Child Education | Cost of Education | Indian Education |

Madhya Pradesh Girl inspires students - Lalita ka School

2010-04-26T18:19:00.003+05:30

The Government Girls' Middle School at Sherpur village in Madhya Pradesh is now being widely recognised as "Lalita Ka School".

Lalita is no politician but a gritty 15-year-old, whose firm determination to study has motivated other girls to follow suit at the same very school from where she studied from Class VI to VIII.

Lalita, who has moved to another school for her further studies now, was the lone student in all the grades for the last three years, but this did not discourage her from continuing her studies.

The school, located about 50 kms from here, did not deter Lalita to travel all along to attend classes in Standard VI, VII and VIII, where three male teachers helped her out in all the subjects.

The teenager cleared her Class VIII exams with first class marks, inspiring other girls in her area to take up studies in that school. Her father Madanlal Girwal, a government employee was initially a little bit worried as she was alone in the classes but then supported his daughter seeing her zeal for education.

Her parents have now decided to let Lalita continue her students in another school, where she isn't alone. Middle School Head Master Ashok Jaat said, "there were better schools around..Hence attendance of girls at our institute was thin. But now things have changed after Lalita scored first class marks. Now nearly 15 girls have taken admission in our school." The population of Sherpur is 700, Jaat said.

Present Sir - The State of Primary Education in India

2010-04-22T18:00:00.001+05:30

A thought provoking short clip depicting the state of primary education in India. Makes us think that the reality may be far far away from what it appears on the TV set.

The Short Film was made by NID Ahmedabad students.

Best Answers - Does education in the truest sense end with the day at school?

2010-04-19T13:42:00.003+05:30

Our Post on Facebook Page asked ‘Does education in the truest sense end with the day at school?’

Here are the best 3 answers we received from our fans.

"Certainly not, because the very first learning of a child never begins at school likewise it doesn't end at school alone. For each one of us learn something at any point from our childhood till the last breath. Home is the first place of education and school is one of the place of learning but the fact is we learn something at sometime at somewhere but Always..................we are been educated."
- Selvi Selvakumar

"Education is a process which never ends in its truest sense as it keeps on adding useful things to our knowledge bank each day of our life! Education formally may begin and end at school but actually it starts the day we arrive on this earth and ends when we finally pass on our leaning and knowledge for the other generations.
Your Education is complete the day you are in a position to ask what I can do for you. In a sense Education process doesn’t ends but gets completed only to start afresh a new journey of knowledge transformation. "
- Kiran Kanjani

"Yup very much. I truly know education is a must which begins from the day we are born. The language which a baby speaks is the language which we talk it is just that the baby cannot make out and speak properly. Like wise I feel when one is educated she/he can become something in life. With education comes confidence and attitude. Hence education for every child is very important which perhaps starts in school."
- Meenakshi Kondaskar

Don't Let Lack of Funds Cripple the Possibility of a Good Education

2010-04-07T17:45:00.002+05:30

Change is the only constant, and it's even more evident when it comes to inflation. It is quite evident that rising costs are here to stay, especially when it comes to education. Today, the cost of sending your child to kindergarten is already high; imagine how much it would become 10 years from now.

As caring parents, providing the best for your child is priority, but rising costs often make you think twice. However such decisions should never be influenced by the lack of money, which is why you should start thinking today.

What cost Rs.5 lakhs today will cost you Rs.15 lakhs tomorrow! Will you be prepared to shell out that sort of money or will you choose to compromise on your child's education? But as a caring parent wouldn't you want to provide your child with the best possible education.

The best way to avoid such a situation is to start preparing from today itself!

To prepare yourself you should:

Step 1 - Decide the corpus you wish to provide for your child's future and the time when the same should be made available. While doing so you should consider various career specializations available. Also remember, that all professional courses will cost more tomorrow than today.

Step 2 - Select an investment amount that you will be comfortable paying monthly. After all you mustn't forgo the present for the future.

Step 3 - Choose the level of protection you desire. This should be reflected in -

a) the level of sum to be assured chosen by you;
b) the riders you opt for with the base plan.

Some of the riders available under various child plans are:

Comprehensive Health Benefit (CHB) rider - provides complete protection against critical illness and disability, by paying benefits otherwise payable on death.
Income Benefit (IB) rider - pays income to your child in case of your death.
Accident Death Benefit (ADB) rider - pays additional money in case of your accidental death.
Dread Disease Rider (DDR) rider - Gives an additional benefit upon diagnosis of 10 critical diseases like - Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, CABG etc.

Your child's future education and success depends on how well you plan today. Be prepared and everything will fall into place. One such device that can help you get started is the Aviva Educost (education cost calculator) that enables you to calculate the cost of future education and also helps you identify how much you would need to invest today to achieve that corpus.

India joins the list of 135 countries in making Education a Right!

2010-04-05T12:36:00.002+05:30

With the Right to Education Act coming into force, India has joined the league of over 130 countries which have legal guarantees to provide free and compulsory education to children.

According to the UNESCO’s ‘Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010’, about 135 countries have constitutional provisions for free and non-discriminatory education for all.

However, the report says that despite the legal guarantee of free education, primary school fees continue to be charged in some countries.

It also cited a 2005 World Bank survey, which stated only 13 countries impart primary education totally free of cost. In majority of countries, some direct costs have been reported though no tuition fees are charged.

“In reality, free primary schooling still remains the exception rather than the rule,” says the report.

Chile tops the list of countries in providing free education for a period of 15 years to a child. It gives free and compulsory education to children in the age group of six to 21 years.

The Latin American country, where elementary education was among the worst two decades ago, had implemented a special education programme in 1990 which recorded a significant improvement among primary and upper primary students.

There are seven countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy and Norway that have provisions of free compulsory education to children covering their entire schooling period.

Countries like Britain and New Zealand have made education compulsory and free for children for a period of 11 years.

Spain, France, Norway and Canada are among the 19 nations where education is free of cost for a duration of 10 years, ranging from the age of five to 15 or six to 16 years.

There are 34 countries, including Japan, Finland, Russia and Sweden where a child gets nine years of compulsory education, according to the report.

In India, the Right to Education law, providing free and compulsory schooling to children in the 6—14 year age bracket, came into force yesterday.

With the new education act now operational, India has joined some 20 other countries including Afghanistan, China and Switzerland which have laws guaranteeing free and compulsory education for eight years of elementary education.

India’s neighbours such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan do not have any law providing free education, where as Bangladesh and Myanmar have such provisions for a four-year-period while Nepal has five years of compulsory schooling.

According to the report, there are seven countries, including Romania and Brazil whose laws define seven years of compulsory education for a child, while five countries, including the Philippines and Georgia give children legal right to education for a period of six years.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq and eight other countries have the provision of five years of free education for children.

However, there are over 50 countries, including the US, South Africa, Malaysia and a majority of Sub-Saharan African countries which do not have any constitutional provision to provide free and compulsory education to children.

The UNESCO report, however, does not have data about certain countries on whether they have any constitutional provision of providing free education.

The report also states that some countries have achieved extraordinary progress in their education system and the number of children dropping out from schools has declined by 33 million worldwide since 1999.

Source: PTI

What are your views on the decision? Let us know in the comment below!

