More options in the 'cloud'

By HORACIO GONZALEZ-VELEZ, associate professor of computing and head, Cloud Competency Centre (CCC), National College of Ireland (NCI), Dublin, talks to Medhavi Arora on new opportunities in his field'

How is cloud computing gaining popularity in gaining popularit India?

India is blessed with human capital -it has enormous opportunities in IT and has good engineers, mathematicians and physicists. Last October, India became the first country in the world to announce the creation of a national cloud at the IEEE international conference on cloud computing for emerging markets 2013 - Bangalore. This project needs a massive number of engineers skilled in cloud computing and data analytics. Thus, the government is making the right moves in creating opportunities for graduates. Through professional studies at the NCI, graduates can study and gain appropriate training and exposure, and as skilled engineers, help in development of companies. I have spent 10 years in Silicon Valley, but I didn't become a top engineer because I am not Indian and I can't eat spicy food -these are my two regrets.

www.besteducationhub.com

Smriti Irani defends FYUP move

“The reasons for reverting to the three-year undergraduate degree in Delhi University included the need to comply with National Policy on Education 1986, ensure that students of DU are not put to any disadvantage vis-a-vis students of other universities,” Irani said in the Rajya Sabha.

NEW DELHI: One of the reasons for reverting to the three-year undergraduate programme in Delhi University was to ensure that its students are not "put to any disadvantage vis-a-vis students of other universities", human resource development minister Smriti Irani told Parliament Wednesday. 

"The reasons for reverting to the three-year undergraduate degree in Delhi University included the need to comply with National Policy on Education 1986, ensure that students of DU are not put to any disadvantage vis-a-vis students of other universities in terms of horizontal and vertical mobility and also in terms of employment opportunities," Irani said in the Rajya Sabha. 

She added that "employability criteria" was not the reason for reverting back to three year undergraduate degree. 

As reported by Delhi University, the total number of students completing their graduation every year is more than 40,000, excluding students of School of Open Learning. 

DU has a Central Placement Cell (CPC) which gives options to the students of the university's different colleges/departments get themselves registered with it. 

In 2013-14, out of the 6,729 registered students 1,200 were placed based in preliminary selections carried out by various employers. 

DU admits over 50,000 students under its undergraduate programme in 63 colleges. 

The admission to the varsity started July 21 after a tussle between the DU and the University Grants Commission over the university's controversial four-year under-graduate programme (FYUP) started last year. The FYUP was rolled back June 27. 

Courtesy: TOI by besteducationhub.com 

Government to formulate new education policy

NEW DELHI: The government has proposed to formulate a new education policy to meet challenges posed by lack of quality, research and innovation in Indian educational institutions, parliament was told Wednesday. 

"The government proposes to formulate a new education policy aimed at meeting the challenges posed by lack of quality, research and innovation in our educational institutions," Human resource development minister Smriti Irani said in the Rajya Sabha. 

She added that the National Policy on Education 1986, as amended in 1992, has been the guiding document for the policies of the central government in the education sector. 

The policy provides for national system of education, which envisages a common educational structure of 10+2+3, implying that up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of a comparable quality.

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Emerge as creative leaders: Kalam to IIM students

SHILLONG: Former president APJ Abdul Kalam Thursday urged students of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Shillong to emerge as creative leaders to bring about the required change in the country. 

"I want to see all of you as creative leaders to bring about the required change," Kalam said, while delivering a lecture "Dimensions of National Development" at the prestigious B-school. 

The "missile man", as Kalam is also known due to his background in aerospace engineering and his role in India's indigenous missile development, is one of the visiting faculty members in IIM-Shillong. 

Kalam spoke about the challenges that India and the world were facing and emphasised on the role of leadership to tackle these issues and develop possible solutions to ensure socio-economic development. 

He said the key requirement for achieving a distinctive profile for the nation was by creating sustainable enterprise-driven models at the rural level. 

Kalam urged the students to emulate a development model to bring urban amenities to rural areas. 

"Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) is one such system which I suggest will help in providing opportunities through cooperative working of resource and social entrepreneur in the rural areas," he said. 

"PURA is the creation of physical, electronic, knowledge connectivities leading to electronic connectivity of rural regions. 

