News and views about the Education in India

Weekly news updates on trends and happenings in the Indian Education scene

The buzzword seems to be empowerment of women through education, from beauty products to NGO’s everyone seems to endorse this. Changing patterns in assessments and teaching methods ushers in a new generation of learners as multimedia invades the classroom. India takes pride in the achievements of Dr. S P S Khanuja and Santosh Kumar Das.

- Chillibreeze Business Research Team

Scholarship for women

Fair and Lovely has introduced Project Saraswati from this year that would award scholarships to women who have the aptitude, drive and ambition to carve a place of pride for themselves in society, but do not have the financial strength to realise their dreams.

Project Saraswati will identify deserving women under-graduates, and award them each a scholarship of up to Rs. one lakh per annum, per person. This scholarship will be given after a review of the candidate’s academic credentials, followed by a personal interview. The scholarship covers all graduate courses within India, and will be granted as per terms and conditions lay down in the charter of the Fair & Lovely Foundation.

Candidates have to fill all the required details in the application form, which can be downloaded from www.fairandlovely.in and provide attested copies of all documents listed.

Candidates also need to provide a statement of purpose in English, which should be an essay of not more than 500 words.

Scholarships are awarded to women only. For Saraswati Graduate, candidates must have secured at least 60 per cent marks in their class X and XII examinations and have working knowledge of English language. Last date for applying is September 30.

August 20, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Research retell

All ye researchers! It’s time to shed your inhibitions and come out of your labs. This is your chance to get your ideas and works published. Be it research, seminar or technical papers published as part of your academic curriculum. All you have to do is send them across to in an abstract form. Send your entries to collegian@thehindu.co.in under the head ‘Abstract Arena’.

August 20, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Scientist awarded for developing plant by IIT Kharagpur

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has awarded S P S Khanuja with the institute's first 'Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award'.

S P S Khanuja is the Director of Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. The award was given to him for developing a plant called Artmersia annua. From this plant an anti-malarial drug can be extracted. The plant can now be grown in India which can help to increase the rural income of the country.

August 20, 2007
Source: indiaedunews.net

3 more NALSAR campuses to come up in State  

The prestigious NALSAR law university will set up three more campuses in the State of Andhra Pradesh at Kadapa, Visakhapatnam and Nizamabad to offer five-year integrated law course with an intake of 50 students a year in each place.

Disclosing this to reporters here on Monday after the proposal was firmed up at a meeting held by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Law Minister R. Chenga Reddy and Higher Education Minister D. Srinivas said the foundation stone for the campus at Kadapa would be laid by Dr. Reddy on September 5. It was expected to start functioning from the next academic year.

The campuses in Visakhapatnam and Nizamabad would start from 2009 and 2010 respectively.

The Government would provide the corpus amount of Rs. 60 crore over a period of five years as also 50 acres for each campus to build the basic infrastructure. Mr. Srinivas said the possibility of establishing another campus in Tirupati would also be considered later. He said that NALSAR would impart quality law education through the integrated course after Intermediate.

Admission would be on the basis of an all India competition. NALSAR also promised to examine the request made by him and Mr. Chenga Reddy for giving preference to students from the State by having a “State pool”.

August 21, 2007
Source: The Siasat Daily

Chairs on great leaders in Wadia College

The Modern Education Society (MES) has decided to establish chairs in the name of great leaders from Pune at the Nowrosjee Wadia College to mark its platinum jubilee this year.

Speaking about the platinum jubilee celebrations of MES and the Nowrosjee Wadia college (NWC), principal Bhagwan Thakur said the first chair, in the name of Mahatma Phule, would be inaugurated by Raosaheb Kasbe on September 1.

The MES, which runs five institutions in Pune and two in Mumbai, was established on February 15, 1932, while the NWC was established in July 1932.

“We will establish chairs in the name of leaders like Mahatama Phule, Lokmanya Tilak and others so that students and professors are benefited by them,” Thakur said.

As part of the platinum jubilee celebrations, a year-long lecture series would be held, said M.M. Andar, assistant secretary, MES. Computer scientist Vijay Bhatkar and advocate Ujjwal Nikam would participate in the lecture series. We were also in touch with people like father of the green revolution M.S. Swaminathan, scientist R.A. Mashelkar and writer-actor Girish Karnad.

“We are also trying to bring Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus and former president APJ Abdul Kalam.”

The other initiatives planned during the year include a new building that will house classrooms, laboratories, audio visual rooms, seminar halls and an auditorium for the engineering college. There are also plans to build additional floors on some of the college buildings that will house classrooms and laboratories.

August 21, 2007
Source: The Times of India

Government urged to recruit college teachers

Federation of Degree College Principals’ Associations in Karnataka and Mangalore University Private College Managements’ Associations has urged the State Government to fill up vacant teaching and non-teaching posts in degree colleges at the earliest.

