In India, 96.5% kids go to school: Survey

NEW DELHI: India took another step towards universal elementary education last year, with 96.5% of all children aged 6-14 years being enrolled in schools, an extensive private audit has revealed. NGO Pratham`s Annual Survey of Education Report says the proportion of girls in the age group of 11-14 years too increased to 94.1% although quality of education remained a big concern.
The survey, the only private audit of elementary education in the country, found an increase of half a percentage point in enrolment over 2009. But it said there was an overall decline in students` ability to do basic mathematics and only 53.4% of children in Class V could read Class II level textbooks.
Teacher attendance also showed consistent decline which could be one of reasons for a big increase in enrolment in private schools and tuitions. Bucking the trend was Punjab, where students showed an exceptional improvement in mathematical ability.
Overall, Bihar emerged as a star performer with steady improvement in enrolment. Enrolment of boys in the state was 95.6% and that of girls 95.4%. In 2006, 12.3% of boys and 17.6% girls in Bihar were out of school.
Among states continuing to return poor numbers in girl`s education, Rajasthan had 12.1% girls aged 11-14 years out of school and Uttar Pradesh 9.7%. In both states, there has been no change in the percentage of out-of-school girls.
The survey conducted in all the districts of the country shows a large number of schools in the country fulfilling norms laid down in the Right to Education Act.
At the same time, the report showed a big increase in enrolments in private schools — from 21.8% of all school-going children in 2009 to 24.3% last year. The trend has been holding since 2005. Southern states have more students going to private schools. In Andhra Pradesh, enrolment increased from 29.7% in 2009 to 36.1% while in Tamil Nadu it jumped from 19.7% to 25.1%. Kerala had 54.2% of children in private schools, up from 51.5% last year, and Karnataka 20% (16.8% in 2009).
Among northern states, enrolment in private schools grew rapidly in Punjab — from 30.5% in 2009 to 38% in 2010.
Mathematics proved to be a big bugbear for students across the country. The proportion of Class I students who could recognize numbers fell from 69.3% in 2009 to 65.8%. Barely 36.5% of Class III students could handle two-digit subtraction problems, as compared to 39% in 2009. The proportion of children in Class V who could do simple division dropped from 38% to 35.9%.
Notably, Punjab bucked the trend. While 56.3% of students in Class II in the state could recognize numbers one to 100 in 2008, the figure jumped to 70.4% in 2010. Similarly, the proportion of Class IV children who could do subtraction went up from 66.9% in 2008 to 81.4%.
In Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan, there was a perceptible rise in the proportion of children studying in Class I who could recognize letters.
West Bengal led in private tuitions with the survey showing more than 75% of Class V students in government schools going to private tutors. In Bihar, the proportion was 55.5% and in Orissa, 49.9%.
A positive feature of the report was the increasing number of five-year-olds in school. Nationally, it increased from 54.6% in 2009 to 62.8%. Karnataka emerged as an big achiever on this score with enrolment of five-year-olds jumping from 17.1% in 2009 to 67.6% in 2010. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Assam also showed healthy increases in enrolment.

This news is taken from-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-India-965-kids-go-to-school-Survey/articleshow/7288637.cms