"With this combined and planned intervention of infrastructure, digital technology, information and enterprise, we can select a cluster of about 20 to 50 villages, which share core competencies and empower those using local enterprise. This would enable our country to grow by shared efforts and overcome the challenges faced by the society," he said. 

Charting out a link between creative leadership and economic development, the former president emphasised on the importance of the role that change in leadership would play for ensuring success. 

He also accentuated on the role of integrity among leaders for sustained success and development of the society. 

Kalam also met the faculty members to discuss the role of academicians in promoting creative leadership among students for the betterment of the society. 

The IIM in the Meghalaya capital is named after late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. It was started in 2008 and functions from a makeshift campus at the Mayurbhanj complex, the erstwhile summer palace of the kings of Mayurbhanj in Odisha. 

The Meghalaya government has allotted a 120-acre plot on which work is under way for a state-of-the-art academic-cum-residential campus.

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Indian students' enrolment in German universities up more than 100% in 5 years

CHENNAI: For increasing number of Indians, Germany is emerging a favoured higher education destination overseas. There has been 114% increase in the number of Indian students enrolling for higher education courses there since 2008, according to the latest figures released by the regional office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The number of students enrolled has increased from 3,516 in the 2008-09 academic year to 7,532 in 2012-13. US, UK, Australia and Canada have been the most favoured destinations for Indian students, partly due to the absence of a language barrier. But Germany, which has the fifth biggest Indian student population on campuses, has sought to bridge the gap by introducing courses in English and easing visa norms to allow students to look for jobs there after completion of studies. 

Engineering courses were the chosen area of study for nearly half the number (close to 48%), followed by mathematics and natural sciences (19.8%). Information technology (13.a8%), and law, economics and social sciences (9.4%) are the other courses sought after by Indian students in Germany. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Franziska Lindhout, director of the DAAD Information Centre in Chennai, said Germany encourages Indian students to sign up for masters and research in engineering as not many natives show an interest in the discipline. "It's least taken up by those in Germany, and the country needs students in these areas, so Germany is interested in cooperation with Indian technical higher educational institutions," she said. 

Lindhout said efforts were being made to internationalise German institutions. "It's no longer a prerequisite to learn German to study there. We invite Indian students to pick up the language to help them adapt better and for jobs, But it is not required to pursue a masters or for the visa procedure. It is part of the internationalization process, and DAAD has been pushing for it," she said. 

Germany has also made a conscious effort to woo Indian students by sponsoring initiatives aimed at enabling Indian students to study, carry out research and gain work experience in that country. Since 2009, 46 new co-operation projects have been forged between Indian and German universities. Working and research internships and scholarships are part of the effort. 

Changes in visa rules to allow Indian students more time to look for employment has also helped increase the number of Indian students headed to Germany. Indians comprise the second largest international student population in Germany, second only to China. 

There are not as many undergraduate students from India as those who opt for masters or doctoral degrees in Germany. "There are few English-medium UG courses to choose from in Germany and the school finals in India are not equivalent to that offered in Germany. But, now there are many masters programmes offered in English," said Padmavathi Chandramouli, information manager of DAAD centre in Chennai. 

As many as 1,324 Indian students AND 761 German students have been part of the DAAD exchange programme. Co-operation agreements have been signed between German institutions and the IITs, IIMs, the department of science and technology and the University Grants Commission. 

While the country does not offer any scholarships for masters' degrees, its research grants for doctoral programmes in Germany and the bi-nationally supervised doctoral degrees are well known. The application deadline for these scholarships is now October 2 this year. DAAD is also organizing a special information session by Martin Rojek, head of the visa section at the German Consulate in Chennai on Monday in the city to give students information on applying for a student visa to Germany. A pre-departure meet will be held on August 7.

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IIMC, SRFTI and FTII to get national tag

NEW DELHI: In a move that is likely to give a boost to international collaborations and funding, three premier institutes — Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) — will be awarded status of institute of national importance and the power to award degrees.

The proposals mooted by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry that will give greater autonomy to the institutes is likely to come before the Union Cabinet soon. This will put the institutes in the league of IITs and AIIMS. 

Sources said the cabinet notes for SRFTI and FTII had been cleared by the law ministry while the one for IIMC was in the final stages. The proposals were announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Union budget on July 10. Sources said that the three institutes are reputed organizations in the media education sector but could only grant diplomas.

