Odisha HRD

Union Cabinet approved setting up of 20 new IIITs (December 2010)

Somehow we missed this news earlier. Following is from the PIB release http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68209.

January 4th, 2011

IIIT bill to come up in Budget session of the parliament in March

Following is from a report in expressbuzz.com.

In order to set up 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) with a public private partnership (PPP) model, the Centre has decided to introduce the Institutes of Information Technology Bill 2010 in the Budget session of the Parliament.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has prepared the draft Bill to allow the setting up of institutes in PPP mode which can function with complete autonomy and at the same time with professionalism and integrity. The Bill also proposes to declare the IIIT, Kancheepuram, Pandit Dwarka Prasad Mishra IIIT, Jabalpur, Atal Bihari Vajpayee IIIT, Gwalior and IIIT, Allahabad as institutions of national importance, retaining the individuality and autonomy of each institute.

The new IIITs would offer under-graduate, masters and PhD programmes.

Each institute will have an intake capacity of about 1,000 students within a period of six to seven years of their functioning.

The capital cost of each IIIT would be `128 crore to be contributed in the ratio of 50:35:15 by the central government, the state government and the industry respectively. Land for the institutes would be provided by the states, for a completely integrated campus with science and technology parks.

Each institute will specialise on specific area of Information Technology and each IIIT would be a centre of excellence in that domain. The project would start from the financial year 2011-12 with setting up five to 10 IIITs depending upon the response of the state governments and private partners, according to sources.

The draft bill mentioned above is available at http://www.education.nic.in/Acts/IIITBill-2010.pdf.

January 2nd, 2011

Sibal’s plans to expand engineering seats and involve corporates: new AICTE norms unveiled

Update: Following is the PIB release on it.

Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, announced revised norms for the approval process, for 2011-2012, of institutes that are regulated by the All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE), here today. 

The AICTE has been making an effort to facilitate stake holders in establishing good technical institutions in the Country. In order that a planned and coordinated development is ensured in technical education, AICTE for the coming year 2011 -12 has taken the following facilitative measures for Institutions, Faculty and students and others. 

1. Introduction of Section 25 of Company’s Act to allow good corporates to setup Technical Institutions. However no Joint ventures can apply for this. 

PPP and BOT model

2. Extended to 241 Districts where currently no AICTE Institution exists. This will facilitate spread of Technical education to all under represented areas. 

3. Benefits of MEGA Cities extended to Metros and MRDA regions. Now there shall be two classifications of Rural and Other areas where the land requirement is: Rural area 10 acres, Other areas 2.5 acres. 

4. FSI / FAR shall be considered for vertical Expansion where Management Programs will be allowed on FSI / FAR basis

5. Social Responsibility

5pm to 8 pm Courses for skill development that are based on the expertise areas possessed by the respective Institutions in the areas of Engineering / Technology / Architecture / Town Planning / Hospitality / Pharmacy etc are being allowed to be conducted by AICTE approved Institutions. This will facilitate the community around the Institutions to benefit by acquiring the skills provided by these Institutes. These Institutions are expected to form clusters with other institutions in the neighbourhood and collaborate with the Industries in the area in running these skill based programs. 

6. Upto year 2010, Architecture had 40 students / division. This has been raised to 60 Seats / division. to provide for larger no. of seats and optimisation of resources without having to set up new institutions in the area. 

7. Upto year 2010, different Programs like Engineering / Architecture / Pharmacy / Management / Hotel management and catering Technology, one each were allowed to be integrated into a single campus so that resources can be shared and optimised. Now this facility has been extended to more than one program to be integrated. Ie, 2 or more Engineering colleges, 2 or more management colleges and so on can be integrated as Technical / integrated campus to optimise resources

8. Upto year 2010, Tuition fee waiver scheme operated by AICTE allows for providing 10% supernumerary seats that are given to students of economically backward category. These seats were provided for Instituitions who may apply for such a scheme. Now these seats are made manadatory for every Institute upto 5%.

9. Security Money Deposit that takes care of contingencies in case of Institutions defaulting on their obligations, shall be replaced as money deposit in AICTE account. All existing FDR’s shall be converted to money deposit. This is necessitated because of 

• Earlier FDR’s being encashed without AICTE knowledge or permission

• Custody and logistics of maintaining FDR’s being a source of problems. 

10. The interest accrued shall be used to facilitate more stake holders like faculty, students, funding Institutions through schemes, and enhanced scholarships. AICTE has recently taken a decision to include all Government and Government aided Institutions as QIP centres in order to promote more research amongst faculty and produce more Ph. D’s. Hence a lot more faculty would be needed to be provided with QIP scholarships. This is also expected to be met from the money so generated. 

11. All institutions completing more than one batch shall be eligible to get 2 Courses / program / level / shift on self disclosure if facilities and infrastructure are available. One Course would mean an addition of 60 students or one division. The ceiling which was there earlier like no increase after an intake of 540 students has been removed. 

12. Institutions not completing one batch of passed out students shall get 1 Courses / program / level / shift on self disclosure if facilities are available. 

13. If institutions have accreditation a further 1 Courses / program / level / shift shall be given additional in the course accredited. 

14. 2nd Shift Courses and Women to Co-Ed Institutions shall be processed only after expert visits confirm that the infrastructure required exists with the Institutions. 

15. Stand alone PG Institutes can be started which was not the case earlier. 

16. Indian Degrees can be given in Campuses of Indian Institutions abroad subject to local laws. 

17. Overseas campus can be setup subject to local laws and Indian Government clearance. 

18. PGDM courses to be regulated as per several representations made. 



• Date of admissions and Model curriculum to be given by AICTE



• Admissions to be effected by States and Fee to be regulated by State fee committee. 

19. All approvals for Polytechnics shall be processed by AICTE. 

20. Students of XII Vocational / Technical of the State Boards or any other to be admitted to 2nd Year lateral entry of a Diploma Program

21. Students of B. Sc to be admitted to 2nd Year lateral entry onto a Degree Program provided they have passed Mathematics at XII or B Sc level and would be required to pass Engineering Graphics and Engineering Mechanics along with the second year subjects. 

22. 10% lateral entry setas increased to 20% in all states except Andaman Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Diu Daman where it is 30%

23. A separate division of 60 students / course can be started from 2nd year onwards in all AICTE approved Institutions subject to availability of infrastructure, exclusively for Polytechnic students for lateral entry. 

24. All approval process to be completed by May 31st 2011 to enable coordinated planning. 

MV/Hb

Following are excerpts from a report in India Today.

The new norms, allowing for an increase in the number of institutes and seats in various courses, will come into effect immediately.

(1) … all institutions completing more than one batch will be eligible to get two courses and programmes.

One course would mean the addition of 60 students.

(2) The earlier ceiling, which did not permit any increase after an intake of 540 students, has now been removed.

(3) All these steps envisage an increase in the number of total available seats by 50 per cent and a sharp increase in the workload of the faculty members. …

(4) The reforms also include relaxing land requirement for setting up institutions from 3.5 acres to 2.5 acres in urban areas and introducing section 25 of the Companies Act to allow ‘ good corporates’ to set up technical institutions. No joint ventures can apply for this.

(5) Until recently, postgraduate programmes could be started only where an undergraduate programme existed. But now, the AICTE will permit standalone postgraduate institutions to be started.

In regards to point (4) above one may note that one of the controversy regarding Vedanta University is regarding its status as a Section 25 company.

Following are excerpts from a report in expressbuzz.com.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday announced the revised norms for the approval process for 2011-2012 of institutes that are regulated by All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE). …

… From now onwards, technical institutes approved by the AICTE, have to reserve up to 5 percent of their seats for students from economically backward sections of society.

“Till now, tuition fee waiver scheme, operated by the AICTE, allowed providing up to 10 percent supernumerary seats that are given to students of economically backward category. It was the discretion on the part of the institution to apply for such a scheme. Now, these seats are made mandatory for every institute up to 5 percent,” Sibal said. The minister said, “These measures are aimed at easing pressure on the education sector and providing relief to the students in matters of admission.” 

January 1st, 2011

Vice President Calls for More Funds for State Universities to Improve Higher Education: PIB

Following is from http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68579.

The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that higher education cannot improve in India unless State Universities, which are the backbone and represent the bulk of enrollment, are able to obtain greater funds, create new infrastructure and enrich their existing academic programmes. Delivering foundation day lecture at University of Calcutta today Shri Ansari said, anecdotal evidence suggests that the budget of one Central University is almost the same or more than the budget of all State Universities in some States. Just like the Central Government has assumed the responsibility for elementary education through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, it should also vastly enhance its support to State Universities as a shared national enterprise, the Vice President observed.

Shri Ansari said, “Our Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education is half of the world’s average, two-third’s that of developing countries and around a fifth that of developed countries. Even though we have been able to achieve an economic growth rate of 9 per cent of GDP despite low enrollment in higher education, it would not be possible for us to sustain such economic growth, maintain our competitiveness and enhance our productivity without at least doubling our higher education enrollment. Unless we can increase access and educational outcomes at secondary and tertiary levels, our demographic dividend might turn into a demographic liability.”

Following is the full text of Vice President’s lecture delivered on the occasion:

“ This is a rare privilege. I do feel flattered to be invited to deliver the Foundation Day Lecture of a great and famous seat of learning, India’s oldest modern university, more so because of an ancient association of a few youthful years with this city. I also subscribe fully to what the Urdu poet Ghalib said about Kolkata which he visited around the year1830:

Kalkatte ka jo zikr kiya tu ne hum nasheen

Ek teer mere sine main maara ki hai hai

Ah me, my friend! The mention of Calcutta’s name

Has loosed off a shaft that pierces to my very soul

Voltaire was perhaps unduly cynical when he describes history as “nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.” This is certainly not true of the history of this great city which is, in a sense, also the history of modern India.

Most of us associate the year 1857 with the First War of Independence, with the heroic deeds of many, as also with the eventual failure of the effort to overthrow the foreign yoke and seek freedom from bondage. Few today would associate 1857 with another event of seminal significance. It was on January 24, 1857 that the Calcutta University Act was enacted. It was the culmination of a process initiated by Lord William Bentinck and energised by his successor Lord Auckland. The conceptual input and framework had come earlier from Sir Charles Wood. Its purpose, and ambit, was unambiguously linked to a colonial purpose, namely “to confine higher education to persons possessing leisure and natural influence” over the minds of their countrymen and who, by attaining a higher standard of modern education “would eventually produce a much greater and more beneficial change in the ideas and feelings of the community.”

The expectations from this endeavour were anticipated to be modest. The first Vice Chancellor, Sir James William Colvile, was candid about results. “We must recollect,” he said in the first Convocation Address, “that we are not merely planting an exotic (tree), we are planting a tree of slow growth.” His successor went against the tide of opinion in the British Indian establishment in the aftermath of 1857 and said three years later: “Educate your people from Cape Camorin to the Himalayas and a second mutiny of 1857 will be impossible.”

These worthy gentlemen evidently could not discern the thirst for new knowledge among segments of the public, nor could they anticipate the use that would eventually be made of it. The alumnae of this institution played a great role in the freedom struggle as also in the furtherance of knowledge in all fields. The record does speak for itself.

The proclaimed and principal purpose of the university was, and is, ‘Advancement of Learning’. There was an element of idealism about it. In a celebrated work published in November 1858, Cardinal John Henry Newman spelt out the idea of a university in terms worthy of reiteration:



“ A university is a place of concourse, wither students come from every quarter for every kind of knowledge…It is a place where inquiry is pushed forward, and discoveries verified and perfected, and rashness rendered innocuous, and error exposed, by the collusion of mind with mind, and knowledge with knowledge…It is a place which wins the admiration of the young by its celebrity, kindles the affections of the middle-aged by its beauty, and rivets the fidelity of the old by its associations. It is a seat of wisdom, a light of the world, a minister of the faith, an Alma Mater of the rising generation.”

Over the past century and a half, the ideal has retained its relevance. What has changed in response to the evolving external environment is the content, some of the methodology, and some of the end product. These were propelled by the enormity of change – political, economic, technological and cultural. A historian of our times noted at the turn of the century that “we are entering a fearful time, a time that will call on all our resources, moral as well as intellectual and material.” In this endeavour, the intellectual inputs from seats of learning and research would impact decisively on the moral and material resources needed to respond to the emerging challenges.

The need to revisit the framework for higher education in the country has been felt in recent years. This was summed up in the 2008 Report of the National Knowledge Commission:

“The emerging knowledge society and associated opportunities present a set of new imperatives and new challenges for our economy, polity and society. If we fail to capitalize on the opportunities now, our demographic dividend could well become a liability. The widening disparities in our country will translate into social unrest, if urgent steps are not taken to build an inclusive society. And our growth rate, which is faltering now, will stagnate soon, if a sustainable development paradigm is not created. “

A look at the ground reality is relevant to this discourse. Today we have 504 Universities, with varying statutory bases and mandates. Of these, 40 are Central Universities, 243 are State Universities, 130 are Deemed Universities, five institutions established under State legislation, 53 are State private Universities, and 33 are Institutions of National Importance established by Central legislation. We have a total teaching faculty of around 6 lakhs in higher education.

