Now, English and Foreign Languages University VC in line of CAG fire

HYDERABAD: After being under the scanner over 'irregularities' in promotions and pension fund scheme, vice-chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu), Sunaina Singh, has come under fire from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for her expenditure in contravention of rules. From house rent allowance (HRA) to foreign trips and tour advances for domestic travel, the CAG audit team has listed 'misuse' of funds amounting to nearly Rs.14 lakh in a just-concluded probe. 

The audit revealed the VC drew Rs.4.40 lakh as HRA, ignoring the fact that she is not entitled to HRA. As per the audit report, despite the presence of a "university earmarked furnished residence" for the VC on campus, Singh was paid an HRA of Rs 22,500 per month from May 14, 2012 to December 2013 (amounting to Rs.4.40 lakh) in contravention of the university statutes. 

When the VC's office said Singh was compelled to stay outside the campus "to meet her personal obligations," the audit team raised objection saying that even then, the VC was not entitled to HRA as per the university's rules. 

Also under the CAG scanner are Singh's trips to Singapore and London, for which she drew travel allowance worth Rs.2.01 lakh. This the auditors listed as "violation of ministry of finance instructions on economy measures" which had been communicated officially to the VC. 

The auditors also found anomalies in advances which the VC drew for her domestic travel. Singh reportedly drew Rs.1.10 lakh from the university funds even as "sponsoring agencies" (UGC/MHRD) and states concerned bore all the expenditure in connection with her tours. This violation, according to legal experts, could be taken seriously by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) as it amount to double claim. 

"Double claim could strip any official of his or her post as it amounts to cheating the government of its funds," an expert said. 

Further, CAG has also raised objection to 'services' extended by the university administration for the benefit of the MHRD office in the city. The report says the university paid Rs.7.04 lakh towards car rentals, engaged with the Hyderabad camp office of MHRD. 

This expenditure was found to be "avoidable". The report also says that in vouchers, the expenditure was wrongly listed as expenditure in connection with the payment of bills for official use by the VC. "However, the VC was provided with the university-owned Innova vehicle," the report read, throwing light on the misuse of funds. 

Sources said the CAG audit report is expected to open a can of worms as the MHRD has taken a serious view of the report. "The VC could face serious action if the MHRD does not ratify her spending details. The audit report cannot be closed unless the university authorities give a valid reason for incurring this expenditure and get it ratified," an audit expert said. 

Except for objections on HRA, the university has not responded to any of the observations of the CAG team. In most cases, the report under these heads was concluded with a statement from the university that said, "audit observations would be examined and a detailed reply would be furnished in due course".

Vidya Mandir Public School, Faridabad, organizes graduation day

Vidya Mandir Public School, Sector 15A, Faridabad, celebrated the graduation day of class V. The programme started with a talk among class IV and V students in which juniors applauded their seniors for their continuous support and guidance and assured them that they would follow their tips. There were some cultural performances as well. The students sang a heartwarming farewell song. The programme concluded with inspiring words by school principal Anand Gupta who congratulated all the students for their achievements. 

Sachdeva Public School, Rohini, conducted a workshop based on 'Learning Disabilities' for the parents of school students. Parents were made aware of various types of learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia, and their role in identifying these. School director Sanjay Sachdeva and principal Ravija Prakash also found the workshop useful. Ramakrishna Senior Secondary School, Vikas Puri, organised a winter carnival for 2013-14. 

The programme commenced with the lighting of a lamp by school principal Mamta Aggarwal, which was followed by a series of events — baby photogenic, fancy dress, caricature , boogie-woogie (solo), group dance and instrumental (with/without vocal). An open talent hunt show was held in which students from West Delhi schools participated. Parents were also invited to watch the programme. Manav Rachna International School, Sector 21C, Faridabad, celebrated Spring Summer Fiesta 2014. Various activities were organised encouraging the participation of parents in the fashion show and the flower arrangement competition wherein the best were chosen under four categories. An exhibition was organised where children's work was showcased under the title Sense-o-Green. 

Chief guest Hasleen Kaur, Femina Miss India Earth and actress, spoke of the involvement of parents in the success of the child. Sanyogita Sharma, director, MRIS 21C, and Ikwinder Singh, principal, MRIS 21C, inspired the parents with their encouraging words. Happy Senior School, Kirti Nagar, celebrated its annual sports day, Parakaram, at the Chhatrasal Stadium. The event opened with chief guest, Air Commodore Anil Sabharwal (VSM) lighting a lamp and Asheema Sabharwal , president, Air Force Wives Welfare Association, releasing balloons. The celebrations included a plethora of cultural performances showcasing various dance forms such as lavani, salsa and bhangra. The winners in athletic events were awarded medals. The day also saw the announcement of the annual JK Fellowship awards; the merit-holders were awarded the scholarships by school principal Rita Ghai. 

