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Pearson announces 100% acquisition of TutorVista

March 1, 2013

In 2009, Pearson had acquired a minority stake in TutorVista, increasing its holding in 2011 to a controlling position of 80 percent

New Delhi:Pearson has announced the acquisition of the block of shares it does not already own in TutorVista, to complete 100 per cent ownership of the Bangalore-based learning services company.

In 2009, Pearson had acquired a minority stake in TutorVista, increasing its holding in 2011 to a controlling position of 80 percent.

TutorVista was founded in 2005 by Krishnan Ganesh, one of India’s best-known entrepreneurs, and today has 1,300 employees across online tutoring, school management, ICT and test prep and tuition. Mr. Ganesh and Meena Ganesh, who leads TutorVista’s domestic operations, will give up all management roles in the company they jointly founded.

Pearson has named Srikanth Iyer, a senior member of the existing management, as new CEO of TutorVista.Srikanth Iyer said: “Through Pearson’s pedigree, systems and processes we are now a step closer towards establishing ourselves as the leading technology-enabled education services company in India, offering global standards of learning to Indian students, at affordable prices.”

Pearson’s complete takeover of TutorVista forms part of a wider strategy of building significant education services businesses in fast-growing emerging markets. At the heart of this strategy is applying its market-leading learning services to make education more accessible and effective.

TutorVista boasts an impressive delivery network for fast-growing education services such as school management, online tutoring, and technology based classroom solution for schools and test prep market. Through PES (formerly Edurite) it has an active customer base in major cities as well as Tier II towns, giving it a breadth of consumers that complement Pearson’s ambitions

LPU wins Shiksha Ratna Award at SES Punjab

digitalLEARNING Network

March 1, 2013

LPU got this honour for best IT practices in Higher Education for its product “University Management System”

New Delhi: Acknowledging unique and innovative initiatives in the field of higher education in Punjab, Shiksha Ratna Award has recently been bestowed upon Lovely Professional University, during the Digital Learning State Education Summit (SES) 2013, held in Chandigarh.

LPU got this honour for best IT practices in Higher Education for its product “University Management System”, which has enabled university to be termed as “paperless”. Education Minister, Government of Punjab, S Sikandar Singh Maluka, who was the Chief Guest of the event, presented the award.

He was accompanied by, Conveners of the Summit, S Kahan Singh Pannu, IAS, Secretary-cum-Director General, School Education, Govt of Punjab and Dr Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, Digital LEARNING.

State Education Summit 2013, Punjab, is convened with the objective of focusing and deliberating on regional concerns and challenges in diverse areas of education.

In fact, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Punjab is the host partner for the first of its kind event in Punjab, the State Education Summit 2013.The event focuses exclusively on the state’s initiatives in education while exploring opportunities for a digitally inclusive society.

Keeping same in the view, the Summit honours the works of the schools, Higher Education institutions as well as corporates, which have transformed the dynamics of education in Punjab.

Congratulating the entire Information and Technology Team for getting coveted award for the university, Ashok Mittal, LPU, Chancellor said: “It is really a matter of great pride and honour that our university has received the highest award in the state for innovative practices.

This has resulted under high professional integrity, sincere team work and ability to bring revolutionary changes.” Pointing towards a serious gap between the existing pool and the requirement of innovative academic leaders, Mittal said: “No doubt, we are doing the best possible things to let the whole of Punjab fast become the education hub, yet we feel a lot has to be done on these lines.”

At present, thought leaders and transformational protagonists with innovative approach to development are strongly required to meet targets of the India Vision 2020 for Higher Education sector, he added.

In this regard, the platforms like SES are functioning well to bring out the best through such identifications and boosting honours. On these lines, the days are not far away when the honour of our country’ s being pioneer in the realms of education will be restored, he further added.

