EducationWorld January 12

Schools damaged in Cambodias worst monsoons in more than a decade may take up to a year to recover after flooding delayed the start of school for thousands of students nationwide, say aid workers and officials. As of late October, 323 out of 1,400 damaged schools were closed, although some have since reopened. Though flood […]

For far too long, Nigerias leaders have ignored the hidden factors underpinning the dismal performance of the countrys university system. Recently, the newspapers quoted Namadi Sambo, Nigerias vice-president, as saying that education in the country will be radically overhauled and improved. But when considering the administrations failed efforts, one cant help wonder whether the country […]

Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan has become familiar as the epicentre of the American protest movement known as Occupy Wall Street. But when demonstrators left the site in November, their destination was not the financial district, City Hall or the neighbourhoods where the citys wealthy 1 percent (the protesters call themselves the 99 percent) live […]

In July last year, popular actor-director Aamir Khan visited a remote village in the Mansa district of Punjab with the sole objective of meeting a physically challenged folk singer, named Bant Singh, who only has stubs for arms. Khan, whose objective was to learn more of Singhs life story for a television serial on real […]

A sports masterpiece. What comes to mind when you hear these words? Do they describe a perfectly played game? Do they describe your team (or your childs team) winning by a wide margin of points? Or do they describe an encounter that — no matter the final score or the ultimate winner — leaves everyone […]

Nowhere in India has passage of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (aka RTE Act) been more celebrated than in the national capital, which hosts the Union ministry of human resource development. Yet ironically, the state government of Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) has taken almost two years […]

According to a recent NASSCOM-Booz Allen Hamilton report, the aggregate revenue of engineering services outsourced worldwide is likely to skyrocket from $15 billion to $200 billion by 2020With the digital revolution now in full swing, new products are being constantly launched, developed and upgraded especially in the automotive, consumer electronics, medical devices, and telecom industries. […]

Although the Union HRD ministry seems content to remain ignorant, Indias globally-tuned, upwardly mobile middle class has been quick to embrace early childhood education (ECE). Currently there are an estimated 50,000 privately-promoted preschools countrywide, whose aggregate revenue is growing at 35 percent per year. And far beyond discussing the merits and demerits of ECE, promoters […]

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), famous American abolitionist, orator, author, statesman and social reformer, famously declared: It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. Douglass no doubt, made this comment on the basis of personal experience and his observations of the impact of slavery on US society during the 1800s.Intuitively, one expects a […]

Expectations that india will become a major economic power in the next two or three decades are not entirely fanciful. Certainly there is hope within the countrys scientific community and general public, that India can become a global leader in science. But for this dream to be realised, it is imperative that India becomes a […]

The Gujarat high court issued notice on December 8 to the University Grants Commission (UGC), state government and all grants-in-aid universities in Gujarat (pop. 60 million), following admission of a petition demanding proper implementation of the Union governments reservation policy for SCs, STs and OBCs (scheduled caste, tribe and other backward castes/classes). A division bench […]

“Many students graduating are either underemployed or unemployed because the aspirations in industry do not match the kind of skills which are being imparted to the students in our schools and colleges, in many technical institutions and engineering colleges…What we have today is a mismatch between the requirement of industry and school and college curriculums.”

The higher education system — and Bangalore University in particular — in the southern state of Karnataka (pop. 62 million) is in deep turmoil.In the week December 9-15, 3,400 pre-university teachers (classes XI-XII) boycotted classes demanding pay hikes. Three days later, when they returned to work, the states showpiece Bangalore University (BU, estb.1964) transformed into […]