Strict measures to ensure clean toilets at schools

The Directorate of Primary Education, Maharashtra, has said that principals and heads of state-run schools will be strictly responsible for dysfunctional and unclean toilets in their schools. This follows a diktat from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for clean toilets for school-going children. A showcause notice will be issued to school heads if they fail to provide proper standards of sanitation in their schools as far as toilets are concerned.

“The government is under pressure from the central government to start all school inspections with a toilet inspection. This is a great move to make sure every school will have a functional toilet,” an official said. The central government is also said to be keenly watching every move of the state and weekly reports are sent by each state to MHRD about progress of toilet construction.

Although the project was to be completed by October 31, 2014 the state delayed it and claims it will be completed by December 31, 2014.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/11/strict-measures-to-ensure-clean-toilets-at-schools/#sthash.71sBryg4.dpuf

Govt to launch credit transfer system for Indian students 

On November 11, the National Education Day in India, the government will launch a credit equivalent framework from Class 9 to the postgraduate level. This credit transfer system, which comes after a long debate of four years, aspires to make it easier for students and working professionals to switch between education and jobs.

Sharing her personal experience where she had to discontinue her education to work, Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Smriti Zubin Irani said at a panel discussion at the India Economic Summit, “We do not have a credit transfer system within our country that enables the migration of labour across the country. The credit transfer system would facilitate people ‘get back to the education system as and when they desire’.”

It may be mentioned that a similar initiative was made by former HRD minister Kapil Sibal. However, it failed to make any progress.

- See more at: http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/2014/11/govt-to-launch-credit-transfer-system-for-indian-students/#sthash.3VWZ5XT2.dpuf

The power of choice

The Fully Flexible Credit System at Vellore Institute of Technology allows students to choose the subjects they want to study and make their own timetable.

“I am now in a college that follows the FFCS,” said Archa Rajeev when I met her after a year. She proudly talked of the new system her college, VIT, follows to provide “quality higher education.” The Fully Flexible Credit System (FFCS) gives the students flexibility to make their own timetable, she said. You choose the subjects you want to study and you choose the teachers you want to study under.

I spoke to educators and other students about the system. In the FFCS, the college puts out a broad framework of academic courses and credit requirements and steps back. Then the students pick their courses, the pace at which they want to complete them and, happily, the teachers as well. An entrant registers for courses that he/she likes and draws his/her own academic plan. The system allows students to alter their choices as they go along — after assessing their ability to complete the courses chosen.

Interdisciplinary

The “basket of courses” within separate classifications from which students choose have interdisciplinary courses from other engineering schools, to acquire additional skills. To aid slow learners, all major courses are available in both semesters every year. Students can re-register for the courses they didn't clear in the earlier semester.

Bright students are rewarded. FFCS works on a slot-based timetable. You choose the time you want to attend a theory class or lab. Combining FFCS with a slot-based timetable, students prepare their own timetable. Each student in a class may have a different timetable.

A credit system for evaluating academic performance gives a grade-point-average (GPA) on a scale of 0-10. Across two semesters, teaching programmes are organised around the credit system.

As you go through lectures, tutorials, practicals, projects, seminars, dissertations and industrial training, grades are allotted on the basis of relative technique. Class average and standard deviation are combined to ensure fair grades for all students regardless of different evaluators. At the UG-level, credits are awarded for co-curricular work.

Broadly, the exam pattern and grading system depend on your timetable. Across the semester, you take 6 exams — 3 quizzes, 2 CATs (Continuous Assessment Tests) and 1 TEE (Term-End Exam). The day of a class quiz is decided by students and teacher, CATs are for units and TEE is 2-week long, covering the whole syllabus.

In the slot-system, the exam for the subject will be held in the same slot as the class. If you have a combo of morning/evening slots, you take two exams a day! Though you write a lot of exams, your total marks for a subject at the end of semester is out of 100, broken and reduced for the three categories of tests.

Positives and negatives

I asked students for their reactions. “Gives us confidence and planning skills,” said Archa. “The faculty is being assessed, so there is accountability. There is better personal rapport with them, and we get more time for academic discussions.” Not all students give it full marks. “We do plenty of planning to get good faculty, an easy-paced timetable and classes where friends can be together. But at the end of the day, it depends on luck! We need to get an early date for FFCS. If we don't, all the planning comes to naught and we end up with what is left. In the worst-case scenario, you won't even get the subjects you want.” If your turn comes at the end of Day 2, what are your chances of getting the subjects/faculty you want? “What if all slots are full?” Universities adopting this system must have a server that can take care of 3,500 applications at the same time, say students. If registrations happen simultaneously for all applicants, you have a wide range to choose from.

In the Relative Grading System you needn't score “heavily” in a paper. It is not important to be perfect, all you need is to be better than the others. It’s about scoring sufficiently enough when others can’t score. “In the country of the blind, one-eyed man is king.”

Campus woes

Another problem is the vastness of the campus. If the campus is spread over 350 acres and the distance between buildings takes 10 minutes to cover, freshers have a tough time “commuting” to classes. “I was running 600-1000 metres between classes!” said one. “And teachers don't take kindly to late-comers.” Students in colleges abroad use bicycles, but then they don't get stolen. Intra-campus buses are a solution, but they are often unreliable. Can there be a buffer time (10-15 minutes) between classes? The problem gets mitigated when you choose classes wisely, but that can happen only after you become familiar with the campus. Also, “we chose the faculty through the website and on our impression of them during orientation. Next year, we will guide freshers!”

The system is still in the cradle, but once it grows and chinks are knocked off, it will be seen as one that is better than all other experiments in higher education, most students say.

Keywords: Flexible Credit System, Vellore Institute of Technology

Nov 10 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Case for Fighting Climate Change





The fifth, and final, assessment report of the UN-mandated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is replete with facts, figures and telescopic projections on the risks of global warming. The expert report reiterates “clear and growing“ scientific evidence that anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and other gases causing the greenhouse effect pose serious climate risks, which are likely to be “severe, pervasive and irreversible“ in their impact. However, the report is also sanguine that the risks can well be reduced with proactive policies.The report says that average global temperatures have risen by 0.85° C during 1880-2012, and further that the increase from pre-industrial times needs to be no more than 2° C, to effecti vely contain the risks. It makes eminent sense for policymakers to boost climate friendly measures and reduce emissions of CO2, and not merely as insurance. Giv en that energy poverty is widespread in India, we do need to rev up green, renew able sources as a real alternative to our current fossil fuel-dominated system. Innovations like more efficient solar panels, storage batteries and gasification of coal promise to be sources of sustainable advantage for corporates, utilities and consumers alike.
The advanced economies do need to firm up clear-cut targets for emission reduction at the global climate talks next year.The move would incentivise resource allocation and innovation, and speed up change in the techno-economic paradigm. In tandem, given our low per-capita energy consumption, we do need to go out of our way to shore up energy efficiency across the board and also purposefully boost green energy . The Narendra Modi government needs to be much more forthcoming on plans to implement its ambitious, more than fivefold increase in the target for solar power.

Nov 10 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

UP FROM 34% - `Only 37% grads employable, women beat men'

Surojit Gupta

New Delhi:





An assessment of three lakh students across 29 states and seven Union territories has found only 37% to be employable with women candidates faring better than men.This is an improvement from last year when the tests found only 34% of the candidates employable. The survey showed that 38% women candidates were employable compared to 34% among males. These are the finding from the India Skill Report (ISR) compiled by human resource consulting firms Wheebox, PeopleStrong, Linked-in and the Confederation of Indian Industry .
The top states with employable skill pool were Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala and Karnataka.These states have held their positions from last year while U.P, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Orissa have joined the list this year.
“We found that skill levels across states have moved up.What is heartening is that states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which were not there in the top states list have come in,“ said Nirmal Singh, founder and CEO of Wheebox.
On the demand side an overall increase of about 23% is expected in the hiring numbers per month. The job outlook confirms that there is an expectation of a growing market in the coming years. An acceleration in economic growth and new projects coming on stream are expected to have a positive impact on the hiring outlook.
Hospitality and travel lead the way , followed by banking, financial services and insurance and core sectors where this in crease is more than 25% compared to last year's numbers, according to the survey.
Apart from other manufacturing (excluding auto, consumer goods and durables,), pharma and healthcare and telecom, almost all other sectors expect an increase of more than 10% in monthly hiring numbers.
Spread of hiring is no longer restricted to few states.States with maximum hiring activity were Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, UP , West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh. Preferred states for operating in India were Maharashtra , followed by Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
The survey found that an increasing number of candidates from the talent supply side are looking for apprenticeship. This number increased to 76% compared to 55% last year. While test takers from arts domain experienced a substantial increase in the employability as compared to last year (from 19.1% to 29.8%), there were few domains such as BCom, B Sc, ITI and polytechnic where this number dropped by about 1-3%,“ the report showed.

Nov 10 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

16% RISE IN PLAINTS - Crime against women: 40 cases daily

New Delhi: PTI





Forty cases of crimes against women are registered every day in the capital with offences of rape, molestation and sexual harassment in public topping the list.According to Delhi Police data, there has been a 16% increase in complaints of crimes against women with 11,683 cases being lodged between January 1 and October 20. Last year, 10,064 cases registered during the same period. Police attributed the rise to effective registration of cases after the December 16, 2012 gang rape incident. Recording of such incidents saw an almost 500% rise. Gender sensitization programmes organized for police personnel have also played a vital role, police said.
“After the Nirbhaya case, it was man dated by an amendment in 2013 that if a woman comes to a police station, she will not be denied registration of an FIR,“ Delhi Police commissioner B S Bassi had said.
Till October 20 this year, Delhi has re corded over 3,450 cases of molestation, 1,024 cases of harassment against 2,544 and 793 cases last year. There has also been a rise in the number of abductions and dowry deaths with 311 and 131 cases registered respectively this year as against 253 and 123 cases last year.
However, fewer cases of domestic violence have been registered this year--2,370 complaints have been filed so far as compared to 2,457 cases last year.
Police said almost 90% of cases registered over the last nine months have been solved and the culprits arrested.

Education not a challenge but an opportunity: Smriti Irani

Report by India Education bureau, New Delhi: According to Ms. Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Education is not a challenge but an opportunity. The Minister was speaking at a session on “Which Comes First: Employment or Employability?” at the India Economic Summit organized by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi today.

The Minister stated there is a need to rejuvenate the teaching profession and bring back the respect that this profession once enjoyed. She stated that the Prime Minister’s initiative to reach out to students on Teachers Day was a step in that direction. It was hoped that this initiative would help encourage more young people to turn to the teaching profession as a career.

She stated that currently the Indian education system does not have a system of credit transfers between institutions. This was a major issue for students who have been forced to take a break in their education due to unforeseen circumstances. It is for this reason that the Government of India is now announcing a scheme for credit transfer on November 11. The scheme is expected to cover students from Class 9 – Post Graduation. Depending on the feedback received, it may also be extended to PhD courses as well.

The Minister also announced that the government was encouraging Universities to set up placement cells so as to encourage dialogue between students and employers on the skills sets required. She mentioned that the Government was experimenting with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to reach out to a larger number of students in the country.

Addressing the session, Mr. Uday Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank highlighted the need to bring back the respect and dignity to the teaching profession in India. He observed that previously, education policies focused on the creation of education hardware (school buildings etc.). He was of the view that there now needs to be an equal emphasis on the creation of education software (teachers, teaching tools / methods etc.).

Ms. Shobana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media and Co-Chair of the India Economic Summit stated that there was a talent conundrum in the country with jobs without people and people without jobs. To address this issue there is a need to adopt disruptive innovation such as online teaching models. Highlighting the experience of the Bridge University which her company has set up, she stated that they had adopted a hybrid model where a large part of the teaching is done online and some part of it is classroom interaction.

Ms. Arundhuti Gupta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mentor Together India stated that career choices in India are left to chance. She was of the view that instead of finding people unsuitable for employment just as they are entering the workforce, there is a need to mentor them over the long term, preferably from adolescence onwards.

Prof. Nicholas Dirks, Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley pointed out that the US and India share the same set of challenges in terms of its education system. He pointed out that the economic crisis of 2008 had led to a sharp squeeze on the funds available to educational institutions. This had led them to look at adopting public-private partnerships to raise the adequate finances for growth. He was of the view that the US had set up a successful University and college system and felt that India and the US could collaborate in this field.

Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Gary Coleman, Managing Director, Global Industries, Delloitte, USA stated that India had a large workforce of 500 million and over 10 million people were being added to that workforce every year. However, businesses were finding it very difficult to find adequately skilled manpower for their needs. This issue, in his view, needed to be addressed urgently.