It’s a school with a difference
By Prabhjot Singh
A state-of-the-art day boarding school is coming up in healthy and clean environs at Bondli near Samrala. Sponsored by Jagir Singh Charitable Trust, the foundation stone of the school building was laid by none other than Sant Tirath Singhji Sewa Panthi, the 12th head of Bhai Kanahiya sect, which on its own runs 28 schools, seven colleges and several healthcare centres and hospitals. Sant Tirath Singh has donated Rs 1 lakh for the new project.

• Career hotline
• Diary
• Deadline

Prospects in Australia

THE IDP Education, Australia, is organising an Australian education exhibition in India from April 1 till April 9th in different cities for students opting for higher education. This is the fifth such exhibition where more than 40 institutions are expected to participate. The exhibition will be held on April 1 in Delhi at Park Royal Hotel, on April 3 in Chandigarh at Hotel Mountview, on April 5 in Mumbai at Hotel Oberoi Towers, on April 7 in Bangalore at Hotel Le Meridian and on April 9 in Chennai at Hotel Taj Coromandel.

The key highlight of the exhibition will be the availability of information on over 10,000 courses in Australia. Visiting professors and faculty members of Australian institutions will be present to furnish any counselling and inquiry services required by the target audience Information related to admission procedures and visa information will also be disseminated at the exhibition.

The institutions expected to participate will be imparting information on various fields of study ranging from Marketing and Business to Computers and Software Technology to Travel & Tourism to Fine Arts and many other courses. Another significant objective of the exhibition is to seek spot registration of suitable and qualifying students. The IDP will guide prospective students with any follow-up during and after the exhibition.

The IDP Education, Australia, is Australia’s independent international education organisation. Established in 1969 by Australia’s universities as a not-for-profit company, it provides assistance to education system overseas, promotes the use of Australian education expertise and facilitates the enrolment of overseas students in Australia.

Its activities include project management, fellowship administration, student advisory services, application processing, education exhibitions and English Language teaching and testing.

Australia’s popularity as a quality source of higher education has grown over the past few years. There has been an average rise of 15% in the number of international students choosing to study at institutions in Australia. Significantly, the number of students from India recorded an increase of 35% during the year 2000.

One of the reasons for the increasing number of Indian students aspiring to go abroad (esp. Australia) for education is the present scenario in India where the highly specialised domestic institutions cannot hope with the flood of qualified candidate. Entry to those institutions has become more and more difficult as the number of applications have increased but the number of such institutions have remained constant.

Another reason is the Indian and global labour market, which has become more international as a result of globalisation of Indian economy. Now graduates have to compete with people from other countries and operate in international and multicultural environment.

One of the objectives of Australian institutions, besides providing world class education at competitive prices in a safe, friendly environment, is to enable their graduates to operate anywhere and in any sphere at a level of professionalism consistent with the best international practice.

International students programmes are a key factor in the internationalisation of Australian universities. The benefits of internationalisation are reflected in core university activities of teaching, learning and research. — TNS

It’s a school with a difference
By Prabhjot Singh

A state-of-the-art day boarding school is coming up in healthy and clean environs at Bondli near Samrala. Sponsored by Jagir Singh Charitable Trust, the foundation stone of the school building was laid by none other than Sant Tirath Singhji Sewa Panthi, the 12th head of Bhai Kanahiya sect, which on its own runs 28 schools, seven colleges and several healthcare centres and hospitals. Sant Tirath Singh has donated Rs 1 lakh for the new project.

Mr Jagir Singh of Madpur village, who started his career as a schoolteacher, has donated his property for Charitable purposes. Today he has donated more than Rs 1 crore for various charities, including funding of brilliant students for higher education in medicine and engineering, besides helping poor and needy patients.

The school with an eight-acre spacious campus will have sports as a compulsory subject. Among the sports advisers to the managing committee of the school are national coach of the US hockey team, Mr Shiv Jagday, national coach of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic team, Mr Sukhvir Singh Grewal, and an experienced cricket coach, Mohinder Singh Pannu.

The campus is being designed by the famous architect, Mr Charanjit Singh of Chandigarh, while Mr G.S. Gill, an engineer by profession, has volunteered to look after the engineering works.

The faculty of the school will be highly qualified NRIs who have been in the field of education. The management has decided that all children admitted to the school will be medically examined.

The school is being named after Max Arthur Macauliffe, who sacrificed his post in India and became the first British scholar to translate Adi Granth Sahib into English.

Teaching will be through the playway and Montessori methods, says Mr Devinder Singh Benepal, official spokesman of the trust.

The school will have audio-visual aids, computer labs, lush green playfields, swimming pool and a gym. The total cost of the project will be Rs 2.5 crore.

The trust also proposes to have a library in the name of Bhai Kanahiya, a nursing home in memory of Bibi Ajaib Kaur and a computer centre.

Career hotline
by Pervin Malhotra

I have heard that the ICSI has introduced new syllabi for company secretaryship examination. Could you provide me the details.

Dhirendra Batra, Gurdaspur

The Institute of Company Secretary of India (ICSI) has designed a new syllabus for Company Secretaryship examination, aimed at keeping pace with the changing environment. It will be introduced from September 2000 for the batch appearing for the examination in 2001. Advancements made in the field of information technology would be given due weightage to make budding company secretaries IT-friendly. Also, developments in areas like liberalisation, globalisation, insurance, intellectual property rights and the WTO have been taken into account while framing the new syllabus.

Entry-level conditions have also been made more stringent. The Foundation course would be restricted to candidates securing 60% or more at the 10+2 stage. Only those who obtain 55% or more in graduation would be admitted to the Intermediate course. Those securing less than 55% will be required to clear an entrance test.

Moreover, before commencing training, all students will be required to undergo a Training Orientation Programme (TOP).

For further information, you may contact:

• The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, ICSI House, 22, Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110003.
• The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Foundation Cell, ICSI-NIRC Building, Plot No. 4, Prasad Nagar, Institutional Area, Near Rajendra Place, New Delhi 110005.

I am interested in BEd through correspondence. Could you tell me about the BEd course offered by IGNOU.

Murali Mohan, Faridabad

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) offers 2-year BEd. Eligibility is graduation with 2-years teaching experience in a state-recognised school. Selection is through an entrance test.

For further information, you may contact:

• IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068.

I am deaf and wish to be employed. Are there any craftsmen training programmes for the deaf?

Dinesh Karbanda, Jammu

The Training Centre for the Adult Deaf, Hyderabad, conducts craftsmen training programmes in the trades of carpenter, welder, plumber, cutting & tailoring and Desk Top Publishing operation at ITI-level. Male and female candidates aged between 14-25 years who have hearing loss above 60 dbs in the better ear are eligible. Selection is through an entrance test. Seats are reserved for SC/ST candidates as per rules.

For further information, you may contact:

• Training Centre for the Adult Deaf (M/o Social Justice & Empowerment, Gol), Nanglonda Cross Roads, Malakpet, Hyderabad 500036.
  
  
  

DIARY

$100-million dream
Software billionaire Michael Saylor, chief executive of MicroStrategy, has said he would spend $100 million to realise his vision of a giant free Web site that would provide access to what he calls the "10,000 greatest minds of our time," reports The New York Times. His goal is free education for everyone on earth, forever. He envisions that his institution will eventually grant degrees in various disciplines, based on final exams that would be administered once a month in convention halls around the world, with grading done by computer whenever possible. Saylor's donation, which he intends to make in the form of cash and stock to his foundation, comes at a time when almost every US university is developing online courses.

Sleep for memory
Scientists have discovered a new link between sleep and memory that seriously challenges the wisdom of skimping on time spent sleeping. According to the study, published in The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, experiments show that when people learn a new skill, their performance does not improve until after they have had more than six, and preferably eight, hours of sleep, reports The New York Times. Skills and even new factual intelligence may be less important than a good night's sleep in forming many kinds of memories. According to Dr Carlyle Smith, a professor of psychology at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, USA, this is the first study to show that humans have a sleep window for learning and memory. The research has important implications for institutions such as universities and the military, that often train people amid long bouts of sleep deprivation. More sleep might actually help improve performance.

Internet vs family
Increasing Internet use is causing many Americans to spend less time with friends and family, less time shopping in stores and more time working at home after hours, according to a Stanford University study. According to principle investigator Norman Nie, a political scientist at Stanford, the trend means people are spending more time with their computers and less time with human beings. Nie believes that the Internet is creating a broad new wave of social isolation in the USA, raising the issue of a world without human contact or emotion. Many disagree with Nie, believing that the Internet has created alternative electronic relationships that may replace or even enhance face-to-face family and social connections. The Stanford survey, which was conducted by the university's Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, appears to offer an Internet-era parallel to some of the findings of "The Lonely Crowd," a landmark sociological analysis of American society in 1950.

