School Dropout among Tribal Children a Concern: Irani

By

-

July 25, 2014

Despite witnessing a fall in the rate of overall school dropouts, tribal children school dropout continues to be a matter of concern for the government, Union minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Smriti Irani informed the parliament.

There has been an improvement in the overall primary school dropout rate in the country except in the case of tribal children Irani said in the Lok Sabha. The primary school dropout rate has been recorded down from 9.11 percent in 2009-10 to 4.67 percent in 2013-14.

The government has taken numerous measures to improve the condition of the primary schools by providing safe drinking water and toilets, she further informed. Letters have been sent to the chief ministers of each state highlighting the issues related to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the minister added.

UGC Fails, CBSE to Conduct NET

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 25, 2014

The Central Board of Secondary Education is all set to take up the National Eligibility Test (NET) after the failure of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to conduct the exam hassle-free.

The decision came in a commission meeting where the UGC, with the consent of the HRD ministry has asked CBSE to conduct the test. Apart from conducting exams like the class X and XII board exams for its affiliated schools, pre-medical entrance tests, joint engineering entrance (main), and the central teachers eligibility test, the inclusion of NET from this year will make CBSE the largest exam conducing body.

There has been a rise in the number of candidates appearing for the NET as compared to last year. Over 33,000 candidates appeared for the test in June 29, 2014, with an increase of 25 per cent from that of the test conducted in December last year

Free Online Library for Science Enthusiasts

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 23, 2014

In an attempt to make learning more accessible, Function Space, a social learning network for science and technology, has come up with a free online library to help under-graduate students learn science.

The move is aimed at providing students a one-stop solution for learning science on the Web through knowledge-sharing and interaction.

The library section, which includes books, video lectures, discussions, articles and science tools like equation caller, editor, computational engine etc., could help students of high school and graduate levels in science and engineering.

The online library is helpful for both teachers and students who can interact with the experts from the industry and find solutions to complex problems, said Sakshi Majumdar, the founder of Function Space. It also enables students and teachers to network with students and professors from prestigious universities like MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Caltech, Cornell, Berkeley, UCLA, IITs and IIScs, among several others spanning 190 countries.

International Partnership to Revive Global Agriculture Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 23, 2014

India, Africa and the USA have joined hands to revitalise global agriculture education, capacity building and technology transfer through ‘One Agriculture-One Science: A Global Education Consortium’. The move has been made possible through the collaboration of International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and top universities of these continents.

Under ‘One Agriculture-One Science’, different agricultural education institutes, research organisations and other related agencies have formed a group to focus on addressing changes and adaptations required for agricultural education. Also, to attain food and nutritional security and sustainability productions in developing countries.

It also plans to bring various disciplines of farm education like crop, livestock, fisheries, natural resource management etc under one roof by providing a platform to overcome the challenges of accessibility and affordability. The institutions in this partnership shall also offer short courses, scholarship programmes and collaborative research opportunities for the students.

UGC asks colleges to re-engage adhoc teachers

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 22, 2014

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has instructed the colleges affiliated to Delhi University to re-engage the ad-hoc teachers who served the college till the last working day of the previous academic session and fulfill the criteria put down by the UGC.

The instruction dated July 21, 2014, follows a realisation that the colleges of Delhi University were faced with a serious crisis with re-engaging the adhoc teachers due to the shift of FYUP to the earlier three-year undergraduate programme.

The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), who welcomed the move, believe that it will be helpful for teachers to recover their dues and also help in the smooth running of the new session

Three premier media institutes to get national tag

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 22, 2014

In a significant thrust to film and media education in the country, three premier institutes – Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) are likely to be awarded the status of institutes of national importance along with the power to award degrees.

Proposals to this effect were mooted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) with the aim to grant greater autonomy to these institutes along with boosting international partnerships and funding. The move was announced by Finance minister Arun Jaitley during his maiden budget speech on July 10. The proposal is likely to be put before the Cabinet soon.

While Cabinet formalities for SRFTI and FTII have already been cleared by the Law ministry, formalities for presenting the proposal for IIMC are in final stages. Once the proposals are approved, they will have to go through parliamentary sanction. Ministry sources further inform that plans to introduce advance academic programmes in IIMC like MA, MPhill and PhD are also in the pipeline.

Faculty Crunch Haunts IITs and NITs

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 22, 2014

The country’s top technical institutes are marred by an acute shortage of staff, official figures suggest. While the shortage of faculty in the sixteen IITs stands at 36.5 per cent, the NITs have a whopping 40.8 per cent vacancy in teaching positions, as per data provided by the central Human Resource Development ministry.

The reasons behind this faculty crunch include retirement, resignation, increase in students’ intake and non-availability of qualified candidates for taking up teaching assignments, Smriti Irani, Union HRD minister stated in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Efforts are being made through various initiatives to attract candidates for the teaching position, the minister informed the parliament. To overcome this problem, NITs have started engaging contract and additional staff along with the use of online mode of teaching. The salary for the teaching staff at the NITs, on the other hand, have been brought at par with the IITs in a bid to attract quality teachers to the institute.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has further reduced the salary limit for employment Visa to foreign faculty from US$ 25,000 to US$ 14,000 with a view to make it possible for foreign faculty to join IITs and NITs, the minister further informed.

Imbalanced growth of medical colleges affecting healthcare: Harsh Vardhan

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 21, 2014

An imbalance in the growth of medical colleges and institutions in India is adversely affecting the delivery of healthcare to people, Union Health minister Harsh Vardhan recently informed the parliament. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister stated that the Health ministry has already made certain amendments to the regulations of the Medical Council of India (MCI) for setting up medical colleges. These amendments, he said, were made to address the geographic and rural-urban imbalance of medical institutions.

In the hilly and notified tribal areas, the north-eastern states, Union territories of Andaman and Nicobar islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep, medical colleges can be set up in two separate pieces of land at a distance of not more than 10 km, the minister further informed. There is also a centrally sponsored scheme which looks after the establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district hospitals, the minister’s statement read.

Rs 55 million scholarship launched for X-XII students

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 17, 2014

A scholarship of Rs 55 million was launched for students of classes X to XII. This is India’s outside of government biggest scholarship scheme initiative.

It was announced by Lore India Foundation Scholarship Trust which is promoted by top academicians of the country, which includes IIT-Delhi professor Seyed E Hasnain, former UGC chairman Hari Gautam, and vice-chancellor of National Law University Ranbir Singh, among others.

The scholarship also has a unique feature ‘monetary awards’ to top schools to improve infrastructure and acquire new technology or fund meritorious students from disadvantaged background.

There will be 103 scholarships from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 50 Lakh which will be given based on a learning aptitude test (LAT). The undergraduate scholarship endowments can be used by scholars to pursue higher education in any discipline. It can also be used to prepare for coaching required for entrance exams. to get admission to a programme of the scholar’s choice. The programme also includes rewards and recognition programmes for schools, which will be ranked based on the performance of their students in LAT. The top three schools in the country will receive monetary awards of Rs 25 lakh, %Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively.

The scholarship aims to identify, assess, reward and mentor the brightest young minds of the country.

Tech Mahindra signs MoU with Wichita State University

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

July 17, 2014

Tech Mahindra a specialist provider of connected solutions, signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Wichita State University (WSU), a state educational institution of Kansas in the area of aerospace engineering, certification, information technology and automotive testing. Tech Mahindra will collaborate with WSU and its National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) on multiple areas of engineering including composites, advanced materials and structural testing. Tech Mahindra plans to invest in equipping the engineering talent available in the region to enhance their employability in the Wichita aerospace community. This investment will enable Tech Mahindra to provide end-to-end solutions from design, to testing and certification for global aerospace & automotive customers and prospects in the region.

Krishna Balasubramaniam, Head of Americas, Aerospace & Defense, Tech Mahindra stated that they are eager to leverage local talent pool by working with WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research as it takes a leadership role in supporting the global aviation industry with its research, development, testing, and certification and training services. He believe that this synergy can help reach the next level of solution offerings to their customers addressing their custom needs and industry specific requirements in the areas of certification and testing.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories