EducationWorld October 08

Jacked Up by Bill Lane; McGraw Hill; Price: Rs.325; 324 ppAt the height of his fame in the 1990s, perhaps no business leader — before or since — attained the iconic status of Jack Welch, former chairman of the American conglomerate GE (formerly General Electric) for almost a quarter century from 1980-2000. Most business analysts and biographers attribute his success in transforming GE into a global corporate heavyweight and the worlds most admired and analysed company, to his leadership, analytical and organisation skills. But according to Bill Lane, speechwriter for this feisty and irrepressible CEO nicknamed Neutron Jack by the media (able to decimate people without destroying property), the secret of Welchs success was that he was a consummate communicator — he talked GE into becoming the worlds greatest company. Unsurprisingly, Lane claims some of the credit as Welchs speechwriter who christened him CEO of the Century. This book is about the moments Lane shared in a roller coaster ride from tough to tender situations in Jack Welchs GE world — a world in which he lived and breathed-with-bated-breath for 20 years before he was summarily fired. Lane offers a ringside view of GE under the tempestuous Welch who would often fly off the handle and didnt care about mincing his words, many of which are unprintable. It was a tight-rope walk and Lane held his well-remunerated position of speechwriter — a VIP job in corporate America (and entertainment) — for over 20 years. Yet the USP of Jacked Up is that its more than an insiders biography or a self-aggrandising narrative highlighting the authors critical role in the evolution of Welch into a communicator extraordinaire. Simultaneously it is a business management textbook replete with advice to incumbent and aspirant managers in industry with an eye on the top job. The book is rich with anecdotes about Welch in action and lessons in business and organisational leadership for which excellent, succinct communication is a prerequisite. Although an almost non-existent species in India, the speechwriters job — particularly at GE under Welch — was a tough task. Lane recounts how he handled Welch with professional tact, and tells of frightening moments when he thought a poorly phrased remark that didnt pander to the boss vanity would cost him his job. Survival at GE under trigger happy Neutron Jack required nerve, grit and managing a hard taskmaster, involved in every minutiae of the conglomerates business. At another level Jacked Up is also Lanes autobiography. It narrates Lanes transformation from an army communications professional who taught top defence brass how to talk to Congress, into a corporate communicator pitch-forked into a lifestyle of corporate jets, bulging budgets, wining-and-dining and golf courses — all booby-trapped with verbal minefields. A strong proponent of the power of the spoken word who believes every executive should be an effective and successful speaker, Lane gives plenty of examples of communication failures not tolerated by Welch — and how to spot them. Yet in essence this is a management…

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The Right to Education Bill, 2008, an Act to put into ffect the Right to Free and Compulsory Education to all children in the age group of six-14 years, is a 39-page document that details every childs right to free and compulsory education of equitable quality; responsibility of the State, parents, schools, teachers; the content and process of education; and the monitoring process for the implementation of the Act. Excerpts:S.3. Childs right to free and compulsory education of equitable quality (1) Every child who has attained the age of six years under s.4 shall have the right to participate in full time elementary education and to complete it, and towards that end shall have the right, subject to the provisions of this Act to: i) be admitted to a neighbourhood school in accordance with the provisions of s. 17, and (ii) be provided free and compulsory education in such school, in the manner provided in this Act; Provided a child with severe disability as defined by the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection and Full Participation) Act,1996 shall have the right to be provided education as per the provisions of the said Act. (2) A non-enrolled child who is in the age group seven-nine years, at the commencement of this Act, shall, in addition to the right specified in subclause (1), have the right to be admitted to an age appropriate grade in a neighbourhood school within one year from the commencement of this Act. (5) No child shall be held back in any grade until she completes elementary education and shall be assessed as per s.32 (2) (vi). S. 6. General responsibility of the state It shall be the responsibility of the State: (1) To ensure the availability of a neighbourhood school for providing free and compulsory education for every child within a period or three years from commencement of this Act; Provided that in case of non-availability of neighbourhood school, the State shall provide free transportation arrangement to the nearest school or provide free residential school/facilities, (3) To institute and implement a mechanism for regular monitoring of enrollment, participation and attainment status of every child, and taking corrective steps wherever necessary, so that every child completes elementary education, and to make information in this regard available in the public domain, including on an on-line basis, (4) To ensure that children in schools receive education (a) of equitable quality, and (b) conforming to values enshrined in the Constitution… S.15. Responsibility of the parent/guardian It shall be the responsibility of every parent/guardian to enroll his child or ward, who has attained the entry age as defined in s.4 of this Act, in a school, and to facilitate her completion of elementary education. S.17. Responsibility of schools to provide free and compulsory education 1) Schools shall provide free and compulsory elementary education to children entitled under s.3 to the extent and in the manner specified below: (i) State schools, except schools of specified categories, and fully aided schools — to all…

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After being buried in the HRD ministry and tossed between the finance and law ministries and the Planning Commission for over four years, the Right to Education Bill, 2008 which will give effect to Article 21A of the Constitution of India (viz. the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may by law determine), has been once again referred by the Union cabinet to a group of ministers for deliberation. Currently in its seventh draft, national consensus has eluded the Bill, with education NGOs, civil society groups, teachers associations and representative organisations of private schools and government-aided schools opposing various provisions. EducationWorld highlights major lacunae of RTE Bill, 2008:• There is no provision in the Bill to compel the State to provide adequate funds for providing elementary education to 160 million out-of-school children. • The Bill dilutes the fundamental right of children below six years of age to nutrition, health and pre-primary education by equating it with ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services). • It denies children the right to secondary and senior secondary education. • The Bill discriminates against government school children as their teachers will still be deployed for census, elections and disaster relief duties. • It provides for government to reimburse only tuition expenses of poor children enrolled in private schools. There is no provision for reimbursement of other fees (eg. art and craft, sports, excursion fees, etc), which are levied by most private schools. • Contains subtle provisions that exclude disabled children from elementary schools. • Lacks guarantee of dignified salaries, professional development, promo-tional avenues and social security for teachers and prevention of fragmentation of teachers cadre. • The Bill doesnt indicate how the chairperson and office bearers of the School Management Committees (SMCs) will be elected. In many states local MLAs and MPs become chairpersons of SMCs in their ex officio capacity. This lies at the root of several of the abuses to which government schools are subjected. • In the schedule of the Bill detailing norms and standards for a school, norms which all schools must follow for installing teaching learning equipment, library, play material, games and sports equipment are not prescribed. • The Bill says that the State shall ensure that children in schools receive education of equitable quality. This provision has no value unless the term equitable quality is defined.

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The Right to Education Bill which belatedly proposes to put the countrys massive 160 million out-of-school children into classrooms, was first mooted in 2003. Despite a constitutional amendment, it is being passed from Centre to state governments, committee to committee and shuttled between groups of ministers. Summiya Yasmeen reports Given its deep, long-term implications, its potentially the most revolutionary legislation in Indian history. Yet the Right to Education Bill, which mandates free and compulsory education to all children in the age group six-14 — an issue which provoked a constitutional amendment unanimously approved by a voice vote of Parliament in 2002 — has not yet been enacted into law. Shamefully, the draft of the Bill, which belatedly proposes to put the countrys massive cohort of 160 million out-of-school children into classrooms, is being passed from the Centre to state governments, from committee to committee and shuttled between groups of ministers as in a pass-the-parcel childrens game. On August 8, the Union cabinet, which has been preoccupied with getting the Indo-US nuclear deal approved by the US Congress, referred the draft Right to Education Bill, 2008, back to a new group of ministers (GoM). This means the RTE Bill, drafted to give effect to Article 21A of the Constitution of India (viz, the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may by law determine) enacted following the 86th amendment to the Constitution in 2002, wont be ready for tabling in the winter session of Parliament beginning October 17. An ailing Arjun Singh, Union human resource development minister and prime mover of the RTE Bill, 2008, who was absent from the August 8 cabinet meeting, will chair the reconstituted GoM, which includes Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, Union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal, and the Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. This is the second time the Bill has been referred to a GoM (it was first referred to a high-level group in 2006). Curiously the composition of the new GoM is similar to the previous one. The only deletion is of C. Rangarajan who recently quit from the PMs Economic Advisory Council. No deadline has been set for the new GoM to submit its recommen-dations. We still have to finalise details such as the extent to which the states would need to contribute to fund the programme and (quality) norms that need to be followed, Sibal informed the media after the August 8 cabinet meeting. The historic re-worked RTE Bill, 2008 was widely expected to be presented in the monsoon session of Parliament after being buried in the HRD ministry, and tossed between the finance and law ministries and the Planning Commission for over four years. Despite assurances from the top including the prime minister, that the Bill is a top priority with the government and will be enacted before next years general election, to all intents and purposes, it has been…

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A blueprint for turning around poor performance by European universities has called for more money, greater autonomy, better student mobility and increased competition. A study by the Brussels-based higher education think-tank Breugel, says growth of the sector in continental Europe has been disappointing for 30 years, particularly in comparison with the US. It examines the higher education systems of continental Europe and the US and highlights a number of key differences.The first is the low level of student mobility in Europe, a problem the report says unlikely to be solved by the Bologna Process. Bologna aims to create a European space of higher education in which undergraduate education is more easily comparable across the continent, but the report predicts it will not succeed in increasing mobility between countries. The study also suggests that more general and flexible curriculums could help cut failure rates at undergraduate levels. Noting that most students choose an institution for its proximity to their home and thus limit their choice of courses, Breugel argues that allowing undergraduates to wait one or two years before they specialise will reduce the impact of this lack of mobility. A third finding is that the research performance of European universities lags far behind those in the US, particularly among elite institutions. To counter this, it says, selection (of students) at entry should become the norm, specialisation and mobility should be encouraged, and fees are easier to justify if supported by scholarships, income-contingent loans and teaching assistantships. The study concludes with a series of recommendations for tackling poor performance. It calls for funding to universities to be increased, noting the considerable investment gap between Europe and the US. In 2005, 39 percent of the US population was educated to degree level, compared with only 24 percent in the European Union. The US devoted 3.3 percent of gross domestic product to higher education compared with Europes 1.3 percent. Breugel suggests that the proportion of GDP that Europe spends on higher education should double over the next ten years. Universities also need more freedom, it says. Autonomy and funding are mutually reinforcing factors, it says, and institutions have more autonomy in the US and other high-performing countries than they do in Europe. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education Supplement)

