in India,

theory and techniques common to Indiandance forms etc.

• Unit V of the resource book has beendeveloped to make the teachers more awareso that they can disseminate thisinformation among the students.

There are certain areas of arts which will bedealt with in the resource book for Class X. Thisresource book for the arts teachers gives someguidelines and expects the teachers to expandthese ideas with their professional skills andteaching experience by utilising availableresources.

LibraryA Meeting of Senior Library Professionals fromour constituent libraries at five RegionalInstitutes of Education at Ajmer, Bhopal,Bhubneshwar, Mysore and Shillong; PanditSunderlal Sharma Central Institute ofVocational Education (PSSCIVE) at Bhopal;media libraries of Central Institute ofEducational Technology (CIET), New Delhi washeld at RIE, Mysore during 11–12 January 2007.

One of the objective of the meeting was howbest we can share our resources and the needfor taking appropriate steps to improve servicesin all the constituent libraries of NCERT. Theannual meeting of the professional staff of NIE

and its constituent libraries will help inexchanging views of mutual interest andstandardising the procedures and practices inall the Libraries. There is need to identify therole of Library Staff as knowledge managers.

Fourteen library professionals of NIE and itsconstituent libraries participated in the meeting.

FOCUS

• The meeting reviewed the progress made sofar on the National Resource Centre ofEducation (NRCE) and decided to activatethe implementation of all in-house activitiesof automation.


• It was agreed that for sharing e-resourcesNCERT consortium may be initiated.

• It was decided that all the libraries may planand design library website and link to DLDI.

• The academic role of the libraries was alsoemphasised and agreed that short-term in-service training programmes for Librarians/Incharge Librarians of SCERTs, SIEs andDIETs may be organised by DLDI and RIEs.

The detailed discussions on the importantissues related to modernisations of NIE and itsConstituent Libraries for sharing of resourcesthrough NCERT Consortium followed bypresentation /demo of LibSys, Informatics IndiaLtd., Techfocuz, and Global Information SystemPvt. Ltd. have updated their knowledge andenriched the professional skills of participants.

ORIENTATION PROGRAMME FOR LIBRARIANS OF

NORTH EASTERN REGION

The objective of the orientation-cum-inservicetraining to the Librarians/Incharge Librariansof SCERTs, SIEs and DIETs of North EasternRegion was to sharpen and up-date LISprofessional’s skill and knowledge and to equipparticipants with adequate practical knowledgeto develop model libraries using the latesttechnology within the limited resources. It wasalso to create a forum for interaction amonglibrary and information professionals and tokeep abreast of the latest developments in thefields of information science and related ITapplications.

Twenty-eight library professionals and para-professionals attended the five-day trainingprogramme.

TOPICS COVERED

Library Rules, Collection Development,Processing of Books, Maintenance andBinding of Periodicals, Organisation ofKnowledge such as classification, cataloguing,indexing, abstracting, and metadata, Designand Developing Instructional ProgrammesAppropriate to the Identified Needs of Users.

The participants were introduced tocomputer applications to libraries. Theory andpracticals were arranged on classification andcataloguing, developing a bibliographicdatabase using WINSIS. A visit to RDIC, NorthEastern Council Library was also arranged. The

methodology followed for the trainingprogramme was lectures by experts in field,presentation by participants, group work, andinteractive and participatory activities. Apackage consisting of twelve papers on thesubjects discussed in the training was given toeach participant as instructional material.

The participants evinced keen interest in thelibrary and information management techniquesand took active part in practical exercises inlibrary classification and cataloguing. Theywere very much interested in learning thecomputer basics and library software forcreating standard catalogue records for thebooks. They felt confident and better equippedto manage libraries and provide better servicesto the users. They evaluated the programme ashighly useful.

CAPACITY BUILDING OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS TO

MODERNISE SCHOOL LIBRARIES

The first Activity Planning Meeting of the ExpertGroup inviting regional coordinators beforeconducting five days training programme on‘Capacity Building of School Librarians toModernise School Libraries’ at RIEs was heldfrom 7 to 8 March 2007 at DLDI, NCERT.

The objective of the meeting was identificationof the target group for the programme, needassessment of the target group throughsurvery, designing of the questionnaire anddiscussion on the topics to be included in thetraining programme.

In this meeting the target group for theprogramme was identified and the topics fordifferent modules of the course material werefinalised.

DERPP SEMINAR ON ACTION RESEARCH

A three-day State Level Seminar on ActionResearch was organised in collaboration withSCERT, Assam and SSA, Assam from 30 Marchto 1 April 2007, at Guwahati. In this Seminar30 field practitioners including primary schoolteachers from three districts of Assam besides afew DIET and SCERT faculty shared theirfindings of action research. These actionresearches were completed under NCERT’scapacity building project and were read out in


Boro, Assamesse, Bengali and English. TheSeminar was a culmination of a two-year projectthat the Department of Educational Researchand Policy Perspectives (DERPP) of NCERT tookup as a capacity building initiative in actionresearch among elementary school teachers andother field functionaries of Assam. Inspired bythe success of the project, the Department, incollaboration with MSCERT, Pune, has takenup a similar capacity building project in actionresearch among elementary school practitionersof Maharashtra.

NCERT DoctoralFellowshipsNCERT has invited applications for the awardof 10 NCERT Doctoral Fellowships in the fieldof education and other disciplines directlyrelated to education. The fellowships areintended for young aspirants to pursuedoctoral work in a recognised university orresearch institution. The fellowships will begiven in the priority areas emerging from theconcerns expressed in the NationalCurriculum Framework 2005. These areEducation of the Disadvantaged, ClassroomProcesses and Practices, Curricular Areas,Education for Peace and PsychologicalDevelopment of Children.

The fellows selected will receive afellowship of Rs 8,000 per month andRs 10,000 as annual contingency grant for amaximum period of 3 years. An informationbrochure with the application format has beendeveloped and the same is available onNCERT’s website.

Achievements• BHARTIYA CHHAPACHITRA KALA

AADI SE AADHUNIK KAL TAK –Dr. Sunil Kumar has beenawarded National Award(Second Prize) by the All IndiaCouncil of TechnicalEducation, MHRD, New Delhi for his book‘Bhartiya Chhapachitra Kala Aadi seAadhunik Kal Tak’ under TechnicalTextbook Award 2005-2006 category.

• AWARD – Smt. Rekha Agarwal has beenawarded the National Award forOutstanding Effort in Science &Technology Communication throughBooks and Magazines for the year 2006.The award consists of a cash prize ofRs 1,00,000 as part of National ScienceDay Celebration. The award is for hercontribution as a science writer, columnist,broadcaster and litterateur.

• SOUNDS OF SILENCE – A book publishedby Shri Meganathan, Lecturer is acollection of poems written over a decadeon people, events and happenings thatstirred his life and thoughts. Throughforty-one poems on varied themes fromnature to education, politics, love, pains,this book attempts to provoke readers tocontemplate on the ideas and themes itpresents. Some of the poems have beenpublished by leading magazines andjournals. The title of the book bears thetitle of one of the poems. The book has beenreviewed by literary journals, magazinesand newspapers.

Resource Support Initiative for Research within NCERT

Promotion of educational research and researchbased policy perspectives for qualitativeimprovement in school education are importantconcerns of NCERT. This concern has to beaddressed by the NCERT faculty throughconduct of need-based researches on a regularbasis. This, therefore, requires the youngercolleagues to rise to the occasion and giveattention to research activities within NCERT.With this objective the Department of EducationalResearch and Policy Perspectives organised a

five-day orientation programme for creatingand nurturing a culture of research throughcapacity building of new faculty members ofNCERT. The programme was held at RIEMysore from 16-20 January 2007 and wasattended by 27 NCERT faculty membersdrawn from different constituent units. Aseminar is proposed to be organised towardsthe end of 2007-08 for sharing of experiencesafter the participants carry out research asa follow up.


Abstracts and Publications

CHANGE IN CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE IN

LEARNING REFLECTION AND REFRACTION

THROUGH CONCEPT MAPPING

This experimental study was conducted at RIEAjmer during 2005-2006. The paper based onthe findings of the above study was presentedby Dr. Shashi Prabha at Indian ScienceCongress Association in January 2007at Chidambaram.

In recent times, Concept Mapping hasemerged as a powerful tool in science educationresearch in the domain of understandinglearners conceptual understanding (Good,Novak and Wandersee 1990, Markham, Mintzesand Jones 1994, Wandersee, Mintzes and Novak1994, Rye, Rubba 1998). The purpose of thepresent study is to investigate the change in theconceptual structures pertaining to reflectionand refraction of light through concept mappingat Class X level.

To achieve this goal randomisedexperimental group (43 students) and controlgroup (43 students) pretest to post-testexperimental design was applied. Scores ofachievement tests were taken as a measure ofconceptual change of the students. Box plotswere used to summarise the distribution ofachievement. ANOVA test done on the groupsprovided a support to the hypothesis that priorknowledge with the concepts of reflection andrefraction of light remaining same, studentssubjected to the treatment showed higherachievement as compared with the studentsexperiencing conventional teaching. Theprevious group found themselves betterequipped with the applications of the aboveconcepts. On the basis of these findings it isconcluded that Concept Mapping can be used

as one of the instructional strategies to bringthe intended conceptual change.

UNDERSTANDING THE SOCI-CULTURAL

EXPERIENCES OF PAHARI FOLK – Mily RoyAnand, Indian Folklore Research Journal, Vol.3Number 6.

Most generalisations about North Indian societyand culture are in reality generalisations aboutthe Indo-Gangetic plains. The CentralHimalayan region comprising Kumaon andGarhwal (now known as Uttaranchal) has largelybeen neglected or ignored due to lack ofinformation or indifference on the part ofscholars towards this region. From early times,geographical factors have played a key role inshaping the history and culture of this region.Another factor which contributed towards theculture of Uttaranchal is the waves of migrationto this region from the Gangetic plains, Punjaband Rajasthan particularly in the medievalperiod. The impact of these migrations can beseen in the religious and socio-cultural practicesof the people of Kumaon and Garhwal. This isparticularly evident in the rich folklore ofUttaranchal, which throws a vivid light on thesocial and cultural conditions of this region.

PUBLICATIONS OF NE-RIE FACULTY

• Dr. Tulika Dey, Lecturer, DEREDMpublished a research paper entitled‘Structure and Geochemistry of Metabasitesfrom Chandrapur-Narengi area of GuwahatiCity, Kamrup District, Assam’ in the Bulletinof the Indian Geologists Association Vol. 39(1,2) pp. 29-39. ISSN: 0379-5098.

• Published article ‘Joyful Learning’ in theSentinel Melange, Guwahati, Assam, VolXX1V, No. 14, p.1, 25 February 2007.

Briefs

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR PROMOTING RESEARCH

ACTIVITIES

A five-day programme on ‘Capacity Building forState and District Level Functionaries of N-EStates in Promoting Research Activities under

S.S.A’ was held at NERIE Shillong from 5 to 9March 2007. State and district levelfunctionaries of S.S.A from Assam, Manipur,Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagalandparticipated. Various aspects of research(focusing action research) such as need and


importance, types, identification of researchproblems, listing out of objectives, formulationof hypothesis, development of research tools,data collection and analysis, presentation ofdata and report writing were discussed, andexercised thoroughly through lecture followedby group presentation. The programme wasjointly coordinated by Dr. B. Devi (DCDEVE) andMr. T. Newmei (DEREDM).

PROMOTING EFFECTIVE READING AND WRITING

SKILLS AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL

An orientation programme for Key ResourcePersons of North East States was held at DonBosco Youth Centre, Shillong from 5–9 March2007. It was attended by twenty-six mastertrainers belonging to various DIETs/SCERTs ofAssam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram,Nagaland, Sikkim and some school teachers fromAssam and Meghalaya. The programme wascoordinated by Prof. A.K. Mishra, DLSSAPE.

FACULTY NEWS – NE-RIE

• Dr. Sarajubala Devi (DLSSAPE) and Mr.K.H. Bijoykumar (DCDEVE) attendedthe programme ‘Problems and thepossibilities of translation of scientific andtechnical terminologies in the easternlanguages of India ( Manipuri, Assamese,and Bodo)’, at State Central Library,Shillong from 18 to 20 February 2007.The programme was organised byCommission for Scientific and TechnicalTerminologies and Central Hindi Institute.

• Dr. N.C Ojha (DEREDM) participated in theUGC sponsored National Seminar on ‘Youthand reconstruction of the nation’ held atBarkatullah University, Bhopal, M.P from 11to 12 January 2007.

• Dr. A.C Borah (DESM&ICT) attendedworkshop on e-learning from 24 to 26February 2007, organised by Commonwealthof Learning and Central Institute ofEducation, Delhi University at CIE,Delhi University.

• Prof. A. K Mishra (DLSSAPE) attended aNational Workshop on ‘MultilingualEducation for Tribal Areas under SSA’organised by Department of SchoolEducation and Literacy, MHRD, Government

of India at New Delhi on 14 to 15 February,and made a presentation on ‘Scopefor multilingual education in NorthEastern States’.

• A five-day programme on ‘Orientation ofState Functionaries on Quality Education’was held from 26 to 30 March 2007 atNERIE-NCERT, Shillong. The programmewas attended by 23 DIET lecturers fromAssam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya.External resource persons wereMr. D.K Ryntathiang, Fr. P. D. Johny, Mr.Dilip Barua and Dr. V. Kharmawphlang.Internal resource persons included Prof J.P.Bagchi, Dr. N.C. Ojha, Dr. F.G. Dkhar(DEREDM) and Dr. S.C. Roy (DLSSAPE). Theprogramme was jointly coordinated by Dr.F.G. Dkhar and Prof. J.P. Bagchi.

• A five-day ‘Workshop-cum-Training onTextbook Writing for Potential TextbookWriters’ was held at Agartala (Tripura) from12 to 16 March 2007. The main objectiveof the programme was to provide necessaryknowledge and skills to produce qualitytextbooks. Twenty-two participants fromdifferent DIETs and SCERTs of Tripura,Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipurattended the workshop. Dr. N.C Ojha andProf. J.P Bagchi (DEREDM) jointlycoordinated the programme.

• A five-day training programme entitled‘Training of Key Resource Persons inUnderstanding and use of EducationTechnology’ was held at Guwahati from 19to 23 March 2007. Ten DIET faculties fromArunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram,Meghalaya and Assam and six schoolteachers from Assam attended theprogramme. The external resourcepersons for the programme wereProf. P.K Bhattacharjee, CIET, NCERT, Mr.Dharani Saikia, Centre for EnvironmentEducation (CEE) Guwahati, Dr. HrishikeshBaruah, Arya Vidyapeth College, Guwahatiand Mr. K.K. Deka, MI&B, Guwahati.Internal resource persons were Dr. T. Dey,Prof. J.P. Bagchi, Dr. N.C. Ojha (DEREDM)and Dr. A.K. Garg (DESM&ICT). Theprogramme achieved its objective infamiliarising the KRPs with the idea andlogic behind implementation of Education


Technology in schools. Extensivediscussions and hands-on-experiences weregiven to the participants in the field ofscience, mathematics and social sciences. Dr.Tulika Dey and Prof. J.P. Bagchi (DEREDM)jointly coordinated the programme.

• A training programme entitled ‘Workshopcum Training Programme on EnvironmentalEducation as Disaster Management forElementary Teacher Educators of NorthEastern States’ was held at Kaliabor-Assamin March 2007. Prof. M.K Satpathy(DESM&ICT) was the coordinator of theprogramme.

• A four-day workshop on ‘Development ofLocal Specific Materials to SupplementTeaching-Learning of History at SecondaryStage in the North-Eastern States’ wasorganised at NERIE-NCERT, Shillong from21 to 24 March 2007. The workshopdiscussed on materials, strategies andmethodology to be incorporated inpreparation of the teachers handbook, wheresnippets of North East history will beintegrated with national and globaldevelopments as included in the main text.Twelve resource persons from theuniversities of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur,Tripura and Meghalaya attended theworkshop, along with some college lecturersand school teachers. The programme wascoordinated by Dr. Sima Saigal (DLSSAPE).

ORIENTATION OF TEACHER EDUCATORS ON

NCF-2005 THROUGH EDUSAT NETWORK

Curriculum Group organised an orientationprogramme on NCF-2005 for teacher educatorsthrough EDUSAT network from 18 January to9 February 2007. Approximately 4,000elementary and secondary level teachereducators from Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh,Chattishgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchaland West Bengal participated in the programme.

Altogether 59 experts drawn from the facultyof NCERT, National Streering Committee andNational Focus Groups interacted with theparticipants. The experts delved deep intospecifics of recommendations and key ideas

related to curricular areas, national concernsand systemic reforms during the interactionsessions. Participants’ queries and reflectiveinteractions indicated their curiosity to knowmore about NCF-2005.

FOREIGN DELEGATIONS

• A six-member Chinese delegation visitedNCERT on 2 February 2007 to learn aboutthe Indian school system and forestablishing future cooperation with Indianeducational organisations. The delegationexchanged information about the educationsystems in the two countries.

• A high level six-member South Africandelegation visited the NCERT on 15 February2007. The delegation interacted with theNCERT faculty in specific areas viz., ruraleducation, district management andadministration and education inmathematics, science and technology.

• A three-member Tanzanian delegationvisited NCERT on 22 February 2007 andhad detailed interaction particularly onprimary education.

