The Bombay High Court has said that part-time lecturers are not entitled for benefits like pension and gratuity as they have the freedom to take up other jobs. The court gave this judgement while hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate and a part-time lecturer Laxmi Paranjpe. Laxmi who has been associated with ILA Law College Pune for 27 years had challenged the government's decision to not provide pension to part-time faculty members. She was appointed as a part-time lecturer on June 20, 1983. A division bench of Justices P B Majumdar and Amjad Sayed said, “It is required to be noted that Part-time lecturers are not prohibited from taking up other assignments while continuing part-time employment with the college.” Paranjape's petition has touted government's decision was arbitrary, illegal and violated of Articles 14 [equality before law] and 16 [Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment] of the India's Constitution. A division bench of Justice P B Majmudar and Justice Amjad Sayed said in their February 24 order there was a reasonable classification in the matter of pension between regular lecturers and part-time lecturers. Paranjape's lawyer Girish Godbole argued that if part-time lecturers are entitled to additional benefits and promotions, then they should also be given proportionate pension on retirement. Assistant government pleader V S Gokhale argued that the petitioner was entitled to practice as an advocate also, a perk that is denied to a full-time lecturer. “Additional benefits given to part-time lecturers such as benefits of career advancement scheme, selection grade, etc., ipso facto cannot be grounds for concluding that denying pension to such part-time lecturers violates Article 16 of the Constitution of India,” said the judgment. The court said that if an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa is appointed as a full time lecturer then, he or she has to surrender the license to practice a profession. “During the tenure of his or her employment with the Law College as a full time lecturer, he or she is not permitted to practice in the Court.”
College teachers likely to get pay hike across states
The Human Resource Development Ministry is preparing to drop the controversial norm under which centre cannot fund state governments in order to implement salary hike under Sixth Pay Commission. The ministry will table the proposal in Cabinet to allow it to pay state governments up to 80% of the additional financial burden imposed by hiked University Grants Commission teacher salaries, informed top government sources. If the proposal gets cabinet nod, it will benefit over 4.5 lakh teachers across India's state universities and affiliated colleges. These teachers will receive a long overdue pay bonanza which was stuck due to fund crisis. The norm that was introduced in the UGC pay package which was notified on December 31, 2008 has taken only central universities in its ambit excluding the state universities. The norm allows the Centre to financially assist only those states that raise the retirement age of their college and university to 65 years. Different states at present have different retirement ages norms. The centre will have to bear an amount of up to Rs. 8, 000 crore a year if it pays 80% of the additional cost for salary hikes to the states. “But this is the same amount we were earlier too preparing to pay
For a change, spotlight on arts at job fair
A job fair at Panjab University starting on Friday will, for a change, provide a platform for students from arts and non-vocational streams – besides those from more sought after courses – to interact with prospective employers. In times when the focus of leading companies and university authorities remains on getting job placements for professional courses like management, engineering and others, Panjab University is all set to change the trend and has invited leading corporates through the Mega Job Fair from March 4-6. The varsity, one of the oldest universities in India which was set up in 1882, will for the first time see all of its 75 teaching and research departments conducting student placements under a common platform. “Students from management and engineering departments always get good placements. But now we want students from other departments like Hindi, Sanskrit and political science to get good jobs too,” vice chancellor R.C. Sobti told the sources. “With giants like IBM, WIPRO, ICICI, Toyota, Ranbaxy and Indigo Airlines confirming participation in the job fair, we are expecting good placements for our 10,000 outgoing students this year,” Panjab University placement coordinator Manu Sharma told the sources. Nearly 50 leading companies are expected for the job fest. Our student organizers from the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) have made a web-portal to monitor database of large number of students. “Students from different departments have uploaded their resumes on it. The companies have also uploaded their requirements, mode of short-listing, and salaries offered on the same portal,” Sharma said. The UIET has also set up a help desk at the university's Students Centre for taking queries from the students regarding registration for the job fest. “I could not find any suitable job placement for me during the campus placements held in the department last month. I am looking forward to get good opportunities for me at the job fair,” Maneesh Kumar Singh, an eighth semester student from UIET, told the sources. Officials dealing with the job fest say that over 1,500 online registrations have already been made and more are expected in the coming days. But some in the university's student community say that more could have been done to attract more students to the unique job fest. “It is appreciable that the university has come up with this mega job fair for all the departments but the organizers did not publicize it properly,” said Kunal Verma, a final year student from department of economics. “The student organizers could have pulled out promotional rallies around the campus or should have sent letters to the chairpersons of all departments.” “I got to know about the job fair preparations through a friend of mine from UIET. He told me that a group of students in UIET had volunteered for organizing the job fest,” Tejveer Kalra, a second year student from University Business School (UBS), told the sources.