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36.5 percent of teaching slots vacant in IITs

NEW DELHI: The central government Monday said 36.5 percent and 40.8 percent of teaching positions were vacant in the country's 16 IITs and 30 NITs, respectively. 

"There are 36.5 percent and 40.8 percent vacancy in teaching positions in 16 IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and 30 NITs (National Institutes of Technology) respectively," human resource development minister Smriti Irani said. 

"The reasons for faculty shortage are due to retirement, resignation, increase in students' intake and non-availability of qualified candidates for taking up teaching assignments," the minister said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. 

She said the institutes have been taking various initiatives to "attract outstanding candidates for faculty positions". 

"Some of these measures include year-round open advertisements, holding of selection committee meetings through video conferencing, invitation to alumni, scientists and faculty to reach out to potential candidates, advertisements in international journals, outstanding young faculty awards," she said. 

She added that as regards NITs, the institutions are engaging contract and adjunct staff as well as using the online mode of teaching to overcome these shortages. 

"Moreover, faculty in NITs has now been given pay parity with faculty in IITs with a view to attract quality faculty," she said. 

She said that with a view to make it possible for foreign faculty to join the institutes, the ministry of home affairs has "reduced the salary limit for employment visa to foreign faculty from $25,000 to $14,000".

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Empowering Indian youth

More young Indians need the right infrastructure to develop skills 

By 2020, India's population is expected to become the world's youngest; more than 500 million Indian citizens will be under 25 years of age and more than two thirds of the population will be eligible to work. This means that a growing number of India's youth need the right educational infrastructure to develop skills and adequate opportunities to get employed or become entrepreneurs. 

However, the wide gap between those who have access to education and skill development opportunities and those who do not, is a challenge that has to be overcome. 

In a bid to bridge this gap, Microsoft launched a series of programmes and initiatives that focus on developing the potential of the youth. Microsoft's YouthSpark Programme, a company-wide, global initiative, aims to provide opportunities that will impact 300 million youth over three years. In India, the programme will train 80,000 youths, help 65,000 in acquiring employment and aid 15,000 of them in starting their enterprise. Similarly, Project Oorja and Sakshartha are two youth-centric platforms that aim to cultivate the spirit of innovation by equipping Indian youth from the ITIs, polytechnics and marginalised sections with essential IT skills. 

Unemployed youth, marginalised women and rural communities have also been impacted by the company's input -imparting IT skills training and in stilling basic computer literacy. These skills enable the marginalised demographic to explore employment opportunities and sustainable livelihood options. Microsoft's partnerships with governments, non-profits and businesses have resulted in such initiatives, which connect young people to greater education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities. The project works to make them eligible for jobs that were not open or available to them earlier, while also encouraging entrepreneurship to foster the creation of additional jobs in their communities. Since 2004, through 1,425 learning centres in India, more than 4,70,000 youth have been trained under it and over 70% placed in jobs. Since December 2012, the project has helped start more than 600 youth enterprises. 

Cultivating and encouraging innovative entrepreneurs is the ultimate goal of these initiatives. One revealing example is of 22-year-old Vasanti, from western Gujarat, who enrolled in the YouthSpark -iLEAD (Institute for Livelihood, Education and Development) programme run by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, a partner organisation. The programme taught Vasanti the basics of operating computers after which she enrolled in the advanced course. However, Vasanti realised that the lack of jobs in areas near her home would be a problem. She decided to acquire a computer, under a government scheme, with which she opened a computer training centre in her single-room house, creating access to computer education for other local women. 

Says Vasanti, "Why should the girls in our villages suffer because the training centres are far away? If they cannot travel to the centre, then I will make sure that the centre travels to them." She now plans to acquire more computers and expand her training centre to other villages. 

Technology has a potential to change the world and improve people's lives. Vasanti's story demonstrates the incredible spirit of a youth-led enterprise and initiative, demonstrating how being empowered and encouraged can help an individual realise their full potential. 

Vasanti not only created an opportunity for herself, but also impacted the lives of others in her community.

-Madhu Khatri 

(The author is associate general counsel, Microsoft India)

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Over 40% engineering and more than half of management seats vacant in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Over 57,000 of the 1.31 lakh engineering seats—over 43%—available in the state for the centralized admission process (CAP) are vacant after the first round of admissions. The situation is similar in B-schools. Over 53% of the 21,716 MBA/MMS seats available under CAP are also vacant.

