Pune IDP Education India a student placement service provider organized an Australian education fair

PUNE: IDP Education India, a student placement service provider organized an Australian education fair in Pune at Le-Meridien for students aspiring to pursue higher education in Australia. The fair was held on Wednesday, from 1 pm to 5pm. The fair spread across 14 cities aims to bring together prominent universities and educational institutes from Australia under one roof. 39 Australian institutions participated in the fair. It was a free platform for all students to gauge their prospects, apply directly to the institution of their choice and get a first-hand information on courses, scholarships etc.


In addition to meeting the institutions, the qualified students were also told about application fee waivers and scholarships. The scholarships ranged from a fee bursary to a 50% scholarship of tuition fee for select students. Piyush Kumar, Country Director, India, IDP Education said, "IDP seeks to provide a platform to aspiring students to come and have a face-to-face interaction with the university representatives and get answers to all their queries related to studying in Australia. Australian education has always attracted Indian students for its quality and the availability of post study work opportunities make it even more attractive. Also 20 out of 39 Australian universities feature in world's Top 400 Times Higher Education Rankings."


The universities that took part in this far included The University of Melbourne, The University of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, Murdoch University, The Australian National University, University of Technology, Sydney and many more. Other cities which will host the fair are Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Gurgaon, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Kochi and Coimbatore.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/IDP-Education-organizes-Australian-Education-Fair-in-Pune/articleshow/53947540.cms

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Education department issues warning schools schedule exams during Ganeshotsav

MUMBAI: For yet another year, political parties have swung into action to ensure that schools and junior colleges in the city don't conduct exams during the 10 days of Ganeshotsav.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) on Wednesday wrote to the education department complaining that some schools in the city have scheduled exams during the festival.


Following the complaint, the education department issued a letter, warning schools to follow the government resolution issued in September 2015 that asks schools not to conduct exams during the festival. "We have received complaints that some schools are holding exams. Please ensure that the schools in your jurisdiction follow the government resolution," said B B Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai, in a letter to education inspectors in the region.


"One of the schools has declared exams on September 8, which is also one of the immersion days. This is against the rules. Students might have celebrations at home. Also, there is a lot of traffic on the days of immersion," said Chetan Pednekar of MNVS.


Principal of one of the schools, which was named in the complaint, said that they had not received any complaint from parents. "We had declared exams for Class XII and XI in June. None of the parents, students or teachers have complained about it. It is impossible for schools to function like this. We have anyway given three days off," she said.


For over three years, the MNVS has demanded a five-day break for Ganeshotsav. However, the education department has maintained that schools can decide their own holidays.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Schools-schedule-exams-during-Ganpati-education-department-issues-warning/articleshow/53952786.cms

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The symposium focuses on City school to host regional on higher education

VADODARA: City-based Navrachana School, Sama is hosting a regional symposium on higher education in a joint initiative with the Institute of Counsellor Training Research and Consultancy (ICTRC), New Delhi.

Country's renowned educational psychologist and counsellor trainer Dr V S Ravindran and his team of experts are going to conduct a daylong programme with students and teachers of class XII on August 30.

The symposium focuses on equipping students with the knowledge of the scientific process of choosing careers and courses.

Dr. Ravindran specializes in areas of counselling and guidance programmes for senior students, counsellor training, teacher education and leadership development. He has been associated with many reputed educational institutions in India and abroad for the last two decades.

Around 14 schools from the city and Gujarat, including 1,000 students and 200 plus teachers, are going to participate in the programme. This is the first kind of a regional event being conducted in Vadodara by ICTRC.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/City-school-to-host-regional-symposium-on-higher-education/articleshow/53887229.cms

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The national network of doctors medical education commercialisation only aim of reform bill

NEW DELHI: A national network of doctors committed to promoting rational and ethical healthcare on Friday criticised the bill drafted by the NITI Aayog and its report on restructuring regulation of medical education and the medical profession, saying it was merely championing "accelerated privatisation and commercialisation of medical education".

Protection of patients and the need for a strong clampdown on unethical practices is clearly not a priority in the report and the bill, said the Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (ADEH). They argued that the bill legitimised and legalised profiteering in medical education by proposing that for-profit entities, including businesses and corporations, would be allowed to open and run medical colleges.

"Until now, only not-for-profit entities were allowed to run medical colleges, a provision which was often flouted, but instead of clamping down on the misuse, the NITI Aayog is arguing for abandoning the principle itself.

This is like saying that since controlling of crime is difficult, we should now legalise crime," said a statement issued by the alliance.

The parliamentary standing committee on health and the Supreme Court had focused on the need to arrest widespread corruption in private medical education. Yet, the report and the draft bill is about dilution of the regulatory approach to medical education, said the statement.

The draft bill says that even colleges with grossly unsatisfactory standards would not be promptly closed down by suggesting that "deviation from standards may not lead to derecognition," the doctors pointed out. "Rather such colleges may just get a lower 'rating' and would continue merrily with sub-standard medical education," pointed out the alliance.


The doctors also flayed the proposal of letting district hospitals be used by private players to run medical colleges saying it would amount to "handing over key public health resources to business interests". Accepting that the track record of elected representatives in the MCI and state councils was problematic, the alliance said there was a need to reform the election process. "The solution to bad democracy is not to eliminate democracy, but to work for genuine democracy," it added. They suggested a regulatory body with roughly equivalent representation from three constituencies: democratically elected representatives of doctors; civil representatives, legal and public health experts; and nominated officials. "There is no mention of giving representation in the NMC to civil society networks working on health rights or patients' rights or women's organisations.


"There is only a generic mention that a total of five part-time members of the commission may be drawn from different backgrounds," said the statement.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Medical-education-commercialisation-only-aim-of-reform-bill-Doctors/articleshow/53881068.cms

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The government has introduced several programmes improve in mini science centres give rural education a boost

MYSURU: With the focus on better primary education in rural schools, the government has introduced several programmes to improve the quality of education and attract more students.

In rural areas, government school children are talented but need good education and skills. Science and English education in primary schooling can boost the academic performance of these children. Towards this end, city-based Ace Education Trust, in collaboration with United Breweries Limited, Nanjangud, has jointly set up Mini Science Centres in Nanjangud taluk.

These centres in select schools benefit students from class 1 to class 7 and help them learn basic science principles and concepts through working science models.

Two centres were opened last year in Hulimavu and Kempisiddanahundi. The good response motivated them to install five more centres in various schools of Hadinaru, Bokkahalli, Srirampura, Thandavapura and Kanakadasa Government Higher Primary Schools in the same taluk. UBL funded all these centres under its Corporate Social Responsibility projects.

Nanjangud BEO M Chandrakanth said that initiatives like this will lift the quality of primary education in government schools. It cha nged teaching methods in government schools and for attractive teaching using models, UBL spent on an average Rs 10 lakh per centre, he said.


Science models designer Ace Education Trust coordinator N Karthik said, "We want to improve rural government schools. Infrastructure and curriculum modernization is the first step in this process; we decided to open the mini science centres based on primary school syllabus. About 50-60 working science models have been installed at these centres. We approached UBL to fund such initiatives in rural government schools and they did it under CSR."


"It's a unique model in the country. Now, more organizations and companies visit the centres and are ready to install them in various parts of the country. Our trust has been working to develop science education models for school students," he added.


On Monday, primary and secondary education minister Tanveer Sait inaugurated the centre and congratulated both organizations to come up with innovative programmes to improve rural government schools.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/Mini-Science-Centres-give-rural-education-a-boost/articleshow/53838069.cms

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Andhra and Telengana in poor standards education

HYDERABAD: The national achievement survey (NAS) conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has exposed the poor standards of education in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Both states failed to meet the mandatory pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) in schools.

The survey revealed that 32.03 per cent of schools in AP and 35.79 per cent in Telangana failed to meet the pupil-teacher ratio. The national average of pupil-teacher ratio at primary school level is 24:1, upper primary level 17:1, and secondary school level at 28:1. The NCERT has also expressed concern over increasing number of teacher vacancies.