The event concluded with the felicitation of Umesh Ghai, managing director of the school. Queen Mary's School, Northend, Model Town, hosted a farewell party on the theme Hasta La Vista (Spanish for good bye). The programme commenced with a slide show retracing the moments spent by class XII students in the school. Many dance performances, and a skit were presented by class XI students. Class XI students sang a melodious song. Saumya Berry was crowned Miss Queen Marian '13. 

The event concluded with a cake-cutting ceremony by principal Anupma Singh, coordinators, teachers and class XI and XII students. N K Bagrodia Public School, Sector 9, Rohini, bagged the Tony Blair Face to Faith Foundation Gold Award for their extraordinary achievement in bridging the gap between students from different religions and cultures using digital technology. A number of video conferences were held with children across the globe enhancing their interpersonal skills and adding an international dimension to the curriculum. Greenway Modern School, Dilshad Garden, organised a book fair where children's author, Ruskin Bond, interacted with the students. The day also saw the author share his golden moments with youngsters where he candidly answered their queries. Students also got a chance to get their favourite books autographed and click photos with the guest. St Mark's Girls Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh, under the aegis of Spic Macay, organised a special programme to celebrate the spirit of music. 

The Karl Seglem Acoustic Quartet performed in front of the students and teachers. Everyone was left yearning for more by their scintillating and inspiring performance. Concerts Norway, headed by Seglem, emphasises musical diversity, innovation and cooperation. Students of class IV and V of Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura, accompanied by eight teachers went to Jaisalmar and Jodhpur for an excursion. The visit gave them an insight into the rich cultural heritage of the places. The tour of Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhawan Palace was informative. The experience on the sand dunes, spiced up by camel rides and folk performances, left the group awestruck.

Karnataka HC prevents transfer of 172 KV students

BANGALORE: The high court on Friday passed an interim order restraining the principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV), Kudremukh , from issuing transfer certificates (TCs) to 172 students. Justice Anand Byrareddy passed the order on a petition filed by Kudermukh Shrama Shakthi Sanghatan , an organization representing the workers of Kudremukh Iron Ore Corporation Limited (KIOCL). 
The petitioners challenged the proposal to close the Kudremukh KV in Chikmagalur district from April 1. Government advocate B Veerappa told the court that the state is ready to accommodate these students in nearby government schools.

Madras University distance education exams: April 7 is the last day for submitting forms without penalty

CHENNAI: The University of Madras has announced that April 7 is the last date for submitting without penalty the filled in application forms for all the UG examinations conducted by its Institute of Distance Education.

Students can submit the forms with penalty till April 15. The examinations will be held in May 2014.

The university would not send the application forms to the candidates. Instead, they have to download the forms from the university website, www.ideunom.ac.in, according to a release from the university.

Indian Naval Academy signs MoU with IIT Madras

KANNUR: The Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) with the aim of collaborating together for academics and research in the areas of mutual interest, exchange of academic information, scholarly information, materials and publications.

The MoU signed earlier this week in Chennai will also facilitate the cadets and students of both the institutions to participate in project competitions, faculty exchange programmes, sponsorship of cooperative seminars, workshops, etc and facilitate faculty development programmes, said a press release.

Speaking on the occasion, professor Bhaskar Ramamurthy, director of IIT Madras, said that the IIT Madras engages in interactions with society, organizations and industry through a variety of outreach programmes.

"It is always a special privilege to work with the armed forces. With the signing of the MoU, we have committed ourselves formally to work together more closely towards our common goals," he observed.

Vice admiral Ajit Kumar P, commandant, INA while thanking the director, said the Indian Naval Academy, which is already the largest Naval Academy in Asia, and aims to become the best Academy of its kind in the region, would benefit immensely from the IIT Madras which has a rich experience and legacy of more than five decades.

The INA had earlier signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and also Govt Engineering College Kannur (GECK) at Mangattuparamba, to collaborate together at the academic level.

CBSE to shift history lessons outdoors

CHANDIGARH: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked its affiliated schools to take students on excursions to historical sites to make studying history more interesting.

A CBSE official said: "This has been done keeping in mind that the subject is normally not considered very interesting. History, if taught by taking students near historical monuments and sites, will become fascinating. This move will be of assistance to students and they will be able to study in an enhanced manner. It will also help students do well in projects."

Rakesh Sachdeva, principal, DAV Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 15, and CBSE exams counsellor, echoed similar sentiments: "Visual contact has a different impact on students. For example, if we talk about a monument mentioned in the history book and take them on a visit to the structure, it will be really interesting and easy to learn facts about it." She added, "Expenses do not matter if the kid is learning something out of it".

Students and parents too appreciated the board move.

Aditi Singh, a Class IX student of Hansraj Public School, said: "It's easier to see the places than cram textbooks. It is going to be a great experience to see the places and monuments. It would seem as if the pictures and words would come out and present themselves in the form of historical places."

Jitender Verma, whose child is admitted to a CBSE-affiliated school, said: "It's a good step by the CBSE. I won't mind paying money for the excursion. My child would learn something in a more interesting manner. And if the school plans trips in groups, the fun would be doubled."

Some feel that the subject could be made more interesting through video clips and plays. Amita Khurana, principal, Shishu Niketan School, Sector 22, said," Since the board has now asked schools to conduct these trips, the subject will get more interesting. But there are various other options as well like video clippings or movie. As we have smart schools here, we should take advantage of that".

R J Khanderao, regional officer, CBSE, said, "Our students would be taken to these places and explained in detail about their historical significance. We have to take students on outdoor visits so that they can have a clear picture."  

DU cutoffs set to break all records

NEW DELHI: If numbers are any indication and excess admissions in undergraduate courses are curtailed, the cutoffs will touch an all-time high across all courses in DU this year. The pattern in Delhi's second largest university, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, where admissions are on, is also not encouraging. It has so far received 34,000 applications for just 250 seats in medicine and the application process will continue till April 10. BTech programmes have seen 39,000 applications already. 

The IP university has received 1.2 lakh applications for about 20,000 UG and 9,000 PG seats. DU has 54,000 seats but more than 60,000 get admission annually as the university policy allows admission to all candidates meeting the cutoff and fulfilling the additional criteria. The city's universities together have about 82,000 seats, including those in Ambedkar University, Jamia Millia, Delhi Technological University and Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University. According to CBSE, 2,91,414 students have registered for the Class XII boards, 30,000 more than last year. 

The increase in board exam candidates, along with the constant intake capacity, signals higher cutoffs. DU vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh suggested changes in the undergraduate admissions this year. "We will streamline UG admissions further to help aspirants in filling forms with minimum difficulty. And excess admissions have to stop. Because you (colleges) have a sanctioned strength, you must stay within that strength. We will also ensure the reserved category seats are filled." 

This means there will be no admission beyond the intake. Last year, there was chaos during admissions to BTech and police were called in to manage the large number of students at Maharaja Agrasen College asking for admission. There were instances of colleges admitting nearly 500 students for 60 seats in chemistry. In 2013, the first cutoff had 43 out of 56 colleges offering commerce at 90% and above, while 23 colleges recorded 95% and above.

Surat boy is IIM-Ahmedabad topper this year

SURAT: He is a rare talent, someone who has excelled in different branches of academics and sports. Twenty-five-year-old Hemant Mundra, who is first from Surat city to have topped the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is a born achiever. It is not for nothing that he has been offered Rs 50 lakh per annum package from March 24, 2014 by Kedaara Capital, one of the largest private equity funds in the country.

Hemant, who is son of textile businessman Omprakash Mundra, studied at Seventh Day Adventist School in the city. He graduated in chemical engineering from IIT, Mumbai and topped his batch. He passed the chartered accountant course and chartered financial analyst level three certification examination subsequently.

"I realized I loved accounts more and so did CFA and tried for the IIM. I am happy that I am a management graduate now," Hemant said, who received two gold medals with five scholarships and other awards for being the IIM-A topper this year.

Colleges in a fix as students vent anger on social media

CHENNAI: After an engineering student committed suicide this week, the students of her college went online to vent their ire. One post on a page giving the name of the college spoke about a protest that was being planned and asked that it be shared widely and discussed by as many students as possible. Another was a video of students engaged in a sit-in protest being lathicharged by police.

Strictly regulated on campus, students of many engineering colleges have taken the online route to air their grievances, including on social media. Past students have joined in too, and this may eventually turn away prospective students from those colleges, experts say. They add that college managements should treat their students as adults and get feedback from them.

Social media consultant Kiruba Shankar, who also delivers guest lectures in engineering colleges, said, "This (negative publicity online) will definitely make an impact on the reputation of colleges. Prospective students and parents always ask around about a college before they enroll there. Now, they also take their search online, and what they see there is considered credible, particularly if it comes from alumni."

When students and parents see a lot of protests, or talk of irrational regulations or suicides they get the feeling that something is amiss and avoid it. After all, there are quite a few options when it comes to engineering colleges. "College managements must take cognizance of online reputation, as much as they try to build a brand offline through advertisements and events," Shankar said.

