Kendriya Vidyalaya hits land hurdle in Odisha

Kendrapara (Odisha): Unable to get land, centrally-sponsored schools in at least five districts in Odisha may be forced to stop admission of new students.
In Kenderapara district, the Kendriya Vidyalaya is operating in a temporary facility. The district administration had promised to provide 15 acres of land for its permanent home, but has not followed through.
"As a result, normal function of the school is getting adversely affected due to poor infrastructure available," said Kendrapara Kendriya Vidyalaya principal Bijoy Kumar Parida.
"The pressent accommodation is inadequate to provide classroom teaching to nerly 400 students. The guardians and parents are aggrieved," he said.
Now the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, the apex body of Central schools, says it may not allow fresh admissions for the coming academic session.
Kendrapara district officials say they are not dilly-dallying. "A suitable patch of land has been earmarked for the central school at Barimula on the township's outskirts," an officials said. "The proposal for the transfer of the said land is being sent to revenue divisional commissioner for approval."
Things are even worse in neighbouring Jagatsinghpur district, where the Kendriya Vidyalaya has yet to begin operation. The authorities have failed to provide the required land, a lapse many blame on bureaucratic red tape.
"A temporary accommodation is being provided for the purpose, said Jagatsinghpur collector Narayan Chandra Jena. "Suitable land is located for the purpose." Kendriya Vidyalas in Bhadrak, Nuapada and Nayagarh districts are facing the same fate, with the apex body shooting off letters to concerned district officials.
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan commissioner has warned that fresh admission will be halted if land is not allocated, sangathan sources said.

Govt to set up separate department for welfare of disabled

New Delhi: Government will soon set up a separate department for welfare of persons with disabilities within the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.


The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has got in-principal approval from the Prime Minister's Office in this regard and the Cabinet decision is now awaited for creation of  the Department of Disability Affairs within the Ministry, officials said here on Friday.

The proposal was moved by the Ministry sometime back aftera need was felt to create a separate department under a Secretary-rank officer to address the issues of people with disability, they said.

Presently, the issues related to empowerment of disabled people in the country are looked after by a division in the Social Justice Ministry.

The formation of a separate department will ensure better implementation of government schemes and proposals for betterment of disabled people, the officials said.

All the statutory bodies, national institutes and Public Sector Enterprises working in the areas of empowerment of disabled people will be put under the new department after it is created, they added.

As per the 2001 Census, there are 2.19 crore disabled people in the country which is around 2.13 per cent of the total population. These include persons with visual, hearing, speech, locomotor and mental disabilities.

Maximum number of 34,53,369 disabled people were registered in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar and West Bengal.

According to the NSSO Survey of 2002, 75 per cent of persons with disabilities live in rural areas. While 49 per cent of disabled population is literate, only 34 per cent are employed.

Treasure trove of Bengali science magazines

Kolkata: Banking on 40 years of experience in running a science club, a retired headmaster in West Bengal has built up a treasure trove of Bengali science magazines, many of which are no longer in print.

Established by Dipak Kumar Dan, the archive at Gobardanga in North 24 Parganas district, about 60 km from here, has about 200 Bengali science magazine titles, some of which are 60 years old.

The prized collection includes ‘Bijali, a magazine on electric energy which was in its 32nd year of publication in 1965; ‘Chikitsa Jagat on health which was running for 40 years in 1970. There is also ‘Jnan o Bijnan since its 1950 edition brought out by Satyendra Nath Bose.

Dan, assisted by his wife Rekha, also a school teacher, had set up the Gobardanga Gabeshana Parishat, 'to arouse the thirst for scientific knowledge and for research'.

"When I was a college student, I had seen magazines at the Bangiya Bijnan Parishad. Since then I had dreamt about having such an archive of science magazines at Gobardanga where people particularly students could come and read them," said Dan who retired as headmaster in 2010.

The Parishat's collection of science magazines is part of a library which also has many books in Bengali in science besides encyclopedias.

There are magazines on topics as diverse as agriculture and computer science. Besides ‘Bijali, the Parishat has ‘Aparajeyo Putrakanya (disability), ‘Dhandha (mathematics), ‘Akash Darpan (astronomy), ‘Saar Samachar (fertilizer) and Photon (photography).

"We have magazines published from various parts of West Bengal, Tripura and about 20 titles from Bangladesh. Some of the magazines were published by the governments of West Bengal and Bangladesh," said Dan.
Set up on February 21, 2010, the Parishat will inaugurate the first floor of its office building later this month. Of late, the Parishat has been collecting rural newspapers and little magazines.

On the cost involved, Dan said, "We do not require financial assistance from the government or anyone else. We are managing with our own resources.

"I and my wife Rekha, are happy with this. If someone visits the library and wants to do research we will be happy. We can also study. We have plenty of material to study here," said Dan, who has a number of books on science to his credit.

"From my experience in the science club, I know I can have more magazines but I don't have enough space to keep them," lamented Dan who had set up the science club, Gobardanga Renaissance Institute in 1973.

Descriptive catalogue of rare historical works released

New Delhi: Vice-President Hamid Ansari released a descriptive catalogue of manuscripts and facsimile copies of historical works Rozmnama, Tarikhi-Alfi and Ilajut Tuyur.

These catalogues, which have brought out by the National Archives of India, have been translated in Persian and published in English as well as in Persian, a government statement said.

The descriptive catalogue, comprising more than 190 manuscripts, is classified in five groups religion, history, language, literature and general.

Ansari also released a descriptive catalogue of manuscripts of Fort William College on the occasion, the statement said.

Research Funding Proposal

Kolkata: On January 24, Project Management Institute (PMI), which is the global project management advocacy body, announced its 2012 request for proposal with respect to 2013 research funding.

The proposed research must be in direct application to any of the different aspects of the project management. Additionally PMI also encourages proposals on research work concerned with multi-disciplinary team of investigators, academics and practitioners.

The Academic Resource Department of PMI is known to solicit research proposals on any project-related topic and the funding is provided to a select few. The organisation seeks scholars who are both contained within the realms of project management and also outsiders.

PMI has been sponsoring projects since 1997 and many of the sponsored projects have become research monographs, articles and white papers. PMI members can avail of the current research materials at no cost.
The call for proposal commenced on February 1 and will continue till April 25; those qualifying for the second round will be notified of the same by July. Up to $ 50,000 will be awarded as grant and the funded projects will begin by January 1 2013.

Interested candidates can get more information on researchprogram@pmi.org.

Internfair launches with success

Mumbai: Starting January 12, thousands of students across the country participated in Internfair with the hopes of getting a step closer to their dream internships. With eight major contests and a series of daily events, Internfair has something to offer for everyone.

With brands such as BerkshireInsurance.com, EADS Innovation Works, Teach for India, National Social Entrepreneurship Forum etc. offering internships to winners at Internfair, this first-of-its-kind initiative in India by Internshala has become a perfect platform for students to grab meaningful internships that can boost their career prospects and for companies to find the perfect intern, a right combination of knowledge, skills and a go-getter attitude.