Explore a Bright Future For Your Child - Top Careers in 2020

2010-04-01T16:54:00.001+05:30

As another year of rapid change passes and the shadow of recession lifts slowly, a slew of new careers are waiting to be explored in the new decade. How is it going to unfold for your children who will stand at important crossroads in 2020? What kind of career options will they have? As we grow into an information-driven society and technology advances, Generation 2020 will find itself caught in a brain race. The youth of the future are likely to consider becoming space architects or genetic counsellors, careers that we can only dream of at this point in time.

Lets take a look at some careers of the future.

1. Healthcare:

Healthcare involves the diagnoses, treatment and care of people, whether newly born, terminally ill or the elderly. The scope of this field has remarkably evolved over the last few years due to increasing investments, growing hospital chains, changing lifestyles and longer life spans. Apart from the traditional areas of medical practice (physicians, dentists, ophthalmologists, cardiologists etc.), careers such as hospital administrators, health technologists and technicians and medical research will see a surge in the long term. Nursing as a profession, will also evolve owing especially to rising numbers of the aged population striving for a better life. The latest additions to the series of upcoming careers in this field are those in brain analysis and genetic counselling.

2. Wealth-care:

Though the finance sector was badly hit by the recession, the clouds have slowly begun to shift and make way for new vistas. Individual earnings are on the rise and so is their willingness to take risks with their money. That being the case, there is a need for professionals who understand, explain, save and multiply their money for them. This opens up doors to careers in financial/investment advisory, risk management, wealth management, and corporate finance.

3. Engineering

With boundless innovation in technology, careers unheard of until now are being touted as options for the new generation. Move over computers and telecommunication engineers, your children will specialise in fields such as robotics, teleportation, simulation and space tourism.

4. Education:

Education is another field where investments are pouring in. Also, it is gradually taking a global as well as commercial avatar. As more foreign universities collaborate with Indian educational institutes and organisations, the latter have begun to move towards organised recruitment processes. Apart from the traditional positions such as chancellors and vice-chancellors, positions such as CEO and COO are also making way into the system.

As teaching methods continue to reform, the 'e' word has already made its way into teaching methods. Thus educational content developers will gain increasing importance in the years to come.

5. IT:

An intelligent network has become a necessity for any setup. Therefore web and system analysts, designers and developers will continue to remain in demand and will be required to undertake increasingly complex profiles. So will software designers and developers, web consultants and information mangers. Also, parallel programming is a relatively new career, likely to become popular in the years to come.

6. Green Jobs:

The pressure of demand on depleting resources is only likely to increase manifold in the future. In such a scenario, we will need people who can come to our rescue; people who specialise in 'resource recycling' and 'intelligent infrastructure'. So when your children grow up, you may see them working on jobs involving renewable energy, biogas, solar and wind power systems, environmental products and services and so on. Other areas include research and development, manufacturing, consulting, energy generation, energy efficient buildings and construction and project design and implementation. Sustainable environment-related fields are expected to lure future job seekers in huge proportions, akin to what IT did a decade ago.

7. Biotechnology Jobs:

Another sector likely to see high growth is biotechnology, which will also create several jobs in the fields of manufacturing, sales, research, development and so on. Careers options in this area include drug discovery, cell therapy and tissue engineering, bio-informatics, clinical research, intellectual property, bio-analytical chemistry, plant engineering etc.

8. Agriculture and other Agriculture-based careers:

Despite making progress in several sectors, agriculture continues to be an important source of income in India. The advent of agricultural technology is expected to foster growth in agriculture and other agriculture-based sectors. There is and will continue to be ample scope for making successful careers in flower farming, spices processing, pharmaceutics, dairy, fruit and vegetable, meat and fish and other food processing sectors. Also, several job seekers are expected to opt for the relatively less explored organic food and beverages industry.

9. Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is fast becoming popular and offers plenty of career options in fields as varied as medicine, engineering, cosmetics, computer hardware and software, robotics, defence, research and development and so on.

10. Other Opportunities:

a) Experimental Petrologist: These are people who study the evolution and formation of rocks on other planets.

b) Realizer: A realizer creates real versions of virtual objects.

c) Weather Modification Police: These people supervise over those who produce iodine induced rainfall from passing clouds. They are responsible for controlling the iodine quantities used for weather modification.

d) Unplugging: This is a mental health professional responsible to help wean people from excess technology dependence.

These are the promises that the future holds for children of today. It seems like a difficult path to tread, but then it always is and cannot be any different. One thing is for sure though, given the immense scope for exploring a wide array of career choices, providing your child the space for self exploration is imperative.

Also the future of your child, education and success depends on how well you plan today.
Be prepared and everything will fall into place.

What do you think about this article? Let us know in the comments below!

Best Answers - How important is quality education in terms of being successful in life?

2010-03-25T11:25:00.004+05:30

Our Previous Post on Facebook Page asked "How important is quality education in terms of being successful in life?"
Here are the best 3 answers we received from our fans:

"Its just not education - It is education with the right attitude that matters ultimately. Can also be phrased - not as education, Knowledge with right attitude. Its not necessary Knowledge comes only through education."
- Vamsi Araveti

"Being Successful means different things for different people. Success is a state where you actually feel that you are being able to achieve what you considered important in life be it great living, great work, great life, great friends, great family. And the quality of education determines what route you took and how effectively you archived those gr8 things in life.
In this millennium of the "Mind", knowledge is the only factor which gives you a cutting edge over others and education is the only tool which helps you in rising above stereotypes. In fact education not only gives you knowledge it gives you the ability to apply that knowledge effectively in all your activities in life and arms you with an approach which has an answer for every problem.
So, quality of education is the most important criteria when you are deciding what SUCCESS in your life is as EDUCATION gives you an ability to take decisions wisely, the approach to apply logic in your thinking, helps in the process of re-inventing the "thinking" concept and guides you to make an informed choice always in life."
- Kiran Kanjani

"In short, Education with right attitude & knowledge will help to be successful and rich. And the most important thing having all the experience and willingness to work hard is surely the key to success."
- Meenakshi Kondaskar

Best Answers - How Important is it for parents to Save for their Child's Future?

2010-03-17T17:21:00.005+05:30

Our Previous Post on Facebook page asked "How Important is it for parents to Save for their Child's Future?"

Here are the Top 3 answers we received from our fans

"Parents play the vital role in a child's future. Many parents plan for their kid's future; some even start saving money for their kids, so that their child would be safer, financially. This is a very good practice. A child's future is no joke, especially a child's higher education, it will decide the future of you child to a great extent. A good college education might mean the difference between a good job with a well paid salary and a small job with a minimum wages. The earlier you start the better. Then you will have a head start on your child. Children tend to grow up very fast and before you even know it the time has come for your child to go to college. When you're saving for your child, don't take any risks. You will be taking a risk with the future of your child. The best advice I can give you is to start a separate savings account in a well established bank :-)"
- Anuja Nair

"There is a very famous proverb “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine". So yes it is very important to plan and save for our children future so that they have a quality education at the right time and at the right place (good campus) and they become responsible and successful citizens of our nation. Saving and planning for child's future is not only important for the child but also for the parents as well because that ways they are in a better position to manage and allocate their monetary resources in a better fashion without any hiccups or glitches and everything runs smoothly. Management mantra says -If we PLAN well then we are very close to the SUCCESS! So plan your savings well and be successful!"
- Anshoo Mishra

"Work Today and Plan for Tomorrow!!! It is very imp for parents to Save for their child's future as it is an Investment which will reap multiples of results later in their life. At the speed the world and the trends are changing these days we cant PREDICT what the future has in store for us but yes with our wise savings we can really PROTECT our child's dreams and aspirations even if the situations are not in our favour.
No matter how good the opportunities are available for your child later in their life, if you don’t have the resources to optimally utilize those opportunities at that time, your entire effort to reach at that level will seem very BIGGGGG as compared to a small contribution (saving) made today.
So, start investing and contributing your share in the "DREAM-ACCOUNT" of your child today!!!"
- Kiran Kanjani

Best Answers - What Role do Parents Play?

