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MHRD to conduct central curriculum assessment from June

By
Akash
-

In order to review its own curriculum and to determine a student’s learning, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has decided to conduct a nationwide curriculum assessment from June this year.

“We are doing an assessment. The Right to Education Act provides that there should be learning outcomes on the basis of which we should determine, how much a child has been learnt so far. We have been providing lots of inputs but how much a child has learnt was not determined through the specific learning outcomes”, said Anil Swarup, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, MHRD.

“Now, these learning outcomes have been announced. Post announcement, we are going to conduct a national assessment survey through which we are going to assess the students of class 3, 5 and 8 as to where has the child progressed. So that is what we are going to under Central National Assessment Survey (CNAS),” said Swarup, in a conversation with Elets Technomedia.

In its efforts to improve the school education segment, the latest move by the ministry will help in upgrading the curriculum after reviewing the students’ performance.

“By 31st of December, we expect to get all the results. It will be rolled out in schools in a random sampling basis. This will help us to figure out the bottlenecks for every class and in adopting corrective measures,” he added.

AISECT: Refining Private Education Space

By
Akash
-

AISECT, the first private university of Madhya Pradesh, has taken various initiatives on different fronts to provide quality higher education in the State. The university has also made efforts to ease the norms for operating a private university, says Santosh Kumar Choubey, Chancellor, AISECT University, in an interview with Arpit Gupta of the Elets News Network (ENN).

With the changing times and maddening race to emulate competitors, what prominent challenges a private university like yours is faced with?

The biggest challenge for the university was to change the perception of education stakeholders and build reputation. Earlier, the rules of operating a university were harder, which continues to be the case. Private universities were deprived from the funding benefits and various types of assistance that State and Central Universities enjoy.

To improve the situation, an All India Private University Conference was organised by AISECT University in 2012 where all universities from across the country were invited. The Central and State Government regulatory bodies discussed about challenges and anomalies faced by the private operators in higher education system at the conference. Almost everyone in the conference agreed to the problems faced by private universities in terms of regulation, multiple commands and operations.

Since then efforts have been made to ease the norms for operating private universities across the country. It is also expected that in coming time all the universities, irrespective of private or government, will be provided a level field to operate.

What are some of the innovations being introduced in AISECT University vis-a-vis State and Central Universities?

Some of the important innovations introduced by AISECT University include:

  • Promoting Skill Development by setting up skill academies, collaborating with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and making one skill course compulsory for each year at UG and PG level i.e. four skill courses in an undergraduate (UG) course and two at PG level.
  • Establishing Renewable Energy Centre and Energy Park in the University to develop green energy culture, the only campus in Madhya Pradesh and amongst 17 in India to be selected for Green Campus by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
  • Adopting three villages and holding week-long camps in the villages at regular intervals for awareness and training of villagers in the areas of health, cleanliness, education, literacy, digital communication, banking etc.
  • Developing an incubation centre to promote the best startup projects and conducting startup competitions at national-level. The centre has also attracted industry mentors who have supported the finest startup projects at AISECT University.

With placement of students becoming a yardstick to evaluate a university’s status, what has been your achievement in this context? How significant innovation is to your university?

Placement is an important mark of credibility for an institution. Our university’s innovative Training and Placement Department serves this aspect. Our emphasis is on producing well educated, skilled and confident professionals who are industry-ready after graduation. More than 50 per cent of our students get placed before completing their respective courses. A strong incubation centre is one of the most important dimensions of our placement. With an abundance of startup competitions, thereby enabling us to produce not only good number of employees but also successful entrepreneurs.

Almost every other university is collaborating with foreign universities and government departments, what initiatives have been taken by your university in this regard?  

