Government schools in Karnataka to have spoken English classes from this year
Bengaluru: In a renewed attempt at conducting spoken English classes for students of government schools in Karnataka, the Education Department has come up with a comprehensive plan equipped with better resources this year.
The government had planned a project for such classes during the weekends in select government schools last year. The Regional Institute of English had also conducted state-level training for the teachers, but the programme was held back.
According to a report in Times of India, the Education Department is contemplating a project for 180 hours of such classes in an academic year for around 1,000 schools, based on the student strength. The Department plans to recruit one guest teacher per school to handle the spoken English classes. Kannada Public Schools too are to be covered under the project.
Speaking on the project, an academician said that teaching in the regular English classes gets restricted to the prescribed content as there is undue focus on exams and completing the syllabus. The classes lack the environment for the students to speak in English, the academician added and suggested teachers to speak in English for at least 40 minutes in the classes to give the students exposure to English speaking and lead to a natural conversation in the language.
The academician further said that teachers need to design activities in the classroom and have language functions like methods of introducing oneself and asking questions.
AI-powered language is also being launched under the ‘Ek Step’ project announced in the budget this year.
As English medium in government schools is gaining popularity among the masses, the government has announced more such sections. Currently, around 4,190 schools have English medium sections and the government has announced an additional 4,000 schools in the previous budget.
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Deaf and mute woman breaks 16-year silence, exposes serial sexual abuse, blackmail in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): A deaf and mute woman's complaint about a sexual assault that took place 16 years ago in Mumbai has unmasked a serial predator, revealing a disturbing pattern of abuse and blackmail he perpetrated on several women from the community.
The accused was arrested on December 13 after the survivor broke her silence recently following the suicide attempt by one of the women he allegedly sexually harassed.
Disturbed by the suicide attempt, she confided in her friends during a video call about the assault that occurred in 2009.
According to the police, the survivor, a resident of the western suburbs, communicated in sign language during a video call with her friends and colleagues, who were part of a WhatsApp group, that the accused had drugged and raped her when she was a minor.
She also took her husband into confidence, and with support from Thane Deaf Association president Vaibhav Ghaisis, activist Mohammed Farhan Khan, sign language interpreter Madhu Keni, and a retired officer from the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities Divyangjan, the survivor approached the police.
The survivor, her husband and a few of her friends went to the Kurar police station, where her statement was recorded in camera, with Keni as interpreter, and the accused, Mahesh Pawar, was arrested a few hours later from Virar, a suburb in Palghar district.
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Recalling the trauma she endured 16 years ago, the survivor said that a female friend had invited her to explore the city in July 2009 and took her to Pawar's home in Vakola, Santacruz, an official said.
The accused allegedly offered her samosas and some beverage to celebrate the female friend's birthday. The survivor said she was forced to have the drink, which Pawar had allegedly spiked, and after a while, her friend left her alone with him.
The accused allegedly overpowered and raped her, and later blackmailed her with the recorded video of the assault.
The trauma of assault stayed with her over the years, and the attempted suicide of another woman from the community, allegedly assaulted by Pawar, propelled her to come forward.
A probe has revealed that the accused had similarly drugged and assaulted speech and hearing impaired women and threatened them into silence by blackmailing them with obscene videos, a senior police officer said.
The accused allegedly shot obscene videos of several women, using which he blackmailed them and extorted money, gold and mobile phones, he said.
He allegedly forced women into participating in nude video calls with him and recorded these to threaten them, the official said.
"As per initial investigation so far, we have evidence of his abuse of seven women, but the number can increase to more than 24," the official told PTI.
While Pawar has been remanded in judicial custody, no other woman has come forward with a complaint against him as yet, he said.
Talking to PTI, Keni said all women who have survived abuse and harassment by Pawar want to lodge a complaint against him.
She claimed that the accused had extorted money from one of the women he abused, but did not return the sum even when she needed it for a medical emergency.
