Karnataka State Law University is using the help of technology to help law students in the state, especially in rural parts of the state, benefit from seminars, lectures and conferences held in the university. With the help of A-View (online) software, KSLU is ensuring students in other parts of the state are able to access its events.
Not all colleges can afford to have legal luminaries and other distinguished guests deliver lectures and attend seminars in their colleges. In such cases, KSLU facilitated video recordings of its lectures and educative seminars. But the new software will make things only easier.
In case a guest is invited to the university or particular college, he can directly deliver his lecture with the help of online software A-View. Students of all law colleges can watch it live, sitting in their colleges and also interact with the guest online.
In the first phase, KSLU has begun beaming live seminars and special lectures using the online software. So far it has provided the login ID and password to 30 principals of law colleges in the state. More colleges are expected to come under the ambit.
Around 92 law colleges come under KSLU's jurisdiction. Karnataka State Law University VC J S Patil told TOI, "Already we have finished first phase of work. More colleges will be provided login ID and passwords in coming days."
This initiative will enhance the law knowledge of the students studying in rural law colleges in the state and bridge the divide in learning between urban and rural students. Students can watch live the guest lecture and seminar by sitting in their colleges and interact with the speakers online, the vice-chancellor added.
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Jamia's annual convocation to be streamed online
For the first time, Jamia Millia Islamia will be streaming a video of its annual convocation on the university website, www.jmi.ac.in. Jamia shall be holding its Annual Convocation on November 22, 2012 at 3 pm in the Lawns of Dr MA Ansari Auditorium on the university campus. .
The press statement released by the university says that on this occasion, the University will confer the Degree of 'Doctor of Letters' (Honoris Causa) on cardiologist, Dr. Ashok Seth.
"Dr Ashok Seth's pursuit of excellence in the field of cardiology has been instrumental in putting Indian medical science on the world map. He has contributed to the growth, development and scientific progress of interventional cardiology. Dr Ashok Seth has performed one of the highest numbers of angiographies and angioplasties in the world, which has been acknowledged by the Limca Book of Records,"" says the statement.
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) M A Zaki, Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia will preside over the annual convocation. On the day, a total of 4179 Degrees/Diplomas shall be awarded to students who have successfully completed post-graduation, graduation and diploma from different faculties, departments and centres of the university in the academic session 2010-11.
The university will also hand out 147 gold gedals to the toppers of different courses as also award 204 PhD degrees to research scholars.
The press statement released by the university says that on this occasion, the University will confer the Degree of 'Doctor of Letters' (Honoris Causa) on cardiologist, Dr. Ashok Seth.
"Dr Ashok Seth's pursuit of excellence in the field of cardiology has been instrumental in putting Indian medical science on the world map. He has contributed to the growth, development and scientific progress of interventional cardiology. Dr Ashok Seth has performed one of the highest numbers of angiographies and angioplasties in the world, which has been acknowledged by the Limca Book of Records,"" says the statement.
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) M A Zaki, Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia will preside over the annual convocation. On the day, a total of 4179 Degrees/Diplomas shall be awarded to students who have successfully completed post-graduation, graduation and diploma from different faculties, departments and centres of the university in the academic session 2010-11.
The university will also hand out 147 gold gedals to the toppers of different courses as also award 204 PhD degrees to research scholars.
Friday, 23 November 2012
Inconsistent attendance policy troubles DU students
Delhi University students writing the semester exams are now subject to a hopelessly inconsistent attendance policy across colleges. While some colleges are yet to compute attendance and are allowing everyone to write exams, another set has set the minimum attendance mark lower than the university-stipulated 66.6%. A third set of colleges say that as instructions giving principals power to decide have not been issued in writing, they will be following the 66.6% norm.
Kamala Nehru College brought the number of detainees down from 253 to 80 by lowering the minimum attendance mark to 50%. "Since the university has given principals the power to take decisions on their own, we decided, judiciously, to reduce it to 50% to accommodate as many as possible. The decision has been supported by the staff council and attendance committee," says Geetesh Nirban, spokesperson, KNC.
Its neighbour, Gargi College, is allowing everyone for now. But whether the set of students writing the exams now will be allowed to take the second or fourth semester exams will depend on their attendance. "The science practicals start very early. We are going to calculate it yearly and draw up the list of those short of attendance in March or April," says Gargi principal, Meera Ramachandran.
The situation is the same at Dyal Singh College. They will be sticking to 66.6% but are yet to compile the data. "Unless we get something in writing, I have no powers to alter things. We are now letting students write the exams and are simultaneously compiling the list. If we find students have fallen short we will have to stop them," says principal I S Bakshi.
In North Campus, Ramjas College has lowered the minimum attendance to 22%. "We wanted to allow as many students as possible," says principal, Rajendra Prasad. Khalsa College, too, is allowing all students to write. "We got the parents to submit undertakings and warned them that this concession will not be available from next time," says principal Jaswinder Singh.
