EducationWorld July 14

THE APPOINTMENT OF Dr.Vishal Sikka, a Stanford alumnus and former chief technology officer of SAP AG as the new executive chairman of the Bangalore-based IT services major Infosys Technologies Ltd (annual revenue: Rs.50,133 crore) with effect from August 1, bodes well for this company, which until recently symbolised post-liberalisation India™s entrepreneurial resurgence and new technologies management capabilities. But of late, this darling of the stockmarkets has been through considerable turbulence, with a debilitating exodus of top-rung professionals and loss of market valuation. The prime cause of the decline is that after its spectacular initial success, the company adopted a policy of rotationally rewarding its promoter-directors with the position of chief executive rather than inducting more proven professionals. Hence the talent exodus and eroding reputation. To rectify this situation, in 2013 N.R. Narayana Murthy, the founder chairman of Infosys who retired in 2011, returned to the helm of the company to restore its glory days. But to no avail. To his credit, Murthy resigned for the second time. Enter Sikka. The grave shortcoming of Murthy and the technocrat promoter CEOs who gave the company an excellent launch, was a mofussil mindset which prevented them from advertising Infosys™ many great achievements. To accurately convey a company™s core competencies, character and achievements, intensive ad campaigns which tell its story from its own perspective, are necessary. That™s why IT companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Dell, IBM and Apple have huge global ad budgets and campaigns. The mofussil mindset of the company™s technocrat founder-directors including Murthy, has cost the company heavily in terms of market perception and sunk its intelligent plan to transform into a global business consultancy and total solutions heavyweight. Infosys™ new CEO would do well to heed this gratuitous advice, and discard the company™s penny wise communications policy to trumpet its great achievements and messages to the public worldwide, loud and clear. Greedy compradors RATHER BELATEDLY, the somnolent Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has issued draft guidelines which ” subject to approval by all ill-defined stakeholders ” could rein in manufacturers and advertisers of skin lightening creams. The guidelines state that œspecifically, advertising should not directly or implicitly show people with darker skin as unattractive, unhappy, depressed or concerned¦ or inferior, or unsuccessful in any aspect of life particularly in relation to being attractive to the opposite sex, matrimony, job placement, promotions and other prospects. Unfortunately these guidelines have come six decades too late. In the meanwhile manufacturers/marketers of skin lightening creams led by the hypocritical transnational Unilever India (formerly Hindustan Lever), have manipulated the social and historical insecurities of the population to equate skin tones and complexions of the once hated ˜Red Devils™ to build an anti-social Rs.3,500 crore fairness creams and lotions industry in India.  Unsurprisingly, this white-is-right propaganda has been bought hook, line and sinker by the brain-dead badshahs of Bollywood and television and the fashion industry to the extent that ethnic Indian women ” adulated and admired the world over for their natural tan skin tones ”…

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Chairperson, Mother’s Pride Preschools and Presidium Senior Secondary Schools Where would you place education on your national list of priorities? Right at the top. Education not only takes a nation forward, it™s the antidote for every social evil plaguing India. How best to upgrade 1.6 million government anganwadis into preschools? Structured training for anganwadi teachers that puts them on a par with private preschool teachers, better infrastructure, educational tools and facilities. Thinker/philosopher you admire the most. Swami Vivekananda. He believed education is the process through which character is formed, strength of mind is built, and intellect sharpened. Your favourite Nobel laureate. Rabindranath Tagore ” a great writer, thinker, poet. Your leadership style. I believe in creating leaders who have a sense of pride and ownership, and who lead from the front. Your favourite book on education. The Bhagavad Gita ” a timeless treatise of valuable knowledge. For or against the Right to Education Act™s 25 percent reservation for underprivileged children in private schools? While the intent is admirable, the government should also be mindful of the financial impact on private schools. Should the education outlay be doubled by cutting defence expenditure? Difficult question. There™s no doubt we need to increase education outlays, but we can™t compromise the nation™s security either. How satisfied are you with the growth and development of Mother™s Pride chain of preschools and Presidium group of schools? Very satisfied, though we haven™t achieved what we set out to achieve. So I can™t afford to be complacent. Pessimistic or optimistic about the future of education in India? I look forward to the day when students from around the world will flock to India for higher education. I believe that day isn™t too far away.

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Sahara: The Untold Story; Tamal Bandyopadhyay; Jaico Books; Rs.450; Pages 344 AT THE TIME OF writing this review of Tamal Bandyopadhyay™s much awaited and deeply- researched book, Subrata Roy, the high-profile founder and ˜managing worker™ of the Sahara Group of 479 companies, is lodged in Delhi™s Tihar jail. Roy™s offence is that Sahara failed to comply with a Supreme Court order dated August 31, 2012  to refund a sum of  Rs.24,029 crore to 29.6 million investors who had deposited the said sum with it by purchasing its OFCD (optional fully convertible debentures) since 2009. Earlier, in 2010, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had prohibited two group companies ” Sahara India Real Estate Corp. Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp. Ltd (SHICL) ” from issuing OFCDs on grounds that the identities of the purchasers of these debentures were shrouded in mystery and that the companies had indiscriminately accepted deposits without adhering to mandatory KYC (know your customers) norms. Sahara™s defence was that the majority of purchasers were poor and often illiterate peasants uncovered by the organised (including public sector) banks, who provided rudimentary addresses. Moreover the OFCDs were purchased by people associated with one or more of Sahara™s 479 companies, and therefore were private placements of securities, and as such beyond the purview of SEBI whose jurisdiction is restricted to publicly listed shares and securities. Behind Roy™s arrest and incarceration for contempt of the apex court ” significantly, not on any criminal charge ” is a story of the relentless hounding of a creative, even if corny, over-the-top entrepreneur with a genius for resource mobilisation by the country™s regulations-obsessed rather than outcomes-driven bureaucratic establishment which has transformed an inherently entrepreneurial society into a nation which ranks  #138 on the World Bank™s Ease of Doing Business Index. The author is strictly neutral in setting out this narrative of the  rise and fall of Subrata Roy, the engineer of this massive conglomerate with claimed assets of Rs.152,000 crore including a land bank of 36,000 acres. But it™s quite clear that Roy has aroused the resentment and suspicion of bureaucrats who control the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the country™s 27 rules-driven and red-tape ensnarled public sector banks for doing what they have conspicuously failed to do: provide depository and credit services to the 60 percent bottom-of-the-pyramid population. Quite the contrary, establishment bureaucrats believe that the Sahara parivar is a massive money laundering operation for the undeclared ill-gotten gains of politicians and anti-socials. The most enlightening chapter of this facts-filled narrative which surprisingly lacks a subject index thus sharply reducing its value as a reference text, is perhaps Annexure I which traces the history of ˜shadow banking™. According to government babus non-banking chit funds, housing finance, and consumer goods finance companies taking deposits and investing them, constitute a grave threat to millions of illiterate and ignorant citizens who could be left high and dry by their promoters. Consequently, one after the other their operations have been curbed or banned…

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With some of the highest motorable roads worldwide, a close-up experience of the Himalayas, high-altitude lakes, and primeval wilderness with miles of solitude, the charms of Ladakh are unique. Bhagyalakshmi Krishnamurthy reports ONE OF THE THREE districts of India™s way-up-north state of Jammu & Kashmir (pop. 12.5 million) and administered by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council, Ladakh is one of India™s most unlikely tourism hotspots. Once visited only by foreign travellers exploring monasteries and forlorn mountain trails, Ladakh™s stark, barren and unconventional landscape has been impacted upon the popular imagination by several Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters, which have brought this isolated region on the radar of India™s more adventurous middle class travellers. Ensconced in the Upper Indus Valley of Kashmir, straddling the upper Himalayas and the Karakoram range, Ladakh (pop.260,000, of which Tibetan Buddhists constitute 51 percent and Shia Muslims 48 percent) translates into œland of the high passes. Getting there With aksai chin, and Xiangjiang (China) to the north and east, and the valley of Kashmir to its west, Ladakh is surrounded on three sides by Pakistan and China and subject to frequent border incursions from troops and patrols of these nations. This explains the major presence of the Indian Army in the district. If despite this geo-political drawback, the region is attracting a rising number of tourists from India and abroad, it™s because the charms of Ladakh are unique and make unconventional demands on tourists. It offers some of the highest motorable roads worldwide, a close-up experience of the Himalayas, high-altitude lakes and a primeval wilderness with miles of solitude. The peak tourist season is mid-May to October. However, quite a few adrenalin-spiked hikers roam Ladakh even beyond October, when the harsh winter sets in. The easiest ” even if expensive ” access to Ladakh is by air. At 10,692 ft above sea level, Leh™s Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Airport is one of the highest altitude civilian airports of the world. However, landing at the strip is not assured with powerful and unpredictable mountain winds often disrupting schedules. All flights to and from Ladakh operate only during morning hours as winds become stronger and more dangerous post noon. An hour™s flight from Delhi or Srinagar, fares on the Delhi-Leh sector are among the highest and range from Rs.8,000-20,000. Less affluent and more adventurous travellers tend to drive from Manali/Srinagar to Leh, which is among the world™s most scenic roads. The two-day, 473 km Manali-Leh road winds its way through four steep passes in the Himalayas ” Rohtang (13,060 ft), Baralacha La (16,500 ft), Lachulung La (16,616 ft) and Tanglang La (17,460 ft). It traverses glacial streams and rivulets which feed major rivers including the Chenab and Beas, and affords spectacular vistas of Himalayan peaks. Overnight halts are at Keylong (3,096 ft) which offers conventional hotels (Rs.300-2,400 per room per night) or Sarchu (4,253 ft) and Pang (4,500 ft) with basic yet adequate tented accommodation (Rs.500 -1,000). Most tourists prefer to halt at Keylong to ease the process of altitude…

