Indian scholars to visit Israel

A total of 66 post doctoral scholars shall travel from India to Israel to do research at top universities. They will be sponsored by the Israel Government. The Israel Government has announced 3-year scholarships for the selected people.

The Embassy of Israel says that this is the first of kind programme, in which distinguished researchers from India are going to Israel to do research on a variety of issues.

With regards to this programme, fellows from Universities of Lucknow, Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai and other top instituitions from India shall be conducting reserach in Israel in various fields.

Universities from Israel have been regularly showing up in top rankings of global universities, three universities were there in the top 100 and six were there in the top 500 according to a survey in 2011.

http://www.indiancolleges.com/education-news/Indian-scholars-to-visit-Israel/3264

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Standard of higher education needs to be improved: Pranab Mukherjee

President Pranab Mukherjee on December 28 pitched for improving the standards of higher education by Indian universities and also asked the private players also to contribute their best as there were 'unlimited' demands and 'limited' resources in the sector. "The standards of higher education in India today need improvement. In ancient India, we had universities like Nalanda and Takshashila which had established themselves as international centers of educational excellence where students from all over the world came and studied", Mukerjee said.

In contrast, many Indian students today choose to go abroad for higher studies, Mukherjee said in his Convocation Address at the SRM University here. Observing that India needs universities to provide quality education that met international benchmarks, he said, "We must change the reality of our universities for not figuring in the list of top universities of the world. Indian universities should aim at becoming top educational institutions in the world with global standards of research, teaching and learning."

Noting that there were 'unlimited' demands and 'limited' resources in the field of higher education he said, "it is important that the private sector also contributes its best to the provision of higher education in India". "The private sector has played a key role in higher education in other countries across the world. Many top universities including Harvard, Yale and Stanford are the result of efforts of the private sector. There is no reason why Indian private sector cannot achieve similar results", he said.

Stating that Indian education system was "burdened" with demands of both "quantity" and "quality", he said, "the numbers of students who seek admissions in universities today far exceed the capacity of government educational institutions".

"We need many more universities to be able to address the demands of higher education. And along with quantity, we also need to focus on quality", he said. Defence Research Development Organisation Director General VK Sarasvat and noted physician Pawan Raj Goyal were awarded Doctorates in their field of expertise by Mukherjee on the occasion.

Stating that the shortage of good faculty was a matter of serious concern, Mukherjee said "while the requisite number of good quality teachers cannot be made available overnight, we must tackle the problem by bringing in innovative teaching methodologies".

"Our teacher must be exposed to larger number of refresher courses and seminars so as to be up-to-date with latest concepts in their discipline", he said. Noting that parents and students were "often skeptical" of private universities in India and prefer "old" and "established" public universities, he said, "to build the trust of the people, private universities must constantly prove themselves because they do not have the benefit of age".

"They (private universities) must be able to promise a good future to the students and make sure they fulfill all of their promises", he said.

"Universities must satisfy the citizens that they are taking up the cause of education not for private profit but in public service", he added.

Noting that higher education needs a systematic re-look in India, he said, "as we stand on the threshold of the 12th Five Year plan, challenges continue to exist with respect to quality and provision of relevant education".

"Curricular reforms leading to regular revision and upgrading of curricula, introduction of semester system, choice based credit system and examination reforms are yet to take place in many higher educational institutions across the country", the President said.

Observing that private sector accounts for about four-fifths of enrolment in professional higher education, he said, "the standards of education, however, vary from institute to institute. It is essential that a transparent framework for better service be established in private education".

"The regulatory mechanism should facilitate accreditation of all educational institutions with clarity on incentives and consequences in order to improve quality and to promote excellence in higher education", he said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/standard-of-higher-education-needs-to-be-improved-pranab-mukherjee/312822-3.html

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Pundits try to improve interactive education

Moscow State University (MGU) hosted a scientific and practical conference entitled "Interactive Education" in mid-December. It was the third time that education experts had gathered together inside the walls of MSU to share their experience of interactive forms of practical learning. The speakers at the conference included representatives of Facebook Russia, Google Russia, AFK Sistema, and JSC Russian Venture Company.

All the participants were united by a common thought: how to make the educational process effective and adaptable to the rapidly changing world. Such conferences are long overdue. The Russian Ministry of Education and teachers at all kinds of educational institutions are well aware of the shortcomings of existing education programs, many of which were created a decade or more ago and are now obsolete.

"Interactive education technology was initially conceived in this country by Soviet methodologist Georgi Schedrovitsky, consulting companies, and pedagogical innovators. All these techniques differ widely, and everywhere different methods are applied in relation to the student. When we sat down for the first round-table meeting, it became clear that teaching practitioners had difficulty communicating with each other," says Dmitry Zemtsov, the conference organizer.

"A university professor accustomed to polite, genteel discussion in an academic style would face a business coach well versed in shock tactics. More often than not, the professor would get up and walk out. I would have to go chasing after them," he added.

Today organizers of such events sense that participants now at least speak the same language. At the MSU conference, for example, experts dissected various ready-to-run interactive education technologies, explaining which of them deserved to live and which should be consigned to the scrapheap.

Some of the world's leading IT companies delivered presentations, including Google and Facebook. Given that students spend a lot of time online, these companies have far greater access to students than their teachers do.

Ksenia Karyakina presented Google's latest series of educational projects. They primarily revolve around Google Apps, which allows users to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. Another project, Google Art, offers virtual tours of 180 museums in more than 40 countries. Users can look at pictures and artifacts in minute detail, get information about all the items on display, and save their favorites in a personal virtual collection.

"All these resources help make the process of learning about culture and history interactive, plus there's an opportunity to share information in real time with multiple users," said Ksenia Karyakina. "YouTube, which belongs to Google, has everything you need to host video lectures and create channels, which makes it an excellent addition to the interactive learning process."

For the time being, Facebook is focused much less on educational programs, but it could certainly help teachers "reach out" to students. At the conference, Olesya Shayakhmetova of Facebook Russia presented just one project, entitled "Community," which allows users to create themed groups in the social network and admit people that meet certain criteria, such as belonging to a group or studying at a particular school.

Interactive resources are not universally applied across Russia, but only at educational institutions where the heads support their implementation and actively encourage teachers to adopt new technologies. The conference discussed different ways of introducing interactive technologies, and it turned out in fact that there is no consensus on the meaning of the term "interactivity."

For example, Andrei Fedoseyev of the Institute of Informatics under the Russian Academy of Sciences believes that interactive systems should emphasize the pedagogical aspects of learning. An educational website or program should not simply feed information, but analyze students’ mistakes and offer additional study materials so that the end result is a thorough grasp of the topic. Fedoseyev does not see that kind of interactivity in existing resources.

Nevertheless, the conference participants all agreed that new training standards require an overhaul of the education system itself. In particular, the new draft education law examines the learning process in accordance with international standards, including distance learning programs for school pupils, which presupposes the introduction of new interactive methods. Their successful implementation depends directly on the frequency and content of conferences such as this one.

http://indrus.in/articles/2012/12/26/pundits_try_to_improve_interactive_education_21287.html

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Free education from political interference, communal bias

Sending a clear signal that education should be freed from undue political interference and communal bias, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Filipe Neri Ferrao, raised concerns that the church in Goa, being the largest education provider in the state, is not being given adequate representation by the government in decision making.

Addressing the customary Christmas week civic reception on Thursday, Ferrao said, "I take this opportunity to highlight a couple of problems that continue to be a cause of grave concern to the people of Goa and, consequently, also to the local church. We believe that this will enable you to see a few things from the church's point of view."

Quoting writer Shiv Kera who said education is the soul of society, Ferrao said, "We call our educational institutions temples of learning. If so, education should be pursued and promoted by all the stakeholders with the devotion and the disinterestedness that it deserves." He added, "This soul of our society should be freed from undue political interference and communal bias."

Ferrao said the church in Goa also has a voluminous body of qualified resource personnel but does not receive the desired recognition in this field.

Acknowledging that some outstanding issues have been resolved by the present administration, Ferrao said others are waiting to reach their logical conclusion and yet others are still to be addressed.