The question teachers are asking is what will happen to the students who are detained. "Abroad, if you are detained for one semester, you write the exam in the next. What we have here is neither annual nor semester and in this hybrid system you waste a year. But next year there will be a four-year system in place," observes Sanam Khanna who teaches English at KNC.
Moreover, the new exam policies have, apparently, left students "frazzled". "The first page, where the students are required to fill in details, has changed a lot. They have introduced many more parameters and new roll-number formats. Students were frazzled as they weren't informed in advance and were filling it wrong. It's a good system but they sent three-four page instructions for invigilators on the morning of the exam. The adhocism is monumentally foolish," says a teacher.
Kamala Nehru College brought the number of detainees down from 253 to 80 by lowering the minimum attendance mark to 50%. "Since the university has given principals the power to take decisions on their own, we decided, judiciously, to reduce it to 50% to accommodate as many as possible. The decision has been supported by the staff council and attendance committee," says Geetesh Nirban, spokesperson, KNC.
Its neighbour, Gargi College, is allowing everyone for now. But whether the set of students writing the exams now will be allowed to take the second or fourth semester exams will depend on their attendance. "The science practicals start very early. We are going to calculate it yearly and draw up the list of those short of attendance in March or April," says Gargi principal, Meera Ramachandran.
The situation is the same at Dyal Singh College. They will be sticking to 66.6% but are yet to compile the data. "Unless we get something in writing, I have no powers to alter things. We are now letting students write the exams and are simultaneously compiling the list. If we find students have fallen short we will have to stop them," says principal I S Bakshi.
In North Campus, Ramjas College has lowered the minimum attendance to 22%. "We wanted to allow as many students as possible," says principal, Rajendra Prasad. Khalsa College, too, is allowing all students to write. "We got the parents to submit undertakings and warned them that this concession will not be available from next time," says principal Jaswinder Singh.
The question teachers are asking is what will happen to the students who are detained. "Abroad, if you are detained for one semester, you write the exam in the next. What we have here is neither annual nor semester and in this hybrid system you waste a year. But next year there will be a four-year system in place," observes Sanam Khanna who teaches English at KNC.
Moreover, the new exam policies have, apparently, left students "frazzled". "The first page, where the students are required to fill in details, has changed a lot. They have introduced many more parameters and new roll-number formats. Students were frazzled as they weren't informed in advance and were filling it wrong. It's a good system but they sent three-four page instructions for invigilators on the morning of the exam. The adhocism is monumentally foolish," says a teacher.
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Bharathidasan University goofs up question paper, exam cancelled
The mycology and virology exam scheduled for second year microbiology students in Bharathidasan University (BDU) had to be cancelled in several affiliated colleges as the question papers were wrongly set.
The controller of examinations of BDU, A Selvam, told TOI that about 800 students in over 25 colleges were affected and could not sit for their exam. "Though the subject code and the title of the subject remained the same, the questions were totally irrelevant to the subject. Even the chairman of the examinations endorsed the question papers," he said. In fact, two sets of question papers are prepared for each subject, and should there be aberrations in one set, the second would be opened. To make matters worse, the second set of question papers too was out of the syllabus.
Since the regular exam schedule of the third semester runs up to December 21, Tuesday's exam is now scheduled for December 22, Selvam said. "It is a serious blunder on the part of the setter and endorsing the same by the chairman of exams is even more serious. Appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against them," he said.
The controller of examinations of BDU, A Selvam, told TOI that about 800 students in over 25 colleges were affected and could not sit for their exam. "Though the subject code and the title of the subject remained the same, the questions were totally irrelevant to the subject. Even the chairman of the examinations endorsed the question papers," he said. In fact, two sets of question papers are prepared for each subject, and should there be aberrations in one set, the second would be opened. To make matters worse, the second set of question papers too was out of the syllabus.
Since the regular exam schedule of the third semester runs up to December 21, Tuesday's exam is now scheduled for December 22, Selvam said. "It is a serious blunder on the part of the setter and endorsing the same by the chairman of exams is even more serious. Appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against them," he said.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Half-hour more for science papers in ICSE
Those set to appear for ICSE examinations in 2014 have a reason to cheer. They will get more time for science papers than their peers did.
The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), on Tuesday, announced the decision to increase the durations of Physics, Chemistry and Biology papers from one-and-a-half hours to two hours.
The duration of Mathematics paper will, however, remain unchanged at two-and-a-half hours.
"We have revised the time schedule for science papers following students' demand. We expect it to reduce stress among the examinees," said Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the council.
It has also been decided that the environment science paper of the ICSE exams, that was scheduled on February 15, will be shifted to a new date as Saraswati Puja falls on that day.
In place of manual registration, the council has also proposed to start e-registration and e-affiliation from next year. Students of classes IX and XI can individually e-register with council for taking the examination through schools. Similarly, schools can seek affiliation online. "This will make the system more efficient," said another council official.
The council has also decided to upgrade some ICSE schools to ISC and award them provisional affiliation even if they have still not received the permanent no-objection-certificates (NOC) from the state government. "Till now, only those schools that could produce a permanent NOC from the state government were upgraded. Now, they will be upgraded to plus two (ISC) with only a provisional one. They have to procure a permanent NOC in due course and submit the same to the council. Then we shall grant permanent affiliation to the school for ISC," Arathoon added.
"The council has decided that the land required should not be binding for permanent affiliation and introduction of ISC XII. Schools, who were granted provisional affiliation prior to the implementation of the guidelines of affiliations in May 2006, can be inspected when they apply for permanent affiliation or introduction of ISC class XII," said Arathoon.
English syllabus will undergo a sea change from 2015 onwards, "We have decided to reduce the syllabus. The number of prose has been cut short from 15 to 10 and poems too have been reduced from 15 to 10. The same is with the ISC syllabus in English. The syllabus of other subjects has been revised in keeping with the modern day demand."
The city is set to host the annual conference of the Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate, 2012, in the Science City from November 21 to 23.
The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), on Tuesday, announced the decision to increase the durations of Physics, Chemistry and Biology papers from one-and-a-half hours to two hours.
The duration of Mathematics paper will, however, remain unchanged at two-and-a-half hours.
"We have revised the time schedule for science papers following students' demand. We expect it to reduce stress among the examinees," said Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the council.
It has also been decided that the environment science paper of the ICSE exams, that was scheduled on February 15, will be shifted to a new date as Saraswati Puja falls on that day.
In place of manual registration, the council has also proposed to start e-registration and e-affiliation from next year. Students of classes IX and XI can individually e-register with council for taking the examination through schools. Similarly, schools can seek affiliation online. "This will make the system more efficient," said another council official.
The council has also decided to upgrade some ICSE schools to ISC and award them provisional affiliation even if they have still not received the permanent no-objection-certificates (NOC) from the state government. "Till now, only those schools that could produce a permanent NOC from the state government were upgraded. Now, they will be upgraded to plus two (ISC) with only a provisional one. They have to procure a permanent NOC in due course and submit the same to the council. Then we shall grant permanent affiliation to the school for ISC," Arathoon added.
"The council has decided that the land required should not be binding for permanent affiliation and introduction of ISC XII. Schools, who were granted provisional affiliation prior to the implementation of the guidelines of affiliations in May 2006, can be inspected when they apply for permanent affiliation or introduction of ISC class XII," said Arathoon.
English syllabus will undergo a sea change from 2015 onwards, "We have decided to reduce the syllabus. The number of prose has been cut short from 15 to 10 and poems too have been reduced from 15 to 10. The same is with the ISC syllabus in English. The syllabus of other subjects has been revised in keeping with the modern day demand."
The city is set to host the annual conference of the Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate, 2012, in the Science City from November 21 to 23.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Pursuing two regular degrees together – an offense?
by Aneeket Barua
Pursuing two regular degrees together might not fetch you an offer letter from a multinational company, but a show cause notice from the Court of law for sure!
Recently while enjoying a cup of coffee with an old friend, we started a discussion over a concern which eventually led to an argument. And when it comes to an argument with a practicing lawyer, it’s a wise decision to back pedal.
The discussion took off from a question posted by a student on Shiksha Café on whether one can pursue two regular degrees at the same time or not. A question which seemed simple yet interesting! The student had asked – “Can I pursue BCA and B.Sc Computer science together?”
For me the answer was a simple “Yes” as there is no harm in possessing extra knowledge and a proof of it. However, the case was not the same as I thought. To my surprise I was informed that pursuing two regular degrees is legally not acceptable.
Firstly, let’s understand what is a "Professional Degree”?
A professional degree is basically a college degree that allows you to be engaged in a business entity/ profession. In certain kind of professions, like in the case of advocates, doctors or Chartered Accountants (CA), you cannot be engaged in any professional enterprise unless you hold the required qualification and therefore, professional degree requires extensive education and hard work.
Manisha Parmar, a practising lawyer at the Delhi High court, cleared all my myths about holding two professional degrees in India.
She informed, “Pursuing two regular/full time degrees is not allowed. However, one can study two courses separately. One of the courses which you wish to pursue can be done from a regular college, but the other one must not be a full time course. You can do diploma courses instead”.
Two regular degrees cannot be obtained simultaneously, she asserted.
Towards the end of our conversation, she brought into picture an incident where, the Bar Association of Delhi (regulatory body for advocates) issued a Show Cause Notice to a noted advocate of Delhi, for "Professional Misconduct".
He was charged with violating the law which prohibits a practicing advocate from indulging in two active professions, in his case – Advocate and CA. He owned both the degrees, and therefore was slapped with a show cause notice.
Pursuing two regular degrees together might not fetch you an offer letter from a multinational company, but a show cause notice from the Court of law for sure!
Recently while enjoying a cup of coffee with an old friend, we started a discussion over a concern which eventually led to an argument. And when it comes to an argument with a practicing lawyer, it’s a wise decision to back pedal.
