KiiT International School Brings Children Magazine

K-12

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May 7, 2012

KiiT International School has released a children magazine, called “Kloud9’ recently. The magazine is a national level publication and it will be published quarterly. The magazine will give a platform where students from across the country can participate and express their creativity.

The first issue of the magazine was released by noted writer and social activist Mahasveta Devi in the presence of Planning Commission member Dr Narendra Jadhav, Kendriya Sahitya Academy president Sunil Gangopadhyay and eminent poet and novelist Ruskin Bond at a glittering ceremony.

In his speech, Bond said the purpose of this magazine was to nurture creativity among the students through reading and writing. While only a limited number of publishers are willing to take a chance with the burgeoning literary works of schoolchildren, KiiT-IS thought it was essential to give children and teens the space to be creative.

ePravesh Has Introduced Easier Admission Procedures through Android Application

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May 7, 2012

ePravesh, a product of Splashgain Technologies and an online platform for admissions, has launched first of its kind android application to streamline pre-admission formalities for institutes and students. The ePravesh application is available on all android enabled phones, provides students with all relevant information including brochures, course details, access to the respective school or college website free.

With the rising number of students seeking admissions across universities in India, it has become imperative to allow technology to intervene and make the process easier, effective and more structured. Hence ePravesh’s newly launched application can be a convenient option especially for students, parents and working professionals seeking admissions in schools and universities across India.

With the android applications, epravesh can provide information about schools, colleges and other educational institutes which are subscribed to ePravesh.

Samir Kamat, CEO and Co-founder of ePravesh said, “For several Indian universities, B-Schools, Engineering Schools, if they have to reach to their prospective students, they need to constantly innovate and embrace technology. Hence we thought beyond our existing internet platform we could also offer pre admission solutions on a mobile platform. While ePravesh’s attempt is to expose the institutes to the platform has been positive, we are pleased to be the first ones to introduce an android application solely for the Indian education sector. By bringing both, the Institutes as well as the prospective students on a common platform, we aim to make pre-admission procedures more convenient and simultaneously increase the reach of the institutes”

Swapnil Dharmadhikari, Founder & Director Splashgain Technologies shared, “Looking at the immense potential of mobile commerce as a service in facilitating the education sector, ePravesh will be introducing m- commerce as a salient feature of the application which will enable the students, parents and working professionals to make the necessary payment for admission forms using their mobile phones. Further we will also make the application compatible to different mobile operating systems including iPhones and include more interactive features and live audio and video streaming options.”

Due to the restrictions imposed by the telecom sector, institutes are finding it increasingly difficult to reach out to their potential audience through SMS, hence the updates facility of the application will help the institute keep the registered students, parents or working professionals posted on the latest happenings in the institute apart from providing them information about new courses, new cell or division launched, awards and achievements and the seminars and conferences taking place in the institute.

Health Education to be Included in School Curriculum

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May 7, 2012

Country’s Health and Family Welfare is planning to include health education in school curriculum. The body has been discussing the issue with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for the mentioned inclusion.

Dr Jagdish Prasad, Director General, Health Services, said, “I have spoken to NCERT and their response has been very favourable. We are preparing a syllabus and once that is done, we will take up the matter with the CBSE. It will be a compulsory subject and we would want kids to sit for exams. If things are on course, we should be able to start this from the next academic year.”

NCERT officials confirmed that the matter is under consideration, but said, “It is at too early a stage to talk about the modalities”.

Prasad said the matter would be taken up with the HRD Ministry.

Higher Education Loan May Get Easier for Plus Two Students

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 7, 2012

Coimbatore District Collector M. Karunagaran organised a meeting with principals of higher secondary schools of the district and with bank representatives at the local Mani High School recently. The meeting was held to make getting education loans easier for two plus students.

The meeting was attended by 292 district school principals and bank officials. Mr. Karunagaran said that though 7,506 students were provided education loans worth Rs.149.76 last year, generally students faced a lot of difficulties in availing loans from banks.

According to him, the initiative was to make sure that no eligible student would not be denied opportunity for higher education due to financial constrain.

Mr. Karunagarn said under this initiative top scorers from each school would be bank provided loans.

The imitative would also aid other eligible students to get education loans from banks.

The Meeting discussed the procedures involved in availing education loans and the banks were asked to make loans available to eligible students.

Mr. Karunagaran said that students should be made aware of the terms and procedures involved in availing education loans. They should know that no interest would be charged for students who were below a particular income limit.

Hariyana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad Joins Facebook

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May 5, 2012

Hariyana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad is now on Facebook. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure transparency and accountability of the department. With the Facebook page (facebook.com/HSSPP), information on Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in Haryana State will be disseminated to the masses.