The structure and quality of these institutions, and their output, was the subject of critical scrutiny in the Yashpal Committee Report of 2009, tasked to suggest measures for the renovation and rejuvenation of higher education. One of its observations is telling:

“Over the years we have followed policies of fragmenting our educational enterprises into cubicles. We have overlooked that new knowledge and new insights have often originated at the boundaries of disciplines. We have tended to imprison disciplinary studies in opaque walls. This has restricted flights of imagination and limited our creativity. This character of our education has restrained and restricted our young right from the school age and continues that way into college and university stages. Most instrumentalities of our education harm the potential of human mind for constructing and creating new knowledge. We have emphasized delivery of information and rewarded capability of storing information. This does not help in creating a knowledge society. This is particularly vile at the university level because one of the requirements of a good university should be to engage in knowledge creation – not just for the learner but also for society as a whole.”

The Report goes on to say that our universities remain one of the most under-managed and badly governed organisations in society, with constricted autonomy, internal subversion within academia and multiple and opaque regulatory systems. Furthermore, university education is no longer viewed as a good in itself but as the stepping stone to a higher economic and social orbit.

The Report dwells on the increasing demand for expansion of private college and university level institutions necessitating an understanding of its implications in terms of the system’s enrolment capacity, programme focus, regional balance, ownership pattern, modes of delivery, degree of regulation, quality and credibility as well as social concerns of inclusiveness. It points out that State universities and affiliated colleges represent the bulk of enrolment in higher education and remain the most neglected in terms of resources and governmental attention.

Targeted government interventions to enhance access to elementary education through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have been successful in quantitative terms, even though problems remain with regard to content, quality and outcomes. You are also aware that one of the focal themes of the Eleventh Five Year Plan is the expansion and enhancement of access to higher education.

Our Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education is half of the world’s average, two-third’s that of developing countries and around a fifth that of developed countries. Even though we have been able to achieve an economic growth rate of 9 per cent of GDP despite low enrolment in higher education, it would not be possible for us to sustain such economic growth, maintain our competitiveness and enhance our productivity without at least doubling our higher education enrolment. Unless we can increase access and educational outcomes at secondary and tertiary levels, our demographic dividend might turn into a demographic liability.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, gross enrolment in higher education is not directly linked to economic growth and prosperity or to elementary school enrolment. Thus, for example, some of the economically and educationally backward states with respect to literacy rate and school enrolment, such as Orissa, Assam, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh have higher enrolments in higher education as compared to relatively better off states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It would seem that enrolment is a function of a variety of social, cultural, institutional and economic processes and is significantly affected by the availability of educational infrastructure and facilities.

In addition to expansion, the other two central themes of the Eleventh Plan are inclusion and excellence. This is recognition of the fact that expansion does not necessarily ensure automatic access to the marginalised sections of the society and that quantitative expansion without maintaining quality would defeat the basic objective.

There are five questions pertaining to higher education that need to be addressed urgently:

First, we must ponder whether the existing means of instituting new universities is desirable and sustainable. Currently, Universities can be established only through Central or State legislation or through recognition as Deemed Universities on a selective basis. Legislation has been accorded to many private Universities by some State Governments, and both Central and State governments have accorded statutory status to some institutions.

Second, higher education cannot improve in India unless state universities, which are the backbone and represent the bulk of enrolment, are able to obtain greater funds, create new infrastructure and enrich their existing academic programmes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the budget of one central university is almost the same or more than the budget of all state universities in some states. Just like the central government has assumed the responsibility for elementary education through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, it should also vastly enhance its support to state universities as a shared national enterprise. The Midterm Appraisal of the Eleventh Five Year Plan takes note of this option and has observed:

“Many state universities including the old and reputed universities of Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune are starved of funds and this allocation could be used for improving the conditions of the existing State universities and colleges which faces severe paucity of resources to help them retain their excellence and competitive edge….. The Central funding of State institutions should be linked to the reforms and a MOU signed between MHRD, UGC, States, universities and institutions for implementation of time-bound reforms and outcomes.”

Third, a significant focus of reform should be the college system, numbering around 26000 colleges, where most of the enrolment in higher education occurs. Sadly, under graduate education does not get the attention it deserves in universities amidst paucity of funds for qualitative development and quantitative expansion of colleges. The government is planning to establish colleges in 374 educationally backward districts in the country, representing over 60 per cent of all districts, with shared funding between the state and central governments.

Fourth, we need to liberate education from the strict and fragmented disciplinary confines of our formal higher education structures. This has become a significant impediment in the creation of new knowledge, especially in view of our stated objective of creating a knowledge society. We need to remind ourselves that the Indian Nobel Prize winners in the early part of the last century were a part of our higher education set-up. We had then allowed free interplay between science and engineering, languages and the humanities, performing and fine arts. It was at the fringes of such inter-disciplinary interaction that new knowledge was produced and existing knowledge flourished. I am aware of academic administrators who bemoan that those pursuing Mathematics could not simultaneously study Sanskrit grammar in India despite sound academic and research logic of doing so, due to systemic rigidities of our university system.

Fifth, higher education in our country must be an arena of choice, not of elimination. Increasingly, one notices that entrance and admission criteria and procedures are designed to screen out and eliminate, due to the adverse ratio of demand and availability, especially in disciplines with job potential or where the college or university reputation is likely to be a determining factor in employment. We must create avenues for skills training and vocational education so that entering universities does not become a default choice for the sake of employment, particularly for those who might not have interest in the subject or desire for higher education.

Allow me to conclude, ladies and gentlemen, by pointing out that the entire gamut of issues dealing with the rejuvenation and restructuring of higher education in India is in the public domain for an open policy debate. In the near future, we would witness civil society, policy community, academia, the government and the legislatures debating issues ranging from regulatory and governance structures, academic and administrative reforms, capacity building and teacher training, and entry of individual and institutional foreign education providers. This is a positive development and must be pursued to its logical conclusion.

It is my hope that this distinguished audience, and students, would be part of the ongoing debates on higher education. Each of you is an important stakeholder in the process and must contribute to it, not only as members of the academic community, but more importantly as citizens of this Republic. It is only with active engagement that we can hope to mould higher education as an instrumentality to achieve the Constitutional vision propounded by our founding fathers.”

This is an important speech. It gives some hints regarding what may happen in the 12th plan. It looks like there may be a significant central funding component for state universities.

