Unesco report: Over a third of 15 to 19 year olds in India have less than lower secondary education

 NEW DELHI: Over one quarter of young people in South and West Asia fail to complete primary school and lack skills for work. In India alone over a third of 15 to 19 year olds in India have less than a lower secondary education and lack the skills they need for work and young people without skills are either unemployed or in jobs that are unregulated, with bad working conditions and paying them poverty line wages for life. In the 2000s, there were estimated to be 10 million street vendors in India.

These and many more facts were revealed by United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO's) tenth Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Putting Education to Work, stressing on the urgent need to invest in skills for youth. The report has been released on Tuesday.

Despite impressive progress in enrolling children in school in countries like India, the report shows that few are on track to meet the six Education for All goals set in 2000, and some are a long way behind. In Pakistan, despite there being over three million fewer children out of school today than in 1999, over five million are still without an education; 63% of them are girls.

In South and West, over 91 million people aged 15 to 24 have not even completed primary school and need alternative pathways to acquire basic skills for employment and prosperity. This is equivalent to more than a quarter of the region's youth population and the greatest number of unskilled young people of any region in the world. One half of the population in South and West Asia is under 25-years-old. Worldwide over an eighth of young people are unemployed; one quarter is trapped in jobs that keep them on or below the poverty line. As the effects of the global economic crisis continue to be felt, the severe lack of youth skills is more damaging than ever.

The report, according to a detailed statement, looks in depth at youth skills, one of the least analysed of the six goals. It shows that young people need the skills taught at primary and lower secondary school to find decent jobs. This is unlikely to improve anytime soon. In South and West Asia, about 13 million are still missing out on primary school and 31 million teenagers are out of secondary school, missing out on vital skills for future employment. There is also a learning crisis: Worldwide, 250 million children of primary school age cannot read or write, whether they are in school or not.

"We are witnessing a young generation frustrated by the chronic mismatch between skills and work. The best answer to the economic downturn and youth unemployment is to ensure that young people acquire the basic skills and relevant training they need to enter the world of work with confidence," said Irina Bokova, the director general of UNESCO. "Many youth, and women in particular, need to be offered alternative pathways to education, so that they gain the skills to earn a living, live in dignity and contribute to their communities and societies."

In richer countries, a lack of investment in young people's skills has contributed to spiraling unemployment statistics. Already, by 2020, 57 million jobs will be needed in South and West Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States just to stop unemployment rates rising above current levels. In poorer countries, meanwhile, they end up trapped in jobs earning poverty line wages.

Poor young populations, urban and rural, are the most in need of skills training. In urban areas, the youth population is larger than it has ever been and growing; more than one third of those living in urban areas in the region live in slums. Often they end up in informal labour without standard work conditions and earning little more than $1.25 per day. In India in the mid-2000s, there were an estimated 10 million street vendors in the country.

The majority of the poor and least educated live in rural areas, with vast numbers concentrated in rural South and West Asia. Young smallholder farmers need skills training to protect their crops against climate change, and cope with increasing land scarcity. The average size of a farm in India can feed only six people. Those not in farm work urgently need training in business and marketing to find new opportunities and reduce the obligation of migrating to cities in search of a job.

Women are the most in need both in rural and urban areas. Marginalised in education, they are left them disadvantaged for life. In the Islamic Republic of Iran only around 3% of women in rural areas without secondary school earn over $2 a day, compared to almost 60% of men with the same level of education.

Investing in young peoples' skills is a smart move for countries seeking to boost their economic growth. The EFA Global Monitoring Report estimates that every $1 spent on a person's education yields US$10-US$15 in economic growth over that person's working lifetime. Some countries in the region are catching on. India aims to train 500 million of its poor urban youth by 2022 in six-month courses and apprenticeships run by the private and private sector. Afghanistan is running accelerated learning courses for those who missed out of schooling and need another chance to learn skills.

Pauline Rose, director of EFA Global Monitoring Report, said: "Education and skills for young people are the key to future development in South and West Asia. Yet millions of young people in the region have not completed basic education, and millions more have never been to lower secondary school. These young people, especially women and the rural and urban poor, are not equipped to join in on the ambitions in some Asian countries for building strong IT and knowledge based economies. First and foremost, they must be given another chance to learn basic skills such as reading, and skills in relevant trades. Only then can countries make the full use of young people's potential. "

There is a dire need to increase funding to fix this skills deficit and dramatically scale up alternative pathways for training. This year's Education for All Global Monitoring Report calculates that, on top of the US$16 billion needed annually to reach universal primary education by 2015, it would cost US$8 billion to achieve universal lower education.