2010-03-12T12:12:00.007+05:30

Our Previous Post on Facebook page asked “Nowadays Children have an enormous pressure to secure high grades (95% +). What Role do the parents play in this?”

Here are the Top 3 answers we received from our fans.

"Talking about higher grades, everybody likes to be on top and Parents play a vital role in increasing or decreasing the pressure sustained while undergoing exams. Some parents encourage their kids to give their best shot no matter whatever the result is. On contrary some parents pressurize their kids for higher grades. Such parents should always remember no one in this world is perfect. They should teach their child to achieve higher goals with love n care n not to become a memory machine whose only goal is to achieve higher grades."
- Aniket Mhatre

"Parents role: top secrets to help your child secure according to his competencies and not exactly 99 percentile are:
a) Set your Child's mind free from any pressure / comparing.
b) Don’t force CURFEW in your home during any exams like NO TV, NO OUTDOOR ACTIVITES and stuff like that Instead maintain a healthy atmosphere at home with some BREAKS (where child is free to do activities of his choice like watching TV, going out with friends, watching a movie or playing some sports as its extremely important to have a stress free and refresh and rejuvenated mind coz this helps to concentrate.
c) During exam time please don’t talk ONLY ABOUT STUDIES and EXAMS as it creates an UNNECESSARY pressure on a child's mind.
d) Its advisable to become their trustworthy friends since beginning so that they feel free to express what they are feeling. Also, try observing his/her mood, actions in and around exams coz sometimes they don’t express out of fear something which is bothering them a lot which may take a toll on them.
I hope you will find these points helpful cause I feel that the best mentor / friend / guide / critic / counselor and a teacher of a child is none but their own PARENTS!!!"
- Anshoo Mishra

"Why not develop a love for learning from childhood. Marks are not everything; Parents should realize that they should help the child and always satisfy his curiosity. They should help him stand on his feet and I am sure the child who has the trust and confidence of his parents will always be more confident and will always perform well. He knows he does not have to prove himself. "
- Mamta Shah

Thank you Achrekar Sir!

2010-03-02T11:24:00.004+05:30

Did you know, when Sachin was little he would practice for hours at the nets? If he got tired, his coach would put a one-rupee-coin on the top of the stumps as an incentive for any bowler who could dismiss him. But, if Sachin passed the whole session without getting out; his coach would give him the coin instead.

20 years since, the world hails this young boy as the world’s greatest batsman of all time.

Aviva thanks Sachin’s teacher for giving us the little master.

You too can thank Achrekar Sir, just write your message here and we will send him a card with your name and message on it.

The Sad Story of Mr. X who did not plan ahead!

2010-02-18T17:31:00.003+05:30

Imagine this, on a fine morning Mr. X is seen sitting by the porch lost in deep thought. His neighbour Mr. B, who is unaware of his plight, comes over to share the good news of his son being accepted at a foreign university.

“Hey X, my son got through the university he had been trying for!” said B. But Mr. X barely looks up. Mr. B tries again but in vain. Finally he walks up to Mr. X and looks at his downcast eyes. They are full of sorrow.

“What is wrong? Tell me friend? Can I help?” asked Mr. B.

“No my friend B, my life is wasted! No one can help me now…” explained a morose Mr. X.

“It can’t be so bad! Tell me what is it? Maybe I can help?” said B.

But poor Mr. X couldn’t say any more. So what went wrong with him, you wonder? To begin with Mr. X never planned anything. He was a happy go lucky guy who took everything in his stride and lived life to the fullest each day. But life is uncertain as things change. What Mr. X did not anticipate were the rising costs of living. While enjoying his life he overlooked the money aspect and forgot that his bank balance would be nil some day if he saved nothing today. Worst of all, the cost of education during X’s time was nothing compared to the current era.

No one has to pay through the nose to get their children educated. Unfortunately for Mr. X, the cost of education kept on rising till the day he couldn’t afford it anymore. Sadly his children had to attend the local community college while his friend’s children made it to foreign universities.

Mr. X could not fathom that the cost of an MBA which was a couple of lacs few years ago, would be 40 lacs plus now!

Sad, right?

So where did Mr. X go wrong?

Can you tell us how Mr. X could have avoided the situation?

Is your child on the right education path?

2010-02-15T16:18:00.001+05:30

Every child has a dream. Every dream needs to be fulfilled.
But do you realize how many dreams are just never fulfilled due to problems of funds? Is that the same case for your child’s education?

When you look at your child what do you see? A compromised education or a satisfied career option?

Take the poll and let us know whether your child is really following the right path in whatever he/she wants to become?

Click here to take the poll

BMC to offer Rs.10,000 for SSC, HSC Students with 90% and above

2010-02-05T14:46:00.003+05:30

The BMC recently announced that they will give Rs 10,000 as reward to children of all tax payers who secure over 90 per cent marks in SSC and HSC examinations. For this, the BMC has made a provision of Rs 10 crore in its annual budget for 2010-11 which was presented on Wednesday.

What’s more, BMC has announced that the reward will also be given to students who have secured 90 per cent marks in the academic years 2007-08 and 2008-09. Around 1,200 students in SSC and about 1,300 students in HSC scored more than 90 per cent marks in the 2009 exams.

This initiative was taken to encourage people to pay their property taxes on time for if they default, their children would miss out on the reward if they scored more than 90 percent.

Will this initiative by the BMC lead to a more competitive environment among students or will it lead to additional pressures on students by parents?

What's your take?

Click Here to take the poll

Children to demand hike in funds for education

2010-02-04T14:07:00.003+05:30

The National Coalition for Education (NCE) will embark on a week-long campaign beginning February 17 to demand allocation of six per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for education.

“We have already communicated our concerns to the Finance Ministry, Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), the Planning Commission and the parliamentary standing committee on HRD,” said Ramakant Rai, NCE convenor.

The NCE is a conglomeration of networks working on right to education.

“During the budget session, children from eight States will march along Parliament Street with their teachers, representatives of the civil society and a few parliamentarians to press for their demands,” Mr. Rai said.

In addition, the campaign will seek to implement the right to education “in the right spirit,” Mr. Rai said.

On February 18, the children will walk to the doors of parliamentarians, expressing their concerns.

“Most kids participating in the campaign are from Naxal-affected areas, rescued bonded child labourers, children who dropped out of school and others who have been affected by the government’s inaction on education rights. This will be an opportunity for them to speak their mind,” Mr. Rai said.

Source - The Hindu

Taking the Baby Steps while securing your child's future

2010-02-03T13:03:00.003+05:30

All parents dream that their child gets the best possible childhood and a safe and secure future. Yet sometimes due to sheer negligence or laziness, parents are unable to offer their children a well laid out financial platform to pursue career ambitions.

Delayed planning, insurance experts have point out, has been one of the key reasons contributing to this. With the future cost of education going up significantly in recent years, the importance of having a perfect financial plan to secure your child’s future has become essential.

However now you need not worry as we will help you make an informed choice in a market flooded with child plans.

Click here to find out how

Environment Education to be Compulsory in Uttar Pradesh

2010-01-29T17:43:00.001+05:30

Lucknow: Environment education will be a part of the school curriculum in Uttar Pradesh from the next academic session.

State environment principal secretary Alok Ranjan told the media here today: "The government has already taken the first step in that direction by taking a decision to constitute a State Climate Change Board that would chart the roadmap for imparting environment education across the state."

To be headed by the chief secretary, the proposed board would also set up an Environment Fund to promote research and studies in environment related issues and subjects.

According to Ranjan, Uttar Pradesh was the first state in the country to pave way for setting up a Climate Board, which was being set up as a part of the proposed eight missions under the recommendations of the Climate Change summit.

"Among the areas to be covered by these missions were solar energy, water, agriculture, forests, sustainable habitat, Himalayan ecosystem and above all creating a knowledge base on climate change," he pointed out.

The Board has also been empowered with a regulatory role in order to ensure that its decisions were implemented on ground.

The state government was in the process of preparing a five-year and a 10-year action plan to set the ball rolling.

"The board would also work towards creating and spreading awareness about the need for preserving our environment, which alone could arrest detrimental changes in the climate," observed Ranjan, while adding that "making environment education a part of the curriculum would go a long way in that direction." (IANS)

Why Navi Mumbai?

2010-01-25T18:40:00.002+05:30

Why are there many schools coming up in Navi Mumbai?

Land is cheaper than on the mainland.
There is also more of it available, so schools have much bigger campuses.
Lots of professionals are moving there, and they are spurring demand for high-quality schools.
On average, fees are lower than in Mumbai.
The region has a more organised road network and transport facilities.
Admissions are not as cut-throat as in Mumbai — at least so far.

The Schools, in Numbers

Navi Mumbai Corporation:
Primary schools: 49
Secondary schools: 3

PRIVATE AIDED:
(partly aided by the government)
Primary schools: 38
Secondary schools: 30

UNAIDED:
(no government funding)
Primary schools: 95
Secondary schools: 48

To find the best of schools in Navi Mumbai Click here

Aviva Educost- Education cost calculator

2010-01-21T12:36:00.002+05:30

You will watch your child grow from a newborn to a toddler then from preteen to a young adult. But at what point have you considered planning for their future? The days seem to pass by slowly but the years fly by so quickly.

As a parent I am sure you value the importance of a good education for your child. You also probably realize that when it comes to investing for your child’s future, there is no better time to start than now.

With the cost of higher education constantly rising, it has become difficult to calculate the amount you would require, after 18 years, to help your child become a successful professional.

A recent survey shows that Indians consider investing towards their children’s education a key priority. This shows that education is the best investment that you can make to secure your child’s future. But do you know how much to invest, or how much your child’s higher education will cost by the time she is ready to enroll for it?

Now you can, at the click of a button. Aviva has introduced a simple tool, called Aviva Educost, which helps you calculate the amount you would require to secure your child’s education. This free-to-use application comes with 20 career options and a comprehensive list of 145 institutes across the world to choose from. Factoring in the rate of inflation, hidden education costs like coaching fee and application charges, the Educost gives you a fairly accurate idea of the financial implication of your child’s higher education.

Now, with Aviva Educost, you can start preparing for the future your child deserves.

Future Cost of Education

2010-01-14T18:35:00.002+05:30

Education is the bridge between our children and their future prosperity. As a caring parent you would undoubtedly want to provide your child with the best education. Unfortunately the cost of quality education, particularly higher studies is on a rise.

This is precisely why it is essential that you plan ahead for your child’s future. Use the Aviva Educost to know exactly, how much would it cost to give your child the best education.

Click here to find out

Top School Survey

2010-01-12T15:26:00.003+05:30

Admission process is in full swing and as a concerned parent, the importance of sending your child to the right school takes precedence. To make things easier for you, Aviva, along with Hindustan Times put together a survey that identifies the top 10 schools in your area within your city.

The survey was conducted by the prominent market survey agency ‘C fore’. The survey consisted of a healthy mix of parents and teachers that brings you a result that is fitting and unbiased.

You can check out the entire survey here.

DPS Ghaziabad sports to the Top

2009-12-29T16:19:00.001+05:30

The red brick structure of Delhi Public School (DPS) Ghaziabad stands in stark contrast to the dusty road that leads to the school.

Located on the Delhi-Meerut highway and spread over 15 acres, the campus offers Wi-Fi facility and is also home to six international-quality cricket pitches, four basketball courts and a skating rink.

The 29-year-old school is naturally one of the popular choices for parents in Ghaziabad.

"The school has a unique login ID for each student. This system allows us to be in touch with the progress in the classrooms. The teachers are very tech-savvy and are extremely organised," said Dr Anju Rai, a gynaecologist, whose two sons study in the school.

"If my child is unable to attend school, we can access the lessons taught in class through this system."

The school has 3,000 students and 160 permanent teachers led by an award-winning principal.

"The teacher student ratio is 35:1. This helps us give individualised attention to every student," said Kumkum Sahai, headmistress of the secondary wing.

"Personal contact classes are held for students who are weak and teachers are constantly trained to cater to the needs of the students."

One extra hour of sports before the school starts every morning is proof of how much importance the school gives to sports.

The world-class sporting facilities at the school have borne outstanding results too.

"Initially my parents weren't keen on me pursuing swimming. But once I won an event and my photograph appeared in the newspapers, my parents agreed," said nine-year-old Saira Sirohi, a Class 5 student.

She is one of the youngest swimmers in the country to cover a distance of 38 kilometre in the record time of 16 hours and 35 minutes.

Pooja Chaudhry, whose three daughters study in the school, said, "Children hardly go out to play nowadays. So the one extra hour of sports, apart from the usual `sports class', takes care of all physical activity a growing child needs."

The school's other sports stars are Sikandar Ali Khan (13) and Prince Bajaj.

Khan, a Class 8 student, represents India in under-14 football and also captains the Uttar Pradesh under-14 team.
And Class 6 student Bajaj is the the school's star chess player who has participated in national and international competitions.

Making teaching interesting and lessons more lucid and accessible are the audio-visual modules called interactive technology boards that the teachers use as against the traditional black boards.

"While teaching with these aids one can visualise and this in turn helps kids retain what they have learnt. When children see the interactive board, they are more involved in the process of learning," said Sangeeta Mukherjee Roy who teaches Social Science in the secondary section.

"We can customise the learning according to the needs of the students and it saves a lot of time too."

Roy said the laptop provided to every teacher helps them formulate teaching tools better. "Encouraging and bringing the child's potential to the fore is our prime objective," said Rita Kapur, the school principal.

Nursery Admission - Parents Battle

2009-12-28T16:20:00.000+05:30

New Delhi: Cutting short vacations, filling in niggling details on heaps of admission forms, or sitting at the computer for hours - the capital's nursery admission process has left the parents of toddlers a worried lot.

