A study from Global Information Technology (IT) research firm, IDC, and Microsoft shows that the IT industry will be a major catalyst for the economic recovery, especially in Asia. The study measures the contribution IT makes to gross domestic product (GDP), job creation in the IT industry and the software sector, formation of new companies, local IT spending and tax revenues from IT in 52 countries, including 14 in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically for the Asia-Pacific area, the study found that IT spending in 2009 will be US$300 billion (or about 21% of the global spend on IT), and will grow at 4.8% per annum, against GDP growth of 3.4%; IT as a contributor to GDP in the region will rise from the current level of 2.1% to 2.3% by 2013; IT-related activities will generate US$185 billion in taxes in 2009, and over the next four years, will generate US$74 billion in new tax revenue for Governments
Launch of third phase of ‘Science Express’
The ongoing efforts of Central Government to popularise Science and Technology in the country, especially among the younger generation, received a major boost on Friday when the third phase of mobile Science Exhibition Train popularly called 'Science Express' was inaugurated at the Gandhinagar Railway Station in Gujarat. This project has been organised by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India with the active support of Indian Railways. Department of Science and Technology (DST), has entrusted Vikran A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), Ahmedabad with the task of coordinating and managing the 'Science Express' across India. In the current phase, the Science Express will travel to 55 locations, mostly not covered earlier, covering about 18,000 kms in seven month of its journey.
It is covering the entire length and breadth of the country. At each of the locations, it would halt for 3-5 days, during which students and general public would visit the exhibition. The sparkling white fully air conditioned train with 16 coaches was custom made and specially fabricated at Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala. In the first two completed phases of the run, the train was successfully taken to 108 stations of the country. In the third phase, Indian Railways will provide online maintenance and upkeep support during the entire itinerary for a smooth and trouble free run. The exhibition in various cities will be held in the station premises with an active support of local railway administration providing exhibition space, basic amenities and security etc. After flag off of the First phase of this prestigious exhibition train from New Delhi on October 20, 2007 by Prime Minister of India and Chancellor of Germany, it has been showcased in 108 cities across India in two phases. The Exhibition, which created four National records, received overwhelming response at all halts. Over 35 lakh people, mostly students have enjoyed learning about cutting-edge research in science, explained through interesting audio visual exhibits and interactive tools.
Donation of ICT equipment to the Deaf by Universal Access Fund
The Government's Universal Access Fund Company Limited funding has helped in provision of computers and audio-visual equipment, that has made the lives of students from six schools for the deaf easier. The equipment, valued at $6 million, which will make communications much easier at the institutions, was presented on Wednesday (September 30) at the Danny Williams School for the Deaf in Kingston. They were made available under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Resource Rooms in Schools for the Deaf project funded by the Universal Access Fund. Managing Director of the Fund, Hugh Cross, said that through the project, the six schools are now being given the opportunity to connect directly with each other using teleconferencing, a project which is already in some educational institutions across Jamaica. Cross further noted that it is part of the Fund's mandate to provide easy and reliable access to information through the deployment of broadband services. The provision of audiovisual equipment in the classroom for deaf children will enhance the visual presentation of content, facilitate performance assessment and tracking, and increase access to the independent learning resources as well as communicating via the Internet.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enhances the learning environment, especially for deaf students, because they are visual learners. Schools benefitting under the project are: the Jamaica Association for the Deaf Preschool Centre; Danny Williams School for the Deaf; Integrated Unit at Excelsior Primary in Kingston; May Pen Unit for the Deaf in Clarendon; St. Christopher's School for the Deaf; and Port Antonio Unit for the Deaf in Portland. Equipment received under the project include desktops, laptops, video cameras, document cameras, projectors, desk jet printers, projector screens and workstations. The computers and audiovisual equipment were sourced and supplied by Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Limited. The Universal Access Fund Limited is a Government entity, which collects a levy on incoming international calls to Jamaica. The revenue from the charges goes towards financing the implementation of the national e-learning project, which is designed to enhance the education process through the use of information technology.
Launch of ICT Teacher Training in Public Schools
As part of its efforts to bring information and communications technology in public schools all over the country, Globe Telecom launched its ICT training program for teachers last week in Cebu City. The ICT training program will be implemented under the corporate social responsibility program of Globe, the Bridging Communities (Globe BridgeCom). The beneficiaries of the program are teachers from schools that have been connected to the Internet through Globe’s Intenet in Schools Program (ISP).
The ISP gives free Internet access for one year via Globe Broadband. Globe Community Relations head Jeffrey Tarayao said the program will be initially launched in Central Visayas because the region has the biggest concentration of ISP-connected schools in the country. Teachers of English, Math, Science and Hekasi from 100 ISP schools in Cebu, Negros Oriental and Bohol will undergo a six-day live-in ICT training that will teach them the necessary skills to apply ICT in classroom instructions in their respective subject areas. The training will be held at the Cebu Normal University Center for Teachers Excellence from Oct. 19 to 26 for the first batch of trainees. Luchi Flores of the Coalition for Better Education (CBE) said the trainees will be excused from their regular teaching load for one week to give Away for the training.
Participants will earn three units of masteral degree and a certificate of merit, told Flores. The training program is expected to be finished before the year ends. Tarayao said participants will be trained how to apply ICT in classroom instructions. Teachers, who have undergone training, will be tasked to train the other teachers in their respective schools, said Tarayao. The Global Filipino Teachers program is in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd). The Coalition for Better Education (CBE), a Cebu-based non-profit organization, will facilitate the training through its TECHTUTOR module. A memorandum of agreement was signed during the launching of the program at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel among Globe, DepEd
5th eINDIA 2009 India’s Largest ICT Event
eINDIA 2009, India's largest Information Communication and Technology (ICT) event, was held from 25th – 27th August at the Hyderabad International Convention Center, Hyderabad. It provided a unique platform for knowledge sharing in different domains of ICT for development and facilitated multi-stakeholder partnerships and networking among governments, industry, academia and civil society organisations of different countries. The objective was to bring together ICT experts, practitioners, business leaders and stakeholders of the region onto one platform, through keynote addresses, paper presentations, thematic workshops and exhibitions.
THE INAUGRATION : BEGINNING OF THE THREE DAY SAGA
eINDIA 2009 began on 25th August, with a gala inauguration ceremony with Smt D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India, as the chief guest. Other guests of honour included Shri Subhash C Khuntia, Joint Secretary, Ministry of HRD, Government of India; Shri S R Rao, Additional Secretary, Department of IT, Ministry of Communication and IT, Government of India; Reshan Dewapura, COO, Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Sri Lanka; Charles Clarke, Member of Parliament and Former Education Minister and Home Secretary; Prof V N Rajasekhar Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India
The welcome address was given by the President, Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), Dr M P Narayanan. In his speech, he welcomed the honourable minister and other eminent dignitaries to the fifth edition of the annual ICT conference and exhibition. Dr Narayanan's speech was followed by the lighting of the lamp.
Smt D Purandeswari congratulated CSDMS and its associates on a job well done in organising the International ICT Summit which was a sign of India's growing role in the world ICT and development networks. In her speech, Smt Purandeswari announced the launching of a National Information Highway Authority (NIHA) with the main aim of increasing various e-activities of the government. As the apex body for such initiatives, NIHA would clear and monitor all future projects and budgets and would become an ideal vehicle to promote such initiatives effectively in a time-bound manner.
S R Rao, in his speech, elaborated on the potential of India's growing economy and the valuable role that IT will play in further fueling the process. According to him, India has the highest level of political commitment and will to harness IT in different sectors for empowering the citizens. India, he stated, is a land of immense opportunities and schisms. Technology can be used to neutralise all the schisms through different mechanisms including Public Private Partnerships.
Reshan Dewapura elaborated about ICTA and eASIA2009. ICTA of Sri Lanka is the single apex body involved in ICT policy and direction for the nation. About eASIA2009, he informed, “ICTA and Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), India, have joined hands to organise the 4th annual eASIA 2009 Conference and Exhibition in Colombo, Sri Lanka to celebrate the year 2009 as the year of ICT and English as declared by HE Mahinda Rajapaksa, President, Sri Lanka and to promote growth of ICT4D, through consultative dialogue, strategic planning, knowledge networking and business partnering.”
Charles Clarke talked about effective strategies for bridging the digital divide. He said, “We need to join hands to bring technology to all…laptops can be made affordable and we need to ensure that we can bring one laptop each to every child. Several challenges remain to be addressed even as we acknowledge that it is through ICTs that distance mode of education can be effectively implemented and the Gross Enrollment Ration can be improved to 15% as has been penned by the Planning Commission.” He expressed hope that the three day eINDIA conference and deliberation will help churn out ideas on the ways and means of bringing ICTs closer to the education sector.
In his speech, Subhash C Khuntia provided details of the government's efforts in bringing IT closer to the masses. “The government intends to spread the reach of IT to remote villages. Each village with a population of 1000 or more will have a banking facility enabled though IT. Good public private initiatives will be promoted by the government.” However all these efforts need the combined efforts of the private sector, state government, academics, experts, business community, civil societies and the citizens. IT is one field where public private partnerships have a great role to play.
Prof V N Rajasekhar Pillai, underscored the importance of IT in several sectors including skills training and improving the quality of education. In the context of mass poverty in most developing countries, the critical role of training in furnishing badly needed skills to improve productivity, incomes and equitable access to employment opportunities seems particularly obvious and straightforward. Integration of ICTs can help address the issue. He announced that it is on the agenda of IGNOU to set up 5 Institutes for the Advancement and Training of teachers in 5 different regions.
Dr Ravi Gupta, Executive Director, Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) and Convener of eINDIA2009 thanked the Honourable Minister and the eminent dignitaries for their gracious participation and expressed hope that the three day conference would prove to be enriching and enlightening experience for all participants.
digitalLEARNING keynote session I
The time is now for new ways of educational technology to impart education. We have a plethora of tools, technology, standards and a richness of enablers. We have people spurred by necessity, common purpose, enthusiasm and collaboration. The need is now for a grand vision to manage all these changes; change in the e-education progress level, change in the technology developments, and change in the surrounding environment where technology needs to be integrated.
Digital Competencies in the National Education Programmes & Policies
Chair: Shri S C Khuntia, Joint Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India (GoI).
Panelists: Ashish Garg, Regional Coordinator – Asia, Global e Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI); L Balasubramanian, President, NIIT; Meena Ganesh, CEO, Edurite Technologies; Col K J Kang, Director, Designmate.
Objective of the session was to deliberate on key questions including:
// What is a National Vision on ICTs in Education? What do the nations want the policy to prescribe for efficient and effective implementation of ICTs in education?
// How are patterns of teaching and learning changing in the face of technological advances?
// How is a consensus with all stakeholders ensured, in terms of e-Competencies in the educational programmes and policies?
Discussions and Recommendations
The Chair, Shri S C Khuntia emphasised that there is a strong need to address the issues of digital competencies in the light of policy initiatives. Shri Khuntia urged everyone to ponder over the possibilities of further enhancing the quality of education, with the use of digital competencies, which will result in paradigm shift in the teaching and learning process.
Ashish Garg highlighted the changing role of technology in education and that there is a great acceptance for change. However, she opined that while the learning processes have changed, the teaching process has not. There is a gap between what children can learn and how the children can learn. Today's students are digital natives while their educators are digital immigrants who have migrated from one teaching methodology to another. The teachers continue to have within themselves a pertinent accent- digital immigrant accent – which may not make any relevance to the digital natives. There is a gap and disconnect here, solution for which cannot be sought immediately.
According to L Balasubramanian, digital competency can be achieved only when as a country we address the challenges of the quantity and quality in our education system, issues of poor infrastructure, absence of good and trained teachers, and absence of relevance/ context. He mentioned that collaboration is the key word for an effective ICT integration in education.
Meena Ganesh shared that the major challenge of Indian education is the reach and quality of basic education. With the advent of ICTs in education, complexity of concepts are better addressed and comprehended. ICT in classroom enhances cognitive learning process significantly improving engagement in the classroom and retention of knowledge.
Col. K J Kang spoke on the changing patterns of teaching and learning due to technological advances. With information having increasingly short shelf life, there is a need to enable learners to learn for themselves and continue to do so incessantly. A very important feature missing in our education system is to identify deserving students in the rural sector and move them to better facilities.
Session Summary
The Keynote session was concluded with an engaging interaction between the panelists and delegates. The session kick started the Digital Learning India 2009 Conference with a lot of energy. The highlight of the session was that ICT can offer innovative solutions to India's massive education needs, where implementation is the key challenge. Key learning skills for the future are – interpersonal skills, information skills, technology skills, basic skills and thinking skills. Our current learning environment needs to evolve to build a workforce that is more enquiring and challenging. India has great potential to design new solutions for the worlds' new educational problems.
digitalLEARNING keynote session II
ICT Application in Managing Change
Chair: Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Panelists: Dr. Duk- Hoo Kwak, President, Korea Education & Research Information Service (KERIS), Korea; Terry Wason, Country Manager for India, SMART Technologies; B Gopalakrishnan, Deputy General Manager, HCL Infosystems.
Objective of the session was to deliberate on key questions including:
// How is change management and capacity building for academic staff being conceptualised, implemented and maintained? What kinds of service organisations have been developed?
// How shall ICT resources and applications be used with appropriate methods and strategies?
// Why and how is the need of convergence of pedagogical and technological points of view to support effective connections with suitable technology to design learning environments?
Discussions and Recommendations
The chair, Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, stressed that ICT use in education has brought about rapid social changes, pedagogical paradigm shift, and advancements in Information and Communication Technology. However, there needs to be generational change and not incremental change in this context.
He also urged everyone to use the platform of eINDIA 2009 for bringing out concrete solutions and recommendations to the challenges of ICT and Indian education system by dialoguing, deliberations and brain storming discourse.
Dr. Kwak spoke about the development of e-Learning in Korea with an emphasis on KERIS endeavour as an e-Learning specialised organisation in Korea. ICT use is changing the face of education. These changes can be divided into three main areas: a) diverse learning tools – various kinds of learning tools including mobile devices and advanced solutions are available to students; b) changes in demand – students are actively participating in the learning process; and c) changes in contents – educational content is also changing as learning becomes more individualised and collaborative.
Terry Wason empasised on the changing demands of the digital world. He stated that knowledge-based economies need knowledge workers. Technology can be used to break down the economic, geographic, social or cultural barriers for development and advancement. 21st-century students need to learn differently and they need to be lifelong learners. Active and experiential learning is central, as it contextualises knowledge. Technology enables a new mindset and a new skill set. However, it is about learning, and not technology: “A computer is just an object. It cannot replace a person.” We need to accommodate diverse learning environments – whole class, small group, individual and distance learning environments.
B Gopalakrishnan started his presentation by delineating on the desired change for Indian education system, which includes parity in education system, improving quality and quantity of education, need to expand the capacity thereby increasing accessibility, transform from an industrial society to a knowledge based society. He also mentioned that the change agents are policy, processes, ICT tools, knowledge enablers and learners. He envisioned a lifelong learning environment by equipping training institutes and training the knowledge enablers, to review progress and sustain and upgrade ICT tools.
Session Summary
The Keynote session proved to be highly interactive. It provided a lot of networking opportunities with an interesting Q & A (question and answer) round. The session highlighted on bringing a true transformation, which is not merely adjusting and modifying past and present models, but designing and building the future of education, training and learning by true systemic, holistic and revolutionary change. The session highlighted that there is a strong need to engage all the stakeholders of education – students and teachers, government and education system, parents, community, business. Technology should always be kept in perspective. The six key factors for successful e-learning, are accessibility, quality assurance, human resources development and recruitment, international collaboration, e-Learning standardisation and amendment of e-learning related laws and regulations. 
The Exhibition
Principals, teachers, educationists and academicians came together to garner information on the newest in educational technologies and equipments at the eINDIA2009 Exhibition hall at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). The exhibition hosted a prolific range of exhibits featuring the best in cutting edge technologies across India and beyond.
Over 70 companies set up their stalls at the eINDIA2009 Exhibition venue, trying to catch the eye of potential customers to expand their business reach. The exhibition brought together the hardware and software segments on a common platform and has provided an impetus to India’s growing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.
Numerous companies from India and abroad joined the eINDIA2009 fanfare and swarmed the exhibition venue at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre(HICC) to display their products and technologies. The education technology solution providers, health technology and telecentre service providers came up with contemporary and customer friendly ways of displaying their products. New and innovative ideas, tools and ingenious technologies were showcased to the audience.
The exhibition witnessed
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Cutting edge developments in the ICT sector from across the globe;
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Inventive Marketing Solutions from within the Indian ICT industry and beyond;
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Participation by the best in the Indian ICT industry; and
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Workshops, demonstrations and display of the latest from the ICT industry.
The HICC exhibition area of approximately 5000 sqm. was fully furnished with company stalls and products. Almost 70 exhibitors
took active part in showcasing their avant-garde technologies. The conference participants and patrons thronged the exhibition venue to catch a glimpse of the break through technologies in education, health, governance and telecentre domain. Several of the clients registered for future partnerships and deals.
The exhibition provided an appropriate platform for the vendors to get in touch with their prospective buyers, be it academicians seeking e-learning solutions or medical practitioners on the look out for the latest in ECG scanning technologies. From Smart-boards to online assessment tools, all solutions were provided for under the HICC exhibition roof. Software developers and its users from across various sectors met at the exhibition to explore new options and conclude business for mutual benefit.
The exhibition has been broadly categorised into eHealth, eAgricultutre, eGovernance and eLearning domain. Some of the special focus areas under these sectors included a special section on IT Solutions, a special pavilion catering to the needs of the evolving e-marketplace, sections showcasing innovative solutions in the area of content development and a pavilion that exhibited products for network-based education and training.
The objective of the exposition was to bring together educators, public authorities, NGOs, academics and all other stakeholders to identify the potential of using ICTs to advance and improve education, resolve barriers to using ICTs in education and to share knowledge and best practices about successful use of ICTs in education.
Some of the goals of the exposition that were achieved included:
Increased knowledge of ICT technology, among stakeholders, to improve quality of education services and effectiveness of ICT in learning;
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Through the effective display of ICT infrastructure and technology applications to the audience, there was an increased access to ICT resources and services;
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Strong knowledge dissemination of best practices in ICT resources, services, data usage and their successful use in education;
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Web publishing for ICTs in education and virtual exhibition of world-renowned ICT products and services in education;
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Community clusters among organisations and individuals on development of resources to promote ICTs in education and on research and development for advanced forms of education and learning processes; and
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Display of global community of practice enabled communication and sharing of resources.
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The profile of the participating institutes
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Companies specialised in ICTs and interested in supporting education towards more ICT access;
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Educational institutions interested in providing open content;
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Policy makers responsible for education development;
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Funding agencies interested in program development and dissemination;
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Academics doing research in ICTs for education
One of the key stalls from the educational background was Indira Gandhi National Open University. The IGNOU stall displayed some of their newest educational endeavours in Open and Distance Learning Corporate players from different domains including school infrastructure display equipments, video conferencing, content creation solutions, animated educational software providers, integrated learning tool providers, e-commerce service providers, test & measurement instruments , technology training equipments and simulation / teaching software and interactive educational technology providers.Visitors Profile
Visitors included national and international dignitaries from the educational sector.
Policy makers visited the stalls and were oriented of the varied technologies available for need based educational requirements. Low cost technology and special needs equipments were a huge draw for the audience.your say
“The exhibition was an eye opener. I have always known that there are a range of education and learning solutions available in the market, but had wanted a practical demonstration of the same. The exhibition did that for me. I now know whom to approach for the practical needs of our teacher and the school requirements.”
S K Rao, Educationist, Visitor at eINDIA2009 Exhibition
“The curriculum content and teaching solutions displayed at the exhibition looked innovative and exciting. The graphics were detailed and provided for an invigorating learning environment.”
Santhi Reddy, Teacher, Visitor at eINDIA2009 Exhibition
“I on behalf of my entire Genee India team, extend my wishes & warm regards to digitalLEARNING for offering us this platform. Keep it up & all the best for all your future endeavors.”
Amarjit Singh, Director, Genee Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
“eINDIA 2009 was a great experience and the event coordination was commendable. Kudos to all the team members for the successful culmination of the event and for having attained another mile stone for up-coming events.”
S C Rathi, General Manager, Ceeco Technologies, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
“I am pleased to say that the turnout at the event was much better than I had expected! The presence of Charles Clarke at the event helped to raise its international profile, with his speech during the opening ceremony being quite visionary and relevant. The Promethean stall at the exhibition was strategically well placed, and we were pleased at the number of visitors at our expo. It gave the whole event an international and sophisticated feel.”
Peter Ormerod, Vice President, Promethean, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
“eINDIA2009 was a well executed and excellent event. I really appreciate the hardwork and efforts rendered by the digitalLEARNING team during the course of the event.”
Bala Gopalakrishnan, General Manager, HCL, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
“Thanks for a nicely executed and coordinated event!”
Amod Kumar, Manager, Panasonic, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
“All kinds of services provided at the event were world class. Security, handling, maintenance and ambiance were just impeccable. During this expo we discovered that our company is exclusively making world class interactive copyboards and rear projection displays in India. Visitors at our stall were amazed to see our VISION 60 Interactive display for high definition image quality and simple to use interactive function. We did receive good queries from the visitors and the expo made for good business sense.”
S K Garg, Chairman, Disprovisuals, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
“Congrats to the eINDIA team for making the show a grand success. Their months of hard work have been instrumental in making it happen. I would also like to thank digitalLEARNING awards for felicitating and honouring the shared computing initiative in Andhra Pradesh.”
Monali Handa, Marketing Manager, N Computing, Exhibitor at eINDIA2009
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eINDIA2009: Capturing the Stakeholders&rsquo: Perspective
Ravi Gupta
Editor in Chief
Centre for Science Development and Media Studies(CSDMS)
ravi.gupta@csdms.in
…..And the curtains were drawn to the eINDIA2009 Conference with great aplomb and to the utmost satisfaction of one and all. Months of effort and hard work have paid rich dividends in terms of ushering in new ideas and innovations. The conference has helped us in furthering our knowledge base, deepen our understanding and make inroads into a path which few have chosen to tread.
eINDIA2009 was special! It was our first effort to take the platform outside Delhi, to the unchartered territory of Hyderabad. The experiment bore good fruits and the venue proved to be a common meeting ground for all stakeholders from India and abroad. It has added another feather to our cap and has given the event a more national feel.
Our mandate and vision of promoting an integrated use of ICTs comes close to heels when several government efforts have been directed towards carrying the mission forward. Engaging multiple stakeholders has been one of the objectives that the conference has achieved. The gracious presence of Smt D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education, Government of India, added splendor to the conference.
eINDIA2009 brought forth several issues of contemporary relevance. The School Education Forum highlighted pressing problems in the K12 segment. The transition of teachers from being Digital Immigrants to being digitally empowered needs to be addressed through the provision of adequate training solutions. The key priorities have to be the successful implementation of the National ICT policy, effective teachers training and creation of ICT resources affordable to all. The Higher education segment mulled over the aspects of bridging the skill gap and providing accessible vocational and need based training. The want for technology based and open source learning was emphasised as also, making private education providers more accountable to quality standards. Quality education and skills training were the two buzzwords that were underscored.
The ideas and recommendations churned out during the sessions have added momentum to the ball which was set rolling at the first eINDIA event, 5 years ago. Since then, it has been our mission to provide a platform to the voices in ‘Education and Technology’, to underscore the importance and relevance of the theme, and to throw light on the niche area.
The deepening of the relationship between digitalLEARNING and multiple stakeholders has helped us achieve great strides. We propose to carry our endeavour forward – in length, scale and depth – through regional conferences to be held on similar lines
First Indian education PE to raise $150-200 million
India's first education-focused private equity (PE) fund, Kaizen Management Advisors, will close a $150-200 million fund by the middle of next year. The fund is looking at investing in two education institutions by the end of this year. Sandeep AnejaKaizen was set up in mid-2009 and has a 10-member team in India. At present, it is managing capital raised from domestic institutions and high net worth investors. The education sector, virtual and offline, has been attracting investments from strategic and financial investors. Education is an $80-billion (INR 3,84,000 crore) market in India split between the public sector ($30 billion or INR 1,44,000 crore) and the private sector ($50 billion or INR 2,40,000 crore).
Kaizen will invest in core education, including schools and colleges, teacher training schools, finishing schools, publication companies, and courseware and technology companies. It expects a grosss internal rate of return of 30 per cent and has already invested in vocational space. Aneja refused to tell the name of this company. The biggest hurdle in the sector was regulation, said Aneja. 'While India needs quality private education, there are regulations which prohibit the ability of investors to provide all that is needed to create such an environment. High quality need not be expensive,' said Aneja. Kaizen plans to stay invested in the ventures for at least five years. Exit options will include creating companies that can be sold as standalone companies, secondary sale to larger funds and selling stake via an initial public offering.
Medical and law courses at NIT Warangal
After serving as a premier engineering school for 50 years, the National Institute of Technology (NIT)-Warangal is set to become a full-fledged university that will offer a host of courses, including medicine, law as well as postgraduate degrees in humanities and business economics. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has expressed his intention to convert institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) into integrated universities that provide both medical and legal education among other courses. While the IIMs and IITs have been cautious in their comment towards this proposal, NIT- Warangal is the first to announce its plans of transforming into a university to sources.
NIT Warangal is the first among the NITs. It was dedicated to the nation by the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1959. Then it was known a regional engineering college. The institute is older than many IITs, including IIT Delhi. Currently, India has 20 NITs and the union cabinet had earlier this month given the go ahead to set up 10 new NITs, including six in the northeastern states. The director said the institute, which started its journey with a little over 100 students from a temporary campus, now boasts of 4,200 students. In 2006, the institute had 2,000 students of which 1,600 were pursuing B.Tech courses and the rest M.Tech. The institute is getting ready to celebrate the culmination of its yearlong golden jubilee celebrations late October.
Evaluation of students at IGNOU to follow CBSE pattern
Around 2.5 million students of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) are to receive a good news. Their exam results are set to come in faster and they won't have to travel all the way to Delhi in case they have a complaint. IGNOU, known for providing long distance education across India and the globe, will soon decentralise its evaluation process CBSE-style, says a top official. Srikant Mohapatra, Registrar of IGNOU's student evaluation division, explained that a CBSE style procedure would be decentralised to provide examination results to IGNOU students. Mohapatra, who had earlier headed IGNOU's Bihar and Orissa centres after resigning from the post of political science professor, said, 'Currently students come to Delhi or write to us complaining about many things, but with the zonal system student grievances can be solved at the zonal level.' He also said the effort will solve the problem of getting competent evaluators at the state level. Right now evaluators are chosen only by IGNOU's Delhi headquarters.
Currently, the university has around 5,000 empanelled evaluators and a teacher is paid Rs.18 for evaluating the answer paper of one student. He said this will expose zones to the examination and evaluation process and make them more responsible towards the larger goal of the university – that is, creating a huge pool of well-qualified human resources. The registrar said a notification regarding this decision will be announced in the near future. Mohapatra said there are some infrastructural problems at the zonal level but things will be sorted out soon. The IGNOU authorities said they are also contemplating starting a grading system in some of the courses instead of giving marks to students. IGNOU is the largest open university of the world with nearly 2.5 million students. Besides India, the varsity has a presence in 33 countries across the globe. It has 21 schools of studies, 59 regional centres and over 2,300 learner-support centres. From the current academic year, CBSE has introduced big changes. Its Class 10 board exams have been made optional. It has been asked by the central government to implement a six-point grading system rather than awarding marks to students. This evaluation will be made as per performance in school round the year.