December 21st, 2010

Principal position advertised for Vedanta sponsored Lanjigarh Science College in Kalahandi: From Dharitri

Although this may not become part of Vedanta University, such feeder and/or associated colleges in Vedanta Company’s operational areas will hopefully bring more goodwill to Vedanta University. This is a good start. More is needed though. Colleges that can take in mostly local students and produce graduates that can find jobs, such as Nursing and B.Ed Colleges in Kalahandi and Jharsuguda, would be appreciated.

2 comments December 4th, 2010

Concept of a University: as per the 2009 committee to review the then Deemed Universities

Following is from Section 2 of the report by the 2009 committee which reviewed the then deemed universities and divided them to three categories; the second category (which included KIIT University Bhubaneswar) of universities were found somewhat deficient and given time to correct the deficiency and the third category (which included SOA University Bhubaneswar)  were found deficient and it was recommended that the deemed tag may be taken away from them.

The committee consisted of Prof. P. N. Tandon, Prof. Goverdhan Mehta, Prof. M. Anandakrishnan, Prof. Mrinal Miri and Shri Sunil Kumar (Convenor).

Universities are institutions that are meant to sustain human practices and activities of a very special kind. They are, of course, concerned centrally with higher education and research, but their concern in these fields is very different from that of other institutions of higher learning and research which are devoted to imparting knowledge and skills that are essential to competent and creative pursuit of what might be called ‘technical professions’. Examples of such professions are: different branches of engineering, various aspects of medicine and surgery, and, in our times – because of the rise of corporations and bureaucratic governance -management and control of humans. It may be suggested, without much fear of contradiction, that the primary value of the kind of knowledge and skills imparted by such institutions resides in their utility – utility in creating an infrastructure for the physical wellbeing of the general public, utility in sustaining good health of individuals and the community, utility in enhancing the profit margins of corporations, and of course utility in terms of their own marketability. However, the very best of such institutions have shown the capacity to transcend utility, and this often has the effect of transforming the very quality of education they impart.

While universities are not entirely free from utility-driven higher education and learning, their core aim – if one may be allowed to say so – is very different. Universities are meant to be places -which facilitate and promote critical intellectual engagement with: (a) different traditions of thought and its great variety of expression, (b) modes of understanding the human condition and predicament, (c) the incredibly diverse inanimate and non-human living world. Such engagement obviously has many utilitarian and extrinsic values; but it is its intrinsic value that marks it off as a very special sort of human practice. It requires the development of a form of attention that focuses -beyond the interests of the self and its preoccupations with itself – on the other whether the other is a tradition of thought, or a particular human collectivity and its specific way of being human, or the physical world and its amazing intricacies, or the magieal variety of non-human life.

Such attention is valuable in itself not only because it entails the exercise of virtues such as honesty, courage and fairness, but, more importantly because these virtues must find a unity within the overarching virtue of care (some might even say, love). Care such as this requires the presence of the person – the whole ‘person – to the other, to the object of care. To be wholly present to the other in this way, is for the person to become more as a person. It enhances the human person as a person. The intrinsic value of university education lies ultimately in its inherent capacity to induce such enhancement of the person in us.

This is the truth of the commonly held belief that a truly educated person is larger as a person than an uneducated person. It is of course also true that a person may have gone through the process of education, including university education, and remained uneducated. Education has failed to make the difference in the latter instance which it is meant to have made. Some of the natural outcomes of such caring and critical attention and engagement are: traditions of thought and research are carried forward, creativity finds a central place, new modes of understanding and explanation emerge, just as new objects of such attention begin to loom on the horizon. These indeed are the intrinsic rewards of the practices sustained by a University. Think of the humanities, (which, as a result of the practicalities of the division of academic labour are split into "disciplines" such as literature, the arts, philosophy, history etc.); the human sciences (economics, psychology, anthropology, sociology and so on); the physical sciences including mathematics, the life sciences and exciting new areas of enquiry in them – think of them and the role of the Universities in taking them forward, in devising new modes of enquiry and uncovering fresh objects of study and thought.

It is important at this point to remind ourselves of what the Radhakrishnan Commission of Education 1948 had to say on the question of setting up of new universities – "….There are certain fundamental characteristics which should be inherent in any institution which is to call itself a university …It should be a place for providing a student with opportunity for all round well proportioned education for effective living and for citizenship, in addition to preparation for a calling. It may occur that a university shall develop special strength in some particular field, as in engineering or industrial development or in teacher-training or inforestry or fisheries. In fact, since no institution can be excellent in everything, it is desirable that areas of special strength be developed at least in all but perhaps the largest of our universities. However, these areas of special strength should be in addition to facilities for all round higher educqtion, and should not be a substitute for such facilities. Unless an institution aims at providing such all round training it should continue as a technical institute and should not aspire to be a university… Institutions doing perfunctory or mediocre work should not be dignified by university status."

Thus, what is crucial is that universities must not, in their various pursuits, lose sight of this essential concept of a university. There is, sadly, much truth in the general belief that many of our universities have willy-nilly lost sight of this idea. This has resulted in a certain debasement of the very concept of a university allowing institutions with little claim to the status of a university to aspire for such status.

November 27th, 2010

Odisha CM responds to the High Court judgment on Vedanta University land acquisition; time for us to take action in support of this

Update 5: The companies act of 1956 is at http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/companiesact/companiesacts.htm.

Update 4: The land acquisition act is given at http://dolr.nic.in/hyperlink/acq.htm. Following are the excerpts on the whole section on land acquisition for companies, including Section 40 referred below.

PART VII

Acquisition of Land for Companies

38. [Company may be authorized to enter and survey]. Rep. by the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 (68 of 1984), s.21.

[38A. Industrial concern to be deemed Company for certain purposes. – An industrial concern, ordinarily employing not less than one hundred workmen owned by an individual or by an association of individuals and not being a Company, desiring to acquire land for the erection of dwelling houses for workmen employed by the concern or for the provision of amenities directly connected therewith shall, so far as concerns the acquisition of such land, be deemed to be a Company for the purposes of this Part, and the references to Company in [selections 4, 5A, 6, 7 and 50] shall be interpreted as references also to such concern]

39. Previous consent of appropriate Government and execution of agreement necessary. – The provisions of [sections 6 to 16 (both inclusive) and sections 18 to 37 (both inclusive)] shall not be put in force in order to acquire land for any company [under this Part], unless with the previous consent of the [appropriate Government], not unless the Company shall have executed the agreement hereinafter mentioned.

40. Previous enquiry. – (1) Such consent shall not be given unless the [appropriate Government] be satisfied. [either on the report of the Collector under section 5A, sub-section (2), or] by an enquiry held as hereinafter provided, –

[(a) that the purpose of the acquisition is to obtain land for the erection of dwelling houses for workmen employed by the Company or for the provision of amenities directly connected therewith, or

[(aa) that such acquisition is needed for the construction of some building or work for a Company which is engaged or is taking steps for engaging itself in any industry or work which is for a public purpose, or]

(b) that such acquisition is needed for the construction of some work, and that such work is likely to prove useful to the public].

