Education Insider August-September 2014

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GCC education sector booming

Explore Visual Learning Chetan Bhagat

Monthly, September 2014 NPR 100, $5, `50, AED 7

Premier Institute IIM Rohtak interview Christian Guellerin V C Speak Dr Meena Chandawarkar

Excited about editing Nancy Novack, University of Pennsylvania

NaMo’s maiden budget and education

Penning

Vincent Price, Provost, University of Pennsylvania

new history

Volume 3 Issue 8 & 9 | August - September 2014 Founder & editor Ravi Deecee Executive Editor Ratheema Ravi DC MEDIA - OPERATIONS

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from the editor

Modi’s vision of skilled India

F

rom Scam India to Skilled India – this was one of the signature slogans of Narendra Modi during his grand election campaigning that resulted in an unprecedented coronation of NaMo as Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy. The youth has pinned great hopes on this nationalist leader who is committed to building a skillcentric India with his much-acclaimed model of administrative efficiency that promises maximum governance and minimum government. The Modi cohorts claim that the Prime Minister is dreaming to transform India into an economic superpower by unleashing the power of youth. This seems to be possible only by making the education system more skill-based and application-oriented.

Only a sound education system in sync with the changing industry trends will pave the way for sustained economic development. What should be the approach of the new government towards education sector? This question forces the education fraternity to track all the developments associated with Modi’s education policies, which are intended to be implemented through his handpicked Education Minister Smriti Irani.

Obviously, the whole nation was eagerly waiting for Modi’s maiden Budget.

When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Narendra Modi’s first Budget on July 10, 2014, the education sector got a big push with an allocation of Rs.68,728 crore – a staggering increase of 11.1 % from the previous year. For higher education, the government allocated Rs 27,656 crore, compared to Rs 24,485 crore in 2013-14, an increase of 12.9%. Bringing IIT’s & IIM’s in all the states of India is a good move to improve the quality of Engineering and Management studies across the country,

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but the maiden Budget should have discussed on Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) and similarly Institute for Social Sciences. AIIMS should also be in all the States in the next 2-3 years. Opening up of the education sector to foreign universities was expected from Modi Government to bring in excellence in academics.

All though the government says it is committed to reconstructing Nalanda University, the prestigious global institution for higher learning that existed in ancient India, no specific funds for the project was announced in the Budget.Another impressive initiative in the Budget is to allocate Rs 100 crore for the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ programme, which has a great mission of the overall development of the girl child. Education Insider unravels Narendra Modi’s first Budget from an education point of view. We bring you the reactions of over a dozen education experts on the Budget’s educational implications.

“The announcement of the launch of multiscale skill development programme, Skill India, is a welcome step taken by the new government to take the skill development agenda forward.

Though we will have to wait to get the finer details of this programme, the idea of having a skills development mechanism in place is good as we need the skill development agenda to penetrate further in the rural areas at a much larger scale,”Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi, Director of AISECT, India’s leading education, skill development, services and e-governance network, says.

A special feature on IIM-Rohtak, an interview with Pennsylvania University professor and Peabody Award winner Nancy Novack, an exclusive interaction with Executive Director of France’s leading design school Christian Guellerin are the other attractions of this edition.

Enjoy reading!

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EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

Moideen great visionary The July 2014 issue with the cover story on Thumbay Moideen was inspiring one. Though I have been a resident of Dubai for the last 20 years and my daughter graduated from GMU, I got to know Thumbay Moideen and his efforts behind GMU in detail only now. He is such a great visionary. Thanks a lot to Education Insider for of information on the ‘Gem of the UAE.’ –Madhavan Nair, Dubai

Agenda for Irani timely The five-point agenda for HRD Minister Smriti Irani suggested by Prof.

C Raj Kumar was timely. This is exactly what India needs to become a superpower in higher education. I believe the HRD Minister will fulfill the needs of the education sector.

–Yadav Patel, Surat

Dr Dhakal is right I read the article written by Dr Pramod Dhakal titled ‘Open University to overhaul Nepal’s higher education. I am a professor based in Kathmandu and I do agree with his views. Congratulations to the author.

–Shivani Karki, Kathmandu

I am happy that Education Insider has been launched in Nepal. Nepal has great opportunities in higher education, especially for overseas education, with over 2 lakh students going to foreign countries a year for higher education. If universities across the world invest in Nepal’s higher education sector, they stand to benefit from it.

–Ram Panopadhyay, Kathmandu

Proud alumnus The article on IIT-Madras titled ‘Serving the nation’ was good. I am an alumnus of IIT-Madras. Reading that article filled my mind with pride. Tie-up with foreign universities and collaboration with high-end industry will certainly benefit the student community.

–Vineeth V Nair, Dubai

Great read I am a regular reader of Education Insider for the last eight months. The magazine has been doing a good job since its beginning. The variety of its contents and the introduction of famous personalities make it unique.

It will be great if Education Insider does a cover story on the problems faced by Third World countries in the education sector.

–Manyata Mehta, Delhi

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CONTENTS COVER STORY 25 What does it mean for education?

Review on Modi’s maiden budget

EXCLUSIVES

40 Expert Interview Nancy Novack, University of Pennsylvania alum and aLecturer of Fine Arts at the School of Design, speaks about the Peabody award she won recently, her passion for editing, her upcoming projects and more

42 Women University Dr Meena Chandavarkar, Vice-Chancellor, Karnataka State Women’s University (KSWU), speaks about the genderwise higher education distribution, relevance of women’s universities, her dream for KSWU and more

THE REGULARS

10 Edu News The latest happenings in education from across the world

14 Rising Stars Sunil Karmyogi, a student entrepreneur working in Kerala’s Start up Village, had his foray into entrepreneurship as a result of an accident he had met with

36 Interview: Vincent Price “Penn has always been one of the most globally engaged universities, and we are taking several concrete steps to continue that tradition in the years ahead,” Vincent Price, Provost, Pennsylvania University, USA tells Education Insider in an interview.

57 Online Education, UAE In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the online education culture has been gaining steady momentum

18 Scope of Tourism in Nepal Nepal has the potential in its rich and unique natural and cultural heritage to attract a greater number of tourists both from the country and abroad

54 Interview: Chetan Bhagat Chetan Bhagat, India’s most popular contemporary writer and motivational speaker, was recently roped in to promote the Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz – a gratifying concept of edutainment

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48 Premier Institute IIM Rohtak director Prof. P Rameshan speaks about the institute’s vision to become a global leader in the creation and dissemination of knowledge in management

58 Modified Mohan Varghese tries to have a critical look at the unfolding scenario in the field of higher education and tries to gauge the impact of the Narendra Modi touch in the new administration’s HRD Policy

20 Survey Report The higher education sector of the Persian Gulf countries is undergoing an exciting phase of growth with its excellent quality, according to a survey report of Alpen Capital

66 Nepal Law Campus Nepal Law Campus (NLC), the oldest college imparting legal education in Nepal, has made great contributions to the law sector in Nepal

62 Students’ voice Students of Nepal share their opinion on thier choice of engineering. “Which branch of engineering do you prefer and why?”

46 Design Schools Christian Guellerin, executive director of L’ École de Design Nantes Atlantique, says design schools are gradually being accepted as schools of management today

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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32

46

36

48

COLUMNS

52 B ASHOK One of the key determinants of success, both in the examination and a career in public service, is the element of pro-activeness when facing problems

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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EDU news

India

Foreign students flock to Nalanda Patna: It is a proud moment for India that the country’s most prestigious as well as ancient university, Nalanda, has made a historic comeback.

This academic year, Nalanda has received over 1,000 applications from around 40 countries of the world. After recreating Nalanda by preserving all its values, the university is set to start its academic session from September 1, 2014, with two schools – School of Historical Sciences and School of Environment and Ecology.

A majority of the applicants are from the US, the UK, Russia, Spain, Germany, Japan, Myanmar, Austria, Sri Lanka, and the West Asian and South-East Asian countries. However, this year, only 20 students will be selected in each of the two schools. There will be six faculty members from New Zealand, the UK, the US and Singapore for each school.

The university is to come up on 446 acres of land at Rajgir, 10 kilometres from the site of the ancient university of Nalanda, and about 100 kilometres southeast of Patna.

Like the ancient university, the renewed one also will be fully residential. It will offer courses in science,

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philosophy and spirituality as well as social sciences.

The university will start Master’s, M Phil and PhD degree courses across seven schools, including Historical Studies, Ecology and Environment Studies, Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religions, Linguistics and Literature, International Relations and Peace Studies, Information Science and Technology, and Economics and Management.

IIT-Bombay top choice for Engineering

World Bank aid for SSA

Like in previous years, IIT-Bombay continued to be the top choice for Engineering aspirants, with 58 of the Top 100 rankers in the IIT-JEE making their entry. Computer Science has become the best choice, with nine out of Top 10 rankers opting for the course at IIT-Bombay.

IIT-Delhi and IIT-Chennai came in the second and third places, respectively, after IIT-Bombay. In all, 36 out of Top 100 rankers have been admitted at IIT-Delhi.

International Development Association (IDA), World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, has offered $1,006.2-million aid to the Government of India for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme.

An agreement in this regard will be effective from August 27, 2014. The credit will be available in two portions.

Funding from World Bank will form a part of the Central share of funds under the SSA and will constitute only 3.37% of the total Central funding for SSA. Since SSA helps schools under the Central Government, the students studying in such schools will benefit from the programme. The project is likely to benefit about 200 million children enrolled in elementary schools and 4.5 million teachers in the sector.

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

world Surprising saga of sick student For most of the students, it seems to be a herculean task to reach at a 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in examinations in the United States. This kind of an achievement may demand several sleepless nights, some uninteresting days filled with books and academics, an aversion to food and drinks, and more from you. Still, it becomes harder to achieve.

However, recently, Todd Blake, a student at University of Florida, graduated with a degree in Business and a 4.0 GPA. The grandeur of this feat doubles when we know that he has been battling cancer for the third time!

Blake was diagnosed with cancer when he was 18 years old. Though he was about to

return to school in 2010 after long-lasting treatments, he fell ill again a week before his return. After several more rounds of chemotherapy, the treatments eventually stopped working and the cancer came back a third time.

Blake says that it was then he knew he had to make the most with the time he was given.

A report in Florida Times-Union quotes Blake as saying: “You have to be positive. If you give up on what your dreams are and your aspirations, you really just give up on living. And, I just had to have goals and keep going and pushing for that graduation and things that I wanted to do before I was diagnosed, because, without that, you just aren’t living.”

Iranian woman wins top math prize Fields Medal, often considered to be mathematics’ equivalent of the Nobel Prize, has its first female winner from Iran.

Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian mathematician and professor at Stanford University, was honoured recently at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, South Korea, together with other three winners.

The Fields Medal, given every four years, can have several winners at once. All the 52 medalists from previous years were men.

Dr Mirzakhani said: “This is a great honor. I will be happy if it encourages young female scientists and mathematicians. I am sure that there will be many more women winning this kind of award in the coming years.

The other three winners of 2014 are Artur Avila of National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics in Brazil and National Centre for Scientific Research in France, Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University, and Martin Hairer of University of Warwick in England.

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

Rich teenagers dominate top UK universities A report from an independent commission set up to examine the impact of higher university fees recently found that teenagers from wealthy backgrounds are still around 10 times more likely to get into top universities than those from poorer homes.

The report indicates that efforts to revive social mobility in Britain by widening access to the best universities have stalled and the gender gap in university admissions is growing with young men from disadvantaged backgrounds the least likely to obtain a university place.

According to Will Hutton, principal of Hertford College, Oxford, and who chairs the Independent Commission on Fees, the findings showed “serious gaps in access to university remain.”

The commission was set up by education charity the Sutton Trust to monitor the impact of increased university fees. Other members in the commission were Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of Sutton Trust, and Libby Purves, writer and radio broadcaster.

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EDU news UAE sets apart Dh69 million for new academic year As the opening of the new academic year is approaching, the UAE’s Ministry of Education announced to invest around Dh 69 million in the maintenance and upgrading of schools across the UAE. Another Dh 26 million will be spent for projects at the Ministry of Education, including facility management project.

According to Amal Al Koos, Assistant Undersecretary of Activities and School Environment at the ministry, 28 schools will receive extensive maintenance worth Dh33 million in preparations for the new academic year. The schools will include five schools in Dubai, six in Sharjah, four in Ajman, three in Umm Al Quwain, five in Fujairah, and five in Ras Al Khaimah.

In all, 59 schools will receive upgrades worth Dh8 million. This will include seven schools in Dubai, 15 in Sharjah, seven in Ajman, three in Umm Al Quwain, 15 in Fujairah, and 12 in Ras Al Khaimah.

UaE Funds given to six students for research The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has honoured six Emirati students and one faculty member by awarding Dh50,000 each to carry out research in various fields.

Dr Hussam Al Ulama, Director of National Research Foundation (NRF) and Department of Scientific Research at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, recently visited Khalifa University to award six students and one faculty member Dh50,000 each to fund their innovative research endeavours.

Al Ulama said “the postgraduate students and the faculty members at Khalifa University have actively participated in our competitive research funding programmes. In fact, they received 15 of the 55 awards and prizes that were granted by the ministry. We highly appreciate the strong relationship between the university and the Department of Scientific Research in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and we are looking forward to enhancing our research collaboration, specifically with the aim of developing the research capacity of Emiratis.”

UAE tops in international schools and pupils The UAE has more international schools and pupils than any country in the world, says a new report by the International School Consultancy Group.

According to the report, the sector generates US $2.5 billion a year in fees (over Dh9 billion) and accounts for 7% of global tuition-fee income. Though China has substantially less number of international pupils, China brings in about the same amount in fees because schools there charge more than double the average in the UAE. Of the seven emirates, Dubai has the highest proportion of expatriates and, therefore, the highest concentration of international schools, with 98,000 pupils per million population.

The UAE has 439 international schools with 389,000 pupils, Saudi Arabia has 195 international schools, and Qatar has 130.

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EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

Student scholarships University of Cambridge, the UK

The University of Cambridge, the United Kingdom, offers Gates Cambridge scholarships to highly competitive students. These are the full-cost award to exceptional applicants from outside the UK to pursue a full-time graduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is only available for full-time postgraduate degree courses.

Eligibility This scholarship is available to citizens of any country outside the United Kingdom. If one is already a Gates Cambridge Scholar and wants to apply for a second scholarship, he/she must apply by the second, and it has formalities like international deadlines and going through the same process of departmental ranking, shortlisting and interviewing Application deadline: 15-10-2014 For more details: http://www.gatescambridge.org/about/ scholarships.asp

Old Dominion University, the USA Old Dominion University, situated in the City of Norfolk in the urban area of Hampton Roads of coastal Virginia, the United States, is a vibrant public research institution. It gives students quality education that serves and enriches the Commonwealth of Virginia, the USA, and the world through exact academic programmes, strategic partnerships, and active civic engagement. Old Dominion University provides a great chance to have the world’s best industry interactions and other programmes.

Illinois Wesleyan University, the USA Illinois Wesleyan University, a self-governing undergraduate liberal arts college located in Bloomington, Illinois, the USA, offers merit-based scholarships to eligible students who wish to take graduation from Illinois Wesleyan University. These scholarships range from $5,000 to $19,000 a year and are renewable for up to four years. Students are also provided with additional benefits like student loans.

Eligibility The scholarship is offered to qualified international applicants with outstanding academic achievement and test scores in the required entrance examinations.

Application deadline: 01-04-2015 For more details: http://www.iwu.edu/admissions/ international/intscholar.html

University of Arkansas, the USA International student scholarships for undergraduate studies in University of Arkansas, the USA, are offered to highly competitive students who are planning to enter in Fall terms. The scholarship consideration is not available for those students planning to enter in a Spring term. International students those who are interested in studying in Arkansas can apply for various other scholarships, including Chancellor’s Scholarship, Silas Hunt Scholarship, University Scholarship, John and Marie Lavallard Scholarship, Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship, Alumni Scholarships, etc.

Application deadline: 01-02-2015 For more details: http://iao.uark.edu/scholarships. htmlww

Eligibility Newly admitted undergraduate students from countries other than the USA can apply for this scholarship.

Minimum ‘B+’ equivalent grade point average (GPA) is needed to apply for the scholarship, and it is valid nonimmigrant visa status.

Application deadline: 01-10-2014 For more details: http://www.odu.edu/admission/ international/process/undergraduate-internationalchecklist/iss-scholarship

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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rising star

Entrepreneur ‘by accident’ A person’s entry into entrepreneurship may happen accidentally. It is quite natural and reasonable, too. However, for Sunil Karmyogi, a student entrepreneur from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, currently working in Kerala’s Start up Village, the case is different; for, his foray into entrepreneurship was the result of an accident he had met with

by LIJO V JOSEPH

Sunil Karmyogi with co-director Hareesh Unnikrishnan

S

unil is a staunch lover of football. He was a brilliant player as well, even longing to represent the nation.

After completing schooling, he appeared for the UPSC test and came out in flying colours with the 19th rank. He was selected to National Defence Academy (NDA) and he began training. But, fate has had some plans for him other than playing football and a job in NDA. He met with an accident while training and could not complete his training.

Instead of worrying about his future, Sunil went back to his childhood days and found back that computer-crazy boy who had to succumb to the pressures of study and dump his love for computers. Sitting in his room, he thought of computers and its potential. It was the beginning of the entrepreneur, Sunil Karmyogi, who also currently does his B Tech in Computer Science at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT).

Karmyogis Pvt. Ltd, the startup he cofounded with Hareesh Unnikrishnan, came up as a result of the farsighted approach of the two who saw the IT world in a different way.

What could have made him to think differently? Sunil says: “We all have ideas that can change the way we live. We cannot stay dependant on government or an institution to be employed. Rather, we should create those job opportunities so that society as a whole can benefit. All this is backed up by strong self- belief and courage.

Products • • • • • • •

Websites network Hardware Network security Software Company branding Graphic design iOS/ Android/ Windows phone app development

Current status “Even though the market is swelling up with our competitors, we still are quite confident about hitting the Rs 20-lakh-mark by the end of this financial year and then expanding to other cities. We are already in the process of opening a couple of branches in North India.”

Motto as entrepreneur “I have believed in the policy of conquering new heights and upscaling myself, and, in the process, there have been many influential instances and quotes. One worth mentioning and motivating for all entrepreneurs is: “Entrepreneurship is living the first few years of your life like others won’t: and living the rest of your life like others can’t.”

Speciality What is the speciality of their startup?

Their own website puts it crisply. “We are a revolution,” claims the website, “a force that has the potential to change the world as you see. We have technologies which increase efficiency of the workforce that you already possess while still cutting down costs, thus maximising the profits for you on both ends. We bring you to life by our high-speed Net solutions and efficient data handling techniques. We have a dedicated force in the field of Network Security, which makes your electronic world a lot safer. And, when it comes to making your business alive on the Net, making profits 24x7 just became easier EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

with our exceptional Web Page Development and Hosting Team, which work on the best standards to ensure that you can have a sigh of relief.”

However, at the age of 22, Sunil Karmyogi, together with his team, is on the track to make a turnover of Rs 22 lakh with the startup, Karmyogis Techno Solutions Pvt Ltd. “Karmyogis Techno Solutions Pvt. Ltd,” says Sunil, “was a thought. It turned into a vision and now we stand here as a private limited company. The changes some believe have been quick, but these swift steps have always been planned. On October 4, 2013, we finally signed the Incubation Documents with Startup Village and put wings on our dream.

On January 30, 2014, we got clearance from the Registrar of Companies and we started business. From then on, it is just the way ahead.”

Startup Village

What makes me different • • • • • •

Deep knowledge of the field Curiosity for learning Multi-product Efficient manmanagement skills Powerful speaker Dynamic leader

“I would say it is 9 out of 10. There is always scope of improvisation. They have been doing great work with the team they have, linking up people from different nations, showing entrepreneurs new paths, and, most importantly, giving all entrepreneurs a place to lay our foundation stones.”

Plans “We are pretty sure that the company can go a long way from here. Slight variation in performance is inevitable, but I definitely will take it over the edge. And, the performance is bound to improve when I shall be available full-time for my company after college.”

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research

Walking gives your ideas legs A study conducted by Stanford recently, led by Marily Oppezzo, a Stanford doctoral graduate in educational psychology, and Daniel Schwartz, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education, found that walking boosts creative inspiration by ei bureau

E

xamining the creativity levels of people while they walked versus while they sat, the researchers found that a person’s creative output increased by an average of 60% during walking and shortly thereafter.

The study, entitled Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking, was published recently in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition.

According to Stanford News, the research comprised four experiments involving 176 college students and other adults who completed tasks commonly used by researchers to estimate creative thinking. Participants were placed in different conditions: walking indoors on a treadmill or sitting indoors – both facing a blank wall – and walking outdoors or sitting outdoors while being pushed in wheelchair – both along a pre-determined path on the Stanford campus. Researchers put seated participants in a wheelchair outside to present the same kind of visual movement as walking.

Different combinations, such as two consecutive seated sessions, or a walking session followed by a seated one, were also compared. The walking or sitting sessions used to measure creativity lasted anywhere from 5 to 16 minutes, depending on the tasks being tested.

Divergent thinking Three of the experiments relied on a ‘divergent thinking’ creativity test. Divergent thinking is a

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thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. In these experiments, participants had to think of alternative uses for a given object. They were given several sets of three objects and had four minutes to come up with as many responses as possible for each set. A response was considered novel if no other participant in the group used it. Researchers also gauged whether a response was appropriate.

The overwhelming majority of the participants in these three experiments were more creative while walking than sitting, the study found. A fourth experiment evaluated creative output by measuring people’s abilities to generate complex analogies to prompt phrases. The most creative responses were those that captured the deep structure of the prompt. The result: 100% of those who walked outside were able to generate at least one highquality, novel analogy compared to 50% of those seated inside.

According to Marily Oppezzo, one of the coauthors, “the four studies demonstrate that walking increases creative ideation. The effect is not simply due to the increased perceptual stimulation of moving through an environment, but rather it is due to walking. Whether one is outdoors or on a treadmill, walking improves the generation of novel yet appropriate ideas, and the effect even extends to when people sit down to do their creative work shortly after. However, this is not to say that every task at work should be done while simultaneously walking, but those that require a fresh perspective or new ideas would benefit from it.”

nepal focus special story

Tourism Colleges

Tourism colleges blossoming in Nepal Nepal, though a latecomer in the world tourism map, has the potential in its rich and unique natural and cultural heritage to attract a greater number of tourists both from the country and abroad by priyanka m v

T

he tourism sector has been evolving and gradually grabbing the attention of aspiring students in the country.

Statistics show that the tourism sector is employing 42% of the total working population of the country and is a major foreign exchange earning business in the service sector, thus contributing to GDP of the nation. Considering the fact there is more to explore, people are keenly interested in this sector. Of late, colleges have emerged in the travel and tourism education sector of Nepal, imparting world-class travel and tourism education that provides graduates that are

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professional with the quantitative, competent and industry-related knowledge.

A few decades ago, there was no such professionalism in the tourism sector as compared to other renowned professions.

Students were only attracted to those colleges which offered traditional courses such as science, medicine, business management, and law. They were least interested in taking different courses.

Significant change However, as time passed, many institutions started coming up in Nepal. The country started catching up with other modern education systems around the globe, which, in turn, brought in

The tourism industry has vast potential to flourish in our country because of its abundant beauty gifted by nature. The subject of tourism should be included in the curriculum from the early stage of education so that the message will reach the grassroots-level all over the country. This will help the students think more and want to be entrepreneurs in Subash Niraula, Officiating Chief Executive this field Officer of Nepal Tourism Board significant changes. It was because of the flaw in the promotion and coordination that the tourism sector was not given the priority it deserved, thus not attracting the attention of the students and others alike.

As time passed by, Nepal started feeling the importance of the tourism sector, and, now there is a major improvement and the tourism sector is on the rise. Social media is catching up as more and more local and national businesses are using them as a medium to attract attention to their business. Many people are also coming up with the innovative ideas to enhance this sector, which are being recognised by the Government of Nepal.

At present, there are institutions which provide proper degrees to the students who aim at making a career in the tourism sector. The institutions are primarily focused on creating manpower, which will boost the tourism of Nepal. They are playing a vital role in developing the human resources for this industry with the aim of enhancing the level of quality in the tourism services in the country.

These institutions are trying to provide management-level skills and training to tackle the challenges of the sector. Their main objective is to generate qualified workforce for the ever-increasing demands of the hospitality and tourism sector.

The following are some of the major institutions which mainly focus on providing tourism education in Nepal: •

Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM),

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

Rabi Bhawan, Kathmandu International College of Tourism and Hotel Management (IST), Dillibazar, Kathmandu • Nepal College of Travel and Tourism Management (NCTTM), Gaushala, Kathmandu • Kathmandu Academy of Tourism and Hospitality (KATH), Rabi Bhawan, Kathmandu The institutions mentioned above have the primary aim of developing executive-level and managerial-level human resource personnel for the tourism sector, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. They have contributed immensely to building up a global career for the younger generation of Nepal.

•

Rewarding career If the students have the willingness to help others with a smile, then a career in travel and tourism can be truly rewarding. The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing and largest in the world. A young student’s skill alone does not make the industry what it is. Education is the key! Nepal has many hospitality and tourism colleges that provide the best hospitality and tourism education, affiliated with the world’s top rank tourism colleges where international student can get worldclass education as well as internship after completion of the course.

Subash Niraula, Officiating Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board, says: “The tourism industry has vast potential to flourish in our country because of its abundant beauty gifted by nature. The subject of tourism should be included in

the curriculum from the early stage of education so that the message will reach the grassroots-level all over the country. This will help the students think more and want to be entrepreneurs in this field. Tourism education should not be centralised; it should be extended from east to west in the country. More manpower is required to enhance the sector and lots of exposure is needed.

Young generations have to go for the practical rather than the theoretical.

Lack of research has led to preference of only documents system. The youngsters should go for field visits.

Tourism is a global market. There are low chances of risk in this field.

The students should explore this sector as this market has many opportunities than any other sector in Nepal.”

Opportunities galore The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the world’s most dynamic industries and continues to grow year after year. The World Travel Organisation predicts that it will triple in size by the year 2020, becoming one of the largest industries in the world. Hence, it is important that the younger generation of Nepal should get adequate and meaningful education that they need, so that they can perform better, and Nepal has developed the capability to meet their needs.

The tourism sector will open new horizons and more career choices for future generations than just the traditional career choices that students were prone to choose.

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GCC Current Affairs

GCC education sector booming

The higher education sector of the Gulf countries is undergoing an exciting phase of growth with its excellent quality, according to a survey report of Alpen Capital, a leading investment bank providing solutions to institutional and corporate clients in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Asia

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t is good news for the edupreneurs and investors in the GCC education sector that the sector has reported a sudden growth related to its market size, quality and result. According to the report published by Alpen Capital on July 2, 2014, the GCC countries, especially Dubai, has a great opportunity to be the hub of higher education in Arab countries.

The survey reveals the prospects of the GCC education sector based on the current developments within the sector, key market dynamics, and the existing investment opportunities in the region. The report includes the pre-primary, primary, secondary, tertiary, and vocational training segments across all GCC nations. The study was conducted in all six Gulf countries.

The Alpen Capital survey focuses on the factors that influence the growth of the education sector in this region. Sameena Ahmad, managing director of Alpen Capital, says: “The growth of the GCC education sector is driven by factors such as population growth, increasing number of expatriates, the rising importance of highquality education in society, and a growing spending propensity. The sector is gaining additional momentum from governments across the GCC that are acknowledging the need for an education system capable of producing industry-ready graduates. Thus, with increased focus on improving the quality and reach of education in the region, the sector presents an interesting investment opportunity.”

Investment opportunity Since the education system in the GCC is still evolving, it presents tremendous opportunities to private investors.

Private players, both local and international, are attracted to segments such as the K-12 and higher education, which are the largest within the sector. Further, new and promising industry-specific, niche sectors such as vocational training, finishing schools, child-skill

The growth of the GCC education sector is driven by factors such as population growth, increasing number of expatriates, the rising importance of high-quality education in society, and a growing spending propensity enhancement, and e-learning are also receiving investor attention.

According to Alpen Capital, the total number of students in the GCC region is expected to grow at a 3% CAGR, between 2013 and 2020, to reach 13.7 million.

The total number of schools is expected to rise at a 2.4% CAGR from 2013 to 2020, concurrent with the increasing number of students in the GCC. “The education sector in the region,” says Mahboob Murshed, managing director of Alpen Capital, “is growing at a fast pace and presents opportunities for private investors. The M&A activity in the sector has picked up pace in recent times. Private players, both local and international, are attracted to segments such as the K-12 and higher education, which are the largest within the sector. New and promising industry-specific, niche sectors such as vocational training, finishing schools, childskill enhancement, and e-learning are receiving investor attention owing to their growing demand.”

Budget allocation With increased focus on improving the quality and

Source: UNESCO, Alpen Capital EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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GCC Current Affairs

Source: Ministry of Finance of the respective contries, Alpen Capital reach of education in the region, the education sector is accounts for a healthy share of the national budgets across the GCC countries. Consequently, as many as 355 educational projects are currently under way in the GCC region, most of which (92%) are being developed in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE. The UAE is the most developed education market in the region and is an emerging education hub globally.

The Saudi Arabian market is the largest, accounting for over 75% of the gross enrolment within the GCC. Both the nations account for relatively mature K-12 and tertiary education segments. Following these leaders are the Qatari and the Omani markets, which are growing, with support from planned education reforms. The education markets of Kuwait and Bahrain are growing at a modest pace.

The Alpen Capital survey says: “By the end of 2014, the GCC population is expected to reach 50 million. The GCC region thus harbours a favourable combination of a rising population base and increasing number of expatriates in the region that is expected to result in an increase in the demand for education.�

Based on purchasing power parity (PPP), the GDP

Source: The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, Alpen Capital Note: The ranking is given from a group of 148 countries.

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The total number of students in the GCC region is expected to grow at a 3% CAGR, between 2013 and 2020, to reach 13.7 million. The total number of schools is expected to rise at a 2.4% CAGR from 2013 to 2020, concurrent with the increasing number of students in the GCC per-capita across the region is expected to rise at a 3.1% CAGR between 2012 and 2019. With rising GDP levels, the disposable income of the middle-class across the GCC is expected to surge, presenting the prospect of this segment of society turning to the expensive, highquality education of private schools. Enrolments at private institutions in the UAE accounted for 69% of the total enrolments in 2012, up from 39% in 2000. Higher enrolments at private institutions through the last decade indicate their rising popularity.

Governments are focusing on enhancing the quality and reach of education across the GCC. The membernations are acknowledging the importance of private participation in accomplishing their objectives for the education sector. The result has been an increasing number of private schools and colleges being set up in the region. On an average, the GCC region is expected to experience a recurring spending of about US $150 billion on its education sector in the next couple of years. The

Source: UNESCO, Alpen Capital GCC education market thus presents opportunities for new private players and consolidation opportunities for the existing ones.

Five major areas The survey has pointed out five major areas that influence the industry trends: Rising demand for international schools: Private schools offering international curriculum are emerging as a preferred choice over public schools, with increasing number of students shifting from the latter to the former.

A growing expatriate base has been spurring the setting up of private schools in the region. Sensing the potential, several international schools are setting up their branches or are entering into affiliations with the existing private institutions in the region. Private institutes across the GCC are also attracting students from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, who seek quality education within a geographically proximate area.

Demand for technology-driven education: In order to enhance the global competitiveness of their education systems, governments across the region focus on the incorporation of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) into the teachers’ professional development and their resultant use for classroom instruction. In particular, the development of highachieving ‘smart’ schools, based on the Singaporean and Malaysian models, is a rapidly growing phenomenon in the GCC countries.

Universities adapting to labour requirements: A demand-supply gap has surfaced in the labour market in the region. Because of increased job security and retirement benefits, the locals turn to the government sector. It is predicted that this will result in an overcrowded job market in the public sector with rising local population. As a result, governments are encouraging the youth to undergo technical and vocational training to enhance their employability in the private sector. This has created the need for quality higher education in the Gulf region.

Emerging education hubs in the Middle East: The UAE EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

“By the end of 2014, the GCC population is expected to reach 50 million. The GCC region thus harbours a favourable combination of a rising population base and increasing number of expatriates in the region that is expected to result in an increase in the demand for education.” and Qatar rank high as preferred education destinations by the students in the Middle East. Factors such as simple visa procedures and the presence of international education institutes of repute are furthering the appeal of these two nations among students abroad. The students in the region are increasingly turning to Dubai, instead of the UK, to obtain quality international-level education.

According to the UNESCO, Dubai has become the third most popular destination, following France and the US, among students from the Middle East.

Increasing female participation: Over time, the female population has been contributing significantly to the growth of the higher education segment in the GCC. At 60% enrolment in tertiary segment in 2012, females represent the majority of the total higher education students in the region.

The Alpen Capital survey report forecasts that the total number of students in the GCC region would grow at a 3% CAGR, between 2013 and 2020, to reach 13.7 million.

The total number of schools is expected to rise at a 2.4%

Source: World Bank, Alpen Capital Note: Data for World and MENA pertains to 2011, while that for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE pertains to 2012. Data for Oman pertains to 2009.

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GCC Current Affairs

Setting up of a private school in the region is capital-intensive owing to rising real-estate prices, electricity expenses, licensing costs, salaries, and visa expenses. Additional education projects involve a long gestation period.

Regulations such as cap on the fee structure also make it challenging for investors to evaluate the investment opportunity.

Despite these challenges, the GCC education sector is on a growth path with the governments opening up the sector for private players, leading to increased private participation.

Source: Alpen Capital CAGR from 2013 to 2020, concurrent with the increasing number of students in the GCC. Enrolment increase at private schools is expected at a 6.7% CAGR between 2013 and 2020 owing to the quality of education and the favourable demographics in the region.

The contribution of the pre-primary segment to the total enrolments in the industry is expected to increase from 5.8% in 2013 to 7.4% in 2020. The tertiary segment is likely to see a surge in its share of the total enrolments from 14.8% in 2013 to 16.5% in 2020. The primary and secondary segments are likely to drop their share to 76.0% in 2020 from 79.4% in 2013.

Enrolment scenario The total number of enrolment across the GCC displayed a remarkable growth from 2.7 million in 2003 to 10.7 million in 2012, indicating an impressive CAGR of 16.5%.

The average growth rate of the GCC population was 4.6% during the same period. In 2012, the primary and secondary education segments together accounted for about 80% of the gross enrolment in the GCC. The region is also witnessing a rapid increase in gross enrolment rates in the tertiary education segment, which now surpasses the global average of 30.1%. With almost 51% gross enrolment in the tertiary segment, Arabia has emerged as the fastest-growing market in this segment.

Government support The survey has found that, in order to support the increasing enrolments at educational institutes, governments across the region are expected to continue allocating a significant portion of their national budgets to this sector in 2014. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are planning to spend over 20% of their total expenditure on the education sector in 2014. The median spending on education as a percentage of total spending on public expenditure in the GCC is expected to be 15% in 2014.

According to the Alpen Capital survey report, the GCC education sector has great prospects, based on the current happenings within the sector, key market dynamics, and the existing investment opportunities in the region. The scope of this report encompasses the pre-primary, primary, secondary, tertiary, and vocational training segments across all GCC nations. Further, the report profiles the six GCC countries as well as some noteworthy private educational institutions in the sector.

Hurdles Though the sector is geared to grow and presents excellent opportunities to investors, it still faces some challenges. The GCC has a shortage of skilled staff and primarily teachers, affecting the quality of education at both private and public institutions. A regulated fees environment also poses challenges in meeting the competitive compensation levels expected by quality teachers.

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Source: Alpen Capital

Budget & Education

Cover story

NaMo’s maiden budget

What does it mean for education?

“We need to take India towards being a Skilled India from a Scam India,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during his election campaigning in May 2014. When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the first Budget of the Narendra Modi Government on July 10, 2014, it was a fillip to the nation’s noble aim of becoming a skill-centric power. With new IITs, IIMs, and Sports University in Manipur, the education sector gets a push in Modi’s maiden Budget. The sector received an allocation of Rs 68,728 crore – up from a revised Budget estimate of Rs 61,857 crore in 2013-14. Though the Government says it is committed to reconstructing Nalanda, the prestigious global institution for higher learning that existed in ancient India, no specific funds for the project has been announced. What’s the reaction of the education fraternity to Modi’s first Budget? Education Insider gets you the responses from over a dozen education experts. Read on… by team EI

Cover story Budget & Education

Budget and education sector Millions of youngsters in India had high expectations regarding the reforms in the education sector since Modi had raised the bar of expectations considerably during his election campaign. The election manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party had voiced its concern over areas such as girl education, e-learning, restructuring of the University Grants Commission (UGC) into Higher Education Commission, and setting up of National Multi-Skill Mission and more IIMs and IITs

Here are the highlights of the Union Budget 2014-15: Fund allocation The Education sector got an allocation of Rs 68,728 crore for 2014-15. • School sector: Rs 51,828 crore • Higher education sector: Rs 16,900 crore 26

The Finance Minister has proposed to set up five IIMs and five IITs. The IIMs will be set up in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The five IIMs will come up in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra and Odisha.

AIIMS

Proposal to set up four more All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha (Maharashtra) and Purvanchal (Uttar Pradesh).

Govt medical colleges

Plan for 12 more government-run medical colleges with dental facilities

Programmes announced State-wise allocations •

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• •

• • • • •

•

Rs 100 crore will be provided in the current financial year itself to set up a Sports University in Manipur Two institutes for farming and agrotechnology to be set up in Assam and Jharkhand Research centres to be set up in Assam and Jharkhand Agriculture Universities will be set up in states like Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan; Rs 200 crore allocated for the same Horticulture Universities to be set up in Haryana and Telangana Two biotechnology clusters to be established in Bangalore and Faridabad National Academy for Customs and Excise to be set up at Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh A Centre of Excellence in Madhya Pradesh, named after Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune and SRFTI in Kolkata will be accorded the status of ‘Institute of National Importance.’

It has been proposed to set up a Hastakala Academy for the preservation, revival and documentation of the handloom/handicraft sector in PPP mode in Delhi. An amount of Rs 30 crore has been set aside for this purpose.

• •

• • • •

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Other major proposals •

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• •

Education highlights of Union Budget 2013-14

• Rs 4, 727 crore for medical education and research • Rs 1, 650 crore for setting up medical colleges in six more AIIMS-like institutions • Rs 13, 215 crore for mid-day meal programme • The Government committed to reconstructing Nalanda University, but no specific funds for the project was announced

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

‘Beti Padhao, Beti Badhao Yojana’ for girl children; Rs 100 crore set aside for the same Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan worth Rs 28,635 crore, and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan worth Rs 4,966 crore to be initiated A School Assessment Programme to be started at a cost of Rs 30 crore Rs 100 crore for the Young Leader Programme Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teacher Training Programme worth Rs 500 crore to be launched Upgrading of Traditional Skills in Arts, Resources and Goods: This programme will focus on upgrading skills and training in traditional arts for the development of the minorities Skill India, a national multi-skill programme, to be launched, which is expected to skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneur skills

•

• • • • •

Apprenticeship Act will be suitably amended to make it more responsive to industry and the youth.

MSMEs will be encouraged to avail of the benefits of this scheme Plan to establish national-level institutes for Universal Inclusive Design and Mental Health Rehabilitation as well as a Centre for Disability Sports National sports academies to be set up for various sports in different parts of India Proposal to ease and simplify norms to facilitate education loans for higher studies Rs 500 crore as a part of the Digital India programme to ensure broadband connectivity at the village-level as well as to ensure transparency in governance Plan to ensure that the school curriculum has a separate chapter on gender mainstreaming Rs 100 crore allocated for upgrading madrassas e-visas to be introduced at nine airports in the country Five technical research centres to be strengthened through PPP for nanotechnology Employment exchanges will be transformed into career centres, and information and counselling will be provided for job availability

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Cover story Budget & Education

Effect on education Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the maiden Budget of the Narendra Modi Government on July 10, 2014. What does the budget offer to the education sector? Experts on education comment on the first Budget of India’s new political hero, Narendra Modi

I

t is hearting to see the priority given to the education sector, especially the focus on primary education. The Government has, at the same time, committed itself to promoting research and higher education in a big way through budgetary allocation and plan to set up more IITs and IIMs. This provides the much-needed impetus to these two areas that have remained largely stagnant over the past couple of years. I am sure that the education fraternity will welcome the new Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Teacher Training Programme, which should go a long way in improving the quality of teaching, thereby bettering learning outcomes.

– Ranjan Kaul, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, India

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ducomp’ welcomes the Union Budget specifically in terms of allocations made towards skill development and online education. The Skill India programme is an encouraging signal that indicates priority to a much-needed thrust in this area. We congratulate the Finance Minister for making a strong pitch for online education in order to overcome the limitations of access to schools. It is expected that both the thrust areas will receive incremental allocations in the budgets to follow and that these small beginnings in these critical areas will turn into a long-term policy with budgetary allocations to match.

– Shantanu Prakash, CMD, Educomp Solutions Ltd

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T

he plan to set up more IITs and IIMs is a welcome step.

However, there is no mention of involving the private sector in providing higher education.

This is a departure from the recommendation made in the Economic Survey that government spending must focus on providing public goods – higher education does not fall under that category.

– Dhiraj Mathur, Leader Education, PwC India

U

nion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Budget brings positive news for aspiring entrepreneurs, chiefly through the proposal to establish a Rs 10,000-crore fund to act as a catalyst to attract private capital by way of providing equity, quasiequity, soft loans and other risk capital for startup companies.

– Sanjay Vijayakumar, Chairman, Startup Village

A

n initiative to augment the quality of teacher education, namely, the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Teacher Training Scheme, is a good one. This will strengthen further the new schools started by some Central universities. There is a marginal rise in allocation to higher education from Rs 24,485 crore to Rs 27,656 crore. The plan to start five IITs and other institutes is a right step, though faculty crunch beg for an answer. The fact that, within a short time, the Government had to come before Parliament for legislative sanction to spend monies and dovetail their priorities and look for mobilising resources must not be lost sight of in any assessment of the Government’s resolve.

– Prof. I Ramabrahmam, Registrar, Hyderabad University

T

he announcement of more IITs and IIMs is an explicit expression of strengthening the institutional expansion of the higher education sector. On the skill sector thrust, it is part of the ongoing exercise as the general consensus is that there is mismatch between education and requisite skill sets expected by the employer. Part of the solution seems to rest on a framework that incorporates higher education institutions to be proactive and cater to filling this gap. Parallel pursuit is the national mission where a host of industries and services have been identified and how skills can be imparted. This is part of a national mission on skill development. What kind of skills and for which sector may get reformulated from time to time depending on the development of various sectors that in turn is related to macro initiatives that to some extent get reflected in the budget.

– Sanjay Bharthur, Former VC, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Professor of Communication, Sarojini Naidu School of Art & Communication, University of Hyderabad

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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Cover story Budget & Education

F

or the Education sector, the budget pays attention to all stages of learning Schooling, Higher education and Vocational education. Increased investments on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan with a focus on providing minimum schools infrastructure will help in increasing attendance in rural schools. Paying attention to details like sanitation & toilets in schools, introducing education on gender discrimination and dedicated projects on Girls’ education will not only help in boosting the attendance of girl children but go a long way in educating girls and reducing the gender gaps in rural India. In higher education, funds have rightly been earmarked for setting up more centers of excellence in Engineering, Medical, and Management education. It is a very enterprising move to have dedicated investments for Virtual classrooms, need of the hour to enhance the access of quality education across the country.

India has over 430 million people in the age group 15-34 years, constituting around 35% of the total population. There is a definite need of vocational training and skill building to develop a workforce that can significantly contribute to the Indian as well as global economy and Skill India, the project to increase in the employability of Indian youth is a great welcome move.

However, I feel more focus needs to be given to make vocational training affordable and accessible to the rural areas of our country through PPP for the learner funded models. But, overall it would be safe to say that the Government clearly is working towards the objective of skilling Indian youth.”.

– Deepak Mehrotra, MD, Pearson India

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he focus of the Budget has been on education and skill development, which indeed is a crucial step to convert our precious population into a productive resource. It is designed to boost higher learning with stress on creating world-class centres of learning. In particular, the allocation for higher education has been increased considerably – by 13%. It is surely a positive indicator. The ‘Beti Padhao-Beti Badhao’ scheme is a welcome sign of bridging the gender divide with more security. I rate this Budget as 7 on a 10-point scale. I am optimistic that Modi’s vision of Skilled India will be possible only when there is commitment from all stakeholders, including the citizens of India.

– Prof. Meena Chandawarkar, Vice-Chancellor, Karnataka State Women’s University

T

he Budget did not spell out any special incentive for employment creation. The focus seems to be on skilling and on ramping up the manufacturing and infrastructure industry through investments. Skilling increases supply of manpower. If the demand is not there, this effort will be counterproductive. The excess supply will impact the compensation and keep it artificially low, which is already happening, according to a recent study done by a team of researchers from Tata Institute Of Social Sciences and TMI . The manufacturing sector has not provided major growth in jobs in the past because of two reasons: Big investments in big projects like refinery or power do not create significant employment because of automaton of the processes. Only MSMEs can and do create jobs.

Fortunately, in this Budget, there is a clear recognition of the role of the MSMEs in job creation and hence in nation building. The second reason is the unfair terms of employment in manufacturing (poor salary) and infrastructure (employment on contract), making the youth to avoid these sectors. So this Budget is, unfortunately, not focused on creating jobs, and the emphasis continues to be on investment and skilling more people. There is an immediate need to revise minimum wages and insist on fair employment terms for the youth if the skill movement is to succeed.

– T Muralidharan, Chairman and Managing Director, TMI e2E Academy, an entity of TMI group and NSDC Company

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T

T

he fund allocation will indeed be a shot in the arm for the investment ecosystem in India. The evolution of the startup ecosystem in the country over the last five to seven years was primarily driven by talent. It was tough for startups to attract early-stage fund. We hope that, with Rs 10,000 crore coming into the system, there will be enough capital to support the talent.

– Pranav Kumar Suresh, Chief Executive Officer, Startup Village

his year’s Budget has given us a new sense of positivity and enthusiasm. The allocation to basic development of infrastructure is essential – not only the physical infrastructural development of government-run schools but also the allocation to teacher training, which is a key factor in influencing the quality of education. We hope that this revolutionises the way teaching is looked at as a career option as well, giving it the due respect and remuneration that this noble profession deserves.

– N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA

T

he steps taken for skill development in the MSME sector are welcome. Allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for providing equity to encourage new startups, review of the MSME definition to provide for higher capital ceiling and other measures are expected to help the sector grow.

– V Lakshmi Narasimhan, CFO, Magma Fincorp Ltd

W

e welcome the Finance Minister’s proposal to ease and simplify norms to facilitate education loans for higher studies. This is a step in the right direction as it will encourage the students to dream and aspire to take up professional programmes. The proposal to set up more IIMs and IITs will definitely bolster the professional education ecosystem in the country and also help the respective states in their economic progress. It is heartening to note that the Government will spend around Rs 28,000 crore for sanitation in primary schools. The state of sanitation and hygiene in many of our primary schools is quite below par and definitely needs a lot of improvement. The proposal to set up a Rs 10,000-crore fund to encourage entrepreneurship in the MSME sector is a bold move and will certainly egg on the youth to take greater risk and undertake new ventures and thereby cater to the needs of the underserved sections of society.

– Fr E Abraham SJ, Director, XLRI, Jamshedpur

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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Cover story Budget & Education

interview

Skilled India: Modi means it Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi is Director of AISECT, India’s leading education, skill development, services and e-governance network that reaches out to the remotest corners of the country to empower people, generate employment for the youth and unfold entrepreneurship-based initiatives to create an inclusive society. In an interview with Education Insider, she talks about skill-based education programmes in the country. According to her, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the right intensions to promote skill-based education in india.

Excerpts from the interview with Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi:

by Dipin Damodharan

Cover story Budget & Education

w When it comes to skill-based education, where does India stand now?

Though there are numerous initiatives taken by the Government in the context of skill development, they are, unfortunately, marred by various access barriers such as lack of finance, quality of training, negative perceptions, lack of information, etc. India’s population, which is huge at 1.21 billion, is fast expanding at a rate of 17% and integrating rapidly into the global economy. India is among the youngest countries in the world, with the proportion of the workforce in the age group of 15-59 years increasing steadily. However, it is lagging behind the developed countries and even countries like China when it comes to skilling. Only 2% of our workforce has formal vocational skills. It has been estimated that, to benefit from the demographic dividend that India boasts of, an additional 500 million people need to be skilled by 2020.

But, to reach this target, a whole set of challenges are required to be dealt with.

What is wrong with our education policies? Why have we failed to produce employable graduates?

India’s education system should not draw outright flak, as the same system has also produced great academicians, researchers and business leaders. However, in its current form, India’s education system suffers from some systemic faults, resulting in failure to achieve the desired output from the system: • The foremost has to be a lack of national mission on teacher and trainer development. The quality of teachers at all levels, school, higher education, vocational training affects the quality of students.

• The absence of any interface between industry and academia contributes a great deal to the lack of employability of our graduates. Unless industry is encouraged to initiate research projects in association with academic institutions and offer internships to our graduate students, the issue of employability will remain.

• The Apprenticeship Act revival would also contribute to the trend of learning on the job and would promote hands-on skill development for students • The concept of rigid lines between vocational training and higher education does not allow the students to acquire skills.

How do you view the first Union Budget of the Narendra Modi Government? What are its implications in the education sector?

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The new Budget has continued its focus on promoting skill development at a large scale, which is a welcome move. The Budget also talks about reviving the real vocational trades such as plumbing, carpentry and welding, which, again, is the need of the hour of all industries. I would like to take away the key word of ‘scale’ from the new Budget when it comes to skill development, as scale is what we need to achieve if we are to skill 12 million fresh entrants into the workforce in India every year. As far as education is concerned, the renewed focus on SSA and RMSA are welcome, though the provisions of RUSA should be increased further to include private institutions, which have contributed significantly to the building of educational infrastructure in the higher education space.

The two ecosystem-related announcements are expected to benefit the skill development space in a big way – the Rural Internet and Technology Mission and the entrepreneurship-oriented Startup Fund. Both these initiatives would go a long way in reaching out to the rural youth and incentivizing them in embracing selfemployment. However, India is still far from the goal of achieving 6% of GDP investment in the education sector, which the current Government should target in the next two years.

Do you think that Narendra Modi has the right intentions to promote skill-based education in the country?

Going by the pre-poll speeches and the manifesto of the BJP, I certainly think that the current Government has all the right intentions to promote skill-based education in the country. The same has been substantiated by the announcement on multi-scale, multi-skill mission in the current Budget, though the specifics of this announcement remain to be seen.

Modi once said that Skilled India, not Scam India, is what we needed. Do you think that India is in a transition phase to become a skilled nation?

India right now is undergoing a sea change in terms of various education and skill development policies, which have at least brought the issue of skill development and vocational training to the forefront. Changes such as Skill Development Missions in various states, the launch of NSQF and vocationalisation of school education, the concept of B Voc programme, the entire ecosystem created by NSDC and its partners, and the increased focus of NRLM and NULM on skill development are all factors which have set in motion a transition phase for the skill development landscape of India.

Do you think that India can become an education superpower under Modi’s rule?

It is too early to comment on India becoming an education superpower, but, certainly, under the new Government with the mantra of ‘Skill, Scale and Speed,’ India can fastrack the changes set in motion in the education and skill development sector over the next five years.

Event

IIT-Guwahati’s Techniche-2014

to feature robotics

The 15th edition of Techniche, the annual Techno-Management festival of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati, will be held on September 14, 2014, at the IIT-Guwahati campus, on robotics

T

echniche, one of the largest techno-management festivals of India, will host a plethora of events ranging from lectures to workshops to exhibitions and competitions.

Techniche, started in 1999, has succeeded in providing the best platform for techies to enhance their ideas and innovations in many fields. It is generally held in the first weekend of September and lasts for three days and four nights.

Being a non-profit organisation run by the student community of IIT-Guwahati, the programme was initially conducted in two rooms and later it grew to over 15,000 participants from colleges and schools all across India, the UAE and Singapore. The initiative endorses the expansion and honing of scientific and entrepreneurial skills in the academia, and, at the same time, being socially committed with its initiatives towards education among the underprivileged.

Techniche has played host to Nobel laureates, leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs like Richard Stallman, Kiran Karnik, Prabhu Chawla, Nathan Schulhof, Dr John C Mather, Jeff Lieberman, Mike Fincke, Kiran Bedi, Dr Raghuram Krishnapuram, Yashavant Kanetkar, Pranav Mistry, and Mark Toorock.

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

Techniche-2014 Besides lecture sessions and industrial conclaves, the main attraction will be the competition on Robotics. The Robotics Module of Techniche-2014 promises to be even bigger and better with prizes worth Rs 3.5 lakh.

It provides a perfect platform for robotics enthusiasts to come forward and showcase their technical skills.

The module is organising seven events encompassing every possible field of robotics.

The Manual Events include RoboKick and Taijitu Wars. This time it is your robot which would play football. Another event will explore the Japanese concept of Yin-Yang, the Developer and the Destroyer. The Autonomous Events include Hue Down and BreakOut where one involves image processing while the other involves line following. The event Robocalypse will witness wreckage at its very best. Sparks will fly and gears will fall apart.

Adding more flavour to Techniche so far, Techniche-2014 is an opportunity to compete in ESCALADE 3.0, National Robotics Championship and grab your chance at winning a total cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

Registration links For ESCALADE, visit: www.escalade.techniche.org For other events, visit: www.techniche.org

35

exclusive interview Vincent Price

Penning new history Vincent Price, who became the 29th Provost of University of Pennsylvania (Penn) on July 1, 2009, was given a second term in office recently. On the successful completion of his first term by leading this American private Ivy League research university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to new heights of academic and non-academic excellence, Vincent Price is looking forward to taking the university to greater heights. “Penn has always been one of the most globally engaged universities, and we are taking several concrete steps to continue that tradition in the years ahead,� Vincent Price tells Education Insider in an interview.

Excerpts:

by LIJO V JOSEPH

36

Vincent Price EDUCATION INSIDER I September 2014

Photo Credit: University of Pennsylvania

Y

ou have been a part of a number of universities as a student and faculty for a long time before coming to University of Pennsylvania. How is Penn different from other universities?

A number of universities today positions themselves as advancing both theory and practice while also expanding their diversity and global reach. However, few, if any, can point to Penn’s deep institutional commitments and practices in this regard, which date to our very founding.

In the 1740s and 1750s, when Benjamin Franklin established Penn – before even the United States was established – he pioneered an educational design that was highly innovative for its time, including programmes in science and ‘practical arts’ taught in English, alongside the Latin instruction in classical subjects offered by other colleges of the day. Franklin’s aim was to develop not only excellent scholars but also outstanding and creative citizens who could work collaboratively and imaginatively, just as he did so impressively in his own in his life, to address the evolving needs of society.

What was, and still is, the role of University of Pennsylvania in shaping the United States since the university’s establishment?

Our founding emphases on

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

scholarship, innovation and practical impact enabled Penn to develop into one of the world’s foremost research universities, along the way, establishing this nation’s first school of medicine, founding the first school of business in America, and inventing ENIAC, the world’s first generalpurpose, electronic computer. These are just a few examples of our many notable and historic contributions to knowledge in service of society.

How important is innovation and research for Penn? What are the development plans chalked out for the university in your next term?

Our emphasis on innovation continues to this day. The Penn Compact 2020, the university’s guiding mission statement, highlights three goals – inclusion, innovation, and impact – which are being realised through a variety of new initiatives, both on campus and around the world.

Owing to the recognised strengths of our faculty and programmes, Penn is fortunate to be among the nation’s leading recipients of extramural funding to support research; yet, among the challenges facing us, and the nation as a whole, is downward pressure on funding available for sponsored research, particularly

from the federal government. One of our key new initiatives –the Penn Center for Innovation– should help diversify and strengthen our bases of research support, by facilitating technology transfer, developing new alliances with corporate partners, and accelerating the development of new products, services, and entrepreneurial ventures. At the same time, we are developing a new ‘South Bank’ campus and ‘Pennovation’ centre across the Schuylkill River, which will provide non-traditional spaces to encourage collaborative, creative, and innovative research ventures for the Penn faculty, students, and entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia community.

What are the contributions of Penn to the global community so far?

Penn has always been one of the most globally engaged universities, and we are taking several concrete steps to continue that tradition in the years ahead. After completing recently a comprehensive inventory of all of Penn’s extensive global activities, we worked with constituencies across campus to develop a comprehensive, five-year Strategic Plan for Global Initiatives.

The Plan is organised around three ambitious goals: to prepare students

37

exclusive interview Vincent Price

for an increasingly globalised society; to strengthen Penn as a global agenda-setter; and to promote healthy, inspiring, and productive lives around the world.

As envisioned in the plan, we are now moving forward with construction of an exciting new Perry World House, which will place global activities in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of campus, including visits from distinguished international leaders and a wide range of other global programmes, courses, and activities. We have also established new interdisciplinary, global research centres; strengthened our support for student programmes with a global focus, including international internships; and improved our logistical support for faculty and students engaged in global activities.

What would be the most drastic change that could redefine the global higher education scenario in the coming decade?

Institutions that have tried to establish campuses and programmes overseas have found that limitations on available human resources, particularly faculty resources, are among the most daunting of challenges. I am optimistic that new developments in information technologies may help address some of these challenges by allowing for a rich and productive mix of virtual and personal contacts that could sustain high-level collaborations across vast geographical spaces.

Penn is working to realise these kinds of opportunities.

We were one of the founding partners in Coursera, the online open-learning platform that has increased access to Penn’s educational resources around the world. The promise of open online learning is clearly an innovation that has great

38

potential to redefine global higher education, and Penn is committed to being a leader in educational innovation that can benefit not only our campus but also millions of potential online students around the world. To date, Penn has offered over 40 courses on Coursera, with over 2 million enrollments.

How do you see the higher education scenario of developing countries like India? What are your suggestions for developing the standard of higher education in these countries?

We are especially proud of Penn’s strong engagement with India. Our Center for the Advanced Study of India is the only research centre in the United States dedicated to the study of contemporary India, and our South Asian Studies department was the first of its kind in the US. We teach more South Asian languages than any other university in the United States, and our library’s extraordinary South Asia collection, built over 200 years, now has close to 700,000 volumes. Many of our schools, from the Wharton School to our School of Nursing to the Annenberg School for Communication, have formed close partnerships with institutions in India. We very much look forward to continuing this vital relationship in the years ahead.

It is good that your book Public Opinion (Sage, 1992) has been published in six languages and is taught in courses around the world. Please share with us your opinion about this book.

Throughout my career as a teacher and researcher, I have been captivated by the phenomenon of public opinion, which is not only a fascinating aspect of collective psychology and social organisation but also an enduring and vital feature of democratic life. My book was an

“In the 1740s and 1750s, when Benjamin Franklin established Penn – before even the United States was established – he pioneered an educational design that was highly innovative for its time, including programmes in science and ‘practical arts’ taught in English, alongside the Latin instruction in classical subjects offered by other colleges of the day”

opportunity to wrestle with the historical evolution of the concept from its roots in democratic thought to its growth as a subject of scientific inquiry in psychology, sociology, political science and communication research; and I have been gratified by its reception in the years since it was published.

Photo Credit: University of Pennsylvania

Photo Credit: University of Pennsylvania

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

Your recent research, which explores the increasingly important role of online discussion in shaping public knowledge and opinion, was accepted well. What was your experience of working on it?

How helpful was this study?

Evolving digital technologies have challenged survey researchers to define new ways of plying their craft, even while opening up exciting new analytical opportunities for students of public opinion. My work with Annenberg School colleagues here at Penn made use of internet discussion groups as a supplement to more traditional survey techniques, and it aimed to capture better some of the communication dynamics that shape and inform individual opinions. I found the work deeply gratifying, in no small part because of the team of talented doctoral students at Penn with whom I had the pleasure to work and who cut their teeth in advanced research working on these projects. The next generation of gifted and well-trained scholars, by taking full advantages of these new technologies, will have profound impact on the social sciences generally and on public opinion research in particular.

You are known as a leading global expert on public opinion, social influence, and political communication. What is your opinion on each of them regarding their relevance in this modern era?

These topics have never been more relevant than in our present era of rapid technological and social change. Against a backdrop of traditional doubts about the health and vitality of popular opinion, rooted in its potential susceptibilities to weak public

“I am optimistic that new developments in information technologies may help address some of these challenges by allowing for a rich and productive mix of virtual and personal contacts that could sustain high-level collaborations across vast geographical spaces” information or undue influence by political demagoguery, some have expressed renewed hope that, in this era of improved communication networks, we might see freer flows of information, newly invigorated publics, and more truly democratic forms of government across the globe. The matter has less to do with communication technologies per se than with the ways in which we choose to deploy them. I think that, in the long run, answers to the challenges of effective democratic governance rest in an informed and engaged citizenry, and, thus, in turn, on innovative and effective models of popular education. This is why I remain inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s vision and ambition – especially by his interest in developing creative citizen-scholars who can meet the challenges of modern society – and why I feel so honoured to help lead the university he founded.

39

interview Nancy Novack

Excited about editing Nancy Novack, University of Pennsylvania alum and a Lecturer of Fine Arts in the School of Design, has been active in editing documentaries and feature films for many years. The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates Jr., a PBS TV documentary she edited, won a Peabody award recently.

Peabody awards are given to talents in recognition of their excellence in storytelling. In an interview with Education Insider, Nancy speaks about the award, her passion for editing, her upcoming projects and more

by Dipin Damodharan

H

ow do you feel after getting the Peabody award?

It is always very rewarding when people respond favourably to any project on which I work. The Peabody award is given across a variety of media formats in recognition of ‘excellence in storytelling’ and hence to receive this award is a very high honour for the entire team. We all consider ourselves to be ‘storytellers’ and to get this kind of recognition is a tremendous validation of all the hard work we did on this series. The history of African Americans has been told many times before on television, and we were attempting to bring these stories to life in a more intimate, personal way.

It’s incredibly gratifying to know that we succeeded. Even more rewarding is reading some of the online comments that viewers have written in response to the series. Also, for me, personally, this is the third programme that I have edited, or have been part of the team of editors that has won a Peabody – the other two were When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts and My Lai. Please tell us about The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates Jr.?

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a six-part documentary about the history of Africans in America from pre-colonisation to the present. Professor Gates and a team of historians, researchers and producers wanted to make a programme about this history, but in a more accessible way than has been done before. The series is sweeping in its history, yet very intimate in its

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

“I think that film editing is a great career, but like any career, it has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the things I love is that working as a documentary film editor is like taking graduate-level courses in a variety of subjects – I am always learning something new” storytelling. Prof. Gates and the crew travelled all over the world to visit significant places in African American history, and interviewed scholars and witnesses in these locations. Some of my favourite moments in the series are the unexpected ones – when he interviews Michael Twitty, a food historian, about how influential the introduction of African ingredients has been on American cuisine; or when he stands on the banks of the Ohio River, re-living the horrors of Margaret Garner’s ill-fated attempt to escape slavery.

How do you look at film editing as a career?

I think that film editing is a great career, but like any career, it has its advantages and disadvantages. One

of the things I love is that working as a documentary film editor is like taking graduate-level courses in a variety of subjects – I am always learning something new! Film editors work very closely with the directors and the producers, so we have a significant amount of creative input in shaping the final film, which is very satisfying. On the down side, it is primarily a freelance career, so we are always job-hunting. Additionally, we work with strict deadlines, making 10-14 hours days a regular occurrence.

Are more students coming forward to take up this profession in the US? With the advent of computer editing such as iMovie or FCP (Final Cut) on practically every computer – yes, I believe more and more students are attracted to this profession.

Certainly, at The University of Pennsylvania, where I teach, it is a very popular subject.

What do you think are the most important skills that a film editor should possess?

Patience is the most important one. Film editors spend hours trying to make perfect moments out of sometimes very poorly shot footage.

A film editor must be able to think logically, write well, and should have a good sense of pace and rhythm.

What are your current projects?

I am currently editing a series about the history of cancer, based on the Pulizter Prize-winning book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddarhartha Mukherjee, produced by Ken Burns and directed by Barak Goodman. It is scheduled to air on PBS in the spring of 2015.

41

V C SPEAKs

Dr Meena Chandawarkar

Empowering women thru women-only varsity Karnataka State Women’s University (KSWU), at Bijapur, established with the vision of ‘empowerment of women through education’ in August 2003, is the first university exclusively for women in Karnataka.

KSWU, dedicated to promoting excellence through academic achievement, research, creativity, innovation, interaction and collaboration, personality development and leadership qualities, has affiliated to it 70 women’s colleges spread over 12 districts of North Karnataka.

“My vision for Karnataka State Women’s University is to create a brand name ‘Ananya’ – that which is not comparable,” says Dr Meena Chandawarkar, Vice-Chancellor, in an interview with Education Insider. She also speaks about the challenges being faced, gender-wise higher education distribution, relevance of women’s universities, her dream for KSWU, etc.

Excerpts from the interview:

by Lijo v joseph

D Do you think that there still exists a need for women’s university?

The women’s universities in India, though few in number, have been doing exceeding well in promoting higher education for women.

Though the country has witnessed a revolutionary developmental phase in various spheres, there are families with a conventional approach. Parents in such families prefer to send their daughters to institutions exclusively meant for women in view of their security.

This does not imply that there is no security in coeducation institution. Girl students are given an opportunity to blossom out to their full potential, and there are not many inhibitions. They are comparatively frank, have high levels of self-confidence and are always ignited to achieve peaks of excellence, which would not be the case in coeducation system. This situation is true especially in the developing, backward, rural scenario in which India dwells.

How useful are universities like KSWU in empowering women?

Karnataka State Women’s University was set up in the developing region of North Karnataka on the recommendations of the Dr D M Nanjudappa Committee Report. Hence, addressing the developmental needs of women, especially the rural women, and ensuring their effective contribution to the nation’s growth is KSWU’s focus. Around 65% of illiterate youth of Karnataka are women. Hence, our programmes aim at bringing them into the mainstream of education.

The congenial atmosphere provided by the university encourages women from rural and socio-economically weak background to pursue higher education. Nearly 28% of the students belong to the SC & ST categories, and about 50% belongs to minorities and other backward communities. Even the remaining 22% students came from rural and economically poor background. Thus the university is sincerely striving to empower rural women and contribute to poverty alleviation.

The following are some of the key steps taken by Karnataka State Women’s University to empower women through education: • The university runs a ‘Dual Course Programme’ to provide an opportunity to the students to pursue PG Diploma or Certificate courses in vocational subjects, while pursuing any of the regular PG courses simultaneously.

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

•

•

•

It has adopted a unique curriculum, offering a choice of vocational subjects of importance to women, like Women and Health, Feminine Jurisprudence, and Personality Development. KSWU is the first conventional university in the state to implement Tele-education with two-way interaction. It is recognised as a sub-recipient from Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, and is one among the 40 institutions of higher learning partnering with National Aids Control Programme.

KSWU’s Women’s Technology Park, one of its kind in the state, provides a variety of skill training programmes to women especially from backward areas. The park includes a software technology park, a food processing training centre, vermin-composting training centre, tissue-culture training centre, paperpulp technology training centre, bio-diesel training centre, media centre, and fashion designing.

The university’s ‘Back to School’ programme gives an opportunity to those students who have discontinued their education and continue the same from the point of discontinuation, even though there is a time gap.

Thus, the female students do not lose any credits earned earlier.

Women occupy just a handful of VC seats in the Indian universities.

As the VC of a women-only university, how do you see this situation?

Yes, it is unfortunate that though women represent nearly 50% of the population, very few make it to the top.

However, times have been changing. Women are being afforded opportunity to unlock and unleash their inherent potential and they have been tapping such opportunity.

It is said that when the women leads, the balance sheet shows! Their resourcefulness, work capacity and ingenuity must manifest itself in the form of innovation.

We are now in the midst of celebrating the ‘Decade of Innovation.’ The workplace scenario in terms of women at the helm of affairs will certainly witness a progressive

43

V C SPEAKs

Dr Meena Chandawarkar

Source: MHRD/UGC

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1950-51, 1960-61, 1970-71, 1980-81, 1990-91, 2000-01, 2010-11, 2011-12 Year

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1064

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172

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2102

2156

2128

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Diploma/Certificate

Growth of Higher education Faculty-wise Students Enrolment (‘000’) : Boys & Girls 2011-12*

1500 7748

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Post Graduates Boys Level

3000

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111 88

67

The Arts faculty has recorded a significant increase in girls’ enrolment, followed by Science and Commerce/ Management, as is obvious from the following.

3500

15000

1110 94

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4000

20000

Level-wise Students Enrolment (‘000’): Boys & Girls 2011-12*

1415

Growth of Higher Education Growth of Students Enrolment (‘000’) in Higher Education

4825

(Enrolment in ‘000’)

25000

The student enrolment ratio of girls has registered an impressive increase as is shown below:

3905 3635

Women’s access to intellectual resources is a matter of great concern, especially if they belong to a backward region or if they belong to landless household. Poverty, perpetuation of gender bias and lack of motivation from teachers are serious issues, hindering women’s access to higher education.

A girl child from a rural area has to perform household and agricultural chores. Physical safety of girls, fear of sexual harassment and other domestic chores impede her education.

Girls in urban areas have more opportunities for education and employment, though, in comparison to boys, their number is lower. Over the last two decades, the number of girls entering the portals of higher education has increased substantially.

Institutions of higher education are witnessing a growing proportion of women. Women have also performed better than male students have. This is a positive development.

The following graph depicts the enhancements in girls’ enrolment.

Number (‘000’)

How do you define gender-wise higher education distribution in India?

rs

he

Ot

Girls

“Adopting an attitude of ‘Learning to Learn’ is the essence of any education system and a difficult challenge, too. In a scenario where seniors are reluctant to change to learn and the juniors are reluctant to learn to change, motivating the precious human resource is surely a challenge” 44

“My vision for KSWU is to create a brand name ‘Ananya’ – that which is not comparable.

Promoting intellectual excitement among the faculty and students in a nurturing environment is a critical necessity to achieve this goal” change for the better and innovation will be the keyword.

What are the challenges that we are facing in the higher education sector?

There are serious challenges we face in the higher education sector. The issue of affordability and accessibility are crucial ones. Besides, a vibrant and positive work culture in the human resource assumes critical importance. Adopting an attitude of ‘Learning to Learn’ is the essence of any education system and a difficult challenge, too. In a scenario where seniors are reluctant to change to learn and the juniors are reluctant to learn to change, motivating the precious human resource is surely a challenge.

Funds crunch is another problem. Building suitable infrastructure, timely adoption of technology which is susceptible to a speedy change, ongoing training programmes not only to keep the employees abreast of the changing times but also ensuring that they are always ignited and charged, require substantial resources. The proposed Rashtriya Uchatara Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA), to take off according to the HRD Ministry’s initiative, will be a great boon to higher education in setting up suitable and advanced infrastructure and also in conducting quality research.

“That which is not measured, can never be managed.”

This being so, it is absolutely essential to have a system

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

which acts as a barometer for student learning and teacher quality. Finally, it is the learning outcomes of the students which matter. Hence, accountability of all the stakeholders must be ensured.

How do you plan to improve the research scenario in the university?

A rainbow appears not because it wishes to appear but because the circumstances are favourable for it to appear! Creating an academic ambience which will do away with intellectual inertia is a dire necessity today.

India produces the second largest pool of scientists in the world, but trails far behind when it comes to innovation.

India’s rich population must be converted into valuable resource, and research and innovation play a crucial role in this process.

With a view of providing inputs to research and development, Karnataka State Women’s University encourages multi-disciplinary research, focusing on women empowerment, food security issues, and rights of children. It offers 17 Ph D programmes. The faculty is actively engaged in numerous major and minor research projects. Publication and digitalisation of quality research carried out in the university will be the priority. The university has planned to set up Innovation Centres in all its colleges to promote creative thinking and scientific temper.

As Vice-Chancellor, what is your vision for KSWU? What are your suggestions to improve the conditions and standards of KSWU, if required?

My vision for KSWU is to create a brand name ‘Ananya’ – that which is not comparable. Promoting intellectual excitement among the faculty and students in a nurturing environment is a critical necessity to achieve this goal.

Some areas that require immediate attention would be designing and delivering world-class curriculum with local relevance, enhanced use of ICT in strengthening the teaching/learning process, optimising the student/teacher ratio, and establishing a closed connectivity between the university and society.

I am confident that focused efforts in the direction will enable us to make Karnataka State Women’s University a vibrant centre for the all-round empowerment of women.

45

Design education

Design education goes thru great change “Design schools are gradually being accepted as school of management – the purpose is not to be creative but to share the ideas and make people work on new companies and ideas towards one cause and thought,” says Christian Guellerin executive director of L’ École de Design Nantes Atlantique and president cumulus of International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media, in a recent interaction with Education Insider

W

hat are the new developments in design education?

We have witnessed an immense evolvement in the field of design in the last 10 years – a shift from school of creation to a school of innovation. The objective of the school is different now: it is to become an entrepreneur of creation, a designer has to be creative, but the objective is to make your project real and pertinent. There is a paradigm shift we have to accept in the social and economic responsibilities and multiply our relationships with big companies. Design schools are gradually being accepted as the school of management – the purpose is not to be creative but to share the ideas and make people work on new companies and ideas towards one cause and thought.

What makes The Design Village (The Design Village serves as the Asia Campus in India for L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique) different from other design institutes in India?

The Design Village gives you exposure by experiencing and exploring design. The students are not just taught to be creative but also how to execute and transform their creativity into real-time projects. The Design Village has been conceived to provide an international, interdisciplinary, industry-centric platform for design in order to enhance the design quotient of the country. It’s an institute completely dedicated to design education What would be the future of design education?

Hiring designers is less problematic and delivers more profits. Many Big companies are looking out for designers and are gradually becoming more design centric

“The new era of entrepreneurship will emerge from design schools, the socio-economic changes and different cultures we face will produce designers in the global world. We will soon witness end of marketing, mass marketing conception as virtue that will be more frugal. We are shifting to a new world which is more social than economic” The new era of entrepreneurship will emerge from design schools, the socio-economic changes and different cultures we face will produce designers in the global world. We will soon witness end of marketing, massmarketing conception as virtue that will be more frugal.

We are shifting to a new world, which is more social than economic. The designers now have the sense to become strategists and will occupy top positions in companies. We have education hubs and centres like The Design Village in India as a centre of innovation to develop, practise, experiment, nurture relationship with municipalities and develop future entrepreneurs. Design education will improve the quality of life and add to the overall development of a nation.

What are the job opportunities in the sector?

In the near future, the designers will hold top position in the companies; they hold the capacity to draw, represent and make it objective. The designers are allrounder entrepreneurs, strategists, creators, engineers, etc. Hiring designers is less problematic and delivers more

EDUCATION INSIDER I August 2014

profits. Many big companies are looking out for designers and are gradually becoming more design-centric – for example, Apple.

At The Design Village (TDV), the programmes are housed in a professional environment under practising mentors working on industry projects. TDV thereby ensures direct exposure to the industry and enhances employability of its students with these professionals and industries.

How do multicultural approaches in educational institutes help develop the students?

The Design Village has a mix of Master-level international students and Indian students working and studying alongside to facilitate an interesting multicultural, peer-learning environment. French students can learn a lot from India, its culture, its people and vice versa – thus the mix of cultures and multiculturalism between the French and Indian people is pertinent to the programmes offered.

Why India?

It’s a country with a scale of a continent; it has a multicultural environment and we have a lot to learn from India and the Indians. This country has managed to face some major social, economic changes. The people of this country are innovative and a lot can be learnt from them.

India will become one of the most powerful societies in the coming future.

Programmes at The Design Village • • •

Two-year Postgraduate Master-level Certificate in Graphism Two-year Postgraduate Master-level Certificate in Interior Architecture Two-year Postgraduate Master-level Certificate in Transcultural Design

47 19

premier institutes IIM-Rohtak

Young, strong &

go-getting Indian Institute of Management-Rohtak (IIM-Rohtak), the eighth member of the IIM family, is not merely a management institute for Prof. P Rameshan, its Director. Rather, it is an ever-growing mission with an apt vision: ‘To be a global leader in the creation and dissemination of knowledge in management and to be India’s future global learning centre like the ancient Nalanda’

by Lijo v joseph

Architectural illustration of proposed campus EDUCATION INSIDER I September 2014

I

n his message as the director of IIM-Rohtak in institute’s official website, Prof. P Rameshan invites all of us to join the great mission called IIM-Rohtak: “I extend a warm welcome to you to be associated with the great Mission Called IIM-Rohtak, in various capacities as a proud Indian, a wellwisher, student, faculty, partner service provider, media personnel, an inquisitive Indian or as any other stakeholder.”

This vision seems to be an echo of India’s own dream, a dream of reclaiming its past glory and once again becoming a true economic superpower and taking its rightful place on the world stage. “In the last three years,” says Prof. Rameshan, “there was anxiety in the business sector about the future; however, there is a better outlook now. Indian business is expected to grow faster in the next few years.”

Great mission Carrying on a great mission from its very establishment in 2010, how far has IIM-Rohtak grown as a leading management institute of India to fulfill this vision?

“IIM-Rohtak,” says the Director, “maintains high quality in its programmes, comparable to older IIMs. The PGP batch size has increased from 50 in 2010-11 to 122 in 2011-12 and to 152 in 2013-14.

The doctoral and MDPs programmes have been launched. The faculty size has increased from four in 2011 to 25 now. Research publication is an essential part of faculty recruitment and performance evaluation.”

In just three years, about 70 international publications in reputed refereed journals have been published by the faculty. In this period, nearly 500 senior to top corporate visitors visited the institute.

Three PGP batches have passed out, and almost everyone available for placement was placed even while maintaining reasonable salary levels (this placement achievement

is unmatched by comparable institutions of similar vintage).

Over 45% of the previous year’s batch and over 35% of the current year’s batch are females, indicating substantial gender diversity.

One IIT, One IIM in every state Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed setting up of five new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the first Union Budget of the Modi Government. It was the realisation of Narendra Modi’s dream to ensure quality education in the country by setting up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and an All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in every state, which he had promised during his election campaign.

However, the question lingering in the higher education arena is: how far this kind of a move can contribute to tackling the challenges.

Prof. Rameshan says: “There is growing aspiration in the country, particularly with a large young population. Since IITs and IIMs are aspirational institutions, it is natural for eligible young people to long for an IIT or IIM in their state.

If many high-quality institutions were available in every part of India, probably the focus on IITs and IIMs would have been different. So, what is important is to have good-quality educational institutions in every part of India so that every aspiring youth has an equal opportunity to claim a

Prof. P Rameshan share of India’s rapid progress.”

“However,” he continues, “the key issue is how we are going to ensure high quality of institutions, including the IITs and IIMs. The IITs and IIMs are known for their meritocracy.

They are also managed by faculty and staff striving for excellence. Until a large number of Indian institutions begin to be driven by the forces of excellence and meritocracy, the desire for IITs and IIMs (and AIIMS) may continue and the government may respond, too. Of course, operating them will be a big challenge, and that is a challenge to be addressed headon and not wished away.”

New IIMs and challenges A leading Indian daily recently criticised the government’s move to establish new institutes saying that “infrastructure problems continue to hamper the higher-education sector even as the government moves ahead on its ambitious plans of one IIT, one IIM in every state.”

But, for Prof. Rameshan, it has

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premier institutes IIM-Rohtak

Director speaks on‌ IIMs and autonomy

IIM Lucknow IIM-Lucknow established the initial processes and supported academic delivery during the first year. However, IIM-Rohtak has moved far ahead of its first year.

Research at IIM-Rohtak Our vision is to be a global leader in due course of time in the creation and dissemination of management knowledge. Research is fundamental to this. We recruit faculty strictly on the basis of their research potentials. Their career progress is also linked to their research output. As a result, in just over three years, IIMRohtak has been able to publish about 70 papers in reputed refereed international journals. The institute does not encourage publications in outlets that are not of international quality. The institute’s faculty are encouraged to present papers only at conferences of good quality.

Further, the institute provides additional support to those who publish top-quality papers. Thus, promoting research is a mission at IIM-Rohtak.

Industry collaboration It is very important to have active industry collaboration. The quality of PGP programme and the quality of placement are dependent on that. Further, industry collaboration provides the faculty with opportunities for research and case writing. Course enrichment and updating require substantial inputs from industry. IIMRohtak has an active industry collaboration programme. A large number of senior and top industry executives visit the institute every year.

Many events involving the corporate sector are organised. Live projects and academic activities are supported by industry. As a result, IIMRohtak has a good corporate word of mouth that also helped it complete the placement process successfully for all its pass-out batches.

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I do not think there is any problem with autonomy of IIMs. In my 17 years of association with IIMs, I have never seen any difficulty for an IIM in launching any academic programme.

There has never been any interference of the government in faculty recruitment or faculty promotion. The only area where the government had some controls was regarding financial norms linked to grants and salary and benefits. However, even in spending and faculty benefits, IIMs with adequate own incomes have always been free to spend in their own way or institute their own incentive mechanisms.

Getting good faculty There is difficulty in view of the limited availability of good-quality applications. A part of the problem is the lack of growth in the production of quality Ph D in the country. While getting 1,000 applications is not a problem, getting 50 quality applications is difficult. There is strong competition among the leading institutions.

However, the real problem is in some institutions playing unfair games by violating applicable norms in order to attract good candidates at any cost. IIM-Rohtak does not do that.

Challenges, plans The immediate concern of the institute is related to moving out to its new campus. It is hoped that the institute can move out to own campus by 2015-16. Other concerns are about ensuring steady growth of the batch size and the programmes to reach global levels.

Recruitment of faculty and staff of consistent good quality is another concern. The major challenge, however, is in realising its vision to be a global leader in the creation and dissemination of management knowledge. While it may take a couple of decades, laying a foundation of strong research traditions and developing IIM-Rohtak as a global educational attraction are indeed big tasks. The institute’s plans to address this challenge include fostering of a strong research culture by recruiting and patronising faculty with strong research orientation, developing and launching new programmes, developing new campus facilities of international standards, and developing collaborations with reputed international partners, in addition to promoting the IIM-Rohtak brand identity.

some other dimensions. He says that it is unfortunate that the media often uses information selectively to buttress the point they want to establish while ignoring other information that may be contrary to their argument.

The Economic Times compared IIM-B, nearly 40-year old, with IIMRohtak, which is just four years old, and said that the two do not match.

The paper also wrongly used the PGP batch data of 2014-16 of IIM-B (400plus) to compare with the batch data of 2012-14 of IIM-Rohtak.

First, The Economic Times should have used 2014-16 for IIM-Rohtak also (160). Historical data would show that IIM-B (and two other oldest IIMs) had taken a long, long time to reach a batch figure of 160-180.

The paper should have looked at IIM-B when it was 4-5 years old and then compared with the new IIM. Compared to IIM-B at 4th-5th year, IIM-Rohtak would have been far ahead.

Second, IIM-Rohtak has published, in about three years, with a full-time faculty of just four in 2011-12 and 25 today, 60-70 papers in international journals of reputed publishers, thereby giving an average publication per faculty for IIM-Rohtak that IIM-B or any other relevant older IIM today could not have matched even in its 40th year.

“Regarding campus, there is no shortcut. If a good campus is required, it has to be planned and constructed taking time. All older IIMs took 6-7 years to shift to their newer campus; new IIMs have not even completed 5 years. By reading and watching the media over the years, I am convinced that the

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

“IIM-Rohtak is the only IIM in the national capital region (NCR).

Being a part of the NCR, it should also be part of all the future developments related to India’s academic leadership in the world” media is not analysing and reporting issues in an objective or ethical way; sensationalising is a major objective of media reporting. Hence, any sensible person knows that media report is to be discounted substantially. Only the gullible get misguided by the media hype,” says the director.

“Of course, with more IIMs, the challenge of developing IIMs as institutions of excellence will be even bigger. Funding is the concern of the government, but finding and retaining faculty who can do high-quality research and effective teaching could indeed be an issue.

Corporate access and placement could be the other concerns, particularly for remote locations.

However, given such decisions, the best course of action for the IIMs and IITs would be to strive harder.”

Unique contributor In a country like India, with 13 IIMs and 5 more declared recently, and with a number of renowned management institutes, what could be the uniqueness of IIM-Rohtak?

According to Prof.

Rameshan, IIM-Rohtak is the need of the hour. “IIM-Rohtak is the only IIM in the national capital region (NCR). Being a part of the NCR, it should also be part of all the future developments related to India’s academic leadership in the world.

Hence, IIM-Rohtak has a major responsibility to the nation – that of contributing to its future global leadership. This has been recognised by the Institute when it stated its vision to be a global leader in due course of time in the creation and dissemination of management knowledge. Being also a part of a socially distinct state and region, the institute has further recognised its responsibility to contribute to the social transformation of the region.”

Hence, the institute has launched multiple social initiatives. It periodically administers an oath to the students that exhorts them to shun caste affiliations and foster social transformation. The institute also strives to inculcate a passion for value system in the students. Further, its operations are based fully on fair and transparent processes. All such efforts are aimed at providing academic and professional leadership in India.

Empower, experiment, energise Recently, IIM-Rohtak inaugurated its entrepreneurship cell with the theme ‘empower, experiment and energise.’ Aimed at assisting budding entrepreneurs in incubating their business plans, marketing, mentorship from panel advisors, consultancy and networking opportunities with VCs and PE investors, the institute’s e-cell will create an ecosystem to facilitate interaction between the students, entrepreneurs, mentors and angel investors.

“Executive education and distance education are gaining in popularity.

More technologies are deployed in management education now. New institutions are emerging. There is more competition in the industry.

IIM-Rohtak is willing to adapt and, hence, is geared to do well despite such changes.”

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crack Ias

The Grit in the Soul - I

One of the key determinants of success, both in the examination and a career in public service, is the element of pro-activeness when facing problems

by B Ashok IAS

I

n the present and next episode, I discuss proactive mentality as a key element of success in the Civil Service examination. The problem with many successful candidates who join the service is their lack of positive aggression in their personality.

Many candidates who have excellent academic backgrounds find themselves not adequately successful because they fail to convince the interview board and the public later on that they are proactive when they face issues or handle people’s problems. This aggression deficit can be congenital or sometimes acquired due to extremely conservative academic or personal background or early setbacks which make them even more passive.

Pleasant persona A pleasant, well-rounded persona is a key element of your success in the IAS examination.

This follows the challenging career requirements

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of the IAS officer who is exposed to do a variety of challenging tasks early on, starting with the delivery of key development programmes in a conflict-prone democratic setup where working towards consensus and understanding through communication is as or more important than possessing bare academic credentials or intelligence. Therefore, it follows that a candidate who has Civil Service as a career option must work on their personality from very early days to be pleasant, positive and solutionoriented as much as spending time in acquiring knowledge and sharpening intelligence. Most successful Civil Service candidates have a very clear positive social angle to their background.

This may be participation in sports and games, National Cadet Corps (NCC) or National Service Scheme (NSS) or exposure to social work or even wide travel and cultural exchanges.

Team skills One sure way of improving your team skills is

to engage in team sports. Strategising comes extremely easy for a player who uses his mind and body in the playground than somebody who is closeted with reference books throughout. Playing a game improves your hand-eye co-ordination, which is extremely important in giving a very positive body language. Body language cannot be acquired by sitting for long hours and just inundating your brain with knowledge or expressing yourself vocally and beautifully. Your ability to partake in a team game or even an indoor game like carom or table tennis will sharpen your movements extremely and brighten your positive body language in addition to helping you develop fitness, which is over 50 % of your success.

As a civil servant, you will be required to lead teams all through your career. It starts at the academy where the training is designed initially to make the probationers work in teams of ten or eleven and ask them to accomplish very challenging tasks.

This starts with a ten-day, intense trekking experience as a team to one of the higher Himalayan peaks.

The team would have a designated team leader, associate team leader, treasurer, and the members share the various functions of the team like direction finding, transport, logistics, food arrangements, medical aid, etc.

The team is supposed to clock certain kilometres every day, sometimes even 30 kilometres to 40 kilometres on foot after carrying all the requisite equipment on their person. This tenday exercise takes the probationers out of the class atmosphere and gives them an exposure in reallife management of obstacles in a troublesome and tricky situation.

Feedback Various personal deficiencies like lack of fitness, lack of ability to gel with the teammates, selfishness, immaturity, etc., come out early in the training. After the trek, the team members are supposed to give open and confidential feedback on the behaviour of members of their group.

This test, which comes early in the EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

training schedule along with a battery of psychoanalytical techniques used in class, helps the trainers develop a psychological profile of their trainees.

The trainees are divided into various categories, including introverts and extroverts, thereby helping the trainer have an eye on the mental makeup and work towards compensating the deficiencies of the trainee or at least making him aware of them so that he gets a chance to improve.

Village visit As training progresses, trainees are exposed to a battery of field-based exercises like villages in which they are sent to extremely backward settings where they will stay put for a week with the villagers and explore the details of village life and the development problems pertaining to village in an in-depth manner.

The compiled report is evaluated and is consolidated upon return and substantiated with data and evidenced with photographs, etc., and presented before an expert group, which evaluates the report and awards the best presentations of the year.

This annual exercise is one more step in ensuring that the young trainees expose themselves to problems of rural areas and come out with innovative suggestions to improve the status of the rural sector owing to the developmental programmes of the government. The Academy also gets a good feedback on the various ongoing developmental projects year after year since the probationers often visit the same rural areas repeatedly.

Team-based challenging exercises set in Mussoorie itself are also used to differentiate the better team players and those should do not gel with the team and help the latter understand their problem. Here, it is often observed that the people with a few years of work experience in public or private sectors, where they get exposure to working with people from different backgrounds and with clients of a wide variety, outshine the young.

Most successful Civil Service candidates have a very clear positive social angle to their background. This may be participation in sports and games, or exposure to social work or even wide travel and cultural exchanges

Author’s Bio Dr B Ashok IAS is the Vice Chancellor of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University

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interview Chetan Bhagat

Learning by textbook

only is passé Chetan Bhagat, India’s most popular contemporary writer and motivational speaker, was recently roped in to promote the Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz – a gratifying concept of edutainment.

In an interview with Education Insider, Chetan Bhagat speaks about his association with Tata Sky to promote education through television

P

lease tell us about your association with Tata Sky to promote education. What do you think about creating an infotainment environment for a child’s holistic development?

I am privileged to be associated with Tata Sky’s upcoming campaign, which is based on the concept that TV is more than just entertainment. I strongly believe in this concept, and with the evolution of content showcased on TV, I firmly believe that TV has come a long way.

Tata Sky is the first player to conceptualise the evolving content shown on TV and hence has come up with an innovative Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz.

With the scholarship quiz, it differentiates itself from the myopic view of the current linear education system and provides a different and a more advanced perspective to the concept of education which helps in the holistic development of the child. Tata Sky’s unique edutainment platform gives children a great opportunity to learn through television. Its various educational services such as Actve Fun Learn, Actve English, and Actve Vedic Maths and the availability of infotainment channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Topper, etc., have laid the foundation for the overall development of a child in the areas of education, general knowledge and mental skills.

It’s now time to test and reward kids on

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by Dipin Damodharan their knowledge, and what better way than the Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz!

If we look at TV as a medium today, there is hardly any show that deals with child education, unlike in the past when there were shows like Bournvita Quiz and many more. How can a child get the maximum

Contrary to the entertainment content in GECs, certain broadcasters have today developed content specifically for a defined age group and in multiple Indian languages, too. Infotainment channels on Tata Sky such as Nat Geo, Zee Q, Discovery, Nick Junior, and History TV 18 today impart knowledge on topics of history, geography, science, logical reasoning, etc

Chetan Bhagat

interview Chetan Bhagat

In my opinion, the Indian education system is all about textbook learning.

The mentality of a majority of Indian parents is to focus solely on attaining good marks and achieving good grades to get a good job either in India or abroad knowledge in the world of saasbahu sagas or crime and reality shows on the small screen today?

Contrary to the entertainment content in GECs, certain broadcasters have today developed content specifically for a defined age group and in multiple Indian languages, too. Infotainment channels on Tata Sky such as Nat Geo, Zee Q, Discovery, Nick Junior, and History TV 18 today impart knowledge on topics of history, geography, science, logical reasoning, etc. The issue is to make people aware of this kind of content and platform available.

Tata Sky has forayed into the educational space on television when it launched their Actve services a few years ago. Some of its services like Actve Fun Learn, Actve Vedic Maths and Actve English have been a big hit among the children and even women, in markets beyond the metro cities. Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz is the apt platform to bring parent’s attention to knowledge through television.

‘TV for kids can only be rewarding if guided well.’ How do you justify this statement? How do you filter TV shows for your own kids? Are they only allowed to watch History or National Geographic channels?

As a parent, I am very well aware of the fact that kids today are exposed to a lot of content on television as well as on the internet, some useful, some harmful as compared to the past.

Sometimes it is difficult for a parent to keep a tab on the content that is accessible to their kids.

However, at the same time, if they are guided well by the parents to experience the right content, kids can actually end up grasping a lot more than the limited knowledge that they are exposed to in schools. Visual learning has greater impact than text book learning as children are more receptive to things they witness visually. While books prepare the children in subjects like mathematics and science that help them secures a job, the learning required to win in life is not limited to these books. It’s about time the parents realised that television today can actually be good for their children. Apart from the educational content, I am very comfortable with my kids viewing all types of sports and cartoon channels.

What is your opinion of the current education system in India?

In my opinion, the Indian education system is all about textbook learning. The mentality of a majority of Indian parents is to focus solely on attaining good marks and achieving good grades to get a good job either in India or abroad. Have you noticed that school-toppers don’t necessarily become the most successful people in life?

The focus needs to revolve around skill-based education. One should look at introducing activitybased learning in the extra school hours and thus redefine the purpose of education.

Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz is a platform open to all Tata Sky subscribers from August 15, 2014. The company has given option to the subscribers to answer 50 multiple-choice questions (with the help of the Tata Sky remote control) and SMS the score and time taken, to Tata Sky on 56633. Tata Sky has rolled out scholarships worth Rs 20 lakh, with the Top 10 winners being entitled to a scholarship worth Rs 2 lakh each.

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Online education

Online education up in UAE The online education culture, with the rise of the latest innovative technologies, has been gaining steady momentum recently. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not an exception. The UAE is showing considerable interest in online education in Dubai as well as in many other cities of the UAE

I

n the UAE, with 90% literacy rate and over 50 universities and colleges, online education is getting popular as more and more aspiring professionals turn to it to satisfy their need for quality education.

What should be the reason?

According to the online education provider www.onlineuaeuniversities.com, it is nothing but the ease of pursuing higher education from the comfort of their own homes, thus providing them with the convenience of studying as and when they can without compromising on quality and excellence.

“The past few years have seen marked improvement in terms of online education in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates,” says the website of Westland University. “There are several students who are unable to commute long distances while many Muslim women are not allowed to leave the comfort of their home for studying further. Online education in Dubai facilitates women and other people who are unable to continue traditional learning by granting them higher education right at their home.”

High demand According to reports, since 2009, the demand EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

for the online Master’s degree and doctoral degree programmes of University of Liverpool has risen by 243% in the UAE. Understanding the growing importance of online learning in the UAE, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research recently released a list of 105 accredited foreign online universities recommended for the UAE students. Reportedly, 46 universities among them are in the United Kingdom, 34 in the United States, 20 in Australia, and 5 in New Zealand.

Online education in the UAE can be pursued through online colleges and universities. For now, many educational portals have formed partnership with universities which are imparting online education in the UAE as well as the rest of the world.

Despite all its plus points, online education here has been facing extensive criticism as well. According to some people representing the old school of thought, who still believe that the quality of education can only be determined through a classroom environment, online education is not that worthy. Still, online education is gaining momentum in the UAE for the sole reason that it provides benefits to individuals unparalleled by any other education system.

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perspective

Dr. Mohan Varghese

Counting on ‘Modi’ fied higher education

When the country looked to be in dire need of a dream merchant, an ideal one came along, giving both the common man and India Inc. the hope that they were desperately looking for. Narendra Modi’s ascent to the numero uno post is exactly the kind of change, especially in the education sector, that universities were looking forward to

by Dr Mohan Varghese

W

hat kind of ideas and products does he have in his basket for sale to generate a pied piper effect among educationists in the country? This article takes a critical look at the unfolding scenario in the field of higher education and tries to gauge the impact of the NaMo touch in the new administration’s Human Resource and Development Policy.

Good selection Selection of a dream team to run the administration is an art. Modi the artist has no dearth of ideas and that is why the elevation of India’s most favourite ‘bahu’ to the coveted post of HRD Minister was seen as yet another rabbit out of his magical hat. Smriti Irani, at age 38, sits pretty in Modi’s cabinet as its youngest member. The row over Smriti’s qualification or rather the lack of it does not seem to have diluted Modi’s resolve to entrust this key ministry with a fashion model-turned-TV serial-actress who gave a spirited fight to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

What significance does it have whether the nation’s HRD Minister is a mere Class XII pass or a doctoral degree holder? Who would want to break their head on tweets

by Congress leaders Ajay Maken, Abhishak

Singhvi and Digvijaya Singh and BJP sympathiser Madhu Kishwar? Those pen pictures condemning Modi’s selection of a relatively less-qualified Smriti for the HRD Ministry are at best juicy reading material akin to the stuff provided by the paparazzi.

As long as the quick-witted Smriti, with loads of experience as the BJP spokes person, comprehends the intricacies of higher education, she can be as productive as her illustrious predecessors like Pallam Raju, an engineer (and an MBA from the US), Kapil Sibal, a top lawyer, Arjun Singh, again a lawyer, and Murali Manohar Joshi, a professor of physics possessing a doctoral degree.

Nevertheless, some eyebrows were raised over the possible motive behind the selection of a totally unacademic person for this post to preside over the destiny of India’s prestigious educational institutions.

This is where a clandestine agenda can be attributed. Some argue that a hugely experienced person like Dr Murali Manohar Joshi, who led the HRD Ministry during the tenure of the Vajpayee Government, would not fit the bill as Modi’s free hand in the Ministry may be contested. Therefore, he chose a young and inexperienced person, a political lightweight to adorn this position superficially for him to do the backseat driving. Yet others feel that it is the result of a

quid pro quo between Modi and the RSS to bring in the Sangh Parivar agenda in education through an everobliging Smriti.

Foreign universities If anyone expects the new Government’s education policy to be radically different from that of the UPA I and II, one may be wrong.

The Modi administration is working on Bills which will allow foreign universities to set up centres in India. It may be remembered that the proposal of Kapil Sibal, the UPA Government’s HRD Minister, to allow foreign universities to set up shop in India was vehemently opposed in Parliament not only by the Left but also by a section of BJP parliamentarians. Consequently, the Bill had to be put on the backburner as the UPA Government did not have sufficient numbers in the Rajya Sabha to push it through.

Now that the new government is serious about the Bill, its enactment may be seen based on a general consensus. Then the Indian universities will be exposed to tough competition from their illustrious counterparts from abroad, forcing them to battle it out on the home turf.

Autonomy for universities Another possible area to witness

The Modi administration is working on Bills which will allow foreign universities to set up centres in India

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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perspective

Dr. Mohan Varghese

Plan for new institutes

Modi’s vision includes the creation of 100 new smart cities having premier institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and All-India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) for job creation in a highly competitive market continuity is the question of autonomy for universities. For instance, the BJP, ahead of the Lok Sabha election, had promised to scrap the Delhi University’s controversial

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four-year UG programme brought in during the UPA rule. However, the latest statements by Smriti Irani that “the government will not take steps that will amount to transgressing the autonomy of institutions like the Delhi University” indicate the unwillingness of the government to alter the previous government’s reforms drastically. The new government backed out from the electoral promise of bringing back the three-year degree programme and has taken the stand that the UGC can decide on the suitability of the fouryear programme.

The question of the quality of deemed universities is another matter that requires the new government’s immediate attention.

The Tanden Committee, set up by the UPA Government, had overruled certain UGC findings on improper functioning of some deemed universities. One has to wait and see whether the Modi Government will uphold the autonomy of the UGC and avoid tempering with its functioning.

The new government seems to have an obsession with the number of hi-tech institutions to be launched in the country during its tenure.

Modi’s vision includes the creation of 100 new smart cities having premier institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and All-India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) for job creation in a highly competitive market.

The first move to convert this dream into reality came with the declaration by Smriti Irani about setting up 8 new IITs. The statement by the HRD Minister has stirred a hornet’s nest among the existing IITs. They strongly urged the government to review the move and requested Smriti Irani to lake steps to strengthen the existing IITs before planting new ones.

The students point out that 8 of the new IITs started in 2009 have not yet shifted to permanent campuses.

Moreover, the existing IITs have 6,591 sanctioned teaching posts out of which only 4,079 have been filled so far. This means that the 16 current IITs operate with a faculty shortage of 38%, which is a shame to these quality institutions. Therefore, the urgent task before the government is to strengthen the existing IITs before thinking about new ones, so that the IIT brand remains undiluted.

Shortage of seats The staggering shortage of medical and nursing seats in the country is also a serious problem facing the professional education sector. Only 50,000 MBBS seats are available at present against the demand for 5 lakh to 6 lakh seats. The nursing sector needs 20 lakh seats. This heavy shortage of seats prompts Indian students to pursue higher education in countries like China, Russia and Eastern Europe. Even in civil war turn Ukraine there are 5,000 Indian medical students, which illustrate the gravity of the situation.

Besides, when such a huge number of professional degree holders come back to India for employment, it can cause equivalency

and eligibility problems as these degrees may not be universally valid.

The need of the hour is to establish quality institutions in the country that offer affordable education in order to bridge the demand-supply gap.

Cultural accent HRD is a crucial Ministry in the Sangh Parivar’s scheme of things.

Influencing the mindset of young Indians to a desired level is very much an ideological priority as far as nationalists are concerned. The previous NDA Government leaded

by A B Vajpayee had moved one step forward in inculcating the spirit of cultural nationalism, also called Hindutwa, in young Indian minds.

The Modi-Irani team has to start from where the Vajpayee-Joshi team left.

Though the Sangh Parivar gave Modi a free hand in choosing the Ministers, including Smriti Irani, it feels that the HRD establishment of India should be completely revamped. The RSS leadership thinks that India’s educational system has become Westernised over a period of time and some sectors are dominated by the Left-leaning intelligentsia.

The Sangh Parivar wants to rectify this and calls upon the government to bring in a swadeshi touch to the curriculum. Modi needs to balance this interest with that of corporate India that funded him liberally during the election.

The question of the quality of deemed universities is another matter that requires the new government’s immediate attention

the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, Modi‘s comments were graceful. He tweeted that “Life struggles of living individuals should not be included.

Young minds should read about great stalwarts who made our nation what it is and emulate them.” This courage to resist personality cult and place accent on India’s rich cultural heritage is a good educational policy.

Immediate priorities If the recent comments by HRD Minister Smriti Irani about the need to include ancient texts in the syllabi are any indication, the Modi Government is gradually responding to the Sangh Parivar interests for a ‘saffronised’ education. The newspaper Deccan Chronicle reported that Smriti Irani has directed HRD officials to develop materials which highlight the ancient Indian culture and also to develop materials which highlight ancient India’s contributions to various fields such as science, philosophy, languages and mathematics. This would, in effect, necessitate the inclusion of Hindu religious texts like the Vedas and the Upanishads, giving a ‘saffron’ tinge to the curricula.

Modi, for one, was not keen on his life story appearing in the school curriculum. When requests for the inclusion of Modi’s success story in the textbooks came from

India has over 46,000 highereducation institutions according to the 2013 figures released by the government. This is made up of Central Government, State government and private institutions.

Going by the election manifesto, skill development is among the Top 10 priority areas. The BJP had promised in the election manifesto to raise the public spending on education to 6% of the GDP from the existing 3.8%.

The BJP’s promise of transforming the UGC from a grantdistributing agency to a Higher Education Commission deserves special attention. This, coupled with the widespread hope among academicians to free the higher education sector from capitation and corruption, is expected to bring the much-needed vibrancy to the providers and recipients of knowledge. Also, the Modi Government needs to create a conductive environment for higher learning. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at 18%-19% in India now is lower than the global average of 27%.

Considering the fact that India has 14 crore youth aged between 18 and 23, out of whom less than 3 crore are enlisted in 700 universities, the country has a long way to go in educating and empowering the youth. Let us hope that a ‘Modified’ higher education sector wakes up from policy paralysis and contributes heavily to nation building.

Author’s Bio Dr Mohan Varghese is the Chairman of Media and Communication Committee of National Council of YMCAs of India.

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

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nepal focus students’ voice

Nepal

Which branch of Engineering is the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building and use of engines, machines and structures

W

ikipedia defines engineering as the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, design, build, maintain, and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes. The discipline of engineering is extremely broad, and encompasses a range of more specialised fields of engineering, each with a specific emphasis on particular areas of applied science, technology and types of application.

The American Engineers Council for Professional

Development defines Engineering thus: “The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilising them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behaviour under specific operating conditions – all having an intended function, economics of operation or safety to life and property.”

We approached some students of different colleges in Nepal who want to pursue their career in engineering with the question: Which branch of engineering do you prefer and why?

I

prefer electrical engineering as it provides opportunities to explore our abundant water resources to produce clean and green energy that can help resolve our power crisis, bolster our economy and enhance the quality of the Nepalese people’s life.

–Krishna Prasad Sharma Advanced College of Engineering and Management

I

favour civil engineering because I have always been attracted by the civil engineering-related projects. I am fond of watching construction. I am happy with the ideas used, and I want to create ideas so that something fascinating could be made.

–Sujata Adhikari, Kathmandu Engineering College

D

eep-core and multi-dimensional problems requiring ingeniousness and predisposition to a variety of field concerns are found in this field, where creating high-quality computing solutions is a highly creative activity, and which supports creative work. This, in turn, is the key to individual competitiveness to his/her comprehensive power. The modern era shows that future developments are expected to be even greater than they have been in the past, which is possible through the computer. So I found that computing is one of those fields where it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next and provide a base to the other sectors. I, too, want to say that ‘If you want to make a positive difference in the world, study computer engineering.’

–Suman Adhikari, Advance College of Engineering and Management

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engineering?

I

will probably prefer electronics and computer engineering. As we know, this is a world of comparing and competing. Electronics engineers design and make different equipment and devices, which are useful to the people, especially in fields like mobile phones, TV, radio, and other electronic appliances. I want to be a robotics engineer, and, for this, electronics and computer engineering is the backbone of my career

–Raj Kumar Chaurasiya, Kathford College of Engineering and Management

C

ivil engineers supervise and direct the design and construction of roads, bridges, water supply systems, and structures. I prefer civil engineering because it is a discipline that offers plenty of visual payoffs. Civil engineering is satisfying yet challenging. It requires mixing creativity and science. For those who can do it, it provides immense satisfaction, as they see the results of their labours.

–Suza Karki, Advance College of Engineering and Management

I

prefer electronics engineering as it is one of the largest and fastest growing fields of engineering. Electronics engineering covers a wide range of devices and applications which make our life easier and enjoyable such as television, radio, computers, telecommunication, etc. Electronics engineers are needed by the entertainment industry, research establishments, and defence. They can also take up teaching and research in engineering colleges in Nepal and abroad.

–Anzina Basnet, Kathford College of Engineering and Management

I

like electronics engineering, as it has lot of scope in future. Electronics engineers design and develop the systems used by machines and equipment in a lot of industries, from mobile communications and computing to aerospace.

If you love electronics and like finding out how things work, this could be a perfect choice of career for you.

–Aakriti Subedi, Kathford College of Engineering and Management

I

prefer civil engineering because it is my interest and passion. I like construction projects because I desire the development of my country. I wish to serve my country as an efficient civil engineer

–Bishwajeet Lal Karn, Model HS School

nepal focus Nepal focus

NATHM

Producing qualified workforce for hospitality, tourism sectors Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) has a history of four decades of service in Nepal’s tourism and hotel management education

E

stablished by the Government of Nepal in 1972 with the technical assistance of UNDP/ILO, aimed at producing skilled workforce required by the hospitality and tourism industry, NATHM was formerly known as HMTTC. Since its inception, the academy has been playing a crucial role in developing the human resources for this industry to enhance the level of quality in tourism and hospitality services. It has been providing craft and supervisory level of skill-oriented training to cater to the demands from this particular sector.

This pioneer institution is renowned for generating qualified workforce for the increasing demands of the hospitality and tourism sector.

The academy is governed by a board of directors chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation representatives of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), the Ministry of Finance, Trekking

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Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN), National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion. It also has strong support from government and donor agencies.

Courses offered As the industry has grown rapidly over the past decades, the need for professionally trained, higher-level manpower is needed day by day.

The academy, in consultation with the industry, launched the three-year Bachelor in Hotel Management (BHM) course in 1999 and the threeyear Bachelor in Travel and Tourism Management (BTTM) course in September 2003 in affiliation with Tribhuvan University. The academy also provides Master of Hospitality Management to meet the needs of supervisory-level manpower in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Chuda Mani Sharma Kattel, executive director of NATHM, says: “With all these years of experience what NATHM firmly believes today

is that management capacity and professional culture need to be moulded with strength and selfdiscipline. What we deliver here in NATHM is a commitment towards professionalism. Our future managers are expected to groom their expertise with professional culture so that they can pioneer the industry with distinct superiority.”

He continues: “The recent award for the Best Tourism Institution in the country was bagged by our institution. This only entrusts us with responsibilities but also energises us to prove ourselves more in the global community. We have the best infrastructure, facilities, outstanding environment, and spontaneous support from Tribhuvan University and we have to do more tasks to prove ourselves in South Asia in the days ahead.”

NATHM has produced over 26,000 (basic, supervisory and managerial level) workforces for the tourism and hospitality industry. Different studies show that, among the people trained here, about 90% are employed in their respective areas. In addition, Nepalese hospitality professional are in good demand in the global market.

The products of NATHM are placed in foreign hospitality industries, mainly in Europe, America, Australia and Dubai. Therefore, it is necessary that NATHM increase its role in the

EDUCATION INSIDER I August - September 2014

NATHM has been conducting ‘Mobile Outreach Trainings’ in various parts of the country for the last 35 years competitive environment to meet the needs of the industry and the education sector.

A four-star hotel is being constructed by the institution. The hotel will provide an opportunity for all the students to polish their skill before they venture out into the world of opportunities inside and outside the country. The hotel will have facilities and equipment of international standard for the students to see and feel, preparing themselves for jobs in internationalstandard hotels.

Other training programmes Apart from the regular training programmes, the academy has been conducting various tailormade programmes in accordance with the need and requirements of the tourism and hospitality industries and other stakeholders.

The academy, in consultation with the industries concerned and stakeholders, jointly design the training courses and curricula.

The ‘On Request Training’ includes food preparing and control, food and beverage service, housekeeping, front office, barman, tourist guide refresher course, trekking cook and

Chuda Mani Sharma Kattel, executive director of NATHM waiter, river guide, Indian cookery and Chinese cookery.

In line with the government’s policy to diversify tourism in different corners of the country, NATHM has been conducting ‘Mobile Outreach Trainings’ in various parts of the country for the last 35 years. The academy attaches importance to such trainings since such trainings would contribute to sharing the benefits of tourism to the large number of people, including the disadvantaged and backward communities. It welcomes all the agencies concerned and organisations for the partnership in the conduction of various mobile outreach training programmes in the country.

Vision and mission The vision of NATHM is to be established as preferred destination for Tourism and Hospitality education in the SAARC region.

With a mission to facilitate and prepare quality human resources by improving and expanding educational, training and research opportunities, the academy will thus be a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for national and international students.

The institution has also objectives like producing trained and skilled workforce required for the hotel and tourism industry, conducting long-term higher-level academic programmes to produce managerial level personnel and providing consultancy and carrying out survey and research for the development of tourism.

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nepal focus Nepal focus

NLC

NLC: Leader in Nepal’s legal education Nepal Law Campus (NLC) is the oldest college imparting legal education in Nepal.

As a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University and as the oldest institution imparting legal education, NLC has made great contributions to this sector and provides competent leadership for judiciary within the country and aboard

by R G Gireesh

T

he traditional legal education system imparted by Shrestha Patshala was not sufficient to meet the needs of the time. The political changes of 1950 caused restructuring in every field of the social sector. Consequently, Nepal Law College was established in 1954 to produce necessary human resource for the country in the legal sector.

In 1971, the National Education System Plan was implemented with the objectives of producing necessary, competent human resources of different levels in different areas to meet the country’s needs to achieve its development goals. It made a great breakthrough in the legal education system as well in the country by incorporating Nepalese laws in the course of study. In 1972, the Institute of Law prepared twoyear comprehensive curriculum for Certificate Level (CL) and three-year curriculum for Diploma in Law (DL).

Restructuring In 1980-86, Tribhuvan University underwent

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a massive restructuring.

Consequently, the Institute of Law was renamed as the Faculty of Law and was empowered to frame and coordinate academic activities concerning legal education. As a result, two-year Certificate Level and three-year Diploma in Law were renamed as Proficiency Certificate in Law (PCL) and Bachelor’s Degree in Law (BL), respectively. In 1996, Tribhuvan University introduced, after graduation, three-year Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme. The Proficiency Certificate in Law was phased out, and three-year Bachelor’s Degree in Law (BL) was replaced by Bachelor of Law (LL.B).

NLC has been running two-year Master of Laws (LL.M) programme since 1996. In the changed context, Tribhuvan University’s Faculty of Law completely revised the exciting curriculum of three-year LL.M in 2009. In addition to these programmes, a three-year LL.M programme was introduced from 2012.

Karna Bahadur Thapa, Campus Chief of Nepal Law Campus, says: “In order to make legal education compatible with changed national and

international context, Tribhuvan University’s Faculty of Law has introduced five-year BA LLB courses from 2010. The course basically aims at enriching the law students with comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge in indigenous as well as foreign legal traditions, advocating skills and research to meet the challenges of the age.”

Nepal Law Review NLC publishes an academic and research-based journal named Nepal Law Review (NLR). NLR, an English-language publication, is being published since 1977. Articles on legal and constitutional issues, legal developments, commentaries, analysis, case comment and comprehensive overview in the field of domestic and international law can be submitted for publication.

Articles must be original, research-oriented and must not be printed in any journal, book or in any other form. Authors are requested to provide article in floppy-disc in MS Word, along with hard copy of manuscript to editorial board of NLR at any time, and will be published if the board accepts it. The editorial board reserves the right to reject, withhold or postpone the publication of any material. The authors are requested to follow any of the standard rules of citation.

Facilities NLC has its own well-furnished and well-equipped library with textbooks, reference books, law journals, gazettes and Nepal Law Report. Besides, the students can visit the Central Library TU, Kirtipur; Central Law Library, Jamal; Supreme Court Library; Nepal Bar Association Library; Library of Office of the Attorney-General of Nepal; Nepal Bar Council Library; and Library of Ministry of Law. The students can gain additional benefits from American Information Center and SAARC Library. NLC has a modern computer lab with internet facility. Indoor and outdoor games would be offered to the students.

NLC has its own dispensary for the primary health services. Primary health service could be provided to the students if required. NLC has well-furnished classrooms. It has also a separate Moot Court room and a seminar hall.

In order to make legal education compatible with changed national and international context, Tribhuvan University’s Faculty of Law has introduced five-year BA LLB courses from 2010

Teaching method Teaching strategies consist of lecture, case study, discussion, question-answer, problem solving, research seminar, workshop, tutorial and self-study. The important features of teaching include inter-disciplinary approaches, participatory and instructional materials such as white board, notebooks, teaching guides, case materials, and electronic devices.

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nepal focus Campus Profile Campion College

Committed to ‘Learning for Life’

Campion College (CC), founded in 1997, is affiliated to Tribhuvan University, Nepal. It is managed by the CG Manipal Group by ei bureau

C

ampion College is one of the pioneer institutions aiming to prepare individuals for professional careers in business management and liberal sciences.

The college blends the best from both academia and industry as it is backed by Manipal and CG. The college endeavours to ensure high-quality learning environment that is innovative, challenging and enterprising. Literary and cultural facilities are blended with every student’s academic life, while strong emphasis is placed on discipline.

CC embraces students from all walks of life and different backgrounds.

With over 60 years of experience, the Manipal

72 68

Group is a pioneer in education in India with a strong track record. The group is present in over 20 countries across the globe and has students from over 50 nationalities. Manipal runs two universities, four offshore campuses and 20 institutions of higher education, delivering over 180 courses to over 12,000 students every year. In Nepal, the Manipal Group operates the renowned Manipal Medical College, in Pokhara.

Chaudhary Group (CG) is a leading business house in Nepal that needs no introduction. CG touches every aspect of public life, with presence in industries like food and beverage, apparel, healthcare, education, real estate, financial services, steel, automobiles, power, and hospitality.

Mohan Adhikari, Principal of Campion EDUCATION INSIDER I September 2014

College, says: “We are committed to our motto of ‘Learning for Life’ and provide our students with a challenging academic community, where the strength of our faculty, joined with the capability of our students, creates successful career paths. We work in close partnership with students to develop their full and individual potential for life and work.”

Scholastics Campion College, in association with Tribhuvan University, offers the following academic programmes: Undergraduate programmes: BA in Humanities and Social Sciences, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), and Bachelor in Business Studies (BBS) Master programmes: Master of Arts (MA) in English, MA (Master in Arts) in Rural Development, Masters of Arts (MA) in Sociology/ Anthropology, and Master of Business Studies (MBS)

Co-scholastics At Campion College, the cocurricular activities are given great importance as academics for the holistic development of a student’s personality. Hence the college has planned many activities for the students throughout the year, so they can realise their true potential.

The college trains students on complementary skills in personality development, public speaking, proposal and report writing, presentation, CV preparation, job interviews, etc. It stresses the importance of real-world experiences, so it conducts regular academic tours to various organisations and industrial estates, where the students can interact with entrepreneurs and executives.

At Campion College, the co-curricular activities are given great importance as academics for the holistic development of a student’s personality. Hence the college has planned many activities for the students throughout the year, so they can realise their true potential teach various areas of management.

Student Council The Student Council is a nonpolitical, officially elected or appointed body of Campion students, which functions under the guidance of the Student Council Moderator and the Principal. Its main functions are to help the Campion management maintain student

Faculty Campion College has qualified academicians with relevant experience, ensuring academic ingenuity and real-world focus. It also invites prominent professors from Sikkim Manipal University to EDUCATION INSIDER I August September - September 2014 2014

Mohan Adhikari, Principal, Campion College

welfare and discipline. It also assists the management in organising extracurricular activities such as student get-togethers and various formal parties. It supports the management in the publication of Campionite newsletter, yearbook and magazines.

The Student Council activities also include Spring Festival, Talent Night, student get-together, elocution, debates, talk programmes, and other extracurricular activities.

Parents are informed about all the activities organised by the college.

Infrastructure, amenities Campion College has a large playground for sporting and leisure activities. It is housed in a spacious building, which also includes modern facilities like a good laboratory, library, audio-visual rooms, art studio, and state-of-the-art classrooms.

The college’s highlights are strong academic orientation, modular curriculum, continuous internal assessment and feedback, project work, industry visits, counselling and career guidance with value-added programmes.

Facilities Campion College has modern computer labs with computers that can be used individually or within a network. Multimedia and internet facilities are also available. The students receive individual attention.

Equal importance is given to theory and practical learning. The college library caters to the needs of the students and teachers according to the programme requirement. The library has over 6,000 course books and reference books by native and foreign writers.

The college provides guidance to the students to plan their academic activities well. Experienced and knowledgeable faculty members are available to guide the students and help them make the right choice of the specialisation subjects. The college also conducts seminars on career planning.

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