Education Sector in India Monthly Update February 2012
Top Story HRD ministry to launch metauniversity to boost higher education HRD ministry plans to launch a network of universities, forming a meta‐university, to allow students to pick courses from across disciplines from different institutions from the coming academic session in 2012‐13. A National Mission on Education through ICT has been launched to link in 25,000 colleges and 2,000 polytechnics for enabling e‐learning and content sharing. The concept of the university is not just a traditional, physical space of learning, but as a repository of knowledge and information that can be delivered in multiple ways and can be accessed from anywhere and anytime. The meta‐university will have broadband backbone, linking institutions of excellence in specific fields of knowledge and would be a network rather than a single brick and mortar space. Though the internet and technology are fundamental to this conception of the meta‐university, at the crux is not a new technology but a 'new pedagogy' that is more in tune with the requirements of the knowledge society of the 21st century. The ministry seeks to establish this as an impetus to boost the higher education status in India. It has stressed on the need for the participation of the private sector to give a boost to the gross enrolment ratio from the existing 15% to 30% by 2020. It has also initiated the establishment of 8 Indian Institute of Technologies, 5 Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, 16 central universities, 2 schools of Planning and Architecture, 3 Indian Institutes of Management, and 10 National Institutes of Technologies. Additionally, 14 innovation universities are also on the shelf for setting up benchmarks in education and research along with the establishment of at least 50 research parks for quality research programs. The Indian higher education system is on course to a significant transformation that will bring ample scope for further improvement. It has attracted a sizeable traffic of students in the last few years and expects to increase it further. The government has introduced many reform policies and plans to invest a sizeable amount of money to improve the education infrastructure of the country. With the kind of investments and policies that the government is projecting, the education sector in India is bound to escalate to new heights.
Education – Monthly Update
News Update General
India looks to extend training to 500 mn over the next 11 years The Indian government has entered into a MoU with the US to strengthen co‐ ordination in skill development, providing occupational safety to labourers and protecting the health of miners. The programme intends to provide vocational training to more than 500 mn in the next 11 years. The government has also inked a MoU with Germany and Afghanistan, aiming to develop human resources and usher in inclusive growth. In accordance with the MoU entered with Afghanistan, Indian instructors will be visiting the nation to train the youth. The Ministry of Labour and Employment will also hold a conference on 1st March in New Delhi, which will see the participation of around 35 countries. It aims to provide the much‐needed platform to evaluate the opportunities available for the Indian youth in the participating countries and also the skill set required for the same. Online GATE tutorial course eGate launched in India An online tutorial course for aspirants taking the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), eGate has been launched in India. Hyderabad‐based tutorial centre, Gateforum has launched this online coaching course. The course, which works on normal speed broadband internet, is a series of live classes broadcast via internet with two way interaction between the faculty and the students. There is a particular time you have to tune in to attend the class and you can also ask questions through a chat system and you can rewind the sessions. GATE exam is highly competitive, with 0.7 mn students taking the exam in the country for 40,000 seats. Since it is difficult to set up centres in all parts of the country, especially in rural areas, the online route has been preferred to reach the masses. Through this online coaching centre, anyone in the country can access the best faculty available in Hyderabad, a city known as the hub for GATE coaching centres. ICSI launches new syllabus for the CS Foundation Programme The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is a National professional body, established by Act of Parliament to develop and regulate the Profession of Company Secretaries. It has recently launched a new syllabus for the CS Foundation Programme. The CS Foundation programme consists of four papers and includes Business Environment and Entrepreneurship, Business Management, Ethics and Communication, Business Economics; Fundamentals of Accounting and Auditing.
