Student helplines start ringing

Higher Education

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January 16, 2009

Anxious students are calling in to get help on how to plan their study better, manage time and overcome bad performance in the pre-Boards. 'We usually launch out pre-Board helpline in February but we have already begun getting calls from worried students' said Abdul Mabood, director of Snehi, an NGO that works for children and adolescents. Both Snehi and the CBSE start pre-Board helplines from February 1 every year.

'Many students who have not fared well in pre-Boards have been calling up. They have just 45 days left for the exams and are in panic,' said Mabood. Counsellors advice students to face the situation upfront. 'The first thing to do is acknowledge that you cannot wish the Boards away. Then students need to find out how they stand,' said Vithika Rahul, CBSE counsellor. The best thing to do is take mock tests. 'Students should sit for the mock tests for various reasons. They can practice taking the paper in three hours and time their answers. Moreover, they will get a feedback about where they are weak,' said Rahul. Students have also expressed unhappiness about exam dates. 'They have given us five days for English but three days for the rest of the subjects. I wish they had given us five days for Maths,' said Tanvi Girotra, a Class XII student of DPS, R.K. Puram. 'I guess it is more difficult for Humanities students because they have Maths and Psychology back-to-back,' she added.

One pupil, one laptop initiative

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January 16, 2009

Warrington is a hub for some of the most technologically advanced primary schools in Britain. Five primaries in the most deprived areas of the city have formed an alliance to kit out every child in their top classes with the most up-to-date laptop computers. And this week, for the second year running, the heads of the five Innov8ed Warrington schools and some of their pupils will be at the BETT technology in education show alongside PC World Education, which helped to launch the project. Two of the schools

National Eligibility Test a must from next year

Higher Education

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January 16, 2009

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made National Eligibility Test (NET) mandatory for teaching jobs in higher education, in a reversal of a decision it took three years ago. Those holding a Ph.D degree, however, continue to be exempted. The UGC has told universities that those already registered for M.Phil and will complete the same before June 2009, shall be exempted from NET. However, NET will be compulsory for the candidates completing M.Phil degree after this date.

On June 11, 2006, the commission had exempted M.Phil degree holders from NET for appointment as faculty for undergraduate teaching. Later the B.L. Mungerkar Committee, constituted to review the decision, recommended that NET be restored as mandatory as the exemption was leading to deterioration in the quality of teaching. The UGC has accepted the recommendation, thereby restoring NET from July 1, 2009. The UGC has decided that the relaxation given to Ph.D holders from NET examination for teaching appointment will continue provided the research is conducted as per the new guidelines circulated by the commission earlier this month.

NCERT wants to upgrade website

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January 15, 2009

The NCERT has decided to upgrade its website into a 'virtual academy', with facilties to take online practice tests, as well as increase the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for training teachers and imparting education in far flung areas. In recommendations which will be sent to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the NCERT has said that it also wants to include changes in the mathematics and science curriculum for Class IX and reduce the higher secondary school syllabus by as much as 15% in a bid to reduce pressure on teachers from the increasing number of students. These recommendations form part of a report prepared by NCERT's education experts at the two-day National Conference on Assessment and Improvement of Science and Mathematics Education which concluded here on Wednesday. The conference was organised by the Department of Education in Science and Mathematics (DESM).

V P Srivastava of DESM explained the reasoning behind the enhanced website, 'The idea is that those who are out of school system, including adults, can login and learn from the interactive content on the site. Similarly, the enrolled students can take tests online and get instant evaluation. Currently, the website only provides sample questions.' The 'virtual academy', inspired by the web-based interaction system used by IITs, will be an addition to the existing ICT infrastructure which includes the satellite education (EduSat) programme.

AMU poised to set up countrywide campuses

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January 15, 2009

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is poised to set up five countrywide campuses, which will take it beyond its birthplace. This, sources said, signalled that AMU was trying to reconcile its overzealous concerns about its minority status to the equally important need for growth. Last year, AMU had opened four admission test centres outside Aligarh, in spite of stiff resistance from a strong internal lobby This lobby felt test centres elsewhere could pave the way for more non-Muslims to enter the institution, diluting AMU's minority character, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court. All sections of AMU management – the AMU court, executive council and academic council – have for the first time unanimously agreed on the proposal to open new centres.

'It's a historic initiative,' vice-chancellor P.K. Abdul Azis told HT. Reader Arshi Khan, an elected member of the academic council, said, 'The university feels that it should seize the UPA government's allocations for minority institutions.' However, faculty members like Khan still feel that the expanding university should exercise 'precautions' to protect its character 'In whatever we do, our identity needs to be protected.' A section of AMU's management has been opposing new academic initiatives, citing the ongoing Supreme Court case. 'This section feels we should not capitalise on growth at the expense of AMU's minority identity,' a faculty member said. The AMU, he said, aspired to be a secular institution, and yet retain its minority status. It proportionately has more non-Muslims than Benaras Hindu University has Muslim students. The AMU was founded by Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan in 1875 to serve as India's first centre of Western higher education for Muslims, with instructions in English.

UP, Gujarat and AP children lag in ability to tell time

K-12

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January 15, 2009

According to the Annual Status of Education Report, Rural (ASER) 2008, the three southern states, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are all lagging way behind the national average (61%) when it comes to children's ability to tell time. Andhra Pradesh finds itself at the bottom of the pile with an average of 46.6%. Gujarat is only slightly better off at 56.2%. In comparison, Madhya Pradesh is way up with 84 % of its children in Class V able to tell time correctly In Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra too – where mathematical and reading ability is recorded to be much higher than the national average – more than 75 % children in Class V can tell time, the report says. The report goes on to say that even Bihar, Orissa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttarakhand are all above the national average of 61 %. The report – released on Tuesday and facilitated by Pratham, an NGO working in the field of education – is based on a sample survey carried out in 16,198 villages dotting 564 rural districts of the country. Do the math On another test indicating the importance of money management among children, the report states that 83.2 % of children in the country can do currency tasks.

However, the report goes on to state that only 21% of Class V children in rural areas can recognize numbers from 10 to 99. This points to the fact that telling time and recognizing money is dependent more on the environment in which a child grows up than on the knowledge he may gain at school. In a strange twist, Gujarat attracts maximum investments and is identified with family businesses handed over to young generations but only 77.1 % of its children in Class V can do currency tasks effectively, behind the national average. In comparison, Goa is at 98.2 %, Madhya Pradesh 94.7 % and Kerala 93.6 %.

Half Varsity

Higher Education

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January 15, 2009

Nearly 300 colleges out the 527 affiliated to the University of Pune (UoP) may not be in a position to proceed with their admissions in the next academic year, if they do not fill up the posts of principals, which have been lying vacant for eight to 10 years in many colleges. This follows an order by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court last month saying that the vacant posts of principals and teachers should be filled before May 31. According to the order, if the colleges fail to appoint the principals, the universities should start the process of disaffiliation of these colleges from the academic year 2010-11.

The UoP has taken cognisance of the order and issued letters to the colleges about appointing full-time principals on December 24. 'Now we will issue fresh directives to those colleges that don't have full-time principals. The parent organisations that are running these colleges will really have to hurry up to fill up the posts,' said Pandit Vidyasagar, director of the UoP's board of college and university development.

DPS Indirapuram in trouble

K-12

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January 15, 2009

The Fate of about 4,900 students of DPS Indirapuram (Ghaziabad), run by the Saket Education Society, hangs in balance after the UP government cancelled the no-objection certificate (NOC) granted to DPS in 2004. The certificate of recognition is a pre-requisite to obtaining affiliation from an education board. The school denied having any knowledge of the matter, even though a copy of the letter cancelling the NOC was marked to them . District inspector of schools, Ghaziabad, Ravinder Singh said the NOC stands cancelled on December 29, 20008. (HT has a copy of the letter).

The state authorities have apprised CBSE, New Delhi, about their action. The letter stated the NOC was cancelled after the school allegedly failed to submit documents required to be furnished before the Lucknow Bench of the High Court in a related matter, Singh said. 'The school was required to furnish copies of the agreement between Saket Education Society and DPS Society New Delhi related to the use of DPS logo. In spite of repeated requests, I could not get the documents' Singh said. The school denied his charges. 'This may relate to another school running with the same name in Ghaziabad. I have not received any letter Our agreement with DPS Society New Delhi related to the use of the logo is valid tn March 31, 2009. The district inspector never visited us,' principal Meeta Rai said.

INR 500 fee hike irks Delhi private schools

K-12

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January 15, 2009

Parents could end up having to pay more than the Rs 500 hike in fees for private schools recommended by the Bansal Committee, which submitted its report to the Delhi government on Tuesday. The schools have unanimously said the proposed hike is too little and have threatened to move court if the recommendation is implemented. Many private schools are demanding that they be allowed to hike fees by 50% to meet the increase of 40%-50% in the salary of teachers as per the Sixth Pay Commission. The schools are also seeking the government's approval to charge INR 8,000 per student for arrears to teachers, which is far more than the limit of INR 4,500 set the committee which went into the issue.

'Putting a cap of Rs 500 on the fee hike has no rationale. Thankfully, it is only a recommendation as of now. But if the government ends up considering it, we may even move the court. We cannot implement the provisions of the Sixth Pay Commission unless we hike the school fees enough,' said S K Bhattacharya, president, School Action Committee (SAC) a body of all the school organizations in the capital. The seven-member Bansal Committee was constituted by the city government to recommend a suitable fee hike in private schools which would enable them to bring the salaries of their staff on a par with the Sixth Pay Commission bands. Bhattacharya said SAC had worked out the required fee hike to be 50% as the increase in teachers' salaries, with effect from September 1, 2008, might be to the tune of 70%. The hike in salary will also be applicable to the non-teaching staff in the school.

CSIR goes to Manmohan for independent varsity

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 15, 2009

Having waited for four years to get a deemed university status for its educational arm from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has now approached the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to establish its own varsity independent of UGC and the Arjun Singh-led Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.

CSIR will soon be moving a cabinet note for establishment of a CSIR-AIST university on the lines of the recently approved Maritime University and earlier those established by the Department of Space. CSIR had also made a presentation on the need of a dedicated CSIR university before the PMO. With its headquarters in Noida or Faridabad, the institute is envisaged as a set-up that will network between the 40-odd CSIR laboratories and pool resources and faculty across these to create a national level university with a strong research focus. CSIR has also proposed that besides post-graduate courses, the varsity be allowed to also run undergraduate level courses in both sciences and humanities. The objective is to stem the growing shortage of skilled manpower in the science and technology industry and the dwindling numbers of PhDs per annum.

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