NIIT University

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May 1, 2010

NIIT University, formally inaugurated on November 15, 2009, is situated in the foothills of Aravali, in Neemrana, Rajasthan. The University is set to become an ideal example of learning in innovation, backed by end to end technical infrastructure in the lap of nature.

“Learn What You Want, How You Want, Where and When You Want. But Learn You Must!”

NIIT University (NU), a not-for-profit academic organisation, is a new and futuristic institution of higher learning. The University is committed towards bringing innovation in learning, in the emerging global knowledge society.

NIIT University is poised to develop around the Four Core Principles of providing Industry-linked, Technology-based, Research-driven and Seamless education. It promises to build great minds and original thinkers, besides ensuring exceptional job opportunities for all its students. The University is focused on developing learning structures that are technology-enabled and research-driven, which will equip learners to solve problems in their daily lives.

According to research by NU, recruiters are increasingly looking for research-driven minds that can bring more innovation into the workplace. Taking a cue from the industry, the University has designed each of its programmes in a way that students are drawn towards research through R&D projects, methodology courses and inspirational lectures by eminent professors and experts.

Formally inaugurated on November 15, 2009, the University is situated in the foothills of the Aravalis, in Neemrana, Rajasthan. The first public announcement about the launch of NIIT University was made on March 31, 2009 and the first session began from September, 2009. The idea of the University was initiated in the '90s, but got mobilised when domain leaders from across academia and industry came together in 2005, and along with the initial Advisory Board, worked on the core principles and objectives of NIIT University.

The Founding Advisory Board members included, Prof P V Indiresan, former Director, IIT Chennai, the late Prof C S Jha, former Director, IIT Kharagpur,

Dr Kiran Karnik, then President, NASSCOM, Prof R C Malhotra, former Director, IIT Kanpur, Dr R A Mashelkar, then Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Ashok Misra, (who later became Director of IIT Mumbai), Prof J R Isaac of IIT Mumbai and Prof M P Kapoor, former Vice Chancellor, Thapar University, among others.

The 100 acre, fully-residential green campus of NIIT University is situated around 100 kms from Gurgaon and 130 kms from Delhi and Jaipur, on the Delhi-Jaipur NH-8 Expressway. The campus is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, cutting-edge teaching methodologies and a strong research and development infrastructure.

NIIT University offers BTech Programmes in Computer Science and Engineering, Information and Communication Technology and Biotechnology; MTech Programmes in Pervasive Systems, Embedded Systems and Bioinformatics and Educational Technology. PhD programmes in Computer Science and Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Educational Technology and Bioinformatics and Biotechnology are available to students.

The University has also recently announced its MBA Programme, a two year course that meets and exceeds the academic requirements of typical management degrees. The NU-MBA program aims to equip students with the new age skill sets required to seamlessly navigate through the challenges faced by today's business leaders , and also expose them to the vibrant Asian and African economy that are poised to become pivotal economies of the future.

The NU-MBA has a unique initiative by which every student is assigned a mentor from industry who guides him throughout the program. This has brought together 16 CEOs from some of the most reputed companies in the country. Names like Manoj Kohli (Airtel), Raghupati Singhania (JK Industries), and Bhaskar Pramanik (Oracle India) are a few who have agreed to mentor the NU-MBA students through structured personalised interactions. The Mentorship Program is supplemented by other distinctive industry-linked elements, so that students are immediately productive at their post-MBA jobs.

The programme encompasses 36 courses over six terms (trimesters), of which nine are Electives, and requires a specialisation in one out of the six Concentration Areas offered.

Driving towards a futuristic model of education

The aim of NU is to provide students with occupational, spatial and temporal mobility demanded by today's globalised economy. It is about maximising the choices of students and giving them an all-round, holistic education with no artificial constraints. The academic structure and educational process at NIIT University are based on the Four Core Principles of providing Industry-linked, Technology based, Research-driven and Seamless education, derived from the best examples of the global knowledge society.

Industry-linked:

Extensive connectedness with industry is the hallmark of the NIIT University because of the focus on building great careers. This deep-connect is visible through initiatives of:

Six months, or a full semester, devoted to Industry Practice for undergraduates or an Internship for post graduates ensures rich hands-on experience in the workplace
Creating an advisory board constituted by industry experts and accomplished academicians, to update the curriculum regularly and ensure regular tutorials by industry professionals
Encouraging students to participate in industry-sponsored R&D projects in the latest industry research
Guiding students extensively in career development with the help of a dedicated career development team
Establishing an incubation centre to catapult successful R&D projects into commercialisation by implementing them as live projects, or through patenting, licensing and technology transfer. Twenty-five acres (25% of the total campus master plan) is set aside for Incubation and allied activities.

Four Core Principles of NIIT University

The founding philosophy of NIIT University is based on Four Core Principles that aim to establish a technologically-enabled University with a holistic learning approach.

Core Principle I: Industry-linked

NIIT University is focused on building extensive connectedness with the industry to remain more relevant and train industry-ready graduates.

Core Principle II: Technology-based

NIIT University is committed to using cutting-edge technology in all its activities to improve transparency, convenience and to sharpen the professionals skills of students.

Core Principle III: Research-driven

Creating knowledge-based education is the approach of NIIT University. Students from the orientation course are trained to examine problems through the eyes of researchers and innovators. NU's goal is to inculcate the habit of research, analysis and documentation in students and build a research culture on its turf.

Core Principle IV: Seamless

Seamless is a word that is applicable to NIIT University academic programmes and operations, administrative processes and external linkages. Higher education in India needs reforms, that are tuned to the global knowledge society. NU will work cohesively in institutionalising seamlessness, and changing the prevailing practices in higher education within the existing regulatory framework.

Technology-based and Synchronous:

The NIIT University believes in using cutting-edge technology in all activities to improve transparency, convenience and to sharpen student's professional skills. NU ensures that:

All its programmes cover the latest technological developments, so as to keep students abreast of industry developments
Synchronous learning technology is available, that brings students face-to-face with professors and industry leaders from across the world
All students are provided extensive computing facilities, with over 1.3 nodes per student even in the first year and computer access throughout the campus
There is seamless integration in administration, education delivery and assessments through online software to improve the administrative process and reduce paperwork
An AV Studio transmits lectures from the campus to learning centres and facilitates the preparation of professional quality educational material
Advanced IT-enabled science labs facilitate computer-assisted learning
There is a readily available campus-wide Gigabit LAN and universal Wi-Fi Internet, that provide anytime, anywhere access

Research-driven

At the NIIT University, creating knowledge starts from Year 1. Minds trained to approach every problem through the eyes of a researcher are the need of the hour in today's complex and fast-changing Knowledge Society. This training of the mind is manifested through distinct attributes such as the habit of critical inquiry, hypothesizing, analyzing, experimenting, creatively discarding and documenting. NIIT University is building this 'research culture' through a variety of means:

Courses like Problem Solving, Design of Experiments, Research Methodology and Scientific Method for BTech students
Extensive R&D Project and Research Methodology courses for all PG students. Already four patents have been granted, eight patent applications are under review, and 29 papers have been published in international journals
Guidance from highly experienced mentor professors in courses and co-curricular activities. Lectures by outstanding researchers are a part of the mentoring process
Creating a research advisory board constituted by researchers in industry and accomplished academicians, to advice and actively engage with NU on all research related matters

The Synchronous and Seamlessness Learning at NIIT University

“The concept of knowledge is increasingly being looked upon from a holistic rather than a sectional point of view. The rigid demarcation into departments and disciplines is giving way to inter-disciplinary approaches, whereby students can not only take advantage of the latest technology, but also ground themselves in our rich, pluralistic, multi-faceted spiritual and intellectual heritage. This green-field university being built by the creative team led by Rajendra Pawar and his colleagues, represents a new and innovative approach to knowledge in the 21st century. NIIT University gives a glimpse of what future education institutions should be. It is my hope and vision that one day this will become a unique centre of holistic learning, not only for India but for the whole world.”

Seamless

Seamlessness is an all-pervasive concept that will manifest across the NIIT University program structure, curriculum, academic operations, regulations, teaching-learning strategies, modes of education delivery and external linkages. Seamlessness is about maximising students' choices and ensuring that they receive all-round holistic education with no artificial constraints. The key dimensions of seamlessness to enhance the core student experience include the following:

Students must construct a significant portion of their own curriculum. While BTech students select 23%, MTechs decide on 55%of their overall course credits
More than 50 percent of the BTech curriculum comprises lateral integration across knowledge disciplines, including basic sciences, mathematics, technical arts, humanities and languages
Each students audits two co-curricular activities from physical education, performing arts, community engagement, crafts or languages
There are courses like Research Methodology and Contemporary Issues to bridge a wide variety of disciplines within one single course
The delivery of teaching is through a rich blend of methodologies including classroom learning, interactive learning, e-Learning, project-based learning and open-ended problem solving

The Eternity of the Mobius Ring

The power of knowledge is universal and eternal. 'Learn What You Want, How You Want, Where & When You Want. But Learn You Must!' – The emblem of the NIIT University depicts a mobius ring, symbolising eternity. The mobius ring greets everyone who enters the campus and takes a curve towards the entrance of the academic building atop of a hillock. The sides of a mobius ring merge in and out, back and forth to create the most graceful, seamless and complete structure imaginable to the human mind. The ring is engraved with Anadi-Anant, an ancient concept implying that the Universe is eternal

digitalLEARNING &lsquo:Higher Education Summit&rsquo:, April 9, 2010, New Delhi

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

Left to Right: Sushma Berlia, M P Narayanan, Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai and Prof Deepak Pental inaugurating digital LEARNING Higher Education Summit 2010 Higher education in India is currently going through a transitional phase while coming across a critical era of development and turmoil. Witnessing and getting into the process of upholding the glory of the developmental phases, digitalLEARNING magazine organised the Higher Education Summit with the aim of stimulating debate and shaping strategies to deal with the rising challenges of the inclusion of ICT in the higher education sector on 9th of April, 2010. The Summit whirled debates on the key developmental agenda that will revolutionise the application of ICT in learning and administrative facilities for higher education institutes across India.

Taking the cue from the requirements and demands of higher education in the country, the challenge is to 'gett it right,' into delivering rightly the core business of teaching and learning, research, and contribution to the industry, community and above all the society.

But as the world is now a global village and India is standing at the threshold of that increasing and grasping stage of globalisation, it can be anticipated that the higher education system shall be operating in an increasingly challenging, competitive and complex world.

Competition is everywhere in today's world and higher education is one of the rapidly evolving sectors in the field. Therefore, the competition has become imperative. Further to that, aim of the summit has been tagged with the goal to enable the CIOs of the higher education institutions to share the best practices of supporting the academic mission, meeting the increasing demands of ICT in their organisations.