According to an official of the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), most of the vacancies are for courses that are not popular and in colleges located in remote areas.

"There are more seats than applicants. Moreover, the demand for these courses has been falling over the years," said the official. "Also, this year, students need to score minimum 50% in PCM to be eligible for engineering admissions. In the past, the eligibility criteria had been relaxed by 5%."

For the 1.31 lakh engineering seats, only 94,000 students applied for the CAP rounds conducted by DTE. In Mumbai colleges, of the 16,000 seats under CAP, over 5,000 seats are vacant in the first round. The highest numbers of vacancies—about 17,000—are in colleges in Pune, though the institutes affiliated to the Pune University have nearly 43,000 seats—the highest in the state.

Vacancies in technical institutes in the state have always been a problem. A recent report on vacancies in technical institutes submitted by a state-appointed committee revealed that 58% of MBA schools had more than 35% seats vacant in 2013-14 academic session. Similar was the case with over 50% of engineering institutes. The committee, which visited these institutes, recommended closure of some courses and institutes. Around 33 technical courses at 25 institutes were shut down this year, however, more colleges got permissions for additional intake.

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In a first, Mumbai varsity TYBSc students get marksheets online

MUMBAI: This year, TYBSc students from colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai received their marksheets online for the first time.

"Usually students only get to know if they have passed or failed ...," controller of examinations Dinesh Bhonde said. "This year, we are giving them their scorecards too."

The marksheets can be used for provisional admission to post-graduation courses. Students may also apply online for revaluation.

The facility will ultimately be implemented for all courses.

Jamia Millia Islamia headed for academic reform

NEW DELHI: Unlike his predecessor whose focus had been on administrative reform, the new vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof. Talat Ahmad, has made academic reforms his priority. Upon completion of one month as vice-chancellor, Ahmad spelled out his agenda for the next five years-from holding a student union election to setting up a medical college and hospital as well as a choice-based credit system for interdisciplinary studies. The university began its new academic session on Wednesday.

Drawing the roadmap for Jamia's progress under his stewardship, Ahmad made it clear that there will be no room for complacency. "My vision is to put Jamia on the national map in environmental studies, earth sciences and glacial studies, among other areas." With renewed thrust on research, the VC said Jamia has also applied for the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Some major academic reforms and initiatives Ahmad has been planning include setting up a medical college and hospital, starting a new school on earth atmosphere and planetary sciences and putting in place a choice-based credit system.

"The Supreme Court has granted us a little over 114 bigha of prime land in Jamia's vicinity. One of our proposals for that area is setting up a hospital and medical college. World over, universities have choice-based credit systems. I also propose to put one in place within two years to enable students to move to diverse disciplines under the interdisciplinary rubric. We will start this at the postgraduate level."

Ahmad is also planning collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Indian Institute of Technology for interdisciplinary studies and co-supervisor facilities for masters and PhD scholars. "There is a good possibility of other universities in Delhi like DU, JNU and IIT sharing expertise and resources. There can even be exchange programmes in which students can do a course of their interest in the university which is known for that subject and earn credits," said Ahmad. He also has a mega-plan of bringing library resources from these central universities under one platform and offering their remote access to students and teachers.

It has been over eight years since Jamia had a students' union. Ahmad is in favour of a students' union. "We have to work that out since the matter is sub-judice. I will allow formation of students' union this year in some form. There could be 50% female representation in the union. But beyond that, I can't say anything else."

Rs 55 million scholarship scheme for X-XII kids

NEW DELHI: In a first, of its kind, a Rs 55 million scholarship scheme was launched for students of classes X to XII on Monday. This will be India's Outside of government initiative, this will be India's biggest scholarship scheme outside of government initiative. 

Lore India Foundation Scholarship Trust announced the scholarships, for students from classes X to XII, which are being promoted by top academicians of the country, including IIT-Delhi professor Seyed E Hasnain, professor, IIT- Delhi, former UGC chairman Hari Gautam, former UGC chairman, and vice-chancellor of National Law %University Ranbir Singh, ice-chancellor, National Law University, Delhi among others. 

The scholarship comes with another unique feature monetary awards to top schools to improve infrastructure, acquire new technology or fund meritorious students from disadvantaged background. 

There will be 103 scholarships from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, which will be given based on a learning aptitude test (LAT). The undergraduate scholarship endowments can be used by scholars to pursue higher education in any discipline. It can be also used to prepare for coaching required to prepare for entrance exams. to get admission to a programme of the scholar's choice. 

The programme also includes rewards and recognition programmes for schools, which will be ranked based on the performance of their students in LAT. The top three schools in the country will receive monetary awards of Rs 25 lakh, %Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively. 

The scholarship aims to identify, assess, reward and mentor the brightest young minds. The students will be shortlisted through The LAT, which is devised to test a student's aptitude as opposed to their academic learning, which is being designed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Apart from the Rs 55 million cash reward, qualifying students Qualifying students will receive cash scholarships from a corpus of Rs 55 million and will also be mentored get coaching provided by renowned academicians. They will undergo a comprehensive interest schedule/psychometric test to gain insights that for the purpose. that will allow experts to gain insights and provide them effective guidance. in their educational careers. 

LAT is devised to test a child's aptitude or innate brain power as opposed to their academic learning. 

The Lore India Foundation's governing council includes both serving and retired professors from IITs, IIMS, Indian School of Business, (ISB), Medical Council of India and UGC, among others. 

The undergraduate scholarship endowments can be used by scholars to pursue higher education in any discipline. It can be also used to prepare for coaching required for entrance exams to get admission to a program of the scholar's choice. The scholarship amount is set up as an interest generating trust fund available to the scholar to draw upon for a period of seven years from the date of the award. The first second and third ranked students will get Rs 50 lakh, Rs 30 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively. Those between fourth and fifty-third ranks will get Rs 5 lakh each and rest will get Rs 3 lakh. 

Registrations opened on July 14, 2014.

Bangalore University's new integrated system gives student a range of choices

BANGALORE: Even as Delhi University's four-year undergraduate programme is mired in controversy, Bangalore University (BU) is the first in the state to introduce Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) in all its UG and integrated masters degree programmes. BU has made it clear it will apply only for students entering BU-affiliated colleges from this year (2014-15).

Like the Delhi varsity programme, this system has multiple exits too. A student enters the UG programme after class 12. The special feature is, after completion of two years of the UG course, the student can exit the programme, and the university will award an associate degree certificate (advanced diploma). If the student wishes to pursue the third year and exit, a regular degree certificate is given. A student who wants to obtain an honours degree has to complete the fourth year (first year of postgraduate programme). This new system also allows students to study all five years and walk away with a Masters certificate.

The advantage of CBCS is, after completion of the second year, students can exit any programme in any year and rejoin whenever they want. For instance, a student who exits with an associate degree certificate and wants to obtain a regular degree certificate after a gap of one or five years, can directly join the third year.

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Univadis, a medical education website, to be launched in India

Pharma company MSD announced the launch of Univadis, a medical education website in India to empower and equip healthcare physicians with information and developments in the medical world. The interactive Univadis service will be a one-stop shop, and provide a wealth of medical resources, powerful tools, and accredited education courses from independent sources, exclusively for healthcare professionals through the website `www.univadis.in'. 

Univadis is an online resource for healthcare professionals that has been launched in over 40 countries, is available in 17 languages with over 20 million registered users worldwide. MSD is depending on the growing internet connectivity in remote towns, and net browsing habit of healthcare professionals, MSD MD KG Ananthakrishnan said, adding that this was yet another effort by the company to further the cause of medical education for doctors. 
MSD has collaborated with leading medical journal, The Lancet, to bring content in the form of articles, news, research papers, medical advancements, videos, and educational tools. 

An advisory board of 12 doctors has been set up in the country, which will decide the content for the India-specific website.

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Banks can't insist on minimum 60% marks to extend educational loans: Madras high court

CHENNAI: Banks cannot fix 60% of marks as minimum required percentage for extending education loan to students, Madras high court has ruled.

A division bench of Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, coming to the aid of an engineering student who got admission under management quota, said on Wednesday that it was incorrect on the part of the bank to deny loan to him on the ground that he has scored only 59% of marks and not the minimum required percentage of 60%.

After being denied an education loan by the Indian Overseas Bank, A Ravi moved the high court for a direction. In June last year, a single judge directed the bank to extend loan to the boy, saying banks cannot deny loans on the ground of minimum marks percentage, that too after he is given admission under management quota.

The bank filed the present appeal saying candidates who have secured 60% marks and above alone are eligible to get education loan as they alone can be treated as meritorious candidates.

Rejecting the submissions, the bench said, "The Government of India launched the scheme of providing educational loans to the economically disadvantaged people, through nationalised banks. Sanction of educational loan is not free, but it is repayable with interest at a later point of time, of course, at reduced rate of interest. The whole idea behind the scheme is to finance the economically disadvantaged people. It is a social commitment for the upliftment of weaker, vulnerable and other sections of the society. It is a social welfare measure. In a way, it is some sort of social banking."

The judges said public sector banks and other financial institutions should bear the government's policy in mind while sanctioning educational loans covering the genuine, reasonable and justified educational expenses and relieve the students and their parents from pressing financial crisis.

In this regard, the judges also pointed out that a review meeting of top bankers decided on September 27, 2013, that they would extend loans to meritorious students who get admission under management quota. It is also stated in the decision that loan applications have to be disposed of within a period of 15 days to one month.

Budget 2014: Need of the hour in education

Manish Thakur lists the important educational issues the upcoming budget needs to address 

Education is the key driver for achieving a socio-economic transformation and a concerted policy focus on this sector is crucial for reaping the demographic dividend in the global knowledge economy. 

Appreciably, the past few years have witnessed a sustained increase in budgetary allocation to education. During the 11th plan period (2007-2012), central expenditure on education grew at 25% per year. However, public expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) continues to hover around a meagre 4%. 

Suggest school syllabi to boost innovation: Irani to IITs

NEW DELHI: The government plans to formulate a national innovation policy that would stress on innovation at the school level, according to human resource development minister Smriti Irani. 

Apprising directors and chairmen of 16 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) about the policy at a retreat in Goa Sunday, Irani asked them to suggest curriculum changes at the school level that would not only align with higher education institutions but also help set up innovation labs at the district level across India with a view to infusing a culture of research and innovation among students. 

Irani asked the institutes to set up cultures of excellence in central universities, said a ministry statement.

1,000 foreign students keen to join Nalanda university

PATNA: More than 1,000 students from 40 countries have sought admission in Nalanda university. 

The university is scheduled to start its academic session from September 1 with two schools: School of Historical Sciences and School of Environment and Ecology, an official said Friday. 

The university has received application for admission from the US, Russia, England, Spain, Germany, Japan, Myanmar, Austria, Sri Lanka and West Asian and South East Asian countries. 

"This year only 20 students will be selected in each of two schools," the official said. 

Six faculty members each for the two schools have been appointed. They are from New Zealand, England, the US, Singapore and other countries. 

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

The university will be fully residential, like the ancient Nalanda university. It will offer courses in science, philosophy and spirituality as well as social sciences.

Marginal drop in Delhi University's 2nd cutoff list holds out hope

NEW DELHI: The second cutoff list for undergraduate admissions in Delhi University colleges, issued on Thursday, holds out some hope. Admissions are open in all colleges as well as for all courses.

At over 50 colleges, admission is still open in Commerce though the drop in cut-offs is marginal at most of them. Seats are also available in Economics in about 28 colleges and in English in over 30. The two subjects in which admissions have closed in most colleges are, surprisingly, History and Political Science, with the number of admissions more than the sanctioned seats by very wide margins in some.

The drop in cutoffs, though marginal, will see withdrawal of admissions and a second round in many colleges. Admissions based on the second list begin on July 4.

Shri Ram College of Commerce has issued a second cut-off for commerce with a marginal drop of only 0.25 percentage points — from a range of 97.5%-99.25% to 97.25%-99%, which is likely to result in withdrawals from other colleges. Most colleges have been very cautious about reducing the cut-off in this subject. Lady Shri Ram College has lowered its commerce cut-off by the same amount as SRCC — from 97.5% to 97.25%. Kamala Nehru College, Ram Lal Anand and Acharya Narendra Dev have dropped the BCom (H) cut-off by a single percentage point.

Economics seats are available in several north campus colleges, including Hindu, Hansraj, Ramjas, Indraprastha, Daulat Ram and Miranda House. LSR and Kamala Nehru too have some seats.

