The need and benefits of Online Education has never been felt as strongly as it is felt today. The role of internet in helping children acquire knowledge and self-awareness cannot be washed away, says Manmeet Khurana, Founder and CEO, The Ultimate Knowledge (TUK), in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
How far has ‘The Ultimate Knowledge’ (TUK) reached in realising its vision & mission of making Online Education, especially General Awareness, accessible and affordable to all?
We have surely made a start, no doubt, but it is just the beginning and TUK has a long way to go. We will relentlessly pursue our mission till every child in the world gets the TUK exposure. I personally believe every student should have access to quality General Awareness content. Our commercial interests aside, we strive everyday to make TUK really accessible and affordable.
What are the key focus areas while designing the knowledge material for students of different age groups?
Personalised content is something we take pride in. While General Awareness is vital for every student, the content should be appropriate to his/her age group. We have worked within defined parameters while setting the right content for children of various grades. Because one size does not fit all! The language, terminology and size of the content would differ, as the grades change. Our content is prepared by specialists who have strong academic background, hence our content is neither over-burdening nor does it fall short.
How important is General Awareness for students of classes 9th to 12th, given the fact that he/she already has a lot of syllabus to cover?
General Awarenes is not a separate subject. Rather it is a part of every subject. Academics is very important and the teachers and schools are doing a great job at it. However, TUK is equally important in the sense that it acts as a bridge between academics and the real world. It requires only 15 minutes for students to brush up their information. Irrespective of tough or lengthy syllabus, one should always know what’s going on in the world.
How challenging it is to keep your knowledge bank updated in the ever-changing world, and how do you overcome it?
We are blessed to have a dedicated team of educationists and content creators who help us with the content as per the age and class group of the student. We have a team of 100+ professionals who work hard to keep our knowledge bank updated. We also have the support of 1,000+ teachers who act as mentors for us. Our research is excellent as the content on the portal is posted only after verifying it from multiple sources.
Do you simply provide information to students or do you have any mechanism on board to monitor their progress as well?
Sure we do. All the teachers associated with TUK are given an individual user ID which they can use to monitor the TUK dashboard of the school. On the dashboard there are various parameters to judge the child’s progress. For example, how many articles the child has read in a month, or how many marks he scored in the last Quiz, and many more. It also helps us in analysing students’ progress and advising the school accordingly. The dashboard also helps the school to identify the improvement areas of the child and collaborate with us to work upon those.
Last few years have witnessed sea changes in the Indian education sector as it has been reshaped by the introduction of innovative teaching-learning practices, effective use of technology, collaboration with foreign universities for global standard of education and many others. All these are helping in nurturing the competitive global citizens in India for the world.
In line with this positive backdrop, heavy responsibility has devolved upon the country’s educationists and educators to influence public policies in the same direction and simultaneously guide their own institutions of learning to provide game changing prospects for generations ahead. Moreover, the responsibility is not only of education philanthropists and private education entrepreneurs or edupreneurs but has also devolved upon education ministers, bureaucrats, vice chancellors, faculty and administrators of public universities, and principals and teachers of the country’s every educational institute. The positive side is that most of them are already practicing leadership skills to nurture institutions under their care into centres of excellence.
As education has been playing a key role in shaping up personalities and careers of a child, these visionaries are helping the sector to change and influence future career choices of most of them. There is a need to discern these leaders for their unique vision, choices and the paths they have chosen to guide, mentor or prepare hundreds of youths every year towards the goal of nation-building.
Beyond the realm of financial prospects, each of these game changers has a strong desire to take their set of pupils ahead of others by enabling them to deliver the best with the help of innovative approaches.
digitalLEARNING, Asia and Middle East’s first and only magazine on innovation in education, has played a vital role in highlighting the best practices and visions of these game changers since last many years. Through its thought provoking write-ups, the magazine has been discussing their challenges and helps them in interacting face-to-face with the solution providers on a common platform.
These game changers include many political leaders, government officials, school owners, principals and others. These are known to be leaders in education landscape. They’ve always stressed upon adopting better education practices, requirement of new government policies or amendments in them, role of teachers, school management and parents for better learning outcome of students among others.
Based on their perspectives, Akash Tomer of Elets News Network (ENN) takes a look at the top game changers linked to the education landscape over the years who inspired others with their wisdom.
Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Keshav Javadekar (born 30 January 1951) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and currently serving as the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014 Indian General Election, he was appointed Minister State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change. He was also the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and briefly held the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting.
He was made the HRD Minister in 2016. For a while, he was also the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Information and Broadcasting. As the Education Minister, he ensured the establishment of the National Testing Agency as a premier and self-sustained testing organisation to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.
He was also the Chief Guest at 2nd Annual Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave. The summit was held to promote an environment of innovations, employability and entrepreneurship across the country. During his address, Javadekar said, “There is a new vibrancy in the education landscape of Rajasthan. A number of path-breaking measures have been implemented across the length and breadth of the State – a number of which are IT-led innovations that have transformed the whole educational content delivery across Rajasthan State’s schools.”
Dhan Singh Rawat
Dhan Singh Rawat
Dhan Singh Rawat (Born on October 7, 1972) is a Member of Legislative assembly of Uttarakhand. He represents the Constituency of Srinagar Garhwal, and is a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He completed basic education from his village School, and higher education from Hemvanti Nandan Bahuguna (HNBGU) and holds a PHD degree.
During various events organisesd by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, his gracious presence as a chief guest and valuable thoughts have made the audience know about latest policies and Government’s key focus areas in future. As the Chief Guest in 12th World Education Summit Delhi, he inaugurated it and shared his thought provoking ideas on various aspects important for holistic development of the nation and necessary to impart quality higher education in the country.
His efforts in Uttarakhand have helped the State to improve the higher education and bring it at par to the global standard. Sharing the efforts of the Uttarakhand Government for betterment of the education sector, Dr Rawat during the 12th World Education Summit Delhi said, “Due to shortage of funds in education that too mostly in the higher education, institutes are facing faculty shortage and lacking quality education. The Uttarakhand Government has recruited teachers through state public service commission which resulted into improved attendance of students in the institutions of the State. The attendance increased to 68% from 47 % within a short span of time.”