(2) Such enquiry shall be held by such officer and at such time and place as the [appropriate Government] shall appoint.

(3) Such officer may summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses and compel the production of documents by the same means and, as far as possible, in the same manner as is provided by the [Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)] in the case of a Civil Court.

41. Agreement with appropriate Government. – If the [appropriate Government] is satisfied [after considering the report, if any, of the Collector under section 5A, sub-section (2), or on the report of the officer making an inquiry under section 40] that [the proposed acquisition is for any of the purposes referred to in clause (a) or clause (aa) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 40], it shall require the Company to enter into an agreement [with the [appropriate Government]], providing to the satisfaction of the [appropriate Government] for the following matters, namely :-

(1) the – [payment to the [appropriate Government]] of the cost of the acquisition;

(2) the transfer, on such payment, of the land to the Company.

(3) the terms on which the land shall be held by the Company,

[(4) where the acquisition is for the purpose of erecting dwelling houses or the provision of amenities connected therewith, the time within which, the conditions on which and the manner in which the dwelling houses or amenities shall be erected or provided;

[(4A) where the acquisition is for the construction of any building or work for a Company which is engaged or is taking steps for engaging itself in any industry or work which is for a public purpose, the time within which, and the conditions on which, the building or work shall be constructed or executed; and]

(5) where the acquisition is for the construction of any other work, the time within which and the conditions on which the work shall be executed and maintained and the terms on which the public shall be entitled to use the work.]

42. Publication of agreement. – Every such agreement shall, as soon as may be after its execution, be published in the official Gazette, and shall thereupon (so far as regards the terms on which the public shall be entitled to use the work) have the same effect as if it had formed part of this Act.

43. Section 39 to 42 not to apply where Government bound by agreement to provide land for Companies. – The provisions of sections 39 to 42, both inclusive, shall not apply and the corresponding sections of Land Acquisition Act, 1870 (10 of 1870), shall be deemed never to have applied, to the acquisition of land for any Railway or other Company, for the purposes of which, [under any agreement with such Company, the secretary of State for India in Council, the Secretary of State, [the Central Government or any State Government] is or was bound to provide land].

44. How agreement with Railway Company may be proved. – In the case of the acquisition of land for the purpose of a Railway Company, the existence of such an agreement as is mentioned in section 43 may be proved by the production of a printed copy thereof purporting to be printed by order of Government.

[44A. Restriction on transfer, etc. – No Company for which any land is acquired under this Part shall be entitled to transfer the said land or any part thereof by sale, mortgage, gift, lease or otherwise except with the previous sanction of the appropriate Government.

44B. Land not to be acquired under this Part except for certain purpose for private companies other than Government companies. – Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, no land shall be acquired under this Part, except for the purpose mentioned in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 40, for a private company, which is not a Government company.

Explanation. – "Private company" and "Government company" shall have the meaning respectively assigned to them in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956).] 

Update 3: Following are excerpts from a report in Pioneer.

The dispute was over whether the Anil Agarwal Foundation is a private company or a public company in terms of the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. The Court held that the acquisition of land in favour of the Foundation is not permissible, except for some limited purposes enumerated under Section 40(1)(a) of the Land Acquisition Act, since it is a private company.

The Chief Minister, however, countered the Court’s stand by stating, “In this connection I may point out that acquisition was never made under this aforesaid provision but under Section 40(1) (aa) or 40 (l) (b) for a public purpose, the acquisition being for the purpose of setting up a university… As the Government has accepted, based on the records, that the Foundation is a Public Company, land acquisition for an educational purpose like for the proposed world class university would be permissible under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.”

Replying to the court’s observation that the Ordinance promulgated by the State Government in favour of the Foundation cannot give the legal status to the university proposed to be established in the acquired land by the Foundation, Patnaik observed, “The reference to the Ordinance is baffling and is an error apparent on the face of record. The fact is that no Ordinance has ever been promulgated by the Government for establishing the proposed Vedanta University. Under the UGC Regulations, 2003 a university can be set up by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature by a Section 25 Company or a Trust or a Registered Society. The promoter of the proposed University, the Foundation is a “not for profit” Company registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act”.

The Chief Minister further clarified that the Assembly has already passed a Bill in July, 2009 for setting up the Vedanta University with an aim to provide education of global standards in the State. The Bill is presently awaiting the assent of the Governor.

The High Court had also observed that acquiring land in which two rivers are flowing, and requiring the company to maintain the flow of these rivers, would affect the residents of the area. The Chief Minister contended that no land comprising the rivers, channels or embankment would be transferred to the university.

“There is also no proposal to alienate the water channels in favour of the proposed university and the ownership, possession and right of use of channel will continue with Water Resources Department, and hence will serve the interest of the public at large”, he claimed.

Update 2: Following are excerpts from an IANS report in sify.com.

‘The setting up a world class university in Orissa is most certainly in the larger public interest and his government had acted in a bonafide manner throughout the process,’ Patnaik told the assembly in response to an adjournment motion.

… Responding to the questions raised by some opposition members during the debate, Patnaik also reiterated that as per the records available with the government, the foundation had satisfied all the norms for converting itself from a private to public company.

 Update 1: Following are excerpts from a report in Business Standard.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has shot back at the Opposition, refuting all allegations regarding land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University Project.

Responding to the adjournment motion on the issue moved by the Congress MLA Prasad Harichandan, Patnaik clarified that land acquisition for the project was not illegal.

… Giving his initial response to the motion, the chief minister said,"After receipt of intimation of the Anil Agarwal Foundation about the change of its status from a private to a public limited company, notification was issued under Sub-Section 1 of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act in respect of 7184.37 acres of land which was subsequently reduced to 6137.90 acres. Acquisition has since been made in respect of 3495.21 acres of private land while government land to the extent of 509.27 acres has also been leased out to the Foundation”.

Referring to the High Court verdict on the issue, he said, “The High Court has held that the Anil Agarwal Foundation is a private company and not a public company in terms of provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. Therefore, it has held that the acquisition of land in favour of the Foundation is not permissible except for some limited purposes enumerated under Section 40 (1) (a) of the Land Acquisition Act. In this connection, I may point out that acquisition was never made under this aforesaid provision but under Section 40 (1) (a) (a) or 40 (1(b) for a public purpose, the acquisition being for the purpose of setting up a university.”