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œThe four-year undergraduate degree may or may not be inherently superior to the three-year degree. However, the vice chancellor of Delhi University must, in principle, be accorded the respect and autonomy to follow the statutes that govern the university and, with the approval of the academic and executive councils, carry out the changes that they believe will strengthen DU™s position as a centre of excellence.  Shashi Tharoor, former minister of state for HRD and Congress MP œThe course content left much to be desired. Dreams of a progressive international standard programme were deftly sold but not backed by ample preparation. While countries like Japan took several years in preparation before making the changeover to the FYUP, Delhi University achieved this feat in a matter of months! This is a case of high handedness by vice chancellor Dinesh Singh of Delhi University.  Nalin S. Kohli, BJP spokesperson œThe regulator, the University Grants Commission, takes out a front-page notice against India™s foremost public university, warning against admissions in its four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), as if this university was just another of those fraud universities against whom the public needs to be warned. This very same regulator sat silent when issues were raised about the four-year programme when it was first introduced.  Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president, Centre for Policy Research, Delhi œThe four-year format now before us adds a maze of courses with multifarious aims. Some will focus on enhancing moral values and integrating mind, body and heart, others on more earthly, marketable skills, and the remaining on academic subjects… Now comes the credit system to complete the fantasy of being in America. Every university in India today will feel tempted to join this fantasy.  Krishna Kumar, professor of education, Delhi University œAnyone who deals in higher education will know that such speed and lack of real discussion seriously undermine even the most minimal academic standards.  Jayati Ghosh, economics professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi œA change as big as this should have gone through after three-four years of debate but it was passed in a matter of three days¦ Intellectuals from across the country opposed it. But it was still pushed through.  Nandita Narain, president of the Delhi University Teachers™ Association (DUTA) œI feel the four-year programme is nothing like the dream that was sold to us. The foundation courses are utterly ridiculous. We were told that the foundation courses would make us employable. It is my honours degree that will provide me employment, not a foundation course that teaches me about prime numbers and how the solar system works.  Pritish Menon, BA (economics) student of Deshbandhu College (Compiled from www.ndtv.com, Indian Express, Times of India, The Hindu, www.firspost.in)

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THE CONTROVERSIAL four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), which was discontinued by Delhi University on June 27, was introduced last June by the varsity in all its 64 affiliated colleges in the national capital. The FYUP, which replaced the original three-year BA/B.Sc/B.Com degree programme, was designed to spread across two semesters annually, totaling eight semesters over four years. The salient features of the theoretically well-designed FYUP were: Foundation courses. The first two years of the programme require all students to compulsorily complete 11 foundation (core) courses ” language, literature, and creativity ” I and II (English); information technology; business, entrepreneurship, and management; science and life; Indian history and culture; building mathematical ability; governance and citizenship; philosophy, psychology, communication and life skills; geographic and socio-economic diversity; environment and public health. Discipline 1 (major): In the first year, a student chooses her major known as Discipline 1. DU offered 40 majors to choose from. Twenty Discipline 1 papers must be completed over four years. Discipline 2 (minor): At the beginning of the second year, a student chooses her minor from across disciplines.For instance, a student majoring in maths can choose to pursue political science or history as her minor while a student of English literature could choose to study physics, chemistry or even mathematics as her minor. Over four years, six Discipline 2 papers must be cleared. Application-based courses. Four application-based courses grounded in the selected major are mandatory (beginning from the second year) and designed by respective departments to increase students™ employability. Integrating mind, body and heart. This course is compulsory in the first year and includes life skills, discussions, mental health awareness, etc. Cultural activities. Participation in cultural activities for all students mandatory during all the four years. Multiple exits system. The FYUP offered multiple exit points to students with several certification options. Students exiting after two years of study are awarded diplomas, after three years a bachelor degree, and after completing FYUP a bachelor™s (honours) degree. Moreover those exiting before completion of FYUP were allowed to resume study of the BA (Hons) programme, to be completed within eight years. New pedagogies. All courses are interactive and based on a practitioner™s approach. Group discussions, interactive analysis, hands-on-training, research and project work to be encouraged.

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The landslide victory of the BJP in General Election 2014 has torpedoed the top-ranked DU™s four-year undergraduate programme introduced last June, with all its 64 affiliated colleges compelled to revert to traditional three-year courses THE ABSOLUTE LOK SABHA majority won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) this summer has torpedoed Delhi University™s path-breaking four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) which became operational last June in all 64 affiliated colleges including the highly-fancied St. Stephen™s, The Sri Ram College of Commerce, and Miranda House. With the BJP having ill-advisedly promised to scrap FYUP in its populist election manifesto, the Central government-funded University Grants Commission (UGC), the country™s apex higher education regulatory body which had given the green signal to the FYUP last year, made a not-so-mysterious U-turn and directed DU to abrogate the four-year undergrad programme and admit students into the original three-year programme for the academic year 2014-15 starting next month (August). On June 20 UGC, which under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 grants the all-important ˜recognition™ and funds all 42 heavily subsidised Central universities, while bestowing ad hoc small change upon a chosen few of the country™s 700 universities and whose study programmes also need its approval, issued a stern warning to DU and affiliated colleges. œColleges shall admit students at the UG (undergraduate) level for academic year 2014-2015 only to the three-year UG programme which was offered by it prior to the introduction of the four-year system and report compliance to the UGC soon after. Any deviation or contravention of this order shall be viewed seriously and may attract action including withdrawal of grant facilities, said the order signed by Vikram Shah, director (administration) of UGC. Faced with this ultimatum, on June 27 DU rolled back its FYUP, and issued a directive to its affiliated colleges to admit students for 2014-15 œunder the scheme of courses that were in the academic session 2012-13. Behind UGC™s unembarrassed volte face, DU academics discern the not-so-hidden hand of the BJP leadership, in particular of the surprise new Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani, a former television star and frontline party spokesperson on television chat shows during BJP™s election campaign. Immediately after she was sworn-in, a steady stream of teacher and student delegations has been meeting with Irani, pressing for the rollback of Delhi University™s FYUP. On June 7, a delegation of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP, presented a memorandum demanding withdrawal of FYUP. Earlier on May 30, a delegation of DU teachers and students had presented a similar petition to the new HRD minister, even as the sprawling DU campus transformed into a war zone with pro and anti-FYUP students and teachers™ organisations voicing daily protests. The back and forth on Delhi University™s FYUP has hit national headlines and consumed hours of footage on all television news channels because DU (estb. 1922) is not just another Indian university. In all media surveys and varsity league tables, DU is routinely ranked the country™s #1 university…

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DESPITE REPORTS OF SPORTS icons and even mid-range sports professionals ” especially cricketers ” earning huge retainers, bonuses and endorsement incomes, many parents believe sports and games are frivolous extra-curricular activities unconnected with education. Yet participation in sports is an integral part of every child™s education experience, because there™s much more to sports and games than is commonly believed. For a start, sports education offers children and adults a wonderful metaphor for understanding the dynamics of the world around us (business, politics, etc) and our personal lives within that world. More specifically, track and field contests are microcosmic dramas, with familiar ups and downs ” jubilation and depression, anger and calm, success and failure ” that confront adults in the drama of our daily lives. In sport, we experience every possible emotion and psychological state, as we (athletes, coaches, parents, fans) are forced to respond to constantly changing circumstances. Sports as a microcosm of life can teach youth more than learning how to kick, throw a ball, or play a game. And while winning on the scoreboard may be a goal, if it™s the only goal, then much is lost for young sportspersons and coaches, parents and fans who are all part of the experience. Indeed, participation in sports and games provides numerous opportunities for learning valuable life lessons, building self-esteem, and experiencing healthy and physically active lifestyles. Professionals, researchers, and especially wise old grandparents, will tell you that sports lead to balanced development which is the foundation for future success. There are myriad reasons for appreciating that sports are more than just a footnote in the schooling experience. They offer great opportunities to achieve personal, motivational and community objectives. The benefits of sports education include: Fitness for life. Sports and play develop strength, flexibility, balance, and body control ” be it by kicking or dribbling a football, serving a tennis ball, walking the balance beam, running bases, or shooting a basket. Playing sports also gets kids off the couch and into exercise. Moreover, all games and sports provide opportunities to learn and improve no matter where or when you begin. Setting and striving for goals. Successful people set short and long-term goals and focus on achieving them. Organised play offers valuable lessons in setting individual and team goals and striving to achieve them. At the outset, the skills of a young athlete or accomplishment of a team don™t matter. Goals can be set for improvement and a plan of action mapped out to attain them. This learning and improvement process can later be extended to vital areas of our working lives. Discipline. Sports and games teach discipline in a palatable way even as children participate in activities they enjoy. Discipline is necessary to learn skills and maximise performance. Children learn that if they develop the discipline to improve and excel, performance rewards follow. Real self-esteem and confidence. Observe a young player™s joy after manoeuvring a tricky shot into a soccer net. Notice the radiant grin of a kid making…

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CHINESE UNIVERSITIES outperform those of the US when the countries™ average incomes are taken into account, according to an international ranking of higher education systems. An innovative new Universitas 21 ranking for 2014 shows that overall, the UK has risen to eighth place in the world, overtaking Australia and Singapore. The ranking of 50 countries compares measures including the percentage of gross domestic product spent on higher education; the policy and regulatory environment; connections with businesses and overseas institutions; the number of research articles produced and the proportion of young people who enroll in higher education. For the first time, Universitas 21, a group of 27 research-intensive universities from across the world, has created a second ranking which looks at whether a country does better or worse on these measures than would be expected, based on the purchasing power of an average citizen. On this measure, China is ranked ninth, six places above the US, according to the U21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems. Simon Marginson, professor of international higher education at the Institute of Education, University of London, explains that despite a relatively low per capita income, China is still a big enough country to allow œphenomenal investment concentrated in a small elite stratum of its universities. As a result, Chinese universities are now œserious players in research terms owing to a huge increase in their production of scientific papers, he adds. The US still tops the Universitas 21 table when not adjusted for per capita wealth, and Marginson points out that the top 5 percent of US institutions do œoverwhelmingly well. However, he adds: œIf you look at the overall spread of higher education at a regional level, the US is not all that special. East Asian countries have improved their positions in the main U21 table. Of the 10 countries from the region in the list, seven climbed up the rankings. The three that fell ” Singapore, Malaysia and India ” dropped by just one place, although India is now in bottom position. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)

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A GROUP OF 21 Chilean universities has launched an initiative to boost the number of international students in the country. The scheme hopes to promote Chile as an œinternationally recognised and qualified destination for higher education. The Learn Chile project, launched at the Association of International Educators fair in San Diego on May 28, proclaims that Chile offers international students œa rich life experience. The project is aimed particularly at students from Europe, China, the US and Brazil, and is supported by the Chilean government. Comments Roberto Paiva, director of Pro Chile, a unit of Chile™s ministry of foreign affairs: œWith this educational sector brand, we aim to encourage international students to come to Chile, and view it as a destination where they can advance in their academic degrees, while also enjoying a rich life experience, sightseeing, learning Spanish, and living in a safe and stable country. Learn Chile hopes that after completing their studies, international students will become ambassadors for the country and talk about the experiences they had with their peers. The programme will also help Chilean students build links with international students. Interest in promoting Chilean higher education institutions to international students has increased in recent years. Chile™s ministry of education figures suggest the percentage of foreign students attending university increased on average 14 percent each year between 2009-12, and 26 percent between 2012-13, according to Learn Chile. Paiva adds that this shows that œthe efforts¦ to internationalise have been œfruitful. The Learn Chile website offers tools to assist students considering study options in Chile, and a list of the 21 universities involved. It also contains sections on visa and documentation advice, practical information about living in Chile, and testimonials from 40 international students from a variety of countries. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)

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United Nations report on Asian higher education has questioned the widely held belief among policymakers that investment in university research leads to economic growth. The study, which examined Malaysia and Thailand in particular, found that in these countries œvery little varsity research is commercialised, and even when it is, it œdoes not yield large financial payoffs. The report also suggests that the two nations may be spending on research largely to push themselves up in world university rankings, which would mean that research has only œsymbolic value. These findings, from Higher Education in Asia: Expanding Out, Expanding Up, published in April by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), suggest that the huge sums some Asian nations are investing in research through universities might produce more growth if spent elsewhere. China is known for spending significant sums on research. A report last year from the UK innovation charity Nesta, China™s Absorptive State: Research, Innovation and the Prospects for UK-China Collaboration, put the nation™s total R&D spend across universities and business at 1 trillion RMB (Rs.960,473 crore) in 2012. Separately, Unesco says that in 2011, 7.9 percent of China™s R&D spending was channelled through universities. But beyond China, other countries in the region funnel a greater share of their total R&D spending through universities, rather than businesses, government or non-profit organisations (see box). œMany governments see universities as centres of research that will yield positive economic returns to the country, Unesco says. In 2011, South Korea spent more than 4 percent of its gross domestic product on R&D, whereas India, which is much poorer, invested only 0.81 percent, statistics in the report show. China invested 1.84 percent, a figure that has nearly doubled since 2001. But such differences do œnot tell us if research leads to higher income levels, or if higher income levels allow for more research to be carried out, Unesco says. Poorer countries tend to catch up with richer ones by imitating technologies discovered elsewhere rather than engaging in œindependent R&D and innovation, it adds. The report also distinguishes between R&D spending by businesses œwhich will have a clear positive impact on productivity and hence economic growth in a country and research carried out at universities, about which it is much more lukewarm. Universities are often subject to œunfavourable tax laws and have œlimited access to capital, which reduces the economic return on research, it says. œIt is not clear, then, that university-based research necessarily leads to the economic payoffs that governments expect, concludes the report. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)

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THE RECENT ASSASSINATION of lawyer and human rights activist Rashid Rehman ” who claimed he had received repeated death threats after agreeing to defend Junaid Hafeez, an adjunct lecturer at the Bahauddin Zakariya University, against charges of blasphemy ” has raised wide concerns about academic freedom in Pakistan. In response to the killing in Multan on May 7, the Scholars at Risk Network (SRN) in New York issued a statement saying œRehman had taken up the case in 2013 when previous defense counsel withdrew after similar threats and then goes on to highlight the concerns raised by the assassination. œIn addition to the deprivation of the right to life of the victim and harm to the others injured, their families and associates, an attack on defense counsel deprives defendants of due process and a fair trial, the statement adds. œWhere the defendant is a scholar detained for non-violent expressive activity, as in this case, an attack on defense counsel also undermines academic freedom by denying the scholar a full and fair defense and sending a message of intimidation throughout the university community and society. In the Education under Attack, 2014 report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (of which SRN is a member), Pakistan is cited as one of six most œheavily affected countries for violence against schools and universities. Hundreds of attacks were documented between 2009-12, and one student and four academics were killed. Clare Robinson, SRN™s director of protection services, notes the network has logged three other attacks on higher education since November: a Shia imam and professor at Hashmat Ali College killed by unidentified gunmen; a professor at the University of Gujrat, said to have been œprogressive-minded as well as Shia, shot dead with his driver on the way to work; and a first-year student at Khyber Medical College allegedly harassed and assaulted by an academic because she wore a face veil. To put this in a wider context, Robinson adds that œSNR has been contacted by over 65 applicants reporting threats in Pakistan. Rehman was œrepresenting someone who was a lecturer and a student and working in the field of gender studies ” all of which raise questions about wider threats to academic freedom in Pakistan. She says that SNR fears that Hafeez œwill never get the representation he needs for a fair trial. His other lawyers were threatened and asked to step down, which they did. No one has been held accountable for those threats, nor, to the best of my knowledge, for the threats issued to Rehman. Such threats also need to be taken seriously. Campaigners argue that Pakistan™s strict laws against blasphemy, which theoretically carry the death penalty, are often used to settle personal scores or deployed by right-wingers keen to silence liberals. œWe have seen a handful of recent cases regarding blasphemy, agrees Robinson, œwhich risk eroding the rule of law. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)

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NOTHING BETTER illustrates the difficulties in understanding how higher education works in Paris than the term ˜Sorbonne™. Historically associated with the original University of Paris, the name is now carried by three successor institutions ” Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle University and Pantheon-Sorbonne University ” which share classrooms in the historic site of the Sorbonne in the city™s Latin Quarter. But to further cloud matters, a number of universities in Paris are merging into clusters, and three of the five new groups are using the coveted name to give them clout abroad: Sorbonne Universites, Sorbonne Paris Cite and Hautes Etudes Sorbonne Arts et Metiers (HeSam). œIt™s not excluded that it will create some confusion, admits Denis Pelletier, head of HeSam. œBut I™m sure students and lecturers will learn to tell the difference. œOur aim is to create a global university, explains Barthelemy Jobert, head of Sorbonne Universites, which will include Paris-Sorbonne and Universite Pierre et Marie Curie. Some of the universities involved in the groupings ” known as comues ” will be fully merged, while others will remain looser associations of extant institutions. Ironically, the restructurings and rebrandings, which will complicate things for those already struggling to grasp the idiosyncrasies of Paris university life, grew out of an effort to improve the visibility of the capital™s institutions abroad and to give students more choice and flexibility. Parisian universities suffer from poor ratings in international academic rankings: Pierre et Marie Curie is the first French university to appear in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, at 96th position. Many experts think this is because French universities are simply too small and underpowered to win top rankings and should merge. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)