The objective of the summit is to bring together the stakeholders of the higher education sector and the technology providers on the same platform; to stir debates on the rapid technological changes and to bring forth the assumption that the most creative, innovative and challenging in the leadership will emerge as the winner in the difficult climate.

Pointing towards the necessity

The summit had stimulated discussion on some of the key topics including using technology for implementation of examination and assessment in an unified way; teacher training and refresher courses in technology for updating teachers; creating a technology map for a higher education institution; future priorities for higher education IT development; the role of technology in supporting off-campus education; enhancing the online admissions process; managing multi-site data centres

Empowering Through Technology – NASSCOM Foundation

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

NASSCOM Foundation (NF) has spearheaded many programmes that leverage the power of ICT for the benefit of the society and development of communities as a whole.

NASSCOM Foundation works as the catalyst between the IT-BPO industry and the society by making opportunities accessible to the grassroots. NF has in India grown in terms of number of states it operates in and the number of organisations and individuals impacted. It has ensured to sustain a relevant purpose and vision by pioneering numerous innovative programmes and initiatives. NF aims to achieve this purpose through some of its various robust programs like NASSCOM Knowledge Network, ConnectIT and Poverty Alleviation Programme.

Building Capacities of the Underserved – NASSCOM Knowledge Network

The NASSCOM Knowledge Network (NKN) centres provide public access to Information and Communication Technologies for educational, livelihood, social and economic development.

NKN, a dynamic network of telecenters or knowledge centers across 646+ villages in 90 districts and 13 states of India, gained further momentum in the past year. The programme now boasts of 280+ NKN centres which have provided skills training to 30,000+ and reached over 1,44,000 community members since its inception. NASSCOM Foundation continues to draw up a long-term sustainability plans for the centers to provide content and services that address the needs of the local communities.

The NKN centres are set up and managed through multi stakeholder partnerships among NGOs, CBOs, for profit organizations and NASSCOM Foundation.

NF brings ICT infrastructure, content, connectivity, training, and strategic inputs for the programme with support from NASSCOM member companies and beyond. NF through its other programmes and partners assist with software and hardware donations.
Resource partner, mainly corporate, bring funds and socially relevant services for the centre.
NGOs provide human and other resources to run the centre.

Facilitating Livelihood Skills for the Under-served – Poverty Alleviation Programme

Poverty Alleviation programme is aimed to provide employability and encourage micro-entrepreneurship to rural youth and people from under-served communities including women, people with disabilities as well as unskilled workers. NF currently facilitates this through Anizooms and CEDAT.

The animation training project, called Anizooms, was initiated to build livelihood skills for under-privileged youth. The project began as a skills building course for Muslim girls at the NASSCOM Knowledge Network in old city of Hyderabad; where Technology for the People (TFTP) was training adolescent girls and women in various animation skills since 2005. This, is in line with NASSCOM Foundation’s mission to improve the lives of the under-privileged, thereby providing NF an excellent opportunity to scale up the efforts of this Hyderabad centre. NF together with Accenture came forward to support the centre with resources.

Case Study 1:
NF initiative helps youth club win President’s award

Siripur is a small village in Puri district of Orissa. Some youth club members of Friends Club, Siripur wanted to develop the economic condition of the village. In this regard they wanted to set up an ICT based information center at the village. They approached NASSCOM Foundation for assistance. NF established the Gyana ‘O’ Soochana Kendra (GSK) in association with Forum for Integrated Development and Research (FIDR), NF’s NGO partner in Orissa. The GSK started many activities at the center which included computer education for underprivileged youth, computer aided learning for school children, livelihood training for unemployed youth and health awareness training. The GSK gave training to the village youth and farmers on mushroom cultivation among the livelihood trainings it conducted.

NASSCOM Foundation provided the basic training module, and cultivation started on an experimental basis. Now with the help of GSK, NF, Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK), and Orissa Universal Agriculture Training (OUAT), the Friends Club of Siripur has started producing mushroom seeds. The village has been selected by NYK, Govt. of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and OUAT of Orissa as a model village.

The district administration, district agriculture department, NYK, Puri, academicians, and students of OUAT saw the impact of GSK and NF on the farmers and decided to support the development of the entire Simili Panchayat comprising Siripur, Ansara, Nuagaon, Kadalibadi, Paikarapur, Matiapada, and Paitaban. The unemployed youth of Simili Panchayat are thus becoming independent and financially secure in earning their livelihood.

Being witness to this laudable work of Friends Club and GSK, the Nehru Yuva Kendra, Puri bestowed them with the state level Best District Youth Club Award. Their work reached the national spectrum when Ramakrushna Mohanty, President, Friends Club, Siripur and Manager, GSK, Siripur, and Sri Rashmi Ranjan Rautaraya, Member, received the National Award from the Hon’ble President of India. The Award was presented at the National Youth Festival held on January 12, 2008 at Chennai.

Two new Anizooms centres followed the Hyderabad centre in 2009, one in Sangli and one in Chandni-Chowk in Delhi. The centres have upgraded curriculum including extensive pre and post production training, internship with Animation firms and placement at the end of training. The students selected for these centres come from under-privileged backgrounds.

Hyderabad Centre: 45 girl students have completed the training and 25 more are undergoing training at the moment. The training has given a new lease of life to the girls from under-privileged background that now look forward to earning a livelihood from the centre itself.

Sangli Centre: Over 20 youth are going through the training program. They also receive soft skills and communication training. An advanced IT training is also provided as a part of this course to help them compete better in the job market.

Delhi Centre: The centre initiated in November 2009 has started the training with 17 students. The students are also going through spoken and communication English courses along with animation course to prepare them for the industry.

The Center for Executive Development and Training (CEDAT), a 100 hour weekend program spread over six months, was initiated to train People with Disabilities (PwDs) in conversational English, IT skills and Personality Development. NF has collaborated with MBA Foundation, an NGO that has the domain expertise on working with PwDs. Four batches of around 60 students have so far been trained and placed at various companies. The 5th batch commences from March 2010.

Training NGOs & Government Officials to Use Technology for Development – ConnectIT

In view of the government’s National e-governance plans as well as other initiatives like NREGA, RTI and others, NASSCOM Foundation started a three year nationwide initiative called ConnectIT to provide the much needed advanced IT training support to NGOs and government officials at an advanced level.

There are demonstrated successes of ICT enabled skills development interventions, which have helped in functional scale-up organizations and enhanced the outreach and impact of their activities. Some of the well-acknowledged benefits of the use of ICTs include: increasing productivity; improving communication and collaboration; organizing critical information and facilitating technology enabled skills development training. Worldwide, experiences have shown that ICT use is relevant and useful, even in highly traditional settings.

The relevance of building IT skills among local government officials has gained importance manifold with the roll out of the government’s national e-governance programme and has created a need for IT skilled government officers who can align with the vision of the government. NGOs support the government and in contributing to development. Although an estimated million NGOs are operational in India, only a few thousands use ICTs in their day- to-day operational and management activities and only a few hundreds use them in their development programmes.

The ConnectIT programme, supported by Microsoft and NASSCOM, is aimed at increasing the capabilities of NGOs and social development organizations in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for social development initiatives.

ICT for Development – ICT helps underserved communities access information, services and opportunities that collectively build their capacities to realize their goals. NF brings together implementing agencies, industry, government bodies and people at the grassroots for integrated development through the use of ICT.

NASSCOM Foundation is a charity registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and under Section 12A of Income Tax Act. NF is the social development arm of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies), the internationally recognized trade body of the Indian IT-BPO industry. NASSCOM and its members are committed to social development through the application of ICT and beyond. NF is passionate about the cause and takes pride in holding the unique opportunity of leading the IT-BPO Industry towards changing the social development landscape of India.

Interactive Learning for Reaching the Masses : Saurabh Saxena, Mexus Education, India

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By

digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

To begin with, can you expand on Axiom’s philosophy and vision?

Axiom Education, a global education venture by the Bilakhia group seeks to transform education into being fun-filled, innovative and student friendly. The vision is to expand the horizons of learning by introducing innovative methods and sources that are not confined to classroom education. By unifying education and entertainment, Axiom is set to deliver highest quality of educational content through platforms which make anytime, anywhere learning a reality.

Kindly expand upon contribution of ICT in field education.

The use of technology as a medium for imparting education has not been a norm in our education system till date. Axiom seeks to promote learning in the most innovative and enjoyable manner.

Axiom has been constantly evolving interactive learning instruments. The lessons are imparted through graphic novels, toys games, puzzles, mind-maps, motion films and interactive online tools. All this is delivered through various technology based platforms that allow for step by step assessment and feedback for continuous improvement.

With the belief that, “Every kid and all humans love to learn when not forced” Axiom has introduced its new age formula

Cloud to Support New Generation of Academicians and Learners : Vishal B Shah, Thotmatrix Solutions

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

What are the strategies that Thotmatrix has adopted to provide end to end technological solutions to the education sector?

We provide cloud-based solutions, strategic consulting and technology mana-gement services to help institutions visibly improve performance. By combining people, processes and technology, we work with colleges and universities to help them advance their IT infrastructure to support new generations of academicians and learners. Our solutions cover a wide spectrum of an institution’s technology needs including online admissions, virtual placements, alumni network and a series of customised applications ranging from student records management to reporting grades & transcripts.

With our Admissions Cloud suite, institutions can manage all their applications in one, powerful easy-to-use system. They can nurture their applicant relationships and realise true efficiencies throughout their admissions process. Our greatest differentiator is the Institutional Portal that allows admissions officers to electronically search & sort applications, schedule interviews and update status.

Through Alumni Cloud, universities can manage their alumni relations efficiently; provide an online registration and subscription renewal portal; broadcast newsletters, periodicals and donation requests; provide electronic job posting facilities; create a virtual platform for current students to interact with past alums.

What makes your solutions unique?
Our greatest USP is that we provide cloud based solutions. This implies that for the given institute, there is no requirement for any software or hardware, or even maintenance expenses. Traditional service providers give solutions that have a lot of maintenance costs including technical managers, support specialists etc. We taken everything off from there. All the institution needs to have is a good internet connection. We deploy services on the cloud
which is managed by our server partners, which is the number one cloud computing provider of the world. Users will have no problem while working on these servers. Who we can create any application tailored to meet the institution’s specifi c needs. This includes integrated systems for academic services and student administration that can help the university streamline the management of information through centralised data repositories. The greatest advantage of using our cloud is worry-free computing where applications are available on-demand.

How does Thotmatrix ensure that the clients are well trained in the usage of their applications and solutions?
Thotmatrix provides introductory training sessions and 24/7 access to our comprehensive online knowledge center to all our clients absolutely free. In addition to our free introductory training, our experts also come on-site to provide detailed, hands-on training to the team to help institutions maximise the returns on its investment. We also offer a premium support plan to our clients with 24/7 call center and email support combined with a dedicated account manager who will be available to resolve any technical diffi culties that may be experienced.

