The economic slowdown seems to be having the least effect on the placements at IITs this year. Over 100 students at IIT Bombay (IIT B) have already been placed by multinational companies in the first phase of the placement season at the campus. Last year, the corresponding number was around 80. The first phase of placements saw 55 percent of the students i.e. 889 students on the campus bagging the job offers.
Companies from Europe, Japan, Korea, Middle East, Singapore, Taiwan and USA have offered jobs to students at IIT B. Although due to visa issues, a few US companies did not turn up for placements this year but companies from other countries made up for their absence. Firms from technical and software sectors made the maximum offers on an average. A couple of NGOs have also picked up students from the campus. Only one public sector company that came in the first phase hired two students, more are expected to visit the campus in the second phase, which begins from January first week. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Sony (Japan), Samsumg (Korea), LinkedIn, Oracle among others offered the jobs in the first phase of the placement at IIT B.
Job offers pour in at IIT B in the first phase of placements
President asks private sector to contribute to higher education
Even as India had grown in leaps and bounds in terms of infrastructure in the higher education sector, there was a still a gap that needed to be bridged, both in material and non-material terms, said the President Pranab Mukherjee as part of his inaugural address at the School of Commerce and Economics at the Loyola College in Nungambakkam.
The president made a fervent appeal to the academic community to strive towards creating a culture of excellence and promote innovation in the universities. He also called on the private sector and individuals to come forward and help in building institutions of excellence and innovation in all fields. Encouraging the academicians the president said, “We have the best of students and teachers. All that is needed is coordination and focused efforts. We must develop our colleges and universities into world class academic institutions. A culture of excellence should be promoted with determination and consistency”.
Underlining that the true development entails composite development of the nation with progress touching all sectors and regions, he further added that greater emphasis should be given to developing suitable grassroots technologies for empowering rural population.
Tougher norms lead private schools to shut down
Hundreds of parents protested against the closing down of a private school at Ganapathy, Coimbatore as it claim of not being able to meet the new norms of the government due financial inability of the school.
Excessive regulation of private schools is pushing many towards a close down, the ultimate sufferers being students. The management of the private school at Ganapathy has decided to shut the school down soon at the end of the current academic year, which has petrified the parents whose wards are studying in the school.
Around 150 parents were seen protesting against the management’s decision of closing down citing that strength of nearly 800 students would be affected by the decision. The protest was ceased only after the intervention by the Chief Education Officer.
The management says the decision is the result of the strict governmental norms. The Central governments’ Right to Education Act mandates a certain number of classrooms and teachers and the Fee Determination Committee which prohibits schools from collecting money from the students to meet the additional infrastructure required, imposes significant financial burden on private schools further pushing them towards a close down. Also, the schools were not given enough time to comply with the new norms.
However the talks are on with the school management asking them to close down their higher secondary sections. Conversion of the school to high school status would bring about some relaxation in the norms.
A plea for the common admission forms for Nursery
The All-India Parents’ Association wrote to the Delhi Education Department to issue a common nursery admission form for the general category.
The criterion for seeking nursery admissions according to the latest guidelines issued by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung will depend on five things- neighbourhood up to six kilometers from the school, sibling studying in the institution, parent alumni in the school, inter-transfer case and female gender.
The new guidelines clearly state that there shall be no management quota for nursery admissions in any private unaided recognized schools of Delhi. Moreover, the Right to Education Act has also been made applicable to these admissions. As per the guidelines admission to a class will now be divided into four parts, 25 per cent of the seats are reserved for the economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, 5 per cent for wards of the staff/employees of the school and 5 per cent for girls.
Common admission form could be huge step towards checking commercialisation of education and saving the parents from exploitation at the hands of the management. With progressive steps being taken, all eyes will be set on nursery admissions in the capital this year which will begin from next month.
Education needs to be re-invented: Rahul Gandhi
The Indian education system needs to be ‘re-invented’ and a network needs to be build between higher education and industry, said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi speaking at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Gandhi also said in India education and industry are thought of in two separate ways. But modern universities and education are the link that connects industry, government, NGOs and students. Currently, there is a disconnect between the industry and higher education.
He further added that apart from a few institutions and universities, India lacks the level of networking and modern knowledge systems required. He also stressed up on the need for an increase in the access to education system which can be done through use of modern technology. Also a lots needs to be done in terms of improving the quality of the teacher and building connectivity in primary education. Broadly he focused on the need for re-inventing the education system in the country.
No PPP mode for IIITs: Parliamentary Panel
Setting up of new Indian Institute of Information and Technology (IIITs) under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode has been strongly disapproved by a Parliamentary panel. It fears that PPP mode might create conflict between the welfare objective of government and profit motive of the industry.
The government proposes to set up 20 new IIITs under the PPP mode in the country but the department related to the Standing Committee on HRD apprehended that given the provisions in the legislation, these institutions would ultimately function as a purely private entity. The committee was of the view that an individual body having a stake on the ownership might give rise to conflict between the government and the industry.
The cost of each IIIT would be Rs 128 crore which would be contributed by the Centre, the state government and the industry in ratio of 50:35:15 percent. The committee further cited the example of state-funded institutes like IITs and NITs which excel despite no industry having a stake in their ownership.
The committee made its observation after examining the Indian Institute of Information Technology Bill, 2013 introduced in the Lok Sabha during the last Budget Session. The Bill seeks to establish 20 new IIITs and declare the existing four into institutes of national importance.
Unrecognised schools under education department’s scanner
The state department of elementary education in Coimbatore issued notices to around 68 nursery and primary schools running without mandatory state recognition.
The schools have been asked to get various certificates required to run a school. If they fail to meet the conditions mandated by the government by the end of this academic year, they will be directed to close down.
Certifications needed to run a school includes stability certificate, fire and safety certificate as well as certificates from the department of health and the city corporation. Another important condition is the minimum land required to run a school. Schools in corporation limits must have a minimum of 33 cents, in municipality areas 55 cents, town panchayat an acre and village panchayats three acre to be free to function.
At the start of the current academic year, around 30 schools were forced to shut down citing similar reasons which had an adverse affect on students as many had found it difficult to get admissions in other schools. A similar situation is feared to arise if the schools under the scanner fail to submit the required certifications.
CBSE to conduct ‘Science Exhibition 2014’
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is going to organize its Regional and National Level Science Exhibition in the month of July, 2014.
CBSE’s main objective behind this exhibition is to provide a common platform to schools, teachers and students to give shape to their innovative ideas and to offer a creative forum for the students to pursue their natural curiosity, innovation and inventiveness. These exhibitions also try to be a medium for popularizing science and increase awareness among the stakeholders about the close relationship between science, technology and the society. This year’s main theme is ‘Science and Mathematical Innovations’ with sub themes being agriculture, energy, health, environment and resources.
Apart from organizing the science exhibitions at regional and national level every year, CBSE has taken on a number of other initiatives in order to impart interactive, participatory, hands-on, innovative and creative learning experiences to its students.
J&K class 10th results out: Girls vanquished boys
Jammu and Kashmir girls excelled boys in the class 10th examinations, securing 70 percent of the first 20 ranks.
269 students made it to the first 20 positions out of which 186 were girls. The first 10 positions were acquired by 55 girls out of a sum of 68 students.
Kauser Jan, a student of Iqbal Memorial School (IMI), Bemina was declared the topper with a whopping score of 99 percent with the second position being shared by three students scoring 98.8 percent.
Around 31,130 students (70.58 percent) passed the examination. 26,511 boys and 22,847 girls passed out of the total 49,358 students enrolled with the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education.
Though the girls made the cut, the pass percentage of boys this year too remained high with 73.82 percent.


























