Latest news with #StrengtheningTeaching-LearningandResultsforStates
Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
Portal launched to monitor progress of STARS project
Jaipur: The state education department Friday launched a portal for monitoring development works done under the STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States) project. Rajasthan is one of the six states selected for the STARS project, which focuses on the infrastructure development of schools with the support of the World Bank . Other states include Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha. Its objective is to ensure overall improvement in the quality of school education, teaching-training, and administrative efficiency. Officials said that this microsite is the dedicated digital presence of the STARS project, which aims to provide transparent information about the activities related to the project, ensure monitoring of progress, and promote active participation of the public in education reforms. Through this portal, policymakers, educationists, teachers, students, and the public will be able to see the progress of different activities undertaken as part of the project. The project focuses on strengthening early education, improving learning assessment, performance of teachers, and classroom practice, among other initiatives to improve the quality of education. Education secretary Krishna Kunal directed the departmental officers to regularly upload details regarding meetings, activities, and documents related to the project on the microsite, so that this platform can become a live and updated information source. As part of the STARS project, the education department in the past three years conducted training for over 32,500 mentor teachers and anganwadi workers to enhance parental engagement, a key part of monitoring the progress of a student. Under this project, intervention was also done in schools to provide child-friendly furniture to schools where anganwadi centres are also run. "Child-friendly furniture, such as appropriately sized tables and chairs, provides better sitting arrangements, promoting comfort and proper posture. This helps in retaining students as it increases their attraction to the schools or anganwadi centres," said a senior official. As part of the project, creative wall and floor paintings were also introduced in 210 schools, including KGBVs and MEWAT hostels, to support joyful and visual learning.
New Indian Express
06-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Kerala's skill development initiative gives job aspirants a STAR-rating
KOCHI: What next? That was a question many students from economically backward families or those lacking job-specific skills faced. High fees would make additional courses in private institutions near impossible to take. But the stars of good fortune are now shining bright for such students. Enter STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States). Under the central scheme, Kerala has launched an initiative that will see the setting up of 210 Skill Development Centres (SDC) in the state. These centres will become functional in the second week of May. Another plus is the placement facilities available. Rajalakshmi D, who passed Class 10, is a beneficiary of the STARS Skill Development Course. 'For students like me, who come from financially weak families, centres like SDC offering free courses that equip you with specific skills making you employable is a blessing,' Rajalakshmi tells TNIE. She is one of around 700 students in the pilot batch to benefit from tailor-made courses started in 2024. 'I joined the fitness trainer course at the SDC at GVHSS, Kunjathur, in Kasaragod district. The training, theoretical and on-the-job, there made me employable. And the result is there for everyone to see. I got placed with a top fitness centre in Kanhangad,' Rajalakshmi says. The programme is being implemented by the general education department in association with the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) to equip students up to the higher secondary level with skills that will enable them to get employed in fields they have an aptitude for. Elaborating on the initiative, an SSK official says, 'In the pilot phase, one centre each was launched in all 14 districts of the state. Each centre had a batch of 50 students. Forty percent of the 700 students have been placed in various sectors.' Following up on the success of the pilot initiative, the state government decided to expand the project.
