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College News Archive [March 2004]

• CBSE exams start from today
• SC ruling on IIM issue fails to clear confusion
• Ed.CET: 6,552 seats in Mathematics filled
• Group-I model test on March 21
• Eamcet applications available from today
• Eamcet results as per schedule
• Entrance test for B. Arch. in July
• Smarter, faster will win Eamcet race
• Exam dates have students in a fix
• Contact sessions for diploma courses
• Goof parade in first-year Inter exams
• More students opting for Australia
• Fee cut to dominate IIM-C board meet
• IIM-I votes for academic, administrative freedom
• 132 Inter, 67 SSC students booked for malpractice
• AP plans tech institute for e-governance
• UGC plans 'tied grants' to improve college facilities
• Back to Archives

CBSE exams start from today

Mar 01, 2004: Hyderabad: It is exam time again. More than 9.5 lakh students across India will be appearing for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations, which commence on Monday. While Class XII exams kick off with Physics, Class X exams begin with less popular subjects like Portuguese, Spanish and Home Science. The first Class X “biggie”, Social Science, is scheduled for March 3. There is lost of apprehension before the exams, not just because they are the boards, but also because this is the first time that students will be tested under the new syllabus that the CBSE introduced for the year 2003-2004.

For Class X, the social subject no longer has a separate Civics and Economics section, but a comprehensive Economics and Sociology section that accounts for 40 marks. History is only for 20 marks and Geography for 40 marks. In Science, Physics and Biology have been separated under two sections: A and B respectively. For the first time, separate teachers will evaluate answer sheets of these two branches of Science. In Mathematics, the weightage for geometry has come down from 30 marks to 22. The syllabus has been upgraded to include coordinate geometry, probability and instalments among others. There are as many as 11 Kendriya Vidyalayas in the city which along with a few other few other CBSE schools will conduct their Class XII exams from Monday. More than 60 schools affiliated to CBSE in the twin-cities will conduct the Class X exams.

SC ruling on IIM issue fails to clear confusion

Mar 04, 2004: Ahmedabad: Several questions stare into the face of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) after the public interest litigation challenging the fee cut ordered by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) was disposed by the Supreme Court (SC). Although, both the contesting sides claimed victory on the basis of what transpired in the apex court on February 27, the final order in black and white, hardly gives any reason to the petitioners to make merry. On the face of it, the SC order doesn’t delve into the legality of the MHRD directive nor does it specify any undertaking by the government. The order in a couple of lines does not even talk about the income and expenditure statements that it had earlier directed the litigants to submit. The petitioners in fact were keen on an adjournment, as they did not have the requisite details about the income and expenditure statements of IIMs, as asked by the court.

Some stake holders in the ongoing controversy on the other hand believe that the disposal of PIL may now give way to other legal options to the IIMs. However, they also insisted that the recent SC order did not show a clear way out of the confusion over larger issues like autonomy. Interestingly, in the earlier hearing, the court had directed the petitioners to submit the balance sheets or the income and expenditure statements of IIMs of the last 10 years. However, the complete details could not be furnished to the court. As the board of governors of the respective IIMs prepare to discuss the fallout of the MHRD directive and the PIL, the interpretation of the SC order is likely to be the subject of popular discussion.

Ed.CET: 6,552 seats in Mathematics filled

Mar 09, 2004: Hyderabad: Out of the 6,691 seats for Mathematics in the Ed.CET – 2004 admissions as many as 6,552 seats have been filled so far. Of them 417 were filled today. About 66 students slided to BC/SC/ST categories, according to a press release.

Group-I model test on March 21

Mar 09, 2004: Nalgonda: A model test will be conducted for candidates appearing for the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) Group-I examination on March 21, according to district employment officer. The model test will be conducted under ‘Vijayadiksha’ scheme, he added.

