The suburbs scored high in ‘digital learning’

Mumbai: Mumbai city far outranks the suburbs in school learning outcomes in fundamental reading and maths proficiency, shows an index released by the Union education ministry. While Mumbai city has secured the sixth spot statewide on the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D), Mumbai suburban has found itself among the lower performing districts in Maharashtra, alongside regions like Parbhani and Gadchiroli.The suburbs, though, reverses this performance dynamic in technological parameters. In the ‘digital learning’ domain—which measures indicators like integration of computer labs, smart classrooms, internet access and ICT tools used in active teaching—it emerged as a statewide leader. It also outperforms the city in school infrastructure.The evaluation was based on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+)—a database maintained by the education ministry—and other national assessment metrics.Some school principals said legacy institutions in island city have been able to revamp themselves constantly and are able to access more and better educational resources, while schools in the suburbs have greater student diversity and a higher number of first-generation learners.The statistical gap between Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban in PGI-D is the most pronounced in academic performance metrics. According to the data, the city recorded higher marks in the standard outcomes category, which evaluates fundamental student reading and maths proficiency levels. The suburbs ranked near the bottom in translating classroom instruction into student proficiency within schools.Asked how the city was able to outperform the suburbs and if legacy institutions in island city play a part in that success, Sonal Parmar, principal of Fort’s Cathedral and John Connon School, noted that these comparisons are hard to make as each school has its own distinct character. “However, legacy institutions have a certain character and substance which cannot be ignored,” she said. “They have stood the test of time and have been able to revamp themselves and stay relevant.”Sunita George, principal of Bombay Scottish School in Mahim, said the suburbs’ structural growth and shifting demographics could have played a significant role in the varying outcomes. “A lot of new schools have come up, especially in the suburbs, in the last few years, and all institutions take some time to properly settle in,” she said. She said performance variations are also deeply tied to students’ socio-economic backgrounds. “The suburbs have greater student diversity and a higher number of first-generation learners. The island city has more parents with available resources to support and better invest in their child’s education.”On why the suburbs scored considerably better in terms of school infrastructure, Parmar pointed to a shortage of space in island city. “That’s why many schools, especially in terms of sports infrastructure, do tie-ups with clubs, turfs and other external facilities.” George said, “Newer schools may have more modern and cutting-edge infrastructure, but inevitably schools across both districts are lacking space.”

Mumbai: Maharashtra marginally improved its performance on a govt education index in a year, going up from a score of 649.8 out of 1,000 points to 654.6. Nationally, it trails behind top performing regions like Chandigarh, Punjab, Kerala and Delhi, but it maintains a lead over other large industrial states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka.According to the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D), released by the Union education ministry and based on data from govt-run Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), the state’s best performing domain is ‘equity’, where it scored 90.2% (234.4 out of 260 points) by effectively closing the achievement gap between different student groups. In contrast, its worst performing domain is ‘learning outcomes and quality’, where it registered its lowest relative score of 42.8% (102.8 out of 240 points), followed closely by 45.9% (87.2 out of 190 points) in ‘school infrastructure and facilities’.Thirteen states and UTs fall below Maharashtra, scoring between 58% and 64% of the total points. UP, West Bengal, MP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand scored between 52% and 58% . Meghalaya is at the bottom.The data shows that the top performers outpace Maharashtra because they dominate distinct structural domains. Chandigarh leads the entire country because of its administrative framework, standing as the single territory to score in the highest national bracket for ‘governance processes’, driven by near perfect marks in tracking funds, institutional leadership and digital teacher attendance records. While Maharashtra dropped over half its points in actual classroom delivery, Punjab topped ‘learning outcomes and quality’ with its verified student reading, language and maths proficiency scores.Chandigarh, along with Delhi and Lakshadweep, also dominates the ‘physical assets’ index, reaching top thresholds specifically for providing advanced, functional school environments, building utilities and clean student facilities. In the remaining evaluation areas, Tamil Nadu joins Delhi and Chandigarh at the top post for ‘educational equity’, while Kerala and Lakshadweep lead in ‘teacher education and training’ frameworks.Madhav Suryavanshi of Shikshan Vikas Manch at south Mumbai’s Yashwantrao Chavan Centre said, “Grants given to schools for maintaining infrastructure and developing new facilities are no longer given in Maharashtra while continuing in other states, which has led to a drop in quality across the board in physical infrastructure. More teachers need to be hired, especially in the hundreds of schools with only one or two teachers, and they must be relieved from endless administrative work to allow them to focus on teaching. Most importantly, focus and consistency in education policy is needed to improve the state’s educational outcomes.”He claimed the mandate under RTE Act to promote students automatically till Class 8 has had an unintended consequence of lowering average academic standards, which in turn has driven up dropout rates in later classes. “This requires urgent intervention. Additionally, while funds are continuously poured into physical facilities, there is a distinct lack of monitoring regarding their effective use. When you combine this with the declining enrolment and understaffing plaguing zilla parishad schools, it is clear improvements need to be made.”

