CBSE schools triple as board attracts students, parents alike

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June 17, 2014

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is swiftly picking up popularity across India as new figures reveal that CBSE board schools have increased to 15,000 from just 4,843 in 1996-97. In 2001-02, there were 6,293 affiliated schools, which increased to 13,898 in March 2012-13.

Majority of this growth has come from independent private schools, the number, which elevated from 3,483 in 2001-02 to 10,290 at the end of 2013.

CBSE officials believe that board’s student-school friendly academic and administrative reforms are the reason for its increasing popularity.

The CBSE is a national board that provides flexibility to parents as well as students to move anywhere in the country. School Principals are of the opinion that the popularity of CBSE is due to the its syllabus that syncs with the competitive entrance exams for professional courses.

According to a CBSE administrative officer, 98 percent of the schools, who apply for CBSE affiliation are new schools. New Delhi is leading with the highest number of CBSE schools, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Kerala.

Maharashtra has now over 500 CBSE board schools, which is an increase of 67 percent in last three years. CBSE officials added that students are drawn towards the board also because of the implementation of the continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system. Apart from the presence of the modern curricula, CBSE board is making efforts to make learning stress-free. For this, CBSE has issued guidelines for teachers to constructively address the misbehaviour in class.

More girls to rock B-schools this year

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

This time, many popular B-schools across India have been admitting more women candidates to promote gender diversity. In some universities, the number of girl students in 2014-16 batch is more compared to the previous batch.

To encourage the female candidates to join, several institutes have been offering incentives. IIM-Calcutta is giving additional three marks to girls, who have made it to the interview round. IIM-Lucknow is giving extra weightage to girl students as well as students from non-engineering backgrounds.

At IIM Ahmedabad and Bangalore, the number of women candidates shortlisted has gone up from 276 to 364 and 200 to 230, respectively. The number of girls for 2014-16 batch at BIMTECH is roughly 20 percent higher in comparison to last year’s enrollment.

Overall, 429 students have been admitted to the two year programme that includes nearly 160 women candidates. This enrollment figure is about 20 percent higher than the previous year’s enrollment number.

Teri under UGC scanner

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

Teri University has come under the scanner of the University Grants Commission (UGC) after an RTI activist lodged complaint against its current operations. The UGC has asked Teri University to submit a detailed report on the allegations labeled against it.

As per allegations filed in RTI application, Teri is misleading the students by not mentoning itself as ‘deemed university’ on its website homepage. Secondly, Teri University has provided a large area of the campus to commercial organisations on rent that could have been used for faculty and students.

The RTI application alleged that the Teri University has not been following regulations stated for deemed universities. Two companies, namely, EADS India Private Limited and EADS DS India Private Limited, have their address as ‘Teri University Campus, Plot no. 10 IHC, Vasant Kunj Institutional Area’.

RTI activist stated that as per balance sheets downloaded from the ministry’s website, the first company has been paying Rs 8 crore per annum and second company is paying Rs 4.5 crore per annum as rent. However, the figures cannot be declared final as it is not certain whether the total rent is Rs 12.5 crore or Rs 8 crore as both companies undertake their activities from the same location.

UGC has said that action would be taken in accordance with Deemed University Regulations 2010, where a university cannot rent their campus area to any private entity. Second issue of the complaint was that instead of mentioning ‘deemed university’ on website, it has mentioned itself as ‘Teri University’, which is the violation of clause 20.0 of Deemed University Regulations 2010.

Earlier, on May 30, public grievance section of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has requested joint secretary R P Sisodia (higher education) to settle the case. Subsequently, the UGC sent a letter to the registrar of Teri School of Advance Studies, Rajiv Seth, on June 3, 2014. However, institution has reported that it did not receive any letter from UGC and has no information about the allegations.

CCTV cameras to curb copying

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

Installation of CCTV cameras has been made obligatory for new schools by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB). Board officials are of the view that this has been done to ensure that there are more examination centres with CCTV cameras, which can curb copying.

R R Varsani, Chairman of the board stated that the experiment of the board to use CCTV cameras and tablets at the exam centres has been a success as 950 copying cases came to light with the help of CCTV and tablet footage sent to the board. At the same time, 175 teachers were also found guilty for not taking any action against the children copying under their nose.

States’ higher education ministers meet today

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

The higher education ministers of different states are meeting today to review the progress of different educational programmes. The role of Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan and mandatory accreditation of educational institutions will also be reassessed.

The main focus of the meet will be to set up IIT, NIT, IIM and IIIT in Seemandhra. The land for the same will be provided by the state government.

The meeting will be presided over by HRD Minister Smriti Irani. The issue of accreditation of higher educational institutions will also be discussed in the meeting. The UGC has decided that no higher educational institution or its faculties, schools, departments, centres or units by whatever name will be eligible for applying or receiving financial aid from the Commission from April 1, 2015 under any of the schemes without having undergone assessment and accreditation on or before June 1, 2014.

India plans to open e-library network in Bhutan

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

India plans to open an e-library network in Bhutan. This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Buddhist Himalayan Kingdom, his first foreign destination since he took over last month.

“India’s satellite technology can be used for Bhutan’s development. Our space technology can bring both countries closer. We have decided to form an e-library network for Bhutan,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a joint session of Bhutan Parliament on June 16.

He also proposed a sports meet of all Himalayan states and Bhutan.

“I thought: can’t we do a special sports meet on a regular basis for all Himalayan states and Bhutan? Sportsman spirit brings happiness,” he said.

Prime Minister Modi laid emphasis on the importance of education and how India can help the neighbouring countries in developing their education sector. Modi said, “When a country provides teachers to educate its society, it strengthens democracy.”

He also appreciated Bhutan’s initiative towards education. Modi also wants to take the initiative to open a central university for Himalayan students and introduce a subject, which will focus on the betterment of flora and fauna of Bhutan. He also stressed on India’s satellite technology, which can be used for Bhutan’s development and can also bring both the countries closer.

There are many students from Bhutan, who come to India for education so, Modi asked Bhutan Prime Minister to double the scholarship so that more students can pursue education in India.

e-Heritage Fellowship programme for Shahjahanabad

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

Digital Empowerment Foundation in association with UNESCO is set to commence its first-of-a-kind, six-month e-Heritage Fellowship programme. Six fellows – Mohammad Arif, Jawwad Iqbal, Namra Naaz, Ihrah, Masood Saeed and Taruha from Shahjahanabad – have been selected. They will be trained in web building tools, mobile application tools, Intel easy step module and modules on preserving Indian Heritage. Along with this, they will also be introduced to a separate module on how to digitise books. This fellowship aims to introduce various digital tools to the fellows and give them hands-on experience on content gathering and content generation.

This fellowship is a step forward for the e-Heritage project: Digitally Enhancing India’s Heritage, initiated by Digital Empowerment Foundation, UNESCO and IHCN in 2013.

This project intends to encourage and build capacity of the municipal authorities and local communities in documenting and presenting heritage through digital media (website). Four demo websites were developed: Pune, Shekhawati, Old Delhi and Chanderi and launched on the occasion of the IHCN Biennial in Pune.

In order to involve local community members from Shahjahanabad in documenting and populating web content, ‘e-Heritage Fellowship’ was launched. Currently, the fellowship will undergo in Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad) as a pilot project.

Indian education sector must aim for top spot: Pranab

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June 17, 2014

Observing India’s leadership in higher education for 1,500 years from third centrury BC, President Pranab Mukherjee wondered “why cannot we occupy our rightful place in the comity of nations”.

“India was the leader in higher education from third centruy BC, from the glorius days of Takhshila to Nalanda in the 12th century AD,” the President said.

While delivering the convocation address of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), he said we have requisite faculty and brilliant students and there is appropriate conducive atmosphere to encourage research and innovation.

“Why cannot we occupy our rightful place in comity of nations in the fiercely competitive world? We must earn our place. Our seat is in the top bench of the international community. Nothing will be offered. Everything will have to be earned,” he said.

Noting that our higher education institutions do not meet global standards according to international surveys, the President asked that international rankings be taken seriously to attain all round development.

UGC’s formal letter asks DU to review FYUP?

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

UGC may have sent a formal letter to Delhi University on Monday asking it to review the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) as per its decision on June 13.

Various students organisations under the banner of ‘save DU’ met senior HRD ministry officials on June 16, contending the DU vice chancellor Dinesh Singh was yet to receive a letter from UGC.

They said the officials assured them of taking up the matter with UGC immediately.

In a memorandum to HRD minister Smriti Irani, they also said the DU VC continues to remain “adamant” and has announced a meeting of the Academic Council on June 21 to approve a new B Tech course in Forensic Sciences under FYUP.

“This amounts to a perpetuation of illegality as FYUP itself is not approved,” they said.

“Since the VC has paid no heed to UGC’s decision against FYUP, the meeting of the Academic Council scheduled for June 21 is unwarranted and illegal. We urge you to step in and ensure that such illegality is not allowed to continue in our University,” the memorandum said.

ABVP and DUSU organised protests during the day in the form of a ‘yagna’ at the DU campus to “pray for the good sense of the VC” to roll back the programme, ABVP said in a statement.

Centac releases merit list

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 17, 2014

The Centralised Admission Committee (Centac) has released the merit list of students seeking admissions in professional courses offered by various colleges for academic year 2014-15 in Puducherry.

B Amal Vincent from Mahe, who scored 200 out of 200 marks in biology-based subjects, secured the first rank followed by M Anandavel (200) and B Pasupathy Raj (199) from Puducherry.

E Priyanka, B Bharath and M Lakshmi (200 each) from Puducherry claimed the first three positions on the rank list prepared for selecting students for admission into engineering courses.

D Kousalya (199 marks), Sarumathi (198.3 marks) and A Pooguzhali (198.3 marks) secured the first three ranks among the students, who applied for B Pharm programme.

The committee received 7,571 applications that included 3,885 applications for biology-based course, 5,228 applications for engineering programmes and 1,799 applications for B Pharm course. The committee received 760 applications from other states. The committee will commence the first phase of counselling for biology-based courses on June 20.

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