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College News Archive [November 2003]

BIE network had no firewall

Nov 01, 2003: Hyderabad: The Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) was alerted about the lack of proper security in its technology network. The Intermediate Board has been depending on the CMC for all IT needs, including generation of student’s details, hall tickets and mark-sheets. While the conventional method of evaluation and awarding marks to students does not generate much data, the usage of computers for the exercise has resulted in the generation of significant volumes of data. According to sources, the CMC has put in place the technology to generate all details about students, bar coding of answer sheets, printing of hall tickets, uploading the details on the Internet and the printing of final mark-sheets.

“The conventional methods would result in the piling up of physical answer-sheets and manually preparing marks-sheets. However the introduction of computers has allowed the board to take advantage of technology and generate various other details about candidates,” sources said. This has resulted in a significant rise in the volumes of processed data. However, the data remained unprotected giving way for fraudulent elements to tamper with it. Surprising, the network, which processes and protects the crucial data about the students does not even have a firewall. "Now, CMC officials will have a separate data room to their job. All external access to the room will be disabled and a firewall too will be in place shortly," sources said.

BRAOU to offer new courses

Nov 01, 2003: Hyderabad: Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University has invited applications for M.A. (Public Administration), M.A. (Political Science), M.A. (History), M.A. (Economics) in Telugu medium; M.Sc (Maths), M.Li.Sc, M.A. M.Com in English Medium. The last two courses are being introduced in the first time. The university will also be issuing admission applications for post-graduation/diploma/certificate programmes from November 1 for the academic year 2003-04. Applications have also been invited for diploma/certificate programmes in Bachelor Degree in Library & information science, Bachelor Degree in Public Relations, P.G. Diploma in Marketing Management, Human Rights, Women’s Studies, Environmental Studies and Writing for Mass Media in Telugu. A certificate programme in Food and Nutrition (Telugu/Urdu medium) and a new certificate programme in English Communications are being offered. The last date for submission of forms is December 5, 2003.

World Bank bounty for engineering colleges

Nov 01, 2003: Hyderabad:Nine engineering colleges in the state, including the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), are set to receive a minimum of Rs 10 crore funds each from the World Bank. The funding is likely to start from April next, provided the colleges fulfil certain norms prescribed by the Centre and competes with other nationally reputed colleges. About 30% of the total funding will be in the form of grant, while the state government will have to pay back the remaining 70% in easy instalments after a ten-year moratorium.

The funding is part of the Rs 1,550 crore ‘Technical education quality improvement programme’ (Tequip) introduced by the ministry of human resources development. Though the Tequip was launched last year, Andhra Pradesh was included in the scheme recently. After preliminary discussions with the officials of the technical education department, a world Bank team had reportedly favoured the inclusion of Osmania University College of Engineering, College of Technology, both in Hyderabad, Sri Venkateshwara University College of Engineering in Tirupati, Andhra University College of Engineering, Vizag and JNTU colleges at Hyderabad, Kakinada and Ananthapur and JNTU’s PG college in the list.

Fewer students from Indonesia go to study in US

Nov 03, 2003: Mumbai: Indians continue to top the list of international students entering the United States for the second consecutive year. Indians now represent 13% of the total number of international students in the US, while Asian students on the whole, comprise 51% of all international enrolments. Of the top 20 sending countries, thirteen experienced a decrease in enrolments. Indonesia sent 10% less students at 10,432, while enrolments from Thailand and Malaysia fell 14% and 11% to 9,982 and 6,595 respectively. Not surprisingly, students from the Middle East were down 10% from the previous year, with decreases of 25% from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The findings of a separate IIE online survey of education professionals point to new security procedures and economic factors as the reasons for this stilted growth. 46% of respondents to the online survey reported declines in total international enrolments, with most (59%) attributing these to new visa application processes. These factors had an uneven effect across campuses and fields. The University of Southern California continued this year to welcome more international students than any other campus, at 6,270, with California as the leading host state taking in 2% more or 80,487 foreign students. In terms of areas of study, business and management (20%) and engineering (17%) were the most popular fields of study. But after two years of sharp growth, the number of international students opting to study mathematics and computer science fell 6%, although these students still make up 12% of the total. IIE has conducted the annual statistical survey of international students in the US since 1949, and with the support of the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since the early 1970s. The census is based on a survey of over 2,700 accredited US institutions, with a response rate of 90%.

Noida meet to focus on infrastructure in colleges

Nov 03, 2003: Chennai: An initiative to improve the quality and infrastructure of technical education in Tamil Nadu will get a formal structure at a meeting to be held at Noida. Administrators of seven states will get an idea about implementing a World Bank-aided Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme. The meeting, organised by the National Programme Implementation Unit is a preparatory workshop for the States to be brought under the TEQIP – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal and West Bengal – and institutions such as the newly designated National Institutes of Technology. The meet will give technical education administrators an idea of preparing a project document, a working document, a financial management manual and record the other proposals.

As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the TEQIP will provide a much-required boost to the quality of infrastructure in government and government-aided engineering colleges. Tamil Nadu with 250 colleges and an intake of over 79,000 is the largest provider of engineering education. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka along with Tamil Nadu account for nearly 50% of the intake. Administrators have presented a detailed proposal on utilising World Bank funds for components like infrastructure, laboratories, buildings, training and computerisation. Later a World Bank team will visit Tamil Nadu to discuss the programme in detail at the state level.

Osmania varsity limps back of normalcy

Nov 03, 2003: Hyderabad: After a tense week, the Osmania University is slowly limping back to normalcy and students are gearing up for their ensuing semester examinations. OU vice-chancellor J. Anantha Swamy and other officials visited boarders and enquired about exam preparations. The VC and his team visited A,B,C,D Manjira and Old Post-Graduate hostels and made enquiries about the well being of the boarders, availability of books and preparation for exams. Anantha Swamy reiterated the commitment of the university for the pursuit of academic excellence and welfare of the student community. Students extended support to the management towards steps initiated for restoring normalcy on the campus.

Govt plans common test for MCA

Nov 05, 2003: New Delhi: After management courses, the government have decided to introduce a common, all-India entrance test for computer application courses (MCA). At present, the institutes conduct their own examination for admission to MCA programmes. As the IT sector picks up again, the government feels this is a good time for introducing some basic standards in the MCA programmes. A common entrance exam they feel would be a good step in that direction. For students, this measure would open employment opportunities. The lack of standards for MCA programmes resulted in employers not wanting to hire MCA holders. There are some 500-odd AICTE-recognised MCA courses in the country at present. Most of these institutions hold individual entrance exams. Only five states, that is Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh, hold common entrance examinations for MCA.

The government is seeing the upturn in the IT sector as an opportunity to introduce some standards in the MCA programme. The examination, the All Indian MCA common entrance test, AIMCET, is being introduced to ensure that the MCA programme in the country regains its credibility. The thinking is that if admissions are conducted in a free and fair manner, MCA programmes will gain credibility. The use of common entrance exams to introduce standards is according to the MHRD, in line with the Supreme Court judgement of August 14. Institutions, which do not adhere to the common entrance examination, will lose their AICTE approval. The AIMCET will cover all institutions and universities, which recruit students on an all-India basis for their MCA programmes. The plan is to hold the common MCA test in June. The examining body is the IIT Roorkee. A National advisory board is being constituted comprising of stakeholders.

Entrance for 50% seats in government medical PG

Nov 06, 2003: New Delhi: The Supreme Court opened up 50% of the total seats in post-graduate courses in all government colleges and directed that these would be filled by an all-India entrance test. A five-judge constitution ruled that in super-speciality courses in medicine, government colleges can reserve only 50% of their seats for in-house candidates as against the earlier 75%. Reservation by way of institutional preference should be confined to 50% of the seats since it is in public interest. For the purpose of selecting the candidates, it was necessary to hold an all-India entrance examination by an impartial and reputed body, the AIIMS would continue to hold such entrance tests for super-speciality courses. One test shall be held for all the candidates throughout the country. This order was passed since one common test was held for admissions to 25% all-India quota and the other tests were being conducted by the respective universities.

For banks, students are the future

Nov 06, 2003: Mumbai: The number of students sanctioned educational loans by nationalised banks has increased sharply over the past three years. Bank of India (BoI) saw a jump of 88.2% from 603 in March ’00 to 5,115 in March ’03. The corresponding %age increase for State Bank of India (SBI), Canara Bank (’01-03), Union Bank of India (’01-03) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) was 55.8%, 61.9%, 79.9% and 66.3% respectively. Private and foreign banks do not have a major presence in this segment, which has been traditionally dominated by PSU banks.

These figures not only highlight the emergence of a plethora of institutes offering professional courses in engineering, medicine and business administration over the years. They also seem to indicate that fees have gone up. The data relates to loans for study in India as well as abroad, but a break-up has not been available. This perception is strengthened if one compares the outstanding amount of education loans sanctioned by various public sector banks. BoI plans to set up 1,710 branches in rural areas so that poor, meritorious students can avail of loans, thus highlighting the bank’s social commitment. Certain banks have arrangements with reputed educational institutes. For example, BoI has a tie-up with C-DAC in Pune, to provide educational loans.

Intermediate exam fees date extended

Nov 07, 2003: Hyderabad: The last date for payment of fee for Intermediate Examinations March 2004 has been extended November 8 for all the students who participated in the Afro-Asian Games. Shashank Goel, secretary, Board of Intermediate Education asked Principals concerned to submit the rolls of such students at the regional inspection office on November 10.

UGC gears up to woo more foreign students

Nov 07, 2003: Pune: Over 20 universities across the country have expressed their willingness to participate in a UGC-initiated marketing programme, aimed at wooing more foreign students to the country. Some of the universities selected by a UGC-appointed committee, will be taken to participate in education fairs. Interestingly, the five-star rated university of Pune, already with a sizeable foreign students population, has still not send its response to the standing committee constituted by the commission, entrusted with the responsibility to supervise the promotion of Indian higher education abroad (Pihead) programme.

The interested universities include those from Hyderabad, Kochi, Delhi besides the Jamia Milia institute and the Symbiosis Society’s deemed university, according to standing committee’s. While a group of 15 universities will be sent to attend education fairs abroad to display strengths of Indian education, the committee has already taken up efforts to devise short-term non degree courses, especially designed for foreign students under the study abroad programme.

