"PAK -Match-fixing scandal: "
The Pakistan establishment appeared to be closing ranks behind its tainted cricketers even as three fresh arrests were made in the UK in connection with the spot-fixing scandal.
Meanwhile, the three players at the centre of the controversy were summoned to London from Somerset, where the team is practising, to meet PCB officials and the High Commissioner.
British customs officials said they had arrested three people as part of a probe into the money-laundering angle. Some reports said among those detained was Mazhar Majeed, the alleged fixer arrested earlier and bailed out on Monday.
It is also learnt that the cash found by Scotland Yard from Salman Butt's room amounted to£50,000. Butt reportedly claimed the money was his sister's trousseau.
Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik said there have been conspiracies against the team in the past and it was necessary to determine whether the latest allegations were a bid to defame the country. However, the Lahore HC has summoned seven cricketers on September 7 to face treason charges.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Sachin Tendulkar maintains his MoM record
SACHIN TENDULKAR IS THE DIAMOND OF CRICKET
Sachin Tendulkar has also collected the most number of Man of the Match and Player of the Series trophies in One-day cricket.
The 36-year-old champion batsman, who started his international career in 1989 and has 16,895 runs to his credit, has so far won 59 man of the match awards and has been adjudged
player of the series on 14 occasions.
Tendulkar scored his 44th One-day hundred in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka to win his 59th man of the match trophy. He was also adjudged man of the series of the short
tournament that also fearured New Zealand.
Sri Lanka's ageless warrior Sanath Jayasuriya is a distant second behind Tendulkar with 48 man of the match awards to his credit.
Interestingly, Jayasuriya, who also started playing in 1989, is second in the player of the series list as well, having notched up 11 such trophies.
However, Tendulkar does not have such a formidable record in Test cricket and is 10th in the man of the match list with 12 awards. He is 27th in the player of the series list with four
Awards against his name.
Most player-of-the-match awards (ODIs): Sachin Tendulkar (59), Sanath Jayasuriya (48), Viv Richards (31), Sourav Ganguly (31), Jacques Kallis (30), Brian Lara (30), Arvinda de
Silva (SL) 1984-2003 (30), Saeed Anwar (28), Adam Gilchrist (28), Ricky Ponting (28).
Most player-of-the-series awards (ODIs): Sachin Tendulkar (14), Sanath Jayasuriya (11), Shaun Pollock (9), Viv Richards (7), Sourav Ganguly (7), Chris Gayle (6), Yuvraj Singh (6),
Jacques Kallis (6), Inzamam-ul-Haq (6), Ricky Ponting (5).
Sachin Tendulkar has also collected the most number of Man of the Match and Player of the Series trophies in One-day cricket.
The 36-year-old champion batsman, who started his international career in 1989 and has 16,895 runs to his credit, has so far won 59 man of the match awards and has been adjudged
player of the series on 14 occasions.
Tendulkar scored his 44th One-day hundred in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka to win his 59th man of the match trophy. He was also adjudged man of the series of the short
tournament that also fearured New Zealand.
Sri Lanka's ageless warrior Sanath Jayasuriya is a distant second behind Tendulkar with 48 man of the match awards to his credit.
Interestingly, Jayasuriya, who also started playing in 1989, is second in the player of the series list as well, having notched up 11 such trophies.
However, Tendulkar does not have such a formidable record in Test cricket and is 10th in the man of the match list with 12 awards. He is 27th in the player of the series list with four
Awards against his name.
Most player-of-the-match awards (ODIs): Sachin Tendulkar (59), Sanath Jayasuriya (48), Viv Richards (31), Sourav Ganguly (31), Jacques Kallis (30), Brian Lara (30), Arvinda de
Silva (SL) 1984-2003 (30), Saeed Anwar (28), Adam Gilchrist (28), Ricky Ponting (28).
Most player-of-the-series awards (ODIs): Sachin Tendulkar (14), Sanath Jayasuriya (11), Shaun Pollock (9), Viv Richards (7), Sourav Ganguly (7), Chris Gayle (6), Yuvraj Singh (6),
Jacques Kallis (6), Inzamam-ul-Haq (6), Ricky Ponting (5).
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Education in India
Poor Quality of Education in Government Schools in India:
India adopted a National Policy for Children in 1974, declaring children to be
the nation’s most precious asset. The population of children in a country
comprise its human resources of the future and the social, economic and
cultural growth development of any society or community hinges upon the
quality of its human resources. Three and a half decades after the adoption of
the National Policy for Children,
allocated the seemingly huge amount of Rs. 34,400 crores exclusively to the
education sector in his Annual Budget last fiscal year i.e. 2007-08. The
much-hyped Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was granted a handsome Rs. 13,100
crore. Yet, according to the UNESCO, India has the lowest public
expenditure on education per student in the world. The prevalent differences
within Indian states in per student expenditure in the year 2005-06 painted a
dismal picture. The highest being Kerala, the State that spearheaded the
Universal literacy movement in the country spends Rs. 1000 per student; as
the figures go from bad to worse with the lowest being Uttar Pradesh
spending a measly Rs 483 per child per year. So can it be said that funding is
the issue with government schools? Clearly not. It is one of utilization of these
funds.
