Spirit of Indian culture, education

What it is: In modern time the conditions of life in India have greatly changed. India is a part of a world-wide empire, and she is given a world role to play. She can’t stand apart. Mr. Lloyd George has rightly remarked,  “India must march with other nations, or her fate will be sealed.” At present she is required to be up-to-date, and accordingly she has been trying to adapt herself to the new environment. So far good. We make a mistake when we lose our hold on the national culture. What is great and good in others should no doubt, be gladly accepted to serve our own ideal  and purpose of life. The modern system of education is under the control of a foreign government, and it is as it should be from the standpoint of the rulers who are not expected to know the Ideal of Indian life, and grasp the spirit of Indian Culture. The evil effects of the present system of education are nearly set out in an educational pamphlet. To quote those “The missionary system of education in India sterilises children spiritually. They miss their own Dharma, and begin to hate that which ought to inspire them. Government and private enterprise in education is non-religious, non-moral, and non-patriotic, and only means the mental assimilation of some knowledge without character-building or enthusiasm for the life round about.” So Swami Vivekananda says “ Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain, and runs riot there undigested all your life. We must have life building, man making, character-making, assimilation of ideas. If education is identical with information the libraries are the greatest sages in the world, and the Encyclopedias are the Rishis.” So let us see what should help the spontaneous growth of man and his intellect.

What it should be: As circumstanced India is put to a very critical situation, she is moving, so to speak, in a sensitive balance, either to drop down or to rise high up in the estimation of other  nations. She is conquered physically, her spirit and culture are still free. Foreign culture is transgressing and trying to absorb the Indian culture altogether, hence there is a conflict of cultures. In  this conflict, if the other party is successful, India will be crushed forever; if India is successful she is sure to deliver her message to the world, as she has done in the past, from time to time. Cultural conquest is the only Conquest, so education in all its branches should be guided by the spirit of Indian culture that we may prepare ourselves for our self-preservation, and self-development for the  good not only of India, but also of the world at large.

It follows from the above consideration that the characteristics of an Indian university should be so as may bring the students to the centre of Indian life, the inner life, the life of spirituality. All outer events or departments e.g., social, political, military, etc., should also be duly emphasised, but they are needed for no other gain than to secure the ideal of the nation. Everything outside should be controlled by the life within. An Indian university is truly Indian in so far as it helps the spiritualisation of the different  subjects of life and thought, and inculcates the idea of sacrifice of oneself to God in all the stages and walks. If India is to be unified it must be unified by the revival and representation of her own spirit.

Extracts from Vedanta Kesari, an English monthly of the Ramakrishna Order, published from Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.




http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bangalore/Spirit-of-Indian-culture-education/2013/12/14/article1945015.ece

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Centre crippling school education: NGOs

BHOPAL: Centre has been actively implementing the agenda to cripple government's school education system with a view to ultimately destroy it under increasing pressure from international agencies (like, World Bank, IMF, DFID and others), alleged Shiksha Adhikar Manch. The manch, a platform of an assortment activists, were addressing a press conference on Friday.

It was pursuing this agenda, they alleged, that the government introduced schemes like DPEP and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which have so worked to downgrade government schools that even the poorer sections now hesitate in sending their children in these schools.

The conference was addressed by educationist Anil Sadgopal (president, All India Forum for Right to Education), Abdul Jabbar (Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan), Jyotsana Milan (senior writer), G S Asival (senior trade union leader) and Vijay Kumar (RYFI) among others.

"The credibility of government schools has been purposely eroded to open doors of uninhibited profiteering by private schools. The much-talked about Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 is part of the same government strategy to destroy public school system. This Act does not give children the right to free and good quality education instead it gives the right of unlimited profiteering to the corporate houses and their pet NGOs," said Sadgopal.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Centre-crippling-school-education-NGOs/articleshow/27350266.cms

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Jean returns from fact-finding trip to India armed with education ideas

A TORBAY Council advisory teacher has returned from a fact-finding mission in India armed with a host of ideas to help school children and professionals in Torbay and the rest of the country.

Jean Jackson spent six weeks in Kerala after being awarded an education grant from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

The trust funds overseas trips for Fellows so they can share the results of their experience and best practice for the wider benefit of their community and the UK.

Jean said: "It was an amazing trip to India and I have returned with lots of stories and ideas which I hope will inspire children. It is so important to share the fun and festivities of children from other countries while teaching and learning about language and culture — it can improve their academic achievement and enrich their learning.

"The Travelling Fellowship enabled me to explore the educational system in Kerala and research the culture so I can bring a little piece of India back to schools in Torbay. I would like to thank the trust for this wonderful opportunity."

During her Fellowship Jean studied the education system in Kerala and researched storytelling traditions in the region, including Kathakali performance theatre.