Eamcet applications available from today

Mar 10, 2004: Hyderabad: Following the notification issued on Tuesday, application forms for Eamcet will be made available at post offices and eSeva centres across the State from March 10. An estimated 2 lakh students are expected to take the test nearly 350 centres on May 6. The last date for submission of filled-in applications without late fee is April 3. With late fee of Rs 500, it is April 7. Students can submit their application forms at any of the 18 regional coordinator’s offices and can collect their hall-tickets between April 18 and 25. The result will be out tentatively on May 27. There will be no change in the exam pattern. Students will be asked to answer 160 questions in three hours like last year which is good enough to gauge the merit of he students, Eamcet Chairman and JNTU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Y. Venkatrami Reddy said responding to criticism from certain quarters on the quality of the question papers.

He, instead, urged the students to follow the instructions carefully while filling up and submitting the application forms. The “summary sheet” should not be stapled or tagged to the main application form. Since the same is scanned by computer, any mistake will lead to problems in generating hall tickets he said. Meanwhile, the Ecet convenor Prof BC Jinaga said that the revised syllabus introduced in most of the diploma programmes will be followed for Ecet (FDH) to be held on May 20. For the first time, Biotech diploma holders can have a test in Biotechnology like other exams. However, the date for a separate test for Architecture will be announced in due course.

Eamcet results as per schedule

Mar 10, 2004: Hyderabad: Despite the elections, the Eamcet examinations results are expected to be declared as per schedule. More than 1.8 lakh students are expected to appear for the test and the results are likely after three weeks from the date of the exams – May 6. The examination will be conducted in more than 300 centres all over the state. The CET convenor cautioned that many candidates applying for Eamcet weren’t following instructions while filling up and submitting application forms – particularly the summary sheet which will be scanned by a computer. Such mistakes in filling up and submitting summary sheets would lead to problems in generating hall ticket. These sheets should not be stapled or tagged to the main application forms and must be submitted for registration in envelopes provided along with the application.

The examples given in the summary sheets should be read carefully before they are filled up and the candidates must not fold, tear or wet the sheet. The students have to submit their filled in application forms in person, either at any of the regional centres: Anantapur, Kadapa, Eluru, Guntur, Hyderabad, Kakinada, Karimnagar, Khammam, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Nellore and Warangal or could send them by registered post to he convenor, Eamcet-2004, SIT building, Cellular portion, JNTU, Kukatpally, Hyderabad – 72.

Entrance test for B. Arch. in July

Mar 10, 2004: Hyderabad: The entrance test for admissions to the B.Arch course – Architectural Aptitude Test (AAT) – will be conducted either in the second half of July or in the first week of August. The test will be held only admissions to engineering colleges are over, JNTU vice-chancellor and the Common Entrance Test (CET) chairman Prof. Y. Venkatarami Reddy said. Many students opt for B.Arch. only when they do not get seats in other popular branches, he said. The number of students appearing for B.Arch entrance would increase this year as the demand for it has been going up year after year. Hence conducting a separate test fro the five-year course would be helpful to judge the student’s aptitude on the course, he said.

Smarter, faster will win Eamcet race

Mar 10, 2004: Hyderabad: The day of the crammer is over. For a razor-sharp mind, conceptual clarity, analytical and logical abilities will take centre stage in the next edition of Eamcet. Experts say more than anything else, speed and accuracy would make the difference between success and failures in these examinations. The entire question package will be broken into three parts – tough, medium and simple. Of the 80 questions in Mathematics and Biology, 10 will be tough. Here the student’s logical and comprehension abilities will be tested. This set of questions will be more complicated than the rest. One would need more time to read these posers, for they won’t be of the rapid-fire pattern.

The section will separate the men from the boys, for it will ideally have to be completed within a set time. Both these papers will have 30 “medium-standard” questions. An average student should take not more than two minutes to answer this part. The section with simple questions will have 40 questions and the candidates should take not more than one minute over each. Similarly, in the Physics and Chemistry tests of both the engineering and medical streams, each paper will comprise five tough questions, 15 “medium-standard” questions and 20 easy posers. Both in the medical and engineering streams, a question paper will have 160 questions, which must be answered in 180 minutes. The challenge lies here. For even by the paper-setter’s estimate, an average student should use all of 260 minutes to complete the paper. So, the candidate with razor-sharp reflexes will end up scoring. By and large, the Eamcet pattern will remain unchanged.

