Samaja letter to the editor on two central universities for Orissa
November 15th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
BPUT tightens teaching at its colleges
Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.
… The system was approved by a joint meeting of the university top brass with the management of colleges. It will be installed on a pilot basis in dozen colleges in the City and another two in Rourkela where the university is headquartered.
The system will come into effect by November 25 as the two software vendors which were roped in are ready with the customised programme.
Under the system, each member of the faculty would be required to enter the curriculum she/he is assigned to complete each day and the actual progress.
The faculty members will also indicate the attendance in a class so that the university can have a clear view on the students’ perfor mance.
The programmes are so designed that it will take a teacher about 10 minutes to post the day’s report.
“The report entry will be keyword-based. All that a teacher has to do is drag and drop words to indicate the subject he taught in a day,” BPUT Vice-Chancellor Omkar Nath Mohanty told this paper.
Besides, the university and college managements agreed to ban inter-college migration of teachers during the period from November 1 till July 30, 2008.
Only if teachers have valid grounds for a migration then only would they be allowed but after examination by a committee. Similarly, the teachers would be given a registration number by the varsity, subject to appearance before a selection committee.
It has also been decided to go ahead with the CCTV installation project. It has been estimated at Rs 2.5 lakh with 20 cameras, a central software and an access to the server.
1 comment November 14th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Planning Commission member Bhalchandra Mungekar on the 11th Plan education budget
Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
Education is set to receive a Rs 2.85 lakh crore boost, with the Planning Commission increasing the allocation for the sector by a massive 19.9% in the 11th Five Year Plan.
The education budget has been classified into elementary, adult and secondary, and higher education. For elementary education, Rs 1.25 lakh crore is being earmarked, which is a major hike from the Rs 30,000 crore allocated in the last Plan.
Likewise, the share of adult and secondary education is being increased to Rs 6,000 crore and Rs 53,000 crore, respectively. As per the plan document, Rs 84,000 crore are being set aside for higher and technical education.
Planning Commission member, Bhalchandra Mungekar, said the increase in the budget for health and education is an attempt to achieve inclusive growth.
… "The most important issue is our agenda for reforms in higher education system, where we have asked for major structural changes," he said. "Major reforms are a must like introducing credit and semesters systems and exam reforms."
The Plan has set aside resources for a massive expansion of higher education. It seeks to establish 30 new central universities of which 16 are to be set up in areas which don’t have a central university. The rest 14 are to be model universities of world class infrastructure.
According to HRD ministry, each of these 14 universities would cost around Rs 1,000 crores. There are plans for seven more IITs, seven IIMs, 10 National Institute of Technology, five Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, 20 IIITs and two schools of architecture. There will also be 330 new colleges in educationally backward districts.
November 14th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Admission to Ph.D program at the SOA University in Bhubaneswar: Ad in Samaja
128 comments November 11th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
State’s first horticulture college in Chipilima near Sambalpur: Sambada
November 10th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Lalu asks IIT, IIM and Central University for Bihar
Following is an excerpt on this from a report in Bihar Times.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav made a number of demands for his home state, Bihar, at the meeting of the Full Planning Commission on Thursday called to approve the 11th Five-Year Plan. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
Lalu demanded setting up of an IIT and IIM in the state and at least one polytechnic institute in each district. Besides, he sought Central University status for the Patna University.
November 10th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
HRD related excerpt from the PM’s address to the full planning commission
Following is an excerpt from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32510.
There are concerns that some regions of our country are falling behind in their educational attainments and this gap must be bridged by the end of the 11th Plan. The 6000 model schools in all the Blocks, the 30 new Central Universities, the 370 new colleges in educationally backward districts and the huge expansion in the number of IITs, IIMs, IIITs and IISERs and the planned universalisation of secondary education are all going to bear fruit only if the Central and State Governments work purposefully to see that outcomes match outlays. I must emphasize the importance of quality in our institutions of higher education. The pursuit of quality requires reforms in these institutions in the way they are run. The Plan emphasizes this and I would like the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Planning Commission to work together to see how these objectives can be actually achieved. The issue is no longer one of resources. It is of planning, management and delivery capability.
November 9th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Flying training institute to be established in Gondia, Maharashtra
Following is from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32493.
LONG-TERM MEASURES TO MEET THE SHORTAGE OF PILOTS: CONTRACTING OUT OF MANAGEMENT OF INDIRA GANDHI RASHTRIYA URAN AKADEMI AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FLYING TRAINING INSTITUTE AT GONDIA, MAHARASHTRA
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for management contract agreement of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi with M/s. CAE Inc., Canada and also gave its approval for formation of a subsidiary company of Airports Authority of India for establishing a flying and aviation training institute at Gondia in Maharashtra as a Joint Venture Enterprise with M/s. CAE, Canada.
The management for taking of IGRUA would be taken over by M/s. CAE Inc., Canada for better management of the Akademi in a more professional manner in order to produce 100 pilots per year.
The subsidiary company of AAI will establish a flying and aviation training institute which will help in meeting the growing requirements of pilots and technical manpower relating to the aviation industry.
22 comments November 8th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Block grant scheme of funding for new NIFTs; New NIFT center in Rae Bareli, UP
The following is from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32492.
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for introduction of the Block Grant Scheme of funding on the lines of IITs, IIMs, etc., for NIFT.
This will provide further functional / financial autonomy to the institute and will encourage it to generate more internal resources, promote innovation and result in an overall improvement in the standard of education and research.
The base year for the Block Grant Scheme shall be 2006-07 and the scheme will come into effect from 2007-08.
Currently there are NIFTs centers at New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai and a new one has just been announced for Rae Bareli. Earlier, the central minister from Orissa had said that he had requested and received positive indication regarding an NIFT in Orissa. See https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=304 and https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=178. I wonder what happened to that.
