News and Views About the Education in India

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

Legal courses, whether they deal with the regular laws or the more exotic cyber crime versions, are gaining popularity. This also has to do with the fact that corporates are demanding and paying high salaries to law graduates from top-notch colleges. Aviation is another industry that is attracting students.

- Chillibreeze Business Research Team

50:50 seat-sharing in medical colleges

The association of managements of private self-financing medical colleges in the State has agreed, in principle, to a 50:50 seat-sharing formula with the Government in medical colleges that do not have the status of minority institutions.

In such institutions, the association has agreed in principle to charge an annual fee of Rs. 20,000 for seats in the Government quota. Such students will have to pay a refundable caution deposit of Rs. 2.5 lakh. The fee will be substantially higher for those getting admission in the management quota. However, this fee is yet to be fixed, association secretary George Paul told the Hindu here after holding talks with Education Minister M.A. Baby.

In the case of institutions that have minority status, the association proposed a seat split of 60:40 in the management's favour. Here too the fee for Government seats will be Rs. 20,000. The fee for management seats is yet to be fixed. However, the association has demanded that 15 per cent seats in the Government quota in such institutions be reserved for Christian students if the institution is run by a Christian management and 10 per cent seats in the Government quota be set aside for Muslim candidates if the college concerned is run by a Muslim management.

The Education Minister reportedly told the association representatives that the Government was committed to the 50:50 formula for seat- sharing — a formula that was accepted by the all-party meeting convened recently. The Government has also reportedly told the association representatives that it will deliberate on these suggestions and get back to the association with its response soon.

Saturday, Jun 16, 2007
Source: The Hindu via StudentsIndia.com

Admission process announced

With the MHT-CET results out, it’s rush hour for admissions to various professional courses in the state. On Thursday, the state directorates of technical as well as medical education and research made a slew of announcements concerning medical, engineering, pharmacy, architecture, hotel management and catering and post-SSC (std X) and HSC (std XII) diplomas in technical streams.

Arun Kumar Vyas, competent authority for medical education and research, said that a notification for admission to health science courses would be issued soon. Vyas said that the selection process would be conducted by way of submission of ‘preference forms’ at four centres, including Grant Medical College in Mumbai, B.J. Medical College in Pune and the government medical colleges in Nagpur and Aurangabad.

In all, 2,080 seats are up for grabs at the 18 government- and municipal corporation-run medical colleges across Maharashtra.

Engineering: The last date for filing of applications for admission to the five autonomous engineering colleges is June 20. Admission process to these colleges started on June 11.

Barring these autonomous institutions, there are 158 engineering colleges (aided, university-managed and unaided put together) with a collective intake of 49,516 seats. Admissions to these 158 institutions will commence in the last week of June, the directorate of technical education (DTE) announced. A notification detailing the admission schedule will be released soon.

Pharmacy: Admissions to first-year pharmacy courses too are scheduled for the last week of June. There are 6,225 seats at 107 institutions (aided and unaided together) in the state. The admission schedule will be released soon, said the DTE.

Architecture and HMCT: Common entrance tests for architecture and hotel management and catering technology (HMCT) will be held on June 28 and 30, respectively.

Diplomas: Admission process for post-SSC (std X) diploma courses in technical education will commence at the institution level, a day after the SSC results are announced. The state education board is expected to announce the result date sometime next week.

Already, admissions to post-HSC (std XII) diploma courses in surface coating technology, HMCT, rubber coating technology, pharmacy and architecture are under way at the institution level.

15 Jun, 2007
Source: The Times of India via StudentsIndia.com

Aviation careers achieve top flight

The demand for aeronautical engineering courses has soared with the country witnessing an unprecedented growth in the aviation sector. The boom has inevitably raised the hopes of thousands of students who dream of pursuing a career in aviation.

Estimates indicate that the Indian aviation industry will need investments totalling $120 billion by 2020. The country will need 6,000 pilots and 60,000 aircraft-maintenance engineers in the next 10 years, C.G. Krishnadas Nair, former Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), told The Hindu Educationplus. “The sector is recording 25 to 30 per cent growth every year. Demand for professionals in the sector will go up in the coming years.”

Aerospace engineering programmes, including those offered by some private colleges, have caught the attention of students with many selecting it as their core subject for higher education. Aerospace or aeronautical engineering is a branch of study dealing with the design, construction, development, testing and manufacturing of commercial aircraft, defence aircraft, spacecraft, missiles and so on.

Four-year B.Tech. and five-year M.Tech. dual degree programmes are available in aerospace engineering for Plus Two students with mathematics, physics and chemistry, biotechnology, computer science or biology. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are the best centres offering four-year full-time B.Tech. courses in aerospace engineering. This branch is available at the IITs in Chennai, Mumbai, Kanpur and Kharagpur. They also offer a five-year M.Tech. dual degree course. Admission is on the basis of the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

Those who have obtained BE, B.Tech. or equivalent qualifications in aerospace or aeronautical engineering can look for jobs with private airline companies, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Aeronautical Development Establishments, the Civil Aviation Department, the Indian Air Force, the Army, and the Navy. Entry-level salary ranges between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000. For certified aircraft maintenance engineers, companies offer attractive packages in the range of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.
Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Sherlock Holmes on the Net

With the advent of IT, monitoring cyber crimes has become an important aspect of law enforcement in most countries. Most people don’t realise that if they, in any manner, create any problem or damage the information stored in the computer, they would be committing an offence under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act. This Act came into existence on October 17, 2000.

According to Na. Vijayashankar, a Techno-Legal Information Security Consultant (a pioneer in the field of cyber law in India) based in Chennai, apart from the Information Technology Act and the Negotiable Instruments Act, there are several aspects of Intellectual Property law such as copyright, trademarks, patents that affect the functioning of an internet banking institution and other transactions done through Internet.And all these come under cyber laws. These laws have been structured in such a manner that they have universal jurisdiction. Consequently an Indian business entity or a netizen may be subject to the laws of several foreign countries.

Cyber law is a mutli-discipline subject, a study of which requires an appreciation of both technology and law. And for the same reason, teaching of cyber law is a multi-discipline task. In India there are not many institutes that offer courses in the subject. www.cyberlawcollege.com founded by Naavi in 2000 is the pioneering virtual educational institution dedicated to the subject. It offers online and offline courses in Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Mangalore and Chennai.

Symbiosis Society’s Law College, Pune, and NALSAR University with its head office at Hyderabad offer diploma courses in cyber laws. Asian School of Cyber Laws based at Pune offers diploma courses at Pune and Mumbai through distance education mode. A Master’s Programme in Cyber Law & Information Security (MPCLIS) is offered at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad. Centre for Distance Education, University of Hyderabad is another institute from where one can do a P.G. Diploma in Cyber Laws &Intellectual Property Rights (PGDCL & IPR).

Qualified lawyers practising law, technology students aspiring to make a career in IT, management students of graduate and post-graduate courses can take up the course. Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries can also take it up as a value addition course that will equip them with the required skills for the new career opportunities coming up in the areas of Computer System Security Audit and Cyber Law Compliance Audit.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Source: The Hindu

The lustre of legal education

Law as a career has undergone a sea change. It attracts talented students with a flair for intellectual pursuits. They can enter not just courts but leading multinational companies.

Campus recruitments, seven-figure annual pay packets, offers from multinational companies and near-total placement even before students complete the course: these are now more the norm than the exception in colleges and institutions offering legal education.

Elite national law schools in the country today boast of hundred per cent placement for their final-year students, with one student even bagging a Rs. one crore per annum offer from a multinational company last year.

Practising in courts and other judicial forums is not the only option available to law graduates. Corporate houses, banks, government departments and the armed forces are constantly in need of law graduates with mettle. Banks, financial institutions and government departments and corporations have their own legal wings, requiring a large number of legal advisors for specialised services.

With an exclusive All India Judicial Service taking shape and set to be in place soon, law graduates can hope to become career judges instead of aspiring for entry into bureaucracy. Consider this: thanks to recent amendments, now a fresh law graduate can sit for civil judge (junior division) examination. The starting salary is around Rs. 20,000 with a take-home of at least Rs. 18,000, says a judicial officer.

The entry of multinational companies and evolving international arbitration rules have placed the corporate law at an exalted position, and software companies are in need of intellectual property rights experts, says another advocate. Entry into the prosecution side of the judiciary as full-time assistant public prosecutors is another good career option.

Taking into account the fact that the incubation period in the legal profession is very high, the Government has made placement provisions for Dalit and Backward Class students. They are attached to senior lawyers and paid a monthly assistance.

The tuition and other fees in government colleges are “ridiculously low” and there are bank loans and scholarships to supplement the needs, says an advocate who coaches law students for over two decades now.

Of late, internationally, the migration of women into the legal arena has been increasing rapidly, says a woman lawyer, adding that the Tamil Nadu Government has reserved one-third of the available posts in the subordinate judiciary for women. Considered a male preserve till recently, the trend is changing now with the enrolment of more number of women in law colleges and the Bar, she says.

As on date, the corporate demand is focused only on the elite and prestigious law schools, and it is yet to percolate down to the government law colleges. A comprehensive reform, covering admission process, course content, teaching and evaluation methodology, is long overdue, said a senior advocate.

Tuesday, June 11, 2007
The Hindu

ICFAI pact with Monash University
ICFAI University has signed an MoU with Monash University, Australia, to foster cooperation and promote academic collaboration. The MOU was signed at Monash University between Stephanie Fahey, deputy vice-chancellor (International), Monash University, and V. Panduranga Rao, vice-chancellor, ICFAI University, a release said.

Areas of joint activity will include joint research and training programmes, faculty and student exchange, joint proposals for external funding and sponsorship of conferences.

Joint research projects will include formation of interdisciplinary research centres, bilateral student exchanges for periods of one semester to 12 months duration involving joint supervision of visiting research scholars, exchange of faculty members and research personnel.

Monday, June 11, 2007
The Hindu