Grading system in CBSE Class XII?

New Delhi: After the decision to start grading system in Class X board examinations, the government may introduce a similar system in Class XII, human resource development minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

Sibal said the idea has already been mooted and a committee has been set up. It will examine how grading could be introduced at Class XII.“We had a brainstorming session on this,”the minister told reporters here on the sidelines of a meeting on the school education programme. After the committee gives its report, it will go the Central Advisory Board for Education and then to the Council of Boards of School Education in India (CoBSE).

The HRD ministry has already introduced grading system in Class X under the CBSE from this year. The nine-point system starting from A1 (a grade for students who have done exceptionally well in the exam) to E2 (unsatisfactory performance). He said consultations were being held with stakeholders to arrive at a conclusion on introducing the grading system in Class XII. Sibal said that quality should be at the forefront of the education system, and access to quality education must be available for all. He said the nation cannot move forward with good education being limited to the elite class. AGENCIES

Edu right law soon, SSA to be its vehicle Plan Panel Promises Massive Outlay For ItAkshaya Mukul | TNN
New Delhi: The notification on the Right to Education is likely to be issued soon as most of preparatory work that has delayed it is nearly over. Even the Planning Commission has promised a big outlay for RTE that would kick start the historic legislation.

The HRD ministry had sought Rs 40,000 crore for elementary education and expects a substantial hike from last year’s Rs 13,100 crore for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Plan panel sources indicated that HRD is likely to get more than Rs 20,000 crore for SSA. The Finance Commission has already promised more than Rs 20,000 crore for the next 5 years for states.

After framing the model rules for RTE, drawing out the roadmap and process of harmonising RTE with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan that included changing the latter’s norms, the ministry feels that SSA will be the main vehicle to implement RTE.

The executive committee of SSA has already made changes in the norms that do not have much financial bearing and do not need cabinet approval. However, major changes like teacher norms will have a substantial financial implication and will, therefore, be taken to the Expenditure Finance Committee and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The lingering question of Centre-State share for RTE is also likely to be resolved soon. The PM has already held a meeting with HRD minister Kapil Sibal, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia in this connection.

Sources said while states have been demanding a 90:10 spending pattern between the Centre and States, HRD would like it to be 75:25. “The SSA funding pattern is 55:45 but RTE cannot follow the same pattern. States do not have the money,” the sources said.

As for the change in SSA norms, it has been decided that all existing Education Guarantee Scheme centres that have been functioning for two years will be upgraded to regular schools.

Provision has also been made in SSA norms that upto 0.5% of a district’s outlay may be utilised for community mobilisation but it should be within the overall management cost of 6%. Change has also been made in case of provision for disabled children from the existing Rs 1,200 per child annually to Rs 3,000. Also, money for civil works can be utilised for library purpose and the fund for a school can be used for buying play material.

COLD START
Centre-state share for RTE remains a lingering question but is likely to be resolved soon. PM is in talks with Pranab Mukherjee States want a 90:10 spending pattern between Centre and states; HRD ministry wants it to be 75:25

Preschools spell big bucks today

Anahita Mukherji | TNN

Mumbai:Million-dollar baby could well be an apt description for the average middle-class Indian toddler. In the absence of government regulation for preschool education, the private sector is making a killing in the market. Listed companies and strategic investors are backing big brands that operate playschool chains in metros and small towns.

The profit after tax of KidZee, a play school that runs 463 centres and is planning another 632, was Rs 80 lakh last year. The company expects that figure to rise to Rs 2 crore this year. The KidZee chain is backed by the investing might of the Essel group, of which it is a part. Essel is an entertainment company listed on both the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Educomp, another company listed on the BSE, bought a 50% stake in EuroKids, a preschool chain worth around Rs 80 crore. Educomp runs 450 centres in 160 cities and towns, including 30 centres in the northeast.

