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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE | Tuesday, January 18, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
Only 6 per cent reach
degree level The futility of mass education |
Teachers’ posts
vacant |
Only 6 per cent reach degree level UNATTRACTIVE school environment, unsatisfactory conditions of buildings, insufficient instructional material and social obligations at home, specially in rural areas, are a major obstacles for enrolment and retention of children, specially in primary and middle schools. This is despite the fact that the Central and state governments have been trying to improve the situation. It is claimed that “Operation Blackboard” has substantially improved infrastructural facilities at the primary stage. Yet about 35 per cent of children, according to the department of Education, Government of India, drop out before reaching Class V and over 50 per cent reach Class VIII. Finally only about 6 per cent reach the degree level. Hence, intervention at each stage in the form of vocational education is considered necessary to equip potential dropouts with some skills. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), in a survey in Haryana a few years back, had pointed out that women teachers posted in rural areas do not take much interest in the studies of children. Most come daily from urban areas. The result is that invariably they reach late and then they are in a hurry to go back to their residence. Such a situation, perhaps, prevail in almost all states. The Union Territory of Chandigarh, however, occupies a distinct position as far as the dropout percentage in Classes I to X for 1997-98 is concerned. There is only 2.6 per cent dropout of students in Chandigarh. The dropout rate in all other states and union territories is much higher. In the country the dropout rate (Classes I to X) has been given as 69.33 per cent (boys 67.65 and girls 72.67). In Haryana the dropout rate is 46.26 per cent boys 40.74 and girls 53.02), in Himachal Pradesh 50.65 per cent (boys 47.73 and girls 53.90), Jammu and Kashmir 64.29 per cent (boys 60.83 and girls 69.28) and Punjab 48.37 per cent (boys 46.89 and girls 50.1). Rajasthan tops the country in the dropout rate in Classes I to X with 87.34 per cent (boys 86.44 and girls 89.25), closely followed by Sikkim with 83.80 per cent (boys 85.33 and girls 81.95). The third position goes to Bihar with 83.78 per cent and fourth position to West Bengal with 83.52 per cent. The dropout rate in Classes I to V in 1997-98 in this region was Haryana 14.90 per cent, Himachal Pradesh 31.12 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 34.08 per cent, Punjab 23.62 per cent, Chandigarh 4.56 per cent and Delhi 23.13 per cent. The highest dropout rate in the country in this category is Meghalaya with 62.44 per cent and the next is Bihar with 59.65 per cent. Rajasthan is third with 55.30 per cent. As regards the dropout rate in Classes I to VIII in 1997-98, it is 30.91 per cent in Haryana, 23.04 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 35.18 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir, 28.39 per cent in Punjab, minus 12.52 per cent in Chandigarh and 14.35 per cent in Delhi. In this category the dropout percentage is highest in Bihar (77.13 per cent) and is followed by Andhra Pradesh with 73.43 per cent. The dropout rate in the country as a whole in this category is 54.14 per cent. The number of teachers in 1997-98 in Haryana in primary section was 43175, in middle section 9856 and high and secondary section 56914, in Himachal Pradesh in primary 23173, middle 5680 and high and secondary section 16901, in Jammu and Kashmir in primary 22113, in middle 23362 and high and secondary section 24022, in Punjab in primary 46556, in middle 13480 and in high and secondary section 61420, in Chandigarh in primary 362, in middle 506 and in high and secondary section 4312 and in Delhi in primary 31135, in middle 8295 and high and secondary section 59470. Chandigarh has the unique position in case of teachers. The number of women teachers in every section of primary, middle and high and secondary is higher than male teachers. According to the annual report of the Department of Education, there were in 1997-98 only 13 male teachers in primary section in Chandigarh as against 349 women teachers. The number of women teachers in middle section was 463 as against 43 men and in high and secondary section the number of women teachers was 3618 as against 694 male teachers. The total number of recognised educational institutions in India (1997-98) are: primary 610763, middle 185506, high school/higher secondary/intermediate/pre-degree and junior colleges 107100, colleges for general education 7199, professional education 2075 and universities 229. The enrolment by stages in this region in 1997-98 was: Haryana — primary 2096106, middle 920735, high and senior secondary 587497 and higher education 126346. Himachal Pradesh: primary 694412, middle 377118, high and higher secondary 277056 and higher education 61639. Jammu and Kashmir: primary 893005, middle 405698, high and higher secondary 227705 and higher education 48226. Punjab: primary 2121310, middle 999905, high and secondary 720768 and higher education: 174857. Chandigarh: primary 65978, middle 37996, high and secondary 36575 and higher education 22653. Delhi: primary 1261359, middle 593462, high and secondary 1250199 and higher education 267798. In higher education the