The discussion took off from a question posted by a student on Shiksha Café on whether one can pursue two regular degrees at the same time or not. A question which seemed simple yet interesting! The student had asked – “Can I pursue BCA and B.Sc Computer science together?”
For me the answer was a simple “Yes” as there is no harm in possessing extra knowledge and a proof of it. However, the case was not the same as I thought. To my surprise I was informed that pursuing two regular degrees is legally not acceptable.
Firstly, let’s understand what is a "Professional Degree”?
A professional degree is basically a college degree that allows you to be engaged in a business entity/ profession. In certain kind of professions, like in the case of advocates, doctors or Chartered Accountants (CA), you cannot be engaged in any professional enterprise unless you hold the required qualification and therefore, professional degree requires extensive education and hard work.
Manisha Parmar, a practising lawyer at the Delhi High court, cleared all my myths about holding two professional degrees in India.
She informed, “Pursuing two regular/full time degrees is not allowed. However, one can study two courses separately. One of the courses which you wish to pursue can be done from a regular college, but the other one must not be a full time course. You can do diploma courses instead”.
Two regular degrees cannot be obtained simultaneously, she asserted.
Towards the end of our conversation, she brought into picture an incident where, the Bar Association of Delhi (regulatory body for advocates) issued a Show Cause Notice to a noted advocate of Delhi, for "Professional Misconduct".
He was charged with violating the law which prohibits a practicing advocate from indulging in two active professions, in his case – Advocate and CA. He owned both the degrees, and therefore was slapped with a show cause notice.
Sunday, 18 November 2012
This year, highest no of CAT takers from Maharashtra
Maharashtra has the highest number of CAT (Common Admission Test) takers this year. As many as 31,040 candidates appearing for the ongoing CAT for admissions to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) reside in the state, followed by Uttar Pradesh with nearly 25,270 candidates, and Delhi with 21,507.
Of the 2.14 lakh applicants this year, the top five cities of New Delhi (21,224), Bangalore (19,553), Mumbai (16,895), Hyderabad (16,138) and Pune (13,368) constitute around 40.7% of the total registrations. Data released by IIM-Kozhikode, which is organizing the CAT 2012, states an overall increase in numbers across the categories. There is a 4.2% increase in the total number of registrations this year. The IIMs also witnessed around 8.6% growth in the number of girls registering for CAT in 2012. The number of boys taking CAT has gone up by 2.6%.
This year, there was an increase in number of candidates having two-three years of experience. As compared to last year, there is a 43% rise in the number of candidates having more work experience. The number of candidates from the non-creamy OBC, SC and ST categories has gone up too. The NC-OBC category saw a growth of 13.3%. "The shift in candidate pool in terms of gender and social balance, as well as work experience, is a positive indication that our society is becoming more aware of the opportunities available," said SSS Kumar, CAT 2012 convenor from IIM-Kozhikode.
Candidates from engineering stream, nearly 67.6% form the largest pool of CAT takers, this year too. Around 67.6% students are from the engineering stream.
Prometric, the firm that conducts the computer-based CAT, said 9,805 candidates candidates took the test on Monday. Both sessions have concluded and all candidates who started their tests have completed successfully.
Of the 2.14 lakh applicants this year, the top five cities of New Delhi (21,224), Bangalore (19,553), Mumbai (16,895), Hyderabad (16,138) and Pune (13,368) constitute around 40.7% of the total registrations. Data released by IIM-Kozhikode, which is organizing the CAT 2012, states an overall increase in numbers across the categories. There is a 4.2% increase in the total number of registrations this year. The IIMs also witnessed around 8.6% growth in the number of girls registering for CAT in 2012. The number of boys taking CAT has gone up by 2.6%.
This year, there was an increase in number of candidates having two-three years of experience. As compared to last year, there is a 43% rise in the number of candidates having more work experience. The number of candidates from the non-creamy OBC, SC and ST categories has gone up too. The NC-OBC category saw a growth of 13.3%. "The shift in candidate pool in terms of gender and social balance, as well as work experience, is a positive indication that our society is becoming more aware of the opportunities available," said SSS Kumar, CAT 2012 convenor from IIM-Kozhikode.
Candidates from engineering stream, nearly 67.6% form the largest pool of CAT takers, this year too. Around 67.6% students are from the engineering stream.
Prometric, the firm that conducts the computer-based CAT, said 9,805 candidates candidates took the test on Monday. Both sessions have concluded and all candidates who started their tests have completed successfully.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Allahabad University declares CRET-12 results
The authorities of Allahabad University have declared the results of the written tests of its Combined Research Entrance Test (CRET)-2012 for most of the subjects. The announcement of result paves way for admission to its DPhil programmes to finally start for the year.
Out of the 46 subjects for which the varsity had conducted the entrance test, it has declared the results for 34 subjects and also made them available online on its official website-http://cret2012.com. The results of a dozen subjects including Ancient History, Anthropology, Bio-informatics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Defence and Strategic Studies, Economics, Medieval and Modern History, Business Administration, Computer Applications, Zoology and Sociology are however still awaited.