"We hope that our educational institutions will have a certain freedom to streamline the excellence in the quality of education that they impart, for which the necessary funds and facilities should be made available, without unnecessary delays, thus ensuring the right direction to integral development and progress in our state," the archbishop said.

The function was attended by governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo, deputy chief minister Francis D'Souza, ministers, MLAs and others. Chief minister Manohar Parrikar was in New Delhi attending the national development council meeting.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-28/goa/36035702_1_political-interference-free-education-communal-bias

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NComputing eyes more ICT education projects in India

Having successfully implemented its low-cost shared computing technology across government schools in seven states, NComputing Inc, a US-based provider of desktop virtualisation, is now in the process of bidding for more such projects in the country.

The privately-owned company, which forayed into the Indian market four-and-a-half-years ago, has so far deployed 700,000 seats across state educational projects and private educational institutions in India, including 60,500 seats in Andhra Pradesh.

Its latest project was the deployment of high-performance and green computer labs in 2,622 government schools of Haryana in September, which was part of the state government’s major education initiative called the ‘ICT in Education’ project.

“We are currently in talks with almost all the state governments for implementing various ICT (information and communication technology) projects, which are expected to call for tenders for the same in the next three to six months,” said Amit Khanna, director (business development), NComputing.

Speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of eIndia 2012, an ICT event held recently in Hyderabad, Khanna said of the total deployment of 700,000 seats in India, close to 350,000 were from the education sector.

“The businesses, which other than government and education in India, for us are SMBs (small and medium businesses) and large enterprises. While 50-60% of our business comes from education, which is our forte, SMBs and enterprises account for 30-35% and 10-15% respectively. While the pie is increasing and only one or two% will go from here to there, we expect the volumes to grow across the segments,” he said.

According to IDC, which does research of information technology companies and markets, NComputing, which currently has over 20 million daily users globally, did over 68% of the enterprise client business in 2011 and is leading in the same position by 56-57%.

Stating that the proliferation of PCs has become a burden on IT departments of SMBs as they work to maintain, update and continually replace outdated, lost or stolen PCs, Khanna said these companies had now started looking at desktop virtualisation.

“Our 800 channel partners in India are finding more space here to sell our products,” he said, adding that their desktop virtualisation solutions required 75% less maintenance and saved up to 90% energy by using 1 watt of electricity as compared to the tradition PC that consumed 120-150 watt.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ncomputing-eyes-more-ict-education-projects-in-india/200545/on

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Indian MBA students world’s most academically distinguished: Survey

It is students from IIM-Bangalore, not from Harvard or Stanford or even MIT, who excel at GMAT, the entrance test for the creme de la creme of B-schools across the world.

According to the QS Global 200 Business Schools report, Indian MBA candidates are the world's most academically distinguished, with students of the IIM-B, scoring the highest average of 780. IIM-B students are ahead of the leading US institution Stanford and INSEAD in Europe, the survey said.

While the average GMAT score of Stanford is 730, INSEAD lies at 704. Second to IIM-B students in GMAT score are their counterparts from IIM, Ahmedabad with 767.

The survey says, "IIM Ahmedabad is notable for the extraordinarily high average GMAT scores of its students, with its figure of 767 exceeded only by fellow Indian institution, IIM Bangalore (780). This places the two ahead of any North American or European school for the academic quality of their student intake. The fact that students enrolled at both schools have an average of just two years of professional experience underlines the tendency for academically gifted students to move quickly on to the MBA qualification at the outset of their careers, rather than using it to up-skill at mid career, as is more common in Europe and North America."

IIM-B also appears in the survey as one of the emerging global business schools across the world, overtaking Melbourne Business School.

"It is the testimony to high quality talent that our country has. It is no surprise that Indian students have outscored others from across the globe. What is needed now is the establishment of premier institutes like Harvard and Stanford in India as well, so that these young minds could express their intelligence in best possible manner. This is possible only when full autonomy is provided to the universities," said T V Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global Education Services.

"At the time of independence, our universities at Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Mysore and Baroda were among the top 200 in the world. Today, they do not fare in any ranking at all. This is the result of bad government policy. Full autonomy, independent board of governors and focus on research are the factors crucial for a good university," said Pai.

The colleges were also judged on different subjects under their programme. In corporate social responsibility, IIM-B ranked 21 among the top 50 business colleges across the globe, whereas IIM-A grabbed 19th rank.

When it comes to emphasis on start-ups and small businesses to kick-start private sector growth ( entrepreneurship), IIM-B ranked 25 and IIM-A ranked 17. Under 'innovation', IIM-B was placed at 17th with a score of 90.6, whereas IIM-A ranked 13, with a score of 97.4 out of 100.

QS is an online and offline meeting place for aspiring managers, B-schools and businesses for career and educational -related decisions.

Many leaders in India

For the leadership development programme, four colleges from India feature among top 50 universities. They are: IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C and Indian School of Business (ISB).

Highlights of the survey

Schools ranked for employer reputation in 10 subject specializations. Harvard tops the table in three subjects, ahead of Stanford and MIT with two apiece. Wharton is number one for finance

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-25/news/35998542_1_iim-b-students-iim-bangalore-iim-a

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Why India's primary education system needs a STIR

CNBC-TV18's special show Young Turks is on a mission to stir things up in India’s education sector driven by logic that Indian schools need, better ideas and not necessarily more money. 35-year-old Sharath Jeevan founded STIR Education with the aim of driving change in our primary education system, STIR Education works to identify, test and scale up promising grass-root micro innovations to improve learning.


Sharath Jeeven, Founder & CEO, STIR Education is on a mission to transform the lives of the world’s poorest urban children. He founded STIR Education in February of 2012. The venture tries to find innovative teaching practices and chooses the best ones with the idea of replicating and scaling them up. STIR then works with teachers, government, private sector and NGOs to ensure wider reach.

An example of an innovation nurtured by STIR is an idea practiced at the Deepalaya School in New Delhi. Teachers at Deepalaya encourage students to do surveys which help them in learning the statistics works in the real world. Sharath claims this innovation has resulted in a 100 percent improvement in children who feared maths. Having already reached at 18 schools in Delhi in just eight months of operation, STIR Education has raised closed to a million dollars funding and Sharath now wants to make the venture financially sustainable.

Below is an edited transcript of Sharath Jeevan's interview with CNBC-TV18

Q What are your strategies to expand STIR?

A: We are looking at a number of models to be more sustainable. For example, lot of services that schools might be able to use and because we are working with a lot of the schools, we do not need to charge very much per school. So it can be very accessible to schools. We are helping to improve the education system, so that the government can cover some of the costs of this programme because they are getting good ideas that are being spread and helping their goals about increasing the quality of education in their communities also.

STIR has also taken the task of helping students improve their writing skills. For instance at Deepalaya, teachers like Jasbir ask students to write letters to them in Hindi articulating the challenges they face in their lives. Jasbir uses this experience as an opportunity to monitor language and encourage creative writing as opposed to learning by rote. This innovation in the classroom has not only improved the learning process but has also helped forge a deeper teacher-student bond.

STIR also works towards improving the quality of educators by holding classes once a month like the one at a madrasa or a school for children from the Muslim community in Delhi, Seelampur. Principal here, Sajid, encourages teachers to lead by example as opposed to talking down to students.
STIR works with teachers, helping them improve drop-out rates and making the class more interactive even as it works with schools on bringing in teacher accountability.

Also read: Mentor Together a guide to make better choices in life

Q: With 25 teacher innovation currently being practiced, what is the road ahead for this young entrepreneur?

A: With 400 million children’s onus across the country, we would like the STIR to be there in the major cities across the country. We also want this to be an international network, the best ideas can go from India to Kenya and to Brazil. I would like to work with over 500 ideas over the next five years around the major parts of the world.