Armed conflicts rob 28 million kids of education
Calling it a 'hidden crisis', a UN report has found that armed conflicts are robbing 28 million children of their right to education while subjecting them to violence. The report, The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education, prepared by UNESCO warns that the world is not on track to achieve by 2015 the goal of providing education to all that 160 countries signed in 2000. “In conflict-affected poor countries, 28 million children of primary school age – 42 percent of the world's total – are out of school,” said the report released on Tuesday. It warns that children in conflict-affected poor countries are twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday as children in other poor countries. “Only 79 percent of young people are literate in conflict-affected poor countries, compared with 93 percent in other poor countries,” it said. Over 43 million people are reported to have been displaced mostly by armed conflicts though the actual number is probably far higher. Refugees and internally displaced people face major barriers to education, according to the report. The report calls for a determined international response to tackle the crisis.
Delhi’s slum children to get Australian degrees
Delhi's slum children will now be able to study in Australia under an exchange programme between the University of Melbourne and voluntary organization Asha, officials said here on Tuesday. “This is going to be the first-of-its-kind Asha model as we focus on urban poor, mainly slum children, to give them access to higher education from a country other than India,” Asha founder Kiran Martin said. A new India-Australia partnership to support the needs of Delhi's urban poor will operate in three areas – research, education and community engagement. “This is going to be a unique programme in terms of catering to the needs of the urban poor, who can't even afford the basic education. We also aim at finding solutions to the needs of urban poor as we begin interacting with the students,” said Amitabh Mattoo, director of the University of Melbourne's Australia India Institute. The collaborative programme will fund 40 projects during 2011 across areas such as resource and environment, contemporary India, regional relationships, health, education, economics and business. “A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne, and Asha community health and development society has also been signed,” added Martin. The programme will be launched by Human Resource and Development Minister Kapil Sibal here on Wednesday.
I’ve given my life to Ramjas College – Principal
He was just 33 years old when he found himself at the helm of a Delhi University college whose financial and administrative systems had collapsed and which had the dubious distinction of principals being ousted by student agitations. But a determined Rajendra Prasad, who completed 25 years in office last year, took it upon himself to make Ramjas College a top institution. Appointed as principal in 1985, Prasad recalled those terrible days when there was no alignment between the administration and students. “We knew we had problems in the college and the only way to bring the college back on track was by building a strong bond between the faculty and the students. So I started interacting and meeting students daily. I wanted them to trust me and confide in me. The staff of Ramjas also helped me tremendously in this,” Prasad told the sources in an interview. “Gradually, things started to change for the better and the year 1997-98 was the breaking point for the college. Our academic and extra-curricular results were heading north and we were emerging as one of the finer colleges in the university.” Today it has over 5,000 students, with its graduate courses in English, economics, history and commerce being much sought after. “There were times when I worked for 18 hours a day and my staff and I sacrificed our family life to bring this college back on track. But looking at the success that my college has achieved today, our hard work has been rewarded,” said a proud Prasad. A Ph.D from Delhi University, he had completed his masters in history from St. Stephen's college in 1975. His family had shifted to the university campus area when he was two years old and he has seen it expand and grow into one of the country's finest education hubs. “Back then, the university was a compact and cohesive unit. I remember I used to visit the various departments of botany, zoology and physics with my father when I was 10 years old and was truly influenced by the aura a professor had back then,” said Prasad. According to the principal, the regular interaction with those professors convinced him to become an academician against the will of his family which wanted him to try for the Indian Administrative Service. “But sadly, that aura has now diminished to a great extent because of lack of commitment and changes in the social environment and infrastructure and even the encouragement and support levels have dipped,” added Prasad. Prasad is also saddened by the way knowledge is being imparted to students in university colleges where students are just mugging up notes and clearing examinations. It is high time that education in India moved beyond books and classrooms, he said. “There is no holistic approach in our education system and I am proud to say that we are not like them. Ramjas is the best college in the university because we have amenities and the success rate of our students proves it,” said Prasad. “The college boasts of LCD screens and projectors in every classroom and the teachers are using laptops with internet connection to teach students. We have empowered our faculty and kids to access the whole world in a classroom. Even our whole campus is Wi-Fi enabled. “We like to get involved with the kids and encourage them to have an independent perspective. We ask them to take the lead, participate in extra-curricular activities and experiment with new things,” Prasad explained. However, Prasad claimed there was too much interference by the university in the administration of colleges. “The university should eschew arbitrary rulings and a college should be provided the freedom to develop independently without any restrictions. They should be encouraged to do something new, something creative and innovative,” opined Prasad. He said Ramjas had to bring down the number of foreign languages on offer from nine to six and the number of short-term certificate courses from 28 to just three. However, collaborations with foreign colleges are on and there is ever-expanding infrastructure and amenities. “The future is definitely bright for the college. We are entering into several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with various American universities,” added Prasad. The college this year opened four new centres of excellence which are awaiting funding. These centres will encourage research activities and train undergraduates in various fields. The principal would be retiring in January 2017. Ramjas would hold its grand centenary celebrations the same year, perhaps a fitting tribute to its longest serving principal.
School seeks 25mn dollars compensation to rebuild playing fields
A school in Australia's Brisbane city has sought $25 million as compensation from the Brisbane City Council to rebuild its playing fields. Years after losing a huge tract of land to the Inner City Bypass, Brisbane Grammar School, one of the city's elite private schools, is facing the resumption of another oval to the Brisbane's newest tunnel – Northern Link tunnel, known as Legacy Way, the Courier-Mail reported. The proposed tunnel will run five km providing two two-lane links to the Airport Link and ultimately through to the Brisbane Airport. It is planned to open in the second half of 2014. The Brisbane Grammar School Board of Trustees' chairman, Howard Stack, in a letter to parents said what would be left of the playing fields after the second resumption would be “virtually worthless to us”. Stack said Queensland Rail had approved the school's engineering design for the new fields but the issue of funding was still being fought out with the council in the Land Court. The matter is listed for review and directions Friday.
Teachers worry as DU mulls semester for arts, commerce
The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) and the university administration argued over the introduction of semester system in 13 science courses last year. They are now again disturbed over the semester system, as the varsity hopes to introduce it in humanities and commerce courses from the new academic year that begins in July. The teachers had opposed the switch from annual to semester mode citing reasons such as dilution of courses, lack of infrastructure and teachers. But, finally, after a court order in November 2010, the varsity adopted the semester for the science courses. The new vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh, who took charge in October, had said that all due process would be followed and teachers would be consulted before the semester system is introduced in humanities and commerce streams. The teachers, however, said they were not consulted while the courses were restructured, despite such assurances. And the department is yet to begin the process of restructuring the English syllabus. The vice-chancellor had called a meeting of all heads of departments to discuss the semester issue. They, in turn, were asked to meet the teacher in-charge in each college. However, in the meeting with their respective heads of departments, the English and the economics teachers in-charge demanded a general body meeting to discuss the new system. The history and philosophy teachers in their meeting rejected the semester system. An economics teacher said that at least substantial time is needed for proper syllabus revision, but on February 9, the V-C sent a letter to departments asking them to prepare an interim syllabus by March 4. The teacher further raised questions that how can something as serious as syllabus change is done in such a hurried manner? Vice-chancellor Singh, however, said no rules were violated. He explained that the university cannot run in dual mode. Hence, along with sciences, the humanities and commerce are also switching to semester this year. He further also said that there were no syllabus changes as of now, unless the department wants it. But, there will just be a simple bifurcation of syllabus at the moment, so that in the coming two-three years, the teachers can revise the courses properly. With the semester system, the workload will increase and hence more permanent positions will be created for teachers, the V-C said.
New Business Courses at Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University from new session
Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) will now be introducing three new courses – MBA ( Hospitality Management ), MBA ( Financial Market ) and BBA ( Finanacial Market)- from the academic session 2011-12. Admission to the various courses will be conducted through 48 common entrance test (CET) this year for seats across 11 schools of the university and 103 affiliated institutes. MBA ( Financial Management) and BBA ( Finanacial Market) will be run in collaboration with the National Stock Exchange. The university is offering 20,000 seats this year for 85 programmes and it started its sale of form from Tuesday. GGSIPU is planning to conduct the CETs for its four most sought after courses-MBA, MBBS, BTech and MCA in 13 cities across India including Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhopal, Jalandhar, Nagpur, Shimla, Muradabad, Hissar and Dehradun. For the remaining courses, the entrance test will be held only in Delhi. Applicants this year need to fill the admission form in his/her own handwriting, which will be further cross checked at various stages of admission process. Students will also be required to paste a bigger colour photograph with white background. D.K. Bandhopadyay said that this are all part of examination reforms carried out by the university to maintain transparency in the admission process. The admission forms are available at 44 designates branches of only Indian Bank-22 centers in Delhi and 22 outside Delhi. Students can also submit the CET application form online, along with the CET fee, at http://ipu.admissionhelp.com and the last date is April 25, 2011.
900% fee hike by McGill University fuels anger
Canada's world-famous McGill University, which is the first-choice destination for Indian and other foreign students seeking to study in this country, faces fine for 900 percent hike in tuition fee for its MBA programme. The Montreal-based university had announced last spring to raise the tuition fee from $1,673 per semester to $29,500 a year for its two-year MBA programme. While students earned an MBA degree until now by paying just about $6700, they will now have to shell out $59,000 to earn the degree. The university said the hike was aimed at self-funding the MBA programme, rather than banking on government subsidies. The government of Quebec province has been giving $28,000 per student to the university to subsidize their education. McGill started charging the hiked fee from this year. Cracking the whip on its famous university, the Quebec government says McGill will be fined for flouting the limit imposed on tuition fee. Education Minister Line Beauchamp was quoted as saying Tuesday that McGill would face the music for its massive fee hikes that go well beyond the provincial limit of $1,673 per semester. Tuition fees in Canada's French-speaking Quebec province are lower than other jurisdictions in Canada because the provincial government imposed a freeze on hike for 15 years. With the freeze time lapsing in February last year, McGill announced the 900-percent hike in tuition fee for its highly popular MBA programme. Though their numbers are not known, McGill is the first-choice university for Indian students coming to Canada. There are only about 3,500 Indian students currently studying in Canada, but their numbers are set to rise steeply as Canadian universities and colleges increase enrollment from India. More than 36,000 students from nearly 150 countries study at McGill University which offers about 300 study programmes on its two campuses in Montreal.