enrolment of girls is higher than boys in Chandigarh,
Goa, Kerala, Punjab and Pondicherry. |
The
futility of mass education ABOUT the so-called resource crunch faced by universities, contradictory opinions are being expressed. While some contend that there is no crunch but only mismanagement, others present a gloomy scenario. This confuses the UGC and the HRDM and makes it difficult to assess the reality. At the receiving end are the teachers, scared by the prospect of the whole university system coming to an abrupt end. Some college managements of Delhi have already threatened that if they are not bailed out, they will have to down the shutters. More vocal are the teachers’ associations. They believe the money crunch to have gone beyond reckoning. On November 21, 1999, they observed the ‘Save Higher Education Day’ and claimed the callous attitude of the government was mainly responsible for the mess. The day was organised by the Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association (FEDCUTA) in which teachers from Jamia, NEHU, JNU, IGNOU, AMU, BHU, DU, and Kohima and Nagaland participated. The thrust was on the fact that the government was making a mockery of its commitment to spend 6 per cent of the GDP on education and the crunch was an artificial creation of bureaucratic bungling. It would, however, be wrong to study the issue in isolation. It has to be related to the fundamental question of higher education for all as also to the question that if a talented but poor aspirant craves for higher education, he or she cannot be denied the opportunity on the plea of resourcelessness. The issue has to be related also to the failure of the government to reduce its own expenses. Unprecedented expansions of ministries and misuse of bureaucratic perks have dealt a blow to priority areas. Funds are being diverted to meet political exigencies and universities are left to fend in despair. A recent statement by Prof Amartya Sen has added fuel to the fire. The Nobel Laureate in his keynote address at the South Indian Conference on Education in Delhi University, contended there was no problem of funding. The problem lay only in our inability to maintain quality. The universities had failed to produce excellence. This was due not to any fund crunch, but to the system of “time-bound promotions which ignored genius and hard work”, he argued. In Prof. Sen’s own words; “Funding is not the problem where higher education in India is concerned. In fact, it has always got more than an adequate share” of the total budgetary allocation. This argument was immediately refuted by Prof. V.R. Mehta, Vice-Chancellor Delhi University, who was present at the conference. He said the resources crunch was real and palpable and there were facts and figures to prove it. Another authority being widely quoted in this context is a person no less than the VC Emeritus of Cambridge University. Sir David Williams was in India recently and was participating on the Seventh Indira Gandhi Conference organised by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust in New Delhi. Without going into the controversial issue of “quality” in Indian universities, he said quality teaching was the best way to raise funds. Sir David Williams said that this fact had struck him a few years ago when Cambridge was faced with one the worst fund crisis. Then the funds were raised by the university’s alumni and the university’s dependence on government funds was reduced to 40 per cent. Sir Williams said universities must build “impeccable credentials” to make themselves financially independent. Cambridge University had an 800-year-old tradition of excellence. It had large alumni in high-tech business and industry. It drew its funds from them. An ex-student Sir Paul Judge, had recently given more than 8 million pound’s for the Judge Institute of Management Studies. The university’s Computer Science Department was richer by 20 million dollars donated by the Bill Gates Foundation. No such tradition, unfortunately, has been built by any of the Indian universities. Some of them have recently celebrated their centenaries and jubilee years and prepared directories of their old students. But they made no attempt to contact them and use their power and pelf for their benefit. A major cause of fund shortage is the experiment of mass education. This consumes much more than just the legendary lion’s share. The price that we have paid for this is much beyond any sensible guesswork. Can one imagine that today we have 64.26 lakh students in colleges and universities and about 3.10 lakh teachers taking classes. If we had aimed at “quality” no such wastage had been allowed. In the year 1998-1999 the country spent more than 7047 crore, but what is the result? To get out of the imbroglio we must immediately evolve a quality-conscious funding formula. It should not only be performance-linked but also talent-related. The meritorious poor must not be allowed to suffer and all must be allowed to study in an environment of quality and equality. Reckless distribution of
degrees like ration cards must be stopped. |
