Internships to be made must for engineering: AICTE chairman

Courtesy : Times of India
Internships to be made must for engineering

From addressing underemployment among engineering graduates to handing them degrees only on completion of four months of internship , some overarching changes are in the pipeline in technical education in India, Anil Sahasrabuddhe , chairman, All India Council for Technical Education, tells Manash Pratim Gohain . Excerpts:

More than 60% of the engineers graduating every year remain unemployed. This is a potential loss of 20 lakh man days annually.
They are not 'unemployable' but they are 'underemployed'. The industry says 60% of our graduates are not fully prepared. So they need further training, which means to start with these students may not get the same salary as compared to 40% of their peers. Instead of starting with a salary of Rs 4-5 lakh, they are not even getting Rs 1.5 lakh per annum.

Uniform NEET questions in regional papers from 2018, says Javadekar

Dated : 25th July 2017

Union human resource development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday made big-ticket announcements in Kolkata+ that will affect the fortunes of lakhs of students appearing in joint entrance examinations in medicine and engineering countrywide.

Allaying fears of thousands of students appearing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) — the all-India examination for entrance to medical colleges — in regional languages, Javadekar said the vernacular question papers of the examination will be a mere translation of the question paper in English.

This year, the CBSE had set different sets of questions for students appearing for the examination in different languages, with students complaining that the vernacular papers, including the one in Bengali+ , were much tougher than the English and Hindi papers.

A bright spark can light up the world: The Times of India launches a big scholarship programme to encourage reading among the young

A bright Spark 

Dated : 25th July 2017 (Courtesy Times of India) 
A single bright spark can illuminate an age. History is witness to this.

The future will belong to young women and men who are conversant with knowledge of the past, aware of the present, and ready to change their tomorrows.

This can happen only with reading. It always was, and remains, alongside experience, the only true education.

Govt committed to turn 'brain drain' into 'brain gain', Prakash Javadekar says

Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said his government was committed to stop 'brain drain' of research scholars and turn it into 'brain gain'.

"We see research scholars who go abroad because of better infrastructure and facilities. We are committed to turn brain drain into brain gain," the minister said at a meet of the Indian Chambers of Commerce here.

A higher education finance agency has been made operational to provide loans without interest to institutions to improve their laboratories and research facilities, he said at the programme 'Way Forward For Education Sector In Eastern Region, Challenges and Recommendations.'

Pilot project started for reducing weight of school bags, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar says

 The government on Thursday (20.07.2017)said that it was in favour of reducing the weight of school bags and had initiated a pilot project in 25 Kendriya Vidyalayas to provide digital learning to children through tablets.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said while the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has recommended only two books (language and mathematics) for classes I and II and three books for classes III to V, it has also made available all their textbooks for free access through the web and mobile devices.
The Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) has directed schools affiliated to it to ensure that students do not carry school bags till Class II and has advised all its affiliated schools to take all possible measures to keep the weight of school bag under control, Javadekar added while responding to questions in the Rajya Sabha.

UGC will continue to hold NET: HRD

There is no proposal to entrust the responsibility of conducting National Eligibility Test (NET) to any body other than the University Grants Commission, the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

"As per directions of ministry of HRD, the CBSE has been conducting the UGC-NET examination. There is no proposal under consideration at present to entrust responsibility of conducting the exam through any other mechanism," said minister of state for HRD Upednra Kushwaha said in a written reply.

The national exam is held twice a year - July and December - for the grant of junior research fellowship and eligibility for assistant professorship in universities and colleges.

9 per cent of IITians dropped out in 2016-17

Indian Institutes of Technology have seen 889 (about 9%) students drop out in the 2016-17 academic year, according to latest data released by the ministry of human resources development (MHRD).



Of these, nearly 71% (630) were PG students, 196 PhD scholars and 63 undergraduates. The total number of seats available were 9,885, of which 73 were not taken. In 2015-16, 656 students dropped out of the 23 IITs; this year marks an increase of 35% over that figure.

According to MHRD, "The main reason for PhD and postgraduate students leaving courses midway are offers for placement in public sector enterprises and personal preference for better opportunities elsewhere". Undergraduates left due to wrong choices made by them and poor performance, besides personal reasons.

54 per cent of Seats in Private Engineering Colleges went vacant last year

Engineering education in the country seems to have reached a saturation point with around 54% of undergraduate and postgraduate seats in private engineering colleges across the country, or 8.67 lakh seats of 16.07 lakh seats, not finding takers in 2016-17, data put out by Lok Sabha on Monday revealed.

What is Swayam?

The program of Human Resource Development Ministry spells out as Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM). It offers courses ranging into hundreds and they are those which are taught at school, college and university level.

President Pranab Mukherjee launched the Swayam and Swayam Prabha platforms to facilitate imparting education to all. The Swayam program offers digital classrooms with the help of internet and satellite connectivity to the remotest corners in the country. Swayam is essentially a portal which has been formulated as a solution to the problem of difficult access to physical educational infrastructure and teachers along with study material and textbooks. Swayam will provide online study material to students free of cost and the courses will be taught via digital classrooms.

The program of Human Resource Development Ministry spells out as Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM). It offers courses ranging into hundreds and they are those which are taught at school, college and university level. The program will also likely rope in foreign teachers for some courses.

Furthermore, it can easily be integrated into one’s formal traditional education. The system allows the transfer of credits that a college student earns from a course directly into their academic records. It also provides courses of vocational nature and also for those who want to study while continuing with their jobs. All courses are free in Swayam and the fee is only for issuing of a certificate.

In the initial phase, courses will be offered by IITs Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Guwahati, Delhi, IGNOU, University of Delhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, Indian Institute of Science, NCERT etc. The courses offered are from school to post-graduate level.

