31,000 students in Indore to appear for All India Engineering Entrance Exam

About 31,000 students will appear for the 11th All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) 2012 offline test to be held at around 51 different centres in the city on Sunday. Last year, nearly 26,000 students had appeared for the exam at 34 centres.

SK Joshi, city-coordinator of examination and principal of Vidyasagar School told ToI that after IIT-JEE, AIEEE is the most popular exam in the country. "In the past 10 years, the number of students appearing for AIEEE has increased manifold. We had started with five centres in the city. This year, there will be more than 50 centres in the city," added Joshi.

Country-wide, close to 11 lakh aspirants are expected to appear for the exam that is regarded as the gateway to 30 National Institutes of Technology (NITs) besides five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IITs), central- and state-funded institutions and self-financed deemed universities and other institutions. Indore is one of the five cities in the state where the offline exam will be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The exam will be conducted simultaneously in 63 different cities across the country.

However, Indore does not figure among the list of cities where online exam will be conducted. This year 11 lakh students will appear for the AIEEE, which is 50,000 more than last year. More institutions are expected to admit students through AIEEE. A decision in this regard will be taken by the CCB, which will be constituted by HRD ministry, and a list of tentative institutions joining the CCB will be placed on the website: www.ccb.nic.in.

The entrance examination features two papers - Paper-I consisting of three parts of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics of equal weightage with objective type questions for B.E/B.Tech courses and Paper-II consisting of Mathematics, Aptitude Test and Drawing for B Arch and B Planning. The aptitude test is designed to evaluate candidate's perception, imagination, observation, creativity and architectural awareness.

Matric exam concludes, over 10,000 held for cheating in Odisha

It seems the efforts of the Board of Secondary Education to check malpractices in the matriculation exam have yielded results, with 10,015 students booked for cheating this year. This is the highest number of examinees ever caught for using unfair means in the matriculation examinations. The examinations got over on Thursday.

Last year, 7,000 students were booked for malpractices, while in 2010, the figure was 2,046. This year, around 6,372 examinees were booked for malpractice in regular stream and the rest were ex-regular examinees. Board officials said the maximum number of cheating cases was reported from Sambalpur central zone. Board officials have expressed concern over the rising number of malpractice cases.

"This year a record number of students have been booked. The figures themselves speak about the gravity of the problem, malpractice in matriculation exam has become a deep rooted problem," said Satyakam Mishra, president of the board. The students booked for malpractice will be debarred from appearing in matriculation exam for three years.

Apart from the students, the board has also decided to take stringent action against 14 invigilators and six centre superintendents who were found guilty of abetting malpractice.

"We have written to the state government to take stringent action against the invigilators and centre superintendents who were found abetting malpractice," said Nihar Mohapatra, board secretary.

Evaluation of answer sheets will begin from May 1 and will continue till May 15. Answer scripts will be corrected at 71 centres across the state and more than 21,000 teachers will be involved in the process.

The board has decided to transport the answer sheets directly to the evaluation centres from the examination centres to avoid wastage of time.

"Earlier answer sheets were collected at a receiving centre and from there they were sent to evaluation centres. In the process, seven days were lost, so this time we have decided to transport the answer sheets directly from the exam centre to evaluation point," said Mishra.

Board officials have informed that the results would be out by first week of July. This year atleast 5.11 lakh students appeared for the matriculation examination at 2,261 centres across the state. Over 122 flying squads were formed to keep vigil on these centres.

The matriculation examination had started on March 19, but on March 21, question papers of seven subjects were stolen from an exam centre, Bhagabati Vidyapitha, in Puri district following which the exam was stalled . The exam resumed on April 17 and concluded on Thursday.

Gujarat University exams rescheduled to May 7, 8

Gujarat University (GU) exams which were slated to start from May 3 have been rescheduled due to administrative reasons and will now begin from May 7 and May 8 respectively.

GU officials said that as per the revised schedule, exams of BA first semester (regular, repeater and external), BCom first semester (regular, repeater and external), BSc first semester (regular and repeater), BBA first semester (regular, repeater and external), BCA first semester (regular, repeater and external) and BSc first year (regular) will begin from May 7.

The number of ATKT students is huge and the sitting arrangements caused some problems. This resulted in the exams being pushed back by four days. "Owing to space crunch and lack of adequate staff - since summer vacations are on - we've decided to take the exam in two parts," said a GU official.

From May 8, MA first semester (regular, repeater and external), MCom first semester (regular, repeater and external), MA semester three (regular and repeater), MCom (regular and repeater) and MSC semester five (regular and repeater) exams will begin. tnn

In the exams beginning from May 7, no less than 60,000 students are expected to appear and another 45,000 students will appear for the exams from May 8.

However, some students were less than pleased by this development. "The GU authorities should take proper care before announcing the exam dates. As per the earlier schedule, the exams would have ended by May 10 and many of us would have drawn up vacation plans and others who are employed would also have applied for leave. Now, all these have to be reorganized in a hurry," said an MCom student.

Evaluation of UP Board answer sheets begins

The evaluation of copies UP Board high school and intermediate exams started on Thursday amid tight security.

Additional secretary, UP Board, Vinod Krishna said 236 evaluation centres have been set up across the state and 1,14,000 examiners deputed for evaluation.

At Allahabad, nine evaluation centres have been set up. These are Government Inter College, CAV Inter College, KP Inter College, Dr KP Jaiswal Inter College, Sewa Samiti Inter College, Agrasen Inter College, Jamuna Christian Inter College, Bharat Scouts and Guides School and Kesar Vidyapeeth. In Allahabad, 6,500 examiners will evaluated the copies.

This year, a total of 2,46,947 students appeared in the board examinations from Allahabad. Out of these, 1,37,809 appeared in high school and 1,09,138 in intermediate exams.

Relocated schools can't use old place for business in Goa

Schools that shift to integrated school complexes will not be able to utilize their old premises for commercial purposes.

The premises may be used for philanthropic activities "but in no case will be put to commercial use whereby the main object of traffic decongestion is lost," the integrated educational complex scheme, revised by directorate of education (DoE), states.

"As most of the institutions are running from rented premises and they get rent under the grant-in-aid scheme of government of Goa, this will automatically cease to operate and the property shall go back to the original owners," the scheme reads. In case of government owned premises, the building presently used by the school will be reverted to the government department to which it belongs. If the premises is owned by the institution, then it cannot be exploited for commercial purposes, states the scheme.

The state government plans to set up integrated educational complexes at Bambolim, Mapusa and Margao. The scheme has kicked off with setting up of the complex at Bambolim, where six Panaji-based schools will be shifted in an effort to decongest the city while also doing away with the space restrictions city schools face. Auditorium, playground and other facilities will be provided to the schools, which they cannot accommodate presently due to restricted land area available to it.

An area of 10,000 sq m has been allotted on lease to six schools at Cujira. The schools which have been allotted land are Mushtifund Saunstha, Dr K B Hedgewar High School, Rosary Education Society, Vasantrao Dempo Higher Secondary School of Arts & Science, Voicuntrao Dempo Higher Secondary School of Commerce and Anjuman Nurul Islam High School.