Right from the beginning, AISECT University has given lot of importance to expand its horizon across the academia, industries and research labs. We have identified organisations in India and abroad for collaboration and to gain from their expertise in specific fields. Some of these collaborations include:

  • NCTU, Taiwan: We are working together along with IIT Delhi to enhance spectral efficiency of solar cell in a project costing about Rs 40 lakh.
  • ICEWaRM, Australia: This collaboration involves working jointly in the field of water resources and management. In this context, we organised a four-day international conference on Water, Energy and Environment where 350 research papers were presented by 20 countries were being published by Elsevier.
  • KIEV University, Ukraine: This entails collaboration in the field of space and earth science.
  • MoI University Eldoret, Kenya: This is a research project in the pipeline on water resources.
  • KAIST, South Korea & RPI, USA: It involves collaborative work on Renewable Energy.
  • PetruMaior University of TarguMures, Romania: We are working jointly on environmental science/engineering.

Similarly, there are more than 15 research laboratories, industries and institutes in India, including AMPRI, CIAE, NITTTR, IIT New Delhi, TATA Motors, Reliance, BSNL, etc, with whom AISECT University has a collaboration for skill delivery, research projects and exchange programmes.

What steps your university has been following to ensure the finest faculty delivering in this fast developing world?

Rigorous faculty selection process is undertaken by the university to ensure highly qualified and experienced teachers. Almost 50 per cent of which are PhDs and around 20 per cent are having industry experience. Moreover, collaboration with seven foreign universities, 10 Indian institutes, research laboratories and industries, facilitates exchange programmes for students and renowned experts. We promote a strong culture of national and international academic events, about five every year, where experts expose students to latest development in technology, corporate, industries and academia.

What steps have been undertaken for research-based learning by your university?

Research-driven education is an integral part of our vision and mission. Following initiatives have been taken in this regard:

  • The university has identified four areas to encourage researches – Renewable Energy, Material Science, Environmental Engineering and Water Resources, and Earth and Space Science. Advanced research labs in these four areas have been developed with an investment of more than Rs two crore. An advanced software lab covering these areas is also available. These resources are available from undergraduate to research scholars.
  • The university has been publishing two bi-annual peer reviewed research journals – “Anusandhan” for Science, Management and Technology and “Shodhaytan” for Non Tech discipline from the past five years.
  • A Core Research Group (CRG) has been formed to promote research projects with external and internal funding. CRG has pan India experts in the field as members. In this context, the university has one ongoing Indo-Taiwan project in the field of solar cells, five ongoing internally funded projects marked at Rs one crore each and four projects have been currently put up to various external agencies for funding.
  • The university has an incentive scheme for research activities and writing. This has resulted in publishing of more than 300 research papers in national and international conferences and seminars and more than 20 books. In last three years, more than 15 faculty members and students have gone abroad related to research activities.

Today’s Connected Campuses Need Trusting Identities

By
Akash
-

Securing university campuses across the globe is one of the major concerns for the management of educational institutes. Adoption of smart card technology is one of the initiatives by educational institutes for enhancing the security. WeiJin Lee, Regional Director, Secure Issuance, APAC HID Global, explores various dimensions of smart card technology for Elets News network (ENN).

India, a growing market for identification technologies and ID card personalisation, is going through a significant transition. There is a growing demand of durable and secure ID cards among corporate as well as government bodies for their employees.

A secure ID card with visual security provides cheaper yet significant advantage by ensuring that only genuine users can have access to offices buildings. The technology also helps in easy verification and discrimination of an ID from a fake one.

Better security systems are very important for every educational institute in India. Some of these institutions need to upgrade their existing technologies to tackle the security challenges they face. As enrolments grow, university and college administrators expand facilities and services, often using vulnerable campus ID card systems.

Older solutions often lack many necessary features, functions and flexibility. Moreover, after rise in number of incidents like violence in schools, it is challenging for administrators to improve security, restrict fraudulent access to the campus and improve overall quality of the campus experience. Along with meeting the growing demand of security, administrators have to provide securely connected services while protecting user privacy in today’s ever growing digital world. They must navigate a shift in the use of identities that is fueling broader adoption of mobile and advanced smart card technology, while putting greater emphasis on the cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) use cases.