She visited schools in Kottayam, Ernakulam and the tribal area of Wayanad.

Her role in Torbay mainly involves supporting schools in meeting the needs of children who have English as an additional language.

Torbay's second largest group is Malayali children from Kerala and there is a gap in educational resources available to them.

Jean will use the findings from her trip to develop her work with Malayali children who are improving their English language skills.

The research will also enable Jean to produce materials to help the children in Torbay schools to learn about life in another country.

She intends to produce a dual language book which can be used in Britain and Kerala.

Read more: http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Jean-returns-fact-finding-trip-India-armed/story-20314219-detail/story.html#ixzz2nRa5qWf5

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Times Higher Education rankings: India has only 10 institutes in top 100, Panjab University ahead of six IITs

The inaugural Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2014 have highlighted China’s ‘utter dominance’ in the higher education sector. Though India is nowhere near its neighbour, 10 of its institutes figure in the top 100 list, which was published Tuesday after analysing institutes from 22 countries.

China has claimed four of the top 10 slots, and 23 of the top 100. The country’s Peking University leads the rankings and Tshingua University is second. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has notched up 21 slots.

The Indian tally is led by Chandigarh’s Panjab University, which has claimed the thirteenth place, ahead of six IITs that stand between No. 30 and No. 47. A high citation record is seen as the reason behind PU’s success. Other Indian institutes on the list are Jadavpur University (No. 47), Aligarh Muslim University (No. 50) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (No. 57).

Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education Rankings, told The Indian Express: “Its elite group of specialist institutions, the IITs, do well overall, but India has perhaps been so focused on meeting the extremely high demand for additional university places that it has allowed quality to suffer. Student numbers have exploded, but quality has not been maintained.”

“There are wider concerns about teaching in India — ensuring graduates have up-to-date skills for the job market, and can think creatively and prepare for an uncertain future,” he said, adding that Indian institutions needed a “stronger research culture”.

The rankings also threw up some surprises. Turkey has claimed three places in the top 10 and seven in the top 100. Russia, however, has only two institutes on the list. No institute from Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines made it to the list.

Baty said China’s “utter dominance” should “serve as a warning to the other BRICS that they risk losing out in the global race if they do not put further energy and resources into developing their universities to compete with the very best”.

The rankings are based on thirteen indicators such as industry income, innovation, teaching, learning environment, citations, students, etc.

Apart from the BRICS nations, the rankings also considered countries classified as emerging economies by the FTSE — a provider of economic and financial data.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/times-higher-education-rankings-india-has-only-10-institutes-in-top-100-panjab-university-ahead-of-six-iits/1203582/0

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France plans to invest in education and hospitality in Bihar

Impressed with over 10 per cent growth rate achieved by Bihar, France said there was good prospect for French companies to invest in the state's education, power and hospitality sectors stated a TOI report.

"There is tremendous prospect for French companies to register its economic presence in Bihar in the field of education, power and hospitality sectors," Francois Richier French Ambassador stated during his first three-day visit in Bihar. Richier said he would talk to about 350 French companies in India to make Bihar their destination.

French investment in India, at present stands at USD 18 billion. About 350 French companies in hospitality, manufacturing, automobile, cement, mechanical engineering and beauty products had heavy investments in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, NCR and Gujarat.

Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister, Government of Bihar at a meeting with Richier, informed him that French companies could help in the state's endeavour to lay stress on the power sector.

The ambassador, who visited Nalanda to see the site of new International Open University and the ancient one, said an MoU was signed between Nalanda International University and French Research school EFEO for educational exchange programmes of students and faculty members. He said there was also scope for student exchange with National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna.

http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=18280&sid=1

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India Seeks Latin American Investors in Manufacturing and Infrastructure

During a visit to India this week by business community leaders from Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, India indicated it was actively seeking LAC investment in its manufacturing, infrastructure, and agricultural processing sectors.

Led by Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas Espinel, the 250 member business delegation will attend a number of events and meetings hosted by the Indian Government and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi and Mumbai.

It is reported that projects worth over US$35 billion were offered to business leaders during the CII-hosted opening event yesterday.

“What LAC countries need to discover is the attractiveness of the market here and in particular manufacturing. That is where the Indian market is ideally placed to receive investments,” Secretary of Industrial Policy and Promotion Suarabh Chandra said at a CII function.

Chandra also briefed the delegation about India’s National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), which provides financial incentives to overseas investors, and 2013 changes in FDI policy.

The NMP aims to raise the share of manufacturing to 25 percent of India’s GDP by 2022 from 16 percent, and create more than 100 million jobs by 2020.

The LAC delegation was specifically encouraged to invest in the development of four new industrial corridors: the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Chennai Bangalore Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor and Amristar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also called upon India and LAC countries to increase bilateral cooperation in poverty eradication efforts and educational exchange.