Director, Admission Cell, AU Prof BN Singh informed that the results declared are of candidates found eligible to participate in Level-3 of the CRET-2012 to be held at respective departments. Prof Singh said that no candidate has been found eligible for Level-3 for some subjects including Geology/ Applied Geology/ Geophysics, Nutritional Science and Food Technology.
"Qualified candidates are required to produce all the original documents, marksheets, caste certificates and the other documents required by the respective departments at the time of Level-3 tests for verification," he added.
As per the results, a maximum 97 candidates have been declared eligible for Level-3 in Hindi, 82 in Political Science, 50 in Sanskrit, 42 in Geography, 36 in Education, 31 in Chemistry, 25 in Botany, 23 each in Commerce and Music, 22 each in English and Philosophy, 21 each in Environmental Science and Urdu, 12 in Home Science, 11 in Psychology, 7 each in Mathematics and Physics, 5 in Law, 4 in Statistics, 3 each in Arabic, Biochemistry, as well as 2 each in Agriculture Botany, Agriculture Chemistry, Painting, Material Science, Globalization and Development Studies, Atmosphere and Ocean Studies as well as Behavioral and Cognitive Science besides 1 in Persian.
The varsity had conducted the Leverl-1 and Level-2 tests of CRET-2012 on September 9, 2012.
In the city the entrance was held in four centers- KP Inter College, Allahabad Degree College, Ewing Christian College (ECC) Higher Secondary School and Maharishi Patanjali Vidya Mandir- along with at one centre each in New Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Out of the registered 1958 candidates of Level-1 exam, in which UGC NET qualified students were exempted, a total of 1803 candidates had appeared while in Level-2 test, which had 2357 candidates registered has seen 2119 appearing in it.
Out of the 46 subjects for which the varsity had conducted the entrance test, it has declared the results for 34 subjects and also made them available online on its official website-http://cret2012.com. The results of a dozen subjects including Ancient History, Anthropology, Bio-informatics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Defence and Strategic Studies, Economics, Medieval and Modern History, Business Administration, Computer Applications, Zoology and Sociology are however still awaited.
Director, Admission Cell, AU Prof BN Singh informed that the results declared are of candidates found eligible to participate in Level-3 of the CRET-2012 to be held at respective departments. Prof Singh said that no candidate has been found eligible for Level-3 for some subjects including Geology/ Applied Geology/ Geophysics, Nutritional Science and Food Technology.
"Qualified candidates are required to produce all the original documents, marksheets, caste certificates and the other documents required by the respective departments at the time of Level-3 tests for verification," he added.
As per the results, a maximum 97 candidates have been declared eligible for Level-3 in Hindi, 82 in Political Science, 50 in Sanskrit, 42 in Geography, 36 in Education, 31 in Chemistry, 25 in Botany, 23 each in Commerce and Music, 22 each in English and Philosophy, 21 each in Environmental Science and Urdu, 12 in Home Science, 11 in Psychology, 7 each in Mathematics and Physics, 5 in Law, 4 in Statistics, 3 each in Arabic, Biochemistry, as well as 2 each in Agriculture Botany, Agriculture Chemistry, Painting, Material Science, Globalization and Development Studies, Atmosphere and Ocean Studies as well as Behavioral and Cognitive Science besides 1 in Persian.
The varsity had conducted the Leverl-1 and Level-2 tests of CRET-2012 on September 9, 2012.
In the city the entrance was held in four centers- KP Inter College, Allahabad Degree College, Ewing Christian College (ECC) Higher Secondary School and Maharishi Patanjali Vidya Mandir- along with at one centre each in New Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Out of the registered 1958 candidates of Level-1 exam, in which UGC NET qualified students were exempted, a total of 1803 candidates had appeared while in Level-2 test, which had 2357 candidates registered has seen 2119 appearing in it.
Friday, 16 November 2012
Osmania University debars 30, 000 students from writing exams
A staggering 30,000 students have been barred from sitting in the annual undergraduate examination under Osmania University in a massive crackdown to improve extremely poor attendance across colleges in the city and send a strong message to students bunking classes, authorities said on Thursday.
About 70,000 students out of 1 lakh registered students are now sitting for the examinations which began last week and will continue till the end of November, senior officials said.
"As per strict instructions of Osmania University (OU) about 30,000 students were detained due to lack of attendance from across all under graduate colleges which are affiliated to the university," G Biskshmaiah, Controller of Examination at OU, told TOI.
"The university cannot be lenient with candidates who have just about 20% attendance," he added.
Authorities cracked the whip to bring some discipline back into the system after they found thousands of students had zero-20 % attendance throughout the academic year and did not take steps to improve their attendance.
Officials admit that it was needless to say that regular strikes at the university demanding separate state of Telangana also had a toll on attendance.
Two days of strike last week following suicide by D Santosh Kumar, a PhD aspirant in the university campus was an example of how crucial working days are lost.
Authorities also barred several student union leaders with poor attendance from sitting in the examination. Some of them spearheaded the T-issue demonstration and prevented other students from entering classes.
Several student leaders of Telangana agitation from OU's constituent colleges figured from Secunderabad PG College and Nizam College.
"We have missed classes for a political cause. The state government should intervene and allow students who were part of the agitation to appear for the examination," said S Prashant, student leader of Nizam College in Basheerbagh.
The academic year itself was short this time and the Telangana strikes made it worse by causing disruption of classes for at least 15 days.
Debarred students plan protests
Managements of top city colleges said as per the instructions of the university, they had kept a strict online log of attendance and hence the crackdown was easier as identifying the erring students was not difficult.
Students who were denied a chance to write the examination which started last week are planning to protest. About 135 students who were detained in Loyola Degree College, Alwal had submitted a memorandum to the college authorities asking them to write off their attendance shortage.
In Villa Marie College for Women, Somajiguda, 30 students who were detained have also staged a protest. The students who miss the examination this November will have to forego an academic year to clear the papers.
The management representatives said most students who were detained due to attendance shortage are those who have been bunking college regularly for personal reasons.
About 70,000 students out of 1 lakh registered students are now sitting for the examinations which began last week and will continue till the end of November, senior officials said.
"As per strict instructions of Osmania University (OU) about 30,000 students were detained due to lack of attendance from across all under graduate colleges which are affiliated to the university," G Biskshmaiah, Controller of Examination at OU, told TOI.
"The university cannot be lenient with candidates who have just about 20% attendance," he added.
Authorities cracked the whip to bring some discipline back into the system after they found thousands of students had zero-20 % attendance throughout the academic year and did not take steps to improve their attendance.
Officials admit that it was needless to say that regular strikes at the university demanding separate state of Telangana also had a toll on attendance.
Two days of strike last week following suicide by D Santosh Kumar, a PhD aspirant in the university campus was an example of how crucial working days are lost.
Authorities also barred several student union leaders with poor attendance from sitting in the examination. Some of them spearheaded the T-issue demonstration and prevented other students from entering classes.
Several student leaders of Telangana agitation from OU's constituent colleges figured from Secunderabad PG College and Nizam College.
"We have missed classes for a political cause. The state government should intervene and allow students who were part of the agitation to appear for the examination," said S Prashant, student leader of Nizam College in Basheerbagh.
The academic year itself was short this time and the Telangana strikes made it worse by causing disruption of classes for at least 15 days.
Debarred students plan protests
Managements of top city colleges said as per the instructions of the university, they had kept a strict online log of attendance and hence the crackdown was easier as identifying the erring students was not difficult.
Students who were denied a chance to write the examination which started last week are planning to protest. About 135 students who were detained in Loyola Degree College, Alwal had submitted a memorandum to the college authorities asking them to write off their attendance shortage.
In Villa Marie College for Women, Somajiguda, 30 students who were detained have also staged a protest. The students who miss the examination this November will have to forego an academic year to clear the papers.
The management representatives said most students who were detained due to attendance shortage are those who have been bunking college regularly for personal reasons.
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Friday, 9 November 2012
CAT 2012 ends
Nearly 3,000 students from city appeared for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2012 which came to an end on Tuesday. The examination was held at a single centre and was conducted within a window period of 21 days. The results are likely to be declared in the month of January.
According to experts, the paper was easy in initial slots of the CAT and it got tougher as it came to conclusion. The paper of data interpretation and quantitative aptitude section was tough as compared to that of logical reasoning, one of them added.
According to the organizing body Prometric, there has been a rise of five per cent in the number of candidates registering for the examination this year.
According to experts, the paper was easy in initial slots of the CAT and it got tougher as it came to conclusion. The paper of data interpretation and quantitative aptitude section was tough as compared to that of logical reasoning, one of them added.
According to the organizing body Prometric, there has been a rise of five per cent in the number of candidates registering for the examination this year.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Reform in education will be back on agenda: Shashi
"We will work towards putting our reform agenda back on track," Tharoor told a higher education summit here, adding that as India aims to grow at 8.2 to 8.5 percent, the country needs to invest in education and help improve the quality of education.
The minister said there has been no significant improvement in terms of quality education delivery. The issues of "skill gaps, skill shortages and unemployable graduates still persist".
Referring to IITs and IIMs, he said: "These are still islands in a sea of mediocrity."
Also, even though India with 621 universities and 33,500 colleges has one of the largest network of higher education institutes across the world and second in terms of student enrolment, its gross enrolment ratio (GER) of 18.8 per cent in 2011 is still less than the world average of 26 per cent.
Global experiences indicate a positive correlation between GER and economic growth in the country and point to the need for a minimum of 30 percent to sustain economic growth.
Tharoor said that while countries in the Middle East and China are wooing foreign universities to set up campuses in their countries, "India turned away many academic suitors who have come calling in recent years".
Bills relating to higher education reforms such as the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011 and the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 are awaiting Parliament's nod.