Reallocating aid could help fill the funding gap. US$3.1 billion of aid to post-secondary education never reaches the educational systems of developing countries as it is used to fund foreign students in donor countries. But the Report calculates that the cost of one Nepalese student studying in Japan, for example, could pay for as many as 229 young people to have access to secondary education in Nepal. These funds could be better spent addressing the skills deficit for disadvantaged youth in poor countries.

The 2012 edition of the report follows the launch on September 26, 2012 of "Education First", an initiative driven by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon who stressed the importance of rallying all stakeholders to overcome the obstacles to achieving "quality, relevant and transformative education."

"Our shared goals are simple," said the secretary general on that occasion. 'We want all children to attend primary school and to progress to secondary school and relevant higher education that will help them to succeed in life and live as engaged and productive global citizens."

Recommendations: It recommended that the 91 million young people in South and West Asia need to be given alternative pathways to learn foundation skills. All young people need quality training in relevant foundation skills at lower secondary school. Upper secondary curricula should provide a balance between vocational and technical skills, including IT, and transferable skills such as confidence and communication, which are indispensable for the work place. Skills strategies must target the disadvantaged: particularly young women and urban and rural poor. $US8 billion is needed to ensure all young people attend lower secondary education. Governments as well as donors and the private sector must help fill the funding gap.

India specific statistics:

* Over a third of 15 to 19 year olds in India have less than a lower secondary education and lack the skills they need for work.

* The overwhelming majority of urban youth have no training. The skills shortage risks hampering the country's growth and reinforcing inequality unless it is tackled.

* The skills deficit in the country isn't going to be rectified any time soon. Under 5% of poor students reached over level 2 in maths in learning assessments done in 2009. Only around 25% of rich students were managing to reach level 2 as well.

* Young people without skills are either unemployed or in jobs that are unregulated, with bad working conditions and paying them poverty line wages for life. In the 2000s, there were estimated to be 10 million street vendors in India.

* There are huge disparities between states of those who have skills and those who don't. While only just over a third of women in Rajasthan are in or have completed lower secondary school, there is almost universal access for women in Kerala.

* Women are worse affected than men. 4 out of ten women are not counted as being in the labour force, compared with just over one out of ten men, for example. This rises to 7 out of 10 women in urban areas.

* Rural areas are desperately in need of skills. The average size of a farm in India is big enough to feed just six people. Those in farm work need skills to increase productivity and sell their produce for more. Those not in farm work need skills to set up their own businesses so they don't have to migrate to urban areas for work.

* Technology can reach those in remote rural areas with skills training. For example, in Tamil Nadu sugarcane growers are being trained by television and mobile phone. Elsewhere in India, women are learning about livestock care through their mobile phones.

* The Indian government aims to train 500 million by 2022. However, it is not focusing on the millions in informal employment, instead choosing mainly to focus on high growth sectors such as automobiles, textiles and banking. It must remember to tackle inequalities so the growth from this skills development is sustainable.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Unesco-report-Over-a-third-of-15-to-19-year-olds-in-India-have-less-than-lower-secondary-education/articleshow/16838139.cms

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Higher education: learn from Brazil and let the private sector play its part

THERE are strong indications that demand for higher education is outstripping supply. In January, Gloria Sekwena died and at least 20 other people were seriously injured when about 5,000 people stampeded in a desperate attempt to register at the last minute with the University of Johannesburg. The university received more than 85,000 applications for fewer than 12,000 places last year.

Young people’s determination to get into tertiary institutions is well founded. For those who pass matric, obtaining some form of tertiary education increases their likelihood of finding a job by 100%.

Expanding the size, quality and diversity of post-school education in SA is vitally important. Without this, it is hard to see how we can meet critical national goals. Growing the economy, developing a trained public service, encouraging business expansion, reducing unemployment and strengthening the home-grown supply of well-trained teachers all depend on access to tertiary education and its quality. How we achieve this requires investigation and debate, a process the government is currently leading.

The green paper on post-school education and training, released in February, sets out the government’s intention to expand and improve the tertiary education sector. The aim is to raise enrolments from the current 900,000 to 1, 5-million by 2030. This will lead to an increase in the higher education participation rate of 18-to 24-year-olds from 16% to 23%. It could very well be beyond the capacity of the public sector to meet the rapidly expanding demand for higher education on its own. Despite the government spending R1.5bn on upgrading further education and training colleges between 2006 and 2008, the college sector continues to languish — poor pass rates, poor planning, and financial mismanagement. According to the green paper, "the biggest problem facing the post-school system as a whole is the weakness and small size of the college sector".

The green paper recognises that the private sector has a role to play in tertiary sector expansion. The government intends to get a better understanding of the number and quality of existing private providers by improving "data collection", and will then develop a "nuanced strategy" to work with private providers to strengthen and expand provision. Hopefully this will be undertaken speedily and with an enthusiastic approach to what is possible through market forces.