Faster Visa Issuance Procedures

Noting that bilateral trade between India and the LAC has increased considerably over the past decade, Khurshid called upon small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in both India and the LAC to increase cooperation and investment.

Khurshid insisted, however, that there was an immediate need to improve Indian consular services in the LAC and issue visas to LAC citizens faster in order to boost economic engagement between the two regions.

While two-way trade between the LAC and India increased to US$46 billion in 2012 from only US$2 billion in 2000, Khurshid stated that “the figure is not reflective of the true potential of our economic engagement. We need, and I take note of this, to improve on our consular services and faster issuance of visas and I think that remains the pre-requisite that we must address.”

“This region includes five of the world’s most bio-diverse countries – Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. India wishes to build a long lasting, enduring relationship with LAC,” he added.

By increasing cooperation and engagement between LAC and Indian SMEs, both sides agreed technology related to e-governance, tele-education, tele-medicine and mining could enhance economic growth potential.

A report issued late yesterday appears to indicate the delegation is already seeing early signs of success as Ecuador announced plans to invest US$70 billion into India by 2017.

The next LAC business delegation is expected to travel to New Delhi in September 2014 in order to continue strengthening political and economic relationships being forged this week.

- See more at: http://www.india-briefing.com/news/india-seeks-lac-investors-manufacturing-infrastructure-7225.html/#sthash.k4FTmcP8.dpuf

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Asian school students top global education survey

LONDON: A major global ranking released on Tuesday, which evaluated knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, has showed Britain has failed in making it to the top 20 in mathematics, English and science for the first time.

Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea have outperformed the rest of the world in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s latest PISA survey in which over half a million 15-year-olds in 65 countries took tests in the three subjects.

The results have come as a shocker for the UK with British students faring poorest in mathematics — coming 26th in the league table. In English reading, they ranked 23rd and 18 in science.

Shanghai (China) and Singapore were top in mathematics. Students in Shanghai scored the equivalent of nearly three years of schooling above most OECD countries.

Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Macao, Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the Netherlands were also in the group of top-performing countries. The five top performing countries in reading were Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. India was not among the countries surveyed.

Of those 64 countries with trend data in maths up to 2012, 25 improved in maths, 25 showed no change and 14 did worse. Brazil, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Tunisia and Turkey have shown a consistent improvement over this period.

Around 23% of students in OECD countries, and 32% overall, failed to master the simplest maths problems. Boys performed better than girls in maths. They scored higher in 37 out of the 65 countries and economies, while girls outperformed boys in 5 countries.

Of the 64 countries and economies with comparable data up to 2012, 32 improved their reading performance, 22 showed no change, and 10 deteriorated. Chile, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey improved their reading performance across successive assessments.

Across OECD countries, 8.4% of students are top performers in reading. Shanghai-China has the largest proportion of top performers - 25.1%. Over 15% of students in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore are top performers in reading, as are more than 10% of students in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Korea, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway and Chinese Taipei.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Asian-school-students-top-global-education-survey/articleshow/26817209.cms

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A R Rahman bats for proper music education for kids

Underlining the need for music schools for youngsters, Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman feels children across India should have access to proper music education.

Learning music is "not merely a side thing where you take tuitions in a house. If a kid wants to learn music, he deserves proper education in it," Rahman told PTI here.

The Academy Award winning composer, singer and producer was in the city to visit a flagship store in Manhattan for the leading global audio and infotainment group Harman International Industries.

A large number of Indians living in the area had lined up at the store to meet Rahman and take photographs with the music legend. Rahman was also gifted customized gold-plated JBL headphones by Harman International CEO Dinesh Paliwal during his visit to the store.

Harman had named Rahman its India Brand Ambassador for JBL by Harman's multi-year campaign.

Rahman, who founded KM Music Conservatory, a higher education institution focussed on music in 2008, said his efforts in setting up the music school has inspired people in India to "understand that education of music is very important".

"If a kid in a family of doctors wants to study music, it is his right to demand that and come to a school like the K M Conservatory," he said.

Rahman added that he had been offered to open similar music schools beyond India's borders in countries like Dubai and Malaysia but said he still needs to "perfect" the concept in India.

On whether he has plans to set up a music school in the US, Rahman said he might look at the possibility in future when he has more free time in hand.

"You cannot set up a school and let someone else manage it. You have to be passionate and be involved all the time, get constant feedback. That is my intention. For me a music school is like family, you cannot have kids and then say that they will grow up on their own. You need to take care of them. The same applies to a music school," he added.

Among the various projects Rahman is currently working on are 'Million Dollar Arm' and 'Monkeys of Mumbai', which is DreamWorks Animation's first-ever Bollywood-style animated musical adventure.

The Grammy-award-winning musician said he is always on the lookout for projects that are not repetitive and drive him to deliver his best.

"At this stage of my life, the projects have to compel, drive me. That is the kind of projects I am selecting. It is important that I do not feel that I have done this before," he added.

Rahman, 47, who recently gave cricketer Sachin Tendulkar a guitar, said he will miss the batting legend on the field but said it was the right decision by Tendulkar to retire.

"Of course, I will miss him on the field. It is very emotional but at the same time it is good to go at such heights," he said.

"Life does not come to an end" with retirement and Tendulkar can continue to share his vast experience and knowledge about the game.

Rahman said Tendulkar was moving to a new house where he was setting up a music room. Rahman bought a guitar for Tendulkar who said he would take it if it has been signed by Rahman.

Tendulkar, who retired from cricket last month, counts the guitar gifted by Rahman among the memorable gifts he has received and has said that it is "dear to me."

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-r-rahman-bats-for-proper-music-education-for-kids/1202707/0

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India Education Services plans 50 business school centres in 10 years

 NEW DELHI: India Education Services, an equal joint venture between HT Media and US-based Apollo Global Inc, that runs Bridge School of Management, plans to open 50 centres across India in the next ten years to train working professionals.

The company that currently has a centre at Gurgaon, will open a second one at Noida shortly. It is targeting to provide executive education programmemes to mid-level working professionals with 3-8 years of work experience.

It is aiming for a total of about one lakh students to be trained in the next decade.

"There is a lack of supply for the right talent for the right job in India today. What we are aiming is to address the 'employability' gap to help India's rapidly growing industry," India Education Services CEO Rajesh Puri told PTI.

He said by leveraging on knowledge, experience, expertise and technology from Apollo Global, Bridge will provide an innovative learning environment and industry focused management programmemes for working adults to boost their career.

"Currently, we have a total of 125 students, all coming from various industry segments, in batch of 20 each. Our aim is that in 10 years time, we should be able to train about a lakh students," he said.

When asked about the campus expansion, Puri said: "Our first centre is at Gurgaon and the second is coming up in Noida very soon. The overall vision is to have about 50 centres across India in the next 10 years."

He, however, declined to comment on investments for expansion that the company has envisaged.

Puri also said as the school moves forward, it may also take students from outside and not necessarily from industry alone as it is done at present.

Bridge School of Management is offering post graduate programmemes in management with specialisations in HR, finance, marketing and operations and technology functions. Each programmeme is of 11-month duration costing about Rs 2.5 lakh.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-01/news/44619568_1_bridge-school-50-centres-puri

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Education can help India overcome moral challenges: President Pranab Mukherjee

The people of the country need to make an extra effort to surmount the contemporary moral challenges, President Pranab Mukherjee today said, stressing the need to focus on education for India to be "truly developed".

"Educational institutions have a pivotal role to inculcate in our youth the core civilizational values of love for motherland, performance of duty, compassion for all, tolerance for pluralism, respect for women, honesty in life, self-restraint in conduct, responsibility in action and discipline," the President said at the 12th convocation ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi University here.

Asserting that education is the bedrock of an enlightened society, he said a good education breeds tolerance for divergent views.

"Our country has done well in terms of economic development. Yet, we cannot claim to have evolved into a truly developed society," he said.

"Development is not only about factories, dams and roads. Development, to my mind, is about people, their values and their devotion to spiritual and cultural heritage of our nation."

"At a time when we, as a nation, have to make an extra effort to surmount the contemporary moral challenges, it is holistic education that must play a definitive role in shaping our values," Mukherjee said.

The President, who was on a two-day visit to the north eastern state, expressed concerns over the declining standard of country's higher education and suggested its overhaul.

"Today, our universities lag behind the best universities in the world. According to an international survey, an Indian university or an institution is missing from the top 200 ranks. Naturally, we feel shock," he said.

"India is poised to become a world power. Not merely physical expansion is enough, we must have quality expansion. There is no dearth of quality teachers and students, what we need is quality education and an atmosphere for that," the President said.

"Why should our students go to abroad. Why can't we create reverse reaction. For that, we need to emphasise on education and research," he said.

Mukherjee said ancient universities in the country had excelled in providing education not only for one or two years but for 1,800 years, yet none of our institutes figures in list of world's top 200 such centres.

"Our ancient universities--Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri-- were renowned seats of learning that attracted scholars from outside."

Mukherjee said country's higher academic model must undergo significant changes from the traditional pattern of delivering education.

He said every university has shortage of teachers but that cannot be overcome overnight.

Technology can play an important role for it, he said. The President also laid emphasis on conducting research activities in universities across the country.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-30/news/44596394_1_president-pranab-mukherjee-universities-quality-education

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