Live: India in control in Durban

With a 74-run lead in bag Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay come in to bat on Day 2 of the second Test in Durban on Monday. Live Score
Earlier Zaheer Khan claimed three and Harbhajan accounted for four South Africa wickets as the hosts tumbled for 131 in reply to India's first innings total of 205.  
Zaheer Khan claimed South Africa openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen early to provide impetus to India. The left-armer's ball took the outside edge of the Protea skipper's bat to land in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's gloves behind the stumps and then entered the bat-pad gate of Alviro Petersen to crash into his stumps. He fell for 24 as the South Africa score read 46/2.
There was more delight for India as dangerman, Jacquec Kallis, who had hit an unbeaten 201 in Centurion, fell in Ishant Sharma's over with Run Out written against his initials in the scorecard.
Sharma got him on his follow through. A slight touch of a finger and the ball that was coming off his bat got ricocheted towards the stumps at the other end and he was short of crease. He fell for 10 as the score read 67/3.
Soon S Sreesanth too got his man. An edge off AB de Villies landed in the wicketkeeper Dhoni's gloves. The hosts were tottering on 74/4 at this juncture.
In the second session, just when Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince were looking to stablise the South Africa innings. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan struck.
While, Harbhajan got rid of Amla, Zaheer got the better of Prince on 13 even as the score read a dismal 100/6.
Harbhajan wasn't finished yet. He struck with a vengence to pack off Dale Steyn and Paul Harris as South Africa were batting on a partly 103/8.
Now, it was time for Sharma to come to the party and he did it with tail-ender Morkel's wicket. He fell for a nought.
The last man Tsotsobe was sent back by Harbhajan Singh on zero as Proteas innings folded for 131 all out.
Earlier, South Africa pacers struck thick and fast as the famed Indian batting line-up fell apart like a pack of cards early in the first session. They were all out for 205, with the maximum damage done by Dale Steyn, who increased his victims list to six claiming Harbhajan Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the first hour of play. He finished with figures of 19-6-50-6. 
The visitors started the day with 183 for six on board and added just 22 runs to their overnight total as Steyn and Morkel wrapped up their innings in quick time. Morkel claimed Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth. Both the batsmen were dismissed by the paceman without opening their account.
This article is taken from-  http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/124733/top-stories/live-update--india-vs-south-africa.html

'The ring is very special to me. It's my way to make sure my mother did not miss out on today' PRINCE WILLIAM YESTERDAY

WILLIAM AND KATE

Prince William told how he gave Kate Middleton his late mother's engagement ring in poignant tribute to her.
William hid Diana's 18-carat blue sapphire in his rucksack on their holiday to Africa - and admitted he was terrified of losing it.
He chose a secluded spot near Mt Kenya to pop the question and slipped the ring on to the future princess's finger. Tellingly, it was a perfect fit.
The prince, 28, said: "It is my mother's engagement ring.
"It is very special to me and Kate is very special to me now as well. It is only right the two are put together. It is my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today."
He paid further homage to Diana's memory by proposing in Africa, where she did her most valuable charity work. William, inspired by her to follow in her footsteps, has called the continent "my second home".
Kate, 28, has been dubbed "Waity Kaity" because it has taken him eight years to ask her to tie the knot.
But William revealed they had "been talking about marriage for a while". He said: "The timing is right, now. We are both very, very happy."
He would not reveal whether he had gone down on one knee. Kate would only say coyly: "It was very romantic and it was very personal."
She admitted joining the Royal Family when they get married next year was a "daunting prospect".
ROMANTIC
She added: "Hopefully, I'll take it in my stride. William's a great teacher so hopefully he'll be able to help."
The prince asked for her hand on a 10-day Kenyan safari trip last month. They delayed making the news public because of the recent death of her grandad Peter Middleton at 90.
Even Prince Charles and the Queen were told only yesterday - hours before Clarence House announced it to the world via Twitter.
The couple's joy was obvious in an interview with ITV News. Here are some of their answers: Q: Where did you propose, when, how and Kate, what did you say? WILLIAM: About three weeks ago. We had a little private time away together with some friends and I just decided that it was the right time. We had been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn't a massively big surprise. KATE (laughing): It was very romantic. There's a true romantic in there.
Q: And you knew you were going to do this from Day One of the holiday or did you wait until the end? W: I'd been planning it for a while but as any guy will know it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going. I was planning it and it felt really right in Africa. It was beautiful at the time. I had done a little bit of planning to show my romantic side. Q: It's a family ring? W: Yes. It's my mother's engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all. This was my way of keeping her close to it all.
Q: What did your respective parents say when you told them? W: I was torn between asking Kate's dad first and then the realisation that he might actually say no dawned. So I thought, 'If ask Kate first he can't really say no'. So I did it that way.
DESTINY
Q: Kate, what did your mum say? K: She was absolutely over the moon.
We had an awkward situation because I knew William asked my father but I didn't know if my mother knew. My mother didn't make it clear to me whether she knew or not, so both of us were there sort of looking at each other and feeling quite awkward. But it was amazing to tell and obviously she was very happy for us.

Q: William's mother was this massive iconic figure. Is that intimidating? W: No one is trying to fill my mother's shoes. What she did was fantastic. It's about making your own future and your own destiny and Kate will do a very good job of that.
The announcement is the culmination of an eight-year relationship that has captured the nation's hearts.
William and Kate met at St Andrews University in Fife in 2002.
They were friends for a year and even shared a flat with pals before falling in love. William revealed: "We spent more time with each other, had lots of fun and realised we shared the same interests.
"She's got a really naughty sense of humour, which helps me because I've got a really dry sense of humour, so it was good fun. We had a really good laugh and things happened."
Their romance even survived a brief separation in 2007.
They are expected to tie the knot in spring or summer next year in what will Britain's biggest royal event since Charles and Diana's 1981 wedding.
After the ceremony the newlyweds are expected to go on honeymoon to New Zealand and Australia.
They will then settle in a farmhouse in North Wales, where William serves as an RAF search and rescue pilot.
ROYALS TO FOOT BILL
The Royal Family faces the prospect of paying for William and Kate's big wedding next year.
There is no reserve fund for the biggest royal event since Charles and Diana tied the knot in 1981.
The cost will be borne by the Civil List - the Queen's household allowance - or drawn from her personal £290million wealth. Parliament could vote to allocate extra money - but that seems unlikely.
Charles and Diana's wedding cost about £4million - £11million at today's prices. Buckingham Palace refused last night to comment on the possible cost but said the couple were "very mindful" of the economic situation.
GEMS FIT FOR A PRINCESS
Kate Middleton's engagement ring cost £28,000 when it was bought by Prince Charles for the then Diana Spencer in February 1981.
Today the oval 18-carat blue sapphire surrounded by 14 small diamonds would be £85,000.
Charles personally selected it from posh London jeweller Garrard after consulting the Queen and it became one of the most well-known pieces of jewellery in the world.
Unusually for a royal engagement ring, it was not a unique piece - meaning that anyone could buy the exact same ring if they could afford the price tag. Following Diana's death in 1997, the ring was given to William and placed in a safe to which only he and brother Harry had access.
This article is taken from- http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/11/17/the-ring-is-very-special-to-me-it-s-my-way-to-make-sure-my-mother-did-not-miss-out-on-today-prince-william-yesterday-115875-22721210/

Buy MCNALLY BHARAT ENGG FOr Target Of Rs 340

McNally Bharat Engineering Co. Ltd (MBEL) reported Q2FY11 standalone YoY revenue growth of 30.5% to Rs4bn driven by increased order execution in the projects segment. OPM was flat at 5.4%. Lower interest cost and higher other income resulted in PAT growth of 128% to Rs96.6mn. The H1FY11 performance of McNally Sayaji was subdued as sales grew by mere 1% and PAT de-grew by 40%. Given the healthy order backlog and positive economic prospects, we remain positive on the long term prospects of the company and maintain our BUY recommendation with a revised target price of Rs340 (12x FY12E) Higher execution drives revenues
MBEL reported healthy revenue growth of 30.5% to Rs4bn driven by higher execution in the project segment. Booking from the BoP orders also started in the H1FY11. With huge order backlog (2.2xFY10 revenue) and expectation of healthy order inflows, we believe the company will continue to witness strong revenue growth going forward.
Order backlog and inflows
As on date, MBEL has an order backlog of ~Rs40bn vs Rs29.2bn at the end of Q2FY10. Further the company has bidded for projects worth Rs90bn and is L1 in projects worth Rs5bn. The order inflow in the H1FY11 stood at Rs22bn and it expects order inflows worth Rs15-20bn in the H2FY11.
Subsidiary Performance
McNally Sayaji witnessed subdued performance. For the H1FY11, sales grew by mere 1% to Rs1.14bn. OPM contracted by 480bps and resultantly PAT was down by 40% to Rs. 66.2mn. CMT reported a sales of Rs1.87bn and OPM of 9.72% for H1FY11.
VALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION
We expect revenue to witness a CAGR of 25% (FY10-12E). Though management has given an optimistic guidance of double digit operating margins, we remain skeptical about margin improvement going forward given the fact that company is aiming for high growth by entering into newer segments (BoP, Cement, Oil & Gas etc) wherein it might have to compromise on the margins to bag its maiden order. At the CMP of Rs239 the stock is attractively valued at 9.3x and 8.4x FY11E and FY12E EPS respectively. We remain positive on long term prospects of the company and maintain our `BUY' recommendation on the stock with a revised target price of Rs340 (12x FY12E).
This article is taken from- http://www.topnews.in/buy-mcnally-bharat-engg-target-rs-340-2290774