Govt plans to introduce bridge courses

Nov 08, 2003: Hyderabad: The State Government is planning to introduce bridge courses for the students from the vocational stream to pursue further studies in professional courses so that they can appear in qualifying examinations like the Eamcet and others, according to the Board of Intermediate Education. The Government was also introducing short-term courses of three and six months each and also one year for the 10th class dropouts so as to allow them to get suitable employment.

HC dismisses B.Ed colleges' writ pleas

Nov 08, 2003: Hyderabad: A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice G. Rohini dismissed writ petitions filed by different managements of private unaided B.Ed colleges challenging the Government orders seeking to fix the fee structure and methodology of admission for the academic year 2003-04. The associations of minority and non-minority institutions complained to the court that the state Government is not appointing the committees as contemplated by the judgement of the Supreme Court to oversee the admission process and decide the fee structure.

ISB thrives on short courses

Nov 08, 2003: Hyderabad: The regular one-year management course may be its flagship programme, but for the high-profile Indian School of Business (ISB), it is the short-term executive programme that has become money-spinners. These executive programmes alone have helped ISB garner as much as US$ 3 million this year so far, more than double of last year's figure of US$ 1.3 million. The cost of each of these programmes ranges between Rs 25,000-40,000 with a duration of 3-5 days and batch sizes of 20-40 executives. Among the programmes, the three-week general management programme comes for a whopping fee of Rs 6 lakh per individual. The batch size is usually around 15-30 executives, who get to spend one week at the Kellog School of Management. Though ISB has so far seen through three batches of students, the institute is yet to break even.

IIMs step up exchange progammes

Nov 10, 2003: Mumbai: A few years ago, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) took a small step to translate their international ambitions into reality by launching exchange programmes. Today, these schools are forging more international links than ever before to enhance their global reputation. As a result, a growing number of IIM students now have the opportunity to undergo a short stint overseas. IIM Calcutta leads the pack with its Student Exchange Programme, called STEP in campus lingo. This year, 52 of the institute’s students enrolled for the exchange programme, as against 50 last year. This means about a fourth of the batch gets some international exposure during the course of their MBA programme. The objective of the exchange programme is to give students a platform to understand emerging global business trends, learn how to work in diverse cultures and extend their network.

With campuses vying for big global names to visit them during placements, such initiatives are gaining importance as they give students an opportunity to get a feel of working in an international environment. The institute has reciprocal student exchange arrangements with 27 leading business schools in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and more such arrangements are on the anvil. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are among the international organisations that support the Institute’s exchange initiative. Though only about one-fourth of the students get to participate in exchange programmes, the rest of them can also learn a great deal about working with other cultures as the institutes play host to students from other campuses. Till recently, the number of in-bound students was quite low, but it is growing gradually.

Open doors for Indian students

Nov 10, 2003: The new "Open Doors" report of 2003 released by the Washington-based Institute of International Education (IIE) has put Indian students at the top of the pack for the second consecutive year in terms of numbers at 74,603, out of the total 586,323 international students who were recruited. The figure represents 13% of the total numbers. The census is based on a survey of over 2,700 accredited US institutions, with a response rate of approximately 90%. In fact, even though the 12% increase in student enrolments may seem impressive compared with China (2%) and Korea (5%), it's small compared to the huge increases of 22% & 29% in 2002 & 2001 respectively.

And even as Indian students may be extending their study period and not graduating till they find good OPT opportunities, other campus destinations like United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are emerging as strong back-ups. India is seen as a huge market for overseas education and higher education enrolments are estimated to have the potential to expand to nearly 11 million by 2008 from the current 9 million. And even as India emerges as the top markets in foreign education, the economic impact of this is huge. And while the issue of brain drain may be debated upon, it is clear that the new and stricter visa issuance norms for students going to the US, including the online SEVIS, is not working to the disadvantage of Indian students. The Usefi stats show that there have not been any major delays or snags in student visas, which resulted in postponement of study plans.

Three engineering colleges shift base

Nov 11, 2003: Karimnagar: Making a mockery of the government’s policy of encouraging the establishment of private engineering colleges in the backward areas and depriving scores of rural students of the opportunity to pursue engineering colleges, a total of three private engineering colleges changed their bases from Sircilla, Metpally and Manthani in the district to elsewhere on one pretext or other in the last couple of months. The management’s move evoked widespread resentment from the student community as well as the public representatives concerned. The student unions are up in arms against the undesirable trend, which not only affected the interests of those who aspired to join the colleges but those who were already enrolled in them. In the absence of an effective monitoring mechanism on the part of the government the interests of the students are being undermined due to the arbitrary decisions of the errant private engineering colleges.

Varsity creates database to help students in consultancy

Nov 11, 2003: Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Central University has developed a unique database on medium industries and companies at a cost below Rs 100 crore to help create effective partnerships in research, consultancy, funding and placement opportunities. It is for the first time that an attempt has been made to identify recruiting companies, which are largely an untapped area. This also provides growing opportunities for universities ranking a step below premier institutes like International School of Business and the IITs.

Officials HCU are elated that the Securities and Exchange Board of India and Bombay Stock Exchange have agreed to part with some primary information on nearly 11,000 companies. About 5,000 companies are located in south India and barring some 200 top corporate houses other companies offer a lot of opportunities for the likes of HCU and its students. Information on the past record and requirements of industries is considered to be a great help for a two-way consultation for placements and consultancy. It includes an industry’s requirement for students trained in select areas.The HCU officials have submitted a project to the All-India Council for Technical Education for grant of Rs 10 lakh under the industry institute partnership initiative.

IIT Kharagpur to invest Rs 300 cr in infrastructure by 2013

Nov 12, 2003: Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, would invest over Rs 300 crore in next 10 years in infrastructure development and creation of new accommodation facilities for students as it plans to increase the total seat strength from 4,300 to 10,000 by 2013. It has been decided that the number of students would be increased from 4,300 to 10,000 as also effect a simultaneous increase in the faculty strength from 450 to 1,000 by 2013. At least Rs 170 crore would be invested in creating 10 hi-tech hostels inside the campus to accommodate the huge student population and the rest would be spent in creation of allied facilities. In addition, a PG diploma course in Business Management would also be instituted only for engineering graduates at a school proposed to be set up in Kolkata to provide them the much-needed business acumen.

UGC unveils plan to promote quality education

Nov 12, 2003: Hyderabad: Colleges facing resources crunch can now be assured of funds flowing into their kitty, but the only condition is that they ensure quality education to students. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has drawn up a big plan to fund colleges at various levels to improve the infrastructure and make them compete with the best in the business under the 10th plan. Three new schemes have been introduced in the plan to fund colleges based on their academic distinctions and promote new colleges.

Under the first scheme, colleges in remote areas will be extended additional funding of Rs 10 to 15 lakhs apart from the general funding with an idea to provide the best infrastructure to students of backward areas. Under the second scheme, colleges that are eligible to receive UGC funds will be provided with an additional Rs 10 to 15 lakhs to improve facilities. Colleges of repute will fall in the third category where the UGC plans to give funds ranging from Rs 35 lakhs to Rs 1 crore based on their initiation for achieving academic excellence and fulfilling certain norms laid down. About 150 colleges will be identified under this category and every effort is being made to ensure that all States in the country are covered under this scheme.

Unesco report draws ire from India, China

Nov 13, 2003: New Delhi : The high-level group meeting on ‘Education for All’ is not going the way Unesco had hoped. Its Education for All Global Monitoring Report is coming under more fire. Chinese education minister Zhou Ji expressed discontent with the report's projections. The report has rated China poorly in terms of gender parity achievements. Pakistan also echoed India 's complaint. They felt that the Unesco Institute for Statistics had used outdated information, thereby reaching wrong conclusions. The Pakistani minister for education Zobaida Jalal particularly raised the issue of statistics concerning transition from elementary to middle school. However, this is not the first time that India has raised the issue of outdated statistics.

Last year's EFA Global Monitoring Report had received the same criticism. Unesco, it seems, has accepted that there have been some lapses on its part, as well as delays by governments in sending information. It has set fine-tuning of the system of data collection on its agenda. While statistics seemed the preoccupation of Asian countries, Caribbean and African countries were focused on the absence of funds. Once again raising the issue of failure of the fast track initiative.

FIIT-JEE to set up six colleges in State

Nov 14, 2003: Hyderabad: The Forum for Indian Institutes of Technology – Joint Entrance Examination (FIIT-JEE), a premier institute for IIT coaching in the country, is planning to set up six junior colleges in the State starting from next academic year with a focus on IIT coaching. Srikanth Kumar, Chairman, Academic Council, FIIT-JEE said these institutes would be set up in Hyderabad, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The idea is to provide right guidance to the students of the state who have been making waves in the IIT entrance. The fee would be around Rs 55,000 for two years inclusive of Intermediate study and IIT coaching. Coaching for Eamcet would be extended as a value addition though the focus would be on IIT coaching.

Move to set up new colleges draws flak

Nov 14, 2003: Hyderabad: The government’s decision to set up new medical and dental colleges has drawn flak from the student community. “No more medical colleges must be allowed in the private sector. Instead the government should upgrade the existing colleges by filling up vacancies in teaching positions”, AP Junior Doctors Association president B Prabhakar said. Moreover, it should strive to increase post-graduation seats in medical colleges, he added.

As a recruitment of new faculty and getting due approval for the 270 derecognised under-graduate seats from the Medical Council of India failed to materialise, a medical student wondered as to how the new colleges would fill up teaching positions. The government should make an effort to improve PG medical education so that more candidates are available for filling faculty positions, he said. Demanding the government to scrap three % self-financing seats in the under-graduation courses and 25% college development quota in PG seats, he alleged, “commercialisation of medical education has reached its peak”. The fee for free seats in private medical colleges should be at par with government colleges, Association representative Y Srinivas said.

