US hiring slows amid uncertainty about economy

Washington: The US job market slowed in March as companies hit the brakes on hiring amid uncertainty about the economy's growth prospects.
 
The unemployment rate dipped, but mostly because more Americans stopped looking for work.
 
The Labor Department said that the economy added 120,000 jobs in March, down from more than 200,000 in each of the previous three months.
 
The unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent, the lowest since January 2009. But the rate dropped because fewer people searched for jobs. The official unemployment tally only includes those seeking work.
 
Despite the pullback in March, the economy has added 858,000 jobs since December the best four months of hiring in two years.
 
A mild winter may have partially influenced the  disappointing job numbers in March. January and February were unusually warm, which allowed construction firms and other companies to hire people for outdoor work several weeks earlier than usual, effectively stealing jobs from March.
 
But the job market might have bigger problems. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other economists have warned that the economy is not growing fast enough to sustain strong job growth and tumbling unemployment.
 
Slower economic growth has led some analysts to scale back their forecasts for corporate profits in the January-March quarter.
 
Weak job growth could threaten a recent rise in consumer confidence and dent investors' enthusiasm for stocks. It also could prove a setback for President Barack Obama's re-election hopes.
 
But economists noted that it's just one weak month after three solid gains. Many were encouraged by strong job growth at factories, hotels and restaurants   industries that reflect the health of the economy.
 
And government hiring was little changed in March, a positive sign after months of job cuts at the state and local level.
 
"We are disappointed," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at JPMorgan Wealth Management. "But when you go inside and lift the hood, the numbers look a little better."  Obama emphasized that the economy is  still improving, if fitfully.
 
"It's clear to every American that there will still be ups and downs along the way and that we've got a lot more work to do," Obama said during remarks at a White House forum on women and the economy. 

Garhwal varsity postpones exams

Dehra Dun: Srinagar-based HNB Garhwal central university has postponed the examinations, which were to begin from April 7, for an indefinite period due to the ongoing agitation by students' union and varsity staff demanding removal of Vice-Chancellor for alleged irregularities in recruitment to several posts.
      
The examinations have been postponed till further orders, said Registrar of the varsity U S Rawat.
     
VC of the varsity S K Singh appealed to the agitated students' union and staff members to withdraw their agitation in the interest of the 1.5 lakh students whose future is being affected due to delay in the examinations, he added. 

Marx, Engels likely to be removed from WB school textbooks

Kolkata: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels founders of Marxismmay be out of history syllabus in government schools in West Bengal following a recommendation by a state education panel.
   
The move by the Mamata Banerjee government months after it ended the 34-year-old Left rule in the state was condemned by communist parties as "wrong and controversial" and an attempt to rewrite rpt rewrite history.
   
But the ruling Trinamool Congress defended the move, claiming the attempt is to "correct the imbalance" which was there is history textbooks in the state schools.    

Trinamool MP Dereck O"Brien also made it clear that the government was not trying to doctor history.
   
"Marx, I believe should be studied as a historical phenomenon but not at the expense of the Mahatma, and not at the expense of Mandela," he said, adding "Bengal is redressing balance, not doctoring history."
   
"History doesn't begin with the Bolsheviks and end with Basus and Bhattacharyas. History preceded them and will survive them," he added.
   
The state's school education syllabus committee tasked to modernise the syllabus and lessen the burden of unnecessary topics on students has recommended to abolish Marx and Engels and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in the textbooks.
   
The committee head Avik Majumdar is reported to have said that History syllabus in Bengal gave importance to a particular ideology and that an attempt is being made to give it a balanced approach.
    
Majumdar further said if there was any excess of anything, including Marx, it has to be done away with.
    
"I fail to understand why such a historic event and great masters of history will be excluded in the curriculum. This is not desirable and is unnecessary and unfortunate," a veteran Marxist and former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said.
    
CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta called the move atrocious.     

The history textbooks of Class XI and class XII discuss the Industrial Revolution and refer to Karl Marx and his contributions in that context.
    
The final draft of the new syllabus is expected to be submitted to the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education next week.
      
O'Brien said nine out of 695 pages of recommendations by the education panel are related to history.
      
"From Class four to Class twelve every year you are given a dose of Marx, Engels and the Bolshevik revolution. In the new syllabus, it is much more balanced, there is a much more balanced view, there is much more pluralistic view and at last children in Bengal are studying an unbiased history," he said.
      
Brien said Industrial revolution is part of the Class eight syllabus.
      
Dasgupta said the move is not only politically motivated but is also motivated to malign history.
      
CPI(M) MP Brinda Karat said the party has not discussed the move as yet but felt there is bound to be a reaction from parents. 

Free online Cambridge courses for English teachers

London: Experts from the University of Cambridge are offering English teachers a free online language awareness course as part of a new initiative to raise teaching standards worldwide.
 
The course will be available through 'Cambridge English Teacher', a new online community for English language teachers developed by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and Cambridge University  Press.
 
'Grammar for Teachers: Language Awareness' is an online self-study course developed by experts to boost teachers with more confidence in using English grammar, a release by 'Cambridge English Teacher' said.
 
"We're seeing some really encouraging teaching practices all around the world, but the key to raising English standards further is through ongoing professional development, which has been the driving force behind Cambridge English Teacher," said Andrew Nye, Stakeholder Relations Manager at Cambridge ESOL.
 
"We're encouraging teachers to take our language awareness course to give them even more confidence in English grammar so they can develop really effective classroom practices," Nye said, adding that the course is available through Cambridge English Teacher - an online community where teachers can connect with other professionals from around the world."
 
The community has already received over 2000 registrations since its launch earlier in March, the release said.
 
Nye said the project is building an online community that encourages English language teachers to share ideas and approaches on a global scale as part of their ongoing career development.
 
By paying a nominal annual fee, members of the community can upgrade their membership and can avail various benefits that include a free 10 hour professional development course, a 20 per cent discount on further courses and a digital subscription to English Teaching Professional magazine, Nye said. 

Australia launches website on education institutions

Melbourne: Australian government has launched a new website that will assist international students to compare the countries' tertiary education institutions on course satisfaction levels, staff numbers, drop-out rates and subsequent employment and make an informed choice.

Launching the 'MyUniversity website', Education Minister Chris Evans said it is a valuable tool, now that the government has uncapped university places.

"We've provided for students to choose where they want to go without restrictions, to choose the courses they want to study, and part of empowering them is to give them good information about what their options are," he said.

"We've got 39 public universities and other private institutions and we want to make sure that prospective students understand the choices available to them."

According to apex university body, Universities Australia, the site could be potentially useful.  

The universities have been ranked on criteria like student satisfaction, demographics and subsequent employment.

However, chief executive Belinda Robinson has raised concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the data.  

"The information comes from a variety of sources, including from universities, but a great deal of that information has been collected for other purposes," she said adding "Data on attrition rates, for example, is used to assist universities in their own internal planning."

"When it's used for this purpose, it somehow gives the impression that the higher attrition, the worse the university.

But of course this is not the case, because we know that attrition is often a consequence of students choosing to change courses, students choosing to change universities.

I think we all know of someone who perhaps started in science and later moved to medicine.  

She said parents and students should not see the MyUniversity website as a substitute for other information.  

This is a supplement to information that's already available, and of course the best information you can get is from the universities themselves," she said. 

Charles Dickens birth anniversary celebrated

Noida: The 200th birth anniversary of Charles Dickens (1812-2012) was celebrated at the campus of private educational institute Amity University here.
 
A one day seminar entitled "Dickens Beyond the Ages" was organised to explore the popular author's contribution to classic English literature, among which his work 'David Copperfield' was analysed for its contemporary relevance.
 
"Dickens' literary works were quite influenced by the economic state of England at that time as well as incidents from his own life," Chief Guest and former Dean at the Faculty of Arts, Rohilkhand University Dr P K Jain said.
 
The event was jointly held by Amity Institute of English Studies & Research (AIESR), Amity Institute of Corporate Communication (AICC), College English Teachers Association (CETA) and CCS University, Meerut. 

Paper leak: No relief for final-year B Com students

Mumbai: All final-year B Com students of Mumbai University in the city will have to reappear for the examination of one subject as the Bombay High Court refused to set aside the varsity's decision to this effect.
 
The Mumbai University had on April 1 declared re-examination for Marketing and Human Research Management (MHRM) after its question paper was "accidentally" leaked on March 27 among 40 students at BNN College centre in Bhiwandi.
    
According to the college, it had inadvertently circulated the question paper of MHRM instead of the question paper of Business Economics. The exam on MHRM was to be held the next day on March 28.
 
As per the new schedule, the examination will now be held on April 11.
 