In a joint press release, Y Bhaskar Shetty, president of the federation and H Shanthaam, president of managements’ associations, said many colleges, especially those in rural areas, were facing acute shortage of staff.

The Government issued an order on November 13, 2006 regarding the filling up of vacant posts of teachers in degree colleges.

But the order had not been implemented. A delegation of the federation met the Minister for Higher Education, Principal Secretary of Higher Education and the Commissioner of Collegiate Education, sometime ago and apprised them of the problem.

Although the authorities had promised to expedite the process, no action had been taken, he said.

Government should draw a time-bound programme to fill up the posts and make the authorities accountable for the delay at the college and Government-levels, the release added.

August 21, 2007
Source: Udayavani

CBSE changes pattern of question papers for Class X and XII

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to change the examination pattern for both the Classes X and XII. The new pattern aims at reducing the pressure on the students. CBSE sources say that, next year onwards; there will be an increase in the number ‘very short answer’ type questions in the paper. Lesser marks will be allotted for long answer questions. The Class X question papers in Social Science and Maths will have a total of 30 questions including 10 one mark very short answer questions.

Madhu Bahl, Principal, KBDAV School, Sector 7, said, “We have received instructions that the next year papers will have a number of multiple choice questions.” Rakesh Sachdeva, Principal, DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 15, said, “The new pattern of question paper will avoid the chances of cheating and the short questions will test the actual IQ level of the students”. The new pattern will also provide more internal choices to the students.

The Science and Technology paper in Class X had a 20-mark section of Multiple-choice questions. The new format will have nine questions each for one and two marks; six three-mark short answer questions and three five mark long answer questions. Bahl said, “The new pattern has many objective questions, which will reduce the length of the paper. Students will be able to complete the paper in time.”

August 21, 2007
Source: Chandigarh Newsline

Story of a village which is now an educational centre

"How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man" - this eternal Bob Dylan song might be the appropriate tribute to the man whose childhood trek of 15 kms daily to reach his school made him walk yet another extra mile to make his tiny village an educational hub.

When Santosh Kumar Das, after his father's death in 1936 came with his mother to his maternal uncle's place in Gangadharpur in Howrah district- there was no school. Little Santosh had to walk nearly 15 kilometers to Jujarshah every day to have his basic education.

"I wanted to establish everything in this village- from a primary school to a university so that the students don't have to walk distances for studies," Santosh says. In the last fifty years Das almost single handedly has been able to change the complexion of his village.

Today Gangadharpur, a small hamlet nearly 100 kilometers away from Kolkata, boasts of having not only two schools and college but an open air auditorium, a playground of international standard and a hospital as well.

"In my school days I had to walk a long distance to get my primary education and afterwards I had to complete all my higher education in private and so I thought to give the people of this area the basic educational facilities," says Das.

Now all the people have come forward to make my mission successful. Without their active co-operation I could not have completed this task," adds Das.

August 21, 2007
Source: The Hindu

NAAC Accreditation must for Institutes seeking Varsity Status

In a significant development, an accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a B-Grade has been made compulsory for institutions applying for a 'Deemed University' status. The decision was taken this week soon after the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry's communication to the University Grants Commission (UGC).

During the meeting, it was asserted that the purpose of assessment by NAAC is not to evaluate institutions having faculties in medicine and engineering but to assess the potentiality of the university level of governance if the institutions were to be declared as Deemed Universities.

This signifies that educational institutes which are seeking the status of a deemed university will require accreditation where its infrastructure and faculty, among other things, will also be inspected.

"These new conditions of accreditation will help to identify institutions of excellence that can be granted the status of a Deemed University. This process is not only to assess and accredit, but also help good institutions perform better," said HRD Ministry Secretary Mr. RP Aggarwal.

On whether NAAC accreditation is to be made compulsory for all institutions, Aggarwal said that the Ministry was yet to decide on this.

According to the NAAC, the Council is gearing up to develop a mechanism to accredit general institutions applying for a Deemed University status.

August 21, 2007
Source: indiaedunews.net

Indian students to address Russian forum

Two Indian female students will address an international educational forum that started in the Altai republic in Siberia in Russia on Tuesday, reports RIA Novosti.

Dhakhar Neeraj and Manu Rada, from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, will share their opinion on Russia's contemporary history and talk about the youth movement in India, the news agency said.

It will be the first appearance of any Indian student at the annual Russian international youth educational forum.

The forum, titled "Generation Seeking Its Self-Identity", is organised by the Russian Centre of National Glory (RCNG), an NGO working for spiritual and cultural renaissance of Russia.

The students are studying the Russian language, literature and history at JNU. "We are going to share our views with Russian students and try to understand what kind of problems young people face in Russia and India. We'll get to know if we have common problems," said Manu Rada.

The forum will last till Aug 26. Seventy-five young scholars, journalists, students and post-graduates from different countries are attending.

August 22, 2007
Source: IANS via indiaedunews.net

Japan offers education to 500 per year

The education sector seems to be figuring quite prominently on the Indo-Japan radar screen. On Wednesday, in his address to a joint session of Parliament, visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that his country will welcome 500 Indian students to Japan each year for the next five years.

Mr Abe said that of the 500 students, 100 will be those who are either studying or teaching Japanese. The Japanese PM said that this move will not only be an investment towards future generations but also deepen friendship between the two countries. Earlier, on Tuesday an academic dialogue was held between the presidents and vice-presidents of 12 major Japanese universities and the vice-chancellors of some leading Indian universities. Also present at the meeting were the directors of the IITs and IIMs. The meeting agreed to strengthen the links between higher education institutions in India and Japan and identify common research interests.

It was also decided that steps will be taken to increase the volume of both faculty and student movement between the two countries.

Importantly, the Indian side also seized the opportunity during the interaction to remind the Japanese about the assistance it has sought from them to build an Indian Institute of Technology. Union minister of human resource development, Mr Arjun Singh, drew the attention of the Japanese PM to the formal request the Indian government has already made in this regard.

Mr Abe on his part said that there needs to be greater interaction between institutions of higher education of the two nations.

August 23, 2007
Source: The Asian Age

Education has a new teacher: Ms Multimedia

A quiet revolution across the country is changing copybook notions of teaching — ushering in the computer and throwing out the chalk dust.

Consider this: Forty-five students of class III in Doon Public School are staring in rapt attention at the huge plasma screen on the wall, where traditionally one might have expected a blackboard. Each student is firmly clutching a remote in his hand. Suddenly, there is sound of a collective click. A question has been answered. They are staring at the screen again, waiting for the next one to flash.

This is today’s smart assessment system, albeit in elite schools. As eight-year-old Ratin Kataria puts it: “I can answer questions quickly. We all feel like contestants in Kaun Banega Crorepati — the fastest finger first!”

Doon School in Paschim Vihar is a strong advocate of marrying off known methods with the new. Each classroom here has a plasma screen attached to computers. They use the smart system — smart assessment and smart class — exploring the power of graphics, animations and video to impart knowledge. However, an encasing on the screen ensures that it doubles up as a blackboard. The school’s resource co-ordinator Anjali Gakhar said, “We want to make the teaching process more interactive. We don’t want to replace anything. Perhaps that is why we don’t use too much sound because a teacher’s voice is very important to his student.” She said, “Data on each student is stored and the application allows the teacher to generate a wider range of reports about the whole class and individual students.”

Students get the opportunity to learn anything from grammar to the laws of gravity through smart class. The concepts are prepared by Educomp Solutions a firm which thinks up education software. Class X student Akanksha Paul said, “Certain things like momentum and laws of motion are difficult to understand from books but once the computer showed us how to apply these concepts on cars, it was easier to learn.”

Children are being caught early. Even playschools are doing away with the school bag. Toddlers no longer soil their hands with crayon. Instead they stare at the computer where their favourite cartoon characters tell stories. In Paschim Vihar’s Little Legends, two-year-old Devansh is vigorously running his fingers on the computer screen. He watches with wonder how the “magic wall” in front of him gets filled with the colours of his choice. While he is at it, his mother Disha watches him on the online video of the classroom which is available on the school’s website. She said, “I can see how he bonds with his teachers.”

Will someone spare a thought for the nation’s handwriting in the years to come?

August 24, 2007
Source: Delhi Newsline

NGO to fund tribal girl’s education

Whenever she opened her textbooks, she did it with a burning ambition of becoming an engineer. And the crowning glory came when Pittla Nagalaxmi, a primitive tribal girl of Kammampalli village in Karimnagar district, cleared the EAMCET examinations and got admission in Bhojireddy Engineering College in Hyderabad.

A news story in The Hindu on August 26 filed from Karimnagar by K.M. Dayashankar showcased her plight and there was overwhelming response from NGOs and individuals with offers to fund her education. The girl’s parents Devamma and Pochaiah, agricultural labourers accepted the offer of a former IPS officer Ch. Koteswara Rao from Share A Service, an NGO working for the needy.

Dr. Rao said Krishnakriti Foundation offered complete assistance for the girl through her four-and-a half-year study, including admission and tuition tees, hostel accommodation and living expenses. However, enquiries with officials revealed that the Government would reimburse tuition and hostel fees as she was a tribal girl.

The girl, accompanied by her parents, personally received the offer at the newspaper’s office.

August 26, 2007
Source: The Hindu