While going international is on the radar, Sharath himself has set the target to reach out to 3 million children in the next five years. With an eye on children who have very little to make them smile, he believes education is the best gift people can give. He plans to add to his network of institutes which include the likes of Pratham, Bharti Foundation and the Azim Premji Foundation, Sharath is set to create low cost but high impact classrooms across the country.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/special-videos/why-indias-primary-education-system-needsstir_799281.html

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Chess instills skills for education, life: Viswanathan Anand

Chess is not only a game but a fun activity for schoolchildren as it inculcates useful skills for education as well as for life, chess wizard Viswanathan Anand said Thursday. "Playing chess enhances the memory, gives confidence, teaches problem solving, increases concentration...," the five-time world champion said after inaugurating an NIIT Mind Champions Academy at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) here.

"Chess teaches you that all moves have consequences," he said, adding this was a important lesson to learn for impressionable minds. Anand, who set up the academy in a venture with IT trainer NIIT, said the idea had come almost 12 years back after talking to world chess federation (FIDE) chief and then Kalmykia president, Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov, who told him how chess introduced in schools of his republic in Russia had led to a rise in the students' educational standards.

"We have seen the same results in India where the academy encompasses 17,000 schools and almost 17 million students all over India. A survey among 8,000 students and teachers showed the students have more confidence.. gave better answers. They showed better aptitude to tackle subjects like maths and physics," he said.

"Good mental training for studies, chess is not only an academic tool but fun as well," said Anand

Speaking on the occasion, Harish Doraiswamy, deputy CEO and COO of Global Schools Foundation (which runs the GIIS chain of 20 campuses in India and six other countries including Singapore, UAE and Japan), said Anand was a good role leader.

"Anand became the first Indian Grandmaster. Since then, there have been 28 more," he said, adding the attributes for a good chess player - persistence, practice, memory - are as important in education and life," he said.

GSF's country head, India, Rajeev Katyal said the aim of the chess centre, which will come up at other campuses too, was not to create chess champions but impart a way of thinking, problem solving, handling pressure and other life skills among the students.

However, any promising player would be encouraged, he added. "If we find someone who had potential, we will encourage them to go in for coaching," said Katyal.

GIIS Noida principal Punam Singhal said that students of Class 2 onwards would be encouraged to use the new facility. "We find it will be appropriate for students six years and above," she said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_chess-instills-skills-for-education-life-viswanathan-anand_1779884

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Govt. planning new authority to regulate higher education: Tharoor

New Delhi, Dec.21 (ANI): Admitting that there is a "clear gap in the overall regulation of higher education", the Minister for State for Human Resource Develpment, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, today said that the government is planning to establish an over-arching authority to set and coordinate standards in higher education.

elivering the keynote address at a seminar on "Higher Education: Affirmative Action and Skill Gaps" at Observer Research Foundation today, the Minister said a draft bill to create a new over-arching authority to set standards in higher education is in the offing.

he Minister said there is a need to establish a body with statutory authority to prescribe academic standards, norms of accreditation and mechanisms of financing and governance of institutions. Such a body will enhance the endeavour to promote credible standards of higher education and research in the country, he said.

The Minister said with no centralised policy or regime for foreign educational institutions in the country, some of the foreign institutions are resorting to various malpractices to attract students, especially in the smaller towns and cities.

To check this, the government has introduced a bill with proposals to regulate the entry and operation of foreign educational institutions, the Minister noted.

He emphasised on the need to turn the country's huge demographic advantage into fruitful ways to take the country into the group of major developed economies.

The Minister warned that if we went wrong in this mission, it would lead to frustration among the bulging youth, which would e "calamitous" for the country. "The Maoists are a clear reflection of what happens when young men feel that they have no stake and no opportunities in society," he said.

Talking about India's demographic advantage over other countries, the Minister said already 65 percent of India's population are below the age of 35 years. And according to a study a by the ILO, India will have 116 million workers in the age group of 20-24 by 2020.

oting that access to education to all is a dream that still eludes us, the Minister stressed on the need to have the right balance between merit and social justice. He said this is a unique challenge to India, unparalleled in scale and scope anywhere else.

"Market forces undoubtedly important in most areas of human endeavour cannot be allowed unchecked freedom to dictate questions of access to dissemination of knowledge," the Minister said.

Presenting the ORF-IIM-Ahmadabad study on affirmative action in education, Prof. Rakesh Basant suggested a new formula for reservations in education - based on the parental education. "Parental education can potentially be useful criterion for affirmative action, given the changing role of the caste," Prof Basant said, emphasising on the relevance of crossing the threshold of supply side criticality.

He said compartments can be defined on the basis of parental educational with affirmative action mainly for those with illiterate parents.

Though there are some issues like quality of parental education and legal issues, "let us try parental reservation, if at all we want reservation," Prof Basant said.

Presenting a study a skill gaps, Prof Jeemol Unni, Director, IRMA, suggested a skill policy that encourages non-graduate technical and non-technical diploma/certificate holders into lower graduate intensity occupations would help to close the skill gap and reduce the pressure on graduate, reducing also the skill mismatch gap.

She also suggested introduction of a vocational training/skill training stream in the metric secondary school system. Skill training focussed on these low graduate intensity occupations and the low intensity knowledge intensive manufacturing and service sectors will again reduce pressure on the higher education system, she said.

The seminar was attended by UGC chairman Ved Prakash and other educational experts.

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/12/21/376-Govt-planning-new-authority-to-regulate-higher-education-Tharoor.html

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Back to basics: India needs agri, health, education reforms

On CNBC-TV18's special show, India at Global Crossroads, a panel of eminent guests including Theodore (Ted) Voorhees, chairman, ABA Anti Trust Section, Ashok Chawla, chairperson, CCI and M Damodaran, former chairman SEBI shared their insights on the issues plaguing the country.


India hosts a 3rd of the world's poor and half of the world's malnourished. It is 95th on the corruption index and 132nd on the index of business confidence. At a time, when on a high interest rates, inflation, subsidy and deficit, but on a low is accountability, confidence, profit and credit, investors are wary to invest and the government is wary to divest. Savings are slow and profits are low, but the consumer still wants to spend and the banks still want to lend. All this is boiling down to a whirlpool of a key six letter word called "policy."

Below is the edited transcript of the panel discussion on CNBC-TV18

Q: Do you think competition in India is fair, comprehensive and transparent?

Voorhees: Competition in India is relatively new, in the United States we have had a competition regime, we call it Anti Trust for 120 years. In India it has been considerably less than that, but it is a very powerful force. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is doing a very good job and we look forward to great evolution of the competition policy in this county.

Q: I used three words, you haven't answered either fair, transparent and comprehensive?

Voorhees: I believe it is doing an excellent job on all of those, but it can aspire to do more.

Q: At a time when we are deprived of the foreign capital at one hand and we are looking at inclusive growth do you think we have fair competition?

Chawla: We are certainly on the road to fair play competition as it should be and as other jurisdictions practice it. But whether that's going to be entirely relevant or critical or the only critical factor for foreign investment is a separate issue. What we have and what we need to provide is fair play, which doesn't curb the animal spirits of private enterprise, but this applies equally to domestic investment as well as foreign investment.

Q: Did you mentioned road? Are we at a crossroad or a road?

Chawla: We maybe at the crossroads in many other things where India has done a whole lot of work in the last 20 years on the economic front. We need to rollout new policies, tweak the existing policies, look at sectors, which haven't really done as well as they should have done. We need to focus on agriculture. We need to focus on education, health, and various facets of the policy paradigm, which will go on evolving as we go ahead. Any emerging economy will continuously be at a crossroad and always has a scope to do much more.

Q: Considering fair play, a positive policy and equal competition, yet we come from a background of various disparities caste, creed, colour, income disparities, and financial disparities. Our social fabric is so diverse, so we have a sense of protectionism. Now how do you have a crossroad between fair competition and protectionism?

Damodaran: None of the factors that you mentioned affect policy formulation. What is interesting is that we must recognise these as facts and build on the strengths that they offer. We should not look at every difference as disabling. We must build on the strengths. We must build on the diversity that this country offers and put together a model that takes us far. I don't see this negatively at all.

Q: I am not saying negativity but protectionism, which itself is contrary to fair play. So do you believe protectionism should continue?

Damodaran: When considering fair competition and providing everyone the same opportunities you must look at; from where the person has come from? What have been their backgrounds? What is the circumstance that have created the relative disabilities that some people have and then create the circumstances in which everyone gets a fair opportunity to measure upto his or her potential.

If you don't put those building blocks in place and focus on a level playing field, without enabling people to qualify for being in that field to belong to that league you are creating bigger problems because then relative deprivation will kick in and that is worse than absolute deprivation.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/special-videos/back-to-basics-india-needs-agri-health-education-reforms_798036.html

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Malaysia Education Ministry to 'scrutinize' Indian teachers before hiring

Malaysia's Education Ministry has given an assurance that it will carry out a study on the suitability of English teachers from India before hiring them.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, while responding to a statement from the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) which had called for a study on the proposal to recruit English teachers from India, said it would need to assess the teachers' background, expertise and qualifications, reports The Star.

NUTP president Hashim Adnan said discussions must be carried out with experts, NUTP and the Education Ministry to ensure the move would profit the Government.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia planned to bring in a number of English teachers from India to teach Malaysian students as part of efforts to boost mastery in the language.

Najib, who was in India to attend the two-day Asean-India Commemorative Summit that ended yesterday, said the proposal was in addition to the programme implemented with the United States' Fullbright Foundation and Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange prior to this.

Under the programme, English Teaching Assistants from the US are stationed at selected schools nationwide specifically in the rural areas.

Hashim suggested that English teachers who had retired be recruited as they were from the same culture and background and knew how to teach Malaysian students. He said recruiting English teachers from the US was more than adequate to teach the language in this country because mixing teachers would not only burden the students but also the national education system.

Nevertheless, he said the payment for recalling retired teachers must commensurate with experience and expertise in the language.

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/12/23/169-Malaysia-Education-Ministry-to-scrutinize-Indian-teachers-before-hiring.html

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Private Delhi schools can now run second shift

NEW DELHI: Private unaided schools can now run a second shift after regular school hours. This shift, however, would have to be run as a separate entity with no common teachers or other school staff, according to a decision taken by the Delhi School Education Advisory Board on Wednesday.

Private schools have been asking for a second shift, saying it would put their infrastructure to optimum use and benefit more students. The DSEAB said maximum points would have to be given to the 'neighbourhood' criterion for nursery admissions.

The board, which includes the education minister, principal secretary and director, education, also said that for admission into nursery, a child cannot be older than three years, 11 months and 30 days as on March 30 of the academic year in which admission is sought. The upper limit for KG is exactly a year more than the nursery limit and two years more for class I.

The Board, however, decided that some relaxation in upper age-limit for children with special needs would be worked out. The lower age limit for nursery class is three years.
The DSEAB had been asked to give its opinion on double shifts in private schools. A south Delhi school had gone to court over the matter. Apart from education minister Kiran Walia, Wednesday's meeting was attended by 15 members and a special invitee.

While allowing second shifts, the board also was decided that a committee would be constituted to work out the details.

According to R C Jain, president, Delhi State Public Schools Management Association, who is also a member of the board, "The second shift schools will be a separate entity with a separate set of teachers and there will be no compromise on salaries. Moreover, there will be no transfer of first shift students to the second shift. The admission criteria in the second shift will be same as that of the first shift with 25% reservation for EWS category under RTE Act."

Schools which will be following the point system in the new admission season starting from January 1, 2013 have been asked to give maximum weightage to distance from school.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Private-Delhi-schools-can-now-run-second-shift/articleshow/17684668.cms

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Malaysia keen to recruit English teachers from India

Malaysia is keen to recruit teachers from India who are skilled in the English Language to teach our students in Malaysia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"One of the proposals that I have forwarded to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for consideration this morning was to accept a number of teachers from India who are skilled in the English Language to teach our students in Malaysia," he said.

He said Manmohan had welcomed the proposal and would instruct the relevant minister to hold discussions with the Malaysian Education Ministry to realise this objective.

"This is in addition to the efforts we have taken with the United States which had sent 75 teachers from there to teach English language," he told Malaysian reporters after a 30-minute bilateral meeting with Manmohan, here today.

Asked when sourcing of the teachers will start, he said :"We will be discussing the matter later. We want an agreement in principle first. Then I have to consult the ministry of education and it depends on the terms and conditions, we will work it out and tell the numbers later."

Also present at the bilateral meeting were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia's Special Envoy to India and South Asia for Infrastructure, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Malaysia's High Commissioner to India Datuk Tan Seng Sung.

Malaysia wanted to forge multi-sectoral and comprehensive cooperation with India, said Najib who is in India to attend the two-day Asean-India Commemorative Summit beginning Thursday.

"I have also observed that they send a large number of their students abroad and there is a possibility that they can look at Malaysia as an alternative for their students to study.

"Malaysia must also organise more 'Education Fair' and so on because they lack knowledge on our capability to provide quality education and at very competitive cost," Najib said.

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/81150

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Zuckerberg donates $500 million for health, education

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is donating half a billion dollars in Facebook stock to a Silicon Valley charity, his second major donation since committing to giving away most of his wealth.

The 28-year old co-founder of the world's largest online social network said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he would work with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to "look for areas in education and health to focus on."

Zuckerberg, whose stake in vested Facebook shares is worth roughly $11 billion, announced plans in 2010 to give a $100 million gift to the beleaguered public schools of Newark, New Jersey.

The gifts are part of Zuckerberg's involvement in The Giving Pledge. Launched by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett in 2010, the group asks U.S. billionaires to give away at least half their wealth during their lifetime or after their death and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision.

Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that he made a contribution of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to "lay the foundation for new projects."

At Tuesday's closing price of $27.71 per Facebook share, the gift translates to $498.8 million.

Zuckerberg founded Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, turning it into the world's most popular online social network with roughly 1 billion users. With its high-profile initial public offering in May, Facebook became the first U.S. technology company to debut with a $100 billion-plus valuation, though questions about its long-term money-making prospects have pressured share prices.

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/people/article-zuckerberg-donates-500-million-for-health-education-314938

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More girls go to schools at primary, upper primary levels

 More girls attend schools regularly than boys at primary and upper primary levels, a survey by independent agencies has shown, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

“...attendance rates of girls at primary level were 70.6 per cent against the overall average of 68.5 per cent and 78.7 per cent at upper primary levels against the overall average of 75 per cent,” Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor said.

He said this came to light in a study done by independent agencies on assessing attendance levels in elementary schools in 2009.

Tharoor said since the Right to Education Act became operational 96 per cent of population has access to school within 1 Km of their residence.

He said the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Scheme of residential upper primary schools for girls has been launched where female literacy rates below the national average.

The KGBV scheme is only for girls from Class V to Class VIII. For girls beyond Class VIII, there is a scheme under which government provides Rs 3,000 in a fixed deposit and the money is given to her with interest when she passes Class X.

Tharoor said the government was also encouraging states to recruit more teachers ever since the RTE Act became operational.

“The government has been making consistent progress in meeting the goal of Universal Elementary Education through implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),” he said.

Under SSA, several interventions to promote education of girls are undertaken which include opening of schools in the neighbourhood to make access easier for girls, appointment of additional teachers.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/more-girls-go-to-schools-at-primary-upper-primary-levels/article4217629.ece

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Can Public Education as We Know it Survive?

Americans are now confronted with two radically different visions of public education. Which vision ultimately prevails will go a long way toward determining the quality of the education available to future generations of children.

The first -- call it the "private" -- vision can be seen in the well-funded efforts in states and localities across the country to dismantle many of the fundamental structures of public education that have evolved since the mid-19th century and to replace them with models borrowed from the private sector.

These efforts include unfettered expansion of charter schools, many of them run by for-profit companies (Louisiana); vouchers to middle class families for private school tuition (Wisconsin); and tax credits for those who donate to "scholarship" funds for private schools (Virginia). The private vision has received millions of dollars of support from major foundations, including Gates and Walton, and from wealthy individuals.

