Assistive Technology is must for making inclusive education a reality

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January 9, 2013

Dr Uma Tuli
Founder, Amar Jyoti School

Today, when we talk about technology, we forget about the people with disabilities. We need to consider the ways to develop assistive technology for making inclusive education a reality. We introduce so many things, but if we do not look at their accessibility, the work remains half done. We have to look at education with a holistic approach to make vocational training a part of the curriculum. We need to have structured sports and cultural activities for the differently-abled.

The philosophy of inclusive education rests on the idea of providing equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of the fact that a person is with or without disability. In life skills education, we need appropriate policies that will lead to the development of resources, training, support services, reasonable accommodation, holistic approach and a barrier-free environment. We need involvement of parents, learners, teachers, decision makers and advocates. There should be interactive and fun-filled classrooms. The curriculum has to be flexible enough to reduce academic pressure on students. We have to develop teaching materials with technology-assistive devices, linkages between pre-schools and primary education, and provision of adequate resources and leverages.

Today, even the CBSE allows assistive devices like talking calculators, computers, talking pens and many others at the time of examination for the differently-abled. Skill development doesn’t end with just leading a life of skills; it is many things put together. This is something we need to understand.

We need to promote the usage of technology, and training of trainers should be organised on a regular basis. There have to be several concessions and reforms in the examination system. Sensitisation at the university level should be done to include the differently-abled in the stream.

The media should highlight the potential of a person with disabilities and create necessary public awareness. The bottom line is that we should not underestimate the power of touch, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment and the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential of turning life around. That is what education is all about.

Measuring Outcomes is Critical to Achieving Quality

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 9, 2013

The AICTE has created the Indian Board of Accreditation to accredit and develop quality metrics in a wide variety of courses, says Prof (Dr) SS Mantha, Chairman, All Indian Council for Technical Education

Please tell us about the initiatives that the AICTE is taking towards making accreditation compulsory for colleges.

Accreditation is not mandatory at this point of time. However, it is a good idea to make it mandatory in the future. The AICTE will be exploring ways to do this as it helps in ensuring certification of a certain benchmark on standards. All the countries should work at meeting the global standards of education in order to improve the mobility of engineers.

How will it improve the education system?

Unlike the earlier practice of quality as a measure of inputs that are required to run an institute, the new accreditation process seeks to measure outcomes. Across the world, outcomes are measured to ensure quality. Education has to be student-centric and hence, the value addition that a student gets through education needs to be measured.

The Washington Accord, too, emphasises the need to measure outcomes as it helps in measuring what a student learns in a given learning environment and ensures his progress in terms of academic excellence and also a consequent appropriate employment.

The massive growth in the technical education system in India has spawned the need for quality. Thus, getting courses accredited is also gaining importance. This surging demand has necessitated for the AICTE to create another body, the Indian Board of Accreditation (IBA), which will also accredit courses in various programmes such as engineering/technology, architecture, pharmacy, applied arts, management, MCA and hotel management. This gives the users the access to an alternate system which is completely online, equally robust, sound and avoids delays. The board will follow similar outcome practices as the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) does, and will provide utmost transparency and accountability.

The AICTE is also pioneering the growth in vocational education in the country and it is only natural that the accreditation of vocational education and hands on skills acquired under the National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework (NVEQF) would assume importance in the near future. The IBA would be positioned to ensure that quality prevails in this area too.

At AICTE, we are also in the process of launching calibrated services in distance education. The IBA will also look at developing quality metrics at par with the world standards and like those in higher education, in the distance education system too.

How are private colleges reacting to the move?

All the institutes are reacting positively about the initiatives that the AICTE has been taking, since all of us are targeting the growth of quality technical and higher education in the country. The private sector has always been proactive and supportive in the process of implementing reforms.

How are you helping colleges in getting accredited?

We conduct awareness workshops for all the stakeholders so that the new procedures are understood and implemented properly. Doing a self-assessment will be of great help to the institutes because they will be able to see how they fare, and do a course correction accordingly. We will conduct workshops for experts and for the institutes too, in the future.

In your opinion, why could the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill not be passed in the Parliament?

It is incorrect to say that there are difficulties in passing the bill. Various nuances and provisions of the bill need to be understood, and we believe that everyone will support the efforts to improve the quality of technical education in the country

Policy Initiatives Higher Education in 2012

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 8, 2013

Policy Initiatives Higher Education in 2012

Central Universities
Sixteen central universities have been established which include conversion of three state universities in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. All of them have become functional.

Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)
Seven Indian Institutes of Management have been established and all of them have become functional.

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
Eight new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, have commenced their academic activities. The land for these has been identified and all institutes, except those at Gandhinagar and Indore, have taken up construction of their permanent campuses.

Indian Institutes of Information Technology
(IIITs) under PPP mode Twenty IIITs and approximately 1,000 polytechnics are proposed to be set up under this mode. Fifteen state governments have identified land for setting up of the institute. In four cases, the state governments have also identified the industry partners.

National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in each of the larger states/UTs
The government has established 10 new NITs at Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Goa, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Puducherry. As on date, there are approximately 1,600 students pursuing undergraduate programmes.

Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs)
Five IISERs at Mohali (Punjab), Kolkata (West Bengal), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Pune (Maharashtra) have been established with the objective of promoting excellence in science education.

Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace & Sustainable Development
An agreement has been signed with the UNESCO for the establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace & Sustainable Development at New Delhi. This is the first category institute of UNESCO in the entire Asia-Pacific Region. It will serve as a platform for India to emerge as a global leader in the areas of education for peace and sustainable development.

International Collaborations
During the last three years, Education Exchange Programme (EEP)/MoUs have been signed with 12 countries, bringing the total number of such
exchanges to 41.

Establishment of Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada and Telugu
These research centres identify sources of classical Kannada/Telugu languages to promote, propagate and preserve.

Modernisation of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
On its diamond jubilee, a one-time special assistance of Rs100 crore was released for the modernisation of IIT Kharagpur.

New Polytechnics

Out of 300 un-served/underserved districts, 281 have been provided a partial financial assistance of `1,915.99 crore till November 12, 2012.
A partial financial assistance of `255.50 crore for strengthening of existing polytechnics has been provided to 500 polytechnics till August 31, 2012.
Out of the 500 existing AICTEapproved polytechnics, 487 have been provided a partial financial assistance of `241.60 crore till August 31, 2012.
2.20 lakh people have availed training under community development through polytechnics scheme during the financial year 2011-12. An amount of `127.98 crore has been released till August 31, 2012.
More than 2.5 lakh people have been given training in four regional boards of apprenticeship/practical training (BOATs/BPOT) located at Mumbai, Kolkata, Kanpur and Chennai during the last three years.

National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology
• A total of 400 universities and 19,069 colleges have been provided with connectivity under the scheme as on October 31, 2012.

Launch of Aakash 2 Tablet
The low cost access-cum-computing device, Aakash 2, was launched by the President of India on November 11, 2012 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The tablet is powered by a 1 Ghz processor, has a 512 MB RAM, a 7”-capacitive touch screen, and a battery with stand-by time of three hours.

Virtual Labs
Eighty nine virtual labs were launched on February 23, 2012 for quality enhancement so that learners in the distance education system and those in remotely located and backward areas can reap the benefit of quality and relevant education through ICT.

Interest subsidy on Educational Loans
The scheme, based solely on income criteria and not social backgrounds, has become effective from the academic year 2009-10. An amount exceeding `800 crore has been released by the government for benefiting about 21,55,831 students till August 31, 2012.

National Book Promotion Policy
The draft of the National Book Promotion Policy has been approved by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) in its 58th meeting held on June 7, 2011.

Higher Education for Minorities

• Academies for professional development of Urdu-medium teachers have been set up in three central universities namely, Aligarh Muslim
University, Jamia Milia Islamia, and Maulana Azad National Urdu University.
• `61.31 crore have been sanctioned for the establishment of Residential Coaching Academics for Minorities, and Women.
• Two new campuses of Aligarh Muslim University have become operational at Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerala.
• 374 minority concentrated districts/areas have been identified for the establishment of model degree colleges. Approval has been granted
to 14 colleges.
• An amount of `232.67 crore has been released as the initial grant for setting up polytechnics in 46 districts out of 57 districts.

N-LIST (National Library and Information Services Infrastructure for Scholarly Content)
More than 74,000 e-Books from 297 publishers and 3,700 eJournals are available to 1,08,729 students in 1,512 institutions. Similarly, for university students, more than 7,500 eJournals to students in 297 institutions are available from INFLIBNET and IIT Delhi. Full text e-Thesis, numbering 2,224, is also available on the INFLIBNET network.

Education of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes

Coaching classes to prepare for National Eligibility Test (NET)
Establishment of Equal Opportunity Cells (EOCs) for sensitising university/college communities on problems faced by SC/ST students in higher education
Postgraduate scholarships to SCs/STs and minorities
Postdoctoral fellowships for SCs/STs measures initiated by the IITs to prevent any form of caste-based discrimination
Indira Gandhi Scholarship for single girl child for pursuing higher and technical education
Development of women’s studies in universities and colleges

New Year is time for New Ideas in Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 8, 2013

This is one prediction we can safely make: ICTs will continue to lead to dynamic changes in education in 2013. The educational institutions will aptly deploy more innovative ICTs because they provide students and teachers with more opportunities in adapting learning and teaching to individual needs.

Recently, the public sector telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), came up with an innovative scheme, that can enable science graduates to learn about telecommunication from BSNL’s own experienced faculty. This online certificate course is a unique industry-oriented academic initiative. The theory part of the course can be learnt online. Practical sessions will be conducted using the live equipment worth crores at the BSNL training centre. It is not only the students who can benefit from BSNL’s initiative, employees and job-seekers too, can join the course to enhance their knowledge of the telecom sector.

In 2013, we can expect other innovative educational products, which make use of ICTs, to be launched by different public and private organisations. The idea, that ICTs are a potentially powerful tool for extending educational benefits, both formal and non-formal to previously underserved communities and groups, has now taken root. The advent of digital technologies is enabling many groups that have been traditionally excluded from education to have the lamp of knowledge shine on them. This is surely a cheerful note on which we can begin the New Year.

The current issue of the digitalLEARNING magazine carries an in depth analysis of various developments in online education and other digital educational technologies in the country. There is no doubt that online education is all set to become a major phenomenon in the country. Perhaps, it has already become one. But further progress of such avenues for education also depends on the availability of basic infrastructure. Connectivity and basic things like electricity continue to be an issue.

We had the State Education Summit 2012 (SES) at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on 19th December 2012. The event was attended by an array of eminent speakers and delegates from all areas of education. We had ministers, senior government officials, academic luminaries, principals, VCs, Chairmen, and stalwarts of private industry gathering on the SES platform to exchange knowledge and ideas on the ways by which we can have better education outcomes in the country.

In February 2013, we are having the State Education Summit 2013 in Chandigarh, Punjab. I hope you see you there along with other speakers and delegates. Despite all the progress that we have made in the education space, a lot of work still needs to be done. The SES 2013 will, hopefully, lead us towards new ideas for revamping the state of education in our country.

IGNOU changes credit marks for B Ed programme

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 8, 2013

The University has approved that course of four credits of B Ed is equivalent to 100 marks and the course of eight credits is equivalent to 200 marks

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has introduced one time measure for the benefit of students pursuing/ having completed its B Ed programme.

On the recommendations of the School of Education, the Vice Chancellor of the University has approved that course of four credits of B Ed is equivalent to 100 marks and the course of eight credits is equivalent to 200 marks.

Accordingly, the maximum marks for the B Ed programme of this University up to the academic session 2000-2001 to 2008-2009, are 1100 as at that time 11 courses were available in the B Ed programme. Similarly, the maximum marks for B Ed programme starting from the academic session 2009-2010 will be 1300 as the total courses for this programme are 13.

In view of above, all students who have completed their B Ed programme from this University as on date may note the above said information and utilise the same for filling up the portion mentioned in their

CAT- 2012 results to be online from tomorrow

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 8, 2013

Candidates will be able to log on to IIMs’ secure portal via the CAT website from January 9 to retrieve their results

New Delhi: The Indian Institutes of Management, along with Prometric—trusted provider of market-leading test development and test delivery solutions—today announced that the results for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2012 will be available from 9 January 2013.

Candidates will be able to log on to IIMs’ secure portal via the CAT website from January 9 to retrieve their results. Candidates will be required to enter their CAT registration number and email address in order to access the site. Access to CAT 2012 results will available until 31 December 2013.

“Although we took added precautions, we anticipate a slightly heavier traffic on the first day and candidates are advised to be patient and not rush to retrieve their results. They may try again later if they find the site to be slow,” said Professor SSS Kumar, CAT 2012 Convenor.

“Prometric employs an industry-standard, psychometrically sound approach in the scoring process,” Prometric India Managing Director Soumitra Roy said. CAT 2012 was conducted successfully in 61 test centres across 36 cities over a 21-day testing window from 11 October – 6 November 2012.