The page further provides the Information regarding various tenders and contracts of Hariyana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parisha.

Hariyana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad is a Haryana Government Department Registered Society, which is primarily responsible to implement Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in Haryana State.

Energy University- An e-Learning Website from the Stable of Schneider Electric

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May 5, 2012

Schneider Electric-a global specialist in energy management has launched e-learning website First University recently. The new e-learning website is to strengthen their commitment to the new energy world to provide the latest information and professional training on energy efficiency concepts and best practice!

Hyderabad to Organize Fourth Edition of Indo-Global Education Summit

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May 5, 2012

Hyderabad is going to organize the fourth edition of the Indo-Global Education Summit 2012 starting from September sixth onwards. The objective is to advance research and academic collaborations, promote universal equitable access to education, and to make India an economic competitor in the global market.

CD Arha, Chairman, of the Indus Foundation shared, “The Indian economy is transforming into an international powerhouse, which requires India to have the best possible educational opportunities. We are seeking meaningful collaborations for making values to exchange undergraduate programs, to access global knowledge etc”. The collaborations will mainly work towards tackling issues like global warming.

AR Reddy, vice-chancellor of Yogi Vemana University said, “Andhra Pradesh alone requires around 30 universities to meet the current level of demand. We should first strengthen our state universities to gain more benefits from these global educational partnerships”.

The Indo-Global Summit will see the participation of top 200 foreign universities and over 1,000 Indian universities.

Coaching Centers of India See Improved Market Potential in Formal Schools

Corporate Updates

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May 5, 2012

Several leading test preparation companies are diversifying from the unregulated supplementary education segment to the formal school education space, perceiving improved market potential and a more sustainable business model.

Beyond being a logical extension of the education business, the government’s effort to cut students’ dependence on coaching centres to crack entrance exams for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and medical colleges has fuelled the trend in a sector that’s becoming more corporate-like.

Satya Narayanan R, CEO and chairman of CL Educate Ltd (formerly Career Launcher), said his firm had so far invested about Rs. 250 crore in the school business. It’s now running a chain of 23 K-12 (kindergarten to class XII) schools across India and has plans to open nearly 80 more in the next four-five years, for which it will invest Rs. 800-1,000 crore.

“There is no doubt that test-prep as a vertical will grow, but schools are a much bigger market,” he said.

Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd and Gaja Capital invested Rs. 50 crore in Indus World Schools, a unit of CL Educate last year.

According to a Crisil Research report, the tutorial business is expected to grow from Rs. 40,187 crore in 2010-11 to Rs. 75,629 crore in 2014-15. Satya Narayanan said that while test prep captures around 5 per cent of the total education market, the school segment occupies around 60 per cent.

Pramod Maheshwari, CEO of listed Career Point Ltd, another leading coaching outfit in the country, is also optimistic about business prospects.

“What we were doing through coaching is a supplementary job…then we went to integrate programs with schools. But there were differences between school managements and the coaching institute management. Finally, we have to evolve a holistic model to impact the students’ lives,” Mr. Maheshwari said.

“The second reason is the business reason. We know when a student comes to a coaching centre, it’s largely for two years, but in a school atmosphere, it’s 12 years. So, schools seem a more sustainable business. Looking at the demand for quality schools in India, it’s a natural progression for established players,” he added.

Career Point is running one school in Rajasthan and is set to open two more in the forthcoming academic session. “Thereon, we have plans to add five schools year-on-year,” he said. The company has “already invested Rs. 35 crore in the schools’ segment and more will be invested in due course”.

Activity-based Learning Yield Huge Success in TN: Who Should Follow Next?

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May 5, 2012

The Center for Public Policy, IIM-Bangalore organized a day long seminar recently where experts weighing in on the issues affecting education today, especially in rural areas and government institutions. Vijay Kumar, IAS retired Secretary of Tamil Nadu parimary Education asked, “We have children going to schools. But, are our students learning?” He opined that despite state governments having resources that will get young children to enroll in schools with schemes, such as mid-day meals and bus passes, students were still not retaining and understanding knowledge.

“According to NCERT survey that was recently conducted, it was found that students in India have absorbed only 40 percent to 50 percent of what was taught in a classroom. If a corporate were to function this way, it would declare bankruptcy. Learning outcomes in India are just bad,” he further added.

He said that teaching faculty was not to blame for this failure. However, he pointed out that the key was in “empowering teachers”.

“Teachers have to deal with absenteeism in rural India where students won’t simply come to school during harvest season and during festivals. In Tamil Nadu, we introduced an activity-based learning atmosphere. It was a success,” he added.

This eliminated final exams, ranking system and allowed students to pick up where they had left off academically, in case they were absent for a while.