Jaipur diary

Rajasthan first to make full use of Nirbhaya Fund 
In a major feat for the Ashok Gehlot government, Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to make full use of the Nirbhaya Fund released by the Centre. The Union Home Ministry has expressed happiness over the fund use in Rajasthan and wants officials from other states to adopt Rajasthan’s Forensic Science Lab (FSL) as a role model. The FSL in the state has purchased four new machines out of the `6.28 crores it received under the Nirbhaya Fund. In addition, services of 20 contractual personnel were employed in DNA and Cyber Division was reduced and victims got justice on time.

Folk tales to strengthen bond of NRI kids with state
Folk tales have been crucial in the history of every nation as they provide a code of conduct and a set of values for any civilised society. Now, the Rajasthan Foundation plans to use these timeless tales to reconnect children of NRIs from Rajasthan with their roots in the desert state. As a first step, a Folk Storytelling Session and Craft Workshop was held for Global Pravasi children on December 12. Over 150 kids from Australia, Dubai, UK and USA joined online for this fascinating session which featured a folk tale that has captivated generations of children in Rajasthan. ‘Chal Meri Dholki, Dhamak Dham’ was also retold and written by Padma Shri Vijaydan Detha and it was narrated at this special event by  Seema Moondra, a Cultural Art Educator based in the USA. 

Pvt schools can seek 70% of tuition fees, rules HC
Rajasthan High Court has said that private schools will be able to collect fees only as per the recommendations implemented by the Rajasthan government on October 28. This means that private schools that have taught online will only be able to take 70% of the tuition fees . A division bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanti gave this decision while hearing the appeal filed by the state government and others. There were more than two dozen parties in the case and it took the court a long time to hear everyone. The High Court’s double bench reserved the verdict after hearing the case on 16 December.

Rajasthan to encourage online learning
To combat the challenge that Corona crisis has created for students, the Rajasthan government is preparing to teach children with videos rather than books. The state government is getting its studios ready for this. The beginning will be for one million children from sixth to eighth. The next phase will include children from the first to the fifth. The government had started online education platforms through social media. But now a studio is being arranged to make it regular and easy. The task of building the studio has been given to the Education Department. When the schools open, the majority of the syllabus will be available through video. 

Rajesh Asnani
Our correspondent in Jaipur rajesh.asnani@ newindianexpress.com