The result of Civil Services (Main) Exam 2013 has been declared by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The shortlisted candidates in the exam are eligible to appear for the personality test from 7 April, 2014 to be conducted at the UPSC office, New Delhi. The candidates who pass the personality test would be able to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other Central Services (Group A and Group B). The results can be viewed on the UPSC website.
The candidature of qualified candidates is provisional and they will be required to produce original certificates. The UPSC has asked the candidates to keep the documents ready with them. The candidates will be informed of the date and time of the personality test individually. The date and time of the personality test can also be viewed at the UPSC website.
Civil Services (Main) Exam 2013 result declared
UPTU to establish finishing schools to serve as employment cells
The Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) has started a project in which finishing schools are being established in engineering colleges affiliated to the university. The finishing schools will also serve as employment cell. The UPTU vice-chancellor says the students would be more employable because of finishing schools.
A directive has been issued to set up the finishing school for technical and personality development skills in the students. The students will be trained in decision making, communication and problem solving capabilities, managerial and leadership skills. The finishing school will be set up to overcome deficiencies of low-tier colleges. The students would also be receiving training in computer programming and Information Technology. The dean, administration, UPTU, BN Mishra says the placements in UPTU may go up to 80 per cent after finishing schools are established.
Apart from finishing schools, collaborative research among faculty will also be promoted by UPTU. An MoU has also been signed with Microsoft. The company has been given 3000 sq ft place in Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) for establishing centre for quality research and excellence. The teachers and students will also be receiving an intensive training in hardware and software in core areas. Research will also be conducted by IET faculty in Information Technology.
Mumbai University exams rescheduled due to polls
A fresh list of dates has been released by the Mumbai University for the 476 exams affected due to general elections this year.
All exams that were earlier scheduled on April 16 will now be held on April 19. The papers on April 17 have been postponed to April 26, the ones on April 23 will be held on May 3 and the ones on April 24 will be conducted on May 10.
The exams on the poll dates in Mumbai (April 24) and at Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg (April 17) were affected; and the exams on the day before the polls have also been shifted to prepare the institutes which are acting as polling centres.
UGC to re-implement PG scholarship for GATE qualified students
The UGC executive body has given approval to the proposal to re-implement PG scholarship to all colleges and universities for master of engineering (ME) and master of technology (MTech) for all the engineering graduates who have qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).
Dean of University of Pune’s engineering faculty, Gajanan Kharate stated that this move must have been initiated by the Supreme Court’s judgment of April 2013 that has taken away much of the regulatory powers of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), in favour of UGC.
He also said the AICTE used to pay a scholarship of Rs 8,000 per month to the engineering graduates, and after the regulatory powers of AICTE taken away, the UGC has now taken a decision to re-implement the PG scholarship.
Any student would however, would not be able to claim more than one scholarship.GATE is jointly conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science, to qualify for admission to postgraduate engineering studies at these premier institutions and some central government funded institutions.
A valid GATE score is essential for obtaining financial aid for master’s programs and direct doctoral programs in engineering, technology, architecture and doctoral programs in relevant branches of science in institutes supported by the HRD ministry and other government agencies. The online GATE 2014 was held between February 2 and March 2 and the results will be declared on March 28.
Pearson India collaborates with IBM to expand its Digital Classroom business
Pearson has collaborated with IBM as its strategic technology partner to deliver customised e-learning solutions to more than 22,000 classrooms across India. Lauded as the first of its kind partnership involving the world’s leading learning company, Pearson and innovation leader like IBM, it is slated to trigger an iconic shift in the ICT industry.
The five-year strategic partnership with IBM will help advance Pearson’s strategy to become the leading provider of innovative e-learning solutions of India’s educational system. In the coming years, Pearson India plans to exponentially grow its footprint in the K-12 segment by enhancing and creating new digital classroom offerings for Indian schools. As part of the engagement, IBM will implement Life Cycle Maintenance solution that will enable Pearson to rapidly expand their reach and ensure their IT operations are well maintained and function without any disruption. This includes supply, installation and maintenance of the IT infrastructure in these classrooms.
Announcing the partnership, Srikanth Iyer, Business Head and Senior Vice President, Schools business, Pearson India said, “Our aim is to create new models that leverage the latest technologies and expand access to educational resources and increase student engagement with digital content; ultimately improving learning outcomes in schools countrywide.”
Schools division of Pearson India offers leading e-learning solutions and services for the K-12 education segment. Pearson India school business combines content and technology in customised digital classroom solutions for educational institutions across India. To expand its reach and introduce new functionalities into its solutions, Pearson India has teamed up with IBM India to collaborate, build, install and manage a scalable, flexible and more responsive IT infrastructure that will support its growing network of 22,000 classrooms impacting nearly 3 million students across the country.
Rise in stipends for summer internships at IIM Trichy
The average stipends for the interns of Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli (IIM-T) have risen during the summer placement for the 2013-15 batch compared to previous years. Around 45 companies came in this year offering a maximum stipend of Rs 1.40 lakh, while last year there were 39 companies offering the highest of Rs 1 lakh.
Summer internship is usually for eight weeks during the April-May for the all first year students pursuing the post graduate programmes in IIMs. Many startup companies also joined the summer placement this year for the internship programme. Ten out of 94 students from IIM-T joined startups and 13 students opted out of summer internship process this year. World Bank participated in the process for the first time and offered roles in their financial instruments department.
High court issues notices to 13 IIMs over CAT irregularities
A group of IIM aspirants from Indore have sought for a stay on the entire admission process this year alleging irregularities in the Common Admission Test (CAT), for the admission in 13 Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) last year.
A double bench of Madhya Pradesh high court issued notices to all 13 IIMs accepting the writ petition of students. The notices were also served to the coordination committee for CAT 2013 and Prometric testing, the partner agency of the test. Some of the aggrieved students filed the petition challenging the scaling and scoring method of the students. They also challenged the non-disclosure of raw scores under RTI and an agreement between IIM and Prometric which prevents disclosure of raw scores and procedure adopted for allotment of the marks. Last year after the CAT results were published on January 14, thousands of students had complained over the scaling and grading process and had demanded revaluation. Though the demand was turned down by IIM-Indore, the orgainser of the CAT 2013, a petition was filed by some of the IIM aspirants following which the high court had issued similar notices to the IIMs on February 18, 2014.
Achieving literacy of young women to take more than half a century
The Unesco Education for All Global Monitoring Report data says there is gender imbalance in global education and the gender summary, which analyses the data from the report, says achieving female youth literacy will take at least 56 more years for India. There are over 100 million young women in low and lower middle income countries who cannot read a sentence. 31 million girls who are out of school are prevented from enrolling in school.
The South-West Asia factsheet of the report says literacy skills in young women are not well developed if they haven’t spent more than a few years in school. Many students who have completed primary school cannot be said to have achieved literacy. The report says young women in India are not able to achieve literacy (90%) even after they have completed four years of school. 30% are unable to achieve literacy after five to six years in school. Similar data for young females in Bhutan says achieving universal literacy is not expected until 2083 and Pakistan is not expected to achieve literacy of young women till the 22nd Century. India is expected to achieve the female youth literacy in the decade between 2070 and 2080.
The gender summary also says there should be new global development goals after 2015 including equal chance of education for every child. 60% of countries achieved gender equality in primary education and 38% of countries achieved it in secondary education.
Time for India to take leadership position in higher education, says President
The higher education institutes of India are not ranked among the best institutions across the world, says the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. He said it was time India recovered lost ground and regained its leadership position in education. He was addressing the diamond jubilee celebration of KC College in Mumbai where he said more investments were required in higher education. He also stressed the funds in education sector should be made accessible to all stakeholders.
He was disappointed over the exclusion of Indian universities in the list of 200 top institutions released by international rating agencies. He said he believes there is no dearth of bright students in India but the country does not have capacity to retain the best talents.
Two certificates courses launched in competition policy and law
The National Law University Delhi (NLUD) and CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC) have come together to launch two certificate courses in competition policy and law. The courses have been launched to provide an interface between competition policy and law and businesses. The fundamental course is of six months duration and another is an advanced diploma course which is of one year duration. The courses have been designed in a way to impart knowledge and skills on competition policy and law and also provide opportunities in competition authorities, regulatory bodies and other firms and businesses.
Graduates in any discipline from a recognised university, student in final year of graduation, or students who have completed three years of five year integrated programme or an international student who has graduated from a recognised university can apply. The two certificate courses are aimed at working professionals and classes for the two certificate courses will be held in the evening on weekends.