The minister said companies are entering the higher education space in the "guise of training".
"Our University system simply is not producing well educated graduates to meet the needs of Indian companies today."
He said there has to be a sharp improvement in the quality and quantity of institutions of higher education to match global standards.
There is a proposal to establish 50 centres for research in frontier areas of science, design innovation centres, innovation centres in different universities and also research parts of the IITs and other technical institutions.
"If finally established, it would transform the research environment in our country," he added.
Tharoor also stressed the need for public-private partnership to meet the deficiency in public funding.
India spends 1.1 percent of its gross domestic product, while South Korea spends 2.4 percent and the US 3.1 percent.
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
IIM-A summer placement process starts from today
The premier B-school is all geared up for summer placements for its 2012-14 PGP batch. The cohort-based placement process will begin at Indian Institute Of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Wednesday.
Despite the fears of an uncertain economic environment, students are expecting a rise in stipends by 15 to 20 per cent this year. The expectations for IIM-A students come following continued interests of leading companies, who made attractive offers during final placements in March this year.
The placement this year, like last year, will take place in four clusters beginning November 17. The second cluster start on November 9, third on November 16 and the process will conclude on November 17. Members of the student placement committee opined that given the economic scenario, consulting, ecommerce and technology companies will have more to offer than the banks and other financial firms.
In the summer placements last year, out of 379 students, who took part in the summer placement process, only 42 students got overseas opportunities. In 2011, student's top preference continued to be banking, financial services and insurance ( BFSI) sector, with 112 students accepting offers in this area. The other sectors that attracted students in high numbers included consulting which had 81 students accepting offers, FMCG with 45 students and IT with 31 accepted offers.
Despite the fears of an uncertain economic environment, students are expecting a rise in stipends by 15 to 20 per cent this year. The expectations for IIM-A students come following continued interests of leading companies, who made attractive offers during final placements in March this year.
The placement this year, like last year, will take place in four clusters beginning November 17. The second cluster start on November 9, third on November 16 and the process will conclude on November 17. Members of the student placement committee opined that given the economic scenario, consulting, ecommerce and technology companies will have more to offer than the banks and other financial firms.
In the summer placements last year, out of 379 students, who took part in the summer placement process, only 42 students got overseas opportunities. In 2011, student's top preference continued to be banking, financial services and insurance ( BFSI) sector, with 112 students accepting offers in this area. The other sectors that attracted students in high numbers included consulting which had 81 students accepting offers, FMCG with 45 students and IT with 31 accepted offers.
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Education must be more goal-oriented
The assumption is that ‘more is better’ — more years of schooling, more supplemental inputs into schooling and more expenditure. For most parents, whether rural or urban, high income or low income, ‘success’ means doing well in exams. Exam performance is the only way to get to the next stage, whether it is to further education or into the workplace.
What does the government want? The Right to Education law requires government to ensure that every school in the country has a specified set of inputs and processes.
Here the belief is that once these are in place, ‘education’ will be guaranteed. Underlying the government’s push to provide inputs is the assumption that more is better but appropriate number of qualified teachers, classrooms, days of teaching are needed. Going by what is stated in the RTE document, ‘success’ means that all schools have all the mandated inputs and processes, all children in India in the age group 6 to 14 are enrolled in school and all children complete eight years of schooling.
What does the evidence say? Data from all sources in India point to enrollment levels that are well above 96%. Putting both centre and state together, expenditures on elementary education in India have risen from Rs. 62,000 crores in 2006-7 to an estimated figure of Rs. 112,000 crores in 2010-11.
While there are still input gaps, the number of teachers and basic facilities is rising consistently each year.
What is stuck is what children are learning in school. Regardless of what you feel about learning outcome measurements done by Assessment Survey Evaluation Research (ASER) or by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the evidence points to the fact that the value added for every year spent in school in India, is low and unchanging.
ASER uses basic reading and arithmetic tasks for assessment; the same set of tasks are given to all surveyed children from age 5 to 16. The exercise is carried out in every rural district in India every year.
While there could be discussion on the measures and methods, the fact remains that without basic reading, and arithmetic skills, children will not go far in school or in life. PISA is a more sophisticated international effort which measures what 15 year-olds can do. Again, there can be debate on how or what PISA does but the message from both exercises (as well as from any recent empirical evidence on student outcomes in India) is clear.
There is a crisis. The crisis is about the capabilities that every child in India should have by the time she or he finishes each stage of schooling. This crisis cannot be tackled simply by believing that more is better or proceeding as if it is business as usual. Concrete, clear, new pathways connecting inputs and processes to outcomes have to be built.
These pathways must be understood and must be implementable by schools, parents and teachers.
Clarity is key
Both in policy and in practice, our education system needs at least three fundamental and urgent shifts. First, capabilities and learning goals need to be articulated for each stage of the education system. These goals need to be clearly stated and be understood by ordinary people. Goals need to be such that most children can achieve them at each stage.
Clear articulation of goals will help everyone to understand that simply knowing textbook content or doing well in exams is not the objective of the education system. Parents and communities must understand what the school system is supposed to achieve. This understanding can lead to local accountability and also to support for schools.
Second, all elements in the school system need to be aligned in both design and implementation to maximise the possibility of reaching the goals.
These elements include appropriate allocation of funds, teacher preparation, curriculum, textbooks, methods of teaching, materials, organisation of schools and monitoring. A continuous system of field support and review will allow refinements and changes to be made to figure out what works.
Third, in a country with a weak culture and appetite for measurement, simple methods have to be used on scale to gauge the progress being made every year. Such measurements need to be carried out by both the government and citizens.
The measurements should help school systems internally to refine and review their procedures and enable parents to pressurise schools to do better.
Measurement also means engagement — in understanding the situation and figuring out what to do next.
India has almost reached universal enrollment. This is an impressive achievement. This happened because everyone understood the goal. Policymakers, planners, practitioners and parents all understood what had to be done: get every child in school. To have every child in school and learning well, we need a similar clarity, priority and alignment for a new set of goals and figure out new effective pathways for achieving them soon.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Schools told to upload RTE info by Dec 31
Ironically, most of the violators (schools) are situated in areas either surrounded by middle class localities or slum areas. "Certainly, it's a serious issue. The department is looking into all possibilities to provide remedies and to take punitive action against them," said Sharma. The Act does allow them to serve notices, he added but it will be of no use as the session has crossed midway.
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) expressed shock over how 40% of the schools grossly violated RTE Act-2009. "The commission will look into the matter," said SCPCR member Vishamber. The department has refused to divulge the names of any school till they submit the final report.
Many violator schools claimed that they were not against admitting EWS students as the government reimbursement was higher than their own annual fees. "The government is expected to give around Rs 8,000 per child annually, which is more than the annual fees charged by many schools," reads one reply sent by a school.
To nail these violators, the education department has directed all schools to upload RTE information - number of seats and date of admission on their website by December 31. The circular reads: "Schools should compulsory publish material relating to RTE to help create awareness on this Act. They should also set up helpline kiosks during admissions to render all possible help to the beneficiaries."
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) expressed shock over how 40% of the schools grossly violated RTE Act-2009. "The commission will look into the matter," said SCPCR member Vishamber. The department has refused to divulge the names of any school till they submit the final report.
Many violator schools claimed that they were not against admitting EWS students as the government reimbursement was higher than their own annual fees. "The government is expected to give around Rs 8,000 per child annually, which is more than the annual fees charged by many schools," reads one reply sent by a school.
To nail these violators, the education department has directed all schools to upload RTE information - number of seats and date of admission on their website by December 31. The circular reads: "Schools should compulsory publish material relating to RTE to help create awareness on this Act. They should also set up helpline kiosks during admissions to render all possible help to the beneficiaries."
Proposed amendments to Maharashtra Universities Act
There is a need to modify clause 32 (5e) of the MU Act to allow question bank or question paper bank systems. As of now, the clause states that: "The (exam) committee should obtain three sets of question papers in sealed covers in the respective subject. Chairman of the committee should draw at random one of such sealed covers containing question papers. The selected cover with seals intact should then be sent to the (printing) press."
Different universities such as the Maharashtra Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Science University ( MAFSU); Babasaheb Ambedkar Technical University ( BATU) and the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) have variations to the above mentioned clause in their corresponding acts, but to the similar effect. The clauses are needed to be modified to allow usage of IT in setting question papers with built in security measures.
Separate clause be inserted fixing responsibility on the pro-VC, dean or director of evaluation for imparting training to teachers and administrative staff on usage of technology, new trends in the assessment processes such as cognitive and summative assessment, creation and use of repository of questions, use of technology in paper setting and conduct of examination.
Changes needed to ensure that the controller of examination (CoE) or director of evaluation are part of the decision-making process instead of the prevailing system of being invitees on university committees. This will remove difficulties faced in recruitment of staff or availing of finances related to examination section.
Financial Requirement
For financing the information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives in state universities, the reforms panel has suggested that the larger universities, with surplus amount left from exam related revenue, may utilize the same for implementing IT initiatives.
Smaller universities may collaborate with the larger universities and enter into an agreement with service providers jointly. Due to a large number of students of both the universities combined and economies of the scale, the cost per student of the IT solution should be reduced in comparison to purchase of IT solution by smaller university on its own.
Smaller universities can share the infrastructure such as data centre, etc, of the larger universities and use in-house developed softwares of larger universities.
The universities may opt for either Capex-Opex or transaction-based fee models for funding IT initiatives. In the first model, the universities invest upfront in the capital expenditure (Capex) of deploying hardware and software solutions. In the following years, the expenditure is then limited to operational expenditure (Opex). In the second model, the universities employ services of a service provider whom they pay per use on number of transactions. The fee per transaction is fixed slab.
The committee has recommended that examination-related revenue should not be used as general revenue by the universities. It should be used only for examination related expenditure.
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