Exam dates have students in a fix

Mar 11, 2004: Hyderabad: Students to take the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) may have to skip the exam with the rescheduled date clashing with the AIEEE exam. While the AIEEE was rescheduled to May 20 and 21, the Karnataka Government has postponed the KCET to May 18, 19, 20 and 21 in view of the counting of votes. Though the subject tests will be finished on May 19, the non-Karnataka students will have to appear for the language test on May 20 followed by aptitude test for Architecture programme. The number of students applying for KCET has gradually been reduced with significant rise the number of engineering colleges in the State. Still minimums of 5,000 Andhra Pradesh students are appearing for KCET every year. Since a majority of these students had their schooling in Karnataka, they stand a good chance under the Government quota. Apart from this, many students prefer Karnataka engineering colleges to the ones in Andhra Pradesh due to lesser fee, good infrastructure and availability of more seats in branches like automobile and textile engineering which provide more job potential. Now these students will have to skip any one of the exams falling on the same them. However, Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) secretary Prof. V. Jayarami Reddy said that the State Government could not come in between the two exam conducting authorities.

Contact sessions for diploma courses

Mar 20, 2004: Hyderabad: The secretary, State Board of Technical Education and Training, AP announced the dates for the contact session for the correspondence and contact courses in Diploma in Engineering (DCE, DME, DCME, DAE, DEEE, DECE, DmetE and Diploma in printing Technology) for I, II and III year students. The classes will be conducted at the respective study centers as per the following schedule. I year C-00, theory classes will be held on May 16 and 17 and practical from May 18 to June 4. II year C-00, theory classes will be held from May 16 to 27 (12 working days) and practical classes from May 28 to June 14 (18 working days). III year C-00, theory classes will be held from June 3 to 14 (12 working days) and practicals from May 16 to June 2. The practical classes of I year C-96 will be held from May 28 to June 14 and III year C-96 from May 16 to June 2. Candidates who did not attend practical classes during their regular course in I, II and III years can also take the contact classes for a fee of Rs 500 for each practical subject.

Goof parade in first-year Inter exams

Mar 20, 2004: Hyderabad: For the second consecutive day, a question of goof left first-year Intermediate students stumped on Friday. Some posers in the Telugu language paper were flawed. Second I A of the paper had three errors. One was in the part, which dealt with “missing lines in the given poem” and was worth four marks. The other was a printing mistake in the descriptive question (section VIII B iii) and was worth three marks. There was yet another mix-up in section V (B) ii. When the issue was brought to the notice of the Board of Intermediate secretary Shashank Goel, told that students who had attempted these questions would be awarded full marks.

More students opting for Australia

Mar 20, 2004: Hyderabad: Australia is fast becoming the destination of choice for those wishing to pursue higher education from Hyderabad. The IDP Education Australia interview session held drew over 500 registered candidates, and many more spot registrations. In 1994-95 only 350 to 370 students chose to go to Australia from India. Last year ten thousand students chose Australia and between 30-35 % of them were from Hyderabad. IDP has now established an office in Hyderabad to provide students with assistance, and also conducts the International English Language Testing System, IELTS, in the city. Australian Universities offer high quality education and have excellent infrastructure, which is continuously upgraded. Education and living is affordable. Students can work both on and off campus for upto 20 hours per week. Changes in the Australian visa policy from July 2001, allows students to apply onshore for work permits on graduation. This could be another reason for an increase in the popularity of Australia. IDP estimates that by the year 2025, upto 90,000 Indian students will leave for Australia to pursue higher studies.

Fee cut to dominate IIM-C board meet

Mar 24, 2004: Kolkata: IIM-Calcutta’s faculty council met to fine tune elements of the contentious fee cut issue to be presented at the institute’s board meeting on March 26. A similar meeting was held recently at IIM-Bangalore, in which the faculty council tried to adopt a resolution on the issue that will be among the prominent items on the agenda at its board meeting on March 27. The fee cut issue is included in the resolution. the government has moved swiftly to fill up the vacant positions on the boards of the two institutes with government nominees.

IIM-I votes for academic, administrative freedom

Mar 24, 2004: On the lines of their peers in IIM-A, IIM-B and IIM-C, the faculty council of IIM-I has also passed a resolution advocating academic and administrative freedom. The resolution was also presented to the board of governors at the IIM-I board meeting on Monday. It said, “While we recognise, as a developing institution of excellence in management, our dependence on government funds for sustenance and growth, we would also like to submit that as an academic institution, we will like to retain our academic and administrative freedom.”

132 Inter, 67 SSC students booked for malpractice

Mar 26, 2004: Hyderabad: As many as 132 students were booked for malpractice during the ongoing Intermediate Public Examination on Thursday. Otherwise, the exams were conducted peacefully. Under the general stream, 4,06,971 students were registered for second year Mathematics-B, Zoology and History. For vocational stream, 18,768 students were registered. On the eighth day of the SSC public examination on Thursday, 67 cases of malpractice were reported of which the maximum cases were from Warangal district. The Director of Government Examinations said that there was no leakage of question paper as was being alleged in some quarters.

AP plans tech institute for e-governance

Mar 31, 2004: Hyderabad: In order to consolidate its position as a pioneer in e-governance, Andhra Pradesh government is in the process of establishing an Institute of Electronic Governance (IEG) that will act as a catalyst in transforming the state into a knowledge society. The proposed IEG will work in close collaboration with the National Institute for Smart Government (NISG), International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), the state's IT and Communications (IT&C) department, and a consortium of higher learning institutions, including engineering and technology institutions. While the space for the ‘non-profit’ institute is being provided by the IIIT, the funds to support the hardware and infrastructure needs of the institute are being met by the state government. The IEG aims at supporting various e-governance initiatives, develop standards for e-governance, and offer consultancy support in outsourced projects and render technical assistance to government for the development of e-Governance applications. Besides, the IEG will also promote R&D culture amongst the stakeholders and involving the student community in design and implementation of technology solutions for various real time applications. The government is also contemplating empowering the student community with the creation of a student knowledge forum. The forum aims at promoting holistic development of a student through participation and involvement, increasing the interaction between students and the government.

UGC plans 'tied grants' to improve college facilities

Mar 31, 2004: New Delhi: Nearly 95% of students going for higher education in India study at universities and colleges with inadequate library and laboratory facilities. However, if the University Grants Commission (UGC) has its way over ‘tied grants’, this will soon be a thing of the past. The institutions availing of the grant will not be able to use the funds for any purposes other than improving the library, laboratory, computing and networking facilities. For once, it seems that the political leadership is willing to invest in its higher education institutions. Already chief ministers and governors of nearly 20 states have written to the finance commission. Some of the beneficiaries of this move could be well-known institutions such as Calcutta University, MS University of Baroda, Kurukshetra University, Allahabad University, Mysore University, Pune University and Jadavpur University. At present, UGC funds earmarked for maintenance and development are disbursed to 28 central universities (that is 16 central universities and 12 deemed-to-be universities) and 59 colleges. Of these, five universities and 55 colleges are in Delhi. On the other hand, 10 9 state universities, 12 deemed universities and 5,200 colleges get only development funds. Of the total UGC budget, 70% is earmarked for maintenance. This money reaches only 28 of the total 300-odd universities and 59 of the 13,000-odd colleges in the country. This accounts for only 5% of the total enrolment numbers. In 2000-01, total enrolment in the higher education sector was nearly 84 lakh.

As education is a concurrent subject, the higher education sector is funded by the respective state government. Given the fiscal crunch, states now find it difficult to keep up with the increasing demands from this sector. It has been estimated that over 95% of maintenance funds to state institutions is accounted for wage related expenses. What suffer then are the areas of teaching aids, materials, books and journals, and laboratories. In some cases, dwindling resources has translated into a ban on filling vacancies in the faculty. A ‘tied grant’, as suggested by the UGC chairman, is specifically meant for upgrading laboratories, libraries, computing and networking facilities and other such infrastructural requirements.