Mumbai: Citizens’ forum Amchi Mumbai Amchi BEST (AMAB) on Sunday strongly opposed the state govt’s proposal to redevelop BEST depots through long-term leases to private developers, calling the move “the last nail in the coffin” of Mumbai’s public bus undertaking. It warned that once malls, residential towers, theatres and shopping complexes come up on depot land, commercial interests would inevitably take precedence over public transport needs. The AMAB plans to protest and will petition BEST General Manager Sonia Sethi in this connection.The forum said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ recent assurance that “depot land would remain in BEST’s ownership” does not address the key concern that commercial redevelopment could drastically reduce operational space required for bus parking, maintenance workshops and staff facilities.According to the organisation, BEST’s 26 depots are public assets built over decades through the efforts of the undertaking’s workforce and are essential for housing an expanded fleet of buses. Handing them over for commercial use, it argued, would undermine the future of the city’s bus network rather than strengthen it.The forum also rejected claims that redevelopment revenues would benefit public transport, asserting that the move reflects a broader attempt to gradually ‘privatise’ both bus services and valuable public land. A BEST official denied this charge and said that the non-fare revenue generated will be used to buy new buses and for modernisation (use of technology) of the fleet. “We continue as public transport service across Mumbai and there is no such objective of privatisation of fleet,” an official said.Recently, after a strike of BEST employees was called off, a decision was taken to buy 5,000 BEST-owned buses, and this was announced by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who intervened and convinced the employees’ union to withdraw the stir.Referring to this three-day strike in June, the group said the disruption highlighted the city’s dependence on bus services. With suburban railways already overcrowded and metro travel unaffordable for many commuters, BEST remains a critical lifeline for Mumbai’s working population, a media statement issued by AMAB on Saturday said.AMAB questioned why the undertaking has not received stronger financial support if the govt acknowledges its essential role. The forum reiterated its demand that BEST’s budget be merged with that of the BMC, arguing that such a step would help resolve the undertaking’s long-standing financial challenges.The organisation also called for an increase in the number of BEST-owned buses to 6,000 initially and eventually 10,000 to improve service frequency, reduce overcrowding and enhance commuter comfort.It urged the govt to halt the long-term leasing of depots for commercial projects, prioritise public transport over developer interests, improve working conditions for employees and ensure a safe, affordable and reliable bus system for Mumbai residents.The AMAB maintained that public transport systems worldwide are treated as essential services and are subsidised by govts rather than expected to operate as profit-making enterprises.

Navi Mumbai: A 19-year-old youth riding a scooty was killed and his friend riding pillion was severely injured after he crashed into the rear of a truck parked dangerously by the driver on the Mangaon-Shrivardhan stretch of road in Raigad on Saturday around 2.15 pm.The deceased youth was identified as Mohatsim Mubin Dhanse, 19, and the injured pillion rider as Sufiyan Nasir Bandarkar, 19, both residents of Morba village, Mangaon taluka.PSI Sagar Jadhav of Mangaon police station informed that the two youths were riding from Morba towards Mangaon. Upon reaching the river bridge near Rile village about 1 km before Mangaon on the Mangaon-Shrivardhan road, the scooty rider crashed into the rear of a truck parked on the roadside. Due to the impact of the crash, as both were not wearing helmets, they sustained grievous head injuries. While Dhanse sustained injuries to his head and left hand, Bandarkar sustained injuries to the back of his head above the neck. “The trucker had dangerously parked the vehicle by neither switching on the parking light nor keeping the reflector stand behind the truck to alert oncoming vehicles,” Jadhav said.Jadhav said, “Both injured youths were rushed to Mangaon sub-district hospital, where Dhanse was declared brought dead. As Bandarkar was critical, his kin shifted him to Apollo Hospital in Belapur for superspeciality treatment. The accused truck driver was Ishwar Govind Rathod, 30, a resident of Taloja, Navi Mumbai. Rathod claimed that he parked the truck on the roadside and sat inside for eating snacks for his Saturday fasting, for which he purchased potato wafers.”Jadhav said, “It is possible that the scooty rider Dhanse overtook a heavy vehicle ahead of him from the left side and was caught unawares by the parked truck on the roadside and, unable to control speed, crashed into its rear end.”An FIR was registered against the accused truck driver Rathod under relevant BNS sections for causing the death of a person through a rash or negligent act that does not amount to culpable homicide. Rathod was detained and not arrested but served with a notice under the BNSS provision directing him to co-operate in police probe whenever summoned at the police station and during court trial.

Shresth Suraiya from Mumbai

Mumbai: India made a clean sweep at the 56th International Physics Olympiad, with all five students in its contingent winning gold medals and placing the country jointly at the top of the medals table.The olympiad was held in Bucaramanga, Colombia, from July 5-12. The gold medallists are Shresth Suraiya from Mumbai, Kanishk Jain from Pune, Riddhesh Anant Bendale from Indore, Rishit Garg from Delhi, and Svarit Joshi from Ahmedabad.India shared the first position with China, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea and Taiwan. The competition drew 381 students from 85 countries. A total of 51 gold, 80 silver and 97 bronze medals were awarded. The prize for the overall top performer went to a South Korean student, while an Iranian student was recognised for the best performance in experimental examination. This is only the second time after 2018 that all five members of the Indian team have returned with gold medals from the olympiad.“Shresth’s deep questioning, patience and composure distinguish him. His passion for physics will take him to greater heights,” said his mentor, Prof Vishal Singh of Narayana Co campus school.The five-hour theoretical examination included problems on the thermodynamics of paramagnetic cooling, patterns known as caustics and cusps formed by light reflected inside a coffee cup, the photoionisation of ozone and the dynamics of electron-positron pairs. Several Indian students came close to securing perfect scores in the theory component.The five-hour experimental examination tested students on thermodynamic processes in fluids and heat transfer. The Indian team performed strongly in both components of the competition.The Indian delegation was led by Prof Anwesh Mazumdar of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and Prof Leena Joshi of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Prof Ananda Dasgupta of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, and Nisha Kelkar of Gogate-Joglekar College, Ratnagiri, accompanied the team as scientific observers.The students underwent intensive training at HBCSE during orientation and pre-departure camps, supported by the physics olympiad cell and a pool of external teachers and mentors.This was India’s 27th appearance at the International Physics Olympiad. Over the years, around 44% of Indian participants have won gold medals, 41% silver and 10% bronze, while 5% have received honourable mentions. In the past decade, every Indian student participating in the competition has returned with either a gold or a silver medal.

Thane: An FIR has been lodged against former two-time Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut, his wife, his corporator-son and four others following a complaint by his daughter-in-law alleging years of physical and mental cruelty, forced occult rituals and financial exploitation. One of the seven—an alleged occultist—was arrested on Sunday and sent to two days of police custody.Vinayak denied all charges and suggested that the daughter-in-law’s complaint stemmed from unmet demands of over Rs 12 crore during ongoing divorce proceedings. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called the matter a “purely family issue”.According to the FIR lodged by Kapurbawdi police in Thane on July 10, the abuse began soon after Girija (38) married Gitesh Raut, a Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator from H-East ward, in Dec 2017 and she was allegedly subjected to occult treatment.Girija claimed she was taken to three occultists—Firoz Baba, Kazi Baba and Harishchandra Ghadi—who allegedly performed aghori rituals on her. She alleged that her mother-in-law, Shamal Vinayak Raut, and Gitesh coerced her into taking medication, severely damaging her health over the years.Girija told reporters on Sunday that she had suffered extensive financial exploitation throughout her marriage. She claimed she was forced to resign from her job at a reputable company and placed in her husband’s transport firm, where he exercised complete control over her bank accounts and earnings. She alleged that Rs 17-18 lakh in cash was regularly brought home and counted by her, and that her bank account remained entirely under her husband’s control. Her lawyer said the team plans to approach ED to probe possible money laundering.Girija also alleged that despite consulting many medical professionals and psychiatrists to address marital issues, her husband and her in-laws either blocked effective treatment or manipulated medical consultations against her will. She alleged that Gitesh lived separately with another woman most of the time.She said during their travels to other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and Thailand, she was constantly abused and beaten up when she questioned the lack of a physical relationship and was told that an “external obstacle” was blocking their path.Vinayak, who had served as Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP in 2014-19 and 2019-24, dismissed all occult-related charges as false. He said Girija had demanded a 3BHK flat with a terrace, a car, Rs 2 lakh per month as maintenance pay, and Rs 5 crore as settlement, all of which were rejected. He said she subsequently raised fresh demands, including monthly maintenance of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 10 crore and an additional Rs 2 crore for emotional trauma.Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the case should not be given a political colour, adding that Vinayak was capable of responding to the accusations himself. He questioned why the FIR was filed in Thane when the family lives in Mumbai.BJP minister Girish Mahajan said he had no knowledge of the case but asserted that police would conduct a transparent investigation.Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe said the marital dispute had come up before police’s ‘bharosa cell’, a one-stop help centre for women, where reconciliation attempts failed.