Monday, May 19, 2014
May 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
SUBJECT WISE Q & A CHANGE IN SKILL GAP
REKHA SETHI, DG, All India Management Association (AIMA), talks to Rahat Bano on skill shortages, emerging specialisations, and a new course with the World Bank
Why does AIMA continue to have a management admission test when other national options such as the IIM CAT exist?
AIMA's MAT has been a preferred na tional management admission test since 1988. While there are admission tests developed by elite institutes, which are used by others as well, MAT remains an extensively-used admission resource. It is the most used management admission test among the regional and the emerging B-schools. It also serves various universities with different academic calendars and allows admission seekers to take the test at their convenience, as it is held four times a year, unlike the once-a-year alternatives. Moreover, MAT takes care of the digital divide in the country by offering both the digital and the paper format. Typically, what is the response to AIMA's online programmes?
AIMA's online management education programmes are specifically designed for working people. Though the concept is still nascent in India, the response to its online programmes is encouraging. There is 70-75% progres sion in these programmes, which is reasonable considering that all candi dates work. However, it re mains a challenge to ensure student engagement in the classes and assignments delivered through the e-learning mode.
Industry has highlighted skill shortages for several years now.
What is the scenario? What will be the focus of the management skills council you are setting up?
There are several schemes launched by the government of India with the support of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), All India Council for Tech nical Education and the ministry of labour. AIMA is setting up a management skills development council in association with NSDC. These schemes will take time to make a big difference to employability in general. Many universities and colleges are offering vocational courses to students focused on employability. Many corporate universities are tailoring their curriculum for employability, particularly in the business areas of the promoters, such as real estate, retail, IT, healthcare and hotel management.The skill areas which India continues to be short of include every growing sector -IT, telecom, infrastructure, education, retail, urban design and development, corporate social responsibility (CSR), etc. However, the nature of skill gap is changing. The real skill deficit is in the quality and innovation aspects and not so much in doing rudimentary jobs.
Indian businesses are finding it harder to compete merely on labour cost arbitrage. They need people who can help them move up the value chain.
Which specialisations are gaining currency in the domestic economy and why?
A new set of specialisations is emerging as business requirements expand due to changes in legislations, regulations, technologies and market trends. For example, in the management domain, there is increasing demand for high-end skills in the areas of international business, e-commerce, data analytics, sustainability, CSR, urban planning and development, public procurement, etc.
Tell us about the online certificate and diploma programmes in public procurement.
Last month, AIMA signed an MoU with the World Bank to launch a six-month professional diploma programme in public procurement.
If students complete three months, they may take a certificate from the World Bank or continue for another three months to receive a joint diploma from AIMA and the World Bank.
AIMA's MAT has been a preferred na tional management admission test since 1988. While there are admission tests developed by elite institutes, which are used by others as well, MAT remains an extensively-used admission resource. It is the most used management admission test among the regional and the emerging B-schools. It also serves various universities with different academic calendars and allows admission seekers to take the test at their convenience, as it is held four times a year, unlike the once-a-year alternatives. Moreover, MAT takes care of the digital divide in the country by offering both the digital and the paper format. Typically, what is the response to AIMA's online programmes?
AIMA's online management education programmes are specifically designed for working people. Though the concept is still nascent in India, the response to its online programmes is encouraging. There is 70-75% progres sion in these programmes, which is reasonable considering that all candi dates work. However, it re mains a challenge to ensure student engagement in the classes and assignments delivered through the e-learning mode.
Industry has highlighted skill shortages for several years now.
What is the scenario? What will be the focus of the management skills council you are setting up?
There are several schemes launched by the government of India with the support of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), All India Council for Tech nical Education and the ministry of labour. AIMA is setting up a management skills development council in association with NSDC. These schemes will take time to make a big difference to employability in general. Many universities and colleges are offering vocational courses to students focused on employability. Many corporate universities are tailoring their curriculum for employability, particularly in the business areas of the promoters, such as real estate, retail, IT, healthcare and hotel management.The skill areas which India continues to be short of include every growing sector -IT, telecom, infrastructure, education, retail, urban design and development, corporate social responsibility (CSR), etc. However, the nature of skill gap is changing. The real skill deficit is in the quality and innovation aspects and not so much in doing rudimentary jobs.
Indian businesses are finding it harder to compete merely on labour cost arbitrage. They need people who can help them move up the value chain.
Which specialisations are gaining currency in the domestic economy and why?
A new set of specialisations is emerging as business requirements expand due to changes in legislations, regulations, technologies and market trends. For example, in the management domain, there is increasing demand for high-end skills in the areas of international business, e-commerce, data analytics, sustainability, CSR, urban planning and development, public procurement, etc.
Tell us about the online certificate and diploma programmes in public procurement.
Last month, AIMA signed an MoU with the World Bank to launch a six-month professional diploma programme in public procurement.
If students complete three months, they may take a certificate from the World Bank or continue for another three months to receive a joint diploma from AIMA and the World Bank.
May 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Experts raise red flag on waste disposal
Jayashree Nandi
|
New Delhi
TNN
|
Say It Does Not Address Pollution Concerns, Propose Model To Reduce Load On Landfills
The Planning Commission's taskforce on waste to energy (W2E) has recently recommended a public-private partnership(PPP) model for a combination of waste management technologies, including W2E plants, bio-methanation and composting, that can be integrated to reduce the load on landfills. For larger cities like Delhi, it mainly recommends W2E plants that generate power through gasification, incineration and other methods. Civil society groups, especially waste pickers, are up in arms as pushing PPP in W2E plants would mean loss of livelihood for informal waste pickers, they say. Environmentalists are also disappointed because the taskforce report fails to address air pollution concerns from W2E plants. The Okhla W2E plant is already mired in controversy over dioxin and furan emissions, and more such plants may deteriorate Delhi’s air quality further, they claim.The taskforce headed by K Kasturirangan is pushing for W2E plants in large cities across the country. It suggests tax incentives to make them financially viable and a “target of setting up 215 W2E plants by 2031 to generate 1075MW power”. The taskforce recommends that W2E plants be exempted from corporate income tax for the first five years of operation and be eligible for immediate refund of value-added tax.
The report recommends segregation at source and separation of waste into several streams, like construction and demolition, street sweepings and silt from drains, wet, biodegradable and recyclables, singlesource bulk waste collected
from market yards, restaurants etc. It advises minimizing of waste by implementing the `5R' concept: reduce, reuse, recover, recycle and remanufacture, and suggests recognizing the role of kabadiwalas in sorting recyclable materials. But this, environmentalists say , is too little to rehabilitate close to 3.2 million waste pickers across the country .“We are greatly disappointed that the informal sector workers, like junk dealers, scrap dealers and itinerant buyers, have been excluded,“ said Chitra Mukherjee of Chintan. Waste pickers are concerned about their future. “The Aseem Burman committee in 1998 had said that waste pickers are the backbone of waste management. After 14 years, waste pickers have been completely excluded. If corporates are being involved on a large scale, obviously waste pickers will lose livelihood. I think they don't want to see ragpickers on the roads so that cities don't look poor,“ said Shashi Bhushan Pandit of All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh.
The taskforce suggests separate collec tion and transportation of domestic, C and D waste, silt from surface drains etc and that “efforts should be made to collect waste from the doorstep and delivered directly to processing plants”.
It also suggests that municipal authorities consider inviting private companies to operationalize defunct plants and a funding support of capital subsidy can be extended to them.
The report states very little on how W2E plants will be monitored and what emission standards they will have to meet. “Who is going to monitor the technology? What are the standards? I am absolutely amazed that the report has nothing on monitoring mechanisms or its fallout on the environment and health. One lab report on dioxin or furans costs Rs 75,000. Who is going to pay for it? We have just one agency, CPCB, to monitor such emissions. Who will monitor smaller towns?” said Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Link, a group that takes up environmental issues.
