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Goa mulls new plan to bring orphans under SSA

By
digitalLEARNING Network
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Under the plan,it will fund NGOs, already working in the field of education, for providing shelter to children in distress to receive education

Panaji: The Goa Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is planning to collaborate with NGOs to set up residential services for ‘children in difficult situations’, with special emphasis on orphans and street children, to provide them a safe shelter to receive education.

The process has looped in Registered NGOs with reliable track record of working with children in distress share their level of interest in setting up residential facilities and to  apply under the scheme before January 15, 2013.

The department has said that it will provide a one-time non-recurring grant to selective NGOs towards the purchase of furniture, kitchen equipment, teaching learning material, library books and bedding. 

NGOs already working in the field of education and with the capacity to accommodate at least 30 students initially will be given preference. The students will also be given vocational and skills training to make them independent.

Rs. 900 will be provided as Recurring grants per child towards maintenance.  A stipend of 50 per month per child will be given to the NGOs. Grants will also be provided towards submission of examination fees, for salaries of staff employed at the residential facility, for supplementary teaching material and to cover water and electricity charges of the hostel.

In addition to this amount, Rs. 750 per child will be paid to the NGOs to fulfil medical expenses of the children and other emergency.

Tibetan schools to be managed by Govt-in-exile now

By
digitalLEARNING Network
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The Centre has decided to hand over the administration of these schools to the Tibetan government-in exile to focus specific educational needs of the students

New Delhi: India run Tibetan schools will soon be handed over to Tibet’s exile administration. However, the Centre will continue to fund the schools.

According to the decision, the 71 schools run by the Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA) will be transferred to the Department of Education (DoE) of the Dharamshala-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) or the Tibetan government-in-exile over a three-year period. The aim is to improve focus on the educational needs of the students.

The Indian teaching and non-teaching staff of CTSA would be given an option to join the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, the Central Board of Secondary Education, or the demonstration schools of the National Council of Educational Research and Training once the schools get transferred.

The CTA would be provided funds of Rs 43 crore per annum plus an annual increment of five percent. The transfer would benefit 2,220 residential students and 6,455 day scholars through better focus on their educational needs.

There would be a potential saving of Rs 69.29 crore for the Government of India over a five-year period.

CTSA was established as a society in 1961 with the objective of establishing, managing and running schools for educating the children of Tibetan refugees who migrated to India while preserving Tibetan culture and heritage and promoting the Tibetan language.

Ahmedabad Design Institute to get national status soon

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

The step would fulfill the need to professionalise, standardise and internationally benchmark professional design education in India

New Delhi: The National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, would soon be declared as an institution of national importance, thus enabling it to award degrees to its students.

At a meeting chairmed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Union Cabinet approved the declaration of NID by the Parliament as an ‘Institution of National Importance’, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.

This, in turn, would prove beneficial to our students who want to pursue post-graduation after graduating from the institute, said an official release. A legislation in this regard will also be introduced in the next session of the Parliament.

Chidambaram also said that the step would fulfill the need to professionalise, standardise and internationally benchmark professional design education in India.

Need to inculcate ethical values in youths:HRD Minister

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Instilling a sound value system, besides imparting skill set, is equally crucial to a person’s rounded development,the Minister said

New Delhi: Union Human Resource Development Minister MM Pallam Raju has emphasised on the need to inculcate values in the youth.

Releasing a Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Desk Calendar in New Delhi, to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, he said it is good but not enough to give only education and skill sets to the modern youth.

Instilling a sound value system is equally crucial to a person’s rounded development. He said the recent incidents of violence against young women is a pointer to the decline in values, and only reiterates the need to strengthen the ethical foundations of society.

Pallam Raju said, Swami Vivekananda, whose 150th Birth Centenary is being celebrated this year, epitomised everything noble and character-building.

The Minister also released NBT’s Wall Calendar 2013 on the theme ‘Indigenous Voices of India’. The Calendar is a celebration of India’s unity in diversity.

It presents a collage of 12 vignettes representing tribal life, synchronising the theme ‘Indigenous Voices: Mapping India’s Folk and Tribal Literature’ of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2013.

BITS Pilani launches multi-campus education

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

The initiative called BITSConnect 2.0 will connect all campuses of BITS Pilani, making travelling across campuses redundant

Panaji: Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, one of India’s premier universities launched a multi-million dollar cross-campus technology initiative named BITSConnect 2.0. 

The initiative has been launched with the help from BITSAA (BITS Alumni Association) and presents a unique model of multi-campus in the country.

The initiative comprises Immersive Telepresence, High-definition Video Conferencing and Live Streaming technologies through which all campuses of the BITS ,Pilani will be connected.

