Number of TOEFL takers increases in India

According to data released by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the volume of TOEFL test takers in India surged 7 percent in 2012 compared to 2011.

In 2012, 67 percent of TOEFL test takers in India were male and 33 percent were female. The total mean age for TOEFL test takers in India in 2012 was 22.9 years old.

This trend also evident in other countries, continues the impressive global growth for the test for the seventh consecutive year, say company officials. In 2012, TOEFL test takers represented 180 countries. And, 90 percent of TOEFL test takers got into their first- or second-choice university or college.

"For more than 45 years the TOEFL test has been helping Indian students meet their educational goals," commented David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS's Global Division. "We are forecasting continued growth in 2013 and will monitor capacity in India, adding additional testing centers to respond to demand so that every student who wishes to take the TOEFL test has the opportunity to do so."

That TOEFL is being accepted by 8,500 institutions in 130 countries have made the test very popular. It is alos one of the least expensive ones and gets completed in half a day. In addition, in 2011, Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship approved the TOEFL test for use for student visas in Australia.

Mumbai girl tops GRE with full marks

Mumbai girl Ashwini Nene has topped the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) -- a pre-requisite for admissions to most US graduate schools and for some other countries - by scoring full marks of 340/340, an official said here Wednesday.

Nene, 20, is a student of Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Andheri.

The GRE results were announced by Educational Testing Services, a US-based organisation that conducts the examinations worldwide.

Coached by KIC Education in Andheri, Nene is one of the few students globally to have scored a full marks in a revised and tougher GRE format this year.

"Ashwini Nene has many great attributes which went into producing the special score. She stands out for her humility, is very coachable and ensured that she made every classroom session count by absorbing all concepts and applying them effectively during practice," said KIC Education's founder and chief mentor G Kohli.

Nene said that the strategies taught by KIC Education were brilliant and she used them while giving the actual test, besides specific instructions for different question types, 20-30 tests in hard and soft formats, which help her get 340/340.

"It is hard to predict what (questions) one will get and though I expected to get close to 340, I did not anticipate an absolute score. Now, I shall focus on my academic and build a strong profile to qualify for the best universities in the US," Nene said.

Nene's parents are technology professionals in the northwest Mumbai Vile Parle suburb.

Need to promote study of science, says A P J Abdul Kalam

The current teaching methods need to be revamped with more practicals and experiments to inculcate "scientific temper" among students, said experts at a national conference organised in the city to discuss the declining interest in science education.

Inaugurating the two-day event that began on Friday at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Tarnaka, former president, A P J Abdul Kalam said, "senior scientists should talk and interact with students on a regular basis and mobile science labs should be arranged to visit institutes in districts and villages and perform minor experiments and demonstrations for students." Emphasizing on the need to promote the study of science among the youth, Kalam said that parents should encourage their children to pursue their field of choice, whether arts or science. The renowned scientist also appealed to national scientific organizations to be more open to taking in PhD and M Sc scholars and assist them with their research.

Other experts present at the event, while stressing the need for better curriculums, pointed out how the existing system owing to its poorly designed syllabus has failed to drive students towards research in the field of science who have instead branched out into other lucrative professions.

"Only 30% of engineering graduates end up with actual engineering jobs as majority take up IT sector posts," said Ch Mohan Rao, director, CCMB and president of Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (APAS) while highlighting the growing number of vacancies in scientific organizations across the country. "With the right qualifications, a scientist's starting salary could be around Rs 45,000 per month and go up to around Rs 1 lakh within five years," he, interestingly, added.

Offering solutions to improve the quality of science education experts suggested the turning B Sc programmes into four-year long courses with the final year focusing on imparting practical knowledge and specific skills. "Following this, students must be allowed to directly do their Ph D instead of spending another two years on M Sc. This will encourage the students to opt for science at higher levels and increase their employability too," Rao said.

Other experts present at the conference from various organizations like National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI, National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), among others, too stressed on spreading awareness among students and their parents about the wide scope of science. Emphasis was also laid on the need to invest in science and research. Reportedly, the current investment is only 0.9% of our GDP while Japan invests around 3% of their GDP on science and technology, they said.

Nearly 450 people including teachers and students from school and colleges were present at the venue to participate in interactive sessions on various topics related to science education. Participants suggested developing a national science cadre under which meritorious students at the 10+2 level would be sponsored for higher education and assured jobs in their respective fields.

"Student-scientist interactions should be encouraged. Good colleges across the country could be turned into universities with a limit of 10,000 students to facilitate better focus on each student," suggested P M Bhargava, former director, CCMB.

First private accreditation body for varsities set up

Even as the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for higher education remains to be passed by Parliament, the country's first private accreditation body came into being on Friday.

Registered as a non-profit council, the Indian Centre for Assessment and Accreditation (ICAA), with Manipal University head T V Mohandas Pai as chairman and former University Grants Commission ( UGC) chairman Arun Nigavekar as chief advisor, aims at monitoring and assessing universities on a set of criteria that would keep in mind the domestic realities and international expectations .

At a press conference here, Mohandas Pai said universities would be ranked based on access, equity and quality. "Within nine months, a complete set of procedures will be in place," he said.

There are two government accreditation agencies in the country - the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and the National Board of Accreditation. "In 19 years, these agencies have accredited only 28% of universities and 14% of colleges," said S P Thyagarajan, former vice-chancellor of the University of Madras. "With grading of colleges gaining recognition, it's time we had a private body that will ensure transparency while assessing universities and colleges."

Some of the ICAA members stressed the decline in global ranking of Indian varsities over the years. While in 2009 and 2010 some Indian Institutes of Technology were within the top 200, no Indian university featured in the top 200 in 2012, according to 2011 rating of UK-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which specializes in education and study abroad. In 2012, Chinese varsities made it to the top 50 and a few Middle East institutions to the top 100, the council said.

Private agencies will be allowed to rate institutions to "create a healthy competitive environment", according to the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010.

ICAA, which has partnered QS, will include agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan, scientist V Ponraj, VIT chancellor G Viswanathan and National University of Singapore vice-president Prof Seeram Ramakrishna as its council members. It will function under the human resource development ministry.