Secur Credentials: Thought-Leader in Background Verification Space

Interviews

By

-

November 6, 2017

With 15 years of experience and 300+ workforce, Secur Credentials has streamlined background verification process through innovation and technology says, Rahul Belwalkar, Chief Executive Officer, Secur Credentials, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).

How is the verification done by Secur Credentials is helpful for students as well as for the institutes?

On the back of today’s high attrition rates and GDP growth rates, overall employment is hitting new highs. Background verification is a practice that was heretofore carried out by companies abroad and by their offshore units as a matter of protocol. Now in the globalised world, it is a standard operating procedure and a matter of due diligence for different companies and institutes.

Institutes benefit significantly from background verification of the students as well as staff. These are two of the main parameters used to judge any educational institute. Trustworthy staff in an institute, be it admin or teachers, helps the institute mitigate risk of maleficent elements causing harm to reputation of the institute. There have been cases where staff with false credentials or with criminal background worked on the crucial positions in an institute. It’s better to be aware and safeguarded from untoward events rather than resolving the consequences of an unpleasant situation.

Similarly verifying the credentials of students adds credibility to the institute by making available a pool of “job-ready” candidates that can be on-boarded quickly. On the other hand if a candidate’s credentials have been found falsified, the college’s reputation takes a hit in placement circles.

The information must be very authentic in order to verify the identity of a student, what innovative technologies are adopted by Secur Credentials to fetch the information?

The authenticity of information is the key. We as country are still a long way from formal databases across sectors. Conducting background verification requires keen understanding of the Indian context. We at SecUR Credentials have a proprietary workflow system – Symphony that elucidates a verification process through various databases and onsite visits. This process has been proven to deliver the greatest accuracy with strict adherence to turnaround times. Powerful APIs developed in-house run through millions of records across court, legal and identity databases to verify the information provided by a person and check for the false data. We have the largest number of employees for on-ground verification conducted with the help of handheld devices which capture GPS tags, candidate signatures and photos. We are one of the few Indian background screening companies that have a reach in all 39732 pincodes across India.

What processes are followed at Secur Credentials to meet the needs of customer and to maintain the quality at the same time?

As per our experience, background verification requires an understanding of both people and governing bodies. We have experienced that relying on one process for background verification may lead towards incomplete information. Therefore, as part of our process we conduct verification at 2 levels – database and on-ground verification. In addition to the most number of employees for on-ground verification, we have a network of HR representatives, colleges and Institutional authorities who provide a second level verification which helps in ensuring an accuracy of nearly 100 per cent.

What are the various field covered by the organisation? Please give a brief detail about few clients?

SecUR Credentials covers areas like IT / ITes, Hospitality, Retail, Pharmaceuticals, Hospitals, Banking, Insurance, Micro finance institutions and other NBFCs, Automobile and their ancillaries, Staffing and manpower supply organisations, Infrastructure, Law firms, Logistics and transportation, including cargo, Shipping, e-Commerce players, to name a few.

What are company’s plan and vision for the future?

In coming years, SecUR Credentials will be one of the emergent players in the background verification space which will make us a desirable partner for global clients. We believe the true value of background checking of employees lies not just in weeding out specific resumes, and specific candidates. It lies beyond that – to build predictive modelling of which resumes are more likely to be genuine, and which ones are fake. While this may seem like a far-fetched theory right now, it is exactly the path which was followed for credit scoring of individuals, to determine who had a higher risk of default, and who had a lower one. Eventually, our vision is to derive powerful analysis of behavioural patterns through the volume of data we currently have and expected to collect.

Eupheus Learning launches coding kit for children

News

By

Akash

-

November 6, 2017

Eupheus Learning, an EdTech startup in education and training space has launched Cubetto – the first programming tool for Montessori educators worldwide.

