Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Who doesn't love pink at the Pearl Academy of Fashion?

Who doesn't love pink at the Pearl Academy of Fashion?

What's to love

On a campus like Pearl Academy of Fashion, which is so vast and scattered, and amidst busy schedules, the one hour of break spent at the Pink Canteen, comes as quite a respite for the students. “It is the best canteen on campus,” says Roopsi, a student of Fashion Retail Marketing at Pearl. “All my friends are in different buildings. This is an ideal place to meet and catch up during the break,” she further adds.
So what is it that makes the Pink Canteen the most eligible hang-out spot on campus?
“The interiors!” echoes a group of students (guys included!). Indeed, the pink walls and pink lanterns provide for a cute and cosy ambience, perfect for some unwinding and chit-chatting. It is also something the students identify with, as they feel that the unusual interiors are a true reflection of their creativity and their bindaas attitude. Not to forget, the wide variety of food.
“The reason why we come here so often is the awesome food and efficient service,” says Ritika Gupta, student. Asked about the specialty of the canteen, and the maximum votes go to the chhole bhature, closely followed by Maggi. Other favourites include garlic bread and bhel puri.
What's not to be?
“There is no campus as such because all the buildings are so scattered,” say a group of students. Many students prefer to hang out at nearby places, like PVR Naraina and Patel Nagar. Open spaces and green lawns are other things that the campus lacks.
Alternatives
There is the canteen at the A-6 building, which also has a Café Coffee Day outlet. Other hangout spots include the ‘Pearl's Café' and the foyer in the main building. But these are only visited when students have work in the faculty and administration block.


Source Link: http://beta.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article408528.ece

VIT University on expansion mode

VIT University on expansion mode

Mumbai: The VIT University conducted its eighth edition of VIT Engineering Entrance Examination last weekend. VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan, said that 1,57,554 students had applied for the entrance examination, which was held recently at 231 centres across the country "Fulfilling the demands of international students, this year we have put out a centre inDubai, Riyadh and Singapore," he said, adding that this year 8,819 more students are taking up the examination. Results would be announced on May 8, 2010 on www.vit.ac.in followed by counselling in batches.
According to Viswanathan, under the VIT IGNITE Scholarship scheme, there is a 100 per cent tuition fee waiver for the top three higher secondary exam rank holders in each state, and the top 50 candidates in the VITEEE will get 100 per cent of tuition fee waiver and the students ranked 51 to 100 in the VITEEE will get 50 percent of tuition fee waiver.
GV Selvam, pro-chancellor, VIT University, pointed out that conducting an entrance exam on such a large scale was a logistical challenge, however, strong systems and processes helped them to manage the increasing numbers. "Everything is computerised and handled in-house. We keep transparency in all processes. Once you ensure that, credibility is automatically gained," he said.
The scope for engineering, he opined, largely depends upon the institute. "At VIT we work closely with industry groups and have experts updating our curriculum as per industry needs. We are working with some industry groups whereby a specific program is developed for a particular group of students. Rather than work in the institute workshop, they will work in the company's factory itself. We have introduced the fully flexible system for the first time in India where a student can select the professor, the timing, even the classroom, and that too online.
Our placement department also studies industry requirements and guides the students. In fact, we were mentioned in the Limca Book of Records for placement of 1075 students by one company - TCS - on one day, at one campus.
This year, VIT will be starting a new campus at Chennai, the first foray outside Vellore. "Accommodating all the students at VIT campus was not possible so it was necessary to expand. Apart from this we are also aiming at providing international quality education. We have already signed 80 MoUs with foreign universities. Our aim is to see that Indian and NRI students need not go abroad for higher studies," he explained.

Source Link:http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_vit-university-on-expansion-mode_1375893

Students happy with easy' AIEEE paper

Students happy with easy' AIEEE paper

AHMEDABAD: Around 26,000 XII science students appeared for All-India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) at 42 centres in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar on Sunday.

Barring three-four questions of mathematics, which students reportedly found quite lengthy, the paper was by and large easy. "I did not attempt questions related to maths, as I found them too tedious. I had to leave them unanswered as wrong answers would have resulted in negative marking for me," said Varun Vyas, who appeared for AIEEE at a centre in Gandhinagar.

Himali Shah of Ahmedabad said, "Many of my friends complained of mathematics questions, which they found too difficult to solve. However, I did not find the paper tough. I appeared for the exam to secure admission in premier engineering institutes of Gujarat."

Sunil Trivedi, exam co-ordinator and principal of DPS school, also termed the paper very easy. "We have so far received no complaints from students regarding the paper being tough. On the contrary, as per our observation, the paper has been perceived as an easy one by students," Trivedi said.

Source Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Students-happy-with-easy-AIEEE-paper/articleshow/5857161.cms

SP Jain won't 'lie' about placements

SP Jain won't 'lie' about placements

Mumbai: It is going to do what no other business school in India has done before. The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, will get its placement data audited by an external agency.
It is a bold move by the management institute made at a time when there have been allegations that many business/management institutes exaggerate placement statistics to lure students.
“The whole issue of whether B-schools give misleading salary figures — what is the actual CTC (cost to company) and what is being projected — has become a major concern. That is why we have decided to get our placement statistics audited and verified by an agency to make things transparent,” an SP Jain source said.
“One should not try to attract aspiring MBAs by projecting exaggerated salary packages. Also, business school fees are becoming quite high. So, it is essential that we give students a correct picture of what is going on. One way of doing it is to get compensation figures validated by a recognised, external organisation,” the source added.
The external agency (the source did not name it) will audit the placement data of students of the two-year, full-time post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) programme.
Confirming that all 174 of its PGDM students have been placed, the SP Jain placement office said that it will officially release the placement data only after it has been audited and verified by the agency.
“There have been cases of institutes making false claims about placements. Some institutes have quoted exaggerated figures when their students have been placed at low salaries. Good institutes abroad mention their lowest and highest ranges, as well as the middle range. But such is not the case in India,” the source said.
The institute has asked companies offering placements to its students to send in the final offer letters on their letterheads.
“Most students will join work by June. So, it will take some time before we get the final letters from the companies,” the source added.
SP Jain will calculate the figures and hand them over to the agency.
“If there are discrepancies in our figures, we will make the necessary changes. We will be the first institute doing this. Hopefully, others too will be doing the same in future. It will help students make informed choices,” the source said.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_sp-jain-won-t-lie-about-placements_1375577

Over lakh students in Bangalore set to try CET luck

Over lakh students in Bangalore set to try CET luck

Bangalore: It’s that time of year when students wishing to gain entry into professional colleges in the state will be taking the examination that could make their career dreams come true. Over a lakh students will attempt the Common Entrance Test (CET) 2010 being held in 238 centres across the state on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) received 1,15,734 applications for the CET for admission to engineering/technology, medicine, dental, and Indian systems ofmedicine and homoeopathy courses this year. The KEA had accepted applications sent past the deadline. Even so, it has received fewer applications this year than in 2009.
Each 80-minute session of the CET will have multiple-choice questions for 60 marks. There will be no negative marking, but marks will not be awarded in case of multiple answers.
According to toppers of CET 2009, candidates should not try to cram in too much a day before the big test.
“It is better to revise points instead of studying,” Naveen Bhat Y, who was the topper in the engineering stream with 96.11% in CET 2009, said. “And candidates should have at least seven to eight hours of sound sleep before going to the test.”
Though he was a topper in the engineering stream, Naveen chose to pursue medicine (he secured the 26th rank in the CET) and is doing his I MBBS at Bangalore Medical College.
“It is important to understand tricky questions before answering them,” Anish Bhat, who secured the first rank in CET 2009 for medical/dental (96.33% marks) and the Indian System of Medicine (ISM) and Homoeopathy (94.22% marks) streams, said. “Usually in CET, 70% of the questions will be easy and direct. The rest will be really tricky.” Anish is pursuing MBBS at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore.
According to Priyanka Dharamshi, who got the first rank in architecture, confidence is the key to doing well. “Even if you don’t understand some questions, you should not lose confidence. Time management is also important; candidates should spend adequate time on each question,” she said.
What is remarkable this year is that there has been a drop in the number of applicants, compared to last year. In 2009, 1,20,434 students had applied for the CET, and 1,16,376 had appeared for the test. Compared to last year, fewer students — 1,15,734 — have applied for CET 2010. In 2009, 10,914 candidates cleared CET for admission to medical and dental courses, 42,152 for ISM and Homoeopathy courses, 62,275 for engineering courses, and 505 for architecture.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_over-lakh-students-in-bangalore-set-to-try-cet-luck_1376023

Now clear TOEFL to get into Andhra Pradesh Universities.

Now clear TOEFL to get into Andhra Pradesh Universities.

With several foreign students failing in the universities in Andhra Pradesh, the state government has decided to make it compulsory for foreign students to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to pursue courses in the state Universities.
KC Reddy, Chairman of Andhra Pradesh state council for higher education, told a media organisation that owing to the current situation it has been proposed that students who wish to pursue courses from the universities in Andhra Pradesh will have to pass the TOEFL and the score from the test will be taken into consideration while giving admissions.
He also said that the proposal would be raised before chancellor and Governor ESL Narasimhan at the next Vice-Chancellors’ Conference.
However, the proposal remains debatable as many of the foreign students, whose mother tongue is not English, do not even have a working knowledge of English to be able to pursue studies in the State’s Universities.