The land has been leased to the schools at Re one per sq m for a period of 33 years and would be renewed as per government guidelines for another 60 odd years.

The six schools that have already opted to shift to the complex also cannot carry out any parallel educational activities such as operating classes in the premises occupied by them at present after the school shifts to the integrated complex. Around 20% of the existing strength can function from the current premises of the school that too with DoE permission.

The order issued by the director of education Anil Powar states that the school managements have agreed to the terms.

Need to curate more situational business contexts

Business schools don't need to create more content, rather they need to curate more situational business contexts, writes Tony O'Driscoll , professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, US

Think about going on an exotic vacation to an island in the Caribbean. You have never been to that island and you are keen to learn more about it. You read all the travel books, brochures and online reviews you can find. You talk to others who may have been to the island . Is this a practical exercise? Most likely it is. But does all this content based inquiry substitute for actually being there feeling the heat on your face and the sand between your toes? More than likely, not.

The only way to truly experience the island is actually visiting it. Traditional business education suffers a similar challenge . A professor dictates from the front of the classroom and students scrupulously take notes. Case studies are analysed, papers are assigned and exams are taken. New content points are learned, but they are often learned in a way that does not situate them in context . In short the content-driven classroom delivery format lacks the contextual richness of practical application and experience.

Business schools today are overly invested in conveying content about tasks we have figured out how to do (productive learning) and under-invested in the development and sharing of insights around tasks we have not yet figured out how to do (generative learning). While productive learning focuses on teaching topical content, generative learning engages students in authentic situations that enable them to grasp an overarching business context. These two types of learning have very different form-factors and philosophical foundations.

Productive learning is professionally instructed while generative learning is situationally constructed. Business education has excelled in providing productive learning. However, we have failed to help students 'connect the dots' by helping them make sense of the overall business context within which the modernday enterprise competes and creates value . In short, business schools don't need to create more content but rather they need to curate more situational business contexts .

What does this look in practice? As part of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business Cross Continent programme, students travel to six different locations around the world. In Delhi, we not only have a classroom session where students learn about the tensions and transitions in India's dynamic economy. In addition, they head to the streets to interview different stakeholder groups and find out for themselves the reality on the ground via visits to companies and interactions with leaders from the region.

They then come back and report on their findings and together they generate new insights based on their on-theground experience in the region.

By 'thinking outside of the classroom' we have developed an educational form-factor that blends topical content and situational contexts to create a truly embedded and connected learning experience for tomorrow's global leaders of consequence.

500 apply online for PhD entrance test

Nearly 500 candidates have registered themselves online for the PhD entrance test to be organized on April 29. Monday was the last day for filling up the applications forms online for the test.

Officials said that the candidates have registered themselves for doctoral research in engineering, pharmacy, MBA and MCA subjects.

There are nine branches in engineering in which students can pursue their PhD thesis. The GTU has also identified branches in pharmacy and management where students can pursue research.

Last year, exam forms of 200 students were withheld as they had attendance less than what is mandated by the GTU. Later, the GTU had offered the students an option to submit a study paper and make up for attendance shortage.

GTU officials said that this year, the students will be offered no grace and will have to attend the mandated classes.

Doctors going to US for studies will have to sign bond for return

The government today said any doctor going to the US for higher medical studies would have to sign a bond with it before leaving and honour the document by returning to India after finishing the study period.

"From this year onwards, any student going for further medical education to the US will have to give us a bond that he will come back after finishing the studies. In the last three years, 3000 doctors went abroad for studies and did not return. Now if a student does not come back from the US, he won't be allowed to practice there," health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

He said the US from this year onwards is insisting on a government NOC to every student enrolling with an American institute for studies.

"No other country except the US is asking for this NOC. Those who apply to go to the US for studies from 2012, will have to give us a bond saying they would come back after finishing the studies. If they don't fulfill the bond obligation, we can write to the US to deny the student permission to practice," Azad told reporters here.

The minister also expressed the hope that the MCI will give its approval to the proposed three-year Bachelor of Rural Health Care course, which seeks to create a separate cadre of public health professionals in the country to serve in rural areas. He said the doctors' organisations were not interested in the course.

"Doctors' organisations are opposing the course. I have no hesitation in saying that they have a vested interest to increase their practice," Azad said.

Azad said there was a paucity of doctors in primary health centres as doctors only wanted to stay in urban areas.

"The rural health care course was ready two years ago. The curriculum is also ready. States are free to implement the course, as Assam is doing, but we wanted the MCI's recognition to ensure uniform standards for the course across India. We hope the MCI will move fast on it," he said.

The course, Azad said, would create professionals above the level of paramedics and below the level of MBBS doctors.

The move is aimed at not just taming the quacks, who have a field day in rural areas in the absence of adequate medical facilities there, but also provide good medical aid to the rural population at their doorstep.

It is being opposed by doctors' lobby as patients from rural areas rush to private practitioners in urban areas, even as doctors' organisations feel the creation of a new set of professionals would confuse the population and lead to devaluing the doctors, official sources said.

Bend it like Beckham for Mumbai kids

Soccer fans across Mumbai have reason to rejoice as Manchester United Soccer Schools begins its training programmes this summer.

Dream about being the next Christiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? Or wearing the Man U red or Chelsea blue? Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS), the first ever India-based school of the elite EPL football team, Manchester United, presents an opportunity to kick start your dream.

As school children take a break from academics this summer, the school will give these young soccer players a chance to train under certified Man U coaches following the latest MUSS curriculum.

The one and two-week summer courses begin from April 23. The one-week programme will comprise of practical training while the two-week programme, apart from training, will also focus on theory, lifestyle and nutrition. The sessions are open to those in the age group 6-22 years. The fee for the one-week course is Rs 12,600 whereas the two-week programme is priced at Rs 22, 600.

Partnering with the Western India Football Association (WIFA), MUSS conducts training sessions at the Cooperage football ground since January 30. "Many football fans have been waiting for such an opportunity. Kids are enthusiastic about the game and looking at the response to the set up and the programme, I am sure they are extremely happy to be a part of MUSS," said MUSS head coach, Chris O'Brien.

Talking about the buzz linked with one of the most popular clubs in India, Mukul Choudhari, director-academy, MUSS says, "We are a global club and want to take the ManU experience to the grassroots of India. The consumption of EPL is huge in India, we have a large percentage of followers here. In fact, we have young players coming from all over India to train with our coaches."

WIFA will also hand over 100 scholarships to deserving children who will get a chance to participate in the MUSS programmes. The Association is also planning outreach programmes in different districts of the state to increase the standard of football.

Speaking about the programme, 13-year-old Mark D'Costa from St John the Baptist School, who is part of the current batch of participants, says, "The programme has really helped hone my football skills. The coaches are very friendly and it is a great experience to learn from them." Eleven-year-old Miraj Patel from Bombay Scottish School agrees, "This course has taught me many tricks of the game. My playing has improved greatly and I feel a difference already."

The training is being conducted on an artificial turf laid out on the ground according to FIFA standards. Apart from learning to play the 'United' way, those taking the course will also get exclusive MUSS merchandise along with a chance to represent MUSS in Old Trafford.

45 days on, students await new Aakash

The easy-on- the-pocket, Aakash tablet, didn't come anywhwere near the expectations of the city students. The improved version of Aakash has still not reached city college students, turning their excitement into a long ordeal. Students from the city colleges were the first recipients of this tablet in the region and these were sent back to Indian Institute of Technology-Jodhpur over 45 days by the college authorities as initially planned.

Twelve students each from the Post-Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42 and Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11 received these tablets from IIT-Jodhpur, which was handling the project for the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD).

However, now with the project changing hands from IIT-Jodhpur to IIT-Mumbai, a long delay is being expected in the delivery of these tablets to students again.

"This had been an ambitious project of the Government of India that promised to change the education scenario not just at the national but at the global level. However the delay caused in giving these tablets back to the students is an academic failure. It has been a lapse and the two IITs should ideally co-ordinate with one another now," says Dilip Kumar, faculty incharge of the project from the region.

College students, who got the tablets, were required to fill up a questionnaire as part of the experimental stage of Aakash under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT). Likewise, students suggested improvements in the gadget and an improved version was promised to be delivered to them soon.

With over 45 days having passed, there is no word from either the MHRD or IIT-Jodhpur, whose officials say that the project is now being dealt by the Mumbai IIT.

Second semester exam of XI (science) begins in Gujarat

Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) is conducting the second semester examination of Class XI (science) from Monday. Nearly 1.18 lakh students are appearing for the examination.

The board had introduced the semester system in Class XI (science) and this will be extended to Class XII (science) from this year. The students will have to appear for four semester examinations in Class XI and XII, with each examination carrying a weightage of 25 per cent.

On Monday, the students appeared for Mathematics paper, which they claimed was not very difficult but was lengthy and that the questions had been asked from the text book. However, one case of copying was registered in Anand. tnn

"It was an extremely lengthy question paper. I did not even get a single minute to revise. I completed it dot on time. Some of the questions were twisted and I was not able to solve them. I expect to get 70 marks", said Ajay Rawat , a Class XI student.

"I would say it was nice but a lengthy paper. I was not able to attend around 10 mark question. Even some of the MCQs were twisted and called for a lot of thinking", Rohan Sharma, another Class XI student, said.

Over 79,410 students cleared MBA entrance in state

The results of Maharashtra's last MBA entrance exam conducted by Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) on March 11 are out and over 79,410 students have managed to clear it. State technical education director Subhash Mahajan told TOI from Mumbai that about 82,764 students actually appeared for the examination of which 3,354 were disqualified on various counts. Those clearing the exam would fight it out for nearly 34,000 seats available in over 400 colleges across the state. From Nagpur division comprising six districts, 9,226 candidates had registered for this year's exam of which over 8,000 actually appeared at three centres. But in comparison to 2010 where 11,600 had appeared, and 2009 where over 19,000 had taken this exam, this year's number was still less. According to DTE officials, the MAH-MBA/MMS-CET was conducted across 21 centres in the division of which, 19 were in Nagpur while one each was allocated to Bhandara and Chandrapur. A total of 5,490 seats are up for grabs in 60 colleges across the division. Last year however, about 2,677 seats remained vacant which led to institutions going into bankruptcy. The entrance was originally scheduled for February 26 but since its dates were clashing with All India Council for Technical Education's (AICTE) Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT), it was postponed. A majority of colleges from the division have stated that they will also accept CMAT scores for admission. The Maharashtra government had already granted approval for the CMAT which means this will be last MAH-MBA/MMS-CET to be conducted by the DTE. The exam is conducted for admissions into courses offered in government, university managed, university departments and unaided institutes in the state. However, the official expressed concern over fading popularity of management courses in the state. Though the number of MBA seats is increasing every year, the colleges are facing students' crunch, especially the new ones. Even in the 2010-11 session, over 5,000 MBA seats remained vacant all over the state. Schedule for MAH-MBA/MMS-CET-2012 * Registration for GD/PI & receipt of call letter- April 19 to 30 * Conduct of GD/PI at select centres - May 10 to 31 * Submission of work experience certificate - May 10 to 21 * Document verification at various ARCs - May 10 to 31 * Display of provisional merit list on website - June 16 at 5pm * Submission of grievance applications - June 18 to 19 * Display of final merit list on website - June 25 at 5pm MBA CET students' stats: Appeared - 82,764 Passed - 79,410 Disqualified - 3,354

Cyber law to become part of university studies

To keep pace with the changing times, cyber law will be added to the curriculum of colleges affiliated to the Mumbai, Nagpur and Aurangabad universities from the next academic year, minister for technical and higher education Rajesh Tope said in the legislative assembly on Tuesday.

The first batch of forensic science students will pass out this year, he said. Besides, a scholarship of Rs 6,500 per month will be instituted for PhD students in a bid to encourage research in humanities and pure science, Toped added.

Plans are afoot to start 14 hostels across the state for girl students at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore. The hostels will cater to the requirements of nearly 2,250 students, he said.

An Indian Institute for Information Technology Centre will be set up in Pune; it will be a joint venture between the Centre, the state government and private players.

A scheme to train students from rural areas in skilled areas , such as mobile repairing, textile designing and cosmetics , will be launched in the state shortly under a Centresponsored scheme.

Stating that Maharashtra has set an annual target of training 45 lakh people in skilled works, Tope said a separate skill development council has been set up under the chairmanship of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.

14 innovation universities to be set up in India

Fourteen innovation universities would be set up in the country during the 12th Five Year Plan, Union Minister of State for Planning, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Ashwani Kumar said here on Tuesday.

Addressing media here with Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kumar said that he has asked the Haryana government to send a proposal to set up one such university in Haryana as it is already developing an Education City in Sonipat district.

Kumar was on a visit to Chandigarh Tuesday and he reviewed the programmes of Haryana and plan priorities of the state. The visit precedes the meeting of the Haryana government with the Planning Commission April 25 for the state's annual plan discussion.

Kumar said that the education hub being set up by Haryana at Kundli, 50 km from New Delhi, would not only benefit Haryana but the whole of North India. He assured of central help for the education hub.

Environment Service Scheme activity to be must in Mumbai schools

The state government plans to introduce Environment Service Scheme (ESS) in Mumbai schools to provide "action-oriented environmental literacy".

ESS, which is like the NCC and NSS, will, however, be a compulsory activity and is aimed at helping students understand the local environment, ecosystem and problems associated them. A brainchild of secretary (environment) Valsa Nair-Singh and a group of experts, ESS activities will include the study of resources such as soil, water, biodiversity and energy and issues like degradation, pollution, waste and scarcity.