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EVA ULLMANN TOOK HER Masters degree in 2002 on the part that humour plays in psychotherapy, and became hooked on the subject. In 2005, she founded the German Institute for Humour in Leipzig. It™s dedicated to œthe combination of seriousness and humour. She offers lectures, seminars and personal coaching to managers, from small firms to such corporate giants as Deutsche Bank and Telekom. Her latest project is to help train medical students and doctors. There™s nothing peculiarly German about humour training. It was John Morreall, an American, who showed that humour is a market segment in the ever-expanding American genre of self-help. In the past two decades, humour has gone global. An International Humour Congress was held in Amsterdam in 2000. And yet Germans know that the rest of the world considers them to be at a particular disadvantage. The issue is not comedy, of which Germany has plenty. The late Vicco von Bulow, alias Loriot, delighted the elite with his mockery of German pretension and stiffness. Rhenish, Swabian and other regional flavours thrive ” Gerhard Polt, a Bavarian curmudgeon, now 72, is a Shakespeare among them. There is lowbrow talent too, including Otto Waalkes, a Frisian buffoon. Most of this, however, is as foreigners always suspected: more embarrassing than funny. Germans can often be observed laughing, uproariously. And they try hard. œThey cannot produce good humour, but they can consume it, says James Parsons, an Englishman teaching business English in Leipzig. He once rented a theatre and got students, including Eva Ullmann, to act out Monty Python skits, which they did with unflinching enthusiasm. The trouble, he says, is that whereas the English wait deadpan for the penny to drop, Germans invariably explain their punchline. At a deeper level, the problem has nothing to do with jokes. What is missing is the trifecta of irony, overstatement and understatement in workaday conversations. Expats in Germany share soul-crushing stories of attempting a non-literal turn of phrase, to evoke a horrified expression in their German interlocutors and a detailed explanation of the literal meaning, followed by a retreat into awkward politeness. Irony is not on the curriculum in Ullmann™s classes. Instead, she focuses mostly on the basics of humorous spontaneity and surprise. Demand is strong, she says. It™s a typical German answer to a shortcoming: work harder at it. (Excerpted and adapted from The Economist)

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STORIES SHE HEARD FROM other students persuaded Zoe Ridolfi-Starr to go public with her own. An undergraduate at Columbia University, Ms Ridolfi-Starr says that she was sexually assaulted at the end of her first year. But it was not until she heard other women students claiming mistreatment by their universities for reporting alleged sex attacks that she was finally persuaded to put the issue centre stage. œA personal story is a lot more compelling and gripping than a policy proposal, says Ridolfi-Starr, the leader of a new group at Columbia called No Red Tape and one of 23 students who have filed a federal complaint against the university, contending that it has failed to protect victims of sexual assault. Organisations such as No Red Tape have cropped up on campuses nationwide, connected by social media and often led by students who claim to have been victims of sexual assault, and whose stories have led to demonstrations and widespread media attention. The resulting wave of anger has been as intense as it has been sudden. It has made sexual assault on campuses the hottest issue in US higher education and backed top universities into a thorny thicket of damning publicity, not to mention lawsuits and investigations, over how they have handled a problem that was previously under radar. The White House is now involved and is calling for changes in how institutions respond to allegations. In an unprecedented move, the US department of education has publicly released the names of all universities under federal investigation for their handling of sexual assault complaints. œColleges and universities can no longer turn a blind eye or pretend rape or sexual assault doesn™t occur on their campuses, Joe Biden, the US vice president, said in April. The 55 institutions on the list include Harvard, Harvard Law School, Princeton, Dartmouth College and the University of California, Berkeley. The department of education also took the equally unusual step of accusing at least one, Tufts University, of violating the law, and threatened to cut off its government funding. Under the spotlight, Tufts relented and agreed to change its policies for handling sexual assault claims. But critics say that a rush to judgement, and calls to streamline the process by which students can file formal complaints that they were sexually assaulted, risk denying equal protection to another class of students: the accused. The federal government™s proposals allow for œonly the most meagre sense of the rights necessary to secure fundamentally fair hearings, says Greg Lukianoff, a lawyer and president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. œIt™s a really delicate dance, says Bisi Okubadejo, a lawyer who focuses on civil rights and employment issues in higher education and who previously worked in the department of education™s office for civil rights. œOn the one side, certain actions could negatively affect the complainant, and on the other side there are legal issues relative to the accused. The controversy has exposed the complex and often conflicting demands that universities face from…

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EVEN PEOPLE WHO don™t track developments in education in India or abroad are aware something big is happening in this sphere, particularly in higher education. Google search the words ˜disruptive innovation in higher education™ and you™ll get 279,000 results. Type ˜crisis in higher education™ and the number rises to 16 million. The problem, very simply, is that after holding out a lot longer than other ˜industries™, disruptive competition underpinned by technological innovation and new ways of learning and credentialing is now assaulting the staid and hallowed halls of academia around the world. Suddenly high quality education is cost-efficiently available online and at price points which provide never-before value for money to the consumer. For higher education institutions, the risk associated with ignoring technology advancements in education delivery has become very high. So high, in fact, that their very existence is at stake. Indeed, higher education could go the way of the newspaper industry. Legacy infrastructure, rising labour costs, and high debt will make it difficult to take on a new generation of competitors and, by the time laggard colleges and universities realise they need to change their business model, it might be too late. No industry is immune to technology innovation. In the case of education, learning via the internet ” or what used to be called ˜e-learning™ ” started becoming popular in the new millennium. It remained largely outside the mainstream for the next decade until people started to question why technology which is ubiquitous and an integral part of our personal and work lives, is still on the periphery of education. A key driver of change has been the easy availability and widespread use of handheld devices such as tablet computers and handsets (or what used to be known as mobile phones). Another driver is the explosion of social media and its huge popularity especially among teens and youth of college/university age. These developments have redefined how information is accessed, and how a growing number of people worldwide interact socially. As access to and delivery of information and social interaction become essential elements of the new learning process, it™s inevitable the core business of universities will be affected. Initial institutional response has been scepticism and denial with academics and university administrators confident that traditional teaching-learning models which have endured for centuries will prevail. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), they argue, are just a flash in the pan because companies offering this service have no discernible business model, and there are formidable problems of authenticating, assessing and credentialing students. Latter day tech-savvy educationists tend to be impatient with these arguments and predict profound change. They warn that the socio-economic landscape is changing very fast, obliterating barriers to change. Simultaneously widening government budget deficits in times of low and/or negative economic growth have put pressure on governments in countries such as the US, UK and Australia which host the best universities/institutions, to slash subsidies for higher education. Therefore the more progressive universities in these countries are becoming sharply aware that…

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I™m interested in a career in military engineering after completing class XII (science) next year. Apart from the Army Institute of Technology (AIT), Pune, which other institutions offer courses in military engineering? Amit Patil, Pune Admission into the AIT is restricted to children of army personnel. You could instead try for entry into the technical cadre of the army. To qualify for admission, you need to begin with a three-year pre-commission training (phase I) programme at the College of Military Engineering, Pune; Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow, or the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Secunderabad. After four years of education and training, successful candidates are commissioned as lieutenants and are required to complete a year-long post-commission training (phase II) at one of the three said institutions. Successful candidates are awarded an engineering degree and permanent commission in the Indian army. After completing class XII (science) next year, I wish to pursue a career in the merchant navy. Which institutes in India offer training for the merchant navy? Raul Braganza, Panjim If you have read physics, chemistry, mathematics (PCM) and English in class XII, you can apply for courses in nautical science and marine engineering which can lead to careers in the merchant navy. Every institution stipulates its own selection procedure. Admission into the three-year B.Sc (nautical science) programme offered by T.S. Chanakya, Navi Mumbai; four-year marine engineering programme of the Marine Engineering & Research Institute (MERI), Kolkata; and the three-year polyvalent B.Sc (maritime sciences) degree programme of MERI, Mumbai is open to candidates who have cleared Plus Two with PCM. Moreover, candidates should have normal vision of 6/6 for each eye separately, with MERI allowing glasses upto plus or minus 2.5. Defective colour vision is a disqualification for all three programmes. Other institutions such as the Tolani Maritime Institute, Pune (www.tolani.edu), Don Bosco Maritime Academy, Mumbai (www.donboscotech.com), R.L Institute of Nautical Sciences, Madurai (www.rlinstitutes.com) stipulate their own admission processes but basic educational requirements and physical standards are common. After completing class XII, I want to pursue a course in logistics. Please advise. Suresh Raghavan, Chennai You could enroll in either a BBA/BBM/B.Com in logistics and shipping or a diploma/advanced diploma in logistics and transport/logistics management undergrad programmes, the duration of which varies from six months to three years. Contact preferred institutes for their application procedures. Can I prepare for the civil services and engineering exams simultaneously? Nirmala Rao, Bangalore A graduate in any stream in the 21-30 age group is eligible to write the Union Public Service Commission™s Civil Services Examination (CSE). Your graduation subjects don™t limit you to subject choices for CSE. Visit www.upsc.gov.in for a complete outline of the exam, subject choices, syllabus, etc. You can start preparing for CSE while enrolled in an engineering undergrad programme or immediately thereafter ” several study guides, correspondence courses and classroom coaching options are available. It™s advisable to prepare for the General Studies paper of CSE while in your final year. The first stage of CSE is a…