According to most parents, the admission process if full of hassles this time - much in contrast to the government's claim of making it a regularised and smooth process,

Parents say that while all schools started giving the forms on the same date, on December 15, the schools had their own different dates of accepting the completed forms.

Said Amiya Sharma, mother of a four-year-old, "The Directorate of Education (DoE) may be saying that the admission process has been made regular, but the reality is that schools are still doing things as per their own whims and fancies."

"For one, almost every school has different dates for submission of the forms. Initially when the process began on December 15, the impression was that it will be a uniform affair. But now some schools will start accepting the forms only next week, while there are others that would have closed form submissions by then," Sharma told the sources.

"I am so worried that we may miss some deadline, that I have cut short our family vacation to Mumbai from two weeks to one. I don't think I will be able to enjoy the holidays until my daughter's admission is done," Sharma added.

Tedious paper work and questions demanding lengthy answers on the application form which have to be filled by parents is another often heard complaint.

Avanti Das, a bank employee, said that she and her husband have been staying up late into the night to fill up the lengthy forms.

"Yesterday for instance I was filling the online form of a school, and when I scrolled down I saw a few questions which needed in-depth answers expressing our opinion. So I had to log out, write down the answers separately, discuss with my husband, and then fill up the form," Das said.

"Questions like how can the school and parent work together for the benefit of the child, are expected. But to ask me what do I think about the current education system, or have I read any text of Aurobindo is not!" she added.

Sharma further said the process was made "unnecessarily" complicated by some schools that are asking for affidavits which have to be attested by a first class magistrate and photocopies of educational qualifications ofparents attested by a gazetted officer only.

Sharmila Ghosh, an entrepreneur, said, "The government may have said that no school will conduct interviews, but schools are doing it on the sly. I had applied in a south Delhi school for my daughter and yesterday was the last day of submission of the form. I sent my driver to submit it. He called me to say that my husband and I have been asked to come for an interaction immediately."

"The school had only mentioned the time of submission of the form - but it was actually meant for the interaction. Since my husband was at work in Noida and I was in my office in west Delhi at the time, we couldn't make it to the interview," she added.

Ghosh said after the experience, she and her husband have decided to take turns to fill and submit forms personally, and have pushed back their vacation until theprocess is complete.

Since the admission process began for nursery classes on December 15, the education department has received more than a hundred complaints against various schools. Last week the department warned 19 schools after receiving complaints against them.

As per the schedule, schools will stop accepting application forms on January 30 and bring out the first list of successful candidates by February 1, 2010.

Nursery Admission - Parents Protest at Jantar Mantar

2009-12-28T14:48:00.001+05:30

New Delhi: Anxious parents, running from pillar to post, not bearing the mercenary attitude of the private schools to get their little ones admitted decided to hold a protest against them at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday.

Hundreds of aggrieved parents in the capital sat on a dharna organized by the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangha (DAM) to protest against the manner in which they are conducting the nursery admissions.

Aggrieved parents vented out their grievances and complained of the "mercenary attitude" of these schools "who are interested only in minting money."

They also voiced their concern upon their arbitrary procedure to conduct admissions in violation of the Department of Education (DoE) guidelines.

DAM's President, Vijendra Gupta said that, "The DoE's admission policy has been openly flouted by these private schools for nursery admissions. The parents stand helpless and suffer at the hands of the greedy school managements that are only interested in monetary benefits which they derive after admitting children of influential parents. Every norm of the DoE has been manipulated as the schools still do not deter from taking donations. They are following a very partisan admission policy, interviews are being conducted etc."

Rakesh Sharma, a parent at the dharna, informs, "The government policy has had no effect on schools, I am still running from pillar to post for my son's admission. Violating the government and court orders, they are conducting interviews with children and parents. There are hidden costs against the fixed cost of Rs.25 set by the government. I had to pay Rs.800 as syllabus cost made compulsory for the admission form, which should cost only Rs.25. we also thought that the last date for the submissions is January 15 but most of the schools are only giving us two or three days."

Sumit Vohara, president of admissions nursery dot com, informs, "Private schools are breaching government guidelines for nursery admissions. Schools somehow are using their tactics to extort as much money as possible from the parents. They design the admission forms in such a manner that a parent is bound to mention his salary, which is not a healthy practice to follow. Schools are charging donations and non-admissible fees etc and lower income families are being harassed and also denied forms."

Nursery is Costlier than IIT

2009-12-23T16:34:00.002+05:30

Parents successfully clearing the rigorous nursery school admission process of their wards in Delhi find themselves staring at one last but big hurdle -fees that even top the annual Rs 50,000 charged for admission by IITs.

With thousands of parents fighting over a few hundred seats in a limited number of good schools, the private institutions call the shots during the admission season.

The current fee structure in the IITs is around Rs 50,000 per annum. Besides, students pay about Rs 20,000 annually for other purposes like accommodation, alumni and admission fees.
But when it comes to reputed nursery schools in Delhi and NCR, the figure increases significantly and quotes anywhere around or above Rs 75,000 a year, which parents have to shell out even after undergoing a rigorous interview and evaluation process.

For instance, a school in Gurgaon charges Rs 75,000 as admission fees, while the composite annual fee is Rs 1,70,000 for 2009-10 school term. Besides, there are extra charges such as Rs 38,000 to Rs 44,000 as annual transport fees, Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,500 as IT fees every year.
A Noida school charges a one-time admission fee of Rs 61,000 plus Rs 26,000 per quarter. Similar is the case with another school in the satellite city which asks Rs 45,000 as admission fees with an additional quarterly fees of Rs 11,000.

Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said he was aware of violations, but his department could only act against a school if it receives complaints from parents.

Top 10 Schools in South West Delhi

2009-12-22T17:07:00.002+05:30

1. The Shri Ram school, Vasant Vihar
At a Glance
Numbers: 780 students, 82 teachers
Board: ICSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of classes 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 96.6 per cent and 96.75 per cent, respectively.
Nursery cost: Rs. 60,000 per year (Rs. 5000 per month)
No. of nursery admits: 112
Website: www.tsrs.org

2. Springdales, Dhaula Kuan
At a glance
Numbers: 2,500 students, 120 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Classes 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 96 per cent and 94.8 per cent, respectively
No. of nursery admits: 128
Nursery cost: Rs 81,200 per year.
Website: www.springdales.com

3. Delhi Public School, RK Puram
At a glance
Numbers: 8,000 students, 400 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Classes 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 97.3 per cent and 98 per cent, respectively
Admission cost: Rs. 64,000 (approx) per year
No. of nursery admits: 300
Website: www.dpsrkp.net

4. Vasant Valley
At a glance
Numbers: 1250 students, 150 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 93.2 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively.
Nursery cost: Rs. 99,500 per year.
No. of nursery admits: 60
Website: http://www.vasantvalley.org

5. Modern School, Vasant Vihar
At a glance
Numbers: 2,200 students, 150 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 96 per cent and 95 per cent, respectively.
Nursery cost: Rs. 37,800 (only tuition fee) per year.
No. of nursery admits: 100
Website: www.modernschoolvv.com

6. DPS, Vasant Kunj
At a glance
Numbers: 4,000 students, 212 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 94.8 per cent and 96.2 per cent (Science), respectively.
Nursery cost: Rs 49,000 for the full year, excluding transport..
No. of nursery admits: 175
Website: www.dpsvasantkunj.com

