Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister MM Pallam Raju launched the e-content for seven undergraduate subjects and asked the state board to improve quality of education and related infrastructure.
Expressing concern over poor quality of education, he said that there was an urgent need to improve the education system and upgradation of infrastructure to enhance education system in India.The courseware on subjects like Anthropology, English, Hindi, Mathematics, Photography, Environmental Studies and History has been prepared by Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) which is an Inter-University Center of UGC on electronic media.Earlier, e-content on Botany had been launched. The modules are available on CEC and MHRD web portals. CEC had initiated the production of e-content under the National Mission on Education through ICT (NME-ICT), a plan project of HRD Ministry. It develops e content for various undergraduate subjects as per the UGC module curricula in collaboration with 22 media centres. Presently CEC is engaged in developing e-content courseware for nearly 90 undergraduate subjects.
HRD launches online courseware for seven UG subjects
IIT Madras develops system to end power outages
In a bid to bring relief to consumers, IIT Madras has come up with a system which will free consumers from power blackouts. It is set to be rolled out in several southern states, including Tamil Nadu.
The system ‘Uninterrupted Direct Current (UDC)’, touted as ‘fist of its kind’, will guarantee continuous power supply from the grid, even during outages. It has been designed by Ashok Jhunjhunwala, professor of electrical engineering and member of the Prime Minister’s Science Advisory Council, director Bhaskar Ramamurthi and their team.
The UDC would ensure that a limited supply of electricity from the grid is available throughout the year, even when demand exceeds supply. The limited supply of electricity can be used to run bulbs, fans and television sets and charge cellphones.
It may be mentioned that Tamil Nadu has been plagued by power cuts over the last few years, facing a shortage of around 3,000MW. Engineers feel it will require minimal investment from the government and public, minimal change to existing power distribution infrastructure. Incremental addition of devices and solar panels will also be possible. Challenges include standardisation of direct current, and replacing electronics to work at 48volt DC.
Boom time for IIT G: Job offers continue to grow
This placement season is a cheering time for IIT G as job offers continue to pour in. It is learnt that over 400 students have been offered jobs since December last year, with highest package pegged at $ 125,000. The placement scenario seems to be more buoyant this time despite recession.
Many firms including PSUs have shown an interest in conducting on-campus recruitments. More IT companies are offering foreign postings this year and hence students can expect better salary packages.
Reliance Industries recruited the maximum number of students, along with Flipkart, Oracle, Samsung, Tata Motors, Microsoft, Cognizant and Wipro. Around100 companies have visited IIT G so far this placement season.
For B Tech and B Des students, the average salary offered in 2013-14 is Rs 13 lakh per annum. The same stood at Rs 10.7 lakh per annum during 2012-13. On the other hand, the average salary for M Tech and M Des students increased to Rs 10.1 lakh per annum this year, as opposed to Rs 8.6 lakh per annum recorded in 2012-13.
59.6 percent of the total B Tech and B Des students registered with the placement cell have received offers. Similarly, 29.8 percent of M Tech and M Des students who enrolled with the cell have bagged jobs. More students would be recruited as the placement process is likely to continue till end- April.
Japan provides a loan of Rs 1,336 crore to IIT Hyderabad
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has extended a loan of Rs 1,336 crore to Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad to build a part of the newly established campus.
As per the agreement signed between JICA and the government of India, the loan is at a concessional rate of 1.40 percent and carries a repayment period of 30 years with grace period of 10 years. The project is to be executed by IIT Hyderabad and expected date of completion is 2018. The loan will be utilised for constructing permanent campus building and procuring latest research equipments for the institute. As part of the agreement, Japan and India have not only agreed to fund the institute of technical eminence but also share technical knowledge. Eminent professors of the University of Tokyo would be involved with the preparation of concept designs and architectural plans for some of the important campus buildings.
NIIT to conduct NITAT on February 16
NIIT announces 10th National IT Aptitude Test (NITAT) to enable students and graduates ascertain their potential and aptitude for a career in the Information Technology industry. NITAT 2014 will be conducted in 200 cities across the country on February 16.
NITAT aims at fulfilling the need of IT industry by identifying a ready talent pool for immediate absorption by the industry. NITAT tests students on reasoning, comprehension, data interpretation skills and behavioural traits. Students appearing for NITAT will receive an assessment score card and personalised career counseling from NIIT. The assessment will help students to determine their aptitude for IT domain and career in the industry. NIIT will also award special recognition certificates to the top 30 percent merit list candidates and encourage their pursuit of a career in IT. Additionally, high performers will get skill-up subsidy on NIIT programmes for acquiring technical skills, to make them industry ready. NITAT has so far reached out to more than ten lakh students and it helps in identifying the right people to drive the IT industry in future.
Poor education system upsets Manish Sisodia
Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia, showing concern over the poor state of education in the country said that the present education system is full of flaws as it does not generate any confidence in students. He criticised the ministry of human resource development saying that education is still not a priority.
Speaking at the national launch of UNESCO’s 11th Education for All Global Monitoring Report, the minister said he will look into the recommendations of commissions like Kothari Commission and proposals such as ‘common school system’. The minister pointed out that positive changes can happen in the country only if classrooms are changed, money is invested and education becomes a priority. Raising concern about the effectiveness of Right to Education, the minister also said that everything under the Right to Education is not for good and matters need to be debated.
140 private schools under state education department’s scanner
The State education department will take strict action against 140 private schools in the districts of Haryana and Punjab for not providing details of beneficiary students under 134A to the department.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier ordered the state education department to instruct the private schools to share information about the allotment of 10 percent quota to economically weaker section students under 134A. As per the order, all the schools were instructed to provide information like the availability of seats, and admission notice of respective schools which were to be uploaded to the website of the education department. While many schools have come forward with their details, nearly 140 private schools have underplayed the order. Strict action will be taken against defaulters, and also warned that if these schools failed to make their information available at the earliest, their recognition might be withdrawn.
Universal education won’t be achieved until next century: UNESCO study
Unesco’s 11th Education For All Global Monitoring Report says that universal education won’t be achieved until the next century and the learning crisis is costing governments $129 billion a year. The report concludes that good teachers are key to improving the situation and calls on governments to provide the best to those who need them most.
The report titled ‘Teaching and learning: Achieving quality for all’, says 10% of global spending on primary education is being wasted on poor quality education that is failing to ensure that children learn. This situation leaves one in four kids in poor countries unable to read a single sentence. The reports highlights that without sufficient and trained teachers, the learning crisis will last for several generations and hit the disadvantaged the hardest. Going by current trends, it will take until 2072 for all the poorest young women in developing countries to be literate, and possibly until the next century for all girls from the poorest families in sub-Saharan Africa to finish lower secondary school.
The report further highlights, due to poor quality education, 175 million kids in poor countries, a quarter of the youth population, can’t read an entire or part of a sentence, affecting one-third of young women in South and West Asia. According to the report, India has the highest population of illiterate adults, 287 million, 37% of the total population of such people across the world and of those going to school, a sizable portion are not learning the basics. The report said that insufficient financing is one of the main obstacles to achieving education for all, and blamed the global economic slowdown for this. In India, education accounts for 10.5% of the total government expenditure, 3.3% of the GNP (gross national product), below the 6% target called for by the Report. This is a decrease in spending from 13% of the budget and 4.4% of GNP in 1999. The report pointed out that this decrease will be jeopardizing the huge progress India has made in getting more children into school and its prospects for improving its poor quality of education.
IIT Madras sets up National Cancer Tissue Biobank
IIT Madras is setting up a National Cancer Tissue Biobank that will lead to creation of targeted drugs for the treatment of cancer. The biobank would help in carrying out diagnostic tests, creating genetic markers and early detection and prevention of cancer. The centre, a collaboration between IIT Madras and the department of science and technology, will help record cancer incidence, and improve diagnosis and treatment.
The tissues for research would be sourced from various hospitals with patients’ consent. The centre has obtained the clearance of the ethics committee and will ensure that the confidentiality of patients is maintained. As soon as the tumour is removed, a portion of it will be transported to the facility and stored in liquid nitrogen at minus 190 degrees Celsius. The facility can accommodate 25,000 cancer tissue samples in a 10,000 sq ft space. A super-resolution imaging system, cell sorting facility and sequencing facilities will also be housed in the biobank. The institute will be involved in training, education and research of next-generation biobanking process and once the system and process are standardised, they will be duplicated at nodal stations in peripheral areas.
Solar innovations at IIT Bombay
Students of IIT Bombay (IIT B) and Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture have started started building a solar-powered 70 sqm house using various materials like steel and fibre, but not brick and cement. The structure is expected to be ready by February.
The structure will eventually be disassembled and taken to Versailles in France for the international sustainable building design competition hosted by the US Department of Energy. IIT B has also set up a 1MWp (1 MW peak PV power) on the rooftops of its 16 buildings. The plant will occupy a 12,000 sqm area on the rooftops of 16 academic buildings. The energy generated by the solar photovoltaic plant will be up to 25% of the total power requirement of the 16 buildings.