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With over half the country™s population suffering rheumatism and degenerative disorders, the demand for orthopaedists/orthopaedic surgeons is rising WITH INCREASED LIFE expectancy, lifestyle changes and rising incidence of domestic and workplace accidents, the number of people suffering from osteoporosis, arthritis, bone and joint afflictions is multiplying exponentially. According to a WHO-ILAR (International League of Associations for Rheumatology)-COPCORD (Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases) study which surveyed 35,000 people in Jammu, Lucknow, Bhigwan, Pune and Chennai (2007), 12-15 percent of India™s population suffers some form of painful rheumatic ailment and 50-55 percent soft tissue rheumatism (commonly back, knee, neck, shoulder pains) followed by degenerative disorders (osteoarthritis, and spondylitis of knees and spine) in one-third of the population. Unsurprisingly the demand for orthopaedists/orthopaedic surgeons is rising commensurately. To qualify as a licenced orthopaedics practitioner, aspirants are required to complete the undergrad MBBS programme of any recognised university in India after which they are obliged to write a pan-India entrance exam (PGMET). Some highly-rated medical institutions such as AIIMS, PGIMER, and AFMC-Pune conduct their own postgrad entrance exams. Postgraduate programmes in this field are Masters in orthopaedics of three years duration, and diploma in orthopaedics (two years). Candidates with an MBBS degree who have registered with the Medical Council of India or state medical councils are qualified to write postgrad exams. In addition there™s the DNB (Diplomate of National Board) orthopaedics, an advanced diploma in superspecialties such as spine, hand, joint replacement surgery, foot and ankle orthopaedics, trauma, sports injuries etc. The field of orthopaedics offers specialised career options and advancement opportunities are manifold. An orthopaedics practitioner can start working with a public or private hospital, and later practice independently through owned clinics. Other full or part-time choices include teaching in colleges/universities and/or research. ORTYOPAEDICS SPECIALISTS ARE among the most well rewarded of medical practitioners. Newly-qualified orthopaedics can expect to start with Rs.25,000-30,000 per month and graduate to Rs.15-29 lakh per annum after they acquire five years experience. Those running their own private practices can earn several multiples of these sums. œThere™s a huge 40 percent shortage of orthopaedic practitioners countrywide mainly because of inadequacy of postgrad study capacity in medical colleges and universities, says Dr. Asadullah Baig, a renowned Mumbai-based orthopaedic surgeon nationally reputed for his expertise in spine and knee surgeries. œTherefore only a few of the huge number of MBBS graduates who would like to specialise in orthopaedics can be accommodated by medical colleges and universities. An MBBS graduate of MIMSR Medical College, Aurangabad (1995), Baig began his career as registrar of Mumbai™s Jaslok Hospital where he was highly impressed with the work of Dr. J.C.N. Joshipura, a renowned orthopaedic, and later worked as an assistant of Dr. Nirad Vengsarkar, a nationally famous orthopaedic surgeon. While at Jaslok, Baig acquired the D.Ortho diploma of Bombay University in 1999. Pressing on, he subsequently passed the DNB Ortho of the National Board of Examination, and completed a six-month orthopaedics study programme at the University of Groningen, Holland. After returning…

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PUBLIC-PRIVATE partnerships (PPPs) in school ” especially primary ” education became fashionable in the new millennium after representatives of 189 countries worldwide signed the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations in New York in the year 2000.  One of the Millennium Development Goals which topped the declaration was œall children in primary school and learning, by the year 2015. Back home in India, initial enthusiasm for PPPs abated after it became clear that for the education ministries and bureaucracies, PPPs meant relationships in which education entrepreneurs, NGOs and philanthropists are expected to pour money into government schemes and ask no questions, while establishment bureaucrats carried on business as usual which includes routine skimming off cuts and commissions. The charms of the charter school model under which governments outsource schools to private educators or NGOs, transferring the expenditure incurred per school and per student ” currently 800 charter schools with an aggregate enrolment of 100,000 students are operational in the US ” with government ensuring they function as per the ˜charter™ or agreement, seems to have no appeal for state governments. Nevertheless, due to the determined efforts of a few dedicated educators and NGOs, some less than equal PPPs ” essentially philanthropic initiatives rather than equal and self-sustaining partnerships ” are flourishing in pockets across the country. Edited and abbreviated reports outlining the activities of two PPP initiatives in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra ” filed by EducationWorld correspondents in Mumbai and Chennai ” are presented below. JK Foundation, Chennai PROMOTED BY J. JAYAKRISHNAN, founder and managing director of the Chennai-based J.K. Group which comprises E5 Properties Pvt. Ltd, J.K. Properties & Consultancy, Karyakarpa Organic Farms, and E5 Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the J.K. Foundation (JKF, estb. 2012) is the philanthropic arm of the J.K. Group. For ten years before the foundation was registered Jayakrishnan sponsored the education of poor children and supported elderly citizens in old age homes. However, since 2012, JKF has shifted focus to aiding government, municipal and panchayat schools in the educationally backward districts of Tamil Nadu under the PPP model. Thus far JKF has signed PPP agreements with 92 government and local administration schools benefiting over 6,000 students statewide. History. In 2008 the Tamil Nadu government initiated a School Improvement Scheme under which NGOs, trusts and individuals were invited to sign agreements with the state and local governments to ˜adopt™ government schools to scale up their infrastructure and improve teaching-learning standards. In the academic year 2012-13, JKF adopted 20 government schools in the backward district of Vizhupuram where less than 50 percent of students passed the state board class XII school-leaving exam. The adopted schools were upgraded with improved infrastructure and toilet facilities, 88 graduate teachers were appointed, and healthy meals provided to students in addition to remedial education and in-service teacher training. Direct speech. œThis intervention has proved very successful. In 2012-13 the pass percentage of class XII students in the adopted schools ranged from 60-90 percent. Moreover, three students of adopted schools were top-ranked statewide in…

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Priyentu Sujata Balchandra, class XII. Father manager State Bank of India, mother housewife. œI joined the school in 2007. Since then the changes in GVHSS-N are amazing. Today we have friendly teachers, a good library, clean toilets and separate laboratories for biology, IT, physics and chemistry. It™s like a dream come true. I am inspired to qualify as a doctor and serve in the Red Cross. Shanti Santosh, class XII. Father fisherman, mother housewife. œI transferred to GVHSS-N four years ago. During the past two years this school has changed 360 degrees. It is now like any private school in terms of study and sports facilities, with clean toilets and changing rooms. Teachers have also been trained to be friendly and sympathetic to students. Sailakshmi M.K, class X. Father fisherman, mother housewife. œI have been in this school for the past six years. The change in the school after the F&S Foundation became involved couldn™t have been imagined. Today we have nice classrooms and bathrooms, excellent labs and library, and well-trained, supportive teachers. After finishing class XII, I intend to qualify as a fashion designer. Alexiba Samson, class VIII. Father automobile salesman, mother receptionist. œTwo years ago, GVHSS-N was a poor school. Now it has become big and famous. I love the AstroTurf playground that the F&S Foundation has gifted us. I love playing football, and I™m training to play football for India.

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THE CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT at the Centre has generated hope and enthusiasm in all sectors of the economy, including education. Prime minister Narendra Modi™s intent to invest œskills, speed and scale into the national development effort is as applicable to the education sector as to any other, perhaps more so. As the new BJP-led NDA government which received a massive mandate to implement its progressive development programme embarks on this mission, it could draw some useful lessons from experiences of the past. Submitting the Report of the National Commission on Education to the then education minister M.C. Chagla on June 29, 1966, the commission™s chairperson, Prof. D.S. Kothari, wrote a memorable conclusion: œIn the rapidly changing world of today, one thing is certain: yesterday™s educational system will not meet today™s, and even less so, the need of tomorrow. Five decades on, these words contain valuable advice to the new government which has inherited a disoriented and dysfunctional education system suffering serious loss of credibility. Universal access to elementary education is perhaps the only achievement of Indian education these past 67 years, extending school education to over 90 percent of the country™s children. But access is of no value if not supported by adequate inputs to raise teaching-learning standards and improve learner attainments in the nation™s classrooms. India can justifiably claim to have a few schools and professional institutions of higher education on a par with the best anywhere. But the great majority of our schools, colleges and universities are deficient on almost every parameter. The hard task of the new government in Delhi is to build and sustain an environment of faith and trust that a great change is indeed imminent in Indian education. Will the new government really budget the long-promised 6 percent of GDP to education? It™s mesmerising to visualise an India in which every school is functioning smoothly with adequate infrastructural support, qualified and committed teachers, and a supportive community! But for this dream to be realised the system has to be jolted out of its pervasive lethargy which scotches every initiative at the implementation stage, the Right to Free & Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 being a poignant example. Teacher recruitment on a massive scale across the spectrum ” from schools to universities ” deserves primacy in priority delineation. But multiplication of model teacher education institutions is a necessary precondition. Moreover, special incentives are needed to attract brilliant youth to enter the teaching profession and portals of academia. We need to prepare teachers for the increased number of higher education institutions such as additional IITs, IIMs and Central universities promised by the new government. Elected representatives in village panchayats all the way to Parliament need to understand the education system and strive to remove its numerous deficiences. Private schools and institutions of higher learning, a significant number of which are promoted by politicians, need guidance and assistance. Even regulatory mechanisms require revision to become answerable to the aspirations of students and learners rather than of teachers,…