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Nigerias university system used to be the finest in West Africa, but todays classes are overcrowded, buildings are crumbling and the curriculum has remained unchanged for years. Cults have emerged from the shambles. Started as confraternities of the most academic students, they have deteriorated into gang violence. The Exam Ethics Project, a lobby group, says that inter-cult violence killed 115 students and teachers between 1993 and 2003. The real number may be much higher.The situation is particularly bad in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, the countrys wealthiest state and centre of the oil industry. Here cults have spilled beyond the campus walls to mix with the political militants, thugs and crooks responsible for a violent insurgency in the Niger Delta. Most city residents believe that nearly all of todays most prominent militant leaders were, or still are, cult members. How did the cults become such a problem? Wole Soyinka, a Nobel prize winner for literature, helped found the Pyrates Confraternity, the first such group, in 1952 at the elite University of Ibadan. Slowly, splinter groups emerged: The Black Axe, the Klansmen Konfraternity, and numerous others. It was harmless fun to begin with. But military leaders of the 1980s and 1990s saw the groups growing membership as a chance to confront leftist student unions, often aligned with pro-democracy movements. So the confraternities were given money and weapons. They turned against student activists — and against each other. By the mid-1980s, violence had become so fierce that Soyinka tried unsuccessfully to disband his former creation. As their strength grew, the cults influence on universities became more malign. They exacerbated the corruption that had already bred in unmanageably big classes and deteriorating facilities. Today, older students and alumni flood campuses in the first weeks of the new academic year to recruit for cults. Omolade Adunbi, an anthropologist, says that some students, fearing that they will be failed in exams, believe the only way to protect themselves is to belong to a cult where they can harass professors. Rivers State outlawed cultism in 2004, setting up rehabilitation committees and special courts to try those accused of membership. But the law has had little effect, since politicians play a big part in keeping the groups rich in cash and arms. In Rivers State everybody is fighting for the soul of governance in the state, and you need everything —everything — to get it, says Prof. Chiedu Mafiana, a director at the National Universities Commission. Politicians use the students to intimidate opponents, he says. The pay-offs after university can be rewarding. With a well-connected alumni network, students hope that their cult membership will win them jobs in a country where most graduates are unemployed. Alumni of the Vikings Confraternity, for example, claim at least 11 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Some progress has been made in tackling the cults at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, thanks to 200-odd security officers, covert surveillance and student informants. For the first…

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Fears for the independence of Canadian universities have been heightened by the involvement of a provincial government minister in the search for a new university president. Joan Burke, the Newfoundland and Labrador education minister, has admitted interviewing and black-balling two candidates for the presidency of Memorial University in St. Johns, the provinces capital.Ms. Burkes role in vetting the candidates, who were shortlisted by an 18-strong university panel, has prompted a former provincial education minister to demand her resignation. Chris Decker, who is also a former chair of the universitys board of regents, says Ms. Burke had damaged Memorials reputation. For some minister whos so blown up with her own… self-importance that she thinks she can usurp the role of a procedure that has been in place for many, many years, its totally disgraceful, says Decker. The incident caused a row that has rumbled for several weeks. Memorials board of regents has issued a statement expressing concern for the autonomy of the university. David Robinson, assistant executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, says his group had asked to meet the prime minister to discuss the concern. He says the incident could not only damage Memorials reputation and make it harder to fill the vacant position, it could set a dangerous precedent if it is unchallenged. Who wants to be the president if they have to look over their back all the time? he asks. Ms. Burke, meanwhile has denied any improper conduct. She told the CBC: In legislation, the appointment of the president… has to be sanctioned by the cabinet — and therefore we are part of the process. The furore follows several other troubling incidents. Earlier this year the government of British Columbia circulated a letter of expectations in which it spelt out its priorities to institutions hoping for more funding. The Confederation of University Faculty Associations called the letter an unprecedented intrusion into the governance of public universities. In another episode, First Nations University in Saskatchewan was put on probation by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada amid fears that its governance structure left it susceptible to influence by the Federation of Saskatchewan First Nations, an advocacy group representing native communities. The stand-off ended when the vice-chief of education of the federation resigned from the universitys board. (Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education Supplement)

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After three decades of increases at more than double the rate of inflation, the cost of attending an American private university has reached a politically unpalatable new high. This autumn, one year of tuition, room and board and mandatory fees will surpass the US annual median household income of $48,023 (Rs.22 lakh).It is a milestone the universities may have hoped would pass without notice. But a backlash appears to be looming against a sector long insulated from the need to cut costs by the fact that demand for higher education in the US, except at the lowest-ranked institutions, such as state and community colleges, has consistently exceeded supply. Elite private universities, and even some public institutions, accept as few as one in ten applicants. At some point we (will) get to a threshold of anger that will force something to happen, says Richard Vedder, distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, a public higher education institution. Were not quite there. But were getting closer. And it is not only private universities, including the Ivy League institutions, which are in the frame. The rate of increase in charges at many public universities has been just as high — and in some cases even higher — because their previous main source of support — state government allocations — has fallen. Legislators, who oversee public universities, want accountability. And both private and public universities, their critics say, are paying dangerously scant attention to the tide that is rising against them. Since 1988, the average cost of an undergraduate degree at public and private US universities has risen by 375 percent, far faster than the 127 percent increase in median family income in the same period. Simultaneously the economic advantage enjoyed by graduates is weakening. A college education still gets you more (money) than not having one, but it hasnt been rising lately, says Jared Bernstein, a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute, a non- partisan think-tank. Since 2000, the average wage has risen only 2.5 percent in real terms, he adds. Tuition goes up that much every 20 minutes. The number of administrative staff in US universities has tripled in the past three decades. And for 11 years in a row they have received salary increases above the rate of inflation. Presidents of elite private universities and even those of some public institutions now receive an average of close to half a million dollars a year, plus free housing, expense accounts and generous benefits. Both public and private universities are exempt from income tax, while donors benefit from deductions allowed for charitable giving. Secretary of education Margaret Spellings warned higher education officials in July that, if universities do not change, change will be imposed. In the absence of continued leadership in education, others will step in, she says. Universities, say some observers, have an emotive trump card: parents desire to find ways to pay for their children to go to the university of their choice. Colleges play on peoples emotions, says Dr. Vedder…

