General
‘Explain Delay In RTE Admissions For Socio-Economically Marginalised Students In Private Schools’, Demands Child Rights Body
The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has questioned the state government over the delay in the admission process for socio-economically marginalised students in private schools.
Concern over reserved seats remaining vacant
The commission has also raised concerns about a large number of seats that were reserved for these students having remained vacant in the last admission cycle.
25 per cent seat reservation for under privileged
The issues with admissions to 25 per cent reserved seats for disadvantaged children in private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act were raised in a recent letter by the MSCPCR to the state director of education (primary). The child rights body has also sought a factual report on RTE admissions conducted in 2023-’24 as well as the directorate’s plans for 2024-’25.
Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 25 per cent of Class 1 and pre-primary seats in private non-minority schools are reserved for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections.
When did RTE admissions start?
These students get education free of cost, with the government reimbursing schools for their tuition fees. RTE admissions started later than usual this year due to lack of clarity on making Aadhaar compulsory in order to admit students.
The state education department had later clarified that while children from families that had no Aadhaar cards were eligible for admissions, the document would have to be furnished within a stipulated time. The intervention by the commission followed a complaint by Nitin Dalvi, a citybased activist with the Maharashtra State Student-Parent Teacher Federation (MSSPTF), who highlighted problems faced by parents during the admission process.
RTE admission portal was ridden with glitches
He claimed that the RTE admission portal was ridden with glitches, resulting in the admissions continuing till August and more than 12,000 children being denied admissions. “Parents suffer due to the extended admission process, as they are forced to seek admission for their children in private schools and pay the fees. Many private schools refuse admissions to parents who are allotted seats in the draw.
The commission should give a directive to ensure that the next admission cycle ends by May 2024 and that such a high proportion of seats aren’t left vacant,” reads the complaint by Dalvi. This year, the state had received a record 3.64 lakh applications for around 1.02 lakh seats reserved for marginalised students. However, only 94,700 of these applicants were selected, with only 82,879 eventually getting seats of their choice.
General
Mumbai Metro 2A & 7 Connecting Andheri To Dahisar Records Highest 2,87,073 Daily Ridership
Mumbai: Amid heavy rainfall, the Mumbai Metro had an significant achievement. The Metro 2A and 7 Lines connecting Andheri to Dahisar surpassed highest daily ridership, reaching to 2,87,073 number of passengers the Maha Mumbai Metro Operations Corporation Limited (MMOCL) informed on Thursday.
“We are thrilled to share that Maha Mumbai Metro has proudly surpassed highest daily ridership, reaching an incredible 2,87,073 passengers on Mumbai Metro Line 2A & 7! Even amidst heavy rain, Maha Mumbai Metro remained your steadfast companion, ensuring seamless journeys for all.” the MMOCL posted on its official X handle.
MMOCL also said that it operated two extra services one each from Gundavali & Andheri West, whereas, Monorail operated six services to accommodate and effectively manage the surge in ridership.
However, the activist continue to highlight that the ridership of Mumbai Metro is at least 50 per cent less than planned and expected by the authorities.
In August this year, Mumbai’s first Metro line- the Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova route achieved a record of carrying more thann 500,000 commuters in a single day. On August 13, 2024, Mumbai Metro One carried 500,385 commuters, surpassing the pre-covid ridership, the authorities informed.
“This is the first time ridership of Mumbai Metro One has crossed milestone figure of 500,000 without impact of external factors. There is only one occasion when ridership of Mumbai Metro One had crossed 5 lakh when BEST buses went on strike for 9 days (8 January to 16 January 2019)”, the Metro One had said in its press statement.
General
‘Spider-Man’ Spotted Begging At Kalyan Railway Station
An influencer posed as a man begging in a Spiderman costume at Kalyan Junction. The incident was staged for a reel, which the influencer posted on Instagram sooner. It showed ‘Spiderman From Mumbai’ sitting outside the railway station and seeking money from passersby. The caption of the reel, read in a beggar tone’s, “Spider-Man ko dedo bhai koi.”
The video opened showing the man sitting below the stairs of the railway station. He was seen wearing a Spider-Man costume to capture the attention of train passengers towards him. he repeatedly extended his hand forward begging for some money while being seated at the railway premises.
It wasn’t a real case of someone begging by wearing the superhero costume, but an act performed by the Instagram-based content creator for the craze of reels. As he performed as a beggar there, many people looked at him and one of them also approached him with some money. The reel recorded people at the railway station witnessing the reel act. One of the persons there stepped into the video to offer a coin to the ‘Spider-Man’ beggar.
This video is now going viral on Instagram. It was uploaded on the online platform in August, however, it has reached netizens and caught their attention in the recent days. So far, the reel, which shows the influencer posing as a beggar dressed up in a superhero costume, has attracted 2.8 million views and more than one lakh likes. People reacted to the video and hilariously wrote, “Spider man no money at home.” “We got Spider-Man in kalyan before GTA,” they added.
General
Pongal 2024: Mumbai Celebrates Harvest Festival Reflecting Rich Tamil Culture
Nearly 2000 people participated in Pongal festivities in and around Antop Hill on Monday. Mass Pongal celebration was carried out across various locations of the Sion Koliwada constituency and was facilitated by MLA Captain R Tamil Selvan who continues to organise these events embracing the harvest season and Tamil culture for more than a decade now.
In a beautiful display of cultural richness, locals dressed in traditional attires prepared Pongal reciting folk songs, raising the festival mood. The event saw them setting up their Pongal pots in the midst of sugarcane, flowers, and rangolis. The celebration was notably marked at the Antop Hill Cement Ground with about a thousand people lifting the festival spirit on the auspicious day. Other areas that observed Pongal on a grand scale included New 90 Feet Road, Kamaraj Nagar, Vijay Nagar, and the Malai Mariamman temple in Naik Nagar among a few others.
Captain Selvan was seen visiting the spots and joining the public in the celebration. “Pongal is associated with agriculture. Tamilians of various religious beliefs celebrate this festival together without any discrimination. This is the significance of Pongal,” he said while extending Pongal greetings.
The event was not confined to only the Tamil-speaking people celebrating the occasion as it saw women from diverse cultural backgrounds mark the festival. While Tamilians gathered there to celebrate Pongal, others enjoyed the Makar Sankranti festivities in the region with similar rituals involving boiling water and preparing food in their pots.
“Pongalo Pongal” chants were heard during the celebration as women prayed to seek prosperity for their families while boiling and expecting their pots to overflow with the Pongal preparation.
Throwing more light on the harvest festival, the MLA acknowledged that the first dam built in the world was built by Karikala, a Tamilian. “Tamilians introduced the concept of building dams to stop running (river) water and distribute it for agricultural usage. Karikala from the Chola Dynasty constructed the Kallanai Dam over the Kaveri River running in Trichy.”
Several people admire the Tamil language and its treasurable culture, including PM Narendra Modi who recently inaugurated the Kashi Tamil Sangamam at Namo Ghat in Varanasi and mentioned about Pongal and remembered prominent Tamil personalities like Subramania Bharathiyar, Bharathidasan, and Thiruvalluvar.
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