Education loans: Banks to rate institutes

To tide over their bad loans and structure their loan products in a better way, banks will now rate B-schools and other educational institutions. In a recent meeting between banks and over 150 education institutes, it was decided that Indian Banks Association will come up with a rating model for institutes. This would be done under the aegis of Pritam Singh, director, International Management Institute, New Delhi.

“Now, bankers are going to be liberal in providing education loan. When you provide loan, recovery is equally important. We will use criteria like placements, academic standards, intellectual capital and connection with the industry, etc to rate the institutions,” said Pritam Singh.

The process may take about six months. After the meeting with education institutes, IBA, in a note, said, “Ideally, a system of rating of educational institutions based on placement records of students should help banks to structure their loan products better. A good placement history with higher salary offer for poor students would make the loan less riskier and would enable banks to offer better security terms and lower interest rates.”

Banks say they can refine the assessment process by combining college rating with the rank obtained by the student in the qualifying exam. Banks can also rate students year to year and fix interest rates linked to the rating. “Lenders are insisting on ratings to ensure that they (institutes) are not fly by night operators, and have adequate infrastructure and the quality of education is such that it makes student employable,” said IBA senior advisor Sangeet Shukla.

Banks also want to track students who take loans after they pass out. Authorities in colleges, said IBA, are willing to associate with banks to take full advantage of the offer. There is also a need for a legislation making it mandatory for employers to deduct loan installments and remit to banks periodically.

Banks are worried about the rise in loan default rate. The educational loans began to grow substantially from 2004-05. Many of them will come up for maturity in the next two financial years. There could be an increase in delinquency as many students either remain unemployed or earnings are inadequate to repay loans.

After realising the adverse impact loan defaults will have on the already stressed banks’ balance sheets, the government has announced the formation of education loan credit guarantee fund. The details are being worked out, said another IBA official.

Educational loans have grown by 13.4 per cent in 12 months to Rs 49,500 crore in January 2012. The pace has moderated from 20.9 per cent in previous 12 months.

At present, an education loan of up to Rs 10,00,000 is considered for studies in India and Rs 20,00,000 for abroad. A recent report by M V Nair Committee for Priority Sector Lending has revised the ceiling for priority sector status to Rs 15,00,000 and Rs 25,00,000 respectively.

The IBA and education institutions also discussed the issue of whether to charge differential rates on education loan. There could also be flexibility in terms of repayment. “Considering that sometimes the student borrower does not get a placement with salaries comparable with others in the batch and he may find difficult to service the loan during the early part of his career, it was suggested that flexibility may be brought into the scheme by fixing progressively stepped up installments,” said a member who was part of the meeting with IBA.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/education-loans-banks-to-rate-institutes/468562/

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McGraw-Hill to announce global education CEO in 2-3 weeks

McGraw-Hill Companies Inc (MHP.N), the New York-based parent of credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, will appoint a new CEO for its global education business within a month, its chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We have a name and it's an exciting name. My guess is that probably in the next 2-3 weeks," Terry McGraw, a great-grandson of the founder said.

The company, which will split into McGraw-Hill Financial and McGraw-Hill Education, has been on the lookout for a CEO to run its education business ever since the announcement. Terry McGraw heads the financial business.

McGraw-Hill has a presence in India through Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, CRISIL, McGraw-Hill Education, J.D. Power Associates and Platts, among others.

The company expects digital learning content to grow at a higher double-digit rate in India and drive the growth of its education business here, Mcgraw said.

McGraw-Hill plans to push for learning programmes related to vocational training online and is working on making more learning material and textbooks available across various digital platforms.

"The growth outlook is really quite healthy for the education business and we expect that to continue," McGraw said.

Globally, however, the education segment has been under stress but has recently seen a better performance in higher education help offset low spending for elementary and high school textbooks.

The company is also looking to strike joint ventures with Indian companies to impart skills learning in India, McGraw said.

In China, it has a joint venture New Oriental to provide skills training.

McGraw also said the environment for its global ratings business had started showing signs of improvement.

"The debt crisis isn't over... From the credit ratings standpoint, we look at pipelines and the pipelines are filling up," Terry McGraw told Reuters.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/21/mcgraw-hill-india-idINDEE82K0BR20120321

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Govt. has taken steps to increase literacy, ramp up higher education: PM

New Delhi, Mar 21 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday said the government has taken a number of steps to increase literacy, ramp up higher education particularly in science and engineering, impart skills to young citizens and develop vocational education.


Speaking at the Centenary celebrations of the Oxford University Press India here, Dr. Singh said: "India has a large number of young people hungry for education, skills and training and this number is growing in leaps and bounds. It is a challenge as well as an opportunity for us to equip them with the skills they need to find productive, gainful employment and a means to a better future."


Stating that India can fuel the engines of growth of the global knowledge economy, Dr. Singh said: "If we can achieve what we have set out to do, then we can create a huge asset pool in this new knowledge based world."


"But for this the world has to remain open to the flow of such talent and skills. It is for this reason that India seeks a multilateral rule-based regime for the movement of not just intellectual property but also knowledge embodied in natural persons," he added.


Dr. Singh said the present challenge is to widen the population of readers, not just the market for books.


"I see a great hunger for knowledge in our country. We need to provide our people, particularly our youth, access to quality books. While publishing houses may worry more about the number of books sold, we in government must focus on number of books read!" he said.


The Prime Minister said the government recently commissioned a National Mission for Libraries, anchored in the Ministry of Culture, with this objective in mind


"The Mission will focus on improvement of the public library system of the country particularly concentrating on the States where library development is lagging behind. The National Mission hopes to cover approximately 9,000 libraries in three years," said Dr. Singh.


"It will conduct a national census on libraries, work towards upgradation of infrastructure of reading resources, and seek to modernize and promote the networking of libraries," he added.


Dr. Singh also urged the respective state governments and every municipality and panchayat to pay special attention to the setting up and maintenance of public libraries, including community, locality and village libraries.


"The mission that I have been talking about cannot succeed through governmental effort alone. We have to rope in resources available in the community, private sector and non-governmental organizations," said Dr. Singh.


"Affordable modern information technology can be deployed today to extend the resources of our libraries. A young reader sitting in his village public library should be able to access books and information from across the world," he added.


The Prime Minister said the world has come to recognise that India with its youthful population and skilled manpower has the capability to bridge the human resources gap in the global knowledge economy


"For decades, development economists would say that India's population is its curse. Today, as many developed economies grapple with the challenge of ageing, the world has come to recognise that India with its youthful population and skilled manpower has the capability to bridge the human resources gap in the global knowledge economy," he said.


Commending the work done by Oxford University Press India in spreading the light of knowledge in the country, Dr. Singh said: "I wish to take note of two particular initiatives. The first is the effort of the Press in publishing bilingual dictionaries in Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Marathi and many others. The other is OUP's translations programme, through which a 100 titles, including a number of anthologies of Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam Dalit and Tamil Dalit writing, have been published."


"I conclude by conveying my very best wishes to the Oxford University Press India and hoping that they will continue to provide leadership to the publishing industry in the country for many, many years to come," he added. (ANI)

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/03/21/276965-Govt-has-taken-steps-to-increase-literacy-ramp-up-higher-education-PM.html

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Despite RTE, 70% kids not getting proper education: Expert

VARANASI: "India needs to address five core problems if it wants to become a developed and modern nation. The five key problems hurting the nation are education, water, energy, corruption and governance. India also has the world's richest natural and historical resources that need to be preserved for the development of the country," said Padma Bhushan awardee and noted scientist P M Bhargava in a press conference at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Wednesday.

Bhargava was invited for a special lecture on 'art and science' by the varsity as a part of special series of lectures to mark the 150{+t}{+h} birth anniversary celebrations of Pt Madan Mohan Malviya, founder of BHU on Wednesday. The noted scientist and founder director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, laid stress on de-commercialisation of education.

"It hurts when we come to learn that not a single provision of Right to Education (RTE) Act has been implemented after nearly two years of its enactment in the country. We need to follow common school system where rich and poor get education under the same roof without any discrimination. We need to extend the reach of central school system (Kendriya Vidyalays) to cater to the needs of students," he added on the occasion. He said that though the literacy rate in the country is increasing, nearly 70% of school-age children are still not getting proper education.

"How can we expect to improve and change the higher education scenario when the primary education that provides the base and foundation is not given attention? There is a need to bolster spending in education to nearly 6% of GDP and we can come up with nearly five lakh government-run high schools on the lines of central schools. We also need to develop and upgrade technology keeping in mind the needs and requirements of our people so that the benefits of technology could reach the community," he added.

Sharing some nostalgic moments and his Varanasi connection with the journalists, Bhargava said that he was one of the fortunate students to get direct admission in class IX when he was merely 10 years old. "I passed the tests in English and maths under the university's board system (BHU board) and got direct admission in class IX at Besant Theosophical School (BTS) in 1939. My early education was done at home and my father, who was a doctor in UP government service, was posted at different places in east UP region including Azamgarh and Ballia. I spent many years in the city during my stay at Kamachcha and later shifted to Sigra in 1941. I was also fortunate to meet Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Madan Mohan Malviya and Shiv Prasad Gupt during my stay in the city," he told.

Peeved at the rising pollution in Ganga, the noted scientist said that the department of environment, which was set up as a separate department, had come up with a concrete plan to curb pollution in Ganga two decades ago. It had stalled nearly 600 projects including construction of dams to maintain the natural flow of the river, but unfortunately, the department was merged with department of forests and the proposals were never implemented. He also added that country needs to come out of the patent system which restricts the spread of knowledge. "I think the country made a blunder by signing TRIPS agreement and joining WTO, as it reduced the chances of attaining self-sufficiency in science and technology," he added. Bhargava and BHU vice-chancellor Lalji Singh also released the special issue of Pragya after the press conference.

Later, speaking as the chief guest of valedictory function of 60th guidance course of UGC Academic Staff College in the varsity, Bhargava emphasised the logical use of knowledge. A total of 43 participants from various colleges and universities in the country had participated in the 28-day guidance course that concluded on Wednesday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Despite-RTE-70-kids-not-getting-proper-education-Expert/articleshow/12359187.cms

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India’s education system belongs to the industrial age

Rote-learning worked when employability hinged on fitting into a task-based role. Today, such work is outsourced to machines and we are expected to deliver in terms of ideas

With increasing frequency, both in private life and in political discourse in the country, people have begun to wonder: What were our policy-makers thinking? What thought processes, what information and what decision models were used to arrive at a particular decision? The accusation is that of an intellectual vacuum in decision making. This leads to two questions: Who is responsible for this? How can this be filled?

The answer to the first is clear. We have failed to educate our students to become good decision makers. The purpose of education is to enable individuals to decide between the choices they create for themselves and society. And to then have the courage to stand by their decisions. The training for babugiri suited the industrial age, when employability depended on being able to slot into a task based role and repeat it reliably. Today, such functions are often outsourced to machines — and humans are expected to deliver more in terms of ideas, solutions and leadership.

This clearly cannot be done using our traditional views on education. Rote learning, leading to achievement in examinations with set patterns is clearly not learning. Assessments do have a role to play in the learning process, but it is a limited role. Assessment systems are about proof, and by definition can only test for memory, skills or aptitude. There is no test in the world that can declare a student ‘learned’ or ‘educated’. They can also indicate that the candidate has acquired a certain degree of proficiency in managing the test. In a way, the only learning here is the ability to recognise patterns in the assessment system and to adapt work processes to that pattern. Our schools and colleges have been allowed to degenerate to become such assessment machines. We go to school not to learn, but to pass exams and purchase entry into the next rung on the ladder.

To answer the second question, in educating our next generation we need to give them experience of skills that will help them generate value. They need to be able to identify opportunities, recognise problems, seek options, find resources, share responsibilities and design outcomes. It is the task of educationists to design curricula and standards to meet these needs. But, may be it is too much to ask of those who have only been trained to replicate the learning of the past. Learning today is about creating new futures based on enterprise, opportunity and innovation.

Nothing in our current school or higher education systems reflects these needs. We do not even deliver on basic employable skills required by current industries, let alone encourage our students to think for themselves and explore the world around them. If anything is included in the syllabus, it is memorised, regurgitated and forgotten — unlikely to be useful in the future, since application of the knowledge was rarely part of the assigned task.

Current education policies deliver neither quality nor relevance to its key constituency — the students. The attempt at creating a mass of literate and numerate citizens falls at the altar of poor design and thus poor implementation. The Right to Education Act, however well intentioned, may never deliver its lofty goals as it is impeded by its own loopholes and shortsightedness — thus almost an example of the intellectual vacuum we bemoan.

The  Five Year Plans are supposed to focus on education — throwing investments at creating infrastructure for ‘massification’ with scant regard for the quality of education. As the rise in education spend is tempered, the dialogue moves towards quality — with little concrete by way of an over arching view of what quality means. A number of patchy attempts, including sector skills councils, accreditation systems etc. have been mooted — but they too find little to anchor them to the nation’s education policy framework.

We seek to increase participation in higher education, targeting a Gross Enrollment Ratio of 25 per cent, having reportedly increased it dramatically to 17 per cent this year. But what are we expecting students to gain from superficial engagement with poor quality content delivered by those whose reputations do not even make a mark in the world’s rankings? The reputation of our universities, based on research and teaching and assessed by peer reviews is dismal. We do not figure anywhere in the top 100, according to the Times Higher Education Reputation rankings released a few days ago. The Indian Institute of Science, which was the lone representative of the nation was edged out by competition this year. With our institutions slipping, many having been damaged for years, where do we find this intellectual capital to fill the vacuum?

It is said, that when Pandora’s box was opened, and chaos reigned — all that was left at the bottom of the box was hope.Our hope, though it still languishes unsupported at the margins, is through multiple private efforts to create innovative learning models that foster learning beyond fear.

The writer is an education strategy consultant who has lived, worked and taught in London for over a decade. She is now based in New Delhi.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/51284-india%E2%80%99s-education-system-belongs-to-the-industrial-age.html

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Students get only 6% of education funds: Survey

NEW DELHI: It's no surprise that just about half the country's standard V children can read a standard II textbook, and far fewer can do basic arithmetic. India's budget for elementary education has doubled between 2009 and 2012, and yet learning abilities continue to stagnate. A new survey has found that despite a hike in funds, 78% of the education budget was invested in teachers and management costs, with students receiving a mere 6% of the total investment. Particularly popular was whitewashing of walls and expenditure on school events.

Between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012, India's elementary education increased from Rs 26,169 crore to Rs 55,746 crore (including state and Central share). Across India per child allocation has increased from Rs 2,004 in 2009-2010 to Rs 4,269 in 2011-2012. However, most of this money was used to build school-level inputs through a large education bureaucracy - controlled and managed by both state and central government - according to PAISA report by Pratham and Accountability Initiative.

Between April, 2010 and November, 2011, schools spent their money on essential supplies, 68% schools whitewashed their walls, 69% spent on school functions, 89% purchased charts, globe and registers. Pointing out this disparity in increased outlays that have not led to improved outcomes, Accountability Initiative director Yamini Aiyar said, "PAISA did not find any co-relation between expenditure on teachers and children's learning levels. In fact, increased outlays does not mean an improvement in outcomes and we found that teacher training and investments on children were under-prioritized in favour of school infrastructure and teacher's costs."

The study was conducted in 14,283 schools in seven states across rural India. Of the SSA budget, school grants account for a mere 5% of the allocation. Though small, these are the only funds over which school management panels can exercise some expenditure control.

The report has expressed concern over the "top-heavy" approach in disbursal of grants under SSA pointing out that schools did not receive according to their requirements. It was also found that while in theory it is not important but in practice release of funds was linked to a utilization certificate given for earlier expenditures. "We find that whitewashing is so popular because it is a job that is quick and easy and requires very little effort on the part of the school," Aiyar added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Students-get-only-6-of-education-funds-Survey/articleshow/12361365.cms

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Hundreds Of Poor Children In India Benefit From The Free Educational Programs Offered By Tarang

Mumbai, Maharashtra – India is in great need of the services of non governmental organization and there are many sectors in India that depend a lot on the work of non profit organizations. The educational industry in particular needs a lot of assistance to improve the literacy rate of the country. Many statistics report that one of the reasons for the highest rate of poverty in India is poor literacy rate. Tarang is a full fledged non-profit organization which offers social service in India concentrates on the education sector. The India NGO offers free education in India in particular concentrating on the slums of Mumbai. There are already many educational institutions working in India and several organizations focus on Mumbai because of the immense need in the city.

Tarang in particular has been working on the single goal of alleviating poverty in Mumbai by offering the best quality educational programs to the slum children of Mumbai though the educational programs offered are totally free. The India NGO regularly launches new educational programs based on the needs of the society. This highly discerning educational NGO has in fact done well to spot the needs of the society and has already launched four streams of educational programs and all the programs benefit the poor greatly.

One of the most popular among the four educational streams launched by the company is Project Daaitwa. The program focuses on helping children that are unable to attend school during the day time because of the family situation whereby the child is one of the bread winners of the family. Another useful program from the NGO is Project Lakshya or weekend school. Number of slum children are benefiting from Project Lakshya learning mathematics and computers. Other two educational programs offered by the company include Project Shiksha and Project Aadhar. Project Shiksha supports a school in Faridabad, India to offer free education for over 250 children.