The second, or "public," vision seeks to preserve traditional structures of public school systems while acknowledging that the time has come to diversify the ways in which education is delivered. This vision recently received a boost in Florida, where voters defeated an amendment that would have cleared the way for a statewide voucher program. Earlier this month a judge in Louisiana ruled that the state's new voucher program violates the state Constitution because it relies on funds intended for public schools.

The private vision of public education is truly radical in three important respects:

    First, it severs the connection between public schools and the civic purposes for which they were established and that justify the use of taxpayer dollars to fund them. Implicit in this vision is the notion that the benefits of education accrue first and foremost to individuals and that public benefits are simply the sum of private ones.

    Second, it rejects the notion of an education system. Those who view education primarily as a collection of independent schools serving private interests have few incentives to assure that multiple stakeholders -- students, teachers, administrators, policy makers, the business community and others -- work together through democratic institutions in pursuit of common goals.

    Third, the private education vision leaves little room for principles of social justice and the commitment to equal educational opportunity for all children. By emphasizing privatization and competition rather than community and cooperation, it trivializes the whole notion of "public" education. Nor does it take responsibility for addressing the special challenges that disadvantaged children bring with them when they walk through the schoolhouse door.

Public schools in the U.S. have always operated at the intersection of two sets of legitimate rights: those of individuals, including parents, to pursue their own best interests and those of society as a whole to perpetuate democratic values and to promote collective prosperity.

By and large Americans have found ways to strike a balance between these two objectives. Public schools have served as engines of upward mobility for millions of individuals, including waves of immigrants, while driving economic growth by providing an educated workforce. By emphasizing private interests almost entirely at the expense of public ones, the private vision, with millions of dollars behind it, threatens to undermine this historical balance.

To say that public schools should serve public purposes is not to say that all schools should be the same or that they must only be operated by government employees. One-size-fits-all schooling does not meet all children's educational needs.

An enlightened public vision of education welcomes increased parental choice as well as diverse forms of delivery such as charter schools, virtual schools or other new types of institutions -- so long as they operate within clearly specified guidelines that respect and promote both collective and individual interests. While collective interests may differ from state to state or from community to community, they are likely to revolve around issues such as equal access to quality schools, student diversity, cost-efficient use of school facilities, transportation and enrollment stability that allows for effective planning.

The choice between the two visions is stark, and the stakes are high. Education is an investment in the future of children and also in the future of each state. States that fail to provide access to quality education for all students today will be wasting their most precious resource: their people. And the more that states move toward a private vision that privileges individual over collective interests, the more difficult it will be to reverse course in the future.

Helen F. Ladd is a professor of public policy and economics at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. Edward B. Fiske, a former education editor of The New York Times, is the author of the "Fiske Guide to Colleges."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-fiske/can-public-education-as-w_1_b_2325827.html

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Call for change in education sector

Former minister and RSP (B) leader N K Premachandran said that lack of sincere politics has a clear reflection on the higher education system and demanded a structural change in the education system.

Presenting the third lecture in the Platinum Jubilee lecture series of Kerala University on the topic 'Higher Education and Kerala Politics', Premachandran said high decline in the number of post graduates and research scholars has an adverse effect on the society and it increases the number of educated unemployed.

"Politicization of Indian education is need of the hour, but not the involvement of political groupings," he said. Kerala politics, history and education are the three zones, closely associated to each other, he added.

Kerala University pro-vice-chancellor Dr J Prabhash said it is high time to conduct self-evaluation of the state's higher education system.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-12/thiruvananthapuram/35773201_1_education-system-kerala-university-lecture

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Ideas galore for quality education

LUCKNOW: In order to ensure high standard of education in state universities, there is requirement of a state assessment council, similar to the National Assessment and Accreditation (NAAC) for constant monitoring of higher education institutions by the state government. This was put forth by the vice-chancellor, DDU Gorakhpur University, P C Trivedi the keynote speaker for academic reforms at the vice-chancellors (VCs) conference on Wednesday.


A range of discussions covering academic, administrative and financial aspects of state universities took place at the conference. Trivedi spoke about the need to amend the State Universities Act, 1973. "At the time the Act was made, there were hardly any colleges affiliated to it. The situation has undergone a sea change today and amendments are necessary,'' he told TOI. In this context, he proposed that the state government should allow universities to handle solely the process of affiliation and de-affiliation of colleges.

Emphasising on the quality of research work, Governor and chancellor of all state universities B L Joshi reiterated that universities in UP should pay attention to quality rather than quantity. "The number of research projects with a patent is less compared to their number in the West. We need to raise the standard of research in our universities,'' he said. It was suggested that the best research labs in each university be converted into centres of excellence. Also, there was suggestion for establishment of a university dedicated to research.

Also present at the conference, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav stressed employment opportunities be increased in higher education institutions. He said universities should make use of information technology and communication techniques to excel and attain great heights. During the meet, there were discussions on extending the term of state universities vice-chancellors from three to five years and inclusion of syllabus for qualifying the National Eligibility Test (NET) in common minimum syllabus and non-availability of medical facilities to university employees and teachers.

On the financial front, Mohd Muzzamil vice-chancellor MJP Rohilkhand University, who was the key note speaker, highlighted problems faced in generating funds for state universities. He pointed out that universities face a major problem in reimbursing fee for SC/ST students by the state government and said this area needs streamlining.

Discussions on administrative issues like strengthening various bodies such as academic, financial, executive councils and the university court were held.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-13/lucknow/35795876_1_state-universities-universities-face-quality-of-research-work

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India, the next giant in he

SANTIAGO INIGUEZ, president, IE University, talks to Karan Gupta, study abroad consultant, about the challenges facing higher education worldwide

What are the key challenges facing higher education today?

It depends on the region you analyse because we see that the focus has now moved from the Western hemisphere to Asia and so the problems in Europe and in the US are different from those that universities face in Asia or Latin America. For example, if you look at Europe and US, you'll find that we are attending to problems of governance at most universities, financing models and how to bring innovation into the reality and maximise the learning process of users and technology in the learning process. On the other hand, if you look at Asia or Latin America (which has a lot of similarities vis-a-vis higher education ), I guess that the challenges are how to build up prestigious accredited institutions with global status , how to develop their own research and contribution to knowledge from their distinctive perspective and how to build up sustainable models of universities that can transform the world of higher education. So both worlds are complementary and up until now Western universities have been to some extent an inspiration for Asian universities. In future, it may be reverse where Asian universities will become references for many Western universities.

Any steps that you have taken to help overcome the challenges?

One of the steps I have taken is to organise the Reinventing Higher Education conference. This conference aims at attracting different stakeholder groups. Traditionally, debates on higher education institutions have been confined to the walls of universities. We are very much in need of opening up this debate to representatives from companies, employers, opinion-makers , media, government and students. Education is not something that happens inside universities. Universities have to know that it is our duty to respond in the best possible way to the maximum benefit of society to produce not just valuable knowledge but also training good and competent professionals. So the first thing we are doing is running these conferences with the aim of providing references of good practices of new models that can transform higher education.

We are developing universities, which are changing the way higher education is perceived. For example, we are inserting modules and courses on management and humanities that are common to different disciplines . So we combine the best of the traditional liberal arts curriculum and specialised traditions which are more common in Europe. We are developing and nurturing a new class of faculty that sometimes are referred to as kangaroos. They are not only 'gurus' of knowledge but also are people who can jump from research to management. Hence, we are developing a new style of diversity that takes into account the new contribution from technology.

What is India's role in the global higher education scenario?

India is going to become the next giant of higher education. It will become the first market very soon in terms of demand because of its large population. Second, it is an English-speaking market, which will provide many opportunities for other international universities. And third, the talent that India is producing at the primary and secondary schools is exceptional. These circumstances make India probably the most attractive market for higher education in the future.

What do you think is the future of online education?

We are now in the second revolution of e-learning . The first one took place in early-2000 and at that time probably the market was not prepared for all the offerings that were coming from pioneering institutions. But now we are in the second tsunami in higher education which is being led by a number of institutions. In time, online education will affect the very nature of universities and change aspects of higher education.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/India-the-next-giant-in-he/articleshow/17645932.cms

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‘Sex Education Is Not Just About Preventing Pregnancy’

Scientist and broadcaster Aarathi Prasad has a PhD in mammalian cell cycle biology from Imperial College, London, and in her new book Like A Virgin: How Science is Redesigning the Rules of Sex (Oneworld, 2012), she tackles the notion of reproduction without the sex act. Dr Prasad is a single parent, with a young daughter she had with a white father. Excerpts from an interview with Saptarshi Ray:

Your book is a very different take on the nature of reproduction. Have humans really been doing it so badly all this time?

Humans are pretty sub-fertile in the grand scheme of things. If you take a healthy man and woman in their 20s, who have unprotected sex, the chances of them conceiving are around 20 per cent. That is pretty poor. Now, consider the fact that our fertility decreases as we age and that the average age of first-time mothers is now around 30. This later onset of motherhood is a product of increased education for women, more career-driven goals and independence. But in terms of the future, it isn’t ideal.

You must get a few people asking you what you have against sex?

If you can have a baby through sex, fine, but if you cannot, then people need to know that there are other options. In India, for example, many of the middle class now live a lifestyle that approximates those in western countries. So the old models of meeting and marrying young in order to have children are not the same. And, you will always have cases where people are infertile, and they need help.

And if we were to achieve non-sexual reproduction, would that mean people would stop doing it, or do it purely for pleasure?

I don’t know how many of us equate sex strictly with reproduction nowadays. The advent of reliable contraception has enabled us to control when we have children and when we don’t. But I do think most people who are having sex are not doing it exclusively for the purpose of having babies. Sociologically and anthropologically, sex holds many benefits and reasons for us as primates, other than simply for procreation. I don’t see this dystopian, Huxley-esque future where people are told they can only reproduce in a certain way. What I’m talking about is where a couple wants to have a child, but for biological reasons they can’t.

What response do you have to the predictable ‘playing god’ criticisms that are often directed at your field of expertise?

I recently attended a talk by Simon Fishel, one of the scientists involved in the first ivf birth, and he was saying that when it comes to reproduction, your next door neighbour feels like they are entitled to their opinion. When the first egg donation occurred—as a therapy, for a girl who had cancer—government and public opinion held that donors cannot be anonymous. So they banned anonymous donations. Of course, things are different today. But he said that what is ethical and what is just current social opinion must be differentiated. The debate is often not about safety but about social issues. And generally the more modern technology will actually be the more ethical option.

Is there a danger that gender bias could be exacerbated as technology becomes ever more sophisticated?

Well, in some hospitals you cannot find out the gender of the child, and in areas where there is a community that might be more likely to abort female foetuses, there is a blanket ban on anyone finding out. You can already check on the gender at ivf clinics, but whether or not you do that is not really down to scientists but up to legislation and regulation.

And where exactly does love fit into all this? Does it? Should it, even?

That is probably for a philosoper to answer. If an Indian couple has an arranged marriage, does that necessarily mean they are not in love when they have a child? In arranged marriages, you or your family are looking for a match that  is compatible in terms of intelligence, social standing and suitability. The people who go to sperm banks, they too have their own, and often stricter, criteria: height, hair colour, eye colour, profession and so on. You are arranging who the father of your child is going to be.

As a scientist, do you think sex education in general is informative enough?

In some societies, it is easier for girls to have an abortion than it is to openly talk about contraception. That’s wrong. Just because you close your eyes, it doesn’t mean that something is not happening. In the United Kingdom, I would say most of the sex education is about how to prevent getting pregnant, which is a limited discussion. The children are never told that there will come a stage when they can no longer have children. They are never told that they should try and plan for when they want to have a family—and also to decide whether they want one. One day, a 39-year-old woman wants to have a baby, but it turns out she has been infertile since she was 21, but she never knew as no one told her to get herself checked regularly. Sex education is not just for children.

Do you think your work has altered your attitudes as a parent?

Absolutely, yes. I have a daughter who is very bright and is nearly a teenager. And I would not want to see her make tough decisions without being imparted the right knowledge. I think in her lifetime, we will see more women being able to preserve their eggs for later in life, which is a good thing for her generation.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?283325

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Revolutionising trends in Indian system of education

The coming decade will see a 'phenomenal evolution in the school education landscape', say experts. While some opine that higher education needs to be defined by quality, others say that technology will further percolate into classrooms.

Syed Sultan Ahmed, Managing Director of Edumedia India Pvt Ltd, said, "One clear area of evolution I see for schools will be a shift of focus from 'marks based' academic curriculum to 'life based' overall development. Schools talk a lot about it these days but do very little. In the coming years, colleges and universities will start enrolling students on the basis of their overall development and not just grades. This will change the obsession of schools towards exams and marks".

Ahmed opined that, schools in general care very little about standards and quality. "In the coming years, with increasing competition and expectations from parents, they will be forced to deliver better quality education at competitive fees," he added.

Ahmed also observed that, at present there is a huge disconnect between what children study and what the industry and the world require from them. "In the future, there will be a larger say of the industry in the curriculum that schools teach. Several skill based learning modules will be introduced by schools, making education a lot more relevant to the world. Creativity and innovation will be one of the most priced qualities in the future, and schools will have to gear up to create thinking individuals with a capacity to make sense of the abundant information that they are exposed to," he said.

The biggest educational challenge in India, is the failure of the government to provide good quality primary and secondary education through government schools, he said. "Privatization of government schools through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, seems like a possibility in the coming years. India’s dream of becoming a developed nation, depends a lot on its school education," he said.

He added that another trend that seems like a real possibility, is personalised distance learning, enabled by technology and home schooling.

According to K S Badarinarayan, principal of MVJ College of Engineering, the education sector is something that is constantly evolving. By 2020, education will be more or less virtual in nature. "What we have right now, is a classroom culture. But, the growing presence of internet means that students in Bangalore will be able to choose subjects and courses from across the world. Imagine being able to take one course from America and another from Europe," he said.

However, the decline of classroom culture can also have its set of disadvantages. Nevertheless, if employed the right way, expertise from across the world can be mobilised. "I also think that, the future will have students being more competitive and creative. The education sector should also ensure that students are industry ready. Right now, only 25% of all students graduating from engineering colleges are really employable. What happens to the rest? By 2020, hopefully colleges will be able to provide multi-skill development for its students, like technical skills and soft skills put together," he said.

Anitha Kurup, a professor at School of Social Sciences and anchor of the education programme at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), felt that the primary education in the country has grown tremendously in the past decade, which means the higher education has to grow to meet the needs of the primary education. "What the higher education needs to do in the next few years, is to define itself by quality. We need to look at the kind of skills that need to be developed, and the kind of courses you provide to the students. We also need to learn from other countries that have expanded their higher education and gain lessons from their experiences," she said.

There is a need for giving importance to basic sciences, socials science and humanities. In her opinion, the reason these fields are suffering right now as opposed to engineering and professional courses, is because these courses are not linked to the kind of job options people are looking for. "Ultimately, private players will be have a big role in the growth of higher education.

We need to work out models that are feasible. The government should find a way to engage with the private players, without completely withdrawing, to realise the kind of growth we are looking for," she added.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_revolutionising-trends-in-indian-system-of-education_1777568

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Students of distance education entitled to study material

BANGALORE: Beginning next academic year, students pursuing distance education under the Bangalore University (BU) will be entitled to study material too. The courseware framed under the revised syllabus will be printed and supplied to those who have registered for various courses offered by DCC&DE (Directorate of Correspondence Courses and Distance Education) from 2013-14.

Hitherto, the university was only giving reference material and not study material to the students.

Announcing the decision at the academic council here on Friday, acting vice-chancellor N Rangaswamy said: Although the new syllabus has already been designed, the study material could not get printed for this academic year (2012-13) due to shortage of staff and paucity of time. We revised the syllabus as the previous syllabus was outdated.''

Going against the decision taken at the BU syndicate meeting regarding the erroneous BEd colleges, the council decided to write to the government against the decision. Karan Kumar, chairman of BU task force, said: "Even if these colleges are being granted affiliation for three months, they should not be given a nod for the admission process."

The verdict regarding introduction of 'school concept' and 'five-year integrated course' in the BU has been put on hold. "Majority of undergraduate colleges with life science courses are closing down as there is no demand. In such circumstances, we should first analyze on what will be the fate of the new life science courses that we are planning to come up with," said a council member.

The council also resolved to approve the reduction in course fee of MSc molecular biology course, after much debate.

The council rejected the proposal to establish a deer park on the campus.

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_revolutionising-trends-in-indian-system-of-education_1777568

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Tripura's poor to get free education till Class 12

The Left Front government in Tripura Wednesday announced free education to poor students, covering the entire period of school education, up to class 12.

The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, of the central government offers free education only up to Class 8.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said that starting from the next academic session, beginning January, students belonging to BPL (below poverty line) families would get free text books and other facilities up to class 12.

"The decision was taken aiming at universalisation of education, and to achieve 100 percent literacy from the existing 90 percent," Sarkar told reporters, adding that poor students would be charged no fees.

He said: "Up to Class eight, all students are now getting free school textbooks and various other facilities. Currently, poor students up to Class 10 have been getting free school textbooks and other facilities."

According to the chief minister, there are 44,000 students belonging to BPL families now studying in Tripura. If one were to include students up to Class 12, the number would increase by several thousand in the next academic year.

"Though the central government had promised to universalise education in the country within 10 years of India's Independence, the declaration has still remained unfulfilled," Sarkar said.

He said the Left Front government in Tripura is probably the only state government in the country which has been providing free education to all, covering the whole of school-level education.

The Tripura council of ministers, at a meeting here Tuesday, also decided to increase the emoluments of the teachers working in the Islamic madrasas.

According to School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty, the Left Front government has been spending more than 20 percent of its total annual budget on the education sector, while the central government's funding in this sector was less than 10 percent.

In Tripura, there are about 800,000 students studying in 4,600 schools.

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/12/12/235--Tripura-s-poor-to-get-free-education-till-Class-12-.html

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1086 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) functioning in India

A comprehensive review of the scheme of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) was assigned to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore on 6th February, 2009. The IIM, Bangalore has submitted its recommendations on 15th February, 2011. The Board of Governors (BOG) of the KVS have considered the recommendations of the IIM, Bangalore and evaluated the response of the KVS thereon in its meeting.

The KVs are opened upon receipt of a viable proposal in the prescribed proformae from the various Ministries of Govt. of India and State Governments/UTs thereby permitting the commitment of the required resources. However, the opening of new KVs depends on the availability of funds and the approval of the competent authority, subject to the approval of the 12th Five Year Plan.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=17999

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ASE and GE Healthcare to educate use of ultrasound in remote areas

American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and GE Healthcare (GE) are in rural northwest India again to utilise advances in cardiovascular ultrasound technology to enhance medical education for healthcare providers caring for the underserved populations in India.

An organised team of ASE member sonographers and physicians have travelled to New Delhi to train Indian physicians in image acquisition while testing the possibilities of remote medical education. The educational event is a collaboration with Medanta – The Medicity, one of India’s largest multi-specialty medical institutes located in Gurgaon, in the National Capital Region.

An additional team of ASE sonographers is assisting in training via the internet and StatVideo’s EchoBoxes, equipment designed to stream cardiac ultrasound images over the Web. Twenty Indian physicians are receiving training on-site, while half of the physicians are also benefitting from additional training by ASE sonographers providing real-time instruction remotely from the US. This technology, is assisting them to see the images the Indian physicians scanned, providing the ability to instruct the physicians on improved acquisition in real-time.

After a successful medical camp in January 2012, healthcare providers for  this year’s project have included two new corporate sponsors CoreSound Imaging and StatVideo, to expand the reach from the rural setting with long-distance, web-based technology to the remote sonographers. The project was organised by Dr Partho P Sengupta, a New York-based cardiologist, a member of the Board of ASE, and the India liaison for ASE. The local training was co-ordinated by Dr Manish Bansal, Medanta – The Medicity.

“This educational activity sets a benchmark in delivering innovative internet-based tele-consultation and tele-education programme to physicians,” said Dr Sengupta.

“The physicians registered for a novel training module: ASE-VISION (Value of Interactive Scanning for Improving Outcome of New Learners). This programme ushers newer training possibilities in integration of tele-echocardiography with activities that range from real-time online assessments, long distance consultations, information sharing and education of physicians in remote areas of the world,” he added.

Clinicians will leverage GE Healthcare ultrasound technology, including the laptop-sized Vivid i and Vivid q plus the Vscan pocket-sized visualisation tool to facilitate the acquisition of the images and provide an educational and awareness vehicle for India-based physicians. The systems will be used on loan from GE Healthcare, which also provided an educational grant for the project to help support travel for sonographers. Vscan leverages ultrasound technology to provide clinicians with an immediate, non-invasive method to help obtain visual information about what is happening inside the body.

“Through the use of portable GE ultrasound technology and the collaboration with local healthcare providers, ASE and its physician members are helping improve the overall quality of care for thousands of people in this rural part of India,” said Al Lojewski, general manager, Cardiovascular Ultrasound, GE Healthcare.

http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=72683&sid=2

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Accentia Education launches tablet, laptop for students

THIRUVANANTHPURAM: Technopark headquartered Accentia Technologies made a giant stride into the IT and education sector by launching four new innovative products under the its education banner.

The products are iNotePad, iNoteBook, Safecomm and iSchoolPad.

The iNotePad is an Android Jellybean tablet that would perfectly meet the needs of today's digital home, office and person.

Priced at Rs.7,800, the iNoteBook is the most innovative and affordable laptop for e-education. It runs on the Android operating system and has 8-10 hours battery backup, ideal for education purposes.

Safecomm is basically a communication device akin to a mobile phone which will have only four buttons and no screen. It does not have a dialler but four pre-set buttons and works on the GPS system.

The iSchoolpad is aimed at doing away with the heavy school bags that children are forced to carry these days as it brings in school textbooks, notebooks, provisions for a dynamic timetable, videos, images and bookmarks on to a tablet device.

According to Pradeep Viswambharan, CEO, Accentia Technologies, the focus on quality, passion for technology, and long-term relationship with the customers would make the iNotePad distinctive.

"Customers will be able to access games, music, videos, photos and books. The unique multi-touch display instrument has been designed to fit snugly in your hands like a folded magazine," said Viswambharan.

The company has presented the new devices to the union government and is currently under discussions on whether to adopt it.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/education/Accentia-Education-launches-tablet-laptop-for-students/articleshow/17583037.cms

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e-District Programme Expanded in India

The state of Kerala in India is gearing up for an ambitious expansion of the e-district programme, a national project launched to digitise high volume citizen services and automate workflow and internal processes of district administration in India.

The pilot roll-out of the programme covered 34 districts across India, two of which are in Kerala. Successful implementation in these two districts has encouraged the government to expand the programme to cover the entire state.

The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (KSITM), Kerala’s autonomous IT implementation agency, has formed e-governance committees in all 14 districts in the state to prepare for the expansion. According to Indian daily The Hindu, the expansion will be split into three phases, each including four districts.

The e-district programme currently enables citizens to apply online for 23 certificates issued by the Revenue Department. These include critical documents such as certificates of Birth, Death, Marriage, Income, Residence, etc. More than one million digital certificates have been issued in the two pilot districts in less than two years since the launch of the project.

As part of the expansion, nine government departments will e-enable 43 citizen-centric services through the e-district portal.

The state has also created the Akshaya project to bridge the digital divide between the rural and urban areas of Kerala. Under this project, ICT dissemination and service delivery e-centres have been set up to address the issues of ICT access and digital skills by providing computer education to at least one member in every family and enabling internet access even in rural areas. The centres have already been set up in eight districts, and the remaining six districts will be included in the third stage of the project

http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2012/dec/11/e-district-programme-expanded-india/

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Online Education the New Trend in India

Bangalore: In India education is given the prime status, it is welcomed from all sources, even at the click of a button. Online education is catering to many students across the country since it has become available. It has seen a huge rise in the number of users over the years and the users are not just limited to the major cities. In the smaller cities it has seen an exceptional growth, as informed by the online education providers. The number of students logging in has increased by two and a half times in the past one year, reported Isha Jain for TNN.

As per the statistics shared by online education portal ‘meritnation.com' about 90,000 users register on the education site each month, across the country. U.P. alone shows a number of 6000 to 7000 students approximately opting to study online each month. It’s been observed that Delhi accounts for the maximum number of registrations in the country with 20 percent of total online traffic on the website. Maharashtra is the second highest state with 11 to 12 percent users, followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Each of these three state show 8 to 9 percent of users using e-learning websites.

Among the courses offered online science and mathematics are the most preferred subjects by the students, followed by English. The least opted subject by the students is Humanities. Relatively, commerce gets sufficient number of students online. Pawan Chauhan from meritnation.com while speaking about the rising trend of online education in smaller cities said, “A bigger number of students from higher classes log on to the website but a recent trend has shown that there is a high demand from parents of children studying in classes I-V for online education. This is primarily because online content is more attractive,” as reported by TNN. He informed that meritnation.com has a total of 37 lakhs users so far and shows about 1 lakh new entries each month.

Edukart, another online portal, has attracted about 10,000 users from small towns in India over the past one year. Ishan Gupta, Edukart spokesperson said, “In the recent years, we have seen small towns expressing need for assessment modules and animation videos to understand concepts in various subject. Hence, they see online education supplementing the formal one.”

As online education simplifies learning and largely provides assistance to the ‘law of averages’ it appeals both to students and parents alike. Srishti, a class IX student of Delhi Public School said, “It customizes learning solutions, self-explanatory videos and other fun exercises enabling students to understand subjects like mathematics and science interestingly compared to conventional education,” as reported by TNN.The advantage of online courses is that the course material also provides model tests, live test series, revision notes, formative assessment, aptitude and interest tests, which also enhances the learning and concentration power of students.

Amrita Dass, a career counselor said “Through online learning, a student can access the best teachers and tutors who are experts in their subjects. Students get the required inputs, guidance conveniently. E-learning also saves time and money spent on taking tuitions. Most important, learning in 3D, colours, visuals, diagrams enhance learning,'' as per TNN.

The report released by Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology shows that there has been an increase in the sale of personal computers over the years. It has recorded a 16 percent hike in computer sale from 2011 to 2012. The high number of sale of personal computers also add to the fact that there are more number of students getting access to online learning adding to its increasing growth. The technological age, has set the trend for many to adapt to it. With its unlimited resources it has made education reach to the many who don’t have direct access but have found a way to connect and learn based on their level of curiosity quotient.

http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=121112082141

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India, Korea Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Education

A delegation led by Dr. Lee Ju-ho, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Republic of Korea met Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, IN New Delhi today.

Both leaders appreciated the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in the field of education and discussed the need to have more arrangements for cooperation in the field of education and research. Both sides appreciated the existing collaborations between the Universities from both the countries and highlighted the need for more collaborations in the areas of scientific research as well as research in social sciences and humanities.

A Memorandum of Understanding on Educational Cooperation between the two countries was also signed during the meeting. Both the countries agreed to cooperate in education in different fields through Exchange of scholars, teachers, researchers ; organization of training programmes for teaching professionals; facilitating mutual recognition of educational qualifications; exchange of academic scholarships for higher education; organization of seminars; promotion of languages of both the countries and application of Information Technology and open educational education resources.

It was also agreed to form a Joint Working Group (JWG) to monitor the implementation of the programmes envisaged in the MoU.

http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=17945

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Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business Introduces New Online Format for its MBA Curriculum

The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University will offer its world-class MBA in a new blend of online and onsite formats beginning in the fall of 2013. The FlexMBA program creates a new model for online business education, combining in-person sessions, online classes and self-paced learning to deliver the same coursework, faculty, team interaction, personal leadership coaching and career services found in the school’s highly-acclaimed full- and part-time MBA programs.

In contrast to current trends that are building increasingly larger online classes, the FlexMBA approach delivers the MBA program to focused sections of 20-30 students, who will interact frequently with faculty, alumni, school resources, and each other online and in person.

“The new FlexMBA model draws on our school’s experience earned over nearly two decades of successful graduate-level distance-learning programs and combines that knowledge with our expertise in traditional full- and part-time MBA education,” said Michael Trick, senior associate dean for education at the Tepper School. “Maintaining quality and consistency across all our MBA delivery platforms is paramount. The flexibility of the FlexMBA format makes it convenient for students anywhere in North America to access our curriculum and faculty.”

The 32-month FlexMBA curriculum will be delivered via an innovative combination of onsite and online channels. Students will complete two courses each seven-week mini semester, which will begin and end during “Access Weekends,” repeating three-day events that bring the students and faculty in a course together in a single location roughly every seven weeks. The rest of the course will be delivered via weekly interactive live-video classes, supported by a variety of online self-paced learning activities during the week.

“By utilizing diversified channels, we will offer the flexibility of online education while maintaining the high-quality interaction of the MBA student experience found in our traditional programs,” Trick said. “‘Access Weekends’ will be an important channel to provide students with direct interaction with faculty, alumni, personal leadership coaches, career services and each other. Rotating the location of these weekends to different geographic areas also allows us to involve different alumni and industries and to further create a unique and valuable student experience.”

Access weekends will offer an action-packed three full days of lectures, testing, group development and presentations, career services, and access to alumni and corporate programs from within the region. The weekly online class for each course will provide the opportunity for students to interact with the faculty to clarify and strengthen their command of the weekly material and apply it to relevant business situations through case discussions.

“Going forward, we plan to maintain an adaptive open architecture for the delivery technologies that the program uses, so that we can take advantage of new online technologies as they are developed,” Trick said. “The integration of new technologies and channels to offer this flexibility in delivering our MBA, while maintaining a high level of interactivity is a credit to a committee of thoughtful faculty members with input from all facets of our school community.” 

Admission requirements for the FlexMBA program remain the same as for the Tepper School’s full- and part-time MBA programs. The Tepper School is now accepting applications for the new Flex MBA program.

http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/showEE.asp?newsid=17859

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Government not considering PPP model for certification of skill development courses by global major

The  Ministry of Labour & Employment has formulated National Policy on Skill Development which was approved by the Union Cabinet on 23rd February, 2009. The policy is a guiding document for implementation of various skill development programmes of the country.

Presently, Government is not considering a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for certification of skill development courses by global major and top Indian Companies. However, Sector Skills Councils are being setup which will may play an important role in development of National Occupational Standards, Training Standards, Certification etc.

“National Skill Development Mission” encompasses the efforts of several line Ministries of Central Government, State Governments and the activities in the private sector guided by National Policy on Skill Development and supported by the following three institutions:

(i)The Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister, to review the spectrum of skill development efforts for policy direction;

 (ii) “National Skill Development Coordination  Board” under the chairmanship of Hon’ble  Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission to enumerate strategies to implement the decisions of PM’s council; and

(iii) “National Skill Development Corporation” (NSDC), a non-profit company under the Companies Act, 1956, of which 49% of equity base  is contributed by the Central Government while 51% by the private sector.

The Corporation is expected to meet the skill training requirements of the labour market including that of unorganized sector.

National Policy on Skill Development (NPSD),has set a target for skilling 500 million persons by the year 2022.  The detailed road map for achieving the above target by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and different Ministries/Departments is at Annex-I.

Government is not considering relaxation of formal education norms for people to get into ITI institutions and other skill development courses. However, a new scheme,  titled Skill Development Initiative through Modular Employable Skill (MES) courses has been launched under which short term modular  courses are offered through institutions including schools and public/private training institutions/NGOs, etc. Under the scheme, there is a provision for testing and certification of skills acquired by a person with educational qualification upto fifth class, after assessment by independent assessing bodies.

The Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shri  K. Suresh gave this information in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha today .

http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=17830

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