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FAZILKA: In the absence of any concrete policy to fill vacancies of teachers in the education department, Punjab, there is apprehension of a large number of the posts remaining vacant in the near future. According to official sources, there are 12000 primary schools in Punjab. At least 8000 posts out of 52000 J.B.T. teachers and headteachers lie vacant. Besides, 600 teachers retire every month. Hence, the number of vacancies is swelling rapidly. Startling facts of concern have come to light. According to the sources, under the primary directorate out of 52000 teachers 25000 shall retire by the end of 2000 AD. The National Council of Teachers Education, an organisation of the Government of India monitoring the standard of training centres for teachers, has made arrangements for imparting training to 1700 primary teachers and those in training centres in 17 districts of the state every year. However, by the end of 2000, these institutes cannot meet the demand of the number of teachers required. Mr Raj Kishore Kalra,
spokesperson, Government Primary Secondary Teachers
Union, Punjab, has urged Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief
Minister, and Mr Tota Singh, Education Minister, to
appoint qualified teachers immediately before the
situation takes a turn for the worse — TNS |
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I wish to enrol for C.P.M./A.P.P. certification programmes offered by the Indian Institute of Materials Management, Bangalore. Could you provide me the details? Moushmi Bindra, Chandigarh Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) and Accredited Purchasing Practitioner (A.P.P.) are US qualifications that equip professionals with certification in the area of purchasing/materials management. You can now qualify for these through the exams conducted by the IIMM, Bangalore. An applicant seeking C.P.M. certification must pass all four modules of the C.P.M. exam (Module 1: Purchasing; Module 2: Management; Module 3: Supply; Module 4: Critical Issues in Supply Chain Management). Graduates with 5-year professional experience in purchasing/supply management can take this exam. A.P.P. applicants must pass a subset of the C.P.M. exam, namely modules 1 & 4. Candidates for this exam must be graduated working at entry-level in purchase or material-related areas. The duration of the course depends on your ability as you can appear in all the four papers at one time or separately. The course can be completed in one year. Contact classes are held at selected centres. Study material is despatched to every candidate enrolled for the course. The fee structure is as follows:
For further information, you may contact:
I am doing B.Sc (Agriculture). Could you tell me about the range of prospects in the field of agriculture. Amit Manchanda, Ferozepore Agriculture is a vast diversified field offering numerous career oportunities. It covers a range of activities which include farming, horticulture, floriculture, sericulture, tea and coffee plantation, cultivating rare medicinal herbs or hybrid seeds, dairying and poultry farming — all of which are lucrative professions. The government is the largest employer of agricultural graduates. A number of government agencies, state department of agriculture, banks and various trade organisation also hire agricultural graduates. Recruitment to the jobs in state departments is done by the respective State Public Service Commissions and the educational requirement is a degree in agriculture or allied fields. The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the premier body engaged in agricultural research and thus requires scientists and research scholars (preferably with M.Sc and higher qualifications). Organisations, such as the Institute for Horticulture Research, National Dairy Development Board and various NGOs are on the look out for trained professionals either on a permanent, contract or project basis. Consultancy is another lucrative field. Nationalised banks with a rural banking department and the rural banks such as the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) also hire professionals from this field. A number of related careers have also emerged in agri-business and agro-industry. As a result, several industries are involved in producing, processing, packaging, transporting, distribution and marketing of farm products. Also included are those businesses that supply farmers with goods and services like machinery, seeds, fertilisers, credit and management information. Please feel free to
e-mail your comments and suggestions to: caring@theoffice.net |
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Armed Forces Feb 07 Indian Air Force, Central Airmen Selection Board, PB No. 3004, New Delhi 110003
Elig: Matriculation with Eng as a subject. Selctn: Written Test during August. Appln Format: Employment News 8 — 14, Jan 2000. Aviation Jan 29 Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (M/o Civil Aviation), Fursatganj Airfield, Raebareli 229302, (UP)
Elig:
Selection Procedure: Entrance exam (Feb 21), Pilot’s Aptitude Test & interview. Detailed Info: Employment News 8 — 14, Jan Computers Jan 25 The Punjab State Board of Technical Education & Industrial Training, Plot No. 1-A, Sector 36-A, Chandigarh.
At Govt. Polytechnic for women, Amritsar/Jalandhar/Ludhiana/Ropar & Govt Polytechnics at Ferozepur & Bathinda. Elig: Women with AICTE approved Dip in Engg or Non-Engg (60% agg). Selctn Procedure: Merit in marks obtained in diploma and interview (Jan 29) at the above address Appln & Prosp: Rs 200/- at counter from the concerned polytechnics or from the above address. Engineering Mar 31 Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835215.
B.Arch, BE (Civil, Comp Sc, Elect & Electron, Electron & Comm, Mech, Produc & Polymer Engg), B.Pharm.
MBA (2-yrs FT, 3-yrs PT) MCA (3-yrs FT, 4½-yrs PT) MSc (Info Sc-MIS) (2 yrs) MSc (Bio-Med Instrumentation) 2 yrs)
PGDCA (1-yr FT, 1½-yrs PT)
Electron & Commn, Electl & Electron, Mech, Civil, Produc, Applied Mech, Space Engg & Rocketry.
Eligibility: Employment News 8 — 14 Jan Entrance Exam: 27 & 28 May Appln Form & Info Brochure: Send Rs 170/- (by ordinary post) (Rs. 200/- by Speed post) by PO/DD favouring “Birla Institute of Technology” payable at Mesra, Ranchi along with 2-self-addressed slips (2.5”x4”) mentioning name of the course — before Mar 25. Management May 05 Manipur Institute of Management Studies (MIMS), Manipur Univ, Canchipur, Imphal 795003.
Elig: Bachelor’s degree (50% agg) (45% forSC/ST) Selctn: Scores in AIMA-MAT, GD & Interview. Appln Form: Send Rs. 650/- by DD Favouring “Manipur Institute of Management Studies, MU, Imphal” payable at SBI (Code 5320) to above address. Merchant Navy Mar 17 Directorate General of Shipping, ‘Jahaz-Bhavan’, W.H. Marg, Mumbai 400001. Admission to T.S. Chanakya, Navi Mumbai/ Marine Engineering & Research Institute, Calcutta.
Elig: Age below 20-yrs (25-year for SC/ST) as on 1 Oct. 2000. Selection Procedure: Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) conducted by the IITs on 2 Jan & May, 2000. Appln Form: Send Rs 250/- (Rs 160/- for SC/ST) by crossed DD favouring “Director General of Shipping, Mumbai” along with self-addressed, stamped (RS. 50/-) envelope (11”x5”) to: 1) Directorate General of Shipping “Jahaz Bhavan” Walchand Hirachand Marg, Mumbai 400001 OR 2) TS Chanakya, Karve, Nerul, Navi, Mumbai 400076 OR 3) Marine Engineering & Research Institute, P-19, Taratola Road, Calcutta 700088. Also available from following Syndicate Bank branches: Amritsar; Ambala (Cant);
Chandigarh; Gurgaon (Cant); Jammu; Nehru Place, New
Delhi; Patiala (Main); & Gandhinagar, Bangalore. |