With prizes worth two lakhs accompanying dream internships, scores of students from various colleges have registered at Internfair to prove their skills in a variety of competitions such as App Design, Business  Case Contest, Social Media Challenge, NSEF Young Thought Leaders awards etc.

Round one for four of the eight major contests has concluded. However, participation for the following events is still open –
1. The Social Media Challenge – The flagship event of Internfair through which BerkshireInsurance.com is hiring the smartest interns across Marketing, Operations, and IT profile
2. Teach for India internships – a must attend for those with a keen interest in the noble social cause
3. EADS Innovation Works Challenge – For all the android app design enthusiasts with interest in image processing
4. Creative Communications – a print ad design contest being conducted on Internfair’s Creative Community partner BrandPotion.com

In addition to that, one can also participate in ‘The 55 Micro Fiction Contest’ – a daily event in partnership with Internfair’s Online Education Partner, myeducationtimes.com.

For more details, please log on to http://www.internfair.internshala.com/internfair/

Canadian Universities to start offices in India

New Delhi: A consortium of nine Canadian Universities is starting offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to cater to the ever-growing demand of foreign universities in India. “These offices will give us a presence in India and help integrate our academic and research activities,” said Roseann O'Reilly Runte, vice-chancellor, Carleton University.

The consortium includes Simon Fraser Unversity, Ryerson University, University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, University of Ottawa, Univerite Laval, University of New Brunswick and Univeristy of Manitoba along with Carleton University.

InvEnt Scholarship 2012

The Avery Dennison Foundation InvEnt (Invention + Entrepreneurship) scholarship programme aims to reward invention, innovation and excellence in high-achieving students studying in the fields of engineering and technology at selected higher education institutions in India and China. These scholarship awards are part of a programme offered by the Avery Dennison Foundation to inspire the spirit of invention among students. The InvEnt Programme also includes a series of engaging on-campus Discover Innovation Workshops for awardees and other interested members of the academic community at participating colleges.

The participating colleges are M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore;  Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani; Anna University, Chennai and  Pune Vidhyarthi Griha's College of Engineering and Technology, Pune.

Selected students will receive US$ 1,200 scholarship to be used in their second year of study.

Eligibility criteria

All Indian nationals, who are currently enrolled in the first year of studies at a participating college are eligible to apply. The candidate should be interested in invention and innovation in science and technology and should be studying any one of the following academic fields: chemical engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, textile engineering or print engineering.

Deadline

The deadline for submitting the application form is February 20, 2012.

For details and to download the application form, log on to  http://www.iie.org/avery-dennison

GATE 2012 overview

Twelve lakh aspirants took the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) examination on February 12. GATE is conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for admission to postgraduate programmes in engineering, technology, architecture and pharmacy at national level. 

GATE 2012 largely followed the pattern of last year’s paper, as previously announced in the GATE prospectus. The paper consisted of 65 questions with a maximum score of 100 marks. The questions were MCQ type with four options. Every wrong answer incurred a negative marking of 1/3.

The question-wise breakup of the paper was as follows:

•    Engineering mathematics: 15 marks
•    General aptitude (verbal ability & numerical ability): 15 marks
•    Core engineering subjects: 70 marks

Cut-offs this year are likely to be marginally higher for both the papers (keeping in view the large number of students appearing in GATE 2012). Overall, it was a scoring paper for students with strong fundamentals. 

CS / IT 

This paper was marginally tougher compared to GATE ‘11. A majority of the questions were from DBMS and data structure and algorithm and computer network whereas very few questions were seen from compiler design. There were no questions from software engineering. In terms of the difficulty level, questions from TOC and DMGT were the toughest and questions on DBMS and data structure were the easiest.

GATE 2012 saw the weight-age allotted to computer networks increase from six percent to 13%, while the weight-age allotted to computer organisation decreased from 16% to three percent as compared to last year. There was very change in the weighting of subjects like maths, compiler design and digital. 

Mechanical engineering 

In general, the difficulty level of this paper was similar to that of the last year. GATE ‘12 saw the weight-age allotted to manufacturing and production engineering increase from 12 % to 16%, while the weight-age allotted to thermodynamics decreased from 19% to 13%. There was very little change in the weight-age of subjects like maths, general aptitude and applied mechanics and design.

About 21% questions were from manufacturing section whereas very few questions were seen from thermal science, which includes thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. In terms of the difficulty level, questions from mechanics and design were the toughest.
Electronics and Communication Engineering 

A majority of the questions were from Electromagnetic Field Theory (EMT) whereas very few questions were seen from EDC. In terms of the difficulty level, questions from Electronics Devices & circuits (EDC), Analoq, EMT, Communication were tougher. One surprise was that there were no questions from 'microprocessors' this year.

Instrumentation Engineering 

A majority of the questions were from Transducers and Networks whereas very few questions were seen from Analog and Digital Electronics. In terms of the difficulty level, questions from Networks and Transducers were tougher than last year's paper which had Analog and Control Systems as its toughest subject.

Electrical Engineering 

A majority of the questions were from Math and Networks whereas very few questions  were seen from Electromagnetic Theory (EMT). In terms of the difficulty level, questions from Analog, Â Network, EMT were tough as compared to last year which had Analog as its toughest subject. GATE 2012 saw the weight-age allotted to Network increase from 7% to 13%, while the weight-age allotted to Power System decreased from 11% to 6% as compared to last year.
(The analysis was conducted by the CL GATE Aspire team)

US varsity offers doctorate for education professionals

New Delhi: As India emerges a global education market, the University of Southern California (USC) is offering a new doctorate course aimed at professionals in the field of education.
The programme, being launched by USC Rossier School of Education, is a doctorate in education (Ed.D.) aimed at working professionals aspiring to be high-level practitioners in the field.
"The highlight of the programme is it will be training professionals in global education with a focus on making global leaders in the field of education," elaborates Mike Diamond, professor in the USC Rossier School of Education.

Diamond was in India along with Dominic Brewer, Rossier vice dean for partnership and research, to talk with prospective candidates for the new Global Executive Ed.D. programme.

The university is also setting up an office in Mumbai.

"It will be on the lines of MBA (master of business administration) programmes," he says.

Unlike the traditional Ph.D., which is for students planning to go into professional teaching, this course is for professionals. Around 25 people will be chosen for the course from around the world, of which three to four will be from India.

"An Ed.D. is a professional doctorate aimed at working professionals aspiring to be high level practitioners in education as opposed to a Ph.D. which is aimed at individuals aspiring to be future academics," says Diamond.

"We have interest in establishing relations with countries in the Pacific rim and India," he says.

"India is a major country with tremendous education needs and a huge education market. Students from the US and India can work together and solve many problems education is facing," he says.

"The idea is to focus on global issues and not just country specific issues," he says.

Diamond adds that the University of Southern California already has a large number of Indian students, with courses in engineering, technology and business being the most popular courses.

"The school of engineering is our most established programme, a number of our students come from India," he says.

Indian students make the second largest group of foreign students in the US after China, consisting of almost 14 percent of foreign students, according to the Open Doors Report.

The report also revealed that a small one percent fall in the number of students going to US was registered in 2011. In 2010-11, 103,895 Indian students took admission in US universities, while the number was 104,897 in 2009-10, marking the first such decline since 1998-99. IANS

VIT entrance exam on April 21 2012

Vellore: Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, invites application for the entrance examination for admission to the B.Tech Programmes, offered at the Institute.

Admission to the Programmes will be based on Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE) to be held on 21st April 2012 (Saturday), in 112 cities as per the list of Test Cities (with their corresponding codes given) at APPENDIX- III of the Information Brochure available at www.vit.ac.in/admissions/viteee2012/VITEEE_Brochure_2012.pdf

B.Tech. Programmes offered at Vellore Campus include (i) Bioinformatics (ii) Bio-Medical Engineering (iii) Biotechnology (iv) Civil Engineering (v) Computer Science and Engineering (vi) Electronics and Communication Engineering (vii) Electrical and Electronics Engineering (viii) Electronics and Instrumentation  Engineering (ix) Information Technology(x) Mechanical Engineering (xi) Mechanical (Specialization in Automotive Engineering ) (xii) Mechanical (Specialization in Chemical Process Engg. )

B. Tech. Programmes offered at Chennai Campus are (i) Civil Engineering (ii) Computer Science and Engineering (iii) Electronics and Communication Engineering (iv) Electrical and Electronics Engineering and (v) Mechanical Engineering.

VIT Engineering Entrance Examination will be held from 2.30 pm to 5 p.m [IST] on 21st April 2012 (Saturday). The question paper which will be in English only will have only objective type questions and will contain 4 parts, Physics (Part I), Chemistry (Part II), Mathematics (Part III) and Biology (Part IV). Each part will have 40 questions with each question carrying one mark. Each question will be followed by 4 alternative answers.

Candidates can also obtain the application form in person from the VIT University at Vellore or VIT University at Chennai or from the Administrative Office, New No. 6, (Old No. W-73), Second Street (Opposite Towers Club), Anna Nagar, Chennai-600 040 (Phone: 044-42016555, 65480555, Fax: 044-26222555), by submitting a Demand Draft for Rs. 950/- drawn in favour of ‘VIT University, payable at Vellore.

Candidates may obtain the application form through post from the ‘Admissions Officer, VIT University, Vellore-632014,by sending a Demand Draft for Rs.950/-, drawn in favour of ‘VIT University, payable at Vellore, with name, Mobile Number and address of applicant written on the reverse of the DD, along with a covering letter indicating the complete postal address, requesting for application form. On receipt of the DD, the application form with the enclosures will be sent by post. The postal charges will be borne by the Institute..

Candidates can also apply online at www.vit.ac.in/admissions. Online applicants need pay Rs.900/- only as fee. The application form duly completed, refolded only along the original fold and inserted in the envelope provided, with the correct Test City Code entered on the envelope and checklist ticked, should reach the office by Registered Post/Speed Post in the self-addressed envelope provided, on or before February 29, 2012.

More details can be had from the Information Brochure at www.vit.ac.in/

Admission into SRM Institutions - Last Date - March 31

Chennai: SRM University, Kattankulathur invites aplication from prospective canditates for admission to the below mentioned programmes for the academic year 2012-2013 at Chennai ( Kattankulathur/ Ramapuram /Vadapalani/) and Delhi ( Modi Nagar ) campuses.  

I. ENGINEERING(i) B. Tech: Aerospace | Automobile | Bioinformatics | Biomedical | Biotechnology | Chemical | Civil | Computer Science | Electrical & Electronics | Electronics & Communication | Electronics & Instrumentation | Food & Process | Genetic | Information & Telecommunication | Information Technology | Instrumentation & Control | Mechanical | Mechatronics | Nanotechnology | Software

(ii) B. Des - Interior Design

(iii) B. Arch - Bachelor of Architecture

(iv) M. Tech: Bioinformatics | Biomedical | Biotechnology | Chemical | Communication Systems | Computer Aided Design | Computer Integrated Manufacturing | Computer Science | Construction Engineering & Management | Database Systems | Electronics & Control | Embedded System Technology | Environmental | Food and Nutritional Biotechnology | Geo Technical | Genetic | Information Technology | Information Security & Computer Forensics | Knowledge Engineering | Multimedia Technology | Power Electronics & Drives | Power Systems | Remote Sensing & GIS | Robotics | Software Engineering | Solar Energy | Structural Engineering | Telecommunication Networks | VLSI Design | Water Resources & Management | Nanotechnology

(v) M. Arch - Architectural Design

(vi) MCA

II. MANAGEMENTM.B.A | PGPM | PGPRM

III. SCIENCE & HUMANITIESB.A - Journalism & Mass Communication |
B.B.A | B.C.A | B.Com | B.Ed |
B.Sc - Biotechnology, Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Econometrics, Film Technology, Hotel & Catering Management, Information & System Management, Information Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Visual Communication |
M.A - Journalism & Mass Communication, Political Science, Public Administration,
International Relations |
M.Ed |
M.Sc - Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Hotel & Catering Management, Information Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Visual Communication |
Diploma - Hotel Management, Teacher Education, Film Acting |
PG Diploma - Journalism |
M.Phil Education

ELIGIBILTY- ENGINEERING :

B.Tech: A pass in 10+2 or its equivalent and for (a) all programs: Minimum aggregate of 70% in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (b) Bioinformatics, Biomedical, Food & Process, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, minimum aggregate of 70% in Mathematics or Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

B. Des: A pass in 10+2 or its equivalent having a minimum aggregate of 70%.

B. Arch:  A pass in 10+2 or its equivalent having a minimum aggregate of 70% with English and Mathematics as subject of study and a minimum of 40% in National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA).

PG PROGRAMS: A pass with minimum aggregate of 60% in the qualifying examinations.

HOW TO APPLY:  Applications can be availed in four ways:
(1) Buy Application for Rs 750 by cash from sales outlets* to fill and send to Direction (Admissions)
(2) Download Application from www.srmuniv.ac.in to fill and send to Director (Admissions) with DD of Rs 750 favouring SRMIST, payable at Chennai
(3) Apply online
(4) Write to Director (Admissions) with DD of Rs 750 favouring SRMIST, payable at Chennai. Application to be filled and sent to Director (Admissions).

Applications are available at all leading Branches of Axis Bank, City Union Bank, Indian Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, State Bank of India and Post Offices. Also at Kattankulathur, Ramapuram, Vadapalani and Delhi Modi Nagar campuses.

DATES:For all the programs: Last date for receipt of Applications: 31st March 2012

Entrance Examination: 6th May 2012 (10.00am to 12.30pm)

For programs in Science and Humanities Entrance Exam is not required.

For details, log on to www.srmuniv.ac.in/downloads/india_admission_2012.pdf

Entrance Examination for Ph.D - IFTM University

Name of the Institute: IFTM University

Entrance Exam for Ph.D., - Management, Pharmacy, Computer Applications, ECE, Mech, EEE, Biotechnology, computer Engg., IT, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology. Botany, English and Economics.

April 29, 2012 from 11.00 AM to 1.00 PM at IFTM University Campus.

How to Apply: Prescribed Entrance form can be obtained from Registrar Office or can be downloaded form University website: www.iftmuniversity.ac.in

Dully filled Entrance form along with certificate of qualifying examinations and required fees of  Rs.1500/- should be submitted to the Registrar office latest by April 10, 2012.

Contact details:

IFTM University

Lodhipur Rajput,

Delhi Road (NH-24),

Moradabad - 244102, U.P.

Ph: 0591-2360817, 2360818, 09411029918

For more details visit the website: www.iftmuniversity.ac.in

UK varsity course to focus on Hazares anti-corruption stiral

Mumbai: Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement will now be studied by students of Centre for Study of Corruption at the Sussex University.


University of Sussex's School of Law, Politics and Sociology has announced the creation of a new research centre at Sussex entitled the 'Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption' which offers a one-year masters' programme from the 2012-13 academic year.

"The effectiveness of Anna Hazare's high-profile campaign to clean up Indian life is subsequently something that is analysed within the MA programme," the Centre's head Dr Dan Hough told.

"Sussex University is listed in the top 100 in the world and has a long history of analysing politics, economics and culture in the non-western world. The Centre fits squarely within this tradition," Hough said in an email interview.

"Campaigns such as Hazare's are put very much under the academic microscope," Hough, who also runs a module on anti-corruption approaches, said.

The Centre was founded last year to analyse what corruption is, where it thrives and, most importantly, what can be done about it, he said. It will help understand why so many anti-corruption efforts have failed so miserably.

Infosys to expand India footprint with focus on tier-II cities

Ahmedabad: Software giant Infosys is looking to expand footprint in India with focus on Tier-II cities, a top company official said on Wednesday.

"We are looking for land in various parts of the country and looking to expand our capacity with a focus on Tier-II cities," Infosys CEO and co-founder S D Shibulal told reporters here on the sidelines of an award function.

"This year we added nearly 45,000 to 47,000 people. For the next year we have already given campus offers to 23,000 candidates," he said.

"The net additions by us this year are around 25,000," Shibulal said, referring to attrition.

The company recently sealed a deal with Madhya Pradesh government for setting up a development centre in Indore. It is awaiting response from West Bengal government for setting up a centre in Kolkata. The company is present in 10 cities.

"We are awaiting response from the Kolkata (West Bengal) government. We are positive on the offer made to them," an Infosys executive said, replying to a media query.

The company, which has been planning a centre in Gujarat as well, said that at present only the issues related to availability of land at fair price are being considered.

"We are focused on tier-II cities more, since some of the Tier-I cities are facing challenges of infrastructure," he said.

How to prepare yourself for public exams-Chemistry

With a strategical approach towards studying Chemistry would certainly bring good results, even though the subject is found hard and obscure by many students.

Although 12th standard chemistry is very tough, there is no chance of failing and definitely can get good marks if the subject is studied cautiously selecting the appropriate topics.

Apart from being well versed with self-evaluation questions and problems, students should prepare in such a way that they are able to answer all the questions in the textbook. 

Generally, students are alarmed of equations when talking of the subject-Chemistry. In order to bail out the fear of chemistry as well as to make the subject less complicated for students, the correction procedures in the government exams have been slightly changed. It is possible to do well in any topic by simply understanding and studying the lessons.

As per the blueprint of public exams, 76 mark questions are from Inorganic Chemistry, 76 mark questions are from Physical Chemistry and 81 mark questions are from Organic Chemistry with a total of 233 mark questions.  From Part-I Chemistry minimum of 95 to 100 mark questions are asked, Part II Chemistry consists of 115 to 120 mark questions.

If a student wants a just pass with 35%, it is enough to study every one-mark question from all the chapters, and three and five mark questions from 2,34,7,8,11 chapters. 

It is enough for a student to thoroughly study all the one-mark questions from every chapter, and three and five mark questions from 2,3,4,6,9,10,13,16,19 chapters to get 100 marks.

Studying all the one-mark questions from every single chapter, and three and five mark questions of 1,2,3, 4,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,18,19 chapters is enough to obtain 150 marks.

As per your capacity, if you schedule and study the three and five mark questions of the selected chapters it is possible to get good marks.   

It is possible to get good marks, if students meticulously study the following important portions when preparing for public exams.

In the Inorganic section, students should be thorough with Atomic structure, Periodic Properties, F& Block elements, Co-ordination Chemistry and Nuclear Chemistry.

Solid state, Thermodynamics, Chemical Equilibrium, Surface Chemistry, Electro Chemistry I & II in Physical Chemistry section.

In the Organic Chemistry section, study thoroughly Ethers, Bio-Molecules and Chemistry in action.

All that a student has to be sure of is the basics. If not strong in the basics of chemistry, it would look like Greek and Latin.

If studied with proper planning, it is possible to score good marks.  

Delhi gets helpline to facilitate students exam related stress

New Delhi: Students with high anxiety level and exam related stress have more help available - a Delhi-based hospital's mental health helpline recently announced the special arrangements for students.

According to an official from Delhi Mental Health Helpline said it will provide 24x7 service and assistance from counselors ahead of the board exams with the counselors also doing follow up call backs.

Ashok Chacko, Regional Director, Delhi Mental Health Helpline, said that the helpline will also send messages to all the prominent schools in the city to alert them about the need for stress-busting sessions. Instead of pinning unrealistic hopes on their wards or pushing them to the limit, parents should rather strengthen their morale and create a conducive atmosphere at home to reduce examination-induced stress. 

The word of caution comes ahead of the Class XII Board examinations that get underway throughout the country March 1. The helpline can be reached at 1860 266 2345.

"Most of the parents expect their children to be in the '90 percent' category in Board exams or want them to crack the IIT or pre-medical entrance tests, putting a massive strain on them," Chacko added.

This helpline is a collaborative effort of the Vandrevala Foundation, Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA), St. Stephen's Hospital and the Mar Thoma Church, specially designed for Delhi and north India, both parents and students can call the free helpline for counselling from expert psychologist and psychiatrists.  

The helpline has a three-tier system with clinical psychologists trained in counselling are primary call takers, while the calls are also escalated to trained psychiatrists depending on their severity. In extreme cases, calls are routed through to senior, experienced & empanelled psychiatrists.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has also started a pre-exam helpline from Feb 1 till April 16. The CBSE helpline can be accessed at toll-free number 1800-180-3456 between 8 a.m. and midnight.

NKN plans to connect over 1500 institutes in next one year

Hyderabad: The National Knowledge Network (NKN) of the Centre is planning to connect over 1,500 institutions across the country in the next one year, a senior official said here on Wednesday.


The NKN has already covered 670 institutions including universities, NITs, IITs, IIMs, CSIR labs and agriculture labs, R S Mani, Senior Technical Director with National Informatics Centre (NIC) told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar cum workshop on NKN.