Source Link: http://learnhub.com/news/1010-now-clear-toefl-to-get-into-andhra-pradesh-universities

NIIT University unveils the NU-MBA Program

NIIT University unveils the NU-MBA Program

NIIT University today unveiled its MBA program which seeks to create industry-linked, future-ready, better-connected and complete Management graduates.


THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT NIIT University today unveiled its MBA program – the NU-MBA – and commenced admissions for the 2010 batch. This new-age MBA program seeks to create industry-linked, future-ready, better-connected and complete Management graduates, and is packed with several innovative features.

A unique initiative by which every MBA student is assigned a mentor from industry who guides him throughout the program, has brought together 15 CEOs from some of the most reputed companies in the country. Names like Manoj Kohli (Airtel), Raghupati Singhania (JK Industries), and Bhaskar Pramanik (Oracle India) are a few who have agreed to mentor the NU-MBA students through structured personalised interactions. The Mentorship Program is supplemented by other distinctive industry-linked elements, so that students are immediately productive at their post-MBA jobs.

The NU-MBA also offers students a structured exposure to an emerging economy like China or an African country, with the idea that these economies will dominate the world when the graduates are in leadership positions. A 4-week Immersion Program in the country includes participation in ongoing classes at a reputed B-School, followed by a supervised study of local industry.

Speaking about the NIIT University MBA program Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Ltd. and Founder, NIIT University, said, “We are delighted that the distinctive features of the NU-MBA program have been warmly received by industry, and that a group of seven reputed companies have already committed placement to all students of the first batch.” These companies comprise Biocon, Ernst & Young, Fortis, ICICI Bank, Jubilant Organosys, and of course NIIT Technologies and NIIT, Pawar added.

The NU-MBA program is a 2-year fully residential program offered at the University’s sprawling campus at Neemrana in the NCR. The program consists of a rich set of 36 courses delivered over 6 terms and requires a specialisation in one Concentration Area out of the 6 areas offered: Strategy & Leadership, Marketing, Finance, Operations Management, Human Resources and Information Systems. In addition to Summer Internship, which is supervised on-the-job by NU faculty, students additionally take up 3 real-world projects.

Dr. Rajeev Shorey, President, NIIT University, said, “The NU-MBA is one of the few MBA programs that resides within a multi-disciplinary University and a thriving 24x7 campus. This gives the MBA students several advantages, from selecting a few electives from among emerging technology areas to participation in cross-disciplinary projects, and makes them holistic and seamless.”

Another special feature of the NU-MBA program is its emphasis on Management Perspectives that shape the attitudes of NU-MBA students. Special courses deal with issues like Ethics, Human Values, Inclusive Growth, Environment and Innovation, and an individual Social Connect project deals with a Management problem sourced from an NGO. Equally, there is an emphasis on Professional Life Skills, with a set of courses dealing with communication, personality, personal quality and individual productivity

NIIT University offers programs from Bachelors to Doctoral levels in areas of emerging Engineering technology and Management. Founded on the core principles of industry-linked, research-driven, technology-based and seamless education, the University admitted its first batch of students in 2009. Its 100-acre campus is being developed using fully-green and sustainable principles.

Admissions for the MBA program have commenced. Graduates from any discipline with a minimum of 50% marks, or final-students awaiting results, are eligible to apply. The Selection Process seeks to identify meritorious men and women with effective personalities who possess a spirit of inquiry, excitement and daring. Candidates can obtain Application Forms from the website or from the NU Admission Office in Delhi. Completed Application Forms will be accepted until May 15, 2010.

Candidates have to appear for the NUMAT – NIIT University Management Aptitude Test – as a part of the Selection process. Candidates with valid CAT/MAT/ATMA/XAT or GMAT scores are exempted from appearing for the NUMAT. Other elements of the selection process, where industry representatives participate, include a communication proficiency test, a presentation and a personal interview. In the interests of fair selection of candidates with diversity, all eligible students undergo the entire selection process, without elimination based on intermediate cut-offs.

Source Link: http://www.merinews.com/article/niit-university-unveils-the-nu-mba-program/15804431.shtml

Newest IIM at Ranchi will be cheapest

Newest IIM at Ranchi will be cheapest

Kolkata, April 23 -- The Indian Institute of Management-Ranchi, the youngest IIM in the country is also its cheapest. It will charge Rs 6 lakh for its flagship two-year post-graduate programme.
This is less than half the amount that IIM- Ahmedabad, the most expensive of the country's eight IIMs, charges. The fees at IIM-Ahmedabad are Rs 13.7 lakh for a two-year post-graduate course.
"Unlike other IIMs, IIM-Ranchi is receiving grants from the Ministry of Human Resource Development to come up with its infrastructure. Hence, the course fee would help IIM-Ranchi to sustain itself in the initial years," said Dinesh Verma, Chief Administrative Officer of IIM-Calcutta, which is mentoring IIM-Ranchi.
IIM-Calcutta sources pointed out that the fees at the new business school were kept lower mainly to attract talented students who are unable to pay high fees at other IIMs. Also, with the infrastructure not yet in place and recruitment of faculty members not yet over, many students may not go to IIM-Ranchi unless the fees are low enough to attract them.
However, it has not yet been decided whether scholarships would be offered. "These decisions will be taken by the board of governors of IIM-R. The board is being formed under the leadership R.C. Bhargava (former CMD of Maruti-Suzuki).
Once it is formed, scholarships and other details would be decided," said Verma. IIM-R plans to admit 56 students this year. Those who have scored 95 percentiles in the Common Admission Test have been called for group discussions and personal interviews.

Source Link: http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20100423/1053/tnl-newest-iim-at-ranchi-will-be-cheapes.html

MHRD backs IITs to introduce medical courses

MHRD backs IITs to introduce medical courses

IIT Kharagpur is now being backed by the MHRD to start a medical college in collaboration with Indian Railways. The Minister of State for Human Resource and Development (HRD), D. Purandeswari has announced the amendment that says the courses in medical science can now be included in the Indian Institute of Technologys (IITs) curriculum.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Purandeswari said that the protests by the health ministry to avoid the amendment would not be allowed to come in the way of IIT-Kharagpur's plans to introduce a conventional course in medicine.
She referred to the objections by the health ministry, saying that the amendment was proposed as development in technology and medicine in most developing and developed countries were considered to be interdependent.


The health ministry had been opposing the move ever since IIT-Kharagpur had planned to introduce a course in medicine, saying that establishment of medical colleges by IIT was unwise.
The health ministry had advised IITs at a meeting of experts in February to begin courses in health information technology, biomedical engineering and e-health instead of running a hospital or a full fledged MBBS course.

Source Link: http://www.minglebox.com/article/engineering/MHRD-backs-IITs-to-introduce-medical-courses/data-0001-fdbffe7e28253cb001282573dcf023bc

Many peg expectations on All India Engineering Entrance Examination

Many peg expectations on All India Engineering Entrance Examination


Bangalore: It’s a national-level entrance test, and it offers you a seat at a prestigious engineering college.
On Sunday, centres where the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) was held, saw many students queuing up.
Many who arrived from outside the city had whole families in tow. And while the students took the three-hour test, families were seen waiting patiently outside. Besides Bangalore, there were other centres for the AIEEE in the state at Hubli and Mangalore.
Despite the differential marks, the paper did not contain many surprises, said students who attempted the AIEEE. “Compared to the IIT-JEE, this exam was much easier. The Mathematics paper was easy, but Chemistry was harder to crack,” said Akshay Menon, a student of Delhi Public School, as he emerged from the entrance hall.
Even though students were apprehensive that the marking scheme might make things difficult to handle, they were pleasantly surprised. “I was a bit apprehensive about the marking scheme of the exam. The increase in the number of questions in IIT-JEE had got many of us stressed, but there were no last-minute changes in this paper,” said Manbendra Singh, a candidate.
Teachers who tutor students for the examinations noted that there was an increase in the number of application-based questions in the paper this year.
“Paper-I had more application-based questions, rather than numerical ones this time. But the questions were pitched at the same level of difficulty as last year,” said Balasubramanya Hegde, a faculty member at BASE, a coaching institute. “It seems like this examination is following in the footsteps of the IIT-JEE. Those who have got more than 20 questions correct in each section should get an interview call,” said Hegde.
TS Suresh, another faculty member of BASE said, “The questions could test the computational skills, as well as the ability to apply concepts. A student who has studied well could easily secure a seat in any National Institute of Technology this time.” The test score of AIEEE is used as an eligibility criterion for admission to prestigious engineering colleges in the country, including the National Institutes of Technology, and the Indian Institutes of Information Technology.
Last year, nearly 10 lakh students attempted this examination across the country. This year, there were nearly 12 lakh candidates. With the rise in the number of candidates this year, the already tough competition will get even stiffer. “Students from the state boards go in for coaching to tackle these exams. I did not attend any special coaching classes, so I found it quite tough,” said A Srinath, a candidate.
L Vinod Kumar, a student of Sri Kumaran Children’s Home says,“The paper is based on the CBSE syllabus, so I found it quite easy.”

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_many-peg-expectations-on-all-india-engineering-entrance-examination_1375608

Manipal Univeristy inks MoU with two international varsities

Manipal Univeristy inks MoU with two international varsities

Bangalore: Manipal University along with Manipal Education, leading academic and educational service provider, today signed MoUs with Univerity of Melbourne Australia and University of Nottingham, to faciltiate and enhace academic cooperation bilaterally and multiterally.
The MoUs will translate into a number of joint programmes, which will be initially focussed on India. Later, based on the experience gained, and mutual agreement, the MoUs allow for programmes to be extended to other countries that Manipal Education is present in, Anand Sudarshan, CEO and MD, Manipal Education told reporters.
These broad-based MoUs with the two top univiveristies aim at facilitating active collaborations, he said.
Individual areas would also be identified, and specific working agrements will be arrived at. These areas would range from offering joint programmes, providing joint and dual degrees, teaching collaborations, student and faculty exchanges, to development of collaborative research programme.
These relationships will also potentially result in the development of new generation programmes and explore other collaborations in line with opportunities accorded by the education sector reforms being ushered in by the government.
University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis replied in the negative when asked whether the number of Indian students seeking admission to Australian universities had declined following incidents of attack on Indian students in his country.
Nearly 400 Indian students were studying in Melbourne university, he said.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_manipal-univeristy-inks-mou-with-two-international-varsities_1375856

IT, IIM staff crunch

IT, IIM staff crunch

New Delhi, April 21 (PTI): The IITs and IIMs are facing a shortage of faculty members despite an attractive pay structure, good accommodation and other perks, the Lok Sabha was told today.
IIT Kharagpur has a maximum vacancy of 299 posts, followed by 222 in IIT Bombay, 194 in IIT Roorkee, 138 in IIT Madras, 78 in IIT Delhi, 69 in IIT Kanpur and 65 in IIT Guwahati, HRD minister of state D. Purandeswari said in a written reply.
The number of vacancies have increased from 877 in the seven old IITs in 2008-09 to 1,065 in 2009-10, the minister said.
The vacancies in these institutions in 2007-08 was 971.
There are 95 vacanies in the seven IIMs. IIM-Bangalore has a maximum vacancy of 35 posts followed by 29 in IIM-Ahmedabad.
“Recruitment of faculty is a continuous process and all efforts are being made by the institutes to fill up vacant posts. Institutions have been employing suitable strategies to attract and retain quality faculty which include attractive pay structure, provisions of good residential accommodation, medical facilities and initial research grants,” Purandeswari said.

Source Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100422/jsp/nation/story_12366886.jsp

IIT-K is India's top engineering college

IIT-K is India's top engineering college


New Delhi: IIT Kanpur (IIT-K) is the leading engineering college in India, according to a new survey that has ranked the country’s top 20 engineering colleges in 10 cities.
The extensive survey, commissioned by Zee News and DNA, was conducted by Ipsos, the world’s third-ranked research agency. According to the findings, IIT-Kanpur topped the list, followed by IIT-Delhi and IIT-Mumbai.
IIT-Kharagpur, which was once considered the best engineering college in the country, was ranked fourth in the survey. IIT-Roorkee, IIT-Madras, IIT-Guwahati, BITS Pilani, Delhi College of Engineering, and Institute of Technology-BHU (Banaras) are also in the top 10 bracket.
NIT-Warangal, MN-NIT (Allahabad), Engineering College of SRM (Chennai), College of Engineering (Pune), Visvesvariah Technological Institute (Belgaum), Indian Institute of Information Technology (Hyderabad), Vellore Institute of Technology, Manipal Institute of Technology (Manipal), Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information & Technology (Gandhinagar) and NIT (Trichy) are among the others who made it to the top 20.
The research was undertaken to evaluate the status of engineering colleges in India.
Said Satish K Singh, editor of Zee News, “One can’t manufacture growth but can engineer one. It goes without saying that technical expertise or engineering marvel is the bedrock of any country’s development, more so in contemporary times. It is precisely because of this that Zee News decided to take stock of our engineering institutions and hence this survey. It is the second in our series of surveys of the country’s higher education system. Many more will follow.”
The world-class survey was backed by foolproof groundwork undertaken on the basis of inputs from leading academicians, faculty members and alumni, and the current as well as prospective students of the colleges concerned.
B ‘Nary’ Narayanaswamy of Ipsos elaborated on the logic behind the research. “India will now lay more emphasis on infrastructure, both in physical terms, such as in the form of townships, SEZs, roads and ports, and also IT infrastructure. This will vastly expand the scale at which different specialists would be needed, especially as compared to the demand in the past. In other words, it is not just a generic need for technocrats that will intensify. The IITs and other technical institutions would do well to examine their curriculum and the medium of instruction in this light.”
The parameters of the survey were chosen after a lot of research and planning.
The history and reputation, admission process, course curriculum, learning environment, faculty competence, infrastructure, foreign exchange programmes, research facilities, laboratories and workshops, hostel facilities, placements, and new innovative courses of the colleges were taken into account while conducting the survey.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_iit-k-is-india-s-top-engineering-college_1375219

IIT directors discuss JEE errors; JAB meeting next week

IIT directors discuss JEE errors; JAB meeting next week

New Delhi: In the wake of various errors coming to light in the IIT-Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) question papers, the IIT directors today decided to evolve a strategy to ensure that the mistakes do not affect the evaluation of papers and genuine students are not affected.
The directors huddled at IIT-Kanpur and decided that the Joint Admission Board (JAB), the body for taking decision on IIT-JEE matters, would meet next week to evolve a solution to the problem emerging out of errors in the JEE this year.
They worked out a method which will be again discussed at the JAB meeting next week. Several mistakes marked the IIT-JEE on April 11 which was taken by nearly 4.7 lakh students.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has already written to human resources development minister Kapil Sibal seeking cancellation of the test. Sibal has asked IIT-Madras director professor MS Ananth to a give report on the issue. Ananth will meet Sibal here and apprise him the matter, sources said.
The IIT-JEE papers carried a few printing errors as subject-heads of mathematics and physics were interchanged. Besides, certain questions were not printed in the Hindi version also.
The Hindi version of the papers carried wrong instructions. As per the English version of the paper, there were certain questions carrying 48 marks. However, the Hindi versions presented the same questions with wrong instruction that they carried 18 marks.
"Today we discussed all the errors in the papers and how to work out a strategy to ensure that the evaluation is not affected by such errors," an IIT Director said.
The meeting also discussed how to check recurrence of such mistakes in the JEE in future. Implementation of sixth pay commission recommendations and concerns raised by faculty were also discussed at the meeting.
IIT-JEE organising chairman professor TS Natarajan has already said these mistakes will not affect the evaluation of papers.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_iit-directors-discuss-jee-errors-jab-meeting-next-week_1375491

Huge Vacancy Of Faculty In IITs, IIMs

Huge Vacancy Of Faculty In IITs, IIMs

IITs and IIMs are facing huge vacancy of faculty despite having attractive pay structure, good accommodation and other perks, Lok Sabha was told today.

IIT Kharagpur is facing maximum vacancy of 299 faculty, followed by 222 in IIT Bombay, 194 in IIT Roorkee, 138 in IIT Madras, 78 in IIT Delhi, 69 in IIT Kanpur and 65 in IIT Guwahati, Minister of State for HRD, D Purandeswari, said in a written reply.

In fact, the number of vacancy increased from 877 in the seven old IITs in 2008-09 to 1,065 in 2009-10, she said.

The vacancy in these institutions in 2007-08 was 971.

The government has started eight more IITs in the last two years and in these centres' the number of vacant posts stood at 280, Purandeswari said.

Similarly, there are 95 vacant posts in the seven IIMs.

Source Link: http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2010_04_22_Huge_Vacancy_Of_Faculty_In_IITs_IIMs.html

Ghaziabad B-School to open campus in city

Ghaziabad B-School to open campus in city


HYDERABAD: A leading private Bschool will soon open a state-of-theart campus on a 30-acre site near the Shamshabad international airport.The B-school,Institute of Management Technology (Ghaziabad),was allocated land in line with the state governments initiative to encourage private educational institutions willing to set up world class campus facilities in the city.

In 2008,the Birla Institute of Technology and Science,Pilani,had also responded to the states call by establishing in Hyderabad their only other campus in the country.

The B-school campus would come up on government land in Survey No.38,situated at Cherlaguda village of Shamshabad mandal,in Ranga Reddy district.

This campus would be the Bschools third exclusive and largest in the country,while the other two are in Ghaziabad and Nagpur.The Institute of Management Technology also runs an overseas campus at the Dubai Academic City,where it offers a two-year premium MBA programme.

State government officials feel that part-time and full-time management programmes at the IMT Hyderabad campus would immensely benefit local students,as it is among the top ten private Bschools in the country.

IMT has been in existence for 30 years and is widely recognised as a centre of excellence in management education.All IMT campuses are equipped with world class infrastructure and residential facilities,sources said.

Union cabinet minister of road transport and highways Kamal Nath is the president of IMTs board of governors.