SA can learn from other countries that have expanded access to higher education. One such is Brazil. Claudio de Moura Castro, the former director of the Brazilian government’s agency for post-graduate education, visited SA recently and described the role of the private sector in the expansion of Brazilian higher education.

Brazilian higher education, while starting from a very low base, has produced numerous successes. Initially, the government sector expanded rapidly, and generally delivered quality university education, although the quality was variable.

In the 1990s, enrolment in secondary education tripled. When these students graduated and expected to find places for further study, the department of education faced the prospect of tripling its budget to meet the demand through additional public universities. This forced a reluctant ministry to ease restrictions on the private sector.

Once the government improved the regulatory environment — from impossibly restrictive to tolerable — the private sector expanded rapidly and made a major contribution to expanding post-schooling access in Brazil. Contrary to the fears of many Brazilian officials and experts, private providers have not lowered the standard of education. While there is also variability across private institutions, private students fared as well as public students in assessments and the majority of the best 100 institutions are now private.

The private sector in Brazil has been innovative in developing new educational products and institutional forms. Companies have seen business opportunities and, as a result, have developed more effective teaching materials, used TV programmes to enhance skills development and set up large education chains that exploit economies of scale. The Brazilian experience suggests there is much to gain and little to fear from making the post-schooling regulatory environment accessible to private providers, including those that are for-profit.

A remarkable difference between Brazil and SA is the extent to which Brazilian policies have created a large supply of postgraduates willing to teach in an expanding higher education sector. This spare capacity does not exist in SA. The shortage may constrain the ability of private providers to expand as rapidly as they did in Brazil unless steps are taken to fill the gap.

At present, only 9% of the people teaching in SA’s private higher education institutions have a doctorate and this clearly has to change. In the short term, SA should make its skilled immigration policy more liberal (in word and deed) and entice the expertise we need for rapid expansion and quality teaching. The prolonged financial crisis in Europe and the prospect of low growth for many years to come provide an unprecedented opportunity for SA to recruit skills quickly.

One of the most interesting initiatives of the Brazilian government is the 60-year-old programme of sending thousands of bright young people to study abroad at leading universities. As nearly all of them came home with a world-class education and global experience, this suggests itself as a policy that could fairly quickly increase the number of highly skilled and internationally competitive people in SA. However, there are a number of challenges that have to be overcome first. Apart from logistical issues, the policy will work only if students are selected on merit, with an emphasis on the right areas of study (without being too narrow), and if graduates return to work in SA.

This happens in Brazil, but given SA’s continuing "brain drain", consideration will need to be given to how graduates can be encouraged to return to this country.

The increasing demand for post-school education and training in SA must be met. It is in the country’s interests to ensure that quality institutions expand and that new ones emerge speedily. This will not be an easy task for a public sector already struggling on a number of fronts with respect to education. Brazil’s recent history illustrates the important role of nonstate institutions in expanding a country’s capacity.

Private institutions could play a major role in providing access to education and training, especially for those who do not qualify for entry into leading universities. For this to happen at the speed and scale that is required, SA’s current regulatory environment and negative presumptions about private provision will need to change. It is vital that the rules and regulations affecting both public and private institutions lead to "level playing fields" and that financial assistance to students is as effective and accessible as possible and does not differentiate between the two kinds of institutions.

Brazil’s achievements in higher education are worthy of further consideration and an investigation into how these can best be adapted for SA’s circumstances.

• Bernstein is executive director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE). This article is based on a new CDE report, Public Reform and Private Expansion: the development of higher education in Brazil.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2012/10/17/higher-education-learn-from-brazil-and-let-the-private-sector-play-its-part

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French President Hollande vows to ban homework as part of 'education reforms'

New York, Oct 17 (ANI): French President Francois Hollande has vowed to ban homework as part of wide-ranging reforms to the country's education system.

Hollande has expressed worries over the fact that privileged children benefit from parental assistance on take-home assignments and that disadvantaged children do not have support at home.

"An education program is, by definition, a societal program. Work should be done at school, rather than at home," the New York Daily News quoted Hollande, as saying.

According to a report by France 24, Hollande's extensive education reform plans also include increasing financial aid while combating truancy.

He also intends to provide incentives for teachers in difficult area, the report said.

According to the report, France ranks below most nearby European countries, as well as the United States, on international tests, which has prompted a desire for restructuring. (ANI)

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/10/17/38-French-President-Hollande-vows-to-ban-homework-as-part-of-education-reforms-.html

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Vocational education students to get HSC certificates

PUNE: The state ministry of higher and technical education has decided to award higher secondary certificates (HSC) to students completing vocational education after Std X. They will also be eligible for admission to undergraduate degree courses.

At present, the HSC certificate is given by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education to students who complete the conventional 10 +2 degree courses in arts, science and commerce. The entire aim of drawing equivalence between HSC and certificate vocational courses is to bring these students into the mainstream so that they can pursue conventional degrees such as engineering and medicine, said Rajesh Tope, state minister of higher and technical education.

He said that close to three lakh students who pass vocational courses annually are set to benefit from this decision. The scheme will be implemented from the 2013-14 academic year (AY).

The Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET), a state board that regulates vocational education in the state, conducts two-year vocational courses through various affiliated institutes in the state. Students who qualify for certificate courses through DVET will receive the +2 HSC degree certificate. A total of 16 such courses are offered by DVET after completion of Std X. Subjects included are electrical maintenance, general civil engineering, carpentry, maintenance and repair of electrical appliances, building maintenance and office management, among others.

"The step has been taken to ensure that vertical mobility is created for these students after they complete their certificate course," said Tope. "At present, students who undertake vocational education after Std X have limited options and are forced to pursue a career in the vocational segment. But, with an HSC certificate in hand, they can get into engineering, commerce, arts and other such fields. For engineering and medicine, however, they will have to sit for entrance tests like other students."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Vocational-education-students-to-get-HSC-certificates/articleshow/16843515.cms

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Rich siblings spend big bucks to affect California education funding

 The Munger siblings vs. California Gov. Jerry Brown: Here is this week’s case study in our continuing look at how billionaires (and millionaires) are throwing around their money to drive education reform.

Last week I wrote about a bunch of billionaires (Bill Gates, for one) using their fabulous wealth in support of an initiative in Washington state that would allow charter schools to open there for the first time. Voters in the state have turned down the idea three times, but some people can’t take no for an answer.

Now in California, the daughter and son of billionaire Charles Munger (who is the business partner of the fabulously wealthy Warren Buffet) are spending  millions of dollars to defeat  Brown’s public education funding proposition on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Molly Munger, a civil rights attorney, has spent more than $30 million to push her very own Proposition 38, which would raise $10 billion a year for public schools by raising income tax.

There’s no question that California public education has sustained damaging budget cuts and needs more resources. But Brown, the elected governor, has his own ballot initiative, Proposition 30, which calls for a $6 billion a year tax hike to fund a number of things in California, including local law enforcement and education. He has said that if it doesn’t pass, nearly $5.5 billion will have to be cut for public education in next year’s budget. Munger, however, has been quoted as saying she doesn’t believe the cuts will be made.

The dueling propositions don’t raise money in the same way; Munger’s would raise income tax on California’s on a rising scale, starting at earnings above $7,316. Brown’s proposition includes a sales tax of one-quarter of a cent for four years and would boost income taxes on earnings over $250,000 for individuals for seven years.

Munger’s brother, Charles Munger Jr., has given more than $20 million to defeat Brown’s initiative and pass another one that would prevent unions and corporations from using funds deducted from payrolls for political purposes.

 How twisted has the politics of this saga become? The L.A. Times reported in this story that the man who helped Munger develop her initiative, John Mockler, described as ” the architect of California’s school funding law,” has now sided with Brown. He says Munger’s proposal won’t work the way she says it will.

What people who care about public education worry that the fight will sink both education funding initiatives.

The San Jose Mercury News ran an editorial that said: “No wonder Molly Munger is so empathetic with school kids. She’s acting like one.”

Dan Morain, senior editor of the Sacramento Bee, wrote in this piece, “As weird as California politics are, there’s never been a drama quite like the one playing out now. It would be amusing, except that the stakes are so high.”

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Why education loan schemes are not ticking

October 14, 2012: 

The origin of the education loan scheme in India dates back to 1992. The scheme has evolved through contributions from the Finance Ministry, Indian Banks’ Association and banks.
What the Numbers Say?

Data on various facets of education loan (EL) are inadequate, unsystematic and discontinuous. We have compiled available data on EL from March-end 2005 to March-end 2012 from various issues of RBI Annual Report.

During this period, EL increased from Rs 5,700 crore to Rs 50,200 crore, yielding a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 36.5 per cent compared to that for gross bank credit (GBC) at 22.7 per cent and priority sector credit (PSC) at 20.7 per cent. The performance of EL scheme looks impressive due to its low base. Against this, its year-on-year growth, which was 75.4 per cent in 2006, nosedived to 14.9 per cent in 2012.

Chart 1 presents EL-to-GBC and EL-to-PSC ratios.

Evidently, both the ratios remain at abysmally low levels. In addition, the ratios have plateaued in the last three years.