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Whats the use of progress and development if one day its going to be wiped out by an epidemic? queries the home page of Little Drops, which sports several such hard-hitting messages aimed at jolting the public into health awareness. Launched by a committed coalition of 70 medical practitioners of the Chennai-based Stanley Medical College (class of 1955), who staged a grand reunion on January 15-16, 2005 to celebrate the golden jubilee of their medical careers, Little Drops was inspired by former president APJ Abdul Kalams ‘Vision 2020 —Health for All monograph. Pledging to actualise Kalams vision, the doctors constituted the Golden Jubilee Stanleynians Charitable Trust (GJSCT) in August 2006 with an initial corpus of Rs.3 lakh to promote Little Drops, an inclusive community initiative to educate generation next about emerging health challenges. The trusts Little Drops website provides detailed information of the project and invites people from all over the country to participate in its mission.A health crisis is waiting to explode in India, a country characterised by population density, pervasive illiteracy, poverty and public apathy. Economic development has increased environmental pollution, worsened living conditions and has created ideal conditions for the spread of epidemics and other fatal diseases. We want people to become aware that good health practices and hygienic environments are essential for enjoying the fruits of development. The objective of Little Drops is to educate children on community health issues, by partnering with schools in Chennai and engaging students and teachers in identifying health hazards and devising preventive health practices, says Dr. R. Rabindranath, one of the promoters of GJSCT and project co-ordinator of Little Drops. A family physician since 1962, Rabindranath is also the founder of Dr. Rabindrans Health Care Centre, Ambattur, a suburb of Chennai. Little Drops plans to adopt an action-oriented, participatory programme to enable children to witness and experience the benefits of personal and environmental hygiene, the twin thrust areas of the programme. To sensitise and motivate teachers to advocate good hygiene, workshops are conducted by experienced resource persons. Children are encouraged to work in teams, made to identify insanitary conditions and suggest what school managements or municipal authorities can collectively do to improve them. Teachers of 30 schools have attended Little Drops workshops, and two booklets have been published to help them with innovative approaches on the subject. The NGOs learning-by-doing programme is making an impact, with participating schools showing consi-derable enthusiasm for its initiatives. Nevertheless GJSCT spokespersons specify that community participation is essential for disseminating the message of health and hygiene. We want schools and communities to work together to promote hygienic practices, otherwise there will be a huge gap between what is taught in schools and what is practiced at home. We also want people to form local committees to propagate Little Drops message in schools, motivate teachers to implement the programme and monitor projects, says Rabindranath. Power to your elbow! Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)

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The heavy price in terms of loss of lives, property and livelihood that the economically disadvantaged and politically ignored people of Bihar have paid, following the River Kosi breaking its upper riparian banks in Nepal and charting an entirely new course on the north eastern plains of this state (pop. 82 million), which has become synonymous with poverty, lawlessness and illiteracy, cannot but move the stoniest of hearts. Over 2.5 million already poor people living in north-east Bihar have lost their homes, crops and livestock and are precariously dependent upon the mercy of the states notoriously corrupt and callous politician-bureaucrat nexus which has bled Bihar (per capita income: Rs.6,610 per year) dry.The unprecedented floods which have irrevocably ruined the lives and futures of an estimated 500,000 households in north and eastern Bihar were not an act of God, but the consequence of inherent government sloth and ineptitude, a heavy cross that the people of the state have patiently borne for over half a century. The danger posed to the people of Bihar by the Kosi had been envisaged as early as 1953, when an Indo-Nepal treaty was signed to erect a dam in the catchment area of Kusaha. That this treaty has never been implemented by New Delhi, which was obliged to erect the dam, is a measure of utter government indifference to the people of this minerals rich state. The beginnings of the breach which completely changed the course of the river forcing it to carve out a new channel, 120 km from its normal course, was reported to the state government as early as August 5 and again on August 9, but no action was taken by officials to warn the people or begin mobilisation of material to provide for contingencies. On the contrary on August 17, the day before the leaking eastern embankment of the Kosi in Nepal collapsed, the state governments irrigation and flood control department issued a bulletin certifying all embankments of the river as safe. Unapologetic misgovernance and lack of official accountability across the subcontinent, of which contemporary Bihar is symptomatic, raises larger philosophical questions about the substance of the social contract between people and government, and whether democracy Indian style, is worthy of preservation. Quite evidently given the nationwide moral and ideological leadership drift, there is little awareness in New Delhi and the state capitals about the implicit contract between government and the citizenry under which, in consideration of the huge tax revenue paid by the latter (Rs.403,000 crore to the Centre in addition to taxes levied by state governments), government is obliged to provide law, order and justice delivery services. Shorn of peripheral niceties, in the final analysis the flood disaster in Bihar is a law, order and justice issue. Government officials across the board paid to discharge their duty have abjectly failed. They need to be given exemplary punishment, including dismissal from service, and subjected to heavy fines as a stern warning to the 18 million government employees countrywide who enjoy…

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The social disrespectability associated with modelling is old hat. Today intelligent young professionals are gravitating towards fashion/product modelling to reap instant fame and fortuneGlamorous fashion ramps and catwalks are no longer the preserve of classroom back-benchers or those disinclined to do nine-to-five jobs. Today, intelligent young professionals are gravitating towards fashion and product modelling to reap instant fame, and perhaps fortune. In recent times much of the social disrespectability associated with product and fashion modelling has become old hat and increasingly, a growing number of youth of both sexes are opting for modelling as a career. More so with rising consumerism in middle class India post the liberalisation and deregulation of the economy in 1991, and expansion of the media. The simultaneous coming of age of Indias fashion industry has generated continuous demand for fresh faces and svelte figures, to launch and promote an array of branded products and designer collections of aspiring young fashion designers. Models tend to focus on ramp or live modelling; photographic (fashion) and product modelling for the print and electronic media. Live/ramp modelling. Youth of both sexes who can sashay gracefully down catwalks and face crowds confidently are best suited for this job. Poise and carriage are vital prerequisites. Live/ramp models may also be offered photography assignments. Photographic fashion modelling. These models usually work within the confines of a studio and sometimes on location. They freelance most of the time, as there are hardly any fashion houses employing models full-time in India. Product/brand promotion modelling. This genre of models feature in press advertisements, posters, in television commercials and advertising films. Television commercials are usually shot in studios with a team comprising the director, cameramen, technicians, etc. Models may be contracted for a particular brand or may freelance. Today, the most successful models work in all fields including catwalks, commercials, videos and pose for fashion magazines and ad campaigns. No specific qualifications are required of fashion or product models who usually learn on the job, although some training schools have been promoted by former models in Delhi and Mumbai. The main attributes required of aspirant models are good health and complexion, lustrous hair, height of over 5’7” for females and 6 ft-plus for males. Of course, a photogenic personality is the single most important prerequisite. Apart from this, knowing the basics of acting, camera-friendliness and self-confidence are also valuable qualifications. Being a fiercely competitive and short shelf-life profession with high-stress and erratic working hours, successful models are generously remunerated for their pains, and can earn a fortune within a few years. Depending on experience and popularity for a one ad campaign shoot, a model can earn between Rs.50,000-300,000, and anywhere from Rs.20,000-50,000 per fashion show. Moreover, although a models career span is seldom more than five years, the more successful ones sail smoothly into fashion design, films, television shows, choreography and events management. Statuesque Konkona Bakshi (19), who has already bagged trophies and titles at three international beauty pageants is the hot new model on the…

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The first ten days of every new academic year is the most vital and stimulating time of the school calendar. Its the time when teachers should provide students with a broad overview of the subjects they will teach through the year. What topics will the subject cover? What is their relevance to students? How can it be applied to real life situations so that the pupils understanding of the world grows? This is necessary so that children dont miss the wood for the trees. For missing the wood is standard procedure when we over-focus on texts — even the most well written texts. Ten days thus spent are valuable and give meaning to our work as teachers.To illustrate the importance of subject overview at the beginning of the academic year, let me cite an example of how the joy of learning geography can be infused into children right from the first class of the year. A week (presuming the school has a five day week) can be spent outlining the ground to be covered during the year; the second week in making the subject relevant to children. Why are they being taught the geography of India? Because India is also a geological representation of the world. Given similar conditions the climate elsewhere will be alike, with some interesting variations; so will the flora, fauna. What is the relevance of learning geography? It becomes the platform for students to understand trade, economics, and international commerce later in adult life. Can this process be introduced right from the primary level? Yes, with some patience and imagin-ation, teachers can stimulate continuous interest and the joy of learning. For instance, students can begin by drawing or tracing outlines of the map of India on transparent sheets. On the first map feature only the Himalayas. Paste on pictures of the Himadri range, snow, rain, forests, regions, flora, fauna. Likewise on another map feature only the Indo-Gangetic plain and embellish it with relevant pictures, cuttings etc. Place the second map over the first. Continue the exercise of placing transparent map sheets over each other, until children can see the regional and physical features of India at one glance or have the fun of unveiling each feature. You could also use it as a flip chart to acquaint students with topics that will be taught in detail through the year. It will enable them to enjoy the wood as a whole — and the trees within it — better. Likewise an arcane subject such as ‘revolutions in history can be taught in a creative manner. After all it was only when an individual saw no reason to read by candle light that we have electricity. Similarly another individual saw no reason why computers should be exclusive and the result was Microsofts ubiquitous Windows software. If as teachers we expand the meaning of the word ‘revolution, we can widen the horizons of our students who will take the cue, and discovering revolutionaries will become an exciting quest. To…

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Good news for all those who find cooking a time-consuming chore after a hard day at the office! Four electronics and communications engineering (ECE) students of Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai — Jambulingam Muthu, Jesly Jose, Aravindh Ganesh and Chembian Parthiban, who graduated this year — have invented a fully automatic cooking appliance (chef bot). An assignment that began as a final year semester project of the quartet, has translated into a prototype and is receiving considerable attention from the media and researchers in India and abroad. Chef bot can make three South Indian rice accompaniments — sambar (in 24 minutes), rasam (18 minutes) and vatta kuzhumbu (10 minutes). The prototype was presented by Muthu and Parthiban at an international conference on embedded systems applications, one of WorldComps 25 high-level conferences held in Las Vegas from July 14-17, drawing 2,500 participants from across the world.Its a privilege to be selected to attend WorldComp conferences which are the largest annual gathering of researchers in the IT and related industries convened by the University of Georgia. We were thrilled by the accolades and everyone was eager to know if chef bot can be customised to prepare western dishes. Our project has also been publicised in the international journal Springer. Back home too, weve been flooded with enquiries about when the machine will hit the market, says Muthu speaking on behalf of the quartet. Invention of this unique ICT (information communication techno-logy)-driven cooking device involved six months of extensive research, repeated trials and experimentation before its design and functions were finalised. The machine draws water for cooking from a bubble top water container sited in a top chamber. A programmed micro controller issues commands to the valves, motor and other components. All a user has to do is to ensure that ingredients are stored in their proper containers which should be in their allotted spaces. After a pan is placed on the induction slot for cooking and the machine is switched on, the menu has to be selected from the LCD display panel. Cooking then proceeds sequentially, explains Jose. This ingenious contraption will be a boon to working women, bachelors and Indian students abroad who yearn for their native cuisines, and is likely to be launched soon. A patent application has been made and the Union department of science and technology has offered full support for the project. Within the next three years we hope to mass produce chef bot for the market, says Parthiban. Bon appetit! Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)

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Chennai-based V. Rajagopalan, a pioneer of spoken English training in the country, was conferred the prestigious Acharya Award on the occasion of Teachers Day, for his remarkable contribution to English language learning. The award was presented at Guru Samarpan, where 14 teachers from diverse fields, including carnatic music, sports, and theatre were felicitated.Rajagopalan is the founder chairman of Veta, billed as Indias largest spoken English training academy. Veta offers customised courses by way of direct training and distance education to several levels of learners. Founded in 1981 as the Vivekananda Institute, currently Veta has more than 200 training centres in 100 cities across India. Over 2.2 million students have been trained by Veta to date. This award is indeed an honour for me. It is my dream to empower the youth of the country by providing better training in communicative English, said Rajagopalan speaking on the occasion.

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Anil Dubey, former country manager (India) of IDP:IELTS Australia, and Roohi Trehan, former administrator (Delhi) IDP, have recently published a first-of-its-kind, utilitarian textbook IELTS Made Easy (IELTS Facilitation Centre, Gurgaon, Price: Rs.1,500).The book offers aid and advice to students writing the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam, clearance of which is a mandatory requirement for students and emigrants heading for the shores of English speaking countries. It advises them on how to increase their test scores. This is the first ever bilingual (Hindi and English) book on IELTS. Other bilingual versions — English and Gujarati, Malayalam and Chinese — are under production. Initial feedback indicates that the English/Hindi textbook has become a Bible for organisations in the field of IELTS training, study abroad, and immigration, says Dubey. IELTS Facilitation Centre is a constituent enterprise of PYK Enterprises (estb. 2003), a company incorporated to impart IELTS training to age 16-plus people travelling abroad for higher study or immigration purposes.

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Axiom Education, a Mumbai-based innovator in education solutions, has launched a first-of-its-kind national science and technology competition named ScientificA, 2008 for class V-VIII students across India. ScientificA will adopt a unique audio-visual methodology of assessing students aptitude through their ‘enterprising quotient. This annual national competition will culminate with a search for the ‘Student Icon of India 2008, to be conducted across 1,200 schools in 21 cities across India. Students countrywide can enter the competition online at www.iken.in. Winners at various levels will be awarded prizes valued at Rs.50 lakh.At Axiom Education, we believe that every student has the ability to excel. However, it is important for parents to unleash the untapped talent of children. This is where Axioms assessment through the Enterprising Index mechanism will help discovery of the relative strengths and weaknesses of every child, guiding parents and students alike. Axiom is committed to leading the wave of change in our society by developing education systems that go beyond classrooms and making learning engaging, interactive and fun; in short, a way of life, says Rohit Jain, managing director of Axiom Education. According to Jain, the overriding aim of this endeavour is to stimulate students to rediscover science and redefine their approach towards learning and understanding the subject. Students will become involved in a fascinating process of exploration, experience and extrapolation through which they will discover that science goes much beyond school text-books or examinations, adds Jain. Axiom Education is an enterprise of the Bilakhia Group, founded in 1986. The company was started by three IIT alumni — Rohit Jain, Kunal Sharma and Saurabh Saxena — with a vision to reinvent learning.

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The Union ministry of science & technology and Bentley Systems, Inc. have launched the 2008-2009 Future Cities India 2020 competition. Currently in its third year, the competition encourages students to prepare Indias cities for the year 2020, by providing design solutions for real-world infrastructure challenges.This years competition focuses on Indian Railways recently announced plans to redevelop 22 railway stations into world-class facilities. Under the rules of the competition students must present a conceptual design plan to upgrade New Delhi Railway station, the first facility on Indian Railways redevelopment schedule. The programme which is open to all students attending schools in New Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region), is sponsored by the Union governments department of science and technology and Bentley Systems. Additional co-sponsors this year include McGraw-Hill Education and The American Center. Future Cities India 2020 engages some of the brightest, most talented young minds of India in infrastructure design projects to encourage them to choose a course of study that leads to careers in architecture, engineering, and construction disciplines. In doing so, this initiative helps sustain the infrastructure professions and, ultimately, will lead to better infrastructure for the people of India, says Scott Lofgren, global director of Bentleys BE Careers Network. During a preliminary competition held in August, a panel of distinguished judges selected 15 student teams of schools from the NCR to participate in the Future Cities India 2020 competition finals. Winners of the finals will be awarded scholarships and trophies, and teachers and technical professionals who serve as counsellors and mentors will also receive awards and recognition. BE Careers Network (a division of Bentley Systems Inc.) is dedicated to helping students graduate with the technology skills needed for todays infrastructure professions, including civil engineering and architecture. It provides programs for students, teachers, and schools, including free and discounted software licences, training, and scholarships.