NKN project aims at bringing together all stakeholders from science, technology, higher education, healthcare, agriculture and governance to a common platform. NIC is the implementing agency for the project.

The total project cost is Rs 5,990 crore which is to be utilised in 10 years and so far about Rs 1,500 crore has been spent, he said.

"Once the institutions are connected, if there is any collaborative work with IITs or NITs or universities, they will get a boost and at the end of the day, we will get products which can be used by everyone and probably the digital divide can be removed," Mani said.

In addition to network infrastructure, the NIC would try to provide common infrastructure which everyone can use. Principal Scientific Advisor to Government R Chidambaram, who addressed the gathering via video conference, said the applications of the NKN include delivery of distance education, collaborative research including with international partners, sharing of computing resources among others.

"The NKN is becoming an important part of the huge science infrastructure of India," he said.

Preparations on for Board examinations

A total of 50,293 students in Chennai to take class XII exams

The Directorate of Government Examinations is busy gearing up for the upcoming Board examinations. A detailed plan has been chalked out for the conduct of the class XII examinations, to be held between March 8 and 30.

The revenue district of Chennai, for administrative purposes, has been divided into three educational districts – south Chennai, with 32 examination centres, east Chennai with 25 centres and north Chennai with 44 centres. A total of 50,293 students in Chennai will take the State Board higher secondary examination, according to a press release from the Directorate.

A meeting in connection with the conduct of the examinations was held at the Collectorate on Wednesday. As many as six flying squads will be headed by the Chief Educational Officer. Each of the educational districts in the city will have four flying squads. Nearly 2,800 school heads will be involved in different capacities such as chief examiner, department officers, flying squad members and invigilators.

Severe action will be initiated against students indulging in malpractices, the press release said. In case students are caught copying, they will be barred from taking the examination for the next two years. Students caught for misconduct could be barred permanently from taking the examination or police action could be initiated. In case of malpractices involving an examination centre, disciplinary action would be initiated against the head of the centre. In case of a private school, the school's recognition would be cancelled and arrangements would be made for students to take the examination at another centre. Cellular phones will not be permitted in the examination hall.

Parents have also been asked to take good care of the students giving them healthy food and ensure that they reach the centre on time and safely on all days. 

New U.K. restrictions on work after study

From April, foreign students from non-European Union countries will be required to have a firm job offer of a minimum £20,000 a year from a government-approved employer if they wish to stay on in Britain after completing their studies, the government announced on Tuesday, piling agony on non-EU students already groaning under a raft of new restrictions which have led to a drop in Indian student numbers.

Under the current rules, students can work in Britain for two years after finishing their course but the government claims that the system is being abused with people using student visas to enter the country and then dropping out of their studies to look for employment.

The Conservative Immigration Minister, Damian Green said in the past “too many students have come to the U.K. to work rather than study and this abuse must end”.

“It is vital that we continue to attract the brightest and the best international students but we have to be more selective about who can come here and how long they can stay,” he said.

In a statement, the Home Office said that from April 6, “a more selective system” would come into effect so that “only the most talented international graduates can apply to stay in the U.K. for work purposes”.

“That means only those graduating from a university, and having a job offer from a reputable employer accredited by the U.K. Border Agency at a salary of £20,000 or more, will be able to continue living and working in the U.K. in order to benefit the British economy,” it said.

To boost the economy, student entrepreneurs with at least “£50,000 to invest in their business” will also be allowed to stay on and work after their studies.

Under a new “Graduate Entrepreneur” scheme, up to 1,000 university places will be available for students “working on world-class innovative ideas who want to stay and develop them but do not meet the requirements of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route”.

The new rules are part of a government crackdown on non-EU immigration to fulfill the Conservative Party's election pledge to drastically cut down immigration-levels. The issue has caused tensions within the ruling coalition with the Liberal Democrats opposed to what they regard as a xenophobic approach to immigration.

Businesses and universities have warned that too many restrictions would drive away international talent and ultimately hurt the economy. Non-EU students contribute nearly £8 billion to British economy every year, an estimated £6 billion in fee alone.

“This scheme is more restrictive than the old post-study work route and we are concerned that some Russell Group courses have already seen a drop of 30 per cent from India,” Wendy Piatt, director-general of the Russell Group of 20 top universities that include Oxford and Cambridge, told The Financial Times.

KV schools take the lead in adherence to RTE clauses

While many private schools are grappling with the implementation of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) for admissions to Class I, the schools under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) are taking the lead in ensuring every clause is being adhered to.

Parents formed long queues at counters in the schools under the KVS as sale of forms for the admission began on Wednesday. This is the second year that the KV schools have framed certain guidelines based on the clauses of RTE Act for the admission process.

Parents standing around the notice board at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Thirumangalam, carefully read the eligibility criterion for admission that said that they would accept students above five years as on March 31. 

“My daughter was born four days after the given date. But it is good that they are not compromising on the prescribed conditions,” said R. Kumar, who decided to seek admission next year for his daughter.

The issue of form and registration process will be on till March 20. Barring a few changes, the guidelines being followed this year by KVS, Chennai, are the same as last year. “Last year, priority was given to those  under the reserved category. For instance, a student under the Scheduled Caste category and whose parents are Central government employees would be considered for the 25 per cent reserved seats chosen through lots. But this year, the student will first be considered in the general category and if he/she fails to get admission under it, he can then apply to the reserved category,” said M. Vellaichamy, Principal, KV, AFS  Madambakkam camp.

Similarly, until last year the eligible age for applying up to class IV was calculated based on age as on March 31. Above Class V, the age was calculated as on September 30.

“But due to discrepancies in calculating the ‘age-appropriate class,' from this year onwards the age for all classes will be calculated uniformly as on March 31,” said N.R. Murali, assistant commissioner, KVS, Chennai. There are 39 schools under KVS in Tamil Nadu.

Out of the 41 seats allotted in a classroom for admission, 10 are set aside for various reserved categories such as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, physically challenged and children from economically weaker sections. “The students are chosen by drawing lots,” says Mr. Murali.

Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Kolkata IIMs make it to Asia-Pacific top 10 again

BANGALORE: The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) - Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Calcutta - continue to be the quality B-schools in the country.

The trio has figured in the top 10 in the Asia-Pacific region. The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2012 has put these B-schools among other Indian schools in the global rankings.

IIM-Ahmedabad is ranked second, IIM-Bangalore's rank is fifth and IIM-Calcutta is ranked eighth.

IIM-A and IIM-C have shown the biggest improvement in employer opinion this year in the region by improving four places.

Indian School of Business has been ranked seventh, S P Jain Institute of Management and Research is at 16 and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade at 21.

INSEAD, Singapore is number one in the region for the third consecutive year. Melbourne Business School (University of Melbourne, Australia), NUS Business School, ( National University of Singapore) and University of New South Wales were some of the other institutes that featured among the top 10 in the region.

The QS global report, which originated in the early 1990s, provides a detailed overview of the most popular business schools around the world based on information given by global recruiters.

It lists out 200 business schools from which employers prefer to recruit MBAs. The ratings are made regionwise (Africa and the Middle East; Asia-Pacific; Europe; Latin America; North America) and MBA specialization ratings.

According to the report, even though business schools in the United States and Europe remain the most popular destinations for MBA, schools in other partsm, like in the Asia-Pacific, are gaining popularity.

"Business schools in the Asia-Pacific region are looking at the standard of top American and European institutions as indicators of how they compare and where they could improve. Furthermore, the economic growth in some Asian countries, particularly in China and India, has heightened the demand for more accredited business schools in the region in order to train the next generation of successful business leaders," says the report.

"IIM-B has shown gradual improvements in the ratings, climbing from sixth (2009) to fifth (2010) and this year missed the top cluster by just 2.7 points," the report says.

However, there is a worry about international student enrolment.

"Many of Asia's business schools lack in international student enrolment, causing concern among employers who are looking for graduates to work in a multinational environment," the report says.

The percentage of international students in IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C and ISB is 1, 10, 3 and 5 respectively.

LSE may enter into tie-up with Nalanda university

PATNA: The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is mulling the idea of setting up its global partner university chapter at the proposed Nalanda International University (NIU), says LSE pro director, Professor Stuart Corbridge.

He is likely to discuss this matter with one of the NIU governing body members, Lord Meghnad Desai. "It would be wonderful if we can utilize this opportunity to set up a separate chapter for social scientists in the eastern part of this region," said the pro director, who is in-charge of research and international affairs of LSE.

Corbridge, who has done extensive grass root research in the remote areas of Bihar and Jharkhand during  the '90s, was in town on a three-day personal visit. He told TOI, "A large gathering of Indian alumni of LSE would meet at British High Commission, New Delhi on Thursday, in which the issue of tie-up is likely to be taken up."

The pro director has co-authored a book entitled 'Seeing the State: Governance and Governmentality in Rural India' and a number of research articles with a Bihar-cadre IAS officer, Manoj K Srivastava. Srivastava has a long association with Corbridge during his research on Bihar and at LSE.

He said the LSE has university-wise partnership in teaching and research with Columbia University, New York, Peking University, Beijing, Sciences Po, Paris, University of Cape Town and National University of Singapore.

After China and US, students of Indian origin constitute the third largest group in LSE. "Indian advisory board would be meeting on Thursday to seek advice and guidelines for identifying an Indian institute or university as one of the global partners."

Corbridge's main research interests include governance and accountability, including Right to Information, participation and empowerment, forest policies and politics in eastern India.

Quoting a recent figure, he said, "Indians normally spend nearly $4 billion on their children pursuing higher studies in some of the best universities." He expressed concern over lack of interest among Indian students in pursuing in-depth research in social sciences.

Amity signs MoU with Canadian varsity

Noida: Amity University on Tuesday signed an MoU with Canada's Carleton University for student and faculty exchange programmes.

President of Carleton University Roaseann O'Reilly Runte said the collaboration will bring innovativeness to the education provided at the universities.

"This collaboration will help students to combine their subjects with more creativity and innovation as part of their education," she said.

Deadlock between medicos-AP government continues

Hyderabad: Striking medicos in Andhra Pradesh continued their agitation on Tuesday in support of their various demands, including hike in stipend, while a mediation attempt was made to end the deadlock.
"The Telangana government doctors association sought some clarifications from us to speak to the government. We gave that. But we have not received any communication from the government so far. We are ready for talks if invited," Phani, a leader of the junior doctors association said.
Asserting that it has accepted majority of the demands of striking medicos, the government had appealed to them to end their agitation.
"The government is fully sympathetic towards the agitating medical students. We have accepted 11 out of their 13 demands. The stipend has been hiked to over Rs 20,000. It is not fair to demand Rs 29,000 or Rs 39,000. At least now, they should think wisely and end the agitation," state Medical Education Minister K Murali Mohan had said on Sunday last.
While the government announced that it accepted 11 out of the 13 demands, it has not done anything concrete over the demands and is not ready to give it in writing, Phani had said.
The medicos have been agitating for about a month now in support of their demands. They held talks with government several times but the issue remained unresolved.

Kalam, Hegde to get S R Jindal Prize

New Delhi: Former president A P J Abdul Kalam and ex-Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde would be bestowed with the S R Jindal Prize for their contributions in the field of Science and Technology and social development.

The awards carrying a cash prize of Rs 1 crore each would be presented on February 23 here. Sitaram Jindal, patron of Sitaram Jindal Foundation and CMD of Jindal Aluminium, said the sole objective of instituting the Jindal Prize and S R Jindal prize for individuals and organisations is to motivate others to come forward and engage in such acts of welfare for the citizens.

Other awards like Jindal Prizes for Education, Health and Rural Development and S R Jindal Prizes for Crusade Against Corruption, Rural Development and gallantry awards would also be given away on February 23, a release said.

Create knowledge systems, not learning systems - UGC Chairman

New Delhi: Higher education institutes in the country should strive harder to be knowledge systems, rather than just learning systems, chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Ved Prakash said here.

"Most of the institutions fall in the category of learning systems and not knowledge systems. Research and teaching are two distinct activities today and are rarely used together," Prakash said at the concluding ceremony of the Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) staff training programme.

Headquartered in the national capital, the UGC works on maintenance of standards of university education and providing recognition to varsities.

"There is a need to overcome the barriers that have been created between the conventional and distance education systems, which are in fact complementary to each other," said M. Aslam, vice chancellor of IGNOU.

The university will soon be establishing its study centre in Zambian Open University for three masters in business administration (MBA) programmes. 

Civil Services Prelims 2012 date announced

New Delhi:  The Civil Services (Preliminary) examination 2012 is scheduled on May 20, 2012 for recruitment to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and certain other Group 'A' and Group 'B' Central Services / Posts.

Conducted by the Union Service Public Commission (UPSC), the examination will be held at various centers across the country.

Candidates can apply online through the official UPSC website. Any difficulty over filling up of the on-line application form, candidates can contact the facilitation counter of the commission or over telephone no. 011-23389366 / Fax No.011-23387310, on working days during working hours.

Last date to fill up the online applications is March 5, 2012 till 11.59 pm after which the link will be disabled.

For details regarding the syllabus and scheme of the examination, centers of examination, guidelines for filling up application form etc. log on to the official UPSC website.

In case of any guidance, information, clarification regarding their applications, candidature etc. candidates can contact UPSC's Facilitation Counter near 'C' Gate of its campus in person or over Telephone No. 011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098543 on working days between 1000 hrs and 17000 hrs.

Young scientists felicitated

Chennai: IIT Madras, CLRI and Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA) jointly organized “Young  Environmental Scientist Awards 2012” on 11th February 2012 at IIT Madras Campus.

Industrial Waste Management Association (IWMA) is a non-profit Association promoted by the Pollution Control Board to facilitate secure disposal of industrial wastes in Tamil Nadu.

IWMA instituted Young Environmental Scientist (Y E S) award for the best teams from city schools on projects relating to Recycling, Waste Management, Rain Water Harvesting, Climate Change and Energy/Water Conservation.

Faculty from IIT, scientist from CLRI and technocrats from the industries were the panel of judges. The  finals were held at the IC & SR auditorium, IIT Madras on 11th Feb 2012.

Out of nearly 50 participating teams, 10 each in Junior and Senior categories were selected to exhibit their projects and made to  present on February 11, 2012 to the panel of judges.

In the senior category, two second prizes were awarded to Chinmaya Vidyalaya Higher Sec School and Sindhi Model Senior Sec Schools for their projects on Green Architecture New Age Mud Walls and Weather Power Convertor in Seniors Category. No First Prize was declared in this category

St Johns English School and Junior College, Besant Nagar bagged the first prize in the junior category for their project on 'Potactic', 100 % Eco friendly Biodegradable plastic made from starch of rotting potatoes.

Prof. R. Nagarajan, Professor of Chemical Engg, IIT Madras was the Chief Guest. In his speach asked the children to follow their instincts. 

Karaikal to get new medical college soon

Karaikal: Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Tuesday said a new medical college and hospital would be set up here under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model soon.

Speaking at a function organised by the Wakf Board yesterday, Rangaswamy said the Government was keen on improving the healthcare facilities in the town.

"With a view to improve the healthcare facilities in the district, a new medical college and hospital will be set up under PPP model. We are holding talks with four institutions interested in the project. Foundation stone for the new medical college will be laid in two months," he said.

He said the Government would allot funds for executing the development projects in Karaikal after the end of the budget session.

Rangasamy also distributed prizes to the toppers in SSLC and HSC public examination.

XLRI final placement attracts big corporates

Jamshedpur: The economic downturn seems to have not affected the placement season at the premier XLRI School of Business & Human Resources which successfully concluded its final placement process & 98 per cent of the batch was placed in first 3 days.


A total of 73 companies participated in the final placement process and 284 offers were made to a batch of 235 students, said a release from XLRI here today.

The average domestic salary for the final placement this year was Rs 16.48 lakh, while the median domestic salary was Rs 15.5 lakh. The highest domestic salary offered was Rs 40 lakh and the highest international offer stood in excess of USD 125,000.

Goldman Sachs, the largest recruiter, made 12 offers for its Asset Management and Investment Research roles in the finance sector. Standard Chartered offered roles in financial markets, while one student was made an offer in N M Rothschild's Investment Banking division, the release said.

Other recruiters within the Banking and Finance Sector included Citibank, Nomura, Bloomberg, Edelweiss, Rabobank, ICICI Bank, YES Bank, L&T Finance, SBI Capital Markets.

The reputed firms included Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey and Co, Deloitte Consulting, while Gallup Consulting was a first time recruiter at XLRI and offered multiple roles across divisions.

Expressing satisfaction over the process, E Abraham, Director of XLRI said, "Despite the slowdown in the global economy, the placement process at our campus concluded in a record time of just four days, with 98 per cent of the batch getting placed within the first three days."

Youth employment a high-priority agendaof govt: Prime Minister

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that youth employment is a "high-priority agenda" of his government but felt the infrastructure for the skill- development of young people is progressing slower than he had hoped.

"Youth employment is a high-priority agenda item for our government...We need to provide opportunities for gainful employment to the large number of young people who enter the work force every year," Singh said.

In his inaugural address at the 44th session of Indian Labour Conference, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for skill development of the young people.

"This can happen only if we equip our young people with skills that are required to meet the demands of our rapidly growing economy," he said.

Maintaining that the rapid growth of Indian economy since 2004 has clearly brought out shortcomings of the country's skill development processes, he said, "Today, availability of skills is possibly the single-most important constraint to rapid industrial growth."

Noting that the process of expanding skill development infrastructure is progressing slower in the country than he had hoped after the government launched Skill Development Mission, Singh urged the private sector to chip in with more vigour.
"The private sector would need to engage itself much more vigorously in these efforts if we are to overcome this massive challenge. Poor students must find it financially viable to learn a skill rather than take up a job prematurely. This requires that industry and government should work together to ensure that such students are adequately financed," he said.

Reiterating that his government stands committed to creating a regime of economic management which will usher in more job opportunities, Singh said, "But job opportunities can come only if the economy is expanding, and expanding fast enough."

Teaching and Research should be used together

New Delhi: UGC chairman Ved Prakash emphasised on developing close linkages between teaching and research in institutes and rued that the two are rarely used together at present.

"Research and teaching are two distinct activities today and are rarely used together," he said.

There should be a close linkage between teaching and research, Prakash said at a function organised by IGNOU. He also regretted the fact that most of the institutions fall in the category of learning systems and not knowledge systems.

Prakash said the UGC is aiming at increasing the enrolment from 20 to 30 million in conventional system and 4.6 million to 6.6 million under distance mode of education.

"It is only then we can say that we have arrived at 30 per cent gross enrolment ratio," he said. At present, the ratio stands roughly at around 14 per cent.

IGNOU vice chancellor Prof M Aslam stressed the need to overcome the barriers that have been created between the conventional and distance education system which, he felt, are in fact complementary to each  other.

He said IGNOU will soon establish its study centre in Zambian Open University for imparting MBA programmes.

New chairman for A N Sinha institutes board of control

Patna: Former Bihar Director General of Police D N Sahaya has been appointed as the new chairman of the board of control of the prestigious A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies (ANSISS) here, official sources said.

Sahaya, who has also served as the Governor of Chhattisgarh and Tripura, has been appointed at the institute with immediate effect, sources said.

ANSISS is governed by the board of control represented by the government of Bihar through its 12 nominated members, departments of education and finance, besides nominees of the ICSSR and the UGC, they said.
The tenure of the chairman would be initially for two years. The outgoing chairman, P K Sahi, who is also education minister, had joined last year in July.

The 77-year old Sahaya served as the first Governor of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to June 2003 and again became the Governor of Tripura from June 2003 to October 2009.

Talking to reporters Sahaya said: "I would make an endeavour to convert the institute as a centre of excellence for social research and studies by reviving its past glory."

Free coaching classes in district with lowest pass percentage

Shillong: Ahead of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examinations in Meghalaya, a district with the lowest pass percentage is conducting a five-day intensive coaching in science and mathematics for free.

East Garo Hills district with a pass per centage of only 22.24 per cent in the last board examination has decided to hold free intensive coaching classes from February 20 with free lunch in seven Centers, District Deputy Commissioner Vijay Kumar Mantri told.

He said the best of teachers have been selected for the coaching while the content have been prepared in consultations with a popular coaching centre in Tura.

Mantri said the government has also put emphasis on science and mathematics, subjects where more students fail.

Stabbing of Indian student a terrible incident: Britain

Bangalore: Britain termed the stabbing of an Indian student in London a "terrible incident" even as it sought to downplay it, saying the European country was one of the safest.

"I am aware of the case. Obviously it's a serious offence and we must all be very concerned about the victim", UK Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Jeremy Browne, told reporters in response to questions.

Three Indians have been charged with the attempted murder of Praveen Reddy, an MBA student in London, who was critically stabbed on Friday night in Newham.

Browne said the British police would investigate the incident "very carefully, very thoroughly" and they are generally very efficient in catching perpetrators of crimes.

"So, this is a terrible incident. Everybody in Britain will be very upset by what has happened", he said. Browne, however, stressed that "bad, terrible times" happen in all countries of the world but Britain is one of the safest.
"But I hope that people will not believe that this (the stabbing incident) is typical of what happens generally in Britain", he added.

Sangma concerned over below average academic results

Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma expressed concern at the 'less than average' academic results in three Garo Hills district of the state.

Adressing a silver jubilee celebration of the Garo Union School at Tura, he said, "the education sector, which was always given half-hearted attention by the government over the past years, needs urgent attention today."

"The role of the teachers must not only be confined to imparting lessons but also to counsel, motivate and guide students in their challenges in life," he said.

The chief minister also underlined the importance of the role of parents to motivate their children. "Counseling the students in class must become an agenda. Extracurricular activities should be encouraged  in schools to develop potential talent," Mukul said.

Accordingly, he said corrective measures should be introduced to address the problem and block level youth mapping aimed at tapping talent would be introduced during the year, which also coincides with the government declaration as the 'year of the youth'.

The chief minister also informed that the government has sanctioned the establishment of Model Schools on the lines of International schools in the state.

He said, "the identification of a suitable location was under process. Teachers will be paid more in these schools and much needed employment will be generated."

MCI told to approve students study in a Chinese medical university

New Delhi: The Medical Council of India (MCI) was directed by the Delhi High Court to give eligibility certificates to a group of students, pursuing five-year MBBS course in a Chinese University, to practice here after their studies.

Allowing a group of students' plea, Justice Hima Kohli directed the country's apex body regulating medical education and profession here to issue certificates to the students on the ground that they are in the middle of their studies in China.

The court's direction came on a batch of petitions by the students challenging MCI's decision rejecting their pleas for eligibility certificates in 2008.

In their pleas to the high court, the students said they were selected in September 2007 to pursue the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) course by the Jiggangshan University of China for the academic session 2008-13.

Claiming that the course was recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the medium of instruction for the same was English, the students said they had applied to MCI for the certificate under the Eligibility Certificate Regulation 2002 in August 2007.

The medical body, however, had rejected their applications in February 2008 on the basis of the Indian Embassy report that Jiggangshan University was not in the list of 30 universities recognised by Chinese government and even the medium of instruction was not English.

The students said they had moved to China after their admission but MCI refused to grant them the eligibility certificates despite repeated representations by them even as they it assured them that it would accord them the certificate after modifying the relevant rules but did nothing to keep its promises.

Merger of JEE and AIEEE will lower IIT standards: FIITJEE

Kolkata: Leading engineering tutorial institute FIITJEE voiced concerns over the proposed move of the government to merge the IITJEE and AIEEE exams and claimed it could lower the quality of prestigious IIT’s.


“This decision will lower the standards of IIT. Already, IIT's have been criticised for lack of quality and this decision may be a big blow as we do not know what change will follow in the opening and closing ranks of IITs,” R L Trikha, Director of FIITJEE Limited, told reporters here.

“JEE was a major factor that gave IIT's the exclusivity that they command today. A student preparing for JEE prepared for the test with the sole purpose of entering IIT and not a regional engineering college,” he said.

The recent decision of the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development of merging IIT Joint Entrance Exams (JEE) and All India Engineering Entrance Exams (AIEEE) has stirred mixed reaction among students and academicians.

If everything falls in place, by 2013, there will be a common entrance test for all government engineering colleges. Another significant change is that along with the test scores, a student's 12th standard marks will have 40 per cent weightage.

“School boards like CBSE, ICSE are easier to score than compared to state boards. This is unfair to students appearing for state boards compared to CBSE. For states like Bihar, the state board awards lower  marks than the national boards,” Trikha contended.

He suggested a better option would be to have multiple rounds of screening tests, rather than giving 40 per cent weightage to 12th standard results.

“There is also a need for uniform syllabus, since different boards have different marking systems, which needs to be standardised. And lastly, students will face immense pressure as there's a single exam to make it or break it,” the FIITJEE official said.

Discussion on Ramayana in Delhi University

New Delhi: It has been six months since the removal of scholar A K Ramanujan's essay 'Three Hundred Ramayanas' incensed the teaching fraternity at Delhi University, but the rumblings have refused to die down.


A group of mostly Left-bent organisations of teachers and students is reviving their campaign against the withdrawal of the essay by organising a public talk on the issue.

The talk to be held on Wednesday will be attended by a number of scholars from within and outside the university.
Titled 'The Ramayana: Versions and Subversions', the talk will see the scholars discuss the numerous versions of the epic tale of Lord Rama, the controversy around the essay, and the "censoring" of education.

The 30-page essay, which offers a number of tellings of the epic story of Lord Rama, including the Jain, Buddhist and Kannada narratives, had not gone down well with sections of the right wing, some of whom called it "blasphemous".

The decision to remove the essay from the History syllabus was taken by the Academic Council in October last year amid much protest.

Groups of teachers and students had come together in a series of protests and debates against the decision last year.

"We see the removal of the essay as part of the policy of this fascist varsity administration that aims to suppress all dissenting voices and squeezing of space for democratic protest," said DUTA Executive Abha Dev Habib.

An online signature campaign was also launched against the decision and among the noted scholars who had signed the petition were Prof Bipin Chandra, Prof Romila Thapar and Prof Mridula Mukherjee.

"We would like to keep this alive as all the issues that we are facing in the University today regarding curtailing of democratic rights are interlinked... We also want our MPs to raise this issue in the parliament," Habib said.

Placement process gets underway at IIM-Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: The final placement process on Monday got underway at the premier B-school Indian Institute of Managament-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) with global strategy consulting firms and i-Banks recruiting candidates on day one.
The global firms have offered roles to the candidates in their India offices as well as in international locations such as London and New York, an official statement said.

Around 410 students are seeking placement from IIM-A this year, including 372 from its flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Management, in the first cluster.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) made the maximum number of offers this year. The consulting firms have been a major recruiter at IIM-A over the years.

"BCG recruited 17 PGP students from IIM-Ahmedabad this year. It continues to be one of our core campuses for recruitment," Partner and Director BCG Ravi Srivastava said.

The recruiters on day one included BCG, McKinsey & Co, Bain & Co, AT Kearney, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Oliver Wyman and Accenture.

The duration of the final placement process has been cut short this year by IIM-A, with shorter gaps within two cohorts.

The placements for second cluster will be held on 17th February.

IIM-A has adopted Indian Placement Reporting Standards (IPRS) and it will be releasing a detailed report on the placements for 2010-12 batch three months after the convocation.