Temjen Imna Along
Temjen Imna Along
Temjen Imna Along, Minister for Higher & Technical Education, Government of Nagaland, is also the president of Bhartiya Janta Party’s Nagaland unit. He strongly asserted that his involvement in politics is simply to be able to influence the policies that would reign in ‘Sustainable and Equal opportunity for all round development, so as to ensure a healthier future for the next generation’.
He has participated in various summits of Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd where he motivated the attendees to bring sustainable change in education sector. Temjen Imna Along is a non- assuming, soft-spoken and a philosophical person whose aim is to serve the people with a sense of social responsibility. During his addresses, Along touched various aspects like importance of digitisation in education and need of North East States’ inclusion for holistic development of the region.
During his address at 10th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave Chandigarh in March 2019 as a Guest of Honour, he emphasised that quality of higher education plays an important role in the development of youth and country holistically. He said, “I’m glad that we have come to realise the importance of higher education and technical education in our country. There is a huge gap between industry and academia. I belong to North East part of the country which is a cluster of eight small states. In Nagaland, the minimum qualification to teach is a Doctorate degree and in our department there is a dominance of women. So, it can be said that in Nagaland, women are more educationally empowered than men.”
Thokchom Radheshyam
Thokchom Radheshyam
Thokchom Radheshyam, Minister for Education, Labour and Employment, Government of Manipur, has been elected as a Memeber of Legislative Assembly from Heirok (Vidhan Sabha constituency) of Manipur in 2017.
He has participated in various events of Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd including 2nd Annual Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave Jaipur where he motivated the attendees to bring sustainable change in education sector. While sharing his thoughts at our events, Radheshyam always emphasised on the importance of maintaining standard of education not only in Manipur but also across the country.
Sharing his thoughts during the Summit, Radheshyam said, “Education is in an ever-evolving paradigm. Addressing challenges on a routine basis, finding their solutions and implementing innovative ideas to improve the educational landscape of Manipur, remain my key priority. Manipur is a small State with a great diversity and I am here in this conclave to follow the very slogan of this event — connect, engage and participate.”
Anil Swarup
Anil Swarup started his career in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in, 1981. His assignments in various Ministries of the Government reflected his in- depth knowledge and experience in visualising, conceptualising, articulating and implementing various schemes.
Swarup holds a Masters degree in Political Science from Allahabad University, where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Gold medal for the best all-round student. At the very beginning of his administrative career he was awarded the Best officer Award at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration amongst the officers of 1981 batch. As a strategic thinker and an innovative leader he has won several awards and nomination, the prominent ones being: Nominated as one of the “policy change agent” by The Economics Times during the years 2010, 2012, 2015 & 2016. He was selected as one of the 35 “Action Heroes” in India Today’s 35th Annual Edition.
Swarup attended various educational events organised by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd where he shared about the various Government initiatives and also motivated every attendees to perform better in their respective areas of working.
Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe
Prof Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe joined All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as Chairman on 17th July 2015. Prof Sahasrabudhe graduated from BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli, in Mechanical Engineering with first rank and Gold medal in 1980. He obtained Master’s and Doctoral (with UGC Fellowship) degrees from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in 1982 and 1989 respectively.
In his illustrious career of 31 years, Prof Sahasrabudhe held several important Academic, Research and Administrative positions. He started his career as Scientific Officer, at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1983 and moved to Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) as Engineer in the same year. He served as Lecturer and Assistant Professor at North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) from 1987-1988 & again from 1989- 1995, before joining IIT Guwahati as Associate Professor in 1995 and has been serving as Professor since 1999. Also, he served as Director, College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) since 2006 on deputation from IIT, Guwahati prior to joining as AICTE Chairman.
Dr Subodh Agarwal
Dr Subodh Agarwal, a 1988 batch IAS officer of ACS rank, has been formulating public policy in the Central and State governments, managing public sector organisations and leading administrative districts for the past three decades.
Known for his strong and effective interpersonal and communication skills, the senior IAS officer is noted for building effective teams and providing hands-on leadership. He has always been the first choice for demanding assignments or managing organisations in crisis with specific mission. He is a highly focused, motivated, analytical and organised with an eye for details.
Dr Agarwal is a graduate from IIT-Delhi. He earned Post Graduate Diploma in Systems & Management from IIT Delhi in 1988. Dr Agarwal also holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Princeton University and a PhD in economics from Rajasthan University.
Dr Agarwal has always graced the various summits organised by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd. His deliberations during the summits always helped the participants to know about the policies and initiatives that may help them to improve outcomes. As one of the key speakers at Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave Jaipur in September last year, he said, “The Government of Rajasthan is taking various initiatives for the benefit of students in the State. Nowadays, the Government is focusing more on equipping students with vocational and entrepreneurial skills. These skills will make our students job-ready for the corporate sector and the industries of their respective streams.
Anju Sharma
Anju Sharma is a member of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service and has been serving in the Government at senior leadership positions for more than 26 years. She currently holds the office of Higher Education and Technical (H&TE), Government of Gujarat, as Principal Secretary. She is also the Director General of Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM).
During her administrative career she worked as collector & DDO in various districts of Gujarat and has worked in various departments like Food, Revenue, Environment and Forests departments in the State Government. She has also worked as Director in Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
She has received several awards, viz., the ‘Prime Minister’s Award for Administrative Excellence for implementing the Sickle Cell Anemia Control Program in the State (2011)’, ‘Individual Contribution Award for Health Insurance Scheme – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) (2011)’, ‘NASSCOM Social Innovation Leaders Award’, ‘National E Governance Award’, ‘E World Award for the project e-Mamta-MCTS (2012)’, and ‘India Tech Award for the project e-Mamta-MCTS (2012)’.
She has also written a book – ‘I of the Storm – Discover your true self’. Ms Sharma has also received range of national and international trainings and has pioneered pathbreaking projects like e-Mamta for Mother and Child Tracking, “Khilkhilat” vans for drop back of new born infants with mothers from maternity homes, 181 “Abhayam” helpline for women, School Safety Week for disaster management education, Student Start up and Innovation Policy and so on.
Navin Mittal
Navin Mittal is currently serving as the Commissioner of Collegiate and Technical Education for Government of Telangana.
He belongs to the 1996 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and allotted to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. He is an engineering graduate (B Tech) in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He stood 3rd in All India Civil Services exams in 1995. In 2009, the Rotary Club of Hyderabad East honoured Navin Mittal, with Vocational Excellence Awards.
He is always of the view of adopting latest innovations and technologies for the improvement of any sector. The same was reflected during his address at the 10th Higher Education and HR Conclave 2019, Chandigarh, where he was one of the key speakers and inaugurated the same along with other key dignitaries.
Elaborating his thoughts on the fourth Industrial Revolution, Mittal said, “There are three significant trends which we are seeing all over the world. The first one is industry 4.0, which is a big shift from industry 3.0. It was about basic use of Information & Technology, basic development of Information & Technology in last five to six decades. India was somehow not a leader in the previous three Industrial revolutions.
Game Changers in Preschool Education
Dr S K Rathor and Kavita Rathor
Dr S K Rathor and Kavita Rathor stepped into the pre- school arena way back in 1999 and together they launched their preschool brand Sanfort a decade later in the year 2009. Dr Rathor shares that he gave- up his flourishing career as a computer engineer with one of the top IT companies of India and joined his wife to set-up a preschool with a mission to provide an enriching learning experience to the early learners in their first step towards education. Fondly remembering his initial years of struggle in establishing the brand he further quoted, “Our journey during these 10 years was both interesting as well as challenging as initially parents were not well aware about pre-school concept on one hand, and mushrooming of schools with or without the vision to nurture little learners on the other due to lack of an established regulatory body for preschools.”
Looking back at the journey, Dr Rathor shares his experience with stars twinkling in his eyes and a big smile spreading across the lips, “The journey of SANFORT since its inception till date has been incredibly interesting and aspiring for many. Rising from a preschool to an international brand operational from 3 countries, 28 Indian states with 250+ schools and 80,000+ alumni in just 9 years, it has happened only because of parents’ love and faith on us.”
SANFORT has earned for demonstrating restless work in the field of education and pre-school setup: Times Business Award for Outstanding Contribution in School Education 2019, Most successful educationist award, most trusted pre-school brand of the year 2016, Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2015, Franchise Award 2015, Indian Education Award 2016, World Education Award 2016, Entrepreneur of the Year 2016, Fastest Growing pre-school chain in India, Education Excellence Award 2015, Business Sphere Award, to name a few.
Jitendera Karsan
Safari Kid International came to India in 2015 and launched their first centre in Mumbai. Seeing the success rate and feedback from the parents community, we have now expanded to over 10 centres across Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Gurugram. Keeping this in mind, we plan to expand to 7-8 more centres this year and about 10-20 more centres in 2020. The essence of Safari Kid lies in the personalised care we provide to every child that joins us, so a considerable amount of time is spent on research, curriculum, training along with the constant communication with parents.
Our biggest achievement has been the strong and unwavering loyalty of the parent community across all the cities we are present in. Owing to their word-of-mouth, most of our centres have a waitlist which goes to show the kind of trust they have put on us. We also push for several initiatives wherein parents and children can interact via activities like sports, parent guest lectures, bonding programs, etc.
Since our launch in 2015, we haven’t looked back when it comes to earning accolades. From winning The “Best Preschool for Pedagogy Practices” at the 2017 edition ” BW Top Education Brands In India“ and ” Best Preschool In India”, by the 5th National Conference School merit Awards 2017. Safari Kid was also awarded The Best Innovation in Curriculum in “Early Childhood Development” at World Education Summit 2018. Special mention of our Safari Kid Mumbai centre which was awarded ” Top 12 Best Proprietary Preschool In Mumbai” By Early Childhood Education National Conference 2017. Jitendra Karsan was awarded ” Greatest leader 2018-19″ By PricewaterhouseCOOPER P.L
Game Changers in School Education
Dr Madam Grace Pinto
Over the decades, among the variety of personalities that have risen to prominence for their contribution in the field of education and social service, Grace Pinto stands out as someone distinctively striking and seminal in her demonstration of commitment towards making a difference through her schools as a leader. What makes Madam Grace Pinto unique and different is her management style with multiple roles as a managing director, educationalist, leader, visionary, counselor coupled with entrepreneur qualities. She began as a teacher nearly four decades ago and today she is a credible personality of excellence in the highly competitive and challenging segment of education.
The determination and energy in accomplishing the vision “Excellence in Education and All Round Development” makes her a stalwart in the field of education in the country. Her contribution in the segment of education and social service has been recognized with over 110 national and international honours.
She is also an ardent supporter of the uplift underprivileged and welfare of senior citizens, women empowerment and has always reached out to render help to the poor and needy. Some of her recent awards and recognitions are: ‘Leading Schools of India’ by Leading Schools Corp, USA; Visionary Leadership in Education Sector Award at Mid-day Excellence in Education Award Ceremony; and Global Leaders Award at India UAE Partnership Summit 2018.
Raghav Podar Born into a family that has been in education since 1927, it would be fair to say education runs in his blood. Raghav Podar had a keen interest in learning how to enhance pedagogy levels and understanding and how to build better learning environments from a young age. After completing his studies at University of Texas and University of Warwick, he left his plush, high paying job in the U.S. and returned to India to upgrade the quality of schooling here.
A fine blend of global thinking & Indian values, he is a path- breaking educationist and a thought leader on constructing optimal learning environments. As Chairman Podar World School, he is at the steering wheel of India’s highly acclaimed Podar Education Group. His multi-city, multi-brand school has presence across geographies.
Having studied the education systems of Finland, Singapore, UK and UAE, he has been vested heavily into upgrading the quality of schooling in India.
His contribution to the field of education and society is commendable and he has been bestowed with many awards for his contributions in the field of education and nation building including: The Bhaskar – Pride of India Award, “Global Achievers Award” by the Indian Ambassador to UAE, “THE GLORY OF INDIA AWARD” by the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand in 2016, and The Education Leader of the Year 2018.
