Education

Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais has suggested changing school timings to ensure that students get adequate sleep. Speaking at an event of the state education department on Tuesday, he noted that people’s sleep patterns have changed.

There is a popular saying that sleeping early and rising early makes a person intelligent, Bais said. These days children are up till midnight and have to get up early for school which makes them sleep-deprived, the governor said. He also said that learning should be fun for students and there should be less emphasis on homework and more emphasis on sports and extracurricular activities. 

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) does not differentiate between India and Bharat, and duly acknowledges the spirit as enshrined in the Constitution that recognises both, according to the Union Education Ministry.

This information was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi in a written reply to a question asked by CPI(M) member Elamaram Kareem in the Rajya Sabha regarding an NCERT panel's recommendation to replace the country's name "India" with "Bharat" in school textbooks. "Article 1 of the Constitution of India states that 'India', that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States'. India's Constitution recognises both 'India' and 'Bharat' as the official names of the country which can be used interchangeably. NCERT duly acknowledges this spirit as enshrined in our Constitution and does not differentiate between the two," she said.

The minister further said the country is collectively moving away from the colonial mindset and encourages the usage of the words in 'Bharatiya Bhasha' (Indian languages).