India Needs To Revamp Education To Create Jobs

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October 28, 2015

Sam Pitroda, the eminent entrepreneur and technocrat, called for a total make over of education system in India if the country really wants to spread the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation among the youth and younger generation.

“The education system in India is out of sync with current time, it has become redundant and does not foster innovation or entrepreneurship,” said Sam Pitroda while addressing a gathering at the launch of his autobiography Dreaming Big, My journey to connect India. Education in India is still text book oriented and stuck with the mentality of just ‘getting jobs’ rather than creating jobs, he added.

The education in India does not provide basic soft skills. However, the concept of education is changing as it requires motivation and time because all the information and content is already available on internet. In fact, telecom and computers have virtually rendered teachers redundant. He also mentioned that a 19-year-old today has all the information at his fingertips, as he is wired to technology through computers and smartphones. Yet it is the 70 year olds that are deciding on his education, implicitly referring to bodies such as the UGC.

He further emphasised on the innovation, and said that India needs innovation to solve its problems. It needs to provide a proper environment and the solutions have to be affordable and sustainable.

EU keen to rope in India on HE

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digitalLEARNING Network

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October 28, 2015

Bridging their strategic ties strong, the European Union is keen on improving India’s participation in EU-funded higher education programmes such as the Erasmus+ and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) for developing nations, an official informed.

“There is a lot more opportunity for India to take part in our programmes because India is our strategic partner now,” said Brian Toll, Senior Policy Adviser, International Cooperation in Education and Youth, European Commission, Brussels.

“The two programmes give India an opportunity to take part in the projects for students, university staff, researchers and institutions. We want to see India very much involved in looking towards progress in higher education, internationalisation, modernisation, quality and transparency of systems,” added Toll.

Currently, over 55,000 Indian students are studying in the EU, across 4,000 higher education institutions.

The Erasmus+ programme offers students generous scholarships, covering travel and living expenses as well as tuition fees, for approved courses and periods of study, from three-month courses to full Master’s degrees.

Spot admissions to LLB course

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October 28, 2015

According to an official statement released by the Kerala state government, government and private law colleges can fill up their vacant seats of the year through spot admissions. The spot admissions can be given even after the final allotment published by the commissioner of entrance examinations on 12 October, 2015.

The principals of colleges concerned can fill up the vacancies before 31^st October 2015. Those who are eligible for admissions to the five year LLB course can contact the colleges to know the procedure of the spot admissions .

Spot admissions for BHMS seats are also on the roll in colleges even after the final allotment of the seats by the commissioner of entrance examinations. The interview of the candidates would be held at Government Homeopathic College at Iranimuttom. The candidates can register their names at the college before 11 pm.

Ansari launches mobile app under NDLM

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October 28, 2015

Molvi Imran Raza Ansari, Minister of IT, Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports had recently launched an Android mobile application under National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) at a function organised by the Department of Information Technology in collaboration with the MBD group.

The minister has also launched an online service for Public Service Commission (PSC), Service Selection Board (SSB), and Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) through village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) or common service centers (CSCs).

Ansari also released a handbook of NDLM in Urdu and distributed iPads among VLEs. He believed that these services will help educated youth to communicate with institutions Viz PSC, SSB and BOPEE. He said government is making efforts to extend various services to the people across the state through CSCs and IT department units.

UGC asked universities to focus on Skill development mission

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October 28, 2015

University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked more than 700 universities and 35,000 colleges to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s skill development mission. The aim to rope in these institutions is to use their infrastructure beyond formal education. The universities have been asked to implement the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), which aims to train 2.4 million youth in 2015-16.

In a circular dated 12 October, UGC has asked the universities to ensure that the scheme is implemented with quality outcomes in universities and in the colleges affiliated with the universities. UGC has asked universities to furnish the plan by the end of October.

The centre is fearful that Rs.1500 crore initiative might meet the same fate as that of the Standard Training and Assessment and Reward (STAR) scheme which was launched by the previous government and implemented by the NSDC. PMKVY scheme has also been implemented by NSDC too.

The STAR scheme offered school dropouts financial incentives to acquire skills but the report said of those who got their results, only 24 per cent received certificates and less than 18 per cent received monitory rewards. This is despite the fact that 80 per cent candidates had bank accounts and other 91 per cent had Aadhaar numbers.

With this initiative UGC believes that this is a beneficial initiative for the universities and colleges as they have a huge network in terms of infrastructure and access to youth.

Scrap reservation in HE institutions: SC

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October 28, 2015

Laying emphasis on merit rather than giving undue privileges through reservation in the educational institutions, the Supreme has urged the Centre and the state governments to scrap all forms of reservation in institutions of higher education, in national interest.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and P C Pant noted that despite several reminders to the central and state governments to make merit the primary criteria for admissions into super-specialty courses, the ground reality remained that reservation often holds sway over merit.

The court regretted that some “privilege remains unchanged” even after 68 years of independence. “The fond hope has remained in the sphere of hope… The said privilege remains unchanged, as if (it is) to compete with eternity,” the bench stated.

It concurs completely with what the Supreme Court had ruled in 1988 in two judgments, it added.

In the two cases, while dealing with the issue of reservation in super-specialty courses in medical institutions, the top court had said “there should really be no reservation” since it is in the general interest of the country for improving the standard of higher education, and thereby improving the quality of available medical services to the people of India.

“We hope and trust that the Government of India and the state governments shall seriously consider this aspect of the matter without delay and appropriate guidelines shall be evolved…,” the judgments stated.

It has also asked the government authorities to abstain from relaxing the eligibility criteria basing it on various kinds of reservation since it would not equate the objective of imparting the best possible training to selected meritorious candidates.

The bench made these observations as it delivered its judgment on a batch of petitions, which had challenged an eligibility criteria for admissions into certain super-specialty medical courses in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

First Indo-British Partnership School In Rohtak

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October 27, 2015

An independent co-educational secondary day and boarding school in Somerset, England, King’s College, Taunton, has joined hands with educators in India to form the first British Partnership school in the country. Rohtak city in the Indian state of Haryana was selected as the location for this school, keeping in mind the city’ educational background.

The school, King’s College India, is scheduled to open in August 2016 for children of 1st to 8th Standard. The admission process is likely to start from November 2015. The school will take enrolments for children aged between six and 13, similar to the UK’s Prep-school system.

Initially, the curriculum will be based on the British Common Entrance system, which generates academic excellence for children up to 13 years of age and prepares a platform for high-performing success at IGCSE and A-levels in future.

King’s College India will offer a range of boarding options including day boarding, flexi boarding (selected nights), weekly boarding and full boarding. The boarders will enjoy the facilities of a high standard of house accommodation – with homely common rooms and dormitories combined with sympathetic and dedicated House Parents that ensure a warm hearted and happy environment.

King’s College India aims to instill a desire for excellence and a love of learning in its students which extends beyond the confines of the academic classroom. The school believes that all students should develop independent, enquiring minds and be encouraged to realise their full potential in the classroom, artistically and in sports.

BRPL-IGNOU Partners To Offer Skill Development Programme

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October 27, 2015

BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), Delhi’s private discom and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) have entered into a partnership to offer a skill development programme in the distribution sector.

The unique initiative requires recognition from IGNOU to conduct a skill development programme by the discom in power distribution.

The discom has identified the technical centre in the Punjabi Bagh area of New Delhi as the venue to conduct “Competency Certificate in Power Distribution” training programme, under the School of Engineering and Technology. The main objective of the programme is to formally provide training to a number of the network field workers and to ensure that all the workers deployed should have continued skill development through formal technical training. The initiative will give participants a chance to sharpen thier skills and get them acquainted with practices.

30-35% Seats Lying Vacant in Technical Courses

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October 27, 2015

With focus on skill development and for improving situation in colleges, decision makers are looking towards the high number of vacant seats in technical courses. With a sizeable number of seats remain unoccupied, private engineering colleges are waiting for announcement of fresh directives by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to allow colleges to use infrastructure for skill development classes.

Recently, AICTE signed an MoU with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to carry out studies on skill requirements and develop content.

According to sources, about 30 per cent to 35 per cent seats have been lying vacant in every state in technical courses for last couple of years.

In Madhya Pradesh, around 42,000 seats out of 1 lakh were left vacant in 2013-14 and around 51,000 of 99,000 engineering seats remained vacant in 2014-15. This highlights a nationwide slump in the demand for technical courses. Even, this year, around 45,000 seats were left vacant.

Earlier this year, engineering colleges in Madhya Pradesh had announced that 5,000 seats would be surrendered. After surrendering seats, the state is still left with 90,000 seats. Even after it, the problem continues. Colleges felt huge infrastructure must be allowed to use it for other educational purpose to fight issue of vacant seats.

Dubai Future Champions Education week receives accolades

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October 27, 2015

Dubai Future Champions Education week received much accolades by the education stakeholders for its new and innovative approach. The second edition of the education week marked a huge success among the participants. The programme was aimed to engage children with the unique heritage of their local area and raise their employment aspirations and introduced them to the variety of employment opportunities offered by the industry.

The initiative was promoted by the support of the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Newmarket Racecourses. Supporting the project, including the National Horseracing Museum, The National Stud, Tattersalls, TOPSPEC, and the Newmarket Equine Hospital, the education programme is an eye opener for all the stakeholders.

Under the programme the history of horseracing and the town of Newmarket was explored through the identification of famous landmarks. Breeding knowledge was then imparted during a guided tour of the National Stud. Biology and science information was imparted by Vets.

The week concluded with trip to the Rowley Mile Racecourse for racing, allowing the students to witness the programme’s four legged subjects in action.

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