Dr Satyabrata Minaketan
Dr Satyabrata Minaketan is the Founder Chairman/Principal of ODM Public School, which is a multi-purpose school based on Indian culture and affiliated to CBSE. He hails from a remote village Gatanai in district Kendrapara, Odisha. He was born on 19th March 1961. He has completed his Bachelor degree in Education from Regional Institute of Education during 1982 and 1986, Master degree in English Literature from Utkal University.
He has completed his Bachelor’s degree in Law from M S Law College, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Besides that he has completed the Diploma Course in Rural Development and was awarded the Doctorate degree in Philosophy in the year 2004 in Value Education. His deep interest and untiring work for child welfare is supreme. The mission of his life is to remove immorality and develop a value oriented society.
With all round effort, Dr S Minaketan, has been tirelessly pursuing excellence in social work and education. To recognise his dedication and contribution to the world of education he has been awarded many laurels by different organisations: Best Social Organizer Award, State Level Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhawana Award, Vidya Jyoti Award, Bharat Vikas Parisad Odisha, and Rastriya Ekta Samman.
ODM Public School is recognised by the Directorate of Secondary Education, Govt. of Odisha, affiliated to all India Senior Secondary School Examination, New Delhi. It provides opportunity for every child to achieve the maximum possible in physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual development.
Lata Rawat
Lata Rawat is Director of Cambridge Court Group of Institutions is a personality of multiple calibers. She completed her Master degree in English Literature and bachelor’s degree in education from Mumbai University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Yoga.
She was awarded with the prestigious “Bharat Vidya Shiromani award”. She is the recipient of “Best education leader award” from Lions club. She is the recipient of golden educationist of India award from IIEM, New Delhi and subsequently the education achievement award by IIEM in 2016. The coveted Rajiv Gandhi education excellence award for outstanding achievement in the field of education has added a feather to her cap. She was most recently bestowed with the leadership award for excellence in co-curricular Education from ScoolStars.
She is a person who believes in her students achieving flying colors in both academics and extra-curricular. She passed on her ideology amongst her students who succeeded in getting top ranks in IIT, PMT, CLAT, IPCC, NTSE, KVPY, Olympiad exams. Under her patronage the students are national winners of Vodafone Next Quiz contest, Derek ‘o’ Brien’sBournvita quiz contest, CBSE state level Science Competitions. The students also won Zee’s Jaipur Literary Fest Quiz in the year 2017. Under her mentorship the schools received “Hundred best schools of India (2013-14) award by engineering watch.
Dr Mona Lisa Bal
Dr Mona Lisa Bal is the Chairperson of KIIT International School (KISS), Bhubaneswar. She graduated in Political Science with honours from Calcutta University and post-graduated from Utkal University. She is also a Post graduate in Business Administration from KiiT University. She did her Doctorate in “Effective Learning in a Joyful Environment”, culminating into publication of a pioneering book “Transformation in the Pedagogy of Education in India”.
She intends to take her passion in primary education forward by making insightful foray into the Higher Education Sector where she has already contributed twenty nine articles in internationally reputed educational journals like, IOSR, IJARSE, British Journal of Education and World Journal of Educational Research.
She is proactively engaged with KISS, a School for 25,000 tribal students and mentors a few tribal students for achieving the civil services. It is under her leadership that the School has achieved all round excellence and is ranked among the top ten Schools of India. Several international awards and MOUs with organizations for academic excellence have been achieved under her tutelage.
Game Changers in Higher Education
Kunwar Shekhar Vijendra
Kunwar Shekhar Vijendra is the Co-founder and Chancellor of Shobhit University India and a prominent social entrepreneur based in New Delhi, who carries leadership roles in many organisations.
Kunwar Vijendra is a persistent advocate of the initiatives for education for all; secular values, crisis management through diplomatic and peaceful ways, and globalized systems of learning and peaceful co-existence. He had been instrumental in the development of a number of higher education institutes, research centers, including two universities and a 100 bed hospital in north India.
Acknowledging his contribution to society in the areas of education and other concerns he has been copiously honored and awarded. Recently ASSOCHAM conferred on him “Lifetime Achievement Award”.
He has traveled widely in India and to the countries like USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Russia, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, UAE, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda etc. to participate in various professional, social and educational activities.
He is a passionate Gandhian, avid reader, keen learner, social speaker, occasional poet, and a dreamer!
Dr Ashok K Chitkara
With exemplary elegance and polished ideas, with high calibre and right balance of thoughts and beliefs, Dr Ashok K Chitkara is the face of potential youth and equitable education. A renowned Mathematician and a legendary Academician, Dr Ashok K Chitkara is the Chancellor of Chitkara University, Punjab and Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh.
The establishment of Chitkara University was a turning point in the career of Dr Ashok K Chitkara, as it pronounced the foundation of an educational system which would help reach the upcoming generation to the zenith of their success. Under his leadership and guidance, over 60 programmes are being offered at Chitkara University. It is his strong academic mentorship that resulted for the University to have 200 plus academic partners across the globe. His entire life has been the epicenter of creating academic excellence among the youth of India and producing capable industry professionals and aspirant students, thus adding to the social and scholarly fabric of India.
As a ‘Community Reformer’, Dr Ashok K Chitkara is also dedicated to improve the quality of the underprivileged and neglected. He has also adopted five villages in Punjab and one in Himachal Pradesh. Dr Chitkara believes in total commitment to society, as his focus is to constantly make the lives of people better by uplifting them in every possible way. In addition to this, under his leadership, Chitkara University runs its own Community Radio by the name of Chitkara 107.8FM. The Community Radio is completely managed by the students of Chitkara University, and is a great way to engage the community.
Santosh Kumar Choubey
Santosh Kumar Choubey is a widely recognised entrepreneurial pioneer in the area of ICT and skills-based Education & Services Dissemination for semi- urban and rural India. Since the late 1970s, he has been a frontrunner in recognizing and actively working to reduce the ICT and technological literacy gap between urban and rural India and propagating effective and sustainable employment solutions for India’s less developed areas.
Under Choubey’s able guidance and vision, today AISECT has emerged as India’s leading Social Enterprise working in the areas of Skill Development, Higher Education, Financial Inclusion and other ICT based services. The entrepreneurial thought behind the workings of AISECT was strong enough for it to become a World Bank–IIM (A) Case Study in 1999. In 2005, Mr. Santosh Choubey received the coveted Indian Innovation Award from the then President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam.
He has written over ten books on computer science which have won esteemed awards like the Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Award for content creation in Hindi and the Meghnad Saha Award. His short stories have, over the years, been selected for dramatization at the National School of Drama and the Bharat Bhavan.
Prof Raghu Raman
Prof Raghu Raman is Chairman for Amrita School of Business and Director for Global Rankings at Amrita University. Recently Amrita was declared to be an Institution of Eminence by the Govt. of India and is ranked 8th best university in the country.
Recently, Prof Raman was invited to the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative at UN, since the Amrita School of Business was the only Indian institution to find a place in the prestigious United Nations Sustainable Literacy Test which evaluates knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among students in higher education.
Prof Raman has over 30 years of executive management experience and enterprise software development at variety of Fortune 500 companies including 15 years at Amrita. As CEO of Amrita Technologies Ltd., Prof Raman led a healthcare technology start up that developed a patented and CCHIT certified Electronic Medical Record (EMR) System with global customer base. Now scaled to over 25 hospitals, 10 million patients have benefitted from this affordable healthcare solution and is a finest example of a social business.
Prof Raman was awarded the HP Global Social Innovation leadership grant and the New Media Consortium (NMC), USA shortlisted his low-cost tablet learning project as the most innovative project to watch out for in their annual Horizon report. He is the recipient of IEEE Education Society’s Best paper award. As Principal Investigator for multiple research projects he has raised over $3.2m in research funding leading to over 50 publications.
Ashok G Verghese
Ashok G Verghese, is the Director of Hindustan Group of Institutions, Chennai that includes several premier institutes of Higher Education.
Ashok Verghese, has been a Game Changer in the field of education and is an outstanding leader and educationist who steers the Hindustan Group of Institutions with a foresight to propel the institution to achieve global recognition.
HITS has been rated overall Gold in QS I Guage and QS 5 stars ratings in Teaching, Employability, Innovation, Inclusiveness and Facilities. HITS has been rated in 301-350 band in the World University Rankings 2019, BRICS ranking system. HITS has been accredited “A” grade by NAAC, NBA has accredited B. Tech programmes offered by Aeronautical, Automobile, Civil, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering.
His involvement in acquiring technology resources, and drive for acquisition of knowledge in all fields is astounding.His keen interest in research has resulted in establishment of 14 Centres of Excellence in Hindustan University. He encourages the staff and students to involve in research and he has also published papers in scopus indexed journals and filed patents. He has steered the institution to be the first institution in India to receive the 5S Certification award for successfully implementing 5S Work Place Management System.
Anish Srikrishna
Anish Srikrishna is the President of Times Centre for learning Limited. With over 20 years of experience, he is an established marketing and management professional with a wealth of experience in brand building and innovation.
Anish started out in sales with Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and marketing with Coca-Cola India; he then went on to build and lead successful businesses across varied industries. He was also the marketing head for brands like Samsung Electronics India and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.
Anish’s strengths include building brands and creating new business models. Prior to joining TCLL, Anish worked at Pearson India as Business Head for Higher Education Test Preparation. During his stint at Pearson India, Anish has been instrumental in introducing Direct Delivery programs to diversify Pearson Education into test preparation and distance education. With his past experience in FMCG businesses, hospitality industry, Anish is highly consumer focused and drives outcomes.
Anish strongly believes in team work and people’s potential, and supports an open culture in the organization. With his strong business acumen, informal and practical approach, he is recognised as a dedicated professional by his colleagues.
He has an eclectic choice in books and reads various genres like fiction, biographies and business books. In his leisure time, Anish enjoys travelling, studying various cultures and spending time with his family.
Aiming to improve access and use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) in schools, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has joined hands with technology giant Microsoft to train 1000 teachers in using technology.
The program titled – The Capacity Building Programme – will train teachers on how to integrate technology into teaching, safe use of digital technologies, enhancing learning experiences and improving 21st century skills of all students.
Interestingly, during the training programme, selected teachers will be provided real project-based learning environment. It has been done to ensure that they gain in-depth practical knowledge and are equipped with the abilities to unlock the maximum potential of the Microsoft Office 365.
For the uninitiated, Microsoft Office 365 is a collection of services that allows the learner to collaborate and share their school and administrative work. It will also comprise aspects of Artificial Intelligence, gamification through Minecraft, collaborative tools such as Teams, Flipgrid, and OneNote.
By the end of the programme, a learner is expected to have gained seamless coordination with the Cloud-based Tools, be comfortable in using Cloud Drive, Digital Story Telling and connect with global educators.
Besides, the learners should also be expected to become sufficient in planning classroom activities, using digital literacy tools, handling diverse learners in the classroom, creating Bots using Microsoft Cognitive Services, and handle virtual sessions through Teams.
Notably, two teachers each from the selected schools can be nominated for enrolling to the programme. The last date to nominate teachers to participate in the programme is September 9 by 12:00 noon.
The next generation of students thinks, behaves and learns differently as they have been born and raised in the technology-immersed environment. Thus, it becomes significant for the educators to focus on creating student-centric curricula to cater to the interests and preferences of Gen Z learners and involving them as active participants, writes Rumani Arora of Elets News Network (ENN).
Do you remember a 2014 advertisement where a newborn baby cuts his umbilical cord on his own, seconds after coming out of his mother’s womb, simply by learning it from the Internet? No matter how exaggerated it came across then, in present times we are metaphorically moving towards that era where children see technology right after they open their eyes in the world. The impact of technology has become so huge and intermediating that our present generation is living and breathing it.
Dubbed as Gen Z, the next generation of students thinks, behave and learn differently, because they have been born and raised in the technology-immersed environment. It will not be inappropriate to say that members of Generation Z are predominantly digital natives.
And to educate this league of students effectively, it becomes significant for the educators to focus on creating environments and curricula that are student-centred, matching up to the interests and preferences of Gen Z learners and involving them as active participants. On the whole, technology should be intertwined in such a manner that it becomes an enabler in educating Gen Z.
Sharing his views on the same, Shreevats Jaipuria, Vice Chairman, Seth M R Jaipuria Schools and Jaipuria Institute of Management, said, “Technology is medium of communication and learning like not an independent skill in today’s world. The use of technology has to be integrated into every subject through things like using the internet as a tool for research, online submissions, online testing, making presentations etc. Educators both teachers and parents need to be comfortable with technology and excited not scared of its unlimited potential to leverage technology to the fullest extent”.
At present, many collaboration technologies including digital projectors, interactive whiteboards and associated mobile device apps are making it smoother to create engaging and interactive experiences for the students.
Chithung Mary Thomas, Secretary, Board of Secondary Education, Manipur, said, “Born in the ecology of technology Gen Zers are technology-fluent digital natives. They are a highly informed lot who are likely to be highly independent and competitive. Learning is fully self-directed and autonomous to highlight their best talents. Investments, therefore, ought to be in technology so that experiences are seamless and integrated. Method of learning should move from structured auditory method to visual hands-on method. Connected classrooms with multiple digital platforms will be the norm to acquire problem-solving skills and peer-to-peer learning”.
Interestingly, Gen Z learners don’t see technology as a tool; they see it as a regular part of life. And this phenomenon can be leveraged by the educators to cater to the ever-changing educational needs of students.
Speaking on the topic, Ryan Pinto, CEO, Ryan International Group of Institution, underlined the ever-growing role of technology and shared how Ryan Group is recognising technology as a regular part of Gen Z’s lives – as well as the world they live in.
“Smartboards and video in classroom are widespread. Flipped classrooms are used in secondary and high school. We have Computer labs in all our schools. BYOD – Bring Your Own Device – is a practice encouraged where appropriate. Parents are kept abreast of school progress, assignments and report cards using the Ryan Parent App. Partnerships with Plato (personalised learning app) and Tata Class Edge promise much in terms of teacher support and content management. We have also collaborated with leaders in the tech space like Microsoft and Google to implement ed-tech solutions to enhance learning outcomes,” he shared.
However, we must not overlook the fact that there are certain disadvantages of overuse of technology. Generation Z finds it more challenging to pay attention for long periods due to constant technology use. Thus, the role of educators becomes crucial in terms of dealing with the issue while also preparing students to use technology in the real world.
Sharing her view on this, Sneha Rathor, CEO Academics & Innovations, Sanfort Group of Schools, said, “Don’t take away or restrict technology from generation Z but enable them with the right kind of technology as it is a crucial part of their life. Raising a tech generation it becomes important for the educators also to make technology as an important part of education, as it enables bagless and research-based learning. Moreover introducing technology with the right amount of screen time in the early years also helps in developing hand and eye coordination, increased retention power and language skills”.
There are some simple steps that educators can take at their disposal such as – use technology to make learning more personal, teach digital natives to use technology responsibly, encourage students to take initiatives in their own learning and promote social skills, which can aid iGen learners to get the best of both technology and education. Teachers must increase cooperative learning in their classrooms while also preparing students for their futures by promoting social skills they may need for their careers.
It is an understatement that a teacher plays a pivotal role in a student’s life. Along with boosting academics, teachers change the life of a student, both inside and outside the classrooms. In the midst of breakdowns when you score less marks, or dealing with personal problems, teachers initiate that extra push to help the students in coming out of the shackles and excel in every endeavour. Teachers are able to communicate with every aspect of their students’ lives, teaching them the important life lessons that will help them succeed beyond classrooms and term papers.
Talking about teachers day, are we really aware as to why we celebrate this day?
September 5, observed as the Teachers’ Day is dedicated to our teachers, who have guided us and continue to inspire us in being better and learned human beings. Not just that, this day observes the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an Indian philosopher and the first Vice President of India and the second President of India. It was started in 1962, and since then tradition continues.
A scholar, philosopher, politician, and a Bharat Ratna recipient, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan dedicated his entire life towards education and shaping up the youth of the country. He was born in a middle class family in Tirutani. He studied philosophy at Christian College, Madras and went on to teach at various colleges from University of Mysore to University of Calcutta. He was also appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, Delhi University as well as Banaras Hindu University. With so many accolades in his lifetime, this day is indeed dedicated to India’s most revered academician of all times.
“Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teachers’ Day,” Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had said.
Teachers Day holds an incredible significance for teachers and educators, and is set apart with merrymaking and different programmes planned for teachers in schools, colleges and universities. To mark this day, students perform skits, and even perform for their teachers. The goal is to recall and remind the vital job teachers and educators play in shaping student’s life and careers.
To all our readers, we you a very Happy Teachers’ Day!
National Testing Agency (NTA) began receiving applications for JEE Main exam online from Tuesday. Recently, the agency announced some major changes in the exam pattern along with opening the application portal.
NTA has introduced a new paper exclusively for B.Planning courses. Students can now choose to appear for all three papers, i.e., Paper 1 for B.Tech or Paper 2 for B.Arch, and Paper 3 for B.Planning, or any two, or one paper, as per their choice.
NTA increased the number of papers from two to three from the second year of conducting the exam. Earlier, JEE Main had two papers. Paper 1 for students who wanted to apply for B.Tech courses and Paper 2 for students who wanted to apply for B.Arch or B.Planning courses offered by IIT, NIT, or centrally funded technical institutes.
Paper 2, which is for B.Arch courses will comprise three sections. Part I will be Mathematics, Part II will be Aptitude Test (computer-based) and Part III, will be Drawing Test (pen-paper based).
Speaking of Paper 3, which is for B.Planning courses, the first two sections will be identical to as that of B.Arch. Only Part III will have planning based questions. The entire question paper for B.Planning will be computer-based.
Last year, the agency decided to conduct JEE Main exam twice a year keeping in mind the students who would not be able to perform to the best of their ability in the first attempt.
Regarding the concern of the students on if they should appear for one paper or both the papers post the introduction of separate paper for B.Arch, experts advise that students need to make a decision based on their career objectives. B. Arch is a 5-year and B.Planning is a 4-year duration course. Architecture would deal with building whereas a planner would be focused on creating a layout for a city or a complex.
Students are also advised to pay attention to the institutes which offer B.Arch and B.Planning programs.
We all know that a child’s most important and impressionable years of growing up are the initial five years that support fast learning and is indeed a growing concern of many double income nuclear families. With numerous preschools and schools hitting the market every now and then, the choice to get your child enrolled in the best of the lot becomes a tough one.
There are dream preschools that have emerged from being mere playschools to larger brands, expanding worldwide in a short span of time. KKEL is one such brand that has created a benchmark in the preschools segment on par with its competitors. With nearly a presence of more than 25 years in the education sphere, Kangaroo Kids Education, today is spread across countries India, Dubai, Maldives & Qatar, with 100+ ICSE, CBSE and IGCSE schools & preschools operating in 50 cities.
In conversation with Elets News Network, Seshasai KVS, CEO, Kangaroo Kids Education (KKEL), shared the success behind KKEL and his future expansion plans after reaching the 100th Preschool mark.
How has been the entrepreneurial journey so far? Also tell us about the success behind Kangaroo Kids Education.
The journey has been fantastic with Kangaroo Kids Education for the last 2 years. One of the significant growth and success behind Kangaroo Kids Education goes to Kangaroo Kids International Preschool and Billabong High School. With an initial number of around 60 Preschools, we successfully managed to cross the 100th preschool mark in March 2019 with a significant growth of 66% growth in the last couple of years.
Talking about Billabong High Schools, we have recently opened our fourth company owned Billabong High International School in Pune, Maharashtra. There has been a significant amount of growth in terms of students, centers, schools and we continue to win accolades for the quality of our preschools. The focus will be on the top 30 cities in India.
With a bunch of preschools opening every now and then, what is the present scenario of preschool education in India?
Indeed, a lot of preschools have come up in very corner of the city. But even then there are only a few branded preschools in India as compared to 1.3 million schools. From the preschool perspective, there is a lot of expansion growth and opportunities in the market with high quality preschools. Similarly, Kangaroo Kids International Preschool operates in the premium space with an aim to reach about 350 preschools in 3-4 years with a significant growth in the next 5 years.
The pre-school market has both big and small players operating across different price points. In larger cities, the preschool education is driven by the fact that there are double income families and hence having a preschool in the vicinity has become a big boon for double income families. Likewise with schools, with maiden schools coming in the picture, there is a scope for high quality private education to continue expanding at a rapid space.
The education sector is booming with new technological innovations. How is technology integrated within the classrooms at KKEL and what is the impact?
Technology is an enabler which needs to be integrated in the classrooms. It is a growing phenomenon with schools and preschools playing a big role in imbibing technology in their curriculum. In KKEL, we are trying to integrate technology to bridge the gap between a child learning at school and at home for a seamless connection between the two. For instance, in our lesson plans, we provide video resources to our teachers in the classrooms, with an aim to provide the child its own space. With the power of technology, there is no fear of failure because one can keep watching the videos over again till you master that particular subject.
As far as the impact of technology at Kangaroo Kids Education is concerned, we aim to get multimedia readers, the Billabox app is envisioned to bring alive the curriculum and encouraging students to navigate and practice. An interactive learning and communications platform, the Skippy Tech app maps MI skills embedded in curriculum and reinforces learning. These are the digital resources for a child to be able to study even after going home.
How different is your curriculum than other Institutes?
Our effort is to constantly personalise education for the child. One of the things newly introduced is ‘Genius Hour’, where we want the children to figure out their passions as early as possible. By passion I don’t mean profession. It can be an opportunity of the children to think what they are passionate about and to be able to communicate and own that.
What are your future expansion plans in the preschool and K12 segment?
As I had already mentioned, we have our core focus in schools and preschools, and we are not looking forward to other segments of education in the near future. We want to build our strengths in these two segments. From the 100th preschool mark, we want to get to about 350 preschools and with 30 to 70 schools in the next 3-4 years.
The main objective of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is to serve the educational institutions effectively and to be responsive to the educational needs of those students, says Dr Biswajit Saha, Director (Training & Skill Education), CBSE, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
In line with Government’s vision of skilling the Indian youth, what initiatives have been undertaken by the CBSE?
The CBSE has tried to include various skill-oriented subjects in its curriculum both at secondary and senior secondary level. In class ninth and tenth, we are offering 17 skill-oriented courses catering to the requirements of all sectors. Similarly at Senior Secondary level, CBSE is offering 43 courses ranging from Artificial Intelligence to early childhood education, yoga, retail, tourism, media etc. We have tried to cover all the areas such as engineering, healthcare, banking and finance along with others through these courses. Out of 21,000 schools affiliated to CBSE, 8,000 schools are imparting skill-oriented education and training with enrollment of around seven lakh students so far.
It is also important that higher education sector must encourage the skill training among its students as there are still visible gaps between Industry and Academia despite the efforts of Union and State Government. Government is also aiming to develop the schools as Skill Development Centres as their excellent infrastructure is underutilised after two pm. It will boost the skill training, community service and social empowerment. Such training will also support in nurturing globally competitive citizens who will be ready to work in any country of the world. Ultimately the quality education and effective skill training help in India’s economic development.
With New Education Policy (NEP) likely to release in few months, how is CBSE improving its guidelines to be in line with the needs of two most important stakeholders i.e. teachers and students?
The New Education Policy is still at draft stage. There are so many components in it that are really encouraging but at the same time we are also raising our concerns about school education. As far as promoting skill education and vocational training in schools is concerned, the New Education Policy is focusing on the same in a good way. To impart quality education in schools,
CBSE is emphasising on category-wise teachers’ training. With the help of good teachers, we are now trying to convert classrooms into learning spaces. In this regard, CBSE has so far established 16 Centres of Excellence across the country. With these centres, we are conducting various workshops and seminars on teachers’ training.
Moreover, under the guidance of our Chairperson Anita Karwal, we have developed several manuals for principals, school management, officials and other staff. We are targeting for holistic development in schools and that’s why several initiatives have been taken by the CBSE in this regard. Changing the school ecosystem regularly is not a solution rather we are eyeing for that one change which is sustainable. In line with this, we are encouraging development of 21st century skills like collaborations, creativity, and problem solving along enhancing academic skills.
Not only the new policy but also the previous initiatives like National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 are very helpful for improving the quality of education. NCF 2005 is so apt that if principals and teachers follow it, the education sector will automatically witness a positive momentum.
How do you think the technology is helping students in improving their learning outcomes and teachers in their knowledge delivery methodologies?
Technology was a key player in educations; it is a key player and it will remain a key player. The context may change but technology’s role will remain the same. Starting from industry to school space, it has a very effective role. We require more orientation programmes for teachers as students are already well versed with the technology. It is so as the teachers’ role is very crucial. As in the present scenario, teachers need to be more tech savvy and for the same content, a more innovative lecture methodology is required. It will facilitate real learning. So, implementing technology is not the only solution rather setting the context, customisation and student-centric learning is also required. Teachers are nowadays needed to be psychological experts as it will help them to understand students’ needs. Teachers must go through technological innovations in the changed situation as it will help them enhance their domain knowledge as well.
“Technology was a key player in educations; it is a key player and it will remain a key player. The context may change but technology’s role will remain the same. Starting from industry to school space, it has a very effective role.”
How does the recently announced budget likely to boost the Indian education landscape?
Budget is very important for a nation’s development and it also gives hope. Year-by- year, the Government is increasing its focus on education sector and bringing positive reforms. The initiatives announced in Union Budget 2019- 20 like National Research Foundation, skilling, and teachers’ training etc will cause positive momentum in Indian education landscape. The Union Budget 2019-20 will also help the State Governments, Entrepreneurs and Edu- entrepreneurs to frame their strategies in a way that provides a positive growth to Indian education.
AICTE has revised the technical and higher education curriculum by involving experts from academia and industry. In the new curriculum, new areas like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Block Chain, Robotics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, etc have also been incorporated, says Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
With New Education Policy likely to be released in some time, how it will help in strengthening and improving the higher and technical education in India.
The policy itself will not improve the higher and technical education but its implementation will do. Therefore, the threadbare discussion on the entire policy and its implementation scheme will certainly make vibrant higher education system in our country.
It is important to facilitate learning through experiments. What are AICTE’s plans in this regard?
Learning through experiments or experiential learning is very important, not only in technical education but in every field. Earlier, the emphasis was not there but the New Education Policy talks about it in a significant manner. Experiential learning is not a new concept. From Gurukul system of old times and from ancient universities, it has been retracted back in the modern era to experience the real time challenges in any sector. If we talk about Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, people visit a village and experience the problems and try to solve them.
Similarly, internship in any industry helps students in observing what exactly happens there and learn outside of classroom through variety of activities. Under Such programmes, students experience a phenomenon and learn from it. This is what has been promoted in the New Education Policy.
For teachers, it is challenging to update themselves in tune with the changing technologies, how AICTE is helping them to overcome the same?
AICTE has revised its curriculum by involving experts from academia and industry. Once the curriculum is revised, new areas like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Digital technologies, Cloud Computing, Block Chain, Robotics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Data Analytics have been incorporated into it. The new curriculum will also help teachers to update with latest skills and inculcate new traits. There are two ways to do it, first that we run courses and where faculty can come and get themselves abreast with the new knowledge.
Second, through our Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform; it will help faculty to learn from the comfort of their homes. It is also significant to create a habit of constant, continuous learning – lifelong learning. This is what we want to bring in our faculty.
How incubators are encouraging student for entrepreneurship? What is the role of AICTE in it?
Incubators were earlier considered as different entity, where people from outside the academic institutes were ready to help in developing entrepreneurship and start-ups. But today, large number of incubators has come into existence in the Universities and Institutes.
AICTE’s role is how to promote entrepreneurship while students are graduating, not after completing their course. We have instructed institutes to encourage their students for the courses that will empower them to be entrepreneurs. And also create incubators, accelerators and support system in terms of entrepreneurship cell, innovation cell where students will start working right from their first year. So by the time they will graduate, instead of seeking jobs, they will be able to create jobs for others.
With fresh graduates lacking the relevant practical knowledge, how does the curriculum can be corrected for more exposure and industry engagement?
Mandatory industry training during a course will allow students to experience the industry life during their graduation. So, it is either three summer vacations of two months each or it will be one full semester where they will go to industry and learn those practices. Moreover, the industry problems given by industry for the students’ projects in their undergraduate studies will also be helpful. All this will nurture capable practical engineers in the future.
What message would you like to give to our youth?
Many a time’s people think that demand for engineers is declining. But, I am giving assurance that world is so large and there are ample opportunities present. Because engineering education is one where you methodically study physics, chemistry and math on one side, lot of hands on wherein you learn many things – experiments, critical thinking, analytical ability, mathematical ability which will help in any domain you go outside later.
Secondly, India due to its demographic dividend, the entire world which is aging, there are enough opportunities for jobs not only in India but the rest of the world. Within the country, whether it is Skill India, Make in India, Swachh Bharat, Digital India or Unnat Bharat Abhiyan; every activity of the Government has potential for engineers to play an important role.
In a recent development, The Punjab Employment Generation Department will soon set up a special cell for the students to study abroad. This step was taken after they received several complaints of frauds by the greedy travel agents.
Commenting on the new move, Punjab Employment Generation Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said, “We have paid Rs 50 lakh in fee to the Union government for registering the department as an agent for sending the youth abroad for jobs.”
With states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana sending are sending the youth abroad for work, it is time for Punjab to make such a move.
Channi acknowledged that the youth wanting to go abroad for studies and work were being duped by unscrupulous travel agents and several complaints had been received in this regard.
“There is no doubt that youngsters are being duped and to end this loot, the government itself is coming up as a player,” added Channi.
Speaking on the special cell for students wanting to study abroad, the minister said, “It will have a tie-up with foreign institutes. This will not only save students from frauds but also help them financially as the commission which foreign institutes pay to the agents would be returned to them.”
Regarding the student’s exploitation, Channi said that on an average fee of Rs 14 lakh taken from a student for studying abroad, travel agents get 30 per cent commission.
“We will give this commission back to students, which will save Rs 3 to Rs 4 lakh for them,” Channi added on the same.
