MHRD puts common engineering entrance examination on hold

Government News

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August 24, 2017

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has decided to scrap the plan of introducing a Common Engineering Entrance Exam (CEEE).

As per the announcement made by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) – country’s technical education regulator, in March, a single entrance exam was to be conducted for admission to all engineering colleges in the country from next academic year.

However, the ministry has decided review the success of National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) giving the green signal to CEEE.

“It has been decided that there will be no common engineering exam next year. However, the idea has not been completely discarded. The AICTE will submit a report about the feasibility of conducting the exam in future,” a senior official said.

Presently, for admission to NITS, IIITs and other engineering colleges, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducts Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) every year. Over 12 lakh students appear for it every year. Moreover, along with JEE Main, a number of states conduct their own entrance tests as well, while some colleges grant admission based on the marks of class 12 board exams. Several private colleges also conduct their own entrance examinations.

There are over 3,300 approved engineering colleges in the country with an annual intake of around 16 lakh students.

Adobe India’s ‘Women in Technology’ scholarship programme announced

Corporate Updates

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Akash

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August 24, 2017

Adobe India has announced Women in Technology Scholarship Programme for female graduates.

The scholarship programme is aimed at recognising extraordinary female students in the fields of science and engineering. Winners of the programme will get an opportunity to pursue an internship with the company in 2018, said a statement released by the software giant.

Adobe will also sponsor tuition fees to the remaining award recipients’ for their university courses – B Tech, M Tech or Dual Degrees, upto a maximum of 2 years.

The winners of the Adobe India’s Women in Technology Scholarship will also be felicitated in an Adobe India-wide program and will also get an opportunity to attend the Grace Hopper Conference, said the statement.

Abdul Jaleel, Vice President, People Resources India, Adobe said, “Adobe India’s Women in Technology Scholarship Program is a platform for female students in the field of technology to demonstrate their exceptional skills and get a chance to contribute in an environment that thrives on innovation. We are excited to empower the selected candidates with necessary resources and mentorship to shape them into creators and leaders of a better tomorrow.”

“With a passion for transforming the world with cutting edge digital experiences, we at Adobe take pride in our diverse workforce that comprises of some of the most talented minds across universities in India, and support their potential by providing them with opportunities to nurture their intellectual curiosity,” he added.

In order to avail the scholarships, all applicants must intend to be enrolled as full-time students at a university for the 2018-2019. All submissions will be evaluated basis Statement of Purpose, resume, academic transcripts from the applicant’s current and/or past institution, and one reference from a Professor.

DSSSB teacher recruitment put on hold

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Akash

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August 24, 2017

Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has approved to hold the recruitment of around 9,000 teachers to the city’s government schools.

According to an advertisement by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) for recruiting the teachers, the online application for the same is to be started from August 25.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had written to Lt Governor Anil Baijal to halt the recruitment process following a resolution has been passed in the Delhi Assembly for earlier this month. The process has been halted to formulate a policy for giving weightage to the work experience of guest teachers for recruitment.

The DSSSB has issued a notice, following requests from the Directorate of Education to put the process on abeyance till further instructions mentioniing that the advertised vacancies are being withdrawn.

“On appeal from Delhi govt and Delhi Assembly, LtGovDelhi holds teacher recruitment. Am sure Guest Teachers regularization will get justice now (Sic),” Mr Sisodia tweeted.

The Delhi Government has been insisting that the work experience of around 17,000 guest teachers employed in Delhi government schools be given weightage in the recruitment process of DSSSB.

Punjab to have tie up with UK based skill centres for youth

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 24, 2017

The Punjab technical education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has met a delegation led by the British Deputy High Commissioner Chandigarh, Andrew Ayre for Skill training and placement of Punjabi youth for overseas employment.

After the meeting with the delegation of one of the UK’s premier agency ‘UK Skills’ working in the filed of Skill Development, Channi said that both sides have in principle given approval for an agreement for setting up of Skill Centres for providing Skill development training and placement of youth of the state for overseas employment.

He said that terms and conditions of the agreement were thoroughly discussed in the meeting and the final draft of the agreement would be signed next month. Channi said that Punjab Government is committed to provide best quality skill training to the youth of the state and ensure their placement across the globe. He said that Punjab Government has earlier signed a MoU with the UK government in this regard and this agreement is an another step forward as per the MoU signed for providing Skill Development training and overseas employment.

The Minister asked the officials of the Skill Development mission during the meeting to empanel more renowned Skill Development partners with the Punjab Skill Development Mission. He also asked to associate more overseas partners for Skill Training so that the Punjabi Youth can be easily placed in the overseas companies.

He further directed the officials to launch a statewide awareness campaign regarding the training and placement programmes of the Punjab Skill Development Mission. He said that all mediums such as social media, traditional media, electronic media and print media should be fully utilized for making youth about all the training programmes of the Skill Development mission.

Amongst others prominent present on the occasion included British Deputy High Commissioner Chandigarh, Tejwant Chhatwal MD & CEO UK Skills ltd., Jeff Ross (UK) Director, Madhu Advisor British High Commission Chandigarh senior officials of the department G Vajralingam Additional Chief Secretary, Bhawna Garg Secretary Technical Education, Parveen Thind Director Technical Education, Mohanbir Singh Sidhu Additional Director Technical Education.

