Following is an excerpt from a report in the Telegraph.
The existing IITs that are handholding the new ones as “mentors” asked the Centre to postpone the launch of these institutes at a meeting yesterday. The government has agreed.
The three new institutes in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat — to be mentored by the IITs in Chennai, Guwahati and Mumbai respectively — will now open in August, or even later, instead of this month. They had earlier been scheduled to start classes at the same time as their mentor institutes in July.
Even when they open, these three will start classes on temporary campuses near their state capitals, using rented infrastructure, the sources said. “It’s impossible to start our own academic session and the classes at the new institutes at the same time,” an IIT director said.
“Since no faculty has been hired for them, our teachers would then have to go and teach at the new venues. The new IITs can only start once we have hired their faculty.”
The decision came at a meeting between the directors of the seven existing IITs and the human resource development (HRD) ministry in Delhi yesterday, the sources said. The directors asked the ministry to speed up the paperwork for the establishment of the new institutes.
“They don’t have even their own insignia or letter pad, and we are expected to start classes! Till they are registered, we can’t even hire teachers or issue call letters to the students,” another director said.
The ministry may approach the registrar of societies next week, sources said.
“We will try and register the institutes as soon as possible,” a senior ministry official said, admitting that bureaucratic lethargy was at fault.
Although registration will allow the new IITs to hold classes, the Centre needs to amend the IIT Act to formally recognise the degrees they would offer. A cabinet note seeking the amendment has been circulated among the ministries.
Classes for the students admitted to the three other new IITs — in Punjab, Orissa and Rajasthan — may also be delayed. Their classes are to be held at their mentor institutes in Delhi, Kharagpur and Kanpur this year.
“Our faculty members’ workload will increase,” a senior IIT Kharagpur official said, adding that no formal decision had yet been taken to delay the classes for the Orissa institute’s students.
Plans to launch an IIT in Himachal Pradesh this year were aborted after IIT Roorkee, its mentor, threw up its hands.
July 7th, 2008
Following is from a report in Pioneer.
The Western Orissa Development Council (WODC) on Friday signed a MoU with the city based Vigyan Bharati Charitable Trust to set up a sophisticated hospital and medical college at Rourkela with the active support of the State Government.
Chairman of WODC Niranjan Panda said that the hospital would have 500 beds and the medical college with 100 seats. It would be functional by 2010-11.
The WODC has provided a grant of Rs 10 crore for creation of the requisite infrastructure and the State Government would provide 25 acres of land free of cost. The BPL category patients would be provided with free healthcare and no fee for consultancy and routine investigation would be charged.
The trust has agreed to reserve 10 per cent of the seats for the eligible candidates of the WODC area and provide concession in food, accommodation and purchase of books, said Panda. He hoped that the hospital would be a boon for the poor people of the region who are deprived from advanced healthcare facilities and have to travel to far off places to avail qualitative healthcare. The trust has agreed to take care of any sort of emergency health problem during natural calamities.
Chairman of Vigyan Bharati Charitable Trust Tirupati Panigrahi said he is hopeful that the hospital will be completed before schedule.
On behalf of the WODC CEO Ashwini Kumar Mishra signed the MoU. …
July 5th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindustan Times.
India will set up 2,500 new model schools designed after the existing state-run Kendriya Vidyalayas to provide quality education to students in "every block of the country".
"We are rolling out these 2,500 schools from August," said Arun K Rath, secretary in the human resource development (HRD) ministry.
"They will be quality schools like the existing Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs). Our ministry wants that all blocks across the country must have at least one model school," Rath told IANS.
…
"Every school will need an investment of Rs 30 million. While the central government will bear 75 per cent of the cost, the state governments’ share would be 25 per cent," the secretary said.
Rath said KVs are known for quality education and discipline. They have been doing well in both the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. "We have modelled these new schools after KVs to keep the education record high."
…
He said all these would be co-educational schools and set up over a period of three years. "The selection of students will be taken care of by the state governments."
"We want to make sure that all deserving students have access to some good schools," he said.
Rath said apart from these 2,500 model schools, the HRD ministry was in talks with private parties to set up 2,500 additional model schools on a public-private participation (PPP) model.
July 3rd, 2008
Following are some excerpts from a report in thaiindian.com.
Private academies that train students for entrance exams of the Indian Institutes of Technology and other prestigious engineering colleges mint Rs.100 billion ($2.30 billion) a year – an amount that can fund 30 to 40 new IITs, shows a study by an industry body. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) study, released Wednesday, said private academies who train 600,000 students every year for these exams make Rs.100 billion a year.
…
Talking about another anomaly in higher education, the body said that 80,000-90,000 students go abroad for higher studies, leading to a high foreign exchange outflow.
“If quality institutions are provided, a large number of students will stay back and contribute to the nation,†said Assocham.
The chamber asserted that more institutions of excellence should come up and suggested that private players and big industrial groups should be encouraged in higher education.
According to Assocham, India has over 12 million students in higher education but fewer than 350,000 faculty members.
July 2nd, 2008
Following are excerpts from a report in The Hindu.
The Central University, Tiruvarur, will begin functioning from this year.
Since the Centre has come forward to commence the operations of the university, the government will identify temporary buildings to locate the university.
This was one of the decisions taken on the first day of the two-day annual District Collectors and police officers’ conference, chaired by Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi here on Thursday.
Mr. Karunanidhi advised Collectors of Perambalur, Villupuram, Tiruvarur and Sivaganga to expedite identification of land for setting up government medical colleges. He wanted them to hand over the lands at the earliest.
At the end of the first day of the conference, in which all the major schemes came up for elaborate discussion in the morning, it was decided that expeditious action would be taken to identify and allot land to the Central University in Coimbatore and the Indian Institute of Management in Tiruchi.
Following is an excerpt from a report in expressindia.com.
With the state government giving its nod to set up the Central university in Dehra sub-division of Kangra district, …
The university would include engineering, medical and other educational institutions to be opened under the umbrella of the Central University.
The Centre would bear the cost of the entire infrastructure. The state government has to provide the land and fulfill other formalities.
Sources said about 800 acres of land is available near Dehra town where the Himachal Road Transport Corporation workshop is situated. Sources said all revenue papers, along with the proposals, have been sent to the HRD Ministry. A team of the HRD Ministry has already visited the site and approved it.
July 2nd, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in itexaminer.com.
The Gujarat government has requested the corporate houses in the state to aid the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT-G).
The industry has been asked to set up chairs to fund the IIT, to enable it to recruit a high-quality faculty. Each chair will provide a funding of Rs 6 million ($138,502) for five years. A first batch of 103 students is believed to be enrolled.
The construction of the college is expected to be completed in about four years. Until then the IIT will be housed in Vishwakarma government engineering college, Chandkheda, on the Koba highway.
July 2nd, 2008
Following is from a PTI news report in The Business Standard.
Vedanta University Project (VUP) has tied up with DAV Public School in Puri to provide high quality education to 500 children of land losing families and 200 children have already been selected for admission in the school.
Classes are scheduled to commence from July 1 and VUP will be supporting the DAV institution to set up a DAV Oriya medium school shortly in one of the peripheral villages.
VUP has also provided four 40-seater buses to DAV School, Puri for tansportation of children belonging to land losing families who have been selected for admission to the school.
While handing over the keys of the buses to the Principal of the school, Sanjeev Anand Zutshi, director of VUP said, "Provision of transport will encourage children of land losing families to come to the school regularly. This along with other facilities like mid-day snacks, free uniforms and study materials is expected to motivate the children to pursue their school education in right earnest."
"Quality school education will create enabling conditions for the children of the peripheral villages to attain excellence in the academic field for which Vedanta University will create abundant opportunities", Zutshi added.
This is something every company that is taking people’s land should do. This should become part of the R & R. For the children’s sake this will encourage the family to stay near by; and hence will prevent from the dynamics to break down when families disperse. This will also help in making the next generation of the family educated in good schools.
July 1st, 2008
Following is from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=39900.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs had decided to set up three apex tribal research institutes for undertaking research on ground and to suggest application oriented projects for tribal development. These institutes to be set up at Orissa, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will also suggest action plans for the promotion of culture and language of tribal communities, conduct research and evaluation studies. Briefing the Members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry here today, Shri P.R. Kyndiah, Minister for Tribal Affairs said that his Ministry is actively considering 100% Central government’s funding for setting up these institutes.
Highlighting his Ministry’s initiatives for tribal welfare, Shri Kyndiah said efforts were being made to reorient the functioning of the 18 tribal research institutes already working in the various parts of the country. Now onwards, only those research studies would be allowed at these centres, which would have direct impact on the life of tribals. The institutes would also be asked to suggest activities creating economic opportunities direct or indirect for the tribals. Experts would be involved to suggest projects to promote traditional art and craft of tribals.
Participating in the discussion, Shri Rameshwar Oraon, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs stressed the need for strengthening existing tribal research institutes, he said that these institutes should work in fields to study tribal issues closely and suggest effective measures for inclusion in Government’s programmes and policies. He said that libraries at these centers to be strengthened to provide rich study material for research in tribal related issues.
Participating in the meeting, Members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee were of the view that Tribal Research Institutes should open their branches in tribal dominated pockets and their activities should be linked with the practical projects for economic and social development of the tribal people. Members also suggested there should be strict monitoring to see whether tribal welfare funds were being used genuinely. They also suggested speedy implementation of the Forest Rights Act. The meeting was attended by S/Shri Giridhar Gamang, Baliram Kashyap, Baju Ban Riyan, Rajesh Kumar Manjhi and V. Kishore Chandra S. Deo (all Members of Parliament).
NCJ/DT
June 30th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.
The university announced postgraduate programmes in Culture Studies, South and South-East Asian Studies, Cultural Heritage and Conservation, Sociolinguistics (through correspondence course) and Tourism and Hospitality Services (self financing course). It also re-launched the one-year postgraduate diploma courses in Jain and Buddhist Studies, besides the six-month certificate course in Tamil language. Each of the programmes would have 30 seats.
The university has also introduced Masters degree programmes in performing arts and visual art last year has departments of drama (direction, acting and stage craft), dance (Odissi and Chhau), vocal music (Odissi and Hindustani), instrumental music (flute, violin, tabla, mardal and sitar), painting, applied art and design, art history and aesthetics and sculpture. Except the 10-seat strength department of sculpture, all other departments would have 20 seats each.
An admission test would be conducted for the aspiring students of the visual art programmes, the university sources said.
June 28th, 2008
Following is from http://www.dte.org.in/download%5CFee_Waiver_Scheme_AICTE.pdf. I hope the private and the government colleges adopt this scheme, at least in phases. Perhaps new private colleges need not have it for the first three years. Existing colleges could do it in two steps; start with 5% this year and then increase it to 10% in the next year.
No. 37-03/Legal/2007
ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION
NEW DELHI
Guidelines
Date: 09-04-2007
Sub: Scheme on Tuition Fee Waiver scheme for women, economically backward and physically handicapped meritorious students.
The AICTE has been empowered under Section 10(e) of AICTE Act to formulate schemes for promoting technical education for women, handicapped and weaker sections of the society. In compliance with these provisions under the AICTE Act, it has been decided to introduce Tuition Fee Waiver scheme for women, economically backward and physically handicapped meritorious students in technical institutions.
I-Applicability:
The proposed scheme shall be applicable to the Students of all AICTE approved technical Institutions offering;
a) Bachelors programmes in Engineering, Pharmacy, HMCT, Architecture and Applied Arts and Crafts.
b) Diploma Programmes of three years duration in all disciplines.
The Scheme is proposed initially for Under-graduate and Diploma Programmes. The scheme will be voluntary in nature.