Common test for all pro institutes

Nov 15, 2003: New Delhi: There will be a common entrance test for admissions to all technical and professional institutions including the minority institutions and merit would only be the criteria, according to Ministry of Human Resource Development. It has been decided that admissions to all technical professional educational institutions (both minority and non-minority) on all India basis will be held on the basis of merit determined through common entrance tests. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has issued a memorandum to this effect. The admissions on all India basis to professional educational institutions are being streamlined so that students do not have to take a large number of admission tests for the same professional course. All states will continue to hold their own common tests for admissions to institutions within their states as before. However, these tests will be restricted to the students from within the State only.

Visa norms hit US education biz

Nov 15, 2003: New Delhi: Tough visa norms, endless forms, SEVIS have taken its toll on the international student community in the US. A recent survey by the Institute of International Education found that 46% of colleges in the US reported declines in foreign enrolment for the current academic session. Foreign students are instead preferring UK and Australia. The United Kingdom Universities and College Administration Services reported a 16% increase in students from India and a 36% increase in students from China. Even as Indian and other international students are looking at comparable options, the US continues to draw large number of Indian students.

There has been an almost 12% rise in the number of Indian students in the US over the last academic year. On the global scale there has been a growth of merely 0.6% in the number of international students in the US. This the lowest growth rate in seven years. While nearly 50% of the colleges spoke in terms of decline, the news for the remaining colleges is not too good. These schools, comprising 54% said that there has been no change or marginal increase in their foreign student enrolment levels. The decline in international student enrolment is a cause of concern for many US schools. It is estimated that the net contribution of foreign students to the US economy is in the neighbourhood of $13 billion annually. Schools are also worried what a drop in international students would mean for academic research, many fear a decline.

Credit setup for students

Nov 17, 2003: New Delhi: Soon, it may not be possible for students to get away by merely preparing for the year-end examination. The government is keen that technical education institutes move to a credit-based system. To keep pace with the changing needs of industry, it was felt that a credit-based system would be the best option. Not only would it mean that the curriculum is up-to-date but also that students would be on their toes, as continuous assessment is central to the system.

However, the biggest impediment to moving to the credit system has been the inadequacy of teachers. At their conference, the state technical education secretaries will address the ways in which the transition could be made smoothly. But the government has not indicated any timeframe for the transition. The idea of a credit-based system for technical education institutes similar to the one in the IITs is not a new one. It was mooted at the state secretaries for technical education conference comprising five directors of IITs and four vice-chancellors of technical universities.

Tech education keep up with global changes

Nov 17, 2003: New Delhi: In keeping with the government’s renewed focus on technical education, the minister for human resource development, Murli Manohar Joshi, asked state education secretaries to evolve a system in which the huge manpower of skilled technicians and artisans are imparted formal training to upgrade their skills. The minister was addressing the inaugural session of the Conference of State Education Secretaries (technical education). The path of Western technical development is in keeping with their realities.

The Indian realities are different. While we have more people than they do, we don’t have funds that developed countries have at their disposal. On the plight of students forced to take dozens of entrance exams for admissions in technical institutes, the government has streamlined the procedure recently. Admissions to all management institutes would be made via five established tests this year. From next year, it would be made through two entrance tests, out of which one would be held at the national level and the other at state level. Similarly, all-India entrance tests would be held for admission to MCA courses.

Centre plans to tap industry to revamp vocational training

Nov 18, 2003: New Delhi: Vocational education may soon change. In keeping with the need to reduce the mismatch between demand and supply, the government seems to have abandoned, at least partially, its traditional concept of vocational education. Now it will be possible for students to train not only in carpentry, but also in food processing, hotel, tourism and advertising. The government has drawn up a plan revamping the vocational education system, which will work in partnership with the industry. As per the new plan, students will get the chance to prepare for identified occupations after completing class eight. The scheme will also help alleviate the pressure the system will face after the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is implemented. If all goes well with the education-for-all scheme, there will be an additional 1.5 crore students, that is 70% of the 2.4 crore children who are out of school in class nine by ’10.

While many of these will be students who have been weaned away from child labour, it would be unfair to merely push them into the purely academic stream. Instead, the option of pursuing a skill-based education will be opened up. Apart from reducing pressure created by new entrants, development of the vocational stream will open up options for existing students. Schools routinely lose students at the class eight levels, because those who are not academically inclined drop out to join the unorganised informally trained workforce. However, the areas that have been short-listed as “areas in which sizeable jobs have been created and a good potential exists” for the next five years don’t adequately reveal the emphasis on the service sector. Hence, house wiring, auto mechanic, TV/ radio/ transistor/ tape-recorder repair, embroidery and needlework, carpentry, refrigeration and air conditioning are among the selected vocations. On the service side are vocations like garment making, construction, computer operator, hotel, tourism and advertising.

Colleges net a cool sum with admission forms

Nov 18, 2003: Mumbai: Long snaking queues, anxious students, a truckload of paperwork, and a windfall of funds. Every year, the admission week for junior colleges is full of busy schedules, and in most cases, an even busier cash register. The funds in question are those, which have been raised through the sale of admission forms. Despite the limited number of seats available in each individual course, colleges print and distribute far more enrolment forms than the seats they can offer. The catch, however, lay in the fact that the colleges were expected to put up a notice within one week, displaying the list of applicants with the marks obtained, along with the list of admitted students.

While this order ensured that colleges were distributing admission forms by the dozen, it also created a lot of paperwork for the admissions committee in each college, which had to sort the submitted applications. This was a virtual nightmare for large institutes offering all three streams of arts, commerce and science. Mithibai College, Parle, sold 18,000 application forms this academic year. This was against the 2,520 seats up on offer across the three main streams in the institute. While the college made Rs 2,70,000 from the sale, at Rs 15 per form, most of it was directed towards printing and paying the admission committee. Mithibai College has a 70 member-strong admission committee, which is mobilised during the admission week. The situation was quite similar, at Jaihind College in south Mumbai. The college sold about 11,000 admissions ‘kits’ at Rs 50 each. The admission kit included, an enrolment form, college prospectus, instructions on the admission procedure, and a plastic folder.

Aptech, Edexcel to offer BTEC Higher National Diploma

Nov 20, 2003: Mumbai: IT education and training major Aptech Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Edexcel International of UK, under which the companies will offer BTEC Higher National Diploma to all overseas students of the institute. "As BTEC Higher National Diplomas are accepted in countries like US, UK, Australia and Canada, this association would add value to the institute's students planning to study in top universities around the world," Aptech Managing Director Pramod Khera said. Students of Aptech and Arena, the multimedia education wing of the IT major, would receive a certificate from the institution, along with a BTEC Higher National Diploma certificate, he added.

Colleges, govt fight over B.Ed admissions

Nov 20, 2003: Hyderabad: Private B.Ed colleges and the government are at loggerheads on the method of admission which has eventually resulted in delay in the counselling process. The government on October 10 issued a new order asking private college managements to earmark 50% of the total seats for merit candidates and implement rule of reservation. The remaining 50% of the seats could be filled up by the managements from among the candidates who have qualified in the entrance test, under the supervision of a committee comprising a senior lecturer, Mandal Education Officer and head master f a government school. The committee would be constituted by the district collector for each of the colleges to ensure that caste and local area reservations are followed. Fee for both categories of seats is stipulated at Rs 10,800. The college managements and some student unions have been requesting the government to implement the old pattern of admission process for this year. The unions have found fault with the new guidelines, saying a candidate has to apply for all colleges individually, which would cost him thousands of rupees. Even the candidates could not attend the counselling for each college, Backward Caste welfare association president R Krishnaiah said.

NIFT to get NII status

Nov 20, 2003: Tiruchirappalli: The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), a premier educational institution offering courses in fashion design and technology, would soon be declared a national institute of importance on the lines of IITs and IIMs. A bill would be introduced in Parliament soon to accord the NII status to the institute, functioning under the control of Union Textiles Ministry, Dr D L Sunder, director, NIFT, Chennai, told reporters. Once the legislative measure was completed, the institute currently functioning from Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Gandhi Nagar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi, would take up research and development as well as a wide spectrum of extensions and involvement in upgradation of textile manufacture and export.

He said NIFT would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom-based Birmingham Institute of Art and Design providing for exchanges of faculty, students and curricula between the two. NIFT already has MoUs with other international institutions such as the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York and Textile University of Borlac in Sweden. Sunder said the Centre's Rs 25 crore orientation programme for weavers being taken up at NIFT, identified as the implementation agency, would commence next month and be completed in two years. NIFT, Chennai, was in the process of recruiting 50 designers for the project and as a follow up, design centres would be set up in 13 districts in Tamil Nadu to function as information bureaux to the weavers. Besides, NIFT would train family members of weavers under the rural development programme. It was also planning to offer design interventions to women self-help groups.

Career counselling for students

Nov 21, 2003: Hyderabad: Spoorthy, a city-based voluntary organisation, will organise a career counselling session for students on November 24 at Indira Park. The session will be held from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Spoorthy general secretary Dr A V Manohara Sharma said that more than one lakh students appear for the combined entrance examinations for professional courses each year, of whom only about 3,600 get selected. Students who do not get adequate support from family and friends, resort to suicide, he said.

Over 300 students committed suicide this year and the rate has been increased over the years, he added. The organisations joint secretary Dr C Veerender said that at a counselling session it had organised at Tank Bund two years back, a student said that he was on his way to commit suicide at Hussain Sagar when he heard the talk and changed his mind. The counselling session will inform students about the various career avenues open to them and teach them how to set goals and realise them within a particular time frame, Sphoorty vice president M Satyam said. The session will help students interact with the counsellors and chalk out the future course of action, he said. Dr Sharma said parents and teachers should make students aware that their life is more than success in any examination.

UK varsities opening up for PhDs

Nov 21, 2003: New Delhi: Opening its educational institutes for students from India and other developing countries, the UK government has announced a new initiative to allow over 100 high quality PhD students from these countries to its top universities to study science. The new Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards, an initiative worth £10 million, was announced by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The awards would be fully funded and open to top quality science, engineering, medicine, social sciences and technology students. The first intake in October 2004 would provide fully funded scholarships for over 100 students. These students would be a welcome "brain gain" for the UK during their time in that country. It would also make possible future research and commercial collaboration with participating countries. The move would help in gaining of essential scientific expertise around the world.