7. DPS, Dwarka
At a glance
Numbers: 3,264 students, 183 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 98 per cent and 94.8 per cent (Commerce), respectively.
Nursery cost: One time fee of Rs 20,000 (including first quarter fee). Rs 8,875 (includes transportation) is the per quarter fee for the rest of the year.
No. of nursery admits: 180
Website: www.dpsdwarka.com

8. Venkateshwar International
At a glance
Numbers: 2,230 students, 130 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 in 2008-09 scored 94 per cent and 94.8 per cent, respectively
Admission cost: Rs.55,000 per year.
No. of pre-primary admits: 240
Website: www.vis10dwarka

9. Air Force Golden Jubilee
At a glance
Numbers: 2,165 students, 82 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 96 per cent and 94.8 per cent, respectively..
Nursery cost: Rs 28,730 for a year.
No. of KG admits: 105
Website: www.afgji.org

10. Tagore International
At a glance
Numbers: 1,854 students, 92 teachers
Board: CBSE
Academic rigour: Toppers of Class 10 and 12 for 2008-09 scored 94.6 per cent and 94.4 per cent, respectively..
Nursery cost: Rs40,850 per year.
No. of KG admits: 132
Website: www.tagoreint.com

Methodology: The survey was conducted in two phases by market research agency C fore (www.cfore.org) . In the first phase, a perception-based survey was conducted to zero in on a list of top 10 schools from six zones across Delhi — Central, North, Southeast, Southwest, East and West. In all, 1,200 respondents, comprising parents and teachers and spread uniformly across the city, took part in the survey. The respondents were asked to recall the top 10 schools in their zone. In the second phase, a similar survey was carried out, asking parents and teachers to rate those schools on a scale of 10 against various parameters (mentioned in the table on the left). The parents-and-teachers ratio in both phases of the survey was 80:20.

Where the Teacher's Mind is without Fear

2009-12-22T14:22:00.001+05:30

One of DPS Rohini’s strongest points, the Hindustan Times-C fore survey found, was its faculty. On the faculty competence front, the school scored 8 on a scale of 10, the highest in North Delhi.

The school uses a rigorous six-level selection process — including demo classes by the candidates — to select teachers who are not only well-versed in their respective fields but are also “young and spirited”, the school principal explains.

The good part about teaching in the school, say teachers, is that they are allowed to work on their own terms.

“Resources are available at the drop of a hat for both the students and the faculty members,” says Minakshi Khurana, headmistress of the junior section.

Working with the school since 1996, Khurana is one of the school’s oldest faculty members. “In DPSR you are given the freedom to teach in the style that suits you best,” she says.

Pallav Gupta, the only male teacher in the school, says: “The best thing about our school is its overall atmosphere.

One doesn't have to worry about anything except one’s classes.” Class 12 coordinator and accounts teacher, Gupta believes the relaxed academic environment makes him deliver more as a teacher. “Though my day begins and ends with classes, it is just a great school to teach at,” he says.

Don't always have to be Old to win Gold

2009-12-21T17:17:00.002+05:30

It’s only 11 years old. Its first batch of Class 12 students passed out just seven years ago. It is so young, in fact, that its alumni base is still in its infancy. Yet, Sanskriti School was voted the best in Central Delhi by respondents of the HT-C fore survey.

Established in 1998 by the Civil Services Society in Chanakyapuri, Sanskriti scored high in almost all fields— from competence of faculty to infrastructure provision.

“It was set up to cater to the needs of government officers whose children had trouble getting admission to good schools due to their frequent transfers,” said Abha Sahgal, the school’s principal.

Sixty per cent of seats in the school are reserved for children of government servants.

One reason why Sanskriti has succeeded in achieving so much in such little time could be the individual attention each student receives here. There is one teacher for every 12 students, a student-teacher ratio higher than what most other schools in the city offer.

The infrastructure at Sanskriti is, again, what very few schools can boast of. The school has four libraries, a swimming pool, a diving pool, ramps for disabled students, amphitheatres, music recording rooms and separate rooms for dancers.

The school also recycles and makes its own paper.

“One of Sanskriti’s strengths is its stress on extra curricular activities,” says Tanvie Vinayak (17), a Class 12 student.

But Sanskriti is also often criticised for its excessive focus on co-curricular activities. This in some ways, say critics of the school, takes away the focus from academics.

But Ritika Khera, 23, an alumnus of the school and now a student of S.P mJain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, has a different take.

“Sanskriti doesn’t focus more on extra curricular activities, it actually balances academics with co-curricular, which other schools forget to do,” she said.

“I scored over 90 per cent in my Class 12 but it was the extra curricular participation that gave me an edge in my college education and later in job and MBA interviews.”

Among some unique co-curricular activities that students must take part in is a mandatory village trip for Class11 students.

“The trip was an eye opener and has inspired me to think about starting my own NGO one day,” said Vinayak, who had gone on the trip last year.

Of grades, marks and the pressure on students...

2009-12-21T13:23:00.002+05:30

The school's director, Stalin Malhotra, says it is important that children are exposed to a certain degree of pressure right from their school days.

Reacting to the HRD ministry's recent move to make the Class 10 board examinations optional from the next academic year, he says, “Yes, the very word 'optional' helps to take a substantial amount of stress off a student. But we must remember that sooner or later a person has to face pressure... during college admissions, during job interviews. So, the sooner a child is taught to face pressure, the better it is for him or her."

Malhotra believes grading students, instead of awarding them marks, also helps them handle examination stress better.

Yes, the very word ‘optional (Class 10 boards)’ helps to take a substantial amount of stress off a student. But a child has to face pressure sooner or later...

Stalin Malhotra
Director, DPS Faridabad

Nursery Admissions begins in Delhi

2009-12-17T17:18:00.004+05:30

Nursery Admissions have begun in Delhi and Parents from all across the city are gearing up for the admission of their children.

Here is the list of Schools across Delhi and the dates for admission process

Aadharshila Vidyapeeth, Pitam Pura - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar - 15 Dec to 31st Dec
Amity International School, Saket - 15 Dec to 26th Dec
Apeejay School, Pitam Pura - 15 Dec to 22nd Dec
The Banyan Tree School, Lodhi Road - 15 to 31st Dec
D.A.V, Model Town - 15 Dec to 31st Dec
Delhi Public School, R K Puram - 15 Dec 09 to 15 Jan 2010
Delhi Public School, R.K.Puram - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
Delhi Public School, Rohini - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
DPS International, Saket - 15th Dec Onwards
Heritage School, Rohini - 15 Dec to 12 Jan 10 ( Online )
Kulachi Hansraj Model School, Ashok Vihar - 15 Dec to 31st Dec
Modern Convent School, Dwarka - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
Modern School, Vasant Vihar - 15 Dec onward
Mother's International School, Sri Aurobindo Marg - 15 Dec to 15th Jan 2010
R.S. Junior Modern School, Humayun Road - 15 Dec Onwards
Sanskriti School, Chanakya Puri - 15 Dec to 7th Jan 2010
Sardar Patel Vidyalaya - Dec 15 to Dec 24
Salwan Montessori School, Old Rajinder Nagar - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
St. Andrews Scots Senior Secondary School, I.P.Extension - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
The Srijan School, Model Town - Dec 15 to Dec 19th
The Indian School, Joseph Broz Tito Marg - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010
Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar - 15 Dec to 31st Dec
Tagore International School, East of Kailash - 15 Dec to 30th Dec
The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar - 15 Dec to 15th Jan 200
Springdales School - Dec 15 to Dec 22
Queen Mary's School, Mayur Vihar - Dec 15 to 31st Dec
Vasant Valley School, Vasant Kunj - Dec 15 to Jan 15 2010

