The Spark Group

Times of India | May 31

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Education/Super_30_shine_again/articleshow/2087896.cms

Economically and socially backward, they were called ‘Super 30’ since the day they were chosen to be coached to crack IIT-JEE. And wow, they proved they are worth the name with 28 of them making it to IITs while the remaining two – both Dalits – expected to sail through once the results of SC/ST aspirants are out.

It was five years ago that Anand Kumar, a local Maths wizard, along with a senior Bihar IPS officer Abhayanand floated the concept of ‘Super 30’. Thirty promising, albeit poor, IIT aspirants were selected and coached rigorously for eight months ahead of JEE in 2003. Eighteen of them cracked the test. In 2004, 22 of the 30 came out with flying colours. The number of successful candidates increased to 26 in 2005 and 28 in 2006.

“This year we hope to achieve 100 per cent results,” a jubilant Kumar, whose coaching institute in Patna sponsors the 30 aspirants, said and added Alok Kumar and Azad Kumar, the two Dalit aspirants whose names do not figure in the list of successful candidates, will certainly make it when the preparatory results of SC/ST candidates come out. Ten of the ‘Super 30’ aspirants have secured ranks among the top 1,000 successful candidates.

BBC News | June 6

Some parents would like a webcam link to their child’s classroom to follow their progress, a study suggests. One in four adults in a poll of 2,000 for the services website, Directgov, said they wanted an online alert if their child did not turn up for school.

In focus groups linked to a study on the future of online services, some parents even said they wanted transmitters fitted to their children.

The government said the findings showed people wanted to be more involved.

Continue reading “Parents seek school webcam links”

BBC News | June 7

Bribery and corruption damage universities and schools across the world, according to a report for the UN’s education wing, Unesco.

The study says education is plagued by rigged tendering processes, academic fraud and bribes over places and posts.

Academic fraud, such as fake degrees, is more common in the United States than in developing countries, it says.

The study of more than 60 countries says that in some, illegal use of funds meant for schools can be very high.

Continue reading “Corruption Damaging Education”