Charting a Course

The best path forward for today’s universities and colleges is to systematically replace old technology with the latest “One Card” solutions. It delivers improved end-to-end card issuance capabilities and a path to new functions – as well as the Return on Investment (ROI) value. Successful implementation of card identification system must deliver flexible student and faculty accessibility through visual security. The cards will also enable the users for many applications such as from opening dorm room doors to making cashless transit system payments or checking out media centre materials. These systems are dependent on physical cards, so implementation must also support “Green Campus” initiatives through features like waste free ID card lamination and eco-friendly card printers.

To upgrade smart card technology, universities must evaluate the time, cost and logistics associated with replacing existing card infrastructure and then re-badging every card holder in the campus. What required is a comprehensive, end-to-end ID solution and phased process for upgrading an existing card system. It enables incremental deployment of new smart cards while still using old student ID cards and the existing campus hardware.

Key solution features include an integrated ID card system with the power to issue new cards, multi-technology readers, card technology, and a combination of ID card printers and encoders with card personalisation software. Some universities will need their readers to support both new contactless smart cards and legacy magnetic stripe cards, as they phase out legacy systems, as well as wireless locks with built-in encryption and enhanced security. Choosing the right card technology will deliver advanced security and interoperability between locks, readers, and multiple card applications.  The cards, readers, and software technology should be flexible enough for physical access control (i.e. opening doors) as well as logical access control (i.e. used with desktop readers to pay for cafeteria meals, or checking out library materials).

Choice of ID card printers and encoders, and associated card personalisation software is also very important. Use of in-line personalisation technology is a big time saver for institutions at the time of registration.  It enables the office staff to print student information to the card at the same time they are encoding and programming both the magnetic stripe and contactless smart card technology, all in a single, in-line issuance process. This approach significantly reduces total issuance time, and eliminates mistakes that are often made when data is entered manually.

Additionally, some card production solutions are offering the flexibility to print and encode through a commercial print bureau, further easing the burden of time and errors.  Advances in print quality, lamination and visual security features made today’s cards are more secure and durable than those produced by legacy printers.

Card issuance choices can also affect sustainability. Two key developments include adopting “wasteless” lamination, and reducing carbon footprints as defined through the GreenCircle certification programme.  With wasteless lamination, the lamination patches that are applied to cards for increased durability are attached to one another in a continuous stream of material on a single roll. Through technologies that ensure precise placement, the need for an underlying carrier film is eliminated so that, once the supply roll has been depleted, all that remains is a single empty core.

GreenCircle certification delivers further cost savings through advancements in card lamination technologies that have reduced the significant energy required to heat up and maintain optimal operating temperature.

In addition to these latest smart card advancements, there are other developments underway as the industry changes how it uses trusted identities.

Preparing for a Shift in the Use of Trusted Identities

The more identities are used to access a variety of campus facilities and services along with this it is important that wither they can be trusted or not. New technology is driving new forms of digitally connected trusted identities, and a shift in how we use these trusted identities is leading to increased adoption of mobile devices and the latest smart card technology. The greater emphasis and reliance is on the cloud and on new way of thinking about trust in the smart campus and Internet of Things (IoT).

For instance, credential issuance for physical ID cards will soon experience a digital transformation, as the use of cloud technologies will enable service-focused models for badge printing and encoding. Cloud -based models for delivering network-based ID badge issuance management will feature the security of end-to-end encryption and eliminate the need for stand-alone card printers attached to dedicated PC workstations. This will transform the user experience and operational management of ID badge printing. It will also reduce costs, increase administrative visibility, simplify system maintenance, and improve security as compared to on-premises solutions.

Administrators are also increasingly aware that smart phones, which seem to be permanently in their students’ hands, can provide a very convenient and quite natural way to carry trusted campus IDs for opening doors and performing other tasks that require presentation of a secure credential. Plus, students lose their cell phones less often than they lose their cards so, ultimately, the cost for replacement credentials will be reduced.  University employees also benefit from carrying credentials on their phones. They aren’t required to wear their ID cards, so they may arrive at a facility without one and have trouble gaining access. But since most carry their cell phone everywhere, the ability to gain access is a given if these phones also carry their credentials.

