Smriti Irani Loses Education to Prakash Javadekar In Mega Cabinet Reset in India

Highlights
    Prakash Javadekar gets HRD portfolio, Smriti Irani moved to textiles
    Venkaiah Naidu gets Information & Broadcasting, retains Urban Development
    Ananth Kumar gets Parliamentary Affairs Ministry from Naidu

Smriti Irani is no more the country's Education Minister. In a big cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Ms Irani has been moved out of the Human Resource Development or HRD ministry and Prakash Javadekar, promoted to cabinet rank this morning, will hold the portfolio now.

Ms Irani, whose two-year tenure saw several controversies, has been moved to the Textile Ministry, seen as a less glamorous assignment. There is speculation that the shift could have something to do with a key role for the young minister in Uttar Pradesh, where elections that the BJP sees as a must-win will be held early next year.   

In other important changes made by PM Modi, Venkaiah Naidu will now be Minister for Information and Broadcasting, a portfolio held by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as an additional charge. Sadananda Gowda loses the Law Ministry to Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is also the Information Technology Minister. (Complete list of who got what)

Mr Naidu will no more hold charge of the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio, which will now be held by Ananth Kumar. Venkaiah Naidu retains the Urban Development Ministry.

Piyush Goel will hold Independent charge of four key ministries - Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines.

Vijay Goel, one of 19 new ministers who took oath at the Rashtrapati Bhawan today, takes over the Youth Affairs and Sports ministry (Independent Charge), left vacant when Sarbananda Sonowal moved to Assam as chief minister in May.

Jayant Sinha has been shifted from the Finance Ministry and will now be minister of state for civil aviation. Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Arjun Ram Meghwal, who took oath today, are the new junior ministers for finance.

Journalist turned politician MJ Akbar is minister of state for External Affairs.

With the induction of the new ministers today, PM Modi's council of ministers has been expanded to 78 members.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/major-changes-to-pm-modis-cabinet-smriti-irani-loses-education-1428339

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The Indian international schools mushrooming all over the city

A high number of upwardly-mobile and deep-pocketed families are opting to send their children to these international schools.

The Indian fascination with foreign education is apparently not limited to pursuing higher studies abroad; it has prompted a large number of schools that brand themselves ‘international’ to crop up in various parts of the city, promising curricula that are not score-intensive, allow for freedom to choose a combination of subjects and a focus on the overall developments of students.

A high number of upwardly-mobile and deep-pocketed families, who have made Bengaluru home, are opting to send their children to these international schools, many of which have fees that run into lakhs of rupees per annum.

Only on Tuesday, a 460-year-old school from Britain announced that Bengaluru was their pick to start an offshore campus. Predictably, the city’s south-east, which already houses a large number of international schools, will house the new school as well.
Growing popularity

But what is driving the growing preference for international schools? Aloysius D’Mello, Principal, Greenwood High International School said that the popularity of international schools was being seen across the country. “International education is becoming more popular in India, especially in Bengaluru, owing to the influx of non-resident Indians and expats who prefer an international enquiry-based curriculum that is in sync with their mindsets. Most international schools are situated on the outskirts because their curricula promote education both of the mind and body which necessitates large outdoor facilities,” he said.
Shifting boards

There have also been instances of students studying under central syllabi such as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) shifting to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).

Pratap Kumar (name changed), an employee with an IT firm, is among those who decided to shift his son in the eighth grade from a well-known CBSE school to an international school near Whitefield.

“My son was doing well in his studies but not enjoying his education. He expressed an interest in concentrating on mathematics and history, while also wishing to study music. The Indian education system does not offer the opportunity to make those kinds of choices. So we shifted him to an international school,” he said. His son is now in grade 10 and is likely to complete an IB Diploma before applying abroad for further studies.

The difference in cost as a result of the transition was huge – over six times, in Mr. Kumar’s words. “We pay around Rs. 6 lakh per year. With or without boarding doesn’t make a big difference. There are additional costs too. Yes, the difference is big. But unlike our parents, we can afford this for our children today,” he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/international-schools-mushrooming-all-over-the-city/article8814389.ece

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How India’s National Education Policy evolved over the years

The government began the process of drafting a new National Education Policy last year with extensive grassroots consultations. The effort culminated in an expert committee assimilating the feedback and submitting about 90 inputs for the policy document. But the initiative was marred by controversy after committee head TSR Subramanian, unhappy over the government’s secrecy about its suggestions, asked HRD Minister Smriti Irani to make the report public — or, he said, he would. The government did not relent, and Subramanian recently released the report’s highlights. Some of these can be controversial — and have generated a lot of debate over the potential shape of the new policy.

What purpose does a National Education Policy serve? Why is the government so invested in drafting one?

It serves as a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the country. A new policy has come along every few decades and has been a milestone — comparable, say, to the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 through which education was moved from the State to the Concurrent List, or the 86th Amendment in 2002 under which education became an enforceable right. It offers the government of the day an opportunity to leave its imprint on the country’s education system. The Janata Party, of which the Jana Sangh — precursor to the BJP — was part, had attempted to draw up a policy in 1979, but it was not approved by the Central Advisory Board for Education (CABE), the most important advisory body to the government in the field of education. So, in a way, this is the BJP’s second attempt at drafting the National Education Policy.

http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/smriti-irani-tsr-subramanian-new-national-education-policy-hrd-ministry-education-2869946/

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Navneet Education has launched an new age technology along with audio-visual learning

eSense, an initiative by Navneet Education, has launched an innovative product - TOPScorer, which focuses on integrating new age technology along with audio-visual learning. Audio-Visual Learning makes the entire teaching process more effective and creates interest amongst learners. It aims to enrich one's learning process and goes beyond the chalk and talk method.

TOPScorer emphasizes on developing self-learning skills, analytical ability and simultaneously provides feedback on individual performance. Its main USP is that leads to an overall individual development and gives students the benefit to learn at their own convenience. It is also syllabus-based, and thus relevant.
eSense Learning has launched an integrated marketing campaign, to announce the launch of its new product, TOPScorer.com. The campaign includes a new TVC, as well as extensive outdoor and digital activations, for the brand's core target audience - Students. The new TVC, conceptualized by the creative duo Vallan and Praveen from Purple Focus, highlights the brand's philosophy and discourages parrot fashion mugging, by positioning the new product to be an effective way of learning to understand the subject better.

The TVC depicts a student preparing for a public speaking event. He is advised to follow the mugging technique. However, it proves to be inefficient and he delivers an inaccurate speech. The key message that comes across is that mugging and learning doesn't help and that understanding the concepts in a simplified manner can make learning fun. TOPScorer.com provides the student a way to achieve his academic goals through interactive, easy and fun learning.

Currently, the product is available both, online and offline. Offline, it is available through pen drives and SD cards. The key features of this product include Syllabus based for MSB, GSB and CBSE students; 2D/3D animation for each chapter; Artificial Intelligence based assessment software; Unlimited practice exam; Limited final exam; Performance comparison with peers across state; Analytical reports to focus on weak areas and incorrect answers; Available online, on Pendrive and on SD card and a user friendly interface.

Commenting on its launch Harshil Gala, Director, eSense Learning said, "TOPScorer is a product that stimulates the way of learning. It is an audio-visual syllabus based tool for students from class 1 st to the 10 th (Maharashtra, Gujarat & CBSE Board). It is a storytelling approach in a simplified and interesting manner, helping the student to understand the concepts better. E- Learning Solution is a revolutionary digital tool that will enable students to enhance their learning abilities."

Also commenting on the campaign, the creative duo Vallan and Praveen from Purple Focus who conceived the campaign said, "In a humorous way, the campaign aims to break away from the ways of old school learning like mugging up chapters to self-study while having a better understanding of concepts rather than content. We are certain that the campaign will connect well with today's student as it highlights the benefits of E-Learning and provides a freedom of self-learning."

http://www.adageindia.in/marketing/cmo-strategy/navneet-education-launches-new-spot-for-esense-learning/articleshow/53015212.cms

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How to shape the future of higher education in India

This summer with Coursera, I am teaching my first massive open online course (MOOC): Introduction to Financial Markets. In the last five weeks since the course has been launched, I have been glued to the discussion board where some 5,000-plus visitors to the course wrote their thoughts, first impressions and reasons for joining the course, and some shared concerns or complaints about the platform and course elements.

Currently, the 10-week course is under way, and I periodically check the ratings page to see feedback on the quality of the course. With a rating of 4.7/5, I am told it one of the highest ratings in the platform. I observe the analytics page to see how many students are learning and engaging with the videos. As a researcher and data enthusiast, I am beginning to see a valuable side to the MOOC experience—immediate and quantifiable feedback on my teaching. At the same time, this immediate feedback is almost overwhelming, considering that the only instant feedback I am used to is by gauging expressions and body language cues of students during lectures. All of this live feedback while the course is progressing has kept me suspended somewhere between anxiety and excitement.

It all began with a cognitive storm and a Coursera workshop in Hong Kong to reach the point of teaching a MOOC. I had been both intrigued and apprehensive about the rise of online education. Like many educators, I believe it is important to implement curricula, programmes and teaching technology based on research supporting their efficacy. Yet academic research to support online learning has not kept pace with the growth in this domain. Despite my reservations, I reasoned that online learning, much like Amazon and Uber in other online verticals, will at least occupy a small pie in the future of higher education. Further, the ISB was the first B-school in India to be chosen by Coursera for a partnership, guided by a mission to educate students for lifelong learning, which compels clinical faculty like me to be familiar with this new medium.

I was and still am fascinated by the growth in online avenues of MOOCs and beyond. New courses, new forms of degrees and hybrid programmes that blend traditional with online learning, where learners end up with the same credential as those who are campus-bound, continue to thrive. The heady headlines have not so much as faded, as become just a normal part of the news-cycle, both within the higher education media as well as in newspapers globally. Even institutions that had initially taken a cautious view about the evolving nature of higher education are starting to adapt. Harvard Business School dean declared recently that he had gone from being sceptical of online education to becoming a “super fan.” Given the rapid pace of converts among the educators, let me hazard some guess about how online learning may shape the future of higher education.

I see five trends that stand out to possibly exert a genuinely transformative impact on higher education in the times to come.

First, online learning platforms will democratise higher education. Until now, only a select few students had the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty limited by geographical reach of universities. Now students have access to courses from the best faculty globally.

A related transformation is that the benchmarks for classroom teaching are becoming higher because of this democratisation of higher education. Recently, I was at my alma mater, IIT Kanpur, for a talk and I choose to attend an electrical engineering lecture for fun and nostalgia. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the class demos from online platforms had reached the prehistoric lecture theatres of my alma mater.

Third, industry and academia could come closer with industry folks getting to learn as and when they choose to, on topics relevant for their workplace. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Coursera has begun to partner with major financial institutions, such as the UBS, to develop cutting-edge courses on banking and finance for their employees. So, online education can facilitate a more symbiotic relationship, where the academia can reach out to the learning needs of the industry through this medium.

Fourth, platforms like Coursera can disaggregate course content and make teaching assets available to any faculty to use. Rather than threatening to displace faculty, a resource repository of multimedia material could give faculty members valuable tools to make teaching more effective. A good parallel is to think of it as akin to what JSTOR did for journal content.

Finally, with vast amounts of rich data that online platforms are accumulating about student engagement and learning, collectively this can help enhance our understanding of student motivation, instructional design and the personalisation of learning pathways.

As e-tailers like Amazon have changed shopping experience vis-a-vis that of department stores or an online transportation network such as Uber is beginning to change our public transport experience, online learning can transform higher education. If online learning platforms fulfil their promise of being a catalyst for innovation and learning, they will become complementing partners to universities in shaping the future of higher education.

The author is a finance faculty at the Indian School of Business, Mohali, and visiting faculty at the School of Business, University of Connecticut

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/shaping-the-future-of-higher-education/300213/

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What India’s New Education Policy May Look Like

The TSR Subramanian Committee does not hold back its punches when it says India’s education system is in disarray. This is the third education policy that a committee has come up with since independence. The previous two were failures. Not because the suggestions enshrined in them were faulty, but because they weren’t implemented.

The TSR panel has made some good suggestions targeting the many ills that plague our education system. But it fails to tackle the core injustices and sectarian minefields that surface every now and then. However, to be fair to the panel, that wasn’t its mandate. Its principal focus was on improving the quality of education by creating conditions that improve the standard of teaching, learning, assessment and promote transparency in the management of education. And the team has done a decent job at that.

Let’s see what some of the best suggestions are and how they could be potential game-changers.

How to improve governance in education
At every level, the administration and management of education is in tatters. Why are substandard teachers recruited? Why only a select few of them get their preferred postings and others are subjected to transfers? Why is it not done on merit? Why is there no system to measure a teacher’s performance? Why do undeserving institutions get accreditation rapidly? One factor that explains all this is “political interference”.

Arbitrary procedures and purchasable approvals define the governance at every level. How do we solve these problems? Here’s what the team’s suggestions are.

http://swarajyamag.com/ideas/what-indias-new-education-policy-may-look-like

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New education policy to include values, pride in India

Recommendations submitted to the Union HRD ministry last week on the country's new education policy include one that suggests a curriculum that makes students feel proud of being Indian.

According to a source in the HRD ministry, the recommendation suggested including values like truth, righteousness and responsibility in the curriculum.

"People from across the globe live in America and feel proud of being American, irrespective of their route (to the US). Similarly, students must feel proud of being Indian," said the source.

India's diversity will be presented in the social science syllabus, and humans and nature will be connected in the science syllabus so that students feel responsible for the environment, says The Telegraph.

"Values should be part of all curricula," said the source.

The current education policy was drawn up in 1986 and revised in 1992. A five-member panel has now submitted its recommendations for a new education policy.

Headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, the panel has suggested that schools provide remedial coaching for students from socially and educationally backward communities so that they are brought on par with better off students.

A compulsory annual medical test has also been recommended to keep an eye on children who are not physically strong.

http://www.catchnews.com/social-sector/new-education-policy-to-include-values-pride-in-india-in-school-syllabi-1464572581.html

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International aid to education in India nearly doubled to $806 million

New Delhi: International aid to India for education is rising, bucking a global trend, data from the United Nations showed on Wednesday.

Data compiled by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in a global education aid monitoring report showed that India received $806 million in 2014, nearly twice the $421 million it received in 2013.

“Aid to India is bucking the global trend; it rose dramatically between 2013 and 2014,” Kate Redman, a member of the team that prepared the aid monitoring report, said in an email. She added that the jump indicated the commitment of global donor countries and agencies to India.

The World Bank leads the pack of donors supporting India, followed by EU institutions, the UK and Germany. All the four top donors increased their education aid to India. Though the global report was released on 25 April, India-specific data was released only on Wednesday.

“This is a positive for India. These increases should allow the country to tackle the areas of unfinished business in its education story, including the substantial amounts of adolescents still out of school, and the pervasive levels of adult illiteracy still remaining,” Redman said.

As many as 124 million children and adolescents worldwide are out of school, 17.7 million—or 14%—of whom are Indians, according to a 2015 Unesco report. India, however, has been maintaining that the number is less than 10 million.

While the fund flow to India doubled, globally international aid to education dropped some $500 million from $13.6 billion in 2013 to $13.1 billion in 2014.

Aid for education started climbing globally in 2002, when donor countries and agencies gave $6.5 billion, until 2007, when the aid was $12.1 billion. The economic downturn in 2008 pulled it down for the first time to $11.9 billion. Since then, aid flow has not been constant as donors have been conservative in the face of economic turmoil.

Between 2013 and 2014, four donors—France, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain—reduced aid to basic education by 40% or more, the latest Unesco report said.

