The Director-General of UNESCO, Ko
Major rebuild of the Primary schools
Hundreds of primary schools in England will be rebuilt, as ministers release
ISB to set up INR 300 crore campus in Mohali
The Punjab government is setting up a Knowledge City in Mohali, which will include an estimated INR 300 crore campus for the Indian School of Business (ISB), two institutes for Science and Education and Nanotechnology, and a Biotechnology Incubator. The total project cost is pegged at INR 1,200-1,300 crore, and is expected to be operational by 2012. For the second ISB campus in Mohali (the first one in Hyderabad cost around INR 200 crore), the Punjab government is leasing 70 acres of land for 99 years at INR 1 per acre annually. Besides, four founder supporters of ISB
Women not powerful but gain in education
In its 2008 Global Gender Gap report, the forum, a Swiss research organization, ranked Norway, Finland and Sweden as the countries that have the most equality of the sexes, and Saudi Arabia, Chad and Yemen as having the least. Using United Nations data, the report found that girls and women around the world had generally reached near-parity with their male peers in literacy, access to education and health and survival. But in terms of economics and politics, including relative access to executive government and corporate posts, the gap between the sexes remains large. The United States ranked 27th, above Russia (42nd), China (57th), Brazil (73rd) and India (113th). But the United States was ranked below Germany (11th), Britain (13th), France (15th), Lesotho (16th), Trinidad and Tobago (19th), South Africa (22nd), Argentina (24th) and Cuba (25th).
'The world's women are nearly as educated and as healthy as men, but are nowhere to be found in terms of decision-making,' said Saadia Zahidi of the World Economic Forum. Middle Eastern and North African countries received the lowest ratings over all. The rankings of Syria, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia declined in 2008. The report said the inequalities in those countries were so large as to put them at an economic disadvantage.
Student Federation presses for reforms in education sector in India
To highlight the condition of the education sector and demand reforms, the All-India Students Federation is organising a march from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar this Friday. Students from all over the country will take part in the rally which will be addressed among others by Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan. The major demands of the AISF include adequate steps by the Government to rehabilitate the students of riot-hit places, particularly Kandhamal in Orissa, and constitution of an Educational Commission comprising academicians and civil society members to review the current standing of the educational system and also to improve the quality and content of curriculum.
The AISF has also demanded setting up of a national monitoring committee comprising eminent academicians to scrutinise the implementation of reservation policies in higher education institutions. A Central legislation by Parliament to control commercialisation of education in professional colleges was also demanded. Other demands included increase in budgetary allocation for higher education and research, steps to hold student union elections in all educational institutions and free provision of books and uniforms to the flood-affected students of Bihar.
Major day for schools in Southwark
The two design proposals are the result of more than 10 months of hard work by Transform Schools, Balfour Beatty's education sector PPP concession vehicle, who beat strong competition and will now work with the council and national government to form Southwark's local education partnership. Over the next five months Transform Schools, Southwark Council and Partnerships for Schools will finalise how they plan to deliver the UK
India chapter launched by WikiEducator
With whom do you share knowledge that you are not required to teach in classrooms? How do you network with educators around the world? How do you bring resources together to maximise output? Educators in Delhi and across India have found answers to these questions with the launch of the India chapter of WikiEducator, a global community that enables e-learning. 'WikiEducator was already providing educators with a platform to develop open education resources and post free to use educational content. The India chapter will now put information in the Indian context,' said Savithri Singh, Wikieducator and principal of Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi.
The Indian chapter of WikiEducator includes a host of educators from Delhi Uni versity and Indira Gandhi National Open University. 'I have already posted material on protocols for biology practicals developed for my college. If other teachers find them useful, they are free to use the protocols,' said Singh. 'Why should information be limited? As a teacher, I would like to reach out to a larger audience,' said Singh. Members would be posting material not found in textbooks and also add their experience, research work and expertise. For educators working in the field of distance education, WikiEducator is all about technology enabled learning. Although the India chapter will be formally launched on November 15, it already hosts some pages in regional languages.
Students from DU get share in European scholarship pie
Delhi Uuniversity has been roped in for an international scholarship programme that has an eye-popping budget of 10 million euros. Students of the varsity will now have the opportunity to study at any one of the 12 selected European universities with financial aid that will take care of all their expenses during the stint. The European Commission has initiated a large-scale collaboration between 12 European and eight Indian institutions called the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window. Delhi University is among the eight Indian partner varsities (and the only one from the Capital), which also include IIT, Kanpur, Jadavpur University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The foreign partners comprise the University of Amsterdam, Lund University, Sweden and Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany .
The contract between the Indian and European universities is for a period of three years and up to April 2012. The collaboration, according to Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental, is unique because of the monetary aspect. The Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window will facilitate mobility of undergraduates, postgraduates, doctorates, post-doctorates and academic staff. Out of the 400 bursaries, 300 are meant for Indian students and the rest for their counterparts in Europe. The application process for scholarships kickstarts within a week. Information for the same will be available on www.erasmuswindow15.org.
NDC pledges to reform educational system
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday demonstrated its commitment to education through the expansion of education infrastructure, creation of the GETFUND, a vigorous drive to correct the gender imbalance between male and female enrolment at all levels during the NDC administration. Vincent Sena Kuagbenu, a Research Officer of the party recounted the achievement of the NDC government in the past which included reformed structure and conduct of the educational system, increased enrolment from basic to tertiary levels, establishment of University of Development Studies in the North and introducing the Distance Learning, which enabled teachers to upgrade their skills. He said that based on this foundation, the next NDC government would improve Teacher Training facilities and set standards for private participation in education.
Four out of the seven political parties contesting the December Presidential polls participated in the debate to spell out their educational policy as articulated in their Election 2008 manifestos. Kuagbenu said that the NDC acknowledged that part of the educational system stemmed from the numerous reforms making the sector unpredictable and dysfunctional.
Financial crisis at Harvard
Despite amassing an almost US$37-billion endowment, Harvard University is warning that the economic slowdown has reached America’s richest university. President Drew Faust said Monday the school was looking at ways to cut spending and would review compensation costs, which account for nearly half of the budget.
Harvard was also reviewing its ambitious expansion programme, including plans announced early last year to expand across the Charles River from its Cambridge campus into Allston, she said.
The university is considering the steps because the economic slowdown might reduce federal grants and the school’s substantial endowment, Faust said. ‘We need to be prepared to absorb unprecedented endowment losses and plan for a period of greater financial restraint,’ she said.
Harvard’s efforts to address the economic downturn mirror what is happening elsewhere in the country, including other Ivy League schools. Dartmouth College has announced that it would cut spending after its endowment, which also makes up about a third of its budget, lost US $220 million. Trustees blamed the loss on poor returns on stocks and bonds because of the Wall Street meltdown.
