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The Print
26-06-2025
- General
- The Print
Tree felling: Delhi HC passes directions to ensure effective implementation of SOP
In addition to the SOP which are already gazetted, the court directed the deputy conservator of forest (DCF) or tree officer to be involved at the planning stage of a project which involved tree felling or transplantation. Justice Jasmeet Singh underlined the rights of the citizens of Delhi and the rights protected under Article 21 of the Constitution to live in a clean and pollution free environment. New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has passed a slew of directions to ensure the effective implementation of the standard operating procedure on felling or transplantation of trees in the national capital. 'Additionally, the compensatory plantation shall ensure that the trees which are to be planted are not less than 6 feet in height, have a nursery life of 5 years and a collar girth of not less than 10 cms,' the judge said on May 20. The court said the applicant seeking felling of trees would file an affidavit, undertaking to take care of the compensatory planted trees for five years, including watering, maintenance and general upkeep. The trees sought to be transplanted should not be heavily pruned, it added. The authorities or tree officer, the court said, should consider the number of applications made by the proponent for a particular project aside from the total footfall of the project on the environment and not just the site in question besides the availability of alternative sites. The officer was tasked to further account for the overall impact on the green cover in the neighbourhood, age of trees and ecosystem supported by them with the possibility of tree surviving transplantation. The court said the SOP will function in line with the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act and the post-approval monitoring will be done by the DCF. The court was dealing with a contempt plea for non compliance of judicial orders over preservation of trees after the high court observed a tree was felled every hour in Delhi under official sanction. The contempt plea said the officials in the national capital were not following the April 2022 directions, requiring the tree officers to spell out reasons for permitting felling of trees. 'It would be appropriate that the tree officer(s) give due consideration to transplantation of each tree which is sought to be cut, before granting any further permission for cutting of trees. This would entail inspection of the trees which are sought. The reason for grant or denial of permission would have to be spelt out in the order of the tree Officer along with photographs of each tree,' the high court on April 28, 2022 said. PTI SKV SKV AMK AMK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Books conspicuous by absence at these schools
New Delhi: Months into the academic year, a persistent issue resurfaced in some of Delhi's govt schools: students were still without the free textbooks promised at the beginning of the session. Despite a clear mandate under the Right to Education Act, 2009, that requires govt to provide free textbooks to all elementary-level students within the first week of the academic year, this delay in providing textbooks has become routine. Year after year, the distribution of textbooks is either incomplete or postponed to the point of rendering them nearly ineffective. In some cases, books arrive only towards the end of the academic term, severely disrupting the teaching and learning process. Teachers report that even when books are delivered, they are often riddled with printing errors and produced on poor-quality paper, raising concerns about durability and readability. "Already stretched thin by overcrowded classrooms and administrative responsibilities, we are forced to prepare supplementary study material to keep the lessons going," a Delhi govt school teacher said in northeast Delhi. This repeated delay has become a source of deep frustration for educators, students and parents, and continues to draw criticism from education activists. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Discover Effortless Glucose Monitoring: Request a Free Trial Dexcom Click Here Undo Education advocate Ashok Agarwal raised the issue a few months ago in a social media post. He pointed out that students in several schools, including SKV and SBV at Zeenat Mahal, Kamla Market, were attending classes without books. "It is unfortunate that children in Class VII are being made to study without textbooks," he wrote. He also identified several localities still grappling with the problem, such as Khajoori Khas, Mandawali, Jafrabad Extension and Brahmpuri. According to the principal of a boys' school in northeast Delhi, textbooks for many elementary classes remain unavailable even now. This is far from a new problem. A survey conducted in 2016–17 across eight Delhi districts showed that govt school students often get books in phases, with delays of six to nine months. In east and northeast Delhi, mathematics and science textbooks arrive only by Sept, five months into the session. Some Class VI and VIII students reportedly received key textbooks just days before final exams. The issue reached Delhi High Court in 2024 when, during a hearing, the court questioned govt over the delays and noted that the first academic quarter had nearly passed without students receiving their books. It also pointed out the irony that despite govt bearing the cost of publishing and distributing these textbooks, the process remained so poorly managed. While the directorate of education has not officially responded to questions about the delay, a representative of a govt teachers' association claimed that most schools received their books by the end of April, and that only a few gaps remained. However, accounts from teachers in the field contradict this optimistic assessment. Educators continue to face the brunt of the problem. The absence of textbooks has added to their workload, forcing them to rely on worksheets. "Worksheets help, but they can't replace the structure and depth that textbooks provide," a teacher said. "We have to put in extra effort to make sure students don't fall behind." What remains clear is that this is not merely a logistical oversight. It is a recurring failure with significant consequences for students.
Indian Express
11-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Field visits, hands-on projects: Here's what a classroom for 82 ‘gifted' Delhi govt school students will look like
Last Friday, several parents of Class 7 students gathered at a government school in Lajpat Nagar to participate in a unique orientation programme. They all had one thing in common — all their children are 'gifted', with an IQ (intelligence quotient) score of 120 or above. These children are part of a group of 82 students chosen by the Delhi government under Project on Gifted and Talented Students (Abhishikt)' — a pilot project of the Education Department and the State Council of Educational Research and Training. They are to be placed in one of the 15 government CBSE schools in the Capital, where trained teachers are to teach them a specially-curated curriculum. The students come from schools spread across all 13 districts of Delhi – from Burari in the North to Najafgarh in the Southwest — and include both boys and girls from Sarvodaya Vidyalayas, Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalayas (SKV), and Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalayas (SBV). At the orientation, many parents asked a similar question — 'how would these new classes be any different from the ones their children already attend?'. Officials from the Directorate of Education's (DoE) Inclusive Education Branch (IEB) conducted a live demonstration to offer a glimpse of how these classes would function. The aim was to allay concerns and explain how the approach would depart from traditional pedagog0y, emphasising activity-based learning, hands-on projects, and field exposure in line with the National Education Policy, said officials. The parent of a Class 7 girl, studying at a West Vinod Nagar SKV, was worried about whether a change in school would affect her daughter's education. However, IEB officials assured that school counsellors would be available to address concerns. A father of a Class 7 boy, who wanted to maintain anonymity, said, 'Our son was recently moved to a new school and we (parents) saw that this had a bad effect on him… He stopped talking, there were many behavioural changes… we were initially worried that something like this might happen (again). But this programme is a really good opportunity… there's no doubt.' Officials also said rote methods of learning will be replaced by inquiry-based learning and real-world application. A senior official said: 'Parents were curious, even sceptical, about what made these classes different… We wanted to show them, not just explain.' The project, initiated in December 2023 and formally announced on March 6, 2024, aimed to include both Class 6 and Class 9 students. On September 28, last year, 6,000 students from classes 6 and 9 sat for the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT). The 6,000 students were nominated after school principals recommended their names based on a behaviour checklist that covered five development domains — physical, social, moral, intellectual, and emotional. The next step was to conduct standardised IQ assessment tests. Eventually, 82 students, then in Class 6, were chosen for the project. However, officials have now decided to proceed only with Class 6 students. 'The sample size for Class 9 was very low, so we felt it wouldn't be right to proceed with shortlisting from such a small pool,' an official said, adding that other grades may be considered for the project in the future. Officials said the students were chosen from diverse neighbourhoods — from Kalkaji, Kondli, Kalyanpuri, Shakurpur, Mayur Vihar, and Vijay Enclave, among others — reflecting a wide social and regional cross-section. Notably, schools like Dwarka School of Excellence, Shahabad Mohammadpur SBV, and New Seelampur Government Girls Senior Secondary School saw many of their students being selected for the project. A departmental circular issued on May 8 also spoke of a core group of facilitators being formed for curriculum transaction, as part of which teachers have been shortlisted. In all, 87 trained graduate teachers (TGTs) have been shortlisted to teach a range of subjects, including Natural Science, Mathematics, English, Hindi, Social Science, Sanskrit, and Special Education. These teachers come from schools in Rohini, Mehrauli, Jahangirpuri, Ashok Vihar, and other government institutions, said officials, adding that some of them had earlier visited the Jnana Prabodhini institute in Pune, which influenced the pedagogical design of Abhishikt. 'The orientation was held to brief teachers, update parents on the students' status, and clarify doubts. The response has been very positive,' said an official from the DoE.