The tool is designed and produced by Primo Toys, an award-winning startup that leverages technology to introduce 21st-century skills like coding, in early years without the use of screens. Cubetto is powered by a hands-on programming language designed specifically for children. The tool teaches the basics of computer programming and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) skills.

Primo Toys CEO and founder Filippo Yacob said: “Cubetto encourages imagination and exploration into the world of programming. It provides gender-neutral play that boosts a child’s creativity, critical thinking, spatial awareness and communication skills.

“Like us, the Eupheus Learning team is also on a mission to encourage learning in kids through a differentiated approach and technology-driven tools. With their valuable experience in the Preschool to K-12 space, I feel we have just the right partnership we should be having in the Indian subcontinent,” he added.

The Cubetto Playset consists of a friendly robot made of hard-wearing wood, a physical programming board, and a set of colorful coding blocks that make up a programming language you can touch. This is based on research that confirms that children learn best through hands-on play.

Sarvesh Shrivastava, Managing Director and Co-founder, Eupheus Learning said, “India is home to over 50 million kids aged 3 and up, the target age for Primo Toys products. Since the Cubetto Playset doesn’t use a written language, screens, or Wi-Fi to function, it creates a fun learning environment by helping girls and boys develop and realize their full creative potential by combining movement, touch and sound.”

Edify School Imparting Finest Education Nurturing Individual Talents

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 6, 2017

Edify means “To provide Knowledge.” The Edify School at Kamptee Road, Nagpur was established in 2010 by Tavinder Singh Kohli with an aim to nurture students’ talent and abilities, promote academic competency, diversity, effort and the joy of learning. The mission is carried out by renowned educationist and vision oriented Directors Inderpreet Singh Tuli and Mandeep Kaur Tuli.

The Edify School has 50 branches all over India and at Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It has more than 245 pre-primary schools as well.

The school has successfully entered its eighth year of operation by following the 3C conceptContent, Character and Competence. The 3C curriculum helps a teacher in creating future-ready citizens.

“JKG Sports Academy provides coaching for cricket, hockey, basketball, chess, archery, kho-kho, boxing, skating and table tennis, kabbadi, rope skipping.”

The student-centered learning environment at school inculcates innovativeness, diligence, communication skills, leadership qualities, adaptability, assertiveness, planning skills, perseverance, problem-solving and risk taking ability and inculcates academic brilliance in every child.

The 3C Concept is aiming to create a society of progressive thinking individuals who will at the end of schooling experience at Edify, be well equipped to make the society and world around them a much better place by their local understanding and a truly global perspective.

Edify stresses on the core values of discipline in students and makes them aware of their responsibilities towards their family, society and nation. Edify school is a trendsetter in Nagpur as it is providing world class value based education.

Apeejay Education Society: Keeping Pace With Modern Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 6, 2017

**Dr S K Salwan**, Vice Chancellor,
**Apeejay Stya University**

The Apeejay family comprises about 40,000 students, 60,000 alumni and over 2,500 faculty members. Most of the Apeejay Schools have been accredited with ISA Awards conferred by the British Council for collaboration with various countries to exchange social, cultural and academic programmes, says Dr S K Salwan, Vice Chancellor, Apeejay Stya University, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).

Give us an overview of your organisation and the milestones achieved by it lately?

The Apeejay Education Society, established by the leading industrial house of Apeejay Stya in 1967, has built a rich heritage of over five decades in the field of quality education through a family of 24 not-for-profit institutions (16 schools and 8 institutions of higher learning), in various States of the country. Today, all Apeejay Schools are also members of the National Progressive Schools Conference (NPSC) and affiliated to the CBSE, New Delhi. The Apeejay Education Society is celebrating its 50 years in 2017.

The “Make in India” initiative is expected to inflate the demand for skilled workforce, especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, what measures are you taking to meet this requirement?

The clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘Make in India’ is a boon for every Indian, as it augurs well not only for the economy but also for self-esteem and morale. It is very true that this initiative is going to inflate the demand for skilled workforce, especially in the realms of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). At the levels of all our schools and higher education institutions, we are very well aware of it. At the school level, we inculcate a scientific temperament and innovative approach by a plethora of activities. Several of our schools are recipients of the Atal Tinkering Lab grants from NITI Aayog to propel the innate scientific curiosity of the young minds. At the higher education level, we rely on industrial interfaces, trainings, internships and workshops to prepare our students to be industry ready at the completion of their courses.

How is Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) assisting the educational institutions in generating better results?

Apeejay Schools have launched many innovations in education with the focus on enabling teachers and students to become reflective practitioners through experiential and enquiry based learning, decision-making and interpersonal trust. Teachers at Apeejay are always encouraged to upgrade their professional competencies via various platforms including MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses. There is emphasis on continuous evolvement of the Computer Education programme to keep pace with the latest technological advances such as Cloud Computing, Open-Source Technologies, Internet Technologies, ICT tools, etc.

There is extensive use of MOODLE Learning Management System in teaching-learning to promote collaborative lesson-planning, enhanced transparency, student engagement and active parent participation in the wards’ academic development.

NDLI to collaborate with top global digital libraries

News

By

Akash

-

November 6, 2017

The National Digital Library of India (NDLI), in association with IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP), is expanding its reach globally through collaborations with top digital libraries of the world.

The announcement was made by the NDLI at an international workshop, organised by the UNESCO and the engineering institute, in Delhi last week. According to an IIT-Kharagpur release, digital libraries and resource-sharing activities of SAARC countries will also be promoted by the UNESCO.

“While procuring international content is one aspect, being inclusive and open is also important. The information should be made available in all forms, be it data, technology or content,” NDLI in-charge Professor P P Das said.

NDLI has been collaborating with Europeana Foundation – an organisation that provides access to over 50 million digitised items including books, music, artworks and more. Some other digital libraries like Tainacan Project (Brazil), National Library of The Netherlands, National Library of South Africa and National Library of Nepal also expressed interest in collaborating with NDLI, the release said.

The international workshop has seen participation of around 200 representatives from Microsoft Research, Google and Taylor & Francis belonging to India and other countries of the world.

The NDLI – Ministry of Human Resources Development funded project was started by IIT-KGP. The aim of the project was to create a national online educational asset for students interested in research and innovation.

Goa government to raise spending on education

News

By

Akash

-

November 6, 2017

The Government of Goa is eyeing the possibility of increasing the expenditure on the State’s educational sector to 5-6 per cent of the gross domestic product, said Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The present spending by the State government on education is at 3.4 per cent.

The announcement was made by Parrikar during a press conference last week where he had also presented the detailed analysis of the spending of the state during the current fiscal.

He revealed that currently around 3.4 per cent of Goa’s GDP is allocated for educational sector which is the highest in the country and more than the national average.

He said that education being the priority area, the state government has decided to increase the spending to 5-6 per cent of the GDP in the coming years.

Sharanya Narayani International School Nurturing Global Leaders

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 6, 2017

**Lakshmi Reddy**, Academic Director
Sharanya Narayani International School

We inculcate analytical and critical thinking skills through teaching and learning in a bid to help students become lifelong learners and responsible global citizens, says Lakshmi Reddy, Academic Director, Sharanya Narayani International School, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).

How the education imparted at your school helps children develop intellectual, physical, emotional, social and spiritual traits?

At Sharanya Narayani International School (SNIS), we understand that children learn the most only in an amiable environment. At SNIS, along with academics, emphasis is also laid on sports, creative arts and community services to ensure holistic development of the child. If academic rigor, differentiated instructions and conceptbased teaching, support intellectual development, regular sports and other extracurricular activities help inculcate traits like cooperation, tolerance and collaboration.

How the environment at your school help students to lead and excel in the global community?

