Case against teachers who burned books to keep warm

September 5th, 2009 LUCKNOW - At least 12 primary schoolteachers suffered injuries during a demonstration to demand confirmation of their jobs and increments on Teachers' Day. The teachers alleged they were staging a peaceful protest when the police, for no fault of their own, baton-charged them.

August 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Former President A P J Abdul Kalam has said that reading 'quality books' would lead to a 'knowledge revolution' in India, and to facilitate that one should spend at least an hour daily for reading books. Addressing a book festival organised by the 'Makkal Sindhanai Peravai' (People's Thinkers Forum) on Tuesday, he urged parents to start a mini library in every house so that the great habit of reading can be inculcated in children.

July 10th, 2009 PATNA - A violent protest by thousands of temporary teachers, demanding regularisation of their services, caused serious injuries to many protesters and policemen here on Friday. In a bid to control the situation, police baton-charged the protestors and also used tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

July 8th, 2009 PATNA - Polytechnic faculty members have been teaching in engineering colleges with the full knowledge of the Bihar government, a minister has admitted. Bihar Science and Technology Minister Shahid Ali Khan said in the state assembly Tuesday that faced with an acute shortage of teachers in engineering colleges, polytechnic faculty have been deputed as teachers for taking classes in four new engineering colleges.

May 29th, 2009 AGRA - A unique and a precious library housing highly significant literature and manuscripts of medieval period, remains in a shambles due to authorities' apathy, in Uttar Pradesh. Maluna Sayeed Ahmed established the library named 'Qutab Khana' in the year 1906.

May 1st, 2009 JUNAGADH - Six teachers of a local school in Gujarat's Rajkot town drowned Friday when they ventured into the Arabian Sea near the resort town of Chorwad in the neighbouring Junagadh district, police said. The teachers, part of a trip organised by the Rajkot-based Genius School, were accompanying 21 students.

March 25th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Saying it was meant to serve as a deterrent, a court in Haryana has jailed five teachers for seven years for siphoning off funds meant for providing mid-day meals to government school students. The teachers, including a headmaster, have been charged with siphoning off funds for providing mid-day meals to poor students of a government primary school near Safidon town in Jind district, 250 km from here.

March 24th, 2009 RANCHI - Unhappy with their payscales and working conditions, temporary teachers in Jharkhand have decided to either field their own candidates for the elections or support those who will fulfil their demands. The two associations of temporary teachers in Jharkhand are set to meet March 27 to decide their election plans, said Rishikesh Patak, president of the Jharkhand Rajya Shiksha Mitra (temporary teachers) Association.

March 7th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - A special court here Friday sentenced six teachers to life for raping a 19-year-old student at a government college in north Gujarat last year. Pronouncing the judgement, Additional Sessions Judge S.C.

January 27th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Academic activity was completely paralysed in colleges and universities across Punjab and Chandigarh Wednesday following a mass casual leave protest by teachers in the region. The Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (PFUCTO) served a 10-day ultimatum to the Punjab government to notify the revised pay-scales for college and university teachers.

January 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - It will be a warm and sunny Republic Day in the national capital Monday, the met department has forecast with the weather remaining warm and temperatures well above normal over the past few days. Sunday morning saw the minimum temperature in the capital rise to 12 degrees Celsius, a good four degrees above normal.

January 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Except for the biting wind reminding us that winter is not yet over, Delhi has been witnessing warm sunny days with temperatures well above normal. And the mercury will continue to rise over the next three days giving us a warm Republic Day, the met department forecasts.

January 21st, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Over 10,000 teachers of various government and private colleges in Punjab and Chandigarh observed a strike for two hours Thursday to press for their pay hike demand. The teachers are demanding the Punjab government to implement the new by the University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scale approved by the government Dec 31 last year.

January 18th, 2009 BHOPAL - Two teachers have been suspended on the charge of selling as waste paper three quintal school textbooks that were meant to be distributed free of cost to students in Madhya Pradesh, the police said Monday. 'Village-based primary school teacher Arab Baig and middle school teacher Amar Singh Kumbhkar have been suspended for selling textbooks that belonged to the school,' Shajapur District Collector Rajendra Sharma said Monday.

January 4th, 2009 PATNA - Teachers of a school in Bihar's Gaya district burnt books meant to be distributed among students to keep themselves warm on a chilly winter day, angering villagers. The shocking incident came to light when students of the government middle school at Pariya Bazaar in Gaya, about 100 km from here, told their parents and relatives, police officials said Monday.