Private sector makes a mark in higher education Ernst & Young's report says 91% engg, 64% business and 50% med schools are non-govt

Private sector makes a mark in higher education

Ernst & Young's report says 91% engg, 64% business and 50% med schools are non-govt



Ernst & Young (E&Y)and FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) report on 'Private Sector participation in Higher Education, 2011' says 91% engineering schools, 95% pharmacy, 64% business and 50% medical schools in India are non-government. The scene is the same in hotel management, dental college, teaching colleges, architecture and computer application colleges.
The statistics show that the private sector is not only cashing in on school education but in professional disciplines too. Over 52% students of India are studying in private higher educational institutes.
Amitabh Jhingan, education sector leader of E&Y, said that over 1.4 crore students are enrolled in 31,000 higher education institutions across the country. "To meet the 30% gross enrolment ratio by 2020 as per the Centre's target, 4 crore students will need admission and 2.5 crore additional seats would be required. This needs an investment of Rs10 lakh crore, of which, half would come from private sector" Jhingan said.
But despite the initiative and potential, private institutions are not supported enough by the government, says the report. Multiple authorities such as AICTE, bar council, medical council, and the UGC create hurdles in the growth of private institutions.
The report also states that the policy of government funding should now be student-specific, so that students can choose the centre and get financial aid.
But educationist and professor in a pharmacy college, Milind Wagh disagrees with the idea of student-specific funding. He said that instead of diverting fund to the private sector without any accountability, the government must invest in professional education.
Prof CS Kulkarni, principal of Thadomal Shahani College of engineering (pvt), said: "To uplift private institutions, they should be nationalised. Higher education policy should be need-based, scientifically designed and uniform."
Professor Uday Salunkhe, group director of Welingkar Institute of Management (Pvt), said: "The Association of Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business of America allows academically qualified and professionally qualified teachers. We should be allowed to hire industry people as faculty even if they don't have a PhD."

University set to overhaul BA syllabus Drastic changes in curriculum to make students politically empowered

University set to overhaul BA syllabus

Drastic changes in curriculum to make students politically empowered

If the authorities are to be believed, from now on a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Mumbai will make you politically empowered and also help you qualify for various competitive exams.
The varsity is making drastic changes in the Arts curriculum. "We want to bring our syllabus at par with what Universities abroad offer. Contemporary and interesting topics must be included so that even if a BA degree doesn't help one to get a job, it will at least ensure that students are better prepared for competitive exams like MPSC, NET and SET," said Dr PG Jogdand, dean faculty of Arts, University of Mumbai.
Dr Jogdand said: "Arts stream has lost its sheen in recent years as there are very fewer avenues available for a BA or MA degree holder now. There was a need to change the Arts syllabi urgently."
"Caste-base politics, and contemporary issues like human rights are not being taught but they constitute a major part of our social lives. We will include them in Sociology from next year," he elaborated.
According to Dr Jogdand, they have implemented a credit-based semester system for the under-graduate courses but students and faculty will need time to absorb it.
They are planning to modify a few portions from 2012-13 for the first year BA syllabus.
Varsity has asked all the heads to decide on including industry-friendly chapters and removing outdated ones. A committee will be formed which will be ready with the complete framework by April next year.
Every year, over 33,000 students take admission for under-graduate courses in various colleges affiliated to University of Mumbai under Faculty of Arts.
The subjects for BA include Languages, Linguistics and Literature, Communication And Journalism, Education, Fine Arts, Library Science, Management Studies, Physical Education and Sports, Social Science and Lifelong Learning.

Work begins on plan for higher edu But lack of data in initial plan raises doubt about state's streamlining efforts

Work begins on plan for higher edu

But lack of data in initial plan raises doubt about state's streamlining efforts


The state government's higher and technical education department is working on a detailed perspective plan of the higher education scenario across the state in order to streamline it.
However, the clarity and potential of the data gathered from the preliminary evaluation is being questioned by people from inside the department itself. The evaluation was supposed to give data on market requirements, central government expectations and the state's capacity to participate in creating manpower. Instead, the primary submission ends up giving only the statistics of vacant seats in colleges in the state.
After a significant number of seats remained vacant in engineering and management streams in the current academic year, the higher and technical education department initiated a survey to evaluate the current situation and the state's needs with regard to opportunities in these streams.
According to information provided by an official from the department, this evaluation method is now likely to be extended to all streams of higher education for streamlining purposes.
However, the primary submission of the evaluation data by a private agency to which the work was outsourced for engineering and management streams, has been unable to provide the details necessary to improve education in these streams.
An official from the directorate of technical education said, "There is no official involvement of the department employees in the work of the perspective plan. The private agency has ended up giving information only of vacant seats across the state. It fails to give any information on how the quality of education can be improved."
Around 30,000 seats were vacant in engineering and around 20,000 seats were vacant in the management stream in the state in the current academic year.