Private varsities alleged for tax evasion

digitalLEARNING Network

March 1, 2013

The Central Revenue Department which has launched the probe with support from UGC estimates tax evasion of several crores from these varsities

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of diminishing revenue reserves, the central Revenue Department launched a probe against the private varsities that have long been alleged of evading tax and flouting UGC norms by setting up off-shore campuses, off-campus centres and study centres.

As per clause 3.3 of the UGC regulation, any private university established under a State Act should operate ordinarily within the boundary of the State concerned.

In extraordinary conditions, the universities, which have been in place for at least five years, may obtain permission from UGC to operate off-campus centres, off-shore campuses and study centres. In such a case, the university also needs to get approval from the State Government where the centre is proposed to be opened.

The incidence of tax arises from Section 66D (l) of the Finance Act, 1994, under which, services by way of ‘education as a part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by law for the time being in force’ are excluded from the applicability of service tax. But, off-campus study centres, not affiliated to the UGC, attract service tax of 12.36 per cent on their total income.

If service tax is imposed on these private varsities as an outcome of the investigation, the brunt of bearing the service tax implication would come upon the students. The students would have to end up paying a lot more in addition to their existing fees.

UPSC to focus on General Studies

digitalLEARNING Network

March 1, 2013

UPSC is introducing this change with the aim to judge candidates on their knowledge and understanding rather than last moment rote learning

New Delhi: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is set to bring fundamental changes in its Main examination in the coming days.

The change that would be implemented from the current academic year would give increased weightage to general studies by introducing new papers replacing optional subjects.

The civil services examination held for selecting candidates for like IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS and others comprises of three stages- preliminary, main and personality test (interview).

The UPSC had introduced elements of aptitude test in the preliminary examination pattern in 2011 and also inculcated a minor change in the main examination pattern last time in 1993 by introducing an additional paper of essay.
With the new change, the candidates need to appear in two optional subjects (two papers each) in addition to one paper on essay and two papers on general studies.

Union Budget 2013-14 Focuses on Job Creation and Skill Development

News

digitalLEARNING Network

February 28, 2013

Highlights and Impact of Union Budget 2013-14 in Education

Finance Minister, P Chidambaram has announced Union Budget 2013-14, which has received mixed reactions from industry and academia. Here are some highlights of what education received from the budget 2013-14…

Budget Highlights for Education Sector

Rs 1 lakh crore allotted for enhancing skills of youth
India to get its first all-women’s bank
Allocation of Rs 65867 crore to education ministry, up 17%
Tax Free Bonds – Will allow some organisations to raise funds strictly based on need
Giving the emphasis on education, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said Budget 2013 will allocate Rs 65,867 crore to the HRD ministry.
Allocation 100 crores to AMU, BHU, TISS-Guwahati and INTACH
Allocation Rs 1000 crore to extend skills of youth
Group insurance schemes to be available for teachers, nurses
Integrated Child Development’s funds enhanced by 11.7
Govt announces Rs 2,000-cr fund for scientific innovations
Grant of Rs 100 crore each for institutions of excellence, says FM
Clarity on tax issues related to R&D centres in IT soon
FM gives Rs 100 crore to Tata Institute of Social Science, Guwahati
Donations to National Children’s Fund will get 100% tax exemption
Government committed to the creation of Nalanda University as a centre of educational excellence
Indian Institute of Biotechnology will be set up at Ranchi
On-campus startup incubators get a boost

S S Mantha
Chairman, AICTE on union Budget 2013-14

The budget is meant for ‘inclusive growth and sustainable development’ with a focus on social sectors-health and education. It is very pragmatic budget with feet on the ground.

Dilip Chenoy, CEO & MD, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)

The Finance Minister’s decision to set aside Rs 1,000 crore for a scheme to encourage youth to voluntarily enrol at skill development institutions and providing an incentive of Rs 10,000 to every individual who undergoes training, coupled with the recognition given to industry-led assessment and certification, would create an aspiration value for skills and contribute significantly to ongoing efforts to ensure that India is in a position to leverage its demographic dividend.

Including vocational institutes affiliated to the State Council of Vocational Training in the negative list of service tax would make skills training affordable and more accessible to people, particularly for those living at the bottom of the pyramid. Money being earmarked for skill development as part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, National Urban Livelihood Mission, Border Area Development Programme Fund and several other funds, moreover, would encourage a larger number of training providers to establish outcome-linked sustainable skill development proposals nationwide.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) would like to compliment the Finance Minister for the government’s continued recognition and commitment to the skills cause in line with its goal of promoting growth that would lead to inclusive and sustainable development.

Riad Joseph
Tax Partner – Education practice, Ernst & Young

While a 15% increase for RTE is positive, there appear to be no specific announcements on regulatory reform, PPP framework and incentives for private sector

Ashok Mittal
Chancellor, LPU

This year’s budget promises to bring in a lot of hope for the education sector. It was indeed heartening to see that equal importance has being given to all levels of education starting from primary to higher level. The Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan and child care primary education deserves to be given more importance and I am glad that this year’s budget has taken cognizance of this fact. The government’s decision to allocate over 65 thousand crore to HRD Ministry and additional 1600 crores to institutions like AIMS sends a clear message that education sector is finally getting the importance it truly deserves. The 17 percent increase in the budget allocation to our sector is appreciated and well received by one and all. However, it was a bit of a disappointment to notice that this year’s budget completely ignored/overlooked the education loans aspect. We are optimistic that this missing factor will be given due importance at least in the next year’s budget.

Premlesh Machama
Managing Director, CareerBuilder India

INR 1,000 Crore allocation to develop job-oriented skills among youth has also been promised and the National Skill Development Corporation will train 5 crore people in current plan period. The FM has announced various incentives for training courses for skill development and also an INR 10000 cash benefit for getting a skill certificate. This will also help in making people more employable

Ambarish Gupta
CEO, Knowlarity Communication Pvt Ltd

On a positive note Budget 2013 has provided more incentive to chip makers by reducing duty on imported machinery needed for manufacturing chips. This is going to boost manufacturing and create more jobs. Also more funds are now available for startups thanks to the initiative taken by the Finance Ministry to recognize certain funding to institutions like IIT as part of CSR activity. This is going to release more funds for startups. Overall this is a growth oriented budget. The finance minister has recognized the importance of creating quality jobs for the youth in India. It has pledged vast sums of money on skill enhancement schemes that will prepare the youth for the next generation of jobs.

Deepak Kaistha
Managing Partner, Planman Consulting

With our finance minister pointing towards the imperative need of foreign investment in India, HR companies are likely to get an increment in terms of more hiring, more work. The budget also hints at increased focus on providing education and skills to youth for securing jobs in the 2013-14. Among this, the focuses will be on enhancing the ability of the undereducated and unskilled to become self-employed and find meaningful work.

Furthermore, with a growth rate of 9 per cent and an outstanding growth in sectors like manufacturing, IT and ITES, textile, agriculture, construction, and retail, there arise tremendous job opportunities. Manufacturing alone is expected to create 25 million jobs in next ten years.

Pramod Sharma
Principal, Genesis Global School

The continuation of education cess as 3 percent will only help, if it is utilised for a specific need in education sector. I was hoping the focus to be more on teacher training so the students do not drop out and teachers are motivated to impart better education. The Government needs to introduce technology based learning in government schools. Since, private schools already have technology like smart boards, etc and the government schools cannot afford the same, this will increase the inequality in society.

Ramana Akula
CFO, Pearson India

It is overall a positive budget from the education sector standpoint – despite the expenditure management exercise the government has increased allocation to the education sector by 17 per cent. The education cess of 3 percent has been retained for the financial year 2013-14; this move will continue to promote the public spending in various education schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. However, some expectations such as extension of tax sops provided to vocational education in agri sector to other streams of vocational education have not been met but nevertheless the budget of 2013-14 should provide a boost to the education sector and the overall economy largely due to serious measures to promote saving and investments in the economy.

Amit Gautam
Director, Technology Solutions and
Co-founder, Upside Learning

From the perspective of education and developing talent, it is very encouraging to see the commitment (financial and in principle) reflected in the budget. There is a clear case of investing significantly in building skills across the nation and the budget with its near 20% increase (from last year) for MHRD allocation and other proposals for RTE, medical education & research, or SSA has its heart in the right place for the matter. I believe a similar trend and focus on developing talent through training and education would percolate to corporate India. We see an increase in spend in training, skills development and overall talent management in organisations across scale and domains. For education, its a very good budget and just in time.

Shantanu Prakash
CMD, Educomp Solutions

The tonality of the budget as far as the education sector goes was highly positive. The thematic emphasis on employability and therefore on skill and vocational training led education is a trend shift for certain. In fact the unqualified acceptance by the Government of the criticality of job-led education and the emphasis on vocational training and skilling is the corner stone of this budget. We will look forward to the fine print matching the fine sentiments going ahead. The absence of any encouragement for much needed private investment in the education sector was a bit disappointing.

Sanjaya Sharma
CEO, TATA Interactive Systems

“The Union Budget 2013 looks very positive for the education sector, a prerequisite for any country’s growth and development. The Government’s allocation of Rs. 65,867 crore for the overall education sector and another one of Rs. 3,983 crore specifically for the primary education segment are indeed encouraging steps. Its allocation of Rs. 13,215 crore for Mid Day Meals in schools and the Rs. 17,700 crore for Integrated Child Development Services are other positive steps to achieve 100% literacy. I also reiterate that there is a need for a PPP model in the sector not just to execute the delivery but also deploy modern technology infrastructure across schools enabling rapid proliferation of world-class education.

Another positive announcement was the Rs. 1000 crore allocation for the national skill development fund. Every sector in India is challenged with severe crunch of skilled workforce and such initiatives will help achieve its target of skilling 50 million people in the 12th Plan period, including 9 million in 2013-14. But, the gap is also widening at the same time and there will be a need for around 50 crore skilled workers across sectors in India by 2022. The Govt & NSDC in particular should look at employing technology as a strategic partner to fast track and bridge this gap”.

Prashant Bhalla
Senior Vice President,
Manav Rachna International University

“Keeping the current fiscal deficit scenario in mind, the budget this year appears to be a move towards a focused economic growth, provided the elements are well implemented. It is good to see that education has retained its importance where the government plans to continue taking initiatives for education as well as imparting skills to the youth.

Given the challenges we have, rise in expenditures at all levels is obvious but one should not divert from our focus and continue our efforts. Rise in allocations for HRD, SSA, RMSA seems to be a move that will bring benefits to the countrymen. Having said that, monitoring also needs equal attention to overcome obstacles and thereafter succeed in our missions.

It is a delight to see that government has taken initiatives for women like announcing Nirbhaya fund, taking steps for women upliftment which is equally a pulsating concern today and is important for achieving an inclusive growth.”

Sri Kumaran’s CBSE School wins national quiz contest

digitalLEARNING Network

February 22, 2013

Bhargav Cavale and Abhishek Krishna of this Bangalore school won the top honours at the finals of the 10th Texas Instruments Science & Technology Quiz

Bangalore: Bhargav Cavale and Abhishek Krishna from Sri Kumaran’s CBSE School, Bangalore won the top honours at the National Finals of the 10th Texas Instruments Science & Technology Quiz, 2013. Don Bosco Park Circus, Kolkata and Amity International School, Delhi settled for second and third places respectively. Dr Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra, President & Managing Director, Texas Instruments India presented the prizes to the winning teams.

This year’s edition of the quiz witnessed keen competition from students studying in classes 8-10 across the country over the last two weeks. The finals were contested by winning teams from Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai.