US B-school here on learning trip

Nov 21, 2003: New Delhi: It’s not merely Goldman Sachs that is looking at India with renewed interest. Some business schools in the US are looking at the country as a learning ground for their management students. Or, maybe, business schools like Darden Graduate School of Business Administration are realising the importance of understanding emerging markets like India. Darden, which has been ranked among the top 10 by several publications such as Economist, US News, World Report and Forbes. Professor Robert Conroy, who is the international studies co-ordinator at Darden, was in the country recently to “explore” the Indian management school scenario. “The fact is that we believe in giving a global perspective in our curriculum. Therefore, we must include important areas/economies in the curriculum.”

Schools such as Darden are beginning to realise that many of their graduate students will have to deal with countries like India as part of their professional life. Any education they offer would be incomplete if they don’t expose their students to the market, which is different from the US. Professor Conroy said that the idea is to work out a programme whereby students can spend time in India to understand the country, its business and management climate. To this end, he has visited several Indian schools such as IMT-Ghaziabad, MDI-Gurgaon, Fore School, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Infinity Business School.

Inter board may relax penalty norms for erring junior colleges

Nov 22, 2003: Hyderabad: Buckling under pressure from private colleges, the intermediate board is planning to relax penalty norms for excessive admissions into various junior colleges. This move could result in a loss of crores of rupees to the exchequer. The colleges are eligible to admit a maximum of 88 students in each section and every college can have seven sections of science stream and two section sections of the arts stream. However, the private colleges have over the past few years been admitting more than the stipulated number of students in the Science stream. To check this menace, the board began penalising erring private colleges by charging Rs 1,000 for each admission and Rs 1 lakh per section. It charged over Rs 2 crore as penalty in 2000-01 and 2001-02 and in the current academic year it has charged nearly Rs 1.5 crore. Sources said former commissioner of the Intermediate board K Krupanandam did not agree to relax penalties. But after his transfer, the colleges pressuried the officials to relax the norms.

Inter exams to begin on March 17

Nov 22, 2003: Hyderabad: The Intermediate examinations will begin on March 17. The first year exams will begin on March 17 and the second year exams the next day. The SSC board had already announced a schedule for the annual examinations. It is also slated to begin on March 17th. The Inter board had finalised the schedule and sent it to the government for clearance of the dates. The examinations will continue till April 6. In case elections are held in the second and third week of March, the board is likely to conduct examinations on April 7. If the polls are held before March 10 the board will go with the time table. Both exams are likely to be held in different sessions – morning and afternoon.

CAT paper leaked, exam cancelled

Nov 24, 2003: New Delhi: For the first time in the 42-year-old history of the premier Indian institutes of Management (IIMs), its Common Admission Test (CAT) for the MBA programme was cancelled today after the Central Bureau of Investigation nabbed four touts leaking the question paper here a few hours ahead of the examination in 26 cities across the country. Though the CBI nabbed the foursome-“all MBBS doctors from Bihar”-in the wee hours of this morning, a decision on the fate of the examination was taken much later as the seized question papers had to be tallied with what was distributed to the candidate. This is could be done only after the sealed bundle of question papers was opened at the designated hour at various examination centres. Since the process of tallying took a while, officials decided against disrupting the examination midway, and the cancellation was announced late in the afternoon.

The paper leakage came to light after the CBI-acting on a tip-off that a gang was leaking papers of various all-India level competitive examinations-conducted a surprise raid on a hotel near Mahipalpur on the Delhi-Gurgaon road. Four candidates were found in the company of four touts with a copy each of the question paper and answer sheet for today’s examination. Investigations revealed that the touts charged Rs. 2.4 lakhs from each student for showing them the paper. Their modus operandi was to approach candidates ahead of the examination with the promise of showing them the paper in advance. The candidates who bit the bait were asked to gather at a guest house/hotel on the eve of the examination. They would be shown the paper and to ensure that the candidates did not pass on the information, the students were allowed to leave the premises only in the morning when there was just enough time for them to reach their respective examinations centres. Also, there is the issue of availability of examination centres as most educational institutions are booked well in advance for the various tests that make up the annual examination cycle.

Five universities in State remain headless

Nov 24, 2003: Hyderabad, Nov 23: As many as five universities in the State are ‘headless’ now, and two of them happen to be central universities. These are Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Dr Ambedkar Open University and the NTR University of Health Sciences. Though the academic administration remains crippled in these universities for period ranging from three months to two years, officials are still clueless as to when the vacancies will be filled up. The prestigious Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL), a deemed university, is another institution, which has remained headless since Pramod Talgeri retired from service in March 2002. Though the Search Committee found a suitable person for the post, some ‘political manouevring’ botched the effort, sources said.

Look beyond colleges for that extra edge

Nov 24, 2003: Hyderabad: With the career horizon expanding and the fight for low-end jobs getting tougher, students in this part of the world are going for short-term professional courses to bag multiple degrees. In fact, the learning process does not end with the college hours because a regular degree is not sufficient to keep oneself ahead in the career race. When one ultimately goes out job hunting, one needs that professional edge as well as a degree, say most of the students.

According to education consultants, courses in multimedia, insurance, foreign language and those which render call centre expertise are in demand. Though IT still seems to be the safe bet, a lot of aspirants are now preferring multimedia courses eyeing openings in advertising, post-production and animation sectors instead of learning Java and C++. With bumper outsourcing offers pouring in, foreign languages will have more takers, feels LN Laxman Murthy who teaches a crash course for call centre jobs at Niraj International College. Both CIEFL and Alliance Francaise are the most preferred learning centres in this regard. According to city-based career consultant D Nagarjuna, both vocational and professional courses in demand.

CAT exam now clashes with defence test

Nov 28, 2003: New Delhi: Lakhs of students have been left stranded after the new dates for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to IIMs were announced. The test scheduled now for February 15 clashes with the Combined Defence Services (CDS) entrance examination. The CAT examination was rescheduled after question papers were leaked recently. Though management and defence services are two entirely different fields, lakhs of students appear for both examinations. With the job market becoming competitive, students are forced to explore career options, hoping atleast one will work out. The CDS test lasts a whole day and is conducted in three stages, with an-hour break between the stages. The first test begins at 9:00 AM and the last one ends at 5:00 PM. With the CAT test planned from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, students say its impossible to attend both.

ISB to roll out MBA course for top guns

Nov 28, 2003: Hyderabad: In today’s dynamic marketplace, a vision for the future too is must. Based on this premise, an MBA programme which would cost a whopping Rs 18-20 lakh would soon be rolled out by Indian School of Business (ISB) for high profile executives. Interestingly, the aspiring executives, under the Executive MBA programme (E-MBA), can continue to work for their respective companies while they get an opportunity to sharpen their managerial skills at ISB and Kellogg School of Management. Once in every three months the executives will have to cut short their busy schedule and spend just about a week at the ISB’s campus. This programme would also suit those who are worried about preparing for the rigorous GMAT examination. Unlike the regular 1-year management programme, the E-MBA programme would extend for one and a half years. While providing flexibility to executives, so that they can achieve their specific professional goals, the E-MBA programme promises to provide the academic rigor and professional relevance needed.

PG entrance likely by December

Nov 28, 2003: Hyderabad: Facing criticism from all quarters over the non-conduct of PG entrance exams, Minister for Medical and Health Kodela Sivaprasada Rao has directed the authorities of the NTR University of Health Sciences to issue a notification to conduct PG entrance exams before the end of this year. Medical Department also said the university will issue the notification to this effect on December 10, 2003. However, students have already been affected over the delay in the conduct of the entrance exam.

The deadline for the completion of the PG admissions is December 31, 2003 and indications are clear that the NTR Health University will conduct delayed admissions into PG seats just like it did during the admissions of medical and dental seats recently. As many as 750 PG seats are up for grabs and sources point out that the Minister is in no mood to lose the PG seats, as was the case with the medical and dental seats. The long-awaited decision to issue notification for the PG tests comes in the wake of severe pressure from the 10,000 strong junior doctors getting trained in various government medical colleges in the State. Meanwhile, Principal Secretary (Health Medical and Family Welfare Department) as in-charge vice-chancellor of NTR University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada.

CAT coaching Rs 2 crore business in Pune

Nov 29, 2003: Pune: The competition in the common admission test (CAT) for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) only gets fiercer with every passing year. So strong is the desire to 'crack' the all-important test among students that they are prepared to shell out anything between Rs 10,000 and Rs 14,000 for special coaching classes. According to estimates, in Pune alone, this translates into business worth Rs 2 crore. Realising the market potential, at least two new coaching centres -- Career Maker and Professional Tutorials -- opened this year. Career Launcher, an existing training institute, plans to open five new centres in the coming months. There are atleast 10 training institutes for CAT in the city. IMS, for instance, has 2,000 students in Pune. Training institutes offer students comprehensive study material, mock CATs, classroom sessions, counselling and basically all the help required to meet the ultimate challenge. Typically, students are divided into one-hour batches, which meet three to four times a week. As the test approaches, the classes get more frequent and the exercises, more rigorous. Institutes revise their fees every year. Now with the government charging service tax, that too is passed on to the students. For students, success, if costs continue to rise, could soon prove unaffordable.

IIM-A prof challenges retest

Nov 29, 2003: Ahmedabad: A senior professor of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIM-A), has caused a stir on the campus by challenging the retest ordered for all 1.27 lakh candidates, even as the IIMs grapple with the common admission test (CAT) (CAT) scam. In an e-notice circulated to the 85-strong IIM-A faculty, JP Singh said that the retest was “not necessary and will prove to be a harassment to the students and their families apart from proving to be a waste of time and resources for the institutions.”

Sources on the campus say that there is a possibility of taking legal recourse to get the scheme ratified by a court of law well before the retest is held on February 15. When contacted, Singh confirmed having sent an e-notice but refused to reveal its content. IIM-A sources said that the possibility of Singh sending the proposal to colleagues in other IIMs and to the Union HRD minister, who is waiting for an opportunity to get a foothold in the CAT, is not ruled out. Singh has also suggested that the selected students be asked to give an affidavit, declaring that they did not take the help of the leaked paper. And, if proved guilty, would be thrown out at any point.

 
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