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Oxford University, UK, invites applications for the Rhodes Scholarships ” routinely included in the list of the most respected postgraduate academic scholarships worldwide. Graduates of Indian universities between the ages 19-25 with at least one first class degree are eligible to apply for two-three years of study (depending on the academic route chosen) at the University of Oxford (estb.1096). Last year, the selection committee was chaired by Rahul Dravid, former captain of the Indian cricket team, and included prominent academics and professionals. Aspiring Rhodes scholars were chosen through a highly-competitive application and selection process spanning six months. The Rhodes Scholarships, which were instituted under the will of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, include all university and college fees for two-three years, an annual stipend of not less than £13,390 (Rs.13.7 lakh), health insurance, and travel expenses. To apply for the Rhodes Scholarships for India 2015, aspirants should submit applications online, including academic transcripts, six references, medical certificate, proof of age, etc. For further information see http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/about/rhodes-countries/rhodes-india MSDF to support QIP Under an agreement signed on June 17 in Chandigarh by Surina Rajan, principal secretary of the school education department, government of Haryana, and Debasish Mitter, country director (India) of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), the foundation will support the state government™s Quality Improvement Programme (QIP). QIP impacts 1.6 million classes I-VIII children in 12,000 government primary and upper primary schools across Haryana. MSDF is a global charitable foundation focused on improving the lives of impoverished children in the United States, South Africa and India. Since 2006, it has invested over Rs.745 crore ($120 million) in India. Under the terms of this collaboration agreement, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will provide funding over a three-year period to the Boston Consulting Group for disbursement, effective implementation and scaling of QIP. œWe are honoured to work closely with the government of Haryana on this ambitious project to build a cohesive system across all government schools in the state, with student learning outcomes being the central focus. We applaud the strong leadership of Surina Rajan and leaders of the state of Haryana for taking a bold step to address systemic problems in classrooms. We believe this comprehensive project will address all areas and improve the quality of teacher-student classroom transactions, said Mitter, speaking on the occasion. Manipal U invites ICAS applications Manipal University (MU) invites applications for admission into its international engineering twinning programme, aka ICAS (International Centre for Applied Sciences). In this programme, students complete the first two years of four-year engineering degree programmes in MU  (Manipal campus) and the remaining two years in one of 90 associated universities in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany and France, which will award them engineering or equivalent degrees. œThis unique programme is designed for students aspiring to graduate in engineering disciplines from some of the best universities of the world. With increasing student flow to universities abroad, Manipal University introduced ICAS in 1994 to encourage students to enroll in MU and complete their…

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Assam Education hub plan INAUGURATING  THE FIRST convocation of the newly-established campus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Guwahati, on June 6, the state™s chief minister Tarun Gogoi stressed the state government™s determination to transform Assam into the education hub of North-east India. œOur government is committed to encouraging quality education. Today, Assam boasts several education institutions of national importance. We want to transform Assam and the North-east into an acknowledged education hub. To this end, we are encouraging the participation of private educators through the PPP mode to bring about qualitative change in the education scene, he said. Arunachal Pradesh Blue revolution initiative ADDRESSING A TWO-DAY seminar in Itanagar, W.S. Lakra, vice chancellor of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), called for a œblue revolution in North-east India, particularly Arunachal Pradesh, to end the region™s dependence on Andhra Pradesh for fish. At a training workshop titled ˜Aquaculture and fisheries management for food and nutritional securities in Arunachal Pradesh™, Lakra said the institute will provide an in-depth analysis of the vast aquaculture resources of Arunachal, and draw up a plan for a substantial increase in pisciculture development in the state. Currently Arunachal™s fish production is negligible despite the state™s huge natural resources, confirmed the state™s fisheries secretary Dani Salu, and suggested regular evaluation of the contribution of each project towards the state™s economy. Elaborating on the status of fisheries in the state, D. Das, an officer on special duty in the state™s fisheries department, said 84 new species of fish have been discovered in the state since 2000, increasing the total number of species to 215. Jammu & Kashmir Systems review promise CHIEF MINISTER OMAR Abdullah has directed that no-objection certificates (NOCs) should be issued within a time-bound frame to private education institutions in the state.To expedite processing of NOC applications, they will be brought under the ambit of the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA), a state government spokesperson said in Srinagar on June 12. The direction from the chief minister came after a delegation of the Private Schools Coordination Committee (PSCC) met with him on June 11, and solicited his intervention to make the system of granting affiliation, recognition and other related issues by state education officials, time-bound, convenient and smooth. Promising to review the applications processing system, Abdullah said the guidelines will be reviewed soon. œNo compromise, whatsoever, will be made in ensuring safety, security and education of students besides providing basic facilities in government and private education institutions. All of us should also be concerned about safeguarding the interests of students, teachers and support staff working in private schools and colleges, he added, calling upon private education providers to rationalise their fee structure and upgrade facilities. Gujarat Girl child enrolment drive WHILE VISITING THE Rumadiya, Kawant and Moti Chikhli villages of the tribal-dominated Chhota Udaipur district of central Gujarat on June 13 on a girl child school enrolment drive, Anandiben Patel ” the state™s recently-appointed first woman chief minister ” expressed her displeasure…

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œIt™s important for good people to join the nation™s decision-making process and take up leadership roles. If we don™t, others will. ” Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, former Olympic silver medallist marksman and first-time MP on the need for youth to join politics (India Today, June 9) œThe problem is not so much authoritarianism, though all governments here are authoritarian in varying degrees including India. It is that they simply cannot govern. From north India to North Africa is a zone of failed, failing and flailing states. ” Kanti Bajpai, educationist and foreign affairs expert, on the rising number of countries from north India to North Africa in crisis  (Times of India, June 21) œCrudity and graphic representation of culturally objectionable symbols as manifested in the UPA™s so-called sex education programme cannot be called sex education… Sex education is necessary but without vulgarisation. ” Harsh Vardhan, Union health minister, denying media reports stating that he proposed a ban on sex education in schools (June 27) œOur universities cannot attain global standards till they are freed from excessive officious control and the bureaucratic mindset of regulatory bodies. ” Prabhash Rajan of South Asian University, New Delhi, on the University Grants Commission order to Delhi University to withdraw its four-year undergraduate programme (The Hindu, June 28) œA government which is soaked in foreign funds is targeting us. There will now be harassment, false cases and anyone who opposes is going to be branded anti-development, anti-national. Today it™s the environment movements and NGOs. Next it will be the trade unions. ” Medha Patkar, well-known activist, responding to an IB report on Indian NGOs receiving foreign funding (Outlook, June 30) œI don™t think you™ve lived long enough. ” Hillary Clinton, former US secretary of state, responding to an opinion that feminism is old-fashioned and out of date (Time, June 30)

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THE DECADES-LONG STRUGGLE for the establishment of a separate Telangana state, which proponents wanted to be carved out of the state of Andhra Pradesh (pop. 84 million, estb. 1956), is over. On June 2, Telangana was officially promulgated as India™s 29th state after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, published in the official gazette of March 1. But after the long and bitter struggle of statehood for Telangana ” erstwhile Andhra Pradesh is now the two separate states of Telengana (pop. 35 million) and residual Andhra Pradesh (pop. 49 million) ” a new battle has been joined over apportionment of debt, power generation, and division of government bureaucrats and education services. A contentious issue in education which is reportedly receiving the top-level attention of the Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and N. Chandrababu Naidu, his AP counterpart, is the fee reimbursement scheme (FRS), a popular welfare measure introduced in undivided AP by the late chief minister Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008. Under the scheme, students from economically backward classes (EBCs) enrolled in professional education programmes ” engineering, medicine, MBA, MCA and B.Ed ” whose parents earn less than Rs.1 lakh per year, were reimbursed tuition fees and related expenses to the tune of Rs.52,000 annually by the state government. In 2012-13, the number of such EBC students aggregated 600,000, on whom the erstwhile state government expended Rs.3,000 crore. Now following bifurcation of the former united state of Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana government has declined to pay the FRS of 39,000 EBC students of Andhra origin enrolled in colleges in Telangana, who as natives of united AP were entitled to FRS and admission into professional education institutions in the state (including Hyderabad) under the 85 percent quota reserved for natives. In undivided Andhra Pradesh, all students who had completed class VI-X schooling in the state were defined as natives. Now the new Telangana government has proposed making the place of schooling of parents the criterion for determining nativity. Therefore under the new definition, even students who have completed their schooling in Telangana but whose parents did not, would be considered ˜outsiders™ ineligible for FRS or inclusion in the 85 percent quota. This proposal of Telangana™s KCR government has deep implications as the great majority of undivided AP government and privately promoted professional colleges sprang up in what™s now Telangana during the past 58 years ” the majority of them promoted by education entrepreneurs from what™s now residual Andhra Pradesh. Therefore if the KCR government™s proposal to redefine nativity is translated into legislation, EBC students from the promoters™ own districts in coastal/residual AP won™t be eligible for FRS. Moreover the proposed redefinition of nativity is likely to impact students from residual AP who have written the former state™s EAMCET (engineering and medical common entrance examination) held on May 29. This year toppers from either state will be allowed to choose their preferred engineering and medical colleges. But if the KCR government™s nativity…

