News and Views About the Education in India

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

Road shows by international universities are on the rise in India as more and more students can afford to study abroad, thanks to a range of study loans provided by banks. The government meanwhile has plans to bring world-class education to India. The hybrid solution also exists – acquire an international degree studying in India.

- Chillibreeze Business Research Team

PM promises 30 world-class universities for India

The government is to establish 30 central universities to bring world-class higher education across the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced here on Friday while lamenting current poor standards.

"This expansion is going to be a landmark in expanding access to high-quality education across the country. These universities should focus on international standards of excellence and be rated among the top institutions in the world," the prime minister said. "They must become the launching pads for our entry into the knowledge economy," Manmohan Singh told a function here to celebrate 150 years of the University of Mumbai.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Planning Commission have already begun work on setting them up. The prime minister said efforts will also be made to ensure the best faculty for them, excellent physical resources, a range of disciplines, and diverse student bodies.

As opposed to universities run by states governments, a central university is normally set up under an act of parliament and not only receives funding from the central government but is also governed by the UGC in terms of course curriculum.

June 23, 2007 
Source: IANS via indiaedunews.net

Dual degrees - Rising trend in Delhi

Dual degrees seem to be catching on among youngsters in Delhi. Thousands of students seeking admission into vocational courses also want a conventional academic degree in hand as a pragmatic ploy to keep all options open.

Keeping one's options open is not the only motivation behind doing two degrees - it's a way of balancing out a vocational diploma or degree from a lesser-known university.

According to the human resource development ministry, out of 458,884 students who have taken up vocational courses - apart from medicine, engineering or Bachelors of Education - 38,216 students are also pursuing a bachelor's degree from Delhi University.

On this evolving trend, Ramesh Sharma, principal of Moti Lal Nehru College, Delhi University said, "Morally this is wrong. No one can do two courses from Delhi University. But studying for a regular degree from one university and pursuing the other through a correspondence course from another university is generally taken no notice of. No complaint has been received about this trend but it is common knowledge."

There has always been an obsession with degrees in India but whereas some decades ago people would put the letters 'BA' as a suffix to their name, this has now graduated to 'PhD'. Earning two degrees in the same time-span seems to be an easier option to add weight to one's academic qualifications now - a trend that looks set to increase in the years to come.

June 23, 2007 
Source: IANS via indiaedunews.net

Excellence status for varsities not to be renewed automatically

Stringent guidelines will be issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on according the status of a "University with Potential for Excellence (UPE)" on universities. The UGC has also made it clear that the universities which were already conferred the UPE status are not entitled to an automatic renewal of the same. If an institution fails to live up to the expectations of the UGC, it is bound to lose its UPE status.

M. Anandakrishnan, Member of the Standing Committee on UPE, said that, "The faculty strength and infrastructure of a university alone do not entitle the institution for the UPE status. Currently, the status is being awarded based on the age of the institution or the laboratory facilities available. The UGC is ready to part ways with this criterion soon." He stressed on the fact that organized and focussed efforts are required to achieve global standards in teaching and research programmes. Institutions will have to adapt to modern methods of teaching & learning and change their evaluation methods to sustain themselves in this competitive world.

Last year, the UGC declared nine universities a ''University with Potential for Excellence''. These institutions will receive about Rs.30 crore over a period of five years.

June 23, 2007 
Source: Indiaedunews.net

Admissions to global courses in MDIS

The Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), one of Singapore’s oldest B-schools, has announced admissions for the current academic year for postgraduate and undergraduate programmes in Mass Communications, International Business and Travel and Tourism respectively.

The mass communications bachelor’s programme is in partnership with Oklahoma City University (OCU), USA, the master’s programme in International Business in partnership with the i nternationally-renowned Grenoble Graduate School of Business (GGSB), France and the Travel and Tourism bachelor’s programme in partnership with University of Sunderland, U.K., a press release in Chennai said.

There are two intakes this year August and November 2007 and the last date for applying is two months before the commencement of programme, that is, June 30 and September 30.

June 19, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Grooming India’s future economists

According to the UPSC, the approximate number of vacancies in Grade IV of the Indian Economical Service is seven while there are 12 vacancies available in Indian Statistical Service. The number of vacancies is liable to alteration. The Indian Economic Service (IES) offers an opportunity for youngsters to be part of the country’s decision-making team on national economic affairs.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has invited applications for this year’s Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service examinations.

A combined competitive examination for recruitment to Grade IV of these services will be held on December 1. The examination will be held at Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttack, Delhi, Dispur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Shillong, Shimla, and Thiruvananthapuram. Applications for the examination should reach the Secretary, UPSC, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi, on or before July 9.

A candidate for the Indian Economic Service must have obtained a Postgraduate degree in Economics/Applied Economics/Business Economics/Econometrics from a university incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutes established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or a foreign university approved by the Central Govt. from time to time.

June 19, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Career choice: some points to ponder

Choosing between Medicine and Engineering has always been a dilemma for parents and students. Conflicting feedback from career consultants has made the task of making the final choice all the more difficult. While one section insists that B.E./ B.Tech. graduates have enormous career prospects compared to those with the MBBS qualification, and that the former are better placed considering the cost and time factors (for, a real plunge in medical profession is deemed to have been made only with a postgraduate qualification), another section strongly believes that the country needs medical professionals in large numbers now that Medical Tourism has come of age in India.

And this being the time to make a quick decision, the confusion is more pronounced for parents and students. Of course, it is against the backdrop of several thousands of engineering graduates with the right skills and promising aptitude smiling their way to industry portals in a situation of plentiful jobs and the MBBS holders having to consider the few unenviable options of either making a modest beginning by starting polyclinics or making an entry into established hospitals for not-so-attractive salaries or trying their luck for making it to postgraduation for which the seats are not only scarce in Tamil Nadu, but also entails an expenditure of several lakhs of rupees.

The candid observation that Career Consultant Jayaprakash A. Gandhi made during a recent programme organised by the Aura Club in Tiruchi was that medicine is out of bounds for the common man, and suits only those families where the students are really focussed and money is not at all a problem.

But, S. Raghavan, Senior Faculty of Electronics and Communications Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi, emphasises that the importance of medicine must be viewed with a long-term perspective and that the interest of the individual matters the most. He is for increasing the number of postgraduate seats of medical course and enhancing remuneration for the candidates. A course that merges engineering, computational skill and medical profession is a vital need. Students must be bold enough to opt for courses such as Biomedical engineering, the development of which has reflected in the growth of medical tourism, says Mr. Raghavan.

Nevertheless, both have similar views when it comes to dealing with the lack of awareness among parents and students on the availability of many other professions, particularly the application areas of Commerce such as Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

Another aspect on which they agree is on the stage in the life of students in which career orientation must be made in order to avoid unnecessary confusion at a later stage. Mr. Gandhi believes that it makes real sense to provide career orientation to students right after SSLC.

June 19, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Students considering going to Ireland for higher education will be happy to know that a new graduate work scheme called 'Third Level Graduate Scheme' will be operational from April 10, 2007.

"The new scheme will allow legally resident non-EU third-level graduates to remain in Ireland for up to six months after the completion of their course, to seek employment and apply for a Green Card/Work Permit. The student who has, on or after January 1, 2007, acquired a primary, masters or doctorate degree from an Irish higher educational institution listed on the government website will be granted one non-renewable extension for a six-month period," informed Gabriel McCarrick, commercial counsellor, Embassy of Ireland.

Documents required when making an application include: an original letter signed by the college registrar, on the official letterhead, stating that the applicant has completed the course of study satisfactorily and the qualification has been gained; current passport and a current Certificate of Registration issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

The extension under this scheme shall automatically expire after a period of six months. In circumstances where the person, a bearer of an extension under this scheme, obtains a Green Card or Work Permit, that person shall be required to obtain permission to remain under the respective employment scheme.

Furthermore, the Green Card Scheme has apparently been established for the first time in Ireland, for occupations where high level strategic skill shortages exist, which includes IT, healthcare, industry/services, and research and financial services. According to McCarrick,"The permit issued to the employee allows employment in Ireland by the employer named in the permit. It's issued for an initial period of two years and will thereafter normally be renewed indefinitely. This new arrangement allows the employee to apply for immediate family re-unification and will also allow a pathway to permanent residency after two years".

June 18, 2007
Source: The Times Of India

Earning foreign degrees from India

Institutions in the country have begun to offer degrees from foreign universities or lateral entry to courses abroad in a variety of subjects. For technical courses in particular, experts caution that students need to check if the technical bodies and accrediting institutions in the country accept these degrees.

While students still prefer to directly join an institution abroad for a degree, there are educational institutions in the country that give students the opportunity to finish some coursework in India and join the foreign university they have a tie-up with in the second or third year.

This option is usually available for under-graduate students only, since most post-graduate programmes in foreign universities are one year long. Of more concern are the small institutions that are not registered as educational institutions but function as coaching centres to finish coursework.

Counsellors that offer assistance with studying abroad find that lateral entry is fairly difficult for most American or British universities. They point out that universities in the country are classified into grades - the oldest government-run institutions such as the University of Madras make the top grade, reputed deemed universities come second, lesser known privately run institutions last. Those in the top-grade institutions with consistently high scores have the best chance at lateral entry.

Foreign universities, meanwhile, have begun to headhunt students in India, a trend that could open more doors for lateral entry in the future.

June 18, 2007
Source: The Hindu

Medicine in China

There are a number of opportunities for medical aspirants to pursue education at medical colleges in China. Lugansk & Zaporozhye State Medical Universities is promoting Indian students. Universal Education Consultancy chairman Khadar Khan said that their firm had got authorisation from these universities to get admission for Indian students. They are organising seminars to attract local students.

June 18, 2007
Source: The Hindu