This University-Alumni initiative was launched simultaneously at Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses, while being connected to Cisco’s offices in San Jose and Boston, jointly by  BITS Pilani Vice Chancellor Bijendra Nath Jain and Raju Reddy, Chairman, BITSAA.

BITS Pilani became one of the first Indian universities to set up IP Telephony, Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless accessibility on campus with BITSConnect 1.0 in 2003.

With this latest initiative, the university has  taken a giant leap forward in using technology for education. By bridging the geographical distance across campuses and global knowledge centers, this platform will facilitate collaboration among its faculty, students, industry partners and alumni, for education, research and mentorship.

The BITS Pilani Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla said, “The launch of BITSConnect 2.0 from its three campuses in India signals a significant step forward that extends the boundaries of technology-enabled learning. The Telepresence system provides avenues for research collaboration and knowledge sharing among BITS’ faculty and students, and for face-to-face communication between members of BITS’ leadership.”

This semester, BITS Pilani will offer more than 14 specialized electives to 1000s of students across its campuses by professors working from any of its campuses.

To collaborate, faculty and staff no longer need to travel. Academicians from across the world will be able to collaborate with and mentor research projects in BITS via Immersive Telepresence.

BITSConnect 2.0 is a joint initiative of BITS Pilani and BITSAA that was conceived during the BITSAA Global Meet 2011. Many alumni have contributed significant funds for this project.

New Chairman for Punjab School Education Board

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Dr. Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal has been appointed as the Chairperson of the State Education Board

Chandigarh:Dr. Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal has been appointed as the new Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Chairman.

She is the first lady from Education Department to be appointed as the Chairperson of the State Education Board.

Dr. Dhaliwal, is currently serving as the Principal of Guru Nanak College for Girls, Sri Muktsar Sahib (Punjab).She has a vast experience of over 25 years of  in the field of education to her credit.

She has also served as a Senate Member, Punjab University, Chandigarh for two terms. She has also remained a member of the Syndicate, Punjab University, Chandigarh, member of Punjab University Sports Executive Committee, Scientific Advisory Committee, Krishi Vigyaan Kendra, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Panjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana and many more.

Pouring Quality in Indian Education System

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Pouring Quality in Indian Education System

Accreditation of educational institutions will make it easy for students to assess the quality of programmes, courses, infrastructure and faculty in an institute

By Ruhi Ahuja Dhingra, Elets News Network (ENN)

To improve the quality of higher education in the country, the government has decided to make accreditation mandatory for all higher education institutions by February 2013. This means that any new university or institute of higher education will need to get accredited mandatorily by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore, before it opens, to get funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for its research and academic programmes. The existing colleges will be given a few years to get accredited.

The decision came after the government failed to get the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill (NARA) passed in the winter session of the Parliament. The bill has been lying in the Parliament for more than two years.

• Less than 15 percent of the universities in India are accredited
• The decision came after the Centre failed to get the NARA bill passed in the Parliament
• More than 33,000 colleges and 10,000 technical institutes are likely to get affected by the decision
• The UGC and the AICTE will be preparing benchmarks for the process of accreditation which will certify the academic quality of an institute
• The Indian Board of Accreditation will accredit and develop quality metrics in
different courses

Prof HA Ranganath, Director, NAAC, said, “With all this expansion etc, if higher education has to succeed, the country needs a robust accreditation process and it should be a successful venture.”

More than 33,000 colleges and 10,000 technical institutes are likely to get affected by the decision. At present, because accreditation is not mandatory, only a small percentage (less than 15 percent), of the 612 universities in India are accredited. The lack of accreditation and the rising number of private varsities offering technical and higher education in the country is making it difficult for admission seekers to judge the quality of education that is being provided in these institutes. Prof Dr SS Mantha, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said: “The massive growth in the technical education system in India has spawned the need for quality. Thus, getting courses accredited is also gaining importance.”

Accreditation of educational institutions will make it easy for students to assess the quality of programmes, courses, infrastructure and faculty in an institute. Another advantage is that students who graduate from accredited universities do not face difficulties in getting jobs and are easily chosen by potential employers who are sure that the students have received quality education.

Talking about the new system of accreditation that will add value and quality to education, Dr Mantha said: “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.”

Higher-EducationThe lack of accreditation and the rising number of private varsities offering technical and higher education makes it difficult for admission seekers to judge the quality of education

According to the the Minister for Human Resource Development, MM Pallam Raju, both the UGC and the AICTE will be preparing benchmarks for the process of accreditation, which will certify the academic quality of an institute. The ministry will be writing to state governments to set up more accreditation bodies that will monitor institutions on these benchmarks.

The AICTE is setting up another agency for accreditation, the Indian Board of Accreditation (IBA), to accelerate the process. The board will accredit and develop quality metrics in a wide variety of courses, said Dr Mantha. The board will help the existing National Board of Accreditation (NBA) in examining higher and technical education institutes. It will follow best practices from different countries across the world and come up with new processes of evaluation.

digitalLEARNING’s view

The education sector in India will certainly welcome the decision of the government to make accreditation mandatory for new and existing institutions but if the unaccredited private players that constitute a major share of participation in technical and higher education in the country, will willingly accept the move lies in ambiguity. Parents spend huge money to ensure that their child receives good education. Therefore, satisfaction in terms of quality of education is what they must get. Continuous review of the institutes by the accreditation organisations every few years is a must.

And, in order to ensure that all the institutes are complying with the required standards and are meeting the acceptable levels of quality, every institute must be made to go through each step of accreditation every time it is reviewed.

ICT in Education

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Hari Ranjan Rao

“As government officials, it is our duty to work in such a way that we can achieve the right results in the most cost-effective manner,” says Hari Ranjan Rao,  Secretary to Chief Minister and Department of Information Technology,  Government of Madhya Pradesh

The challenges in the education sector are huge, and we should avoid the tendency of getting bogged down by numbers as it makes it challenging to reach the ultimate objective. As government officials, it is our duty to work in such a way that we can achieve the right results in the most cost-effective manner. When it comes to education, we have a cause to worry, and also a cause to be optimistic. We are working with better goals in mind, but the task before us is so huge that we have to strive to do even better.

When teachers are guides

There is no doubt that IT is going to bring about a paradigm shift in education. In June this year, Shri Sam Pitroda was in Bhopal and we had a very good interactive session with him. One very pertinent pointthat he said was, “Let’s not presume that kids these days need teachers. Actually, children don’t need teachers anymore; they only need guides, enablers, and mentors. Give the modern kids an opportunity and they will learn things themselves.” This is a very profound statement to be made by man of Shri Sam Pitroda’s stature.

In a class, the teacher asks the kids how Lord Hanuman managed to find Goddess Sita. One child raised his hand and innocently replied, “Very simple, through Google search.” Solutions to many of the questions that arise in the child’s mind are found on Google search. The kids of today are computer savvy; they know how to look for answers on Google. So if we give them an  opportunity, they will look for solutions.

All of us who have children at home know very well that whenever a new gadget comes to the house, it is the youngsters who are the first to master the nitty-gritties of running that gadget. You don’t need to teach a child how to operate a remote. The kids know that automatically. They don’t go to any classroom to learn how to operate a gadget. All we need to do is provide our kids with an enabling IT environment and they will be able to learn on their own. This is very easier said than done.

The problem is that so far, we have not been able to create that IT backbone that can reach out to majority of the children who are in need of education. In villages, the IT infrastructure is yet to make a mark in a significant manner. It is not in tier-I and II cities and towns that we are facing the crunch of IT infrastructure for education. The crunch is being felt in the remote villages, towns and districts. All the PPP projects in education that we have launched are unable to reach the remote areas, as we don’t have network in those areas.

Building digital networks

A vast majority of our education applications need the network to run in a proper manner. So, digital education can take the root only when the network is
able to expand to each and every part of the country. We have a State Wide Area Network (SWAN) in place in Madhya Pradesh that has now reached up to the block level. We are strengthening SWAN by the use of lot of technological innovations. We are also trying to expand it to our primary schools. Under this project, virtual classrooms are being set up in different parts of the state. In phase one of the project, we are connecting 313 block headquarters. In each block, we have picked up at least one school. About 100 colleges have also been picked up.

Each school or college is being provided with a virtual classroom with the entire set up consisting of a projector, an LCD screen, computer, microphone, etc. A studio has been created in Bhopal. The best teachers will be teaching in the studio and the lessons will get digitally transmitted to all virtual classrooms located in different parts of state. Through this, a much larger number of  students will be able to tap into the teaching skills of the best teachers. It is possible that all the 313 virtual classrooms could be simultaneously attending the same lecture. As the system is interactive, the children will be able to ask questions and get answers from their teacher.

There are lots of challenges that we have to overcome to bring perfection in the digital system of imparting education. The primary challenge is to connect all the virtual classrooms with the studio. In about a month’s time, the system will be in place to cater to the needs of the few schools and colleges that we are connecting. However, it is not as if we have achieved the ultimate objective in education with this initial step. The truth is that the number of schools, which require this kind of technological solutions, is really large. About 4000 institutions require virtual classroom in government institutions.

Connecting schools

One good thing that has happened is the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN). For laying the fibre optic cables, the government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a number of states. The Government of Madhya Pradesh was one of the first states to sign the MoU with the Government of India.

There are lots of challenges that we have to overcome to bring perfection in the digital system of imparting education. The primary challenge is to connect all the virtual classrooms with the studio

The Government of India has approved on 25th October 2011, the setting up of the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) to provide connectivity to all the 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country. This would ensure broadband connectivity with adequate bandwidth. This is to be achieved by utilising the optical fiber existing up to block level and extending it to the Gram Panchayats.

If an optical fibre network is reaching the Gram Panchayat, many of the villages en route will also get connected. Madhya Pradesh has around 23,000 Gram Panchayats, all of which will be connected. Surely, this represents a landmark opportunity to revolutionise the education sector in the country. The concept of virtual classrooms can simply be replicated in 23,000 Gram Panchayats. This is a very cost-effective way of ensuring that children in even the remotest villages have access to quality teaching material.

Can you imagine the state’s best mathematics teacher can be sitting in classroom located inside a studio in Bhopal and he would be teaching students in 23,000 classrooms located across the state? This is the kind of revolution that ICT will lead us to.

A dedicated IT cadre

To bring efficiency in actual implementations of e-Governance, the state government has started creating a dedicated IT cadre. Now at every block and tehsil level, we have Assistant e-Governance Managers, and at every district level, we have District e-Governance Managers. They have been recruited through a process of online examinations that entail very little paperwork and many of them have already joined the jobs.

The private sector, too, has a lot of talent. But as a government official, how do
I take advantage of that talent? If a private company comes to me with a very efficient model for virtual classroom, I cannot straightway take that virtual classroom and start deploying it. The scales at which the government works are enormous. We need to go through a transparent procurement process. So, it is much better if the private sector, instead of bringing their products directly to the government, get their products tested with the private schools. Once the application gets popularised, a demand for the product will get created and then the government machinery can create an ecosystem and procure the solution through a transparent mechanism.

Education just a click away!

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Education - Just a click away

Education - A Click AwayThe metamorphosis of education technologies is leading to the creation of many new avenues for knowledge economy, writes Ruhi Ahuja Dhingra

Too busy to take up an MBA, or do not want to travel to far flung cities to pursue the course of your choice? Switch on your computer, connect to the web and experience online education refine the way you learn. Welcome to the digital age!

Whether it is communication, work or shopping, people across the world are becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet. Thanks to the digital revolution. In today’s world, people can easily learn and teach too, right from elementary education to the university level, sitting at home. Reports say that the market of online education stands at $20 million today and is expected to get twice as large by 2017.

Universities in India and the world over are offering online courses that help students learn from the best of faculty and mentors from across the globe. The Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have formed a nonprofit partnership, edX, to offer interactive online courses for free to students. Other universities are also partnering with online education companies to provide eLearning courses along similar lines. This eliminates the need to go to a university’s campus and pay huge money to take at least a course that does not demand hands-on training.

“Online education can prove to be very effective for any course that does not require lab work or is not too technical like engineering and medicine. Therefore, the objective of access to education can be achieved through online education, and it will also create an equitable order, whether you can afford it or not,” says Prof (Dr) Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, Delhi.

The upsurge in the demand for online education can be attributed to various factors like flexibility, ease of learning, low cost, interactivity, and multiple choices of subjects and courses. eLearning courses are also used by corporate to keep their employees abreast of the latest technology.

How effective is online learning?

“There are three important points in education: access, equity, quality. Every student in the country does not have the access or the means to come to a college. There is a huge gap between Education those who can afford education and those who can’t. Online education will  fill up that gap,” believes Dr Singh.

Even in the US, the eLearning market is one of the fastest growing segments. With a lot of more K-12 schools and higher education institutions (HEIs) adopting online education, the demand has risen rapidly in the past five years. Not just this, the high penetration of devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets, has also made a significant contribution in the development of online learning across the globe. A few innovative mobile learning solutions too, have been piloted. They have very little success in pockets and still need to go a far way before they become an established solution.

One of the leading online education providers, Hughes Global Education, has tied up with a lot of renowned institutions like the IITs and IIMs in India to provide online education and training programmes to students and professionals. It offers degree, diploma and certificate programmes and connects the students and teachers through a professional studio.

Universities too, have realised the immense potential that eLearning holds and have thus begun to offer online programmes that help the students in learning themselves and at their own pace.