II-Purpose:
The scheme is proposed to provide Tuition Fee Waiver to women, economically backward and physically handicapped meritorious students pursuing degree/diploma level technical education covering degree programmes in Engineering & Technology, HMCT, Pharmacy, Architecture, Applied Arts and Crafts and Diploma Programmes in the above disciplines.
III-Amount of waiver:
The Waiver is limited to the tuition fee as approved by the State Level Fee Committee for self-financing institutions and by the Government for the Govt. and Govt. Aided Institutions. All other Fee except tuition fees have to be paid by the beneficiary.
IV-Method of implementation:
Under the Scheme, the Competent Authority for admissions shall be the same as for regular admissions. And Institutions shall provide tuition fee waiver up to 10 percent of its sanctioned intake of students. Typically for every 60 sanctioned intake in a branch/discipline of study, tuition fee waiver shall be given to two woman candidates, three economically weaker students (Annual income of Parents/Guardians less than Rs. 2.50 lakhs from all sources) and one physically handicapped students based on merit. In the event of non-availability of students in a specific category as above, the benefit will be given to any other candidate of other categories according to merit. An award letter is this respect shall be issued by the respective Institution with the approval of the Competent Authority for admissions.
The Institution in turn shall be allowed to admit 10% of its sanctioned intake or the number of actual tuition fee waiver granted by the Institution, whichever is lower, as an additional intake in the same discipline/branch of study.
Incase of Government/Govt. aided Institutions this additional intake may be on self-financing basis, if they so desire.
1 The AICTE approved technical institutions shall inform the number of the tuition fee waivers, branch wise to the admission authorities of the concerned state and give an undertaking that the institution will not charge tuition fee for the duration of the course form the beneficiaries.
2 The State Govts. Affiliating Universities of the concerned state shall allow equal number of seats over and above the present sanctioned strength subject to maximum of 10% of the approved intake in the same branch in lieu of the Tuition Fee Waivers. Private Institutions shall be allowed to admit students to the tune of the number of Tuition Fee waivers actually awarded from the same merit list as intake over and above the present sanctioned strength. Similarly the Government Institutions may fill up these additional seats on merit basis and if desired on self financing basis with the approval of the State Government.
3 The Institution shall admit students against these seats as per the procedure followed for admitting the regular seats at Institution level by the State admission authority. The list of students admitted in this category shall be displayed in the Notice Board of the Institution and its web-site along with the list of students given tuition fee waiver.
4 The State Govts. shall include the names of the institutions who have volunteered to avail the scheme with details of tuition fee waivers available in each institution branch wise in the admission brochure and publish the same for the benefit of the students.
5 The Institutions have to publish in their brochure and website the number of tuition fee waivers available in each category (Woman, economically weaker and physically handicapped) of students in each discipline.
6 The Competent Authority for admission shall have to display Tuition Fee Waiver status against each Institution, branch wise, to the candidates during the counseling, during admission and at the end of admission process so that the students can freely exercise their informed choice.
7 The information on availability of tuition fee waiver scheme shall be provided to the candidates, institution wise and discipline wise through Information brochure, Counseling brochure and website etc. The selection of candidates for tuition fee waiver shall be decided during the Counseling based on merit from amongst the eligible candidates. An eligible candidate shall have an option to exercise his/her choice of Institutions and discipline of study during Counseling for availing benefits of the scheme.
8. The Institutions shall provide the following information to the AICTE, concerned State Govt. and affiliating University:
Particulars of each beneficiary including name and rank of the students who have been granted tuition fee waiver in each discipline/branch of study, and
Details of the students admitted against the additional seats including name and rank etc., according to merit prescribed for regular admission.
The Institutions shall also display such information in their websites for information to the students and other stake holders.
9. The tuition fee waiver to a student shall be for the duration of the course i.e. four years for Bachelor courses in Engineering & Technology, Pharmacy, HMCT and Applied Arts and Crafts, and three years for Diploma students and five years for B. Arch course. Once a student is given Tuition Fee Waiver, the same shall be continued for the normal course duration.
(Dr. K. Narayana Rao) Member Secretary
*****
June 27th, 2008