Rather than acting as competitive forms of ID, traditional physical ID cards and mobile IDs that have been securely provisioned onto mobile devices will function most effectively in harmony, multiplying each other’s benefits. Digital identities in the form of smart cards have been successfully used in business and for a variety of government issued cards for over 10 years. The government issued cards include employee IDs, national IDs, healthcare cards and “smart” drivers’ license.

The concept of mobile IDs is particularly compelling in the university environment where trusted identities can be used for everything from accessing physical areas to conducting digital transactions and checking out media centre resources. New cloud-based systems will issue both physical and mobile IDs simultaneously in a one-step process that make issuance easy for both the organisation and recipient.

There will also be new ways to use trusted identities for more than access control on today’s connected campus. For instance, trusted identities can be used to connect people, places and things in applications like automating campus guard tours. By combining Near Field Communication (NFC) trusted tag technology with a cloud-based authentication platform, security check points can be accurately tracked and guards can be instantly dispatched for incident response. This approach enables security guards to patrol areas more easily and efficiently, automating patrol stops and replacing manual sign-in processes. With a simple tap of their mobile phone to a secure trusted tag, a guard can digitally prove that a security patrol took place at the proper location, at the proper time.

Universities need to secure their facilities and assets without restricting students, staff and visitors from enjoying campus offerings. As universities move to “One Card” solutions and new mobile options, it will make accessing their campuses more flexible and secure. It will enable more capabilities, reduce costs while improving efficiency, and support campus “green” initiatives. At the same time, they will be paving the way for additional capabilities down the road, as trusted identities play more integral roles across a wider range of applications in an increasingly connected campus environment.

Joylap: Innovating to make Learning Joyful

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Having a sharp focus on student-centric approach, Joylap preschool refrains from using the word teacher, and instead uses the word mentor. This slight change in approach has helped a lot in bridging the gap between teachers and students, says Mamta Bansal, Managing Director, Joylap Preschool, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).

How is Joylap helping its students build a strong foundation of future?

Joylap, as the name suggests, provides a ‘lap of joy’ to the ‘budding flowers’. We create a favourable environment and deliver curriculum to ignite the spirit of enquiry, creativity and moral leadership among our students.

We empower our children to have freedom of thought and promote critical thinking, problem solving skills, communication skills, collaborative approach, global awareness and social responsibility. We help them become green ambassadors of peace and happiness.

The school utilises the Tabkids technology (first time in north India) to connect children to the world of technology from the initial stages. Could you elaborate more on this?

We are about two decades old in this digital era. Tabkids is a next generation activity-based education platform which enhances self-interactive learning and assessment. It ensures that children understand and retain all the key concepts better and faster. We, at Joylap, use the Tabkids technology to provide a proper direction to the inquisitiveness of kids, though it forms only 10 per cent of the curriculum.

Tell us about the multi-sensory active learning system used at Joylap.

The multi-sensory active learning system involves using two or more human senses in the same activity. When this approach is used with the toddlers, the brain’s ability to reorganise itself and form new connections throughout life is highly enhanced. It increases concentration and  focus, develops sense of cause and effect, improves communication and sharing, and promotes mental and physical relaxation. It brings fun, joy and creativity to an activity through active involvement of kids. It is a win-win situation both for children as well as parents. With the help of this system, learning becomes an opportunity for the child to explore, learn and grow.

A good two-way communication between parents and the staff of Joylap is one of the key factors to ensure holistic development of the children. Various modes of communication, participation and acknowledgement are incorporated to focus on the learning of the child.

Which teaching methodologies are adopted by Joylap to stimulate the children’s growth and learning processes in a preschool environment?

At Joylap, we focus on a student-centric approach. We refrain from using the word ‘teacher’ because we don’t teach, but facilitate. We have mentors rather than teachers. This light change has helped a lot in bridging the gap between teachers and students. Our mentors and children have one-toone interactions that leads to higher achievement — promoting both team and class building. The lesson plans are tailored to meet the individual needs of students. Allowing children to select activities based on their areas of interest is an excellent motivation for kids.

How cordial relationship between parents and preschool staff plays a crucial role in the holistic development of children?

A good two-way communication between parents and the staff of Joylap is one of the key factors to ensure holistic development of the children. Various modes of communication, participation and acknowledgement are incorporated to focus on the learning of the child. Besides maintaining a healthy parent-teacher relationship, we have also succeeded in contributing towards husbandwife- child relationship to an extent, with an aim to spread happiness all around.

200 KVs and 125 Navodaya Vidyalayas running without principals: Report

By
Akash
-

A report submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) revealed that at least 200 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and 125 Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country are running without principals.

According to the report, there is a shortage of around 10,000 teachers, including those for primary classes of KVs.

The revelation comes against the backdrop of demands from aspiring teachers and education stakeholders for filling up vacant positions in various institutions including the prestigious IITs and central universities such as the DU.

The annual report submitted for the year 2015-16 by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) disclosed, out of total 1,081 posts for principals, 200 of them are vacant while Vice-Principals’ position is vacant in 113 schools.

“10,039 teaching posts including TGTs, PGTs and PRTs are also vacant in Kendriya Vidyalayas besides 14,144 non-teaching posts”, the report pointed out.

Currently, KVS manages 1,142 Kendriya Vidyalayas, including three abroad — Moscow (Russia), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Tehran (Iran).

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti that supervises functioning of the Javahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) across the country, is also facing similar kind of faculty shortage pointed out in the annual report of the. JNVs are government-funded residential schools set-up in each district of the country for gifted students.

“Out of 589 sanctioned posts of principals in JNVs 125 are vacant while 53 schools do not have vice-principals. A total of 2,023 teaching posts and 1,734 non-teaching posts are also lying vacant in JNVs across the country,” the annual report said.

Varsity launches app to track and monitor work of medical students and teachers

By
Akash
-

Yenepoya University has launched a multipurpose mobile/web app for medical/dental students and teachers to analyse, track and monitor their work.

 The Android app – Yengram acts as a workstation on wheels. It helps doctors to monitor complete database of work done. The app helps improving communication capabilities, keeps record of every electronic medical records (EMRs), picture archiving and communication systems (PACSs). It also provides several other options like fixing appointments, search and add patients etc.

“It is a simple, yet powerful app that makes management easier for doctors in medical and dental colleges. Its features include manage team, view team appointments, add patients, schedule appointments, search patients, track patients’ records and monitor health conditions wherever we are. The app, which was launched last week, will be used by nearly 300 doctors and postgraduate students of the Yenepoya Dental College and it will be introduced for the students of Yenepoya Medical College in future”, said Dr Sham S Bhat, Vice-Principal, Yenepoya Dental College.

Explaining how useful the app is for students and teachers, Dr Shailesh Shenoy (reader), Department of Pedodontics, Yenepoya Dental College, said, “Registered users can update data and upload pictures related to patients to the app instantly. Meanwhile, professors will be able to monitor and assess their students based on the information uploaded through the app,” he said.

IIT council to review 122 percent fee hike by Smriti Irani-led HRD Mininstry

By
Akash
-

In a meeting proposed on April 28, IIT Council will review the decision taken by MHRD for increasing the tuition fee.

An official source said that the review of the fee hike and financial assistance to special category students will be one of the priority agendas to be discussed at the meeting, reported NDTV.

In its last meeting held in August last year, the council raised its concerns over the fee hike. The directors of several IITs said then that the whole purpose of increasing the fee to enhance revenue had been failed by the financial concession introduced for special category students.

MHRD decided to hike the fee of India’s premier engineering colleges by 122 per cent last year. In its meeting, the apex body for IITs would take a decision about the hike in tuition fee and awarding financial concessions to special category students.

The official source said, “There is a proposal that either the HRD Ministry or the Social Justice Ministry should reimburse the IITs for the cost of educating students entitled to complete fee waiver. It has also been recommended that students from the economically backward sections should be given interest-free loans instead of full or partial waiver.”

The hike increased the tuition fee for undergraduate courses in IITs from Rs 90,000 to Rs two lakh for all new admissions. A complete tuition fee waiver was also introduced for the students belonging to SC, ST or Differently Abled category or for students whose family income is less than Rs 1 lakh per annum.

JEE-Advanced likely to be conducted over mobile phones: JAB suggests

By
Akash
-

In a recent meeting of the Joint Admission Board (JAB), a proposal was tabled to conduct JEE Advanced over mobile phones.

As of now, the proposal is at primary stage and will be soon taken up by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) council, the apex decision-making body for the institutes.

Around 1.2 million aspirants participated in JEE Main examination last year, out of which approximately 2 lakh students qualify for the JEE Advanced.

The officials are looking to conduct the JEE Advanced exam online whereas the option to take the Mains test online has already been introduced, reported Hindustan Times.

For conducting JEE Advanced online, the exam pattern is likely to be changed. A senior official in this regard said, “There are many issues that have to be looked into before implementing it.”

Another official said, “The infrastructure available presently requires the conduct of the online exam in multiple sessions. Establishing equivalence of the papers used in the different sessions is an unsolved problem.”

Reports also suggested on formation of panel in order to focus on the development and testing of online platform for JEE Advanced. If implemented, issues like lack of computer awareness would also be taken care of

A report in this regard also suggested for computer-adaptive tests splitting the examination into three papers of two-hour duration for each subject.

IIT council will conduct a meeting in this regard on April 28.

Centre to set up central university for differently abled students: HRD Minister

By
Akash
-

The Central government has decided to set up a Central University for differently-abled students, said Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Human Resource Development.

Addressing the convocation ceremony at Shakuntala Mishra Rehabilitation University, Lucknow, Javadekar said, the government is sensitive to needs of disabled and which is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has coined the term “divyang”. Prime Minister has asked all higher education institutions to ensure barrier-free movement for disabled students by constructing ramps and lifts in their premises, said Javadekar.

The new education – inclusive in nature – where the differently abled are given education along with the normal kids inside the same classroom is a sign of free and new India, Javadekar said. “Inclusive education encourages the disabled to learn more and boosts their confidence, but it is the already empowered students who gain more. They learn to be sensitive,” Javadekar added.

Expressing his happiness on the Indianess of convocation attire, Javadekar said, “I am happy to see students and teachers dressed in Indian attire. There are no black British gowns, finally.” He added, the naming of auditorium (where convocation was held) after Atal Bihari Vajpayee is another reason that makes him happy.

He also offered financial assistance to the university for setting a Braille Press inside the campus, and sought a proposal in this regard.

VIT University To offer full fee waiver to board toppers

By
Akash
-

VIT University, leading private education institutes of India, has offered 100 per cent fee waiver to state and central board toppers across the country.

The board toppers will be offered direct admission to four year B Tech programmes of the university. “Under the G V School Development Programme, Central and State board toppers would be given 100 per cent fee waiver for all the four years,” said Sankar Viswnathan, Vice President, VIT University.

Candidates with ranks up to 50 would be given a 75 per cent tuition fee waiver, from ranks ranging from 51 to 100 would be given a 50 per cent and from 101 to 1000 would be given a 25 per cent tuition fee waiver, he added.

He also informed that the students who appeared for VIT Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE) and also secured top ranks in class XIII at district level from State Board affiliated schools will be given 100 per fee concession and free boarding and lodging in the VIT hostels under STARS scheme.

The Chancellor of the university said that admissions would be done only on merit, based on the marks obtained by the candidates in the VITEEE.

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