NASSCOM, NIIT ink pact for higher training to graduates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 8, 2013

Under the pact, over one lakh graduates will be trained through two initiatives— Foundation Skills in IT and Global Business Foundation Skills in three years

New Delhi: The NASSCOM Sector Skills Council (SSC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for three years with NIIT to offer enhanced training programs to students through its training campuses all across the country.

The strategic alliance will offer first-of-its-kind training programs that have been designed, developed and endorsed by the industry through two initiatives- FSIT (Foundation Skills in IT) — for engineering graduates and Global Business Foundation Skills (GBFS) —for graduates of all streams.

While FSIT aims to develop foundation skills in IT, GBFS has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the BPO/KPO and the LPO industry. NIIT will leverage its on-campus delivery model — NIIT Careers@Campus, designed to enhance employability skill sets of engineering graduates in particular and the overall employability of all graduates in general.

The training program has been designed by IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM and the achievement levels are certified through the NAC and NAC-Tech assessments.

The collaboration between NASSCOM’s IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council (SSC) and NIIT aims to train over one lakh students over three years, starting with 30,000 students in the first year.

Speaking on the occasion, NASSCOM President Som Mittal said, “This initiative of NASSCOM with NIIT is aimed to scale quality capacity of our graduates. We believe our initiative will go a long way in contributing towards achieving the scale that is required by the industry.”

Commenting on the alliance, Rajendra Singh Pawar, Chairman, NIIT said “NIIT’s training expertise together with NASSCOM’s industry insights will empower college students across India.”

The programs – FSIT and GBFS, are of duration of 120 hours each and cover topics ranging from technology to soft skills and professional skills and project management.

Most of the topics covered are applicable to multiple industries and although all students are eligible to take part in the program, it is best suited for engineering students studying in third year and final year.

The industry has invested substantially in the design and development of these programs and these will be continuously updated to keep it current and relevant.

Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme launched in Chandigarh

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 7, 2013

The scheme aims to bring in better transparency in distribution of funds under Centre and UT administration sponsored schemes

Chandigarh: The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme facilitated by Aadhaar was launched here with an aim to bring in better transparency in distribution on funds under Centre and UT administration sponsored schemes.

The UT administration has recognised eight schemes of director higher education and director public instructions in schools.

Out of the 34 schemes that are sponsored by the centre, some of the schemes included here are: UT merit scholarship, UT merit scholarship and pre-metric scholarship for SC students, post-metric scholarship for SC students, post-metric scholarship for OBCs, post-metric scholarship for students with disabilities, merit-cum-means scholarship, post-metric scholarship scheme for minority and more.

e-Learning soln for Maharashtra schools launched

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 7, 2013

Already deployed in higher educational institutes across the country, Amrita University’s e-Learning platform A-VIEW, will now be used in schools also

Pune: Amrita University’s e-Learning Platform A-VIEW (Amrita Virtual Interactive E-Learning World) was formally launched for schools in Maharashtra on Friday at Amrita Vidyalayam here.

Former UGC Chairman Arun Nigawekar launched the solution at an impressive function here.

The award-winning A-VIEW platform has already been successfully deployed at more than 2,000 higher educational institutions across the country. Now this platform will be rolled out in schools across the country.

Speaking on the occasion Maharashtra Education Society (MES) President Dr. Ravindra Wanjarwadkar, said, “We will integrate A-VIEW with our Digital Campus system to further enhance the quality of education.”

Dr. Hemant Darbari, Executive Director, CDAC Pune, Shri Indrajeet Deshmukh, Maharashtra Deputy Commissioner for Regional Development, and Srimati Pushplata Pawar, Education Officer, Pune Municipal Corporation, participated in this event.

The solution is supported by the National Mission on Education through ICT of the HRD Ministry.

Global seminar at Punjab Varsity

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 7, 2013

The seminar on Philosophy and Sciences was attended by scholars,reserchers and students from across the world

Punjab University (PU) organized a two-day global seminar on Philosophy and Sciences on January 6 and 7.

The event was sponsored by the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi. The council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP), Washington was the event partner.

Noted scholars, researchers and students from different parts of the country and abroad will present papers on philosophy, natural sciences, social sciences, literature, modern western philosophy and classical Indian philosophy.

Panjab University Vice Chancellor Arun Grover will be inaugurating the event.

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