Chart presents the ratios of incremental EL to incremental GBC and to incremental PSC. It shows a mountain-and-valley panorama for both the ratios. However, the performance is not pretty, with drastic declines observed towards terminal years of the data series.

It can be seen that the EL scheme has not meaningfully taken off despite its two-decade-long existence and repeated moral suasion of bank chiefs by the Finance Ministers.

The EL scheme, as a business proposition, has not gone down well with bankers. The scheme is still being looked upon as a ‘scheme of near-donation’ by both bankers and borrowers. Therefore, bankers are not motivated to market the scheme proactively and aggressively. This is buttressed by the number of EL accounts which stood at just 2.28 million at end-March 2011.
Recovery

A search on the Internet revealed that no bank has put out recovery figures in respect of EL in public domain, which gives rise to suspicion that all is not well on the recovery front. Discussions with bankers at various levels confirm this belief. According to one estimate, EL NPA percentage was as high as 6 in 2011-12. According to yet another source, recovery percentage in Tamil Nadu as on June 30, 2011, was 5.02 for all banks and 1.25 for co-operative banks.

We see a vicious circle here. Since the EL scheme is not being marketed as a business proposition, enthusiasm among bankers to recover loans is low, and since recovery is low, risks are more and bankers shy away from marketing the scheme.

Borrowers are also equally responsible for this sorry state of affairs. They think that ELs are grants, not to be repaid.

A section of bankers expect that the proposed Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for EL will alleviate the current situation.

Yes, it would definitely buck up the current sluggish trend in EL disbursement, but it should also be aimed at creating a healthy credit culture in the domain of EL, involving both bankers and beneficiaries alike.

Even if all ELs go bad, banks stand to lose only a tiny fraction of their GBC.

However, ELs serve a ‘noble’ purpose, particularly in a country like India where higher education, technical education and skill levels remain at low ebb and yet benefits of demographic dividend have to be reaped fully.

Therefore, it is imperative that the scheme continues but in a different garb.
Change the Game

The fact is both banks and borrowers see ELs as ‘doles’. So why not make ELs as ‘doles’ and bring them under the fold of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of banks?

Every bank could earmark a certain percentage of their yearly net profit for distributing to meritorious students as scholarships through a carefully chosen set of educational institutions. The modus operandi can be worked out.

During 2010-11, ELs constituted 9.7 per cent of net profit of scheduled commercial banks, which is not a big sum. This will help banks boost their image in terms of CSR, which is of immense importance in today’s corporate world (even the Prime Minister mentioned about it recently in one of his speeches), particularly for financial institutions traditionally known as “agents” of socio-economic change.

Also, it will help save on both administrative and recovery costs involved in ELs.

To let EL continue as a loan scheme will be equivalent to allowing it to wither away like the Differential Interest Rate scheme of the yore.

If banks are aiming at serving a ‘noble’ cause, the CSR, rather than loan, route may be explored for EL.

This will be less harmful and embarrassing than a possible ‘waiver’ of the loans at a later stage.

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Higher education department releases sports calendar

 BHOPAL: The higher education department has released the sports calendar for the year 2012-13 here on Sunday. The department has strictly directed the government educational institutions to follow the calendar.

According to the department, the college level sports events will start from September 10 while the district level events are scheduled to begin from September 15. Later, the divisional level sports activities will be organised from September 21 whereas the state level events are to start from September 27.

The department has selected 22 games in which the competitions will be organised. The divisional sports events will be organised in Bhopal (athletics, volleyball), Gwalior (football, badminton), Indore (basketball, table tennis), Jabalpur (cricket), Rewa (kabaddi, kho-kho), Sagar (chess) and Ujjain (judo).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Higher-education-department-releases-sports-calendar/articleshow/15099755.cms

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EPASS 2012-13 Application Status – Epass Status 2012-13

Epass Application Status 2012-13 – Now you can check Status of your Epass Scholarship Application
Andhra Pradesh Government is providing financial help to Students from Backward and Scheduled Castes with EPASS Scholarship 2012. Students need to submit an application form to claim their Epass Scholarship. Recently Officials Started taking epass renewal scholarship applications through their online portal www.epass.cgg.gov.in.

But many students are doubting about their Scholarships. and they want to check their Epass Application Status 2012 to confirm whether they got their scholarship or not. Soon Officials are going to provide options to check Epass 2012 Application Status.

Candidates have to wait few more days to check their scholarship application status.

Till now Officials didn’t provide any option to check status of scholarship applications. So they may provide this option after getting few more applications. So candidates need to wait few more days to check their epass 2012 status.

