Gujarat University saves Rs 70 lakh by getting answer sheets at low price
In the time of soaring prices, the finance committee of Gujarat University (GU) saved Rs 70 lakh by giving tender for supply of answer sheets at lower price. Although the price of paper have gone up by almost 20% as compared to the last year, the finance committee of Gujarat University approved the price for supply of answer sheets, brown stickers and even supplementary cost which is lower than the last year.
The GU officials said that the contract for an eight-page supplementary sheet was awarded for Rs 1.50 which was Rs 1.77 last year. Similarly, the brown sticker will now cost the university Rs 0.24 per piece which was costing Rs 0.26 per sticker last year. Interestingly as per the fresh tender, the 26 – page main answer sheet will cost Rs 4.08 per answer sheet which was costing Rs 4.74 last year. An eight member team was formed which awarded the tender to the lowest bidder after verifying the prices.
Odisha government permits MBA and PhD courses in newly set up Xavier University
The Odisha government has given a green signal to the newly set up Xavier University to introduce various courses on MBA (general and specialized), PhD programme and MBA (global) from the next academic session.
The university is planning to offer various courses like rural management, human resource management, five-year integrated commerce and PhD programmes. The new courses will begin from the next academic session beginning from June 2014. The seats available for management courses like rural management and human resource management courses are 120 while the integrated commerce courses and PhD course will have 240 and 60 seats respectively. The university will have the capacity to accommodate 5, 000 students and more than 400 faculty members, said a senior officer of the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB). The Xavier University campus is being developed since last year and is expected to be ready by the next academic session.
IGNOU To Organise Job Mela at its Campus
Campus Placement Cell (CPC) of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is organizing a Job Mela in IGNOU Campus on November 22, 2013 (Friday) during 9.30 AM to 5.00 PM for the placement of existing and passed-out students of BA, B Com, B Sc, BSW and BCA from Delhi NCR for the vacancies in various leading companies in different locations across the country. The total openings in the companies are more than 200.
All those interested may walk-in to the Convention Centre in IGNOU Campus, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi with their University I-Card and recent CV. For further details, please visit IGNOU website.
Pearson Education Partners with Banyan International School, Jammu
Pearson has announced their partnership with Banyan International School, the renowned co-educational pre-primary, primary, secondary and senior secondary school in Jammu. Jairam Balakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Pearson Schools, Sneh Gupta, Chairman, Banyan International School and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Pearson will henceforth take care of the overall management of the school – from the program curriculum being designed and administered to the training of the teachers etc. The move significantly emphasizes Pearson’s footprint in the northern region and is the latest addition to the list of 30 Pearson Schools in the country so far.
“We are extremely pleased about associating ourselves with the prominent Banyan International School in Jammu. Established in 2009 with the purpose of serving the community, we look forward to working with such a highly regarded institution and taking it to greater heights. Given that Jammu is increasingly growing in terms of educational institutions, we look forward to associating with many more schools in the northern region and creating a benchmark in the education sector,” said Jairam Balakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Pearson Schools.
Pearson looks forward to strengthening the offerings of the Banyan International School by introducing initiatives such as digitally equipped class rooms, certified teachers training programmes, unique learning methodology for students, parent-friendly technology and so on.
Speaking on the occasion Sneh Gupta, Chairman, Banyan International School said, “We are delighted with this announcement and welcome Pearson wholeheartedly. We aim at propelling Banyan International School with the world class education that Pearson has to offer. This partnership will strengthen our presence in Jammu and will help us impart meaningful education for all our students whilst preparing them to succeed.”
Job scarcity leaving professional course seats vacant in colleges
Students are giving professional courses a miss this year. It is much evident from the increase in vacant seats in professional courses from 20% in 2011 to a significant 30% in 2013.
According to experts, the reason students are letting such courses a go by is that many professional courses are not able to give value for money due to a number of reasons like poor placement policy of the institutes and scarcity of good teachers. An alarming 30% of 1.11 lakh seats in professional courses in engineering, medical, paramedical, MCA and pharmacy colleges remained vacant this year even after three rounds of admission process.One of the major areas of concern is that there are a large number of self financed colleges, especially in the interiors, which have not been able to attract even 10 to 20 students leading to losses worth Rs 2 crore.
One of the major disappointments for the students after taking up these expensive courses is that they are offered considerably very less salary. Therefore, because of the prospects of the low return, students are opting for more lucrative courses which at least provide an opportunity to get government jobs.
Large number of DU students take on to online courses
Delhi University has got the ‘Massive Open Online Course’ (MOOC) high on its agenda, it aims at mass promotion of information through the internet. Aiming to take education to every door step, Union HRD ministry intends to maximum the use of the available broadband network by embracing the ‘Massive Open Online Course’ (MOOC) program in a big way.
DU is a member of the Global Problem-Solving Consortium, among eight universities, which allowed its students and faculties free access to a MOOC on ‘Confronting Global Challenges’ in October. Taking the initiative, a student from Delhi University’s Shri Ram College completed an eight week course in October. A US based college has also offered to host its learning hub in India through MOOC. While distance learning courses are already quiet popular among students but combining the MOOC with classroom exercise has its advantages of direct interaction with faculty and international courses at affordable prices.
NIT to provide free knowledge support to less privileged students
The National Institute of Technology (NIT- Adityapur) has started free coaching classes for the under privileged children of the surrounding villages with the aim to provide knowledge support to aspiring engineers from the marginalized community.The Centre for Community Welfare of NIT, as part of the social responsibility program has introduced free coaching classes for the students of Class 8th- Class 12th of the adjoining villages.This is also an effort to prepare these students for entrance examination to various engineering colleges. The scheme inaugurated on Novemebr 1, 2013 will help students from marginalised community to make their headway into the institutes of high repute like NIT.The students of the NIT college will be taking up the classes, if required the faculty might join them in the future. Girl students will be highly encouraged to enroll for these classes, said the college administration on the inauguration of the scheme. The NIT management and students are gathering lot of appreciation for this initiative to empower the economically backward children and creating a better future for them.
Mexus Announces iKen Scientifica 2013-14 competition for Students
Mexus Education Pvt Ltd, an education innovations company has announced ‘iKen Scientifica-2013, India’s largest hand-on global science competition for students from class four to class nine. The competition is open to all Students and Schools across the country. iKen Scientifica has witnessed increasing participation every year since its inception. Approximately 5,00,000 students participate every year. This is 7th Year of Scientifica Competition.
Participation categories are divided as Level 1 (standard 4th & 5th), Level 2 (Standard 6th & 7th) and Level 3 (Standard 8th & 9th). The Competition will be conducted in three rounds. Theme for Round-1 is ‘Industrial Science Problems’, based on which participants are required to select a Problem Statement from the given list of real life problem statements. Participants have to find an innovative solution by exploring into the existing solutions, looking into their surroundings and propose the business aspect of their solution. After clearing Round-1, participants will be shortlisted for Round-2, which is the Contraption Challenge (Team Round). In this Round-2 students are expected to make a contraption (a series of mechanisms that can be triggered one after another) based on an interesting theme. Round-3 is a Hands-on Round, where students will be tested on their hands-on and interpersonal skills.
Winners of Round-3 will win a trip to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); all expenses covered by Mexus and four runners up from each level will be rewarded with exciting gadgets.
Announcing the competition, Anil Goyal, Director and CEO of Mexus Education Pvt Ltd said, “iKen Scientifica competition helps students get acquainted with different concepts and hypothesis, which is beneficial for scientific learning and develops their under covered logical and critical thinking aptitude. Also, this competition provides a global platform for students to prove their mettle and learn important life skills like teamwork, leadership and resource management”
Heriot-Watt Expands Academic Frontiers in the UAE
Scotland’s Minister of External Affairs and International Development, Humza Yousaf MSP, formally announced the launch of PhD programmes at Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai Campus. PhD programmes will be available from the University’s School of Management & Languages, School of Engineering and Physical Science and School of the Built Environment.
The year 2012 saw a significant increase in the number of students in UAE enrolling for higher education pursuing bachelors and postgraduate degrees; however, this figure was only 1% for doctoral programmes.
Minister for External Affairs and International Affairs Humza Yousaf said, “Heriot-Watt’s new and extended PhD programme will offer graduates more opportunity to further their studies.
“The Dubai Campus, opened by the First Minister in 2011, now has capacity for 4,500 students and over 100 staff, a testament to the quality of education offered at Heriot Watt and its ambitions as a truly international university.
“Scottish education is renowned for excellence across the world. We have a world-class infrastructure with 15 universities, five specialist higher education institutes and excellent teaching resources, it is sector we are very proud of and a fantastic example of Scotland’s capabilities in delivering world class events which we’ll see again as we host the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
“Education is an international business and it is exciting to see such collaborations with the Emirates come to fruition reaping benefits for the Scottish economy.” The Edinburgh headquartered university is one of the leading institutions in the UK and Scotland with a strong academic legacy of 180 years. Heriot-Watt University Dubai is committed to offering the home campus’s renowned courses and educational quality here in the Gulf. At present the University offers over 40 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Ammar Kaka, Head of Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus, said, “Heriot-Watt University Dubai campus understands the requirement for quality academic research options in the UAE and are excited about introducing some of the most prestigious PhD programmes from Edinburgh campus here in the UAE.
“A PhD is a commitment to one subject and it expands the student’s academic expertise in that topic as well as employability. By offering these doctoral programmes the University is keen to participate in developing the Nation’s research capacity and be actively involved in providing highly skilled and professional individuals to the economy.”
