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College News Archive [January 2004]

Hike in US colleges fees to hit Indians hardest

Jan 01, 2004: Beloit (Wisconsin): Major US colleges announced their tuition fees for 2004, and across the board there is a hike of almost 15 % which is certain to hit Indian students harder than any other group, as they form the largest enrolment group every year in US colleges. In 2003, nearly 90,000 Indian students enrolled in American colleges. The average annual tuition fee has now crossed Rs 14 lakh per annum as against Rs 12 lakh last year. The availability of financial aid has also come down in 2004. For many international students, financial assistance is necessary to be able to get an American education. The 2004 costs of a university in America will range between $30,000 and $60,000 per annum or Rs 14 lakh plus on the lower side. This large sum is very difficult to meet without some sort of assistance from the college. Indeed, most students on American campuses receive one form of aid or another. American academic experts are suggesting that students must broaden their search in order to identify institutions that charge reasonable fees. Once the student has identified a number of colleges he or she is interested in, they must ask the college for as much material as possible.

Beyond the application itself, other literature such as the college handbook, brochures, course lists, etc, can provide a lot of information about the college, and may help with the application itself. The first category of "dream" colleges should consist of the hardest colleges to get into, Ivy League colleges being a great example. If a student is able to get into one of these, the administration will most likely insure that you are able to afford the college, whether it is through extra loans, work-study jobs, or some other arrangements. Of course, certain colleges require proof of the students' ability to fund his or her education before admittance; such facts should be noted before applying to such a college. The second category of schools consists of colleges that one can probably get into, and that should provide a large amount of financial aid. This safety net will insure that one has a backup plan, should he or she not gain admittance to the top colleges on the list. This restriction of colleges and division into categories serves two purposes. Firstly, one gains more time to finish each application, a very important factor. Secondly, most colleges require an application fee of around $20-50 restricting the number of colleges the student applies to; they can insure that they are presenting the best application possible for their money. These steps should hopefully make it easier for a prospective student to select which colleges he or she is interested in, and to gain a handle on what an application to those colleges will entail.

Tourism course cheats students

Jan 01, 2004: Hyderabad: Inspired by the State’s stepped up focus on tourism, they wanted to make it big in the travel and tourism industry, but the callous attitude of the authorities concerned put their careers into jeopardy. Students of the Diploma course in Tour and Travel management have not started their course even five months after taking admission in the Government Polytechnic College (known as Institute of Printing Technology). With the number of students being mere five, both the college authorities and officials of Technical Education do not bother even to allot even a classroom for these students. As per the syllabus forms they were given, the course contains English communication skills, IT, hospitality management, tourism management and Indian Heritage and Culture. Besides not giving any timetable, the college authorities failed to provide faculty members for the subjects. Ironically the State Technical Education Board finalised the syllabus five days ago and will supply the study material ‘very soon’. When contacted Commissioner of Technical Education A R Sukumar said he was aware of the problem and made arrangements for study material and faculty.

Panels for unaided professional colleges

Jan 02, 2004: Hyderabad: The much-awaited committees for supervising the administrative and academic aspects of the unaided professional colleges in the State, as per the Supreme Court judgement, were constituted. The Government finalised the names and approached the judges for their consent. Officials said the constitution of committees would end the controversies surrounding the fee structure and admission mode in professional colleges. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, the unaided professional colleges –engineering, education, medical, dental or law have to first decide whether they want to be a part of the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by the State authorities or to have a test of their own.

In case, they don’t prefer the CET, all such colleges would have to form an association for their own common entrance test. Those preferring the CET would have to abide by the rules of the State Government in all administrative and academic aspects. The unaided professional colleges have to submit their accounts for the last five years to he Fee Fixation Committee along with the suggested fee. The committee would decide whether to agree with their fee structure based on various parameters, including the financial position and how the colleges were using the money. Once agreed, the fee structure would be binding on them for three years. The Permanent Committee will look into all other administrative and academic aspects except the fee structure.

Varsity invites applications for technical course

Jan 02, 2004: Hyderabad: The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University – Centre for Spatial Information Technology (JNTU-CSIT) at Mahavir Marg, Masab Tank, has announced the certificate course on integrated Geographical Information System (GIS) and Computer Aided Design (CAD). The four-week course will begin on January 7. The Geographical Information System course covers state-of-the-art techniques in the subject. It is said to be in great demand in the Western countries. The certificate course teaches skills and applications of ARC/Info, ARC view, map info and Auto Cad 2D drafting modules to the students. The certificate course aims at skill development and understanding of basic concepts, according to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University – Centre of Spatial Information Technology head Prof I V Muralikrishna said.