Two students - Jayprakash Agarwal and Chetankumar Sharma - have challenged this decision in the High Court stating that the re-examination would cause inconvenience to over 70,000 final-year BCom students across the city.
 
A division bench of Justices S A Bobade and Mridula Bhatkar, however, refused to stay the re-examination and directed the University to file its reply within two weeks.
 
According to the petition, there was no need to hold fresh examination as the question paper of MHRM was leaked only to 40 students and no one else.
 
The two students had sought to quash and set aside the decision taken by the University for re-examination. 

PM to inaugurate IICA building in Gurgaon on Apr 13

Chandigarh: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Gurgaon on April 13 where he will inaugurate newly-constructed building of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
     
Union Minister for Corporate Affairs M Veerappa Moily reviewed the arrangements for the Prime Minister's visit to the industrial model township, Manesar in district Gurgaon. 
     
Moily went round the IICA building and inspected all those places in the institute which the Prime Minister would visit.
     
Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Union Ministers would participate in this programme.
     
The foundation stone of this institute was laid by the then Union Minister for Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta in November, 2008, the release said.
     
The IICA has been developed over an area of 14 acres provided by the state government and it will tie up with reputed international institutions like George Washington University and IIT, Kharagpur, for imparting training.
     
The five trustees of the institute would be leading corporators of the country. 

Educomp bags Rs 209 cr order from Assam government

New Delhi: Education solutions provider Educomp said its ICT division, Edureach has bagged an order worth Rs 209 crore from the Assam government under the ICT@Schools project.
 
Educomp signed the agreement with Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd, Government of Assam on March 23, 2012 for the implementation of Rajiv Gandhi Computer Education Programme (RGCEP), Educomp said in a statement.
 
RGCEP reaches 1,054 government high and higher secondary schools in the state and over 6.5 lakh students are expected to benefit from this programme every year, it added.
 
Educomp said with the addition of 1,054 government schools in Assam, the company now reaches a total of 12,176 government schools across 10 states, serving over 6.7 million students.
 
The project will be implemented under Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model for a period of five years.
 
Educomp will provide an IT lab, teachers, annual training workshops, web-based school management and monitoring software, multimedia educational content as per the state board curriculum covering subjects like Mathematics, Social Studies, English and General Science as well as courses on spoken English.
 
"We are pleased that over 6.5 lakh students in Assam will now have access to computers, computer-aided learning and learning tools which will bring their learning on par with many of their privileged city counterparts," Edureach President Soumya Kanti said.
 
Till date, Educomp has implemented ICT programmes under the PPP (Public Private Partnership) model in 36,401 schools across 15 states, the statement said. 

Make NCC training mandatory in schools: Haryana Governor

Chandigarh: NCC training should be made compulsory for both boys and girls studying in all the schools and colleges of Haryana, Governor Jagganath Pahadia said.

The training should be made compulsory for students to infuse in them a sense of patriotism and discipline, he said.
    
"National Cadet Corps is a key organisation of youth and has played a significant role in protecting the country," Pahadia said.
    
It has rendered its services for various social causes, the Governor said.
    
Pahadia was speaking at a function here organised to honour the 34 NCC cadets of Haryana, who had participated in the Republic Day Parade.
    
State Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present at the function.
    
While describing NCC as the third line to safeguard the country, Hooda said, "they not only protect the country but also spread awareness in the society by launching campaigns against various social evils."
    
Referring to many other countries where the military training was compulsory for students, Pahadia suggested Hooda to take up the issue with Centre for its consideration.
    
He also suggested that initially NCC training should be made mandatory in some schools and colleges in the state, he said, according to an official release.
    
Pahadia called upon the cadets to educate people in protecting environment.
    
The Governor also honoured 34 cadets and announced to give a cash prize of Rs 5,100 to each of them.      

Additional Director General, NCC, Major General P S Mander highlighted various activities of NCC in the state.
    
He said that during the previous one year, six cadets had joined as officers in defence forces. 

Students need to be utmost cautious while carrying out experiments

Coimbatore: It's highly imperative for students carrying out research and laboratory work, maintain utmost  caution to avoid fatal and irreversible damages.

In the recent past, several events of fatalities have been reported while students  carrying out research and other experimental works. Due to its feeble nature of fatalities some even go unreported.
 
Safety and caution should be given primary importance while involving in such activities.

In a recent gruesome incident reported from a laboratory in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kovai, revealed the death of C. Sreejana, a 27-year-old student when her dupatta got entangled in the belt of a machine in the laboratory. 

C Sreejana, an MSc student of Soil Science and hailing from Kathmandu, was doing her research work when the incident happened last night.

It was reported that the girl was working alone in laboratory and that it was her routine way of doing her experiments. 

Students carrying out experimental activities should have a proper guide beside them or at least a colleague to help in terms of any emergencies.

Hence, students must take from such incidents that security and safety is the prime priority even while doing academic exercises.

Faculty members should make it a point that students are working within safety parameters, be it college level in labs or primary level with mathematical instruments.  

Nobel laureates to take part in IIM's global conference

Kolkata: Nobel laureates, management gurus, business leaders, academicians and dignitaries from various walks of life will meet next year at the campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) for a global management conference.

The first of its kind two-day conference in the country will discuss various issues and challenges of emerging and developing economies like India and China at the IIM-C's campus in January 2013.

Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Dean (External Relations) of the institute told that the project would be funded by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development which had requested them to take the lead in organising an international-level management conference.

All the other 12 IIMs are also taking part in organising the conference, "which will do for IIMs and Indian management schools what the Literature Festival at Jaipur has done for Indian writing," said the institute's chairman of Board of Governors, Ajit Balakrishnan.

Situated at Joka, on the outskirts of Kolkata, IIM-C is ranked as one of the top ten B-schools of the country.  

The list of the speakers are yet to be finalised, Banerjee said adding a large number of people, including 3-4 Nobel laureates and other dignitaries, are expected to participate in the conference.

"We are inviting people from varied backgrounds for this conference. The issues of emerging and developing economics like India, China and Brazil will be discussed. Our issues are similar but the standard and conventional management practises may not apply here," he said.

Experts will re-look at the market model, issues, challenges, the way we are tackling it, and the solutions which can improve the lives of the people in the emerging economies, he added. 

Teachers under SSA to get salary in Arunachal

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh government has released an amount of over 98 crore for paying the salary of teachers serving under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). 
 
"The arrears from May last year to March this year has been released and will be paid to the teachers soon," Education Minister Bosiram Siram informed during a function at Pasighat in East Siang district yesterday, official sources said.
 
Sources said that as per the new salary slab, Junior Teachers (JT) working under SSA would get Rs 26, 543 per month while Assistant Teachers (AT) would draw a salary of Rs 21,175 which, is almost at par with a regular teacher's salary.
 
Earlier JT and AT teachers under SSA were drawing Rs.8, 500 and Rs 7,500 respectively.
 
Siram also informed that the government would ensure timely release of the salary of SSA teachers which had been the long standing demands of the teaching community, sources said. 

Indians may be put off as UK closes post-study visa

London: A facility that allowed Indian students to work here for two years after their courses are over will be closed from tomorrow as part of the Cameron government's drive to cut migration, which may put-off those aspiring to study in the UK.

Under the Tier 1 (Post-study work) route, Indian and other non-EU students were able to take up work for two years here after the completion of their university courses.

This route will be closed from tomorrow, the Home Office has announced.

The facility was popular among self-financing Indian students who sought to recover some of the expenses of studying here by working for two years.

The facility also enabled them to gain work experience in the UK that was seen to aid career prospects in India.

There are already reports of falling numbers of Indian students applying for university courses starting from September 2012.

From tomorrow, following the closure of the facility, international students will be able to apply for leave to remain in the UK under other immigration routes if they meet the criteria, but most such students are  unlikely to meet the higher income level and other criteria.

International students are estimated to contribute over 14 billion pounds annually to the UK economy.  

The closure of the post-study route was opposed by Universities UK and the British Council, given the possibility that the measure would reduce Britain's attraction as a destination for students from India and other non-EU countries.

Prime Minister David Cameron had promised to crack down on immigration at last year's Conservative party conference.  

In February, the British Council had called for an "urgent review" of the changes to the student visa system, particularly the closure of the popular post-study work visa from April this year.

The Council, which is responsible for promoting British education overseas, presented a detailed report to the government on the likely impact the recent student visa changes will have, and compared the experiences of Australia and US in this regard.

In a report titled 'Impact of Visa Changes on Student Mobility and Outlook for the UK', the British Council said: "Students from certain countries who mainly study postgraduate courses in the UK -such as India, Pakistan and others will be affected by the removal of the post-study work visa...The sooner this situation is addressed, the more contained the damage of bad publicity overseas will be."

The Home Office also announced that the annual limit for skilled Indian and other non-EU migrants with job offers in the UK would remain at 20,700 for the next two years until April 2014.

During the first year of its operation ending this month, the limit has been undersubscribed by about 50 per cent.  

Immigration Minister Damian Green said: "The government has been clear that the UK is open for business and our limit has been designed with the industry's needs in mind.

We believe there is no incompatibility between economic growth and controlling migration our reformed, more selective immigration system can achieve both." 

Virginia Commonwealth University to establish India Chair

Washington: To foster greater understanding about the Indian democratic framework, a US university has decided to establish India Chair, which is said to be the first endowed Chair in North America devoted to study this aspect of the country.
 
The India Chair in Democracy and Civil Society at the L Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will be devoted to studying this aspect of India, its history, culture, and vibrancy of its civil society.
 
Consequently, the university has launched a fund raising effort to raise USD 1 million Campaign for the India Chair in Democracy and Civil Society.
 
The inaugural dinner for this was held in Richmond recently which among others was attended by the Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao.
 
Unlike other industrialising countries where capitalism was embraced first and  democracy sought later, India is a rare example where democracy took residence even before modernisation and capitalism visited, the university said.
 
In the past decade, several Chairs of Indian studies have emerged at premier universities in North America and Europe.
 
While the work of these Chairs is helpful in understanding contemporary Indian democracy, it does not address why Indian democracy has withstood the test of time and why its place is so different than in other  developing and newly industrialising countries, it said.
 
While drawing on the work of these Chairs and on the scholarship of India, the India Chair in Democracy and Civil Society at VCU will focus on the kind of integrative understanding of ancient and modern India that is essential to understanding the Indian democratic ethos, it said.
 
According to the university, the India Chair in Democracy and Civil Society will attract a distinguished set of visitors to VCU, coming from leading Indian organisations and universities, North-American and European think-tanks and universities, leading luminaries from India's growing corporate sector, the Indian civil service, and leaders from the Indian Diaspora. 

Two-weeks summer programme for students at University of British Columbia

Okanagan (Canada): For students between the age of 16 and 18 with good comprehending skills in English, University of British Columbia (UBC) conducts Summer Scholars Programme from July 15 to July 28.

The two-weeks programme provides experiential learning about environmental science, sustainability, soil, agriculture and food, cities, forests and parks and fresh water resources.  Taught by UBC professors, the students will be provided with daily lectures on topics from water and forest management to urban planning, facilitating them to apply these concepts through interactive field research, gaining hands on experience in the mountains, lakes and forests of the Okanagan valley.

During the two weeks, students will have the opportunity to contribute towards current issues, issues in the local Okanagan environment, exploring the principles of landscape analysis and ecological decision-making that are universal. The basics of environmental science will be taught.

At the end of the course, students will have to take-up a project and provide a presentation where students will discuss and debate on the most current topics of environmental sciences with UBC faculty and graduate students.

Students with strong academic background, who can comprehend lectures in English, can apply for this programme. This programme is open to students from 16 and 18 years old and is entering last two years of high school after the summer 2012.

Admission will be based on suitability and on a first-come first-served basis, as only, 30 seats are available.

For more details about this programme, log on to www.summerprogram.isi.ubc.ca

HRD names 10-member committee to initiate community colleges

New Delhi: The HRD Ministry has constituted a 10-member committee to give shape to the government's ambitious plan to roll out community colleges in the country from the 2013 academic session.

The committee, to be headed by Madhya Pradesh School Education Minister Archana Chitnis, will submit its report within two months, spelling out the concept and arriving at an appropriate milestones for its launch, said a Ministry circular.

Officials said the committee could also undertake a trip to the US, a pioneer in community college movement, to study the system there.

Other members of the committee are education ministers of Chhattisgarh (Brij Mohan Agrawal), Assam (Himanta Biswa Sarma), Bihar (P K Shahi), Punjab (Sikander Singh Malooka) and Jammu and Kashmir (Abdul Gani Malik) besides ministers of higher education of Rajasthan (Daya Ram Parmar), Tamil Nadu (P.Palaniappan) and Maharashtra (Rajesh A Tope).

Joint secretary in HRD Ministry A K Singh would be the convener of the committee.

Government aims at promoting such colleges with an underlying objective of increasing gross enrolment ratio to 30 in the country by 2020.

While the concept note about the community colleges was discussed at the State education meet last month here, government also seeks to actively promote the community college system vocationalisation of higher education in the country. 

HC directs govt to discuss question of introducing moral education

Chennai: The Madras HC has directed the Tamil Nadu govt to discuss the question of introducing 'moral' education as a subject in schools in the state as suggested by an advocate, who attributed increasing aggression by youth due to lack of it.

Disposing of a PIL petition filed by advocate V Kashinatha Bharathi, the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the petitioner to produce a copy of their order along with a representation, given by him to the government, to the Director of School Education, who should discuss the issue and take a decision as per law.
     
The petitioner, also an office bearer of a unit of Nagapattinam district MDMK, cited various violent instances, including the fatal stabbing of a teacher of a North Chennai school by a student of her class recently.
     
Stating that moral education is not being imparted to students in schools, he claimed that moral studies, physical education training and yoga classes alone would create better citizens of the future.
     
He said he had sent a detailed representation to the authorities concerned on March 1, but that there was no reply till date.

ICHR to launch project to teach fading classical languages

Tiruchirappalli (TN): The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) is launching a project to teach the fading classical languages to senior teachers for the benefit of the next generation, according to ICHR member secretary Dr Ishrat Alam.

"Two languages, including Persian and Pragritham have been chosen for being taught to scholars. The objective to select the two languages is that most of the inscriptions in the country are in those two languages," he told.
  
He also said ICRH is bringing out a dictionary of economic, social and administrative terms with reference to South Asian Inscriptions.
  
The North Indian inscriptions are being prepared by Shrimali, while Persian and Arabic inscriptions are being prepared by Irfan Habib. The second volume of South Indian inscriptions, now in the manuscript stage, is being prepared by K V Ramesh, while the first has been released by Oxford University Press.
   
A Project to give open access to the ICHR website, which provides intricacies of Indian history to public and scholars is pending clearance from Human Resources Department, he said.   

The council had also embarked on a programme this month to collect, classify and digitize records owned by individuals or private collections on Indian history.
  
"Joys of history," a new programme is being launched at school level under which teachers would be taught to create interest among students on History as a subject.A programme is being prepared by the National council for teaching and research, he said.
   
The Long pending project of books on "Towards Freedom", narration of India's Freedom Struggle is nearing completion. Ten volumes on Indian freedom struggle would be released this year, he said.

Students move HC over varsity decision to hold re-examination

Mumbai: Two students have approached the Bombay High Court challenging the decision taken by the University of Mumbai to conduct re-examination of one subject after its question paper was accidentally leaked a day before the exam.

The question paper of Marketing and Human Research Management (MHRM) was leaked on March 27 accidentally among 40 students at BNN College centre in Bhiwandi. According to the college, it had accidentally circulated the question paper of
MHRM instead of the question paper of Business Economics.

The exam on MHRM was to be held the next day on March 28.

The university on April 1 while accepting that the paper was leaked, declared that there would be re-examination of MHRM on April 11.

However, two students of 3rd year commerce - Jayprakash Agarwal and Chetankumar Sharma - have challenged this decision in the high court stating that the re-examination would cause inconvenience to over 70,000 BCom students across the city.

"The question paper of MHRM was leaked only to 40 students in Bhiwandi. No other student got the question paper. Hence, there is no need for re-examination," the petition states.

The two students have sought quashing and setting aside the decision taken by the university for re-examination.  

The petition is likely to come up for hearing on April 5. 

AIRTSC signs MoU with TISS

Guwahati: Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes (AIRTSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to enhance the former's capacity building, training and research activities.
 
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the MoU would help AIRTSC to build its capacity, training and research activities for further socio-economic development of ethnic tribes, SC, ST and OBC and empower them socially and economically in a big way.
  
"The expertise offered by TISS would help to provide the much-needed impetus to AIRTSC to enhance its capacity building, training and research activities to a great extent," he said.
 
The government was also tying up with Stanford University, USA in the field of documenting the life and rich cultural heritage of the ethnic and indigenous communities of the state.
 
"We need to have intensive research on the various facets of life of tribal communities and for that international collaboration with reputed institutions is a must," Gogoi said.
 
The MoU was signed by AIRTSC Director D Sarma and TISS Deputy Director Virginius Xaxa in the presence of Minister of State for Welfare of Plains Tribe and Backward Classes Rajib Lochan Pegu and other senior officials. 

IIM- Ahmedabad presents blueprint for ARGUCM

Guwahati: Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad made a presentation before Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on the blueprint of a roadmap for Assam Rajiv Gandhi University of Cooperative Management (ARGUCM) for making it a Centre of Excellence. 
     
IIM, Ahmedabad has been working with ARGUCM since August 2010 following the signing of a MoU.
     
A three-member team of IIM, Ahmedabad comprising Prof. Sanjay Verma, Prof Vijay Paul Sharma and Prof. M R Dixit highlighted the structure of the university was made on strategic academic architecture, broad outline of the activities, key management process and milestones.
     
They suggested the opening up of five major schools namely Entrepreneurship and Management, Innovation and Technology, Culture and  Media, Public Policy and Law and Ecology and Sustenance.
     
Prof. Dixit pointed out that the broad academic areas for the university were teaching, training, research, consulting and holding seminars and workshops. 
     
The faculty members underlined the need for the university to have an international perspective and linkages with sensitivity from local to global issues.
     
The Chief Minister thanked the team members for completing the task professionally and urged the university to take concrete steps for realisation of its goal for effective socio-economic transformation of the masses, particularly the marginalised and disadvantaged groups. 

Govt to help unaided engineering institutes attain high standards

New Delhi: Aiming at enhancing quality of technical education in unaided institutes, government has decided to launch a special programme with World Bank support to generate quality engineers for better employability.

At present, there are 3,241 engineering institutes, 90 per cent of which are private unaided institutes.

Government has decided to launch the third phase of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) to help these unaided institutes attain higher standards in academics though improved quality of faculty and effective set up.

About 500 institutes will be covered under the plan which has a total outlay of Rs 2400 crore, said HRD Ministry official.

Selection of these institutes will be based on meeting the eligibility criteria and quality of proposals, the scrutiny of which will be done at state level and the evaluation at the national level, the official said.

"While the TEQIP was launched in 2002-03 with financial assistance of World Bank spread over 10-12 years, only about 60 private institutes could get involved in the first two phases. Hence the third phase would only target the private ones," the official said.

The plan is to enhance pedagogical training of faculty for effective teaching and enhancing institutional and system management, with both the HRD Ministry and the World Bank monitoring progress of these institutes.

The project cost will be shared by Ministry, the states and the unaided institutions, with each institute getting Rs four crore.  

The project will require the selected institutions to implement academic and non-academic reforms focusing on quality, excellence, resource mobilisation, greater institutional autonomy with accountability, research and equity.

All selected institutions should be authorised to apply for academic autonomy, the official said.

About the funding pattern, he said for strengthening institutions to improve learning outcomes and employability of graduates, the Centre will provide a grant of 60 per cent while the state and the institute will bear 20 per cent each.

On the other hand, for pedagogical training to faculty for effective teaching and for improving system management, the project cost will be shared between the central government and state governments in the ratio of 75:25.

Monitoring of these institutes will be one of the hallmarks of the project and will be based on the action plans prepared by each institution.

While the state governments will also monitor the performance, the Centre and the World Bank will conduct bi-annual joint reviews of the oroject with assistance from the National Project Implementation Unit, the official said.

Teachers to educate students on road safety

New Delhi: In the face of increasing number of deaths due to road accidents, the government said school teachers will be educating students on road safety.
    
"Starting from the current financial year, we will be imparting programmes on road safety for teachers so that they can transfer the knowledge on road safety to thousands of students," Road Transport & Highways  Minister C P Joshi said.
    
Speaking at a "National Workshop on Road Safety" here, he said: "We are also going to standardise road  safety materials for the school children for distribution in schools adjoining national highways".
    
The number of people succumbing to injuries in road accidents is on the rise with 1.34 lakh deaths in 2010 (over 367 deaths per day). This is compared to 1.23 lakh deaths in the preceding year.
    
"I am pained to know that during the year 2010, there were around five lakh road accidents resulting in death of over 1.34 lakh people," Joshi said adding.
    
Motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and users of other non-motorised vehicles accounted for around 40 per cent of the fatalities, the Minister said.
    
He said accidents were taking place despite government's efforts to educate road users on the need to adhere to road discipline.
    
Joshi said the government was trying to curb over speeding and drunken driving by amending the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
    
"The Cabinet has approved it with amendments on March 1 this year. The Bill will now be considered in Rajya Sabha during the current Budget session," he said.
    
The draft amendment bill provides for stringent penalties for the offence of drunken driving. The severity of the penalty is to be linked to the extent of alcohol present in blood.
    