India's first Meta varsity to connect 1,500 edu institutes

India's first Meta varsity to connect 1,500 edu institutes


How about a B Tech second year student of IIT-Mumbai simultaneously taking up another course in ancient history from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) without physically attending classes in JNU? Or a mathematics students from Indian Institute of Science also pursuing a course in comparative literature from Delhi University?
It may sound weird, but for the chairman of the National Innovation Council (NInC), Sam Pitroda, this is innovation!
The NInC in its first report to the government has suggested setting up world's first Meta University in India for multidisciplinary collaborative learning. This is to enable students from one university to take up courses in another university simultaneously.
Meta University through its National Knowledge Network (NKN) will have collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning platform where students enrolled in one college/university are able to take up courses available to other institutions. With the help of mentors, these students can be allowed to customise their learning experience and selection options from a wide menu of choices, leveraging the specialisation of individual institutions.
To begin with 440 institutions will be connected through the Meta University and by next year the numbers are expected to reach 1,500 institutions.
In its first Report to the People, the NInC also suggested connecting all 2,50,000 Panchayats in the country through optic fibre connectivity. Pitroda believes this connectivity till the village level will help improve delivery of public services and increase accountability in governance.
"Digitalisation is the best way of eliminating corruption and improving transparency," said Pitroda. NInC has already begun work on applications through a pilot project in Ajmer (Rajasthan) with plans to expand it to one district in each State.
To increase the skills, productivity and competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises the NInC has suggested Industry Innovation Cluster. Pilot activities in ayurveda, food processing, brassware manufacturing etc has already begun.
The Council has also mooted the concept of "One MP, One Idea" to encourage our elected representatives to draw new solutions for their constituencies' challenges, sourced from their constituencies' resources and people.
Earlier, while releasing the report prime minister Manmohan Singh said his government would like to pioneer a model of innovation that addresses problems in areas of poverty eradication, people's health, rural communications, development of agriculture, development of animal husbandry, green energy and similar other challenges.

Engg students by the dozen, medicos a handful State pipped by Karnataka, TN in enrolment for medicine courses

Engg students by the dozen, medicos a handful

State pipped by Karnataka, TN in enrolment for medicine courses



The latest report of the bureau of planning, monitoring and statistics under the ministry of human resources and development (MHRD) finds that in 2009-10, Maharashtra had just 26,000 students enrolled in undergraduate medicine courses, while Karnataka had a whopping 63,260 students.
The state is surpassed by Tamil Nadu, which churns out 41,696 medicos every year. Gujarat produces almost the same number of doctors as Maharashtra despite being smaller in size.
At the same time, Maharashtra's obsession with engineering is evident with the state producing 2.72 lakh engineers every year, 10 times the number of doctors, and second only to Andhra Pra desh, where engineering degrees are given out to nearly four lakh students every year.
Post-graduation (PG) enrolment is also better in other states. As compared to 6,732 postgraduates of medicine in Karnataka, the state has just 2,500 students. Gujarat is home to the highest number (7,166) of PG enrolments in medicine. With limited production of doctors and specialists as compared to states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the health infrastructure in Maharashtra is also expected to slump in coming years.
When it comes to areas like management, hotel management and other professional courses, the state's report card is again not up to the mark. With just 8,000 students in undergraduate courses in these streams, Maharashtra is much behind states like Madhya Pradesh (22,000), Gujarat (22,000), Tamil Nadu (40,000) and Haryana (11,000).
Again, on the positive side, enrolment in undergraduate law courses (3,376) is highest in the state across the country.
Interestingly, according to the Registrar General of India, an estimated projection of youth (18-23 years) population in Maharashtra is around 1.28 crores for 2011, second highest in India after Uttar Pradesh. But 79% of them, that is, over 95 lakh, are not enrolled in higher education courses.

Need marriage? Go and meet HR chief

When executives, Kunal and Ritika, fell in love while working for a city-based BPO they sought help from their HR executive to solve their work and personal life pressures.
HR managers and even bosses of Ahmedabad-based BPO and KPO firms are increasingly getting involved in solving personal issues of their employees or subordinates. These include dealing with depression, office misbehaviour, family issues and office romance.
"We have a lot of young people working with our organisation and hence, chances of them falling in love naturally exist. When we do catch such cupid-pulse rates, we confront them merely to ensure that their relationship does not hinder our business or their professional lives. We have had some great examples in the past and even recently, where our employees have fallen in love and got married and continue to work with us. It is a great feeling for sure," says Parul Mehta, founder of Motif.
HR vice-president of Qx Limited, Vishali Nair, who is currently dealing with two such cases agrees, with this. Nair said, "They fell in love while working within the same team. So we helped them, while ensuring that our professional set-up and company policies don't get affected. We ensured that while they are about to get married, their departments or teams were different so that other employees don't get the feeling of us being biased. Moreover, we also intend to rope in a counsellor to solve family issues and cases of depression."
A professional from a finance firm said that the current structure of organisations has changed. Since most firms deal with people in the age group of 25-30 years, mentoring them while solving their personal issues and handling office romance is the need of the hour.

State expects a high-five from VCs

The resignation of some senior academicians within a year of them taking over the post has prompted the state higher and technical education ministry to come up with measures to ensure that vice-chancellors of state universities do not quit in a hurry. The ministry plans to introduce a bond for vice-chancellors that will make it compulsory for them to serve their entire tenure of five years.
The move comes after Pune University vice-chancellor RK Shegaonkar quit the post within a year-and-a-half of taking over and joined IIT-Delhi as director. Ministry officials also said that appointing a vice-chancellor is a lengthy and tedious process and that a sudden vacancy leads to problems.
It takes at least six months to appoint a vice-chancellor. The state government appoints an expert panel to interview the candidates and then places advertisements in newspapers inviting applicants. The panel meets the worthy applicants and sends its recommendations to the governor who also interviews the potential candidates. It is only after these steps that a vice-chancellor is appointed.
The state government now wants a five-year commitment from vice-chancellors.
"We haven't taken a final call but plan to introduce a five-year bond for vice-chancellors soon. Appointing a vice-chancellor is a tedious process and we don't wish to do it every year. The resignation of some vice-chancellors within a year or two of their appointment left us in the lurch. We don't want such a thing to repeat," said DP Sawant, minister of state for higher and technical education.

Mumbai University vice-chancellor Dr Rajan Welukar said no such provision exists in the country but he understands the rationale behind the ministry's proposal. "Senior academicians must inform the authorities at least three months before they decide to quit to ensure that work is not affected," he said.
Vice-chancellor of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik, Dr Arun Jamkar, supports the ministry's plan. "Such a provision is needed to an extent because if a person leaves the post midway, the education department has to go through a time-consuming process to appoint a new vice-chancellor. It hampers the growth and development of the university as well. If everybody understands their responsibilities, there will be no need to sign such a bond," he said.

How to cope with racial discrimination abroad

Try and understand the real causes behind someone's discriminatory attitude
Lt ots of students go abroad for higher studies. There are times when people feel they are being discriminated against in a new and unfamiliar environment. It is important to try and understand why this happens and how one can cope with it.
1 It takes time for people to know you: Always remember that people do not always know and understand you from the first instance that they come across you. So, give them time and space.
2 Do not take stereotypical views personally: Sometimes people have their own biases about nations, their people and alien cultures. When that bias affects their opinion of you, it is important not to take it personally. Try not to attach much meaning to them or let them affect your mood.
3 Respect the culture of the new place: Give due respect to the culture of the host country.
We must first give respect to earn respect. Try and blend into the community by understanding their cultural mores, values and beliefs.
4 Talk to a counsellor: If you are finding things difficult and it interferes with your daily functioning, do not hesitate to talk to a counsellor and solicit advice and guidance on how to tackle the situation in a more efficient manner.
5 Stay in touch with your family: Maintaining close contact with family and friends back home helps one tide over the adjustment process quickly and effectively, and looking at things from a fresher perspective.
6 Focus on studies : Never lose sight of why you are there -for an education. Remain focused and stay on top of your studies.

