2012 declear as the National Mathematics Year

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday expressed concern that young minds with a natural ability for mathematics were not pursuing the disciple at an advanced level, resulting in a "decline in the quality of maths teachers at the school and college level".
In his inaugural speech at a function to mark the 125th birth anniversary of eminent mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, the prime minister said there was a "general perception that pursuit of maths does not lead to attractive career possibilities".He declared 2012 as the National Mathematics Year and Dec 22, the day Ramanujan was born, as Mathematics Day.
"The mathematical community has the duty to find ways and means to address the shortage of top quality mathematicians in the country. It must reach out to the public, especially in the modern context where mathematics has tremendous influence on every kind of human endeavours,

How NGO Helps In Children Education

Governance is the need of the hour in the development sector in order to ensure and promote application of best management practices, compliance of law and adherence to best possible ethical standards. The entire management processes and practices of Smile Foundation are in compliance with the principles of Good Governance’.
I. Making Policies & DecisionsSmile Foundation, from the inception itself, works on a delegated work environment. Each and every person in the organization is involved in the process of decision making in a scientifically designed system.Making Policy & Decision in the Foundation are done through a four tier system.
a. Departments & DivisionsMonthly review meetings are held for each division and department regularly.
b. Executive CommitteeThe Executive Committee manages the Foundation’s operation directly and it reports to the Board of Advisors. Members of this committee are professionals working with Smile Foundation and it is mandatory to include a member from the Board of Advisors.The Executive Committee of Smile Foundation holds a meeting each Quarter (every three months) and looks after day to day management.
c. Advisory BodyThe Board of Advisors comprises of technically competent people from diverse backgrounds and expertise. The body is formed for a period of one year and a few independent members with eminence and reputation are nominated each year. Members of this board also meet once every Quarter.
The Board of Advisors advises the Trustees of Smile Foundation, taking regular inputs from the Executive Committee.
d. Board of TrusteesThe Board of Trustees sets the vision and broad guidelines for the Foundation and ensures good governance in liaison with the Board of Advisors; although, the Board of Trustees is not involved in the day to day operation of Smile Foundation.
II. Credibility NormsSmile Foundation encourages its partners to follow Credibility norms for ensuring good governance in the development sector. Smile Foundation also follows norms of good governance itself.The Foundation strives to build capabilities of its grassroots NGO partners towards good governance.The Governance & Credibility System includes a systematic set of norms, which is administered and monitored by a qualified Company Secretary.
III. Project Management & Monitoring systemThe project management & monitoring system in Smile Foundation comprises of a systematic and well laid down processes. These are as follow –
a) Selection of NGO PartnersPartners are invited selection of partners for required locations under specified programme through advertisement in relevant forum, websites; and also through reference from credible partners as well as perennial ‘submit a proposal’ section in Smile Foundation website. Also, prospective partners keep on submitting proposals directly to the foundation round the year. Initial selection is done on these bases.
b) Desk AppraisalProspective proposals are put through the desk appraisal process at respective programme divisions.
c) Field AppraisalShort-listed proposals from desk appraisal are considered for field appraisals by the programme departments located across India.
d) MonitoringOnce a partner is selected under a particular programme, an MoU is signed, guidelines and initial trainings are imparted and the particular project is started. The project is put under a systematic and periodic monitoring system. The processes include the following steps:
i. Project Auditing ii. Activity report analysis iii. Field evaluationThe process of project monitoring is followed by impact analysis, which is a done internally; and external evaluation, done by an external and professional agency.