The report recommends segregation at source and separation of waste into several streams, like construction and demolition, street sweepings and silt from drains, wet, biodegradable and recyclables, singlesource bulk waste collected
from market yards, restaurants etc. It advises minimizing of waste by implementing the `5R' concept: reduce, reuse, recover, recycle and remanufacture, and suggests recognizing the role of kabadiwalas in sorting recyclable materials. But this, environmentalists say , is too little to rehabilitate close to 3.2 million waste pickers across the country .“We are greatly disappointed that the informal sector workers, like junk dealers, scrap dealers and itinerant buyers, have been excluded,“ said Chitra Mukherjee of Chintan. Waste pickers are concerned about their future. “The Aseem Burman committee in 1998 had said that waste pickers are the backbone of waste management. After 14 years, waste pickers have been completely excluded. If corporates are being involved on a large scale, obviously waste pickers will lose livelihood. I think they don't want to see ragpickers on the roads so that cities don't look poor,“ said Shashi Bhushan Pandit of All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh.
The taskforce suggests separate collec tion and transportation of domestic, C and D waste, silt from surface drains etc and that “efforts should be made to collect waste from the doorstep and delivered directly to processing plants”.
It also suggests that municipal authorities consider inviting private companies to operationalize defunct plants and a funding support of capital subsidy can be extended to them.
The report states very little on how W2E plants will be monitored and what emission standards they will have to meet. “Who is going to monitor the technology? What are the standards? I am absolutely amazed that the report has nothing on monitoring mechanisms or its fallout on the environment and health. One lab report on dioxin or furans costs Rs 75,000. Who is going to pay for it? We have just one agency, CPCB, to monitor such emissions. Who will monitor smaller towns?” said Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Link, a group that takes up environmental issues.
eLearning: A Global Classroom Story
·
1
·
on May
13 2014
We
take a look at the potential and promise in eLearning through the decades and
around the world.
In 1917 my 11-year old great-grandfather
caught a boat from his home in Mombasa, Kenya across the ocean to the Kathiawar
peninsular on the western edge of India to attend school. Plumped straight into
a world of strict vegetarianism - even in the holidays - this was a vastly different
culture. Yet after three years he moved again, to the UK, for still more
seismic changes. Finally, in 1922, he made the then mammoth journey to
Darjeeling on the eastern side of India, to complete his secondary
education.
In a world long before air travel, or
the internet, these distances seem truly incredible, not to mention expensive,
but such is the draw of a ‘good’ education. Then, as now, a solid command of
English, sat at the very centre of it all. Whilst in the early twentieth
century this went one step further as Britain, and all its colonies, were
moderated under one system: the Cambridge Examining Board.
This saw students tested in subjects
like English, History, French, Greek and Latin and offered a common benchmark
for everyone; albeit an Anglocentric one. My great-grandfather took his in
Junior Cambridge Exam in 1923. And now, nearly a century later, with the help
of technology, these exact same learning trends have been magnified out again,
far into the adult arena.
There are the distance learning
platforms like the Open University, constant real-time webinars and most
importantly of all, Massive Open Online Courses or ‘MOOCs’, which mean anyone can glean the ‘benefits’ of a
prestigious Harvard (or elsewhere) education, all from the comfort of their own
home. In fact, the BBC World Service ran an excellent documentary, ‘The Education Revolution’ on
the impact of all this in emerging regions, like Kenya, a few months back.
Geography:
eLearning in Emerging Regions
In the same way the Cambridge Exam
Board ruled the roost in its day, today cache comes from affiliated institutions.
Now, as then, there is also an especially heartfelt emphasis on education in
emerging regions, like Kenya. As James Hanaway, Head of Development at
eLearning charity,Camara,
explains:
“There is a real ambition to be in
school across [all] the countries [we work in, through Africa]. This is the
pathway to bettering yourself and there is hunger for education that is a lot
more apparent within the kids in the school [than you ever see here in the UK].
