Education Reforms

Context: UPSC Mains GS III Education (Prelims Mains Interview)

• The Directorate of Education has issued a circular asking school to follow the new ‘School Bag Policy, 2020’ released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• According to the circular, schoolteachers should inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day and frequently check their bags to ensure that they are not carrying unnecessary material.
• The weight of the school bags, as per the policy, should be 1.6 to 2.2 kg for students of Classes I and II, 1.7 to 2.5 kg for Classes III, IV and V, 2 to 3 kg for Classes VI and VII, 2.5 to 4 kg for Class VIII, 2.5 to 4.5 kg for Classes IX and X and 3.5 to 5 kg for Classes XI and XII.
• It adds that the teachers should take the responsibility of checking the weight of school bags of the students every three months on a day selected for the whole class and any information about heavy bags should be communicated to the parents.
• To reduce the weight of the school bag, the circular says that it is the duty and the responsibility of the school management to provide quality potable water in sufficient quantity to all the students in the school so that they do not need to carry water bottles from their homes.
• “Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of students. The heavy school bag has severe/adverse physical effects on growing children which can cause damage to their vertebral column and knees,” the circular reads.
• “Heads of Schools under the Directorate of Education are hereby directed to adhere to the revised guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags for students in Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools,” the notice says.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

• CBSE is the 2nd oldest board of India formed in 1929.
• It deals with the affiliated institution are inside & outside India.
• It conducts 10th and 12th exams and entrance exam of Medical and Engineering colleges (now NTA and NEET).
• It updates & designs curriculum.
• It empowers teacher and heads.
• It is also responsible for surprise inspection for quality control.
• SARANSH is an online facility for schools by CBSE to look at their performance and at the level of each student. It also compares with other CBSE and affiliated schools.
• NIOS (National Institute for Open Schooling)
  1. It was formed in 1979 under CBSE for quality education to out-of-school children. It has International recognition and presence.
  2. It deals with 27 subjects in Secondary and 21 subjects in Higher Secondary.
  3. NIOS gives an open basic education programmes for 14+ and at 3 levels: Class 3, 5 and 8.

NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training)

1. It is an apex organization founded in 1961 as an autonomous body under Societies Registration Act, 1860.
2. Is assists and advises MHRD and is responsible for the All India school surveys.
3. Programmes: Research, Development, Training, International Cooperation and information disemmination. (No funding by NCERT)
4. It implements bilateral and cultural exchange programmes.
5. Teacher education and counselling.
6. DD and All India Ratio education channel of NCERT is - Gyan Darshan and Gyan Vaani and education through Edusat.
7. It has an advisory role in the National Policy of Education, 1986 and National Curriculum Framework.

FATF and arrest of Lakhvi by Pakistan

• The timing of Pakistan’s arrest of Zaki Ur Rahman Lakhvi, the LeT operations commander, and linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, just ahead of the next meeting of the global watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has been greeted with scepticism in India.
• Whenever Pakistan has faced a decision on its “grey list” status, it has carried out similar actions that appear to be aimed more at ensuring a better outcome for itself at the FATF.
• Its arrest and conviction of Hafiz Saeed and other LeT leaders in terror-financing cases, the passing of anti-terrorism and money laundering laws in the Pakistan Assembly to bring them in line with FATF-mandated international norms, and the publication of new lists of terrorists at various times, all timed before FATF reviews of Pakistan’s status has been cited as more of the same.
• The FATF’s Asia Pacific Joint Group is to meet in January to prepare recommendations for a final decision on Pakistan’s status to be presented to the FATF plenary session in February.
• Pakistan was brought back onto the grey list in June 2018 and given a 27-point action plan list to be completed by October 2019. Since then, it received at least four reprieves and was judged at the last count to have completed 21 of 27 points, with six outstanding.
• The plenary session can choose one of three options, therefore, in keeping Pakistan on the grey list, where it is subject to some financial restrictions, downgrading it to the black list, where it will face stringent sanctions, or close the review and let Pakistan off the lists altogether.
• Pakistan will now hope that its progress in the action plan and having key terror figures in prison earn it a reprieve.
• The fear for India is that if Pakistan earns that reprieve, it can reverse all its actions. India has watched the arrests of all these men and other terrorists on India’s “most wanted” lists in the past, only to find that they are released on bail, or let off over prosecutorial lapses once the world’s gaze is averted.
• Last month, a Pakistan court’s decision to overturn the conviction of al Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Sheikh Saeed, a terrorist India was forced to release during the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, for the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, shows how Pakistan’s investigating agencies and judicial system treat terrorism.
• Hafiz Saeed has been convicted only of terror financing charges and faces concurrent sentencing of about six years at the most, as would Lakhvi, who faces similar charges, despite a long record in transnational terror attacks.
• Others like Masood Azhar continue to evade any kind of prosecution despite UN sanctions. For India and its battle to have Pakistan’s establishment held accountable on this issue, the FATF grey listing (from 2012-2015 and 2018-now) is a necessary lever to keep that process going.

Bird Flu in India

• Kerala was placed on high alert on Monday after an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in Kottayam and Alappuzha districts.
• The presence of the H5N8 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in ducks in Thalavadi, Thakazhy, Pallipad and Karuvatta in Alappuzha district and Neendoor in Kottayam district.
• The Alappuzha district authorities have decided to cull birds within a 1 km radius of the infected areas.
• While it can prove lethal for birds, the H5N8 strain of avian influenza has a lower likelihood of spreading to humans compared to H5N1.

About Bird Flu

• Bird flu, also known as Avian influenza (AI), is a highly contagious viral disease affecting several species of food-producing birds (chickens, turkeys, quails, guinea fowl, etc.) as well as pet birds and wild birds.
• Occasionally mammals, including humans, may contract avian influenza.

Types of Bird Flu:

• Influenza viruses are grouped into three types; A, B, and C. Only type A is known to infect animals and is zoonotic, meaning it can infect animals and also humans. Type B and C mostly infect humans and typically cause mild disease.
• Avian influenza virus subtypes include A(H5N1), A(H7N9), and A(H9N2).
• Influenza viruses are classified into subtypes based on two surface proteins, Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA). For example, a virus that has an HA 7 protein and NA 9 protein is designated as subtype H7N9.
• Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus occurs mainly in birds and is highly contagious among them.
• HPAI Asian H5N1 is especially deadly for poultry.

Can the virus transfer to humans?

• There are no known cases of H5N8 in human beings. Risk to general public is very low.
• There is also no evidence that consumption of poultry meat or eggs could transmit the virus to humans.
• But necessary precautions are required while handling sick/dead birds and contaminated material during control and containment operations.
• It is considered safe to eat properly cooked poultry products.

Control measures:

• Culling is usually undertaken to control the infection when it is detected in animals. Besides culling, safe disposal of all such culled animals and animal products is also important.
• The authorities also need to strictly enforce decontamination of infected premises and undertake quarantine of contaminated vehicles and personnel.

Impact:

• Avian Influenza outbreaks can lead to devastating consequences for the country, particularly the poultry industry.
• Farmers might experience a high level of mortality in their flocks, with rates often around 50%.

India’s Status:

• Previously in 2019, India was declared free from Avian Influenza (H5N1), which had also been notified to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
• The status will last only till another outbreak is reported.

Pangolin and Porcupine

Pangolin

• Out of the 8 species of Pangolin in the World, Indian and Chinese Pangolin are found in India.

Indian Pangolin

• The Indian pangolin is an endangered animal that is rarely sighted in forests.
• The Indian Pangolin is the only scaly mammal hunted for meat and used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are nocturnal.
• Indian Pangolins are among the most trafficked wildlife species in the World.
• The projected population declines range from 50% to 80% across the genus. Scientists radio-tag Indian pangolin for the 1st time.
• It is under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Indian Pangolin is endangered under IUCN.

What is in the news?

• The Odisha Forest department has stressed the need for stricter monitoring of social media platforms to check pangolin poaching and trading.
• Investigations revealed that the accused were trading pangolin and scales online by forming WhatsApp groups in which videos and photos were shared with potential customers, often based outside the country, and details communicated in codes to conceal the transactions.

• Ms. Lenka said “trafficking of live pangolin and its scales is a highly lucrative business for the organised mafia, who exploit poor and vulnerable forest dwelling communities for their criminal interests.”

Chinese Pangolin

• They are also found in India.
• It is under Schedule I of WPA.
• Chinese Pangolin is Critically Endangered.

Porcupine

• It is a rodent native to southern Asia and the Middle East
• Least concerned – IUCN
• Habitat: Porcupine species has a broad habitat tolerance, occupying rocky hillsides, tropical and temperate shrubland, grasslands, forests, arable land, plantations, and gardens.
• Range — Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean through southwest and central Asia
• Threats considered are agricultural pests by locals who trap and use them for food.