ITIs to be remodelled into formal schools: HRD Ministry
New Delhi: The Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) which offer skill education will soon be developed into formal schools like those affiliated to CBSE and ICSE to enable the ITI graduates to pursue regular courses in other schools and colleges. A proposal in this regard, which was mooted by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been accepted by the HRD Ministry and is likely to benefit over 2 million students graduating from over 13,000 ITIs every year. “A separate board on the lines of CBSE and ICSE will be set up which will award certificates at par with those given to students clearing class 10 and 12 from regular boards. This will help ITI graduates to pursue regular courses in other schools and colleges,” a senior HRD Ministry official said. Once the proposal is formalised, the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) will be authorised to conduct academic examination and certification for class 10 and 12 for the ITI students. “Following consultations with CBSE, UGC, NCERT and state education boards, bodies like UGC and AICTE will be informed that they should instruct all colleges and universities to recognise ITI graduates as class 12 pass outs,” the official added. (PTI)
Cops look for family of 7-yr-old who died in Noida jam
Noida: A seven-year-old boy, suffering from high fever, reportedly lost his life here last evening as the ambulance that was taking him to AIIMS in New Delhi got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a home-buyers protest over non- delivery of their flats. The Noida police said that it had taken note of the media reports about a child’s death but had not received any complaint or information in this regard, till now. According to reports, the boy, Luv Kush, a resident of Firozabad and was being taken to AIIMS in an ambulance as he was suffering from high fever. An Agra doctor had reportedly referred him to AIIMS. Satish Chandra SHO Expressway police station said,”We had received information about home-buyers blocking the expressway. A police team was sent there and the protesters were dispersed. Regarding the death of the boy, we have no information from victim’s family. We came to know through media reports.” (PTI)
‘Triple talaq is inhumane, should be abolished’
Ludhiana (Punjab): Actor-activist Shabana Azmi on Sunday said that triple talaq is inhumane and violates the basic rights of every Muslim woman. She said it is the duty of the government to protect the rights of Muslim women and there should be no two opinions on the issue of abolishing triple talaq system. ‘Triple talaq is inhumane and violates the basic rights of every Muslim woman,’ she told reporters here. ‘This triple talaq system is totally inhumane and deprives the Muslim women of their right to empowerment or equality,’ she said. In reply to a question, she said that ‘even the holy Quran does not permit triple talaq anywhere’. There is a raging debate in the country on the issue of triple talaq. The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of triple talaq. Earlier, addressing a function here, she said the only true way to measure a society’s progress is by seeing how empowered its women are. ‘The women who get empowered must make efforts to empower other women. They must create support groups,’ she said. (PTI)
Transgender activist plans foster home for sex workers’ kids
New Delhi: The sight of a four-month-old baby tugging at her mother’s clothes while she attended to a client helped transgender activist Gauri Sawant make up her mind — she had to do something for the future of sex workers’ children. Sawant is now striving to build a foster home — ‘Nani ka Ghar’ (Grandma’s home) — which she hopes will not only prevent children from being dragged into prostitution, but also help them build their lives. Sawant, who adopted the orphaned daughter of a sex worker in 2001, feels that such children are often subjected to discrimination, even if they are put up in hostels away from home. “They can’t tell the world that their mother is a sex worker and that they grew up in a hostel. But nobody would question them if they say they grew up at ‘nani ka ghar’,” Sawant told PTI. The activist, who was recently seen in a television advertisement advocating adoption rights for transgenders, has decided to use her 2,000-square-foot land in a small village near Mumbai to build the two-storey home she has in mind. She has collaborated with crowdfunding portal Milaap to raise an amount of Rs 20 lakh needed for the building. The children would be taken care of by ‘nanis’ or older transgenders who no longer go out for work, but “have immense experience and can take care of the household”, she said. (PTI)