Andhra Pradesh, which has a sanctioned teacher posts of 1,47,139 has 17,129 vacancies. As many as 13,049 teacher posts are vacant in Telangana. The survey revealed that 31% of headmaster posts are vacant. It also pointed out the high absenteeism among teachers. Citing the survey by Michael Kremer of World Bank that pegged teachers' absence from schools at 25 per cent, the NAS noted that 50 per cent of the teachers were found not to be teaching at all.


The nationwide survey was conducted on a sample of 2,77,416 students in 7,216 government, aided and private schools. Urban students performed better than their rural counterparts in English, mathematics, science, social sciences and modern Indian languages. Girl students have scored significantly higher than boys in languages and one-third of students could not answer 33 per cent questions in English, mathematics and science.


The survey showed that students from schools with ICSE and CBSE performed better in academics than students of state boards. Only 16.61 per cent primary and 68 per cent secondary schools in AP have electricity supply, and 10.25 per cent primary and 69 per cent secondary schools in Telangana have power connection. Only 29.30 per cent schools in AP have computer and internet facility while in Telangana 23.17 per cent schools have such facilities. However, schools fared better on the library front. As many as 86.19 per cent schools in AP and 77.38 per cent in Telangana have libraries.The NCERT expressed concern over untrained teachers in government schools. It recommended separate cadre of head-teachers to be filled up through direct recruitment. It also recommended induction program for headmasters, in-service training for school leadership and setting up leadership academies in every state.

A new program called national program on school standards and evaluation (NPSSE) will be put in place with an aim to evaluate the performance of schools.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Education-standards-poor-in-Andhra-Telengana/articleshow/53852337.cms

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Fund Education Of Underprivileged Australian Woman To Run 3,800 km In India

New Delhi:  To raise funds for education of millions of underprivileged children in India, Australian ultra marathoner, Samantha Gash is set to begin a 3,800 km run across India.

Kicking off from August 22, Ms Gash will attempt to run nearly 3,800 km from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Mawsynram in Meghalaya within a period of 76 days.

A former lawyer by profession, the 31-year-old has taken this Run India project challenge to raise funds to support six World Vision Area projects that focuses on education.

"This is the biggest challenge I have ever undertaken. When you consider the challenges many children face on a daily basis, this is not comparable," she said.

On choosing the world's second largest populous country to run, Ms Gash said "I fell in love with India's diversity. But the problem children here face are heart breaking." "I am ready to make my hands dirty to make sure their hands are clean," she added.

The Run India project aims to raise funds to support six World Vision Area Development Projects that focus on education in Jaipur, Barmer, Kanpur, North-West Delhi, Hardoi and Pauri.

Australia's High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu also appreciated Samantha's determination and vitality. She was pleased that Samantha's run will raise money for less-privileged children's education in India. "I commend Samantha for undertaking such a challenging adventure. Her run is in keeping with the spirit of adventure for which Australians are known," Mr Sidhu said.
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When asked if she would be following a special diet plan during the run, she said "What is the meaning of reaching out to Indians if I don't taste the Indian cuisine. I will love to have dal, roti, palak paneer. But will definitely avoid high carbs."

In 2010, Ms Gash became the youngest person and first female ever to finish the Four Desert Grand Slam. At 25 she was the youngest person to attempt the race.

She has run through some of the extreme locations. From deserts in Chile, China, Egypt and Antarctica, to the mountains of Nepal, New Zealand, India.

The journey of her 2010 marathon has also inspired a movie named 'Desert Runners' in which she is the main character.

She follows a mantra to reach out to people -"use what you're good at to impact what you are passionate about".

Samantha is the second ultra marathoner to take such a challenge this year. In January- March, former Australian ultra-marathoner Pat Farmer undertook a 4,600km run through 12 states from Kanyakumari to Srinagar.


http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/australian-woman-to-run-3-800-km-in-india-fund-education-of-underprivileged-1445544

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Education is important aspect of human development more Inclusive in India

Education is an important aspect of human development. This makes it crucial that we be aware and alert as to what is being taught in our schools today and conscious of whether it is contributing to the overall growth of our children. Is our present education system in India doing that?

Here are 12 components that I think should be immediately included in school curricula for the development of the full potential of students. Even if some of these are part of the syllabus in a few schools, they need more attention and the scope of the subjects needs to be expanded:

1. Road SafetyThe topic of road safety should be included in the syllabus to teach students about the essential safety practices they need to observe on the road. Along with theoretical classes, students should also receive practical exposure for better results.
2. Logical Reasoning

A major drawback of our education system is the lack of focus on critical and logical reasoning skills. Using the classroom to teach these will help students build analytical and reasoning skills and boost their confidence as well.
3. Comprehensive Sex Education

Students should be given proper education on sex and sexuality so they can build healthy relationships in life. This knowledge will help them learn about and be sensitive towards the nature of multiple sexualities also. Additionally, teaching them about safe-sex practices is crucial for their health.
4. Mental Health

A healthy person is someone who has achieved both physical and mental well being. Proper mental health education develops the cognitive ability and emotional quotient in students. They develop the ability to cope with stress and adapt to various environments.

5. Physical EducationThe World Health Organisation confirms that physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of lifestyle diseases. Proper physical training can counter the ill effects of the sedentary lifestyle that most of us adopt. It is quite common in our schools to not have specialised teachers for physical training. This needs to change.
6. Art and Crafts

The benefits of art in improving cognitive abilities and building confidence among students have been well established. This subject also provides a creative outlet for many students.

7. First AidProper first aid education can transform every student into a lifesaver. First aid training doesn’t just help in the individual development of each student, it also serves the wider community, health institutions and people who are in need of urgent care.
8. Social Media

These days, every other school student possesses a smartphone and has accounts on various social media platforms. This has both positive and negative impacts. Many incidents have been reported regarding the malicious use of social media. Our education system should disseminate knowledge regarding the responsible use of social media.
9. Soft Skills

Soft skills development from a young age helps students polish their communication skills, creativity, leadership skills, etc., which helps them in both their personal and professional lives.

10. AgricultureAgriculture education should be made compulsory in schools. Students should know that we survive because of agriculture. And also that the food we consume comes because of the hard work of farmers. This will help students respect food and farmers, along with teaching them about the need for environment conservation.
11. Financial Education

Students should know the importance of money and should learn about the adverse effects of being careless with their finances. They should cultivate the habit of saving and should also be taught about how banks work, what are taxes, what is an investment, etc.

12. Legal EducationStudents should learn about child rights and other related policies. This aspect of their education will allow them to question illegal activities and also prompt them to advocate for more child friendly laws.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/65329/improvements-to-make-learning-more-holistic-in-india/

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The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Telangana and Odisha slams Centre's education policy

Hyderabad: Calling the draft new education policy as 'directionless', the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Telangana and Odisha (JIHTO) on Thursday accused the Centre of trying to resuscitate a "dead language" even as the socio-religious organisation demanded that it be rewritten with a fresh panel of experts.

Addressing a gathering of media persons at Hotel Harsha in Nampally, JIHTO president Hamid Mohammed Khan criticised the government for giving "a lot of weight" to Sanskrit. "They have made Sanskrit an optional subject. It appears to us that they have given it extra weightage. Sanskrit is a dead language. Nobody speaks it. The government is trying to resuscitate this language," Khan claimed.

The JIHTO also claimed that the draft new education policy seeks to water down the Right to Education Act of 2009. In this connection, Khan said that the government, by means of the draft policy, is trying to force minority educational institutions to reserve 25 per cent seats for students who do not belong to minority groups or communities. "It raises questions about reserving 25 per cent seats for minorities in non-minority schools but wants 25 per cent reservations for non-minority students in minority schools. This is injustice. Muslims are backward. They are away from education and need seats," he said.Describing yoga as a practice deeply rooted in Hindu mythology, Khan raised strong objections to its introduction in the draft new education policy. "They are saying that for schools which do not have grounds, yoga can be done indoors. According to stipulations, a high school should be constructed on a six acre land parcel. Yoga isn't just an exercise, it is a polytheistic practice. Slokas being recited while yoga is practiced are also polytheistic in nature," he claimed.


Khan termed the introduction of yoga as a 'conspiracy', he said: "Surya namaskar is an un-Islamic practice. The sun and the moon are creations. Muslims worship the creator. The introduction of yoga is to marginalise Muslim students. This is not democratic."Khan claimed that sex education is being renamed as 'adolescent education' in the draft policy. Sex education, he claimed, is against Indian culture and values.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has brought about a saffronisation of education, the JIHTO president said. "Education from class I to X has been saffronised. It is higher education which is posing a problem for them. The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and University of Hyderabad (UoH) issues are fresh. The students in these varsities have an atmosphere conducive to unbridled learning," he added. The policy also seeks to undermine student activism, he shared.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind-slams-Centres-education-policy/articleshow/53661874.cms

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Applied to elementary education of human resource development the idea that district planning

The extensive media coverage of the 25th anniversary of the launch of economic reforms had brought to light some unknown facts thanks to the personal accounts of key players.

It is apposite to narrate yet another untold story: the unintended and decisive impetus that the 1991 reforms gave to India’s quest for universal elementary education (UEE). India was home to a third of the world’s out-of-school children in 1993, and to a 0.3 per cent in 2010 when the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, (RTE Act) came into force.

The remarkable turnaround was due to the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and its progeny, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

DPEP was developed in 1992 and predominantly funded by the World Bank, European Community and Britain’s Overseas Development Agency.

SSA, launched in 2001, was predominantly domestically funded thanks to the remarkable enhancement of the fiscal capacity of the Indian government because of economic reforms.

DPEP covered about half the districts of India and, with a programme outlay of $2.4 billion, was the largest education programme of the country till overtaken by SSA.The conventional strategy for UEE focused on expansion of the school system, construction of school buildings and organising school enrolment drives once in a while. In 1966, the Kothari Commission had recommended that each district should prepare and implement a perspective plan for achieving UEE.

However, till 1992, it remained an idea whose time had not come. The Total Literacy Campaigns caught the nation’s attention in 1990. The success of quite a few districts in becoming ‘totally literate’ imparted a new thrust to UEE as it was realised that the success would be a nine-day wonder if an inadequate schooling system spawned year after year a new brood of illiterates.

That success also gave rise subliminally to the question why the District-based strategy that made many districts ‘fully literate’ cannot be applied to elementary education. By November 1991, ministry of human resource development (HRD) veered round the idea that district planning should be the main plank of the Eighth Five-Year Plan strategy for universalising elementary education.

Resource availability was so grim that the HRD ministry’s budget was cut not only for development programmes but also for maintenance expenditure to meet dayto-day running expenses of universities and other institutions.

When the idea of district planning was being given up as a hopeless dream, the unexpected struck. In May 1992, the HRD ministry was informed that the World Bank was insisting on a social safety net (SSN) loan be accepted as a condition for financing the National Renewal Fund (NRF).

The NRF’s creation was announced in the finance minister’s July 1991Budget speech and was designed to alleviate the problems of workers who might be affected by the restructuring of industry. The SSN loan was a fast disbursing credit that would provide balance of payment support.

The counterpart rupee funds were to be used to restore the budgetary cuts as well as to finance existing programmes or start new ones in elementary education, basic rural health, family welfare and child development.

GoI’s response was a Committee of Secretaries whittling down the conditionalities so much that they amounted to no more than the government implementing what it had already announced it would in these social sectors.

The resources available for education from the SSN loan were used to develop district plans that could be posed to the World Bank for funding. The decision to avail funding for elementary education was not taken under pressure from the Bank, but after a long dialogue with it from 1987.

Also, World Bank president Barber Conable assured Prime Minister V P Singh that the Bank considered ownership and capacity building to be essential for project effectiveness and sustainability, and was willing to be as flexible as New Delhi considered necessary.

Further, in March 1991, the Central Advisory Board of Education (Cabe) comprising state education minsters and experts laid down the parameters for accessing external funding for education that specified that externally funded projects must be in total conformity with national policies, strategies and programmes.

The manner in which the DPEP meticulously adhered to Cabe parameters, addressed the multifarious challenges in adhering to them, and introduced many practices commended by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, 2005, is a long saga.

Some hold the view that while poverty has declined significantly since 1991, inequality in access to education has increased as quality of the public education system has suffered. It would be more accurate to say that while the infrastructure and facilities of government schools have improved substantially, the learning outcomes have not.


http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/1991-economic-reforms-and-indias-quest-for-universal-elementary-education/

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