It has also proposed higher penalties for repeated offences and over-speeding.     

"In future, there will be graded penalties for the offence of over-speeding also. This will be linked to the extent by which the maximum speed limit has been exceeded," Joshi said. 

Visa View - US

Toiling with the idea of getting a visa for the US? Wait no more. The process of applying for the visa has become simpler with efficient systems and cooperative consular officers ready to offer help at every step. William S Rowland, consular section chief, US Consulate Kolkata, says, “We want everyone to understand the visa process and apply for it. We have a huge robust bilateral exchange of people between India and US.”

There are nearly 104,000 Indians studying in the United States – second only to China. Indian students visa applications across the five consular posts increased by 18 per cent between FY 2010 and FY 2011. But there are no magic numbers or a certain amount of bank balance that can secure a visa for you. The important factor is the interview where some basic questions such as what you do in India, why are you going to US and how long do you intend to stay makes your intentions clear to the interviewer.

It is always advisable to tell the truth. Jeffrey K Reneau, director, American Centre, feels, “If your story is not genuine and you are terrified at the interview window, it will definitely show. In case of refusal you should wait for some time before you reapply.” Refusal does not mean you can’t apply some other time. Wait for your situation to change or collect enough documents to support your stand.

April, May, June and July are busy seasons so it is advisable to apply for the visa ahead of your scheduled  journey. It will take you hardly an hour to complete the visa process from the time you enter their premises to the time you depart. To minimise communication gap, interviews are conducted in English, Hindi, Bengali and Odiya. For other regional languages interpreters are allowed to assist applicants. Windows 1-7 are for the cashier, the intake windows and interview windows.

If planning for a holiday or looking to utilise the gap year, the visa renewal process is all good news. As part of the Department of State’s continuing efforts to streamline the visa process, the US Diplomatic Mission to India has implemented a pilot programme that will allow certain qualified individuals to apply for  visas without being interviewed in person by the US consular officer. This is done to boost travel and tourism in US and benefit visa applicants in India.

For applicants who are renewing visas, if the visa is still valid or expired within the past 48 months, and is within categories like business/ tourism (B1 and/or B2), transit (C), and crew member (D), the renewal application must be within the same classification as the previous visa. These applicants may get an interview waiver.

Students now can apply for visas 120 days before their studies begin, and are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. All embassies and consulates give priority to appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants. “We are proud to welcome foreign students as they offer valuable skills and knowledge, and contribute to advancements in academic fields through their work and research. The flow of international students into the US bridges cultural gaps, facilitates cultural interaction, and contributes to overall global awareness and goodwill,” avers Rowland.

Future of Retail

The Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM) at Saїd Business School, University of Oxford, announced the launch of an 18 month study into the future of retail.

Richard Cuthbertson, director, OXIRM, who is leading the research, said, “It is well known that factors such as rising retail costs, changing customer expectations, the need to rejuvenate and reshape our town centres, remodel out-of-town stores, and develop the many opportunities presented by online and mobile technologies, all mean that the clock is ticking for traditional stores. Many retail businesses are actively reconsidering their business models and particularly thinking about the relationship between digital and traditional activities.”

He said that the institute has worked for more than 25 years in the vertical and the project will build upon that insight to chart the retail landscape and explore the challenges and opportunities facing retail organisations. The research will involve talking to individuals from all parts of the retail sector and with policy makers; review retail experience overseas as well as technology developments and shape and test possible scenarios for retailing in the years ahead. The outcome, says Cuthbertson, will be the most thorough picture available of what the future of retailing may look like.

Cuthbertson believes that digital media will transform the retail experience, vastly enhancing communication of product and service information, creating opportunities for customisation, and providing more options for customers. Such a radical reconfiguring of retail will present a series of new challenges to retailers, who must simultaneously address back office support and supply-chain issues to efficiently service these innovations and to exploit fully the opportunities of developing technology. The research will explore many aspects of this transition from advances in mobile technologies, consumer analytics and big data, the integration of new solutions with legacy systems, and the new security and privacy issues emerging as applications and data proliferate.

The scope of the study extends beyond technology alone and will take a broad view of retail change including the socio-economic implications such as new and varied employment opportunities and the reshaping of the traditional town centre.

Sponsored by Intel, the research project will particularly focus on the relationship between digital and physical retailing as retailers look for the optimum approach to managing these two offerings.