News World

Magazine

By

-

March 1, 2009

Cellphone industry makes pitch that Smartphones belong in classroom

The cellphone industry has a suggestion for improving the math skills of American students: spend more time on cellphones in the classroom. In a study conducted by Digital Millennial Consulting, 9th and 10th grade Math students of four North Carolina schools in low-income neighborhoods were given high-end cellphones running Microsoft's Windows Mobile software and special programmes meant to help them with their algebra studies. The study found that students with the phones performed 25 % better on the end-of-the-year algebra exam than did students without the devices in similar classes.

Brazil schools to rollout 350,000 virtual desktops in world's largest and cheapest deployment

Userful and ThinNetworks have been selected to supply 356,800 virtualised desktops to schools in all of Brazil's 5,560 municipalities. This initiative will provide computer access to millions of children throughout the country. It will also save 60 % in up-front costs and 80 % in power usage compared to traditional PC desktop deployments.

On completion the project will be the world's largest ever virtual desktop deployment; the world's largest ever desktop Linux deployment, and a new record low cost for PCs with the PC sharing hardware and software costing less than US $ 50 per seat.

New IDC MarketScape ranks leading technology vendors

IDC has released a new MarketScape report profiling and ranking the leading technology vendors participating in the worldwide IT education market as a line of business (LOB) to support the sale of their technologies. IDC MarketScape vendor analysis reports utilise a rigorous scoring methodology that produces a definitive assessment of each vendor's current market capabilities and strategies for competing in the future.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide IT Education and Training 2009 Vendor Analysis evaluates ten providers based on a comprehensive framework and set of parameters that assesses vendors relative to one another and to those factors expected to be most conducive to success during the near and long-term. The vendors included in this analysis are Cisco, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lawson, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, SAP, Sun and Symantec. The MarketScape placed Red Hat in the 'Leaders' category with a number of vendors in hot pursuit as 'Major Players' The study also found that participating vendors are universally strong at integrating a variety of delivery options in their portfolio and are consistently improving their offerings as new approaches become viable.

Microsoft NewZealand funds US $ 1.2 million digital literacy and skills training programme

Nearly 5,000 families will benefit from digital literacy and skills training following a US $1.2 million injection of funding and software by Microsoft New Zealand to the 2020 Communications Trust and regional partners. The grant, which includes Us $ 800,000 in funding and software worth Us $ 400,000, will be used to fund digital literacy and information technology skills training programmes throughout the country over the next three years.

'ICT has an important role to play in raising New Zealand's prosperity. We are committed to playing an active role in New Zealand's economic growth and social opportunity,' said Kevin Ackhurst, Microsoft New Zealand's General Manager and Chair of NZICT. The new initiative builds on the 2020 Trust's highly successful Computers in Homes programme, which provides a computer, internet connection, training and support for families in low income and disadvantaged communities.

Chinese students to dominate world market: Report

Students from mainland China who go abroad to study far outnumber those from any other country and they will continue to increase their domination of the international student market for decades to come, says a new report by IDP Education, Australia's main student recruiting agency. This mobile group of young hopefuls is scattered around the world and they contribute an estimated US $ 6 billion in fees to higher education institutions.

More than 350,000 mainland Chinese students are believed to be studying for degrees at overseas universities this year and the number is predicted to rise to 645,000 within 20 years. The report further said that although students from India come second in terms of global mobility, they lag well behind the huge crowd from China. Fewer than 130,000 Indian students were studying abroad in 2005.

Espresso wins Institute of IT Training's prestigious Silver Award

Leading education provider Espresso Group has won the prestigious silver award, 'Training Department of the Year', at the 2009 IT Training Awards held in London. Celebrating quality, excellence and best practice within IT training since 1995, the awards are firmly established as the benchmark for excellence throughout the industry.

The 'Training Department of the Year' award recognises a training department within a private sector organisation providing exceptional IT training to internal clients. This covers training development, management, delivery and operations. Judges praised Espresso Group for demonstrating consistent high quality and innovation

News Corporate

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

Inaugural Dell YouthConnect grants awarded to organisations in India, Brazil and Mexico

Dell has awarded its first Dell YouthConnect grants, totaling more than US $ 2.7 million, to 11 organisations in Brazil, India, and Mexico. The grants support technology education for youth 17 years old and younger, and promote math, science and technology-skills development in emerging countries. Together with the grant recipients, Dell assessed their technology and infrastructure needs and awarded cash and in-kind grants in three categories: Strategic partnership grants of up to US $ 500,000 to support one-year pilot programmes; Seed funding grants of up to US $ 100,000 to support organisations and programmes that do not yet have the capacity for strategic partnership grants; and Employee-directed giving grants of US $ 50,000 or less to support organisations with existing, meaningful involvement and support from Dell employees.