November 8th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
OUAT Profs would like to upgrade their Department of Forestry to a College of Forestry
Following is an excerpt from a New Indian Express report on this.
There is an urgent need to upgrade the forestry department to a college like the College of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Science and the postgraduate and Ph.D curricula could support the academics, research and extension programmes of various new disciplines in forestry.
‘‘There is a competent faculty with over 20 years of experience here with the department and many alumni members are serving at national and international levels as faculty and subject experts and are willing to collaborate with their parent department at OUAT for high-end projects,’’ says HoD Prof RK Pattnaik.
‘‘The department was established in 1987 at this second oldest agriculture varsity of the country following the recommendations of National Commission on Agriculture, 1976, under the direct support of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and later Indian Council of Forest Research and Education to look after education, research and extension in forestry science,’’ he adds.
‘‘But with the upgradation to a college the students can have special fields to do PG and Ph.D programmes in silviculture and agro-forestry, bio-technology and tree improvement and forest ecology and environment. Also utilisation of forest products which directly cater to the needs of the State as well as many international research projects can also be taken up through such an institution,’’ says Prof Ashok Kumar Sahoo.
Assistant Prof. Nirakar Bhol is of the opinion that if the upgraded status is accorded, then this college under OUAT would be a unique institution in the entire Eastern India and strengthen the position of the State Capital as another educational hub in forest-related research. Fourth year BSc Forestry student Jagannath Sahu thinks the upgradation plan can enable graduating B.Sc forestry students to have wider career options in natural resources management.
November 8th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
PIB: Center to provide 100% of the construction cost of building hostels for SC girls
Following is from the PIB press release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32495.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval to the proposal mooted by the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for revision of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Hostels for SC Girls & Boys. The primary objective of the revised scheme is to attract the implementing agencies for undertaking hostel construction programme, especially for SC girls towards the broader vision of containment and reduction of their drop out rate. According to the revised scheme, focus would be given for construction of hostels for middle and higher secondary levels of education. However, hostels can also be constructed for college and University levels of education. The hostels shall be completed within a period of two years from the date of sanction of the project.
The Government of India would meet the entire cost of construction for SC girls’ hostels as central assistance. However, in the case of boys’ hostels, the prevailing pattern of funding would continue, which is 50% for States, 100% for UT Administration, 90% for Central Universities and 45% for other Universities etc. Further, as hitherto, central assistance for NGOs would be eligible only for expansion of their existing hostel buildings. In addition to meting the cost of construction in the form of central assistance as mentioned above, the Government of India would also provide one-time grant of Rs.2500/- per student for making provisions of a cot, a table and a chair for each hosteller.
Another important provision included in the revised scheme is involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the matter of selection of hostel site and overseeing the functioning of the hostels. Further, it has also been provided in the scheme that priority in allotment of hostel accommodation would be given to SC students whose parent are either “Safai Karamcharis” or engaged in unclean occupations.
1 comment November 8th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Business Standard on allocation for education in the 11th plan
Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard on this.
The Planning Commission, according to highly-placed sources, says GDP allocation to education will increase from its from current 3.5 per cent to 5 per cent by the end of the 11th Plan. Around 19.7 per cent of the total plan resources would be set aside for education, according to the sources in the Commission.
The Plan outlay for the education sector as a whole will thus be over Rs 2,20,000 crore, five times more than what it was during the 10th Five-Year plan.
… The plan outlay on education has increased from Rs 151.20 crore in the 1st Five Year plan to Rs 43,825 crore in the 10th Five Year plan (2002-2007). The expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP also rose from 0.64 per cent in 1951-52 to 3.74 per cent in 2003-2004.
In fact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his independence day speech, had announced the setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and 30 central universities. The government is already working on which states will house these institutes of excellence.
"With increased funds, establishing these IITs and IIMs will not be an issue with the government. Besides, the government is also looking at public-private partnership to involve private parties in education," said a professor.
With less than 50 per cent of secondary school students in India continuing college education in any form, and almost two-thirds of Indian universities and 90 per cent of the colleges being rated as "below average" on quality parameters, the funds would be utilised to put in place a better system of education.
The Planning Commission is also targeting a gross enrollment ratio (GER) of 15 per cent by 2015. In the 10th Five-Year Plan, the GER was 10 per cent.
November 7th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Orissa needs two central universities: Sahadev Sahu in Dharitri
November 5th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
Odissi schools in every district
Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.
The state government has decided to open Odissi schools in every district in the State and outside for promotion of art and Odissi culture said Mr Gopinath Mohanty, secretary of culture department on Saturday evening at the closing ceremony of Dhenkanal Mahotsav.
He also told that the government would also open Sunday art schools from 14 November in Bhubaneswar and subsequently in the other districts also.
November 5th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
AP’s HRD request
Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.
… During the day, Dr. Reddy also met Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh and urged him to start classes at the new Indian Institute of Technology in Medak from July 2008.
Though the complex is yet to be constructed, the Chief Minister’s contention was that land had been allotted and temporary structures could be put up in time for the next academic session.
The Chief Minister also sought an Indian Institute of Management for Andhra Pradesh at Vizag and an Indian Institute of Science Education and Research at Tirupati.
Besides, the State has asked the Centre to extend the mid-day meal scheme for students up to Class X and convert the Yogi Vemana University in Kadapa into a Central varsity.
Dr. Reddy also met Union Minister for Science & Technology Kapil Sibal and urged him to scan every tract of land in Andhra Pradesh so that the State Government could remain alert to possibilities of pests and diseases through weekly reports.
Also, the State Government has put in a request for setting up a National Institute of Animal Bio-Technology at Hyderabad.
2 comments November 4th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral
