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.