CURRENT AFFAIRS 19-11-2021
Topics
- ASER 2021- Covid-19 Impact on Learning
- The Rajasthan Camel Law
- Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
- Puri Heritage Corridor Project
- Sabz Burj
1. ASER 2021- Covid-19 Impact on Learning
#GS2-Education, Issues Related to Children, Government Policies & Interventions
Context
- The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2021) survey was recently released in its 16th edition. The survey looked at how Covid-19 affected learning.
- It reveals a growing reliance on private tutoring and a lack of easy access to smartphones.
- To help make up for learning deficits, special attention is required, particularly in the lowest classes.
In depth information
Points to Remember
- Increasing Government School Enrollment:
- The number of kids enrolled in government schools increased to an all-time high, while private school enrollment fell to a 10-year low.
- From 64.3 percent in 2018 to 65.8 percent in 2020, and 70.3 percent in 2021, there has been a definite transition from private to public schools.
- Enrollment in private schools fell from 28.8% in 2020 to 24.4 percent in 2021.
- Tuition-dependent:
- It has been stated that there is an increasing reliance on private tuition classes.
- Private tuition is more important than ever for students, especially those from low-income households.
The Digital Gap:
- There is a significant digital divide that has the potential to negatively impact elementary school pupils’ learning ability.
- Nearly a third of all pupils in Classes I and II lacked access to a smartphone at home.
- Problems with Newcomers include the following:
- The pandemic has left the youngest entrants into India’s formal education system particularly susceptible, due to a lack of familiarity with pre-primary classes or anganwadis, as well as a lack of access to digital gadgets.
- In Classes I and II, one out of every three youngsters has never attended an in-person lesson.
- Students who entered the school system after the pandemic will need time to adjust to their new surroundings and prepare for formal instruction.
Learning Disparity:
- One of the main issues for 65.4 percent of teachers is that their students are “unable to keep up.”
- This is also a signal that unless something is done quickly, their learning results will suffer.
- Teachers and field investigators across the country indicated that primary school students failed to understand questions testing basic comprehension and math skills during the recent National Achievement Survey (NAS) conducted by the federal government.
- Positive Trend: The proportion of youngsters not currently enrolled in the 15-16 age group has decreased, according to the report. This is one of the sections where students are most likely to drop out.
- In 2010, 16.1 percent of 15-16-year-olds were out of school.
- This number has been continuously falling, reaching 12.1 percent in 2018 as a result of the government’s push to universalize secondary education. The drop continued in 2020, with a 9.9% drop in 2020 and a 6.6 percent drop in 2021.
Next Steps
- A Multi-Pronged Approach: Flexible rescheduling of academic timetables and researching methods for providing education to a larger group of students in conjunction with schools, instructors, and parents.
- Prioritizing underprivileged pupils who do not have access to e-learning.
- Increasing the Effectiveness of Online Education: Shorter but better dialogues should be favoured over extended hours of repetitive sitting and one-way communication.
- The teacher’s responsibility must go beyond simply commanding the classroom to that of a knowledge transfer facilitator.
- Focusing on the Knowledge Aspect: Education is more about motivation than skill. Students are expected to learn more than simply the material on the syllabus.
2. The Rajasthan Camel Law
#GS2- Government Policies & Interventions
Context
- Camel herders and cattle ranchers in Rajasthan have been protesting the Rajasthan Camel Act, 2015, alleging loss of livelihood and business as justifications.
In depth information
About the Rajasthan Camel Act, 2015
- Aim: To prohibit the slaughter of camels and to control their temporary migration or export from Rajasthan in order to protect the camel species as well as the interests of the general public who benefit from them.
- No person shall possess, sell, transport for sale, or cause to be sold or transported camel meat or camel meat products in any form, according to the law.
- It also states that no person shall export or cause to be exported any camel, whether directly or through an agent, servant, or other person acting on his behalf, from any location within the State to any location outside the State for the purpose of slaughter or with knowledge that it will be slaughtered.
- A ‘Competent Authority’ may issue a special permit in the required manner for camels to be exported from Rajasthan for agricultural or dairy farming purposes, or for participation in an animal fair, according to the law.
- A competent authority, according to the legislation, is the collector of a district, as well as any other officer whose competence is granted by the state government by announcement in the official gazette.
The law was passed with the following goals in mind.
- It was passed in 2015, stating that the species is endangered and in need of serious conservation and protection efforts.
- A big number of camels have also been witnessed being transported or carried out of Rajasthan to be slaughtered in other states.
- The State’s recurring famines and shortage conditions serve to exacerbate this threat.
- Existing legislation is insufficient to address this issue.
- As a result, the Rajasthan government was compelled to pass the rule after considering “camels’ social, cultural, and economic utility and contribution.”
Legal Consequences
- People from the Raika and Raibari communities, who have been growing camels for generations, claim that obtaining permission to move camels outside of the state under the 2015 Act can take months.