It is important to prepare students to face challenges of the world and to be adaptive towards cultures, religions, languages, abilities and perspectives. SNIS provides a multi-cultural environment with emphasis on “internationalmindedness” so that students learn to respect this diversity, excel in life and become global citizens.

What measures are taken at your school to enable teachers become competent enough not only to educate students but also nurture them as future leaders?

From lending a sympathetic support to resolve conflicts or ensuring discipline, our teachers are always there for the students. Teachers at SNIS understand that all students have unique abilities. Teachers motivate students according to their potential for delivering their best which lead students to be leaders. Teachers help students to figure out the difference between, knowledge and wisdom, leader and follower, doing it themselves and empowering others to do the same.

Parents’ involvement is an important factor to educate children, what policies are followed at the school to involve parents in teaching-learning processes?

When parents and teachers work as partners, the students benefit. At SNIS, our teachers and parents communicate with each other regularly and are invited to share their thoughts and learning with the student community to achieve the common goal of ensuring that students receive the best education.

Security is a very important concern in schools, what measures are undertaken by your school to ensure the safety?

At SNIS, we follow the policies to avoid any shortcomings in providing safety and security for students within campus and transport facilities. In addition to security protocols for access and entry, CCTV surveillance, GPS, speed trackers etc, our staff is trained in all aspects of safety to ensure the physical, emotional, psychological and social well-being of students.

Indiannica Providing World Class Digital Learning Solutions

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 6, 2017

Indiannica provides an array of digital learning platforms for students in schools and higher learning, which can be easily accessed anywhere, anytime, says Sumit Gupta, Managing Director, Indiannica Learning Pvt Ltd.

How important is the role of Internet in nurturing an entire community of learners and researchers?

Internet is crucial in today’s learning scenario as it provides easy accessibility to learners and researchers. At the same time, easy accessibility without a check or authentication can lead to learners accessing information, which maybe unsuitable or even create confusion by flooding learners with too much or unauthentic information. At Indiannica Learning, we are aware of the importance of connecting with learners and also keeping a check on what is accessed and by whom. We provide an array of digital learning platforms for students in schools and higher learning, which can be easily accessed anywhere, anytime on, varied devices that are authenticated and graded to suit the user and can also be monitored by parents and teachers. Our e-library, Indiannica Library Unplugged, is one such example that allows users access to a variety of books and via downloads, both online as well as offline access.

What are the best education practices followed across the globe? How these practices can be implanted in India to improve overall education scenario of the country?

According to researchers, one of the best education practices is for teachers and educators to see and better understand learning through the eyes of their students. Some highly effective classroom practices include teacher clarity, classroom discussions, feedback, formative assessments, and metacognitive strategies. These practices enable students and teachers to interact and engage more, and create a holistic teaching and learning environment. Although the talk is about digital learning solutions, the best education practices aren’t only about solutions or tools but also a better understanding of a student’s way of learning. In our country, on an average a class has about 40 students and a teacher has very limited time to engage with the students in that short period to explain the concept to the students.

At Indiannica Learning, we believe that technology can play a very important role in supporting the teachers by offering learning solutions which can reduce some of their work. While designing and developing digital learning solutions, we focus on the pedagogy and these aspects from a teachers’ perspective and keep in mind the needs of the students so the teachers and students can engage and interact with each other effectively.

In order to support teachers, what different kind of ICT products is Indiannica Learning offering? Please explain in brief.

Indiannica Learning provides many digital solutions for teachers to aid them in teaching. Along with our curriculum books, a very important and popular component is the “Teacher’s Resource Kit”, which contains support material for teachers to help with lesson planning and evaluation. The kit, which comes in a CD, also available online, contains a teacher’s manual, animated tutorials, and interactive teaching material. It can be used on smartboards to show videos and practice board materials. The Teacher’s Manual helps in lesson planning, provides answer keys, and detailed plans for teaching the subject. In association with Encyclopeadia Britannica, we also provide a customized, mapped to content, and graded smart class solution called Conceptpedia, which has won many awards in the smart class education category. Our other products include an e-library, Indiannica Library Unplugged, Language Lab – a dynamic-pure software solution which emphasizes on speaking and listening, and BsmartTest – a test generator for teachers that consists of a large repository of questions to prepare test papers and assignments swiftly.

How different products like Indiannica Library Unplugged, Language Lab, and Conceptpedia are helping the students improve and enhance their learning?

All our products are designed to enhance learning experience and develop a holistic approach towards learning. Indiannica Library Unplugged, our e-library offering provides access to high quality reference materials to assist curricular learning. We bring the library within the classroom, and at home, making it available 24×7 on any device, in the form of e-books.

Language Lab is an easy to use and dynamicpure software solution, which emphasises on speaking and listening. It has made classroom management easy, enabling peer and group discussion, can be easily controlled by the tutor, and made student evaluation easy. Similarly, Pronounce is a state-of-the-art digital solution for schools that has enhanced English language learning. The software solution combines the latest text-to-speech technology with voice recognition, creating a powerful tool for language learning.

Our award-winning smart class solution, Conceptpedia, which is especially designed for teachers, has enabled teachers to better engage with students for an interactive learning experience. The curriculum-mapped content has enabled teachers to teach the essentials of various subjects in an interactive way. Conceptpedia has also solved many problems that schools face while using a smart class and has allowed for easy integration with existing smartboard network.

What new products and initiatives does the company have in pipeline?

Keeping in mind the importance of easy accessibility and the increasing importance and influence of digital learning solutions, our learning solutions team has developed a student app that is made available to students. The app will enable students to access information with a simple click on their hand held devices such as the course books and practice exercises. Students will also be able to play animated tutorials and videos, making learning engaging, fun, and interactive.

Also, in the pipeline, is our Teacher Empowerment Programme that will have subject experts and professionals talk about the latest teaching techniques and developments in the subject.

Correspondence engineering degrees invalid: Supreme Court

Article

By

Akash

-

November 4, 2017

Supreme Court has ordered that the engineering degrees obtained through correspondence since 2001 are invalid. The order may put thousands of persons at risk of losing their jobs.

According to the order, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) did not approve distance learning programmes in engineering studies and the approval granted by the Distance Education Council (DEC) for such courses was illegal.

The apex court also observed that commercialisation of education “seriously affects credibility of standards in education, eroding power and essence of knowledge and seriously affecting excellence and merit”.

Clamping down on three deemed-to-be universities granting engineering degrees through distance education mode, the Supreme Court on Friday cancelled all engineering degrees awarded by these universities since 2001 and ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the roles of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and other authorities for giving approval to these courses.

Lamenting the state of affairs in such universities, the bench also restrained “all deemed-to-be universities to carry on any courses in distance education mode from the academic session 2018-2019 onwards unless and until it is permissible to conduct such courses in distance education mode and specific permissions are granted by the concerned statutory/regulatory authorities in respect of each of those courses and unless the off-campus centres/study centres are individually inspected and found adequate by the concerned statutory authorities”.

Delhi Government to organise workshops for parents

News

By

Akash

-

November 4, 2017

Delhi Government is soon going to organise workshops for the parents of Class 10 and 12 students of the State Government schools.

The first set of workshops will begin in 50 Delhi Government-run schools across the State from November 15 onwards.

“The involvement of parents in the education of children makes a significant difference to their performance. The workshops are aimed at working with parents to help create the right kind of environment for children even at their homes,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

“Parents will also be sensitised on how to play a supportive role with children to reduce their stress,” he added.

According to a statement by Delhi Government, initially, the workshops will only be conducted for the parents of students appearing for Class 10 and 12 Board examinations. It is expected that a full-fledged roll-out of this programme will take place from January 2018.

The workshops will not be mandatory and the parents can attend them voluntarily.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories