Amity University: Admission on

The admission process for Amity University's three-continent undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in engineering, biotechnology, management, communication and fashion is on till July 2014. 

Students pursue a part of the programme at Amity campuses in India, and the rest at various universities in London and California. In addition to an Amity University degree, they receive certificates from foreign institutions. 

Participants are offered training in global practices followed in their chosen fields and get exposed to an international environment by studying and undertaking projects on three continents. Besides being taught by international faculty, they undertake industry and lab visits in a society where cultural awareness and foreign language skills are necessary tools for success. The curriculum is aimed to let students experience a multi-national business and technological environment. 

For further details about the three-continent programme, visit www.amity.edu or call at 08826662942

Modi congratulates CBSE students

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the students who passed the CBSE Class XII examinations, results of which were announced on Thursday. Modi is perhaps the first Prime Minister to have wished the students in such a manner.

In a tweet, Modi said: "Congrats to my young friends who successfully passed the CBSE exams. I wish them the very best for their future."

The pass percentage in Delhi region was 86.78%.

What Smriti Irani is looking at: IITs in every state, review of DU's FYUP

NEW DELHI: HRD minister Smriti Irani has given a list of 60 priority areas to her officials and asked them to work in that direction. The list is a mix of progressive initiatives, the Sangh Parivar's ideas on education and the Gujarat model on teachers' training. During her meeting with senior officials, she asked each of them to come up with big ticket ideas. 

Irani wants her ministry to give an assessment of Delhi University's four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), look into the possibility of setting up IITs in all states as well as Yale-Pan IIT network and map the best education practices in the country. At the same time she wants ministry to see how Vedic studies can be given prominence. "How can we involve traditional vedic education? What about education for life instead of degrees?" she asked senior ministry officials. 

Also, instead of directly changing NCERT school textbooks, the ministry officials have been asked to compile complaints about "textbooks and curriculum" from parents. A ministry official said, "National Curriculum Framework is changed every ten years. It is due now. First the NCF will be reviewed. Textbooks will be changed on the lines of new NCF." Irani wants ministry to take up teaching of mathematics and science in madarsas and ensure adequate steps to stop sexual abuse in schools. 

Among the priority areas, Irani wants a national association of parents so that their voice is heard in all aspects of education. "Parents are the most important stakeholders but their voice is never heard. It is a good initiative," said one official. The new minister also wants to evaluate the contribution of alumni network in the growth of an institution. She also wanted reforms in legal education but since the subject is handled by law ministry it is unlikely that HRD ministry will be able to do anything. "We can build a synergy," a source said. 

Irani has made it clear to officials that all ministry notes and papers should be precise with sub-heads like background, current status, challenges, stakeholders and possible solution.

Smriti Irani aims to increase spend on education to 6% of GDP

NEW DELHI: Smriti Irani, India's 31st and second woman HRD minister, set the ball rolling even before she entered Shastri Bhavan. In a long meeting with two secretaries - Ashok Thakur and Rajrishi Bhattacharya - Irani said she wanted all appointments to be put on hold for a fortnight. 

Irani was told about the impending appointment of chairpersons of Indian Council of Historical Research and National Council of Rural Institutes. 

When she finally arrived at the ministry in a golden sari, Irani thanked PM Narendra Modi for giving her the "responsibility of such a big ministry that was once headed by Murli Manohar Joshi". 

Irani said her first priority would be to look for ways to enhance public spending on education to 6% from the present 3.8% of GDP. She said setting up national e-library and a central university of Himalayan technology would also be her priority. She avoided controversy and remained non-committal about continuous and comprehensive evaluation. Irani said all her decisions would be through consensus. 

In her meeting with top officials, Irani wanted detailed notes on various schemes run by the ministry, for instance Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan. The new minister wanted to know about auditing of various schemes of school education. 

Irani also wanted a list of committees and institutions headed by the HRD minister. ICHR has been without a chairperson for the past few months after Basudeb Chatterji's term got over. The selection process for appointment of new chairperson is about to start. In case of Hyderabad-based NCRI, the HRD ministry is under court order to appoint a new chairperson by June 2. In fact, one of the first things the ministry wants Irani to clear is the new NCRI chairperson. 

Appointment of V-Cs of 12 central universities is already at an advanced stage. It remains to be seen if the new minister scraps the process. Former HRD minister MM Joshi had recently asked the President to review the process. 

After a brief meeting with officials, Irani went to attend the first meeting of the new Cabinet and returned to her Shastri Bhavan office. She took a meeting of senior officials up to the level of joint secretary where presentations were made and priority areas discussed. Irani also wanted separate presentations of educational status of each state. "This is the first time that state-specific presentation has been asked," a source said.

Over 2,000 foreign applicants in DU, many want to study Hindi

NEW DELHI: The Foreign Students' Registry at Delhi University has received more than 2,000 applications this year for all kinds of courses, from certificate to PhD-level. Amrit Kaur Basra, who now heads the FSR, says that the certificate course in Hindi is a popular one with this group. There have been queries on this at DU Open Days in South Campus.

"I have already forwarded about a dozen applications to the Hindi department. Many among the Chinese and Korean applicants as well as those from the African countries opt for this course," says Basra. Applications have come from more than 65 countries, including Korea, Nepal, Tibet, Russia, China, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. Some even applied from Germany and Japan.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations too sponsors students from other countries. There are some applicants for Faculty of Management Studies though they have also applied for Central Aptitude Test. The admission process for foreign applicants ends early. "We have to check whether the institutions they have earned their previous degrees from are recognized," says Basra, "It takes 4-5 months."

In North Campus on Monday, officials clarified once again that candidates who've studied under boards in which the theory component in a paper is less than 70% will lose 10 marks from their score in that paper. The university's new admission policy on vocational subjects will mean trouble for many students coming from other states. From this year, DU will consider all subjects in which the theory component is less than 70% as non-academic.

"There are some boards in which the theory part in subjects like physics, chemistry and biology is less than 70%. Those students will lose 10%," says Malay Neerav, joint-dean, students' welfare. About 1,000 potential applicants attended the open day at North Campus.

HRD: Focus on skills, scholarships, job-oriented education

A lot of what Narendra Modi promises would be easier to achieve if education gets top priority. The government must focus on changing lives through out-of-the-box initiatives.

Higher education, in particular, is in disarray and needs to be reinvigor ated. Building of skills needs focus as that would increase employability of the youth. The Modi government should build on several good UPA initiatives and further strengthen them by plugging loop Boost spending on education to at least 6% of GDP, a globally accepted standard, to provide muchneeded funds to increase school enrolment and, most importantly, check the persistently high dropout rates.

To ensure access to quality education, scholarships, book banks, IT facilities, translation services and institutional infrastructure should be made compliant with highest standards in all parts of the country.

Modernize teachers' training and strictly monitor through an independent mechanism; revamp teaching methods by use of modern technologies and methods; make service conditions and remuneration of teachers more secure and attractive.

Accord highest priority to skill development and training in vocational/technical subjects with dynamic linkages to industry needs.

Strengthen Right to Education; help states with funds so that trained and quali? ed teachers are recruited and ensure their attendance is ensured.

Recast Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in terms of syllabus and give English teaching top priority.

Revamp the UGC and implement promise of higher education commission; scrap AICTE and merge it with new commission.

Bridge the gap between central and state universities; bolster Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for this purpose.

Stop opposing sanction for foreign universities to set up campuses in India.

Do quality audit of IITs/ IIMs; ask IITs to pay attention to research and not just be factories producing engineers; give IIMs deemed university status to encourage genuine research in a fast changing economy; create more IITs and IIMs.

MODI TO TOI I think our youth is extremely talented, capable and ready to work hard. They have a right to dream, a right to build their own lives and careers. It's our responsibility to give them ample opportunity.

Jamshedpur boy tops ISC exams, score 99.25%; all India pass percentage is 95.27

NEW DELHI: Ayush Banerjee of Loyola School, Jamshedpur with a score of 99.25% aggregate in English and three best subjects topped the class XII (Indian School Certificate) examination 2014 conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination. The results were declared on Saturday, which recorded an all time high pass percentage of 95.27%. While CISCE schools abroad scored a pass percentage of 98.51%, in the country South zone has the best outcome with a pass percentage of 98.32%. 

The joint second all India toppers are Shruti Agarwal, City Montessori Inter College, Gomtinagar, Lucknow and Rohini Chandrasekar, Sheiling House, Kanpur, both scoring 99%. 

"The toppers aggregate are calculated from the scores in English and three other best scored subjects," said chief executive and secretary of the Board, Gerry Arathoon. 

In all 68,723 students appeared for the exam across 868 schools in India. Girls once again outscored boys with a pass percentage of 96.58%. Boys' pass percentage this year is 94.18%. 

In the Delhi-NCR there are 18 schools affiliated to CISCE and 1,080 students appeared in the exam this year. 

The ISC exam has been conducted in 48 written subjects of which 14 are Indian languages and five foreign languages. 

The pass percentage in Delhi-NCR is 97.41%. The joint topper for Delhi zone are Shivam Garg, St Joseph Academy, Ghaziabad and Anaqat Kamboj, Shri Ram School, Gurgaon, both scoring 98.25%.

HRD: Focus on skills, scholarships, job-oriented education

A lot of what Narendra Modi promises would be easier to achieve if education gets top priority. The government must focus on changing lives through out-of-the-box initiatives. 

Higher education, in particular, is in disarray and needs to be reinvigor ated. Building of skills needs focus as that would increase employability of the youth. The Modi government should build on several good UPA initiatives and further strengthen them by plugging loop Boost spending on education to at least 6% of GDP, a globally accepted standard, to provide muchneeded funds to increase school enrolment and, most importantly, check the persistently high dropout rates. 

To ensure access to quality education, scholarships, book banks, IT facilities, translation services and institutional infrastructure should be made compliant with highest standards in all parts of the country. 

Modernize teachers' training and strictly monitor through an independent mechanism; revamp teaching methods by use of modern technologies and methods; make service conditions and remuneration of teachers more secure and attractive. 

Accord highest priority to skill development and training in vocational/technical subjects with dynamic linkages to industry needs. 

Strengthen Right to Education; help states with funds so that trained and quali? ed teachers are recruited and ensure their attendance is ensured. 

Recast Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in terms of syllabus and give English teaching top priority. 

Revamp the UGC and implement promise of higher education commission; scrap AICTE and merge it with new commission. 

Bridge the gap between central and state universities; bolster Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for this purpose. 

Stop opposing sanction for foreign universities to set up campuses in India. 

Do quality audit of IITs/ IIMs; ask IITs to pay attention to research and not just be factories producing engineers; give IIMs deemed university status to encourage genuine research in a fast changing economy; create more IITs and IIMs. 

MODI TO TOI I think our youth is extremely talented, capable and ready to work hard. They have a right to dream, a right to build their own lives and careers. It's our responsibility to give them ample opportunity.

Kashmir University to start job-oriented courses: Chancellor

SRINAGAR: Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir today said that the higher education opportunities in the valley and Ladakh region were limited, but the institution was building facilities to increase the avenues as well as start various job-oriented courses. 

"If you look at Kashmir valley and Ladakh region, the higher education opportunities are very limited. The total number of seats even in basic sciences is very limited," Srikumar Banerjee told reporters here. 

The chancellor said taht the university is building facility for education in advanced level and the higher education sector cannot be neglected. 

"There is a proposal that we should start working on nanosciences. But when we research and we find that if you want to start working on nanosciences and nanotechnology, you must have a basic background of physics and chemistry. 

"So unless you start the departments of physics and chemistry, you cannot embark upon nanosciences. We are building facilities for advanced education and other vocational courses, but we cannot neglect the higher education component," he said. 

Banerjee said the University will start various job-oriented courses to help tap the growing unemployment in the state. 

"We will be starting vocational courses like diplomas in automobile repairing and mobile repairing in partnership with local units at Ganderbal and that would help fight the unemployment," he said.

Ahmedabad schools ace CBSE class X examinations

AHMEDABAD: Students were all smiles as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) results for class X were announced on Tuesday at 4pm. The results were available on website and on SMS as well.

Compared to last year, the results were declared 10 days early this time. According to board officials, this has been made possible with the introduction of onscreen-marking system. CBSE schools across the city came out with excellent results with several students scoring 10/10 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). This time too, girls have outshone boys.

Total 425 students appeared for class X exam at Delhi Public School (Bopal). Out of them, 41 scored perfect 10 CGPA. As many as 166 scored 9 CGPA and above, while 251 secured 8 CGPA and above. DPS East too registered a cent per cent result. Out of the 24 students who had appeared, one secured full CGPA and five got 9 CGPA .

The scene was no different at Maharaja Agrasen Vidyalaya where the school registered 100% result with eight students getting 10/10 CGPA out of 134 student and 83 having above 8 CGPA. Around 40 students have been placed in A1 category. Shobha Tyagi, principal, Maharaja Agrasen Vidyalaya, said, "CBSE is no more a difficult exam as almost 70% of assessment is internal and only 30% is external. It is an excellent way to reduce student's stress.

Even St Kabir Drive-in has posted 100% result with 27 students scoring 10/10 CGPA. School principal Pragya Pandya said, "Sincere and dedicated efforts of all the 221 students have brought in such a positive result. As always, the girls are leading and as many as 19 girls have secured full CGPA as compared to nine boys". Registering cent-per-cent result, students of Rachana School are all smiles. Altogether 16 students have secured 10/10 CGPA out of 94 students who had appeared for the exam.

At Udgam School for Children, 35 students out of 164 secured full CGPA. In all, 58 students got CGPA between 9 and 9.8.

According to Kendriya Vidyalaya's assistant commissioner Prakash Madan, results of 43 KVs across the state have been received. Out of them, 39 schools have registered 100% result. Two KVs in Bhuj and Silvasa each and one each in Jamnagar and Ankleshwar have students with supplementary.

CBSE class 10 results to be out by 4pm today

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will declare the results of Class 10 examinations at 4pm on Tuesday.

The results can be viewed via the internet on www.results.nic.in, www.cbseresults.nic.in and www.cbse.nic.in, CBSE officials said.

It can also be known through IVRS by dialling 011-24300599, 011-28127030 and 1155536 (for BSNL subscribers, outside Delhi) or via SMS by sending SMS with their roll numbers to 57766 (for BSNL), 58888111 (for Tata Docomo), 58888111 (for Aircel and other numbers), the officials said.

Earlier in the day, the CBSE declared Class 10 results for Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram regions.

Agriculture studies can open new career paths

COIMBATORE: Agriculture is not just about crops, seeds, harvest, pesticides and yield. It also includes trading, funding, feasibility studies, food processing, marketing and economics. If the prospect of getting into the management or business side of agriculture interests you, then the relatively new course B.Sc in Agri-Business Management is the course for you. 

Introduced in 2007 by the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) based on feedback from industrialists, the four-year course is a mix of business management and agriculture technology. "Whenever we had industrialists visiting our campus, they expressed the need for people who know about business and agriculture so that they could help develop business strategies," says K Mahendran, professor, department of Agricultural and Rural Management. The course has a mix of business and management and agriculture technology courses. "Around 70% of our subjects are based on business management and the other 30% of the subjects are based on agriculture technologies," he says. Students who have taken the science stream can apply with their mark sheets. Some subjects students will study are micro-finance, banking, cost-analysis, supply chain management, packing and marketing of agri inputs and products among others. 

With the seed, fertilizer, food processing and commodity trade industry growing by the day, more such professionals are required by the industry, says Mahendran. "Our students are taught the basics of availability of various products, manufacturing processes, costs involved, sourcing and even export processes," he adds. Such students also seem to be in great demand in the banking industry. 

"With the Reserve Bank of India telling all private and public sector banks to keep aside at least 30% of their lending for agriculture or agriculture based industries, employees with agri-business knowledge are in demand," he says. Students in banking are required to evaluate projects, look at the credibility of the proposal, do risk analysis and scrutinise agriculture loans. 

The course is also offered at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karanataka and the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh.

SC exam results to be announced on May 17; ICSE results to be out on May 21

CHENNAI: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations will release ISC and ICSE exams results at 3pm on May 17 and May 21 respectively.

Around 1.5 lakh candidates, including around 2,000 from Tamil Nadu, appeared for the Class 10 exams. Around 70,000 students, including more than 500 from Tamil Nadu, sat for the Class 12 exams this year.

Students can access their results by logging on to the council website www.cisce.org, a release from the council said. Schools can access the results by logging on to the careers portal of the council using the principal's login ID and password.

To receive the ICSE or ISC results by SMS, the candidate must type his or her seven-digit unique ID (for instance, ICSE 1234567 or ISC 1234567) to 09248082883.

17 Indian universities make it to Asia’s top 300

LONDON: A record number of Indian universities feature in the new Asian Universities Ranking published by QS: 17. 

IIT Delhi is the highest placed on 38, followed by IIT Bombay in 41st. 

Five other IITs feature in the top 100 led by Kanpur and Madras just outside the top 50. 

India is still waiting for a breakthrough at the top of the rankings with the latest table showing a marginal decline in the positions. But the latest rankings have seen an increase of more than 50% in India's overall representation in the list. 

Amongst traditional universities, University of Delhi takes the lead at 81 having slipped one place since last year. 

It is ranked in the top 25 in Asia by employers and the top 40 by academics but is handicapped in some other indicators by its large size and low levels of international faculty and student exchange which brings down its overall ranking. 

Only the University of Calcutta ranks highly on students' exchanges coming second in Asia for outbound exchanges and 52nd for inbound. 

"The IITs have a great reputation among graduate employers, and now produce a relatively high volume of research, but it is not yet having a significant impact in terms of citations," says QS head of research Ben Sowter. 

"India's improved strength in depth is a sign of progress but there is a long way to go before the IITs can compete with the very best institutions in Asia. India's tally of 2 institutions in the top 50 places is behind Japan (13), China (9), South Korea (9), Hong Kong (6) and Taiwan (6) while being level with Singapore and Thailand," he added. 

In the latest Asian ranking, Banaras Hindu University, Punjab University, Manipal, Amity University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science and the Indian Institute of Information Technology all appear for the first time. 

With seven IITs among the leading eight institutions, the top levels of Indian higher education remain much stronger in science and technology than in the arts and social sciences. 

The QS University Rankings: Asia 2014 reflects a swing in the balance of power in the continent as a whole, as Singapore and Korea overtake the traditionally dominant Japan and Hong Kong. National University of Singapore (NUS) tops the rankings for the first time while Korea's KAIST rose from sixth to second place. 

Last year's number one institution Hong Kong University of Science and Technology dropped to 5th. 

The 2011 table-topper Hong Kong University dropped one place to third making this the first time in the rankings' history that a Hong Kong university has not topped the table. 

Japan's University of Tokyo falls to 10th its lowest ever position. 

"These rankings confirm the emergence of Singapore and Korea as the region's new major players, denting the dominance of Hong Kong and Japan," Sowter said. "Both NUS and KAIST have benefitted from major government investment in research; while operating in English has helped them attain new levels of global engagement," he added.

Lucknow University allows PhD admissions twice a year on JNU footsteps

LUCKNOW: Beginning this academic session, Lucknow University will follow the Jawaharlal Nehru University model for admissions to Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD).

University will admit students not once but twice a year. If all goes as planned, LU will be the first state university to hold PhD admissions twice in one academic session. In UP, only Banaras Hindu University (central university) follows the JNU model.

LU vice-chancellor S B Nimse said "this will benefit primarily, qualified candidates who appear for the exam in December to get NET/JRF. The one-time admission process in PhD forced these students to wait for six months (till June) and sometimes even more. This way we will attract more students to the university."

Admissions to PhD in LU were according to temporary changes in its ordinances. In 2011, LU changed its PhD ordinances as per the University Grants Commission regulations, 2009. The amendments helped the university carry its admission process in 2012 and 2013. Last year, the admission process began in September and continued till December. Delay in admissions was, however, not confined to LU.

Due to inordinate delay in admissions in different state universities, state government has drafted a model ordinance which increased the number of supervisors and allowed experts from the industry to take up research. This year, LU has decided to incorporate the changes in its ordinances.

After changes, admissions will be in a phased manner. In fact, PhD admissions will be every semester. In the first phase, admissions will be in July while the second time in January. According to officials, the amended ordinances will be included in executive council (EC) which will be held in June for approval. After this, it will be submitted to the Raj Bhawan for confirmation.

Officials informed that admission process for the first phase was supposed to begin with the UG admission process mid-May. In absence of ordinances, however, the process would now begin in June. A list of vacant seats in each department has been sought from heads of the departments.

The state government on August 26, 2011 announced that admissions to PhD would be through a common entrance test (CET). The decision was taken as per the recommendations of UGC to hold subject-wise CET for PhD courses. The major reason for holding CET was to enable students to apply for admissions in all state universities through one application form and to bring uniformity to the admission process. But it didn't work, forcing government to re-think de-centralising PhD admissions.

IIT Bombay launches its first MOOCs

Further to its collaboration with EdX, a massive open online course (MOOC) platform, last year, IIT Bombay (IIT-B ) recently launched its first three MOOCs. While sessions for two of the courses — Introduction to Computer Programming (part one) and Thermodynamics — will commence this July, the third course — Introduction to Computer Programming (part two) — will begin in September. 

Informs Deepak Phatak, professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay, "The quality and content offered online will be same as that offered on our campus. The only difference being the MOOCs will allow students to learn anytime, from anywhere and at a convenient speed. Students can revisit study material as and when required and skip familiar topics." 

The courses can be pursued by anyone and will be delivered through sessions grouped into several themes or topics. Each session will be made up of two to four 15-20 minute 'episodes.' Each episode will consist of a video recorded lecture of about 8-10 minutes, followed by some practice problems /quizzes. 

There will be additional reading material/ references, which the participants can use for greater clarity, if required. Regular interactive sessions through discussion forums, video conferencing and other such technologies are also being planned. 

Students can register for an honour code certificate or for audit free of cost for the initial offerings. For students who wish to get a verified certificate of achievement at the end of the course, a charge of about Rs 1,500 will be levied.

St Stephen’s College declares its admission schedule

NEW DELHI: St Stephen's College will start admissions on June 2, 2014, along with the rest of Delhi University. The last date for applying is June 16. The cut-offs will be announced soon and the list of candidates selected for interviews will be posted on June 17 and 18. Interviews will be held from June 20 to July 5.

"Like last year, the mode of application shall be limited to online facility. There will be no paper applications in order to make the admission process environment-friendly as well as convenient and economical for applicants," says a statement from St. Stephen's principal, Valson Thampu.

There will also be a facilitation desk for applicants with disability which will be operational from 10 am to 1 pm, June 2 to 16. Also, as last year, six seats distributed among courses in humanities "are available for applicants who wish to read Urdu as their optional language and Discipline II option."

The application fee is cheaper at St. Stephen's - Rs. 50 for general category and free for those with disability. There will also be a helpline number (011-27662168) and email queries should be sent to admissions@ststephens.edu.

Thampu further says, "St. Stephen's has no arrangement with any agency to carry out any admission related work. We wish to war the public against fraudsters attempting to cheat them on the promise of admission in to the college." Two years ago, an admission racket related to St Stephen's was busted.

Karnataka State Open University's convocation to be held on May 10

MYSORE: Women continue to perform better at the Karnataka State Open University.

Of the 23,913 candidates who have been awarded degrees, 14,711, which is 61.51 per cent, are women. The candidates will be awarded degrees during the fourteenth annual convocation on Saturday. VC M G Krishnan on Thursday said the women continue to outperform male students.

Governor-chancellor H R Bhardwaj will confer the degrees and Jamia Milia Islamia University former vice-chancellor Mushirul Hasan will deliver the convocation address.

Highest number of degrees have been awarded in the department commerce with 4,449 students getting degrees followed by Kannada (3,232), history (1,602) and economics (1,533). Unlike last few years when research scholars receiving PhDs touched double digit, it has slumped to single digit this season. During the thirteenth convocation, the KSOU had awarded 45 PhDs whereas now five students have been awarded the PhD. This time PhD is awarded in Sanskrit, Hindi, history, sociology and management studies. Registrar (evaluation) K J Suresh attributed the decrease in the number of research scholars completing doctorate thesis to change in the regulations. As per the new norm, the researcher has to submit the thesis within four years. Many have missed the deadline leading to the sharp decline in the number of PhDs awarded, he stated.

Among the PhD awardees is senior IAS officer B Basavaraju, who is principal secretary (revenue), who studied the public private partnership (PPP) model in road development in the state. He started to work on the thesis when he was the managing director of the KRDCL.

Krishnan said the governor will inaugurate Pareeksha Bhavan, the centralized examination centre and the varsity's regional centre built at Vijaynagar. He said the CM will be invited to inaugurate administrative block and convocation auditorium, which are expected to be completed in two months time.

Delhi University admission forms out on June 2

NEW DELHI: The process of admissions to 54,000 seats in Delhi University's undergraduate courses will begin on June 2 with the availability of centralized forms, while the first cutoff list across 65 colleges will be announced on June 24. The last date for applications is June 16.

Announcing the schedule, including the dates for cutoffs, open house and additional cutoffs, the university on Wednesday said the admission policy introduced last year for the four-year-undergraduate programme remains largely unchanged.

Among the changes this year, the university has done away with the additional admission criteria allowed at the college level.

Making the process more inclusive, it has decided to allow vocational students to apply for undergraduate courses. These students, however, will be at a disadvantage as 10% of the maximum marks in each subject will be deducted while calculating their best-of-four aggregate.

The university is also doing away entrance exams for Hindi journalism, social work, Spanish, German, French and Italian. Admissions to these undergraduate courses will be based on best-of-four aggregates.

Despite speculation on a cap being introduced for the number of colleges and courses open to each applicant, the university has decided to stick with the old policy which puts no such restrictions.

Offline centralized admission forms, which will now cost Rs 70 for SC/ST students and Rs 150 for others, can be procured and submitted from June 2 to 16. Students can also apply online at lesser cost — Rs 50 for SC/ST and Rs 100 for the rest. The forms will be available at 18 centres across Delhi, including five colleges each in north and south Delhi, three each in west and east Delhi, and two in central Delhi.

"There will be five cutoffs and in case seats remained vacant in any of the courses in any category, there is provision for five more cutoffs. The final cutoff — the 10th list — will be issued on July 21. For the first five cutoffs, three days will be given, including the day of announcement of the cutoff, for admissions and payment of fees. In the subsequent five cutoffs, students will get two days," said J M Khurana, DU's dean of students' welfare, announcing the schedule along with joint dean, media coordinator, Malay Neerav.

Unlike last year, students will this year have to make a choice of colleges along with courses this year while applying.

"There is not cap on the number of colleges or courses a student can apply. Any student not selecting a particular course or college will not be eligible for admission there even if the cutoff criteria is met," said Neerav.

World Bank likely to fund higher education in Odisha

BERHAMPUR (Odisha): World Bank is likely to fund the development of higher education sector in Odisha. 

"World Bank is keen to finance the higher education sector, particularly for improvement in teaching quality, learning and research process and improvement of gross enrolment ratio (GER) in the state," Bank representative Kurt Larsen said here today. 

"The decision, however, will be taken by World Bank officials after discussion with the Odisha government," he added. 

A formal meeting between Bank officials and the state government is likely to take place in July, World Bank consultant Soumi Saha said. 

The state government has proposed to hold an international seminar on higher education policy in Bhubaneswar in July, where World Bank officials are expected to participate. 

The World Bank has already financed one million dollar in India for the development of higher education sector in various states.

23 IT students get upto Rs 23 lakh package

CHANDIGARH: As many as 23 students of a Patiala-based university have been offered annual salary packages of upto Rs 23 lakh by top global companies like Samsung, Microsoft in campus placements. 

Twelve students have been hired as web designers by Japanese IT firm Hikari Tsushin for its Tokyo office with the highest package of Rs 23 lakh each, Thapar University said in a statement here. 

Among other companies, DE Shaw India picked up two students with an annual package of Rs 18.4 lakh each while global IT giant Microsoft and Samsung Engineering took four and five students respectively, at a starting salary of Rs 16 lakh per annum, the varsity said. 

A total of 687 students were offered jobs in 103 top global and Indian corporate during the recently held campus placement drive, the statement said. 

Those who secured higher salary packages are students of Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, School of Mathematics and Computer Applications, Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering Department. 

"Students of both undergraduate and post-graduate courses have excelled in their respective disciplines, a fact which has been recognised by recruiters in the current placement season," Thapar University Director Prakash Gopalan said. 

"Our job-oriented courses are tailored to meet the growing and ever-changing needs of the industry," he said. 

IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) hired 103 students, followed by Infosys Technologies (61), IBM (44). Other recruiters included L&T Construction, Sandisk Corporation, Deloitte Consulting India, EXL Services, and Freescale Semi Conductors Ltd. 

The 250-acre campus of Thapar University, founded in 1956, is situated at Patiala in Punjab. In 1985, it was accorded the status of a deemed university and it is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of the UGC and has received "A" grade among all Indian universities.

Medical ethics could now be part of MBBS course

BANGALORE: The Association of Health Universities of India will write to the Medical Council of India (MCI) to make professionalism and a code of ethics part of the MBBS course, which will be assessed through an exam.

Hitherto, though medical ethics were taught to students, there was no exam to assess them. This was one of the most debated sessions at the third conclave of vice-chancellors of health universities of India, hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) on Monday.

A faculty of MS Ramaiah Medical College, which runs a certificate programme on ethics for its interns, spoke of the need to introduce the programme for students and faculty. "We had done a survey on students some years ago. We realized they come to medical college with high ideals. But as years pass, their principles erode and towards the end, many are ready to compromise on their values," said Dr Venkatesh D, director, medical education unit, MS Ramaiah Medical College.

MS Ramaiah has been running a certificate programme for interns for the past three years. The one-year programme has one module per month, followed by an assignment. Around 80% of students take up the programme.

Even while some topics are taught in universities, not many (as in RGUHS) are assessed. Also, while most universities have lectures on ethics, little is interpreted in real terms.

Batting for a uniform syllabus for ethics across the country, Dr Arun V Jamkar, chairman, Association of Health Universities of India said: "MCI has been mooting it. We want it to become a reality. We want students to be assessed on it along with their practical skills. Faculty should also be trained."

The universities will also bat for an ethics programme for faculty. "To have such a course is the need of the hour. Right now, we have an orientation programme on ethics. We need both students and trainers at these courses mandatorily. They need to be uniform across the country," said Prof Amit Banerjee, vice-chancellor.

DOCTORS' DILEMMA

The programme proposed by Venkatesh for faculty has text, video and case studies. For example, a pilot is under depression and administered anti-depressants, which make him drowsy. A doctor needs to maintain confidentiality about his patient's disease. Is it right for him to tell the pilot's employer about it? Or a patient who is on dialysis asks a doctor to take him off it for want of resources. A patient has a say on his treatment. What does the doctor do?

VARSITIES' STAND

All universities seem to be taking the medical values course seriously. We will also try to implement it as soon as possible.

IIM-Trichy registers 100% placement

CHENNAI: The only candidate from among 103 in the 2012-14 IIM-Trichy batch who decided to start her own enterprise this year is from Tamil Nadu. "She plans to start an e-commerce enterprise on jewellery and accessories," said Godwin Tennyson, chairman of the placement and external relations wing of IIM-Trichy, without naming the candidate. 

The institute has secured 100% placement for all those who registered for the campus recruitment process this year, Tennyson said. 

He said at least one candidate opting to be an entrepreneur was a positive sign, as none from their first batch took the step. "The second batch got more exposure, they've seen their seniors, and the institute is getting more visibility. We are getting students to start thinking on their own," he said. The institute, which has an entrepreneurship club, is planning an incubation centre in a few years. 

All the 85 students who registered for placement secured jobs, with a median annual salary of 11 lakh. As many as 76 recruiters visited the campus this year. More than 10% decided to pursue their own niche profiles through off campus recruitment. 

The total offers made were 86. Mahindra offered the highest salary package of 19.25 lakh for a general management role, and the minimum pay package was 6.1 lakh per annum. Students started the recruitment season with two pre-placement offers. 

Among the profiles offered were vice-president - strategy, executive assistant to CEO and consulting. Some of the recruiters were Cognizant Business Consulting, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, Puravankara and Lakshmi Machine Works, which recruited four or more students each.