ESS has already been implemented in 50 schools across 12 districts, and Mumbai schools-from class VII-will be taken up in the second phase this year. "The objective is to develop leadership skills on environment issues," a senior state environment department official said.

"They will have to work on projects related to natural resource management from social and environment points of view with the local community," a senior state environment department official said. "Schools must devote three hours every week for ESS. We are spending about Rs 90,000 for each school's activities."

The environment department has selected the state's nodal agency, the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), to handle the activity for three years.

The CEE will select schools, district-level NGOs and district coordinators in consultation with the department. The coordinators will not only train unit head teachers, but also provide education material, frame activity time-tables and submit budget estimates to the department.

The NGOs must be registered societies, cooperative institutes, trusts or associations having at least three years experience in the field of environment. They will act mediators between schools and the local community and contribute to project ideas. At the unit level, principals must get in touch with the nodal agency for the formation of ESS units in their schools.

ESS will be monitored by a state-level advisory committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary and the government will look into its implementation.

UP schools to ban sale of junk food

In a significant step, the Uttar Pradesh government has issued instructions to all schools - Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), Uttar Pradesh Board and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) - to ban sale of junk food within their premises and outside, an official said on Thursday.

A senior government official told IANS the move was initiated by the Secondary Education Council, after it got instructions for the same from the Union Health and Family Planning Ministry.

In a letter addressed to principals of all schools, the Secretary of the UP Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (Board of High School and Intermediate Education) asked to ban sale of all forms of junk food, carbonated cold drinks and high sugar containing food from their campuses, as these lead to a host of diseases at later stage of life, including diabetes, high blood pressure and piled up cholesterol levels.

The communique specifically mentioned the high trans-fat levels in foods sold in different forms like wafers, salted and fried items.

The official letter has encouraged school managements to promote healthy and nutritious food amongst school going kids.

The letter also warned strict action against the district inspector of schools (DIOS) of that area, if the orders were not implemented.

Spell it right

Spellings just became more fun for the young teens across the city as HDFC Life organised the final rounds of the Spell Bee contest on March 31 at Mahajati Sadan. HDFC Life Spell Bee-India Spells 2012, is an initiative undertaken by 360 Degree's Experience, and is the Indian counterpart of the much acclaimed Scripps Spell-Bee.

From several enthusiastic students who participated in the preliminary competition, ten were selected, and after a few challenging rounds, the winner was determined from amongst them. Soham Chowdhury, a Class VIII student of Don Bosco, Park Circus walked away with the winning medal.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Tripathy, executive vice president and head, marketing and direct channels, HDFC Life said, "I am extremely satisfied with the overwhelming response received in Kolkata, for Spell Bee - India Spells 2012. This keenness clearly signifies the desire among young minds for improving their spelling, increasing their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop the adequate use of correct English."

"The number of entries that we got for the competition has been phenomenal. The benefits of Spell Bee extends beyond language as children are required to spell words while on stage; kids also develop self-confidence, communication and public speaking skills, and the ability to thrive under pressure. The lessons learned by participating in Spell Bee can therefore last a lifetime, and can benefit even those who don't outlast all competitors," said Prashant Panday, executive director and CEO, Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.

Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla Girls' High School graced the occasion with her presence as the chief guest and handed over the certificate and the medal to the winner.

The winners from 31 other cities shall assemble at Mumbai to battle out the final round. Soham, who had won the city finals the previous year and had also secured the second position at the nationals, is all set to win it this time. He said, "I read anything that comes my way. Reading is a habit instilled in me from childhood, by both my parents."

All the winners of each of the participating cities will participate in the Grand Finale to be held in Mumbai. The winner of the Grand Finale, along with his or her parent will be sent by 360 Degree's Experience, to the Scripps National Spelling Bee at Washington DC.

BCom-II exam cancelled after paper leaks

BCom second-year exam of Panjab University was cancelled after the question paper was leaked. The exam for Corporate Accounts which was scheduled to be held on Tuesday at 2pm, will now be held on May 3.

A resident of Kitchlu Nagar, Swati Bhandari said, ''I worked very hard to prepare for the exam. I even got up at 4am on exam day to revise but when I reached the examination centre I got to know that it had been cancelled. Now I will have to keep revising till the next date for exam.''

Resident of Rishi Nagar, Mahima Arora said, ''University should take the matter seriously and full-proof security system should be put in place so that such incidents can be avoided in future.''

Resident of Clock Tower, Vasudha Garg said, ''The guilty should be brought to book and punished severely. Thousands of students have been inconvenienced because of a few miscreants.''

IITs object to common entrance test roll-out from next yr, seek further talks

The government's plan to introduce the common entrance test (CET) for engineering from 2013 hit a roadblock on Wednesday, with the faculty representatives of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) asking for the proposal to be put on hold till there are further discussions.

When asked about the meeting, HRD minister Kapil Sibal only said that it went off well.

The minister and senior HRD officials met with IIT directors and chairpersons and representatives of the All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIFF) on Wednesday for the first time after the tech institutes expressed concerns about the new system that is expected to be implemented from next year.

The federation passed a unanimous resolution that was given to the HRD minister expressing ``grave concern'' that a new test for admission to IIT was being ``thrust'' upon them without allowing enough time for discussion or critical review and acceptance in IIT Senate. The resolution also said that implementation of the changes in the existing entrance tests should be kept on hold until reports are obtained, consolidated and accepted by the Senate.

AIIFF representatives said that the meeting was a ``fruitful'' one and more discussions were likely on the issue.

Significantly, the decision has the approval of IIT Council that comprises of IIT directors and is binding on the institutes. However opposition from the AIIFF could put the ministry's plans could be put in serious jeopardy and even delay the 2013 roll-out.

The CET aims to serve as a single national entrance exam for admission to engineering and science courses in centrally funded institutions such as the 15 IITs, 30 NITs and a host of other technical institutes.

One of the significant objections was to the proposed weightage given to class XII marks. The new system will give class XII marks at least 40% weightage, while the test score will make up the remaining 60%. So far, the Class XII results have no bearing on the IIT-JEE score and rank.

IIT Senate feels since the assessment system varies across school boards, the knowledge of students cannot be reflected on the same scale and such weightage would not be a true assessment. Faculty representatives also feel that changes will dilute the IIT brand.

The other objections relate to both parts of the test carrying objective-type questions, and the plan to hold them on the same day.

Two Indians part of 2012 Yale World Fellows

Two Indians are a part of the Yale University's World Fellows for 2012. There are 16 World Fellows chosen for 2012. India alongwith Britain, with 11 fellows each, have had more fellows than any other country since the inception of the programme in 2002.

Ayush Chauhan, co-founder and managing director, Quicksand and Ruchi Yadav, senior programme officer, The Hunger Project, are the chosen Indian fellows.

The 2012 World Fellows will take part in a specially designed seminar taught by leading Yale faculty; audit any of the 3,000 courses offered at the university; participate in weekly dinners with distinguished guest speakers; receive individualised skill-building training; and meet with US and foreign leaders.

Ethical Hacking

A workshop conducted by the Heritage Institute of Technology educates students on the ethics of hacking and data information security

A two-day workshop on 'Ethical Hacking and Data Information Security' was conducted by the Student Council of Heritage Institute of Technology Kolkata on March 31.

Hardeep Singh and Aarshdeep Chaggar, corporate trainers and business managers of Infi-zeal Technologies Pvt Ltd were present on the occasion to address the students.

The workshop focused on topics like detecting a fake mail, creating a fake mail, creating duplicate web pages of important email websites, where a person can copy the user-id and password of another individual and many other such functions.

Apart from these, the workshop also focused on educating the students on a variety of information security techniques, which are used by IT companies in the recent times.

During the workshop, Singh gave a wonderful example by creating a fake web page of gmail.com and hacked the e-mail account of a participant in the workshop.

"Hacking has become a common trend in the new IT world and many people are misusing it to hack reputed websites. Moreover if a student knows the different techniques of hacking, it would be easier for him to detect a fake mail. Such workshops are really a value-ad not only to the career but also in practicality," said Singh.

Around 23 students from Heritage Institute of Technology, Techno-India College and Meghnath Saha Institute of Technology attended this two-day workshop which provided them with an insight into and an in-depth knowledge of the latest techniques of hacking and information security.

"We enjoyed this two-day workshop at Heritage which is a student -led event and we hope to conduct one more in wired, manual and wireless robotics," said Shaoni, a B Tech student of Heritage who was also one of the organisers of the workshop.

Importance of Interdisciplinary Learning

In Conversation with  Mark Taylor, dean, Warwick Business School on importance of interdisciplinary learning in management education 


Q- Can you tell us about what changes you plan to introduce to strengthen Warwick in the eyes of students, academicians and the corporate world? 


Our ambition is to make WBS the leading university-based business school in Europe. The strategy we have developed in order to achieve this ambition involves designing and implementing a range of innovations which break new ground for business schools, as well as demanding excellence in all of the usual, more traditional business school areas. For example, the establishment at WBS of a new teaching and research group in behavioural science. This is an explicitly interdisciplinary area which brings together economics, finance, psychology, sociology, management science and neuroscience in an attempt to understand the hidden causes of human behaviour, and we believe this approach will lie at the centre of business school research and teaching for the next generation. Indeed, WBS has already made a number of high-level appointments to establish the first behavioural science group in a European Business School, although some US schools - notably Chicago Booth - have already gone down this route. Prior to becoming Dean at Warwick, I ran a large investment fund as a Managing Director atBarclays and it became clear to me then that we need to look across the academic silos if we are to understand the real world. 


Q- Give us your views on the global economic scenario and its effect on how students are considering MBA qualification? Have you noticed any change in the quality and the number of applications to the school's full-time MBA programme? 


Applications for the Warwick full-time MBA have been challenging over the past few years. To some extent, this is in line with previous experience over the business cycle as well as consistent with the current experience of other business schools. In particular, experience suggests that during times of high uncertainty, full-time MBA candidates postpone application until a later stage of the recruitment cycle (and possibly the business cycle) while their personal circumstances clarify. 


Interestingly, demand for other modes of the WBS MBA study (executive, corporate and distance learning) remains robust to the cycle, while applications for our specialist MSc programmes (such as the top-rated WBS MSc in Finance) and to the WBS MSc in Management can only be described as extremely buoyant. 


Q- Are there any new courses Warwick plans to introduce for the undergraduate programmes? 


There are no firm plans at present, but it is an area we will watch carefully. We're a market leader for undergraduate programmes in Europe, but at present UK institutions are restricted by the government on the number of students we can admit. So we could only launch a non-European Union course at present and we feel this would damage the diversity of the Warwick campus by not being able to admit any student from the UK/ EU. 


Q- Most premier institutes opening campuses across the world, do you plan to follow suit? 


It's an emerging area for Warwick and something we will continue to consider. Yes, I'm aware that many institutes have opened campuses, but it'll be interesting to see their relative success. For Warwick, it'd have to be the right fit with our commitment to academic excellence, be a research active operation and mirror our culture and values. 

Elementary education witnesses negative trend

With 'quality' being relegated to the least priority areas, despite the budget of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) being doubled between 2009-10 and 2011-12 (Rs 26,169 crore to Rs 55,746 crore), the learning levels have been on constant decline among students. Moreover, even the percentage of schools actually receiving the grants has also declined in last three years in many states. 


The Planning Allocations Institutions Studies and Accountability (PAISA) report on rural schools, released by Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai on Tuesday, focused on whether our schools are getting the money under SSA allocations, and how the schools have been spending the money and whether increased allocations have improved the outcomes. 


The findings of the survey conducted across 14,283 rural schools across India have indicated a disturbing trend of negative learning graph despite increased outlays in elementary education. 


While in 2009, 79% of classes I and II students were able to read letters, words and recognise number 1 to 9, it declined to 72% in 2011. Similarly while 56% of classes III and IV students were able to do subtraction in 2009, the number declined to 47% in 2011. 


Moreover, while 79% of students from classes I and II were able to recognise numbers 1 to 9, the numbers declined to 74% in 2011. Meanwhile, in 2009 64% students of classes III to V were able to read class I text. The same declined to 58% in 2011. 


Apart from the declining learning graph, the report also showed how the money received by schools are being spent under different heads. Interestingly, 'children' and 'quality' turned out to be the least prioritised area when it comes to spending of these grants. 


Children (textbooks, uniforms, transport provision, remedial teaching) received just 10% in 2011 down by 4% from that of 2010. Quality (innovation and learning enhancement programme) received a dismal 4% in 2011. 


Right from 2009, teachers (salaries, training, learning material and school development grant) continued to receive the largest share of SSA resources, followed by schools (civil works, maintenance). Teachers were allocated 44% of the SSA pie, down by 1% from that of 2009. 


SSA is the flagship programme of the Government of India for implementing the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. 


Five percentage of the SSA budget are set aside as school grants. So has all schools received all the three grants annually under SSA due to them? Based on 2010-11 figures of the 32 states surveyed, the percentage of schools receiving the grants declined in 14 states. 


Meghalaya has the worst figures with just 29.73% of its schools receiving their share of SSA grants followed by Tripura with 45.78%. But Daman and Diu is an exception with 100% schools receiving their dues, followed by Puducherry with 96.55% and Himachal Pradesh with 90.42%.

Soon, English language labs for NCC cadets

For overall personality development of its cadets, the National Cadet Corps will set up English language labs in its academies. An announcement to this effect was made by NCC director general P S Bhalla, who was in the city on Thursday.

These labs will first be set up at headquarters' level and then taken to other levels. Each lab would be provided with computers having special software. Teachers will also be appointed to impart lessons to the students. "Most of our cadets want to join the services. But very few are able to make it. Lack of knowledge of English language is one of the main reasons that hamper their growth. This shortcoming needs to be addressed so that more cadets could realise their dreams,'' he said.

Roping in more girl cadets is another important aim of the NCC, said the officer.

He added that as of now, 24% cadets are girls, but the defence ministry wants to increase their number so that they form at least 36% of our cadet population.

"For this, the ministry is working to open more units, some of which will be all-girls units. Like other states, several units will be raised in UP. In fact, talks are on with the state government in this regard," he said.

Can’t sit for JEE if you opt out of IIT

Students who leave an IIT course midway can be barred from taking the next year's entrance examination, the Delhi high court has said.

Justice Hima Kohli upheld the decision of IIT authorities to refuse admit card to one Prateek Rohilla, who withdrew his admission to Indian Institute of Technology Madras after paying the registration fee last year. Rohilla wanted to appear in the IIT-JEE-2012 scheduled for April 8.

HC agreed with the argument of IIT authorities that such attempts by candidates, who once qualify in IIT-JEE and later seek to withdraw the seat allocated to them, resulted in immense financial strain on the institute. "In this attempt, the institute would have to keep a seat vacant not just in the first year but right through the course that may extend up to five years as in the present case," the court said.

"Apart from this, the course is extremely prestigious and every seat is precious and cannot be permitted to be wasted in such a manner," it said, refusing to accept Rohilla's petition.

Rohilla moved the court against the IIT decision after it informed him that he cannot reappear for IIT-JEE 2012 exam as last year he withdrew his admission after paying the registration fee. In 2011, Rohilla after qualifying in the IIT-JEE under the scheduled castes category got admission in engineering design (automotive engineering), a five-year M-Tech dual degree course at IIT-Madras.

By making an online payment, Rohilla deposited Rs 20,000 towards non-refundable registration fees and confirmed the admission but did not turn up at IIT-Madras to attend classes. Later, he again applied for the 2012 IIT entrance test under the general category. On his application IIT-Delhi, organizing the test, informed him that his application stood cancelled as he was ineligible.

UP govt bans BEd course in new colleges

In a significant decision, the state government has directed seven state universities not to give affiliation to a new college for running BEd course. However, any existing college (where other courses are running) can start BEd course if it wants.

The decision has been made to check mushrooming of BEd colleges in the state. "Sporadic growth of BEd colleges has led to decline in the quality of education. The colleges where only BEd course is running have been found extremely poor in their performance,'' said a senior government official.

Though senior officials in the higher education department denied that any such order has been sent to universities, sources in Lucknow University admitted getting the order. The order is meant for Lucknow University; Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University, Kanpur; VBS Purvanchal University, Jaunpur; Dr BR Ambedkar University, Agra; Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith University, Varanasi; Deen Dayal Upadhyay University, Gorakhpur and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad.

A senior university official told TOI: "BEd has become a mess with the launch of special BTC. BEd colleges harass students to pay more fee than prescribed. The practice is more prevalent in colleges where only BEd course is running. The ban on opening new colleges has come as a respite for BEd aspirants.'' Besides, the government has also asked the universities to furnish details of the total number of seats in every BEd college and how many remained vacant last year.

"Only after we will have the data about the number of vacant seats, we will be able to take a decision,'' said a government official.

IIM-B raises fee of Post-Graduate Programme to Rs 15 lakh

Get ready to shell out more for that coveted seat in the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore. The institute has increased the fee for the Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) from Rs 13 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for two years.

The increase will be with effect for the 2012-14 batch. This will include tuition, library and internet fees, case permission royalty, besides the cost of course material, hostel room, service charge, medical insurance, personal accident insurance. The intake will continue to be 375.

The last fee increase was effected two years ago. The increase then was Rs 1.5 lakh. The latest hike brings IIM-B fee close to that at IIM-Ahmedabad, which has increased its fee to 15.5 lakh for the coming batch from the existing Rs 14.45 lakh. These institutes, rated among the best B-schools in the country, will continue to be the costliest IIMs to study in.

British university joins hands with Mumbai college

Britain-based University of Westminster Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with Mumbai's HR College of Commerce and Economics to expand its Indian scholarship programme, officials said.

"India has historically been an important partner for the University of Westminster, through students who have come to learn with us, academics who have shared their expertise, and as a partner for research," said University of Westminster Pro Vice-Chancellor, Myszka Guzkowska, announcing their new Indian presence.

The University also announced its new partnership with the prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi.

"It is our goal to strengthen these existing ties into long-term, sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships for the university and for India," Guzkowska said.

The university also announced a new series of scholarships specifically for Indian students worth 1,50,000 pounds. The distinctive feature of these scholarships is that they are offered on the condition that, on graduation, the students return to work in India.

The University of Westminster is also launching an Indian Alumni Association, which will have the primary objective of promoting strong relationships between its alumni, current students, faculty and the university as a whole.

IIM-Calcutta student rejects plum jobs to educate villagers

The beaten track is not for everyone and that is why the world is still worth living in.

The story of Puja Mishra, who will receive her MBA degree from IIM-Calcutta on Monday, is a case in point. She has chucked IIM-C placements so that she can live and work in a remote village to educate children and see them through graduation. But this is not the first time that Puja has cold-shouldered a plum job. She had earlier given up an Infosys job in Chicago to study at the management college.

Puja schooled and graduated in computer science engineering from Lucknow. She then bagged a job on Infosys' Bangalore campus. After working for a year there, she was sent to the US by her company where she met her husband, Shashank Shukla, who had to drop out of NDA after an injury.

It was a coincidence that Infosys offered her a green card at almost the same time as she got her admission at IIM-C through the GMAT and interviews. "I always dreamt of teaching village kids. My forefathers are from Rae Bareilly and thus I have seen village life for close quarters. Students travel at least 35 km to reach colleges. The girl child is the worst affected. My father would always tell me that I was lucky to be where I am and that my education would be useless if I did not do anything for village students," Puja shyly said from Lucknow, where she was holidaying with her parents. She would be in the city on Monday to accept her degree at the IIM-C convocation.

With the earnings that the duo had set apart while they worked in the US, they have started Gurukul Mahavidyala, a degree college, in a remote village called Purasi in the Rae Bareilly district. The land on which the college stands belongs to Puja's father RD Mishra, a prominent lawyer from the Lucknow high court. While Puja studied at IIMC, her husband did the ground work to set up the college. Puja wanted a management degree so that she could utilize her training in running the college.

In the course of setting up the college, the couple realized that it was not enough to just have a college without a school attached because the students they were getting were extremely weak academically. "So we have just started Gurukul Public School, an English-medium school. As of now, it has till Class VIII but we will extend it up to the Plus two level. Proposals have been sent to the UP government and we will soon get the approvals. Also, as of now, only pass courses in English, History, Political Science, Sanskrit, Sociology and Economics are being taught in our college. However, we will work towards upgrading them to honours," Puja said.

Looking at the zeal of these two indefatigable youngsters, the UP government has helped by extending free studentships for those unable to pay tuition fees. The teachers are paid from a corpus that the duo has intelligently created partly from their savings and partly from a huge loan that they have taken for the purpose. "People often say that we are mad for taking our careers so lightly. But this is our call in life and we don't mind the risk. As far as uncertainty is concerned, nothing in life is certain!" Puja said bravely.

Puja's IIM-C teachers are thrilled at her decision. "About a decade ago, we had a similar student called Vinayak Lohani who did not wish to be placed and started a school for street children. Now we have Puja. We are proud to have a student like her. In fact, we are trying to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship in our students. But Puja is unique, she is not only an entrepreneur but a leader in her own right," said Prashant Mishra, IIM-C's chairperson for the postgraduate programmes.

Interestingly, as Puja returns to UP after collecting her degree, her husband will now take a break and go to Harvard Kennedy School in the US for a Master's degree in Public Administration.

Fee hike row​ in another Ambala school

A controversy has erupted in Ambala over the fee hike by some public schools as the parents have been protesting against the hike terming it exorbitant and demanded roll back.

While the parents of students in Lord Mahavir Public school are on agitational path for over a month, a number of parents in the DAV River Side Public School has also taken up cudgels against the authorities on the same issue. Many parents have refused to enroll their children in the school until unless fee hike decision is not withdrawn by the school.

Describing the fee hike unjustified, dozens of parents expressed their resentment by staging protest at the DAV River Side Public school on Tuesday. Parents alleged the school has increased the fee by 40 % which is exorbitant and unacceptable to them. A parent, Dinesh Dhiman, resident of Parbhu Prem Ashram, Ambala Cantt said, "The decision to increase the fee without any notice is unjustified." Parents say they will join the Abhibhavak Ekta Manch, a parent's body that is fighting battle against the fee hike in Lord Mahavir Public school.

Describing the protest by parents uncalled for, the principal , Shivani Sarin said, only a handful of persons are raising objections over the fee hike. "The nominal fee hike will help the school in providing better infrastructure and facilities to the students. There is no opposition from most of the parents," she claimed.

Maharashtra government issues new guidelines for college admission

The state government has issued a revised set of rules related to fees and admissions at the education degree (BEd/MEd) colleges for 2012-13 . The new rules provide that the Shikshan Shulka Samiti (fee regulatory authority) will be the final authority for deciding the fees of unaided BEd/MEd colleges.

However, the fee panel authorities as well as the office-bearers of the Association of Managements of Unaided Teachers' Education Colleges in Maharashtra (AMUTECM) insist that the government resolution (GR) specifying the revised rules, is ambiguous, especially on matters relating to fixation of fees.

The matter assumes significance in the wake of the fee panel's move to 'hold back' 556 fee revision proposals submitted by BEd/MEd and physical education (BPEd/MPEd) colleges for year 2011-12 , following the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) regulations notified in August 2010.

The regulations provide that the state government should set up a separate mechanism for fixation of fees of these colleges. Also, the fee revision proposals be forwarded to the competent authority established either by the state government, the central government or the UGC.

The fee panel had sought a clarification from the state government on who should fix the fees of education and physical education degree colleges. Of the 556 'held back' proposals, 402 proposals are from BEd colleges; 47 from BPEd; 12 from MPEd and 95 from MEd colleges.

Sadashiv Shivdas, joint secretary to department of higher and technical education (H&TE), issued a couple of GRs on March 15 specifying the rules for BEd and MEd colleges.

Both the GRs provide a detailed explanation on how to ascertain the eligibility of candidates for BEd/MEd courses; conduct of common entrance tests; preparation of merit list; distribution of seats; university-wise distribution of seats; management and minority quotas; fees and other charges. The GRs state that unaided colleges will have to charge fees as fixed by the panel. Director of higher education Prakash Gaikwad told TOI, "Our last GR on matters relating to the fees is fairly clear. We haven't deviated from this GR."

However, P E Gaikwad, office secretary of the fee fixation panel, said, "The revised rules are not binding on the fee panel. In fact, for us, the position remains unchanged and we are still not sure whether the fee panel can decide the fees of education/physical education colleges in the wake of the NCTE regulations."

Devendra Joshi, who heads the centralised admission process (CAP) of the AMUTECM, said, "The GR is totally ambiguous and we have decided to approach the fee fixation panel on April 18 through the admissions regulation committee, which has restrained the unaided education/physical education colleges from effecting fresh admissions unless their fees are approved."

The AMUTECM is the umbrella organisation for over 275 colleges. It conducts a parallel common entrance test, known as Asso-CET , and the Asso-CAP . "It's not just the fees, but the revised rules also put unreasonable conditions on unaided colleges regarding filling of the 20% management quota seats only with those students, who have cleared the government-conducted CET instead of the Asso-CET ," said Joshi. Higher education director Gaikwad has, however, justified the rule on the grounds that last year most of the unaided colleges had arbitrarily filled their management quota seats by admitting students from governmentconducted as well as the associationconducted CETs.

"This had compelled the admission regulation committee to not to approve such admissions," he said.

Can education be learning oriented than result based?

In eighth grade, I was fond of history. Not that I was good at it in terms of rattling off at the drop of a hat the nuanced wars of India or recalling which prince followed which Mogul king in which year. But I kind of enjoyed imagining how those times and its peoples would have been.

Unfortunately, my imaginings peaked during the history period when Mrs R (who was called Missss R; all teachers were called 'Miss' irrespective of their marital status) would be droning on about some random facet of History or Civics expecting us to miraculously cram it all up. I suppose my disinterest in her drone was evident and she invariably picked on me rather harshly. One morning, she seemed to have had enough and came down on me rather sharply asking some nuanced facts about her subject which I was obviously not able to recall. I was banished out of the class for 'not paying attention'.

It's been over two decades but I can vividly recall the humiliation at what I felt was being 'exposed' in front of 60 other girls. Since then I have dreaded Social Studies classes even though I thoroughly enjoyed the subject.

Missss R is not an imaginary character; she is a very real tall dark lady who'd always have her hair oiled, bun lined with flowers, and not a speck of grey peaking out. With dark eyes boring into the child, she was intimidating and menacing by any standard. This anecdote is also not imaginary, but in fact only a metaphor of what happened several times to several of us in school very often.

One might think this is so common in every school, why is it worth even mentioning here? In fact, one might argue I ought to be glad we were not caned. Precisely for this reason it is pertinent to mention it.

Lots of kids have been running away from their homes, some consciously for a few days; some dangerously clueless for how long. The cops tell us a majority of them are trying to escape because of school pressure. They also believe the kids use this threat of 'running away' as a ploy to arm twist their parents and teachers into not coercing them to study.

I am not sure the reason observed by the cops has been sighted enough for them to generalize. But even if it is not, we ought to pounce on this opportunity to take a hard look at our education system and renew the debate on child behavior with fresh perspectives. Thankfully, the establishment too has its set of doubts about the incumbent system. CBSE has made Board exams optional and Gujarat Board is looking at Semester system for higher secondary education next academic year. We also toyed with open book exams but did not get very far. The good news, however, is that there is now at least a concrete debate that the education system needs a paradigm shift from result based to learning oriented. It's a good start I'd say.

