Team ConQuest –a team of 16 dedicated teachers from 10 schools of BSP’s Education department is all set to instil in young Class-7 students of all the English Medium Middle Schools (EMMSs) the spirit of excellence through a novel initiative.
Approximately 1050 students from eleven EMMSs have appeared in a Proficiency Test on 18th January 2012. This is the first step in their grooming for the future, as they gear up for the prestigious National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) in November this year. Through a series of tests, throughout the year, the Education department of BSP hopes to prepare a selected group of sincere, dedicated and enthusiastic learners, who will have imbibed the quest for excellence for their entire life.
The programme is an offshoot of the Education department’s Specialised NTSE Guidance Programme for Class-8 students. It began in October 2010 with a team of five subject experts, led by Dr. Hemant Pandey, Professor, Hislop College, Nagpur , conducting the first-ever session over two days at BSP Senior Secondary School, Sector-7 (SSS-7) for 100 students from the EMMSs, selected after a tough screening test. After the session, the students wanted more inputs. A team of teachers from some EMMSs and BSP Senior Secondary School, Sector-10 (SSS-10) conducted an 8-day programme during the Dussehra-Diwali break in October-November 2010 at SSS-10. As many as six students from EMMSs cleared the first stage of NTSE 2010-11. However none could clear the second stage, which was a huge setback for Team ConQuest.
Subequently two teachers were sponsored by BSP management as observers for two days to a 10-day camp held at Deepshikha Sainik School, Chikaldara, Amravati district, Maharashtra in April 2011. This camp is conducted every year by State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra for students who have qualified for the second stage of NTSE. A similar model was adopted for BSP’s Education department by Team ConQuest.
Soon after the summer vacations, approximately 1200 Class-8 students of BSP EMMSs, appeared in a Screening Test on June 29, 2011. 200 students were short-listed based on this test. This list had four students from Bhilai Ispat Vikas Vidyalaya (BIVV), Sector-6 – an exclusive school for BPL children. The EMMSs continued their own efforts to prepare students as they had been doing in the past. Another test was conducted in September 2011, pruning the list down to 100. And once again one student from BIVV had made it. The success of BIVV students is testimony to Education department’s concerted efforts over the last decade to impart education to disadvantaged children of BPL families.
Specialised NTSE Guidance Programme was held for the 100 short-listed candidates at SSS-10 from 10th to 22nd October 2011. It was followed by a series of three tests in October-November 2011 that exposed the young minds to a host of problems besides subject content. They were given inputs on smart problem-solving tips.
Members of Team ConQuest are waiting with bated breath as time nears for the declaration of first stage results of NTSE 2011-12 by SCERT, Chhattisgarh which had conducted the NTSE exam in November 2011. Now is the time to start grooming NTSE aspirants for the next academic session for which the first step has been taken with the Proficiency Test for Class-7 students on 18th January 2012.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Planning is the key to revive the Indian Test Cricket Team
The seventh successive defeat abroad is the time to act. And this should not be limited to sacking the players in their late 30s. A more coordinated and sincere effort is the need of the hour.
Let us have a look at India's top cricketers' schedule since the World Cup win. It was followed by IPL-4. Then the team played the West Indies in the Carribeans. The Tests were followed by ODIs. Within 5 days of finishing the ODI series in the West Indies, India landed up in England. After a 3-day game they plunged into 4 Tests and kept on losing. Injury to key players who had not missed the lucrative IPL earlier was given as the reason.
The series in England ended with the ODIs, which England won 3-0 thanks to D/L. Immediately thereafter the English team travelled to India for a 5-match ODI series. Then we played 3 Tests against the Windies with Ashwin running them over. The Test series was followed by 5 ODIs. Instead the tour should have been so planned that India would have played ODIs first and Tests later. This would have helped players like Sehwag and Gambhir, and even Kohli to some extent to get into the groove in the ongoing Test series versus Australia.