The broad categories of courses offered are engineering, management, science, arts and recreation, mathematics, languages, general studies, humanities, library sciences, energy, sustainable development, social science etc. The government expects at least 1 crore students to enroll in the initial 2-3 years.

The program also provides certification. If a student wants to get certification for course studies, one needs to register for it and the certification process will be carried out after the completion of the course. The certificate will be provided for a “nominal fee” as per the Swayam website.

The program takes digital education and satellite technology to a new paradigm in the country. Students across the country will be able to make use of the service and any queries that they have will apparently be clarified in real time to maintain a classroom-like environment.

The program will make available quality teachers to pupils and multi-language study material including in regional languages to get them started quickly. The program is of a Massive Open Online Learning format and seeks to provide the best teachers for students across the country with ICT solutions to bridge the gap between urban and rural education.

A total 32 Swayam Prabha DTH channels launched along Swayam portal seek to help students living in remote areas who don’t have proper connectivity to IT services.

President unveils online education portal

President Pranab Mukherjee recently launched the SWAYAM – Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds – and SWAYAM Prabha platforms which offer digital classrooms at school, college and university levels with the help of internet and satellite connectivity to the remotest corners in the country, reports The Indian Express. 

The system allows for the transfer of credits that a college student earns from a course directly into their academic records and provides courses of vocational nature and for those who want to study while continuing with their jobs. All courses are free in SWAYAM and the fee is only for issuing of a certificate. 

In the initial phase, courses will be offered by Indian Institutes of Technology Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Guwahati and Delhi, the Indira Gandhi National Open University, University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Institutes of Management Bangalore and Calcutta, the Indian Institute of Science, and the National Council of Educational Research and Training. 

Association of Indian Universities - AIU

VISION

The idea of bringing together all the universities on a common platform emerged from the deliberations of a Conference of the Vice Chancellors of Universities convened by Lord Reading, the then Viceroy of India at Shimla in 1924. The Inter-University Board (IUB) of India was subsequently formed on March 23, 1925, with the view of promoting university activities, especially by way of sharing information and co-operation in the field of education, culture, sports and allied areas. The Inter-University Board acquired a legal status with its registration in 1967 as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 1973, it assumed its present name : The Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The membership includes traditional universities, open universities, professional universities, Institutes of National Importance and deemed-to-be universities. In addition, there is a provision of granting of Associate Membership to universities of neighbouring countries.

Objectives 

• serve as an Inter-University Organisation;
• to act as a bureau of information and to facilitate communication,
• coordination and mutual consultation amongst universities
• to act as a liaison between the universities and the Government (Central as well as the State Governments) and to co-operate with other universities or bodies (national or international) in matters of common interest;
• to act as the representative of universities of India;
• to promote or to undertake such programmes as would help to improve standards of instruction, examination, research, textbooks, scholarly publications, library organisation and such other programmes as may contribute to the growth and propagation of knowledge;
• to help universities to maintain their autonomous character;
• to facilitate exchange of members of the teaching and research staff;
• to appoint or recommend where necessary a common representative of the Association at any Conference, national or international, on higher education;
• to assist universities in obtaining recognition for their degrees, diplomas and examinations from other universities, Indian as well as foreign;
• to undertake, organise and facilitate conferences, seminars workshops, lectures and research in higher learning;
•  to establishment and maintain a sports organisation for promoting sports among Member-Universities;
• to establish and maintain organisation dealing with youth welfare, student services, cultural programmes, adult education and such other activities as are conducive to the betterment and welfare of students or teachers and others connected with universities; 
• to act as a service agency to universities in whatever manner it may be required or prescribed 
• to undertake, facilitate and provide for the publication of newsletters, research papers, books and journals;

Education system dehumanised, mass producing clones: High Court

The education system has become "completely dehumanised" into a machine which is "mass producing clones" and frowning upon individuality, the Delhi High Court said today.

"It (education system) is completely de-humanised. It is a machine. The human element has been completely taken out. The contact between teacher and student is perfunctory. There is no connect," a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Najmi Waziri said.

India to set up 20 world class research institutions

India will set up 20 world class institutions across the country to promote research and innovation, said Union Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday.

"The government has decided to establish 20 world class institutions across the country to encourage the young talent do research and promote innovation in science and technology," Javadekar told students of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here.

Asserting that through research and innovation the country could achieve sustainable prosperity, the minister said institutions like the IISc would not face a financial crunch as it would be adequately funded.

"GST (Goods and Services Tax) will enable the government to provide more funds to health, education, research and innovation," reiterated Javadekar while interacting with the faculty and research scholars of the premier institute.

The new indirect tax regime (GST) came into force from Saturday across the country after President Pranab Mukherjee unveiled it in Parliament at the stroke of midnight.

Ignou waives course fee for transgenders

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) has decided to exempt transgender students from payment of fee from this academic year.

Students can get enrolled to any of the academic programmes without paying a penny against the procurement of a certificate from the union or state government or a medical officer. Aadhaar cards stating their gender can also be used as proof.

Admission for the July 2017 session is open till 31st July. The move is aimed at the welfare of the transgender community. This will enable transgenders get education and lead a decent life, said an official statement from Ignou.

"Fearing discrimination and bullying by peers, many of them are reluctant to join regular colleges. So we have decided to offer them free courses," said Masood Parveez, Senior Regional Director, Ignou Regional Centre pune.

Transgenders to get free education at IGNOU

For transgenders desiring to pursue a course in tourism or psychology, help is right at hand. Encouraging the third gender to pursue higher studies, the Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) has decided to provide free education to transgenders from its July session. The move is aimed at bringing universalisation and democratisation in education. So far, IGNOU provided free education to sex workers, jail inmates and weavers.