Surprisingly,the state government set aside the advise of the then special chief secretary and chief commissioner of land administration,Hyderabad who recommended for alienation of the land on payment of market value at the rate of Rs 50 lakh per acre and allotted the land at Rs 1.5 lakh per acre.

Source Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Ghaziabad-B-School-to-open-campus-in-city-/articleshow/5862062.cms

Get set for global study options

Get set for global study options

Mumbai: There is general perception that conventionally, Indian students head westward mainly for post graduate studies. However, the last few years have seen a steady increase in the number of young students leaving Indian shores for either US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or even Singapore to pursue a bachelor's degree.
Whether its scoring well in the HSC or getting the top score at Toefl or IELTS, more and more students are looking to get the global exposure, DNA catalogues the famous study abroad destinations.
There is a good reason for a number of students are opting to spend their formative on foreign land. Experts are of the view that along with getting a global experience early in life.
According to Vinayak Kamat, director Geebee Education, "Indian students leaving shores for foreign education is a trend for many decades now. This has however seen a rise in the past few years as the spending power of Indian parents has increased. Along with that, the students themselves holding high aspirations to gain as much knowledge, experience and skill sets to succeed in life."
Kamat points out that though UK and US remain a popular destinations, countries like Canada, New Zealand and Singapore are also stepping up into the league while Australia is still waiting to regain ground after the series of incidents that took place in 2009.
Flying seven seas away to the USA
With over 3,000 accredited educational institutions with diverse study programmes, US continues to be a popular education destination.
Most colleges across the United States require a minimum of 12 years of formal education. For Indian students the US educational institutes accept degrees like Indian School Certificate, Intermediate Certificate, Higher School Certificate, Higher Secondary Certificate and the All India Senior Secondary Certificate. which give the following certificate to student. Students applying to the Unites States are also required to take tests like GRE, GMAT, LSAT and Toefl.
The land of the Queen—UK
British Council India representative points out several courses that students can take up in UK post qualifying the class XII exam.Post class XII students can pursue a certificate of higher education (CertHE)—the first year of the degree course, diploma of higher education (DipHE)—two year, full-time,. The DipHE courses are equivalent to the first two years of a degree and can often be used for entry to the third year of a related degree course. Students can take up the higher national diploma (HND)—a two-year course and finally the degree-a three or four year course where graduates obtain a bachelor's degree.
The UK offers a spectrum of courses ranging from business studies engineering, information technology, economics, law to art and design. There are many choices and deciding on what to study requires a lot of research.
The land of maple leaf—Canada
Fairly a young country, Canada has been on the mind of Indian students as much as its neighbour the USA. Tuition fees for international students are amongst the lowest in Canada as compared to other countries.
Along with lowest tuition fees and low cost of living, students are also allowed to work part-time for 20 hours per week. Apart from this after course completion, students are allowed to work full time for a period of one to three years. It is also very easy to secure Permanent Residency.
The island countries—Singapore and New Zealand
The southeast Asian island and the island country Down Under are fast catching up with their western counterparts as a preferred education destination. With the recent slowdown, enormous fees andliving costs coupled with no lucrative job options, students are increasingly looking at fair-price destinations.
Definitely stepping in line with the biggies in the league, the main reason for Singapore and NZ to attract students is that they offer more than education.Both countries offer students easy passage to permanent residency as well as opportinity to look out for jobs.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_get-set-for-global-study-options_1375891

Focus on increasing college enrolment - Sibal

Focus on increasing college enrolment - Sibal

Chandigarh: Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal recently called for substantially increasing the number of students joining colleges for higher studies after completing their schooling.

"In India, nearly 220 million students go to schools and around 14 million go to colleges. Our Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), that is the percentage of students going from schools to colleges, is only 12.4 percent," said Sibal here at a seminar on education reforms.

He added, "This is a matter of worry as in other developed countries GER is not less than 40 to 50 percent. If we talk about the research sector, then in Europe for every million people not less than 6,000 go for research, in the US this number is 4,700 whereas in India it is just 156."

He said that we have to make sure that by 2020 India's GER increases to 30 percent.

"At presently 480 universities and 22,000 colleges are fulfilling the need of 12.4 percent GER. If we have to reach a mark of 30 percent GER, in the next 10 years we need around 700 to 1,000 universities and nearly 45,000colleges," he said.

He said the definition of wealth has changed globally and it now refers to ideas, innovation and creativity that are intellectual assets.

Sibal said changes are needed in school education as well.

He said that no government can run schools efficiently therefore there should be a transfer of ownership to community from the government.

"Under the Right to Education Act, we have impressed on the need of involving 75 percent people from the locality, out of which 50 percent should be women, in a school management committee. Ownership should be gradually transferred to the community and people, especially mothers of students, should decide a school's operations," said Sibal.

Talking on exam reforms, he said, "We need to move away from the examination system to creativity. There should be no exams or boards. We require a constant evaluation not for those skills that a student does not have but for those that he actually possesses." IANS

Source Link: http://www.indiaedunews.net/Today/Focus_on_increasing_college_enrolment_-_Sibal_11416/

Errors creep in AIEEE too

Errors creep in AIEEE too


HYDERABAD: Much like the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination which had printing mistakes in its Optical Mark Reader sheet, AIEEE (All India Engineering Entrance Examination) conducted for admissions into National Institutes of Technologies (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) confused students who wrote the examination on Sunday with its printing mistakes.

In the examination which was conducted in over 30 centres in the city, two questions (questions 40 and 59) had the same answer listed as two separate options. In question number 59 of Type A question paper which asked the students to spot the correct mirror image from among the given options, identical figures were given under both the options A and B.

Also in question number 40 two of the options given in the answer section were the same.
“Sans the errors the examination was quiet simple this year with many familiar questions,” said K V Raghunath, vice chairman, Narayana Group of Institutions.

Over 1.2 lakh students appeared for AIEEE examinations from the state here on Sunday with around 60,000 appearing for the B Arch examinations which was held from 2 pm to 5 pm. The B Tech and BE examination of AIEEE was held from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm

Also, several students failed to complete B Tech and BE section of AIEEE on time due to a slight change in the pattern of question paper. With Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which conducts the exam, introducing differential marking (questions carrying both four marks and eight marks) after a long time, several students were left wondering on how to manage time during the three hour test.

The examination which had 90 questions (30 in each section) carrying 432 marks, 18 questions carried eight marks while the rest carried four marks. According to several students, the eight mark questions which were mostly unexpected, were lengthy and tough to crack.

“Each of the eight mark questions had several levels of reasoning and application and hence they took more time to crack than the usual ones,” said a student who wrote examination from Yasodha College of Engineering.

Several students found the Mathematics section easier than the previous years while the Physics and Chemistry sections did have a few surprises. “Physics required sound conceptual understanding where questions were more difficult. However, Mathematics section of the question paper was easy when compared to the previous year,” said Ajay Anthony, AIEEE course coordinator, TIME.

Source Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Errors-creep-in-AIEEE-too/articleshow/5857539.cms

Errors creep in AIEEE too

Errors creep in AIEEE too


HYDERABAD: Much like the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination which had printing mistakes in its Optical Mark Reader sheet, AIEEE (All India Engineering Entrance Examination) conducted for admissions into National Institutes of Technologies (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) confused students who wrote the examination on Sunday with its printing mistakes.

In the examination which was conducted in over 30 centres in the city, two questions (questions 40 and 59) had the same answer listed as two separate options. In question number 59 of Type A question paper which asked the students to spot the correct mirror image from among the given options, identical figures were given under both the options A and B.

Also in question number 40 two of the options given in the answer section were the same.
“Sans the errors the examination was quiet simple this year with many familiar questions,” said K V Raghunath, vice chairman, Narayana Group of Institutions.

Over 1.2 lakh students appeared for AIEEE examinations from the state here on Sunday with around 60,000 appearing for the B Arch examinations which was held from 2 pm to 5 pm. The B Tech and BE examination of AIEEE was held from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm

Also, several students failed to complete B Tech and BE section of AIEEE on time due to a slight change in the pattern of question paper. With Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which conducts the exam, introducing differential marking (questions carrying both four marks and eight marks) after a long time, several students were left wondering on how to manage time during the three hour test.

The examination which had 90 questions (30 in each section) carrying 432 marks, 18 questions carried eight marks while the rest carried four marks. According to several students, the eight mark questions which were mostly unexpected, were lengthy and tough to crack.

“Each of the eight mark questions had several levels of reasoning and application and hence they took more time to crack than the usual ones,” said a student who wrote examination from Yasodha College of Engineering.

Several students found the Mathematics section easier than the previous years while the Physics and Chemistry sections did have a few surprises. “Physics required sound conceptual understanding where questions were more difficult. However, Mathematics section of the question paper was easy when compared to the previous year,” said Ajay Anthony, AIEEE course coordinator, TIME.