This will also help you maintain your self-confidence.
7 Do socialise: Never shy away from meeting new people.
Utilise every available opportunity to know others. This is an important part of adjusting to the new environment and would only benefit you in the long run.
8 Involve authority in case of a problem: In case a situation impedes your work and well-being, involve a person who is in a position of authority. Do not see this as a sign of weakness. Take whatever help is available to ensure your stay there is comfortable.

career counselling - Self-study or coaching for CDS exam?

I am a third-year BCom student working full-time in the business process outsourcing sector. I am going to prepare for the Combined Defence Service (CDS) exam. I devoted considerable time on the internet trying to understand the various ways of preparation but now I am really confused whether to join an institute or study on my own. Please guide me.
-Ranjith To be eligible for the CDS exam, you just have to do well in your graduation, be between 19 and 25 years old and have an aptitude and inclination for defence service.
Your aptitude and abilities will be tested in the entrance tests and during the interview. It is not necessary to join any coaching institute if you prepare well by yourself according to the service you wish to get into. The CDSE syllabus includes questions from English, general knowledge and elementary mathematics. There is a lot of study materials available in the market which students can purchase and practise from.
Read one or two newspapers every day, and try to solve as many model question papers as you can. The important thing is to stay motivated and be well prepared.
If you clear the exam, you will be called to appear for the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview and psychometric tests. Recommended candidates have to appear for a medical examination before a special medical board.
Those found medically fit are placed in order of merit. The final selections are made according to this order up to the number of vacancies available at the time.
All this information, including physical requirements for entry and dates of the exams, is available in the directories of competitive exams available around the country.
I wish you the best of luck!

Counselling degree I have completed my BA with additional psychology honours. I'd like to pursue my master's in psychology and become a counsellor. Which university's postgraduate degree in psychology is valued more Punjabi University, Patiala, or Panjab University, Chandigarh?
--Jaagrit There is no official ranking of universities, except for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council grades awarded to colleges and other higher education institutions.
You can check www.naac.gov.in. As you will see both Panjab University and Punjabi University have `A' grade. However, other than the qualification and the value accorded to the institution, what employers look for is the course curriculum, the internship work that you take up and of course, your academic profile in terms of your marks from school through university. Some work experience in the area of interest may also help you.
 A counsellor works in different kinds of settings schools, colleges, clinics, counselling centres, welfare departments as well as in private practice. There are counselling services that specialise in particular groups, for example, young people, the elderly, or in specific problems such as drug addiction, AIDS etc. A counsellor assists people in personal, family, mental health, educational and career decisions and problems. Their duties depend on the individuals they serve and the settings in which they work. Today, there is a growing need for counselling psychologists to help people in their emotional, behavioural and psychological problems.
Once you know which area you wish to work in, you could specialise in it at the MA level, or take on an internship that will expose you to the field and help build your career profile.

Subject combination I am going to appear for my Class 12 examination under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 2012 as a private candidate. I completed my Class 10 board exams with great marks. I am opting for English, history, Hindi, business studies and political science. Is this combination allowed? What career options will I have with these?
--Lubna As per CBSE rules, you can take any subject combination so long as they adhere to those offered by the affiliating school from where you are appearing as a private candidate. With history and political science, you can consider a range of careers such as mass communications, civil services, teaching, law and so on, depending on your interest and abilities.
If you are interested in a business and commerce-related career like business management, banking, and accountancy, you may take up subjects such as economics and accounts along with business studies. This needs to be given a thought before selecting subjects in senior school.
You could also consider take the Class 12 exam through the National Institute of Open Schooling (www.nios.ac.in) where you are required to take a minimum of five subjects and can include commerce along with history and political science and one or two languages.

Beyond a compartment With a compartment in economics, can someone with 47% marks apply for admission to the BCom or the BBA courses at the University of Delhi?
--Garima Garg Students with a compartment in one subject can get provisional admission in Delhi University colleges if the aggregate marks with the compartment are within the minimum marks required for admission. The minimum marks required for BCom (hons) is 45%. So an applicant with 47% is eligible to apply for admission. However, as most cut-off scores for this subject are much higher, and most colleges have additional subject requirements, you would need to check if admission is likely. Admission to the BBA course is through a test for students with a minimum of 50% marks in Class 12. It is, therefore, best to apply to a private college for entry to a BBA course, or to pursue a bachelor's degree through distance education while taking up a vocational course in a subject such as accountancy, banking, or computers.

Green India Mission (GIM)

There's good news for young environmentalists as 100,000 community foresters could be hired to help green India
Ic a ndia will engage 100,000 eduated youths to execute an mbitious Green India Mission (GIM) which seeks to increase the country's forest cover to 33% from 20% within 10 years.According to top forest official, PJ Dilip Kumar, director general of India's forest department, in order to cope with climate change threats, the central and state governments have decided to raise new forest cover on five million hectares under the GIM.
“India has to increase its present forest cover area of 20% (out of the total geographical area) to 33% within the next 10 years,“ Kumar said in a recent interview.
“To facilitate planning, execution and monitoring of the GIM at the village level, one lakh cadre of community foresters (CCF) would be employed from among educated community youths,“ he said.
The R46,000 crore ($9 billion) plan is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change announced by the prime minister in June 2008. The GIM document was prepared in June last year. With 2011-12 being the preparatory year, GIM would be implemented by the Twelfth and Thirteenth Five Year Plans (2012-13 to 20162017 and 2017-18 to 2021-22).
“In view of the massive urbanisation and construction of... infrastructure, parks, grasslands, wetlands and open spaces across India would be in danger. Under the GIM, these areas would be protected,“ said Kumar. GIM also targets improvement of forest-based livelihood for about three million households living in and around forests.
“The mission is “The mission is the first of its kind in India as it is aimed at the socioeconomic development of tribals and other backward people, and the protection of natural resources through...
participatory management of natural resources,“ he said.

Computer science and engineering Computer science and engineering graduates have to handle everything from programming and designing apps for mobile phones to developing software for space vehicles and sci-fi films

Computer science and engineering Computer science and engineering graduates have to handle everything from programming and designing apps for mobile phones to developing software for space vehicles and sci-fi films
Every person in the developed Western world uses more than a hundred “computers or “computers or computing engines“ in his day-to-day activities. An urban Indian may have already crossed 25. All these need to be loaded with applications which are designed, developed and maintained by computer science and engineering (CSE) graduates. Computer science originated mainly from mathematics.
As computing became widespread, a special branch of mathematics developed into the specialisation we call computer science today.
Courses like theory of computing, discrete mathematics, graph theory etc are still considered to be on the interface of computer science and mathematics. On the other hand, computer engineering emerged out of electrical engineering -with courses such as digital design and computer architecture still on the interface of the two.
With CSE emerging as a discipline and software becoming more and more complex, courses in software design and development, system software and software engineering were developed to create a comprehensive new discipline of computer science and engineering. It is still not uncommon in the United States or in European universities to have computer science programmes as part of the science faculty (sometimes even mathematics and computer science). Computer engineering programmes, too, are offered by engineering schools even electrical and computer engineering programmes.
In India though initially BSc and MSc programmes in CS were started in some universities (and have continued), there's been growth mainly in computer science and engineering as demand for practitioners (read programmers) has increased.
With pressure to increase the intake to satisfy market demands, many institutions started BTech or BE in information technology by heavily borrowing from the CSE syllabus but to this day it remains an unfocussed programme without a distinct career path.
Career options The initial visible growth came from the programmer body-shopping outfits followed by the outsourced software development industry.
As an industry catering to international markets, its pay packages have always been attractive. This meant that lots of students switched disciplines to join as programmers -a trend that started in the early `80s and is declining now with the explosive growth of CSE programmes in the country. This growth has led to increased career opportunities in academics.
Well-qualified postgraduates, thus, have no dearth of jobs.
So, if you are motivated, ready to put in the hard work and have an aptitude for `programming', you can grow fast. It is not unusual for software engineers with two to three years experience being called group leaders and with five to six years of experience becoming managers. The challenge though is the constant need to update yourself due to the very fast pace of change in technology. This is true whether you are in education, industry or even in sales and maintenance.
Are you good enough?
Core computer science and engineering requires a good understanding of mathematics and basic electronics.
Only a person capable of logical thinking can become a good programmer.
The author is a professor of computer science and engineering, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi