Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education organises demos, experiments

For Ashutosh Sistla, a class VI student of Atomic Energy Central School (AECS)-II, seeing an actual brain on display was the most "fascinating" aspect of the open house programme organised by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), Mankhurd, on Friday.

"You only get to learn about the human brain in textbooks. But seeing an actual brain and also getting to touch it is the most fascinating thing I've done here," said Sistla.

The state has finally succeeded in getting an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

The Central government has agreed to sanction one IIT to the state in the 2009-10 plans.

In a recent meeting with the Planning Commission, the state secretary for higher education had raised the issue. After an hour-long discussion, the Planning Commission agreed in principle to sanction an IIT for Karnataka.

"The officials of the Planning Commission have agreed in principle to give one IIT to the state and they will announce it after the Lok Sabha elections," said AS Srikantha, principal secretary, department of higher education.

Various institutions in the city have made elaborate preparations to celebrate the National Science Day on Saturday.

The day is celebrated every year on February 28 to commemorate the Raman's effect discovered by India's ace scientist CV Raman in 1928.

The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Metereology (IITM) however celebrated the National Science Day on Friday itself.

At the Nutan Marathi Vidyayala (girls), school authorities said the entire week has been devoted to the promotion and understanding of science.

Principal Madhura Kulkarni said, "Starting with a science quiz for the students of standard VI and VII on Tuesday, we also had a lectures by experts."

The second day of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams was marked by minor issues at several centres across the city. While most of the students were happy to find an easy question paper for English, some of them had trivial grievances.

Question papers delayed

Examinees from a centre in Mulund were harried when the question papers did not reach the centre 10 minutes past 11 am. The papers finally reached Vani Vidyalay, a centre in Mulund, at 11.10 pm. There was a lot of chaos initially, but the board ensured that students get extra 10 minutes.

Taking strong note of delay in result declaration owing to unavailability of teachers for assessment, the Mumbai University has decided to take remedial measures. Accordingly, it has been decided that colleges must finish assessment of first and second-year degree college exams by March 30, declare results, and send the requisite "proofs" to the university.

"We cannot afford to have any laxity on the part of colleges and teachers. Every year, we keep running after them to send teachers for evaluation, this cannot go on," said AD Sawant, university pro-vice chancellor. "This is to ensure that teachers are not engaged in college exam work beyond this period and is available for the university's central assessment programme," said Sawant.

Parents are going to great lengths to make sure their children get top scores in the upcoming board exams

With the standard X board exams around the corner, parents have become a fretful lot as they resort to promises of expensive gifts if their children score well. Others enroll their kids for crash courses, keen on a last minute drill to do the trick. Then there are those who take extended leave from work, hoping constant supervision, if not anything else, will get the kids to slog it out.