But, there are no shortcuts. Former Anna University vice-chancellor A Kalanidhi said that college managements and faculty, many over 40 years, continue to approach education with the same attitude as when they were students. "Ten years ago there were few girls in engineering colleges. Now at least half the student population is female. The approach cannot be the same that was adopted 10 years ago. They must take students into consideration, and work to provide counselling for students and training for teachers to handle students," Kalanidhi said.

Kiruba Shankar said that he has noticed that only in institutions where the students are deterred from giving any feedback that students go on a rampage online. "Only when gagged they go anonymous and online. When they are given freedom to communicate and give constructive criticism they act very responsibly."

Though clearly mentioning the institution being targeted, much of the posts are anonymous. "Nowadays students know that their digital footprint can make a lasting impact in their higher studies or careers, so they are being clever about it. But, they ensure that the word about a bad college or learning environment spreads among those concerned," said a second-year engineering student in a city college.

College of Air Warfare signs MoU with Osmania University

Indian Air Force's College of Air Warfare (CAW) at Secunderabad has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Osmania University for conducting PhD courses for its officers.

HYDERABAD: Indian Air Force's College of Air Warfare (CAW) at Secunderabad has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Osmania University for conducting PhD courses for its officers. 

The MoU, which aims at academic collaboration between both the institutions to enable IAF officers to enhance training prospects in the area of defence and strategic studies, was signed by varsity Registrar K.Pratap Reddy and the college's deputy commandant, Air Commodore Neeraj Yadav, Saturday, said a defence statement 

The training programmes being conducted at CAW aim at enhancing international strategic understanding of armed forces officers in various disciplines and application of the same to address various defence related issues pertaining to strategic planning. 

A premier training institution of the IAF, CAW also conducts courses for the other two services as well as friendly foreign countries. 

Osmania University is one of the oldest and largest institutions of higher learning in the country. The university was assessed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2008 and is accredited with the highest 'A' grade.

Indians No 2 users of MIT-Harvard e-courses

BANGALORE: Over 2.5 lakh Indians have registered for courses on edX, the massive open online course (Mooc) platform founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University in May 2012 to host online university-level courses.

This makes Indians the second largest community, after Americans, to register for these courses, said edX president Anant Agarwal, an Indian American who grew up in Mangalore and who has been teaching the circuits & electronics course in MIT for 26 years.

The courses have been put together and are led by some of the finest professors in the world. Students require just an internet connection. The courses are free, can be normally completed within a duration of 4 weeks to 12 weeks, and those who complete them receive a certificate from the university that provides the course.

Some 2 million people from 196 countries have registered for edX courses, of which about 6 lakh are from the US, about 80,000 each from the UK and Brazil, and about 60,000 from China.

For Indians, the most popular courses have been those related to computer science, engineering, and public health. Globally and for Indians, the two most popular courses are 'Introduction to computer science', led by Harvard faculty David J Malan and Rob Bowden, and the circuits & electronics course led by Agarwal.

"Some 2.2 lakh people are currently registered for the introduction to computer science course, and some 3.6 lakh have registered for this course in the past two years. The circuits & electronics course has had a total of 2.5 lakh students since it started. About 12% of the students in both courses are from India," said Agarwal.

Indians account for about 50% of the 70,000 enrolments in Harvard's public health course. Agarwal said this strong interest from Indians was thanks to the Medical Council of India spreading the word among doctors.

edX, a not-for-profit initiative, and Coursera, a for-profit initiative by two Stanford professors, are among the biggest Moocs providers. edX now offers some 160 courses including in science, engineering, business, law, history, social sciences, and artificial intelligence. Only around 6% of those who register for these courses actually complete them and go on to receive certificates.

For this and other reasons, Moocs still has a lot of critics. Few think it can completely substitute classroom teaching. The big promise of Moocs is that it can take world-class education to those who are otherwise excluded for socioeconomic or geographic reasons. But a recent University of Pennsylvania study revealed that over 80% of surveyed people taking Moocs already hold college degrees.

Agarwal is unfazed by these arguments. Moocs, he says, are better than what you get in many universities, and particularly valuable for countries like India, for students who can't get into the top schools or can't afford them. "Today's generation is also used to watching videos. And our courses give a video game-like experience. So students are very engaged. We are planning a big push in India," he said.

He also noted instances of students benefiting from these courses. "One US student who took our software-as-a-service course added that to his LinkedIn profile and received a job interview call from a company in New York the very next day. Amol Bhave, a high school student in Jabalpur, took my course in circuits & electronics. He applied to MIT soon after and got in with financial aid," Agarwal said.

Take just one test for MBA, MCA seats

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government and college managements have arrived at a consensus to conduct a single entrance exam for their seats. Earlier there were two tests: CMAT and KMAT.

The government seats will be filled through centralized counselling conducted by the Visvesvaraya Technological University. The other half will be filled by the management using PGCET scores. The exam which will be open to non-Karnataka students is expected to be conducted on June 2 or 8.

Vacant government seats will fall into the management quota after August 30. To fill these, the managements will conduct KMAT. The test is likely to be held on September 1 and is mainly for non-Karnataka students. The decision has been taken following the poor turnout for these courses last year. The All-India Council for Technical Education had earlier made CMAT mandatory to pursue these masters. But not many applied for the exam and around 60% of seats had fallen vacant.

There are around 200 colleges of which 22 are government run offering these courses. Around 25,000 seats are up for grabs. Half of them fall under government quota. There are around 12,000 MCA seats in the country. Around 18,000 students appear for PGCET every year. Posted By: Best Education Hub

Program to train 250,000 teachers worldwide over the next 10 years

DUBAI: Around 250,000 teachers across the world will be trained over the next 10 years by a UAE-based organisation and philanthropic arm of an NRI-led international education company here.

Under the agreement, the philanthropic arm of GEMS Education, the Varkey GEMS Foundation (VGF), and the UAE-based philanthropic organisation, Dubai Cares, will launch a country-based teacher-training intervention that will boost the standard of classroom teaching.

The agreement was signed at the Global Education and Skills Forum, the foremost gathering on education and education policy held here from March 15-17.

According to UNESCO, around 57 million primary school-aged children are out of school along with more than 71 million lower-secondary school-aged children.

And for those children who do attend a school in the developing world, a lack of trained teachers often acts as a barrier to learning.

"Through the implementation of integrated, impactful, evidence-based and sustainable primary education programs by forging strategic partnerships such as this, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares, said.

"We aim to create positive impact in the lives of underprivileged children globally, their families, communities and economies," he said.

An estimated 7 million new teachers will be needed over the next two decades to serve the growing global population.

Tough questions? Smashing answers!

A post-presentation question-answer session is the litmus test of a good presenter — while anyone can repeat what's been rehearsed, only a thoroughly prepared presenter can successfully handle questions. Many believe questions are disguised aggression or tests. In fact, questions are evidence of the audience's engagement! It serves us well to believe each question's a genuine inquiry. The better you answer questions, the better your presentation is judged to have been. 

Here are some steps to navigate Q&As: 

Welcome questions: Acknowledge a questioner's point of view. Even if you don't agree, emphasize your recognition of the questioner's feelings by saying, "I know that can be frustrating," or "Sure, that sounds contradictory." 

Listen patiently without interrupting: Understand the question and try to find parts to agree with. Then, state your opinion explicitly using data, with sentences like, "On the basis of this information, I have reason to believe that ..." 


Avoid aggressive 'You' phrases: Phrases like "As I already told you" or "You don't realize" don't add value to a Q&A. Instead, try 'I' phrases like: "I believe that" or "In my experience and understanding ..." 

Check if the question's been answered: Always ask, "Does that help clarify your thought?" or "Does that sound reasonable?" If the answer's no, probe areas of disagreement, trying to achieve rational mutual understanding. 

Don't get emotional! Separate fact from feeling — and respond only to facts. Remember, the question is not necessarily about you. Often, aggressive or emotional questions are manifestations of the other person's needs and frustrations. Accepting this respectfully, without personalizing this, and isolating objective parts of an argument can help you both move a discussion to a productive close. 

And that's the best answer to any question. 

Higher education enrolment ratio likely to grow to 30 % by 2020

NEW DELHI: Higher education enrolment ratio in India is likely to grow to 30 per cent by 2020 because of increased investment in the sector and economic growth, a senior official today said.

Higher education secretary Ashok Thakur also said that the government is encouraging engineering colleges, especially IITs, to offer more subjects in humanities so that students have access to social science subjects.

"Enrolment in higher education is likely to grow to 30 per cent by 2020 thanks to increased investment by the government and economic growth," he said at the valedictory session of an international conference on social science research.

The event was organized by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and International Development Research Center (IDRC), where academic experts and policy makers from south, south east, and East Asian countries unanimously proposed formation of a social science research network acting as an advocacy platform in the region to strengthen research and its funding.

"There is a need to build an interactive platform for research among the developing countries. Although there is a global edge of physical over social sciences, the questions of governance, social and economic tensions and other such concerns have remained under addressed in these nations," said member secretary of ICSSR Ramesh Dadhich.