Delhi Government plans to take over 449 schools for not refunding excess fee

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Akash

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August 24, 2017

The Delhi government is planning to take over 449 private unaided recognised schools which have failed to refund excess fee charged by them despite government order.

The government has proposed to take over the management of the schools. A show cause notice will also be issued to the schools faltered in refunding excessively charged fees from the parents. Delhi’s lieutenant governor Anil Baijal has also approved the proposal.

“These schools have been sent notices in the past, yet they are not complying. We have two options as per rules. Either take over the school or derecognise them. The second option will leave hundreds of students without a school so the government has decided to take them over,” said Atishi Marlena, adviser to education minister Manish Sisodia.

According to Marlena, 449 schools including the top private schools of Delhi, have to refund over Rs 300 crore to the parents.

After some parents through, an NGO, approached The Delhi High Court constituted constituted Justice Anil Dave Singh committee in 2009 after some parents approached the court through an NGO – Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh. The committee aims to determine the need for fee hike and for examining the records and accounts of unaided private recognised schools.

The committee in its 10 interim reports and monthly reports of June 2016 to October 2016 recommended refund of the excess fee charged from the parents, in addition with 9% interest per annum. The committee also recommended special inspection of 249 schools on the grounds of non-production of relevant documents or incomplete documents.

Marlena said the schools need to reply to the show cause notices within two months and comply with the orders. “Otherwise after two weeks, Delhi government will take over these schools,” she said.

NITI Aayog invites applications for ‘Mentor India’ to guide students

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August 24, 2017

To give a boost to the strategic nation building initiative ‘Mentor India’, NITI Aayog has invited applications from leaders who can guide and mentor schools students in 900+ Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).

The ‘Mentor India’ is a initiative taken under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Government of India’s flagship program to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The deadline for submission of applications to join Mentor India is September 30, 2017,” NITI Aayog said in an official statement. Interested corporates, professionals, academicians, students etc. can submit their applications at http://aim.gov.in/mentor.php.

‘The aim of the programme is to engage leaders who can dedicate 1–2 hours every week in one or more such labs and enable school students to experience, learn and practice future skills such as design and computational thinking,” NITI Aayog said.

ATLs are dedicated works spaces where students (from Class 6th to Class 12th) learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India.

More than 30 top thought leaders have already signed up as brand ambassadors for the initiative.

Possible areas of contribution from mentors include technical knowhow, innovation and design, inspirational, and business and entrepreneurship.

Government focussing on improving the education landscape of Rajasthan: Kiran Maheshwari

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Akash

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August 23, 2017

Kiran Maheshwari, Minister, Higher and Technical Education, Sanskrit Education, Science and technology, Government of Rajasthan said that the state government is keen to improve the education scenario of the state.

Addressing the 10th World Education Summit in New Delhi, she said, “Its my proud privilege to be here at this mega educational event which has already witnessed nine glorious editions across the globe. I am indeed honoured to be among the galaxy of educationists, planners and guests from different countries”.

During her address she called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a visionary who has been focussing on qualitative higher education, capacity building and skill development to transform the biggest manpower treasure into better human resource.

While talking about the various initiatives of Rajasthan Government in education sector, she said, “In Rajasthan, our Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is focussing on improving the education landscape of the state. Various scholarship schemes like Chief Minister Scholarship, Dev Narayan Scooty Yojna, Medhavi Chhatra Yojna etc are launched to promote education among deprived sections of the society as well”.

Describing the schemes, policies and initiatives of the Higher and Technical Education Department of Rajasthan, she said that the department is tirelessly working to improve the quality of higher education and development of higher educational institutions in rural areas.

She said, “The Chief Minister’s Advisory Council is suggesting and guiding us for improvement in quality of higher education and higher educational institutes’ development. The council is also guiding our way to inculcate skills and entrepreneurship aptitude among the youths of the state. We have started skill and entrepreneurship related courses in association with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) from this session in the government colleges.”

“We are adopting the best practices from other states for upskilling the youth and qualitative improvement in education space of the Rajasthan. We already have taken several initiatives like Wi-Fi, establishing smart labs and smart classrooms to support our institutions on one hand and students on the other. We are also going to provide our students 24X7 online academic support through online social e-platform,” She added.

Explaining about the Indian Government’s focus areas, she said, “Government of India is also emphasising on cleanliness, health and hygiene, education and comfort of people by making the system responsible and transparent. We the Indians are enjoying our freedom and fundamental rights as it is reflected through the enhanced Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in schooling as well as in higher education.”

She also explained about the various schemes of Government of India like “Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)” and “Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana” adding, “These schemes are directly benfitting the youth by providing them multistrada opportunities for quality enhancement and employment.”

She shared that the Central Government has targeted to train over one crore of youth over a three years of span from 2017 to 2019 and has allocated a fund of Rs 12,000 crore. The government is equally concerned to improvise the gender parity index and encourage the participation of deprived sector of the society in education.

IIT Ropar allocates land to set up state-of-art soil water plant lab

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August 23, 2017

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, to address the issues related to soil and water faced by the farmers of Punjab, has allocated 2.5 acres of land in its new campus for setting up a state-of-art soil water plant laboratory.

“The lab will undertake research to address the problems faced by farmers. It will also help the state government in taking effective steps in this direction,” said IIT Ropar’s Civil Engineering Department head who is also heading this initiative.

IIT Ropar is planning to take up various initiatives in the area of water resources which are adversely affected by climate change. The initiatives would aim to address issues like falling water table, water logging, changing rainfall patterns, deteriorating water quality, floods, droughts etc.

Under the project, the institute has adopted the Sutlej-Beas Doab Region including the Harike Wetlands and wetlands around Ropar region in order to analyse the deteriorating ground level patterns.

Punjab to have regulatory authority for education reforms

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 23, 2017

Chandigarh : Punjab’s Technical Education Minister Punjab Charanjeet Singh Channi has stated that Regulatory authority will be established to control and reform educational institutes in Punjab.

In this regard, a special meeting with the vice chancellors of universities and education experts will be conducted so that implementation of education reform at the root level could be ensured.

The minister said that success of a state largely depends upon the basic education. He said that regulatory authority will be helpful in implementation of education reforms. He said that now right to service act will be implemented in true spirit. During this Channi said that present government is the first one in state to organise job fair to provide employment opportunities for the youngsters of the state. During these job fairs employment to 50 thousand youngsters will be provided. He said that by organizing such job fairs in the state, government has started fulfilling his promises to provide employment at every house.

He said that government is committed to provide employment opportunities to the youngsters of Punjab. He said that 21 job fairs are proposed to be organised till 31 august at various locations in the state that will host more than 900 reputed companies to shortlist the candidates for offering jobs.

He said that on the first day of job fair at Ryat Bahra University, 36 reputed companies arrived and approximately 6,000 youngsters having various technical qualifications will be selected by these companies. He revealed that such job fairs are being organised at various government technical institutes at Patiala, Amritsar, Bathinda & Phagwara.

Addressing a question on vacant posts in the government departments, he said that these vacant posts will be field very soon. He said that employment fairs subsequent to the job fairs will also be organised in the state, whereat awareness about starting self occupation will be provided to the youngsters and low interest loans will also be provided to them. As such, a draft for organising such employment fairs is in progress, which will be implemented soon.

He said that skill development in the state will be enhanced and foundation course will be started in cooperation with the various companies so that training as per industry demand could be provided to the youngsters. Addressing a question on providing jobs to youngsters of Punjab, he said that priority will be given to the youngsters of Punjab for providing jobs. Besides these, youngsters of Punjab will be given priority for employment in the various industries of Punjab.

Explaining about the education reforms, he said that various new enhancements and process modification will be done in the technical education so that technical education as per industry needs could be provided. He further said that examination centres of Technical institutes will be established in government buildings whereat government officials will be deputed for duties and cheating in any form could not be accepted.

He also said that Rs 100 crore will be spent on development of basic infrastructure of technical institutions. He further said that more than 4 lakh youngsters have registered themselves for jobs at web portal of Punjab Government i.e. www.ggnpunjab.com. He said that with setting up job fairs, Industrialists has gained faith.

Before this while addressing the function, he motivated the youngsters to work with dedication and assured them that Punjab government is committed for providing employment opportunities for the youngsters of Punjab.
Earlier, Gurvinder Singh bahra Chairman Ryat & bahra University expressed thanks to Punjab government for organising such job fairs at the university.

He said that besides 2 universities, 75 institutions, unique skill development and five multi discipline camps are being operated by Ryat & bahra Group. University chancellor Dr. Raj Singh welcomed the Technical Education Minister Punjab.

During the fair, Additional Director Technical Education Mohan Bir Singh, Director Academic Narinder Lamba along with Joint director of university (Management) Pritam Singh Sohal and representative of reputed companies were present.

Now, Aadhaar mandatory for open school exams

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Akash

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August 23, 2017

The Central Government has now made Aadhaar Card compulsory for the students appearing for open school exams to ensure there are no proxy candidates.

The National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS) has decided it after the approval from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). From the next examination of NIOS, candidates will now require to show their Aadhaar to appear in it. The ministry has already made the Aadhaar mandatory for candidates appearing in JEE, NEET and UGC NET examination.

According to a senior NIOS official, “During the exams held in March, the inspection teams found proxy candidates who were appearing on other students’ behalf. To check this practice, Aadhaar has been made mandatory. There will also be scanner machines at examination centres and only those students whose thumb prints match with the existing data be allowed to give exams.”

The NIOS has also decided that the schools without CCTV facility will not be made examination centres. “This has been decided to ensure that videography of the entire examination process is possible and the footage can be checked in future if needed,” the official added.

Besides general and academic courses at secondary and senior secondary level, NIOS offers a number of vocational, life enrichment and community oriented courses. Established in 1989, NIOS also offers elementary level courses through its Open Basic Education Programmes (OBE).

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