MYSORE: With the tabling of the Right to Education Bill, an NGO is planning to educate the school dropouts.
The Education Movement Cell, which was working in Mangalore, has extended its activities to Mysore where it is focusing on dropouts from primary schools. NGO president M T Mustaq Ahmed said they visited the areas where the dropout rate is high and identified 40 students who will be imparted education at a private school. They will take SSLC exams next year, he told reporters.
NGO secretary Tanveer Ahmed said they have scanned the dropout list available with the schools and have visited the areas from where the students come from. "We talked to their parents and made them see the reason to send them to schools," he stated. Earlier many students who took to education this way have now graduated, he stated.
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Civic body ‘takes it easy’ on RTI applications
LUDHIANA: The officials of municipal corporation continue to show laxity in extending replies to queries submitted under Right to Information Act. During the year 2009-10, of 752 letters received under RTI, MC provided information to only 416 applicants. As many as 336 are still under scrutiny. The civic body has even failed to submit replies sought the state information commission in as many as 23 cases, due to which it has even been penalized.
As the financial year drew to a close, officials were seen trying to finish as much work as possible. According to information, of 336 pending cases, the time limit of extending replies to 145 cases has already lapsed.
The state information commission also imposed heavy penalty over RTI in-charge of the civic body, K P Singh, said, ‘‘We have disposed of as many cases as possible.’’ The alleged casual approach being adopted by MC in dealing with the applications under RTI Act had also proved dear to it. For instance, in one case, state information commissioner Surinder Singh had asked it to hand over a compensation of Rs 5,000 to an appellant on October 20, 2009 for delaying information.
Similarly, on May 6, 2009, Punjab Information Commission imposed a penalty of Rs 22,500 on three municipal corporation officers for their failure to provide information under RTI Act within the prescribed period of 30 days to NGO, Anti-corruption and Crime Investigation Cell. In another case, a penalty of Rs 10,000 was slapped on legal adviser-cum-PIO of MC Kanwaljit Singh Kahlon and a fine of Rs 2,500 on the then joint commissioner-cum-PIO Devinder Singh for failing to provide information to an NGO, Resurgence India.
A penalty of Rs 10,000 was imposed then executive engineer, zone C, HS Khosa for denial of information on the pretext of third party information. In this case, the information was sought in August 2008 about matters concerning metalling of Gill Road.
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Founded in 2007, it's finally Sambhav'
JAIPUR: It was Sambhav' (possible) in 2007. After a lot of effort, the Sambhav special School for autism, which began with just two children and two teachers, has now 40 students on its roll and is the only such school in the state.
Aarti Tiwari, Sambhav's owner, initiated this venture while she was working with an NGO for special children. "I was with a school for special children and multi-disability and had an opportunity to work autistic kids. It was then, I thought that autistic children required separate schools," said Tiwari. The school is located in Nirman Nagar.
Tiwari, who possesses a diploma in autism, says the school has kids from between two-and-a-half years and 14 years. The school has three sections. Kids between two and seven years of age are trained with their mothers in the first section. The second section caters to children between seven and 14 years of age. In this section, kids are taught to be self-dependent. The third section looks after the academic needs of the children.
"We are integrated with mainstream schools and if a child has recoveredl, he/she is admitted to those schools. In fact, one of our students has entered a mainstream school last year and is doing exceptionally well." said Tiwari.
She adds, "We not only deal with just autism-specific cases but also those who have other problems clubbed with autism. There are kids with down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, vision disorders, epilepsy etc. with traits of autism."
Though autistic kids may look absolutely normal, their behaviour and lack of socialisation make it harder for society to accept them. The lack of communication skills and restricted behaviour leaves them alone.
We need to be patient while dealing with them. We get volunteers who come up for internships but they are not able to work with the special kids as they are not fully aware of autism and fail to understand these kids. There are times when even parents want to give up."
Shilpa Singh, mother of an autistic child, says, "Though there are behaviour issues at times, but training definitely makes a difference. My son is getting better and his adaptability to changes after training has increased."
Tiwari said "We should have seminars and lectures related to autism. Drama and street plays are a good medium to spread awareness. Also the government needs to take an initiative and recognise autism as a separate ailment."
Tiwari, who runs the school with her sister Hema, is completely committed to the cause.
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Campaign against child abuse launched in Dubai
A campaign was launched here to highlight the issue of child abuse, WAM news agency reported.
The month-long 'Protect Childhood Campaign' was unveiled Wednesday by the NGO Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC).
The NGO stressed the importance of maintaining vigilance to protect children from various abuses, including sexual assault.
The awareness campaign each week will be conducted at different venues, such as Dubai Mall, Children's City, Al Ghurair Centre and Arabian Centre.
Afra Al Basti, CEO of DFWAC, said: 'Children are extremely vulnerable, as their innocence and immaturity means that they are not equipped with the skills to deal with or recognise danger from those who would harm them.'
'It is important to educate adults about violation against children so that they can spot warning signs in advance. The subject is one that we need to face up rather than shy away if we are to protect our children properly,' she added.
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Ex-police officer starts NGO to provide spiritual training
PUNE: From enforcing the law to helping people connect spiritually is a big leap. Raj Khilnani, additional director general of police, railways, took this very step when he launched the NGO Heart Quest or Dil Ka Prayas on February 25.
"The NGO is an avenue open to all to reach their inner selves," Khilnani, who visited Pune on Tuesday, said. "It is aimed at inviting suggestions and ideas from people across society on how they can connect with God, become spiritually inclined and find ways to overcome the social categorisation that exists in our country."
The idea is to provide spiritual training to people in new and novel formats, stated Khilnani, who has been in the police force for over three decades.
Looking for unity amidst diversity, promoting peace and resolution of conflicts, adopting villages for integrated rural development, reducing the psychological divide between the rich and the poor, upholding human rights, helping victims of crime, accident and self-abuse and reformation and rehabilitation of criminals are some of the many objectives of Heart Quest.
Khilnani has been globetrotting to spread the word about his initiative. Besides Pune, he has so far visited Raipur, Nagpur, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Palo Alto and parts of Germany. "I will be announcing this initiative in Mumbai as well as the other metros in India. We intend to create a think tank that can come up with practical solutions to personal and societal problems. Volunteers are most welcome to join us in this effort," he said.
Joining him in this endeavour is Larry Thrasher, founder of World Sisters United, an NGO that empowers women in rural Maharashtra and the Philippines by training them in making community videos. "I'm training these women in using the camera so they can tell stories about themselves, their problems, communities and villages. It's a way of making them independent and strong. And we are joining hands with Heart Quest to chip in for the initiative," Thrasher, a former music producer,
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