All educational institutes closed in Himachal till April 4 following spike in Covid cases

All educational institutes in Himachal - universities, colleges, technical institutes and schools - except for the classes having their examination will remain closed up to April 4 following a spike in Covid cases.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here on Friday, which took stock of the situation and expressed concern over the surge in Covid cases in the state.

However, the schools having residential facilities can keep their hostels open in strict compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to keep these residential areas isolated and appoint compliance officer for implementation of the orders.

The teachers and other school and college staff will continue to attend the institutes; nursing and medical institutes will continue to function as usual.

Thakur said no social and cultural events would be organised in the state by the government and gatherings would be restricted to a maximum of 200 for indoor and 50 per cent of the venue capacity for outdoor events. He said congregations and ‘langars’ inside the temples would also be banned but ‘darshan’ would be allowed.

The Chief Minister said April 3 would also be holiday for all offices in the state and there would be no public celebration of Holi. He urged the people to celebrate Holi at home with their families only. Three-to-five-day Holi festivals are held in Palampur, Hamirpur and Rampur every year, but this year there will be no such public functions.

He said all frontline workers would be sensitized to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest completing their second dose as per schedule. It was also decided in the meeting that district administrations would take a judicious call on more restrictions keeping in view positivity and fatality rate in their respective districts.

CBSE class 12 Commerce exam 2021: Best tips to ace Business Studies

 Commerce is second to science when it comes to popularity among students seeking admission in senior secondary schools. The wide-ranging career opportunities offered by this stream justifies the choice for sure. However, scoring high in CBSE class 12 commerce isn’t an easy task. The compulsory papers of this course—Accountancy, Business studies and Economics—can be challenging for students, thanks to the vastness of the course and complexity of the theories. Additionally, students pursuing commerce face difficulty in understanding unfamiliar business jargons which makes it tough for them to score well in class 12 CBSE commerce exams.

The board exam date for Business Studies (BS) is 12th May. Ms. Sangeeta Gupta, PGT, Commerce, Apeejay School, Pitampura shares essential study tips that will make your life a little easier during this crucial preparatory stage and boost your score in the subject as well.

Focus on important topics

Selective study isn’t advisable for an important board exam like CBSE. However, during the last few months, you should divide your preparation time smartly so that there is always additional time left for the topics that are relative more important. “Marketing Management and Financial Management have a weightage of 30 marks (15 marks each) in the Business Studies paper of CBSE class 12 exam. Pay more attention to these. These two topics are related to practical applications like stock exchange and methods of rotation in the market. So, it is essential for students to go through newspapers to score well in them. It’s always good to supplement your answers with related keywords that you find in the newspapers,” says Gupta.

According to her, the next in the order of importance include Staffing, Directing and Controlling (20 marks) and Planning and Organizing (14 marks). Also, there has been a new addition to the Business Studies paper in 2021. “This year, there will be two source-based questions, 4 marks each. Students must practise these as well,” she adds.

Refer to the right books

NCERT textbooks are the bible for Business Studies board exams. “Students should go through them thoroughly. The board marking systems are synchronised with these books,” says Gupta. Alongside these, students can refer to a few other books too. “I find Mrs. Alka Dhwan’s book on Business Studies, Class XII to be a good option. It will strengthen their grasp over case study- based questions, a crucial element of BS question papers,” says Gupta.

Be a master of case studies

Students mostly get stuck with the case study part of BS. “But these are not as tough as they are made out to be,” says Gupta. In case studies, questions mostly revolve around concepts. “So, students have to understand the concepts as well as the chapters well,” suggests Gupta. “While answering these questions, students should first go through the questions and then read the questions. This will help them connect with the case study better. After finishing the answer, read the questions again to ensure that you have completed your answer,” she says. Gupta also suggests that students should try and find out the keywords while reading a case study.

Think of smart memorising tricks

For your CBSE class 12 Business Studies exam, you need to remember a lot of jargons and difficult concepts. Rely on mnemonics or acronyms for a better recall. “Acronyms make it very easy for students to remember concepts. For example, USP is the acronym for Universal Validity, Systemic Body of Knowledge and Principles Based on Experimentation. While preparing for BS, create a list of acronyms and keep it handy for your revisions,” says Gupta. She also suggests having a mind map before appearing for any paper in CBSE class 12 exams. “Mind maps are the summary of a chapter in small pointers. If students make a summary for every chapter in the form of small flow charts, they will be able to remember the whole of it after a glance through the mind map. These maps can save a lot of your revision time while helping you memorise better,” she adds.

Focus on sample question papers and mock tests

Both are essential for scoring high in CBSE class 12 exams. “Practise solving sample question papers at home in 2 and a half hours, not three hours,” recommends Gupta. She also suggests that students create an exam hall-like atmosphere at home. “Set the clock, have a bottle of water and sit for the test. Schedule your mock test at 10:30, the same time as the CBSE exam. Get your body clock adjusted to the timing of the board exam. From now on, take two mock tests per subject a week,” she says. According to Gupta, one should solve at least 10 sample papers for each subject before the final exam.

Smart tips for answering BS questions

Follow these smart answering strategies shared by Gupta to ace your CBSE class 12 Business Studies exam.

• Write answers in points instead of the paragraph format. This will save time too.

• Underline the important parts and heading of the answers.

• While answering questions on differences, start with the basics like meanings, and scope. This way, at the first glance, your examiner will get figure out that you know the answer.

• For 6-mark questions, six relevant points with two to three lines of brief explanation are good enough. There is no need for elaboration. Support your answers with diagrams, and charts and examples.

• Do not leave any question unanswered. It’s always good to write something. If you have forgotten the answer to something, move on to the ones you are well-prepared for. Come back to it at the end and write the key points only. This will also fetch you some marks.

TRS has totally ignored education, charges Union Minister

Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Tuesday lambasted the TRS government for “ignoring” education sector and observed that the government was no different from that of the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal and hence, it was time for “people to throw them out”.

“I am shocked at the neglect of the education sector and the fact that thousands of teacher and lecturer posts have not been filled in the last six years. How can you ignore education which is the basic tenet of the young? What is happening here? Teachers are the biggest assets of the country and worshipped in our culture,” he said.

The Minister was speaking on ‘Fast tracking change towards a resurgent India: Role of intellectuals’ organised by the ‘Forum for Nationalistic Thinkers’ in support of BJP MLC candidate N. Ramchander Rao. Stating that he did not want to dwell much on a government which “anyway is on its way out”, Mr. Pokhriyal however charged that crores of rupees released by the Centre under various schemes have not been reaching the common people in the State.

Development and jobs in Telangana have been “confined to a single family and their kith and kin but nothing for the people”, he said. The Minister also explained about the new education policy and how it could turn the students into new generation entrepreneurs as the government has also enhanced the funds allocation for research and development.

He also took a swipe against the critics of BJP claiming that “talking about secularism has become a fashion and those professing it don't even know what they are talking about”. The Indian culture and ethos find more echo in nations like Indonesia and Mauritius than our own country, he said.

The Minister hailed the candidature of Mr. Ramchander Rao and was confident of he winning the support of the educated voters. Earlier, former AP Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam, BJP vice president Vivek Venkatswamy and others also spoke.