Aeronautics Engineering struggles to take off

Jan 03, 2004: Hyderabad: The city is vying to be an aviation hub through tie-ups with private industries. Still, engineering aspirants keep aeronautical engineering at an arm’s length. Though many colleges are offering the programme, students still suffer from a mental block – that jobs would be hard to come by in this field. So the rush for ECE and EEE programmes continue and the ‘rocket science’ is politely asked to stand out, say education consultants. It is technologically one of the most advanced branches in engineering and involves analysing, manufacturing and installing components of civilian and defence aircraft. The focus is mainly on design and development and could involve space and satellite research too.

In India, opportunities beckon at government agencies like Hindustan Aeronautical Limited, Indian Space Research Organisation, Airports Authority of India Ltd., Aeronautical Development Agency and National Aeronautical Laboratory as research engineering for maintenance engineer. The Indian Air Force and airlines such as Air India, Indian Airlines and other private airlines also employ aeronautical engineers for maintenance of aircraft. The Institutes mostly preferred for the course are IITs (Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur, Kanpur) for four-year B.Tech programme, Nehru College of Aeronautical and Applied Sciences (Coimbatore, TN), Aeronautical College of Engineering (JNTU, Hyderabad), School of Aviation Science and Technology (Delhi), Indian Institute of Aeronautical Engineering (Dehradun). Madras Institute of Technology offers a three-year graduate programme for B.Sc students. The Indian Institute of Science has M.Tech and Ph.D programmes in Aeronautics.

AICTE move likely to raze architecture fortunes to dust

Jan 03, 2004: Hyderabad: Confusion reigns in the architecture circle over the fate of the profession after the All India Council for Technical Education decided to slash the powers of the Council of Architecture (CoA), the hitherto sole governing body of the architecture colleges. It is noted that AICTE in its November 24 notification freezed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CoA. Following this, the Indian Institute of Architects filed a case at the Madras High Court. Though the Court stayed at the AICTE move via an interim order, the perturbed architects anticipate excessive regulation by AICTE. According to the AICTE notification, it would control the architectural institutes from now on. But CoA would continue to be the authority of the profession, that is, graduates would have to register with CoA to be the certified architect. The AICTE decision does not suit many. Scores of architecture graduates will not be able to register with the CoA after their five-year graduation if the notification comes into effect. CoA and AICTE norms differ and this could be a problem in the future as according to the Indian Institute of Architects- Andhra Pradesh Chapter Chairman DT Vinod Kumar. He favoured the CoA to be left as sole authorising body of architecture education like the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Bar Council of India for medicine and legal education in the country.

AP students prefer US for studies

Jan 03, 2004: Hyderabad: If you ask any students which foreign country he would love to study in – the US or the UK – the first choices will be the land of opportunity. Barely 10% head for the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Though Australians are doing a lot to encourage Indian students to study in universities Down Under and is even offering placement opportunities, the idea of getting a degree from Monash University or Latrobe is yet to catch on here. The big advantage of studying in the Us is that most people have relatives and friends there. Cities there are reasonably more familiar than say Montreal or Adelaide. So, the rush for the US. For instance, from the Osmania University College of Engineering alone, of the 60 students who pass out every year, about 30 leave for the US and 50% of them get scholarships.

Twin Cities attract foreign students

Jan 03, 2004: Hyderabad: Walk into university campuses, popular youth hangouts or even music stores, and you are sure to spot some foreign students hanging around. Studying in Hyderabad has become affordable and enjoyable and so makes students from Central Asia, Africa and America chose universities in the city as a study destination. Inflow of foreign students has increased 10 fold in the last four years, said director of University of Foreign relations. Currently there are 600 foreign students compared to about 60 four years ago. Students pour in from 37 countries, the highest of 114 from Somalia, 84 from Oman, 54 from Sudan, 38 from Yemen, 28 Ethiopia, 24 from Uganda, 12 each from Jordan and Kenya and eight from Iran. Graduation courses like BA, B. Com, BCA, B.Sc are the courses for which they come down to OU, besides M.Sc. and Ph.D. Foreign students are interested in humanities and social sciences and courses like performing arts, Indian Philosophy, languages such as Hindi, Telugu and Bangla, said coordinator, Study India Programme, University of Hyderabad. There were about 85 students last year enrolled in variety of courses.

City students set to leave their mark at IIT festival

Jan 05, 2004: Hyderabad: Everyone knows that Saarang is one of the biggest youth festivals in the country conducted by the IIT Madras. But very few people know that it’s the students from the city who dominate the festival. Large contingents of students, representing different colleges in the city, go to Chennai every year to take part in various events conducted as part of the festival. Like every year, this year too, around 500 students from the city are likely to take part in Saarang 2004 to be held from January 21 to 26. Another interesting aspect of the festival is that it’s the students from the State who play an important role in the organising the festival. IIT Madras has a large concentration of students from the State. Out of the 500 students studying various courses in IIT, atleast 200 students belong to Andhra Pradesh and most of them play an active role in organising various events. Apart from this festival have fashion shows, lectures by eminent personalities, quiz competitions and various fun filled games. Around 1,500 students from across the country will take part. And we will provide free accommodation for all the participants. But what makes the students from the city click in Chennai? Their zest to excel in the department is what really makes the students from the city shine in the campus.

Collection of fees will be checked, students assured

Jan 05, 2004: Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) authorities assured students to look into the issue of collection of fees by various colleges. Students produced documentary evidence with regard to collection of excess fees and other irregularities by college managements. College managements were threatening students with dismissal, suspension allotting less mark, denying permission to submit exam forms, implication in false police cases and so on. Students were being forced to pay excess fee in the name of development fee, and were threatened if students complained about the irregularities to the government and Osmania University authorities. Earlier, hundreds of belonging to various minority colleges staged a dharna before the APSCHE on December 31, 2003 demanding the colleges stop collecting development fees and provide a congenial atmosphere for quality education.

Higher studies turned simple

Jan 05, 2004: Time was when parents and students use to worry about finances before going in for higher studies. With education loans now available on easy terms, more and more students have now got an opportunity to opt for higher studies without putting a strain on their parents' resources. What's more, the government provides a tax sop in the form of Section 80E for repayment of loan taken for higher studies. The maximum amount allowed as deduction is Rs 40,000 and this is available for a maximum period of eight years. With a little bit of understanding, this loan cost can be bought down to as low as 0.34%. Let's understand how. Assume that the loan is taken for a two-year post graduation course. This means that there will be a two-year moratorium period, where the student will not have to repay the loan but will be charged interest at a lower rate say 6% p.a.

Say, the loan is available at 10.75% for a term of eight years. Since the maximum amount permissible per year as deduction is Rs 40,000, we assume that the student goes in for a loan amount where the total outflow per year will be not more than Rs 40,000. If the student takes a loan of Rs 1,91,500, the total outflow per year will be equal to Rs 40,083. The student has to start repaying the loan after two years and assuming the first job takes the student in the 30% tax bracket, Rs 12,000 per year will be allowed as tax deduction on account of the loan repayment. Again assuming that the student reaches the 30% tax bracket and is allowed Rs 12,000 as deduction every year, the yearly outflow becomes Rs 28,008 for five years and the internal rate of return become 0.34%. A loan amount lower than this will also yield the same rate of return. This deduction is available only if the student takes the loan in his name. So, before going in for higher studies, it is advisable to approach a few banks and take the lowest rate of interest on offer and then work out the approximate loan amount, whereby maximum utilisation of Section 80E can be derived and the cost be bought down as much as possible.

Foreign varsities to open research centres

Jan 06, 2004: Mumbai: For India right now, it’s not just raining, it’s pouring. The market’s soaring, forex reserves are bulging, BPO’s booming, and Indian companies are globalising. Now, comes the icing on the cake. If you thought only FIIs and transnational were moving resources to India, think again. Top-notch western universities are beginning to allocate their most precious asset — intellectual capital — to India. For years, they have attracted some of the country’s best minds as students and professors; now they are contemplating bringing their campuses and research centres to India. The London School of Economics (LSE) has been exploring the possibility of tying up with an Indian academic institution to offer courses here. And while a number of other universities contemplate this move, it’s the research centres that perhaps represent the high-end of the value chain at universities. The India opportunity has become a matter of concern for the global community. The compulsions of global industry go beyond just hype. And, lastly, the centre will focus on actionable issues. Not on what happened in the past but what is going to happen in the future.

Plans for new engineering colleges

Jan 06, 2004: Nizamabad: The Minister for Technical Education, said the Government had issued ‘no objection’ certificates to 16 educational societies, which had approached the Technical Education Department for setting up new engineering colleges. Seven applications had been received from revenue divisions where there were no engineering colleges. The government aim is to establish an engineering college in every revenue division and a medical college in every district. Till now 16 societies had come forward to establish the colleges. The proposals were forwarded to the All-India Council of Technical Education, and a final decision is awaited. The number of new engineering colleges had risen to 220 with an annual intake of 65,960 seats. Students from the State were looking to Maharashtra and Karnataka for admission to engineering colleges. After the establishment of new engineering colleges, all seats barring 500 had been filled up. There were vacancies in information technology and computer sciences stream. The Society for Networking in Engineering Technology (SONET) established by the Government and engineering colleges was intended to provide state-of-art facilities in all engineering colleges.

Council nod for B.Ed colleges awaited

Jan 07, 2004: Hyderabad: Admissions into B.Ed colleges for 2003-04 will begin on January 31 while the notification is likely to be issued on January 20. However, this would be based on the clearance for the colleges from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The Government was awaiting clearance from the NCTE, which was likely to come by January 15. The Government was awaiting clearance from the NCTE, which was likely to come by January 15. The Government had taken up the matter with the NCTE. The last date for sale and receipt of applications would be March 1. Applications should be given to District Education Officers concerned.

The test had been postponed due to demand from several quarters. Students of the present batch and the extended batch apart from Hindi pandits and D.Ed students had been urging the government to give them a chance. More than 10,000 applications were received, of which 4,000 related to mutual transfers. The Minister made it clear that minority status would be extended to college where the entire management was from that particular community. Guidelines would be issued in a couple of days. Meanwhile, a statement from the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education said class work would begin on February 16th. The last working day would be October 13. Examinations would be held in the October/November. The schedule had been worked out keeping in view the requirement of 180 working days prescribed by the NCTE.

JNTU on-line exam training programme begins

Jan 07, 2004: Nizamabad: The third phase of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) on-line examination training programme for faculty members and students of various engineering colleges across the State got underway at the Vijay Rural Engineering College. The Chairman of Ideal Education Society, K. Narender Reddy, who runs the engineering college, formally inaugurated the weeklong training programmes to be attached by faculty members of 33 engineering colleges from different parts of the state. The training programme is being jointly organised by the JNTU and the Centre for Good Governance.

He said this first of its kind attempt by the JNTU would go a long way in enhancing the prestige of the renowned technological university. He said though the introduction of the online examination system was welcome, the JNTU should also look into the financial aspects involved in the project. He pointed out that while introducing the on-line examination, the colleges were required to improve their infrastructure and provide sufficient computers for the students to take the tests. He hoped that the JNTU would look into the issue of financial assistance to colleges. He said that the on-line examination system would reduce malpractices and merit would get its due recognition. The Principal of Vijay Rural Engineering College, said the on-going training programme would go a long way in creating better opportunity for the students and the faculty.

Minority students allege exploitation

Jan 07, 2004: Hyderabad: Students of different minority educational institutions called on Justice Syed Sadatullah Hussaini, chairman, Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Commission and brought to his notice the exploitation faced by them in respect of admission and fee and the irregularities indulged in by the minority colleges. Students presented a memorandum to Minorities Students Organisation. They explained about the collection of excess fee from MBA and MCA students in the name of development fee. They brought to his notice how the colleges denied receipts for application forms submitted and did not put up the merit list. They urged Mr. Justice Sadathullah to intervene in the matter and ensure that justice was done to students.

AMU and others to hold own exams

Jan 08, 2004: New Delhi: Defying the University Grant Commission’s (UGC’s) directive to conduct a common entrance exam for professional courses along with other universities in the country, the Aligarh Muslim University has decided to go ahead with its own test. It will conduct its own entrance exams for professional and technical courses like B.Tech., MBBS, MCA, MBA and Bachelors in Architecture from April. Vice-chancellor Nafeez Ahmed said the academic council of the university had decided there was no question of having a common entrance exam with other universities. Other central varsities including Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Hamdard University are also planning to conduct their own exam, instead of having a joint entrance test with other universities. There are 18 central universities in the country. The faculty of management studies of Delhi University will soon have its entrance exam. On Jan.4, FECUTA had rejected the UGCs decision joint entrance exam, calling it undemocratic and an encroachment on the autonomy of universities. The vice-chancellor said the university had started admission process much before they received the UGC order.

Central University awaits fresh UGC directive

Jan 08, 2004: Hyderabad: While some central universities defying the University Grants Commission (UGC) directive to conduct a common entrance test for professional courses, the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) has decided to wait for the new guidelines on the issue. The Central University would wait for the new guidelines as it has to conduct admissions for MCA courses. For the MBA courses, the institute has already clarified that the admissions would be made purely on the basis of merit in the Common Admission Test (CAT), which would be conducted by the IIM-Calcutta, the controller of examination said.

However, students, who want to pursue their post-graduate professional courses in the central universities (CUs) are in a state of confusion as far as the mode of admission for these premier institutes are concerned. The aspirants are not sure whether they have to sit for a single admission test or different entrance examination for different universities for the various courses. The confusion was due to the UGC’s recent directive to the CUS to conduct admissions based on a single entrance examination. Almost all the institutes have opposed the move and even the teachers have decided to observe a bandh on Jan. 22. The HRD ministry to prevail upon all the CUs to agree for single admission test.

Getting minority tag is no more a cake walk

Jan 08, 2004: Hyderabad: Getting minorities status is not going to be an easy task for institutions any more. Similarly, the students, who seek benefits under the minority category, would also find the going tough hereafter. The state government has decided to tighten the rules and regulations to confer minority status on either institutions or students. There is a proliferation of minority institutions across the state and many colleges are in queue to seek the covered status, with an eye on the benefits they get in terms of fee concessions and functional autonomy. About 200 institutions officially enjoy the minority status and it has come to the notice of the administration that many students were changing their names and religions for the purpose of admission, mostly in B.Ed. courses. According to the existing rules, the institutions will get the minority tag if the any one member of the board of management or partner is from a minority community. Till now the students are given the ‘minority’ stamp, based on the certificates given by religious institutions. The government has also decided to renew the minority status of academic institutions once in every three years hereafter and this will be applicable to the new colleges too. Sources said that the government would not allow any new colleges to open, barring a few like B.Ed. college and instead, increase the number of seats in the existing colleges to make them financially viable. It was also decided that the Eamcet examination should be held on schedule. However, the final date would be decided only after the election dates announced.

Intransigent NCTE hurts B.Ed scheme

Jan 09, 2004: Hyderabad: The much-delayed B.Ed counselling has drawn flak from scores of students and academicians. While the counselling date has been declared, the government is yet to issue any notification in this regard. The reason is the inordinate delay by the National Council for Technical Education to sort the list of B.Ed colleges renewed for the academic year. According to norms, a college cannot operate without the recognition certificate from the NCTE even after the NOC from the State government and the affiliation certificate from the concerned university. The Southern Regional Committee of the NCTE is meeting once in two/three months and is processing 10 to 20% applications. As a result, the EdCET convenor is not able to start counselling, delaying the academic year by six months. The results of students studying in the academic session (2002-03) in almost 100 new B.Ed colleges affiliated to OU are yet to be declared due to similar reasons. For 2003-04 academic year, another thirty colleges have applied for NOC from the State Government. NCTE usually takes a lot of time while preparing the list of approved colleges every year. The APSCHE sources said that the classes will be started tentatively from February 15.

Jogi varsities may face closure

Jan 09, 2004: Raipur: On his 100-day agenda, Chief Minister Raman Singh has vowed to clean the cobwebs in the education sector. At least 108 private universities in the State, sanctioned by the previous Ajit Jogi government, may face his ire for not fulfilling UGC norms. Most of these universities came up between June and October 2003 and were granted sanctions in a hurry, sometime within a day. As a result, nearly 40 of these universities are operating without a campus.

An Education Department official say that norms were deliberately flouted by the Jogi government, even as officials repeatedly pointed out the violations. Sanctions were given to some universities within a day, even over the telephone. Single-page notes overruled the department’s advice against granting sanctions to nearly 67 universities. The serious violations include granting of sanction to promoters who had not even submitted the addresses of the universities, the courses they proposed, details of teaching staff, location or financial back-up. Nearly 18 universities – functional for the past six months – are running from single-room accommodations in residential areas. Others have hired buildings but not teaching staff. But these universities have published advertisements, asking students to enrol. Sources say there are three universities, functioning within a distance of 100 meter and two universities operating from the same bus stand area.

Last date extended for applications

Jan 09, 2004: Hyderabad: The last date for submission of applications for the inter-district teacher transfers has been extended up to March 31. The teachers who want to apply for transfers can also do so through the Internet from January 19. Second year examination of the D.Ed course will be conducted from February 5 to 10 and the last date for the submission applications is January 19.

Medical courses exam schedule released

Jan 09, 2004: Hyderabad: The NTR University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada released the schedule for theory examinations for MBBS and post-graduate medical courses during the year 2004. According to the schedule, first year MBBS exams will be held from April 6 to 16, second year MBBS from March 23 to April 3, final year MBBS part-I from March 15 to 20 and part-II from March 5 to 12. PG degree, diploma and basic sciences examinations will be held from March 22 onwards. The dates of practical/clinical exams will be intimated through the respective principals of medical colleges. The University said students must put in 75% attendance in MBBS and 80% in PG courses to be eligible to take the examinations as per the Medial Council of India regulations.

IIM prof an endangered species

Jan 10, 2004: Ahmedabad: Surviving seems to be getting difficult by the day for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). With the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) wishing to regulate the intake of faculty by these institutes, IIMs' ambitious faculty recruitment drives may be on the immediate casualty list. To begin with, IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) that embarked on a major expansion programme last year is planning to raise the number of faculty from existing 75 to 120 by the beginning of the next academic year. Similarly, IIM Calcutta and IIM Kozhikode are also looking at adding more numbers to planning their respective faculty baskets.

As the MHRD questions the current faculty-to-students ratio in these institutes, the further appointment of new teaching staff is all set to hit a roadblock. Importantly, all the IIMs in the country have a faculty to student ratio of more than 1:8, which is far below the globally accepted standards. Moreover, all IIMs insist that while computing the faculty student ratio, all other programmes like executive development programmes, faculty development programmes and the distance education programmes offered by these institutes must also be accounted for along with the flagship post-graduate programmes. IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) with a faculty staff of around 70 will shortly be adding around 17-20 new faculty members in some specific areas. However, all these recruitment drives would now come under the MHRD scanner. The calculation of the per capita income by the MHRD has been inaptly done on the basis of current prices.

Ministry studying two-stage, all-India engineering entrance test

Jan 10, 2004: Chennai: The Union Human Resource Development Ministry is considering a proposal to conduct the All-India Engineering Entrance Examinations (AIEEE) in two stages – a screening test and a final subjective examination. This is to reduce the burden on the final examination. The CBSE decided to introduce the two-stage system in the all-India pre-medical and pre-dental entrance examinations from 2004-05. The first stage, to be held on April 11, would be an objective type test. Those qualifying in the test would have to write the subjective examination in mid-May. About 20,000 aspirants would take the final stage medical entrance examination. The AIEEE was a qualifying examination for entry into technical education courses conducted by the National Institutes of Technology and under the all-India quota in deemed universities, as per Supreme Court. The Ministry was also looking at unifying the joint entrance examinations (JEE) for the Indian Institutes of Technology and the AIEEE. There is also a possibility of conducting a joint examination and we have national and State-level ranking systems. Now the States are conducting, besides the JEE and the AIEEE, their own entrance tests for professional courses in engineering technology.

South Africa hunts for Indian language teachers

Jan 12, 2004: New Delhi: South Africa sought assistance from India in the form of language teachers in Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati and other languages and materials in order to help the children of Indian diaspora in that country. Department currently offers study subjects like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Gujarati and Arabic and a significant number of learners enrolled for these subjects every year. Unfortunately at present they are offered only — except for Arabic — in 10 of the 12 grades of schooling. The reason is difficulty in finding teachers qualified to teach in the two final grades. The draft prepared by India was being studied by South Africa’s National Department of Education. It would among other things provided for the exchange of research materials, publications, educational literature, organisation of joint research programmes and exchange of scholars.

Visa rejection high among State students

Jan 12, 2004: Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh may the hottest destination in several sectors as per Government claims, but the very name makes officials in various embassies think twice before processing student visas, the ultimate possession of students dreaming of studying abroad. This is the perception of some representatives of various foreign universities who have come here to participate in the International Education Fair being organised. The notoriety was initially noticed United States Embassy but other embassies, including the British and the German Embassies, too view them with suspicion.

Due to the disrepute such students have brought to the State, many representatives are not willing to give an assurance that getting a visa would be an easy affair even if the student is genuine with healthy financial statements. The State students gained notoriety by going to the US with fake educational certificates and bogus experience certificates in the late 90’s when the IT sector saw a boom. The situation was so bad that the US embassy approached the State Government for help that resulted in the setting up of online verification (OLIVE) project with assistance from the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) and universities in the State. The US embassy can now access the educational information of every applicant sitting in Chennai.

UK to take in more Indian students

Jan 13, 2004: New Delhi: Aiming to expand bilateral ties, Britain plans to increase student intake from India by over 40% to 20,000 in the short term. Every year 14,000 new Indian students go to study in the UK and the aim is to raise that figure to 20,000 each year. Identifying vibrant and expanding people to people link as an important and dynamic element of the bilateral relationship, he said there were around 1.3 million British Indians in UK who played a significant role in British politics and economy. In fact a leading software group in that country recently went on record saying that software graduates coming out of universities in Chennai are more suitable for software manufacturing work than those coming out of British universities. In fact, Britain is also facing acute competition from other countries trying to attract students from India.

Institutes from France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Spain are also testing the Indian market, banking on courses that are of shorter duration and therefore cost less. More than a dozen MBA institutes from mainland Europe took part in World MBA Fair recently, which had a road show in Mumbai and Delhi. The new regulations, which came into effect from December 1, have reduced the financial requirements for an Indian undergraduate student in any Australian university by at least 33% and allowed bank finance for vocational studies.

BBC offers online MBA scholarships

Jan 16, 2004: If you are keen enough to do MBA from a foreign university, then read on. Now with the concept of online education, it is easier for you to earn an MBA degree from the foreign universities, sitting here in India. Doesn’t that sound great to you? To cut it even short, BBC Worldwide, the commercial consumer arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), will soon offer two online MBA scholarships from a world-ranked business school in London to mark the launch of BBC Learning in India. The scholarships are being offered to the aspiring MBA students in the country in order to create awareness among people and to facilitate the student exchange programmes.

BBC Worldwide will soon choose 100 students at random who will be asked to submit an essay of 1,000 words on the benefits of gaining an MBA qualification and the impact of business education in Indian industry and commerce. Those who qualify the test would be beginning their study in late 2004 through UK eUniversities Worldwide (UKeU). Once through with the test students will be required to submit their duly attested mark sheets of graduation. And the best part of BBC’s MBA programme lies in the fact that the course fees will be paid for by BBC Worldwide. Moreover their degree will be globally recognised by all employers and will certainly help in the job scene. In addition to degree level courses such as MBAs and M.Scs, bbclearning.com will also offer a wide selection of GCSE and A-Level courses from the National Extension College in Britain.

Six Indian graduate students named Siebel Scholars for '04

Jan 16, 2004: San Mateo: Siebel Systems, Inc., a provider of business applications software, has announced this year's winners of Siebel Scholars awards, which recognise outstanding graduate students at 11 of the leading business and computer science schools in the U.S. Five students at each institution received $25,000 cash awards each to defray tuition costs and expenses for the second year of their graduate studies. The awards recognise academic achievement and support programs at universities that have made significant contributions to the information technology industry. The program also hopes to create communities of individuals who will share knowledge, engage in innovative projects and provide one another with professional support in their careers.

BPOs are flavour of the season at ISB

Jan 22, 2004: Hyderabad: Placement ’04 has begun with a bang at the Indian School of Business (ISB), driven mostly by demand from BPO-ITeS companies. They seem to be the flavour on B-school campuses this season. ISB is seeing a lot of aggressive recruitment, with BPOs accounting for a lot of it. While he was reluctant to divulge details of the offers made, US-based tech support company vCustomer Corporation has confirmed it will pick up 13 graduates. ISB holds rolling placements, spread over January to April. The increased interest from BPO companies for B-school grads is not surprising, considering they are maturing on the outsourcing ladder with the first stage process providers graduating from mere call-centre services to knowledge support. The company has decided to pick up more MBAs this year. vCustomer had picked up one graduate from ISB in ’02 and two in ’03.

Digital library for engineering students

Jan 23, 2004: Hyderabad: Students of about 250 engineering colleges in the State could soon have online access to more than 400 subject-related journals with a digital library being established at the Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT) by the society for the Networking and Excellence in Technical Education (SONET). The SONET will also freely distribute CDs of lectures delivered by eminent people to all engineering colleges. On the eve of a two-day national convention being held by the Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences in collaboration with CBIT which is the nodal agency for SONET. The convention would discuss various issues relating to education in engineering and make recommendations for changes in curriculum. While the current intake of students all over the country was four lakhs, it was expected to go up to eight lakhs by 2010. The unemployment rate among engineering graduates was 6 lakh at present and it was expected to reach 2.9 lakh by 2010. There was also imbalance in the spread of educational facilities with 50% of the seats being offered by the Southern States.

Indian students heading for Oz goes up 12 fold

Jan 27, 2004: Indian students heading for Australia since 1995 have multiplied by 12 times, from a thousand in 1995 to 12,000 now. India has emerged as the third largest source of higher education for Australia over that period. The Australian government has recently announced changes in its student visa regulations would further expand the opportunities for Indian students to study in Australia in 2004. There was a 100% increase in the number of student visas issued for Indian students at the Australian visa office in New Delhi from 3,000 in 12 months from June 30, 2002 to 6,000 in the year to June 30. While over 90% of the 12,000 Indian students studying in Australia are undertaking post-graduate studies in Information Technology, engineering, management, accounting, applied science and hospitality, new fields of study such as biotechnology, communication studies and art and design are also becoming increasingly popular among Indian students. Stevenson-Perks will be meeting several leaders of Punjab's high quality education institutions, and give public presentations on educational opportunities in Australia in conjunction with the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India.

Panagariya new Bhagwati professor at Columbia varsity

Jan 27, 2004: New Delhi: Arvind Panagariya, the well-known international trade economist and regular columnist with ET has been appointed Jagdish Bhagwati professor in Indian political economy at ColumbiaUniversity. The first to hold the post, instituted in honour of Jagdish Bhagwati, University Professor at Columbia University, Mr. Panagariya has been described by Prof Bhagwati as “a world class international trade economist and arguably the most notable young star in Indian economic policy.” Money for the chair — $2.5 million was raised over almost 5 years, with small contributions raised at numerous functions, including a fundraiser where Dr. Manmohan Singh was the guest of honour that raised over $300,000.

Aptech in JV with Canada firm, to invest $2 lakh

Jan 30, 2004: Mumbai: IT training major Aptech has signed a joint venture deal with Canada-based Academy of Learning (AOL) to offer education and training in IT and non-IT areas, establish training centres and appoint franchisees in US. The investments would be enhanced as and when required adding this tie-up would help Aptech extend its reach and ‘enhance’ its presence in the global markets. The joint venture would be effective on satisfaction of certain conditions, which include incorporating the new firm in US and obtaining necessary and statutory approvals. Aptech would offer its existing courses in Canada, US and other developed markets through AOL, while it would provide the latter's courses globally through Aptech centres. The Indian IT training major's Learning Services division would develop specific content for AOL, resulting in creating a new revenue stream for the former. The companies would also jointly set up new training centres in US and developed markets. Both the companies are only evaluating the number of centres to be set up in US and other countries.

US varsities learn interview's merit

Jan 30, 2004: New Delhi: Big Brother USA is taking another cue from the Indian tech and management factories – the IITs and the IIMs. Universities in the United States are closely looking at the rigorous admission procedures, especially the personal interviews, in these Indian institutes, which churn out students who are increasingly taking over USA, Inc. Getting interviewed for admission into any B-school – big or small – in India is a really gruelling task. And if it happens to be any of the IIMs and their close cousins, it’s even more ruthless. All these fine filtering procedures to ensure that those coming out from these B-schools are the best of the lot not just in India, but also across the globe. ‘Big Brother’ US is impressed with the Indian way of filtering to get the best brains for their premier universities and B-schools. Personal interviews are seldom a part of the admission procedure for entry into even the top B-schools in the US. Harvard Business School, which is rated among the best B-schools worldwide, conducts an evaluative interview, which is conducted by invitation only and at the discretion of the admissions board.

It is unable to interview all the candidates. Other institutes like the Boston University have also changed its practice of taking interviews of all candidates. Upon receiving and reviewing applications, the University’s admissions committee contacts applicants for an interview, only if necessary. The Columbia University too appoints alumni representatives to conduct interviews. However, these alumni volunteers are also unable to interview all the applicants. Some, like the Princeton and Georgetown universities, may take an interview to know you better. These interviews are usually informal and more of an opportunity to exchange information. Even premier technology institutes like the California Institute of Technology grants admission by reviewing the applicants’ credentials, test scores and allocation of financial assistance. But now that the US has learnt the secret mantra behind the production of such superior talent in India, admission procedures in the top institutes in the US could soon get tougher.

 
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