Activity-based education in nursery mooted

The Bihar Legislative Assembly Committee on Women and Children Development has recommended for introduction of an Activity-Based Learning (ABL) method in nursery standards in Bihar schools.

The panel, headed by Asha Devi, comprises 12 women members of the assembly. It recently tabled the report in the House in which it recorded its experience in a primary school of Tamil Nadu.

The women legislators pointed out that nursery children are not taught by teachers in Tamil Nadu, but given various teaching aids like blocks and letters. “The children develop words from letters on their own and the teacher there only helps them. There is no pressure on the children to study,” the report says. It points out that there is no waste of time as children are engaged in one activity or another. It stresses that the learning process in this method is rapid and the children are slowly promoted to higher classes if they show the same zeal to learn.

“Primary education is the stage where a strong foundation can be laid for the children for the future,” the panel said. The report points out that the primary schools in Tamil Nadu using the APL method have been established with the help of UNICEF and UNFPA and the children are provided nutritious breakfast. The report also praises the cleanliness in the kitchen of the school.

The women MLAs also visited health centres in Tamil Nadu and were impressed by the services provided to pregnant women there. “A pregnant woman is called to the health centre once a month for check-up and after check-up, she is given nutritious food,” they observed, pointing out that even the Primary Health Centres are equipped with blood bank and oxygen cylinder.

They observed that the drugs available and not available at the health centre is displayed on a board so that there is no confusion among the patients.

The women legislators panel stressed that taking care of the health of women and ensuring safe institutionalised delivery is one of the biggest responsibility of the government.

The panel has recommended for adoption of Tamil Nadu pattern for ensuring pre-delivery check-ups for pregnant women and ensuring safe institutionalised delivery. They have strongly recommended at least three health centres in each district of Bihar having the facility for surgical delivery of the babies. link

Five polio cases detected in Bihar

Five new cases of polio have been detected in Bihar in the first two months of this year despite immunisation drive, an official in the state health department said on Saturday.

This is three less than in Uttar Pradesh, which has had the highest incidence of the infection during 2008, a Unicef official said.

"It is sad to admit that five new polio cases surfaced in the state till the end of February," the Bihar health official, who declined to be named, said.

The figures have raised an alarm across Bihar as many parents fear that their children might also catch the disease.

The Unicef official said of the five polio cases, two are P1 and three are P3 strain cases. "The detection of two new cases of P1 is a matter of serious concern," he added.

He said eight new cases of polio have been detected in Uttar Pradesh and one in Delhi till Feb 27. Of the eight cases in Uttar Pradesh, four are of P1 and P3 each.

The battle against polio is far from over in Bihar, which recorded the second highest incidence of the disease in India last year after neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Bihar recorded 233 new polio cases in 2008, one of the highest since the polio immunisation drive was launched in the state nearly a decade ago, an official had said.

Bihar recorded 61 polio cases in 2006 and 193 cases in 2007.link