Schools in backward rural and tribal areas are the most neglected, and the
standard of teaching deplorable. Even in other areas, schools to which
children of the underprivileged have access are run by the State or local
authorities. By and large, these have a poor record of performance. The most
glaring of the problems with government-run schools is that of infrastructure.
Poorly maintained buildings, dilapidated classrooms, ill-equipped libraries and
laboratories, lack of sanitation facilities and even drinking water are issues that
the students grapple with everyday. Availability of qualified teachers and the
student-teacher ratio is another tale to tell. The curriculum and teaching
methodologies stand obsolete and outdated, with the emphasis being on
rote-learning and merely developing reading and writing skills instead of
holistic education. Lack of vocational training and non-availability of such
courses renders students with barely any employable skills at the end of their
schooling. These factors, coupled with other social circumstances have lead
to alarmingly high dropout rates in the country. Most schools are miles away
and largely inaccessible to the students. While noting that adequate number of
elementary schools is to be found at a “reasonable distance from habitations”,
the ministry admits in its website that this is not the case with regard to
secondary schools and colleges. The gross enrolment rate for elementary
education in 2003-04 was 85 percent, but for secondary education, the
enrolment figure stood at 39 percent. Figures put out by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development’s Department of School Education and
Literacy indicate that as many as two-thirds of those eligible for secondary
and senior secondary education remain outside the school system
today.These high rates of school dropouts as a result, lead to the
ineffectiveness of the reservation policy in institutes of higher education.
Providing free education to children belonging to this category is a policy
which private schools are in disagreement with. A system in which the schools
are owned by the government but managed and operated by the private
sector is a workable alternative. The government could bear the costs of
running the institution, with suitable incentives to the private players willing to
invest in such a venture (possibly in the form of tax benefits to the private
organisation); while the management and operation of the school would be in
the hands of the private organisation/establishment. While this would ensure
an exponential increase in the quality of education that is accessible to the
masses, but it may drive up the government’s expenditure on education.
A public-private partnership in education is the most suitable scenario to
check corruption, ensure efficiency and proper utilisation of allocated funds.
India adopted a National Policy for Children in 1974, declaring children to be
the nation’s most precious asset. The population of children in a country
comprise its human resources of the future and the social, economic and
cultural growth development of any society or community hinges upon the
quality of its human resources. Three and a half decades after the adoption of
the National Policy for Children,
allocated the seemingly huge amount of Rs. 34,400 crores exclusively to the
education sector in his Annual Budget last fiscal year i.e. 2007-08. The
much-hyped Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was granted a handsome Rs. 13,100
crore. Yet, according to the UNESCO, India has the lowest public
expenditure on education per student in the world. The prevalent differences
within Indian states in per student expenditure in the year 2005-06 painted a
dismal picture. The highest being Kerala, the State that spearheaded the
Universal literacy movement in the country spends Rs. 1000 per student; as
the figures go from bad to worse with the lowest being Uttar Pradesh
spending a measly Rs 483 per child per year. So can it be said that funding is
the issue with government schools? Clearly not. It is one of utilization of these
funds.
Schools in backward rural and tribal areas are the most neglected, and the
standard of teaching deplorable. Even in other areas, schools to which
children of the underprivileged have access are run by the State or local
authorities. By and large, these have a poor record of performance. The most
glaring of the problems with government-run schools is that of infrastructure.
Poorly maintained buildings, dilapidated classrooms, ill-equipped libraries and
laboratories, lack of sanitation facilities and even drinking water are issues that
the students grapple with everyday. Availability of qualified teachers and the
student-teacher ratio is another tale to tell. The curriculum and teaching
methodologies stand obsolete and outdated, with the emphasis being on
rote-learning and merely developing reading and writing skills instead of
holistic education. Lack of vocational training and non-availability of such
courses renders students with barely any employable skills at the end of their
schooling. These factors, coupled with other social circumstances have lead
to alarmingly high dropout rates in the country. Most schools are miles away
and largely inaccessible to the students. While noting that adequate number of
elementary schools is to be found at a “reasonable distance from habitations”,
the ministry admits in its website that this is not the case with regard to
secondary schools and colleges. The gross enrolment rate for elementary
education in 2003-04 was 85 percent, but for secondary education, the
enrolment figure stood at 39 percent. Figures put out by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development’s Department of School Education and
Literacy indicate that as many as two-thirds of those eligible for secondary
and senior secondary education remain outside the school system
today.These high rates of school dropouts as a result, lead to the
ineffectiveness of the reservation policy in institutes of higher education.
Providing free education to children belonging to this category is a policy
which private schools are in disagreement with. A system in which the schools
are owned by the government but managed and operated by the private
sector is a workable alternative. The government could bear the costs of
running the institution, with suitable incentives to the private players willing to
invest in such a venture (possibly in the form of tax benefits to the private
organisation); while the management and operation of the school would be in
the hands of the private organisation/establishment. While this would ensure
an exponential increase in the quality of education that is accessible to the
masses, but it may drive up the government’s expenditure on education.
A public-private partnership in education is the most suitable scenario to
check corruption, ensure efficiency and proper utilisation of allocated funds.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)