Staff NewsSUPERANNUATIONS

• Shri Sat Ram, Senior Helper retired on28-02-07.

• Shri Prakash Singh, Security Guard retiredon 28-02-07.

• Smt. Harbheji, Safaiwali retired on28-02-07.

• Shri Rattan Singh, Packer retired on31-03-07.

APPOINTMENTS

• Shri Amitabh Kumar has been appointed asMarketing Executive in PublicationDepartment on 26-12-06.

• Shri Raj Kumar, Peon, has been appointedas Junior Accoutant on 08-02-07.

OBITUARY

NCERT condoles the death of Shri Ram Kumar,Safwaiwala who passed away on 27-02-07.


Thursday Lecture ForumThe following lectures were organised by DERPPunder the Thursday Lecture Series.

• “Review of Primary Education in England” byProf. Robin Alexander, University of Cambridge,UK on 25 January 2007.

• “Research in the Integration of Technology inEducation” by Prof. M.A. Siddiqui, JMI,New Delhi on 8 February 2007.

• “Inclusive Education for the Future” byProf. Dipak Lahiri, Council of Schools,Stockholm, Sweden on 15 February 2007.

• “Educating Children at High Altitudes” byMs. Gargi Banerji, Director, Ritika Project on22 Feburary 2007.

• “ The Reflective Teacher-Organisation of In-Service Training of the Teachers” byProf. D.D. Yadav, DTEE, NCERT, New Delhi on1 March 2007.

• “Relevance of Gandhi in Today’s Education” byProf. C.V.Venugopal (Retd.), KarnatakaUniversity, Dharwad on 22 March 2007.

SLOGAN FOR POSTER SERIES

NCERT plans to develop an education based posterseries. The NCERT faculty and staff are invited tocontribute slogans for the same. A committeewould then select appropriate slogans and usethem for these posters. The themes can focus onretaining children in schools, encouraging literacy,gender sensitivity among school children, activitybased learning, multi-lingualism, integration ofarts and cultural traditions into education,learning among children with special needs, etc.

The slogans may be sent to Dr. Jyotsna Tiwari,Department of Education in Arts and Aesthetics(DEAA), NCERT, New Delhi.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A CONTEST.

Publication TeamP. Rajakumar Shabnam Sinha

Shveta Uppal Meenakshi Khar

Arun Chitkara Design: Kalyan Banerjee

Website : www.ncert.nic.in, E-mail: [email protected]

Published at the Publication Department by the Secretary,National Council of Educational Research and Training,Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016. Lasertypeset in-house and printed at Gita Offset Printers, C-90, OkhlaIndustrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi 110 020.

Back MarginForty years ago, the Kothari Commission hadimagined that universities would some daydevelop a sense of responsibility towards schooleducation.

In its legendary report, the Commission hadrecommended that universities should regularlyprovide in-service training to teachers ofelementary and secondary schools. Hardlyanyone remembers this recommendation today.

During the long summer break the vastcampuses of universities and colleges bear adesolate look. After the examination is over inApril, these campuses go to sleep in lockedrooms, symptomising a vast wastage ofinfrastructure and other resources.

The more industrious among universityfaculty find summer assignments in universitiesoverseas. During the summer break, Americanand European universities run courses for peoplewho cannot study in regular programmes. Manyof these summer students are school teachers andcitizens employed in different walks of life.Campuses are abuzz with activity, and librariesare thrown open to the summer crowd of part-time, adult students.

If Kothari’s recomendation is resurrectedtoday, the first step would be to give a summerticket for college and university libraries to schoolteachers. The city of Delhi alone would suddenlyhave about eighty libraries to offer to its schoolteachers. For them, it would be a rare chance tosee books, journals and magazines. And ifcolleges decided to offer summer courses forprimary and secondary teachers, the age-oldcomplaint that university teachers make wouldbecome unnecessary. The complaint is thatgraduate students don't have skills andknowledge that school children were expected tohave once upon a time.

Such nostalgic thoughts add to the cynicismand inertia we see all around us. If institutionsof higher education take an active interest inupdating school teachers, the quality of highereducation will greatly improve within a fewyears. Professor Gopal Guru, who chairedNCERT’s National Focus Group on the teachingof social sciences, made this point when someoneasked him why he was spending so much timeon matters pertaining to school education. Hesaid that his efforts will improve the quality ofhis own post-graduate students in a few years.

KRISHNA KUMAR

strategies for promoting peace education among … hemant vihar, kanpur name of the student : ms....

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