Infosys institutes 'Infosys India Prize' in five categories

Infosys Technologies Ltd. has set up an 'Infosys Science Foundation', a not-for-profit trust to promote research in sciences in India. Under the aegis of the foundation, Infosys will honour outstanding contributions and achievements by Indians across various sciences. The annual award for each category is INR 50 lakh. The Infosys Science Foundation will be funded by a corpus of INR 21.5 crore contributed by Infosys executive board members and an annual grant from Infosys Technologies Ltd.

The 'Infosys Prize' categories include: Physical Sciences

Addressing the great skill divide

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

While India continues to march ahead on the path of economic growth, despite a global slowdown, time has come to take note of the gap between the demand for skilled human resource and the existing supply.

If not addressed at a war footing, experts and industry representatives say, this could push our growth into a spot of bother. According to the 2005 NSSO survey, the gap stands at 10 million. So much so that the issue was highlighted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his Independence Day speech two years back.

‘As our economy booms, and as our industry grows, I hear the pressing complaint about an imminent shortage of skilled employees. As a country endowed with huge human resources, we can’t let this be a constraint. We are planning to launch a Mission on Vocational Education so that the skill deficit in our economy is addressed,’ Dr Singh had announced.

With Vocational Education and Training (VET) becoming the buzzword in the power corridors, the spotlight is on the need for a tangible action plan which can provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the masses.

The National Policy on Skill Development, recently approved by the Union Cabinet, aims to create a workforce empowered with improved skills, knowledge and internationally recognised qualifications to gain access to decent employment and ensure India’s competitiveness in the global labour market.

Although a step in the right direction, more such concerted efforts is required on the part of government, private sector and all concerned agencies if we are to surge ahead on the growth path. The poor cannot afford to remain unemployed anymore. We have to re-orient the labour structure and initiate a shift from low to high productivity, while also improving the wage structure and quality of life.

Finally, the policy initiatives must not just restrict their focus to city and semi-urban areas while looking at skill development programmes. The rural areas and smaller towns have millions waiting to join the search for skilled jobs. India needs to impart relevant skills to 10 million people every year if it has to reap the benefit of globalisation.

Skills and Entrepreneurship Bridging the Technology and GENDER DIVIDE

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

Even though women hold more than 60 % of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-related jobs in OECD countries, only 10 to 20 % are computer programmers, engineers, systems analysts or designers. The large majority of women are in secretarial, word processing or data-entry positions, requiring rather routine, low-level skills or limited technical training

With an estimated 500 million people entering the global workforce over the next decade, coming to grips with the technological challenge is crucial. Without being ‘plugged in’, millions of women and men risk being left behind. Since women represent a significant majority of these who do not have access, there is a clear gender dimension to the technological divide. Therefore the technology divide is multifold. It refers to a gap between countries that have or do not have easy access to technological advances. Within countries, the divide is between the socio-economic strata of societies that have access to technology and those that do not (particularly in rural areas). In addition, there is a gender gap across and within most countries: almost everywhere women lag behind men either in access to training or in the application of technology.

Why is there a wide gap in some parts of the world and not in others?
It is more a question of encouragement, pervasive gender roles and attitudes rather than aptitudes, according to the OECD. Girls are far less likely than boys to study engineering or computer or physical sciences. Though women earn more than half of the university degrees in the OECD countries, they receive only 30 % of degrees in science and technology. The percentage of female graduates advancing to research is even smaller, representing less than 30 % of science and technology researchers in most OECD countries and only 12 % in countries such as Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Another element to look at is the degree of access women and men around the world have to information and communication technologies.Even though women hold more than 60 % of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-related jobs in OECD countries, only 10 to 20 per cent are computer programmers, engineers, systems analysts or designers. The large majority of women are in secretarial, word processing or data-entry positions, requiring rather routine, low-level skills or limited technical training.

Education and skills training increase the ability of women and men to apply new techniques, thus enhancing their employability as well as the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises. Effective skills development systems,

From Veil to Camera
For the 60 % of women employed Even though women hold more than 60 % of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-related jobs in OECD countries, only 10 to 20 % are omputer programmers, engineers, systems analysts or designers. The large majority of omen are in secretarial, word processing or data-entry positions, requiring rather routine, low-level kills or limited technical training 16 March 2009 | www.digitalLearning.in in agriculture in South Asia, access to quality education, skills training and entrepreneurship development tools not only represents a way out of poverty, but also provides them with opportunities of mpowerment in the world of technology, as an ILO Online report from central India shows. As child, Shantabai dreamt of becoming a professional photographer. However, given that her family was poor and illiterate, she thought this would remain a distant dream. Born in a arge family of marginal farmers, Shantabai only had elementary education in her village chool before she was married off at the age of 13. Besides working on her husband’s amily’s mall piece of land, she had to care for her children and her husband’s elderly parents. But one ay the dream came true although Shantabai had to go a long way from being a purdah, oor farmer’s wife who is expected to cover her face behind a veil, to becoming a uccessful photographer. What is more, through the process, Shantabai has become an nspiration for many women in Palda and the neighbouring villages. She enrolled in several training courses with Srujan, a partner organisation of the ILO’s Workers Activities programme (ACTRAV). These training courses not only provided her with new skills but also motivated her to seek new opportunities to enhance her income. One such training course hantabai participated in was on photography skills and she decided to make it her profession. Taking a small loan of INR 5,000 (about US$ 125) she managed to purchase a second-hand amera to embark on her journey as a professional photographer. Like her, most other participants of the ILO/ACTRAV training courses are ainfully employed or self-employed, sing their skills to enhance their income. So far, the programme has trained nearly 2040 eople, many of them from groups in vulnerable situations, who had not been reached before. One of the key objectives of the programme is to empower women in all phases of life through skills training thus building self-confidence and developing leadership. Financed by the overnment of Norway, the ILO/ACTRAV Norway Workers’ Education Programme offers 32 skills and vocational training courses, in collaboration with partner organisations in rural istricts in south and central India. The courses offered include desktop publishing, photography, maintenance and service of three and four-wheel vehicles, beautician, toy aking, among many others. The duration of the courses ranges from 5 days to 6 months. The tory of Shantabai reflects a double divide in the access to quality education, training, and echnology between the formal and the informal economy, but also between women and men

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Upscaling Open Vocational Education

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

In view of universal elementary education (UEE) and proposed universal secondary education (USE) the number of seats for vocational education and training is estimated at 3.3 billion whereas at present the capacity to train the personnel is 3.3 million. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to use innovative methods like e-Learning, ODL virtual classroom and generally speaking much greater use of ICT. A strategy from the point of view of open Vocational Education Programme (VEP) through distance learning mode is suggested in this line.

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) offers Vocational EducationalCourses in the major areas of Agriculture, Business and Commerce, Engineering and Technology, Health and Paramedical, Home Science and HospitalityManagement, Computer and IT related sectors, and various other GeneralServices Sectors through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode of Education. At present NIOS offers 70 Vocational Education Courses in the above mentioned areas. During Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12), NIOS proposes toincrease the number of courses from 72 to 200. The enrolment in the Vocational Education Courses is proposed to be increased from 22000 in 2006-07 to 3 lakh in 2011-12.

NIOS, offering 70 Vocational Education Courses at present, will expand its programme to offer about 200 Courses by the end of XI Plan

NIOS takes special care of education of disadvantaged through the Accredited Institutions for Education of Disadvantaged (SAIED). Out of 60 SAIEDs, 27 SAIEDs are offering Vocational Education Courses. The number of SAIEDs for Vocational Courses is proposed to be increased from 27 in 2006-07 to 100 by the end of Eleventh Plan.

In order to cope with the challenge of providing Vocational Education Courses to a large number of youth and adults, the Open Schooling system is required to be upscaled substantially. NIOS, offering 70 Vocational Education Courses atpresent, will expand its programme to offer about 200 Courses by the end of XI Plan. The State Open Schools (SOSs) are also required to offer need based Open Vocational Education Courses preferably in Regional Medium.

In order to operationalise the Open Vocational Programmes effectively in India, NIOS has developed a Draft Curriculum Framework in Open Schooling (CFOS ). The CFOS include guidelines related to (i) Resources, (ii) Evaluation and Certification, (iii) Manpower Assessment and Need Analysis, and (iv) Programme Planning and Quality Management.

Labour Market Information System
will be established to collect the necessary information on the skill requirements and skilled manpower needs for different sectors of economy. This will be done in collaboration with CISCO, CII, CIDC, IFCO foundation, IMA, RCI, HCL, Microsoft, APTECH, MICO BOSCH, etc. NIOS has already entered into agreements with IMA, RCI, CISCO, CIDC, IFFCO foundation.

Industry-Institution collaboration and similar collaboration
with other sectors will be established for identification of manpower, development of sector-wise skill profiles, identification of courses, development of modular competency based curricula and learning materials, experts for providing training, workplace training /in-plant training, competency based assessment of trainees by the assessors, competency based joint certification, sharing of resources and placement of students.

In order to develop Vocational Education Infrastructure in rural areas, one of the interventions of NIOS is in the form of Rural Community Workshops (RCWs ) as prototype infrastructure training -cum

e-Skills meet UP-SKILLING & RE-SKILLING

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

A new shortage of skills and talent in IT and business is threatening business growth, according to Gartner, Inc, the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. This skills shortfall is very different from the shortage experienced during the dot-com squeeze of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Then there were shortages of specific, technical skills and domain-specific expertise. Today, by contrast, there are shortages of people with more general qualifications, experience and business insight. Several forces are coming together to create a competition for talent.

“What constitutes ‘qualified people’ keeps on changing. The focus is on understanding and managing business processes and technology, which take time to mature.

E-Skills are pervasive, and not limited to IT specialists; they are increasingly required in all sectors and at all levels of activity in which creativity, innovation, and inter-disciplinary teamwork are required as tools for competitiveness; in both the private and public sectors, leaders need not only to be e-Literate, but also to display and grow the new qualities required by ‘e-Leadership’. E-skills will be of central importance to determine workers’ vertical and horizontal mobility, and hence of well-functioning labour markets and adequate employability and inclusion levels.

The criticality of skill development in our overall strategy is that if we get our skill development act right, we will be harnessing ‘demographic dividend’; if we do not get there, we could be facing a ‘demographic nightmare’

The gap is growing between the ability of existing education systems to provide e-Skilled workers and managers on one hand, and the requirement of knowledge-intensive economies on the other hand. In a number of industries and regions, this gap is particularly acute, and calls for rapid adjustments in education systems, and improvements of the image of IT jobs. From a policy point of view, addressing foreseeable e-Skills shortages May yield significant side benefits. With the right mix of strategies and policies, and the proper dose of engagement from all major stakeholders, the current lack of e-Skills May indeed prove a major opportunity to involve larger share of the world population in the creation of, and benefits from a truly inclusive information society.

Worried about a growing mismatch between the skills of young population and the nature of jobs they would be required to fill, the Union government in India has proposed spending a hefty INR31,000 crore on skills development over the next five years as part of a ‘National Skills Development Mission’. The allocation for skills development in the 10th Plan under the Centrally-sponsored scheme of vocationalisation of secondary education was just INR350 crore.

As the 11th Plan Panel said it sometime back, “The criticality of skill development in our overall strategy is that if we get our skill development act right, we will be harnessing ‘demographic dividend’; if we do not get there, we could be facing a ‘demographic nightmare’.”

Data collected in the 60th round of National Sample Survey Organisation survey shows that only 3% of the rural youth (15-29 years) and 6% of the urban youth have gone through any kind of vocational training. Acknowledging the gap in the development of skills in an economy that is growing at more than 9%, the skill development mission will aim for a five-fold expansion in public sector skill development infrastructure and its utilization, and will work to convert ITIs, polytechnics and vocational school programmes into public-private partnerships (PPP).

The government has huge commitments in infrastructure, health and education. But does it have enough resources? Is PPP a wayand a model found to make the mission statement workable?

A recent report by TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd, a private recruitment firm, noted that Indian youth are simply unemployable. According to that report, 53% of employed youth in this country suffer from some degree of skill deprivation while only 8% of youth are unemployed. It also said that 57% of India’s youth suffer from unemployability.

Probably, in order to address these sort of stern demands of the situation, the government also proposes to create a National Skill Development Fund, which will impose a universal skill development obligation on industry to invest in skill development of the socially excluded sections, minorities and other candidates from families below the poverty line, as a contribution to affirmative action.

There are also plans to create a Virtual Skill Development Resource Network, which can be accessed by trainees at 50,000 Skill Development Centres, providing Internet-based learning. In addition, it recommends setting up a National Skills Inventory and a database for Skill Deficiency Mapping, which will facilitate tracking of careers, placement and exchange of information between employers.

What can be the possible attributes for the problem of a skill-deprived workforce in the country?

Poor infrastructure? Ill-equipped classrooms, laboratories and workshops? Non-performing faculty? Absence of measurement of performance and outcomes?

While industry has been complaining about the quality of training at the ITIs, it says, placements are not tracked, training institutes are not rated, accreditation systems are archaic and not progressive. End of training examination and certification systems are either non-existent or deeply flawed. Some sections within it have already initiated efforts to revamp the ITIs.CII has a plan to adopt 147 ITIs across the country. According to it, members of CII will partner with states with an aim to change courses and improvise new ones to better serve the industry needs. Under this, the Centre, after it approves a development plan, will release funds directly to the institute management committee, which will provide more flexibility and authority.

National Knowledge Commission Proposal For Computerised Vocational Training

The objective of this proposal is to establish a state-wide network of computerised vocational

training centers covering every village in the country and offering training courses on a wide
range of occupational skills. Its salient features are:
Establish 50,000 training institutes in the country.
Establish 40,000 training centres as privately owned businesses.
Establish 10,000 training centres in engineering colleges, arts colleges, ITIs
and high schools that have spare computer lab capacity available for morning
or evening use.
Provide vocational training to a minimum of 10,000,0001 students per annum.
Generate self-employment for 40,000 entrepreneurs.
Generate employment in the training institutes for an additional 80,000 shop training assistants.
Computerised vocational courses can be offered using the existing computer facilities available at Liberal Arts and Engineering Colleges, Industrial Training Institutes & Polytechnics, Private Training Institutes and High Schools

News India

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

Cabinet approves National Policy on Skill Development

The Union Cabinet has approved the National Policy on Skill Development proposed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The objective is to create a workforce empowered with improved skills, knowledge and internationally recognised qualifications to gain access to decent employment and ensure India’s competitiveness in the dynamic global labour market.

The policy aims at increasing the productivity of workforce both in the organised and the unorganised sectors, seeking increased participation of youth, women, disabled and other disadvantaged sections. This is the first ever Policy in the country and has been evolved after multiple rounds of consultation among different ministries of Central and State governments, industries and employer organisations, trade unions and other stake holders. It aims to synergise efforts of various sectors and reform the present system.

The salient features of the Policy are :

1. Demand driven system guided by labour market signals thereby reducing skills mismatch,
2. Expansion of outreach using established as well as innovative approaches,
3. National Vocational Qualifications Framework which will inte-ralia include opportunities for horizontal and vertical mobility between general and technical education, recognition and certification of competencies irrespective of mode of learning,
4. System to deliver ‘competencies’ in line with nationally and internationally recognised standards,
5. Focus on new emerging occupations,
6. Focus on pre-employment training and Life-long learning,
7. Equity consideration

News Asia

Magazine

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2009

Report blasts primary school education in Bangladesh

Around 70 % of children in Bangladesh who completetheir primary education are unable to read, write orcount properly, according to an internal report bythe Department of Primary Education (DPE). 69 %of students who had completed five years of primaryschool were unable to read news headlines in Banglanewspapers properly, while 87 % of pupils failed to dosimple mathematical calculations, the study, entitledNational Assessment of Pupils of Grades Three and Five – 2006, said.Conducted by the Second Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-II) – a donor-assistedprogramme to ensure quality primary education for all children – the study reported that 72 % ofchildren were unable to write a short composition in Bangla – the mother tongue of over 95 % ofthe population. The report also found students “pitiably weak” inEnglish, which plays a key role inday-to-day life, particularly in business, higher studies and technical education.

Lapus calls upon educators to focus on education in rural areas

Philippines Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has called on educators in the Asia Pacific to look for creative approaches to bring education to different groups of marginalised learners especially in rural areas. Speaking at the regional Conference on Multiple Approaches of Education for Rural Areas: Lesson from Good Practices, he said, 'The educational needs of children from isolated areas, remote and rural communities and religious, linguistic and ethnic minorities require a different mindset and a new paradigm.'

The event was organised by both DepEd and World Bank and drew some 100 participants from countries in the East Asia and Pacific Region. The conference included discussions to help participants identify best practices, examples, pedagogical methodology, education delivery options, policy recommendations that would be useful in achieving EFA goals.

More Smart Schools in Malaysia by 2011

The Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) is helping Malaysian Education Ministry upgrade 50 rural and underserved schools into Smart Schools. MDeC, said upgrading work will be done in three
phases beginning with 15 schools this year, 15 more next year and 20 in 2011. Senior Manager, Smart Schools, Dr Norrizan Razali, said the 50 schools located nationwide will be modelled after the country's pioneer 88 smart schools.

MDeC will use a different approach to upgrade the rural schools to smart schools. Unlike the first batch of Smart Schools, most of the rural schools are not high performing and don't have the same kind of access to information like the first batch. 'By the end of this project, MDeC also hopes to have a model to transform more rural schools into Smart Schools,' Norrizan said.

Zardari calls for a task force for technical skills of youth

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has advised the government to set up a task force to formulate concrete proposals for enhancing technical and vocational skills of the youth in order to meet the requirements of both national and overseas job markets. He said this during a briefing on the vocational and technical training for skill development.

The President said the international job market was shrinking and Pakistan could penetrate the market deeply only if it provided suitably qualified and trained workers and technicians that fulfilled the requirements of the job markets in the Middle East, Europe and US.

PM Dahal expresses concern over brain drain in Nepal

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed concern over the increasing trend of brain drain in Nepal. Addressing the sixth convocation of the Pokhara University (PU), he said the country needs educated and skilled youths for development. 'The country lacks skilled and able manpower as the educated ones are leaving abroad. We cannot create a new Nepal unless the increasing brain drain stops.'

Prime Minister Dahal, said that the government plans to bring new scholarship programmes in order to make education accessible for the impoverished and disadvantaged groups. He also stressed on the need for excluding the culture of strike and protest in education sector.

Slow economic growth not to hit employment opportunities in Malaysia

More than 800,000 students currently pursuing their studies at higher learning institutions would not face problems in securing jobs although Malaysia is expected to register lower economic growth, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.Mohamed Khaled said more jobs and new business opportunities would be stimulated because the government would increase public spending although the private sector has been cutting costs, including retrenching their workers. 'Despite the current economic situation, jobs are still available in business and service sectors because the spending capacity in the country is still high…so universities are encouraging entrepreneurship programmes,' he said at the inauguration of a national Information and Communication Technology (ICT) seminar.

Government grants INR 250 crore to Maulana Azad Education Foundation

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 28, 2009

An amount of INR 250 crores has been provided by the Government of India to the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF). The Foundation has been registered under Societies Registration Act – 1860, in 1989. The fund has been given to the Foundation through the Ministry of Minority Affairs to implement grant-in-aid to NGO for construction of school, hostel building etc., Scholarship to girl students belonging to minority communities. The funding of the above schemes is done from the interest income of the Corpus Fund, invested in banks. The Foundation has provided financial assistance in the form of grant of INR 117 crores (approx.) to 893 NGO and scholarships of INR 30 crores (approx.) to 26,000 minority girl students since 1989. Out of this, Foundation has given grant of INR 17 crores to 124 NGOs and scholarships of over INR 14 crores to 12,064 girls student belonging to minorities in the current financial year 2008-09 (upto January '09), thus registering substantial increase over the annual performance during the past years. In view of increasing demand from NGO and other institutions for funds from MAEF, the CCEA was requested to approve additional Corpus Fund of INR 500 crores to be released during the 11th Five Year Plan. Thus by the end of the current Plan period (i.e. by 2011-12), the Foundation will have a Corpus Fund of INR 700 crores. Out of this, INR 60 crores will be released during current year (2008-09).

It is noteworthy that the Foundation had a Corpus Fund of only INR 100 crores till 2005-06. The present augmentation of Corpus Fund of MAEF will go a long way in supplementing the efforts of the Government in providing education to educationally backward minority communities.

Over 1.45 million students to sit for CBSE exams in 2009

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 28, 2009

Over 1.45 million students will sit for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations starting March 2 at over 5,000 centres spread across the country and abroad.

This year, 824,438 students of class 10 and 637,578 of class 12, will take the board exams, a CBSE release said. Last year, 765,687 candidates appeared for the Class 10 examinations while 549,344 students took the Class 12 exams. Of the total number of class 10 students, 336,963 are female candidates while 487,475 are male students. Similarly in the class 12 exams, there are 264,248 female candidates and 373,330 male students. Among the candidates in special categories, 2,228 of class 10 and 1,707 of class 12 will appear in 14 centres in the country and abroad. 'CBSE for the first time this year has roped in special educators to address the problems of the specially-abled children taking the exams,' CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma said.

LATEST NEWS

EDITOR PICKS

Top Trending News

POPULAR POSTS

Top Trending Categories

POPULAR CATEGORY

Latest Articles