Education – Monthly Update
Under the new syllabus, Optical Marks Recognition (OMR) based examination would be conducted for the Foundation Programme. Students are eligible to appear in the examination on the basis of self‐study. The requirement of Coaching Completion Certificate has been discontinued for Foundation Programme Students. This new syllabus has many new features benchmarking international trends in professional education. The revision of the syllabus is a process in continuum, to nurture the students in terms of capacity building, knowledge grinding and skill development including evolving corporate environment and the regulatory regime. Oztern Technologies joins hands with Akshaya to provide online coaching Technopark‐based Oztern Technology has joined hands with Kerala Government’s Akshaya to offer the online crash courses designed by Trichur‐based P. C. Thomas. The course will be marketed by Akshaya through its 2,200 citizen centres across the state through the tie‐up. The online course will help the students in improving their ranks and will be highly suitable to the students in the Gulf, who come to Kerala for professional education after higher secondary. Students can purchase a subscription for this crash course from the website or from the nearest Akshaya centre to practice for the entrance examination from their home. The online course provides 25 model examinations for each subject that cover the entire syllabus and 50 chapter wise model examinations. This 45 day crash course is priced at INR 1,500. Students are provided with detailed reports at the end of each examination on their performance, highlighting the students’ strengths and the areas that need attention. Standard XII marks to be considered for IIT and NIT admission Union Human Resource Development Ministry (HRDM) has decided to give 40% weightage to the marks obtained in Class XII examinations for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) as also other engineering colleges. It has also been recommended that students are judged based on their performance in descriptive and practical exams like in board examinations of Class XII across the country. Previously, a large number of students did not pay attention to their Class XII board examinations and joined coaching classes to prepare students for IITs and AIEEE exams. There were many instances where students were able to crack competitive exams but could not secure admission as their scores in Class XII were below the required percentage for admission. The new directive will ensure that students concentrate equally on school subjects with the decision to give 40% weightage to scores of Class XII exam and only 60% for entrance examinations. Education – Monthly Update
India joins hands with Tunisia in biotechnology and medical sciences fields India and Tunisia will launch joint research in the field of biotechnology, medical sciences and other related areas of science and technology to identify and promote areas beneficial to both countries. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will be partners in the program. Indian and Tunisian universities and research centres and institutes have been invited to submit proposals for joint scientific and technological research and development projects. The research will be developed within the framework of cooperation in the field of science and technology from 2012 to 2014. The project would be based on the assessment of progress, by mutual agreement of both coordinating departments. The two departments have also partnered on the mode of support such as visits of researchers from both countries. Approved projects would be jointly launched in Sep 2012. Indian High Commission to offer 135 scholarships for Sri Lankan students India's High Commission in Colombo has announced 135 scholarships for meritorious Sri Lankan nationals to study in India under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship scheme. Selection of candidates is done in consultation with the Sri Lanka Ministry of Higher Education, to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD Degrees in some of the leading universities in India. All scholarships cover full tuition fees for the entire duration of the course, in addition to a monthly sustenance allowance. The scholarship also covers accommodation allowance and an annual grant for books, stationary. All ICCR scholars in India are provided full healthcare facilities, first class train fare and an annual grant for educational tours to various parts of the country, apart from several other auxiliary benefits. The Nehru Memorial Scholarship Scheme will offer 60 additional to cover all undergraduate courses, except Medicine with total slots available being 100. Maulana Azad Scholarship Scheme offers 50 scholarships for Masters Degrees, including 10 in Agricultural Science, 20 in Science and 20 in Engineering while Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme offers 25 slots for undergraduate courses in the field of IT leading to a B.E or B.Tech Degree. Schools to offer international curriculum of CBSE About 50 schools in India are expected to offer the international curriculum of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on a trial basis. CBSE‐I, the board's international curriculum, will be for students opting for boards like the International Baccalaureate. It will be available to students from Class 1 to 12 and would be taught totally through e‐books. The CBSE‐I students would also have an edge over the
Education – Monthly Update
normal CBSE course students as they would have more foreign languages and different syllabus for other subjects. The course has already been started in about 25 schools in the Gulf and south Asian countries, and expression of interest has been invited from schools in India to start the course from the coming academic session. The pilot programme in India will include some Kendriya Vidyalayas and other government and private schools. The annual course registration fee as proposed by the ministry is INR 0.15 mn. This will be an alternative for students who want to go out of India for higher studies after Class 12. US universities seek potential areas of collaboration with Amity University A 15 member delegation from 11 American universities and institutions recently visited Amity University to mull over potential areas of collaboration. In order to develop a sustainable relationship with US Universities areas such as faculty exchange, student exchange, credit transfers, joint research, joint PhD’s, bidding for joint consortium, applying for joint patents, joint conferences, could be considered for collaboration. India and the U.S. are making efforts to promote partnerships between institutions of higher learning of both countries by developing synergy between their researchers, scholars, technocrats and academicians. The delegation included Northern Illinois University, Rutgers University, School of Arts and Sciences – Rutgers University, Thomas College, Queens College, Suffolk University, University of Oregon, Rollins College, George Mason University, University of Kentucky, Fort Hays State University, and University of Montana. A proposal to establish Amity‐US 11 Universities Knowledge Grid has also been put forward, under which the identified Directors and Head of the Institutions will work to strengthen the mutual cooperation and association with 11 US Universities in diverse areas which the delegation mooted the proposal. University of Montana, which offers courses in forestry, natural resources, protected land management, pharmacy, law, wants to explore and value the unique opportunities of collaboration available in India. Highlighting the frequent use of Hindi in American universities, many representatives of the universities were eager to have collaboration in the area of Hindi language teaching in US to be conducted by Indian Universities. University of Kentucky is looking for collaboration in the areas of Natural Sciences, Agro Biology, and Bio‐technology as well as student and faculty exchange in research, community engagement, international outreach and global health programs. Government merges entrance exams for technical institutes HRD ministry has recently directed that all Union government‐funded technical education institutes will admit students through a single entrance examination from 2013. This includes all the 30 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the Indian Education – Monthly Update
Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and central technical universities. The CBSE will conduct the exam, called the joint entrance examination (JEE), and the IITs will design the test papers. The All India Council for Technical Education, too, has announced a similar a common central examination for business schools from the coming academic session. The JEE is expected to be the largest examination in the country with at least 1.5 mn students expected to appear for it in 2013. At present, around 1.1 mn take the AIEEE and nearly 500,000 sit for the IIT‐JEE. While admitting students, the colleges will have to give a maximum weight of 40% to school board marks and 60% weight to the national test. Students will get two chances to appear for the exam in the first year (2013) and the best score will be counted while applying for a seat. HRD ministry proposes to set up 100 community colleges The HRD ministry has come up with a proposal to set up 100 community colleges on a pilot basis in the 12th five year plan. The proposal of community colleges will ensure a seat for a local student seeking higher education in a college or institution in the district in which he/she resides. Thus, the concept of community college is that any student willing to pursue higher education will be allowed constrained to a minimum criterion. The community colleges will offer two‐year programmes in various disciplines which will have employment potentials, especially in industries. After the completion of courses, students will be awarded 'associate degrees'. They may have a few or many disciplines based on the need and employment potential. At present, the ministry has proposed to identify 80 colleges under the University Grants Commission (UGC) and 20 polytechnics under the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to set up 100 community colleges. It is expected to help around one lakh additional students and the number would rise as implementation progresses and ensure an increase in effective gross enrolment ratio. Private universities receives INR 3 bn support from Northeast India Policymakers in northeast India are finally creating a framework and inviting private investors in higher education, filling a glaring shortage that has in the past seen students in the region migrating to the rest of the country. The higher education sector has received investments worth INR 3 bn till date, and projects worth INR 2 bn are in the pipeline. At least three to four private universities are looking to soon start operations. Nearly 3,75,311 persons from the region migrated to other states in 2007‐2008, according to an National Skill Development Council study on development and employment generation potential of the north eastern states. The majority of migrants were from Assam, followed by Sikkim and Tripura. There is a huge demand for higher education institutions in the Northeast and emphasis would be on industry‐ Education – Monthly Update
interface research and development. Meghalaya has inked a memorandum of understanding with International Finance Corporation for starting the Shillong Medical College. The Assam government, in partnership with the Tata Group and Oil India, is starting the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Advanced Sciences (IIITAS). Mumbai University plans training school for college teachers Mumbai University is planning to open a training school for all college teachers to orient them on teaching students perfectly. The move is aimed to upgrade the quality of education in the university affiliated colleges. The new school will help teachers to understand the subject they teach and show them interactive and innovative methods of teaching. The training will be continuous according to the change in the syllabi and experts from across India and from outside will be invited to train teaching staff including principals. INR 500 mn scholarships to be offered by Coffee Day and FLAME Coffee Day and FLAME (Foundation for Liberal and Management Education) have introduced the 'Scholar Hunt' Program, a unique scholarship opportunity of INR 500 mn for students seeking under graduate and post graduate programs in several fields. The scholarship aims to help students in their higher education that will help them accomplish their professional and leadership goals in life. To avail this scholarship students are required to procure forms from Coffee Day outlets across all major cities. The selection criteria will be an exam to gain admission into the institute and then a screening process based on merit and proven economic and social conditions to be eligible for the scholarship. Scholar Hunt Program is a non‐ profit initiative by Coffee Day and FLAME Institute to support young students to pursue higher education. Coffee Day's association with FLAME into education is driven by the need to make quality education available to meritorious students. NBA to introduce improved accreditation process for engineering colleges The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) has put in place a new accreditation system with in‐built mechanisms to make sure the quality is not compromised in the light of rapid expansion in higher education. The new accreditation system would be outcome‐based with a comprehensive look at the engineering education, including the relevance of undergraduate courses offered at present in engineering colleges. Evaluators to be engaged for accreditation would be given a thorough orientation by NBA. Those faculty members and experts who are keen to be in accreditation teams of the agency can express their willingness through online. The NBA would work with other accreditation agencies and sign foreign accords for mutual acceptance of academic or professional qualifications awarded in India so that there would be global acceptance for Indian students. The process of giving accreditation to colleges and courses would be changed to bring transparency and Education – Monthly Update
credibility to the whole process. Applications for accreditation can be through online by institutions from March. To create awareness among technical institutions on how to elevate themselves in terms of quality under the new accreditation system, the NBA would conduct workshops across the country. Central government to spent INR 60 bn to enable WiFi in universities The central government has decided to invest INR 60 bn to connect all the universities of the country with internet and Wi Fi enabled. Minister of State for Communications aims to promote information technology in the educational institutions through this initiative. Advanced technology will help the youth to take the country to higher levels. The level of research in India has always been an area of utmost importance. Stress should also be on the quality and socially‐relevant research in the country and the youth should be encouraged in doing the research which helps in giving a new direction to society. HRD to launch Aakash2 tablets in AprilMay Union human resource development (HRD) ministry will be launching Aakash‐2 tablets in Apr‐May 2012. Aakash‐2 tablets, which are improvised tablets with a faster processor and a capacitive touch screen, will be launched in April‐May. It will be available to college and university students at the same price as Aakash‐1 tablets. After gauging its success at higher education level, the tablets will now be available for school students also. Aakash‐2 is an improved upon new version of Aakash‐1 which had problems with the battery life. Navneet Publications launches company owned preschool in Mumbai Leapbridge Education, an educational venture of Navneet Publications, recently launched its first preschool, Leapbridge Kids at King’s Circle. The Leapbridge preschool programme is based on Dr. Howard Gardner’s MI theory; which promulgates that there are different sensory modalities through which a child learns. After successfully operating chain of preschools in Pune, Leapbridge plans to add couple of preschools in Mumbai in next few months. Company is inviting business application for franchise opportunity for its preschool. In addition to this, regular parent education programmes are carried out, knowing the fact that parents influence their child the most. College degree in vocational education to be offered by next academic season Students will soon be able to take up a bachelor's degree in vocation education from the upcoming academic season. Colleges across the country will soon offer a bachelor's degree in vocation education, thus underpinning a stream that has always languished for the want of a formal degree. Sensing the gap in the system, the move to offer the BVoc is largely in response to the hungry local manufacturing industry's requirement for top‐grade workforce, and partly because several graduates from the existing traditional streams were jobless and deemed unemployable. Education – Monthly Update
The move was initiated by the All India Council for Technical Education which has identified 10 sectors like entertainment, telecom, construction, printing and publishing and those that need specialized graduates. While the UGC is yet to drawn up a detailed regulation for the new programme, there are plans to allow students to shift from BVoc to arts, science or commerce, thus not punishing students for signing up for the new course. Core tech to set up 150 skill development centres Technology‐based education solutions provider Core Technologies is setting up 150 skill development centres across the country at an investment of INR 4.5 bn. These centres, which will come up in the next three years, will impart vocational training across disciplines such as automobile, construction, hospitality, retail, IT and IT‐ enabled services. The curriculum and training programmes will be evolved in partnership with industry and trade associations. Core is also looking to tie up with companies from the respective industries for practical training. Diploma courses will be held at the centre for periods ranging from three months to 12 months. The basic qualification is standard 10 or 12 pass, depending on the course. The average course fee is INR 20,000. The first centre is coming up in Mumbai and will be operational by the end of 2012‐13.
Industry Expert Speak Importance of vocational courses for the education industry in India – Dr. Rick Ede, Chief Executive, Unitec Institute of Technology “India is a market with huge growth potential, especially, in the education sector. Indian engineering and management institutions have doubled from 2005‐06 to 2010‐11. This rapid growth represents the demand for professional, job‐oriented degrees, as these programmes have a relatively higher employability.”
Transactions (December 2011 – February 2012)
Date
Buyer
Target
Deal Size (INR mn)
% stake
Deal Status
Type of Transaction
23rd Feb 2012
Carveniche
Mumbai Angels
10
NA
Completed
Venture Funding
Education – Monthly Update
10th Jan 2012
Pearson Plc
Indiacan
3,500‐ 5,000
50
Expected
Acquisition
14th Dec 2011
CL Educate
G.K. Publications
NA
NA
Announced
Acquisition
12th Dec 2011
Srini Chakwal
EcoPaper
NA
33.03
Completed
Venture Funding
2nd Dec 2011
Jaspreet Bindra and Rajan Anandan
Occasion Kommerce
NA
NA
Completed
Venture Funding
Annual Financial Results – Revenue (INR mn) Companies
FY ‘08
FY ‘09
FY ‘10
FY ‘11
Aptech Limited
NA
2739.217 *
1,344.179
1,907.496
4,604.894
5,041.025
4,280.266
107.14
Camlin Limited
2,137.7
2,835.1
3,308.7
3,591.2
Career Point Limited
380.48
451.58
616.639
786.587
9.66
6.051
81.813
165.738
Edserv Softsystems Limited
39.453
84.476
521.19
1,218.14
Educomp Solutions Limited
2,860.8
6,370.6
10,394.9
13,509.0
Everonn Education Limited
916.4
1,446.9
2,935.0
4,247.0
Jetking Infotrain Limited
367.967
461.801
450.047
388.748
JK Paper Limited
7,913.9
10,771.8
11,223.4
12,509.6
Linc Pen & Plastics Limited
1,772.3
1,911.1
2,256.0
2,524.8
Blue Bird (India) Limited
DMC Education Limited
Education – Monthly Update
Navneet Publications (India) Limited
4,111.2
5,152.6
5,315.9
5,608.1
NIIT Limited
10,068.3
11,485.6
12,011.9
12,503.1
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited
9,463.6
10,737.2
10,517.8
12,067.2
54.17
102.65
213.75
392.38
Tree House Education & Accessories Limited
*Change in financial year
Annual Financial Results – Income (INR mn) Companies
FY ‘08
FY ‘09
FY ‘10
FY ‘11
Aptech Limited
NA
444.399 *
(613.858)
449.788
216.87
146.44
(525.144)
(4,153.766)
Camlin Limited
38.3
61.1
116.4
85.7
Career Point Limited
152.7
149.9
177.925
232.91
(0.434)
0.945
18.046
24.319
Edserv Softsystems Limited
25.33
36.912
180.201
412.189
Educomp Solutions Limited
705.6
1,328.9
2,758.6
3,366.7
Everonn Education Limited
138.0
220.9
454.5
676.4
Jetking Infotrain Limited
106.59
124.448
98.088
66.069
JK Paper Limited
469.0
380.1
919.8
1,065.1
Linc Pen & Plastics Limited
50.2
50.4
84.0
84.0
Navneet Publications (India) Limited
542.1
564.1
639.4
667.6
NIIT Limited
756.4
697.6
702.3
921.8
Blue Bird (India) Limited
DMC Education Limited
Education – Monthly Update
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited
1,128.3
1,073.9
1,260.6
1,490.0
Tree House Education & Accessories Limited
(1.91)
5.12
25.99
91.95 *Change in financial year
Quarterly Financial Results – Revenue (INR mn) Companies
JanMar 2011
AprJun 2011
JulSep 2011
OctDec 2011
Aptech Limited
NA
28.9
NA
1
Blue Bird (India) Limited
445
464.4
474.2
397.9
Camlin Limited
6.79
NA
NA
0.501
Career Point Limited
NA
NA
NA
755
DMC Education Limited
NA
NA
NA
NA
Edserv Softsystems Limited
48.95
50
NA
NA
Educomp Solutions Limited
364.87
266.86
361.82
151.07
Everonn Education Limited
4,887.10
2,924.20
3,197.70
2,634.00
Jetking Infotrain Limited
1,338.70
981.9
795.6
882.8
78.518
NA
101.058
78.142
3,237.80
NA
NA
3,273.60
676.9
586.8
NA
NA
NIIT Limited
NA
NA
NA
844.2
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited
NA
3,148.00
3,746.00
4,153.00
3,595.80
3,356.70
3,024.50
2,989.30
JK Paper Limited Linc Pen & Plastics Limited Navneet Publications (India) Limited
Tree House Education & Accessories Limited
Education – Monthly Update
Quarterly Financial Results – Income (INR mn) Companies
JanMar 2011
AprJun 2011
JulSep 2011
OctDec 2011
Aptech Limited
NA
‐26.7
NA
‐15.5
332.38
536.6
66.2
59.4
‐2,974.26
NA
NA
‐771.526
Career Point Limited
NA
NA
NA
‐33.3
DMC Education Limited
NA
NA
NA
NA
Edserv Softsystems Limited
5.59
6.01
NA
NA
Educomp Solutions Limited
126.15
73.07
11.97
4.88
Everonn Education Limited
1,456.60
366.4
127.7
410
Jetking Infotrain Limited
262.1
96.7
‐37.7
‐65.5
JK Paper Limited
4.17
NA
5.757
5.775
Linc Pen & Plastics Limited
241.6
NA
NA
74.2
Navneet Publications (India) Limited
20
1.7
NA
NA
NIIT Limited
NA
NA
NA
40.1
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited
NA
131
302
407
195.5
128.2
121.8
634.9
Blue Bird (India) Limited Camlin Limited
Tree House Education & Accessories Limited
Education – Monthly Update
Events Calendar Education Worldwide India New Delhi Date: 21st Apr, 2012 Venue: Hotel Taj Mahal Organizer: Global Events & Expositions
Education Worldwide India Hyderabad Date: 25th Apr, 2012 Venue: Hotel Taj Krishna Organizer: Global Events & Expositions
Education Worldwide India Bangalore Date: 29th Apr, 2012 Venue: Vivanta by Taj Organizer: Global Events & Expositions
Education Worldwide India Mumbai Date: 23rd Apr, 2012 Venue: Hotel Taj President Organizer: Global Events & Expositions
Education Worldwide India Chennai Date: 27th Apr, 2012 Venue: Hotel Ambassador Pallava Organizer: Global Events & Expositions
Education – Monthly Update
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Education – Monthly Update