The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) has introduced various innovative services for the students of junior colleges under its jurisdiction. The major IT achievements of Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education can be classified as:
Implementation of Online Services:
The TSBIE has introduced 15 online services for students and 10 online services for colleges under Digital Telangana programme. The student services include Migration Certificate, Duplicate Marks Memo, Duplicate/Triplicate Pass Certificate, Equivalency Certificate, and Eligibility Certificate among others. The key features of these services include minimal human interference, zero corruption, and effective services.
Online Affiliation Permission to Private Un-aided colleges: The TSBIE has introduced online process for affiliation and permission to setup private un-aided colleges from 2016-17 onwards.
Mobile Applications: TSBIE has moved from e-governance to Mobile Governance (m-Gov) by launching two mobile applications for students of Intermediate Education.
TSBIE m-Services: Major student services are available in this mobile app.
TSBIE-Exam Centre Locator: This mobile app facilitates students at the time of examinations to locate their examination centre and navigate the route to the location on Google map. The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education is first of its kind among many boards in the country providing this kind of online services to future citizens of India.
Online Question Papers: The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education is the first one to provide online question paper. It helped in preventing question paper leak to a great extent.
On Screen Evolution of Answer Books
The TSBIE has introduced on screen evaluation system from 2016-17 examinations. Students will be allowed to download the re-verified answer scripts with password protection.
Video Conference Facility
The TSBIE has introduced Video conferencing system in State head office, Hyderabad. The Head Office is connected with all District Intermediate Education Officers (DIEO) and Nodal Officers of 31 Districts Offices with video conferencing system to discuss various issues related to conduct of examinations and to issue instructions for effective administration.
Online Admission System
It is proposed to implement online admission system from the Academic Year 2017-18 for all the junior colleges. This system facilitates the students to know online options for exercising the college options. The system will allot the admission cards to the students based on their merit in qualifying exams (SSC/CBSE/ ICSE etc.) duly following rule of reservations.
The sole objective of the Telangana State Council of Higher Education is to nurture employable youths, says Prof Tummala Papi Reddy, Chairman, Telangana State Higher Education Council, in an interview with Sudheer Goutham of Elets News Network (ENN).
How has TSCHE planned to fulfill the industry requirements to nurture employable youth?
Tummala Papi Reddy, Chairman, Telangana State Higher Education Council
Telangana State Council of Higher Education is the apex body to coordinate between Central Government, State Government and Higher Education Institutes in the State for implementing new practices and bring innovations in the system. In order to achieve the objective, the council has devised a curriculum which is not only fulfilling the needs of the students but also the industry requirements.
How is the council planning to bring a marked improvement in the Higher Education ecosystem in Telangana?
We have adopted some of the best practices in higher education ecosystem of Telangana like Online Admission System, setting up Incubation Centres in all the State Universities and encouraging engineering students for internships in their respective branches or industry. We are also encouraging innovation and research-based activities in all the universities and for that we are recognising the contributions of scientists or innovators to education system.
In line with Government of India’s Skill India Mission, what are the initiatives taken by the council to impart skill training to students?
The council has taken various initiatives for effective skill training among the youth of Telangana. Through Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), we are imparting skill education to students. We are also introducing new courses which are industry relevant and enhance employability among the students.
Telangana is the youngest State of India, which is rich in human resource. It has a long tradition of encouraging higher education. The Government of Telangana gives full autonomy to the universities ensuring full accountability and transparency. It has the highest Gross Enrolment Ration in Higher Education, i.e. 36.3 percent against the national average of 24.5 percent.
Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) was established by the Telangana State Government in 2014 to monitor and help the growth of higher education in the State. It functions primarily as a coordinating body between the University Grants Commission (UGC), the State Government and the Universities.
