Pitch of cricket curating

Pervin Malhotra 

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Q.I’m an avid cricket buff but couldn’t get the necessary professional training to make it in this field. Please tell me something about Cricket Curators. What is the process of becoming one?— Gaurav Verma

A. In the world of sports, the term ‘Curator’ applies to a person who prepares a sports ground for use (especially a cricket pitch). This job is equivalent to that of a groundsman in some other cricketing countries. Good pitches and grounds are crucial to good matches. The goal so far has been to make what are so-called as sporting pitches which offer equal advantage to both batsmen and bowlers in order to make for a fair contest. 

Of late however, host teams or countries are sometimes preparing pitches tailor-made for their strength, be it batting, pace bowling or spin bowling. This is resulting in the Curator coming under considerable pressure.

To impart scientific training for improving the condition of pitches across the country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) offers a 3-week BCCI Certification Course, spread over 75 sessions at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali followed by a two-day 150-marks exam held at the end of the course.

It’s not a cakewalk by any means. You require a minimum 60% in both the theory as well as practical papers to clear the two papers.

Typically, each state association nominates a curator who has been associated with pitch preparation to attend the course.

It’s a demanding job for sure. The preparation of the 22-yard pitch starts weeks and even months before a test match. Besides the demands of the home team, you have to take into account all the tricky and varying soil and climatic conditions.

So as you must’ve gathered by now, Curatorship is a never-ending process. You learn as you go along… experimenting with different pitches and stadia, attending seminars.

BCCI’s Curators' Manual lists all the modern methods of preparing pitches. But you could also refer to some relevant books published in Australia and South Africa, besides gathering more information on the internet.

Scholarships for biotech courses

Q.Our driver’s son who is presently in Class XII, will be giving his board exams shortly. He wants to pursue biotechnology at the BSc level. Could you please suggest any scholarships that he can get on a merit basis? He is very bright, but his parents cannot afford the high college fees.— Damyanti Chugh

A.Through MHRD’s Department of Higher Education, the Government has introduced the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students replacing the earlier National Merit Scholarship Scheme. Under this scheme, meritorious students from poor families will receive financial assistance to meet part of their day-to-day expenses while pursuing higher studies.

The scholarships are awarded on the basis of the results of SSC exam. As many as 82,000 fresh scholarships p.a. (41000 for boys and 41000 for girls) for graduate/post-graduate studies in colleges and universities and for professional courses, such as Medical, Engineering, etc. will be provided.

The scholarships allotted to the various boards will be distributed amongst pass outs of the Science, Commerce and Humanities streams of the Boards in the ratio of 3:2:1.

Students who are above 80th percentile of successful candidates in the relevant stream for a particular Board of Exam, in Class XII of 10+2 pattern (or equivalent) whose annual family income is below Rs 6 lakh, pursuing regular courses (not correspondence or distance mode) in recognised educational institutions and who are not availing of any other scholarship scheme, are eligible for consideration under this Scheme. This is applicable to all categories of students both ‘general’ and ‘reserved’.

The scholarship amount is Rs 1000 at the bachelor’s level for the first three years of study and Rs 2000 p.m. at the Post-Graduation level. Students pursuing professional courses will get Rs 2000 p.m. in year 4 & 5. The scholarships will be paid for 10 months in an academic year and will be subject to annual renewal on the basis of stringent criteria.

Details: http://mhrd.gov.in/scholarships-education-loan-0

Besides this, several philanthropic bodies, corporates, universities and state governments offer scholarships for deserving students.

Can I do BEd after BCA?

Q.Can someone with a BCA (Bachelor of Computer Application) degree do BEd after that? — Minakshi

A.Any graduate from any academic stream who has the requisite percentage of marks at the bachelor’s level, can do a BEd. However, if you want to be a school teacher, a BCA with BEd will only qualify you for a middle school position.

Hence it may be better to get an MCA or MSc (IT) as well, if you wish to teach computer science at the higher (+2) level — where the salary is better.

Moreover, it will leave other options open for working in the industry as well.

Also, you’ll get the opportunity to coach pupils privately in your free time or join a coaching institute alongside. This will help supplement your income considerably. Incidentally, BEd is now a two-year programme.