They want to absorb everything.”
Dan Oja and June Jamrich Parsons are
based in the US and produce eLearning content and solutions. Over the last
couple of years they have been building partnerships with companies on the
ground in India, Pakistan and the Middle East, to supply technological
platforms and premium quality materials:
“The thing that really surprised me
was the number of students in private school,” says Parsons. “[And because
parents are paying] they want results [this means testing software and
materials]. Also, in order to get more students the schools need to show
something which distinguishes them. [This means] the schools are very
interested in digital solutions.”
“In the US [the educational emphasis
tends to be] let’s think about the process and not think too much about the
result. In these [emerging] markets it is [all about] the result. It is a
different focus; a different thing you’re trying to do,” explains Oja.
“There is a clear internalisation
that education is the pathway to success,” adds Parsons. “And no legacy stuff
in terms of IT. [Through the big publishers in the US] Learning Management
Systems [LMS] have been in place for 10 years now and there is a vested
interest in using them. In emerging markets their infrastructure is paper
books, so they’re [more] open to new sophisticated ways of doing things.”
History:
eLearning through the Decades
Oja and Parsons know what they’re
talking about as they have been in the eLearning business for a long time: “We
had our first digital, interactive textbook in 1996/97,” says Parsons. “That
may be the very first interactive digital text book. We’ve been looking around
to see if there is something earlier than that and have not found it.”
“Of course, there were online courses
from Plato from some of those old systems way back in the
1960s when they used mainframes and they had these big terminals, but those
weren’t books, per se. And ours were digital books [in] which photos would turn
into videos and there would be in context questions that students would answer
and get graded; so students could get immediate feedback on how well they were
doing.”
“That is the New Perspective text books and we have another series [Practical
Computer] both are award winning text books and best sellers – we’re pretty
proud of them.”
Yet Parsons’ heritage goes even
further back than that. Her father was Assistant Dean of Michigan State
University and eventually President of Northern Michigan University. And so between
her childhood and career (including a degree in education and educational
technology and 20 years teaching at university level), she has seen the full
gamut of educational techniques played out via technology.
“When I was about eight years old he
[her dad] worked with those old fashioned computers. They called it programmed learning and basically there was a chunk of information that
you read and then you answered some questions. You answered the questions
correctly, they sent you onto the next concept, if you didn’t answer the
questions correctly they showed you some remedial stuff.”
“I was one of the guinea pigs for
this programmed learning at Michigan State University… now it is new again.”
And to take the process full circle, Parsons herself is today working on some
pretty progressive approaches to learning and has just pioneering a concept
called “Reading with eyes shut”.
English
& Other Languages: eBooks’ Potential
“People who love to read have one
thing in common - they create pictures in their mind,” she explains. “They see
the characters and they see the setting. But for reluctant readers [she
quantifies these as often, though not exclusively, young boys 8 -12] they spend
so much time trying to decode the words on the page that all their mental
activity goes to that so they have nothing left over, no free mental capacity
to do that visualisation. They don’t get appreciation for reading.”
The story and accompanying technology
Parsons has created aims to overcome this obstacle as it allows the child to
press a button and have the story read aloud to them. This means they can
visualise the pictures whilst not having to worry about deciphering the words.
And in a lot of ways it means a tablet can perform the same function as a
parent who reads bedtime stories to a child who traces the words.
Simple eBooks like these hold
incredible promise for learning. In fact our own recent research showed that
59% of 251 global tech professionals surveyed believed eBooks have the biggest
potential in education. And as Apurva Ashar, Founder of e-shabda, the local language eBook section of enterprise
and IT solutions company Cygnet
Infotech Pvt Ltd, suggests, eBooks’ potential for
children goes beyond formal education:
“We have [a lot of] Indian language
young children born in other countries,” he says. “They speak Guajarati in
their own home but they don’t read it. I see a lot of scope for interactive
books which contain audio as well as the script. [This would definitely be a
benefit] for the sake of a small child. [It would] help bring them back to
their roots.”