e) Impact analysis
f) External evaluation IV. Audit SystemSmile Foundation has a four tier audit system to ensure that funds are utilized to the optimum level in an accountable manner.
A. Programme & Project Audit System – is followed to assess and ensure impact of the investment and proper use of money by its NGO partners and projectsProgramme & Project AuditorN.K.S. Chauhan & Associates(Chartered Accountant)
B. Internal & Process Audit System – This is conducted throughout the year in order to ensure accountability in the internal operation of the organisationInternal & Process AuditorAgarwal, Gupta & Sahu(Chartered Accountant)
C. Statutory Audit – is held by the statutory auditor for finalization of balance sheet and statement of affairs. This is also done to comply with standard statutory norms.Statutory AuditorM.K. Kuchhal & Co.(Chartered Accountant)
D. External Evaluation: Impact and outcome of various welfare programmes of Smile Foundation are evaluated by external eavaluation agencies having decades of relevant experience on the subject.
Programme wise External Impact Evaluation Agencies:
Mission Education: Siddhant, New DelhiSmile Twin e-Learning Programme: CARE MumbaiSmile on Wheels: CARE MumbaiSwabhiman: Development Facilitators, New DelhiAction For Children: Utrecht University, The Netherlands
E. Governance Compliance Certification: Arvind Singh & Associates (Company Secretaries)
Audit reports are discussed with the Advisory Body and the Executive Committee to take suitable and necessary steps if required.
IV. Use of Technology for Good Governance
a) Online Monitoring SystemSmile Foundation advocates use of technology for ensuring impartial monitoring and to cut down over head cost.Smile Foundation has already started the system in a few of its national level programmes. Gradually, all its projects will be compatible with this system. The biggest challenges so far have been lack of access to technology in remote project areas and lack of working knowledge among grassroots NGO partners. The Foundation is taking up the task of building capacities of all its NGO partners and project staffs.Two separate and customized monitoring systems have been developed for 50 Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) centres and 41 Mission Education projects across India.
b) Beneficiaries Management SystemA successful beneficiary management system is operational across 100 projects in 21 states of India. This technology is helping Smile Foundation in tracking the progress and development of all the beneficiaries in two major national level programmes as of now.
c) Microsoft Groove – the decision making softwareSmile Foundation practises participatory and democratic decision making process, which involves all possible professionals in the organisation.Microsoft Groove software is operational, connecting all major offices and divisions, since last one year.
d) Management Information System (MIS)A monthly MIS is prepared and analyzed by the MIS Officers and it is submitted and discussed in Executive Committee meetings for assessing the operational activities and to do future planning.
e) Accounting SystemWith increasing use of relevant technology in each division and department, along with projects, both quantitative and qualitative MIS are managed technologically.The Accounts Team of Smile Foundation consists of competent and qualified accounts professionals. The accounts are maintained on daily basis through advanced and updated computerized systems. The same is also analyzed and checked periodically by the internal control system and Internal Auditor, in compliance with standardized HR and Management Policy.
f) Future TechnologySmile Foundation is exploring various technologies like GPS (Global Positioning System) to track and to do real time monitoring of all Smile on Wheels projects, its national mobile hospital programme.Next in line is also video conferencing system which would eventually connect all Smile Foundation offices and centres. It will facilitate decision making, monitoring, optimum involvement of all stake holders – including supporters, capacity building and training etc.
V. People ManagementOur people are our assets.Smile Foundation believes in a democratic and participatory work culture.Appraisal and review system is conducted twice a year in a democratic way to identify the future leaders of the organization.
VI. Education SupportSmile Foundation encourages its employees to take up higher studies so that they emerge as future leaders and grow individually as well as professionally.