The winning proposition

Online learning is the best way to learn important courses like Management, Engineering, Finance, Economics, English Literature from professionals from across the world even if you are working. There is a wide array of courses you can choose from and learn them from wherever you are. You can also choose which method of study you want to opt for and the time when you want to study: a different world of learning with convenience and ease. Once a student receives the course material, he can learn by interacting with mentors via chats, emails and discussion forums.

Virtual classrooms also provide instant scale of delivery. They can be very effective if used appropriately in an eLearning programme. In today’s market, there are cost effective solutions which reduce the cost drastically.

Indians reap the benefits

A lot of Indians, who never had access to high quality education, and also the students in prestigious institutions in the country, can now learn a wide array of subjects from professors from universities like the MIT and Stanford. The videos are extraordinary and different from those in the physical classrooms in India. Students can watch these videos at any time, participate in discussions and take the tests and exercises. Onlin education is sure to have a lot of impact on India as a huge number of students in our country, especially those in rural areas, yearn to get access to good quality education that paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.

There are so many parts of India that do not have schools. Moreover, a lot of schools in the country face shortage of  faculty. Online education can fill that gap too. You can prepare good lectures and material and put them up online. Therefore, for a country like India, online education definitely has a lot of relevance, says Dr Singh.

A joint initiative of seven Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), aims at enhancing the reach and the quality of engineering education in the country through free video and web courses on YouTube. It had about 260 courses in its first phase and has proposed more than 1,000 for the second phase. The courses can also be downloaded for viewing offline.

The online education market stands at $20 million today and is expected to get twice as large by 2017

A huge market

According to a report by the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the sale of personal computers went up by 16 percent in 2011-12, spurring the growth of eLearning in the country. Since online education is embracing all distance education and virtual universities, there certainly is a huge market with tremendous potential. “Considering the huge expansion that is happening in India, online education can be really effective,” adds Dr Singh.

In one of its studies, the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said that the education sector will attract an investment of a whopping $1 billion from private equity and venture capital firms. The report also said that a majority of this investment will be in technology-enabled education initiatives.

Online education providers too, predict that the online education market in India will continue to expand in the years to come. Over the next few years there will be a push to consolidate among subscale players. New entrants will continue to look at micro markets. The larger players will look at expanding beyond their current strong holds into adjacent areas.

Online education: The future

Let’s think about the bigger picture. Online education cannot replace a teacher in a physical classroom, but can certainly supplement the formal education system. Since all the course content: lectures, research papers, notes and case studies; is just a click away, education is sure to revolutionise. Knowledge can be gained at any anytime and from anywhere and is not confined to the four walls of a classroom.

Most of the academic leaders believe that online learning is a critical part of their institutions’ long-term academic strategy. Online education providers are also constantly exploring new ways to enhance the way education is being imparted to the masses across the world.

With one in three students opting for at least one online course, online education is growing at a tremendous pace and is here to stay.

Employbility-Outlook Report 2013

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Employbility-Outlook Report 2013

Delhi and NCR

The report intends to help organisations and enable organisations to take informed decisions on manpower planning, hiring and resource allocation

Wheebox and PeopleStrong HR Services Employability Outlook Report is intended to help organisations and enable organisations to take informed decisions on manpower planning, hiring and resource allocation. Wheebox and PeopleStrong HR Services Employability Outlook Report is based on an independently conducted online assessment, carried out with a total sample of 7,380 Students of Bachelors of Engineering in 53 Campuses across Delhi and NCR India. (Invitation was sent to 90 Selected Campuses)

The data and claims are based the online assessment on core engineering domains, Cognitive Abilities and English Comprehension Skills conducted across Bachelors of Engineering. Individual number of student rating for employability index varies depending on number of students in each domain.

On the basis of the assessment study, the report tries to map the available skilled resources to various demographics. This will help the employer know exactly whom and from where to hire.

Methodology

The report is a culmination of a Domain Based, Cognitive Abilities and English Comprehension Skills Assessment for 60 minutes using Online Assessment Platform of Wheebox. These tests were conducted on invitation and 7,380 students from final year of Engineering Colleges in Delhi and NCR participatedin different streams of the test. Students registered online for the test at their respective college venue before taking the test. The assessment used an adaptive testing system and was conducted in a proctored environment.

A cut-off had been assigned at 60 percent for the graduates to qualify for employability. Graduates meeting or exceeding the cut-off scores are the ones eligible as employable in the report. Six different streams from Engineering were tested, where students from their own streams undertook their respective test domains. The window was open for 90 days and it was mandatory to register before taking the test. The streams were: Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical, Information Technology, Computer Science and Civil Engineering.

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