UPDATE : EPASS 2012-13

How to Check Epass 2012-13 Application Status

To check Epass 2012 Application Status, Applicants need their Application Number, Academic Year, SSC Hall ticket Number, SSC Pass Type and Date of Birth.

Those who need to check status of their scholarship application, need to go to Epass Official website epasswebsite.cgg.gov.in and Should Click on “Epass Application Status 2012” and have to enter the required Details to check his application status.

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New Zealand education sector delegation heads to India

Wellington: A delegation from New Zealand will arrive in India on Saturday to drum up trade in the education sector.

Led by Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce, the delegation would aim to lift New Zealand's profile as a destination for international students and to support New Zealand tertiary institutions and companies seeking to grow their business in the Indian market, reported Xinhua.

"India is New Zealand's third largest source of international students with 12,358 students enrolled in courses in New Zealand in 2011 -- an increase of 95 percent since 2008," Mr Joyce said in a statement.

The government wanted to double the economic contribution the international education industry made to New Zealand to 5 billion NZ dollars ($4.09 billion) by 2025, he said.

"India is an important part of that future growth both in terms of students studying in New Zealand, and New Zealand providers working in India. The aim of the visit alongside a delegation of New Zealand tertiary institutions, education providers and companies is to further strengthen and build on our mutual education relationship," said Mr Joyce.

"The closeness between our two education industries is reflected in the fact that up to eight memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed between New Zealand and Indian institutions covering areas such as vocational training, joint research training, student exchanges and ICT."

New Zealand also has good links with India in the aviation sector, with New Zealanders being involved in the design and building of airports in India, and New Zealand was highly regarded as a flight training location for Indian students.

"During the visit, we will be looking for greater collaboration to allow more New Zealand companies to take advantage of the aviation opportunities in India," said Mr Joyce.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/new-zealand-education-sector-delegation-heads-to-india-278810

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Sports persons in colleges and universities to get free education

NEW DELHI: University and college sports persons who bring laurels to the country in national and international events will be provided free education till the highest level, the government said today.

"Any sports person, who brings laurels to the country, will be given free education up to the highest level," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here following approval of guidelines in this regard.

As per the guidelines, financial assistance will be reimbursed by UGC to the university concerned.

The university concerned will make "special efforts" in terms of completion of syllabus and attendance of the sports person due to loss of class, according to the guidelines.

This step would bring a big relief to sports persons like Unmukt Chand, captain of India's World cup-winning under-19 cricket team, who had his share of ordeals regarding lack of attendance till the Delhi University Vice Chancellor had stepped in.

The HRD Minister also announced starting a national level university cricket league and university level hockey league to promote sports in a big way in campuses.

The cricket league would be played among eight top universities in T20 format from among those who qualify through a zonal competition. Similarly, the hockey league will be played among top eight teams selected through zonal competitions.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/education/Sports-persons-in-colleges-and-universities-to-get-free-education/articleshow/16690199.cms

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Denying education to girls entrenches poverty: Report

NEW YORK: Millions of girls worldwide are condemned to lives of hardship because they don't go to school, an education gap that entrenches broader extreme poverty, a new report said on Thursday.

The report, "Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2012," was released in New York by Plan International on the United Nations' first International Day of the Girl. "The estimated 75 million girls missing from classrooms across the world is a major violation of rights and a huge waste of young potential," the child poverty alleviation group said in launching the report.

A total of one in three girls is denied education, but Plan's report focuses especially on 39 million girls aged between 11 and 15, right on the cusp of becoming young women, who are out of school. The report -- which coincided with the news this week of a 14-year-old Pakistani girl gunned down for her criticism of Taliban campaigns against girl's education -- underlined the hugely positive impact that school can have on girls in poor countries.

"An educated girl is less vulnerable to violence, less likely to marry and have children when still a child herself, and more likely to be literate and healthy into adulthood -- as are her own children," Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman said. "Her earning power is increased and she is more likely to invest her income for the benefit of her family, community and country. It is not an exaggeration to say educating girls can save lives and transform futures."

In Washington, President Barack Obama's administration marked the inaugural Day of the Girl by pledging to promote "the rights and status of girls here in the United States and around the world."

"We know that when girls have access to education and healthcare, are safe from violence, and have equal opportunities to reach their full potential, families and communities are more likely to thrive," the White House said.

Plan called on global leaders to ensure a minimum of nine years' schooling for all children, giving them a better chance to enter secondary education. But special priority should be given to girls, the humanitarian organization said, with greater funding and programs to stop child marriage and violence in schools -- two main reasons for the current dropout rate among girls.

In many cases, poor families pull daughters from school out of fear for their health or safety. In Ghana, 83 percent of parents interviewed for the report said the risks of pregnancy were a disadvantage of school. The report said that in Togo, 16 percent of children interviewed named a teacher responsible for a classmate's pregnancy. That figure was 15 percent in Mali and 11 percent in Senegal.

In Ghana, 75 percent of children said teachers were the main source of school violence. The opposite trend is also true, with school attendance leading to an ever-widening series of benefits. "If adolescent girls stay in school and obtain real skills, research shows that they will earn more income in the future, marry later, and have fewer and healthier children," Plan said. "In the longer term, secondary education protects girls against HIV and AIDS, sexual harassment and human trafficking."

As the report came out, Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai was fighting for her life after being shot in the head in broad daylight on a school bus. Her struggle resonated with tens of thousands of girls denied an education by militants across northwest Pakistan, where the government has been fighting local Taliban since 2007.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/denying-education-to-girls-entrenches-poverty-report/articleshow/16776522.cms

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New higher agricultural education policy soon

 NAGPUR: With the aim of bringing uniformity in education in agriculture and raising its standard, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is conducting an exercise of identifying the lacunae in the system, rectifying them and also setting new quality standards through steps like accreditation to all the universities and their affiliated colleges. Basically the council is working towards a new higher education policy in agriculture.

The effort is also targeted at generating better quality and trained scientists, teachers and agriculturists for the country. The initiative stems from the result of a survey conducted by National Academy of Agriculture Research Management ( NAARM) in Hyderabad which pointed out deficiency of at least 50,000 agricultural scientists by 2010.

"Where would we get these scientists from? Surely they have to come from the agriculture universities. Today there are no uniform quality standards in agriculture education. Thus bringing uniformity in agriculture education is the first priority. Though there is a model Act of ICAR, it is not being implemented across the country in right manner. Hence the need for accreditation and upgradation of the colleges and the universities," said C D Mayee, one of the members of the ICAR committee and former chairman of Agriculture Scientists Recruitment Board from city.

Subjects being debated under the effort include the question of necessity of private colleges and universities in agriculture and their accreditation. At present, the standard of agriculture education has gone down badly. There is no uniformity in course structure and pattern of examination system. Another issue being deliberated on is preventing the disintegration of existing universities. "The universities could be regional. But not specialized ones (any one field of agriculture)," said Mayee.

Not many people know that there are 120 private agriculture colleges in Maharashtra alone whereas the government colleges are just 10 to 15. This is an extremely uneven distribution of the colleges as these 120 colleges alone are equal to the 40% admission capacity of the country. Most of these colleges do not follow the Maharashtra Council of Agriculture Education and Research (MCAER). National policy would in no way be discouraging private colleges but it will definitely prevent the mushrooming of specialized private colleges. There could be more central agricultural universities along with state universities.

Hence, grading the colleges has become a necessity. ICAR will lay down minimum standards for these colleges any universities. Heads are also rolling towards improving the quality of vice-chancellors of agricultural universities. The post today has been reduced to a political appointment and the appointment process is not at all transparent. ICAR committee is working on the option of selecting experts from all over the country in the subject on national level body. State Governors can actually pick the experts from their own state for selecting a VC.

Experts are also looking at the option of replacing the first few semesters to complete practical training which would then be followed by theory lessons. This will improve the farmers' interaction with the agriculture universities and also force the students to stay in villages for long enough periods to learn agriculture, identify farmers' problems to decide the direction of research in agriculture and be there from sowing to harvesting to actually experience the nuances of the process. In the last semester, students can take up experience learning in a subject of their choice. This would be called as Rural Agriculture Work Experience (RAWE).

"Education should be the fundamental for better research. But the scenario is very bad today. There are 56 agriculture universities producing 30,000 graduates. But the quality is substandard. Hence, there is a need for overhauling the entire framework of the universities," said Mayee. The accredited colleges alone would then be eligible for central government schemes. Universities would also be prompted to generate their own funds for their development. ICAR could also work out a uniform fee structure for the universities and affiliated colleges.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/New-higher-agricultural-education-policy-soon/articleshow/16776328.cms

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Education schemes have become 'den' of graft in Ch'garh: Cong

Two key Centre-sponsored education schemes are riddled with rampant corruption in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Opposition Congress alleged.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission (RGSM) have become a “den” of large-scale corruption, Chhattisgarh Congress spokesman Anand Shukla said.

The Congress-led UPA government had given Rs 678.63 crore to the state in 2010-11 under SSA, the Centre's flagship programme for universalisation of elementary education. However, this fund is being misused by the BJP government, he charged.

Under RGSM, festivals are organised to create interest for education among children. At these festivals, children are provided temporary shelter and food. But these things are not happening in Chhattisgarh, Shukla claimed.

There is also a provision under RGSM to provide drinking water facility in schools. But rampant irregularities have been reported in implementation of this provision, the Congress leader alleged.

In Bastar district, hand pumps were set up in 1,312 primary schools at a cost of over Rs 12 crore. However, these hand pumps are now out of order, he said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/education-schemes-have-become-den-of-graft-in-chgarh-cong/1015828/

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Over 70 higher education institutions at Education Show

Sharjah: Sharjah’s eighth edition of the International Education fair opened yesterday (Wednesday) at the Sharjah Expo Center, featuring leading higher educational institutions, each competing to offer a global educational experience that exposes students to people and ideas from around the world.

Universities, business schools and other educational and professional training institutions along with pupils s from numerous schools in the UAE were present at the three-day event that runs until October 12.

Besides several reputable foreign universities present at the show, other stalls featured a host of innovative, high quality programmes that will be supported by leading, local, regional and international educational institutions.

Visitors at the fair can also expect to meet representatives of more than 70 higher education institutions from all over the world, including India, Malaysia, Oman, Jordan, the US, the UK and the UAE.


The show was opened by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Khawla Al Mulla, Assistant Undersecretary for Activities and School Environment Policy, Ahmad Mohammad Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Saif Mohammad Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah, and officials of various government departments were also present at the fair.

“I believe an event like the International Education Show can play a key role in preparing our youth by helping them choose the right higher education and technical training path to take up this formidable challenge,” said Ahmad Mohammad Al Midfa.

While the demand for higher education is set to rise in the UAE, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, numbers show that there are nearly 727,918 pupilsenrolled in about 1,276 public and private schools across the UAE for the 2012-2013 academic year. Federal higher education institutions have also seen a rise in student intake this academic year, with a total of 14,570 students being offered places as against last year’s 11,532, an increase of 26 per cent.

Salma Senaran, registrar at City University of Ajman, explained that the university’s participation at the fair gives high school pupilsthe opportunity to explore the different educational programmes available at the university. “We are also able find out the student’s desires and interests to further improve our programmes,” she added, pointing out that it’s a two-way learning process.

Professor Nabeel A. Jurdi, and Provost of American University in the Emirates also agreed that the fair allows students and educators the chance to find out more about exclusive programmes such as those offered at the AUE campus. “AUE stresses on a methodology of education that combines theory and practice,” he added.

The Edutainment Show

Alongside the Education Show, the Edutainment Show, which features the best in education technology and resources that can improve and enhance learning is also being held at the fair.

The debut Edutainment Show will ride on the technology revolution that is sweeping schools across the globe and the UAE offering insights to education professionals into the cost-effective integration and use of modern technological equipment.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/over-70-higher-education-institutions-at-education-show-1.1087570

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Polycom eyes education space for growth in India

 New Delhi, Oct 10:

Innovation in the field of education is a constant process and Polycom Inc, a video-conferencing solutions provider, aims to tap this market in India.

Lynnette Whitfield, Director (Education Industry Solutions and Market Development, Asia-Pacific), Polycom, “The higher education sector is adopting technology because of its large bandwidth. They have the facilities to hold a lot of the high-definition technology, whereas the schools don’t have the bandwidth yet. But we do anticipate a growth in that.”

She added that from an economic perspective, the higher education space is their target. While adding that India is one of their fastest growing markets, Whitfield said the technology solutions that companies such as Polycom have to offer will get a thrust only when the communication networks improve.

“When you don’t have the network for schools to connect to there’s no point putting video-conferencing systems there,” she said.

However, despite the hurdles, Polycom is the leader in the video-conferencing space in India with 50.2 per cent market share in 2011, according to a Frost and Sullivan report. The report expects the video-conferencing market, pegged at $83.2 million in 2011, to grow at an annual rate of 20 per cent over the next seven years.

Whitfield said the Polycom services are different and suitable for use in classrooms because of certain developments, such as intelligent packet-loss recovery. Thanks to this, the calls do not drop even when the network gets disturbed.

She explained that when the call is at a certain speed, and the network faces some problem, it moves onto a lower bandwidth until the network recovers, making it ideal for conducting lectures over the Internet, without fear of losing connection.

She also hopes to see India emerge as a major content provider.

Whitfield added that a number of universities and institutes across the world have already started collaborating in this manner.

In a recent initiative called DeforestAction, 20 school kids from Bangalore were able to interact with students and teachers from across the Asia-Pacific region. The students got a chance to interact with wildlife activists in the forests of Indonesia, who attempted to highlight the impact of illegal deforestation on orangutans and other species.

Talking about the extremes in the education space, Whitfield said video-conferencing solutions could be used for teachers’ professional development, which can then percolate to students in rural areas.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3984966.ece

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