Science:
Why Learning is Hard to Define
eLearning covers the whole
educational spectrum: from the way children are taught; to the way they are
tested; right through to the new methods for adults to use learning get ahead.
None of this is simple or clear cut, and there is no one answer that suits
everyone.
Yet in the end, the biggest division
that emerges across the board is whether people are learning to ‘get an
education’ (in some broader sense), or whether their aim is to pass some exams.
My great grandfather failed his Cambridge exam in 1923 and despite an extremely
successful career in business it stayed with him for ever. As he wrote in his
memoir:
“When I think of my life, I know I
have achieved greatness, but when I look at my academic career I have not even
passed my Junior Cambridge exams. I have been a Junior Cambridge failure.”
This is an interesting perspective.
Yet surely all those childhood experiences across three massively different
continents were far more valuable than some high percentage scores in long dead
Latin? It certainly makes you wonder how eLearning fits into this bigger
picture.
Maybe, after all, it doesn’t matter
whether you’re learning online or offline? What really matters is what you want
to learn… and how you’re approaching examinations.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Rlys expect new govt to expedite bullet train projects
Mahendra Kumar Singh
|
New Delhi:
TNN
|
Corridor To Ahmedabad On Top Of List
Bullet trains will soon be a reality. If Narendra Modi takes charge as Prime Minister, as predicted by a slew of exit polls, the Railways could well begin work on high-speed corridorsthe Gujarat chief minister’s pet project. Modi repeatedly referred to bullet rains during his campaign speeches and high-speed trains found a prominent space in BJP’s election manifesto.According to sources, Mumbai-Ahmedabad and New Delhi-Patna (via Varanasi) corridors are on top of the list and the national transporter is planning to accelerate these projects.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor, expected to cost Rs 63,000 crore, is on track as the Railways have announced that a feasibility study will be completed by May 2015.
The train will run at a maximum speed of 320kmph and will traverse the 534km distance between the two cities in two hours.
Atop railway official argued that the costs of high speed train travel can be brought down in the country because of the economy of scale and indigenization. “The company is geared up to implement the project. We are waiting for the new
government to take a call on high speed trains,” said Satish Agnihotri, CMD, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) and Chairman of the High Speed Rail Corporation (HSRC).Agnihotri claimed bullet train projects are financially viable, despite being capital intensive as costs could be brought down by pursuing an indigenisation policy. He said coaches for bullet trains could be manufactured in India by transfer of technology which would cut down the costs. He also contested the idea that highspeed trains are meant for rich as high speed travel costs can be brought down by working on the economies of scale, considering massive passenger traffic.
As Modi has promised to connect the country with highspeed trains, the national transporter is optimistic that the capital intensive project would be fast-tracked if the saffron outfit comes to power in Centre.
The corporation is already working on a project to raise the speed limit on Delhi–Agra section to 160 kmph for bringing down total journey time from 130 minutes to less than 100 minutes while ensuring superior riding quality and pleasant travel experience.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor, expected to cost Rs 63,000 crore, is on track as the Railways have announced that a feasibility study will be completed by May 2015.
The train will run at a maximum speed of 320kmph and will traverse the 534km distance between the two cities in two hours.
Atop railway official argued that the costs of high speed train travel can be brought down in the country because of the economy of scale and indigenization. “The company is geared up to implement the project. We are waiting for the new
government to take a call on high speed trains,” said Satish Agnihotri, CMD, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) and Chairman of the High Speed Rail Corporation (HSRC).Agnihotri claimed bullet train projects are financially viable, despite being capital intensive as costs could be brought down by pursuing an indigenisation policy. He said coaches for bullet trains could be manufactured in India by transfer of technology which would cut down the costs. He also contested the idea that highspeed trains are meant for rich as high speed travel costs can be brought down by working on the economies of scale, considering massive passenger traffic.
As Modi has promised to connect the country with highspeed trains, the national transporter is optimistic that the capital intensive project would be fast-tracked if the saffron outfit comes to power in Centre.
The corporation is already working on a project to raise the speed limit on Delhi–Agra section to 160 kmph for bringing down total journey time from 130 minutes to less than 100 minutes while ensuring superior riding quality and pleasant travel experience.
TN college, univ introduce 3rd gender option
Adarsh Jain
|
Chennai:
TNN
|
In a first, two Tamil Nadu
institutes -Madras Christian College (MCC) in Chennai and Bharathidasan
University in Trichy -have introduced the third gender option in
application forms for students. The Supreme Court on April 15 ruled
that transgenders could seek admission to educational institutes and
workplaces under the `third gender' category.
Though MCC and Bharathidasan are yet to receive the first application from the community , the latter is considering introducing scholarships for them as well. Tamil Nadu has a welfare board for transgenders and recog nizes their sex in ration cards. Madras Christian College in Chennai and Bharathidasan University in Tiruchirappalli, also in Tamil Nadu, now offer `transgender' as a third option in college application forms.
The Supreme Court on April 15 recognized transgender people as the third gender who could be admitted to educational institutes and workplaces under the category . Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer in recognizing the rights of transgender community , establishing an exclusive welfare board for them and giving the `T' option in ration cards.
MCC and Bharathidasan University , however, are yet to receive the first application from the community that is believed to be 30,000strong in the state. Colleges in the state have been accepting applications for more than a week. “It's too early,“ said an admission officer at MCC. “We will have to wait for a response from transgender candidates.“
Bharathidasan University registrar E Ramaganesh said the institution was also considering scholarships for transgender students.
“We are happy to have taken the lead. The admission process will continue till June 2 and we are eager to see how many register under the category ,“ he said.
Some transgenders who came up the hard way through the higher education system are happy about the development but also sceptical. “It's a welcome move, but I don't expect the third gender rushing to colleges all of a sudden. Maybe in a year or two, the numbers will improve,“ said Rose Venkatesan, the first transgender television host who had studied in Loyola College, Chennai.
Jaya, a transgender activist who works with the NGO Sahodaran, felt the inclusion of the third category in appilcation forms would help reduce dropout rates.
“Others often make fun of transgender students, forcing them to drop out. This move should help the community get a good education,“ she said.
Though MCC and Bharathidasan are yet to receive the first application from the community , the latter is considering introducing scholarships for them as well. Tamil Nadu has a welfare board for transgenders and recog nizes their sex in ration cards. Madras Christian College in Chennai and Bharathidasan University in Tiruchirappalli, also in Tamil Nadu, now offer `transgender' as a third option in college application forms.
The Supreme Court on April 15 recognized transgender people as the third gender who could be admitted to educational institutes and workplaces under the category . Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer in recognizing the rights of transgender community , establishing an exclusive welfare board for them and giving the `T' option in ration cards.
MCC and Bharathidasan University , however, are yet to receive the first application from the community that is believed to be 30,000strong in the state. Colleges in the state have been accepting applications for more than a week. “It's too early,“ said an admission officer at MCC. “We will have to wait for a response from transgender candidates.“
Bharathidasan University registrar E Ramaganesh said the institution was also considering scholarships for transgender students.
“We are happy to have taken the lead. The admission process will continue till June 2 and we are eager to see how many register under the category ,“ he said.
Some transgenders who came up the hard way through the higher education system are happy about the development but also sceptical. “It's a welcome move, but I don't expect the third gender rushing to colleges all of a sudden. Maybe in a year or two, the numbers will improve,“ said Rose Venkatesan, the first transgender television host who had studied in Loyola College, Chennai.
Jaya, a transgender activist who works with the NGO Sahodaran, felt the inclusion of the third category in appilcation forms would help reduce dropout rates.
“Others often make fun of transgender students, forcing them to drop out. This move should help the community get a good education,“ she said.
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