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THE HOPES AND DREAMS of 190,000 medical college aspirants in Uttar Pradesh are in suspended animation with the abrupt cancellation of the UP Combined Pre-Medical Test (UPCPMT) on the day of the statewide exam, because of a security breach which has so rattled the state government that it has constituted a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to inquire into the alleged leak of question papers. On June 22, hours before the exam was to begin in 213 centres across the state, a security box containing question papers was found damaged in Ghaziabad. King George™s Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow ” the nodal university conducting the exam directed a switch to an alternative question paper and alerted all centres about the switch. But an hour later, another security box containing the alternative question papers was also found damaged in the strong room of a bank in Ghaziabad where it had been stored for security reasons. At 9.30 am, just as the exam was about to start, candidates were informed of its cancellation leading to statewide protests. Leaked examination papers are not a novelty in India™s most populous (200 million) state, infamous for its barely functional law and order machinery. In 2004, six persons including a KGMU teacher were arrested by the CBI for leaking question papers of the all-India post graduate medical entrance examination. A year later, three KGMU students kidnapped an aspiring medical student who failed to pay the agreed amount for a leaked question paper; in 2006 three KGMU students were arrested for impersonating candidates writing the Punjab Pre-medical Test for which question papers had been printed in Lucknow; and in 2009, a suspiciously large number of progeny of politicians and bureaucrats cleared the postgraduate medical entrance test prompting an investigation. In the recent June 22 leaked question papers case, police and investigating agencies suspect an inside job. Two sets of question papers were printed in another state, and the security boxes sealed and delivered directly to banks for safe keeping. These papers were then to be transported to 213 exam centres and the seal of the security boxes broken in the presence of four observers and the exam centre superintendent. While initial reports claim that no leaked question papers have been found with unauthorised personnel, the fact that not one but two exam paper security boxes were tampered points to definite insider involvement. Ghaziabad™s district magistrate S.V.S. Ranga Rao added a fresh angle to the mystery by questioning whether bank strong rooms were appropriate repositories for question papers in the first place. œAs per rules¦ the question papers should have been kept in the district treasury and we should have been informed so that security could have been provided, he said in a statement released to the media. On the other hand, A.K. Singh, UPCPMT chief coordinator, says the rules of the exam don™t prescribe mandatory deposit of question papers with the district administration, and that bank depositories are a safer option. While the exam now is rescheduled for July…

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IN A MINOR reshuffle of ministers on May 27, Mamata Banerjee, the mercurial chief minister of West Bengal (pop. 91 million), fired two ministers and changed the portfolios of two others. The reshuffle aroused special interest in the state™s academy because Bratya Basu, the high profile education minister of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government which was elected in 2011, has been shifted to the innocuous tourism ministry while Partha Chatterjee, a political heavyweight and Banerjee™s close associate and hitherto minister for information technology, has been allocated the education portfolio. The reshuffle is being interpreted as Banerjee™s displeasure with the ousted and transferred ministers for the party™s œpoor performance in their constituencies in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, although TMC won an unprecedented 34 (out of 42) Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. But immediately after his appointment as education minister, Chatterjee ran into a barrage of criticism from academia and opposition parties for taking a decision to revoke the online admission system, made mandatory for state government-funded colleges and universities from the new academic year (starting July), and making it optional. Chatterjee™s excuse: inadequate technology/infrastructure of government colleges. In February, former education minister Basu had announced that the online system would be introduced this year in all universities, including West Bengal State, Burdwan, Kalyani and North Bengal universities and their affiliated colleges. The prime purpose of switching to online admissions was to curb widespread malpractices including tampering with manually compiled college admission lists processed in multiple locations. According to Prithwis Mukherjee, programme director of business analytics at the Praxis Business School, Kolkata, online admission systems, which are de rigueur in all major universities in India and abroad, are more transparent and less vulnerable to manipulation and tampering. œOnce posted online, admission lists and supportive documentation become public record leaving a paper trail which makes them very difficult to alter or amend. Online admission systems promote transparency and convenience. That™s why respectable education institutions world over have switched to them, says Mukherjee, an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur and University of Texas, Austin, who acquired 18 years of business experience with several IT majors (IBM India, PwC India, Tata Information Systems) before signing up with Praxis Business School (estb. 2007) in 2013. Yet within 48 hours of taking charge of the education ministry on May 27, and being briefed that his predecessor had finalised centralised online admission systems for 20 state universities in West Bengal, Chatterjee announced that online admissions are optional this year and would become compulsory only in the academic year 2015-16. œWe are not ready with the required software as yet. Moreover, many colleges do not have connectivity, Chatterjee said in an interview with indiatoday.in (May 30). The TMC government™s volte face was sharply criticised by the Left Front and BJP spokespersons. œThe online admissions system has been dropped because TMC youth leaders don™t like it. With the old system back, once again touts and agents will be able to mint money by manipulating admissions through unscrupulous means, says…

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THREE YEARS AFTER the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government grudgingly implemented samacheerkalvi or common school curriculum (through the Uniform System of School Education (USSE) Act, 2010 legislated by the DMK government in January 2010) which mandates a common syllabus for all 52,303 government primary-secondaries and 10,934 private unaided schools affiliated with the Tamil Nadu State Board of School Examinations (TNSBSE) ” CBSE and CISCE schools are exempt ” complaints about poor quality textbooks, diving learning outcomes and dumbed down standards have become  increasingly strident. Unsurprisingly, a rising number of former Matriculation Board schools forcibly affiliated with TNSBSE in 2010, are forwarding affiliation applications to the more progressive Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). According to a study ” Impact and Effectiveness of Samacheerkalvi ” conducted by the Chennai-based Don Bosco Centre for Education Research and Training together with Talent Ease, a skills development company, although samacheerkalvi enables activity-based learning, the quality and execution of the syllabus is unsatisfactory. The study, released on June 20, which interviewed 344 respondents including 106 students, 106 teachers, 109 parents and 23 school heads, posed seven questions regarding the syllabus and its impact. On whether samacheerkalvi was a better syllabus, all groups felt it was better than the former state board syllabus, but 72 percent of parents, 46 percent of  teachers and 57 percent of school heads opined that the syllabus of the former Matriculation Board followed by private matriculation schools before introduction of samacheerkalvi, was superior. Moreover, the CBSE syllabus was decisively preferred across all groups. The survey conclusions confirm the pessimism of 5,934 private school managements who have been critical of the populist samacheerkalvi programme from the time it was thrust upon them by the Karunanidhi-led DMK government (which ruled in Tamil Nadu  between 2006-2011)  in 2010. With typical irresponsibility, to provide œequity in education, in January 2010, the DMK legislated the USSE Act 2010, abolishing Tamil Nadu™s four school examination boards ” the state, Matriculation, Anglo-Indian and Oriental school boards ” and decreed a common curriculum and textbooks for all schools affiliated with TNSBSE. To its credit, the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government, which swept the state™s legislative assembly elections in May 2011, postponed implementation of samacheerkalvi and amended s.3 of the USSE Act, 2010 (which states that every school in the state shall follow the common syllabus and textbooks as may be specified by the Board for each subject) on grounds of infirm syllabus and poor quality textbooks. After intense litigation on July 18, 2011, the Madras high court mysteriously set aside the AIADMK government™s postponement directive and ordered implementation of the USSE Act.  Unwilling to comply with this order, the state government filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court but the court refused to stay the high court™s judgement and ordered the state government to implement samacheerkalvi statewide. NOW, THREE years down the line, educationists, teachers and parents are almost unanimous that students in TNSBSE-affiliated schools aren™t learning enough and will find it difficult to compete with students from CBSE and…

