The universities have been asked to set up an international affairs office with a view to expanding the global outreach of Indian higher education in line with NEP 2020

International affairs offices of Indian varsities will promote ‘Brand India’

The universities have been asked to set up an international affairs office with a view to expanding the global outreach of Indian higher education in line with NEP 2020

25.01.2021 

Rajlakshmi.Ghosh@timesgroup.com

In its efforts to boost internalisation of higher education, the UGC has directed all universities to set up office for international affairs, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Promotion of Indian Higher Education Abroad (PIHEA) committee that was set up in 2004, to promote India as a global study hub. “UGC’s capacity building initiative to promote ‘Brand India’ aims at encouraging internationalisation, in keeping with NEP 2020,” says Bhushan Patwardhan, vice chairman, UGC.

Affordable degrees

While short duration courses under ‘Study in India’ campaign have attracted foreign students from developed nations, it is time to prepare Indian universities to host international students for long term degrees as well. “India can provide world-class affordable education even in STEM and a dedicated international affairs office can drive home that point. Just as innovation centres boost entrepreneurship across campuses, the international affairs office would undertake a whole host of activities including international admissions and hostel facilities, foreign student orientation and faculty preparedness,” Patwardhan adds.

He calls for student mobility on Indian campuses for economic, socio-economic and geopolitical reasons to “create a multicultural ecosystem that can give the stimulus for scholarship and innovation”.

Key facilitator of research collaborations

The UGC directive, says Rama Shankar Dubey, vice chancellor, Central University of Gujarat, has come at the right juncture, though internationalisation of higher education, can only be achieved “with upgradation of the curriculum as per the global standards”. “An international cell in every university can enlighten the foreign students about the quality of education being imparted while helping universities compete at the global level.”

NEP 2020, according to Dubey, envisages promoting multidisciplinary education involving major and minor courses from across disciplines. The university’s international affairs office can ensure more foreign collaborations towards that end.

“NEP 2020 mandates deploying the National Research Foundation at the apex level to monitor and mentor the quality of research in the country and promote collaborations with foreign institutions. The international affairs office can be a nodal centre at the university level to facilitate such research collaborations,” adds Dubey.

CBSE to increase evaluation centres for boards 2021

CBSE to increase evaluation centres for boards 2021

The board will soon release fresh sample question papers based on the reduced syllabus

c-Sheetal.Banchariya@timesgroup.com

25.01.2021 

While several state boards have released the exam schedule for board exams 2021, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is yet to announce the datesheet for class X and XII boards. However, the exams will commence on May 4 and will continue till June 10, 2021.

Anurag Tripathi, secretary, CBSE, told Education Times that the board is taking special measures amid coronavirus to conduct the exams.

“This year, the number of exam centres across the country will be increased to maintain social distancing. Similarly, the provision for centralised evaluation process will continue and the number of evaluation centres will also be increased. But, the board will not be responsible for providing vaccines to the teachers and evaluators.” To avoid any further disturbance, the board will work on a speedy declaration of results and may be released before mid-July.

Full report on educationtimes.com

Entrance exam syllabus need not be reduced

Entrance exam syllabus need not be reduced

c-Puniti.Pandey@timesgroup.com

25.01.2021 

While the CBSE and many other state boards have reduced the syllabus for class X and XII to reduce the pressure on students, there have been no alterations in the syllabus for national level entrance exams such as JEE, NEET. Students, however, will have various options in the JEE question paper this year.

Speaking to Education Times, Dr Faheem Ahmed, associate professor, Department of Community Medicine, HIMSR, says syllabus for competitive exams cannot be shortened since the exams are not based on class XII syllabus.

Aspirants of competitive exam never limit their preparation to the course content of 10+2. Most students explore vast syllabus to crack the exams, he adds. “Reducing the syllabus will only increase the scores. However, the allotment of the seats in medical colleges is not based on score, but merit. There will be limited number of beneficiaries, even if the merit goes higher due to the limited number of seats in professional courses. Therefore, there is no need to relax the syllabus for entrance exams. Authorities may consider fee waiver in order to help the students, says Dr Ahmed.