TSCHE coordinates with six Conventional Universities, nine Specialised Universities, one Technological University, one National Institute, one State Institute of University Status, three Central Universities, and three Deemed Universities. The State Government launched many programmes and initiated many reforms in education resulting in:
Low cost education in comparison to other States
Easy access for all and equity in higher education
Free education to girls up to PG level
Free education from KG to PG
Special education centres for women in residential degree colleges
The role and Functions of TSCHE can be classified as :
Planning & Coordination
To prepare consolidated programmes in sphere of Higher Education in the State
To assist the UGC in respect of determination & maintenance of standards
To evolve perspective plans for development of Higher Education in the State
To forward developmental programmes of Universities and Colleges in UGC
Academic Functions
To encourage and promote innovations in curricular development, restructuring of courses and updating of syllabi in the university and the college
To develop programmes for greater academic cooperation and interaction between university and college teachers
To conduct entrance examinations for admission into institutions of Higher Education and render advise on admissions
To prepare an overview report on working of the Universities and Colleges in the State
Advisory Functions
On the status & ordinances to various universities in the State
To work in liaison with the SRC of AICTE in the formulation of the schemes in the State
To make new institutions self sufficient and viable
To perform any other functions necessary for the furtherance of Higher Education in the State
TSBIE has moved from e-governance to Mobile Governance (m-Gov) by launching two mobile applications for students of Intermediate Education
TSBIE M-services
Institutional collaborations in teaching and learning
International partnership
Research funding
Pockets of excellence across different institution types (public/private, central/state-funded)
Enhancement of employability skills and researcher skills
Expansion of digital learning technologies, blended learning and MOOCs
India’s Annual Budget decides the way ahead for different sectors in the country. In this year’s Budget, the Government has emphasised on education along with other sectors. How the Budget 2019-20 will pave way for improvement in education sector, observes Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, The Shahani Group, for Elets News Network (ENN).
Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, The Shahani Group
The acting Finance Minister, Piyush Goyal said that India is among the youngest nations in the world and the Government is proud of its youth. The problems of India’s education sector are well known, so how effectively has he addressed this major issue for India’s youth in the 2019 interim budget?
Overall funding for school and higher education has gone up by 10 percent to Rs 93,847.64 crore. However, this could be considered insufficient considering India’s inflation rate of 6-7 percent. The newly constituted Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) will receive 24 percent less funding for the coming year. Considering that IIT’s, IIM’s and other central universities have been asked to get loans from HEFA instead of depending on Government grants, this reduced funding could limit their efforts to expand or improve quality.
Goyal said in his Budget speech, “The poor have the first right on the resources of the nation. The Government while maintaining the existing reservation for SC/ST/Other Backward Classes, have now ensured 10 percent reservation in educational institutions and Government services for poor. In these institutions, around 25 per cent extra seats (approximately 2 lakh) will be provided so that, there is no shortfall of presently available/reserved seats for any class.” So, he has asked institutions to increase their student capacity by 25 percent but has not allocated extra funds for them to do so. A couple of minor announcements included the establishment of an institute for Artificial Intelligence and a new AIIMs in Haryana.
Overall, it could be argued that 2019’s budget could have done a lot more for the education sector. For example, the Government has provided free healthcare for 50 crore people via its Ayushman Bharat scheme. It could have launched another scheme that provides scholarships for students to study in any quality institution of their choosing, instead of being limited to Government schools. Additionally, the Government could have allowed private investment into for-profit companies to setup schools and colleges. Funds for teacher training, primary research in universities and student career guidance could also have been allocated. The GST rate of 18% on digital education could have been slashed or removed.
Based on the above, are there any aspects of the 2019 budget that could facilitate growth in the education sector?
Albert Einstein once said, “Within every difficulty, lies opportunity”. The fact that the education sector’s problems remain mostly unaddressed, offers interesting prospects for education entrepreneurs. Having a look at the other parts of the budget speech indicates what some of those opportunities could be for education entrepreneurs.