Stress, hormone & mind
The mind-emptying effect of entering an exam room may be linked to high levels of a stress hormone, according to scientists. The hormone cortisol, released by the body in response to stressful situations such as examinations or courtroom appearances, was found to significantly impair memory retrieval. The research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, tested the memory of German students after they had been given a dose of the hormone. The students were asked to memorise 60 words shown to them for four seconds each. Either immediately after memorising the list, or the following day, subjects were tested on various types of memory. Cortisone tablets, which convert to cortisol once in the body, were given to half the volunteers.

— KSB

Deadline

Armed Forces

Apr 10 Central Airmen Selection Board, Post Box No. 11807, New Delhi 110010.

* Recruitment of Airmen in Technical Trade

Elig:

* Unmarried male matriculates with Eng, Math & Sc. (60% agg)

* Age: Born bet 1 Sept., ’81 — 1 Sept., ’84.

Selection: Written test in Nov at 8 centres including Ambala.

Appln Form & Detailed Info: Employment News, 11-17 March.

Apr 15 Armed Forces Medical Services/DG-1A, Ministry of Defence, ‘L’ Block, New Delhi-110001.

* Recruitment of Civilian Doctors for Short Service Commission in the Army Medical Corps as Medical Officers.

Elig:

* MBBS.

* Age: Below 45 yrs. on 31 Dec., 2000.

Selection: Interview.

Appln Form: Employment News, 11-17 March.

Computers

Apr 5 Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad.

* UG Programme in Information Technology (4 yrs.).

Elig:

* 10+2 with Phy & Maths.

* Age: Born on or after 1 Oct., ’79.

Entrance Exam: 21 May at 19 centres including Delhi & Chandigarh.

Appln Form: Send Rs. 500/- by crossed DD favouring “Educational Consultants India Limited” payable at New Delhi mentioning your name, father’s name, address and details of DD to Project Manager (IIIT — Hyderabad), Educational Consultants India Ltd., Ed. CIL House, 18-A, Sector 16-A, Noida-201301.

Hotel Management

Apr 17 Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, 11, R.A. Lines, Dogra Mandir Lane, The Mall, Meerut Cantt-250001.

Tel: (0121) 643590. Fax: (0121) 643724.

E-mail: ihmrajan@ndb,vsnl.net.in

* Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management (4 yrs)

Elig: 10+2 with Eng as compulsory subj.

Selection: Written test on 7 May.

Appln Form: Send Rs. 625/- by DD favouring “Institute of Hotel Management & Catering” payable at Meerut or Rs. 600/- in cash at counter.

Lectureship

Apr 25 University Grants Commission, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002.

* National Educational Test (NET) for Jr Research Fellowship & Eligibility for Lectureship.

Elig:

* Master’s degree in Humanities (including languages) and Soc Sc, Comp Applications, Electronic Sc, etc. with 55% agg (50% for SC/ST).

* Age limit: For JRF: 28 yrs on 1.6.2000 (33 yrs for SC/ST/OBC/PH/Women)

* For Lectureship: No upper age limit.

Test: 2 July

Appln Form: Employment News, 11-17 March.

Management

Apr D/o Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007.

* Master of International Business (MIB) (2 yrs, F/T)

* Master of Human Resource & Organisational Development (MHROD) (2 yrs, F/T)

Elig: Bachelor’s degree in any discipline (50% agg)

Entrance Exam: 28 May at 7 centres including Delhi.

Appln Form: Send Rs. 530/- for one course (Rs. 430/- for reserved category) and Rs. 830/- for both courses (Rs. 630/- for reserved category) by crossed DD favouring “The Registrar, University of Delhi “payable at SBI, Service Branch (Code No. 7687) along with two self-addressed slips, writing your name, address, centre and the course(s) at the back of DD or Rs. 500/- for one course (Rs. 400/- for reserved category) and Rs. 800/- for both courses (Rs. 600/- for reserved category) by crossed DD at counter.

CARING (Career Information & Guidance), New Delhi