THREE Surprises, the FACE of the ChildMutilated in Knowledge Economy, PRESIDENCY University and University Amendment Bill as Govt hopes to introduce foreign education provider bill!
Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time -Two Hundred Thirty Eight
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
| About Kapil Sibal Kapil Sibal comes from an illustrious Punjabi family. He has been a Member of Parliament for over 10 years - first in 1998, as Member of the Rajya Sabha, and then in 2004, elected to the Lok Sabha from the Chandni Chowk Parliamentary Constituency. His father, Shri H.L. Sibal, a renowned advocate, was rendered homeless along with his entire family during partition and started his life afresh. In 1994, he was named a "Living Legend of the Law" by the International Bar Association. In 2006, the Government of India honoured him with the 'Padma Bhushan' award for his distinguished services in the field of Public Affairs. Kapil Sibal's two sons, Amit and Akhil, having both studied at Cambridge University, received degrees from the prestigious Harvard and Stanford Universities respectively. Both of them are now practicing law in India. | |
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Why India can be global knowledge economy leader
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INDIA AND THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY:
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When it comes to statistics, it is often easy to confuse numbers with facts. The Central Statistical Organization sprang a surprise on most people with the July-September quarterly GDP figures that showed the economy grew by an annualized 7.9 per cent. But before jumping for joy at reversing the economic slowdown, the numbers demand a closer look. There were, in fact, three surprises: one, agriculture, which was expected to show negative growth, actually grew by 11 per cent; two, the extent of government spending — GDP estimates are based on expenditure — which grew at nearly 27 per cent (compared to 10.2 per cent in the April-June quarter), raised many eyebrows; and three, services grew by 9.3 per cent against expectations of less than 7 per cent growth. Many analysts are cheered by the growth in personal consumption expenditure, which grew by 5.6 per cent against 1.6 per cent in the previous quarter. Investment was also up; gross capital formation grew by 7.3 per cent. The numbers also have some sobering reality checks; if not for the growth in government expenditure, growth in this second quarter at 4.9 per cent would have been lower than that in the first quarter (5.5 per cent). Despite the pick-up in investment demand, bank credit growth — which should be financing this growth — remains muted.
The CSO reports that there has been a decline in inventories or destocking. Yet, the Reserve Bank of India's Business Conditions Survey as well as Dun & Bradstreet's Business Expectations Index, and even the Purchase Managers Index, all indicate inventory restocking. The other area to be watched is statistical discrepancies: quarterly GDP estimates are based on expenditure or consumption, and they will vary with the income side. The difference between the two is included as discrepancies, which, for this quarter, was a very high negative 5.4 per cent, compared to 1.5 per cent on average. The discrepancies are sorted out when revisions are made later, and the amounts redistributed under the correct accounting heads. The bigger the discrepancy, the more uncertain the policy response.
In this instance, government officials have indicated that the stimulus will continue for the next two quarters. Many worry whether the RBI will begin to tighten liquidity — which is correcting already — through an increase in reserve requirements, leading to higher interest rates. Others worry that the return to fiscal prudence means the stimulus could be withdrawn before its objectives and benefits have been fully realized. It has been said that surprises are pleasant when they are expected. The latest GDP numbers are an unexpected surprise, and it is not clear that it is a pleasant one.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091202/jsp/opinion/story_11807920.jsp
Buddha thrusts forward with Presidency freedom struggle | |||
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Calcutta, Dec. 1: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has taken the most decisive step yet to free Presidency College from state control, getting the preliminary approval of the governor for a draft bill that will be placed in the current session of the Assembly. The renewed drive comes more than three decades after the first attempts were made during the time of Siddhartha Shankar Ray and less than a month after Mamata Banerjee questioned at The Telegraph-Calcutta Club Debate why the college was not being given autonomy. The bill on granting unitary university status to the 192-year-old institution will be placed in the Assembly during the winter session, a senior state government official announced this afternoon. "The proposal to upgrade Presidency College to a full-fledged university has been approved by governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, too, has given his consent," said the official. The proposal for autonomy was first tossed in an unsigned article — everybody knew that Dipak Banerjee, an iconic professor in the economics department, had penned it — in the college magazine in 1972. But bureaucratic opposition came in the way of its freedom during Ray's tenure as chief minister. Although the proposal kept coming back to successive chief ministers — Jyoti Basu and Bhattacharjee — the education czars in the CPM fiercely opposed academic, financial and administrative freedom for the college in the name of "democratising" education. "This (unitary university status) should have been done a long tome ago. I am very happy that it has finally been done," said scientist Bikash Sinha, an alumnus of the college. In the first week of November, the governing body of the college had submitted a proposal to the state government seeking unitary university status for the college. In the same week, Mamata asked at the Calcutta Club: "It's been 32 years…. Why has the college not been able to get autonomy and become a university?" On November 17, the chief minister announced that a bill would be tabled in the winter session. "Now the matter will be discussed in the House. If necessary, the provisions in the bill may be amended and then it will be sent to the governor again for his assent," an official said. The draft bill was sent to the Raj Bhavan recently in line with rules that require money bills — the Presidency proposal involves some financial changes — to be shown to the governor before being tabled. However, the legislation alone cannot turn the one-time centre of excellence into a world-class university, alumni pointed out. "A lot is left to be done," said Sinha. As years of state control have resulted in a decline in standards and facilities — Sinha pointed out how the Baker Laboratory in the college had deteriorated — at Presidency College, the advocates of autonomy want sweeping changes before celebrating the promise of freedom. Sukanta Chaudhuri, the renowned English professor who switched from Presidency to Jadavpur University, said he would reserve his elation till he knew what the follow-up decisions would be. "The biggest challenge will be staff changeover. Presidency has no staff of its own and its faculty forms part of the West Bengal Education Service. A university will require a new staff set-up. The present teachers by virtue of being in service there at the moment cannot be expected to continue. They can, if they so wish, apply again for selection," said Chaudhuri.
Teachers of good calibre were also on the mind of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, an alumnus with whom the government is likely to hold discussions, when The Telegraph called him this evening. "Looking back at my own years at Presidency, I can say seeing people of the calibre of Sukhomoy Chakraborty teach there again would be fantastic," Sen said. From recruiting a new set of teachers to augmenting physical and academic infrastructure, the distinguished alumni of the college have started drawing up a long wish list. Sinha said Presidency's transformation would require the involvement of experts. "A committee has to be set up to plan the course for the transition to an university of excellence. Without this it will be very difficult to get there," he said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091202/jsp/frontpage/story_11811672.jsp |
"I want to introduce a whole lot of Bills in this session. But the Bill for setting up of the overarching body may happen in the budget session," Sibal said at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit.
more by Kapil Sibal - Nov 9, 2009 - Livemint
"The work done by winners of the Infosys Prize are clear examples of the country's world-class quality of scientific talent. Research in the sciences is key to India's progress, and we must find ways to reward relevant and leading research in India. The Infosys Prize is the company's commitment to the country, to promote and honour outstanding research efforts in India," said NR Narayana Murthy, president, board of trustees, Infosys Science...
more by NR Narayana Murthy - Nov 30, 2009 - Times of India
"Building a world-class university is far more than a construction project. It is building a community of knowledge, far more than its building campus," Richard C Levin, president of Yale University, said at the FICCI Higher Education Summit, inaugurated by Sibal.
more by Richard Levin - Nov 6, 2009 - Indian Express
Common plus-two syllabus for science, math across boards
2 Dec 2009, 0852 hrs IST, TNN
KOLKATA: Plus-two students across India could be studying the same course for science and math from the 2011-12 session. Aimed at bringing about
uniformity in the syllabus and helping students prepare better for competitive exams, the Council of Boards of School education in India (COBSE) — a forum of school education boards in the country — has proposed a common course for all national and regional boards. A draft of the new syllabus will be sent to the boards by the end of December for their consideration and approval.
COBSE officials believe this will help remove the notion that some boards are geared more towards competitive exams such as IIT-JEE while others are not. The issue was discussed at a meeting of the heads of ICSE schools in Lucknow last week.
``There is a long-standing view among students that the CBSE course is better suited for entrance exams. It was felt that other than helping remove this impression, a common syllabus will lead to better assessment and ensure a level playing field for entrance exam candidates across India. If all the boards agree, the first common syllabus exam could be taken in 2012," said Jerry Arathoon, officiating chief executive, ICSE.
It will not be mandatory for schools to accept the syllabus. A majority of the boards, whose representatives were present at the meeting, agreed to adopt the common course. Regional boards, too, have agreed in principle. ``We must have a look at the syllabus first to see if it suits us. The idea has our endorsement and we believe this is a good move,'' added Arathoon.
A common syllabus, some felt, would serve no purpose. ``I believe the CBSE syllabus is comprehensive enough and there is no need to adopt a new course. If other boards like ICSE feel they have some deficiency, they can borrow ideas from us or other boards,'' said Mukta Nain, principal of Kolkata's Birla High School.
Meanwhile, the ICSE board has decided to lay more emphasis on spoken English skills. From the 2011 session, the English paper I of ICSE and ISC exams will have a listening and speaking skill component that will be assessed internally by schools. While ICSE students will take the test in Class IX, those in ISC will take it in Class XI.
``Communication skills are very important now. So, we have decided to help students develop the skill. English language teaching has always been very strong in our board. This will strengthen it further,'' said Arathoon.
From the 2011 session, English exams will have a three-hour duration instead of the present two-and-a-half. The number of textbooks, too, is being increased from two to three.
Class X ICSE students will no longer have to pass in the second language for admission to Class XI. The environmental education paper will become a part of other relevant subjects and will not be a separate paper from 2013, it has been announced.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Education/Common-plus-two-syllabus-for-science-math-across-boards/articleshow/5290503.cms
Wanted: Newer pedagogy for 21st century students
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Ambresh Ranjan
Posted: Dec 01, 2009 at 2013 hrs IST
New Delhi Much has been written, discussed and debated about the recent initiatives by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to reform the old-established education
system of India. This is good indication for our education system that at least something is being done now to make the system better. But talking about the educational reforms and not mentioning the role of our great teachers will be a blunder.
It is the students who decide the future of any country or we can say their future is the nation's future. Who shapes a student's future? It is his/her teacher. Few days back there were lots of writings in newspapers regarding the assessment of teachers by the students. It continued for some days and unfortunately topic closed. Why don't we have any such provision of assessing teachers by students whom they teach? After all who can know a teacher better than the students?
Are we so confident about the ability of our teachers that we don't need to evaluate their performance? Their duty must not be confined to going to school, taking classes and go back to home. There is hardly any feedback taken from the students. Blaming teachers for not having good education for a student will not be fair always. But sometimes their contribution is there that decides the future of the child taught by them. This makes their responsibility greater and they must understand this.
What per cent of teachers in our country understand their responsibilities? What is the level of the teachers we are having in our schools? Should their level be defined merely by the good educational qualifications they have? Are they professionally skilled? These are some major points on which we must start focusing now.
A teacher must be professionally strong in such a way that he/she has the ability to teach the students in the simplest way. He/she must have the art of presenting even a difficult topic in an easier and more interactive manner, something that helps them to relate to the students. This will make studies fun and help the students get rid of the "fear factor". Is the government doing its bit to help standard of teaching evolve?
The District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in Lucknow has decided to train Primary school teachers in spoken English. This initiative by local bodies should be lauded. This is the first time when teachers from rural and semi-urban areas will be trained by DIET.
Instead of making the education system easy and interesting with the help of teachers, exams are being made optional (students of course love this bit!). And why shouldn't they. The pressure to perform is such on students that it's commonplace to hear about teens contemplating/committing suicide one month before the results are declared. Now when there is an option for 'no exams' then definitely stress will much less.
But in such a scenario, teachers' role becomes very important. They must change the old continuing teaching pattern and evolve newer pedagogies that can relate to students better.
A favourable assessment system should be evolved that can help the students to broaden their horizon.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Wanted--Newer-pedagogy-for-21st-century-students/548594/
The face of the Child is MUTILATED in Knowledge Economy!India is ranked 102 out of 129 countries, immediately below Kenya and Nicaragua, in UNESCO's 2009 Education for All Development Index that scores nations on the spread, gender balance and quality of primary education and adult literacy. India will introduce by March legislation to increase the quality and reach of higher education, Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal said. The government will seek to create an independent accreditation agency that will set benchmarks for all universities and colleges in the country, Sibal said. It will also draw up laws to govern the entry of foreign educational institutions and a regulator for higher education, he said. "The whole structural framework is going to change," the minister said.
Govt hopes to introduce foreign education provider bill, Sibal declares. Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal Tuesday told Parliament that the government has set a target of ensuring that 30 percent of eligible students should attend college by 2020.Collaborations and public private partnerships would be the key to building world class universitiesin India, human resource development minister Kapil Sibal said at the Ficci Higher Education Summit on Friday.
Citing figures, he said that at present 220 million Indian children go to school, of which only about 26 million reach college. The government is committed to raising this number to 66 million (30 per cent of school going population) by 2020. However, the government alone cannot provide all the funds and resources for this task and all stakeholders in society would have to chip in.
Last Evening, it was a normal restday which I could avail at home. I was browsing TV Channels and stumbled at Loksabha debate on University Amendment Bill. Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal was replying in ELEGANT English with Acadenic acuracy. He defended Privatisation of Knowledeg Economy, Foreign capital in Education and contract appointments, Public Private ventures and making Education, specilly Higher education a Purchasible Commodity. I was amazed to see how BELITTLED have become our so called representatives in the Parliament who may not dare to raise any Valid question on such a Speech full of Contradictions. later, I told my firends working in the field of Education and acdemia that Even God may not save them. Sibal created a Magic Spell focusing the Face of the Rural Child to be highly educated while talking about cambridge, Havard and Oxford!He justified Central University location on highly INFRASTRUCTURE and Connectivity ground emphasising on the need of Quality Faculty!He just highlighted the deficiency as PSU Competence was made the ground of disinvestment and divestment andatory. In accordance to Supreme Court Vakeel, who knows well how to defend the case for his Clients, India's figures in research, university standards and patents, fall behind the impressive line. And there is a need to create a culture of filing patents and incentivizing the research and development in the country.. He must be credited to CORPOTARISE the Knowldege Econmy in India.
Reform Bills planned for introduction in Parliament include one to allow foreign educational institutions to set up campuses in the country. The Foreign Education Providers Bill would be sent to the cabinet soon.Other legislation includes a Bill for establishing an overarching authority for higher education, called the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), and one to set up an independent accreditation agency for educational institutions. The HRD ministry also plans to bring legislation to check malpractice in education and set up tribunals that would settle disputes between staff and management.
The government on Tuesday informed that it was actively considering setting up more than a dozen "innovation universities" all across the country. Each of these will specialise in a particular stream and will essentially endeavour to provide "innovative solutions" to the problem facing the world.
Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2009, which was passed by the House by a voice vote, paving the way for setting up two Central universities to J&K, HRD minister Kapil Sibal said, "There are about 14-15 innovation universities in pipeline to be set up. We are actively considering the proposal. The intention is to create environment in the country, where India could be able to provide solutions to the world for their problems." The government's goal is to reverse the trend of India getting solution from rest of the world, he added.
Enumerating a list of a few streams in which the proposed "innovation universities" will work, the minister said they include subjects like urban planning, transportation and clean energy.Meanwhile, giving reasons for two separate Central universities, one each for Jammu and Kashmir regions, respectively, Mr Sibal said the move has been made to maintain regional harmony in the state. Earlier this year, Parliament had passed a bill for setting up 15 Central universities in the country.
I just see my face in the Mirror to glance into the past how did we grew amidst poverty. I may see the face of the Child anywhere in the Himalayan region who has to scale uphill miles to reach his school. Himachal and Uttarakhand have been the states well ahead the Connectivity and Infrastructure Rich states in the Mainstream landscape of the nation without the help of any central University or Foreign education Provider. Education being Purchasible commodity so dear, who would pay for the Cild, Mr Minister? No Body asks this question! No Body. Belonging to a dalit Peasant refugee partition victim family, I could land in Nainital and achieved my higher education, just because no body had to pay for it. I could travel to Allahabad or JNU for nothing. Had I opted for, I could have landed in IIT and IIM or anywhere else. We had no Connectivity, no infrastructuer, nothing at all, but we could afford Education. But the created by kapil Sibal, would deprive that very Child of quality Education and he would depend on just Sarva Shiksha kichadi Education and would learn nothing in the diverse syllabus, though he would certainly get mediacre education to convert himself into the best tool for Strategic Rural marketing.since you have not to pass in your Mother Tongue, he would forget his language and speak Hinglish, Banglish to entertain othres and would reach no where!
"There are no standard models for this kind of task, we need homegrown models, a framework that would also take into account the remaining 160 million that would still have no access to higher education," he emphasised. "We need a large number of para-medics, para-legals, and an entirely new legal framework for changes in the education system. Need for collaboration is definitely a priority area."
Richard Levin, president of Yale University, stressed that the creation of world-class universities was a herculean task. "World class universities contribute to the world in three ways—research, education and institutional citizenship. Education would not mean mere transfer of knowledge but teaching students to be creative, to analyse, not memorise," he elaborated.
When questioned about any plans that Yale had for tie-ups in India, Levin told Financial Chronicle, "I am looking to continue the talks with minister Sibal. There are no definite plans at present."
H S Ballal, chairman of Ficci higher education committee gave several suggestions to the HRD ministry for the improvement of higher education, presenting dismal figures of expenditure on education.
"The global average expenditure on education is 4.5per cent of GDP. For developing countries it is 4.4. per cent. However, in India it is only 3.6 per cent of which a mere 0.7 per cent is spent on higher education," he quoted. "The issue of expansion and inclusion can be addressed by promoting public-private partnerships...the expansion has to see new providers gaining acceptance, namely, private players, public-private initiatives and foreign players."
Ministers say they are spending more on teaching and building new schools, colleges and universities to enable a greater proportion of India's hundreds of millions of students to obtain an internationally competitive education.
Parliament in August approved legislation to provide compulsory and free education for all children aged six to 14.
The proposed accreditation agency will set benchmarks for educational institutes and derecognize those that fail to meet them. The establishment of NCHER will complete the revamp of higher education, said Sibal. It would subsume the present regulatory bodies such as the University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education.
The minister said he is in discussions with Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, to have unique identification cards issued to primary school children to track their progress into secondary school.
Some speakers at the session addressed by Sibal said there was a need to encourage for-profit educational institutions. "We can trust the private sector to play a role in education," said Shantanu Prakash, managing director of online education company Educomp Solutions Ltd.
But Sibal argued, "We cannot have companies that are listed on the stock exchange and have educational institutions and pay dividends to shareholders from the fees that parents pay in their institutions. We cannot allow education to be subject to risk factors."
The key challenge for the government as it prepares its reforms is to achieve a "critical mass" of students completing secondary education and going to university, Sibal said.
Sibal said that while about 220 million children attend school, only 12.4 percent further their education at a college. India wants to raise this level to 30 percent by 2020, he said. Only 12 percent of India's 509 million young employed people have the right skills, the minister added.
The bill to bifurcate the Jammu and Kashmir Central University in to one each for Jammu and Srinagar today found overwhelming support from all sections in the Lok Sabha.
However, The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill seeking to set up an additional Central University in Jammu and Kashmir.The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2009 was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha by a voice vote paving the way for setting up one Central University in Jammu and another in Kashmir. At present, 220 million students go to schools across the country and only 12.4 percent of them are eligible to go to colleges. By the year 2020, the gross involvement ratio has to be increased upto 30 percent, he said while replying to a debate in Lok Sabha on the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2009.
Resuming the debate on the Bill to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009, Anurag Thakur (BJP) said his party fully supported the move to have separate universities for Jammu and Kashmir regions to cater to the needs of the people.
He asked HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to consider setting up of a Central University in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, where the State government had already identified and allotted over 650 acres for the central university.
Supporting the Bill, introduced in the House last month, Lal Singh (Cong) thanked the UPA government for meeting the aspirations of the youth of both Jammu and Kashmir regions.
Meanwhile, Admitting that there was "resistance" to the foreign education providers bill, Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal today said that the government would strive for a consensus on it and hoped to introduce it in the ongoing session of parliament."There is some resistance to the Bill. We will however strive for a consensus on it and hope to introduce it in this Parliament session," he said during his address (via video conference from Delhi) at the announcement of Infosys Prize 2009 here.
The Bill seeks regulating the entry and operations of foreign education providers in India. They would be given status of deemed universities in the country. Sibal said 1 lakh students from India go to the US every year for further studies and passing of such a bill would be a "win-win situation for us".
Observing that higher education worldwide was in a state of flux, he said "most of our (Indian) universities need vital changes in teaching and in contributing to local, regional and global economies".
"We must ensure that the universities have the independence to teach what they wish to and not be controlled by government," Sibal said. Underlining the need to establish high quality educational institutions, he said in the 11th plan the government proposes to establish 14 world-class "innovative" universities.
India's figures in research, university standards and patents, fall behind the impressive line. And there is a need to create a culture of filing patents and incentivizing the research and development in the country.
This was the observation made by none other than Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, who was the chief guest at the Infosys Science Foundation ceremony here today, where the winners of the Infosys Prize 2009 were announced.
Addressing the gathering via video conferencing from his office in New Delhi, Sibal said those who won this award are jewels of India. And such events should be taken to encourage the research in the country.
"The science research community in India is facing a lag against the global counterparts. And therefore Indian government, academia, businesses, and society altogether should nurture the community to grow and compete at global level," he said.
Sibal highlighted that in a small country like Scandinavia, there are around 6000 research scholars for every one million people, while in India the number is around 500 people for every million.
Taking the example of Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, the India-born scientist who recently won Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Sibal said, "Dr. Venki had around four patents under his name, while other scientists, who had won similar accolades years back had around 150 patents flied under them.
He added, "Out of the total number of patent filed worldwide, only ten per cent come from India. Young India should focus on intermediate findings and get more Intellectual rights under them."
The minister stressed that India must invest in science and technology research in various areas and hinted over bringing the concern as a bill in the Central Legislature to bring out world-class universities in inDIa to make them more competitive.
The award ceremony for the Infosys Prize 2009 will be held on January 4, 2010, in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will give away awards.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal asked the state to suggest three to four sites to enable it select the best location for setting up the universities.
Earlier, this year Parliament had passed a Bill for setting up 15 Central Universities in the country, including one in Jammu and Kashmir.
He noted that several states were yet to give suggestions on locations of the new Central universities.
However, the Central University of Jammu and Kashmir ran into trouble in June as different groups from both Kashmir and Jammu regions fought over location of the institute. The government then decided to set up one more Central University in the state as a special case.
It was felt necessary to establish two separate Central Universities, one each in Jammu region and another in Kashmir, for maintaining regional harmony in the state, Sibal said.
Sibal said setting up central universities was part of the UPA government's plan to exponentially expand the higher education system.
The bill, moved by the minister Monday aiming to set up two central universities in Jammu and Kashmir, was later passed by voice vote.
Sibal stressed the need to exponentially expand the university education system and called for a national effort to achieve this goal. "The house should think in terms of next generation," he said.
He said the government has not meted out any discrimination towards any states on allotting 12 central universities, which the government plans to set up across the country.
Asking each state government to identify four or five sites with 500 acres of land to set up the central universities, Sibal said an expert committee would decide the place where the institution could be set up.
The minister, however, opposed the idea of setting up central universities in remote areas where there is no connectivity.
He said the government has already allocated central universities to Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab and Tamil Nadu - states being ruled by non-Congress governments - and the Congress-ruled state of Haryana.
The minister said if the government had political consideration, it would not have allocated central universities to the states being ruled by non-Congress governments.
Sibal, who urged the MPs to set aside political differences, also called for "quality" in the field of university education.
"We need to set up a benchmark (through the central universities)," said the minister, adding that the state universities should also follow suit.
"This is not a quantitative exercise. This is a qualitative exercise," the minister said.
Justifying the government's decision to set up two central universities in Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said it was "for the sake of the people and for the sake of peace and unity".
No Cabinet minister supports Naxal violence: Chidambaram
Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday that no Cabinet minister was a supporter of Naxal violence, apparently dismissing charges that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was sympathising with Maoists.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, he said a group of people from West Midnapore district in West Bengal formed a group to protest against police atrocities.
"One or two of my (Cabinet) colleagues visited the area in order to talk to that group to find out what their complaint was against the police," he said.
Chidambaram, however, did not name the ministers. The ministers had met the group believing it had nothing to do with CPI-Maoist. But once it was discovered that it was a CPI-Maoist front organisation, they disassociated.
He said the ministers had "never supported" Naxal. They are "totally against (Naxal) violence." The Home Minister said it was only a perception that ministers were supporting the Naxal movement.
Sena MPs will use Marathi in House
In a move to send out a strong message to its political constituency in Maharashtra after the defeat in the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena has decided to use Marathi language in parliamentary proceedings. Its MPs will now speak in this language in two Houses.
The Shiv Sena, which was formed on the Marathi issue to fight for the sons of the soil in Mumbai over four decades ago, later adopted Hindutva. But this had weakened its card in Mumbai as was seen in the 2004 and 2009 general elections.
However, Mr Raj Thackeray built up his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on this issue and gained in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly polls.
The Shiv Sena parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha Anant Geete on Tuesday explained the party's stand on this issue. He said the Sena MPs would not only speak in Marathi alone. They could speak in Hindi and English on certain issues and on some occasions but the thrust would be to speak in Marathi.
Large-scale vacancy in teaching posts in IITs, IIMs
Centrally-funded technical Institutions, including IITs and IIMs, are suffering due to about 25 percent shortage of faculty, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
The vacancy has arisen due to retirement and resignations in these top institutes, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in a written reply.
Giving details of the vacancies, he said the faculty position in the IITs stands at 2,983 against the sanctioned strength of 4,267. Similarly, there are 388 faculty members against the sanctioned strength of 468 in the IIMs.
The situation is no different in National Institutes of Technology (NITs) where the faculty position stands at 2603 against the sanctioned strength of 3747.
The scenario is critical in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore where there are only 210 faculty members while the sanctioned strength is 478.
The vacancy is over 50 per cent in Schools of Planning and Architecture. Against the sanctioned positions for 127 teachers, there are only 62 faculty members in these institutes.
There are 54 vacant posts in Indian School of Mines which has sanctioned strength for 192 faculty members.
The recent pay revision of teachers of these institutes will help in attracting and retaining teachers in these institutes, he said.
196 Indian languages are endangered: Sibal
The Centre admitted in Rajya Sabha that 196 Indian languages were endangered and their degree of endangerment varied from `vulnerable' to `extinct'.
In a written reply, HRD minister Kapil Sibal said out of 196 languages, 84 were vulnerable, 62 were definitely endangered, six were severely endangered, 36 were critically endangered and nine were extinct. The reply also said that US was second on the list with 192 languages under threat followed by Brazil (190), Indonesia (147), China and Mexico (144 each).
Sibal said the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), under the HRD ministry, was engaged in development of all Indian languages including minor/non-scheduled languages and languages of Scheduled Tribes through its various programmes and schemes.
CIIL, Sibal said, had also dcoumented 83 non-scheduled languages with digitised data, prepared pictorial glossaries for 29 non-scheduled langugaes, prepared grammar for another 49 non-scheduled languages, prepared dictionaries for 19 non-scheduled languages and primers for 21 non-scheduled languages. In addition, 31 non-scheduled language were taken up for field and comparative studies, folklore studies and cultural documentation.
Online CAT is here to stay: IIM committee
The highly competitive Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry to the country's top B-schools will be held online again next year
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despite the technical glitches that marred the exam this time, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) admissions committee said on Wednesday.
Himanshu Rai, a professor at IIM-Lucknow and chairman of the admissions committee, said he was sorry that students had to face a harrowing time owing to technical problems since CAT's staggered 10-day schedule began on Saturday.
"We (the IIMs) can't absolve ourselves... the CAT is ours. I am extremely apologetic for what has happened so far," Rai said on a news channel.
He added that despite mock tests conducted, there were glitches which were not foreseen.
"We are learning (our) lessons and will take cognizance of what candidates are saying. The online CAT is here to stay...these are still the early days...I regret the inconvenience caused but we are learning from our mistakes and they won't be repeated," Rai said.
He also called on the rescheduled candidates facing communication problems to accommodate organisers.
"Please try to accommodate us...(for rescheduling problems) please write in once more on the online e-mail ID given or call on helpline...we will try to make the exam as fair as possible. I know students have gotten stressed but from now on things will improve," he added.
As of Dec 1 morning, 45,000 students were scheduled to have taken the computerised CAT but around 8,000 candidates could not do so at over 40 centres in various cities including Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
On the fifth day of the exam Wednesday, thousands of IIM aspirants were still uncertain when they would be allowed to take the test.
This year over 240,000 candidates had registered for the CAT.
The US-based firm administering the test on behalf of the IIMs, Prometric, has blamed the technical fault on viruses but the students and coaching centres have flayed poor management.
Over 1000 students from Afghanistan studying in India: Govt
Afghanistan is the major source country as it has sent 1,654 students for higher studies in India, where the total number of foreign students stands at 3,471, Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
The government wants to attract more Afghan students and has created additional 175 slots during 2009-10 over and above the 500 slots initially offered on annual basis to students of Afghanistan, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in a written reply to the House.
The government has created additional 251 slots to African countries over and above the initial 247 slots. The government has revised the scholarship rates to make it more attractive for foreign students, he said.
The other major source countries of foreign students are Nepal (238), Bangladesh (236), Sri Lanka (187), Iraq (83), Maldives (76), Mauritius (75) and Indonesia (61).
The number of number from developed countries are meagre with just one student each from the US and UK studying here.
Sibal asks new central universities to have common entrance test
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal Tuesday said the new central universities should conduct a common entrance test for admissions, while having different courses from one another.
"The new central universities should look at conducting a common entrance test for admission to their courses, to enable common counselling so that students and their families are saved the trouble of going to various locations for tests and counselling," Sibal said.
The minister was addressing a meeting of the vice chancellors of the new central universities in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and the three former stateuniversities in Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh that have been conferred central universities status.
Sibal said that the central universities must become benchmarks for academic excellence in the rest of the country.
"The universities must have different courses, such that are in conformity with the eco-system of the region. Essentially, different universities specialising in different courses will encourage students to come to a particular university which will be associated with a particular course," he said.
For this purpose, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been asked to set up a panel to coordinate with universities, to ensure "there are fewer number of common courses".
Sibal also stressed that "university campuses should be as green as possible", while the buildings must be "world class and aesthetic".
The minister also announced each university would be provided with one gigabyte of broadband connectivity.
RTI: Govt didn't incur expenditure on Krishna, Tharoor's stay at hotels
The government has clarified that it did not bear the expenditure on the stay of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his deputy Shashi Tharoor at five star hotels in New Delhi after their swearing-in.
The Ministry of External Affairs in reply to an RTI query has said, "since the hotel stay was arranged by the ministers in their private capacity, the ministry is not involved in any way and has not incurred any expenditure on their stay."
The ministry said the ministers were required to make personal arrangements for their stay as the allotment of official accommodation and essential repair or renovation to make them habitable normally takes time.
However, it did not give the details of amount paid by both the Union ministers to the hotels against their bills.
Advocate Vivek Garg filed an application seeking the details of expenditure and duration of stay of the two ministers.
Garg has also asked the ministry to provide the details of expenditure borne by the ministers along with their sources of income which was denied.
"This Ministry has no further information to provide," said P Sen Vyas, Appellate Authority, Ministry of External Affairs.
"Both ministers have spent lakhs in paying the bills. I will file an appeal with the Central Information Commission seeking details of the amount. People have every right to know about the hefty expenditure made by their leaders," Garg said.
Krishna's stay at Maurya Sheraton and Thraoor's at Taj Mansingh hotels have grabbed headlines recently which was claimed to be a snub to the UPA's much-hyped austerity drive.
"Krishna stayed at Hotel Maurya Sheraton after he was sworn in as the Minister of External Affairs. He moved into the guest room of the Foreign Service Institute at Baba Gangnath Marg on September 8, 2009 and has been staying there since then," the reply said.
Whereas, "Tharoor was staying at Hotel Taj Mansingh after he was sworn in as Minister of State for External Affairs till September 1, 2009 when he departed Delhi. On return to Delhi on September 8, 2009, he moved into Kota House, Naval Guest House and has been staying there since then," it said.
Day 4: IIM-A submits report on CAT, tests disrupted again
IIM Ahmedabad on Tuesday submitted a report to the government on the disruption of the Computer-based Common Admission Test (CAT) which continued to be affected for the fourth day in a row, adding to the woes of hundreds of IIM aspirants.
Scores of students complained of technical glitches at various test labs in Lucknow, Bangalore and Bhopal on Tuesday. They failed to appear in the test, being conducted by an American firm Prometric in a staggered manner over 10 days.
"I have been visiting the test centre everyday since Saturday. But I am unable to appear in the test as some or other problem continues," a student in Lucknow said.
The issue was raised in Parliament as opposition BJP criticised the way the prestigious entrance for admission into IIMs was being conducted. The government said it is concerned over the issue.
"Steps should have been taken much prior to the holding of the examination to ensure that such kind of problems should not have happened. We are very concerned about it as government," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters.
Sibal had on Monday sought a factual report from the IIMs on the issue from IIM Ahemdabad, which is the nodal institute for conduct of the test.
The report submitted by the institutes said about 18 per cent of candidates, who were scheduled to appear the test in the first three days, could not write it.
Congratulations to the Laureates of the Infosys Prize 2009: Kapil Sibal
Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, congratulates the Laureates of the Infosys Prize 2009 – Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, Prof. Upinder Singh, Prof. Thanu Padmanabhan, Prof. Ashoke Sen and Prof. K. VijayRaghavan.
Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys) had set up "Infosys Science Foundation", a not-for-profit trust to promote research in sciences in India. Under the aegis of the foundation, Infosys is honouring outstanding contributions and achievements by Indians across various sciences.
The annual award for each category is Rs. 50 lakh. Infosys said the prize, which also carries a citation and medallion, is "among the highest in terms of prize money for any award in India". It was instituted by the Infosys Science Foundation formed this year.
The Infosys Science Foundation is funded by a corpus of Rs. 21.5 crore contributed by Infosys executive board members and an annual grant from Infosys Technologies Ltd.
The "Infosys India Prize" categories include:
Physical Sciences – Physics and Chemistry
Mathematical Sciences – Mathematics and Statistics
Engineering Sciences – All branches of Engineering
Life Sciences – Biology and Medicine
Social Sciences and Economics – Economics, History, Sociology, Political Sciences and other Social Sciences
The jury panel for each area were consisted of eminent international personalities in each area selected by the trustees of the foundation. The Infosys Science Foundation has created five juries of eminent international academicians who had judged nominations and selected the winners of the Infosys Prize under the categories of Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering and Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences and Life Sciences for 2009.
November 30, was the day when the prize announcement was made. Professor Upinder Singh is the winner in the inaugural social sciences. She is the professor of History at Delhi University and the second of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three daughters. She will share the inaugural Rs 50 lakh Infosys Prize for Social Sciences with MIT economist Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee
Infosys officials acknowledged that Upinder Singh is the PM's daughter only after being pressed into identifying her lineage.
Eminent economist and Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen, states the professor was awarded "in recognition of her contributions as an outstanding historian of ancient and early medieval India".
The Infosys Prize will be awarded in three other disciplines this year — physical sciences, mathematical sciences, life sciences, while the engineering sciences prize is not being awarded in the absence of a suitable candidate. Thanu Padmanabhan of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, has been awarded the Infosys Prize for Physical Sciences "in recognition of his contribution to a deeper understanding of Einstein's theory of gravity in the context of thermo dynamics and large scale structure in cosmology.
Ashoke Sen of Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, has been awarded the Infosys Prize for Mathematical Sciences in recognition of his fundamental contributions to mthematical pysics, in particular to String Theory.
K. Vijay Raghavan of National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bangalore, has won the Infosys Award for Life Sciences in recognition of his many contributions as a developmental geneticist and neurobiologist.
PM's daughter wins inaugural Infosys social sciences award
Upinder Singh, professor of History at Delhi University and the second of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three daughters, will share the inaugural Rs 50 lakh Infosys Prize for Social Sciences with MIT economist Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee.
She will receive the award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on January 4.
"It would be nice to receive the award from him," said the 50-year-old professor. "I have not really thought about what to do with the money."
"I feel honoured, humbled and encouraged by the award," Singh added. "I think Infosys has done a great thing. It will encourage more research."
Infosys said the prize, which also carries a citation and medallion, is "among the highest in terms of prize money for any award in India". It was instituted by the Infosys Science Foundation formed this year.
When the prize announcements were made on November 30, Professor Upinder Singh's name figured in the list as just another winner in the inaugural social sciences. Infosys officials acknowledged that Upinder Singh is the Prime Minister's daughter only after being pressed into identifying her lineage.
It's for IIMs to find out, we can't interfere, says Sibal
Anita Joshua
NEW DELHI: After receiving a report from the convener of the Common Admission Test for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said dry runs ought to have been conducted to rule out every possible error. For, this was the first time CAT was going online.
Talking to journalists on the fourth day of the first-ever experiment of IIMs conducting their all-India CAT online, Mr. Sibal said he had sought a report from CAT convener Satish Deodhar.
The report came on Tuesday and as per the data available for the first three days of the test, 8,297 of the 45,367 candidates had difficulties.
"Hold enquiry"
Noting that the government could not interfere with the conduct of the tests as the IIMs are autonomous institutions, the Minister said they should conduct an enquiry into what went wrong. Preliminary enquiries point to hardware failure, besides a virus attack.
Conceding that failure of such a scale should not have happened, Mr. Sibal said Prometric — the American firm which was entrusted the task of conducting the computer-based CAT 2009 — said the tests would be rescheduled for the candidates who faced problems.
"No aberration"
The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha by the deputy leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sushma Swaraj. Describing the IIMs as a global brand which set standards for most business schools, she said it was ironical that a country which aspired to be an IT superpower could not conduct a simple entrance test.
So many centres collapsing could not be called an aberration, she added.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/02/stories/2009120250230100.htm
Sibal seeks enquiry into CAT fiasco
Vaibhav Ganjapure, TNN 1 December 2009, 06:00am IST
NAGPUR: Distressed by the Common Admission Test (CAT) fiasco, Union human resources minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said he had sought an enquiry
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into the entire affair from the concerned authorities of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
"Generally, we don't interfere in their (IIMs) matters as they are autonomous bodies and have their own independent mechanism. However, I am pained to watch what is happening and have sought a reply from them as to why it is happening? After all the careers of lakhs of students are at stake," Sibal told TOI on phone.
He added that the government was in no way connected to the fiasco as the IIMs had not sought its permission before conducting the examination online. "If we meddle in their affairs, all the talks of granting autonomy to them would prove futile. But the government can't sit idle and watch what is happening," he said.
On whether the exam would be rescheduled after this fiasco, the Union HRD minister said, it was up to the IIM authorities to decide.
Nonetheless, the CAT aspirants faced problems for the third day in a row all over the country. Even in Nagpur, the exam was cancelled at one of the labs at Shrimati Bhagwati Chaturvedi College of Engineering. At St Vincent Palloti College and Priyadarshini College of Engineering, the exam went off peacefully, barring minor hiccups.
The shocking development was that the same questions were being asked despite assurances by the IIM authorities that the paper sets will not be repeated. "Many of our students reported the same set of question papers which were asked on the first two days. We are closely tracking the exam and taking inputs from our students as well as those who appeared for the CAT at other centres. Depending on their feedback, it could be said that the questions were replicated and the paper was easier as compared to last year," said Nihit Mor of Career Launcher.
T Ram Mohan of Professional Tutorials was critical of the officials conducting the exam, saying no one was serious about the students careers and just passing the buck on each other for the fiasco. "The IIMs are blaming Prometric and it is blaming the virus. No one cares about the fate of 2.5 lakh students in this chaos. There is no mechanism to check whether the system or the student is at fault. There is no concrete solution. The only saving grace is that there is no bar on age or the number of attempts for CAT," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Sibal-seeks-enquiry-into-CAT-fiasco/articleshow/5286569.cms
IITs should give more weightage to class 12 marks: Sibal
New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) Indian Institutes for Technology (IITs) should give more weightage to the class 12 exam marks for admission to their undergraduate courses, union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said Monday.
According to a senior ministry official, Sibal stressed that the IIT admission procedures should give more weightage to class 12 exam marks and also consider raising the cut-off percentage for students to appear in the IIT-Joint Entrance examination.
The minister made the comments while chairing a meeting of the IIT Council here.
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/iits-should-give-more-weightage-to-class-12-marks-sibal_100262666.html#ixzz0YXepRfIb
80 percent marks not a must for IIT entrance exam: Sibal (Lead)
New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Scoring high in the Class 12 examination would not be a prerequisite for taking the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) entrance exam, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal Tuesday said, appearing to backtrack from his stand a day earlier.
"The eligibility criteria to appear in the joint entrance exam (IIT-JEE) is decided by the IITs themselves. The government has no role to play and any report which suggests that there is a proposal to allow only those who obtain above 80 percent marks in their Class 12examination to sit for the JEE is baseless," Sibal told reporters.
Sibal said this retracting his stand Monday, when he had stressed that the IIT admission procedures "should give more weightage to Class 12 exam marks," as well as consider raising the existing eligibility from 60 percent to 80 to 85 percent for students to appear in the IIT Joint EntranceExamination.
The minister made the comments while chairing a meeting of the IIT Council here.
Sibal Tuesday clarified that the only decision that had been taken by the IIT Council was that IITs would submit a report in January next year to "rationalise JEE".
"It is entirely their decision to decide on the criteria. It is they who will consider what weightage is to be given to the Class 12examination," Sibal added.
The minister also mentioned that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had sent him a letter questioning the entire issue and that the HRD ministry had conceded that the ministry had no role to play in IIT entranceexamination.
"The HRD ministry can in no way, either directly or indirectly, decide or make any proposal for a decision," Sibal concluded.
At the IIT Council meeting, the minister said he also wanted to get rid of professional coaching for medical and engineering exams.
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/80-percent-marks-not-a-must-for-iit-entrance-exam-sibal-lead_100263211.html#ixzz0YXf1B7Hx
Mayawati attacks move to raise IIT entrance bar
Lucknow, Oct 20 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Tuesday expressed strong reservations against Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal's move to raise the bar for IIT entrance examination from the existing 60 percent to 80 percent. Sibal, however, Tuesday afternoon appeared to backtrack from his stand.
Terming the proposal to raise the cut off for appearing in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) as "pro-elitist" and "anti-student", Mayawati said that she would oppose it tooth and nail.
In a letter shot off to Sibal, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister demanded "immediate withdrawal of the proposal" while urging him "not to initiate any education-related policy change without taking into account its impact on the student community".
"Evidently, the move is aimed at depriving a large chunk of society from getting the opportunity to seek entry into the country's premier technical institution," Mayawati said in a statement issued here Tuesday evening.
Dismissing Sibal's claim that the move was aimed at bringing down the number of applicants to the entrance examination, Mayawati said: "It would have made more sense if suitable amendments were carried out in the entrance examination to enable applicants to appear without having to attend expensive coaching institutes."
She wondered "why the system was designed to encourage coaching institutes which only the rich and the affluent could afford" while adding "it was high time the central government paid some attention to the need for reforms in the entrance examination".
In her letter to Sibal, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said "the issue is not that the 80 percent aggregate requisite for the entrance examination would reduce the rush for the examination, but the most pertinent question is to know who is the government hoping to benefit through the move?"
She went on to add: "To me it appears that this restrictive policy is intended to benefit a particular class of people and deprive a whole lot of ordinary people."
Sibal, however, told reporters in New Delhi: "The eligibility criteria to appear in the joint entrance exam (IIT-JEE) is decided by the IITs themselves. The government has no role to play and any report which suggests that there is a proposal to allow only those who obtain above 80 percent marks in their Class 12 examination to sit for the JEE is baseless."
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/mayawati-attacks-move-to-raise-iit-entrance-bar_100263246.html#ixzz0YXfDkqPi
Yes, we failed Online CAT, admits IIM(A) director
Prasad Nichenametla , Hindustan Times
Ahmedabad, December 01, 2009
First Published: 01:22 IST(1/12/2009)
Last Updated: 02:40 IST(1/12/2009)
Prometric, the organisation conducting the IIM entrance test this year, admitted on Monday that the first online format of the exam had been a failure.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) too have admitted errors in holding the test. On three consecutive days, including Monday, there were reports of technical glitches while holding the exam.
Samir Barua, director, IIM Ahmedabad, told Hindustan Times: "We have failed in delivering an error-free system … We feel responsible and will move forward (in correcting those errors)." Candidates could not take the test at a few centres in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Ghaziabad due to computer malfunctioning.
The government sought a report from the convener of the entrance test (Common Admis-sion Test), Satish Deodhar. Samir Barua, director, IIM Ahmedabad, told Hindustan Times: "We have failed in delivering an error-free system … We feel responsible and will move forward (in correcting those errors)."
Prometric Chief Operating Officer Charles Kernan said: "We were not able to detect some viruses that intruded the systems."
(With inputs from PTI)
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If virus hit CAT test, will it hit results too?
2 Dec 2009, 1000 hrs IST, Manash Pratim Gohain & Neha Pushkarna, TNN
NEW DELHI: Prometric may have found refuge in the two viruses 'Conflicker' and 'W32Nimda', to wriggle out of the CAT online test controversy. But
that has, by the end of day four of online CAT 2009, left over 50,000 students who managed to take the test wondering how fair evaluation of their tests will be?
If Prometric's claims about a virus attack are true, then it is possible the virus or viruses affect results too. That a few city students were asked to take the test again, when they had already taken the test on Monday, points to such a possibility. Experts say nothing can be said for certain about the effect of the virus on the test.
But first the viruses, which wreaked havoc from day one and ensured that over 8,000 aspirants now have to take a retest. According to anti-virus expert Vijay Mukhi, ''The viruses are old viruses, easily detected by antiviruses. The first question that needs to be answered is how did the virus infect the systems? Only if the systems are being used for other online activity can a virus infect them." So, has Prometric cut corners?
Aptech has been conducting computer-based tests since 2004, since when it has conducted tests for over 2 million test takers, including corporates and educational institutions.
According to Aptech CEO Ninad Karpe, ''There is no alternative to online testing. For example, for around 11,000 SBI clerical posts, over 2.5 million aspirants apply. Online tests will simplify that process.''
The four students who were recalled for the test on Tuesday refused to divulge any details to the media. However, the director of the coaching centre where they studied for the CAT, Ulhas Vairagkar, confirmed that the students had received a text message telling them to reappear for the test.
''The message did not mention any reason. Which is why they were even more scared. We speculate that their tests might not have been submitted because of which they had to sit for it again on Tuesday." The chaos of the last three days has left students' trust in the online CAT shaken. Many of them are worried just how valid their results will be.
Said Deekshant Sehrawat, director , MBA Guru, "There is so much uncertainty amongst students right now. As teachers, we have to keep them positive but they're worried. If the virus attack theory is to believed, then even the of results will be affected."
According to Mukhi, ''The answer to that could be a yes or a no. The one thing I am certain of is that once the results are out, actually now too, Prometric is open to a host of legal problems.''
According to Vairagkar, "Many students are very very apprehensive about their results. In the case of these four students, none of their answers were recorded. So they are now wondering if any of their answers were recorded at all."
18% aspirants couldn't take CAT online
2 Dec 2009, 1002 hrs IST, Akshaya Mukul, TNN
NEW DELHI: The failure of the online CAT test has bruised the IIM brand. With an estimated 18% of examinees unable to take the exam because of
technical glitches, the IIMs came under fire in Parliament and outside for the bungle.
IIM-Ahmedabad which conducted the test, estimated that 8,297 of 45,367 candidates were "displaced" due to viruses, technical glitches and power outages.
The test was conducted in 104 test sites across 32 centres. In a report to the government, CAT convener Satish Deodhar assured that those who could not take the test would get another opportunity.
ISRO earns Rs 1 bn by launching foreign satellites
2 Dec 2009, 1655 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has earned over Rs.1 billion in the last three years by launching foreign satellites.
And much of this has come from Israel and Italy.
"Twelve satellites were launched for other countries during the last three years including six nano-satellites during the current year," Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan informed the Lok Sabha Wednesday.
The minister said Indonesia, Argentina, Italy, Israel, Canada and Germany were the key countries taking the help of ISRO in sending their satellites on a commercial basis.
In the last three years, the space agency had earned over a billion rupees.
Israel paid a whopping Rs.548 million for commercial launches. It has also earned Rs.407 million from Italy. While the earning from Indonesia is Rs.13 million, ISRO got Rs.20 million from Canada.
India becomes biggest newspaper market
AGE CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD
Dec. 1: India has emerged as the biggest newspaper market in the world with 107 million daily sales.
Presenting the annual press trends update at the ongoing world press summit here, Timothy Balding, co-CEO of WAN-IFRA said, globally 1.9 billion people choose to read a newspaper every day, or 34 per cent of the world population, while 24 per cent use the Internet. The biggest newspaper market in the world is India, with 107 million daily sales.
India, China and Japan account for more than 60 per cent of the world's newspaper sales, with the US taking 14 per cent. "While it is true that in some regions circulation is not a boom sector, newspapers continue to be a global mass media to be reckoned with, achieving reach of over 34 per cent," said Mr Balding.
In terms of sales per 1,000 adult population, Japan leads the world with 612, followed by Norway with 576, and Finland with 482. In terms of reach, 91 per cent of Japanese continue to read a newspaper daily — a remarkable figure in such a technologically advanced and wired society.
While India has emerged as the major newspaper market, newspapers world-wide will have to search for new business models, including paid-for on-line access for news to increase their revenues.
"At no time in the foreseeable future will digital advertising revenues replace those lost to print, making the search for new business models, including paid-for on-line access for news," according to the latest update on world press trends released by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, which is currently meeting in the city.
Mr Balding said, as search engines take the largest slice of Internet advertising revenues, little is left for the content generators themselves. In a $182-billion press advertising industry, digital revenues of newspapers accounted for less than $6 billion last year and are forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers to grow to no more than $8.4 billion by 2013.
At the same time, print advertising is expected to decline. The PwC predicts that by 2013, combined print and digital ad revenues will be less than print only ad revenues were in 2008.
"If newspaper companies wish to maintain their strong content leadership, someone is going to have to pay. It looks like we have to solve the digital payment issue — and soon," he said.
The annual world press trends survey gains significance in the backdrop of the debate on paid content, at the summit.
http://203.197.197.71/presentation/leftnavigation/news/india/india-becomes-biggest-newspaper-market.aspx
Second phase today: 48 criminals in fray
ANAND S.T. DAS
Patna
Dec. 1: Jharkhand's second phase of Assembly polls for 14 seats taking place on Wednesday has six former ministers, four crorepatis and 48 people facing criminal charges, including 23 accused of murder, among the total 259 candidates in the fray.
While the major concern of Jharkhand's voters is the imperceptible change in poverty and unemployment levels in the past five years, an astounding rise has been found in the assets of the legislators during this period of time.
The assets of 66 former legislators seeking re-election in the second phase has marked an average rise of 616 percentage points — or Rs 49 lakhs — between 2004 and 2009, said the NGO, National Election Watch (NEW), after examining the affidavits of 130 candidates.
As per the candidates' self-declarations, 23 candidates fielded by all major parties face serious charges of murder and attempt to murder pending in various courts. While the JMM and AJSU have given tickets to seven such candidates each, the BJP has fielded five, the Congress four and the JD(U) three, said the National Election Watch.
The six former ministers in the fray are AJSU's Sudesh Mahto and Chandra Prakash Choudhary from Silli and Ramgarh respectively, the BJP's Chandramohan Prasad and Nilkanth Singh Munda from Giridih and Khunti, Madhavlal Singh of the Congress and Bandhu Tirkey of the JJP.
Former chief minister Madhu Koda's arrest on Monday is expected to play some role in polarising voters as, said analysts, Koda is likely to be perceived as much a wrong politician as one wronged.
Koda's statements during his arrest, in which he specifically named the Congress as the entity responsible for his misfortune, could force voters to rethink before casting their ballots.
No Raj proposal on model schools
TNN 1 December 2009, 05:22am IST
AIPUR: Though the Congress won most of the municipal bodies on the slogan of completing the chain of power from Centre, state and local bodies,
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the Gehlot government has so far not taken advantage of central schemes.
Despite Rajasthan having one of the worst figures for education, it has not send any proposal to open model schools in the state till now. Union human resource minister Kapil Sibal, in reply to a question raised by the Dusa MP, Kirorilal Meena, informed Parliament on November 25 that the state education department has not send any proposal for to set up of model schools in the state. Meena said 247 blocks in the state have no model school.
Sibal reminded members, according to the amendment to the rules for setting up of model schools since 2008, the Centre sanctions schools on the proposal send by the state government and it has not received any proposal from the Rajasthan government till now.In order to boost education in rural areas, the Centre is setting up 6,000 model schools in as many blocks in various states of which 3,500 will be set up in the backward areas.
Jhalawar MP Dushyant Singh alleged the state government inaction would prove dearly to the talents in the rural areas. He said the Centre mooted the idea of model schools to tap the talented students in the rural areas and states like Punjab, Haryana, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Himachal, Meghayala, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, UP and Gujarat. However, education minister Master Bhawarlal said the state government could not allot land to 38 model schools already sanctioned by the Centre. He said, "We have written repeatedly to the district adminsitration to allot land at the block level but we have not been fully successful. We are pursuing the matter," he said.
Jamia Millia not a minority university
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New Delhi, Dec 2 (IANS) As the debate over the minority status for Jamia Millia Islamia rages, the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry Wednesday said the institution is not a minority central university.
"Among the central universities, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) which has been defined as 'the educational institution of their choice established by the Muslims of India' has been so recognised by the central government," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in response to a Lok Sabha question on the number of universities located in the country for minorities.
In properly guarded statement, Sibal further said: "However, the matter is sub-judice before the apex court."
Several politicians from the Muslim community have already met Sibal and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid demanding that OBC quota must not be implemented in Jamia.
Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has threatened to withhold grants unless Jamia keeps aside 27 percent seats for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from coming academic session.
As per the central government guidelines, all central universities must implement the 27 percent OBC quota but Jamia in spite of its central university status is yet to initiate the process.
–Indo-Asian News service
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/jamia-millia-not-a-minority-university_100283275.html#ixzz0YXmJKAHA
Government mulling constitutional status to minorities panel
New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) Minister of State for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid Thursday said the government was considering giving constitutional status to the National Minorities Commission and would decide on reservation for Muslims after studying the Andhra Pradesh and Kerala models.
"We want to give the minorities commission a constitutional status and will try our best for that," Khurshid told reporters after a meeting with the commission members.
Asked about reservation for Muslims, Khurshid said: "We keep on getting such demands. We will see it within the constitutional framework.
"We are studying the models of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. And we might adopt it," he added.
In Andhra Pradesh there is four percent reservation for Muslims who are recognised among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, while in Kerala, the quota is 12 percent across the board.
On providing scholarships to Muslim students, the minister said the Sachar Committee appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 to study the socio-economic condition of Muslims in India had spoken about affirmative action andthe government was working on it.
He refused to comment on granting minority status to the Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia University. He only said: "The matter is sub judice."
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/government-mulling-constitutional-status-to-minorities-panel_100203800.html#ixzz0YXmT3PK2
More money to address Muslim backwardness: Salman Khurshid
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) The government has increased the budgetary allocation to the minority affairs ministry by Rs.740 crore for the year 2009-10 to address the educational and economic backwardness of the Muslim community, Minister Salman Khurshid said Monday.
"The plan provisions for the ministry has been enhanced from Rs.130.89 crore in 2006-07 to Rs.500 crore in 2007-08, Rs.1,000 crore in 2008-09 and Rs.1,740 crore for the year 2009-10," Khurshid told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
While replying to a question related to the implementation of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, the minority affairs minister said that a "multi-prolonged strategy to address the educational backwardness of the Muslim community, as brought out by the Sachar Committee has been adopted".
Khurshid also gave details of the scholarships that are being provided to the students of the minority community.
For the economic welfare of the minority community, Khurshid said that multi-sectoral development programmes have been launched in identified minority concentration districts in 2008-09 and "all public sector banks have been directed to open branches in districts having a substantialminority population".
To address communal issues, Khurshid said guidelines on maintaining communal harmony have been issued to the home ministry.
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/more-money-to-address-muslim-backwardness-salman-khurshid_100217428.html#ixzz0YXmhV2Nj
Government firm on setting up Equal Opportunity Commission: Khurshid
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Monday told parliament that the government is committed to establishing an Equal Opportunity Commission and is examining the recommendations of the expert group regarding its structure and functions.
"An Equal Opportunity Commission will be set up by the government. The report of the expert group to study and recommend the structure and functions of an Equal Opportunity Commission has been examined and the matter is presently under consideration of the government," Khurshid told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Khurshid also said that his ministry has selected five schemes for the welfare of the minorities under its 100-day agenda. The schemes aim to enable the deprived section of population, including the minority communities, and create an efficient waqf administration that could generate resources for the welfare of the Muslim community.
The minister said that the government plans to expand the educational and economic opportunities for the disadvantaged section of minorities through a number of existing and new schemes for which an allocation of Rs. 1,740 crore has been made.
Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/government-firm-on-setting-up-equal-opportunity-commission-khurshid_100217339.html#ixzz0YXmpW5Lu
I2IT inks deal with US varsity for masters course in auto engg
Vishwas Kothari, TNN 1 December 2009, 12:44am IST
PUNE: City-based International Institute of Information Technology (I2IT) and the Lawrence Technological University (LTU), Michigan, US, have
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signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the launch of a two-year masters degree programme in automobile engineering from July 2010.
Dean of I2IT Aruna Katara told TOI on Monday, "The course is to be run on a joint degree certification basis with the infotech (IT) component to be taught at I2IT's Hinjewadi campus for nine months and the automotive component at the LTU campus in US for the reamining 11 months. They (LTU) have some of the best automotive research and lab facilities."
For academic institutions in the city, the signing of the MoU provides the first tangible outcome of growing Indo-US collaborative effort in the field of higher learning since the visit of Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal to the US in October.
A delegation of representatives from leading state-run and deemed universities as well as private instituitons of higher learning in India had accompanied Sibal. The team included I2IT chief mentor Vijay Bhatkar and Katara besides Symbiosis International University's representative, Vidya Yeravdekar.
The Southfield, Michigan-based LTU, established in 1932, ranks among leading private tech varsities in the US with a student base of 4,500-plus and is known for its engineering degree and masters programmes among others.
The MoU was signed by LTU president Lewis N Walker and I2IT's Katara during a ceremony at Washington DC on November 23 during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to the US. Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Indian Ambassador to US Meera Shankar besides Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries president Harsh Pati Singhania and secretary general Amit Mitra were present.
Katara said, "The proposed masters programme has already secured all requisite clearances at the US end including the board of accreditation's approval. At the Indian end, we have formally moved papers with the HRD ministry and there won't be much problem securing the clearance in the overall context."
According to Katara, the programme aims at starting with a student intake of 15 to 20 engineering degree (BE) holders especially those from the mechanical branch. "The GRE and Toefel qualifications will be must for the US component of the two-year programme," she said.
Katara said, "We have been working on this (a formal tie-up) for quite some time considering that high-end studies in automotive engineering promise great career scope for students in India as well as US." In fact, Pune ranks among the major automotive and auto-component hubs, she added.
As for the course fees, Katara said, "The two-year programme would cost about Rs 7.20 lakh. We will remit the US component to the LTU. For the I2IT component, the fees will include cost of stay on its residential campus besides tuition."
Apart from the course, the MoU provides for summer student programmes at the LTU; student, faculty exchange; joint delivery of professional development i.e.continuing education and masters degree in IT and managements too.
IANS
Over 27,000 institutes of higher learning needed: Sibal
2009-11-07 22:00:00
More than 27,000 additional institutions of higher learning would be required to meet the targeted Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 30 percent for 2020, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said here Saturday.
'This figure includes 14,000 colleges of general higher education, 12,775 additional technical and professional institutions and 269 additional universities,' Sibal said in a presentation during the meeting of the consultative committee for the HRD ministry here Saturday.
While addressing the MPs present at the meeting, Sibal asked for their collaboration in education, so that India can become a world power by 2020.
'Issues raised by the MPs included whether adequate regulatory framework was being envisaged for private participation in the education sector. Whether the government was envisaging an SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) type large scale programme for the higher education sector also, whether foreign universities, if allowed to come to India would be making profit, and whether steps had been taken to incentivise people to enter the teaching profession,' according to an official statement.
The MPs also expressed concern on the inadequate numbers of faculty in state universities and colleges and on the proliferation of technical institutions.
Responding to the concerns, Sibal assured the MPs that the mandate of the proposed overarching body in higher education would be enforcing quality and good governance procedures in higher education institutions.
He underlined that the regulatory framework would be enforced for higher education and clarified that financial constraints would not allow the central government to have an SSA type programme for the country in higher education.
The minister noted that besides the additional spending by the central government for building new central universities, and degree colleges in educationally backward districts, the state governments will also themselves have to look for private investment.
Sibal stated that when foreign universities come to India they would not be allowed to make profits through tuition fees. He stated that India needs to set up a world class institute in humanities.
Some of the MPs who attended the meeting were Chinta Mohan, Jagdanand Singh, Ganeshrao N. Dudhgaonkar, M. Thambi Durai, Prem Das Rai, Madan Lal Sharma, Bijayanta 'Jai' Panda, Rama Devi, Sucharu Ranjan Haldar, Ranjan Prasad Yadav, Vasanthi Stanley, Kapila Vatsyayan and Prabhakar Kore.
India Economic Summit | 'Hundreds of new cities' need to be built
Building new cities and growth nodes may be held back because of a tangle of red tape
Rasul Bailay
New Delhi
India needs to build "hundreds of new cities" in the coming decades to beat urban gridlock, developers participating in a panel discussion at the India Economic Summit said on Tuesday.
Building new cities and growth nodes may be held back because of a tangle of red tape. For example, developers of special economic zones need around 30 no objection certificates from state and local authorities, according to Priya Hiranandani-Vandrevala, chief executive of Hirco Group. "Its an extremely tedious process," she said.
Land aggregation is another major challenge. Arun Nanda, president of infrastructure development for Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, said the average land holding of Indian farmers is less than 1 acre per farmer. On top of that, almost "90% of the land doesn't have clear title and, therefore, it becomes very difficult to get a mortgage", Hiranandani-Vandrevala added.
http://www.livemint.com/2009/11/10210548/India-Economic-Summit--8216.html?d=1
Foreign varsities welcome, but can't make profits: Sibal
November 09, 2009 14:01 IST
Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal [ Images ] has said that during his visit to the United States last week, he assured representatives of foreign universities that they were welcome to invest in India's [ Images ] education sector but should not aim at making profits.
Sibal said he had told foreign varsities that "there is a variety of involvement in educational services such as training, book, service facilities, testing, providing a range of opportunities to invest in India in these allied services, and there is no bar on surpluses even today for Indian private structure".
He, however, simultaneously cautioned them about India's firm stance of not making profits from tuition fees and the education sector.
Sibal had led a delegation to the US last week and met functionaries of leading universities, which "have expressed keenness to come to India".
The move came ahead of the introduction of the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill which will permit the entry of foreign institutions in the education sector.
Sibal held meetings with presidents and other functionaries of Harvard, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Boston University, among others.
"They have accepted our views that they would not make profit from the tuition fee," he said. But such institutions can undertake other projects to make profits.
As a first step, the government has set up a three-member taskforce to explore possible collaborations with MIT which will submit its report in six months.
Sibal said the government had decided to award fellowships to 100 Indo-American academics and researchers to work in Indian universities. After his interactions, Yale university has already sent a delegation to India for further discussions on the issue.
"Harvard has said that it needs further dialogue for taking a decision on the issue of opening campus or offering courses through partnership basis. Boston University will send a delegation in January," said Sibal.
BS Reporter in New Delhi
Source: Business Standard
Americans slowly turning towards Hinduism, says report
August 18, 2009 17:15 IST
'We Are All Hindus Now'--headlines the article in the upcoming edition of prestigious newsmagazine Newsweek, saying 'US Views on God and Life Are Turning Hindu'.
Written by its religion editor Lisa Miller, it says, '?recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity.'
Commenting about the Newsweek viewpoint, Rajan Zed said that community was glad that rich philosophical thought of Hinduism was being recognized and accepted widely outside the Hindu circles.
The article quotes a religion professor at Boston University who has long framed the American propensity for 'the divine-deli-cafeteria religion' as 'very much in the spirit of Hinduism.'
It further says: 'So here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we're burning them--like Hindus--after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America.'
Source: ANI
PM lauds Sibal, deputy as 'finest minds'
September 08, 2009 15:56 IST
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal [ Images ] and his deputy D Purandeswari [ Images ] on Tuesday received wholesome praise from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ], who described them as being a team of the "finest minds" in the government.
Observing that his government gave the "highest importance" to human resource development, Singh said, "That is why some of the finest minds have been chosen for this ministry."
Taking the names of both Sibal and Purandeswari, the prime minister said this was "a team for which any country can be legitimately proud of as national leaders".
India Eco Summit: 'Industry must help in skill building'
Kirtika Suneja / New Delhi November 10, 2009, 0:53 IST
Just over a10th of school-going children in India end up attending college.
With nearly two-thirds of India's population under the age of 35, India has the world's largest pool of young people. However, of the 220 million school going students, only 26 million go to college. So, creating the critical mass to build world-class institutions is the main problem that India faces in building world-class education.
"We need to increase the number of students going to college incrementally and also develop the infrastructure to do so. The total number of young people employed is around 509 million. So, we expect the industry to collaborate with us for skill development," said Union Education Minister Kapil Sibal.
By opening the higher education system to players outside India, the country would collaborate with foreign education providers to build world class universities.
Sibal said that the economic growth of any country depends on its human resource and that the college going population in the US is 63 per cent and more than 50 per cent in Europe. However, this number stands at 12.4 per cent in India.
Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman of the NIIT Group pointed out three defects in the Indian education system that are hampering its growth. "Structural rigidities and disconnections discourage mobility in education. Second, government is the deliverer and regulator of education and there is an absence of market principles that match demand and supply. The third defect relates to funding as there is a large amount of government funding, some amount of philanthropic funding and less amount of private funding," noted Pawar.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-eco-summit-%5Cindustry-must-help-in-skill-building%5C/375925/
Reform Bills on MHRD agenda
BS Reporter / New Delhi November 10, 2009, 1:18 IST
To be tabled in Winter, Budget sessions of Parliament.
Kapil Sibal The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) plans to complete its legislative agenda by introducing major reform Bills — including the ones on the Foreign Education Bill, Education Malpractices and the setting up of an overarching body to govern higher education — in the coming Winter and Budget sessions of Parliament.
"The regulatory body and all the legislative agenda will be over by the next Budget session," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said while addressing the India Economic Summit here today.
As part of the legislative agenda, the ministry has already enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, besides evolving a consensus for establishment of an All India Madarsa Board. The ministry's other legislative initiatives pertain to setting up an autonomous overarching authority for higher education and research, based on the recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee and National Knowledge Commission, and a law to prevent, prohibit and punish educational malpractices.
MHRD is also mulling a law for mandatory assessment and accreditation in higher education through an independent regulator and a law to regulate entry and operation of foreign education providers.
On continuing with reservations for students and teachers in Indian education institutes, Sibal said "no reservation is unacceptable to the government of India and we will focus on the three pillars of excellence, inclusions and expansion for education. However, the education system needs to reform from within and will collaborate with foreign education providers to build world-class universities."
The ministry is also in talks with the Unique Identification Authority of India to track students going to primary schools and those going to secondary schools by giving them unique ID cards, besides doing geospatial mapping of universities.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/reform-billsmhrd-agenda/375947/
How India can build the Knowledge Grid
How India can help the US in the future
An ecosystem for Indian education
The education architecture India needs
The private-government partnership in education
Last updated on: November 6, 2009 12:10 IST
Aziz Haniffa reports from Washington, DC, on a summit designed to transform India's education.
At an exclusive and select roundtable with corporate executives, educators and administration officials, hosted by the US-India Business Council, India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal last week contended that it is not simply US foreign direct investment by corporates in India's higher education sector or even the quadrupling of the number of Indian students in the US, that is a panacea for the demand for highly-skilled professional human resource that it inevitable in the global service economy.
At the outset in introducing Sibal, USIBC President Ron Somers exhorted the corporate executives and educators present as to "how can US investors and US educational institutions make constructive contributions to the Indian educational sector?"
Somers argued that "indeed, we all have a major stake in answering this question," and pointed out that "our member companies have major operation in India, many have major workforces there, and some like GE, have R&D facilities in India, and more and more US firms have fully integrated India into their global supply chains."
Noting that "India itself has a bounty of youthful talent 54 percent of the country is under the age of 25, and that's more than 600 million people and this is a rich resource of human talent," he said, "the demographics are squarely in favour of India, and of doing more business with India, particularly in the education sector."
Somers continued that "the US educational institutions have a pre-disposed attraction already for Indian students," and spoke of the nearly 100,000 Indian students who come to American universities and campuses each year, which "we would like to see not double, but quadruple."
Thus, he declared that "it's truly incumbent on all of us now, on how we advance this education sector together," and reiterated, "so, I return to the question, how can US investment, how can US educational institutions make a constructive contribution to the Indian educational sector."
Sibal immediately said he wanted to "turn that around, because it's not about US investment in India in the field of higher education it's about the growing importance of knowledge in economic development. Because in the new knowledge economy, it's solutions through research and technology that are going to take a nation forward that apply to India, that apply to the United States of America, that apply to any part of the world."
"So the question that we need to look at is not how much of a role the US business community can play in India in the education sector, (but) it's as to how India and the US can work together in building a knowledge grid that will help communities at both ends to give an impetus to the global economy, which will be the only sure road to peace and security."
Sibal said if one looks at the global community, there is 480 million people in all of Europe, 300 million in the US, which is still less than the 1.1 billion in India. "And, if you add the numbers in China, then you naturally come to the conclusion that there is enormous human resource available in that part of the world, which will have to be empowered if we are going to move forward to tackle some of the global challenges that we are all going to face in the 21st century."
http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/nov/06/slide-show-1-how-to-transform-indian-education.htm
US varsities interested in India, says Sibal
7 Nov 2009, 0705 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Top drawer American universities have expressed their keeness to participate in higher education
in India, HRD minister Kapil Sibal
today, referring to the foreign education providers' bill. But this is being perceived more as a bid by the HRD minister to create the appropriate political environment to push through the draft law in a hurry at home.
Keen as the minister may want to appear, US universities are guarded on the nature of their involvement. Yale president Richard C levin said "No decisions have been taken yet. There is new encouragement for partnerships, but these are as of now dimly conceived ideas. Our preferred mode is that of partnership. This tends for work best for Yale. You can't replicate a 300-year-old university in a remote location."
However, Mr Sibal maintained, "It was a successful trip to the US. The American institutions have shown great interest in opening of the education sector in India." Last week, Mr Sibal led a delegation to the US and met the functionaries of leading universities.
The legislation, once passed, would permit foreign education providers to operate in India. This would make it possible for US universities to set up campuses either in partnership with Indian institutes or on their own. It is viewed as an important development in the education sector.
Mr Sibal held meetings with functionaries of Harvard, Yale, MIT and Boston University among others. He told them that while opening campuses, the foreign universities should not aim at making profit from the tuition and other fees related to imparting of the courses.
FICCI HES '09: "Indian education opportunity is huge, but needs home-grown innovative solutions," says Kapil Sibal
MBAUniverse.com News Bureau
Dhawal Kumar|07 Nov, 2009 0146 hrs IST
The FICCI Higher Education Summit 2009 began on November 6 at FICCI's Federation House in New Delhi. The inaugural session had Union Minister for Human Resource Development Mr. Kapil Sibal and Prof. Richard Levin, President, Yale University, USA as the key speakers. Giving company to these two stalwarts were Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI; Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, President, FICCI; Prof. H.S. Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, Manipal University and Mr. Steven J White, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States of America.
MBAUniverse.com is the official 'Online Partner' of this conference.
The enlightening speech by Mr. Kapil Sibal left the audience spell-bounded. His speech touched upon several important issues, such as migration of our top brains to foreign shores, population explosion, providing accessibility to education to all, making higher education affordable and all inclusive, problems in the Indian education system, and many other significant issues.
He said, "Today 220 million children are able to go to school and out of them only 26 million reach college, which is just 12%. Our aim in the nearest future is to bring this percentage to 30%. Today is the time that can be a good starting point for India."
Commenting on the existing higher education infrastructure he said that it is not of best quality. To bridge the gap between number of students going to school and the number of students going to training colleges we need to have quality infrastructure that is spread across the length and breadth of this country.
"Stakeholders from the society, entrepreneurs, NGOs, all have to be part of this higher education delivery system. The task is daunting. We also need to focus on the 150 million children who do not go to school. Government alone can't achieve the goal of education for all," he said, emphasizing the need for collaboration in education.
He stressed upon developing home-grown models for achieving the overall objectives in higher education. "We can create world-class universities only by collaboration with the industry and other global producers of knowledge. We need home-grown models to achieve our goals. Sitting in New York you can't find solution to the traffic problem in New Delhi!"
Mr. Sibal also called upon the members of the academia to support the development of Innovation Universities. "These universities will not just produce knowledge, but also contribute to the development of critical thinking of students. We are crying for solutions to our big problems, these universities will bring solutions by critical thinking."
His speech put special emphasis on the need for collaboration between providers of education and the industry. "There is enormous economic activity in our country today. It is in the interest of education providers to collaborate, to partner for expanding our educational infrastructure. Foreign universities are also welcome to collaborate with us to contribute to this expansion. On our part we will provide the best policy framework and adequate compensations to all. Collaborations and public private partnerships would be the key to building world class universities in India".
He also informed the gathering that the government is keen to introduce the Foreign Education Providers Bill in the Parliament. Once the bill is passed, foreign institutions will be able to come here and set up campuses or offer courses in partnership with Indian institutes.
The government has made significant progress in persuading US universities to partner with Indian institutes or set up campuses here. Mr. Sibal had earlier led a delegation to the US and had met the functionaries of leading universities which expressed keenness to come to India. "It was a successful trip to the US. The American institutions have shown great interest in opening of the education sector in India," Sibal said.
Prof. H S Ballal gave several suggestions to the HRD ministry for the improvement of higher education, presenting dismal figures of expenditure on education. "The global average expenditure on education is 4.5per cent of GDP. For developing countries it is 4.4. per cent. However, in India it is only 3.6 per cent of which a mere 0.7 per cent is spent on higher education," he quoted. "The issue of expansion and inclusion can be addressed by promoting public-private partnerships...the expansion has to see new providers gaining acceptance, namely, private players, public-private initiatives and foreign players."
The attendees at the conference were vice-chancellors of various universities, registrars, deans, professors, and education experts from the private sector. There were 31 delegates from the partner country USA. The significant event witnessed a good response with a footfall of more than 700, which included many school and college students who visited the exhibition and the seminars on higher education opportunities.
http://www.mbauniverse.com/aspirantinn.php?id=2527
Fixing higher education
It's time to focus on quality too
Business Standard / New Delhi November 15, 2009, 0:02 IST
The burgeoning demand for graduates as economic growth accelerates has been encouraging Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal to examine more innovative ways of involving the private sector, especially in higher and technical education. This is sensible in as much as the government lacks the financial wherewithal to focus on this sector when the claims from primary education are much more pressing. So his latest suggestion that the government could amend Section 25 of the Companies Act to allow corporations and industry associations to set up universities should be applauded.
Currently, corporations can set up educational institutions only through trusts, which means they have to re-invest the profits and come under the purview of the Charity Commissioner. Section 25 of the Companies Act does not differ significantly from the trust system. Institutions set up under this Act, too, can only reinvest profits but they will come under the scrutiny of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. But the big difference is that the Section 25 institutions will now be eligible for University Grants Commission (UGC) approval.
In a sense, Mr Sibal is pushing at an open door. For one, government investment in higher education has been declining since the nineties even as enrolment numbers have zoomed, suggesting that the private sector is playing a bigger role here than before. For another, the private sector has been openly thirsting for a bigger piece of the higher and technical education action. But meeting numerical targets is one thing — indeed, it is worth considering that India has the largest higher education system in the world after China and the United States. The bigger issue that Mr Sibal will have to address is the quality of the universities that come up.
It is no revelation that the rise in the number of institutions of higher learning in the nineties and 2000s has not seen a commensurate rise in quality. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted in a lecture at his alma mater, Panjab University, last week, "A major problem that we face is in the quality of higher education that our institutions impart. Unfortunately, most of them produce pass-outs who are nowhere near international standards." Partly because a graduate degree has been the minimum qualification for any white collar job, most universities, whether publicly or privately funded, remain inefficient teaching shops innocent of the rigours of seminal research or innovations that form the foundation of a robust higher education system.
Considering that the private sector already delivers more than half the education services in India — in medical and engineering, the proportion crosses 80 per cent — it is clear that it has not been a notable contributor to quality, so amending Section 25 is unlikely to fix this issue. The urgent problem that Mr Sibal needs to address, therefore, is a regulatory one. Questions need to be raised about UGC's role as a watchdog that promotes academic rigour rather than a dispenser of approvals that hark back to the licence raj. So far, it's been a system that indirectly encourages all manner of dodgy practices from capitation fees to fake degrees from fly-by-night private institutions cashing in on exploding demand. Reforming the regulatory system will undoubtedly be harder than opening the floodgates to private investment in education. But if Mr Sibal wants to find durable solutions to India's education system, he needs to fix what's broken first.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fixing-higher-education/376463/
Sibal moots corporation to fund education
To supplement, not supplant, the existing funding mechanism.
What it offers
The NEFC could provide long-gestation loans of up to 20-30 years at lower rates of interest than offered by banks and FIs.
Could also provide limited credit guarantees through the principle of risk-pooling for educational loans
Mr Kapil Sibal, Union HRD Minister
Vinson Kurian
New Delhi, Nov. 6 The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has mooted the idea of setting up a national education finance corporation (NEFC) to raise resources for primary and higher education sectors.
A brainchild of the Union Minister for HRD, Mr Kapil Sibal, the corporation is being equipped to generate resources for meeting the obligations imposed by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as well as the larger funding requirements of the higher education sector.
NO SUPPPLANTING
The proposed corporation is intended to supplement and not supplant the existing funding mechanism through banks, according to Mr Sibal.
The NEFC could provide long-gestation loans of up to 20-30 years at lower rates of interest than are offered by banks and FIs. Since educational infrastructure involves creation of physical assets, mortgage or collateral for such loans would not be an issue.
The NEFC could also provide limited credit guarantees through the principle of risk-pooling for educational loans analogous to that provided by the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation.
The proposed corporation would have an authorised share capital of Rs 20,000 crore, with 5 per cent being redeemable preference shares. Three-fourths of the initial issued share capital of Rs 4,000 crore may be contributed by the Centre and the rest subscribed to by development banks, public sector banks, the GIC, the LIC and other institutions owned and controlled by the Centre.
The equity subscribed to by banks and other institutions could be converted into redeemable preference shares carrying a fixed rate of dividend after seven years. The share capital may be augmented by Rs 2,000 crore every year over the next eight years limited only by the size of the authorised capital.
RAISING DEBT
The NEPC may also have the power to raise debt by issue or sale of bonds to raise resources from the market. The bond holders may be exempt from the levy of tax – individual or corporate – or be granted rebate in capital gains tax.
The NEFC could also be allowed to borrow from the Reserve Bank against securities. The Centre may, if required, guarantee the bonds issued by the Corporation against outstanding principal or interest. Another possible mode of funds would be the rural infrastructure development fund (RIDF) from the Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development).
The debt to equity ratio may be kept at 4:1, allowing for maximum lendable resources of Rs 20,000 crore during the first year, which can go up to Rs 1 lakh crore in the eighth year.
The requirement of funds for the education sector is expected to be Rs 60,000 crore during 2009-10. This could grow to as high as Rs 1.55 lakh crore in 2016-17. The NEFC will ensure lendable funds of an estimated Rs 38,000 crore in 2009-10 and Rs 1 lakh crore in 2016-17.
EASY RESORT
"The difficulty is that banks treat loans and advances to the sector much the same way as they do for the trade, industry and commerce and conveniently ignore inherent contrasts in terms of initial investments, gestation period and returns," says Mr Sibal.
Short-tenure loans availed at commercial rates of interest leave educational institutions with hardly any other option than rustle up quick money – even if this meant the easy resort to charging capitation fees, or other scourges that the resource-hungry sector is blamed for.
"We can't stop these practices just by legislation. There is therefore a need to devise an institutional mechanism that can provide educational institutions the means to access funds at lower cost with long gestation periods."
The mandate of NEFC may extend to granting loans and advances to any scheduled public sector bank or such other financial institutions by way of refinance for establishment, development or promotion of any educational institution or providing loans and advances at concessional rates of interest for infrastructure in identified backward districts.
The corporation could also directly finance any university for its establishment, increase in enrolment or improvement of infrastructure. The proposal has already been moved to the Planning Commission for favour of constituting a working group to discuss the modalities of taking it to the next level, which may include exercising the option of drafting an enabling legislation.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110751370600.htm
President Pratibha Patil urges education sector to use information technology
MBAUniverse.com News Bureau
|23 Nov , 2009 0920 hrs IST
Speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at New Delhi on November 19 President Pratibha Patil emphasized on the need for increasing gross enrolments in primary and secondary education. At the inaugural function President Patil launched three new education initiatives – IGNOU flexi learn portal, Gyandeep for post retirement learning and certification for Army personnel and new channels on Gyaanvaani.
The Flexi Learning scheme provides an opportunity for prospective learners to sample a course before enrolling so that they can choose appropriate courses and programmes. Gyandeep has been launched in collaboration with the Indian Army in order to provide post-retirement formal qualifications for job opportunities for ex-servicemen. The Indian Army's 47 regimental training centres across the country will serve as regional IGNOU colleges.
Urging the education sector to use information technology, the President said that creation of high quality human resources would place India among the elite list of front-ranking nations of the world.
The president said that open universities, like IGNOU which is also the largest distance education provider, should also generate 'a movement in rural areas that will impel people to acquire knowledge and skill'.
The event was also presided by Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal, Minister of State for HRD D Purandeswari and Planning Commission Member Narendra Jadav.
Mr. Sibal on the occasion pointed out that absence of adequate number of quality faculty is a major concern, but this problem can be solved to a large extent through distance learning and interactive learning. Mr. Sibal informed that at present over 500 million people were under 25 years of age, and by 2020 the average age of an Indian would be 29 years. He concluded by saying that if India wants to fulfil its goal of achieving "over 90 percent literacy soon" from the current 64 percent then there was "a need to investigate, innovate and look for newer solutions".
Speaking about new initiatives being undertaken by IGNOU in the Silver Jubilee year, Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai said,"IGNOU is instituting ISRO Chair for Satellite Education, Raman Chair for Science Education. On the anvil are several international initiatives for rural development. The University has also launched the Student Satisfaction Survey for feedback from its students about IGNOU academic programmes."
IGNOU was established on November 19, 1985, with just 4,000 students. Today, it is the largest university in terms of enrolment (2.5 million) and study centres 2,243. The university has its presence in 34 countries and offers 3,500 courses.
Starting its operation in 1987, the School of Management Studies of IGNOU today offers a wide range of management courses. It offers MBA, DIM, PGDIM, PGDHRM, PGDFM, PGDOM, PGDMM. The MBA Programme consists of 21 courses in all.
http://www.mbauniverse.com/campusinner-id-2588.htm
Quality of research work in Universities
17:20 IST
LOK SABHA
Looking at the declining quality and quantum of scientific research in India, a Task Force under Prof. M.M. Sharma was constituted by the Central Government for basic Scientific Research in universities. In its Report, the Task Force has inter alia, recommended creation of 1000 positions of Research Scientists at various levels, five fold increase in the number of Ph.Ds from Indian universities within a span of ten years with proper standards, promotion of formal linkage between the Universities and national level institutions including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories through joint research projects and training, inbuilt component of research in post-graduate programmes pertaining to Science and Technology, upgradation of infrastructural facilities in universities to promote quality scientific research, and creation of networking centers in Basic Sciences in leading Departments of Universities to promote collaborative research. The Task Force has been converted into an Empowered Committee for monitoring the implementation of its recommendations. The following schemes have been implemented by UGC as per guidelines formulated by the Prof. M.M. Sharma's Empowered Committee:
(i) 1800 Junior Research Fellows have been granted to the science departments recognized as CAS/DSA/DRS in universities,
(ii) Award of 500 Post-doctoral Fellowships in all areas of Science designated as "Dr.D.S. Kothari Post –doctoral Fellowships" has been launched.
(iii) An infrastructure strengthening grant of Rs.5 lakhs to each of the 700 science departments of 97 colleges with potential for excellence has been released by University Grants Commission (UGC).
The Government is implementing a Central Sponsored Scheme of National Mission on Education through Information & Communication Technology (NMEICT) which has a provision of broadband connectivity to Universities and Institutions of higher learning. It was decided that the work of creation of the broadband network under NMEICT be entrusted to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) combine and they should be given flexibility to rope in Rail Tel and Power grid as per local needs. An amount of Rs.300.00 crore has been provided to the Department of Telecommunications during 2008-09 for the purpose.
On an average, every university will be provided a Local Area Network (LAN) of 400 nodes which will be connected via 1 Gbps link to the National Knowledge Network (NKN) Port. Government polytechnics and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) shall also be provided broadband connectivity under the scheme. BSNL has been asked to provide connectivity to 6000 colleges which are eligible to receive grants under section 12-B of the UGC Act in the first phase. The institutions shall also be provided e-learning material free of cost.
This information was given by the Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, in a written reply to a question, in the Lok Sabha today.
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http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=54997
Shri Kapil Sibal meets us Education Secretary: us acknowledges India's senior secondary level achievements
17:42 IST
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, met with the US Secretary for Education, Arne Duncan in Washington yesterday. The US side expressed concern about the outcomes at their school level, which in turn affects the enrolment in higher education. The quality of India's senior secondary level achievements was acknowledged by the American side.
During the interaction, Shri Sibal said the nature of cooperation between the two countries in the future would be based on partnerships, as distinct from the hand-holding of the earlier days, as India has developed into an important economy and had abundance of high quality human resources. Secretary Duncan and Shri Sibal discussed the initiatives underway in India in higher education. The HRD Minister described the concept of "innovation universities" proposed to be established in India and the highly useful suggestions and encouraging responses received from the leading US universities visited by the Indian delegation.
The HRD Minister spoke about the advantages of cooperation in higher education and research between the two countries and how such cooperation would have to go beyond the scope of cooperation in the decade of the fifties and the sixties when leading US universties came together to establish the IIT at Kanpur. Secretary Duncan welcomed Indian initiatives and mentioned that the US Under Secretary of Education was to visit India in November when the issues of bilateral cooperation including the proposal for a US-India Education Council could be discussed further.
The Indian delegation, headed by Shri Sibal, later participated in a meeting hosted by the US-India Business Council on the subject of investment and collaboration opportunities in higher education in India. This was followed by meetings with the President of Duke University, Dr. Richard H. Brodhead and later with the President of Georgetown University, Dr. John. J. DeGioia and a speech in the University on 'Expansion of India's Education Infrastructure and Opportunities for Foreign Universities.' Shri Sibal, during the visit has already met with the Presidents of Harvard University, Yale University, Boston University, New York Academy of Sciences and the MIT.
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http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=53748
Shri Kapil Sibal meets DG UNESCO; discusses Mahatama Gandhi Institute
STATUE OF SRI AUROBINDO TO BE UNVEILED IN UNESCO HEADQUARTERS ON 16TH SEPTEMBER
12:51 IST
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal met with D.G., UNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura and impressed upon him India's keenness for establishing the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace Education and Sustainable Development. During the meeting in Paris yesterday, Shri Sibal said that this proposed Category-I UNESCO institute is proposed to be set up as a symbol of the rich heritage and values of peace and diversity that India stands for. He also pointed out that as this would be the first Category-I Institute of UNESCO to be established in the Asia Pacific region, the Permanent Representatives of India to UNESCO had already started extensive consultations with the member States of the Asia Pacific region.
During the meeting it was also decided that UNESCO officials and Ministry of HRD officials would sit down after the meeting to resolve outstanding issues mentioned in the interim report of the UNESCO mission team that has come to India to examine the feasibility of setting up of this institute. The HRD Minister's interest towards early finalization of these proposals was responded to very positively by the D.G., UNESCO.
During the meeting Shri Sibal also thanked the DG, UNECO for his support for the installation of the statue of Shri Aurobindo at the UNESCO Headquarters, which would be unveiled on 16th September, 2009. He also thanked Mr. Matsuura for taking keen interest in the commemoration programme envisaged for the 150th Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in 2011. In turn, Mr. Matsuura thanked Shri Kapil Sibal for his contribution to the objectives of UNESCO and complemented him for bringing a new global perspective to the field of Science and Technology during his tenure as Minister of Science and Technology.
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http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=50083&kwd=
Address by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, during the "General Policy Debate" at the 35th session of thegeneral Conference of UNESCO 9th October, 2009
18:28 IST
Mr. President of the General Conference, Mr. Director General, Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. At the very outset, I would like to pay my tributes to Mr. Koichiro Matsuura who, after devoting 10 years of his career to UNESCO during which he brought in significant reforms and introduced modern management in UNESCO, will be relinquishing the charge of Director- General, UNESCO.
2. It is also my pleasure to congratulate H.E. Ambassador/PR of Bulgaria to UNESCO, Ambassador Bokova on her election by the Executive Board as DG-designate of UNESCO. We are confident that this nomination would be approved by the General Conference by acclamation. India and Bulgaria have historic ties of friendship and share common concerns on UNESCO's mandates especially in Education and Culture. Ambassador Bokova's quest to bring a new humanism to UNESCO in the 21st Century is greatly welcomed.
3. The 35th session of the General Conference is being chaired by His Excellency Dr. Davidson L. Hepburn of Bahamas who is a friend of India and well-known to UNESCO. My warm greetings to the Chair. I would also like to express my appreciation to Ambassador Anastassopoulos from Greece, the outgoing Chairman who piloted the important reform document where India too had a role to play so as to ensure that all Member States have a more meaningful role in the deliberations of the General Conference which is a major Organ of UNESCO.
4. The enduring contribution of UNESCO's Constitution is to develop Education and Culture for Peace through peace education, education for sustainable development and the dialogue between cultures and civilisations. This dialogue has at its core our concerns for the fundamental ethical mission of promotion of peace, understanding, intellectual solidarity and human unity. These values sustain a civilisation and transcend conflict to meet in harmony and peace. UNESCO has always encouraged inclusiveness, tolerance and pluralism and the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment. We in India have fully supported the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development based on the premise that Education must become a tool for ushering in a sustainable lifestyle pattern so that developing countries can leapfrog to a sustainable developed economy based on respect for the environment, international understanding, harmony and peace.
5. It is in a spirit of humility that in the name of Mahatma Gandhi, India has brought to the General Conference through the Executive Board, its proposal for the establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development as a Category – I Institute of UNESCO. When established this would be the first Category-1 Institute in Asia and only the 3rd in a developing country. This proposal was approved by the Executive Board by acclamation. I am confident that the General Conference would support this initiative brought in the name of the Mahatma whose birthday on 2nd October is celebrated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day of Non-Violence. I also take this opportunity to thank the Director-General, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura and his colleagues in the Secretariat for their partnership and support to this project.
6. Let us now turn to the issue of social development. The creation of social capital has a direct nexus to development of human resources. Education is fundamental in the formation of social capital. India welcomes the operationalization of the South-South Cooperation Programme/ Fund for Education pilot projects for the different regions of G-77 & China being implemented. As the Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the South-South Cooperation Programme/Fund, India looks forward to the early implementation of Fund Raising Strategy approved by the Executive Board at its last session and raising the profile of the unique South-South Fund in the field of education through successful celebration of South-South Cooperation Day on 15th December, 2009.
7. Our 1.1 billion people are a huge human resource. Access to quality education and skills development can create a demographic dividend which could become a global resource. What is needed is political commitment to ensure that appropriate policies and financial resources are made available to create the necessary environment enabling our young to be producers of wealth. By wealth I do not mean economic resources but intellectual capital. In this context, we recently passed the historic Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 to create a legal entitlement for compulsory and free education to all children between the age group of 6-14 years. We have recently also revamped and relaunched the National Literacy Mission with a focus on women called "SAAKSHAR BHARAT". Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh launched it on International Literacy Day, September 8, 2009. Our commitment to empower our youth is demonstrated by increased outlays for higher education by 10 times in the current 11th Five Year Plan. We are also establishing several new educational institutions like, 8 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 7 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), 5 Indian Institutes for Science Education & Research (IISERs), 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), 10 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), 2 Schools of Planning & Architecture, 15 Central Universities, besides 1000 new polytechnics and 374 new degree colleges which are being set up as a part of expansion of education infrastructure with thrust on access and quality.
8. The information technology revolution allows us to connect with each other. Through ICT we can ensure free access and flow of information between Institutions. In February 2009, India launched a National Mission on Education through ICT. This Billion Dollar enterprise will provide internet connection to about 20 thousand colleges and other educational institutions. Through this we demonstrate that technology can be a major multiplier in the filed of education. UNESCO is destined to play a significant role as a global clearing house of ideas and to foster the growth of knowledge based societies. We wish to offer sharing the e-learning materials prepared by us under this national mission by the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs) so that all those around who wish to access quality knowledge can do so freely.
9. The realization of Right to Education depends not merely on expansion of educational infrastructure but, more importantly, on availability of trained teachers with commitment to their profession. The Oslo Declaration 2008 has projected a requirement of 18 million new primary teachers in the next seven years to achieve universal primary education at the global level.
10. To bring the benefits of technology at the doorsteps of millions, we need to innovate. The poor and marginalised sections of society are the ones that stand to benefit from the new ICT revolution and innovative ways of providing access. In this endeavour, UNESCO can play a significant role. One of the ways to ameliorate poverty and hardship is to provide solutions which are accessible and affordable enabling those left out to enrich their lives and help increase their incomes. At the Ministerial Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and the Role of UNESCO held on 26th & 27th October, 2007 during the previous General Conference, we had agreed that bridging the technological divide is a major challenge for the international science community, and the immediate challenge is the development of a global access system making use of a range of modalities that are to be carried out. The Ministerial Round Table had also recommended to UNESCO that it should broker knowledge banks to facilitate information and data sharing and also develop an enabling platform for affordable and accessible technologies. I would again suggest that UNESCO adopts a campaign of "Science for the benefit of masses" as a thrust area to create advocacy for directing all scientific efforts towards this end. To take this forward, UNESCO should launch project "One Billion" of the most deprived and seek help of Member States to develop an eco-system through which they are empowered. Project "One Billion" should be a flagship programme that provides access to affordable technologies for everyday solutions. All technological enterprises must have a two-fold objective. One is to conquer the barriers of knowledge through technological solutions and the other to foster the growth of knowledge through ordinary solutions. Project "One Billion" falls in the second category.
11. Mr. Chairman, India expresses its sympathy and condolences to the family members of the victims of the Tsunami which struck islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga recently. Devastating floods in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have caused havoc and left thousands homeless. Such natural disasters should encourage us to establish global networks providing for disaster preparedness and warning systems that will allow people to take preventive action. We need to strengthen Global Tsunami Warning Network in which UNESCO's IOC played a key role. India, which also suffered tragic loss of human life in the December 2004 Tsunami, operationalized in October 2007 a state-of-the art Tsunami Early Warning System, set up at a cost of approximately US $ 31 million, which is of benefit to the entire region. India has expressed its readiness to assume the responsibility of RTW Provider for the Indian Ocean region and has offered to set up an integrated multi-hazard Warning Centre. In order to share the benefits of the development of science and technology with the countries of the Asia Pacific Region, I would request UNESCO to consider reviving the Regional Office for Information and Communications which was earlier located in New Delhi.
12. Mr. Chairman, Board of Governors of the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Training and Education in India (Category-2 institute under auspices of UNESCO) has met twice this year including on 1st September, 2009 in Paris and will start conducting programmes from the next academic year. Government of India has allocated approximately US $ 22 million for establishment of this Centre which will become a regional hub for interdisciplinary education and training in biotechnology with emphasis on novel education programmes relevant to industry, including bio-drug discovery science, nano-science & medicine, imaging techniques, designer crops, bioengineering and biomaterials, intellectual property, technology transfer and regulation.
13. Mr. Chairman, we are proud that Professor Yash Pal from India and Prof. Trinh Xuan Thuan from Vietnam will be jointly awarded the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for popularization of Science 2009. UNESCO- Kalinga Prize is the oldest prize of UNESCO and we are pleased that it would be awarded again after a gap of 3 years. Many Kalinga Prize winners were later awarded the Nobel Prize.
14. The 'S' in UNESCO stands for Science. The 'S' also stands for Solutions. Such solutions need to be sustainable. So the 'S' in UNESCO is all encompassing. It is destined to energise the global community to provide scientific solutions that are sustainable. For global benefit, we need to reinvent solutions to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We need to revitalise our efforts to overcome the roadblocks ahead. Our journey towards sustainable development cannot be undertaken without understanding and addressing the socio-economic dimensions of poverty and its linkages with the environment. Scientific solutions for sustainable development are disparate; as disparate as the challenges we face. We need a global multi-pronged strategy for scientific solutions for sustainable development. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution. For those in the developed world, such solutions might lie in embracing green technologies and looking at lifestyles through the prism of sustainable development. Solutions for the less developed world with sustainable existing lifestyles require investments, technology transfer and human resource development. UNESCO can play a significant role in developing global understanding for the disparate nature both of the challenges and the solutions: for the less developed world without impacting overall growth, realisation of the right to food, work and education along with access to basic health and nutrition. This cannot be realised without the 'S' in UNESCO. Global meltdown, scarce budgetary resources available to the less developed world require the developed world, to recognise the need for providing additional resources for investments in the social sector. The impetus of financial packages need to be harnessed to ensure that millions already poor are not driven to worsening levels of poverty. India, all Member States and the global community should advocate for a more inclusive structure for global economic governance as reiterated by our Prime Minister.
15. An important role of UNESCO is that of a promoter of cultural diversity and multilingualism. The diverse cultural expressions in the world today reflect the enormous wealth of knowledge, traditions, value systems, beliefs and art forms that makes this world richer and interesting. However, diversity also demands the need for creating mechanisms for promoting understanding and respect for the uniqueness of these cultures. Mr. Chairman, India welcomes the operationalization of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions after the adoption of Operational Guidelines by the Conference of State Parties in June 2009. This is of special significance especially for developing countries because of the Article on Preferential Treatment. While, innovative funding mechanisms for increasing the resources of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity are being discussed, India has already paid its second voluntary contribution to the Fund.
16. India also welcomes operationalization of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. India had played an important role in the deliberations of the 3rd Extraordinary Session of Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held at Istanbul, Turkey in November, 2008. An important development was the establishment of the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity with two inscriptions from India, one of which is the multinational nomination of Nowrouz along with Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Turkey and the other entitled "Ramman: religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garwal Himalayas".
17. India represents unique diversity as a living tradition and an ancient civilization which has attempted to assimilate and grow richer with interaction and intermingling of various cultures. India would be bringing to the General Conference at its next session its proposal for the establishment of a UNESCO Category II Centre for Heritage Conservation and Management using the existing facilities at the Wildlife Institute at Dehradun India.
18. Linguistic diversity also needs to be preserved based on the understanding of the linkages and interaction between linguistic, educational and cultural diversity, and the principle of equality of all cultures and languages. Of critical importance is the mobilization of political decision-makers, civil society and private partners in Member States. I am happy to share that we in India are shortly going to initiate a special project aimed at preservation of the endangered languages in India. India has also been playing a proactive role in promoting use of multilingualism in cyberspace. The 3rd Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was held in Hyderabad in December 2008. In the IGF, the UNESCO organized workshops on "Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace: Internet Filtering and Censorship" and "Access to Public Held Information with a Development Perspective". To enable wide proliferation of ICT in Indian languages, a major initiative has been taken to make available software tools and fonts in various Indian languages freely to the general public. As a result, software tools and fonts are now available in about 16 Indian languages.
19. The Chairman of the Executive Board Amb. Yai of Benin to whom we also pay tribute took the timely initiative for UNESCO to commemorate the contribution of Rabindranath Tagore, Pablo Neruda and Aime Cesaire for a Reconciled Universal. This project supported by France, Chile, and our friends from Africa will be developed over the next two years here in UNESCO. It is only appropriate therefore that UNESCO would commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Mother Teresa in 2010 and the 150th Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011, both initiatives brought by India.
20. May I also thank the DG for his support in organising the great spiritual event here in UNESCO on 16th Sept., 2009 culminating in the unveiling of the statue of Sri Aurobindo in front of an audience of eminent persons. A great philosopher, poet and freedom fighter, Sri Aurobindo was an important leader of India's movement for independence before turning to develop his own vision and philosophy of human progress and spiritual path which he termed as integral yoga.
21. May I thank the international Coordinating Committee of the Man and the Biosphere Programme for inclusion of three biosphere reserves viz. Nokrek (Meghalaya), Simplipal (Orissa) and Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh) which have been included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during 2009.
22. India's interface with UNESCO and our efforts in various spheres in furtherance of UNESCO's objectives have been mentioned in the report of the National Commission which is being shared in the General Conference.
23. I would like to take this opportunity to thank UNESCO for collaborating with India in various programmes including the Sub-regional Conference for South, South-West and Central Asia on Higher Education which was organized in New Delhi in February, 2009. The Conference had culminated in adoption of the New Delhi Declaration wherein the participants affirmed the "fundamental linkage between higher education, nation building and sustainable development...".
24. We in India believe that the global community must rededicate itself to building a society free from conflict and adopt and adapt to sustainable lifestyles. At the heart of a global community free from conflict is the spirit of non-violence and the message of the Mahatma. This message provides our way forward. President Obama in a recent response to a question from a student at Wakefield High School in Arlington Virginia in the United States said that Gandhi, ended up doing so much and changing the world just by the power of his ethics. President Obama further went on to say: "I am always interested in people who are able to bring about change, not through violence, not through money, but through the force of their personality and their ethical and moral stances". At the heart of the concept of non-violence and sustainable development is the ethical principle. This is the ethic of moral stances. It is this spirit that must be propagated through UNESCO. May I conclude with a quotation from the famous thinker Sri Aurobindo, who wrote in 'WHO' :
"In the blue of the sky;
In the green of the forest;
Whose is the hand that has painted the glow?................
We are blind to our pride and the pomp of our passions,
We are bound in our thoughts where we hold ourselves free.
It is He in the sun who is ageless and deathless,
and into the midnight His shadow is thrown;
when darkness was blind and engulfed within darkness,
He was seated within it immense and alone."
Jai Hind.
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Shri Kapil Sibal calls upon Civil Society to get involved in Education for All
18:59 IST
"How can we get civil society involved in the goals of education of all". This was the question put forth by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, here today, while releasing the EFA Review Reports prepared by National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). He said the dissemination of knowledge is a national enterprise and all stake holders in society must participate in taking this forward. Shri Sibal underlined that India's diversity holds so much knowledge in different forms and the question is how do we harness this diversity to showcase India as a knowledge hub.
Shri Kapil Sibal underlined that the real challenge towards the goal of universalisation of education is to get the disadvantaged, minorities, women into the system. He pointed out that the children of migrant labour due to changing locations of their families are left out of the education system and thus need particular and specific attention.
Shri Kapil Sibal said that the entire education system must be revaluated and reorganized to create a knowledge society. He said that the education policy has to be energized to build further on the building blocks of the NPE- 1986. He said that through education we must be able to produce human resource for social and economic progress of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the Vice Chancellor of NUEPA, Shri R. Govinda said that the review reports released dealt with post Dakar progress in the field of education in India and how we will meet the goals set for 2015. He said that these reports will provide a qualitative and quantitative benchmark when evaluation of EFA goals is done in 2015. These review papers include 27 State reports, 9 thematic reports and one country report.
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Shri Kapil Sibal inducted into the Honorary Senate of the Foundation Lindau Nobelprizewinners
12:57 IST
Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development has been inducted into the Honorary Senate of the Foundation Lindau Nobelprizewinners Meetings at Lake Constance. This induction, along with the one other induction of Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, was done during the opening ceremony of the 59th Lindau meeting of Nobel Laureates, in Lindau, Germany on 28th June. The laudation read out on the occasion described Shri Sibal as an ardent advocate for technology interventions, especially in the field of education and health. It also said that he holds that technology can provide affordable solutions to the problems of the common man.
While giving his acceptance speech, Shri Sibal underlined the issue of equity vis-à-vis science and technology. He said, "S&T has brought prosperity to the world, but it has not been uniform in its impact. The scourge of poverty persists. Our movement forward needs a course correction. I believe in the adage that "poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere". In the 21st century we need to abate and not exacerbate existing disparities. We need to demolish existing boundaries through fresh scientific thinking and new technology interventions. The solutions however, must be both accessable and affordable. "
Shri Sibal exhorted the Scientists as global citizens to rise above narrow, divisive considerations. Stating that science and technology is value neutral, he said scientific solutions and technological breakthroughs will help us emerge successful in our struggle for survival. The HRD Minister said that he believed the 21st century would be one of co-operation, collaboration and inclusiveness because the challenges we face are common, formidable and unprecedented. Solutions to these problems lie not in smart negotiations, stealthy strategies or stricter laws, but in science and technology pursued collaboratively.
Present, among others, on the occasion were, Countess Bettina Bernadotte, President of the Lindau Council, Dr. Annette Schavan, German Federal Minister for Education and Research, Dr. Gang Wan, Chinese Minister for S&T, and Prof. Wolfgang Schurer, Chairman of the Lindau Foudation. 23 Nobel laureates and 580 students, including 50 odd Indian students are participating in this year's conference. The Foundation's Honorary Senate, to which Shri Sibal and Mr. Jose Barroso were inducted on Sunday includes German Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel, the former German President, Professor Dr. Roman Herzog, Dr. h.c. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Joachim Milberg (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG ), the Secretary General of the European Research Council, Prof. Dr. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker.
More than 200 Nobel Laureates are members of the Founders Assembly of the Foundation.Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg is President of the Council. Starting in 1951, now 20 - 30 Nobel Laureates each year accept the invitation by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and the Foundation Lindau Nobelprizewinners Meetings at Lake Constance. Some 500 – 700 students and young researchers come from all over the world to listen to the Laureate's lectures and to engage in discussions with them in an open and informal setting. Representatives from universities and academic institutions select participants based on strict criteria provided by the Council.
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Ministry of Human Resource Development
50th Anniversary of Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference in Kuala Lumpur: Shri Kapil Sibal to Lead Indian Delegation
15:12 IST
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal will lead the Indian Delegation to attend the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) being held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 15th to 18th June, 2009. This Conference marks the 50th Anniversary of the Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference. India is being seen as a nation of young people – with a working age population estimated at 672 million between the age group of 15-64 years. Shri Kapil Sibal is likely to emphasise on this major demographic dividend that could accrue with a skilled workforce capable of contributing both at the national and global level for economic growth.
The Theme of the Conference is "Education in Commonwealth: Towards and Beyond Global Goals and Targets". The Conference will bring together Education Ministers, Senior Officials and delegates from the Commonwealth Member States. The Conference will serve as a platform for participation of delegates for Commonwealth Youth Forum, Commonwealth Teachers Forum, Commonwealth Stakeholders Forum and official agencies like Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) etc. Some of the important agenda items include Panel Presentation and Discussion on themes like:-
i. Successes & emerging challenges in the context of global recession.
ii. Gender beyond global goals and targets: A persistent challenge.
iii. Education for respect and understanding: Inclusion & Equity.
iv. Challenges of post primary provision.
v. Commonwealth Work Programme & Commonwealth Scholarship.
An Award Ceremony on Good Practices in Education is being organized on this occasion. India's Brihanmumbai Shikshak Saba (Mumabi Municipal Teacher's Association) is one of the nine finalists who have been shortlisted from a total of 49 submissions for the Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards, 2009.
The CCEM is held every three years and the previous Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers was held at Cape Town, South Africa in 2006. The members of the Indian delegation are Smt. Anshu Vaish, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy and senior officials Shri N.K. Sinha & Shri Amit Khare of the Ministry. The Union Minister for HRD, Shri Kapil Sibal is likely to visit institutions of Higher Education set up by Indian entrepreneurs.
The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) & Ed.CIL (India) Ltd. along with the Indian High Commission are organizing "India Education Fair 2009 from 20-21 June, 2009 at Kuala Lumpur on this occasion.
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Shri Kapil Sibal presents quarterly report on 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan'; also presents status regarding 100-day programme of HRD Ministry
17:45 IST
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, presented a quarterly report on the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' here today. He also presented a status report regarding the 100-day programme of the HRD Ministry.
Following is the quarterly report on the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' :
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is one of India's important social sector programmes for universalisation of elementary education. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in elementary education, and achieving significant enhancement in learning levels of children. SSA reaches to over 19 crore children in 12 lakh schools in the country. A budget allocation of Rs 13,100 crore has been provided for 2009-10, against which an amount of Rs.4919 crore has been released to States/UTs as on 31.8.2009.
2. Since inception SSA has made the following contribution to universalizing elementary education:
§ Sanctioned 3.04 lakh new primacy schools, of which 2.70 lakh (89%) have already been operationalised
§ Sanctioned construction of 2.48 lakh new school buildings, of which 2.33 lakh (94%) have been completed
§ Sanctioned construction of 9.78 lakh additional classrooms, of which 9.62 lakh (98.36%) have been completed
§ Sanctioned 1.93 lakh drinking water and 2.63 lakh toilets, of which 95% are complete
§ Sanctioned recruitment of 12.27 lakh teachers at primary and upper primary levels, of which 9.86 lakh (80.35%) have been recruited
§ Undertaken annual in service training for 31.61 lakh teachers in 2008-09
§ Sanctioned 2573 KGBVs, of which 2460 (96%) are operational
3. For the year 2009-10 SSA will undertake the following:
§ Open 21,419 new schools in unserved habitations.
§ Undertake construction of 14,579 new school buildings and 1.26 lakh additional classrooms
§ Provide drinking water facilities to 8425 schools, and toilets in 71,017 schools; this is in addition to the programmes implemented by the Drinking Water Mission and the Total Sanitation Campaign.
§ Undertake recruitment of 52,239 teachers
§ Provide textbooks 9.79 crore children, and provide in-service teacher training to 40 lakh teachers.
4. There has been significant improvement in educational parameters since the launch of SSA
Goal 1: Enrolment of all children in school, Education Guarantee Centres,
Alternate schools, 'Back-to-School' camps:
§ Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at primary level has increased from 96.3 in 2001-02 to 111.24 in 2006-07. At upper primary GER has increased from 60.2 to 73.63 in the same period.
§ As per independent sample survey conducted by SRI-IMRB in 2009, there are 80 lakh children out of school
Goal 2: Retention of all children till the upper primary stage by 2010:
§ Dropout rate at primary level has decreased from 39.00% in 2001-02 to 25.43% in 2006-07; at elementary level it has decreased from 54.60% in 2001-02 to 46.03% in 2006-07 (SES: 2006-07)
§ Dropout rate at primary level for girls has decreased from 39.90% in 2001-02 to 26.56% in 2006-07; at elementary level it has decreased from 56.69% in 2001-02 to 45.335 in 2006-07. (SES: 2006-07)
§ The annual average drop-out rate at primary level is 9.36 (DISE: 2007-08)
§ The transition rate from primary to upper primary has improved from 74.15% (2003-04) to 81.13% (2007-08).
§ Consequent to the provision of 12.27 lakh teachers, Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved from 39:1 to 33:1.
Goal 3: Bridging gender and social category gaps in enrolment, retention and learning
§ Share of girls at primary level has increased from 47.47% in 2003-04 to 48.22% in 2007-08. At upper primary level, share of girls has increased from 45.02% to 46.99 in the same period.
DISE
2003-04
2007-08
Remarks
Share of girls
Primary
47.47
48.22
0.75 ppt
Upper Primary
45.02
46.99
1.97 ppt
Share of SC children
Primary
20.84
19.17
16% population
Upper Primary
20.08
Share of ST children
Primary
9.71
11.60
8% population
Upper Primary
9.23
Goal-4: Ensuring significant enhancement in the learning achievement levels of children at the primary and upper primary stage.
NCERT has conducted two rounds of learner achievement survey, the highlights of which are tabulated below.
Math
Language
EVS
Science
Soc. Sc.
Class – III (29 States/UTs)
1st Rd.
58.25
63.12
--
--
--
2nd Rd.
61.90
67.00
--
--
--
Class – V (31 States/UTs)
1st Rd.
46.51
58.57
50.30
--
--
2nd Rd.
48.50
60.31
52.19
--
--
Class – VII (10 States/UTs)
1st Rd.
30.50
54.24
--
37.78
34.04
2nd Rd.
40.40
57.30
--
42.90
44.40
Class – VIII (17 States/UTs)
1st Rd.
39.17
53.86
--
41.30
46.19
2nd Rd.
42.57
56.50
--
42.70
47.90
5. Future Steps:
The present dialogue with the States is to:
§ Strengthen the process of curriculum reform based on NCF 2005, to harmonize curricula, syllabi, textbooks and evaluation systems, and ensure that they provide an education that is free from discrimination and one that empowers children, especially girls, from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and including children with special needs, to participate as equals in all spheres.
§ Institute reform in recruitment systems to recruit trained teachers and wherever required provide professional training to untrained teachers in a time bound manner
§ Rationalize deployment of teachers such that all schools have the two teachers at primary and one teacher for each class at upper primary level. There should be one Science and one Math subject teacher at every upper primary school, bringing in greater local accountability and improve student and teacher attendance.
§ Encourage States to focus on the quality dimension of the spaces being developed under SSA from the pedagogic perspective, especially in the context of an inclusive policy of education
Sl.
No.
Items
Cumulative Targets till 31.3.09
Cumulative Achievement
till 31.03.09
Total
Targets for 2009-10
1.
Opening new schools
3,04,853
Opened
2,70,590
(88.76%)
21419
2.
Construction of school buildings
2,48,064
Completed &
in progress
2,33,874
(94.27%)
*(40864)
14579
3.
Construction of additional classrooms
9,78,738
Completed &
in progress
9,62,643
(98.36%)
*(163069)
126556
4.
Drinking water facilities
1,93,009
Completed &
in progress
1,81,715
(94.14%)
*(3733)
8425
5.
Construction of Toilets
2,64,650
Completed &
in progress
2,55,014
(96.35%)
*(12123)
71017
6.
Teacher appointment
12.27 lakh
Completed
9.86 lakh
(80.35%)
52239
7.
Teacher training (20 days)
40,69,694
(Annual 2008-09)
Completed
31,61,105
(77.67%)
4059439 (Annual 2009-10)
8.
Supply of Free Textbooks
8.97 crore
(Annual 2008-09)
Completed
8.76
(97.65%)
9.79 crore (Annual 2009-10)
9.
KGBV Schools
2,573
Operationalized
-
2,460
(95.60%)
Following is the Report as regards the 100 day programme for the Department of School Education and Literacy.
Legislative
1. All steps will be taken to enact the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill. This will be followed by notification of the 86th Constitutional Amendment in the official gazette.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2009 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20th July, 2009 and by the Lok Sabha on 4th August, 2009. After obtaining assent of the President to the Bill, "The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009" has been published in the Gazette of India on 27th August, 2009.
2. Evolve consensus for establishment of an All India Madarsa Board.
The process of building up consensus on setting up of Madarsa Board among stakeholders is on. In this connection, a meeting with Members of Parliament belonging to Muslim community is scheduled to be held on 3.10.2009.
Policy
3. Attempt to formulate a policy framework for PPP in school education evolve a variety of PPP models, and apply them as feasible.
A concept note on possible models of Public Private Partnership in school education has been prepared and the same has been put on the website of the Ministry inviting suggestions from the stakeholders and the public.
4. Further the use of ICT in secondary schools and in open/distance schooling through broadband connectivity.
Draft Policy on ICT for School Education has been prepared and posted on website and has also been sent to States/UTs, other concerned Ministries and key organizations for feedback. Comments have been received from a wide section of stakeholders and these are being examined before finalizing the policy. The policy has a separate section on ICT for Open and Distance Learning as well as for network and connectivity, with emphasis on broadband connectivity in schools.
5. Evolve a National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education in consultation with all stakeholders and in accordance with NCF, 2005.
The National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) has prepared a draft National Curriculum Framework of Teacher Education. This framework has been prepared in the background of the NCF, 2005 which necessitated an altered framework on Teacher Education, consistent with the changed philosophy of school curriculum recommended in the NCF, 2005.
While articulating the vision of teacher education, the draft framework contains the following important dimensions of the new approach to teacher education:
(a) Reflective practice to be the central aim of teacher education;
(b) Student-teachers should be provided opportunities for self-learning, reflection, assimilation and articulation of new ideas;
(c) Developing capacities for self-directed learning and ability to think, be critical and to work in groups.
(d) Providing opportunities to student-teachers to observe and engage with children, communicate with and relate to children.
The Framework was discussed in the meeting of the Council held on 4th August, 2009. It was decided to appropriately modify the draft on the basis of the suggestions received from the Members of the Council. The NCTE has placed the amended draft Framework on its website for receiving suggestions/comments from stakeholders and the public. The Framework is also being placed on the MHRD's website.
New Initiatives/Expansion
6. Explore possibilities of setting up an independent, accreditation body in the area of school education. Based on wide consultations, CBSE has proposed to introduce the process of accreditation of schools affiliated to it. An approach paper has been prepared. CBSE will create a framework for this, so that its affiliation can also be aligned with the accreditation.
7. Push the process of examination reform in accordance with NCF-2005. This will include making the Class X examination optional, thus permitting students continuing in the same school (and who do not need a board certificate) to take an internal school assessment instead.
After wide consultation held by CBSE with various stakeholders including principals, teachers, parents, student and academicians and the public, following decisions have been taken;
a. There will be no class X board examination w.e.f 2011.
b. The students of class IX and X will be assessed on the basis of CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) to be implemented at the school level. CCE will be applicable to class IX students from the session 2009-10.
c. For students who wish to move out of their schools and for students in schools which have no higher secondary classes, on-demand examination will be offered by CBSE from 2011 onwards. Though it is not required for students continuing in the same school in class XI, they will have the option to appear for on-demand examination to get themselves assessed.
d. Class X students of the current session 2009-10 will have to appear in the usual, Board examination of CBSE in 2010.
8. Introduce a system for replacement of marks by grades in schools affiliated to the CBSE for the secondary classes i.e. IX and X.
It has been decided to replace the present system of awarding marks by grades in all subjects in class X Board examination to be conducted by CBSE in 2010. Such grading would be continued for on-demand examination of 2011 and beyond and also for CCE.
9. Recast the National Literacy Mission to focus on women.
The government had declared that the National Literacy Mission will be recast as National Female Literacy Mission to impart functional literacy to all non literate women in the next five years. The National Literacy Mission has accordingly been modified and renamed SAAKSHAR BHARAT, which has been launched on 8.9.2009 by the PM.
To ensure equity and inclusiveness, and achieve overall objectives of reducing gender gap in literacy levels and minimize social disparities nearly 60 out of 70 million targeted beneficiaries, that is 85% of the total target, will be women and nearly 50% of the target group will comprise SCs/STs and minorities (Muslims).
Since illiteracy is far more widespread in rural areas, as compared to urban areas, the programme will concentrate on rural areas, especially in the districts that have low (50% and below) female literacy rate. Nearly 1,70,000 Gram Panchayats in about 370 districts will be covered in a phased manner. Residual illiteracy in urban areas will be addressed through innovative partnership with NGOs, private sector, convergence, etc.
District, Block and Gram Panchayats have been given key roles in planning, implementing and monitoring of the programme. The mission will be implemented through Gram Panchayats at the grassroots level and by other PRIs at the district and sub-district levels.
The goals or Saakshar Bharat are:
(a) Achieve 80% literacy rate (LR),
(b) Reduce gender gap in literacy to 10%,
(c) Reduce Regional, Social, and Gender Disparities,
(d) Extend coverage to 15+ age group.
10. Awareness generation and intensification of efforts in the area of Madarsa/Maktab modernisation and skill development for Muslim children
The Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsa (SPQEM) encourages traditional institutions to voluntarily introduce science, mathematics, social studies, Hindi, English in their curriculum so that children studying in these institutions attain academic proficiency. The Scheme of Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (IDMI) aims at facilitating education of minorities by augmenting and strengthening school infrastructure in Minority Institutions.
The D/SE&L has had a series of workshops to generate awareness on the main parameters of SPQEM and IDMI, including in the State Education Secretaries meeting on 31st July – 1st August 2009. A special meeting was also convened in Hyderabad on 19th August 2009 with Chairpersons/Secretaries of State Madarsa Boards to disseminate information on the schemes. Chief Secretaries of States have also been addressed to spread awareness about the importance of the schemes.
In addition, SSA monitors the implementation of activities in 121 Minority Concentration Districts spread over 25 States/UTs in respect of indicators covering infrastructure development, opening of new schools, KGBVs and teacher recruitment.
Following is the Report as regards the 100 day programme of the Department of Higher Education.
Legislative Initiatives
1) An autonomous overarching authority for Higher Education and Research based on the recommendations of Yash Pal Committee and National Knowledge Commission.
Status: The draft Note proposing a Constitutional Amendment for establishment of a Commission for Higher Education and Research, in all fields of higher learning other than medical education and agricultural education, has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations and comments of Ministries/Departments are awaited. In the meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the highest policy advisory body in education, held on 31st August, consensus was arrived at regarding the establishment of an over-arching body for higher education and research with some States indicating that there should be scope for the involvement of States. A Task Force has been constituted for aiding and advising the Government in the establishment of the Commission.
2) A law to prevent, prohibit and punish educational malpractices.
Status: Inter-ministerial consultation process has been completed. In the meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) held on 31st August, the necessity of enacting the law at the earliest was overwhelmingly supported. The draft legislation is undergoing legal vetting, whereafter, the approval of the competent authority would be sought.
3) A law for mandatory assessment and accreditation in higher education through an independent regulatory authority.
Status: Draft Legislation and Concept Note were circulated for inter-ministerial consultations and some comments have been received. In the meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) held on 31st August, the proposal was widely welcomed with some States expressing some concern on the need with regard to the autonomy of the processes of accreditation. The draft legislation is under going legal vetting, whereafter, the approval of the competent authority would be sought.
4) A law to regulate entry and operation of Foreign Educational Providers.
Status: Approval of the competent authority is being sought.
5) A law to establish a Tribunal for fast-track adjudication of disputes concerning stakeholders.
Status: Inter-ministerial consultations have been completed and comments have been received. In the meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) held on 31st August, the members including State Education Ministers supported the establishment of Tribunals at the State and National level to adjudicate disputes in higher education. The draft legislation is undergoing legal vetting, whereafter, the approval of the competent authority would be sought.
6) A law to further amend the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act to strengthen the Commission.
Status: The Amendment Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha in August, 2009.
7) A law to amend the Copyright Act 1957 to address the concerns relating to copyrights of the various stake holders.
Status: A draft Bill along with the draft Note have been circulated for inter- ministerial consultations.
Policy Initiatives
1) Formulation of a "Brain Gain" policy to attract talent from across the world to the existing and new institutions.
Status: A Concept Note was prepared and circulated for comments to prominent academics, researchers, premier research organisations and Ministries/Departments of Government. It has also been placed on the website of the Ministry for eliciting views. A Concept Note on Innovation Universities has also been prepared and circulated. Based on the comments received, a draft Note on the Brain Gain Policy is under preparation and is expected to be circulated shortly.
2) Launching of a new scheme of interest subsidy on educational loans taken for professional courses by the Economically Weaker Students.
Status: The proposal has received the approval of the competent authority and the Scheme has been notified and has also been put on the Ministry's website.
3) Strengthening and expansion of the scheme for Remedial Coaching for students from SC/ST/Minority communities in higher education.
Status: The existing scheme has been reviewed by UGC with representatives of the 4 Central Universities and centrally funded Deemed Universities. Four universities namely, Aligarh Muslim University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Jamia Hamdard and Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar University have been identified for assistance. Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Hamdard, Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar University have started the said Remedial Coaching Centers. An amount of Rs 5 crore has been sanctioned to each of the above four Universities.
4) "Equal Opportunity Offices" (EOCs) to be created in all Universities for effective implementation of schemes for disadvantaged sections of society.
Status: Decision has been taken by UGC to create EOCs in all universities which have been declared fit to receive grants under section 12-B of the UGC Act, 1956. An amount of Rs 3 lakhs per university has been sanctioned to each of the 167 eligible universities.
5) A new policy on Distance Learning would be formulated.
Status: The policy on Distance Learning has been finalized and has been displayed on Departmental website and was also circulated to the Members of CABE for wider consultations.
6) Regional Centre of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, (IGNTU) Amarkantak to be started in the state of Manipur.
Status: The State Government has since identified land to the extent of 300 acres for the establishment of a Regional Centre of the University in the North-Eastern side of Makhan Village (Kehulubeg area) of Senapati Hill District. The Regional Centre has been inaugurated on 9th September, 2009 by the Chief Minister, Manipur with the launch of M.Phil programme in Political Science by IGNTU.
7) Model degree colleges would be established in 100 districts with significant population of weaker sections and the minorities;
Status: Based on the clearance by the Expenditure Finance Committee a draft Note has been referred to the Ministry of Finance for seeking their approval, prior to placing it before the competent authority for its approval. Proposals have been received by the UGC from 7 States.
8) 100 women's hostels would be sanctioned in higher educational institutions located in districts with significant population of weaker sections and minorities.
Status: 150 women's hostels in higher educational institutions located in districts with significant population of weaker sections and minorities, have been sanctioned by the UGC and the first instalment of the grants amounting to Rs 45 crore have been released.
Administrative and Other Initiatives
1) Review of the functioning of the existing Deemed Universities.
Status: The Review Committee was constituted by the Government on the 6th July 2009 and it comprised the following members –
1. Prof. P N Tandon
2. Prof. Goverdhan Mehta
3. Prof. M Anandakrishnan
4. Prof. Mrinal Miri and
5. Joint Secretary (HE) MHRD as Convener.
A questionnaire was electronically dispatched to the 92 privately funded institutions "deemed to be universities" and information was gathered. The Review Committee has discussed the modalities of the review process and information received was analysed. It was decided that the institutions "deemed to be universities" would be given an opportunity to make presentations before the Committee on areas like system of governance, transparency in the process of admission and fees, research and academic accomplishments, expansion and growth of the institution over time.
The Committee has gone through the presentations of 81 out of 92 private deemed universities and the review of the functioning of balance 11 private and 38 publicly funded deemed universities is expected to be completed in the next fortnight.
2) Operationalizing newly established 12 Central Universities and 2 new IITs;
Status Consequent on the enactment of Central Universities Act, 2009, 15 new Central Universities have been established with effect from 15.1.2009 in hitherto uncovered States. With the appointments of the first Vice-Chancellors of all these Central Universities, except in Himachal Pradesh where appointment is yet to be made, the Universities have started their activities in right earnest. Most of the concerned State Governments have since identified and offered land for these Universities and the location in respect of five Central Universities in Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Punjab, Haryana and Karnataka have been finalised so far. The proposed sites in Rajasthan and Kerala will be inspected shortly by the Site Selection Team. Since it will take time to build necessary physical infrastructure, even in cases where the land has been identified, the Universities have started their administrative and academic activities from temporary premises, either hired or made available by the State Government. The first Executive Council and the Academic Council of these Universities have been constituted and the Universities have gone ahead with the process of appointment of their first Registrars and Finance Officers, besides making short-term/ contract appointment of minimum non-teaching staff.
Most of these Central Universities have decided to start Post-Graduate and M.Phil/ Ph.D programmes in select branches of learning and five Universities located in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Bihar and Gujarat have started their academic programmes with the help of short-term contract/ guest faculty after going through regular admission process. The remaining Central Universities, except Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, are also likely to commence their academic activities by end-September/ mid-October, 2009.
While the IIT at Indore has started its first batch of B. Tech. Courses for about 125 students through a temporary campus at Indore, the IIT of Himachal Pradesh has started its first batch of its B.Tech. course for about 125 students, in the campus of its mentoring IIT at Roorkee.
3. Academic reforms (semester system, choice-based credit system, regular revision of syllabi, impetus to research, etc. which are already mandated under the Central Universities Act, 2009) to be introduced in other Central Educational Institutions;
Status: This Ministry has taken up the matter with 24 older Central Universities to place the reform agenda before their Statutory authorities at an early date so that the changes, if any, in the University statutes could be adopted (with the approval of the Visitor) for facilitating academic reforms. The reform has been welcomed by older established universities. Based on the feedback received so far, the position emerges as under:-
Sl. No.
Academic Reform Agenda
Central Universities - Proposal initiated/ implemented
1.
Semester System
Hyderabad Univ. JNU, English & Foreign Languages Univ., Pondicherry Univ., BHU, Ambedkar Univ., Rajiv Gandhi Univ., Allahabad Univ.
2.
Choice-Based
Credit System
Hyderabad Univ., JNU, Pondicherry Univ., English & Foreign Languages Univ.
3.
Credit Transfer
Hyderabad Univ., JNU, Pondicherry Univ.
4.
Faculty Mobility
JNU
5.
Teacher Evaluation
Hyderabad Univ.
6.
Joint Degree Programme
Hyderabad Univ., JNU, Pondicherry Univ.
The rest of the central universities also are in the process of introducing the various academic reforms. Various State universities and Deemed universities have also informed about their having taken up the Reforms. In July 09 meeting of State Secretaries of Education as well as the CABE meeting held on 31.8.09, there was a consensus on the need to expedite the educational reform process.
4) Modernisation of Copyright Offices.
Status: Under the Phase- I of the modernisation of the Copyright Office, a new web-portal of the Copyright office along with online registration facility, has been launched on 9th September 2009.
5) 5000 colleges/university departments to be provided with broadband internet connectivity under the "National Mission on Education through ICT".
Status: BSNL has already been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring broadband virtual private network and internet connectivity with unlimited download facilities to all the universities and over 20,000 Colleges. BSNL has been connecting them at war footing all over the country and as per the information received till now, over 3000 institutions have already been provided with the broad band connectivity. All these institutions will be provided e-learning material free of cost.
6) Assistance would be provided to States to establish at least 100 new polytechnics (over and above assistance already provided for 50 polytechnics in the last financial year) in districts without any polytechnic at present. States would also be assisted for the construction of 100 women's hostels in the existing polytechnics and for upgrading 50 existing polytechnics.
Status: Financial assistance has already been released to the State Governments for starting 115 new Polytechnics in the hitherto uncovered districts, for strengthening the infrastructure of 55 existing Polytechnics, and for the construction of 120 women hostels in 120 Polytechnics.
7) Approvals would be obtained for establishing 10 new NITs in the un-served States so that every State has one earmarked NIT.
Status: The matter has been placed before the Competent Authority for its approval.
8) Operationalising 700 revamped Community Polytechnics for skill development of rural youth.
Status: 700 Community Polytechnics have been sanctioned.
9 Direct credit of scholarship into the bank accounts of 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls every year, under the new Merit Scholarship Scheme for students in the universities and colleges.
Status: Arrangements have been made for the direct credit of merit scholarships into the Bank account of students beneficiaries.
****
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India US Education Council proposed to be set up
SHRI KAPIL SIBAL MEETS US UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE WILLIAM BURNS
17:17 IST
India and the US are proposing to set up an India-US Education Council. This Council is slated to include representatives of Industry and Education. The Council will coordinate the moving forward of bilateral relations in education between the two countries. This was discussed during the meeting of the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal and Mr. William Burns, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, here today. This meeting was held in the backdrop of the forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister to the US in November and that of Shri Kapil Sibal later this month.
The US delegation conveyed that many universities in America are keen to know India's roadmap for the education sector. The areas of collaboration that the two sides are looking at include research, distant education, vocational education, skill development, exchange of faculty, models of public private partnership and also expertise for the setting up of universities.
In his forthcoming visit to the US, Shri Kapil Sibal proposes to hold meetings with American policy makers which include senators and congressmen, government officials besides holding meetings with some American universities. The framework of the proposed India-US Education Council is to be crystallized in this visit.
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http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=53216
SHRI KAPIL SIBAL CALLS ON STATE GOVERNMENTS TO PREPARE THEIR VISION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FOR 2020
MEETING OF STATE HIGHER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SECRETARIES BEING HELD TODAY
16:19 IST
All state governments must prepare a vision document for higher education. This document must contain the state's vision for higher education till 2020, including the current state of affairs, such as the number of universities and colleges, and how the state perceives the quality of these institutes as well as the states' budgetary outlay in this sector. This paper must then propose how the state plans to increase its Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). This was the appeal made to the Principal Secretaries, Secretaries of Higher and Technical Education of State Government by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, while addressing them in a meeting today. Smt. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for HRD and Shri R.P. Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, among other senior officials of the HRD Ministry were present at the meeting.
Shri Sibal added that this document must also show how the states are proposing to improve the quality of Vice Chancellors etc. He stated once the centre has this vision from the states, can there be collaboration between the two and for the centre also, it would be more possible to help those states which have a prepared vision document. Shri Kapil Sibal underlined that the centre was looking at only a collaborated relationship with the states rather than one of control.
Shri Sibal exhorted the states to increase their budgetary allocations for higher education, which, are showing a disturbing downward trend. While the Centre's contribution in education, as a percentage of GDP has been steadily increasing to 0.91 percent from 0.53 percent in 2000-01(a huge increase in real terms with the country's impressive GDP growth rates), the allocation of the States has shown a decline from 3.76 percent to 2.73percent in the corresponding period.
The Union HRD Minister pointed out to the states that they should also have an accreditation system for their colleges. This accrediting agency would benchmark the institutes in the respective states, informing students about the quality and resources of the institute they are going to attend. He added that this would help create competition among institutions leading to their improvement. He also urged the state governments to hire faculty to fill in vacancies, saying that if there is a ban on recruitment, how can quality be improved?
Shri Kapil Sibal said that the centre is thinking in terms of allowing the setting up of autonomous colleges. These colleges would require higher level of parameters to be independent of universities and once they improve even further, they may be allowed to become universities themselves. Thus, there would be a three tier system in college education, i.e. affiliated colleges, autonomous colleges and universities. He said that this would allow colleges to improve themselves.
Shri Sibal underlined that quality has to be along with equity, without which India cannot move forward. Towards this end, 374 model colleges for bringing in equity with quality are to be set up in 374 educationally backward districts in the country. He pointed out that through the Right to Education Bill which has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha, India is going to be spending huge amounts for neighborhood schools, the process by which adequate number of students will be thrown up for the university system. He also said that if India is to use its demographic advantage to provide the declining populations of the developed world with trained manpower, the emphasis must be on quality.
The minister informed the gathering that the 'National Mission on Education through ICT' has been launched, and in the current year's budget it is proposed to spend Rs.900 crore on this mission. The mission has two critical components - (a) creation of very high quality e-content and (b) providing connectivity and related infrastructure to each of the 20000 + colleges and to each of the university departments, without any distinction of them being in the private sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri R.P. Agrawal, Secretary, and Department of Higher Education said that the envisaged 5% increase in the GER by the end of the 11th Plan and raising it to the world average of 30% by 2020 can be achieved only if states come forward. Shri Agrawal also sought inputs of the participating officers on the Yashpal Committee Report, the proposed law to prohibit/punish educational mal practices, setting up of educational tribunals and the setting up of a regulatory authority for accreditation and making it mandatory.
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Kabil Sibal inaugurates Indo-German Science and Technology Centre
18:27 IST
Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science & Technology along with his counterpart Dr Annette Schavan, Federal Minister of Education & Research inaugurated the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre, here today. The Centre was announced during the visit of Prime Minister to Germany in April 2008 and the MoU for setting up of the Centre was signed by Shri Kapil Sibal and Dr Annette Schavan in Oct 2007 during the visit of German Chancellor to India. The Centre will provide links to research, academia and Industry and support flagship projects between India and Germany in the areas of common interest. Both governments have committed to contribute each 2 million euros each year initial for 5 years.
Earlier, Shri Kapil Sibal and Dr Annette Schavan inaugurated the campaign "India and Germany –Strategic Partners in Innovation". While inaugurating the campaign, Shri Kapil Sibal stressed to put more emphasis on application of science in developing sustainable solutions for betterment of society. Both Ministers reiterated their commitment for developing Indo-German Strategic partnership in Science & Technology. During the occasion, a Joint Declaration on "Science for Sustainability" was signed by Shri Kapil Sibal and Dr Schavan to develop a full fledge Indo-German programme in the areas of science for sustainability viz., clean technologies, environmental technologies, energy security, civil security research, coal and water technologies etc.
Another joint intent for exchange of school children between India and Germany was also concluded in the presence of both Science Ministers. This intent envisages exchange of school children and teachers between India and Germany for Zulab programmes of Germany and National Children Science Congress of India; and setting up of "Youlabs" on lines with Zulab in India.
Dr Annette Schavan is on an official visit to India during 8-9 September 2008. On 8th September 2008, Dr Annette Schavan was guest of honor for the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Chennai. IITM Chennai was setup in late 50's with German assistance. An MoU between IITM Chennai and German Academic Exchange Service (DDAD) was concluded in the presence of Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Dr Annette Schavan. The MoU envisages setting up of Centre for studies in Sustainable Development at IITM Chennai. Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister for S&T and ES along with Dr Schavan also inaugurated National Centre for Catalysis Research during the function at IITM Chennai.
RJ/SKK/MRS
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Cabinet approves New National Map Policy
SEPARATE SERIES OF MAPS FOR DEFENCE AND PUBLIC
VALUE ADDED DATA TO GENERATE A MARKET OF OVER Rs. 20, 000 CRORES: SHRI KAPIL SIBAL
NEW POLICY WILL REVOLUTIONISE GRASSROOT DATA APPLICATION: SHRI KAPIL SIBAL
19:35 IST
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the New National Map Policy brought out by the Ministry of Science & Technology which has the potential to open a new door of opportunities for various sectors ranging from water management to development planning and infrastructure.
The New Policy envisages two series of maps- the Defence Series Maps (DSMs) and the Open Series Maps (OSMs). The DSMs will be for exclusive use for defence forces and authorized Government Departments. The Policy regarding the use of DSMs will be determined by the Ministry of Defence whereas the Policy on OSMs will be the responsibility of Survey of India/Department of Science and Technology.
OSMs will have a different datum, projection, content and sheet numbers. These maps will be derived from National Digital Topographical Database (NDTB) which will be created by the Survey of India.
The use of OSMs will be through a process of registration for intimation. There will be a Map Information Registry Database (MIRD). 1:1 million and smaller maps do not require registration.
OSMs (Digital or Analogue) can be disseminated by Survey of India through an agreement to any agency for specific end use. The user can make value addition to these maps and can share the information under initiations to the Survey of India.
All serial photographs after masking of Vulnerable Areas/Vulnerable Points will be freely available for processing and project generation. Private agencies will be permitted to carry out surveys in all parts of the country using Public Domain Datum. But they should be registered and should carry the accreditation of Survey of India.
Magnetic/gravity and other scientific data will be collected and disseminated as per existing instructions.
The New National Map Policy is the result of a conscious realization that technological upheavals taking place around the globe have rendered many features of the existing Map Policy redundant and anachronistic. Continuance of the present policy tends to impede free flow of spatial information and engenders high opportunity costs for a developing economy like India. At the same time making all spatial data available in public domain has potential security hazards Addressing a press conference, the Minister for Science and Technology and Ocean Development, Shri. Kapil Sibal described today's decision as an "historic" one and "something which we had been struggling for the last 15 years". He said that a one time clearance will be taken from the Ministry of Defence subject to a timeline. He said that the new maps will provide coordinates , heights etc. This kind of data will have enabling value in implementing policy decisions in various fields which figure prominently in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) such as agriculture , water resource management etc. " It will also have tremendous impact on the empowerment of the poor", Shri Sibal said .
The Minister was optimistic that the market for spatial data and the economic benefits put together will result in a new value addition of over 20,000 crore rupees. He said that the new maps along with the guidelines will be issued together in a couple of months.
SRK:SPS:PM
Shri Kapil Sibal calls upon states for partnership in education reforms; 56th meeting of CABE inaugurated
17:1 IST
Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, has called upon the states for support and partnership for bringing in educational reforms in the country. He was speaking during the inaugural session of the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) Meeting here today. The Minister underlined expansion, inclusion and excellence as the three underlying principles for educational reforms. Shri Sibal particularly called for collaboration from State Governments with regard to the Right to Education. He pointed out that Rs.1,50,000/- crore would be required for implementing the RTE in the country. It is perceived that there will be a shortfall of Rs.60,000/- crore as regards this massive exercise, which will have to be addressed he said.
Shri Sibal pointed out that in order to provide equal opportunity to all students trying for professional courses, a core curriculum in Maths and Science needs to be formulated. He informed the Members of the Meeting that in a recent Meeting, COBSE, has endorsed the framing of this core curriculum in Maths and Science and a Committee of COBSE has been constituted to draft the outlines of this curriculum in two months. Shri Sibal emphasized that diversity in education was to be respected and there was no intent of having a single board in the country.
With regard to higher education Shri Sibal, in his address, indicated the reforms being mooted in this sector. He said that his Ministry was in the process of formulating the structure for an overarching body for higher education that would be responsible for higher education policy. He said that some of the proposals for higher education included complete autonomy to universities for devising courses, cross fertilization of courses, research oriented universities etc. He also said that he was open to the idea of Indian universities collaborating with foreign universities or with the corporate sector. He pointed out that the corporate sector was showing increasing interest in education as they require trained manpower.
The HRD Minister stated that he is in the process of dialogue for the creation of a Central Madrasa Board. He clarified that he did not want to interfere at all with religious education. But he emphasized that he wanted to empower minorities with equivalence of Board exams so that they could move into the university system and be eligible for jobs. He also underlined commitment towards the Schedule Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, the differently abled, and other disadvantaged sections for which the same opportunity as the rest of the children of the country must be provided.
The Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri C.P. Joshi, the Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri M.S. Gill, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Kantilal Bhuria also addressed the Inaugural Session. The Minister of State, for Human Resource Development, Smt. D. Purandeswari, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Shri R.P. Agrawal and Secretary, Deptt. of School Education and Literacy, Smt. Anshu Vaish were also present besides Ministers In-charge of Education of State Governments. Nominated members (representing different interests) including Shri Javed Akhtar, Ms. Teesta Sitalvad, among others, were also present at the meeting.
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PARAMETERS OF MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME PROPOSED TO BE RATIONALISED: SHRI KAPIL SIBAL
17:44 IST
The government is proposing to rationalize the parameters for the Mid-day Meal Scheme, as a step towards further benefiting the children covered under this scheme. This was stated by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Shri Kapil Sibal while inaugurating the conference of State Education Secretaries and Project Directors being held to review matters related to school education and literacy here today. He said that while the mid-day scheme has been seen, through studies, to improve enrolment of children in school substantially, a rationalization of its parameters is now required.
Shri Kapil Sibal called for partnership between the centre and the states towards the goal of delivering education to people. He pointed out that today there is disconnect between the people and the policy makers and the quicker we realize this, the quicker we will be able to deliver education to the people. He called for a uniformity of excellence rather than uniformity of education. He said that diversity can be embraced while maintaining quality. He underlined that he was holding out a hand of friendship to the states as this is a matter which is to do with children and together we must set out towards ensuring that our children march ahead of us.
The HRD Minister said that state governments must prepare plans on how to monitor neighbourhood schools and teachers attendance/teachers absenteeism (an alarming 19 percent at present). He also pointed out to the states that if the vacancy position for teachers is as high as 50 per cent, as is the case in some states, the national enterprise of education will not work. The Minister also called for a mechanism to monitor what is happening at the ground level. Suggesting that geospatial technology can be used to map schools, he asked the state governments to give suggestions on how to monitor the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and to ensure that diversion of funds does not take place.
The Minister said that in the 11th Plan, the Government would be implementing the Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), in order to have a critical level of attendance at the secondary school level (at least 75 per cent), so that adequate number of students move to college. He called for the support of state governments towards implementing this programme. He added that while the goal of the current plan is to have 15 per cent GER, he was of the view that we must achieve a GER of 30-40 by 2020, to enable us to generate a critical mass of qualified people to support the demographic deficit in the developed world, and the growing economy of India.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Anshu Vaish, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy underlined that once Right to Education is enacted, it will have far reaching implications on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. She invited suggestions from the representatives from the states on the HRD Ministry proposal to make Board Exams for Class X for CBSE schools optional and also on the proposed grading system for CBSE schools.
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EDUCATION PROVIDERS MUST ASSURE QUALITY ACROSS BORDERS: SHRI KAPIL SIBAL
CALLS UPON UNESCO TO FACILITATE DEVELOPING OF ACCREDITATION STANDARDS FOR BENCH-MARKING OF HIGHER EDUCATION
19:1 IST
The higher education providers delivering cross border education should ensure that the programmes that are delivered across the borders and in their home country are of comparable quality and they also must take into account the cultural and linguistic sensitivities of the receiving countries. Giving the Keynote Address at the Plenary Session of the World Conference on Higher Education, yesterday, at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal said that while we recognise the tremendous potential of cross border education, we have to be mindful of the risks involved regarding the entry of 'diploma mills' and unscrupulous for – profit providers.
Shri Sibal pointed out that increasing cross border education has also made it important to have networks of equivalence of degrees and diplomas. Here, he called upon UNESCO to play an important role in helping Member States develop national standards of accreditation for different purposes for bench-marking higher education as also help in improving/maintaining the quality of education so that private players do not become 'teaching sweat-shops'.
The HRD Minister stated that the public institutions cannot keep pace with the rising demand and the importance of private sector in making investments in higher education needs to be realised. The huge gaps in access to higher education between regions and countries need to be narrowed but this is not possible without participation of private sector investments, he said. As regards research, while there is a need for public funded research in basic sciences and frontier areas of technology like Nano Science, Bio-Science, etc. the importance of linkages with the industry, particularly private sector, for funding innovation and technological developments needs to be encouraged, he said, adding there is also a need for regional and global partnership for research.
Shri Sibal underlined three historic realities which impact the need for investments in quality higher education around the world. The first being that cross border manufacturing processes and global transactions in services sector have created a demand for higher education not only of "national quality" but also which helps further this process of globalized economy. The second important development has been the technological revolution opening the doors of cross border education particularly in distance mode, with possibilities of virtual universities providing quality education at reasonable costs. The third important development affecting our globe is the awareness and the need for action on global warming and climate change. Education, particularly higher education, must inculcate the values of sustainable development in the minds of our youth, he added.
Shri Sibal spoke about the demographic change which is occurring around the world. "In this situation it is also in the interest of the developed countries to come forward and partner with the countries having demographic advantage (which are mostly developing countries) so that different countries of the world can share their strengths to develop the world, and I think education, particularly higher education, is the field to do so. I would, in fact, advocate for a global strategy to meet the requirements of skilled manpower for the world and certainly UNESCO can play an important role in the same," he said.
During the Question-Answer session Shri Sibal highlighted that expansion, inclusion and excellence in higher education which in other terms mean access, equity and quality should go hand in hand. He also said that global mechanisms should be put in place to fund higher education in terms of loans and guarantees to students so that 'no one is denied the opportunity of higher education for lack of financial resources'.
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The Government is committed towards improving the education system in the country. This was stated by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development today when Prof. Yashpal presented to him the final report of the Committee on 'Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education'(Prof. Yashpal Committee Report). The Minister underlined that a single day cannot be wasted towards enabling the right for children to be educated. This education must be inclusive and with quality he added. Shri Sibal emphasized the three principles of access, equity and excellence which will not be compromised while implementing the educational reform agenda.
The Minister said that he was already aware of the interim report of the Yashpal Committee and that he was committed to implement the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission and the Yashpal Committee which would be pivotal towards the reforms in the educational sector in the country.
Shri Sibal said that the Ministry of Human Resource Development would like to place on record deep appreciation for the document which is a road map for the education for the future in the country. He said that the Yashpal Committee has done extensive dialogue with all stakeholders, and it will thus, be acceptable to the nation.
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SCHOOL PRINCIPALS CONGRATULATE SHRI KAPIL SIBAL FOR EDUCATION REFORM PROPOSALS
18:28 IST
School principals from 30 odd private schools and school bodies from Delhi called on Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal. All of them were unanimous in complementing him for his proposed reforms in the education sector. All these principals were of the view that the reform was overdue in the education sector. They said that the focus of education should be on children and learning and not on examinations.
Shri Kapil Sibal while talking to these principals underlined the necessity for educational reforms as India is expected to have a surplus of 47 million students by 2020. Thus, while the west is seeing negative growth in population, these Indian students must be empowered to take up the opportunity that will be created. For this, he said all stake holders have to be consulted, whether public, private or municipal.
In reply to a question on whether the Government would be proposing 25% seats of private schools to be reserved for weaker sections, as stated in the Right to Education Bill placed in the Rajya Sabha in the last government, Shri Sibal reiterated the government's the Government's commitment to the proposal. He said that we all have our societal obligations and we must contribute towards this end.
The HRD Minister stated that this was the beginning of the consultation process. He would be holding consultations with the people in rural areas and in smaller towns also. He also stated that he would be setting up a group for interaction regarding education reforms and some of the school principals would be part of this group.
Shri Kapil Sibal emphasized that in order to enable quality schooling for greater number of children, flexibility of planning is required. One idea that he threw up was private management for some dysfunctional government schools. This private management could do two shifts, with one shift as a private school and the other shift with Government school norms. Among the school principals that were present included Shri Arun Kapur of the Vasant Valley School, Smt. Shyama Chona of the DPS, R.K. Puram, Smt. Abha Sehgal of Sanskriti School, Smt. Anjali Aggarwal, Chairperson of the Forum of Public School, Mr. Marc Parkinson, Director of the Shri Ram School, M. Qayam-ud-din, Forum of Minority Schools, and Shri S.S. Minhans of Guru Harkrishan Public School.
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More than 27,000 additional higher learning institutions required for targeted GER of 30% in 2020
HRD CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD
20:10 IST
More than 27,000 additional institutions of Higher learning would be required to meet the targeted Gross Enrolment Ratio(GER) of 30% for 2020. This figure includes 14,000 colleges of General Higher Education, 12,775 additional technical and professional institutions and 269 additional universities. This was stated in a presentation made by the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development during the meeting of the Consultative Committee for the HRD Ministry held here today; the subject being 'Expansion of Higher Education'. The meeting was chaired by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union HRD Minister and the Minister of State for HRD, Smt. D. Purandeswari also attended. Addressing the MPs, Shri Sibal asked for their collaboration in education, so that India can become a world power by 2020.
The presentation also enunciated that the National Policy on Education, 1986, as amended in 1992 guides the ministry in the formulation of its policy. Policy measures of the ministry include enhanced public spending in Higher Education, private investment to be encouraged without compromising on the NPE framework, incentivising state governments to enhance investment and to encourage investment through philanthropy. The proposed fresh legislations for the Higher Education sector were also outlined.
Issues raised by the Members of Parliament included whether adequate regulatory framework was being envisaged for private participation in the education sector , whether the Union Government was envisaging an SSA type large scale programme for the higher education sector also, whether Foreign Universities, if allowed to come to India would be making profit, and whether steps had been taken to incentivise people to enter the teaching profession Concerns were raised on the inadequate numbers of faculty in state universities and colleges; on the proliferation of technical institutions. A Member of Parliament stated that meeting with academicians and debate is required before the proposed over arching body for higher education comes up. One Member of Parliament stated that Chairs for specialised studies on Central Asian countries had also on other parts of the world were required to produce adequate number of scholars in these areas. A suggestion was also made that indigenous knowledge must be made part of university curriculum. One MP was of the view that AICTE and UGC have a long standing as institutions and may not be tampered with.
Responding to these concerns, Shri Kapil Sibal assured the MPs that the mandate of the proposed overarching body in higher education would be enforcing quality and good governance procedures in higher education institutions. He underlined that the regulatory framework would be enforced for higher education. He clarified that financial constraints would not allow the Central Government to have an SSA type programme for the country in higher education. He said that besides the additional spending being done by the government for building new Central Universities, degree colleges in educationally backward districts and the scheme for incentivising state governments for expanding in higher education, the state governments will also themselves have to look for private investment. He stated that when foreign Universities come to India they would not be allowed to make profits through tuition fees. He explained that even in the West, Universities depend on endowments for a larger percentage of their finances. He stated that India needs to set up a world class institute in Humanities. He pointed out that salaries for teaching faculties had been enhanced substantially in order to make the profession more lucrative for them. The Minister also stated that both the Yashpal Committee and the National Knowledge Commission, on whose recommendations the propsed overarching body for Higher Education was being set up, had done extensive rounds of consultations with stakeholders and academicians while preparing their reports.
The Members of Parliament present at the meeting included Shri Chinta Mohan, Shri Jagdanand Singh, Shri Ganeshrao N. Dudhgaonkar, Dr. M. Thambi Durai, Shri Prem Das Rai, Shri Madan Lal Sharma, Shi Bijayanta 'Jai' Panda, Smt. Rama Devi, Shri Sucharu Ranjan Haldar, Dr. Ranjan Prasad Yadav, Smt. Vasanthi Stanley, Dr.(Smt.) Kapila Vatsyayan and Dr. Prabhakar Kore. Secretay, Department of School Education & Literacy, Smt Anshu Vaish, Chairman UGC, Shri Sukhdeo Thorat, acting Chairman AICTE, Shri Mantha, besides other senior officials of the ministry were present at the meeting.
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Prime Minister calls upon nation to rededicate itself to the cause of education
18:18 IST
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh today called upon the nation to rededicate itself to the cause of education He said, "The celebration of Maulana Azad's birth anniversary as the National Education Day is a befitting homage to one of our greatest leaders. Today is also an occasion when all of us should re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of education, and through it to building India as a modern, knowledge society." He was speaking at the National Education Day celebrations, here today. Also present on the occasion among others were Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Koichiro Matsuura, Director General, UNESCO, Smt. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Smt. Anshu Vaisha, Secretary, Department of Higher Education.
The Prime Minister pointed out that, education has received the highest priority from the Central Govt. in the last 5 years or so. He said, "We had earlier taken important steps in providing quality education to all children through our flagship programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Now we have extended our initiatives to the secondary level. The objective of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is to achieve an enrolment ratio of 75% for classes IX-X within five years and to provide universal secondary education by the year 2017. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 creates a legal entitlement for compulsory and free education for all our children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. We have recently launched a new literacy initiative, SAAKSHAR BHARAT, on the International Literacy Day on 8th September, 2009."
"In higher education, the outlay has been increased by 10 times in the Eleventh Five Year Plan as compared to the Tenth Five Year Plan. A number of new institutions - Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes for Science Education & Research, Indian Institutes of Information Technology and others - are being established."
The Prime Minister offered to share with UNESCO e-learning material prepared under the National Mission on Education through ICT by the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs). He said that UNESCO plays a very important role as a global clearing house of ideas and knowledge.
The Prime Minister underlined that improving access to education is not enough, and that it should be accompanied by efforts to ensure equity and improve quality. He said,"Our Government stands committed to provide good and quality education to each and every child in our country, especially those who belong to the underprivileged sections of our society. It is with this end in view that we have started a number of scholarship schemes for those who cannot afford to study on their own - the SCs/STs/Minorities and other such disadvantaged groups. We especially recognize the importance of educating women and they are being given special attention in the SAAKSHAR BHARAT mission. Improvement in quality at all levels is also receiving increasing emphasis. In higher education this will be achieved through structural reforms on the basis of the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission and the Yashpal Committee."
The Prime Minister said that India needs an extra 1 million teachers to implement the Right to Education Act. For this purpose, apart from the need of augmenting teacher's training institutes and use of ICT for mass learning, it is necessary to restore the prestige and status of the teaching profession in our society, he added. Dr. Manmohan Singh stated, "The importance of good teachers cannot be over-emphasized. Good teachers not only educate- they also inspire. Good teachers make good students. Good teachers make good citizens. We must therefore find ways and means of improving the quality of our teachers. We must find ways of attracting the best talent as faculty in our premier institutions. We today face difficulty in finding top level professors and lecturers in the newly created IITs, IISERs and other such institutions. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to persist and I urge all of you to work to address these problems of deficiency in the quality of teaching in our schools, in our colleges, and in our universities. "
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister fir Human Resource Development, said to meet the requirements of Education For All (EFA) and to provide secondary and vocational training to the youth, we require millions of teachers. The social order must respect teachers who all play a pivotal role in building a peaceful and just society, he added.
Shri Sibal stated that the globalisation of higher education has also added newer challenges in terms of quality assurance system, issues of mutual recognition and equivalence of degrees and transparency in the regulatory structures of national systems of higher education. He said," Towards this, our Government has initiated several reforms measures. An independent mandatory accreditation system is being proposed. We also plan to introduce legislation to prohibit and punish malpractices and adoption of unfair practices in higher education. Further, a legislation to facilitate the entry of foreign education providers is also under consideration."
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HRD MINISTER MOOTS MINISTERIAL LEVEL JOINT WORKING GROUP IN EDUCATION BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRALIA
18:29 IST
Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, has mooted the raising of the level of the Joint Working Group for Education between India and Australia to ministerial level. In a meeting with Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Australia, Shri Kapil Sibal stated that this working group could have within its ambit the social welfare of students, mutual recognition of degrees, academic cooperation etc. Shri Sibal also said that the sub-group on social welfare of students must meet soon and submit a report by December.
Shri Kapil Sibal, during the meeting, made suggestions to the Australian Minister that both Australia and India could have a dedicated nodal officer at both ends to enable the free flow of information required related to students welfare and related issues. This could be particularly useful when there are doubts regarding quality of degrees being offered by an institute etc. Both sides discussed at length the issue of recent incidents of violence on Indian students in Australia. The Australian Minister emphasized that the Australian government sees this both as a criminal issue and a public policy issue and his government is dealing with this on both accounts. Shri Sibal thanked the Australian Minister in this regard stating that these were "our students".
Shri Kapil Sibal said that India was today at the cusp of opportunity and he is of the view that once the education sector in India opens up, what the world saw India become in services and manufacturing, will happen in the years to come in HR development. He said that he was saying this because in India the output dividend in education is greater than the input costs. He informed the Australian delegates that the Ministry was considering a regulatory framework for attracting foreign investments in higher education in India. He suggested that the foreign universities could set up their campuses in India in future. This model would be mutually beneficial as it would generate large number of skilled professionals who could meet the needs of the growing Indian economy as well as the global market. Shri Sibal, however, emphasized that the policies would aim to provide equity with excellence in education and not encourage investments guided by profiteering motive.
Shri Sibal apprised the Australian delegation of the massive expansion of higher education in India. He expressed the hope that this visit will deepen the ties between India & Australia and asked the delegates to convey the message to the Australian Government that India attaches great importance to its bilateral relations with Australia. Shri. R.P. Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Higher Education and Smt. Anshu Vaish, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy were also present during the meeting.
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JOINT INDO-US WORKING GROUP TO BE SET UP IN EDUCATION SECTOR
18:28 IST
India and USA will be setting up a Joint Working Group in education headed by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development of India and its equivalent from the USA. This was decided in the meeting between Shri Kapil Sibal, Hon'ble HRM and Mr. William J Burns, Under Secretary, Political Affairs, US State Development who had a meeting today. The Joint Working Group will meet once every year alternately in India and USA and will focus on institutional linkages in the field of Secondary Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. The US side expressed keen interest in pursuing a Bilateral Education Dialogue with India for fruitful cooperation in the field of education.
Shri Kapil Sibal, while interacting with US delegation stated that the 21st Century will be a Knowledge Century and India with its young population, will be a major provider of trained workforce to the entire world. He was looking forward to cooperating with the US in the education sector. The HRD Minister underlined that one of his focus areas would be bringing up the gross enrolment ratio to even beyond 15 as envisaged in this plan. He also clearly stated that fly by night operators would not be tolerated in the education sector.
India tops the list of countries sending students to USA for studies. Nearly 90,000 students annually go to US from India for studies as per estimates available in recent years.
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SHRI KAPIL SIBAL DIRECTS UGC TO CONDUCT REVIEW OF ALL 'DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITIES' WITHIN THREE MONTHS
18:6 IST
The Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, reviewed the process the declaring an institution as a "Deemed to be University" under section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956, in view of the concerns expressed in various quarters.
The Minister has directed that all pending proposals should be held in abeyance till a thorough review of the functioning of the existing 'deemed to be universities' is undertaken. The Minister has also asked the UGC to take up review of the functioning of all the 'deemed-to-be-universities' and report the deficiencies within the next 3 months with respect to maintenance of standards especially with regard to the availability of the qualified faculty and the infrastructure in the 'deemed-to-be-universities' as well as the sanctity of the admission process for enrolment of students.
A Show Cause Notice has also been issued by the Government to the Shri Ramachandra University and The Bharat University (of which Balaji Medical College is a constituent unit) as to why Deemed-to-be-University status should not be withdrawn from them and appropriate action under law be not initiated against them.
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UNESCO urged to commence world-wide campaign to restore teachers' respect Key note address by Shri Kapil Sibal in the First Ministerial Plenary Forum at the 35th UNESCO General Conference in Paris
18:11 IST
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal has called upon UNESCO to commence a world-wide campaign to restore the respect of a teacher in society. Giving the keynote address at the first ministerial plenary forum at the 35th UNESCO General Conference in Paris today, he said that it would be in the fitness of things if we all take up a "Teachers First Campaign" aimed at restoring respect for this noble profession. He said, "To meet the requirements of EFA and to provide secondary and vocational training to the youth, we require millions of teachers. The young may be hungry for learning, but we may not have quality teachers to ignite their minds. The social order must respect teachers who all play a pivotal role in building a peaceful and just society."
Shri Sibal urged UNESCO to start a global campaign leveraging scientific knowledge for societal benefit on the lines of India's "Science for Equity Empowerment and Development (SEED)" programme. This programme seeks to provide opportunities to motivated scientists and field level workers, to take up action oriented and location specific projects aiming at socio-economic upliftment of the poor and disadvantaged sections, through appropriate science and technology interventions especially in the rural areas. Adding that India has made major progress in ICT and has also developed e-learning materials, Shri Sibal offered to share this knowledge with the world community.
The HRD Minister underlined that education, particularly higher education, must inculcate the values of sustainable development in the minds of the youth. He said, "While planet earth has provided an average per capita footprint of 1.76 Hc, developed countries have been using a footprint much beyond the above per capita entitlement. It is ironic that both in the past and currently the developed world, with higher human development indexes, had and have unsustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns. Education instead of becoming an instrument of sustainable development, has become a major cause for unsustainable lifestyles. If developing countries adopt and imitate Western styles of production and consumption, it is estimated that we would need four times the resources planet earth provides by the year 2055 to sustain us. It is, therefore, imperative that developing countries adopt, and adapt to, sustainable lifestyles, as they implement their development strategies. Meanwhile, developed countries will have to reduce their carbon footprint while ushering more sustainable life styles."
Shri Sibal emphasised that Mahatma Gandhi's messages of non-violence assume relevance even in the area of sustainable development. He thanked UNESCO and the Director-General, Mr. Matsuura for their interest in India's proposal to set up the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development as a Category – I Institute of UNESCO in India. He expressed the hope that the proposal would be approved by the General Conference of UNESCO, for the Institute to spread the message that unsustainable development will breed conflict and that sustainable development is a necessary pre-requisite for peace.
The minister stated that a significant initiative reflecting the political commitment of the Government of India to universalize 8 years of schooling, has recently been translated into action by making elementary education a fundamental right of every child in India. He also pointed out that during 2000-06, South Asia made the most progress in gender parity. He mentioned that the number of girls per 100 boys enrolled in primary schools increased from 84 in 2000 to 95 in 2006 in South Asia (a reduction of 69% in the gender equity deficit); 88 to 91 in Western Asia (a reduction of a quarter of the deficit); and 85 to 89 in Sub-Saharan Africa (27% reduction in gender equity deficit). Steady progress in participation in primary education across the globe keeps the hope alive for achieving universal primary education, a pre-condition for improving gender equity in secondary education, he added.
Shri Sibal informed the gathering of the major developments in elementary education in India during the post-Dakar period: "(a) reduction in the number of out of school children, from about 32 million in 2002-03 to 7.05 million in March 2006; (b) reduction in gender gaps, at the primary stage from 5.5 percentage points in 2002-03 to 4.2 percentage points in 2005-06; and at the upper primary stage, from 10.7 percentage points to 8.8 percentage points. The Gender Parity Index at the primary stage in 2005 was 0.95 while it was 0.88 for the upper primary stage. (c) bridging social disparity - the share of Scheduled Caste students in total enrollment moved up to 20.72 per cent at the primary stage and 19.42 per cent at the upper primary stage. For Scheduled Tribe students, share in total enrollment moved up to 11.75 per cent at the primary stage in 2005-06 and 9.28 per cent at the upper primary stage. (d) drop-out rates at lower primary stage declined from 39.03 per cent in 2001-02 to 28.49 per cent in 2004-05. For girls, it declined from 39.88 per cent to 24.82 per cent – a decline of more than 15 percentage points."
Shri Sibal stated that universalisation of secondary education and significant expansion of higher education are priority areas for implementation, for the country. Plans have been delineated and goals set for growth of high end scientific and technical institutions alongside vocational training to equip the country's youth to meet the challenges of a globally competitive environment, he said.
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"GENERAL POLICY DEBATE" AT UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE: SHRI KAPIL SIBAL THANKS UNESCO FOR INCLUDING NOKREK , SIMPLIPAL AND PANCHMARHI IN WORLD NETWORK OF BIOSPHERE RESERVES
18:25 IST
Shri Kapil Sibal has thanked the international Coordinating Committee of the Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO for inclusion of three biosphere reserves , Nokrek (Meghalaya), Simplipal (Orissa) and Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh) in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during 2009. He was speaking during the "General Policy Debate" at the 35th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris today. He informed the gathering that India would be bringing to the General Conference at its next session its proposal for the establishment of a UNESCO Category II Centre for Heritage Conservation and Management using the existing facilities at the Wildlife Institute at Dehradun India. UNESCO would commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Mother Teresa in 2010 and the 150th Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011, both initiatives brought by India, he added.
Shri Sibal said that India has fully supported the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development based on the premise that Education must become a tool for ushering in a sustainable lifestyle pattern so that developing countries can leapfrog to a sustainable developed economy based on respect for the environment, international understanding, harmony and peace. He said, "We in India believe that the global community must rededicate itself to building a society free from conflict and adopt and adapt to sustainable lifestyles. At the heart of a global community free from conflict is the spirit of non-violence and the message of the Mahatma…. India, all Member States and the global community should advocate for a more inclusive structure for global economic governance as reiterated by our Prime Minister."
The HRD Minister said that as the Chairperson of the Steering Committee of the South-South Cooperation Programme/Fund, India looks forward to the early implementation of Fund Raising Strategy and raising the profile of the unique South-South Fund in the field of education through successful celebration of South-South Cooperation Day on 15th December, 2009. He said that India welcomes the operationalization of the South-South Cooperation Programme/ Fund for Education pilot projects for the different regions of G-77 & China being implemented.
Shri Sibal offered sharing the e-learning materials prepared by India under the National Mission for ICT by the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs) so that all those around who wish to access quality knowledge can do so freely. He stated that India is shortly going to initiate a special project aimed at preservation of the endangered languages in India. He said, "India has also been playing a proactive role in promoting use of multilingualism in cyberspace. To enable wide proliferation of ICT in Indian languages, a major initiative has been taken to make available software tools and fonts in various Indian languages freely to the general public. As a result, software tools and fonts are now available in about 16 Indian languages."
Shri Sibal made a request to UNESCO to consider reviving the Regional Office for Information and Communications which was earlier located in New Delhi, in order to share the benefits of the development of science and technology with the countries of the Asia Pacific Region. He made this request especially in the context of India having operational zed in October 2007 a state-of-the art Tsunami Early Warning System, set up at a cost of approximately US $ 31 million, which is of benefit to the entire region. India has expressed its readiness to assume the responsibility of RTW Provider for the Indian Ocean region and has offered to set up an integrated multi-hazard Warning Centre.
Shri Sibal expressed pride that Professor Yash Pal from India and Prof. Trinh Xuan Thuan from Vietnam will be jointly awarded the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for popularization of Science 2009. UNESCO- Kalinga Prize is the oldest prize of UNESCO and we are pleased that it would be awarded again after a gap of 3 years, he added.
Shri Sibal, on the occasion, paid tributes to Mr. Koichiro Matsuura who will be relinquishing the charge of Director- General, UNESCO after devoting 10 years of his career to the organisation. During his tenure, Shri Matsuura brought in significant reforms and introduced modern management in UNESCO, he added, He also congratulated the Ambassador of Bulgaria to UNESCO, Ambassador Bokova on her election by the Executive Board as DG-designate of UNESCO.
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A CLARION CALL FROM KAPIL SIBAL FOR INCREASING ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGIES
15:39 IST
At ministerial round table of member countries of UNESCO held on 26th October 2007 at Paris presided over by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences made a clarion call on UNESCO and member countries. He suggested that UNESCO may undertake a role in the development of a sustainable and global model for enrolling both technology sources and intergovernmental commitments for providing access to generic technologies to meet the developmental choices to large segments of global community based on the following:
a) voluntary offer for free access to the needy,
b) a formula of differential prices based on criticality of need and differentiated capacities to pay,
c) deferred payment on loan basis to build global growth equity and
d) conscious effort to render technologies affordable to many through North - South and South-South technology partnerships.
He selected total of five areas of technology needs for meeting the developmental choices. They are, he said, solid waste management, safe clean drinking water, clean coal technologies, devices for solar power and mitigation of damages from natural disaster.
Shri Sibal stressed the role of science and technology in bringing developmental values to the society. He observed that capacity building in science and technology is one of the most important needs of the world today. The Minister also stressed that such efforts to build capacities should take into account the differential levels of development and resource investment capacities and needs. Calling for innovative ways and techniques for bridging the differences between the cultures of science and industry through public-private partnerships, Shri. Sibal emphasized the need for greater interactions among the four pillars of development namely, industry, Government, research and academy. He also emphasized the need for grater autonomy to the university systems in developing world. The Minister observed that many member countries had noted the technology divides.
There was a wide spread support to the proposal of Shri Kapil Sibal among the member countries for increasing the access to technologies in innovative ways. He concluded that among member countries, there was a large expectation in meeting the developmental challenges associated with poverty reduction, disaster management, desertification and pollution control. He expressed high hope that the leadership of UNESCO would meet the rising expectations. His chairmanship and leadership came to high praise among all member states and made India proud. The Director General, UNESCO paid high encomium for the extraordinary values brought to the round table by Shri Kapil Sibal.
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PPP Model being looked at for some Innovation Universities: Shri Kapil Sibal
17:30 IST
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model is being looked at for some of the Innovation Universities that are to be set up by the Government (the 11th Five Year Plan proposes the establishment of 14 such universities aimed at world class standards). The Government is already in the process of involving a PPP model in school education. This was stated by Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal while meeting with the Minister for Trade, Investment and Business of the United Kingdom, Lord Mervyn Davies.
The Minister from the U.K. said that his government is keen for collaboration and cooperation with India in the education sector. He said that in the two areas of teacher training and certification, the U.K. could offer its expertise through collaboration. He emphasized that the mood for India in the U.K. is very positive and he expressed the hope that India would open up its university sector for British universities soon.
Shri Sibal pointed out that the education sector could see massive growth in the coming years to cater to the rising demand both in India and abroad. He underlined that while framing regulations, the focus will be to keep out fly by night operators from the education sector.
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Kapil Sibal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kapil Sibal | |
 Kapil Sibal at 2007 World Economic Forum | |
| | |
| In office May 22, 2009 -Incumbent | |
| Preceded by | Arjun Singh |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Chandni Chowk |
| Union Minister of Science and Technology | |
| In office May 22, 2004 - Incumbent | |
| Union Minister for Ministry of Earth Sciences | |
| In office May 22, 2004 - Incumbent | |
| MP from Chandni Chowk | |
| In office 2004-Incumbent | |
| | |
| Born | 8 August 1948 Jalandhar, Punjab |
| Political party | INC |
| Spouse(s) | Late Nina Sibal |
| Children | 2 sons |
| Residence | New Delhi |
| Website | http://www.kapilsibal.com |
| As of July 9, 2008 Source: [1] | |
Kapil Sibal is a prominent Indian politician and former lawyer and is currently the Union Minister for Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences in the Government of India. He also held the later two ministries in the First Manmohan Singh Cabinet.
Previously he was elected by a wide margin to the Rajya Sabha in July 1998 [1], and remained Additional Solicitor General of India, (December 1989 – December 1990) and President, Supreme Court Bar Association, on three occasions (1995-96, 1997-98 and 2001-2002) [2].
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Early life and education
Kapil Sibal was born in Jalandhar, Punjab on 8 August, 1948, to Hira Lal Sibal and Smt. Kailash Rani Sibal, his father was a renowned advocate, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006. He moved to Delhi in 1964, and obtained his M.A. in History from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, Delhi, LLB from Faculty of Law,University of Delhi and LL.M (Master's in Law) from Harvard Law School in 1977. In his time at Harvard Law School, he demonstrated himself to be a strong scholar, the ultimate "reasonable man" in discussions, and an excellent chef.
[edit] Career
He joined the Bar association in 1972. A year later in 1973, he qualified for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and was offered an appointment, but declined the offer. Instead he decided to set up his own law practice [2][3]. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in 1983. He has been the Additional Solicitor General of India between 1989 and 1990. [4][2].
In August, 2008 an Anthology of Kapil Sibal's poems titled "i witness" was published by Roli Books, New Delhi. He has also contributed several articles on various prominent issues such as security, nuclear proliferation, terrorism etc., in national dailies and periodicals. He won a landslide victory in the constituency of Chandni Chowk for the Indian National Congress against popular TV star Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Over the years, he has held several important positions in the Government of India and the Society, such as : Additional Solicitor General of India (December 1989-1990) ; Member, Board of Management, Indira Gandhi National Open University (1993) ; President, Supreme Court Bar Association (1995-96, 1997-98 and 2001-2002) ; Member, Rajya Sabha (July 1998) ; Member, Executive Council, Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies (July, 2001) ; Member, Business Advisory Committee (August, 2001) ; Member, Committee on Home Affairs (January, 2002) ; Co-chairman, Indo-US Parliamentary Forum (2002) ; Member, Board of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (2002) ; Member, Programme Board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Indian AIDS initiative (2003) ; Member, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention set up by the Human Rights Commission, Geneva.
Kapil Sibal has visited several countries such as the USA, Canada, Switzerland, China, Bhutan, Vietnam, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and several South East Asian Countries, throughout Europe and North Africa.
Kapil Sibal led the first Indian expedition to the Arctic and was responsible for setting up an Indian Research Station 'Himadri' there in July, 2008. Kapil Sibal was the first Indian Minister to have traveled to the icy continent of Antarctica and stayed at the Maitri base in sub-zero temperatures, for getting a first hand experience about the hardships being faced by the Indian scientists. Kapil Sibal announced an upgrading of India's scientific facilities at the Maitri, besides augmenting the fleet strength of the piston bully vehicles required to travel on ice. Kapil Sibal visited laboratories near Maitri, besides carrying out a final assessment on India's proposed third permanent base.
He represented India in the Annual Meetings of the World Economic Forum in 2005 and 2009 held at Davos, Switzerland. He led the Indian delegation to the Annapolis Conference, USA, held to gather International support for establishment of a Palestinian State and the realization of Israeli–Palestinian Peace during November 2007. He led the Indian delegation to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Bali in December 2007.
In the 2004 general elections, Sibal won the elections by a large margin from Chandni Chowk constituency in the National Capital Territory representing the Congress Party by a and was inducted into the Cabinet under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Union Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences. In the 2009 elections, he again won by a large margin from Chandni Chowk constituency and in the second Manmohan Singh government took charge of the key Human Resource Development ministry.
Minister Sibal has recently approved the creation of an Indian Institute of Technology Muddenahalli as part of the 11th 5 year plan.[5]
[edit] Personal life
He married Nina Sibal on April 13, 1973. She had studied English literature and law in Delhi University and taught in Daulat Ram College before she joined Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1972. After postings in New York and Cairo, she was appointed India's Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, and later represented UNESCO at the United Nations in New York. She had three books to her credit: Yatra (1987), The Secret Life of Gujjar Mall and Other Stories, and The Dogs of Justice (1998). She died in 2000, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 51.[6]
The couple had two sons, Amit and Akhil, having both studied at Cambridge University, received degrees from the prestigious Harvard and Stanford Universities respectively are now practicing law in India.
[edit] References
- ^ SHRI KAPIL SIBAL Rajya Sabha website.
- ^ a b c Minister for Earth Sciences, Govt. of India: Shri Kapil Sibal Ministry of Earth Sciences website.
- ^ Kapil Sibal Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
- ^ Kapil Sibal, Hon'ble Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Ministry of Science and Technology
- ^ http://www.deccanherald.com/content/25455/iit-muddenahalli-11th-plan.html
- ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000701/nation.htm#12
[edit] External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kapil Sibal |
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