Most preschool companies use the franchise model. The company invests in curriculum development, teaching methods and “brand-building’’, while the franchisee provides infrastructure, including the premises.

It’s not just big brands backed by huge investors that have franchises. First Steps, a playschool that opened shop in Mumbai two years ago, recently started its first branch in the city and is considering a few more in future. “Starting a franchise is beneficial, as we can concentrate on our curriculum and do not need to invest in property,’’ says Sweta Kapadia, principal of the playschool.

Preschools give rise to high schools on parents’ demand
Mumbai: The private sector is investing in playschools in a big way. Eighty to ninety percent of franchisees investing in EuroKids are women entrepreneurs, ranging from chartered accountants to housewives, says company MD Uday Mathur.

“The franchise model works where investments are not huge. For a preschool, the typical investment is Rs 10 lakh per centre, unlike a high school, which would require up to Rs 10 crore,’’ said Sumeet Mehta, CEO of Zee Interactive Learning Systems (ZILS), which runs KidZee.

But that has not deterred popular preschool chains from spawning high schools, as parents who are happy with their toddler’s playschool want their child to stick with the brand right up to Class X. For instance Lina Ashar’s popular chain—Kangaroo Kids Education Limited (KKEL), which runs 60 playschools nationwide, has started 13 schools called Billabong High, while EuroKids runs four EuroSchools, the oldest being in Hyderabad. ZILS has eight operational high schools called KidZee High, and 12 more are coming up.

While the demand for playschools is higher in metros, they are steadily making inroads in small towns like Jalna and Akot in Maharashtra. Investment and fees, of course, are higher in Tier One cities. For instance, while Eurokids invests around Rs 15 to 20 lakh in a “premium school’’, the investment is around Rs 5 lakh in smaller centres. The investment is directly proportional to the fee charged. So parents in metros cough up around Rs 40,000 annually to send their child to a EuroKids centre, while their counterparts in small towns fork out Rs 10,000 a year.

Similarly, parents in big cities pay Rs 18,000 to Rs 30,000 a year at KidZee, the fee in Kolhapur or Pathankot is Rs 9,000.

Interestingly, hefty fees don’t necessarily translate into large pay packets for preschool teachers, who earn Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 a month. Some preschools offer their own teacher-training certificate courses for new recruits.

Preschool chains are out to capture a variety of market segments. Kangaroo Kids, which caters to an elite clientele, is now targeting the middle-class niche in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nagpur with its new brand, Brainworks. “We had a strategic investor for Kangaroo Kids, but a private company has invested in Brainworks,’’ says Ashar. While Kangaroo Kids charges parents around Rs 3,500 a month, the fee at Brainworks is Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500. The curriculum, too, is different for the two brands. Investment in infrastructure and imported equipment is also slightly lower for Brainworks.

So what drives parents to enrol kids who can barely talk in playschools? “I put both my children in a Bandra playschool when they were 18 months old, mainly so that they could interact with other children. One of my kids is rather shy, and opened up a bit, thanks to the playschool,’’ says Anisha Seth, a Mumbai mother who shelled out a handsome Rs 25,000 a year for the playschool.

But while playschool companies rake in the rupees, the absence of government regulation leaves preschoolers and their parents vulnerable. “India is not the only country where preschool education is heavily privatised. The problem, though, is that we have no system of checks and balances,’’ says Nalini Chugani, president of the Mumbai branch of the Indian Association for Preschool Education (IAPE). Often, playschools are not as childfriendly as they claim to be, and may be little more than tiny airconditioned rooms stuffed with attractive equipment, she says. She adds that preschools often use a regimented method of learning that may be damaging to a child.

Interestingly, one of the big names approached IAPE for content development. IAPE drew up a roadmap that required an investment of Rs 5 lakh. “The preschool chain was unwilling to invest the amount we suggested, and dumped us, along with our plan,’’ adds Chugani.

NO KIDDING: Most playschool firms in India use the franchise model

NO CHILD’S PLAY