What is your opinion about platforms such as digital LEARNING magazine which work towards promoting the cause of ICTs in education?
ICT in education solution providers need a forum where stakeholders can be engaged in iscussing issues and challenges. The focus that digitallearning has on ICTs is absolutely ssential especially for companies like us, as it helps us to come up with solutions that are better eared to suit the user community requirements. It will also help us get in touch with nstitutions that are looking for such solutions. DigitalLEARNING is a good platform to engage with the government sector and the education sector towards this end.

Change in Mindset for a Better Society : Neelima Khetan, Seva Mandir, Udaipur,Rajasthan, India

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

Please tell us about the philosophy at Seva Mandir.

Self reliance is our core philosophy. We, at Seva Mandir look at the developmental aspects of the society where citizens can actively participate and take up collective responsibility in the process. The idea is to encourage people to deal with problems themselves and not to depend on state. It is in tune with Gandhiji’s notion of Swaraj which says that it is important for the community to wake up, become stronger and empowered for to take up the responsibility.

In the context of education, can you reflect on your methodologies to cater to people at the grass-root level?

We plan and work closely with the community. We also intend to inculcate responsibilities among the community population. Issues like agriculture, education and teachers training needs to be resolved in that context and for that a two way communication withthe people is essential that helps to identify problems and the solutions to it as well.

Could you please share with us about the funding aspects of Seva Mandir that help you in implementing the programmes.

Seva Mandir is completely aided by private bodies. We take care of several areas including livelihoods and education, where the total contribution of the government is less than 10% of our total budget.
I guess, the government assumes that role of NGOs is restricted to implementation. But I feel an NGO can work in a much wider spectrum in a democracy.

For a widened democracy like India, we are trying to change the social base, values and social norms. Only putting up of laws will not change it, we need to reach out to the families. The mindset of the people needs to be changed. If not the government, we need to work to change the mindset of the society as a whole.

The idea is to encourage people to deal with problems themselves and not to depend on state.

Any other initiatives you would like to highlight or any other collaborative partnerships that Seva Mandir is holding presently?

We are working in collaboration with Private sector and Foundations set up by corporates. Some of them are ING Vysya Bank, Monsoon Accessorize (a UK based fashion brand), Target (a US based Chain of stores) etc. Now the terms and conditions are a little different in these collaborations. Let me explain it in my own words. For instance, if the partners want development only in water harvesting, they will not consider anything else. But fortunately for us, our donors have been very cooperative.

Please give us a brief description of the teacher training system Seva Mandir provides.

We research a lot on teachers training and capacity building over a long period of time, along with the pedagogy which is equally important. We train our teachers to take decisions according to their observations. As far as monitoring and evaluation is concerned, we wanted to monitor and evaluate performance of teachers through cameras to evaluate his/her effort and decency and carefulness towards the children. Young adults who have passed the 8th standard are required go through the first training which is for 15 days, after completing which they can go back to school. This certificate course is for two to three years with tutorials, classes and on-job training.

What are the special efforts your organisation to bring in children to schools, especially in Rajasthan where girl students ratio is far behind the normal standards, and do away with gender disparity?

We run several programmes for women through the women’s empowerment projects. We also put in efforts to sensitise the community population including, men, women, girls and boys. Within that overall efforts, I don’t think there is a deep resistance that they don’t want to send the girls, or there is a special preference for boys over girls. When they have the confidence that it is a safe place and there are facilities enough, they do send girls to school.

Technical Capacity Building ICT Inculcation in Teacher Education : Prof Mohammad Akhtar Siddiqui, National Council for Teacher Education, India

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By

digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

“The NCTE announced its resolve to take a number of initiatives to regulate the growth of teacher education institutions in the country and to ensure maintenance of norms and standards in these institutions. The norms and standards have been revised based on felt need.”

What is the philosophy/mandate behind NCTE that guides it to regulate and maintain the norms and standards in Teacher Education System?

The National Council for Teacher Education continues to vigorously pursue the mandate given to it by the Act of Parliament to achieve planned and coordinated development of teacher education and to regulate and maintain norms and standards in the teacher education system across the country. The functioning of the Regional Committees of the NCTE which are primarily entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with all cases of recognition, as per the procedure laid down by the Rules and Regulations framed under the NCTE Act, has been streamlined with close monitoring so as to achieve the desired results. Detailed scrutiny of the applications and strict adherence to the norms and standards has resulted in a higher rejection rate. The NCTE has adopted zero tolerance policy in this matter. Since the Regulations provide for a mechanism of Appeal under Section 18 of the NCTE Act, the higher rate of rejection of applications for recognition has resulted in a large number of institutions opting for the appeal mechanism.

Adoption of the principle of strict adherence to norms by the Appeal Committee has resulted in higher rejection rate of appeals as well. Strict adherence to norms and standards has pushed the NCTE into an unenviable situation. It has been left with no alternative except to plead before various High Courts in the country, where applicants are staking their claim to get recognition to their proposed institutions somehow. In order to achieve its mandate of planned development of teacher education in the country, the NCTE has to take an impartial but principled stand to check the growth of substandard teacher education institutions at the formal entry point itself i.e. the point at which recognition is accorded.

The NCTE announced its resolve to take a number of initiatives to regulate the growth of teacher education institutions in the country and to ensure maintenance of norms and standards in these institutions. The norms and standards have been revised based on felt need. The new Regulations and revised norms were approved by the General Council of the NCTE on 2nd June, 2009 and these were notified, after legal vetting by the Ministry of Law on 31st August, 2009. This exercise incidentally helped the NCTE carryout the directions received from the Ministry of Human Resource Development under Section 29 of the NCTE Act to review its Regulations, 2007. A year to year ban has been imposed on opening new teacher education institutions in some such states where already these institutions are in excess of the requirement.

With a view to bring transparency in the processing of applications from this year all applications are received on-line only. Institutions are being informed about the processing status of their applications online. As part of a drive to weed out substandard teacher education institutions recognition of several hundred sub-standard institutions has been withdrawn during the last one year after following due process of law.

What are the opportunities and challenges that are being presented by our current education system, with special reference to teacher training ?

Teacher education system has a number of challenges and opportunities. The challenges include –

Experiences in the practice of teacher education indicate that knowledge is treated as ‘given’, and accepted without question; there is no practical engagement with the curriculum.
Language proficiency of the teacher is not satisfactory and it needs to be enhanced.
Teacher education programmes provide little scope for student-teachers to reflect on their experiences.
Disciplinary knowledge is viewed as independent of professional training in pedagogy
Repeated ‘practice’ in the teaching of a specified number of isolated lessons is considered a sufficient condition for professional development
It is assumed that links between learning theories, models and teaching methods are automatically formed in the understanding developed by student teachers
There is no opportunity for teachers to examine their own biases and beliefs
Theory courses have no clear articulation with practical works and ground realities
The evaluation system followed in teacher education programmes is too theoretical, excessively quantitative and lacks comprehensiveness.

The National Council for Teacher Education continues to vigorously pursue the mandate given to it by the Act of Parliament to achieve planned and coordinated development of teacher education and to regulate and maintain norms and standards in the teacher education system across the country.

In order to address these challenges NCTE has developed a new National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education

Technology in Education Taking Literacy Forward : Dr Shayama Chona, DPS RK Puram, India

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

“We would need technology because we do not have enough teachers. We are not talking about education at this moment, we are talking about access to quality education and equal opportunities.”

Please comment on the changes that are being introduced by technology application in schools, with respect to capacity building amongst teachers and students.

Talking in terms of mainstream education, India is the youngest country in the world and our number of kids outside school is estimated to be almost one crore. And if we really want to bring them into school, in line with the Right To Education bill, then we need millions of teachers and trillions of schools. Education is not like building airports or roads, where you have Public Private Partnership and things can just emerge. Education is a long term investment. Results can be seen after 14 years of a child joining school. The problem is that unless we use technology we can not educate our children, whether they study in centres or schools or studying from home. We would need technology because we do not have enough teachers. We are not talking about education at this moment, we are talking about access to quality education and equal opportunities. So the need is so huge, so we need technology which is one of the solutions.

Now whenever we talk of technology, we talk about cost. Then are raised the questions about who is going to bear the cost and how is it going to be used. I still think that in the absence of very good trained, quality teachers to teach this age group, where we want to retain the children. You know the findings are that out of the number of students who enter school, only two percent are able to reach the university level. So surely, there is something more than the employemnt factor which is taking kids away from school. It could be bad teaching, bad curriculum, it could be anything. So to retain kids there you have to make learning interesting and fun; and have outcomes which would lead to life long learners as per the UNESCO. Therefore the role of technology is very important.

What is the scope of ICT capcity building amongst mainstream and special schools?

The opportunities are immense. These are greater than the challenges but it depends on the investment again. But the government, does not necessarily invest into hardware. Companies like Educomp solutions, which are doing very well, they are providing the hardware, they are also providing the content and digital tools. I am not advocating that tools should replace the teacher, but surely it can supplement the teaching, becasue one of our biggest concerns is that when a child enters a school he should stay there and not leave school. So if your lessons can be made audio-visual enabled, it helps. I believe in a word called VARK which stands for Visual, Audio, Reading and Writing and Kinesthetics, which is human relationship between the teacher and the taught. And if these four principles are followed in school we can become a great country. 5-10% of the population getting excellent population is holding the world. You go anywhere around the world, if there is an Indian there you will see that she/he is able to hold that position in the given enterprise in a very efficient manner. I think we have huge potential, we have great capacity but what we need are resources and those resources can be harnessed with good planning and good attitude.

I am not advocating that tools should replace the teacher, but surely it can supplement the teaching, becasue one of our biggest concerns is that when a child enters a school he should stay there and not leave school. So if your lessons can be made audio-visual enabled, it helps.

Additionally, we have large percentage of government school and a small percentage of private schools. So, that large number of government schools must have quality. There ICT is being introduced and in places like Kendriya Vidyalaya, I am on the board of their Samiti, if they can provide for ICT infrastructures, so can the rest of the government schools. I think we need a quality where many factors are to be brought together and we need campagning for children who are out of school, we need awareness and need to meet their parents for advocating need for educating children. We need to, also, encourage teaching as a profession.

Do you think that the current allocation in Budget on elementary education will help in extending financial support to ICT programme in the country?

Well I think the allocation should have been much more. It has increased from approximately 3.4-4% to 5-6%. But a six percent for a 40% population is really not the desired ratio. If you want this country to use all the roads and the airports, whatever development plan it has involved itself into, unless the population is educated, they are not going to use them properly. I think education is not just about literacy. It is also about an enlightened life. It is about a healthy living. It is about utilisation of total resources of our country and therefore, I firmly believe that they should spend more money on education and related services.

Currently, there is a PPP trend in vogue. Do you see any implications in terms of opportunties and challenges such partnerships offer? Is there any initiative on same steps, taken by institutions you have been associated with?

I am on board of PPP of the Planning Commission, with HRD, so the private players are ready to take initiatives and ready to put in money, but, nobody is going to put in money unless they see some returns coming out of it. And education investment is not one time investment. It is a long term investment so you can’t show results immediately, because human indexes build over period of time. Therefore, I think the ministry and planning commission have already set aside some amount of money to provide back-up financial support. But even if a private initiative builds a school and runs it, what the government says is that they will pay for the thousand children who come from the special category or special classes, as we call them. But what we are saying is that start these initiatives from class one and not class six, becasue the best age to learn is at the earliest. So what we are saying is that whatever the cabinet sanctions should be implemented at the earliest.

There is a vast difference in education provided by the government and the private initiatives. You can not always do what they do. While I agree that some government initiatives are really doing good, around 72% of the government schools are really in a sad state.

We are run by examinations, degrees and diplomas, but what is the quality that we get. So my concern is for the quality of education. I believe it is only through digitalisation and ICT implementation that we can overcome the issues of quality. And this happens when the child is with the computer; he is with the world. For speech, we have programme from IBM, where the kids who do not use their lips, tongue and blow air, if blow at the computer trees come, if they blow more and harder then more trees come, if they blow more the birds start twittering, so the images become more detailed and large. The technology plays a huge role in literacy and spreading awareness. One to one interaction between teachers and students is very important but the research oriented technology programmes on screen are all the more important. IT is one tool that interests students and supports them to do much better than otherwise.

Is ICT implementation of any consequence for educating childern with special needs?

We already have very few trained teachers for catering to education of the children with special needs. It takes long to get them ready. We have tried at Tamana three IT projects for Autistic, Dyslexic and also for others. And we are surprised that kids do exceptionally well with the IT aids. For instance, I have a HP computer with a touch screen. So I can have a child sitting with me right here to work on it, knowing that he can touch and get sounds, colours, pictures, he can click picture of himself or you, and he doesn’t require the traditional form of teaching, where you make him sit down and teach him alphabets becasue for children with special needs you need to teach them the content which is not age relevant but their intellectual state specific. You have to make them believe that they are worthwhile and capable of doing things at their own pace. If I may say, children today are apparently born with their own mouse and windows. We just need to capitalise on their capabities!

PPP a Must for Growth of ITIs and Polytechnics : Dr Narendra Jadhav, Planning Commision, Govt. of India, India

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

“The best practices are not usually adequately disseminated for people to learn. This is precisely why the Planning Commission comes out with several reports including annual reports and highlights these practices. Increasingly, technology is playing a role in all these efforts.”

What are your views on Right to Education Act (RTE) ?

The passage of the Right to Education Act 2009, which came into effect on 1st April, 2010, is indeed a historic act. It comes as a continuation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which has attained a remarkable amount of success. If we examine the proportion and the numbers, out of a total of 12 lakh habitations, more than 99% have a primary school in the vicinity or within one km radius. Similar is the proportion for elementary education, with 84% of habitations having an elementary school within 3 km radius.

The RTE is a remarkable extension of the efforts in education. It is too early to comment anything about the functioning of the act since it is too short a time. But I have absolutely no doubt that this historic decision is going to be very meaningfully, faithfully and forcefully implemented.

What according to you are the priorities for India in the realm of vocational training and skills development?

Skill development initiatives have to be given high priority today. India’s demographic dividend is definitely a positive aspect, with 24 being the average age of India today. By 2020, it will be around 29, by which year China’s average age will be 37, Europe will be 42, US will be 37 and Japan will be 48. Thus, we are a young, large and growing population. But just having such positive attributes does not mean that we will automatically become an economic superpower. Development of the country critically depends on two things: First, a reform in the education sector; and second, in the skill development sector.

I have often emphasised in the last few months that if we do not get our act together in the higher education and skill development sector, our demographic dividend can actually turn into a demographic nightmare. That is how important skill development is. The government is taking efforts in this direction very seriously.

How can convergence be ensured between higher education and skill development?

As has been rightly noted, only 2% of our population is skill trained. The vocational education in our country needs a lot of intervention. In practice, vocational education can be imparted at two levels: one is at the high school level; and the other is at the post matric level. At the high school level, ITIs become relevant, while at the college level, polytechnics come into play. Both of these are going to be enhanced in a major way. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model will add momentum to the growth of ITIs and Polytechnics. Several boards have been set up including the PM’s Apex Council of Skill Development and The National Skill Development Coordination Board, of which Montek Singh Ahluwalia is the Chairman. The Skill Development Corporation has been created in the PPP mode which is making good contributions in the field. Therefore, we see that the agencies have been created but it has not yet gained the necessary momentum, which I trust it will. The Prime Minister has also written to the Chief Ministers of all states urging them to start their own skill development mission. Many states are moving in this direction. By year 2022, the vision is to have 500 million trained personnel.

What according to you are the loopholes in the existing regulatory bodies such as UGC, NCTE and AICTE?

As the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and the Yashpal Committee have unanimously pointed out, the higher education sector in India is over regulated but under governed. There are too many regulators, but the level of governance is very low. That is the kind of paradoxical situation that we are currently dealing with. There is no synergy between AICTE, UGC, and various other councils and the level of their operations have taken a big beating. These have direct bearing on the higher education system in India. The NKC and the Yashpal Committee recommended a complete overhaul of the higher education system, and not just a nip here and a tuck there. The NCHER is a step in that direction and it will bring about drastic reforms in the sector.

The new poverty figures were officially approved by the planning commission recently. India has added almost 100 million people to its list of the poor. What are your views on the growing economic development of India and its implications on the poverty conditions?

The poverty numbers do not show an increase. Rather, the techniques or methodology of computation used by the Tendulkar committee is different from the methodology used earlier. The estimates made by the Tendulkar methodology cannot be compared with separate methodologies which were previously used. It is only the figures generated from the same methodologies that can be compared, and if we compare likes with the likes, we see that the incidence of poverty has actually declined.

How do you envision the Indian education system with respect to implementation of ICT tools for enhanced delivery in the coming years?

Technology plays a very important role in education. I was the Vice Chancellor of the Pune University which happened to be the largest traditional universities of the world. The moment I assumed office I realised that there was no Management Information System (MIS) in the University, which had a bearing on the level of governance of the University. Pune University has 536 colleges and a huge student population. Lack of technology resulted in non-connected campuses, with administration being run in an archaic mode. I came up with the concept of triple connectivity solutions, with audio, visual and data connecting the main campus with the 536 colleges. This had positive consequences, since the policy decisions made by the Vice Chancellor were then based on facts and figures that were regularly updated from the disparate but connected campuses. It inevitably have an improvement over the quality and level of governance. That model is being replicated everywhere. Therefore, systems hve to move hand in hand with the advances in technology. Technology will have a definite effect on education governance.

With India set to welcome foreign varsities, what are the challenges and opportunities that you figure in the situation? How important are Public Private Partnerships in promoting quality education in India?

India’s Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education is only 12.4%. Earlier we were talking about increasing it to 20%, but now we want to raise it to 30% in 10 years time. If this is our target, then we need to expand everything from state universities to central and private universities, as well as allow foreign universities to come in. An all out effort to raise the GER is required. As a part of that, foreign universities will be allowed to come in and also act as competition to the local players, thereby upgrading quality of Indian universities. If we administer it properly and if we make sure that the right kind of universities come in, it will have a huge positive impact.
History is unfolding before our eyes today. It is my belief that in the last 62 years, there have never been so many proposals for education as there are today. In the next few years, the Indian education system is going to be completely transformed and it will be a system that will last for the next 30-40 years. Today the kind of all round reforms that are taking place including the Foreign Regulators Bill, National Accreditation Regulatory Authority, Tribunals at the state and central level, Prevention of Malpractices Bill, and several other proposals which are at various stages of implementation, will act as the harbingers of change.

Technology for Educational Advancements : Prof R Govinda, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India, India

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 1, 2010

Prof R Govinda

Vice Chancellor, National University of Educational Planning and Administration (Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India)

“We exclusively concentrate on policy, planning and administration in education in its totality, starting from school education to technical education.”

Kindly share with us how your university has an edge over other universities, with special emphasis on technology utilisation?

We are a small and very specialised institution. We are a university because of our specialisation. With reference to the aspects that separate us from other university is – firstly, we exclusively concentrate on policy, planning and administration in education in its totality, starting from school
education to technical education. Secondly, at our university we keep one foot in theoretical studies and one foot in practice, since, our mandate is to provide technical support to the state and the central government. This makes us unique and also takes us very close to the field every time. Thirdly, we do extensive research work. We were considered for passing as a university only because of our research status. We are not a teaching university. We regularly bring out the data based research and we also have a very strong data base development system, education information management system. We regularly bring out District Information Support for Education (DISE) which you can also avail online.

Are the technologically enabled courses/ researches a recent development at NUEPA?

No, we have technology based courses running since a long time now. We began this work of producing data base for elementary education in 1995 or 96. We have developed Education Development Indicators, which are now used for classifying districts. All this has been possible because of use of technology. We are able to put the data for public use in less than a year’s time.

What do you opine about the budget for the current year, for education sector?

Budget that the finance ministry gives is never enough. With RTE rolled-out, I feel the allocations to school education are less than what we had expected. I can say that 2/3rd of what we wanted has been allocated, they should have given INR 10,000 crores more. Since NUEPA has completed the financial aspects for RTE, our expectations was more allocation to meet this years annual requirement. So what we are suppose to do is utilise the given resources judiciously. But finance is not the only aspect that supports development. Additionally, for both elementary and higher education, today there is a huge money flow otherwise also. I think 11th Five Year Plan as huge allocations for higher education, if you compare with past. The problem is that we are unable to demonstrate progress in educational institutions and, therefore, it is a problem to show where we want to use the required money. For instance, school demands money at macro level but at micro level they do not know where they want to use the demanded money. It is just about working efficiently and effectively.

What are the approaches that NUEPA has adopted for capacity building and are there any collaborative initiatives you have entered nationally and internationally, recently?

Capacity building is one of our core activities. Every year we do upto 50 training programmes, bring people from all over the country. Every year we do ta diploma programme in Education Planning and Administration. Every course that we organise here has a technology component. We also have an international diploma programme which is currently going on. We have 34 students from 25 countries for this 26th International Diploma Programme. We have students from Jamaica, Cuba, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Russia, Maldives and so on. We have a resource lab that can accommodate 30 students at a time, who can avail online access to educational resources. We have computer and training lab with 35 computers and wi-fi.

As far as research is concerned we are known internationally, we have been collaborating with a wide number of institutions. We have been associated closely with International Institution for Educational Planning, for course delivery and many other things. Some of us have teaching in Insititute of Education, London. At presnt, we are doing a research study in field of Higher Education with Stanford, which covers BRIC countries

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