Alternative and innovative education centres (AIECs) run under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) have proved to be a big failure for the state education department.

In majority of the cases, the NGOs, who have been entrusted the task of running such centres, have swindled funds while teachers appointed by these have been agitating to get their salaries for the past several months.

Under the SSA, the state government has entrusted the task of imparting education to dropouts and non-starter children, mostly from the slum areas and from the lower strata of the society. The task has been entrusted to NGOs throughout the state.

The government makes payment at a rate of Rs 45,000 per centre per annum to the NGOs.

The NGOs hire the services of a teacher, called volunteer, for a monthly honorarium of Rs 2,500.

Bowl souvenirs sent to Africa, Patriots become grand poobah in loyal ...

The 10 hottest hockey wives and girlfriends, past and present, according to wickedwrister.com: 10. Candace Cameron-Bure (Valeri Bure); 9. Carol Alt (Ron Greschner, Alexei Yashin); 8. Anna Kournikova (Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Bure); 7. Rachel Hunter (Sean Avery, Jarret Stoll); 6. Hilary Duff (Mike Comrie); 5. Willa Ford (Mike Modano); 4. Elisha Cuthbert (Sean Avery); 3. Gena Lee Nolin (Cale Hulse); 2. Angelica Bridges (Sheldon Souray); 1. Veronika Varekova (Petr Nedved). Note: Out of respect to the hard-working contributors to this column, we ask you to please not start your Googles until you have finished reading the compilation . . . Among those missing from the wickedwrister list: 3. Stacia Robitaille (Luc Robitaille); 2. Janet Jones (Vitas Gerulaitis, Wayne Gretzky); 3. Judge Judy (Rick Tocchet) .

Wales see familiarity breeding success as Gatland opts for 13 Ospreys

The previous record was set in 1948 when Wales went to Twickenham armed with 10 Cardiff players, all of whom survived for two more games, but in those days the selectors had a working base of 16 clubs rather than the present format of four regions and an English outpost.

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