Aakash Tablet Booking Open

The seven inch tablet with Android 2.2 is now available through its portal aakashtablet.com. "We have put up on sale about 30,000 tablets online, which will have a cash on delivery of 7 days. We have achieved pre-sale orders of about 400,000 tablets from individuals and corporates. But current supplies will only be limited for individual buyers," Datawind CEO and founder Suneet Singh Tuli told ET.
Aakash's next commercial version called the Ubislate 7, which has a faster processor, is slated to be launched late January. Ubislate 7 is set to have a 700 Mhz processor compared to the 366 MHz processor in Aakash. Ubislate 7 will be priced at Rs 3000 for sale online. Datawind though seems to be struggling with customer service issues for online retail, even though the sale is only for a limited number of tablets.
According to sources, the Indian government is also planning to provide a new specification for Aakash Tablet, which may come with a faster processor and better battery life. The current version of Aakash has a battery life of about 1.5 hours. An email to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, which is supplying the tablets to schools and colleges remained unanswered. The government till now procured only 10,000 tablets. It has still not procured the remaining 90,000 tablets for distribution in schools and colleges, even as other nations have expressed interest to the government for similar low-cost computing initiatives. Order Now

Educate a woman and you educate the whole family

“Education commences at the mother’s knee,and every word spoken within the hearsay of littlechildren tends towards the formation of character.”
Female education in India is not a gift of modern civilization; we have brilliant tradition of it in our country. At least 20 women composed Rigvedic hymns. Gargi and Matreyi were the leading philosophers of the time. Women in the Vedic era so excelled in the sphere of education that even the deity of learning was conceived of as a female popularly known as ‘Saraswati’. Girls were allowed to enter in to Gurukuls along with boys. There are also instances of female ‘rishis’ such as Ghosa, Indrani, Urvashi etc. However, the status of women gradually declined during the post Vedic period. Child wives without education became the order of the day. The situation continued to decline till the coming of the British and the general national democratic awakening, which took place in India during the second half of the nineteenth century. The social reform movements which arose as a result of the interaction with the western civilization stressed on educating the women. The pioneering work of women’s education was done by such socio-religious reform bodies as Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna mission and also Danish, American, German and British missionary societies.Jawahar Lal Nehru had once rightly said,
“Educate a man and you educate one person.Educate a woman and you educate the whole family.”
Education, in reality, is the most valuable gift that parents can give to their daughter. If a girl is educated then she can also opt for a job if the need arises. So she would not be considered as a burden on the family. This would check the social evil of female foeticide. As an educated wife she would be interested in family planning as well. Studies have shown that illiterate women have high fertility and mortality rate. Many women prefer to have more children so that they could look after her in old age. But being educated she would certainly understand the advantages of a small family. Also being educated she would be able to participate in the day to day proceedings of the family. This would only add up one more voice and an opinion.An educated mother would be more conscious about the health and hygiene of the family than her illiterate counterpart. Studies have proved that lack of education affects the general health of the family. Also infant mortality is inversely related to the educational level of the mother. For example, in Kerela female literacy ratio is highest (86%) and has lowest infant mortality rate with highest life expectancy. On the other hand in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where female literacy ratio is lowest, life expectancy is also lowest. Besides general health inculcating good moral values in her children would be one of the top priorities of any educated mother. In the long run, well brought up children are an asset which any society would love to possess. This is how the civilization moves.

Women's education

Women have a much lower literacy rate than men. Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out. According to a 1998 report by U.S. Department of Commerce, the chief barrier to female education in India are inadequate school facilities (such as sanitary facilities), shortage of female teachers and gender bias in curriculum (majority of the female characters being depicted as weak and helpless). Conservative cultural attitudes, especially among Muslims, prevents some girls from attending school. The number of literate women among the female population of India was between 2–6% from the British Raj onwards to the formation of the Republic of India in 1947. Concerted efforts led to improvement from 15.3% in 1961 to 28.5% in 1981. By 2001 literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy within India. Recently the Indian government has launched Saakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy. This mission aims to bring down female illiteracy by half of its present level. The education of women in India plays a significant role in improving livings standards in the country. A higher women literacy rate improves the quality of life both at home and outside of home, by encouraging and promoting education of children, especially female children, and in reducing the infant mortality rate. Several studies have shown that a lower level of women literacy rates results in higher levels of fertility and infant mortality, poorer nutrition, lower earning potential and the lack of an ability to make decisions within a household. Women’s lower educational levels is also shown to adversely affect the health and living conditions of children. A survey that was conducted in India showed results which support the fact that infant mortality rate was inversely related to female literacy rate and educational level. The survey also suggests a correlation between education and economic growth. In India, it was found that there is a large disparity between female literacy rates in different states. For example, while Kerala actually has a female literacy rate of about 86 percent, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have female literacy rates around 55-60 percent. These values are further correlated with health levels of the Indians, where it was found that Kerala was the state with the lowest infant mortality rate while Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the states with the lowest life expectancies in India. Furthermore, the disparity of female literacy rates across rural and urban areas is also significant in India. Out of the 24 states in India, 6 of them have female literacy rates of below 60 percent. The rural state Rajasthan has a female literacy rate of less than 12 percent.

No Child is born to work

Since 2002, World Education has been using education to address abusive forms of child labor. The International Labor Organization defines child labor as "work situations where children are compelled to work on a regular basis to earn a living for themselves and their families, and as a result are disadvantaged educationally and socially; where children work in conditions that are exploitative and damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development; where children are separated from their families, often deprived of educational and training opportunities; where children are forced to lead prematurely adult lives."
The worst forms of child labor are those situations where children work more than nine hours in a day; earn less than a minimum wage or no wages at all; work in hazardous conditions for health and safety; have no access to education; and, work outside of their family's home. World Education and its partners are reaching those children in the worst forms of child labor, including those exploited for the commercial sex industry and other forms of bonded labor in Africa and Asia. World Education is also working with children at risk of becoming child laborers, which means they are not enrolled in school; they are victims of domestic violence; they are orphaned or have only one parent; and, they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
To reduce child labor, World Education and its NGO partners are equipping children, aged 8-14 years old, in labor situations or at risk of being put into a labor situation with the basic skills and life skills boys and girls need to protect themselves and create opportunities for the future. From vocational and practical skills training to basic literacy classes for children, World Education helps girls and boys learn about personal safety, opportunities to enter or reenter the formal school system, and equips them with practical vocational skills.

Education System In India

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world. Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj.Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are controlled by the Union or the State Government.
India has made progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India. Much of the progress especially in Higher education, Scientific research has been credited to various public institutions. The private education market in India is merely 5%[citation needed] although in terms of value is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008 and will increase to $68 billion by 2012[citation needed].However, India continues to face stern challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 25% of its population is still illiterate; only 15% of Indian students reach high school, and just 7% graduate. As of 2008, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for 7% of India's college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college professors lack either a master's or PhD degree.