Closing Ceremony at The Great Wall of Education

2009-11-16T17:56:00.002+05:30

The closing ceremony was held yesterday at the Great Wall of Education & Mr. Kapil Sabil officially closed the event. Over 1,00,000 books have been collected within 5 days, thanks to all the residents of Delhi. All these books will be utilized for the benefit of underprivileged children. Have a look at the pictures from the closing ceremony:

1,00,000 books collected

2009-11-16T11:53:00.004+05:30

Happy to announce that we have crossed the 1,00,000 figure. This number has been achieved in 5 days! Thanks everyone for the support

Funny Caricatures

2009-11-15T18:17:00.001+05:30

Funny Caricatures drawn by people on our Graffiti wall

Crowds Gather on our last day of donations

2009-11-15T17:49:00.000+05:30

Being our last day, donations were at an all time high this evening when many turned up with bag full of books hoping they haven't missed a chance to contribute to the cause.

The Wall as of Now

2009-11-15T17:13:00.001+05:30

brainobrain students donate over 2000 books!

2009-11-15T15:34:00.003+05:30

Students from Brain O Brain came & donated over 2000 books today. They came here on a sunday specially to donate all their old books to this cause.
All the kids had a superb time playing games & taking part in contests held at the Great Wall of Education. Each one of them went back home with a bat signed by Sachin Tendulkar.

Our Hard working Volunteers

2009-11-15T14:51:00.001+05:30

This event would have been so very difficult to manage if it wasn't for our volunteers. They have been making the wall day & night. Hats off to you guys!

Car Full of Books

2009-11-15T13:15:00.000+05:30

Another car full of books just arrived!

Schools come marching for the cause

2009-11-15T12:12:00.003+05:30

All schools from Delhi have contributed immensely to this noble cause. Donations have poured in & on an average 5 vans/trucks full of books used to arrive from schools everyday. They have by far been the biggest contributors. Today we had schools personally bring in books with banners & slogans about the importance of education, even though it's a sunday!

Day 5 at The great wall of education

2009-11-15T10:44:00.000+05:30

We started the last day of the event with beautiful mweather gracing us. Have a look at how many books we've collected at the venue so far in the morning

Horror or Adventure or Romance

2009-11-14T18:59:00.003+05:30

People have donated so many different genres - We have ghost storybooks, love stories & adventure stories. Take your pic!

Sachin Tendulkar shows his contribution

2009-11-14T18:03:00.000+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar sent across 3 books for the wall - His son & daughter's favorite books & a signed copy of his autobiography. Take a look:

54,125 books donated

2009-11-14T17:38:00.001+05:30

We have crossed the 50,000 figure and so far have collected 54,125 books. This might just be a record in the Limca Book of Records

Today's most interesting donation - Roller skates

2009-11-14T17:26:00.002+05:30

People have been donating not just books. They have been donating anything & everything which can be used by children - so far we have received the game of pictionary, crayons, coloring books & today we received roller skates!

A Family Donation

2009-11-14T15:43:00.001+05:30

A full family came in & donated books of their favorite authors. Grandad donated some his old favorites like Shakespaere. The parents donated books right from Enid Blyton to John Grisham to Sidney sheldon. The kids donated their favorite storybooks & comics. It was a great joint effort!

Parents & their young kids steal the show!

2009-11-14T14:29:00.000+05:30

By far the biggest contributors to our wall have been parents & their young children. Young children are so excited to donate their old books to this cause. Parents say it's an experience the kids should have as it teaches the value of doing good for the cause of others from a very young age. Have a look at all these parents & their kids who have been making their donations!

Our next management guru?

2009-11-14T12:38:00.001+05:30

Senior Citizens donate

2009-11-14T11:54:00.000+05:30

Today morning saw senior citizens come out & donate all the books at their house which they don't read anymore.

The Morning

2009-11-14T10:45:00.000+05:30

All the books we received last night from schools, corporates & individual have been put up by our hard working volunteers last night. Have a look at the wall & how full it is. By the way, this is just one side of the wall!

31,730 books!

2009-11-13T20:00:00.001+05:30

At the end of day 3 we have collected a total of 31,730 books. Thanks for all the support & let's continue building the wall!

Contests At The Great Wall of Education

2009-11-13T19:05:00.000+05:30

In the evening after our street play we gave the audience a chance to win cricket bats signed by Sachin Tendulkar. over 30 bats were distributed with intense competition amongst the audience members. They answered a range of questions related to the english & hindi language. Some were easy & some difficult but our audience could guess all the answers!

An enthusiastic audience waiting to win their prizes

Street Play at the Great Wall

2009-11-13T18:27:00.002+05:30

The crowd got entertained & educated through a street play held at the Great Wall of Education. An audience member described it as "A perfect mix of comedy & education communicated using so many different ways, especially originally composed music"
Another audience member simply loved the actor's expressions. Watch the whole play right here!

People Donate wholeheartedly

2009-11-13T18:04:00.001+05:30

Evenings have been packed at the great wall of education. Today we saw an overwhelming response from people who had come to donate. The weather was perfect & people stopped by after their colleges & offices to donate. Have a look at the crowd:

Mukul Dev helps in building the great wall of education

2009-11-13T18:03:00.000+05:30

Renowned actor & model Mukul Dev showed his support by donating books to the great wall of education. He spoke about his daughter & how kids today in the age of internet still love reading books & that books are the key to knowledge & will always be. He donated a copy of his daughter's favorite book Cinderella to the great wall.

Powerpuff Girls!

2009-11-13T17:33:00.001+05:30

We chatted up with 6 college going girls and heard their views on Education. It was enlightening to hear such great thoughts!

Extract from the conversation: "We are really happy to be hear in any capacity. Education is what our parents have worried for the longest time. Our parents put all their efforts into our studies - from holiday homework to day to day work to exams. we're elated to be able to share the privileges we've had with one who have not been that lucky. Thanks for letting us be a part of this initiative & we'll surely spread the word around to all our friends!"

Showing off our power!

Children driving contributions

2009-11-13T16:35:00.002+05:30

Children have been driving contributions at our wall. When we ask parents how they heard of the initiative, they told us that it is their kids who force them to go and donate books. Hats off to today's generation for helping out others!

A proud mother with her daughter

College Students continue their contributions

2009-11-13T15:54:00.003+05:30

College students have been showing their support since yesterday. This is what one student had to say about the cause, "We study so hard in our college. We are engineering students and we have so much study material. we make notes & buy expensive books. We just don't feel like throwing them away or selling it in raddi. Thanks to this initiative we feel these books are going in the right hands!"

Today's Books

2009-11-13T15:34:00.002+05:30

Have a look at some of the books we have received today. These books will soon be put up on the great wall by our volunteers. It's been a tremendous response so far!