Source Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Errors-creep-in-AIEEE-too/articleshow/5857539.cms

Eight students to represent India at Intel Science Fair

Eight students to represent India at Intel Science Fair


Bangalore: Eight students who have been successful at India Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science (IRIS) with their Science and technology projects will represent India in the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) at San Jose, California from May 9-14.
The students (four in individual category and two each in the Team category) with their winning science and engineering projects will compete against more than 1500 others from various countries, an Intel statement said.
As the world's largest pre-college science fair and the only global science competition for students in grades 9-12, the Intel ISEF, is a program organized by Society for Science and the Public (SSP), it said.
The Intel ISEF winners are judged on their creative ability and scientific thought, as well as the thoroughness, skill, and clarity shown in their projects.
At the national level, IRIS encourages only research based science projects, the statement said.
At the week-long Science and Engineering Fair, students will have the opportunity to meet leading scientists and exchange ideas on various evolving topics in Science, Research and Technology, the statement said.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_eight-students-to-represent-india-at-intel-science-fair_1374687

Canadian government threatens McGill against fees hike

Canadian government threatens McGill against fees hike


When taking the decision to raise the tuition fees for the MBA programme, the McGill University did not realise they will face problem by the name of Quebec Government.
To help the management department funding the university had earlier on decided to raise the annual cost for Quebec students from $1,700 to $30,000.
Despite its argument,that the change will make McGill the best university in Canada, the Education Minister Michelle Courchesne did not permit the government to make such changes considering the fact that it limit the accessibility of some Quebec students to the MBA programmes.
Almost threatening McGill, Courchesne said if the hike is brought into action the government will take away the subsidies amounting to $28,000 per student that it has awarded to McGill.
So far no reaction has come from the McGill side of the controversy.

Source Link: http://studycanada.learnhub.com/news/1022-canadian-government-threatens-mcgill-against-fees-hike

B-schools or placement agencies- Panel discussion at Praxis Business School

B-schools or placement agencies- Panel discussion at Praxis Business School


Popularity of B-schools these days rests on their placement records. Greater the percentage of those placed, the better the quality of education imparted by these B-schools- this is the general notion.
It was this issue that was taken up for a panel discussion on April 17 by Praxis Business School on the occasion of the convocation ceremony of class of ’09 and ’10. The panel consisted of K Dasaratharaman, President, Specialty Businesses, Spencer’s Retail, Shankar Chatterjee, Managing Director, Bertling Logistics, Dr Prithwis Mukerjee, Professor, VG-SoM IIT Kharagpur and Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Future Brands Ltd, Future Group.
Moderating the discussion was Prof Charanpreet Singh, Associate Dean, Praxis Business School. Singh elaborated on the topic and presented both its sides – why should B-schools not be called placement agencies and B-schools should have a greater aim.

Opening the discussion was K. Dasaratharaman. The IIM A passout spoke about the philosophical, cultural and sociological aspects of a B-school. He humorously narrated how students of reputed B-schools can easily get a credit card or find a spouse.

What made his speech stand out was however a unique observation: “Life is not a choice of ‘or’ but it is the tyranny of the ‘and’. While you do one thing you have to be conscious of its opposite.” He concluded his speech by advising students to be multi-potent and ambidextrous.”
Referring to the issue under scrutiny, the next speaker Shankar Chatterjee explained the meaning of a B-school: “It is a congregation of individuals who join to create something that the business world wants.”

Chatterjee considered B-schools to be the sellers, MBA graduates to be the products and corporates to be the buyers. “These days B-schools follow the practice of selling by yelling. Instead basic fundamental values should be instilled. We, Indians, should be confident”, added the corporate honcho. He felt corporates should give importance to the individual instead of the institute. Prithwis Mukherjee, the third speaker took an extreme position and believed that B-schools had indeed reduced themselves to placement agencies.
He criticized B-schools for propagating the idea of ‘industry ready graduates’. Citing an example from his tryst with the software industry Mukherjee said, “If you know coding and C++, then you are ready for the software industry. There is no original idea because we are all ‘industry ready’.”
“Leadership, Mathematics, Psychology and Technology are the most important factors that an MBA should work upon”, felt Mukherjee, demonstrating the idea with a power-point presentation.

The final speaker Santosh Desai elaborated on the idea of how successful people are never questioned as they are considered to be intellectuals. “The essential question to ask is what does the industry need?” said Desai. He urged the students not to be in love with what exists but instead be creative. He further advised the B-schools to figure out what the business world needs and encourage students to question. The discussion, enjoyed by the audience, gave rise to a lot of questions – why B-schools are not following the way of open-source system, why cannot students stress on education, why are Indians not successful in India and the like. They all got satisfying answers from the distinguished panel and the fresh graduates had lots to take away with them.


Source Link: http://www.minglebox.com/article/mba/B-schools-or-placement-agencies/data-0001-fdbffe7e282ac19301282acf21d906bf

Bath Spa University takes over nightclub for performing arts students

Bath Spa University takes over nightclub for performing arts students

A former nightclub in Bath has been taken over by Bath Spa University to transform it into a space for music and performing arts students, says a BBC report.
The idea is to use the building as a rehearsal and performance facility at Burdall’s Yard in London Road.
University officials believe the building has a rich historic past and will be very resourceful for students. However, before implementing the plan they will consult local residents.

Source Link: http://studyuk.learnhub.com/news/1033-bath-spa-university-takes-over-nightclub-for-performing-arts-students

Bangalore University to bridge distance in studies

Bangalore University to bridge distance in studies


Bangalore: Candidates who have enrolled for the various undergraduate and postgraduate courses of the Bangalore University’s distance education programme will soon be able to refer study materials by just clicking the university’s website.
The university has digitised study materials of the correspondence courses and they will be uploaded on the university’s official website. The students will then be able to even download the materials.
The university is planning to put on the website the PhD theses submitted by students. “Digitising the PhD theses will prevent copying,” an official of the university’s library department said.“We are also adopting anti-plagiarism software to analyse the quality of the theses submitted by PhD students,” the official said.
“We have also made arrangements for faculties and research students to access international journals through the Internet.”
The university has started a project called ‘Remote access connectivity’ to provide faculties and research scholars access to the 4,500 e-journals available through the University Grants Commission. The project would benefit about 100 teachers and students, the official said.
The varsity had also decided to keep its library open all 24 hours a day, vice-chancellor N Prabhu Dev said during the inauguration of the university’s digital library created in association with Digital Library of India on Friday.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_bangalore-university-to-bridge-distance-in-studies_1374970

Asian academicians meet in Australia to improve international ties

Asian academicians meet in Australia to improve international ties

Hundreds of higher-education leaders from the Asia-Pacific region came together in a conference in Australia to define equal partnerships with Western institutions and their need to be flexible to adapt to a rapidly changing economic environment, says a report published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Though most believed that Asian higher education was finally finding a way of its own, there was a general feeling amongst representatives from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and others that their international activities should be stepped up.
Asian universities tend to be very domestically oriented, and their self-esteem is very high within the nation. But they are very limited and their standards are not global," said Doo-Hee Lee, a business professor at Korea University and the association’s founder and president. “Western universities still set the standards, and Asian universities are always falling behind.”
To ensure that graduates do not grow up in an environment where they know nothing about their neighbours, especially in Asia, Lee announced the creation of the Asia Pacific leaders program with the participation of 15 Asian countries and 22 universities. Under this program top university students will study, volunteer, and learn the local culture in a neighboring country’s university.
There is definitely an increased interest of academicians from Asian universities about creating for themselves a regional identity. This can be verified with the increased number of participation in the annual conference ( total 900 attendees, 300 more than expected) and a definitely doubled sponsorship for the same.
Arun Sharma, deputy vice-chancellor for research and commercialisation at the Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, gave the opening address. “If the profits stay in the country, then you can broaden your network, enhance your brand everywhere, do your research at the cost price, even get some government funding and provide education in that country,” he said.
“Seeing higher education merely as an export for profit is a route down the food chain,” Sharma said. Hence, he called for a mercantile approach to higher education, in which Western countries export their programs to Asia and then repatriate the profits. He noted that the government of India is currently considering a bill that would welcome foreign universities but require profits to remain in India, which he supported.
Building partnerships at home and abroad was a popular topic with attendees since its is the best way to leverage limited resources and expose the faculty and students to a broad array of ideas.
Internationally most popular Singapore has already been working on plans and programs to attract more foreign students through a new university of technology and design, a new American-style liberal-arts college affiliated with the National University of Singapore.
In 2001, Peking University even introduced the Yuanpei honors college, a pilot program that immerses a select group of students into a liberal-arts project similar to those in the United States.
Lee wrapped up the conference saying that while American universities have time-tested academic programs, Asian universities continue to be in an age of experimentation.

Source Link: http://studyabroad.learnhub.com/news/1021-asian-academicians-meet-in-australia-to-improve-international-ties

After chaos at IIT-JEE, relief for students at AIEEE

After chaos at IIT-JEE, relief for students at AIEEE

Mumbai: After the recent IIT-JEE chaos, engineering aspirants across the state were relieved after appearing for the All India Engineering/Architecture Entrance Examination (AIEEE) held on Sunday. The exam, which is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board, is for securing admissions to BE/Btech and BArch/Bplanning in various institutes.
Majority of the 12 lakh students, who attempted the entrance test, found it difficult but were of the opinion that the test was better than the IIT-JEE. “The test was definitely easier than the IIT-JEE even though it was lengthy. There were no baffling mistakes in AIEEE. The paper was for 432 marks and it went off smoothly without any hiccups,” said Pravin Tyagi, MD, IITian Pace.
However, since the test is based on the NCERT prescribed CBSE syllabus, most students from the state board had a tough time. “I found it difficult and don’t have much hopes of scoring well in the test. I hope my CET score gets me a seat in one of the city’s engineering colleges,” said Monil Shah, a student from Vile Parle, who appeared at the DAV Public School, Nerul.
The results of AIEEE are likely to be declared on, or before June 7. There are over 150 engineering colleges in India that admit students on the basis of AIEEE scores. Apart from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), every engineering college admits nine students under the all-India quota through the AIEEE score.

Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_after-chaos-at-iit-jee-relief-for-students-at-aieee_1375594

A Career and a Choice

A Career and a Choice

And so I became a doctor although I would rather have been a journalist. But because my heart wasn't with the profession, I soon outgrew this and became a part of the charitable non-profit sector where I have spent most of my years.

WHEN I was a young student, most of the people did not have many career choices. Usually the children chose to do what their parents did before them – so lawyer’s children were encouraged to be lawyers, a teacher’s children to be teachers and so on. And if the parents were none of these and wanted something different for their children, they would push their children to become a doctor or an engineer or a civil servant. In those times these and a few others were considered to be aspirational careers which parents encouraged their children to strive for. The children’s own wishes were of little consequence. If you have seen the movie, 3 idiots, you would notice that such a tradition still exists.

And so I became a doctor although I would rather have been a journalist. But because my heart wasn’t with the profession, I soon outgrew this and became a part of the charitable non-profit sector where I have spent most of my years. And while working in an NGO, I have seen an amazing variety of people who were trained to be something else but ended up with something quite different. As the head of an organization which deals with women and children who have been trafficked, I have a team which is full of people who were trained to be something but are finding themselves driven by a passion for something else.
Today the choices and options available to young people are many. So, parents are happy to leave the choice of a viable career option with their children, but youngsters often find it difficult to make a choice. They are caught between peer pressure, the materialistic values that increasingly guide the society and the inner calling and vocation whose voice often gets muffled out.

As we consider various career options and courses for study, the singular question to ask ourselves is: “Will this help me become a better servant for others?” Our choice of a job or a career in life should be about how we can best serve our family and others with the gifts and abilities God has given us. If our whole focus in choosing a job or career is only about getting rich and serving ourselves, then we are making sinful choices. There was a time when certain professions, subjects of study and vocations were considered holier than others. Those who pursued that path were considered set apart for “full time” work. But today we know that whether we serve as a pastor or serve in a coal mine as a technician or as a Air Traffic Controller at the airport, as long as through our studies and jobs, we are able to fulfill our responsibility of stewarding this created world in a God honoring way, we are doing fine.

William Sloane Coffin, a former chaplain of Yale university speaks to our own challenge of responding to God’s call, of choosing the pathway of faithful living, when he reminds us, “A career seeks to be successful, a calling to be valuable. A career tries to make money; a calling tries to make a difference.”

The fact is that, no matter what we do for a living, it’s about serving others. Whether we work at a Café Coffee Day outlet or are a CEO in a big company; whether we are a doctor or a garbage collector, we should do our job the best we can with the understanding that we are serving our generation and our people and our careers and studies are but a tool to this greater end.

Source Link: http://www.merinews.com/article/a-career-and-a-choice/15804831.shtml

1.13 million students appear in engineering entrance test

1.13 million students appear in engineering entrance test

NEW DELHI: In what is termed as the "largest single day examination", at least 1.13 million students gave their All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) on Sunday, seeking to join several National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) and other government run leading institutes.

"The Ninth All India Engineering Entrance Examination 2010 was successfully conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today all over India and abroad," the CBSE said.

"This is the largest single day exam conducted by any examining body in the country so far," the central government run school board claimed.

The board said this exam is held for admissions to B.E./B.Tech, B. Architecture and B. Planning in various national level institutes like NITs, IIITs, deemed universities, government funded institutions, and state institutes of Haryana and Uttarakhand.

A total of 1.13 million candidates were registered for this exam which was conducted at 1,623 centres all across the country in 86 cities including two abroad - in Dubai and Riyadh.

In Delhi, however, some students complained they were not allowed entry into the examination centres though they reached the venue less than five minutes late.

Source Link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/education/113-million-students-appear-in-engineering-entrance-test/articleshow/5856567.cms

Thursday, April 22, 2010

LU proposes to make students fill admission and exam forms together

LU proposes to make students fill admission and exam forms together


LUCKNOW: To ensure that examination process starting from the coming academic session remains fair and transparent, Lucknow University has taken some major decisions. The university will now be asking the students to fill up their examination forms at the time of taking admission itself. It will be applicable to both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students.

The decision can be seen as an attempt to send a message to the affiliated colleges. It could be that LU was spurred into taking the decision after its bad experience in the case of Swatantra Girls Degree College in the ongoing UG annual examinations. The college had tried conducting examinations for commerce when it did not even have affiliation for the said stream.

The decision was taken in a meeting of deans of all faculties, controller of examination, chief provost, director, IPPR and coordinator of UG and PG admissions. The meeting to decide academic calendar of LU was presided over by LU vice-chancellor Prof M K Mishra. "It has been finalised and conveyed to colleges," said Prof S K Dwivedi, director, IPPR, LU.

The move will not only let LU know about number of students taking admission but also if it's the same number from each college which is appearing in examinations. The students who cancel their admission will also get their examination forms cancelled then and there. If the decision gets implemented, LU feels it may prevent rigging of examination process.

"We may make it a single-window kind of process," said Prof Dwivedi. The outstation students taking admission in LU might also be able to get admission in hostels at the time of counselling only. The effort is aimed at making admission process simple for students.

In another major decision, LU has decided to hold online admissions for PG/diploma courses. The manual submission of admission forms will be done away with completely for PG/diploma courses. Besides, LU also finalised the examination dates for UG, PG and diploma courses of various faculties for the present academic calendar.

Source Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/LU-proposes-to-make-students-fill-admission-and-exam-forms-together/articleshow/5841948.cms

Law graduates may need to pass a test to practice in court

Law graduates may need to pass a test to practice in court

The declining standards of the Bar have long been a cause of concern to the Government and the judiciary. Apprenticeship and bar examination may be the answer.

CURRENTLY YOU just need a degree in law to be able to wear a black gown and argue in an Indian court. This license to practice is granted to every LL.B. graduate from any Indian university. However, in some developed and developing countries, law graduates need to pass a separate test or course in order to appear in court. In USA, graduates have to take separate examinations for every state they wish to practice in. The UK conducts separate exams for qualification as a solicitor and as a barrister.

In India to practice, a law graduate must go through an interview- more a matter of form and procedure than a filtering process- before enrolling with the Bar Council of India (BCI). The Bar Council interview is nothing but a sham. They ask simple questions about family, other qualifications etc. What does that have to do with you being a lawyer? A change in the manner of admitting one to the Bar is long overdue. However, unless the new policy puts in place a strong, workable filtration process, there is no use. The declining standards of the Bar have long been a cause of concern to the Government and the judiciary. Since a considerable number of students take the course lightly and make do with a last minute study of the examination-oriented question and answers and clear the examinations, apprenticeship and bar examination would definitely be a great idea

This year, following a Supreme Court directive Bar Council of India is planning to hold a uniform standard single test to allow lawyers into the Bar. The exam aims to check the standards of many unreliable institutions recognized by BCI as much as to test the abilities of new law graduates.

Source Link: http://www.merinews.com/article/law-graduates-may-need-to-pass-a-test-to-practice-in-court/15804241.shtml

Investing in MBA programme can be risky, says a report

Investing in MBA programme can be risky, says a report


If you are thinking about investing your time and money on a MBA accreditation, be very careful in selecting the institute or your investment will get wasted.
The advice follows the release of rankings by the Chinese edition of Forbes magazine on April 19th.
As per reports published in local Chinese media, the ranking was based on a survey conducted in 45 domestic B-schools and mainly focused on the feedback of students who graduated in 2005 and 2009 – people who have now been working for five years and one year, respectively.
The list was topped by China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), which has topped the list third time consecutively.
The survey also found that MBA programmes offered in various Chinese B-schools have varied greatly in the past few years. While some B- schools have fared well this time around, the performance of others have deteriorated.
Talking about the importance of making the correct choice of the institute and programme to pursue MBA, Liu Ruiming, executive editor of the Chinese edition of Forbesm said,” In the mid- and long-term, investing in an MBA or EMBA education can achieve a good return, but only for those excellent programmes.”
Quoting an example, the magazine said graduates from CEIBS realised cumulative income growth over the five years that followed of 524,000 yuan.
The income growth rate was 116.7 per cent when comparing salary before and immediately after their MBA.
On the contrary, graduates from relatively weak business schools saw no obvious rise on salary.
However, there were cases when students had not recovered even the costs of their tuitions.
The survey was conducted on the basis of return on investment after five years. It also considered the first-year starting salary for graduates and the income growth rate after graduating.

Source Link: http://learnhub.com/news/1008-investing-in-mba-programme-can-be-risky-says-a-report

IIM-K may enter Dubai, Sharjah

IIM-K may enter Dubai, Sharjah

Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) will soon offer its executive post graduate programme (ePGP) in management in cities like Dubai and Sharjah.
The institute plans to have an international presence for its ePGP in management though an Interactive Distance Learning platform, which it conducts in collaboration with Hughes Net Global Education.
In the partnership between IIM-K and Hughes, IIM-K provides the content for the programme while Hughes provides the technology.
The ePGP targets working professionals and was launched by IIM-K in 2009 with a batch size of 150 students. For the second batch, the institute is looking at increasing the number to 300.
Hughes which has a network of over 215 classrooms in 91 cities across India, has two international centres located in Dubai and Sharjah. All these centres are managed by franchisees.
“We are poised to carry the IIM-K brand international and hence we believe this route is a good start,” said Debashis Chatterjee, director, IIM-K.
The two year ePGP comprises 810 classroom instruction hours and 90 hours on campus learning. During the first year, the curriculum focuses on general management while in the second year, the participants specialise in two functional areas from marketing, finance, strategy and operations management.
Fee for the programme has been increased from Rs 4,00,000 to Rs 4,99,000 this year including books and materials. However, the fee does not include the expenses of travel and stay in Kozhikode. Students will have to stay in Kozhikode for the compulsory modules conducted at IIM-K campus for one week of each term. The fee for the international centres, if it materialises for this year could be around two times the fee in India.
Entry to the ePGP is open to graduates, Chartered Accountants and Cost and Works Accountants with atleast five years of work experience.
Applicants have to go through an Executive Management Aptitude Test (eMAT) conducted by IIM-K every year followed by an interview through Interactive Onsite Learning platform. After successful completion of the ePGP, the participants are awarded a certificate in ‘Executive Post Graduate Diploma in General Management’ (ePGDM) by IIM-K.

Source Link: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/iim-k-may-enter-dubai-sharjah/392318/

Guru Arjan Dev Institute joins UN Global Compact

Guru Arjan Dev Institute joins UN Global Compact

The recently established and leading research institute of the district Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies has been inducted into the world leading organisation, namely, United Nation Global Compact.

India News :
Hire and fire continues in Assam's media
RECENTLY ESTABLISHED and leading research institute of the district has been inducted into the world leading organisation, namely, United Nation Global Compact. In a communication received from the UNGC office, New York, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies, Amritsar has been welcomed for joining the world largest corporate responsibility initiative with over 6500 business and non business participants from 135 countries as an academic partner.

As a participant, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies supports the ten principles of the UN Global Compact with respect to human rights, labour, environment and anti corruption and takes part in the various activities.

Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies is going to organise its second annual seminar on the theme ‘Management of Natural Resources and Environment in India’ in the month of October 2010. About 50 research papers will be presented and discussed at the two days seminar to be attended by various scholars from India and abroad.

Source Link: http://www.merinews.com/article/guru-arjan-dev-institute-joins-un-global-compact/15804374.shtml

Government plans to truncate post-grad courses to one year

Government plans to truncate post-grad courses to one year


New Delhi: The government plans to cut the duration of post-graduate (PG) degree courses from two years to one year. All streams, barring medicine, will have a shortened PG degree programme. At present, a PG degree in medicine takes three years to complete.
While the two-year courses will be condensed, but with the necessary ingredients, the government may toughen the admission criteria to allow entry only to the brightest graduates.
To begin with, PG in law (LLM) is being reviewed by a set of experts under the University Grants Commission (UGC).
The ministry of human resource development (HRD) has tasked the UGC to work out modalities to restructure the existing LLM from two years to one year, with selectivity in admission to attract the brightest graduates.
While there is debate among the ministry, the bar council and other stakeholders on how to go about it, the idea is being pushed by citing cases in other countries. “When it can happen in the US and the UK, then why not in India?’’ has been its logic.The ministry believes a shorter duration course will not only save crucial years for the students, but also attract more of them towards higher education and research.
“While the ministry is insisting on a shorter duration PG degree course, there is a view in the legal fraternity that the conventional processes in law cannot be concised in LLM. We are going to deliberate on this issue during a national consultation for reforms in legal education to be held this Saturday and Sunday in New Delhi,” said Priya Hingorani, vice president of the Supreme Court bar council.
Minister of state for HRD D Purandeswari made it clear that the proposal for PG law would be considered for other PG programmes as well. The UGC is holding consultations with the vice chancellors of the state and central universities in this regard.
“This proposal would be considered in respect of other post-graduate programmes of study which are amenable to restructuring without any compromise on the quality of education,” Purandeswari said.
At present, legal education is being imparted by 913 colleges recognised by the Bar Council of India and 14 national law universities established under various state laws.
While law minister M Veerappa Moily is himself on board with the HRD minister Kapil Sibal’s idea of reviewing the legal education, he doesn’t want to take a stand without the bar council on his side.
“One of the neglected areas of legal education in the country is post-graduate studies in law and research…We are looking for the prospects for national and international collaboration in improving the standards,” said Moily.


Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_government-plans-to-truncate-post-grad-courses-to-one-year_1374125

Government mulls major reforms in legal education

Government mulls major reforms in legal education

New Delhi: The Ministry of Law and Justice, in collaboration with the Bar Council of India (BCI) and National Law University, Delhi, is organising a 'National Consultation for Second Generation Reforms in Legal Education' on May 1 and 2, 2010 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi which will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India will deliver a special address.

The Union Minister for Law & Justice, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, would present a vision statement for 'Second Generation Reforms in Legal Education.'

The purpose of the said National Consultation is to identify the major challenges the legal education is facing at present and to draw a roadmap for bringing radical institutional reforms in legal education to meet not only the requirements of the bar but the needs of trade, commerce and industry in view of growing internationalization of the legal profession.

The National Consultation would be attended by judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Attorney General for India, Solicitor General of India and Additional Solicitors Generals, Chairman and other members of the BCI and State Bar Councils, leading lawyers, eminent professors of Law, faculty members of Law Universities/ Colleges and other institutions.

India currently faces the major challenges in the field of providing legal education to respond to global challenges.

"Although, India has emerged as a leading global hub for the knowledge based service industry for the past decade but it still needs a revolution to meet and respond to global challenges in providing services particularly by the lawyers whether in litigation or non-litigation side," said an official press release.

At present, professional legal education is being imparted by 913 colleges recognized by the BCI and 14 National Law Universities/ schools established under the State Acts.

The BCI under the Advocates Act, 1961 has made rules to regulate the legal education but the standard of legal education does not meet the present day requirements of the legal profession.

The matter relating to the legal education has been examined by the Law Commission of India in its 184th Report on Legal Education and Professional Training and Proposals for Amendments to the Advocates Act, 1961 and the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956 (2002).

In the recent past, the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) has made certain recommendations in its report particularly in the area of research inlegal education.

In this National Consultation, various issues relating to legal education will be discussed, e.g., the objects of legal education, the priorities in legal education reform, the roles and responsibilities in this regard of the government, BCI, universities and management of law colleges; what makes a system of legal education world class in competitive excellence and what is the agenda for educationists, jurists, judges and advocates for directing the system towards revival and rejuvenation; given the changes in the role of law-trained persons, it will also be examined how can legal pedagogy teaching methods respond to the changing demands.

It will assess how far they fulfill the demands of knowledge, skills, attitudes and ethics required for legally trained persons.

Due to unprecedented and fast changes in the society and economy, the law curriculum lags behind and is not sufficiently reflective of the knowledge and skills required of legally trained persons.

Curriculum development is a continuing process for which teachers have the primary responsibility. The issues as to how does the curriculum reflect itself in syllabi and teaching plans will be the highlight of this Consultation for improving standard of legal education in the country.

In order to be able to effectively implement the reforms in legal education in India, law teaching must focus on developing students’ critical and analytical abilities through classroom exercises and training designed for the said purpose.

In order to develop a framework to bring about these changes, it has been considered worth to examine the experiences of law teachers in other jurisdictions and to identify the scope for implementing effective teaching and training methods employed successfully elsewhere.

"One of the neglected areas of legal education in the country is post-graduate studies in law and research," feels an official.

This has resulted in poor quality research output and dearth of quality law teachers to serve the ever-expanding legal education sector.

"We are looking for the prospects for national and international collaboration in improving standards of post-graduate studies in law as also to strengthen law publications for quality development," mentioned the press release.

Professionalism demands learning at work or learning by doing under professional supervision and to keep abreast with professional developments.

Most of the Law Colleges/Law Schools at present are not adequately equipped for the tasks involved.

Recently, the Directorate of Legal Education, established by the BCI, has the challenge to organize, supervise and deliver continuing legal education to a million legal professionals, growing by ten per cent every year.

"Taking lessons from the Bar of other developed countries, we will consider the ways and means by which such partnership can be established, and can be made functional to the advantage of practicing professionals as well as of the Law Colleges/Law Schools," it further added.

The legal profession is not a business, rather a profession requiring certain standards and etiquette to be followed by its members.

The fundamental aim of legal ethics is to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession, to secure a spirit of friendly cooperation between the bench and the Bar in the promotion of the highest standards of administration of justice.