The poor form of Laxman, first in England and now in Australia is a signal that the selectors need to record in their log-books. It is time to get Rohit Sharma for the Adelaide Test, followed by Pujara sooner than later. Dravid too, after a great tour of England has shown signs of weakness. Sehwag is a great one-day player and should remain in the team for the shorter versions of the game. He was never a Test player in the true sense of the world. He just bludgeoned his way through bowlers and gave India good starts. But his time too has come as far as Tests are concerned. The selectors should look to blood Rahane in the opener's slot with Gambhir, who too will need to work on his technique.
Unfortunately all this debate and discussion would be lost simply because India do not play a Test series, and that too at home, before November 2012. In the interregnum, Indians will play in the Asia Cup (ODIs) in March 2012 followed by IPL-5 (T20s) in April-May 2012 and the T20 World Cup in September 2012.
Instead of planning meaningless ODI tours in the free periods that the team is likely to get this year, the BCCI should plan professionally for the future. The top players and upcoming youngsters are playing each other in T20 matches only. For Indian Test Cricket Team to survive, we need such contests in the Duleep and Ranji Trophies. The Duleep Trophy should be given more importance. Right now it has been reduced to a knock-out tournament. Duleep Trophy should be played in the round-robin format as in the past with each of the five teams playing each other twice - home and away. As India do not have any international engagements in October 2012, Duleep Trophy should be played in that period. It should be made mandatory for all Test hopefuls to play in the tournament. Then only a Varun Aaron or a Umesh Yadav will get an opportunity to test himself against the skills of a Tendulkar or Dravid. Imagine a young batsman being tested by the guile of Zaheer!
But will all this wishful thinking come true?
Let us have a look at India's top cricketers' schedule since the World Cup win. It was followed by IPL-4. Then the team played the West Indies in the Carribeans. The Tests were followed by ODIs. Within 5 days of finishing the ODI series in the West Indies, India landed up in England. After a 3-day game they plunged into 4 Tests and kept on losing. Injury to key players who had not missed the lucrative IPL earlier was given as the reason.
The series in England ended with the ODIs, which England won 3-0 thanks to D/L. Immediately thereafter the English team travelled to India for a 5-match ODI series. Then we played 3 Tests against the Windies with Ashwin running them over. The Test series was followed by 5 ODIs. Instead the tour should have been so planned that India would have played ODIs first and Tests later. This would have helped players like Sehwag and Gambhir, and even Kohli to some extent to get into the groove in the ongoing Test series versus Australia.
The poor form of Laxman, first in England and now in Australia is a signal that the selectors need to record in their log-books. It is time to get Rohit Sharma for the Adelaide Test, followed by Pujara sooner than later. Dravid too, after a great tour of England has shown signs of weakness. Sehwag is a great one-day player and should remain in the team for the shorter versions of the game. He was never a Test player in the true sense of the world. He just bludgeoned his way through bowlers and gave India good starts. But his time too has come as far as Tests are concerned. The selectors should look to blood Rahane in the opener's slot with Gambhir, who too will need to work on his technique.
Unfortunately all this debate and discussion would be lost simply because India do not play a Test series, and that too at home, before November 2012. In the interregnum, Indians will play in the Asia Cup (ODIs) in March 2012 followed by IPL-5 (T20s) in April-May 2012 and the T20 World Cup in September 2012.
Instead of planning meaningless ODI tours in the free periods that the team is likely to get this year, the BCCI should plan professionally for the future. The top players and upcoming youngsters are playing each other in T20 matches only. For Indian Test Cricket Team to survive, we need such contests in the Duleep and Ranji Trophies. The Duleep Trophy should be given more importance. Right now it has been reduced to a knock-out tournament. Duleep Trophy should be played in the round-robin format as in the past with each of the five teams playing each other twice - home and away. As India do not have any international engagements in October 2012, Duleep Trophy should be played in that period. It should be made mandatory for all Test hopefuls to play in the tournament. Then only a Varun Aaron or a Umesh Yadav will get an opportunity to test himself against the skills of a Tendulkar or Dravid. Imagine a young batsman being tested by the guile of Zaheer!
But will all this wishful thinking come true?
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