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A wave of hope swept over the residents of the West Garo Hills district on June 18 when Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma opened the two-story building of the new Dalu Government Higher Secondary School. The initiative, made under the umbrella of Mission Education Phase I, is a significant step in the direction of the state's drive towards rural educational infrastructure development.

Speaking of the purpose, CM Sangma underscored that the vision is not merely constructing classrooms. "We are dedicated to the all-round development of our youth — from sports and education to music and entrepreneurship," he said.

In a private message on his official X handle, he posted, "We have reconstructed and built new government schools and colleges in the past few years, and even established the Captain Williamson Sangma State University, the first in our state."

Through the investment of nearly ₹3,000 crore in sectors like youth entrepreneurship, sports, and education, Sangma reiterated the commitment of the government towards the building of the next generation. Initiatives like CM Elevate and PRIME form the crux of this exercise.

In the afternoon, he also inaugurated the PRIME Hub in Baghmara — a hub which was envisioned to make local entrepreneurs, self-help groups, and farmers stronger. "PRIME Hubs are becoming economic hubs, catalysing activity in favour of communities in livelihood-generating initiatives," he posted on Twitter, inaugurating the centre in favour of region people.

For Dalu's students and future entrepreneurs in Baghmara, the day was never about ribbon-cutting alone — it was a vow. A vow that even in the remoteness of the location, Meghalaya's youth will be provided with opportunities so that they can dream larger, reach higher, and build bigger lives.

In Sangma's words and deeds, the message came across clearly: development is not about buildings, but about human lives — and it starts with making the young strong.

Seven states were recommended by the School Education Department to adopt a common board in classes 10 and 12 after the department's analysis put the seven states in the red flag for registering 66 per cent of student failures during last year, officials reported.

There are seven states in the nation that are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal.

There are 66 school boards of the nation, of which there are three national-level boards and 63 state-level boards (54 regular and 12 open boards),

While the first 33 boards cover 97 per cent of students, the remaining 33 boards cover a meager 3 per cent of students.

"Common board for class 10 and 12 is the future for education to be simple. In the absence of a common board, there are poor educational outcomes. We have recommended these states to implement a common board," School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar stated.

22.17 lakh Class 10 and 20.16 lakh Class 12 students failed in the whole country in 2024.

Though the position in the figures changed during the decade, government officials maintain that it is still a significant hindrance to greater retention and promotion to higher education.

"Role of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in such states came into prominence to bring the failed students into education. NIOS's current visibility near Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana (where lowest failure rates are observed) has to be carried into other states.".

"Standardisation of assessment procedure, curriculums, setting of papers, elevation (to the next class), exam duration also require Boards' attention," Kumar said.

The report said open school boards performed poorly, with only 54 per cent of Class 10 and 57 percent of Class 12 passing.

"Institutions like NIOS should complement efforts at dropout prevention, supplemented by Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and increased parental involvement," Kumar said.

One of the trends seen is girls surpassing boys on most boards, particularly in science. Over 28 lakh girls cleared science, which overtook the 27.2 lakh in arts - a turnabout from previous trends and an increase from 23.3 lakh in 2022.

The report mentioned enormous disparities between students' performance in various medium of instruction.

Candidates in Malayalam and Odia mediums performed much better than counterparts writing in Kannada, Telugu or Assamese, a factor of regional differences. Those states with board systems which have been implemented, including Kerala, Odisha and Manipur, all recorded more than 97 per cent pass percentages, with Kerala recording 99.96 per cent.

Analysis report also registered Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs) with good performances as 72 per cent of students passed in NEET-UG. Students of Kendriya and Navodaya Vidyalayas also did well in engineering entrance exams.

The NVs are residential, co-educational institutions providing quality modern education from Class VI to XII to meritorious students, predominantly from rural background.

The most significant change this time is that Class 10 board marks will be taken as a tie-breaker for the students in case they are tied CUET and Class 12 marks. The Delhi University (DU) has begun the 2025-26 admission session, and the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal for UG admissions has opened.

One significant change in the process this year is that Class 10 board exam marks will act as a second tie-breaker if students are equal on CUET and Class 12 marks. Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh said that the admission portal has been upgraded with an auto-accept facility so that students will not lose seat allocations.

DU will offer 79 undergraduate courses in 69 colleges with 71,624 seats. The academic year will start from August 1.

The second round of UG admissions will begin after CUET results are announced. Application is now feasible on the basis of one language and three subjects or two languages and two subjects - whichever combination will give a better score shall be considered. The earlier requirement of obtaining at least 30% of marks in language subjects in order to apply for BSc (Hons) admission has been done away with.

DU had also invited application for skill-based courses at its Centre for Innovative Skill-Based Courses.

In the postgraduate department, 11,314 seats have been taken, and nearly 2,000 students have booked their seats in only the first two hours of notification. DU is running 82 postgraduate programs this year, with new programs such as MA in Tourism Management and MA in Hindi Journalism. They also plan to introduce an MA in Journalism under the English department.

The university has extended one-seat quota in every postgraduate programme to single-girl child candidates.

Apart from this, admission gates are now marginally open for five-year integrated law, BTech, and School of Open Learning (SOL) programmes. Most PG admissions at SOL will be done on the CUET score basis, but MBA, BLISc, MLISc, and PGDADLM programmes shall also have a merit-based process.

Yogeswari, a village girl from Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district, who lives in Sathur village, has got admission to IIT-Bombay's course in Aerospace Engineering. Her journey from not knowing anything about Aerospace Engineering to getting a seat in the top institute is an instance of unparallel commitment. Yogeshwari studies at Padanthal Government School in Sathur village, her dad sells tea from a stall and her mom works in a firecracker company

For her, the threshold point was through Chief Minister MK Stalin's favorite plans 'Naan Mudhalvan' plan and 'Kalluri Kanavu' plan, which offer introductions to college studies and help students with applying and preparing for competitive exams. Yogeswari had no idea that something was known as JEE exam even existed before taking up these schemes.

"I was at a program and they explained to me about JEE and how to join. I cleared JEE Mains and then they got me admitted in JEE Advance Coaching. It was tough first but gradually I read and cleared JEE Advance. I'm glad that I've got admission at Aerospace Engineering at IIT-Bombay," said Yogeswari.

She attributes District Collector VP Jeyaseelan for having introduced her to opportunities in higher education and applying using JEE. The courses gave her excellent direction on exam preparation that helped her succeed. "Naan Mudhalvan and Kalluri Kanavu programs were conducted by District Collector Jeyaseelan and through them I got to know about higher studies and how to apply for it. They advised me to apply for JEE and how to prepare for it due to which I could crack the exam."

She thanked Chief Minister MK Stalin and District Collector Jeyaseelan, who have pledged to finance her higher class studies, deeming these schemes as a godsend for backward economic children. "I thank Chief Minister MK Stalin and District Collector Jeyaseelan who have pledged to fund my higher studies," she stated.

Hard work and dedication were the only tools Yogeswari had to chase such a massive dream. Yogeswari aspires to become an aerospace technology like her role models Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawla.

Andhra Pradesh introduced the 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme to provide Rs 15,000 annually for every school-going child. It benefits mothers, enhances education opportunities, and promotes population increase. More than 67 lakh students and 43 lakh mothers will gain benefit

Andhra Pradesh's TDP-government headed by NDA has introduced 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme wherein Rs 15,000 would be provided each year to each school-going child in a family, a senior official on Friday.

'Talliki Vandanam' is one of the 'Super Six' welfare promises announced by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ahead of the 2024 elections. "The government has circulated guidelines for the roll-out of the 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme, an important initiative aimed at strengthening mothers/guardians throughout the state, by providing financial support of Rs 15,000 per year per child to all qualifying mothers/guardians," the secretary to government Kona Sasidhar said in an order.

Regardless of the number of children residing in a family who study from class I up to intermediate, all deserving families will be covered under the scheme.

Similarly, the government will also consider the anticipated eligible enrollment into Class I and junior intermediate for this scheme, it added. More than 67 lakh students and 43 lakh mothers will gain from the 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme. Rs 2,000 at source will be deducted out of Rs 15,000 per annum for the overall development of educational ecosystem in the state, including maintenance, hygiene and sanitation.

As per the secretary, this scheme aims to enhance school education by making it more inclusive and accessible in terms of commitment to offer equal opportunities as well as enhance learning outcomes.

"The scheme empowers mothers to be actively involved in their children's schooling from Class I to Class XII, while recognising their pivotal role in shaping educational progress," he added.

The advantages of the scheme will be given to all the prospective children, Sasidhar added, stating that government, aided and unaided private schools and junior colleges will also come under its fold.

The southern state has fixed a timeline between June 12 and July 5 to finish the whole disbursal and the implementation of the scheme. The government has referred to the "mother of all welfare schemes" as 'Tallki Vandanam'. The scheme is also expected to instill confidence among families to increase the number of children as part of Naidu's emphasis on tackling a declining population and 'demographic management'.

Maharashtra's new school session will start on Monday, June 16, across all districts except Vidarbha, where schools will open on June 23. Newly admitted students will be greeted on the first day through the state-level 'School Welcome Festival' (Shala Praveshotsav), with the Chief Minister, the two Deputy Chief Ministers, ministers, and top officials planning to visit government and municipal schools throughout the state.

The School Education Department has stated the aim of the initiative is to improve the quality of education and increase attendance. The attendance of functionaries will also be for inspecting different sectors of school operations — such as the availability of free textbooks and uniforms, student admissions, infrastructure, and supporting systems.

The senior leaders and officials like other chief secretaries, principal secretaries, and district collectors have been asked to go on visits to the schools under their jurisdiction. They will also discuss with the members of the school management committees, local elected representatives, and civic officials how the enrolment in government schools can be boosted.

Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik recently reviewed the preparations and directed officials to participate actively in the school reopening. She called for measures to improve academic standards and contribute to the overall development of schools.

As part of the state's NIPUN Maharashtra Mission, for foundational literacy and numeracy, it is the aim for 75% of children from Year 2 to Year 5 to reach class-level proficiency. The senior officials will be required to engage with parents through the welcome programme and have also been tasked with taking responsibility for adopting schools to enable long-term growth.

Chief Secretary I.A. Kundan stressed that the visits must also evaluate the quality of Prime Minister Poshan Shakti Scheme's mid-day meals, students' hygiene practices, and sports and co-curricular facilities. She was confident that the program would go a long way in instilling a more positive attitude towards public schooling and provide children with a motivating learning environment to achieve good learning.