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INDIAN ENGINEERING education crossed a major milestone on June 13 when the country was admitted into the select club of the Washington Accord (WA) nations. Technically, the membership of WA was awarded to the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), Delhi (together with the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka) at a meeting of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA), the secretariat of the WA, in Wellington, New Zealand in May. But there™s a catch. Under the terms of admission, only the degrees awarded by India™s 220 Tier-I NBA-accredited colleges are eligible for equivalency. Some degree programmes of 15 colleges (mainly the 11 National Institutes of Technology) have already been granted equivalency by WA. Academics in India believe the country™s admission in WA will enhance the employability of engineering graduates from Tier-I institutions and will also enable them to acquire legal protection while working in member nations. Prior to this, graduate engineers ” except IIT grads ” aspiring to practice abroad, had to fulfil certain requirements, in most cases, write an examination. Only engineers deputed abroad by Indian corporates were exempt from producing proof of WA accreditation. œWashington Accord membership is a hallmark of quality and with India becoming a permanent signatory, graduates of NBA approved programmes of Tier-I engineering colleges are acknowledged as world class. It will end the discretionary power that bureaucrats abroad have to deny them the right to practice their trade in industrially developed countries, says Shekhar Sanyal, director and country head, India, of the UK-based The Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET). œAccreditation of engineering academic programmes is a key foundation for the practice of engineering at the professional level in each of the countries or territories covered by the accord, says the preamble of WA (estb.1989). Promoted 25 years ago by the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, over the years the membership of WA has been expanded to include premier accreditation authorities in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, India and Sri Lanka. In a congratulatory message to NBA, the recently appointed Union minister of human resource development Smriti Irani said: œThis will ensure highest quality assurance standards to be implemented in our technical and engineering programmes and provide global mobility to our engineering graduates. Graduates having degrees, which have been so accredited, would have substantial international equivalence of their achievement levels across the signatory nations. This will substantially enhance their employment opportunities around the world. Although the HRD ministry has been knocking on the WA door since 2007, it was only after the NBA was severed from the corruption-tainted All India Council for Technical Education and transformed into an independent organisation for accrediting technical institutes of higher education in 2010, that its application began to be considered seriously by the IEA. In December-January 2013-14, IEA sent teams to conduct a comprehensive review and audit of NBA accreditation systems, submitting a positive report. œIf we™re able to cultivate a culture of quality through accreditation of institutions and study programmes,…

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YOUR COVER story ˜North-east India™s academic renaissance™ (EW June) was an eye-opener. For too long, the North-east states have been neglected and deprived of proper public infrastructure, quality schools and higher education institutions. The promotion of several new education institutions by can-do entrepreneurs is indeed a welcome and promising development. Many more institutions are needed in the North-east and state governments must do all they can to encourage private entrepreneurs to set up quality higher education institutions, particularly professional colleges. Surendranath Biswas Delhi Wrong emphasis YOU’VE SPENT TOO much ink on blaming the country™s higher education system for the exodus of talented students and professionals to the West in your special report ˜Why India™s brightest and best flee abroad™ (EW June). On the other hand, you™ve paid too little attention to crucial factors such as an over-regulated economy, lack of employment opportunities, red tape, nepotism, corruption, and pathetic public infrastructure. The role of India™s education system, which has produced many scientists, doctors and engineers who have scripted success stories abroad, is at best marginal. Sujatha Nambiar Bangalore Human development onus I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING EducationWorld™s campaign to reform Indian education for several years. Regrettably, a new government at the Centre is unlikely to precipitate the changes really needed in education today. That will happen when educators realise that India™s youth need a different kind of training to prepare them for life and the world of work. A student graduating from a university with a first degree is unlikely to get a job in the international marketplace. Not only has a Masters become the norm, but also strong English language and life skills. Therefore the onus this places on schools and universities to stimulate ˜human development™ in the broader sense, has never been greater. Schools must nurture the emotional intelligence, problem solving, and communication and leadership skills of students rather than produce mere academic high-achievers. David Boddy Principal, Anglo Schools International Services Ltd, London COEP protest I WAS SURPRISED BY your cover story (May) which ranked India™s best non-IIT engineering colleges. I wish to bring to your notice that College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) is one of the oldest engineering colleges in the country with a legacy of 159 years. COEP is routinely ranked among India™s Top 15 engineering colleges and #1 in Maharashtra in surveys conducted by all publications and agencies, and is regarded on a par with IITs and NITs. Despite its numerous achievements, your magazine has ranked COEP #29, which is a matter of great concern. Most institutes ranked above COEP have been ranked far below us in surveys conducted by India Today, Outlook, etc. We absolutely disagree with the scores and rankings given to the institute and therefore wish to understand the parameters considered by your organisation. Although the rankings are based on people™s perceptions, we would like you to take note of our many achievements so that this mistake is not repeated and readers are guided by accurate details of all the country™s prestigious engineering institutes,…

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DESPITE GLOBAL OUTRAGE over the rape of two teenage cousins and their subsequent lynching on May 27 in a rural hamlet of Badaun district in Uttar Pradesh, crimes against women and children have not abated in this nation which is experiencing gender atrocities of unprecedented scale and magnitude. According to National Crime Records Bureau statistics, 241,000 crimes against women citizens were reported in 2012 including 396 cases of rape ” widely perceived as a gross under-estimate because not only are women reluctant to report gender crimes, but also because police personnel and stations are averse to registering them. Official and societal response to the gender crimes wave which is rooted in the contempt of anti-socials for the country™s feeble law and order and justice systems, is righteous indignation,  penitent candle-light vigils, public rallies and demonstrations, which are at best of symbolic value. Although controlling the gender crimes tsunami requires significant  investment in the law, order and justice machinery and universalisation and contemporisation of education, prior to addressing these  deep-rooted maladies of Indian society, several short-term solutions are available to abate, if not eradicate, the rising tide of crimes against women. For a start, teams of 500 fit and able-bodied women need to be recruited, intensively trained in martial arts and modern communication technologies, and deployed to serve as undercover decoy policewomen in all metro and tier-I cities countrywide. It™s reasonable to anticipate they will flush out and promptly arrest habitual molesters and rapists with the help of special gender crimes squads. Moreover, to cover small towns and rural habitats, specially trained flying squads supported by helicopters should be on stand-by in all metros and 640 district capitals to respond to gender atrocity reports within 15 minutes. On the punitive and justice dispensation side, local branches of the National Commission for Women and related organisations, can be empowered to order 3-6 days imprisonment and upto 30 days community service for ˜minor™ gender crimes. For repeat offenders, local magistrates need to be empowered to order controlled caning, and for major crimes such as rape, kidnapping and trafficking, special fast-track courts need to be established to adjudicate complaints within six months. Admittedly, training special gender crime squads and equipping them with latest communications hardware, and airborne logistics support won™t come cheap. But by sharply reducing the size of the VIP air fleet and motor car cavalcades of ministers and government officials, substantial savings can be made for canalisation into women™s security. However even so, additional expenditure will be required to establish a gender crimes law enforcement and adjudication system. Yet the cost of inaction or business as usual in combating the gender crimes tsunami is likely to be far greater. Tools aversion dehumanisation A GENERALLY IGNORED deficiency of Indian society ” even industry and business ” is conspicuous reluctance to use modern, labour-saving tools and equipment. This observation is prompted by your editor™s discerning eye which has been obliged to routinely witness the dehumanising employment of contract labour to clean sewage/drainage pipes, or…

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Anybody with a modicum of common sense knows that what™s wrong with post-independence India™s education system, is the dismal condition of the country™s 1.20 million government ” especially state and local government ” schools where teachers ritually go through the motions and little learning happens. Defined by crumbling buildings, furniture-less classrooms, lack of electricity and drinking water, unusable toilets and chronic teacher absenteeism (1.25 million government school teachers are absent every day), failed government schools are the prime cause of mass illiteracy, poverty and poor productivity, the dominant features of the Indian economy. Unable or unwilling to do the right thing by government schools, latterly the education establishment ” taking a cue from its success in reserving massive government quotas in private institutions of professional education (engineering and medical colleges) ” has resorted to passing on its responsibility to provide public education to private schools. The landmark Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 made it mandatory for private unaided (financially independent) schools to reserve 25 percent capacity in elementary classes (I-VIII) for children from poor households in their neighbourhood. Simultaneously, it has been propagating public-private partnerships (PPPs) inviting corporates, philanthropists and NGOs to help in the upgradation and management of failing government schools. But the PPPs in school education haven™t taken off because the state and local governments have been attempting to foist unequal partnerships on private education providers. Against this background, a new PPP model which has radically transformed the once rundown all-girls class V-XII Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Nadakavvu (GVHSS-N) in Kozhikode, Kerala ” India™s most literate state ” offers the hope of revival and rejuvenation of government schools on a mass scale. A detailed account of how this failing government school has been transformed into Kerala™s most famous public school and a model for PPPs in education, is offered in our cover story. The metamorphosis of GVHSS-N is so dramatic and so welcomed by children from the bottom deciles of the population, that your editor™s eyes albeit unused to the melting mood, were severely tested. And to write our equally detailed second lead feature in this issue, managing editor Summiya Yasmeen reconstructed a confused story abandoned by an absconded correspondent, to recount how a brave and timely initiative to overhaul and improve the obsolete undergrad study programmes of Delhi University, ended in a shambles and disaster.

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