I am not looking at being a child therapist as an alternative career and neither is 'insensitive behaviour with children' a new debate. Every single parent and teacher would have had this discussion very often. Still then, why are we so tactless when dealing with children, especially in school?

Simple acts of being banished from class for no apparent indiscipline, loudly reprimanding a reticent child for stammering his answer in class, mocking the student, are accepted forms or 'teaching'. But for the child, it is traumatic. Teachers and parents are their role models. When smacked by them in front of friends and classmates, it deeply wounds their little self respect and ego. It may not mean much to us adults with so many worldly issues to worry about, but for them, I have come to realize, it means the world - literally.

For instance, I had extremely high regard for Missss R. I actually thought she looked beautiful in oiled hair lined with fresh flowers and garish golden jewellery. After her sharp rebukes, I developed a deep resentment for things that remind me of her, one of them being gold jewellery. I have actually never studied history in a classroom since then. Even back then, I distinctly remember thinking 'cramming' is such a futile exercise. So when I saw the movie 3 Idiots, there was this huge rush of emotion and immense relief at realizing it wasn't me after all, it was 'Missss R'.

The pressure of exams, report cards flaunting only A+; internal marks, competition with classmates for every half a mark, parents' censure at 'foolish mistakes', the other moms' derision and mocking eyes, relatives' regular phone calls - 'so what was her result?'… (sigh) childhood wasn't easy. And guess what, I am told it is much worse these days. School days were great, my schooling was something else.

Madras HC directs govt to discuss question of introducing moral education

The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to discuss introducing 'moral' education as a subject in state schools as suggested by an advocate, who attributed increasing aggression by youth due to lack of it.

Disposing of a PIL petition filed by advocate V Kashinatha Bharathi, the bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the petitioner to produce a copy of their order along with a representation, given by him to the government, to the Director of School Education, who should discuss the issue and take a decision as per law.

The petitioner, also an office bearer of a unit of Nagapattinam district MDMK, cited various violent instances, including the fatal stabbing of a teacher of a North Chennai school by a student of her class recently.

Stating that moral education is not being imparted to students in schools, he claimed that moral studies, physical education training and yoga classes alone would create better citizens of tomorrow.

Telecom sector is changing the face of education

With a Post Doctoral Research Fellowship from Ministry of HRD on Telecom Technology Transfer and PhD in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Pande carries out research in technology transfer, ICT innovations in rural education, smart sensing networks and international business.

A dedicated professional with 19 years of academic experience specialising in personnel management, interpersonal and communication skills, Pande is well-known as an effective communicator with strong relationship management skills. He speaks to us on how the telecom industry is changing the way education is imparted.
Q: How is the telecom industry changing the way education is imparted?
A: It has been indicated that mobile devices are a scalable technology assisted with learning alternative to address the gaps and has helped to reduce 50% dropouts from primary education. Students with a camera enabled cellphone can annotate their everyday assignments with pictures.

Handhelds can also function as ubiquitous educational resource if graphing tools, language dictionaries, logarithmic tables, historical and geographical factoids are bundled along with the device.

Learning Lab project is unique as it does not adopt a technologically deterministic approach. Rather, it strives to let user needs and contextual factors shape the choice of technology.

Q: Will the telecom connectivity help in overcoming limitation of providing education especially in rural and remote areas of India?
A: Mobile enabled platform has opened new fields such as m-infotainment, m-connectivity, m-enterprise, m-commerce, m-health and m-education.

M-infotainment content focuses on current trends in music and movies among others. Education is related to training and learning through mobile; a platform when used effectively in rural areas will not only benefit education but also the overall development of rural India.

Q: How will m-learning and e-learning help achieve government’s initiative of ‘Education for all’?
A: The launch of 3G, LTE and WiMAX services will play a key role in increasing rural telephony and options for rural education. Through m-learning and e-learning, we can easily overcome geographic barriers as it provides learning at anytime from anywhere.

Another advantage is that it will remove the need to physically attend a course, eliminating travel time and costs. Also, with the increase in rural telecom density, m-learning will be the most feasible way to achieve government’s initiative of education for all. This will benefit rural areas where even transportation is a problem.

Offline learning is possible through CD ROMs and DVDs as broadband penetration is still a long way to go in rural India. The technology can be deployed rapidly in remote location and will be able to support the minimum capacity and speed requirements that will be laid down by the government in its national e-governance plan initiatives.

Q: Tell us about the importance of instant communication for knowledge dissemination?
A: With technology increasing at a great pace, people want information instantly. Emails, blogs, instant messaging and social networking sites plays a major role in instant communication for knowledge dissemination. People want to keep themselves updated via gadgets.

They prefer reading newspapers on their gadgets. Education is also heading in the same direction due to technology that facilitates fast, cheap, equitable, and resource-efficient access to information, accumulated knowledge, learning opportunities and co-operation support tools.

As information becomes accessible to anyone and anywhere, it is increasingly becoming a basic economic resource and a structuring factor in today’s society.

The rapid development of information and communication technologies and their application present the world community with unlimited opportunities.

Q: What are the career prospects for freshers in the booming telecom sector in India?
In the next few years, telecom sector is going to expand at a neck breaking pace. There are fifteen verticals such as value added services, network security, service providers, handset manufacturers, telecom infrastructure, billing companies, service marketing, telecom software, telecom equipment manufacturers, quality of service, telecom regulation, customer grievance and support, telecom health services, telecom education services and telecom agriculture services.

These verticals are in need of unique technology and skill management sets. The telecom sector will certainly grow at a rate of over 20% in the near future and according to the projection, jobs in this sector will grow at 7% every year.

All universities should have semester-based exams

HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said until every university in India starts a uniform semester-based system of examination, mobility and choice would not be available to students.

"If a semester system is available in every university, then mobility is possible. But if you have some universities offering three-year degree courses while some others having their own system of examination, then mobility and choice is not available to students," Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of IIM Calcutta's convocation.

At present, most universities conduct annual examinations while only a few have semester-based examinations.

Raising questions on the system of colleges being affiliated by various universities, the minister said the universities "do nothing" for those colleges which fall under its ambit.

"So should the present system of affiliation prevail? Or should structural reforms take place?" he said while putting the onus on the state governments for bringing in such reforms in the education system.

"I am not the architect of those reforms. They have to be done by the state government," Sibal said, adding it was time "for us to look at education holistically" and to connect the youth with it.

Asked about the performance of West Bengal under the Right to Education Act, he said it should be ensured that the teacher-student ratio is kept at 1:30.

"So redeployment of faculty has to take place in the state," he said.

On IITs offering medical education, he said the Centre has agreed to it in principle. "It has been proposed by IIT Kharagpur and we have agreed to the proposal," he said.

"But not every IIT wants a medical college, therefore you can not have a policy," Sibal said.