Moreover, during the lockdown students had enough time to explore various knowledge banks as most of these are available online, she adds.

Favouring a reduction in the syllabus of JEE, M Afshar Alam, dean, School of Engineering Science and Technology, Jamia Hamdard says, “Since students are habitual for classroom teaching, their preparation must have been impacted during the pandemic. Reducing the syllabus for JEE will not have any major impact on the students’ future learning as JEE is based on class XII syllabus. Moreover, the students are taught the basics of Physics and Chemistry in the initial years of their engineering as well.”

How corporates support young women in STEM

How corporates support young women in STEM

Several companies are providing financial aid to encourage girls to study science and make a career in scientific sectors but we need more

c-Sheetal.Banchariya@timesgroup.com

25.01.2021 

As per a UN report, India tops the world in producing female graduates in STEM but ranks 19th in employing them. Another report by the UN suggests that while 40% of Indians who graduate in STEM disciplines are women, only 14% of the total 28,000 scientists and engineers in research and development institutions are women. To bridge the gender gap in the industries, there needs to be a focus on increasing women in STEM from the start of their careers. Buddy4Study, a portal for scholarships, reveals as many as 25 scholarships for girls funded by major corporates. Several companies have special internship programmes to give them a solid platform, but the CSR initiatives need to have more focus on girls from EWS.

L’Oreal’s ‘For Young Women in Science’ scholarship is awarded to 50 women worth 2.5 lakh each to bright and deserving young women from all over India.

“At a micro level (household level), while the lower-middle-income group aspires to educate their daughter in market-relevant new-age courses, their limited financial resources make it mostly unaffordable. Besides, if girls want to pursue graduation in science, the expenses further increase,” says Snehhal Chitneni, director, Communications, CSR, Public Affairs & Ethics, L’Oreal. “These women then become role models to many others around them and motivate young girls and their families to break social barriers or perceived notions of associating STEM fields with gender,” adds Chitneni.

Besides, the most critical step is to change the mindset of society and have educational institutions that encourage the girls to opt for STEM education. Launched in 2014, Mastercard’s signature STEM education program Girls4Tech™ focusses on inspiring young girls to pursue STEM careers through a fun, and engaging curriculum incorporating deep expertise in payments technology and innovation, as well as encryption, fraud detection, data analysis and digital convergence.

Download PDF version of voter ID cards from today

Download PDF version of voter ID cards from today

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:25.01.2021 

On National Voters’ Day on Monday, the Election Commission will roll out the ‘e-EPIC’, a non-editable and secure PDF version of the electoral photo identity card (EPIC) that can be downloaded on the mobile phone or in a self-printable form on the computer.

The e-EPIC facility — to be launched by law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, ‘guest of honour’ at EC’s 2021 National Voters’ Day event on Monday, by distributing e-EPICs and EPIC cards to five new voters —will eliminate the wait for delivery of the physical EPIC card after it is approved. Now, immediately upon approval EPIC will be downloadable. Electors can print the card, self-laminate it or store it digitally, as per convenience. The e-EPIC shall be in addition to the plastic voter EPIC card being issued upon fresh registration.

The e-EPIC can be uploaded by the voter on digilocker and stored securely along with other documents. All new electors registered during special summary revision 2021 —those who applied during November-December 2020 — and whose mobile number provided while applying is unique, will get an SMS and may download e-EPIC between January 25 and 31, 2021.

Thereafter, all other general electors will be able to download their e-EPIC w.e.f February 1, 2021, in case they are having unique mobile number in the e-Roll. Alternatively, they will have to undergo ‘know your customer’ (KYC) process before downloading the e-EPIC.

The e-EPIC will eliminate the need for a voter to get a new card made each time there is a change in address on account of migration. A single e-EPIC card would suffice, with only changed address in QR code, which can be downloaded afresh. This would enable the principle of ‘One nation - one election card’.

Voters who have lost or damaged their EPIC card will be able to download duplicate cards for free. Currently, this facility entails a payment of ₹25.

CITYLIGHTS

CITYLIGHTS

Service, with more than a smile

This reporter, while vacationing in a tier-2 city, experienced unparalleled customer service at a cooperative textile shop. On Christmas eve, the reporter and her friend went clothes shopping. However, post shopping, there was a hiccup when all ride-sharing apps cancelled trips as there was traffic congestion during the holiday season. After multiple failed attempts to book a taxi, the shop owner, who saw how distressed they were, ordered his staff to drop the customers home. The reporter was pleasantly surprised to get such customer service, and realised that even the most advanced technology is no match to the warmth of human kindness.

— Mamtha Asokan

How far away is Chennai?

Signboards are meant to help you but, on our highways, sometimes they only serve to confuse you. On Mudichur-Gandhi Salai, one such board says that you are 19km away from Guindy. Just a few 100m away, near the police outpost, another signboard says that Guindy is 16km away. And yet another, on Gandhi Salai-GST Road junction, says that Guindy is just 12km away. While locals may just ignore these signboards, they would definitely confuse migrant workers and people coming from other states. The highways department should take note of it and make the necessary changes.

— A Selvaraj

Meet the Coronnials

We've had the baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, the millennials... well, the latest to join the alphabet soup seems to be the 'Coronnials', or babies born in 2020, the year of the pandemic. Don't stop the presses yet. It's still unofficial, but doing the rounds nonetheless. I saw a new mother the other day, walking with her little baby strapped inside a pram. She was stopped by a couple who were excited to see the baby. "Oh my, is she a Coronnial? You know what we mean, babies born in the time of Corona?" they enquired enthusiastically. The new mother stared back bewildered. Not me, though, for I had got a little nugget for this column.

— Kamini Mathai

Number confusion

People booking railway tickets online were really confused recently to see two trains with the same numbers showing up on the website. The railways was quick to address the issue but numbering of trains is proving to be a big challenge for officials. The reason? Railways is in the process of resuming most of the express trains that were running before the pandemic. These trains have been slotted as 'specials' and cannot have their original number along with the names though they run as per the pre-Covid timetable. This is because the railways don't want to declare that scheduled trains are back on track until they get a final clearance from the ministry for normal operations.

— V Ayyappan

Unauthorised halts slow TNSTC buses

Unauthorised halts slow TNSTC buses

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:25.01.2021 

Passengers returning from Villupuram, Vellore and Puducherry and other nearby cities to Chennai in government buses this weekend had a harrowing time.

Many point-to-point and deluxe services, which are supposed to be operated as limited stop services, stopped frequently at unauthorised bus stops after reaching the city’s outskirts, according to several passengers. These buses are operated by TNSTC Villupuram.

Almost once every five kilometres, buses stopped to pick up passengers to Tambaram and Koyambedu. As a result, it took almost three-anda-half to four hours to travel from Tindivanam to Chennai, whereas other buses cover this distance in three hours, said T R Pandian, an activist from Anna Nagar, who frequently travels on this route.

“If drivers and conductors are going to stop in all the bus stops, then what is the point in running deluxe services and charging more?” he asked.

In response, a TNSTC Villupuram official said that the demand for mofussil buses was high during weekends and they have instructed staff to transport as many passengers as possible. “Deluxe services not necessarily mean they shouldn’t stop at intermediate stops,” said the official, who agreed to look into the issue of point-to-point buses stopping at unauthorised stops.

However, official documents suggest that mofussil buses charge ₹3-5 extra for deluxe services for every 10 km compared to ordinary services which halt at all designated bus stops.

TNTSC drivers and conductors said that picking up more passengers meant that they earned more money.