It includes standards of conduct both of the members of the profession and the judiciary.

The BCI has laid down certain standards of conduct and etiquette of the members of the Bar.

It will be discussed in this Consultation what it means to be a member of the legal profession and also re-evaluate the ethical standards with a view to enhancing the level of service provided by the legal profession to the community at large.

The role of law schools in social transformation, particularly, of the disadvantaged sections envisaged by the Indian Constitution will be another major highlight of this Consultation for purpose of inclusive growth.

It will be examined how can law schools contribute towards law reform for the marginalized and discriminated sections of society and what is the role of law schools in legal aid services and administration of justice and also to make law schools partners in social transformation, social justice and inclusive development.

Students in the National Law Schools, upon graduation prefer to opt a career in major corporate law firms in contrast to a career in litigation or the government.

At the same time, the demand for corporate lawyers in light of India's globalizing economy is increasing at a rapid pace.

The issues for consideration in this Consultation are why do students from National Law Schools seem to prefer careers in corporate law firms; how can the legal education system cater to the emerging needs of the new economy.

It will also examine how to organize training and education for alternate dispute resolution systems, especially arbitration.

A large number of legal education providers in India are privately administered law colleges.

While National Law Schools and government Law Colleges cater to the needs of a few in terms of legal education, the needs of the many are still met by the private sector.

If legal education is to be improved, it is essential to maintain, monitor and promote standards in education throughout the range of legal education institutions in various parts of the country, including private law colleges.

The quality of legal education provided in these institutions differs widely from institution to institution, and there is a need to ensure that certain minimum standards are maintained by all such law colleges, at the same time encouraging the best to compete with the State-funded institutions.

In the valedictory session, Union Minister for Law and Justice would present draft resolutions based on the discussion and deliberation to take place in ten technical sessions on May 1 and 2, 2010.

Justice S. H. Kapadia, Judge Supreme Court would give valedictory address while Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resources Development (HRD) would give special address.

Source Link: http://www.indiaedunews.net/Law/Government_mulls_major_reforms_in_legal_education_11384/

FY BSc at Gujarat University will now be taught only in English medium

FY BSc at Gujarat University will now be taught only in English medium


Ahmedabad: The Gujarat University has decided that the medium of instruction in First Year of Bachelor of Science will be English starting from the June 2010 term.
The decision was taken at a meeting of principals of science colleges affiliated to GU on Wednesday.There are eight science colleges in the city with around 4800 seats.
So far 2400 seats were for Gujarati medium students, while the rest were for English medium. Initially, English will be compulsory in FY BSc and then extended to TY BSc.
The university authorities are of the opinion that the move will benefit students in pursuing higher education."The move will help the students in pursuing MSc, MPhil and PhD. It will also increase the percentage acquired by the students," said vice-chancellor of Gujarat University Parimal Trivedi.
BK Jain, principal of MG Science Institute, appreciated the move. "Students from Gujarati medium are not likely to face any trouble in the new arrangement. In engineering and medicine, English is already the medium of instruction and Gujarati medium students perform well in these disciplines," said Jain.
The principals were also of the opinion that English is the need of the hour.They feel that the university's move to make English compulsory as a medium of instruction in BSc will make the students more competitive.
"With globalisation, more and more multinational companies are coming to colleges for campus interview and they are picking English medium students," said Vishnu Prasad, principal of CU Shah Science College.
Jain also said that there is a dearth of science literature in Gujarati. The GU's move is also expected to help students who wish to pursue higher education abroad.


Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_fy-bsc-at-gujarat-university-will-now-be-taught-only-in-english-medium_1374140

Faith in God reduces stress, says a university research

Faith in God reduces stress, says a university research


Having faith in God certainly helps! Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that believing in God can reduce stress and anxiety immensely. The result, published in Psychological Science, shows distinct brain differences between believers and nonbelievers.
Assistant psychology professor Michael Inzlicht, leader of the study, used a Stroop task, a psychological test that entailed hooking up participants to electrodes that measured their brain activity. The result showed that religious people were less afraid of facing the unknown or committing mistakes, says a report published in 7th Space.
Compared to non-believers, the religious participants in the study showed significantly less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that helps modify behaviour by signalling when attention and control are needed, usually as a result of some anxiety-producing event like making a mistake.
The stronger their religious zeal, the less their ACC fired in response to their own errors, and the fewer errors they made.
“You could think of this part of the brain like a cortical alarm bell that rings when an individual has just made a mistake or experiences uncertainty,” Inzlicht said in an interview to a health journal.
He added that religious people or even people who simply believe in the existence of God showed significantly less brain activity in relation to their own errors.
Many researchers agree that believers tend to be happier, healthier, less stressed than compared to atheists, drink and smoke less and better at creating strong marriages and family support.
Hailing this research, Beato, author of The Power of Prayer, Endurance and Truth said,” I believe my life is less stressful because my belief in God,” says Beato. “God has given me support, hope and peace of mind anytime I’ve needed it."

Source Link: http://learnhub.com/news/1009-faith-in-god-reduces-stress-says-a-university-research

Cambridge University to train Indian Police Force

Cambridge University to train Indian Police Force

In order to achieve knowledge based policing and provide research based training to police officers, the O P Jindal Global University has signed a formal pact with the University of Cambridge, UK. Academicians from the field of law and crime from both the universities will come together to develop a special training programme and enrich the knowledge of the police officers, says a media report.
Lawrence W Sherman, Wolfson Professor of Criminology and Director, Police Executive Education, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge told an education-based portal that the university needs to emphasise on training the police executive officers for strengthening the current police system. He also added that knowledge-based policing is essential for a system supported with evidence based crime prevention.
With steps like Crime and criminal tracking network system (CCTNS), Unique Identification Number (UIN) and National Grid already being undertaken by the government for the advancement of the police force, Ashwani Kumar, Director, CBI, said that they welcome the various pacts being signed which will strengthen the Indian policing system.

Source Link: http://learnhub.com/news/1006-cambridge-university-to-train-indian-police-force

IIM Kozhikode will offer an Executive Post Graduate Programme in management studies on an interactive distance learning platform

IIM Kozhikode will offer an Executive Post Graduate Programme in management studies on an interactive distance learning platform


IIM Kozhikode (IIM-K) has collaborated with Hughes Net Global Education and will offer an Executive Post Graduate Programme (ePGP) in management studies on an interactive distance learning (IDL) platform to enable working executives acquire a career edge.

The programme, with the help of interactive classroom sessions, aims to provide management education to working professionals to enhance their skills and enable them to complete their post-graduation from an IIM.

The initial programme launched in 2009 saw 150 professionals being certified, director of IIM-K Debashis Chatterjee said.

"IIM-K is focused on learning as a tool to upgrade skills and improve career prospects. We have partnered with Hughes Net Global Education who have excellent platform for classroom learning," he said.

The two-year course comprises 810 classroom instruction hours and 90 hours on-campus learning. During the first year, the curriculum focuses on general management, while in the second year it offers specialisation in two functional areas from marketing, finance, strategy and operations management.

"This course is designed to provide a thorough understanding of specialised management functions and thus enable students to advance in their careers by way of promotions and better jobs and is similar to the residential PGP program available at IIM-K," Chatterjee said.

HughesNet Global Education is a satellite based education and training service initiative by Hughes for corporate and working professionals and students.
(PTI)

Source Link: http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2010_04_20_Beyond_The_Boundaries.html

Admission queries a click away

Admission queries a click away

For students like Saurabh Kumavat, cracking the Common Admission Test (CAT) to secure admission in the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) comes with its share of concerns.
But, there are channels available that help students like him take a smoother test.
A similar channel is Minglebox, a dot com company that offers services like help with online admissions and counselling amongst a host of other features, all for free.
“With four years of experience we have recognised common concerns that parents and students face while seeking admission in a management school or any other discipline,” said Kavita Iyer, CEO and Co-founder, Minglebox.com.
Minglebox has features like B-school recommender — a quick way to choose options like budget, location of the school; e-CAT Prep — an online platform for CAT preparation and online App 2010 that enables students to apply to more than 100 B-schools.

Source Link: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/admission-queriesclick-away/392315/

LU teacher seeks more time

LU teacher seeks more time


LUCKNOW: The six-member committee set up by Lucknow University vice-chancellor (VC) Prof MK Mishra to probe into allegations of `sexual harassment' levelled against a teacher will take a little longer to investigate and find out the truth.

The girl students of second semester of bachelor of tourism administration course had accused their teacher Ajai Kumar of indecent behaviour and acdemic laxity in their written complaint submitted to the V-C on April 8. It was on April 9 that the V-C had constituted a committee and made Prof Rakesh Chandra, dean, students welfare, LU, the convenor of the committee.

The committee was to give the report within a week. However, the committee which recorded the statements of 35 students and the teacher has asked the V-C for a little more time. The final report which was to be submitted by Wednesday afternoon will now be handed over to the V-C on April 27.

"We need little more time for deliberations," said Prof Chandra. The contents of the report have not been discussed by the committee so far. Though most of the members could have already signed the report by Tuesday itself. The matter being sensitive has kept committee from disclosing it.

Source Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/LU-teacher-seeks-more-time-/articleshow/5841952.cms