After Commerce, English is the subject still available in maximum number of colleges. It is open in Hansraj, Hindu, Miranda and LSR, but the drop in cut-offs is generally low. For instance, Hansraj and Hindu have reduced the cutoff by half a percentage point each; LSR has been more generous and reduced it by three marks (0.75 percentage points); SGTB Khalsa has dropped it from 96.5%-97.5% to 94.25%-95.5%.

In sciences, Chemistry and Physics are still available. Seats are available in Hansraj, Hindu, Miranda House and Sri Venkateswara and the difference between the first and second list is more pronounced in these subjects. The cutoff for Physics at Miranda has reduced from 96.33% to 95%; at Hansraj, from 97.33% to 96.33%; and at Sri Venkateswara, from 96% to 94.33%. There is a similar drop in Chemistry as well. Seats across science courses in a majority of the off-campus colleges are also available.

The response to the programme courses — reintroduced after the rollback of FYUP — has been discouraging and the cut-offs for these, fixed without any applications, have been very high. Principals say there have been few applicants for courses that were till 2012 very popular because most still don't know they are being offered. The cut-offs have reduced in BA Programme across DU — from 82% to 76% at Deshbandhu; from 90% to 82% at Ram Lal Anand; and 80% to 72% at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

Poor pupil-teacher ratio plagues Urdu schools

HYDERABAD: More than 80,000 students of Urdu medium schools, enrolled in 2012-14, in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are victims of a poor pupil-teacher ratio (PTR). Statistics show that of the 2,682 Urdu medium schools in both states, more than 700 primary schools have a PTR of one teacher instructing more than 30 students, a violation of rules prescribed by Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Officials of the school education department pointed out that the PTR, as prescribed by the RTE Act, for primary schools is one teacher for every 30 students and for upper primary schools is one teacher for every 35 students.

Further, schools with student strength between 150 and 200 are to have a headmaster with five teachers.

IIT-B first choice for 44 out of top 50 rankers

MUMBAI: IIT-Bombay continues to be the top choice for the best of the young brains in the country. The institute has retained its position as the most sought-after IIT in the country, with Delhi and Chennai coming a distant second and third.

A number of factors have been responsible for this, ranging from importance given to streams over geography, from placement records to newer short-term courses on offer, tell students. Of the top 100 rankers in JEE-Advanced 2014, almost all have opted for IIT-B computer science as their first choice. But 58 were allotted seats at IIT-B in computer science in the first round, followed by Delhi, where 36 of the top 100 have been admitted
(see box).

While 58 of the top 100 rankers joined IIT-B, the number has fallen a bit, compared to 67 in 2013. Thirty-six students were allotted seats at IIT-D, as opposed to last year's 29. IIT-B director Devang Khakhar said he was happy that 44 of the top 50 rankers have opted for the Powai institute. "Students may have placed more importance to the stream over the location and once seats in computer science were filled up, they looked at the other IITs," he said. IIT-B has 44 seats for computer science and engineering in the open category.

Of the top 10 rankers, nine have opted for computer science at IIT-B and the only female candidate in the top 10 ranks, Aditi, who got the seventh rank, chose to go for computer science at IIT-Delhi. Computer science was among the most popular choices at IIT-B and IIT-D followed by electrical engineering among the top 100 ranks. Only one signed up for a dual degree programme in computer science at IIT-D and the rest chose the flagship BTech programmes at IIT-B, IIT-D, IIT-M and IIT-K.

This year, the IIT-Madras zone, home to popular coaching hub Andhra Pradesh, cornered half the seats in the most elite club of the JEE (Advanced); 50 of the top 100 ranks were from the zone. But only four among the top 100 are headed for IIT-Madras, though up to 30% top rankers used to choose Chennai earlier. Food apparently is the reason behind the dip. "Students have often said IIT-M does not have the kind of food that Bombay or Delhi have. But all our students are good, whether they are in the top 100 or below," said an IIT-M dean.

Twenty years ago, IIT-Kharagpur was the engineering mecca but the oldest IIT did not receive a single student from the top 100 this year. Even the new kids on the block, IIT Roorkee and Guwahati haven't got a single student from the top slots. IIT-Guwahati senior officials attributed this to the low representation of students from the Northeast.