Encouraging students to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to learning, the quiz had five rounds and the students were assessed on their knowledge of the various dimensions of science and technology. The video and buzzer rounds had interesting formats and themes.

The winning team members this year walked away with attractive Macbook Air laptops and their school bagged the TI India Science & Technology Quiz Tenth Edition Special Trophy. All the other finalists won Laptop Bags, TI Calculators, USB Coasters and Book coupons.

“The Finals today saw some of the brightest students compete on themes related to science and technology. The depth of knowledge these children displayed, coupled with the ability to quickly comprehend the applications of science in our day-to-day lives was absolutely remarkable,” said Dr Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra, President & Managing Director, Texas Instruments India. He further added, “Encouraging children to learn outside of the regular classroom model is something we work towards on an ongoing basis and this quiz is a step towards that endeavour.”

“This quiz had interesting questions that required a high level of thinking, the competition was tough but we were able to win because we were to comprehend the right answers,“ said Bhargav Cavale from the winning team.

Simmtronics launches 10 inch Tablet XPAD X-1010

digitalLEARNING Network

February 22, 2013

The Android 4.0 ICS based Simmtronics XPad X1010 features 10.1 inch display and 1.2 GHz – A8 cortex processor

New Delhi: Simmtronics semiconductors Ltd has launched new 10.1 inch tablet in India the XPAD X-1010. The Android 4.0 ICS based Simmtronics XPad X1010 features 10.1 inch display & 1.2 GHz – A8 cortex processor.

Speaking on the occasion Indrajit Sabharwal, Managing Director, Simmtronics said, “In our strategy to reach out to our audience with most innovative products, we are launching X-1010 which features big screen with smoother performance.This tablet PC enables you to make work very smooth. It also supports USB dongles to surf Internet on a 3G speed. Its 10.1 inch widescreen elegantly displays large format magazines and apps and let people to use it either vertically or horizontally.”

For a smoother performance, the tablet has 1 GB RAM with capacitive multi touch and a healthy 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. XPad X1010 has 8 GB of internal memory and supports up to 32 GB of expandable memory. Tablet also comes with a VGA camera in the front for video chat.
X1010 has a powerful5600 mAh Lithium polymer battery with claimed 150 hours of back up and six hours of internet browsing time. Simmtronics manufactures Tablets for many OEMS in India and Overseas.

For connectivity, the tablet also offers Wi-Fi and HDMI and support 3G via dongle. Through HDMI support we can share photos and videos on a TV or computer monitor. HDMI implements the EIA/CEA-861 standards, which define video formats and waveforms, transport of compressed, uncompressed, and LPCM audio, auxiliary data, and implementations of the VESA EDID.

Simmtronics manufactures its tablets in India and has so far launched two tablets before this. The first one – Xpad X720 – is a 7 inch tablet with only Wi-Fi connectivity and is available for Rs 4,600. The other one is the 8 inch display calling tablet Xpad X801 which comes with a free detachable keyboard and costs Rs 8,449.

Eldis website gets a face-lift

News

digitalLEARNING Network

February 21, 2013

This is the fifth major redesign since Eldis was launched as one of the very first development focussed web resources back in 1995

Brighton (UK): Leading global online information service provider—Eldis—has re-launched its International Development research portal www.eldis.org after a thorough overhaul of the website.

The portal provides free access to the latest global research on international development issues with its large repository of over 30,000 summaries and links to free full-text research and policy documents.

The new site brings a fresh, modern and up-to-date look to one of the oldest and best known global information portals and marks a significant change in direction for the service.

Some of the new features include:

Key development themes: A refreshed list of the key topics covered by Eldis focusses on nine newly updated Eldis Resource Guides covering Agriculture; climate change; conflict and security; gender; governance, health and ICTs [http://www.eldis.org/go/topics ]

Open data: Eldis have released all their data under a creative commons license and made it accessible via an Open API for others to re-use. In addition they have developed a number of plug-ins and modules for website content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal to make it easier for website managers and bloggers to integrate Eldis content into their sites [http://www.eldis.org/go/get-the-data].

