News and views about the Education in India

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

India’s education system draws intense responses – from accolades to brickbats. But here is one science teacher who can only be revered – Babulal Saraf, who is an active physicist at 86, taught science through experiments in a unique way.

- Chillibreeze Business Research Team

IIM - Shillong to be operational by 2008

After over a year of discussions, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has finally notified that the new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) campus in Shillong will be operational by 2008.

The announcement by the Ministry means that IIM - Shillong will admit students for its 2008-09 batch. Candidates appearing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) this year will also be short-listed for IIM-Shillong.

IIM aspirants all over the country have welcomed the decision with great enthusiasm.

The new institution will initially function under one of the established IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode.

July 29, 2007 
Source: indiaedunews.com

High court asks DU to reserve seats for disabled

In an effort to provide equal status to the physically challenged candidates in educational institutions, the Delhi High Court has directed Delhi University (DU) to reserve seats for physically challenged students in Health Care Administration course under the management studies program.

The verdict was given by Justice B D Ahmed who disposed the petition filed by Poonam, who was denied admission for the course under the physically handicapped (PH) category. The varsity denied her admission on the grounds that her application form did not mention anything under the handicapped category.

July 24, 2007 
Source: indiaedunews.com

IISc proposes new campus to meet expansion needs

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore has proposed to develop a new campus, twice its present size, to meet its growing demand of infrastructure.

The institute is discussing the matter with the State Government for allotment of land to undertake the expansion activities.

At present, the total area of IISc campus is about 440 acres, which is one of the largest campuses in the international academic field. The elite institute is also going to celebrate its centenary year in 2009.

IISc is currently modernizing its existing campus with new laboratories for aerospace engineering, biology, physics, nano electronics, nano science and nano engineering.

July 24, 2007 
Source: indiaedunews.com

Indian hotel management school teams up with Swiss college group

From the 2007-08 academic year, the Good Shepherd College of Hotel Management in the resort town of Ooty, about 600 km south of Chennai, will be offering a Bachelor of International Business in Hotel and Tourism Management degree accredited by the Cesar Ritz Colleges.

The three-year programme will allow the students two years of study in India and one final year of study in Switzerland. The programme will provide students with employment opportunities in international hotels and restaurants.

The first two years of the residential programme will cost about Rs. 600,000 and the last year in Switzerland will cost about $32,000.

The Cesar Ritz Colleges have academic collaborations with institutions in Peru, Columbia, Guatemala, Iceland, Spain, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.

July 24, 2007 
Source: indiaedunews.com

IIIT in Orissa to start operation from September

The Government of Orissa is in a process to make the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) operational right from this academic year. The Government has sought all necessary permission from All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) in this regard.

The IT Department conducted a meeting on Saturday to chalk out plan for the upcoming institute. In the meeting it was decided that the admission process would start from September after AICTE approval. Prof GK Nayak was appointed as the Director of the institute who would work on standardization of admission process, recruitment of faculty and syllabi preparation.

The government has already allocated 100 acres of land at Gothapatna for the IIIT. But for the time being the institute would function from Orissa Computer Application Centre (OCAC) campus.

The IIIT would house an IT Park and a Knowledge Centre.

July 24, 2007 
Source: indiaedunews.com

Revamping science education

Studying the phenomena of resonance was never so interesting until instruments such as Foucault's or Barton's pendulum were discovered, thanks to the veteran 'Babulal Saraf,' a physicist and experimentalist, who gave an entirely new dimension to science education.

In the series of its science documentaries, Vigyan Prasar of Department of Science and Technology (DST) in association with Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) had released a documentary: "Babulal Saraf: Master Experimentalist". The 55-minute documentary would be broadcast on Doordarshan the next month. The DST would be distributing CDs of this documentary to various schools and colleges across the country.

Saraf significantly changed the way science was taught in colleges. His ex-students who are now at senior positions in various government departments shared: "We never studied in classrooms as Saraf preffered teaching in lawns or even in his kitchen. He taught us to make instruments ourselves for conducting experiments, so that we know the equipments well, before we start experimenting."

He seemed to be highly unsatisfied with the government's policies to promote science education. He felt that the Government has a blinkered vision. It could not think beyond the utility of any experiment and granted money only after knowing its outcome.

Saraf made Foucault's pendulum in Rs 60,000 that would have cost Rs 60 lakhs to universities if imported from the US. He pointed out, "Students, these days, do not understand their equipments. All they know is finishing their syllabus in time and securing marks," adding that, "they are unaware of the fact that they can themselves make these instruments. This is the reason why science education is suffering so much in the country."

He emphasised that, "Even today, I motivate my students to go to the scarp market to collect the raw parts required to make these instruments, after all, they should at least know what they are in to."

At a university in Rajasthan, Saraf has established a Centre for Development of Physics Education wherein he has created several standardised physics experiments for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Also, the Central university of Hyderabad had sent a request to the department to supply these instruments made by Saraf. Besides working for the country, Saraf has also established a physics laboratory in the University of Daressalam, Tanzania.

He has also worked with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre for 10 years. And it was for the first time in history that permission was granted to a researcher to take his lab along with him when he migrated. His experiments are also placed in Banglore's Planetarium. At 86, he is still an active physicist.

The documentary made on Saraf not only projects his life but also highlights his contribution to the higher education of the country.

July 23, 2007
Source: The Times of India

GGSIPU adds 300 BBA seats

The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) has targeted to increase the enrolment rate in higher education. The government, therefore, has suggested making the maximum utilisation of the infrastructure available to the state or central universities.

To this end, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) will be starting the evening classes, from this academic year, for Bachelor's of Business Administration (BBA) course, aiming to optimally utilise its resources.

The university administration was awaiting a nod from Delhi government since long, for starting evening classes for its various courses. The evening classes will be conducted in five of the university-affiliated institutes. These include Institute of Information Technology and Management (IITM), Jagannath Institute of Management Studies (JIMS), Maharaja Surajmal Institute (MSI), Tecnia Institute of Advanced Studies (TIAS) and Ideal Institute of Technology and Management (IITM).

July 23, 2007
Source: The Times of India