- This has resulted in a decrease in the number of buyers from states other than Rajasthan, who were previously the principal buyers of camels during livestock fairs.
- The difficulties in finding consumers has put camel herders in a bad financial condition since the ban was passed.
- As a result, camel farmers have been protesting for the past few years, with their concerns heightened by the fact that the camel population in Rajasthan has been steadily declining.
3. Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
#GS2-India and its Neighborhood
Context
- The French Navy is hosting the 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs from November 15th to November 16th in Paris.
- The first edition of IONS was held in New Delhi in February 2008, with the Indian Navy serving as Chair for two years. Currently, the IONS Chair is being held in France.
In depth information
IONS (International Organization for Standardization):
- The Indian Navy came up with the idea in 2008.
- It serves as a forum to improve maritime cooperation among the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by offering an open and inclusive venue for talks on regionally significant maritime problems that will lead to a shared understanding of the way forward.
- The first edition of IONS was held in New Delhi in February 2008, with the Indian Navy serving as Chair for two years.
- India (2008-10), the United Arab Emirates (2010-12), South Africa (2012-14), Australia (2014-16), Bangladesh (2016-18), and the Islamic Republic of Iran have all held the IONS chairmanship (2018-21).
- In June 2021, France was elected Chairman for a two-year term.
Members:
- The IONS consists of 24 member countries that touch or lie inside the IOR, as well as eight observer countries.
- The members were divided into four sub-regions based on their location:
- Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom are among the South Asian littorals (British Indian Ocean Territory)
- Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are among the West Asian littorals.
- France (Reunion), Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania are among the East African littorals.
- Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste are all part of the South East Asian and Australian littorals.
India’s Importance:
IONS fits with India’s three-pronged regional ambitions:
- Strengthening and deepening ties with Indian Ocean littoral governments, establishing its leadership capacity and aspirations to be a net-security provider, and realising India’s vision of a rules-based and stable maritime order in the Indian Ocean region.
- It will aid India’s consolidation of its area of influence from the Malacca Straits to the Straits of Hormuz.
- IONS can be used to counteract China’s growing influence in the region.
4. Puri Heritage Corridor Project
#GS1-Temple Architecture
Context
- The foundation stone for the Puri heritage corridor, which would cost Rs 800 crore, is set to be laid soon by the Odisha government.
- Puri is being developed into a world-class heritage city under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme.
In depth information
- The Puri Cultural Corridor Project, which was conceived in 2016, was unveiled in December 2019 with the goal of transforming the holy town of Puri into an international heritage site.
- For visitors and tourists, the project include redeveloping key areas of the holy town and the area surrounding the Jagannath temple.
- The project will comprise the redevelopment of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) structure, a 600-seat Srimandir reception centre, a Jagannath cultural centre, Badadanda heritage streetscape, coastal development, Puri lake, and a Musa river rehabilitation plan, among other things.
Temple of Jagannath:
- Construction:
- It is thought to have been built by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty in the 12th century.
- Mythology:
- The temple of Jagannath Puri is known as the ‘Yamanika Tirtha,’ where, according to Hindu beliefs, the power of ‘Yama,’ the god of death, has been neutralised due to Lord Jagannath’s presence.
- This shrine is known as the “White Pagoda” and is a component of the Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).
- The temple has four gates: the main gate, the Eastern ‘Singhdwara,’ with two crouching lions, the Southern ‘Ashwadwara,’ the Western ‘Vyaghra Dwara,’ and the Northern ‘Hastidwara.’ At each gate, there is a carving of each figure.
- The Aruna stambha, or sun pillar, sits in front of the entryway and was originally located in the Sun Temple at Konark.
- Rath Yatra (Car Festival) and Bahuda Yatra are two of the most well-known festivals in the world.
5. Sabz Burj
#GS1 -Architecture
Context
- Sabz Burj, a Mughal-era landmark in Delhi, has been restored after nearly four years of arduous work using traditional craftsmanship and high-tech scanning.
Sabz Burj’s Specifications
- Sabz Burj, which dates from the 1530s, is one of India’s oldest Mughal structures.
- Sabz (green) Burj is the name of the building, which is coated with turquoise blue tiles.
- Local legend, according to experts, may have inspired the monument’s name.
- The tomb’s exterior dome, which is dotted with glazed tiles and features unusual geometric and interlacing patterns in various colours, is a noteworthy feature of the neighborhood’s skyline.
- It stands outside Humayun’s Tomb’s entrance.
- It exemplifies the Timurid architectural style, which is associated with Central Asia.
- In the early twentieth century, the monument served as a police station.
Significance
- The roof of its double-dome construction, which is painted in pure gold and lapiz, is of enormous historical value.
- It is believed to be India’s oldest surviving painted ceiling for any monument.