Sharing the best in development research and practice: It’s now much easier to share Eldis content with colleagues via email and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, Delicious and more! [http://www.eldis.org/go/subscribe]

Improved jobs service: An improved jobs service now aggregates jobs from a number of leading development jobs sites in one place saving users time and making it easier to find that perfect new position [ http://www.eldis.org/go/jobs ]

Commenting on the new site Eldis Service Manager Alan Stanley said: “This is the fifth major redesign since Eldis was launched as one of the very first development focussed web resources back in 1995. We’ve made significant improvements to the usability of the site but the changes aren’t just cosmetic – we have also been working hard behind the scenes to refine and improve the quality of much-valued Eldis services. We are currently working with IID in Bangladesh, the Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) in India and the National Library Service in Malawi, among others.”

About ELDIS

Eldis is an online information service providing free access to relevant, up-to-date and diverse research on international development issues. Eldis includes over 30,000 summaries and links to free full-text research and policy documents from over 8,000 publishers. To help you get the information you need; we organise these documents into collections according to key development themes and the country or region they relate to. You can browse these on the website or find out about our subscribe options to get updates in a format that suits you. We can also help you find a job!

WHO PRODUCES ELDIS?

Eldis is hosted by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) based in the UK but our service is delivered by a growing global network of organisations including IID in Bangladesh, CSDMS in India, Soul Beat Africa, the National Library Service in Malawi and Noragric in Norway. We also have partnerships with a number of large research producers. These partners help to ensure that Eldis can present a truly global picture of development research. We make a special effort to cover high quality research from smaller research producers, especially those from developing countries, alongside that of the larger, northern based, research organisations. Eldis is currently funded by UK Aid and Irish Aid.

WHO USES ELDIS?

Our website is predominantly used by development practitioners, decision makers and researchers. Over half a million users visit the site every year and more than 50% of our regular visitors are based in developing countries. But Eldis is not just a website. All of our content is Open Licensed so that it can be re-used by anyone that needs it. Website managers, applications developers and Open Data enthusiasts can all re-use Eldis content to enhance their own services or develop new tools.

IIT-B, Areva ink agreement for nuke energy projects

digitalLEARNING Network

February 18, 2013

Under the agreement, Areva SA would finance and support IIT-B’s PhD students who would work on energy research and development projects

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) and French nuclear energy company Areva SA have inked an agreement for collaboration in research and development projects.

Under the agreement, Areva SA would finance and support IIT-B’s Ph.D. students who would work on energy research and development projects through the grant fellowship agreement.

The collaboration would include development of nuclear fuel cycle products and services, nuclear reactor design and construction, renewable energy and energy storage for deployment and industrialisation.

Areva SA is planning to construct two reactors at the proposed 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, 400 km south of Mumbai.

Galgotia University launches preparatory English programme

digitalLEARNING Network

February 18, 2013

The program, meant for students from non-English speaking countries, is designed to develop skills needed for success in any English speaking environment

New Delhi: Greater Noida-based Galgotias University has introduced Preparatory English Program for International Students to serve as an academic bridge in Computers, Mathematics and Basic Sciences between the students’ current qualification and those required for the commencement of their undergraduate studies at GU.

The preparatory program is a combination of intensive English Training combined with Computer training, Maths, Physics and Chemistry is available for Students from non-English speaking countries who wish to enroll into regular programs of GU.

Commenting on the new development, Dr Ashok Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, GU said, “The English Language program is designed to develop skills needed for success in any English speaking environment. The program focuses on all four areas including reading; writing listening and speaking.”

The trainers for the program are experienced to cater to the needs of students from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. After successful completion of the program, the students will be awarded an English Proficiency Certificate.

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