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NCERT – National Talent Seach Examination

July 19, 2009/0 Comments/in Scholarship /by Prajval Sir

NCERT conducts a national talent search exam every year. With this scheme NCERT gives out 1000 scholarships every year. Any student studying in a recognized school in 8th standard is eligible to appear for this examination. The examination is held in two stages, the first stage covers the social sciences, science and mathematics in the […]

Crescent Girls School – Singapore

July 15, 2009/0 Comments/in Innovative Schools /by Prajval Sir

I wanted to title this blog as the 21st century schools, but I thought it is better to title it with the name of the school which is leading the other schools of the world to incorporate the 21st Century tools and techniques in their schools. Crescent Girls Schools – Singapore is one such innovative […]

NCERT – National Talent Seach Examination

July 19, 2009/0 Comments/in Scholarship /by Prajval Sir

Crescent Girls School – Singapore

July 15, 2009/0 Comments/in Innovative Schools /by Prajval Sir

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NCERT – National Talent Seach Examination

July 19, 2009/0 Comments/in Scholarship /by Prajval Sir

Mental Ability Test
Scholastic Ability Test

The second stage comprises of the social sciences, science and mathematics in the following categories at the national level:

Mental Ablility Test
Scholastic Ability Test
Interview

However in the second stage only the students who pass the written examination at the national level are interviewed.

Each student who is selected is entitled to receive a monthly 500 Rs scholarship from NCERT upto his/her doctorate education based on their selection of subject. The following are the important dates:

Stage 1 (State Level) : Last Date of Submission of Application form: 31st August 2009
Stage 1 Exam (Gujarat) : 8th November 2009
Stage II Exam (National Level) : 9th May 2010

I think in the limited scope of scholarship opportunity in India, this is a very good opportunity for students at a very early age and I personally think all 8th standards should appear for this examination.

Please visit the NCERT site under the scholarship section for more details or visit the following ad in the TOI newspaper.

Crescent Girls School – Singapore

July 15, 2009/0 Comments/in Innovative Schools /by Prajval Sir

Crescent Girls Schools – Singapore is one such innovative school which was declared as the model school to mentor other schools of the future by Bill Gates and Microsoft. The school is a pioneer in incorporating innovative technology, integration, community and partner involvement and effective use of research and development. Microsoft calls it the 6i Innovative Schools Program which consists of the following hierarchical steps:

Introspection
Investigation
Inclusion
Innovation
Implementation and
Insight

Why did Microsoft select Crescent as one of the model schools for their future schools program?

Well I was amazed to know that at Crescent the students have almost eliminated the use of traditional paper and pen. They take notes on their tablet pc’s, complete their projects with the help of their tablets and also use a lot of e-textbooks. They call their program M-Learning which they introduced in 2004 and they have statistics which show that scores of all their students have considerably increased with the introduction of Technology in the school.

The students do all kinds of cool stuff other than studying the traditional courses with the help of technology, like creating their own digital arts and animation with the use of Movie Maker, Dreamweaver and Photoshop. To ensure that technology is not abused, the school has a stringent cyber wellness program. The students, teachers and administrators also engage in active podcasting and learn musical instruments with the help of Gigajam Online. Apart from the use of technology, character education is an integral part of the education at Crescent. The other fun part is that the have Wii Fits in their cafeteria which help the students to have fun while remaining fit.

A team of foreign journalists were taken on a tour of Crescent during the International Education Round table 2009 which had education ministers from seven top-performing education systems to discuss how to equip students with skills to adapt to an ever changing future. While there were representatives from Canada, Australia, USA, Sweden, Singapore, China and HongKong there was no one from India. The focus of the discussion was the need to attract high-ranking individuals to the teaching profession by providing competitive salaries, IT tools and equip students for globalized economies.