Project Shiksha also offers accommodation for over 30 orphan children. Project Aadhar tries to empower youth by offering youngsters quality education. The list of noble works done by the India NGO continues and the challenge however is sourcing funds to manage all the programs. It is one thing to have noble ideas and it is totally another to have the ideas executed. Execution of welfare ideas require a considerable amount of money and Tarang gladly welcomes donations from the well wishers and from people that like to make a difference in the society. Many people are already supporting the projects of Tarang but that is not enough to sustain the programs and to make them successful. There are many people that like to make a difference in the society but don’t have time to engage in full fledged social service, such people will certainly be able to achieve the noble goals by joining hands with Tarang.

http://www.prurgent.com/2012-03-20/pressrelease231576.htm

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Education Startup Edutor Gets Seed Funding From Hyderabad Angels

Hyderabad-based education services startup Edutor Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd has raised Rs 2 crore ($0.38 million) in seed funding from Hyderabad Angels. Sashi Reddi, serial entrepreneur and founder of SRI Capital led the investment by infusing Rs 1 crore.

Founded in 2009 by Ram Gollamudi, Edutor develops interactive learning platforms for K-12 students. Last year, it had launched a touchscreen device (roughly the size of a smartphone) that came pre-loaded with content aligned to school curriculum. The content can be upgraded as a student moves up.

According to Gollamudi, the funding will be used for product development and marketing the same in different cities. The company currently caters to Hyderabad and adjoining areas, and has tied up with 20-25 schools located in Hyderabad and Bangalore. It has a subscription-based revenue model and offers yearly packages for schools.

“We mainly focus on 6th-12th grade curricula and currently have 70,000-80,000 units of content covering this space. But we plan to add more content every day as content creation happens to be an ongoing process. We mostly provide Tablet-compatible learning platforms and will continue to do so,” said Gollamudi.

The company might require another round of funding after a year and a half and would aim to scale up its revenue from Rs 2 crore to 10 crore in the coming year, added Gollamudi.

http://techcircle.vccircle.com/500/education-startup-edutor-gets-seed-funding-from-hyderabad-angels/

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Education quality down on poor funds utilization

Poor utilization of funds and irregular disbursals have been cited as the reasons for India’s school education system failing to show desired improvement even as the government has more than doubled funds for education programmes in the past two years.

The government has spent just 70% of the funds allocated for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (education for all) and Right to Education in 2010-11 compared with 78% in the year earlier, according to the Planning, Allocations and Expenditures, Institutions: Studies in Accountability report, prepared by the Accountability Initiative, a wing of Centre for Policy Research.

The report, which surveyed 14,283 schools in rural India, found that flow of funds had slowed in the first half of 2010-11. “The timing of the grant receipts has worsened. By November 2009, 59% of schools reported receiving grants. In 2011, grants receipt by November dropped to 53%.”

In the national budget for the year starting 1 April, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee increased the allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Right to Education by 21.7% to Rs.25,555 crore. The government is increasing spending on education to help prepare the youth to join the workforce and contribute to the economic growth of Asia’s third biggest economy.

Funds, including allocations by states, for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has more than doubled between 2009-10 and 2011-12. The allocation increased from Rs.26,169 crore to Rs.55,746 crore, according to the Accountability Initiative report.

Studies have indicated that the quality of India’s school education is declining and such a trend can affect the long-term competitiveness of an economy that aims to become the knowledge hub of the world.

“An increased financial allocation does not necessarily mean better quality of education,” said Yamini Aiyar, director of Accountability Initiatives. “We did not find this in our survey. The utilization of resources is a huge concern.”

Only 84% of the schools received maintenance grants in 2010-11 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan compared with 85% a year earlier, the study said. Similarly, development grants reached just 77% of the schools during the same period, a drop of six percentage points from the previous year.

Meanwhile, the human resources development (HRD) ministry held a meeting on Tuesday to assess the outcome of the implementation of the right to education in the past 18 months.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal said the impact of the spending will be visible in five years. “The success of the Right to Education can be achieved through partnership between the Centre and state governments, civil society, parents and teachers,” a ministry statement said, citing Sibal. “He also underlined the need for curriculum and text books reform as it is seen that books are not always age appropriate.”

Enrolment at elementary level has increased to 192.8 million in 2010-11 from 179 million in 2006-07, according to the ministry. The total number of teachers in government schools have increased to 4.19 million in 2010-11 from 3.6 million in 2006-07, improving the teacher-student ratio, it said. Following the implementation of the right to education, there has been a “substantial increase in the availability of basic facilities in schools, including increase in percentage of schools having drinking water facility (92.6%) in 2010-11, according to HRD ministry. Separate toilets for girl students are now available in 57% of schools, the ministry said.

The Accountability Initiative report said there was some improvement in school infrastructure but 47% of schools still have fewer classrooms than required.

On the issue of the poor management of funds allocated for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Right to Education programmes, a ministry official said that “they are aware of the situation and talking to states to iron out the issues”. The official, who declined to be named, said fiscal prudence is one of their key focus now and in coming years one can “see the difference.”

http://www.livemint.com/2012/03/20215832/Education-quality-down-onpoor.html?atype=tp

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Shiv Nadar University announced partnership with Babson College of US

New Delhi: The Shiv Nadar University today announced a partnership with Babson College, the world's no. 1 business school for entrepreneurship to offer global leading programs in Entrepreneurship Education to India. Babson's MBA program has been ranked no.1 for entrepreneurship for 19 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. Notable entrepreneurs from Babson include the likes of Roger Enrico, former Chairman, PepsiCo; William D. Green, CEO, Accenture. 

Shiv Nadar University will offer three distinct entrepreneurship-focused management programs as part of its offerings from the School of Business. These include:

·         Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) - 4 year program with the option to study one or two semesters at Babson College

·         Masters of Business Administration (MBA) – 2 year program with the option to study a semester at Babson College

·         MS in Entrepreneurship - 1 year program with first semester at Babson College

All programs will commence in 2013. Students completing the programs successfully will obtain a degree issued by Shiv Nadar University and a certificate from Babson College.


The partnership will also pave the way for the creation of the Center of Entrepreneurship at SNU. The Centre for Entrepreneurship will serve as a centre of excellence for entrepreneurship in India in entrepreneurship research, incubation programs, outreach programs and case studies.

Announcing the partnership, Nikhil Sinha, Founding Vice Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University said, "India's distinct entrepreneurial nature is reflected in its family-run businesses and the new first generation enterprises. While individuals and business families in India have displayed sharp business acumen and have established global recognition, there is a need for structured and formal intervention through education to nurture and promote leadership in entrepreneurship. The collaboration would leverage Babson's expertise in entrepreneurship education to develop India-focused leading entrepreneurial education and help take Indian enterprises to even greater heights."

Len A. Schlesinger, President, Babson College said, "The world needs entrepreneurs and visionaries who pursue both economic and social value-who create not only wealth, but also a wealth of opportunities for others. At Babson College and Shiv Nadar University, we understand that thinking and acting entrepreneurially is more than just an inclination. We believe that entrepreneurship can be taught and how it is taught can make all the difference in the way businesses can be a success."

The partnership also paves the way for the Shiv Nadar Foundation's membership to the Global Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education (GCEE) of which Babson College is the founding member. The GCEE is a dedicated body to shape and advance the future of entrepreneurial education and create a global community from different geographies dedicated to shaping and advancing the future of entrepreneurial education in the future.

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Rapid Adoption of Microsoft Dynamics Continues Across U.S. Government, Education and Health Organizations

HOUSTON, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At Convergence 2012 today Microsoft Corp. announced 11 new Microsoft Dynamics customers from across the government, education and healthcare markets. These customers, including the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, join more than 1,000 public-sector organizations across every state in the U.S. that have adopted Microsoft Dynamics ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM to drive transformative cost savings and efficiencies.

"Government, education and healthcare organizations are facing increasing constituent demand for services in the face of harsh budget realities," said Amir Capriles, senior director, Dynamics U.S. Public Sector at Microsoft. "Given these common challenges, our public-sector customers are turning to Microsoft Dynamics offerings to maximize resources and make more effective use of mission-critical data."

Microsoft Dynamics capabilities serve a range of needs unique to the government, education and healthcare industries, from finance and human resources applications to information management tools designed to help streamline social services delivery, grants management, student recruitment, telemedicine and many other public-sector missions. The Microsoft Dynamics platform also allows organizations to realize these benefits using familiar, easy-to-use tools, equipped with interoperable collaboration assets that improve communications with colleagues, students, customers and constituents.

The following public-sector organizations have recently implemented Microsoft Dynamics solutions for cost and efficiency benefits:

Government and Healthcare

•     Orange County Sheriff's Department. Focusing on the proactive career development of their sworn officers, the Orange County Sheriff's Department in California has secured Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to develop a commendations and complaints tracking solution. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is enabling sheriff personnel to effectively capture and respond to both commendations and complaints received as part of the Personnel history Index initiative within the department.
•     Riverside County Economic Development Agency. In an effort to reduce ongoing system maintenance costs, the agency is leveraging Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to deliver a facilities management solution. The solution will manage all county buildings and will enable county employees to submit service request tickets that will be routed to the appropriate technicians based on service areas and skillsets to help ensure that requests are handled properly and according to county standards.
•     Sound Transit. Created to provide safe and reliable bus and train service in the Puget Sound area, Sound Transit selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to manage its customer service, community outreach and communications activities. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online enables Sound Transit to leverage existing cloud investments and will effectively track information about customers and projects to help ensure all members of the organization are informed about customer interactions.
•     Bureau of Indian Affairs. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, social workers at the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be able to deliver programs more effectively than before in some of the most isolated and economically depressed areas of the United States. The impact goes far beyond business efficiency to deliver an enhanced welfare and benefits program experience.
•     USCIS. Microsoft Dynamics CRM was selected as the platform to modernize USCIS due to its flexibility and rapid time-to-value, which is critical to the success of the USCIS's immigration verification program. The overall USCIS strategy leverages information, talent, process and technology to understand, better serve and manage the verification program's constituents. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a critical component to making the program successful.
•     California Department of Financial Institutions. By deploying a cloud-based solution running on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the California Department of Financial Institutions can now provide greater focus on serving the constituents in California with its public records tracker. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, many processes have been streamlined and the department has become a much more productive organization than before. Staff members are very confident that they are able to complete their work more efficiently.
•     Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). The IDOC leverages Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an enterprise offender management solution to provide a comprehensive, cost-effective set of tools and technologies to help improve coordination and management of information and services within the department. The solution is built on existing investments and provides a connected, scalable platform to combine data from multiple sources and create an electronic master file to provide a single, departmentwide view of inmates.
•     Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The county has implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM and configured the solution to meet the needs of vehicle inspection, nurse workload and communicable disease tracking, as well as the labeling of prescriptions. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM it now takes nurses only two days to learn the system versus the six months that it used to take. The result has sharply increased productivity and the county's ability to rapidly deliver care. With the built-in audit trails in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the department can capture a record of every instance someone looks at or changes a patient case record, which helps the county easily comply with HIPAA.
•     New York State Office For People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). OPWDD's new case management solution, built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM and in partnership with Mid-America Consulting Group, allows people with disabilities and their families to be more proactive in their service decisions by creating an electronic record for private and public-sector agencies to share case-specific information in real time. The ability to link directly into legacy systems and leverage existing platforms is significant in integrating information from both old and new systems. In addition to the ability to support better decisions about services that people need, the solution improves business practices with enhanced audit and accounting abilities. The solution is a critical component in transforming the way the department conducts business.

Education

•     LSU AgCenter. The LSU AgCenter, tasked with providing citizens with research-based educational information on agriculture, wanted an easier and more efficient way to report on business practices and help demonstrate compliance with government requirements. In addition, the university needed a lower-cost, less burdensome solution to assess the effectiveness of its outreach programs. To address this challenge, the LSU AgCenter deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM and tailored the solution to the needs of its outreach programs. Now, with one system in place, the LSU AgCenter has eased government reporting, providing reports on an as-needed basis; improved business insight; and eased its development and IT support requirements.
•     National Heritage Academies. National Heritage Academies is making significant progress in helping children fulfill their promise and potential. At the foundation of that progress is Microsoft Dynamics CRM. National Heritage Academies is now better able to foster more meaningful, substantive conversations around ways to enhance student learning experiences. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the organization is using data to track teacher activities and performance, resulting in analyses that help guide the future performance of teachers and programs. Its process now has a platform to change the analysis from a qualitative, subjective evaluation to relevant, actionable insights. With this information, National Heritage Academies is achieving a higher level of accountability, linking all its activities directly to student achievement.

More information about Microsoft Dynamics and how it can help organizations achieve their goals can be found by visiting the dedicated solution websites for government, education and healthcare organizations.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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Handygo, CABI tie up to provide mobile-based Solutions for farmers

Handygo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, India’s leading provider of VAS solutions and CABI (www.cabi.org) has joined hands with each other to provide mobile based agriculture solutions to the rural population in India. CABI is a not-for-profit international organization that improves people’s lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. The region specific data including Agricultural content, advisory, etc will come from CABI, while Handygo will be providing technical solutions by bridging the gap between the NGO and the rural hinterlands.

The association will work well with MNO’s, Government bodies, NGOs and educational and research institutions who could use the data to provide customized solutions to the rural subscribers. This innovative product would be available on both IVR (Interactive Voice Response) & SMS (Short Messaging Service) platforms designed especially to provide solutions to mobile subscribers on agriculture and allied topics.

The association will also help Government and private bodies involved with different projects across the rural markets in provision of customized information about the rural market. A huge gap exists between the rural and urban India in the areas of health, agriculture, financial inclusion, education, etc. Moreover agricultural, regional health, banking, education issues have also been given due focus by Handygo, while making this service. This pan India service is available in 18 regional languages, 24/7, 365 days a year and provides credible and authentic information making this service more attractive to the rural population. The association will help in provision of customized services, offers and products to the users and also help Telecom service providers, Government bodies, NGOs, research and educational institutions.

On this pan Indian tie-up, Mr. Praveen Rajpal, CEO, handygo said, “Handygo endeavors to support the development of the rural region in the country along with CAB International by providing the various stakeholders working in this domain with specific information about the users via a communication channel that has the maximum penetration – the Mobile phone.”

Handygo will provide exhaustive and up to the minute information regarding health, education, finance, weather information, mandi rates, livestocks, agriculture and fisheries.

Dr. Elizabeth Dodsworth from CABI said, “We are delighted to partner with one of India’s leading VAS provider – Handygo. We have noticed a great potential in the untapped and high potential rural market and look forward to sharing the research and data with various stakeholders for ensuring the latest and validated information. Content from our Direct2Farm Agriculture knowledge Repository will be made available by Handygo in all regional languages along with Hindi and English. “

The rural markets are the focus of the mobile operators too, who have just begun exploring these markets for prospective customers post exhausting the urban markets. Recent studies, Government approach with the National Telecom Policy 2012, have escalated the interest levels of the mobile service providers in these areas, with vast potential and limited information about the usage patterns, requirements and demographics of the probable subscriber base there. It has also been reported that the Prime Minister’s office has interest in the projects that enhance agriculture productivity.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/handygo-cabi-tieto-provide-mobile-based-solutions-for-farmers-/468241/

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ISB to commence first academic session at the Mohali from April 14

Chandigarh: The Indian School of Business (ISB) today announced that it is set to commence the first academic session at the Mohali campus from April 14, 2012. This marks the beginning of a new phase of growth for the school after completing a decade of growth and accomplishment, firmly putting India on the world map of management education. Starting this year, ISB's flagship Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) will be simultaneously delivered across the two campuses – Hyderabad and Mohali. The PGP Class of 2013 will have a total class size of ~770 students out of which ~210 students will be at the Mohali campus.

Speaking on the occasion, Savita Mahajan, Deputy Dean and Chief Executive of the Mohali campus, said, "We see the Mohali campus as an extension of ISB and the values that it stands for. Over the past decade, ISB has set several benchmarks and raised the bar for world-class management education. With the same commitment to groom future business leaders, we aim to replicate the excellence displayed and make a strong impact on the industry through our young professionals who are ready to take the baton forward in the corporate world."

The ISB will function as one unified entity with a seamless integration across two campuses – Hyderabad and Mohali. To encourage cross-learning and increase networking across the campuses, there would be an inter-campus exchange programme. Through a transparent process, an equal number of students from each campus will have the opportunity to choose courses of their choice at the other campus. The PGP typically commences with the "Orientation Week" where ISB Alumni from previous classes induct the new class into the ISB culture and ethos. This is followed by commencement of the classes. The Post Graduate Programme (PGP) is spread over 12 months comprising eight terms of six weeks each.

The Mohali campus has been created with a total outlay of INR 250 Crores. The campus is equipped with state-of-the-art learning infrastructure – lecture theatres, a 500-seater auditorium, high definition video conferencing facilities to enable collaboration across locations, seamless access to digital and online library resources, cashless payments through use of smart cards, and more.  It also boasts of world-class amenities, including fully serviced apartments for students and faculty, cafeterias and cafes, a host of sports and recreational facilities, and support services such as banking, communication, convenience stores, medical facilities, etc. The buildings adhere to the latest international building code and educational-facility-operating standards. The campus is designed to meet the LEED Gold sustainability criteria, with energy-efficient mechanical and electrical fixtures, rain water harvesting, maximised day lighting and passive environmental controls.

Work on the project is fast progressing towards completion. While the academic block, comprising of the Lecture Theatres fully-equipped with audio-visual facilities, Library resources, Wi-Fi internet access, student cafeteria and book store, etc, will be in operation starting April 14, finishing works on the housing block will be completed soon after. The school has made necessary arrangements in nearby hotels for the students' accommodation during this short period.

Sharing his thoughts on the commencement of the Mohali campus, Analjit Singh, Chairman, Max India and Chairman, Mohali Campus Advisory Board, ISB, said, "The Mohali Campus of ISB is a world class Campus built with an environment for learning commensurate to any outstanding Business School in the world.  It will be an example and a trend-setter for the way tertiary education is delivered in India.  The current Punjab Government has been extremely supportive in helping us to set up this Institution."

The Mohali campus spread across 70 acres in the Knowledge City has taken shape with the encouragement of the Honourable Prime Minister of India and under the visionary leadership of the Government of Punjab led by Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Parkash Singh Badal and Analjit Singh as the Chairman of the Mohali Campus Advisory Board. ISB Mohali has been founded with the generous support of Max India Group, Bharti Group, Hero Group and Punj Lloyd.

Max Institute of Healthcare Management

The Max Institute of Healthcare Management will impart industry relevant skill sets to students through a healthcare specialisation offered in the PGP programme to meet India's growing need for quality healthcare professionals.

Munjal Global Manufacturing Institute

Munjal Global Manufacturing Institute will be a premier institute in manufacturing excellence and innovation.

A specialisation in Healthcare Management and Manufacturing will be available to the PGP students starting in April 2012.

Bharti Institute of Public Policy

The Bharti Institute of Public Policy will promote quality research and full time courses in the area of Public Policy. This institute aims at creating a talent pool and providing meaningful insights to facilitate the policy making process in various strategic areas.

Punj Lloyd Institute of Physical Infrastructure Management

The Punj Lloyd Institute of Physical Infrastructure Management will play a critical role in generating a huge pool of skilled managers to meet not just India's requirements but also to address the global skills shortage in this area.

The Public Policy and Infrastructure Management specialisations will be introduced over the next two years.

These institutes will also have support from the ISB's international associations. The school has established an academic association with the MIT Sloan School of Management to support the setting up of both The Munjal Global Manufaturing Institute and The Punj Lloyd Institute of Physical Infrastructure Management, with The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, to develop the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, while the existing partnership with The Wharton School has been extended to include the Max Institute of Healthcare Management. The Mohali campus will also have support from Kellogg School of Management and the London School of Business.

The ISB Advantage:

Over the years, the ISB's Post Graduate Programme (PGP) has grown in stature as an internationally top-ranked programme. Its success has been built on the following differentiators

One Year Programme: The Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) at the ISB is a rigorous one year programme designed for working professionals who want to enhance their careers without a long break from work. Students come with prior work experience ranging from two to about twenty years.

Global curriculum and pedagogy: Specially designed for professionals with work experience, curriculum  at the ISB is based on cutting edge research and is both challenging and comprehensive, created by some of the best minds in management education and business. The School constantly strives to ensure that the curriculum is contemporary and relevant to current industry needs.

Portfolio Faculty Model: The ISB has a unique 'portfolio' model of faculty that includes eminent academicians with research and teaching experience from the best B-schools in the world. The school  has nearly 50 resident faculty, and over 100 visiting faculty from some of the leading B-schools in the world such as Wharton, Kellogg, London Business School, Cornell, Chicago, Duke, and UCLA, among others. ISB's resident faculty will teach across both campuses.

Diverse student body: The ISB attracts outstanding students, all with unique backgrounds. The rich and diverse experiences of students from diverse backgrounds – educational, professional, social, geographical and cultural – leads to an extremely dynamic and challenging class environment that is highly conducive to learning. The average work experience of the class is five years, and the average age is 28 years. The average GMAT score at 712 is comparable to some of the top global B-schools.

World Class Infrastructure: At the ISB, the environment plays a very crucial role in enhancing the learning experience. All facilities and services are provided to ensure that stay on campus is comfortable and students' time is utilised for learning.

http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=12246

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All India Council of Technical Education says no to new institutes

LUCKNOW: All India Council of Technical Education has decided to put a blanket ban on opening up of new engineering and management colleges across the country from academic session 2013-14. The directive has come after the Council found that the supply is outstripping the demand for engineering and management seats in the country.

Take the case of Uttar Pradesh. In the past five years, the number of engineering institutions has increased by 215. The number of engineering colleges till 2012 stands at 333, which was only 84 in 2005-06. More shocking is the total number of seats filled in these institutions. A total of 25,903 students took admission in various engineering colleges after qualifying the State Entrance Examination (SEE) 2011. However, the total seats offered by the university is 1,15,379.

The condition of the management courses is no better. The total number of management colleges in UP as of now is 421. The figure five years back stood at 139. In 2005-06, UP was home to only 93 management institutions. As per the figures obtained from SEE 2011, merely 4,373 students took admissions in various management colleges as against 32,228 seats. This means roughly 13% students were admitted last year.

In such a situation where the number of seats exceeds far than the number of students, putting a restriction in opening new colleges came as a breather for educationists. Pro vice-chancellor, Gautam Buddh Technical University (GBTU), Prof VK Singh said, "The mushrooming of colleges had to stop. In our state, not more than 20% students are taking admissions. The numbers have declined in the past 3-4 years. AICTE's move will definitely help state like UP in providing better education."

Prof Singh added that technical education in UP is going through a bad phase. "We don't have trained staff and teachers. With no proper infrastructure, we are not able to do justice with the students," he said. True to his words, the new colleges are severely facing shortage of trained faculty and obviously no proper laboratories, and classrooms.

But not all are happy with the decision. SK Shukla, registrar, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad rejected the Council's move. Shukla who has had a close look at the state's technical education in the past years, said, "A blanket ban will not serve the purpose. The restriction should be prudent. This way, areas like Bundelkhand will continue to suffer as there is a dearth of engineering and management colleges."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/All-India-Council-of-Technical-Education-says-no-to-new-institutes/articleshow/12336257.cms

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Department of Agricultural Research and Education secretary worried about reducing farm land

VARANASI: S Ayyappan, secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and director general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), expressed hope of better productivity of food grains in the country. He, however, was worried about the shrinking farming land and reducing number of farmers.

Ayyappan was in the city on Saturday to receive the D Litt degree at the convocation of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Talking to media persons at the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), he said despite shrinking of cultivated area, the productivity of food grains was enhanced due to extensive research and development in agricultural sector. Agriculture in India is the key sector for generating employment opportunities for majority of the population. According to him, presently agriculture sector provides employment to about 52% of the workforce of the country. "Currently the agriculture contribution in the gross domestic product (GDP) was 14.8%," he said.

However, according to the report of ICAR, the agriculture contribution in GDP is declining in India, which in 2008-09 went down to 15.7% from about 30% in 1990-91. During the past two decades, the average annual growth of agriculture sector was less than half (around 3%) of the overall average growth of the economy (6 - 7%). Industrial and service sectors have outpaced performance of agriculture sector during the past two decades. But the proportion of workforce engaged in agriculture did not commensurate with the decline of its share in the gross domestic product. At present also, agriculture sector provides employment to about 52% of the workforce that used to be about 61% in 1990-91. These starkly different trends reveal that incomes in non-agriculture sector are growing faster than agriculture sector. And a sizable workforce from agriculture shifted to non-agriculture sector for income and livelihood opportunities. Hence, in the country the research and development focus needs to be reoriented in a way to develop and promote those technologies that raise agricultural income and ensure employment opportunities in the agri-supply chain to a vast majority of the workforce.

"We are working on mission like, 'Farmer FIRST' to improve the situation by encouraging farmers," he said adding that it was an initiative to provide an opportunity of direct interaction between farmers and agricultural scientists for the growth of agriculture. Replying a query regarding budgetary allocation to agricultural sector, he said that it was satisfactory. To another query regarding the adverse impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme on agriculture, he said that the situation was being assessed.

Meanwhile, the IIVR organised an exhibition of vegetables on its premises in Adalpura area. Farmers from different places took part in the exhibition where institutions affiliated to ICAR created their stalls. IIVR director PS Naik welcomed the guests and participating farmers.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-17/varanasi/31204312_1_agriculture-icar-farmers

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A world of difference

In the U.S. for my Masters' degree, I have come to realise that the education system in India is totally different from that in the U.S., whether one is talking about school or college.

Consider this

The most important difference lies in the basic approach towards thinking. Take the attitude to mathematics, for instance. I feel mathematics teaches logic and lays the foundation for independent and lateral thinking. In India, mathematics is taught from elementary school level and there is a lot of emphasis on the subject. The standard is high right through school.

However, in the U.S., high school education is designed in such a way that nearly every child can pass that level. Going to the root of the problem, I found that the American education system is designed in such a way that a student's self-confidence and self-esteem are not damaged. While this may be a laudable goal, it often leads to lowering the standard.

On the other hand, we in India consider our IITs and IIMs as world-class institutes producing top-notch talents and intellects. What we now have to wake up to is that in areas of research, India is not only beginning to slip behind other countries but has also failed to match its own past performance. As you study statistics of higher education, it is shocking not to find a single Indian university in the world's top 300 universities and research institutes.

All this led me to talk to faculty members, under-grad and post-grad students about the pros and cons of the education system in India and the U.S. The one common factor across the responses was how caste and religion play a crucial role in the already corrupt educational system in India. When political parties toy with educational institutions and when a lot of influence and money is pumped in, it cripples the system.

The Indian education system is at least comparatively good till the undergraduate degree level but when it comes to post-graduate programmes, we have a long way to go to catch up with the best.

Praveen is pursuing Masters in Computer Science at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

We React

In bioengineering, research matters more than anything else. India is still at a very rudimentary stage in terms of quality of research in universities compared to the U.S. and the U.K because of the number of grants and the financial support from government institutions like the NIH. High-end equipment and collaborations between departments motivate interdisciplinary concepts. Also the teacher-student relationship is much more relaxed abroad. They encourage discussions rather than mundane lectures. The curriculum is structured to emphasise research rather than just classroom learning. Coursework involves assignments and projects that involve implementing concepts not memorising the textbook. -

How many of us learnt algebra and trigonometry playing with a cube puzzle? Or had the chance to learn wave theory of light through a kaleidoscope? Learning is always fun when it involves understanding of concepts that help support creativity. The Indian education system is well planned and organised but needs to support one's practical understanding of the concepts rather than just measuring theoretical knowledge and ultimately testing memory levels. Graduate studies abroad test practical competency rather than textbook knowledge. Knowledge becomes wisdom only after it has been put into practical use. Let's not stop the Einsteins' of tomorrow with nightmares of grades. -

A classroom lesson tells you a story. You sit back to analyse it and, in the process, discover new facets of existing things. This is how a subject is taught at a Master's course abroad as against the Indian system of reading a book to understand a concept. The diversity in the classroom adds to quality of discussion and also provides a superior understanding of how a given problem can be solved in different ways. The education system in India is somewhat biased and has several links to the social set-up, which obviously affects its quality. -

Gone are the days when study holidays were a time of discovery of chapters that I didn't even know had been taught, assignments almost always meant copying from a classmate and unit tests meant studying during the early morning bus ride. Education in the U.S. is a stark contrast given the opportunity to choose my courses. Exams and assignments here push you to understand concepts completely rather than just memorise. However the fundamentals of math and science in Indian schools are certainly among the best. As much as I miss the relaxed schedule of my under-grad days, I feel rigorous coursework is required to survive in this competitive environment.

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/nxg/article2994398.ece

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India has understood Maldives’ constitutional position

Maldives, a small island-nation in the Indian Ocean, made up of a cluster of around 200 archipelagos and 350,000 inhabitants, is in the midst of a serious political crisis after the resignation —some call it ouster — of the first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed on February 7.

Vice president, Mohamed Waheed Hassan, took over as president and is heading a seven-party interim government.

Though the violence allegedly unleashed by Nasheed’s supporters following his resignation has been brought under control, the new government is still debating whether there should be immediate elections, as demanded by Nasheed, or at the end of 2013 as scheduled. Considering the strategic importance of Maldives and its proximity to Indian shores, New Delhi is playing a crucial role in nudging all parties to the dispute to resolve the issues amicably.

Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, the articulate home minister in the present government, who also served as minister of justice in the Abdul Gayoom government and civil aviation and communications minister in the Nasheed government, is currently in India, trying to get support for breaking the constitutional deadlock in his country. Jameel Ahmed, who studied at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies and obtained a PhD on criminal justice system, was in Bangalore on Sunday. He spoke to
Ramakrishna Upadhya of Deccan Herald on a range of issues. Excerpts:  

What really prompted president Nasheed’s resignation?

This was coming for a long time, because of the way he was managing the affairs of the nation. He had become highly autocratic and indulged in muzzling the judiciary, his political opponents and the media. Those who opposed his misrule were jailed. Among them was Abdul Gayoom’s brother, who is a leader of the opposition, and also the deputy leader of the parliament.

In a small country like ours, land is the most precious thing and Nasheed had started privatising the islands and handing them over to his partymen and supporters. The international airport is the pride of our nation, which he handed over to India’s GMR Group, even ignoring the cabinet. There was a lot of resentment building up against his rule and as the protests from political parties and the public increased, he had no option but to quit.

Is Nasheed under arrest?

He is a free man. He probably expected to be arrested, but we have not done so. He holds rallies in the capital Male and other places. Male has a population of about 90,000, and if he was really popular, he should have gathered a crowd of 8,000 to 9,000 every day. But he hardly gets 2,000 and the numbers are going down.

Does Waheed Hassan’s takeover as president have legal sanctity?

Under the presidential system we have adopted, we go for a pair -- the president and the vice president. Waheed Hassan got the same number of votes as Nasheed (when they stood for elections together in 2008). Under our constitution, when the president resigns, the vice president takes over for the reminder of the period.

So, when will fresh elections be held?

Nasheed’s supporters did not allow parliament to function when it opened on March 1.

There have been some talks among political parties and they have been halted because of the protests. The parliament is reconvening tomorrow (March 19) and hopefully, the House will be allowed to function. According to Article 124 of our constitution, if the president is changed mid-term, the new incumbent will stay for the rest of the term. A two-thirds majority is required for amending the constitution and holding early elections.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party wants early elections, but there is no legal framework for it. Before elections are held, the other parties want guarantees and safeguards that safe and secure elections are possible. First of all, the judiciary needs to be safeguarded as Nasheed’s government had played havoc with it. In 2009, he padlocked the judiciary (the courts) and set up a hand-picked committee in its place.

But ultimately it didn’t work. The judiciary is still not free as it has been terrorised over the last few years. Therefore, unless the judiciary is strengthened, meaningful elections are not possible.

What did Maldivians think of India’s support for its new president Waheed Hassan?

It was seen as a good and positive move. India understood our constitutional position that when the president resigns, the vice president takes over. India being a democratic country and our closest ally, it understands the system of governance better than any other...We are a Muslim country, which has laid a lot of stress on education. We have always upheld meritocracy...It’s in India’s interest too to strengthen our democratic governance and system. Otherwise, the other option is to go back to religious values that again is hard, considering what happened in Algieres and other West Asian countries.

What influence does China and Pakistan have on Maldives?

We are a small country, located in a strategic place in the Indian Ocean. We have to tread wisely and cautiously. Maldives understands that India is its closest neighbour. But it also cannot aliegnate others. That’s what our foreign policy is. We have good relations with countries across the world. China has supported our economy and infractructure development.

How far has the building of a Chinese base at Maro island progressed?

(Laughs) I don’t think there’s a Chinese base (in our country.)  There has always been this move, but I don’t think it is coming up.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/235529/india-has-understood-maldives-constitutional.html

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Enterprise India Summit 2012

Managing cities the smart way to provide better and more efficient services to residents is emerging as a huge business opportunity with the rapid urbanisation of the country, Communications and Information Technology experts forecast here today.

This ICT led enterprise market is expected to be Rs 38,400 crore businesses by 2014 from the current size of Rs. 14,400 crores. Market size was doubling every three or four years, according to Bharat Exhibitions MD Shashi Dharan, the organiser of the Enterprise India Summit that examined the building of smart cities and transforming the nation by transforming the cities. This emerging development is important as India’s urban population would be some 500 million that is about 45 per cent of the billion plus population of the country throwing up immense problems in housing, transportation, municipal services, health care and education among others.

Pune has become the first city in India to appoint a CIO, Dr. Anupam Saraph. This is an entirely new trend, experts say. “The purpose of the office is to create connections and collaborations in Pune that will result in shared information systems to continue to make Pune prosperous and highly liveable”, Mr. Vijay Sethi, Vice President and CIO of Hero MotoCorp said.

Pointing out that urbanization is one of the biggest trends today, Mr. Sethi said that to “transform our nation we need to transform our cities by making them smarter.”

In the smart city as in a smart organisation ICT organises all services. “Residents are looking forward to cities becoming prosperous and liveable, efficient, predictable and secure” Mr. Sethi said. Delhi traffic police sending traffic alerts via SMS was one of the several benefits that smart organisation of transport provides; others in that sector being common ticket for all public transport enabling passengers to choose the best possible mode in real time, with transport authorities informed about sending more buses in areas of stranded passengers and providing display system across the city to pass on relevant traffic information to commuters.

Similar smart organisation in education and health care stretches resources efficiently across the population. For instance smart organisation enables teachers, parents and students to track students progress át all times, Mr. Sethi pointed out.

Smart organisation of cities also enables information sharing between different public safety personnel like police, fire fighters, hospitals etc to coordinate their help in times of emergency, Mr. Sethi said by reducing response time of public safety officials, the city makes citizens feel safer in smart environment.

Entire solution technologies and devices were being provided by ZTE that has over 15 R&D Centres all over the world and invests over 10 per cent of its revenue in this area, according to Mr. Zhang Wencheng, director, technical sales, ZTE India. This helped integrated working of the city smart system at a high level of efficiency. The firm had already been rated as number one globally in 2011, he pointed out. “The demand for enterprise solutions and products is increasing rapidly in India” Mr. Wencheng said.

In the New Delhi Municipal Corporation 2000 acres covered under road and street survey project has place on the GIS platform every visible asset including trees, manholes, street lights etc through a unique coding system that combines IT and mobile phone, IT Director of NDMC, Mr. O. P. Mishra revealed at the conference. Because of this there is offsite real time monitoring system OSRT in operation that every municipal activity was under constant monitoring leaving no room for ambiguity. Benefits include, for instance, “comprehensive and consolidated reporting tool allowing single point access to the status of cleanliness of individual bins as well as circles as a whole”” Mr. Mishra pointed out giving an inside view of how the system was working in NDMC.

How enterprise management in health care was making this service affordable and efficient for the patients came out at the conference. Max Healthcare Institute CIO Dr. Neena Pahuja said that inter-department information exchange in a hospital group, systems integration, and communication among hospital stake holders enabled seamless experience to be delivered to patients. This lowered costs to both hospitals and patients. It also helped provide new care options and strategies and boosted business intelligence in healthcare.

With healthcare groups running multiple hospitals and clinics, IT and mobile communication was essential to deal with the sheer volume of patient information. said Dr. Pahuja. According to her the enterprise system enabled information exchange between 35 direct patient care providers in just 4 days of stay which graphically explained what the system did for efficient and seamless patient service at lower costs.

http://pr.efytimes.com/e1/80438/Enterprise-India-Summit

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UK’s Warwick Business School eyes Delhi campus

MUMBAI: The Warwick Business School, standing 130km from London, will have its second address in India. The headquarters in the UK may be in sparsely populated Coventry but the management institute is looking at bustling Delhi for its new campus.

Ever since India spoke of opening its doors to foreign universities, several top institutions have considered coming to its shores, but few have actually taken a step. The Schulich School of Business of Canada's York University is building its campus in Hyderabad.

Most others have set up India offices that assist and attract prospective students, tap into the colleges' alumni, build relations with large Indian conglomerates, run some short programmes for executives or act as research centres that collect raw material on an emerging economy and a maturing market called India.

None of that is what Warwick wants to do in India. Like the Schulich School, it is looking at advancing what it has already built in the UK. It is working with the Batra Group, headed by a family that sent many of its children to Warwick for an education.

"We have ordered a feasibility study for the project from a consultancy firm which is looking at several issues like the location to set up the school and other things that the project entails, including the areas that are important for the growth and development for this part of the world, for our Asia campus that will be located in India," said WBS dean Mark Taylor.

The school's core will be research, around which teaching will be designed. "What we will produce here will be the same as what we produce on the main campus," added Taylor, an Oxonerian. "The school will not be a data collection centre that will procure data and transport a bag to the main campus," said WBS' associate dean Qing Wang.

Over a decade ago, Warwick was undoubtedly one of the finest schools in the UK to study business, but it has slipped not just in ranking, but also in students' preferences. In 2009 came its low point when funding was cut based on a UK government Research Assessment Exercise, in which Warwick was trumped by both Cardiff and Manchester business schools.

Soon after, Taylor took the reins of the school and it swung back to a better place in global rankings. "It is important to keep the academic rigour high, bring in first-grade practitioners to teach and ensure that there is application of research," said Taylor, who has been working to bring back the glorious days of Warwick.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/UKs-Warwick-Business-School-eyes-Delhi-campus/articleshow/12310144.cms

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Investment by private players will improve education sector

Pune’s education sector cheered some of the announcements in the Union Budget like the scheme for education loans, public private partnership (PPP) for new schools, national programme of midday meals and upgradation of existing government medical colleges to the level of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Former vice-chancellor Ram Takwale said, “Giving the banks the role of distributing loans to deserving students is welcome. Implementation of the scheme by another agency would have caused problems.”

Educationist Ramesh Panse said, “PPP for new schools will somewhat halt government’s dominance in the education sector. There is no school with PPP model in Pune. Investment by private sector will help improve the education performance and overcoming paucity of funds. India spends only 3% of total gross domestic product (GDP), which actually should be between 6 and 8%.”

National head of midday meals scheme, Leena Joseph said, “The increase in funds will add more value to food. Cost of everything has gone up. Generally, we spend Rs3.75 per child from standards 1 to VII and Rs4.75 per student from standards VI to VII. But I am doubtful how the funds will be distributed across the country. Many a times we have to struggle for funds at grassroot level.”

“Upgradation of existing government medical colleges to the level of AIIMS will help enhance availability of affordable healthcare,” said dean of BJ Medical College, Ajay Chandanwale.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_investment-by-private-players-will-improve-education-sector_1663728

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What do our B-schools have to say about the executive education programmes being launched by their foreign counterparts?

When 50-year-old Rajendra Singh, a top honcho in a technology company, wanted to burnish his repertoire of skills, he went to one of the best management schools. His company spent Rs 32 lakh for him to do an eight-week advanced executive management course at Harvard. "I know it seems like a great deal. But what I learned in terms of education was incomparable," says Singh. This education just got closer home with the recent launch of a Harvard classroom at Taj Lands End in Mumbai.

While it's a quid pro quo for Indian students and renowned foreign management institutes, be it Harvard Business School (HBS), Wharton or Kelloggs which have arrived in India, will it make a dent on the brand value of the IIMs? "IIMs will continue to be aspirational for India's top students. Why, many get into Ivy League colleges and don't get a foothold into the IIMs," says Debashis Chatterjee, IIM-Kozhikode director . "This is a brand we have built assiduously. Harvard sees India as a market, whereas the IIMs don't see education as a market."

Strong words, but it's true that foreign courses don't exactly come cheap. While a 4-5 day Harvard executive education course costs around Rs 2 lakh and each course of Wharton is more than Rs 1.6 lakh, IIM-Bangalore offers a five-day course for Rs 75,000.

Nonetheless, Harvard and Wharton have marketed their executive education courses as exclusively meant for India. Harvard has even replicated its classrooms in Boston in Mumbai with amphitheatre-style architecture.

"Unlike the traditional ballroomtype of classroom where all the students sit at one level, this amphitheatre helps in Harvard's case study method," says Rohit Deshpande, Sebastin S Kresge professor of marketing, HBS. This participant-centred learning needs the instructor to facilitate debate by walking up and down the aisles, rather than the traditional Aristotelian method where the teacher instructs and the students listen.

Despite accusations of pecuniary motives driving these schools here, India remains vital for their global strategy . "This century is the century of Asia, and India is an emerging superpower . For many of my students at Harvard , India is the California of the 21st century," says Deshpande.

Wharton came to India in January, offering three executive educative programmes in Mumbai and Gurgaon. A fourth will be added later this year. Vice-dean Jason Wingard says this is the ideal time for an India entry. "We offer career coaching and professional career assessment too," he says. "Wharton will help Indian business leaders with up-tothe-minute research and best practices." Its vice-dean of global initiatives Harbir Singh says there's "a growing emphasis on internationalisation in India. You can't maintain a competitive advantage without a global perspective."

So will the IIMs change their strategy? No, says Chatterjee. "IIMs have their own system which is sensitive to changing global scenarios and is independent of what's happening elsewhere. Foreign universities will have to change according to the Indian scenario."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/education/what-do-our-b-schools-have-to-say-about-the-executive-education-programmes-being-launched-by-their-foreign-counterparts/articleshow/12313390.cms

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Oxford VC attacks student visa rules on eve of India visit

British Government's clamp-down on foreign students would make it harder for universities to attract the “best” students from around the world, Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Andrew Hamilton told The Hindu on Saturday as he prepared to leave for a week-long visit to India, a major catchment area for British higher education institutions looking for bright and well-heeled overseas students.

Professor Hamilton said that Oxford was working with other universities to lobby the government while trying to minimise the impact of the increasingly stringent—and often arbitrary—student visa rules.

“We have communicated to the government our concerns that the proposed changes will make it harder for us to attract the best students in the world to Oxford. We have lobbied extensively ourselves, and supported both Universities-UK and the Russell Group making representations to government over the changes,'' he said.

The Russell Group comprises elite British universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and the London School of Economics.

Professor Hamilton, whose visit is aimed at recruiting post-graduate Indian students to Oxford besides exploring collaborations with Indian academic institutions, was concerned that government plans to restrict post-study stay in Britain to only certain categories of students was likely to deter many potential students from coming here.

The Vice-chancellor hoped that the advantages of an Oxford degree would remain a pull for serious students, especially from India with its 140-year-old links with India.

“Whatever happens, we will try to make sure that students can take advantage of the new route in Tier 2 to stay on and work where appropriate. Above all we know that an Oxford degree is highly regarded by employers all over the world, so is excellent preparation for a career wherever our students choose to work,'' he said.

Professor Hamilton's remarks revealed the growing tension between a Conservative-led government set on a political agenda to drastically cut down immigration numbers and a cash-strapped higher education sector heavily dependent on fee-paying foreign students who often pay as much as three times more for the same course than their domestic peers. They contribute some £9 billion to the U.K. economy every year, much of it through university fee. There have been allegations that some British universities tend to bend admission rules to attract foreign students.

Professor Hamilton strongly denied any such practices at Oxford.

“This is absolutely not the case at Oxford. Admission to Oxford is incredibly competitive and based strictly on merit alone – it is not in our interest as a world-leading university to accept anyone but the very best students. And this is as true at postgraduate level where there is a far greater mix of international students as it is at undergraduate level. Oxford is interested in only the very best students who will contribute to its world-leading research, irrespective of nationality, and does not regard foreign students simply as a source of income,'' he said.

Highlighting Oxford's close links with India, Professor Hamilton said the Indian students first came to Oxford in 1871, and Oxford's India Institute was founded in 1883.

“Indians are the sixth largest national group at Oxford. So Indian students coming here will find a large and vibrant community,'' he said.

His visit, he said, was meant to “celebrate'' Oxford's long-standing links with India.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3007019.ece

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Budget 2012: Fair moves for education, employment

Education and employment go hand-in-hand, and to that extent at least been just in its treatment of these spaces. The announcement to set up 6,000 new model schools at the block level, with 2500 via Public-Private Partnerships has been reassuring. "Equally the attention given to Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan where the allocation has gone up is a good move and deepens the commitment in the space in addition to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan," says Shantanu Prakash, Chairman & MD, Educomp.

FULL COVERAGE: UNION BUDGET 2012

 "The decision of the Finance Minister to also recognize education at higher levels and approved vocational education in the Negative List exempt from Service Tax is a move in the right direction," says KT Chacko, Director, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). However, he feels that it would have been more appropriate if all educational institutions, public or private, had been included in the Negative List.

On the employment front, the decision to provide additional Rs 1,000 crore into the National Skill Development Fund (NSDF), coming on top of the Rs 500 crore is being welcomed: "This will allow us to fund more sustainable skills training initiatives that can benefit millions of youth nationwide," says Dilip Chenoy, CEO & MD, NSDC.

The announcement of credit guarantee fund and the move to exempt vocational training institutions from the ambit of service tax is likely to fillip the skills ecosystem: "It would make skills training affordable and removing the problem of financial accessibility to skills training programmes for those living at the bottom of the pyramid," says Chenoy.

 Additionally, according to Chenoy, the tax deduction provided to the manufacturing sector for investment in skills training initiatives would encourage a greater focus and enable the segment to be more productive and competitive. "The thrust on skill development in traditional sectors, including handlooms, will ensure that these sectors can improve their way of operations significantly," he added.

 "Overall, the focus given to core segments such as agriculture, infrastructure and core engineering will have a spill-over effect on other segments and will boost sentiment and, therefore hiring activity," says V. Suresh, Executive VP & National Head - Sales, Naukri.com

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/budget-education-employment/1/23278.html

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Moving B.C.’s education system forward

VICTORIA – Now that Bill 22, the Education Improvement Act, has been passed by the legislature, teachers’ strike action will be suspended and a mediator will be appointed to work with the BC Teachers’ Federation and the BC Public School Employers Association toward a negotiated agreement.

This school year has been challenging for all involved and I am hopeful that through the mediation process, both parties will have the opportunity to work together to resolve issues and reach a negotiated agreement.

To that end, I have asked the BCTF and the BCPSEA to submit names to be considered as potential mediators. I have stated that all potential candidates should have a strong background in education, be held in high regard by the education community and have effective dispute resolution skills to ensure the parties are provided with a strong foundation to move forward.

The mediator will have a balanced mandate to discuss a range of issues with the parties to reach a negotiated agreement that respects the net-zero mandate. This includes BCTF issues like classroom organization and BCPSEA issues such as professional development, as well as any other issues important to the parties.

Despite a year of negotiations, the parties have not had a meaningful discussion about these issues and many other important topics. Unfortunately, in the absence of proper discussion, people often make the worst assumptions about each other’s objectives. Therefore, I believe it’s important to clarify the government’s position on some key issues.

The first issue is seniority. While seniority is important, qualifications to teach a subject must also be considered. Several school districts have a good balance between seniority and qualifications but this is not the case in every district. I hope the parties will be able to work with the mediator to establish consistency in this area so that students receive the best possible instruction in every subject.

The second issue is teacher evaluation. We need to work with the BCTF to design an evaluation system that helps teachers succeed by letting them know what they are doing well and what they may need to improve. I am hopeful that the mediator can work with the parties to design a positive approach to teacher evaluation.

Since being appointed Education Minister one year ago, I’ve visited 100 schools throughout the province and met with hundreds of teachers to discuss issues such as class size and composition and how to support students with special needs. Bill 22 contains many initiatives that will address these issues.

First, Bill 22 implements a new Learning Improvement Fund to address complex class composition issues by providing $30 million this year, $60 million next year and $75 million every year after that. Teachers, administrators and school district staff can work together to decide how to best use these additional resources to support their students.

Second, Bill 22 maintains existing class-size limits so that kindergarten classes cannot exceed 22 students, grades 1 to 3 classes cannot exceed 24 students and grades 4 to 12 classes have a maximum of 30 students. As is currently the case, grades 4 to 12 will be able to exceed 30 students only in exceptional circumstances. In these cases, teachers will receive additional compensation.

Finally, Bill 22 creates more meaningful consultation between administrators and teachers by requiring consultation to occur on all class organization matters. Previous legislation required consultation only in specific cases.

While I am happy that Bill 22 has passed, I regret that I am now one of many ministers of Education, of all political stripes, that had to use legislation to address a BCTF strike. Unfortunately this has become the norm with the BCTF, which proposed a $2-billion increase to wages and benefits while virtually every other public sector union negotiated net-zero agreements that respected the government’s challenging financial circumstances.

We needed to move forward to provide students and parents with certainty. With the passage of Bill 22, reports cards will be now issued so parents receive the information they need to support their kids. Collaborative meetings between teachers and administrators can take place so that students receive the services they need to be successful.

Overall, Bill 22 takes a reasonable, respectful and responsible approach that provides all parties with a real opportunity to move beyond the challenges that have characterized this school year and work together to improve our education system. I hope that everyone will work hard to move forward and make the most of this opportunity.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Moving+education+system+forward/6315182/story.html#ixzz1pLKnrzwr

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Right to education fails to get pass marks, again

India's ambitious plan of seeing every child in school was short-changed in the Budget again.

While the finance minister set aside Rs 25,555 crore for implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, up by 21.7% from last year's Rs 21,000 crore, the allotment failed to enthuse experts. Describing the move as "disappointing", Vinod Raina-an architect of the RTE Act-said: "This year, there is once again a shortfall in funding a fundamental right. It shows how serious the government really is about the RTE (Act)."

March 2013 is the deadline for implementation of the first phase of the Act. "There is nothing in the Budget that says we are trying to rise to that," said Madhav Chavan, founder of Pratham, an NGO. The increase in funds for elementary education from Rs 29,000 crore to Rs 34,000 crore is thanks to an almost similar augmentation of the education cess, which is up from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 21,670 crore.

There is, though, a silver lining for those pursuing higher education. A credit guarantee fund has been introduced for better access to education loans. According to bankers, a portion of their interest earnings from education loans will go to the fund. If there is any default, they can recover their losses from the fund. SBI had reduced interest rates on education loans by one percentage point in February. Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman of SBI, had said banks had proposed such a fund that would encourage them to give education loans.

Low-profile agriculture universities and rural development schools benefited from some financial attention they got this year after premier institutions such as the IITs and IISc were bolstered by large one-time grant in previous Budgets.

Mukherjee gave Rs 25 crore to Institute of Rural Management, Anand; Rs 50 crore each for a water quality centre with focus on arsenic contamination in Kolkata; University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad; Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar; and Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology. Besides, Rs 100 crore has been allocated to Kerala Agricultural University and Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad; Rs 15 crore to National Council for Applied Economic Research and Rs 10 crore each to Rajiv Gandhi University, Department of Economics, Itanagar, and Siddharth Vihar Trust, Gulbarga, for a Pali research centre.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/budget-2012/union-budget/Right-to-education-fails-to-get-pass-marks-again/articleshow/12300266.cms

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