Aaron Benavot, director of the team that prepared the report, said: “It is disheartening to see that international aid to education is going in totally the wrong direction. This will make education progress extremely difficult, if not impossible, for many countries still reliant on financial support from donors.”

On the rising trend of education aid to India, a human resource development ministry official, on condition of anonymity, said that the government is “happy, but not gung-ho” about the situation. “International aid is not even a fraction of what India spends on education. The education aid amount is not even 10% of what Union budget 2016-17 has pegged for the sector, not to mention the state expenditure,” the official said.

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/pIYLl00fXgAbtD8oJvDCzO/International-aid-to-education-in-India-nearly-doubled-to-8.html

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18 lakh youth enroll in Centre's skill development scheme in India

Around 18 lakh youth have enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana over the last eight months, revealed Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy last week. He also announced that more than 50% of his skill budget will focus on job roles in rural area. The announcement was made a few days after the Union Budget 2016 was presented.

"We had conducted 410 kaushal melas across 29 states reaching out to many who needed a direction with respect to employability and employment," said the minister.

To further ensure increase in capacity and scope of skill development, Rudy's ministry will also ensure creation of 1,500 Multi-Skill Training Institutes (MSTIs) which will be the new generation ITIs set up in private public partnership mode. These will be set up in the 2,500 blocks and districts of the country which are yet to focus on skill development and do not have ITIs.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/18-lakh-youth-enroll-in-Centres-skill-development-scheme/articleshow/51376863.cms

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India produces the largest number of doctors and engineers in the world

The country's education system, which taught the world 'how to teach' and created the first and best universities in the world is now in a very poor state. None of India's universities has a global ranking under the Top 200, in spite we have the most number of universities as compared to any other country in the whole world.

India produces the largest number of doctors and engineers in the world, most of which are unemployed or opens small clinic like a local grocery shop. The problem is not that there aren't enough vacancies; the problem is that the applicants aren't talented enough to get recruited.

In Focus
Holding a degree in India doesn't necessarily means you know everything about your field or are skilled/talented. Samsung's Indian branch has more patents registered than any IIT. Following are the root causes of poor education in India:

1.     Teacher's, Student's, School's and government's theoretical approach rather than practical.

2.     Lack of good teachers in government aided schools/colleges, many teachers are recruited through reservation quotas, just think about it "How could a person who is not educated enough to score good marks in the recruitment exam teach the students? ". Most of the teachers focus on the completion of syllabus as a formality and don't pay attention to the students who didn't got the concepts. Also it is the notion of almost every teacher, that they go to school to get their 'free salary' provided by the government rather than understanding his/her duty towards their students.

3.     Lack of good colleges, higher competition and allotment of seats on the basis of reservation quota, the talented students thus go to poor colleges and the poor students go to better colleges. A wise man once said about India that "India, reservation inside and talent outside." And this is a totally true fact, India's top talent serves Silicon Valley and the under qualified, unskilled, non-talented and undeserving people get jobs and make bridges/roads that collapse earlier and so is our country's future.

4.     Reservation quota in India is beneficial only to riches of so called backward classes, the really deserving backward people of backward classes get nothing.

5.     None of good private schools/colleges is affordable to a lower middle class student in India which dominates the student population.

What could government do to put India's education system back on track?
1.     Apply practical approach to the school curriculum and syllabus.

2.     Recruitment of teachers should be done strictly on the basis of merit in the recruitment examination instead of reservation quota, followed by Group Discussion and Psychological Tests to ensure a teacher is being hired not just an employee. The recruitment exams should be compulsory for all government aided /private institution's teachers to ensure uniform skilled teachers everywhere. Feedback from the students about their teachers should be taken timely and not lightly.

3.     Reservation quota for admission in UG courses should be scrapped and the really backward people of backward classes should be provided with government aid for their studies based on their income, so that they can perform well in competitive exams. Allotment of seats should be strictly on the basis of merit in exams.

http://www.merinews.com/article/education-system-in-india-lacks-quality/15914422.shtml

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