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“At their intellectual best, Mamata Banerjee and her ilk suffer from a grand delusion that agriculture alone will make marginal farmers significantly better off. It cant. The salvation of rural India lies in more industry and services.” Well-known economist Omkar Goswami in Businessworld (September 15) “Sometimes in India, when the Olympics come, we are not preparing for success, we are preparing for failure. Its a matter of attitude, of thinking, and that needs to change.” Abhinav Bindra, pistol marksman and Olympic gold medal winner, in India Today (September 8) “Mr. Yeddyurappa, we are really hurt and wounded… I am telling you the Blessed Sacrament has been exposed. How will you feel if the garbha gudis (sanctum sanctorums) of temples are destroyed?” Rev. Bernard Moras, archbishop of Bangalore, appealing to Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to stop vandalisation of Christian churches in Bangalore and Mangalore (September 23) “Oprah dresses conservatively. She struggles with her weight. She overcame depression, She rose from poverty and from abuse. On all these levels she appeals to Saudi women. People really idolise her here.” Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud on Oprah Winfrey, the US chat show queen, as a role model for Saudi women (The New York Times, September 19) “Muslims are under siege and a communalised polity and media have made things worse. The demonisation of Muslims and the saffron brigades systematic hate campaign is fuelling this alienation.” Social activist and secularism champion Shabnam Hashmi in Times of India (September 21) “There are disparities in the wages of permanent employees and contract workers. The workers should not be pushed so hard that they resort to whatever has happened in Noida. This should serve as a warning for the managements.” Union labour minister Oscar Fernandes on the murder of L.K. Chaudhury, CEO of Graziano, an Italian multinational company, by a rioting mob of contract workers in Noida (September 23)

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Half way through its sixth successive five-year term in office, West Bengals Left Front government led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) is in a tearing hurry to present the states 61 million strong electorate (of W. Bengals total population of 80.2 million) with a positive governance balance sheet. Thats perhaps why with one stroke of the gubernatorial pen, the Left Front government has presented three new universities to the public in 2008. All this without laying a single new brick.The West Bengal State University (WBSU), evidently inspired by the New York State University, was created by a gazette notification dated February 25, 2008. Three months later, life was breathed into WBSU by another government notification (May 26) which affiliated 57 colleges in the North 24-Parganas district, hitherto affiliated with the University of Calcutta, with WBSU. To date despite being christened a university, WBSU is bereft of a campus, classrooms and permanent faculty qualified for postgraduate teaching. A makeshift office comprising two rooms in the annexe of one of its affiliated colleges serves as its headquarters. Likewise Maldah, a district town 192 km north of Kolkata, hosts the new Gourbanga University (GBU). It is also housed in a couple of rooms borrowed from Maldah College. Nevertheless 28 colleges sited in Maldah, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur have been disaffiliated from North Bengal University (Darjeeling district), and affiliated with GBU. Entirely coincidentally of course, GBUs first vice-chancellor Prof. Surabhi Banerjee is the author of Jyoti Basu: An Authorised Biography — a hagiography of the veteran CPM leader and former West Bengal chief minister. West Bengals third ‘new university has been created by straightforward promotion. Calcutta Madrasah College (estb. 1780), which bills itself the oldest institution of higher learning in Asia, has been upgraded and renamed Aliah (‘Supreme) University, with an eye on the Muslim minority vote bank. The Left Front government is able to do all this chopping and changing in higher education because education is a ‘concurrent subject in the Constitution subject to supervision by the Centre and the states. Therefore, if a state university is not anxious about University Grants Commission (UGC) funding or recognition, which means that its degrees are not recognised beyond state boundaries, all this chopping, changing and rearranging of deck chairs on the Titanic is constitutionally kosher. But if WBSU, GBU and Aliah universities dont obtain UGC recognition, their graduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees wont be valid outside West Bengal — ruinous for their students given that one of the first priorities of the brightest and best graduates is to flee communist West Bengal. Although all the new varsities have applied for UGC approval under s.12B of the UGC Act, 1956, recognition is not accorded automatically. Applicant institutions need to prove that they have separate buildings, libraries, laboratories and full-time faculty. The way things are, theres no chance of the three new universities obtaining UGC recognition in a hurry. The state of affairs reflects the topsy-turvy approach that plagues education (in West Bengal) from…

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Every year during the monsoon season (June-September), several hund- red children in Uttar Pradesh (pop. 166 million) fall prey to the fatal Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus. This is par for the course in UP where of the 5.4 million children born every year, 275,000 die within 30 days of birth and 450,000 before their first birthday. This year the vector borne JE virus has already claimed more than 200 lives of children under age 15, even as an ambitious vaccination programme has been suspended following a spat between the state and Central governments.The JE virus, which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes breeding in stagnant water and causes high fever, vomiting, coma and eventual death, has snuffed out the lives of children in this under-developed Hindi heartland state (literacy: 56.27 percent; per capita income: Rs.11,856 per year) for many years. But in 2005, the issue was pushed to centrestage when JE felled more than 1,500 children. (Adults are rarely affected as they develop immunity due to earlier exposure to the JE virus). Therefore in 2006 the state government launched a massive vaccination programme which resulted in a sharp drop in the number of casualties. But with 400 deaths reported in 2007, mostly from the 18 eastern districts of the state (Gorakhpur, Basti, Maharajganj, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kushinagar and Bahraich were the worst affected), the state government made elaborate plans to tighten its immunisation programme to contain the virus this year. However the vaccines arrived in Lucknow on September 11, not only too late and inadequate, but also unfit for use. When samples from the consignment, valued at Rs.2 crore were put through vaccine vial monitors, they changed colour, indicating loss of potency. According to media reports in Lucknow, the first batch of vaccines had been left unattended at Lucknows Amausi airport for five hours and consequently had suffered a cold chain break down. But the state governments health minister Anant Mishra laid the blame on the doorstep of the Central government. We had demanded 1 million vaccine units but received only 450,000. It is because of the Centre that we are suffering. Yet the Central government condemns us for the poor state of our public health, says Mishra adding that New Delhi is to blame for delaying the start of the immunisation drive which was to kick off in July. The Central government responded by sending a two member team on September 17 to probe the allegation. After samples of the vaccine had been drawn for testing, all that team leader Anil Kumar, assistant commissioner, department of health and director of the Centres immunisation programme, was willing to say was: At this stage it is hard to hold anyone responsible. We shall know only after a lab report. The report is still awaited, as is a fresh supply of vaccines. Unsurprisingly a war of words has broken out between New Delhi and the UP government. The state governments director general, family welfare, M.L. Khatloiya is unwilling to commit to…

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Confronted with perhaps the worst image crisis in its history after one of its students was shot dead by the Delhi police on September 19, and another three arrested following the deadly September 13 serial bomb blasts in the national capital which claimed 25 lives and injured 100, the management of the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI, estb. 1920) — Indias showpiece secular Central university — is pulling out all stops to defend its reputation.According to the Delhi police, the deceased JMI student Mohammed Amin Atif was the mastermind behind the Delhi blasts of September 13, and the other JMI students were part of his terrorist ring which played a key role in similar bomb blasts that rocked several cities during the past couple of months. The low credibility of the Delhi police — a recent Transparency International India public opinion poll indicates that the police force countrywide is perceived as Indias most corrupt institution — has prompted JMIs vice-chancellor Prof. Mushirul Hasan, a highly respected champion and spokesperson of religious secularism, the university administration, faculty and students, to launch an initiative to salvage the showpiece universitys reputation. Within hours of the student arrests (during which a policeman, Inspector Mohan Sharma was killed), the university management publicly criticised the Delhi police for trial by media and expressed its intent to provide legal aid and counsel to the arrested students. Unsurprisingly, this initiative has received the approval of minorities champion HRD minister Arjun Singh. There is nothing wrong with providing legal aid. In this case, I have the full details. The decision of the university is in the interest of the nation, Arjun Singh told reporters after Hasan visited with the minister. Inevitably JMIs resolve to provide legal assistance to the accused students hasnt gone down well with the opposition BJP which demanded dismissal of the vice-chancellor for sanctioning the use of government funds for defending terrorists. A party spokesperson described JMIs decision as atrocious, anti-national and highly objectionable. Despite the Delhi police claiming to have conclusive evidence, JMIs 11,000-strong community of students and faculty is not impressed by the police version of the September 19 shootout in Delhis Muslim ghetto of Jamia Nagar. The dominant belief on the JMI campus is that under pressure to nab perpetrators of the September 13 bomb blasts, the Delhi police randomly targeted Muslim students and were investigating them when the shootout occurred. They question how two students — according to the police version — escaped from the completely surro-unded building with only one entrance/exit in broad daylight. Moreover in his weekly column in the Sunday Times of India (September 28), one of Indias top current affairs columnists, M.J. Akbar suggests that Inspector Sharma was killed by friendly fire of the police rather than of the students in the tiny room. eanwhile on September 25, the 125-member Academic Council of JMI convened an extraordinary general meeting and constituted a legal aid committee which will work independently of the university administration. The committee will regularly visit the…

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The violence and terror visited upon churches, clergy members and Christian tribals in Kandhamal district in the eastern state of Orissa through August by rowdy cadres of the Bajrang Dal, the armed youth wing of the Hindu fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has set a dangerous precedent and a template for emulation countrywide. The anti-Christian violence in Orissa which has resulted in the burning of 558 houses, 17 places of worship and 12,539 people taking shelter in ten relief camps, has spread to Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. On September 13 in the Udupi, Mangalore and Chikmaglur districts of Karnataka, which recently elected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power, Bajrang Dal activists launched a wave of vandalism on 14 churches, ransacking prayer halls and assaulting seven persons including pastors and nuns.Its no coincidence that the new battleground of the VHP is Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka — both BJP ruled states — and Orissa, ruled by a BJP-supported state government. Nor is it surprising that BJP-led state governments, which pledge allegiance to the sangh parivars Hindutva ideology, delayed arrests and deployment of anti-riot police. Even several days after the violence no arrests were made, and BJP apparatchiks appeared on television channels defending the violence as retaliation for alleged forcible conversions. Regretably the BJP national and regional leadership seems to be unaware that if elected to office, their prime obligation is not protection of Hinduism and propagation of hindutva, but maintenance of law and order and providing equal protection of the law to citizens of all and every persuasion. Quite patently after demonising and harassing the countrys Muslim minority community for several decades, the constituent organisations of the sangh parivar are targeting the softer 2 million Christian community, notwithstanding their invaluable contribution to Indian education. It needs to be unequivocally acknowledged that Indian society owes a great debt to Christian missionary evangelism for the promotion and spread of excellent English schools and colleges during the British era, and even after India attained independence. Moreover, countrywide they run a huge number of charitable hospitals, health clinics, orphanages and shelters for the poor and destitute, cutting across religious barriers. Therefore if impressed by their message of love, peace and forgiveness as also by their good deeds, a growing number of citizens suffering the injustices and discrimination of the Hindu caste system, opt to change their faith, so be it. The appropriate response of the BJP leadership and sangh parivar would be to look within, and reform and eliminate the worst injustices of Hinduism and hindutva. That was the Mahatmas response, and he was murdered by a sangh parivar activist for it. At a period in its history when the nation is confronted with the spectre of pan-Islamist terror, the BJP and sangh parivar leaders are adding fuel to the fire by tolerating — if not encouraging — hindutva terrorism. Thats a prescription for destabilisation of society and blood-dimmed anarchy.

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