He further clarified that the Anil Agarwal Foundation had confirmed to the state government regarding the change of its status from a private to a public company with effect from November 23, 2006 by a resolution of the Extraordinary General Meeting pursuant to the approval of the regional director, Department of Company Affairs.

"The company subsequently produced a letter dated February 21, 2007 from D K Gupta, Registrar of Companies to its address stating that the company has complied with the provisions of requirements of Section 25 of the Companies’ Act and accordingly, the status of the company has been changed from a private company to a public limited company. A copy of this letter has also been filed before the High Court by the Foundation on June 20, 2008”, he added.

Patnaik also clarified that there has been no violation of Section 16 (2) of the Shri Jagannath Temple Act.

"So far as the acquisition of land from the Lord Jagannath Temple is concerned, about 606 acres spread over nine villages has been acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. There is no violation of Section 16 (2) of the Shri Jagannath Temple Act by such acquisition as the above section mentions about previous sanction of the state government for lease, mortgage, sale and alienation of land belonging to Lord Jagannath and would not, therefore, apply to the acquisition of land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act”, he added. …

Following is an excerpt from a report in DNA.

Indicating that the Orissa government might challenge the high court judgement on Vedanta University in the Supreme Court, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today claimed that there was no violation of law during land acquisition for the proposed project in Puri district.

"The period of challenging the order of the high court has not yet expired. The advocate general has been requested to advise the government on the subject, after which appropriate steps will be taken in accordance with the law," he said in a statement on an adjournment motion moved by Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan on the issue.

… The court, in its November 16 judgement, stated that the acquisition process by the state government for a private limited company was not legal.

The chief minister, however, said, "We started land acquisition process after receipt of intimation from Anil Agarwal Foundation about the change of its status from a private to a public limited company."

Claiming that the state government had not violated law of the land, Patnaik said that land was acquired for public purpose.

"I would like to point out that the Foundation had submitted a letter dated 22, November, 2006 issued by VS Rao, regional director, ministry of company affairs, Mumbai to its address, stating that their request for permission under section 25(8) of the Companies’ Act has been considered for conversion of status of the company from private company, and that the provision of section 23, 31, 189 (2) and 192 of the Companies Act are required to be compiled with," Patnaik said.

However, a representative of the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai in its affidavit before the high court on October 15, 2008 stated that though the Registrar considered the change of status from private to public limited company, it did not furnish a certified true copy of the altered memorandum and articles of association.

The company affidavit also stated that the company had less than 7 members, the minimum requirement of a public company.

"This stand is at variance from the contents of the letter dated 21-2-2007 reportedly issued by the Registrar of the company. In view of the apparent contradiction, this matter will be examined further and appropriate steps will be taken as per law," Patnaik said.

Patnaik also rejected other factors that the varsity project would affect the Konark-Balukhand Sanctuary, violation of environment act, forest act and others.

Admitting that about 600 acre of land belonging to Jagannath Temple was acquired for the purpose, the chief minister said: "The high court has not passed any order with regard to the acquisition of the Jagannath Temple land."

Patnaik also cited recommendation of a House Committee that had earlier recommended for disposal of temple land to augment the resources of the temple. "By present acquisition for the proposed university, Rs8.80 crore have been received by the temple administration," he said.

Stating that a world-class university was required for the state, Patnaik said Vedanta Group had selected Puri after looking for different places in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

It is great to read that the CM understands the importance of Vedanta University. He has taken a huge risk to his political career in supporting this. It is time we take action in support of this. Stay tuned for our action plan.

1 comment November 25th, 2010

Business India on Centurion School of Management in Parlakhemundi

The article starts as follows:

The Harvard-educated home minister P. Chidambaram could learn some valuable lessons at this campus located in the heart of the Naxalinfested tribal district of Gajapati in Orissa, bordering Andhra Pradesh. Centurion School of Rural Enterprise Management (csrem) is run by two management professors – Mukthi Mishra and D.N. Rao – who quit their jobs at Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (ximb) to set up their own B-school barely seven years ago. They have made a tremendous impact in this poor and restive region. “Over the past few years, we have managed to produce over 10,000 graduates in engineering and management, and vocational certificate holders in a range of trades from the region,” says Mishra, co-founder of csrem.

Following is a scan of the whole article.

4 comments November 13th, 2010

IIMs will be allowed to open centers inside and outside the country

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=66338.

A meeting was held today under the Chairmanship of Human Resources Minister, Shri Kapil Sibal with the Chairpersons and Directors of IIMS on the future vision of the IIMs and the necessary steps to be taken to achieve them. Shri Sibal informed the members that in the last one and half year a number of steps have been taken by the Ministry to provide autonomy to the IIMs. Some of these include full powers to the Boards of IIMs to create posts within the approved norms, freedom to open centres in India and abroad, amend Rules of the IIM within the framework of Memorandum of Association and Rules, power to acquire and dispose property not fully or partially funded by the Ministry of HRD, powers to approve their own Budget, and also to manage the funds generated by the IIMs on their own. However, he said that autonomy should go hand in hand with accountability; in that the faculty, the director and the Board should take steps to prepare annual action plans and key performance indicators at each level and be fully accountable and transparent. 

The meeting considered the reports of Committees constituted in the last meeting in Bangalore on certain key issues. Discussions were held on the report of the Committee constituted to recommend a new Governance Structure for IIMs (chaired by Shri R.C. Bhargav, Chairman BOG- IIM, Ranchi). It was decided that the number of Board Members of IIMs would be reduced to 14. It also discussed the composition and selection of the Boards of governors with adequate membership to the Society of the IIM, the government, the faculty and the alumni. It was also decided that the IIM societies should have long term members who take continuous interest in the running of the IIMs. It was also decided, in principle, that Directors of IIMs will now be appointed through a process wherein the Board of Governors of the IIMs suggests three names to the Government from which the Government chooses one. 

On the second report of the Committee on Faculty and Research at the IIMs, chaired by Shri Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman, IIM, Calcutta. It was decided that the IIMs can top up the salaries of their Directors also in addition to the Faculty from the funds generated by them on their own. It was also decided that the Faculty members would give individual work plans at the start of the year. The recommendations of the Committee regarding use of technology in IIMs were accepted and the Minister directed that old and new IIMs sit together to streamline the use of technology for class scheduling, attendance, mark compilation etc. 

On the recommendations of the Committee on Fund Raising by IIMs (chaired by Shri Hari S. Bhatia, Chairman of IIM, Raipur), it was decided that the IIMs have a development office especially for the purpose, each IIM have a fund raising policy and thereafter to have road shows. A two-day workshop will be conducted on the subject of collecting endowments for institutes. 

MV/GK

 The Odisha government should pursue with IIM Calcutta for a branch in Odisha.

28 comments October 13th, 2010

Cabinet approves upgradation of BESU to IIEST

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=66290.

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal for taking over of Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU), Shibpur and converting it to Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), with a total five years’ project cost of Rs.592.20 crore (Rs. 300.30 Crore as non-recurring cost towards capital expenditure and Rs.291.90 Crore as recurring expenditure).

BESU will be converted to IIEST by suitably amending the NIT Act, with special clauses, which should reflect its exclusive character. IIEST will be an ‘Institute of National Importance’ covered under NIT Act and its organizational and governing structure will be on the lines of National Institutes of Technology (NITs). 

IIEST will integrate under-graduate education, post graduate education and research in engineering and science under the same umbrella. IIEST will be an Institution of international standard and will produce quality manpower for the strategic sector of the country, research laboratories and quality teachers for the institutions of engineering and science education. 

Background: 

The Government had constituted an Expert Committee in 2005 to evaluate and suggest a plan of action for upgrading seven Institutes, including BESU, which had earlier been identified by Prof. S K Joshi Committee. The Expert Committee recommended the establishment of a new system of ‘Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology (IIESTs) as Institutes of National Importance through an Act of Parliament. The Committee recommended upgradation of five Institutes including BESU, to become an IIEST. 

The admissions to IIEST will be through national level entrance exam namely, All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE). 

The Odisha government should push for the upgradation of VSSUT to an IIEST.

October 13th, 2010

XLRI agrees to Andhra invitation for a campus in Hyderabad

(Thanks to Deba Nayak for the pointer.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… Andhra Pradesh chief minister K. Rosaiah should personally request it to open its second campus in Hyderabad. The chief minister, in his August 18 letter, also promised all support from the government.

XLRI authorities are elated to be invited to Cyberabad, the latest sobriquet that stole the thunder of its earlier, more traditional one — City of Pearls.

Director Father E. Abraham accompanied by an XLRI team visited Hyderabad to get a full picture. “This move is in mutual interest for the Andhra government and XLRI. It is a recent development and a lot of things have to be finalised. But the Andhra government will support us in areas such as land acquisition,” said dean (academics) Pranabesh Ray.

In fact, the southern state has set the ball rolling, having almost finalised 75 acres in Hyderabad for the XLRI campus at Jawahar Nagar, close to BITS, Pilani. Sources said a US-based company has also evinced interest to invest in the project estimated to exceed Rs 100 crore.

For now, slow and steady is XLRI’s mantra. The dean said that once the Hyderabad campus got operational, it would first offer 60 seats for business management course. Its famed personnel management and industrial relations course will follow. …

Andhra Pradesh is good at this. In the last several years they invited and suceeded in getting a BITS Pilani campus and TIFR campus in Hyderabad and a BARC campus in Visakhapatnam. We should learn from them. This is beyond the central govt. institutes such as an IIT in Hyderabad and a SPA in Vijaywada.

In contrast our own XIM wants to become a university and have courses in arts and commerce (areas where we do not have any nationally ranked colleges) and our government is giving it a hard time.

2 comments September 23rd, 2010

SOA University Bhubaneswar to start 5 year integrated Law program

Following is from a Business Standard report in sify.com. 

The Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University (SOAU) in Bhubaneswar has set up a new Law Institute from the 2010-11 academic year following permission given by the Bar Council of India. …

The new institute will be known as SOA National Institute of Law (SNIL) which will have thrust on quality education in law keeping in view the contemporary society with semantic human resources, curriculum and co-curriculum aspects and will offer Five-Year Integrated Law studies in three different streams such as BA LLB, BBA LLB and B.Sc LLB besides Post-Graduation in Law and Ph.D. in Law.

The SNIL proposes to introduce several career oriented course in Intellectual Property Rights, Information and Technology, Labour-Man Power related Industrial Law, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, International Trade Laws, Competition Laws, Space Law, Biomedical Law, Bio-ethics and Law, International Advocacy, Arbitration as a mode of Alternate Dispute Redressal Mechanism, e-Governance, e-Commerce and Corporate Law.

With this program Odisha will have three places with 5 yr programs that will take students nationally. They are: 

• KIIT Law School, Bhubaneswar
• National Law University Orissa, Cuttack
• SOA National Institute of Law (SNIL), Bhubaneswar

I was told by reader Debi Sarangi (Thanks!) that Madhusudan Law College in Cuttack and University Law College Bhubaneswar also have 5 yr law programs. I am not sure if the other universities, especially Sambalpur and Berhampur, have such programs. If not they should. In addition I hope VSSUT starts a graduate program in Intellectual Property Law (similar to the one in IIT Kharagpur) and all the  universities in the state have 5-yr integrated courses in law as well as sciences.

5 comments September 21st, 2010

State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (SIDAC) Bhubaneswar

Following are excerpts from a report in Telegraph about this institute and a new course it will offer.

A new course on craft design has been introduced at the State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (Sidac). The nine-month certificate course was launched in collaboration with National Institute for Design (NID), Ahmedabad. The objective of the course is to design contemporary products with an ethnic touch.

Dilip Panda, training in-charge of Sidac … Panda added that the new course was introduced after designing institutes like NID and National Institute of Fashion and Technology (Nift) conducted a series of design development programmes.

“Using traditional skills and modern design inputs, the institutes came up with more market and export-oriented products. This is also a good oppurtunity for budding talents to upgrade their skills and prosper as artisans and craftsmen,” said Panda.

The first batch comprising 20 students started classes last week.

Sunil Kumar Sahoo, who has completed a two-year training in Patachitra, has enrolled for the course. He said: “Traditional art and craft have to evolve to suit the needs and tastes of customers. In this course, we will be trained in creating new designs and product mixing. For example, Patachitra on terracotta or stone will give a brand new touch to traditional products.”

Panda said he was hopeful that the students would be able to develop a designer bent of mind with the help of skilled trainers. “We have five in-house faculty members from renowned designing institutes for teaching the core subjects. The visiting faculties would take care of specialised subjects like product photography and use of computers in design,” added Panda.

For the first year, the course is being run on an experimental basis for which the students are exempt from paying any fees. …

September 15th, 2010

Some Universities of Innovation to be reality within a year? MOS of MHRD Purandeswari thinks so.

Vizag is getting antsy about the delay in the establishment of one of the aiming to be "world class" universities in that city. Deccan Chronicle reports on this issue. Following is an excerpt.

The much-touted “world-class university” in Visakhapatnam has failed to take off though it has been more than two years since the Centre announced the project.

In 2008, the Union HRD ministry had announced plans of 14 “world-class universities” across the country, of which one was allotted to Andhra Pradesh. The state government had also come forward and offered around 800 acre in Visakhapatnam to set up the varsity.

Though the university was later renamed by the Centre as “Innovation University”, officials of the higher education department are clueless about when the actual works will begin.

The state government had identified four sites in Vizag for the purpose and submitted a proposal to UMHRD for clearance. However, there has been no response from the Centre till now.

Sources in the department of higher education said the Centre’s stand about setting up the “Innovation Universities” has changed and that’s the reason for the delay.

… However, the Union minister of state for HRD, Ms D. Purandeswari said the world-class university would be a reality in Vizag in a year. “It is still being discussed how a world-class university should be. So, there is some delay. I cannot give an exact time-frame but in a year a world-class university would definitely be a reality in Visakhapatnam,’’ she said.

Note that Purandeswari is the sitting MP from Vizag.

It should be noted that a draft bill of the Universities for Innovation was circulated and discussed recently. It is expected that a revised version of it may be introduced in the parliament in the winter session. I guess following that starting from August 2011 at least a few of these universities will start operation. The 14 locations that were announced were: Amritsar, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mysore, NOIDA-Delhi, Patna, Pune and Vizag. There will be minor funding for these universities during this five year plan. The major funding will come during the 12th plan that starts from 2012.

1 comment September 14th, 2010

Carnegie Mellon’s program and plans for India

Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburg is one of the top universities in US; especially its Computer science department is ranked among the top 5 (sometimes in top 3) in US. It offers Masters programs in Software Engineering in partnership with various international institutions. One such partner is SSN School of advanced software engineering in Chennai. Following is an excerpt from their overview page: 

The SSN School of Advanced Software Engineering (SSN SASE) has been established by Padma Bhushan Dr. Shiv Nadar – Chairman, HCL Technologies Ltd., to bring world class education to India and make it available to meritorious students of all economic strata.

The home page of the institution says the following:

Despite the Recession, all of MSIT students got jobs – At an average salary of US $95,000! Living expenditure in CMU reduced by Half.

Carniegie Mellon also has another program that students from India can take. Following is an excerpt from a report in redherring magazine.

At an Internet cafe in Delhi, India, up to 80 students sit pensively studying their computer screens. For some, it’s just like any other Internet cafe, but for others it’s a virtual university where they can take computer science courses offered by Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

The new educational initiative is a collaboration between Sterling Infotech, an Indian Internet service provider, and Carnegie Technology Education, a subsidiary of the university, and is part of an ambitious program to train more than 100,000 Indian computer programmers at 100 locations over the next three years.

It also gives us a glimpse of the changes rippling through education. Universities with expertise in one area can now prepare, monitor, and grade courses given under local supervision in an entirely different location.

"The education model is more like, say, a Microsoft, Novell, or Cisco certification program than a traditional university course," says Allan Fisher, president and CEO of Carnegie Technology Education. "We build computer-based training courses drawing on the intellectual resources of the university, but local instructors [in India] monitor, administer, and assist the students."

The courses offered range from the basic, like software engineering, to the advanced, like object-oriented programming. "However, unlike software vendor training programs that would offer courses in Visual Basic or Java, we teach students how to work with any object-orientated language," says Mr. Fisher.

…Unlike many online education institutions, Carnegie Technology Education not only designs the course but also trains and certifies the instructors and monitors both the teachers’ and students’ progress.

Carnegie Mellon computer-science faculty members design the courses and personally select and train the local tutors who will teach the students at the partner institution. "The tutors then go back to the partner institution and teach the courses; we monitor their progress, and they have access to our computer-science faculty member to assist them with any difficulties," says Mr. Fisher.

If the student completes five courses successfully, they get a Carnegie Technology Education certificate in computer programming; if they complete ten courses, they get a certificate in software engineering.

But it’s not cheap. Each course module costs the Indian student $180, nearly three months’ earnings for those on minimum wage. However, Sterling Infotech offers students their money back if they do not get a job within three months of completing the course.

1 comment September 13th, 2010

More tidbits on the Universities of Innovation

Following are excerpts from a report in University World News.

… "These universities will focus a lot on research and development and industry-academia collaboration. Besides the conventional streams of knowledge, research and development in emerging areas like global warming, food security, agriculture and community health will get prime focus," Sibal said after the consultation on 28 August with vice-chancellors, academics and business and industry organisations.

Universities themselves will decide their area of focus. However, Sibal said, they "should essentially identify areas having a direct bearing on the community."

Apart from the 14 public universities to be set up under the bill, private players could set up more institutions within the prescribed framework.

The new universities will be allowed to admit half their students from abroad, teach foreign curricula and hire teachers and even vice-chancellors who are foreign nationals, according to a draft law circulated by the government.

"Every university of innovation shall provide an ambience of learning that has an international flavour," states the Universities for Innovation Bill 2010, though "not less than half" the students should be Indian nationals".

The universities will not come under the purview of the University Grants Commission, which regulates most universities in India. The UGC caps the enrolment of foreign nationals at 15%.

Instead they will be set up with private help and be self-regulated, with half their board members being independent experts of academic eminence. They will also be free to set up more than one campus, including outside India.

Some of the universities will be set up in collaboration with leading American and British universities. Yale University, for instance, is already in talks with the education ministry and wants to develop leadership programmes for the new universities.

Innovation universities will be allowed to teach both Indian and foreign curricula simultaneously, and issue degrees that need not comply with established Indian norms.

The bill allows each innovation university to frame its own policy to attract faculty members from India and abroad and hire them directly, offering wages and perks that it deems fit. Currently, the government clears all faculty appointments and decides the salary structure of teachers in government and government-aided institutions.

There was overwhelming support for more flexibility in appointing faculty members. "The heart of this bill is innovation. We want to give the required freedom for innovation and not stifle promoters with regulations like appointing vice-chancellors through collegiums," said Sibal, referring to the current system of selection university heads. 

Lifting an existing 20% cap on appointing professors by invitation was also discussed. In the meeting "stakeholders asked to do away with the rule", Sibal said. A senior academic argued: "Why limit it to 20%? Let the innovation universities decide."

A key suggestion during the consultation was that since the universities will be innovative in nature, the bill should clearly define the outcomes it plans to achieve. Administrative structure, too, figured prominently in the discussion. 

Sibal said most of the suggestions that came up in the consultation were likely to be incorporated in the final draft of the bill, which will probably be introduced into parliament during the winter session.

Most of the points above have been covered in earlier articles. The only new point here is that these universities will be free to have multiple campuses. This is significant. For the one in Bhubaneswar, the government should allocate land in multiple locations inside Odisha (some far from Bhubaneswar), perhaps from the beginning itself.

3 comments September 6th, 2010