The students of Vallabh Government College appearing for BSc-1 examination affiliated to Himachal Pradesh University were in a great shock when they found a lot of spelling mistakes, missing series of questions and wrong question in the question paper of zoology (invertebrate -2).
This is first time that HP University has conducted examination under the newly introduced Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) which is a choice based credit system (CBCS) of education.
The question paper had a number of mistakes like setting wrong question, spelling mistakes, missing sections in the question papers and even the name of a subject was mentioned wrong in the roll number slip. This goof up in the question paper by the examination branch of the university may straightaway result in students losing some valuable marks. Commenting on RUSA, President of Student Central Association (SCA), Mandi College, Narender Kumar said that official document of RUSA was based on the supposedly success of education programmes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) but various surveys conducted by the centre and the sate have found that these programmes had very low learning abilities. He further added that programmes like RUSA need huge structural changes in the education set up since it had been implemented in a hurry.
RUSA faces another impediment: Mistakes, missing series in question papers
Economic slowdown leads to a drop in CAT applicants
The impact of economic slowdown and job insecurity is leading to less number of candidates taking the Common Admission Test (CAT) examination 2013.Last year there were 2.14 lakh CAT registrations which dropped down to 1.94 lakh this year. This is the lowest since 2008.
Interestingly, with the decrease in the number of applicants there has been a hike in the number of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) over the years, from 7 in 2008 to 13 this year, offering 3,335 plus another 7,000 seats in B-school. There has been a sudden lack of interest among the students for B-school because of economic recession and lack of jobs in the market. This is also leading to shut down of some private universities which is a major concern for the management education in India. But the IIM directors and head of B-schools are confident that the decline in the number of candidates will not affect the quality of education or candidates in India. They are of the view that only the best of the best candidates get selected in reputed B-schools and a small decline in the overall CAT registration will not affect the quality of the students they select.
India to become global power in education says FICCI- EY report
The 9th FICCI Higher Education summit 2013 took place from 13-14 November. The summit was inaugurated by Shashi Tharoor, minister of state, MHRD and the theme of the summit was ‘Building Networks for Transforming Indian Higher Education-Enabling to Deliver Value’.
A FICCI- EY knowledge paper titled ‘Higher Education in India: Vision 2030’ and a paper on ‘Governance in Indian Higher Education and Leveraging ICT in Higher Education in India’ was released to support the roadmap to achieve the Vision 2030 goals. The report looks ahead at a time when India will be a leading global player in education. FICCI also felicitated Sushma Berlia, president, Apeejay Education Society and the Chancellor of Apeejay Stya University for outstanding contribution in the field of education. The summit saw participation of more than 650 delegates and speakers from universities, higher education institutes, government, industry and policy makers from India and abroad.
MBA online exam at University of Pune cancelled due to server error
More than 4,000 first year MBA students studying in different management colleges affiliated to the University of Pune (UoP) could not take the online examination as the server slowed down on 22nd October.
The examination scheduled for the morning was conducted smoothly where around 11,368 students appeared for the 25 marks objective test. But in the afternoon, the same number of students could not appear for the other examination as the server started getting slow. The management finally decided to cancel the examination. Wasudeo Gade, Vice Chancellor of UoP said, the university has undertaken massive online reforms as proposed by the government. Certain glitches in the online examination are unavoidable since everybody is new to the system.
The authorities have decided to conduct the examination as soon as the server speed is restored.
Jaipuria To Open 50 More Schools in India
Jaipuria Schools, one of the most respected schools is looking to expand in India. The School currently has presence in Lucknow and plans to open 50 schools pan India in next three years. The management hopes to open schools pan India across the country by aligning themselves with Franchise India and taking advantage of the penetration and scalability opportunities.
Jaipuria School is ICSE affiliated school, which plans to expand through franchisee with the viability of 6-8 crores of investment. The school offers an alternate and unique educational experience to children age-groups Nursery to Class 12. The Jaipuria School, Lucknow is best defined as a school “having a modern outlook rooted in traditional values”.
Shreevats Jaipuria, Vice Chairman, Jaipuria Schools says, “We believe the aim of holistic education is to provide our students with all skills necessary to live life. Holding fast into our roots, we promote international mindedness, as we recognize its importance in today’s day and age as we work with individuals shaping up to be globally responsible citizens of the 21st century”. We are not merely looking at a franchisee partner who would be keen to get healthy returns on their investment, but also be part of a noble cause of revolutionising the nation.
Genesis Global School Celebrates Fourth Episode of Genesis Conversations
Genesis Global School, Noida has organized the fourth episode of “Genesis Conversations” themed on ‘No Pain No Gain’ at their sprawling campus recently, with Milkha Singh as the chief guest.
Genesis Conversations a literary activity aimed at academia-celebrity discussion witnessed Milkha Singh in a candid discussion with the students on various life and career dimensions. The activity gave an opportunity for the students, parents and faculty to interact with the inspiring leader.
Milkha Singh was enthralled to see the campus with a wide array of sports facilities available for the students. He said, “The students are extremely lucky to be a part of this school since they have the best facilities and faculty to lead their career in sports. Schools in our times did not have such provisions. I am enthralled to see a stadium with a running track around a grass field in this school. I thoroughly enjoyed “Genesis Conversations’ today, this is truly amazing”.
The Flying Sikh shared his journey in the sports field along with the challenges faced by him on the biggest stage. The super-hit biographical movie based on Milkha Singh’s life has earned a huge success and has motivated many youngsters, inspiring to be like him. Students from Genesis and other schools were really excited and enthused by the inspirational interaction that they had today.
The event was moderated by Gurbir Singh, Director – Sports & Estate, who is himself an Olympian shooter and Arjuna Awardee. He was thrilled with the way the event was appreciated by all. He said “I am so happy to have moderated the talk as Milkha Singh is a true Champion; He is the only Indian male athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and his fourth place in the 400 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics remained a National record for nearly four decades. He has made us all proud with his achievements. It is a unique and satisfying experience as a sportsman”.
Speaking at the occasion Pramod Sharma, Director cum Principal – Genesis Global School said, ‘We feel encouraged to see the young minds of school children gain knowledge and tips from such inspiring sportsmen present with us today. We aim to continuously strive towards organising an array of such platforms for the school children and the faculty. ‘Genesis Conversations’ is one of our prestigious initiatives and we are looking forward to invite the achievers from different walks of life.’
12 States to receive Rs120 crore under RUSA for Higher Education
The government has taken a big decision to fund research and innovation in twelve states under Rashtriya Uchachatara Siksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a programme which seeks to improve quality of higher education in the country. Each state will receive Rs 120 crore under research and innovation and quality improvement component which will support research programmes like base research, key technology (R&D), high end (R&D) etc during the present five year plan.
The central government proposes to spend Rs 98,983 crore in higher education sector through RUSA over the next eight years. Setting up of science parks, cutting edge technology and instrumental facility will also be funded by this programme. The 12 states eligible to receive funds based on their research and innovative plan include Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharastra, Odisha, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh among others and 4 union territories.
Top Institutions of India partner with University of Melbourne to offer scholarship
Institutes like IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras have partnered with University of Melbourne in Australia for a new joint PhD scholarship programme from 2014.
The Melbourne- India Post-graduate Programme (MIPP) will link the University of Melbourne with some of the leading research institutes of India like the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (IISc), the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M).
The joint initiative of the four leading institutes is an AUD 3 million programme which will provide 16 PhD scholarships and associated support for research exchange over the next three years.The programme will officially commence from 2014 and will be open to PhD students enrolled in the University of Melbourne, to be co-supervised by IIT-K, IIT-M and IISc. Similarly Indian students enrolled in one of the three institutes will have access to co-supervision with Melbourne academics. The move will help in strengthening the cultural ties between the two nations.
VCI proposes to set up veterinary university in Odisha
In a move to improve the animal husbandry and livestock sector, the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) has proposed Odisha government to open a separate veterinary university in the state.
VCI president, Narayan Mohanty has proposed the Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik to set up a separate veterinary university to improve research on various veterinary sciences. Speaking during the three-day Veterinary Pathology Congress-2013, VCI president pointed out that it is the lack of funds and infrastructure in both research and service sectors that are the main reasons for the unsatisfactory growth of veterinary sciences in India.
VCI is also contemplating to uniform the syllabus of all the veterinary colleges across India and customize it according to the local needs. The proposal is under active deliberation of the state government.
CBSE to conduct MBBS, BDS exams in MP from next year
Due to various scams in the Madhya Pradesh Pre-medical Test (MPPMT) examination in 2013, the Director of Medical Education Madhya Pradesh has decided to conduct MBBS and BDS examinations through CBSE and MDS examination through AIIMS instead of Professional Examination Board (Vyapam) next year onwards.
The move has come in the light of the scam during Dental and Medical Admission Test (DMAT) and (MPPMT) in 2013, where many students were found guilty and were disqualified after checking their copies. The disqualified students have already filed cases with the High Court and a decision on their fate is awaited. Many more students can be found guilty in DMAT and MPPMT scam for which probe is on by the police and medical officials.