The first aspect is that Rs. 60,000 Crore has been allocated for the MNREGA scheme which provides 100 days of paid employment for rural households. Additionally, the Government has launched the PM Kisan program which allocates Rs. 75,000 crore in cash grants to around 12 crore farmers. The key aspects about both these programmes are that rural families will be able to raise themselves out of extreme poverty and aspire for a better life.
One of the most common actions done by aspiring families is to find ways to educate their children so that they will be able to live better lives than their parents. Interestingly, many of these parents prefer to send their children to private schools as they believe that the education offered is better than what is available in free Government schools, which have high teacher absenteeism and unsatisfactory education outcomes. This means that there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to open private budget schools charging fees of Rs 100-200 per month per child, which is within the reach of many of these families.
The past years have seen an 11 percent drop in student enrollment in Government schools and a 36 percent increase in enrollment in these private budget schools, totaling around 16 million students. This shows that there is a great demand from lower income families for low cost quality education for their children. Private budget schools do not get funding from the Government, but are able to turn a profit, even with the low level of fees charged. Additionally, a few NBFCs have recognized the potential of this sector and have started advancing loans to budget schools to enable them to grow.
Another interesting point in the budget speech was that mobile data consumption has increased by 50 percent in the past five years. This is because India has among the lowest rates for mobile data in the world. The Government aims to create 1 lakh digital villages in the next five years, which will greatly increase mobile data penetration in these locations. This means that a huge number of people in small towns and villages will be able to easily access education content via their mobile phones and facilitate their own learning. Edtech entrepreneurs can then beam their online lessons into the budget schools around India, to enhance the teaching provided there. Vocational training providers can offer video lessons showing subscribers how to develop useful job skills.
Much of existing online education content is in English. However, as demand for online education increases across the country from lower income groups, there is a huge opportunity to provide this content in local languages to make it easier to understand. Additionally, English language training via apps or videos are also in high demand.
Even though the 2019 budget has not given any real sops to the education sector, the increase in access to mobile data among poorer Indians whose income is being supplemented by the Government can offer great growth opportunities for Indian education entrepreneurs.
The Osmania University (OU) is likely to establish school of education in March this year to train over 5,000 teacher educators and secondary school in-service teachers in next two years.
The school will be set up under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) sponsored Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission for Teacher Training scheme.
“The School of Education will be on par with those in Central universities where we will be launching certificate courses, exchange programmes to train teacher educators. We will also be extending research in education sector,” said Prof T Mrunalini, dean, faculty of education at Osmania University.
There will be two centres at the school, one for pre-service Teachers and Professional Development of Teacher Educators and other one for Curriculum and Educational Development.
The school is aimed to transform pedagogy and research practices in India’s education sector through intensive training programmes. Along with enhancing curriculum and preparing e-modules for teacher education, the School of Education will also conduct pedagogical interventions to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the education sector.
“Teachers teaching bachelor of education and master of education courses in five state universities do not have sufficient exposure in terms of training. The school will be extending support to teachers of Palamuru University, Telangana University, Mahatma Gandhi University among others,” said Prof Mrunalini.
Delhi University has started online registrations for the foreign applicants seeking admission to Undergraduate/Postgraduate courses in its different colleges.
All the foreign nationals interested in enrolments to can apply to the University’s undergraduate, postgraduate, M Phil, Ph D, certificate, diploma, advanced diploma courses through the official website: fsr.du.ac.in.
An official notification released by the university in this regard said, “The University offers more than 500 programmes at various levels. Foreign students’ applicants are not required to take the entrance test for admission to these programmes.”
Last year, over 3,000 foreign students applied for various programmes at Delhi University (DU).
Last year, the varsity received 317 applications from Nepal and 316 applications from Tibet. Other countries with a significant number of applications include Afghanistan (111), United States (48), Bangladesh (45), Ethiopia (28), United Kingdom (16) and Sri Lanka (11).
Seven applications each have been received from Myanmar and Mauritius, and nine from China.
For them, the most popular courses last year were BCom (Hons), BCom and BA English (Hons) — in which 69, 61 and 36 students took admission respectively. In terms of colleges, Ramjas College, Hansraj College, Hindu College, SRCC, Kirori Mal College, Indraprastha College for Women, Miranda House and Daulat Ram College emerged as the most popular.
Our country largely lost its connect to the roots of education and self awareness during the british and mughal raj. All of us have just vaguely heard of our golden heritage in education and the folklores of our Gurukul education system with India being at the center of learning and growth in the world, writes Puneet Goyal, Co-Founder & Director, iDream Education, for Elets News Network (ENN).
Post independence, for the first 30-40 years our structured school and higher education in India aligned itself to serve the industrial era work opportunities created the world over by the britishers. Professional Education and work opportunities were available to select few and that too in English medium, where as the larger part of the population learnt from life and indirect means instead of schools and colleges and grew on the business side.
1990’s to 2010
The fundamental brilliance of our generations found there way to growth via indirect means and therefore a network of coaching institutes came up everywhere, run by education entrepreneurs who brought out the best of talent in our country to the fore.
The coaching and tutoring industry has served what the structured education could not, and most of us reading or writing here are outcomes of that. But every child has been living two lives in India, one at school and one, learning out of school to really grow and make a career.
2010 to today
In the last 8 years, we are seeing democratization of learning and growth opportunities across all professional domains. The education system actively revamping and bringing equal importance to all elements of physical education, digital learning, life skills and self awareness and also connecting back to our roots of holistic human development.
The schools and colleges are aligning towards holistic and skill oriented education. They are adopting digital as a personalized and student centric learning supplement.
Digital Learning has opened up some amazing possibilities for growth hungry students to access skills & growth opportunities although largely in English medium.
The way ahead
There are two parts of our Education sector, the English medium and the local language medium.
For the English medium sector, today we have enormous digital content and tools available but the work needed is in structured curation and connecting it to experiential learning and skill-powered growth. We also need to work together on holistic education and integrating back the spiritual and human essence to the education system.
Our government schools and local language learners
Larger part of our population grows up in local languages, studying at rural government schools or affordable private schools in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Kannada medium and so on in every state.
The next decade can be one of inclusive growth, of bringing equal learning opportunities in every language in India and ensuring that all our students have access to digital learning in the language of their choice.
Digital learning in local languages can play a major role in this and can be a big enabler by taking enjoyable & life shaping digital learning to rural students.
This inclusion of rural India into mainstream learning may very well drive the next stage of evolution for our education sector in India.
Meraviglia EQ Academy organised Social Emotional Learning Programme for class 7th Students. Social and emotional learning (SEL) helps in acquiring the skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, accomplish positive goals, become empathetic towards others, build strong positive relations and be responsible for their actions and decisions. The MEQ Academy conducted four highly interactive workshops for students including Mindfulness, Goals and Vision Workshop, Emotional Literacy, and Gratitude. Mindfulness is a way to live in the present moment. In the hush-hush of life we all are living in the future, distracted and inattentive to the current moment.
Applicant tracking system used by the portals and companies is a tough nut to crack the job descriptions are optimised according to a certain way which only select the applications falling under its criterion, observes Aniruddh Parmar, HR Executive, SoftwareSuggest, for Elets News Network (ENN).
The never-ending rat race has been swallowing up people since time immemorial. The bitter truth is – the race is essential for the survival. The concept of the “survival of the fittest” is more applicable than ever when you are out there looking for a job. Seeking a job is a tiresome process which requires an ample amount of patience and effort. However, job-seeking has become easier than ever with many online job portals like Naukri, Indeed, etc. The biggest challenge for employers is the talent management software used by these portals.
Often, nearly half of the applications get rejected just because they are not appropriately qualified for the job. Moreover, before these applications even reach a recruiter, such software only accepts the ones which fall under a certain criteria laid out by the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
As soon as you graduate, you start applying for the jobs which fit your criteria. What about the criteria on the basis of which you are scrutinised by the employers? Do you think you’re not paying enough attention to those factors? Find out in this list of possible reasons that could be stopping you from hearing back from recruiters:
Following up with the Recruiter
Applying for the job isn’t the only step you need to take, if you want to land yourself that dream job. One of the main reasons why applicants don’t hear from the recruiter is the lack of follow-up after they have submitted their resume. A survey done by job-hunt.org showed that 51 percent of the HR managers aren’t interested in the applicants who do not pay any heed to the follow up.
The “one-tap apply” system has more to it. Most applications don’t even reach the recruiter. It is really important to send an email to the recruiter asking about the status of your application. Companies receive thousands of applications for a single position; it is only fair to at least remind them once. Also, it shows that you’re an applicant who is actually concerned about the job enough to follow up.
Building a Professional Online Presence
Almost 37 percent of the employers believe that social media and networking sites are a strong criterion for selecting their applicants. While 11 percent of the companies who don’t yet use such sites as a parameter, they plan to do so soon. When asked why the employers need online background checks of the applicants, 65 percent of them stressed the importance of a candidate’s professional presentation on social media.
In the present era, social media plays a significant role while determining a candidate’s fit in the culture of the company. Educational qualifications and work experience aren’t the only things that matter. Recruiters want to know how a candidate would be able to adapt to the work culture. A Google search about your name can give you deep insights about how you can modify your online profiles to match your professional goals.
Optimising your Resume
Optimisation of your resume keeping in mind the appropriate keywords for items like job description or skills is an essential factor for you to get noticed. Chances are, if your resume is not optimised according to these things – you might not get selected. Descriptions of the jobs you are applying for, contain some specific keywords which are known as attributes. These attributes are tracked by the recruitment software used by companies. You should try to include these keywords in your resume or application so that it doesn’t get weeded out. For example, if you are applying for a Content Writer position and the job description has certain keywords listed in a certain order – you might want to follow the same order.
Optimising does not refer solely to keywords; it also means a properly formatted application e.g. a separate line for everything from job titles and work experience to the company in which you have been working earlier. Also, it is a good practice to make sure that your social profiles like Linkedin match your resume.
What’s the Solution?
If you are currently unemployed, don’t just jump at any opportunity. Patience is the key. Hence, always be on the lookout for a better opportunity from the earlier ones and take your own time to prepare yourself. Another important point to be noted is that you should be visible and stay updated on all your online social profiles. Stay connected with big companies, be updated about your niche, tell people about yourself through blogging.
Don’t be disappointed if you are rejected, there are plenty of fish in the sea if you’ve done your due diligence.
Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) has been catering to the dire educational needs of Scheduled Caste (SC) children hailing from the remote rural areas of Telangana, says Dr R S Praveen Kumar, Secretary, Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, Government of telangana, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
What undergraduate degree courses are offered by your institutions?
Dr R S Praveen Kumar, Secretary, Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society
We offer a wide range of undergraduate programmes including Physical and Chemical sciences (BSc MPC / MSCs / MPCs / MECs / MPG / MES / Mae Nw and HW), life sciences (BSc BZC / MbZC / BGC / BtBC / BcZC / BCFsQc / NDZC / BCCs), Commerce (B Com Computers / Computer Applications / General / Honours / Taxation / BFI / BBA), and Social Sciences (BA HEP / HEPa / EPG / EPP / HPEml / EPaMCJ / EPS). The total number of undergraduate students currently enrolled across 30 TSWRDCs is 13,975 (I year – 6,143; II Year – 4,554: III Year – 3,278).
How is the institution helping junior college students in developing a foundation for Higher Education?
We have already established few Centres of Excellence in Junior Colleges to provide coaching for admission into prestigious institutes like IITs, IISERs, NITs, Central Universities, and Medical Schools across india. In addition to it, final year students (10+2) undergo training under “Summer Samurai-higher Education Programme”. under the programme, special coaching is provided to the selected students for admission to prestigious universities and degree colleges. in last academic year, 116 students from TSWREIS got admitted into institutions like delhi university’s Miranda house College, Hansraj College, Hindu College, Ramjas College, Shriram College of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, St Stephens, etc. Besides, several students of TSWREIS got admitted into premier institutions like Azim Premji University, Indian Maritime University, Regional Institute of Education, IHM, and TISS.
What initiatives have been undertaken by TSWREIS to boost skill development, entrepreneurship and employability of students?
During first year of graduation, students are encouraged to join 3C programme, where they develop better communication skills, character, and confidence. during second year, students are trained exclusively on computational skills. For third year, we have a special programme called 3E, under which students are encouraged to focus on education (getting admission to premier postgraduation institutes), Employment and Entrepreneurship. The Department of Higher Education along with TSWREIS organises regular training programmes on national level entrance examinations like JEE Main, NEET, GATE, CAT etc.
Campus Recruitment Training (CRT) combined with skill building programmes are being delivered for good placements of students. Recently, we signed an Mou with Balavikasa International Centre to promote social entrepreneurship among undergraduates. Besides, TSWRDC has initiated a Beautician Course to nurture certified beauticians and Zumba and Salsa course to prepare choreographers. Along with this, we also conduct drivers’ education – DISHA (encouraging entrepreneurship), Adventurous Camps (Mountain Biking, Paragliding and skiing), athletic Winter Camp, Project Mission Code (encouraging girls or software coding), Project Finishing School (Pre-placement training) etc. For employment, Data Science Training, Civil Service Coaching, CA Foundation Training Programme, WIMAN (Women in Management), are also conducted by us to create awareness about other career options after graduation.
What are some of the innovative best practices adopted by your institutions?
To boost confidence and inculcate life skills among its students, TSWREIS conducts following programmes:
Project Mirror: speaking in front of mirrors helps students to enhance their oratory skills and confidence.
Project beyond four walls: students undergo experiential learning outside the classroom.
Youth Parliament Sessions: to make future leaders and lawmakers.
VIBRATION- Cultural Carnival: students showcase their talents in the state-level competitions.
Super Students Trophy: to promote the concept of “earn While you learn”. live lectures have been delivered via t-sat channels.
Bharath Darshan: a programme to visit famous places across India.
Vishwa Vidhyarthi Programme (International Internship): students visit foreign countries as part of cultural exchange with support of AIESEC.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF): under the initiative, second year students are encouraged to get enrolled in one-month internship at national and international research institutions. We have already signed Mous with university of hyderabad; azim Premji university, Bengaluru; university of toledo, usa; east anglia university, uK; and Carleton university, Canada, in this regard.
SSB Lecture Series: We invited Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardees to deliver lectures at TSRDCs.
What is institute’s vision for next five years?
Our vision is to provide good quality education to students belonging to backward sections of the society in a safe and supportive academic environment. in addition to that, we prepare students to be independent critical thinkers and global citizens of 21st century. We maintain high academic standards with a major emphasis on student and teacher empowerment programmes. TSWREIS enables students to acquire basic life skills and leadership qualities by exposure to a range of learning opportunities beyond classroom.
What reforms are needed in existing higher education ecosystem for a better future of students?
Since last few decades, students are expected to focus more on learning a concept without practical or in-depth knowledge about the same. for the existing ecosystem, a flexible curriculum is needed with a range of elective courses. Any undergraduate student must undergo training where they can learn critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, literature, psychology, science and social sciences. It will provide students an interdisciplinary learning for any course he/she might take for second year of their graduation. For next two years, student should get engaged in core subjects and dwell deeper and spend the complete final year in practical-based learning.
