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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE | Tuesday, April 11, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
Female literacy must for social development By V.S. Mahajan WHILE we often boast of higher education policy, rarely do we think of school education policy and possibly never of rural education policy, notwithstanding the fact that despite high urbanisation this country till date has predominantly rural population. Govt cut cruel blow to PAU Deakin
resource centre at Delhi |
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Female literacy must for social
development WHILE we often boast of higher education policy, rarely do we think of school education policy and possibly never of rural education policy, notwithstanding the fact that despite high urbanisation this country till date has predominantly rural population. And it is here that the largest number of illiterates are to be found whose number exceeds the number we had at the time of Independence. This shows how within this period of over 50 years we have failed to achieve the most elementary input of economic and social development — literacy. Little surprise than that today we happen to be one of the poorest and illiterate nations. Even China that started on the path development later than India and was in a worse position in human development compared is now far better placed in basic growth indicators like population pressure, literacy, industrialisation, skilled manpower and overall social development. While much is talked of China’s dictatorial administration, little is appreciated of the role that literacy among women has played in the control of population in that country. The wide population gap that existed between India and China earlier is closing down. The message is clear. In case we want to avoid a population catastrophe, we must move fast enough on the road of rural literacy programme, especially in the sphere of female literacy, where a lot of spadework work is required. That a positive relation exists between female education and social development is evident even when we look at the experience of our own southern states which are better placed in literacy compared with the north. See what a dramatic social change has come about in Kerala where women enjoy a high rate of literacy and consequently have a say in decision-making, including child bearing. If we want to emerge from this vicious circle of population and poverty — both are interrelated — the highest priority should be given to rural education. So far with our bias for higher education we have failed to provide sufficient funds as well attention to rural education. It is well known that benefits of higher education have only gone to a small segment of population, mainly the urban elite. Even in school education much attention has been paid to urban schools. We have imposed urban school curriculum on rural schools. Equally, there has been a tendency to employ urban trained teachers to man rural schools who generally hail from neighbouring towns and have little interest in rural schools. While delivering rural education, we must think in terms of rural education and get out of the fad of imposing schoolbooks and teachers with an urban bias. Every state, therefore, must resolve to commit a major portion of its education budget to rural education instead of diverting it for higher education; in fact a good part of the latter can be effectively delivered by the private sector as has been the experience of southern states. For training rural teachers, special institutes should be set up where they are given intensive training in the system of rural education. Much effort should go in preparing new courses relevant to the rural environment. While we have a national body like the NCERT, very little effort has been made in the area of rural education. In fact, in its high-profile programmes little has been done to draft text that would suit the needs of rural children. Here individual interest of both boys and girls as well of the community would have to be kept in view. Their special needs for agriculture, environment, vocational and allied courses would have to be dovetailed into these courses. Girls should have exposure to courses that are relevant to them. Also, we have hitherto made little attempt to provide infrastructure for delivering rural education. Several areas yet do not have proper school-buildings and where these exist, these are not maintained. Now we have panchayats practically in all villages; these bodies should be made responsible for construction as well as maintenance of school-buildings, for which sufficient funds should be provided. Why should the rural education be under the charge of the District Education Officer whose staff rarely visit these schools, much less the DEO? We should discard this
bureaucratic system and instead ensure effective
decentralisation and management of the rural education
programme. Let us strengthen panchayats in this respect
which should be able to deliver the goods more
effectively. |
Govt cut cruel blow to PAU THE Board of Management, the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has approved the annual budget of the university worth Rs 12978.83 lakh for the year 2000-2001 against Rs 10448.25 lakh for the year 1999-2000. This is a deficit budget and PAU continues to face the financial crunch as the state government, which is the major contributor of finances to the university, has levied a cut of Rs 17 crore on the budget estimates submitted for the year 2000-2001. There is already a backlog of Rs 17 crore of the previous year 1999-2000. According to Mr C.L. Bhatia, comptroller, PAU, the state government has approved the budget estimates in respect of non-plan/non-plan (committed) agriculture and veterinary schemes to the tune of Rs 6363.00 lakh and Rs 580.00 lakh for the financial year 2000-2001. The budget estimates for the year 2000-2001 were prepared for Rs 7781.17 lakh and Rs 761.30 lakh, respectively. Thus there is a deficit of Rs 1418.17 lakh and Rs 181.30 lakh, respectively. This deficit would be met by mobilising internal resources. The state government has a sanctioned allocation of Rs 900.00 lakh for agriculture schemes (plan) and plan veterinary schemes Rs 500.00 lakhs. As much as 52 per cent of the total budget allocation would be spent on research, 26 per cent on teaching an 9 per cent on extension education. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will contribute Rs 20.40 crore. Besides, the ICAR has contributed Rs 21 crore to meet the arrears of teachers’ salaries following implementation of the new UGC scales. However, the Punjab Government has not committed its share of 20 per cent in this regard which comes to about Rs 8 crore. Punjab Agricultural University will raise its own resources worth Rs 12 crore to reduce the deficit. The Punjab Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs 15 crore to meet the backlog but the money has not been received so far. The university continues with its ban on recruitment of teachers and as many as 400 posts are lying vacant. Dr Hari Singh Brar, President, Punjab Agricultural University Teachers Association, has urged the state government to lift the ban on recruitment as the university needs young teachers to cope with technical developments, particularly in the field of information technology. The posts of Assistant Professor should be filled without delay. Dr Brar has also sought
an increase in the contingency funds for research
purposes. He says research work at the university is
suffering because of the financial crisis. |
Deakin resource centre at Delhi Australia’s ‘University of the Year’ and one of its largest universities with more than 70,000 students in Australia and internationally — Deakin University — now has a resource centre at Delhi. This is their first such unit in the Indian subcontinent. This resource centre will continue to facilitate a highly effective and fast one-to-one interaction between prospective Indian students and the university in Australia. It will allow students to gain first-hand information as well as serve as a contact point for anxious parents once their children have left for the university. Located in South Delhi, it will offer the entire gamut of services for interested students, from literature and counselling to pre and post departure services. To fulfil the high demand for IT-related programmes especially from the Indian students, Deakin University has launched a masters programme in e-commerce and a Masters programme in IT. These programmes, which will encompass a broad range of courses in these areas, will be led by well-established academicians and professionals from the industry. Deakin University is the first Australian university to offer masters in e-commerce to Indian students. Awarded the prestigious
‘Australian University of the Year’ award in
1995 and again in 1999, Deakin University has an enviable
reputation for using innovative information technology to
deliver courses in new and imaginative ways. — TNS |
Career hotline I am blind with no formal educational qualifications. I wish to enrol for BA from IGNOU. Please provide me the details. Sunita Arora, Bathinda Since you do not possess formal educational qualifications (i.e. have not passed 10+2 or equivalent examination), to do a BA from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, you must first enrol for the 6-month Bachelor’s Preparatory Programme (BPP). The minimum age requirement is 20 yrs. The programme is designed to prepare students for admission to BA course by providing them with some basic grounding in mathematics and familiarising them with basic concepts and terminology of social sciences and with distance teaching methodology. The programme is offered in both English and Hindi. Student’s performance in BPP is evaluated by assignments and term-end examination. Students passing in the exam and assignments are sent offer letters to join the 3-year BA programme along with the students of formal stream. I am specialising in Botany at the MSc level. Please tell me about the job prospects in this field. Vimlesh Dhar Dwivedi, Ferozepore After your postgraduation, you could look at the following options: • Research Associate in a university, government body, health authority or industry. • Research Scientist in agricultural or botanical labs and biotechnology firms after completing a PhD. • Analyser and Investigator in food & beverage or pharmaceutical industries to maintain quality and consistency of the products. • Medical & Laboratory Technician in hospitals, laboratories, and institutions involved in conducting research and training. • Medical Sales Representative for promoting sales of pharmaceutical products to general practitioners, retail pharmacists, hospitals, clinics and doctors. • Conservationist to conduct biological surveys and accordingly, make recommendations for the management and safeguarding of rare and endangered plants, animals and their habitats. • Teacher in schools (after doing BEd) or at the college level (after qualifying NET). I wish to join as an apprentice in the hotel industry. Please tell how I can go about it? Dinesh Mehta, Ludhiana You can get a junior-skilled job in the hotel industry after completing apprenticeship training. By law, all hotels are required to take on apprentices. Apprenticeship consists of basic training followed by on-the-job training. Each apprentice is paid a nominal stipend. You can apply directly to your local apprentice office. If selected, your name will be forwarded to various hotels. However, it is not
necessary that you’ll get a job in the same hotel
where you complete your apprenticeship. You will, if
there are vacancies; otherwise you will have to look for
a job elsewhere. This will, however, not be a problem
once you have completed your apprenticeship training and
passed the tests and examinations which are periodically
conducted by the Apprentice Board to assess your
knowledge. |
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Apr 20 Indian Institute of Technology — Madras, Chennai-600036.* M.Sc. Chem/Maths/Phy * Ph.D. and MS (with/without half-time teaching/Research Assistantship): Aerospace, Chemical (including Biotech), Civil Comp Sc, Elect, Mech, Metallurgical, Ocean Engg, Applied Mech (including Biomed Engg), Mgt. * Ph.D. (with/without half-time Teaching/Research Assistantship): Chem, Maths, Phy, Eco, German, Eng. Hist, Psycho and allied areas. Elig: See leading national dailies. Appln Form: Send Rs. 200/- (Rs. 100/- for SC/ST) by DD favouring “IIT, Madras” drawn on any nationalised bank payable at Chennai along with two self-addressed (in capital letters) slips (5x10 cm), superscribing the envelop “Request for Application for Ph.D/MS/M.Sc. (Chemistry/Mathematics/Physics) Programme”, to the Deputy Registrar (Acad) till 14 April. Apr 20 Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. * 1) Ph.D. In deptts of Chemical, Civil, Mech, Comp Sc, Elect, Biochem Engg & Biotech, App Mech, Chem Hum & Soc Sc, Maths, Phy, Text Tech. * 2) M Tech In deptts of Chemical, Civil, Comp Sc, Elect, Mech Engg, App Mech, Chem, Phy, Text Tech. * 3) Interdisciplinary M Tech Com Appln, Energy, Ind Tribology, Instr Tech, Opto Electro, Optical Comm, Polymer Sc & Tech, VLSI Design Tools & Tech. * 4) MS (Res) Chemical, Comp Sc, Elect, Mech, Civil, Biochem Engg & Biotech, App Mech. * 5) MDes (Indl Design) (4 sem, F/T) * 6) MSc (4 Sem, F/T) Chem, Maths, Phy * 7) MTech (Energy & Environ Mgt) (P/T, evng) Elig: * CGPA of 6.75 (6.25 for SC/ST) on a 10-point scale or 60% agg (55% for SC/ST) in all yrs/sem of the qualifying exam. * For Ph.D in English: CGPA of 6.25 (55%) for those with MA in English. * For Ph.D/MTech/MS (R) full-time): GATE 75 percentile (50 for SC/ST). * For sponsored or P/T candidates: Min 2 yrs exp for Ph.D and 1-yr for MTech/MS (R). * For (7): 1-yr work exp in R&D organisations, PSUs, govt. deptts or private industries. Appln Form: Send Rs. 300/- (Rs. 150/- for SC/ST) by crossed DD favouring “Registrar, IIT-Delhi” payable at SBI, IIT-Delhi, along with self-addressed, stamped (Rs. 12/-) envelope (25x20 cm) superscribed “Application for Admission to _________ Prog”, to Asstt. Registrar (PGS &R) before 13 April or by DD from Room No. AD 229 or on cash payment of Rs. 305/- (Rs. 155/- for SC/ST) from SBI, IIT-Delhi. Apr 22 Vellore Engineering College, Vellore-632014. Ph: 0416-243091/93. Fax: 0416-243092 Email: [email protected] * 1) ME (CSE) (3 Sem) * 2) ME (CAD) (3 Sem) * 3) MCA (6 Sem) * 4) MBA (4 Sem) Elig: * For (1): BE/BTech including AMIE with any of the foll specialisations: Comp Sc/Elect/Electronics/Elect & Electronics/Electronics & Comm./Electronics & Instru/Instru & Control and IT. * For (2): BE in Mech/Prod Engg. * For (3): Ist or IInd Div Bachelor’s degree in Comp Sc/Maths/Phy/Stat/App Sc/Commerce/Corp Secretaryship (with Maths or Stat)/Chem (with Maths & Phy) or BBM/BBA/BE/BTech/MBA/BES. * For (4): Bachelor’ degree. Selection: Merit in qualifying exam, entrance test & interview. Test on 7 May at 9 centres including New Delhi. Appln Form: Send Rs. 250/- by crossed DD favouring “Vellore Engineering College” payable at Vellore, mentioning the course. Also in cash at counter. May 01 Vaikunth Metha National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM), University Rd, Pune-411007. Email: [email protected] * PG Diploma in Business Administation Elig: Graduation from Indian/foreign univ. with 50% agg (45% for SC/ST). Selection: Written test on 21 May at 12 centres including New Delhi & Chandigarh followed by GD and interview. Appln Form: Send Rs. 235/- by DD favouring “The Director, VAMNICOM, Pune-411007”. CARING (Career
Information & Guidance), New Delhi |
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Let the teens
sleep Of the estimated 1,00,000 car crashes a year linked to drowsy driving, almost half involve drivers aged 15-24, according to the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Teens receive little information on the importance of sleep and have a tremendous number of academic, extracurricular and social pressures. One suggested solution is to start the school day later in the morning as there is medical evidence that teens’ bodies are still in a sleep mode till 8 am. Teens, like adults, get more emotional when they are sleep-deprived. Experts recommend that parents let their teens sleep in on the weekends to make up for lost sleep. Language
complaints Anti-cheat software Software which detects
plagiarism in students’ work is to be piloted for
use in the UK. The US software from the Web site
Plagiarism.org checks students’ work against
reference material and material available in online
resource banks. It can also compare an assignment with
those of other students, and check consistency of style
through a number of pieces of work submitted by a
student. Plagiarism.org was set up in the USA to counter
the growing number of students using the Internet to
“cheat” - either by copying chunks of reference
material found online into their own work, or by
downloading essays and assignments from Internet
“essay banks”. — KSB |