Strong Support continues

2009-11-13T14:27:00.002+05:30

We have been getting cars full of books all day! All kinds of books have been pouring in, may it be comics, school & college books, or dictionaries! Keep up the good work parents!

Car full of books

A parent being given the recognition band

Contests At The Great Wall of Education

2009-11-13T13:31:00.001+05:30

Since morning school children have been enthusiastically participating in contests being held at Ansal Plaza. They have to only answer a few simple questions and they stand a chance to win a bat signed personally by the little master Sachin Tendulkar! Have a look at the enthusiasm:

Eager to take part

The winner being gifted a cricket bat signed by Sachin Tendulkar

More Schools visit

2009-11-13T11:30:00.000+05:30

School children from new horizon school visited the wall today & made their contributions. They wrote many encouraging messahes on the graffiti wall. Here are some of the pictures from their visit:

Mehar Bhasin shows her support

2009-11-12T23:07:00.002+05:30

Despite the weather playing spoil sport, Renowned model Mehar Bhasin visited Ansal Plaza & made her contribution to the great wall of education. She wrote on the graffiti wall encouraging children to study hard as it is their ticket to a bright future!

Organisations Donate

2009-11-12T17:25:00.000+05:30

We've been getting the support of big organisations all throughout. Yesterday we had the Business head of the Ansal Group donate books & today we have The Asia-Pac CEO of BBDO donate a lot of books showing his support for this initiative

Chris Thomas (L) CEO Asia-Pac BBDO with Josie Paul from BBDO India

Our Youngest Donor

2009-11-12T16:30:00.001+05:30

We just got our youngest donor. He is just 2 years old & has donated 4 books, all of them are storybooks which he dearly loves. Kudos to you lil one!

Parents come to donate

2009-11-12T15:50:00.000+05:30

Parents have been pouring all day with their children's old books. It's amazing to see the kind of books parents store of their kids. We have been getting story books right from nursery to school to college. And all parents are happy to donate these books which they have stored for years for a goood cause! a big cheer to all the parents!

More Schools visit

2009-11-12T15:15:00.000+05:30

School children from HGPS & Hill Grove school came to donate their old books & be part of the initiative. They wrote interesting messages & quotes on the Graffiti wall & donated lots of books which have been collected from all students of the school. Here are some of the messages they wrote on the graffiti wall

Number already close to double

2009-11-12T14:51:00.003+05:30

13,450 books have been donated so far. This is almost double of what we finished at yesterday evening. IF it keeps going like this we shall cross the 20,000 mark in no time!

College students donate

2009-11-12T14:36:00.002+05:30

Students from nearby colleges of south campus have just come & donated their old books. They say their college books often go waste as they have no one to give them to. Most of these books are 1 year old & in perfect condition.

They were excited to be part of the initiative & feel by donating their books they have made a step to improve a child's future. Each one was presented with a wrist band to with the message "i helped build the great wall of education".

A fun contest was held where they were asked to guess the number of pages in a book. The book has 256 pages & the winner was just off by 6 pages. He received a personally signed cricket bat from sachin tendulkar!

Great to see college goers being part of the initiative & doing their bit!

The Great Wall of Education in HT

2009-11-12T13:43:00.003+05:30

The great wall of education has been featured in Hindustan times. Have a look at the article:

Big Donations

2009-11-12T13:14:00.003+05:30

Since morning we have received 3 donations with a total of more than 1000 books! People are driving in to the venue to donate! Great going so far. Look at the pictures below

Day 2 at the Great Wall of Education

2009-11-12T10:20:00.000+05:30

We are live here at the great wall of education, a one of a kind initiative being held at Ansal Plaza, New Delhi by Aviva to get street children off the streets & into schools. It's a chilly winter morning & a perfect day to be outdoors. Looking forward to receiving loads of books today!

Progress: Day 1

2009-11-11T19:53:00.003+05:30

At The end of Day 1 the response & progress achieved was tremendous. The volunteers were hard at work sorting out the books & making a sturdy wall. Here is a picture to show how much progress has been made

Festivities in the Evening

2009-11-11T18:45:00.000+05:30

Even after sundown the activities continued with a nukar naatak. The story was about the importance of education in the lives of every Indian, especially the non affluent Indian.

Many contributors

2009-11-11T17:26:00.005+05:30

The Wall has been drawing contributors all throughtout the evening. Few of them are:

Passers by who heard of the cause & wanted to contribute

Neha, who has just graduated and come to donate her college notes & books

A gentleman from Delhi Police

Overwhelming response on the first day!

Both Sides of The Wall

2009-11-11T16:15:00.003+05:30

Contributions are pouring in & volunteers have been building the wall for over an hour. It's almost like a competition - which team will finish which side first?! Great team spirit & enthusiasm!

You can help build the wall by joining in with our volunteers at The Great Wall of Education, Ansal Plaza, Delhi

School Children take part in the initiative

2009-11-11T14:46:00.005+05:30

Schools from across Delhi took part by donating books & writing their messages & thoughts on the Graffiti Wall. Some of the messages:

“Each one teach one is a motto for all in education. Education is power to ignite youth mind – the future of our nation” - DPS Mathura Road

"Books are a reservoir of knowledge & hence must be shared" - Sadhu Vaswani Intl School

"Let's not stop at each one teach one! Let's build a chain!" - Sadhu Vaswani Intl School

"More than money or clothes, it is education that remains" - Mount Carmel School

"Of All the things that one might mention, Books have been the best invention!" - Mount Carmel School

"Having a brain is good, but using it for education is the best!" - Indian School

The Graffiti Wall

You can post your messages by Visiting The Great Wall of Educaation at Ansal Plaza, Delhi!

Ajay Jadeja takes part in the initiative

2009-11-11T13:45:00.000+05:30

Ajay Jadeja took part by contributing books to the great wall & sharing his thoughts on education:
Ajay Jadeja being handed over his recognition band after contributing to the wall.

The Grand Inauguration

2009-11-11T12:15:00.000+05:30

Delhi's Education minister Mr. Arvinder Singh Lovely inaugurated the event by adding books to the great wall.
At the event he said,"Books are a human being's best friend. As a citizen of Delhi i am honored & privileged to be part of this initiative"

The Very Beginning

2009-11-11T11:30:00.000+05:30

We are live from ansal Plaza, New Delhi where Aviva is hosting a one of a kind Event called ‘'The Great Wall of Education’! The weather is excellent and so is the venue. Schoolchildren from various schools of Delhi are already pouring in for the mega event & the education minister is expected to inaugurate the event any minute. Have a look at the venue & some of the participants below:Students of Mount Carmel School at the Great Wall of Educat
The Stage at the Great Wall of Education

Aviva - The Great Wall Of Education

2009-11-10T17:10:00.000+05:30

It’s time to write history, book by book.

This National Education Day, you can join us in our endeavor to build the world’s greatest book wall. This initiative is undertaken by Aviva Street to School in partnership with Hindustan Times and Save the Children. The Great Wall of Education will be built at Ansal Plaza, between 11th and 15th November, using books donated by you to educate thousands of underprivileged children.

Aviva has also placed dedicated drop boxes across Delhi and NCR at Aviva, ABN AMRO and IndusInd offices where you can drop your books, and become a part of this historical event.

Date: 11th – 15th November
Venue: Ansal Plaza, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi.