Delhi: Students, teachers protest against National Education Policy

 Several organisations of students and teachers on Thursday staged a protest against the National Education Policy and re-introduction of the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) in Delhi University. They also demanded the reopening of colleges and schools that have been shut in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The protest was held outside Shastri Bhawan which houses the office of the Ministry of Education here.

The protesting organisations said in a joint statement that they submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Education. "Representatives of different organisations addressed the gathering outside Shastri Bhawan... As no one from the ministry appeared before the demonstrating people, a delegation was sent to the ministry with a memorandum," it said.

The organisations said they would intensify their protest if their demands are not met.

The protesting organisations included the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFTRE), All India Revolutionary Students Organisation (AIRSO), AISA, DYFI, SFI and the Youth for Swaraj. 

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5 ways digital can make your education offering simple but effective

 Bringing education into the 21st century through digital offerings is no mean feat. Compared to other industries, education is an area that’s often traditional and ‘old-school’ in its offerings, and can be slow to respond to new technologies and advancements.=

Education technology providers are now beginning an important conversation: “what steps can educators take to modernise?” This is by no means an easy or straightforward upgrade to make, but is an important step towards modernising the education sector’s hybrid offerings. In addition to other learnings, there are five key factors that educators should bear in mind when looking to make their education offerings simple but highly effective.

1. Synchronisability in education is king 

The key difference between introducing a simple learning management system (LMS) and a fully fledged educational offering is synchronisability. Ensuring your educational offerings are entirely synchronisable is hugely important, keeping them all nestled under one roof in one united fashion. Introducing lots of different offerings, none compatible with each other, causes confusion, complication and ultimately, mistakes.

Ensuring your educational offerings are entirely synchronisable is hugely important, keeping them all nestled under one roof in one united fashion

Having all of your offerings fully compatible under one roof will not only enhance your educational offerings but will simplify them too, allowing your institution to make the most out of what you’ve got to offer. Synchronous learning offers so many opportunities to simplify your educational offerings in a digital manner, allowing you a fully fledged integration with platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Team.

Alternatively, asynchronous will require more integration, and a greater focus on blended learning, simply due to its nature of being more ‘out of sync’ between student and teacher. Whilst there are clear benefits to asynchronous learning (such as allowing high-level Student Information Systems to be integrated with LMS), it does require more care and attention from education providers and technology providers alike to ensure students can get the most out of learning.

2. Streamline your offerings

Hosting all of your offerings in one place will help to streamline and aid your student and learning management system, making the most of the digital wave we’re currently riding.

Digital learning is one of the key education technologies to be born out of the pandemic, and is still a key technological advancement in many education institutes. Fully synchronised and streamlined offerings will not only help students to navigate this challenging learning period, but also aid institutions in understanding exactly how much they can offer in terms of digital learning, and the capabilities their offerings will let them stretch to.

3. Go all in with a digital education

It’s vital that education providers offer a full educational experience when transitioning online; there’s a risk of gaps being exposed in your offerings if you only implement a LMS, as opposed to a Student Information System and a Student Management System.

It’s vital that education providers offer a full educational experience when transitioning online

This is new ground for all educational institutions looking to implement hybrid or digital learning, so there are bound to be fundamental flaws and weaknesses. However, when you only implement a certain part of a digital system into education, more gaps appear. Whilst it can be a step into the unknown for most educational institutions, going all in and offering a full Student Information and Student Management system will ultimately leave you with the fewest weaknesses and problems to deal with in the long run.

4. Getting ahead of the technological curve is key

In the modern world, it’s crucial to get ahead of the technological curve and try to anticipate what’s coming next. Educational organisations that only implement technology when the boom hits are too ‘late to the party’; the best developing industries will be trailblazers and experts in predicting what’s going to come next, implementing the technology before it explodes.

5. Be ready for anything to ensure you’re not caught flatfooted

Ultimately, whilst these points are a guide as to how education facilities can simplify their offerings in a digital environment, key to remember is that every facility is different, and each institution will require a slightly different implementation. In the same sense, whilst every implementation is different, they all have to have one thing in common: flexibility.

If your educational offerings don’t have any scope for flexibility or swift adjustment, then they’re going to be difficult to manoeuvre if you ever need to switch to fully virtual set-up; you’ll be left flatfooted behind more advanced institutions. Having the capabilities to be adjustable and flexible will ensure your educational facility is prepared for anything, anytime.

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‘Transfer of Education Secretary a victory for teachers’

 

Terming the transfer of Punjab Education Secretary Krishan Kumar a victory for teachers’ movement against autocracy, the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), Punjab unit, in the district hoped to find solutions to their issues.

DTF state president Vikram Dev said Education Secretary Krishan Kumar had created an atmosphere of chaos and unrest during his tenure in the department. “We hope the game of statistics will end and the department will now focus on actually improving the standards of teaching,” he said. Teachers’ unions and organisations had been calling for the removal of Krishan Kumar, owing to the conflict of interest, alleging him of autocracy and ordering salary cuts, which led to a major agitation against him in 2018-19. A number of teacher union heads were also suspended and transferred due to the tussle between the department and unions.

The collective teachers’ organisations had recently also started a campaign for the removal of Krishan Kumar. The DTF members also demanded a probe into the expenditure incurred by the department under his tenure for printing of exercise books, training seminars and other expenses.

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College admissions: Haryana education dept revokes first cut-off list

Instead, the department has generated a column “Know your result” from where students can know whether a seat was allocated to them in a government college

The department of higher education, Haryana, has revoked the college-wise first cut-off list for admission to undergraduate courses from its website.

Instead, the department has generated a column “Know your result” from where students can know whether a seat was allocated to them in a government college. The accepted students can deposit the fee by September 18.

Students who did not get a seat as per their first preference can skip the admission and take part in the second list, to be announced on September 21. Students failing to make it to both lists can take part in open counselling for left-out seats on September 28.

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Explained: What’s new in higher education

The new National Education Policy is in the news again with Delhi University (DU) approving the introduction of the four-year undergraduate programme from next year, amid opposition from teachers. The NEP proposes several reforms for higher education. A look at how, if implemented in letter and spirit, the NEP can change the classroom experience:

Multidisciplinarity

Higher education in India is focused on producing disciplinary experts. But the new NEP proposes to break disciplinary boundaries. What this means is that B Tech students, for example, would no longer limit themselves to their engineering branch. Instead, their programmes will have a more significant component of arts and humanities. “Students of arts and humanities will aim to learn more science, and all will make an effort to incorporate more vocational subjects and soft skills,” the policy states.

IIT-Bombay’s new Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (LASE) Programme is one example of how the NEP’s vision translates on ground. The LASE programme, which has been introduced this year, gives students the option to graduate with a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in five fields or “concentrations” — engineering sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, art and design. The fifth option permits the student to design her own concentration. LASE students will study a set of foundation courses in their second year such as modern South Asian history, history of science, contemporary digital societies, current social structures, reading and writing literature, in addition to their STEM courses.

4-year undergrad programme

While multidisciplinarity is the final destination, the four-year undergraduate programme suggested in the NEP document is a means to that end.

Undergraduate programmes in India, except professional degrees such as B Tech and MBBS, usually last three years. The new policy proposes to “adjust” the length of degree programmes to allow students “to experience the full range of holistic and multidisciplinary education in addition to a focus on the chosen major and minors as per the choices of the student”. While the NEP doesn’t call for scrapping of the three-year format, it states that the four-year multidisciplinary Bachelor’s programme “shall be the preferred option”.

While students pursuing undergraduate education will be studying an extra year, they will also have the option to leave before that with “appropriate certification”. Quitting after the first year will earn you a certificate, after the second year a diploma, and after the third a Bachelor’s degree. Completing the entire programme would lead to a bachelor’s degree “with Research” if the student completes “a rigorous research project” in her major area(s) of study.

Delhi University is the first higher education institution to implement this NEP suggestion. Starting next year, DU students can opt for either a three-year honours programme, or a four-year honours programme, or a four-year honours programme with research. They can also exit with appropriate certification.

Academic Bank of Credit

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had introduced a choice-based credit system (CBCS) before the NEP. Under this system, you earn credits for each course you take during your degree studies. The Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) proposed by the NEP is where higher education institutions will digitally deposit credits earned by students for courses they studied.

So, how will this affect the classroom experience? On ground, the ABC is expected to aid the multiple entry and exit system as well as multidisciplinary in higher education. In other words, a student’s deposit of credits in the ABC (read: her prior learning represented in course units) should help her move laterally from one higher education institution to another, if needed.

Designating credits to each course would also mean that courses or projects in areas such as community engagement and service, environmental education, sciences, mathematics, art, sports and value-based education would carry weight. This, according to the NEP, would go a long way in “attainment of a holistic and multidisciplinary education”.

Regional languages

The new education policy lays emphasis on promoting Indian languages, arts and culture through education. One of the ways it proposes to do so is by getting higher education institutions to adopt regional languages or the local tongue as the medium of instruction in the classroom. To begin with, the government has allowed 14 engineering colleges to teach selected engineering programmes in five languages: Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu and Hindi. This, the policy states, will help increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education as students who are not proficient in English will be encouraged to pursue further studies in regional languages.

National Entrance Test

Another proposal that could change the higher education experience of students is a single university entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency. If this is implemented, students will not have to appear for multiple entrance tests. “The high quality, range, and flexibility of the NTA testing services will enable most universities to use these common entrance exams — rather than having hundreds of universities each devising their own entrance exams — thereby drastically reducing the burden on students, universities and colleges, and the entire education system. It will be left up to individual universities and colleges to use NTA assessments for their admissions,” the policy states.

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IIT Delhi launches AI Lab for judiciary

 Recently, IIT Delhi launched the Universal Justice Foundation (UJF) lab facility on artificial intelligence for the judiciary, which was inaugurated by Justice S Ravindra Bhat.

This is the second time that the institute has undertaken an initiative for the legal domain, with the first being the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Law and Technology.

AI-based tools can also streamline and accelerate the management of case-flows and bridge the existing gaps in the judiciary. The use of AI can serve as a support system for legal personnel, boosting their decision-making processes and operations.

Technology has already made its way into courts and has significantly improved data management. It has also replaced the otherwise time-consuming paper process. The new lab facility at IIT Delhi will make more such innovations.

Rajat Khare, an IIT Delhi alumnus, said, “The legal sector is undergoing a massive transformation, more so amid the pandemic. Thus, embracing new-age technologies like AI and machine learning has become the need of the hour.”

College Vidya becomes the only dedicated portal for distance & online education

Noida, Uttar Pradesh: College Vidya becomes India's first dedicated portal for distance and online education, including all of India's recognised ODL (Online and Distance Universities). College Vidya only lists UGC-DEB approved (ODL) universities on its portal so that students are saved from falling for the fake universities and institutes. College Vidya gives free help to students seeking admission to online and distance education programmes via website.

Distance and Online Education saw a huge surge as the pandemic ceased the whole world. As education gradually shifted towards ODL mode, a dedicated portal was missing for the same. This is where Collegevidya.com can help both students and institutions in the following way:

• Portal acts as a one-stop source for all the inquiries students and connect them with their ideal Universities.

• College Vidya is an unbiased portal and does not favour any ODL university over another.

• Video Counselling, Telephonic Guidance, and WhatsApp sessions helped students to get admission in various UG & PG Degree Programs including MBA.

College Vidya was incepted after the first COVID wave in 2020 and since then it has established a firm grip in the ODL Education genre. Currently, College Vidya has listed 75+ Online and Distance Universities that are approved by UGC (University Grant Commission) and DEB (Distance Education Bureau).

During the second wave of the pandemic, College Vidya counselled 5 lakh students who started higher education, without any fee while the country was in lockdown.

Mr Mayank Gupta, the CEO of College Vidya, expressed his delight with the present milestone by saying: “I wanted to create a platform that is free and unbiased so that it can be used by anyone and each one that is looking for the best university & its various crucial factors. Distance & Online Education is now growing immensely in the country, but still, it is not getting equal recognition amongst the students and working professionals.”

As College Vidya completes a year of its beginning, College Vidya is working right now on the College Vidya Compare feature. This compare feature allows the students to self-compare all the ODL courses and colleges on the basis of approvals, fees, Learning Management System, Curriculum, Placement Assistance, Faculty and Alumni Connect. Compare Feature eliminates the middlemen and places the ability to choose the preferred University in the hands of the student. In this regard, Rohit Gupta, COO of College Vidya, says in his statement: College Vidya’s goal is to become India's largest Online & Distance Education Aggregator. This portal's unique and unbiased idea is that we created a compare feature, which allows students to assess all of the colleges and universities that offer valid distance and online education.”

Apart from the website, College Vidya is active on all social media platforms. College Vidya is constantly uploading videos to its YouTube channel on a variety of important topics, courses, and universities/institutes so that students can gain a thorough understanding. College Vidya is working to dispel all myths and misconceptions about online education, and YouTube is one medium where College Vidya is making a significant difference.

College Vidya has undertaken efforts to provide support for students of all types of backgrounds in all regions of the nation, regardless of their social or economic status, in online and distance learning. College Vidya intends to launch the compare feature as soon as possible so that students can choose the best university for them based on the most important deciding factors.

For any queries visit collegevidya.com or contact the toll-free number - 18000 4205757

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Urgent call for Covid-safe ventilation in schools

 There is an urgent call for action on ventilation in schools - to slow the spread of Covid-19 - when pupils return, in September.

Six education unions have written to England's education secretary, warning of a steep rise in Covid and "long Covid" when pupils return to classes.

Rules on keeping pupils in "bubble groups" and face masks were relaxed by Gavin Williamson at the end of term.

Better airflow measures would limit disruption and sickness, unions say.

And they are also demanding funding for:

• carbon-dioxide monitors - to ensure adequate airflow
• micro-filters for removing harmful particles

The Department for Education said: "We want to ensure schools are both safe and comfortable for students and staff - and good ventilation has consistently been part of government guidance.

Areas where ventilation is poor should be proactively identified so that steps can be taken to improve fresh air flow if needed."

And pointing to a £1.75m pilot scheme in Bradford said it was working to identify cost-effective ways to reduce transmission in communities, and assess the most effective use of proven air purification technologies in school settings.

But a parliamentary answer revealed no funding had been allocated specifically to school ventilation since January.

'Already suffering'

The main education unions - the National Education Union (NEU), NASUWT, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), GMB, Unison and Unite - have backed the urgent call, along with Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Daisy Cooper.

Many thousands of teachers are already suffering from long Covid, they say.

ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton said: "Government action on ventilation in schools and colleges amounts to little more than recommending that windows are kept open, which is not sustainable in providing a comfortable learning environment in the depths of a British winter.

"If the government is serious about bringing to an end the educational disruption of the past 18 months then it must provide funding for high-quality ventilation systems as a matter of urgency."

Ms Cooper said the government "must provide schools with all the required resources - both funding and support - to install high-quality ventilation systems without further delay".

The unions point out many school windows are painted shut and cannot be opened.

'Long grass'

In their letter, they say: "The benefits of ventilation in the control of airborne diseases are already well understood and accepted.

"School staff, some of whom will not be double vaccinated, or are in a vulnerable group, are also in some cases still at risk of serious illness.

"Staff who are fully vaccinated are also still at risk of catching the virus and potentially developing long Covid, which is already afflicting tens of thousands of school staff."

NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: "It is shocking that, rather than taking concrete steps now to improve the situation, the Department for Education has only just announced a pilot scheme, involving 30 schools in Bradford, to trial the use of air purifiers, with results not due until the end of the year.

"Eighteen months into the pandemic, and given the accumulated knowledge about ventilation, kicking the issue into the long grass in this way is simply not good enough."

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Khel Ratna will be now called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: PM Modi

 India's highest sporting honour Khel Ratna Award, which was named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was on Friday rechristened in the honour of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand following the admirable performance of both men's and women's hockey teams in the Tokyo Olympics.

Making the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had been getting many requests from citizens across India to name the Khel Ratna Award after Major Dhyan Chand.

"Respecting their sentiment, the Khel Ratna Award will hereby be called the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award! Major Dhyan Chand was among India’s foremost sportspersons who brought honour and pride for India. It is fitting that our nation’s highest sporting honour will be named after him," he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1423538297842769921

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1423538492403974145

The exceptional performance of the men’s and women’s Hockey Team has captured the imagination of our entire nation, the prime minister said, adding that there is a renewed interest towards the sport that is emerging across the length and breadth of India.

This is a very positive sign for the coming times, he said.

The announcement came a day after men's hockey team won a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. It was India's first medal win in hockey at the Games since the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

India women's hockey team also won the hearts of the nation despite missing out on a medal. The team led by Rani Rampal gave a thrilling contest to Rio Olympics gold medalist Great Britain in the bronze medal match but lost the match 3-4. India finished fourth in women's hockey, their best-ever finish at the Games.

UPSC CDS II 2021 notification released, application process begins for 339 posts

 

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) released a notification for the CDS (Combined Defence Services) exam 2021. Candidates can now apply for the entrance exam online at their official website- upsconline.nic.in. The last date to apply for CDS II 2021 is August 24, 2021, 6 pm.

As per the notification, there will be a limit on the number of candidates assigned to an exam centre except Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur. The exam centers will be allotted on the basis of ‘first-apply-first-allot’, after which a centre will full capacity allotment will be frozen. Therefore, candidates are requested to apply online as early as possible.

Candidates may also note that there are two parts of the online application and without the completion of either of the parts, the form will remain invalid. CDS aspirants are also requested to read all instructions carefully before filling the application.

UPSC CSE II 2021: How to apply online?

Step 1: Visit the official website upsconline.nic.in

Step 2: Click on the CDS II link

Step 3: Register using new details

Step 4: Fill form, upload images

Step 5: Pay fee, submit

The online application can be withdrawn from August 31 to September 6, 6 pm. The applications have been invited on 339 vacancies, however, the number of vacancies given above is tentative and may be changed at any stage by services H. Q.

Those who clear the exam will be eligible for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy. Candidates will have to clear a written exam followed by the SSB test. The candidates will be placed in the order of merit on the basis of the total marks secured by them in the written examination and in the SSB interview tests.

Education in India: Sab aasaan hai – all is easy and all is well

 Undoubtedly, teachers remain the most critical link between knowledge and learning delivery. The success of a robust education system lies in not just identifying pedagogical strategies or learning gaps alone – both these deficiencies require efficient and effective teachers for the system to produce ideal results.

One of the most fundamental and universal challenges faced by teachers is to bring a sense of parity into a classroom which is diverse. Even though students are classified on the basis of school years, it is a very well-established fact that every student has his own and independent learning trajectory. Quite often, this emerges as a challenge for teachers who have to account for various other conflicting factors such as time-bound teaching schedules. However, the good news is that antidotes to these concerns exist in the form of strategies that can be more effective in bringing all students to the same level. Focusing on using repetition as a tool and emphasising on ‘ease’ is one way to create a sense of parity in the classroom.

The role of repetition, recognition and reinforcement in teaching has been well-established by research. From philosophers like Aristotle to modern thinkers such as Norman Vincent Peale, a well-known mantra is the importance of incorporating repetition through exercises in a way that ensures that new ideas are seeping from the conscious mind to the sub-conscious. Early education, especially that focuses on introducing the fundamentals of any subject is built heavily on creating this repetitive pattern through varieties of learning. For instance, when students are introduced to something as basic as a sleeping line or a standing line, they are not only made to practice drawing it multiple times but also taught to look for the same in real-life objects such as a log of wood or an electricity pole. In many ways this repetition which is also called practice is the building block of developing any skill that eventually leads to accomplishment.

This also allows teachers to take cognizance of the varying levels of learning and student response in a classroom. One of the most fundamental principles is that teachers may not want to graduate to the next stage of learning till it is established that every single student is on the same page. While teachers often struggle to ensure this at every stage, the idea of ‘aasaan hai’ helps them also internalise this sense of ease which then feeds into their pedagogical process. This system of repetition is a two-way street in the sense that not only does repetition help one learn new information, the mind too reacts to such patterns if there is an element of award or reward. This phenomenon is recognised by the field of psychology as positive reinforcement wherein the mind recognises that performing a certain task yields a reward and that is why it constantly performs (and rather well) the said task. Habits are often instilled in young children through this mechanism.

These ideas and principles are especially relevant to the Indian education system if we can successfully build on these to introduce the concept of ‘sab aasaan hai’ (all is easy or all is well, as goes a popular Bollywood song). One may see that when parents introduce a seemingly difficult activity to their children, they preface it with don’t worry, this is easy. These words of encouragement are meant to act as a stepping stone to new ideas and to ensure that any preliminary fears of new concepts are taken care of so that there is no impediment of learning. Millennial internet slang would describe this feeling through the motivational words, ‘you got this.’ What is then the purpose of building such a motivation? This idea is based on the very natural human reaction where learning anything new seems like a Herculean task – at least, prima facie – and triggers fear immediately. This fear can be overwhelming and powerful enough to obstruct the process of learning and make someone feel like they have a learning impairment where none exists. Such a fear is difficult to diagnose or identify and can lead to many learners lag behind in the process. Not only is it a colossal loss of talent – who knows a child afraid of maths today maybe the Aryabhatta of tomorrow – but this is also germinating a feeling of lifelong regret where as adults they may look back and experience a sense of loss of opportunity.

It is well-known that one of the more effective ways of teaching new concepts to children is to build on existing forms of knowledge or use local references. Once again, this borrows from the concept of repetition and reinforcement. So over time, this reinforcement will develop into a ready-made reserve of motivation for a student who is likely to feel more confident and motivated to take up newer challenges. The fear of the unknown or what lies ahead triggers an uncertainty that philosophers and saints have been trying to understand for ages. But successful policy-making requires one to constantly think a step ahead of challenges instead of waiting for them to reveal themselves.

By making this idea of ‘aasaan hai’ an integral part of the curriculum as well as the pedagogy, we will be able to create a generation of learners who will also be equipped to be better teachers and efficient problem-solvers. New age concepts such as design thinking are based on a solution-first approach. What better milestone than early learning to embed the framework with the answers for tomorrow in one’s mind and system?

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Lakshadweep admin orders education dept officials in Kochi to shift to islands

 The Lakshadweep administration on Friday ordered the officials of the education department in Kochi to shift to the islands. The Directorate of Education of Lakshadweep administration also asked its education officer in Kochi to shift all the office materials like electronic equipment, furniture and files dealt by five of its staff from Kochi to the islands. The Lakshadweep administration has an office in Kochi from which several departments operate.

Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal PP criticised the decision saying that it will adversely impact around 4,000 students from the islands who are studying at various educational institutions in Kerala and also said that the order will be challenged in the court. The order asked the officials which include accountant, a stenographer, two clerical staff and a MSE to shift ‘consequent upon the decision to rationalise the staff of the Education Office, Kochi.’ The education officer in Kochi has been asked to relieve the officials with direction to report before director of education Rakesh Singhal Danics in seven days.

“With the new decision, the students studying in Thiruvananthapuram or other parts of India now need to travel to Lakshadweep to solve their problems. Otherwise, they would only need to travel to Kochi to meet their education and resolve their issues and go back,” Mohammed Faizal PP was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Faizal said that the administration’s education office has been functioning from Kochi since the last three years and was set up for easy access for the needs of students studying in the mainland.

Faizal also termed the move as an ‘unwanted action’. He also alleged that the island administrator Praful Khoda Patel took the decision unilaterally without any discussion with representatives of the people in the islands or even the standing committee on education of the Lakshadweep district panchayat.

The island continues to witness protests by residents from the past month against Praful Khoda Patel’s reforms. The residents claim that measures are being implemented without taking the people of the islands into consideration. The Save Lakshadweep Forum (SLF) said that the protests will continue until the administration withdraws the measures.

News from the world of education: June 4, 2021

Ashoka invites applications for VISP

Ashoka University invites current undergraduate students from across India to experience the university’s academic offerings through the Visiting Indian Student Programme (VISP). The six-week long online programme will commence on July 5 and conclude on August 13. Deadline for enrollment is June 5. Classes will be held Monday to Friday with over 48 contact hours and in-depth interaction with faculty and teaching fellows. All courses and materials will be offered via secure online platform with full technology support. In addition, numerous professional, cultural and social interaction will be offered through the ‘eSCAPe’ platform of events online for the summer undergraduate cohort. Students can gain credits for the courses they take. To apply, visit: https://apply.ashoka.edu.in/SocialLogin.aspx#

Live learning launches coding programme

Live Learning Technologies began its “Coding for Kids”programme under its Tech Entrepreneurship Initiatives. Not only will this help them help them learn coding but also develop an analytical mindset,a problem-solving attitude and enhance creativity. Open for students from Classes 5 to 10, the virtual classes will be conducted by professionally qualified experts and mentors. More information at Schools.livelearning.io

Govt. of Haryana calls for applications for CMGGA 2021

The Government of Haryana has announced a call for applications for the sixth cohort of the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates (CMGGA) programme commencing July 26. Last date for applications is June 7 2021. The CMGGAs work on multiple issues, from transport, education, health, and nutrition, public service delivery, sanitation & COVID management to strengthening flagship schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Antyodaya Saral, eOffice, etc. across Haryana. The new batch will get an opportunity to work on new and current flagship programs under Education, Health & Nutrition, Women Safety, and public service delivery in Haryana. To apply visit www.cmgga.in. The results will be announced in June end.

NIT Andhra Pradesh Calls for Applications to Research Programmes

The National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh has called for applications to its research programmes (for full-time and part-time Ph.D. and M.S. by Research for the academic year 2021-22. Those interested can visit www.nitandhra.ac.in to fill and submit the online application form. Last daete for submission is June 10. Eligibility criteria and other information can be found at https://www.nitandhra.ac.in/main/aphd Applicants can write to phdadmissions@nitandhra.ac.in for any clarifications.

BMU to hold Mock CLAT

BML Munjal University (BMU) will hold the All India Mock CLAT Test 2021 on June 5. The exam is based on the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) structure and syllabus and is meant to help students get accustomed to the rigour of the examination. This will be a two-hour exam with 150 multiple-choice questions carrying one mark each. There will be negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. Questions will be divided across English Language, Current Affairs including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.

Vidyamandir Classes hosts second Lecture by Legend

Vidyamandir Classes Limited hosted the second session of its virtual Lecture by Legend series recently. The focus of the session was to guide medical aspirants and frontline warriors about ways to defeat the COVID virus. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Additional Director, Department of Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement at Jaypee Hospital, Noida, spoke about the need for vaccination and appealed to people to get vaccinated. He also offered tips for medical aspirants and students in general.

Bloombrain’s COVID initiative

Ed-tech start-up Bloombrain has reduced its course fees by 50% for students belonging to financially weaker backgrounds or whose parents lost their jobs recently. The company has developed an in-house scholarship approval and profiling system that identifies deserving candidates and allows approval within 24 hours of application submission. Bloombrain also signed a partnership with Health Gennie app to offer its employees and learners free access for one year to medical consultations for any illness via India’s leading doctors.

Sanskriti University hosts webinar

Sanskriti University hosted a webinar on the Legal Framework for Pandemic Management & Response to COVID-19 in India. The objective was to discuss how public health legislation plays an important role in the containment of any pandemic. Dr. Reena Kansal Jain, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Punjab University, was a key speaker. Dr. Rana Singh, Vice Chancellor of Sanskriti University, faculty members and students participated.

Virtual graduation ceremony at Stonehill International School

Stonehill International School hosted a virtual ceremony for the graduating class of 2021 recently. All the students have received admission offers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia and have opted for diverse areas of study like Computer Science, Medicine, Engineering, Design, Business Management, Genetics, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Hospitality, to name a few.

Tekie raises $1.5 million in seed funding

Ed-tech startup Tekie has raised $1.5 million in seed funding co-led by Silicon Valley-based GSV Ventures and Multiply Ventures. Founded in 2017 by IIT-Delhi graduate Naman Mukund and SRCC alumnus Anand Verma, Tekie is a live coding platform that brings the art of storytelling to make learning a movie-like experience. It has created an animated series on coding to teach text-based coding to kids.

New BBA programme in International Finance and Accounting

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), along with Zell Education, has signed an MoU with Bennett University aimed to provide students with global exposure and international certifications through their new three-year BBA programme in International Finance and Accounting. With this, Bennett University will now be able to provide students from all domains a chance to study International Finance and Accounting from the 2021 academic year. Interested students can enrol for the programme on the Bennett University website

EuroKids Group to be known as Lighthouse Learning

Early childhood and K12 education company EuroKids Group unveiled its new identity Lighthouse Learning Pvt. Ltd. recently. Backed by global investment firm KKR, this reflects the company’s vision to be a high quality educational platform that offers the best educational experiences through its various brands. It also announced that it has extended its national network of schools to Nagpur through a partnership with The Centre Point Group of Schools (“Centre Point” or “The Group”) and Mother’s Pet Kindergarten (“Mother’s Pet”). This further expands the group’s existing portfolio of 38 K-12 schools and 1200+ Preschool across India.

Board Infinity launches mentorship campaign

Ed-tech firm Board Infinity has launched a campaign #TakeChargewithBI to offer pro-bono career coaching sessions and career guidance to students and working professionals affected by the pandemic. Board Infinity will offer 1:1 coaching session of one’s choice with an industry expert at a nominal fee of ₹50; proceeds of which will be donated towards COVID Relief Fund. On the Board Infinity platform, a learner or professional will be able to opt for any live 1:1 coaching session of their choice with an industry mentor. While all the sessions are priced at just ₹50, one can opt to contribute more if they liked the session.

Aakash launches course for JEE

Aakash Educational Services Limited has launched JEE 350, a short-term course for JEE aspirants, in association with Airtel DTH. The classes will run from 11:00am to 2:00pm on Aakash EduTV Channel no. 467, available on Airtel DTH. The daily classes will be conducted on subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. In addition to the test preparatory classes, AESL experts will also provide motivational and mentoring session to the aspirants every Sunday to ease their stress and to encourage them to overcome their challenges. To subscribe to the channel (costs ₹8.23/day), customers need to give a missed call on 9154052467 and activate their 5-Day Free Trial.

Maruti Suzuki Podar Learn School opens virtual doors

Maruti Suzuki Podar Learn School is all set to open its doors virtually for students of Sitapur in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat in June 2021. Due to the pandemic, the school will begin the online classes for the primary wing initially followed by a senior secondary school in a phased manner. As a part of its CSR initiatives, Maruti Suzuki India joined hands with Podar Education Network (PEN) to launch Maruti Suzuki Podar Learn School, which will affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Educatio.n

WUD signs MoU with University of Reading

World University of Design has signed an MoU with University of Reading, the U.K. for a range of collaboration areas ranging from Arts, Film & theatre to Communication Design, Architecture & Management. The understanding will promote staff and student exchanges and ensure mobility of qualified students from one institution to the other for the purpose of enrolling in undergraduate and graduate programmes. With this, World University of Design has now signed MoUs with over 15 top design universities in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe & Mexico.

Mahindra University launches School of Management

Mahindra University launched its School of Management virtually with the top management from MU and Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, the U.S., participating in the event. The event focused on “a collaborative relationship” and shared the collaboration across different segments including Cornell faculty delivering guest lectures at MU, academic consulting, curriculum development, student summer immersion and e-Cornell expert-led online programmes. Courses like B.A. in Economics and Finance, BBA in Digital Technologies and BBA in Computation Business Analytics will be offered under the collaboration. To mark the event, a panel discussion on Careers on the “Skills and Careers for the Modern Management Era” was also held.

IBM ties up with Indian institutions

IBM has announced that it will allow over-the-cloud access to its quantum systems for top-tier institutions of India to accelerate advanced training and research in quantum computing. The faculty and students of Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER)-Pune, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru, IIT-Jodhpur, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Madras, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)-Kolkata, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Delhi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)-Mumbai and the University of Calcutta will be able to access IBM quantum systems, quantum learning resources and, quantum tools over IBM Cloud for education and research purposes. The collaboration will be part of the IBM Quantum Educators programme that helps faculty in the quantum field connect with one another and provides them with resources to enable quality educational experiences.

Cambridge International releases March series results

Cambridge International recently announced the results of its March 2021 exam series. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, more than 7300 students received their Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS and A Level results. Cambridge International engaged with education authorities, the government, local authorities and schools to develop robust guidance to ensure the March series ran safely. The release of the results means that thousands of Cambridge students across the country can continue their educational journeys despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The March series is popular with Indian students as it enables them to get their results in time to meet local university admission deadlines.

IIT-Guwahati develops smart window materials for automatic climate control

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati) have developed smart window materials for automatic climate control of buildings. Dr. Debabrata Sikdar, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, along with his research scholar, Ashish Kumar Chowdhary, have designed a smart window material that can effectively control the amount of heat and light passing through it in response to an applied voltage. This will help develop efficient automatic climate control systems in buildings. The results of their study have recently been published in the journal, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.

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3 ways COVID has changed education for the better

 

As millions more Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19 every day, many are now wondering what society will look like in a post-COVID world. While the virus may stay with us in some form, many things will go back to normal. However, it’s less certain which of the adaptations we’ve collectively made over the previous year will fade along with the virus, and which might represent a “new normal” that we’ll take with us into the future. The American educational system, having seen dramatic impacts to educators, parents, and students as a result of the virus, is no different.

COVID-19 has represented a tremendous hardship for millions of Americans. However, that doesn’t mean that some good won’t come out of it, particularly as it relates to our students’ education. Over the past year, my organization, the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE), has reacted, experimented, and adapted to the realities of education in the time of COVID-19, in order to fulfill our mission of providing economics classes and curriculum to high school teachers and students.

Our experience points to three positive trends COVID-19 has set in motion within the American education system: educators will become more receptive to innovation, students will be able to access learning opportunities with fewer barriers than before, and educators will have more online tools to connect with their students.

Education should be first and foremost about the student’s learning experience and outcomes. However, innovation in public education that benefits student learning has tended to come in fits and starts. COVID-19, by forcing almost all public schools online, supercharged the dissemination of beneficial learning technologies throughout the country. As daily instruction moved out of the classroom and into the home, it forced us to be more thoughtful about using these new tools to meet students where they are, rather than asking them to adapt to pre-existing methods. We now have more opportunities to individualize instruction, rather than defaulting to a one-size-fits-all approach. We are also more aware of the obstacles that sometimes trip up students seeking a quality education— whether related to a lack of parental support or a bad internet connection at home—and seeking solutions to these challenges.

Fortunately, the pandemic has also opened up more opportunities for students to engage with education than ever before. Virtual education is less wedded to a specific location or certain times of the day, meaning that students don’t always need to be physically in the classroom each and every day. At FTE, the virtual element allows us to serve more students and teachers from all over the country, creating a more diverse student body, thanks to reduced travel costs. Of course, challenges remain with online education. Some subjects, like physical education, are awkward when taught remotely and the lack of in-person interaction can lead to students feeling socially isolated and lonely. We must remember that the internet is not a substitute for education; to use it effectively, teachers need support in mastering the tools of online education.

Because of these challenges, educators have learned to be more effective in communicating and connecting with students online. Prior to COVID-19, virtual education was less than widespread— meaning that some educators were naturally worried whether their style would work virtually. At FTE, we’ve now introduced more than a thousand teachers to resources on how to use technology to make their virtual economics classroom more interactive and interesting.  Online platforms, such as Nearpod or Pear Deck, enable teachers make their presentations interactive and provide the means to check student understanding in real-time. This real-time feedback and use of activities can be a game-changer as educators constantly look to connect with students in their virtual classrooms. 

The American educational system has sometimes been criticized for being resistant to change. Fortunately, the past year has shown that the system is capable of adopting incredibly innovative solutions, including a dramatic increase in the use of technology, in order to meet the needs of our students. While technology and virtual education isn’t a panacea, as we now approach a return to normalcy, I hope that educators, parents, and children will maintain the open-minded approach that proved so vital over the past year. If we can lock in the lessons of COVID-19, the system as a whole will be all the better for it going forward. 

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3D Technology: The Future Of Education

Bipin Dama, Founder and CEO of Saras-3D, Inc speaks with BW Businessworld about studying from home, student engagement and the advantages of 3D learning. 

Saras-3D is the natural progression in the study from home (SFH) reality. This helps teachers digitally engage students, empowering students to learn faster and more deeply through the power of active learning. Through virtual hands-on learning, students actively learn through the topic rather than passively learning about it. Instead of merely reading information or passively watching a video (both are useful), you can now also “interact” with 3D simulations. “Scaled models” depict a topic the way it exists in real life, helping students experience the material through direct interactions. This can only be achieved by using 3D technology. The ultimate result is two-fold. Students master skills swiftly. While parents relax, knowing their children are engaged, actively reaching their academic goals.

By learning through exploration, students are engaged just as profoundly as they would be learning in a real-life laboratory. We also utilize virtual labs and 3D videos with online learning fundamentals such as quizzes and analytics. This way, students are guided through multiple media to understand each concept thoroughly. To stay engaged while they study from home, students need a way to mimic real-world learning experiences. Genius 3D Learning uses 3D simulations and virtual hands-on learning methods. This empowers students to interact with the material and play with scaled models that depict concepts the way they exist in real life. 

This technique is based on stereoscopy, a technology that combines special eyeglasses with a booster box to create a three-dimensional, interactive experience. Students can learn twice as fast through interacting with realistic, scaled models because they learn through doing rather than simply learning about concepts. This leads to deeper understanding and better recall. In fact, many students are already using this technology to master competitive exams like JEE and NEET. 

Genius 3D Learning does not require an internet connection to access the learning content. Everything a student needs to succeed is included with Genius 3D Learning bundles. Students often lack access to devices, a reliable internet connection, or a dedicated quiet place to study. The 2017-2018 report from National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) showed that only 24 per cent of the Indian population had reliable internet access, leaving most students behind. 

When the pandemic first began, most of us thought the school closures would be short-term. But as students continue to study from home, more parents are seeing the need for tools to help their children learn effectively. The pressure is compounded when students are simultaneously preparing for competitive college entrance exams like JEE and NEET. As a study from home continues to be a lasting situation, more people are searching for long-term solutions.

By creating a solution that does not require the internet to access the learning material, a high bandwidth internet connection is no longer the dividing line for who does and does not get access to digital education. This is how we are democratizing a high-quality education across the country. 

Even after the pandemic, parents will still want to give their children the tools they need to study from home effectively. The pandemic has made us all aware of how difficult it is to study from home. The students who can do it effectively will have a distinct advantage. When schools have permanently reopened, teachers will find Genius 3D Learning the perfect tool to guide their students' understanding, imagination, and retention.

Innovation and creativity tend to peak during times of disruption. It is now apparent that the way we educate our children is ripe for innovation. This moment is an opportunity for educators to take the time to identify what is and is not working, look at problems as steps toward a solution and prioritize the most important steps to tackle. The current reality should propel us to find new ways to reach students beyond the traditional education model. 

It is also a moment for parents (a child’s first educators) to rethink the way their children learn. During this time, they are finding strategic ways to best support them to reach their full potential. This can make stressors more manageable while also carving out a way to rebuild things better than before.

During these stressful times, it is also essential for educators to focus on taking extra good care of themselves. The expectations of teachers are demanding and can feel isolating. We should connect with other educators, learn from each other. Realize we are not going through this alone, and you do not need to take everything on by yourself.

Source: http://bweducation.businessworld.in

UPSC recruitment: Final result of CDS Examination (I) 2020 declared, check here

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday (May 24, 2021) declared the final result of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2020. 

The UPSC selected 147 candidates on the basis of the written exam and interviews held by the Services Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence. However, marks of the candidates will be available within 15 days from the date of declaration of final results on the Commission's website for 30 days.

It selected 96 candidates for admission to the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, for the 113th Short Service Commission Course (for Men) and 51 candidates for Officers Training Academy, Chennai, 27th Short Service Commission Women (Non-Technical) Course.

The UPSC said that the list of 113th Short Service Commission Course (for Men) also includes the names of the candidates who were recommended earlier on the basis of the result of the same examination for admission to Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala and Air Force Academy,  Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course(s). 

Click here for results:

Candidates can also obtain information regarding results by accessing to UPSC website http://www.upsc.gov.in.

CBSE Board Class 12 Exam 2021: Jharkhand CM against holding Class 12 board examination amid the COVID-19 surge

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that holding the Class 12 board examinations in the state would not be appropriate in the wake of the present COVID-19 situation.

“If the suggestions received from the stakeholders are considered, there is a consensus on the postponement of the examination. People feel that maintaining social distance will not be possible if the exams are conducted and children can get infected,” Soren said after participating in a meeting convened by the Centre on the Class 12 board exams.

Many students and their families are going through mental stress, while several children have lost their near and dear ones, he said, and adding further he stated that conducting the examinations under such circumstances would be inappropriate.

The chief minister said that the proposals for holding the exams online have also been received. “Many such points are very important like reducing exam time, changes in the subject, home centre. Keeping all these things in mind, I have suggested that the date of all upcoming examinations should be fixed only after the pandemic comes under control,” Soren said.

“I will send my detailed suggestion in writing to the Central Board of Secondary Education within two days,” he added.

In New Delhi, after an over-two-hour meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said that states and union territories have been asked to submit their detailed suggestions on the matter by May 25.

How is virtual schooling is addressing the issue of good quality education: All you need to know

The covid situation has impacted the education sector like no other. Schools are closed, exams are being canceled, and there has been a major disruption in the entire system. As per NEP 2020, India has about 25 cr school going children out of which an estimated 6.2 crore children between the ages of 6 to 18 years were out of school in 2015. The average attendance of students enrolled in secondary school is only about 50% out of which 25-30% students actually go beyond Grade 10.

THE CAUSES FOR SUCH A LARGE NUMBER OF DROP-OUTS ARE CITED AS FOLLOWS:

Many students find themselves falling increasingly behind in school as time passes by

Access to secondary schools and upper secondary schools remains a very serious issue. In 2016-17, for every 100 primary schools/sections in India, there were about 50 upper primary schools/sections, 20 secondary schools/sections, and only about 9 higher secondary schools/sections

For many children, this means that the closest secondary and higher secondary schools are at prohibitively large distances — too far to walk, with no safe and practical conveyances available to reach school

Socio-cultural and economic issues also play a significant role in dropout rates. For example, young children are not sent to school because of perceived roles of gender, caste or child labor and pressure on children/adolescents to work and earn or even because of harmful practices like even child marriages

There also remain serious issues of inadequate infrastructure and lack of safety. Lack of Toilet facilities is a major reason why children especially girls drop out

Whilst a lot has been done over the years to get these students back to school, especially the ones who ‘want’ to study but are not able to go to school for the above-mentioned reasons, yet the result hasn’t been encouraging. So what can be done more?

Though the shift from traditional learning to digital was happening even earlier but at a very slow pace. COVID-19 has given online education a huge boost. Availability of devices and easy and cheap access to internet is also playing a major role in the proliferation of online education. The penetration was earlier limited by access to computers which have given way to smartphones capable of doing everything that a computer can. Today, 80% of internet in India is consumed using mobile phones. Just like it is impossible for today’s generation to think of a life without internet access, very soon it will be impossible to imagine how groups of students would huddle up together in cramped classrooms.

Digital education offers the most important need of the human race FREEDOM from years of trotting unwillingly to the school, freedom of studying at the fixed time, freedom from being confined to four walls, freedom to choose the teacher, and finally and most importantly the freedom to study the subjects of choice.

And finally, online learning offers EQUALITY that makes a girl in tribal areas of Odisha get the same quality of education as that of a boy in Delhi. Now, no one has any excuse for not continuing their education as school is now in their pocket.

Source

Education Minister to virtually interact with state education secretaries today

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will interact with education secretaries of all states at 11am on Monday, May 17. The meeting will be held virtually, during which the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education sector will be discussed. Union Education minister will also review the promotion of online education and implementation of the New Education policy.

Union Education Minister informed about this meeting through a tweet on his official twitter handle on Sunday. "I will be virtually attending the meeting with State Education Secretaries on 17th May, 2021 at 11 AM. The objective of the meeting is to review the #COVID situation, online education, and work around NEP," Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank wrote on his twitter handle.

The covid-19 pandemic has impacted the education sector in a big way. Students have not been able to attend schools physically for more than a year now and and a large section of less privileged students have not been able to receive education as they don't have facilities to learn online.

https://twitter.com/DrRPNishank/status/1393922780932960259

Apart from this, a number of school and university exams had to be cancelled due to the covid-19 situation. Even the CBSE Class 10 exams were cancelled and Class 12 exams were postponed last month.

Now, a section of parents and students are demanding the cancellation of Class 12 exams in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. However, CBSE said on Friday that it has not yet taken any decision on class 12 board exams.

All educational institutes closed in Himachal till April 4 following spike in Covid cases

All educational institutes in Himachal - universities, colleges, technical institutes and schools - except for the classes having their examination will remain closed up to April 4 following a spike in Covid cases.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here on Friday, which took stock of the situation and expressed concern over the surge in Covid cases in the state.

However, the schools having residential facilities can keep their hostels open in strict compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to keep these residential areas isolated and appoint compliance officer for implementation of the orders.

The teachers and other school and college staff will continue to attend the institutes; nursing and medical institutes will continue to function as usual.

Thakur said no social and cultural events would be organised in the state by the government and gatherings would be restricted to a maximum of 200 for indoor and 50 per cent of the venue capacity for outdoor events. He said congregations and ‘langars’ inside the temples would also be banned but ‘darshan’ would be allowed.

The Chief Minister said April 3 would also be holiday for all offices in the state and there would be no public celebration of Holi. He urged the people to celebrate Holi at home with their families only. Three-to-five-day Holi festivals are held in Palampur, Hamirpur and Rampur every year, but this year there will be no such public functions.

He said all frontline workers would be sensitized to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest completing their second dose as per schedule. It was also decided in the meeting that district administrations would take a judicious call on more restrictions keeping in view positivity and fatality rate in their respective districts.

CBSE class 12 Commerce exam 2021: Best tips to ace Business Studies

 Commerce is second to science when it comes to popularity among students seeking admission in senior secondary schools. The wide-ranging career opportunities offered by this stream justifies the choice for sure. However, scoring high in CBSE class 12 commerce isn’t an easy task. The compulsory papers of this course—Accountancy, Business studies and Economics—can be challenging for students, thanks to the vastness of the course and complexity of the theories. Additionally, students pursuing commerce face difficulty in understanding unfamiliar business jargons which makes it tough for them to score well in class 12 CBSE commerce exams.

The board exam date for Business Studies (BS) is 12th May. Ms. Sangeeta Gupta, PGT, Commerce, Apeejay School, Pitampura shares essential study tips that will make your life a little easier during this crucial preparatory stage and boost your score in the subject as well.

Focus on important topics

Selective study isn’t advisable for an important board exam like CBSE. However, during the last few months, you should divide your preparation time smartly so that there is always additional time left for the topics that are relative more important. “Marketing Management and Financial Management have a weightage of 30 marks (15 marks each) in the Business Studies paper of CBSE class 12 exam. Pay more attention to these. These two topics are related to practical applications like stock exchange and methods of rotation in the market. So, it is essential for students to go through newspapers to score well in them. It’s always good to supplement your answers with related keywords that you find in the newspapers,” says Gupta.

According to her, the next in the order of importance include Staffing, Directing and Controlling (20 marks) and Planning and Organizing (14 marks). Also, there has been a new addition to the Business Studies paper in 2021. “This year, there will be two source-based questions, 4 marks each. Students must practise these as well,” she adds.

Refer to the right books

NCERT textbooks are the bible for Business Studies board exams. “Students should go through them thoroughly. The board marking systems are synchronised with these books,” says Gupta. Alongside these, students can refer to a few other books too. “I find Mrs. Alka Dhwan’s book on Business Studies, Class XII to be a good option. It will strengthen their grasp over case study- based questions, a crucial element of BS question papers,” says Gupta.

Be a master of case studies

Students mostly get stuck with the case study part of BS. “But these are not as tough as they are made out to be,” says Gupta. In case studies, questions mostly revolve around concepts. “So, students have to understand the concepts as well as the chapters well,” suggests Gupta. “While answering these questions, students should first go through the questions and then read the questions. This will help them connect with the case study better. After finishing the answer, read the questions again to ensure that you have completed your answer,” she says. Gupta also suggests that students should try and find out the keywords while reading a case study.

Think of smart memorising tricks

For your CBSE class 12 Business Studies exam, you need to remember a lot of jargons and difficult concepts. Rely on mnemonics or acronyms for a better recall. “Acronyms make it very easy for students to remember concepts. For example, USP is the acronym for Universal Validity, Systemic Body of Knowledge and Principles Based on Experimentation. While preparing for BS, create a list of acronyms and keep it handy for your revisions,” says Gupta. She also suggests having a mind map before appearing for any paper in CBSE class 12 exams. “Mind maps are the summary of a chapter in small pointers. If students make a summary for every chapter in the form of small flow charts, they will be able to remember the whole of it after a glance through the mind map. These maps can save a lot of your revision time while helping you memorise better,” she adds.

Focus on sample question papers and mock tests

Both are essential for scoring high in CBSE class 12 exams. “Practise solving sample question papers at home in 2 and a half hours, not three hours,” recommends Gupta. She also suggests that students create an exam hall-like atmosphere at home. “Set the clock, have a bottle of water and sit for the test. Schedule your mock test at 10:30, the same time as the CBSE exam. Get your body clock adjusted to the timing of the board exam. From now on, take two mock tests per subject a week,” she says. According to Gupta, one should solve at least 10 sample papers for each subject before the final exam.

Smart tips for answering BS questions

Follow these smart answering strategies shared by Gupta to ace your CBSE class 12 Business Studies exam.

• Write answers in points instead of the paragraph format. This will save time too.

• Underline the important parts and heading of the answers.

• While answering questions on differences, start with the basics like meanings, and scope. This way, at the first glance, your examiner will get figure out that you know the answer.

• For 6-mark questions, six relevant points with two to three lines of brief explanation are good enough. There is no need for elaboration. Support your answers with diagrams, and charts and examples.

• Do not leave any question unanswered. It’s always good to write something. If you have forgotten the answer to something, move on to the ones you are well-prepared for. Come back to it at the end and write the key points only. This will also fetch you some marks.

TRS has totally ignored education, charges Union Minister

Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Tuesday lambasted the TRS government for “ignoring” education sector and observed that the government was no different from that of the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal and hence, it was time for “people to throw them out”.

“I am shocked at the neglect of the education sector and the fact that thousands of teacher and lecturer posts have not been filled in the last six years. How can you ignore education which is the basic tenet of the young? What is happening here? Teachers are the biggest assets of the country and worshipped in our culture,” he said.

The Minister was speaking on ‘Fast tracking change towards a resurgent India: Role of intellectuals’ organised by the ‘Forum for Nationalistic Thinkers’ in support of BJP MLC candidate N. Ramchander Rao. Stating that he did not want to dwell much on a government which “anyway is on its way out”, Mr. Pokhriyal however charged that crores of rupees released by the Centre under various schemes have not been reaching the common people in the State.

Development and jobs in Telangana have been “confined to a single family and their kith and kin but nothing for the people”, he said. The Minister also explained about the new education policy and how it could turn the students into new generation entrepreneurs as the government has also enhanced the funds allocation for research and development.

He also took a swipe against the critics of BJP claiming that “talking about secularism has become a fashion and those professing it don't even know what they are talking about”. The Indian culture and ethos find more echo in nations like Indonesia and Mauritius than our own country, he said.

The Minister hailed the candidature of Mr. Ramchander Rao and was confident of he winning the support of the educated voters. Earlier, former AP Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam, BJP vice president Vivek Venkatswamy and others also spoke.

National Education Policy 2020: Context And Perspectives

Background

Higher education is the fulcrum to build a sustainable nation. For nations in emerging markets like India, investments in Higher education is crucial to stay competitive and exploit business opportunities. It is India’s demographic dividend, workforce skill and intellectual capital that would benefit the nation taking leverage from the current global scenario. At the outset, the present global markets feature two idiosyncratic transitions. The first is the pandemic crisis and the response strategies. Pandemic steered business disruptions and posed new challenges to organizations. It resulted in urgent interventions by the Governments and Organizations to overcome the devastative economic, financial and emotional costs emerging from the business environment. It accelerated Industries in shifting of doing business in a contactless mode. Disruptive technologies became the aid to numerous responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in emerging markets. The second feature is survival in the Post-COVID era and facing the realities of Industry 4.0 by quickly adopting new technologies than ever before. Industry 4.0 features utilization of exponential technologies such as IoT, AI, Robotics, Business Analytics, Machine learning and so on. Organizations have experienced that the adoption of technologies helped their businesses keep going and thriving. These response strategies have triggered organizations to rethink and restructure their existing Business strategies for both short as well as long-term goals that shall be capable to create stability for organizations. The future of the market is going to be dependent on technology. Therefore, it becomes demanding to create and align the Nation’s talent entering the labour market with skills to match the needs and momentum of Industrialization with Education 4.0. At this juncture and context, National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) was introduced. The present article aims in providing a broad overview on NEP 2020 and builds perspectives for implementation as part of the future article series on Improving Access, Equity and Affordability for Inclusiveness in Higher Education, Designing Holistic and Multi-Disciplinary Higher Education, Effective Governance and Leadership for Higher Education Institutions and Digital Transformation in Higher Education and Research for Growth and Sustainability.

Historical antecedents

India with its Education System had always retorted to the societal needs. Tracing the timeline, education 1.0 featured the world’s leading ancient universities the Takshila and Nalanda in India, contributing to knowledge, values and education by the Indian scholars. The nation has witnessed a great ordeal of colonial system nevertheless the country’s education system moved on from its 100 thousand years of traditional rich knowledge system to education 2.0 competing in Industrialization era, learning from the west. But we never stopped to transform steadily to the Internet era with our response to implement education 3.0. Realizing the world trends and business opportunities, the Indian Government in 2016 launched its initiatives such as Start-up India, Make in India, Digital India to promote an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and culture. In just about three decades now, the Nation is all set to align its talent for Education 4.0 with its comprehensive educational reforms and NEP 2020.

The new initiative

The NEP 2020 policy document envisions two distinctive points towards Higher Education. One holds that education is a right for all. The Government and Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) have an obligation to ensure access to education insisting on Equity, Equality and Inclusiveness. It clearly mentions the prerequisites for increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to build a pluralist society. This policy document attempts to move beyond the altruistic definitions of education by observing the major challenges in the existing education system. Some of them include fragmentation in the educational ecosystem, rigid separation of disciplines, limited teacher and institutional autonomy, economical-social-digital-regional language divide, lack of research funding, ineffective regulatory mechanisms, suboptimal governance and leadership. The other contends the importance of developing the skills and competencies of learners by designing and delivering a holistic multidisciplinary education and emphasis on promoting values-based education that shall enable learners to appreciate the Indian heritage of rich intellectual frameworks of Philosophy, Scientific Knowledge, Values, Traditions and cultural perspectives of education. It aims that HEIs must not only ensure to attract students but, the paramount focus shall be to motivate and aspire young learners for gaining knowledge, grow intellectually curious, become socially conscious, ethical, and skilled. NEP 2020 stresses accelerating a learning journey for students that shall help them engage in innovation. This helps the nation to become self-reliant to solve its own problems with robust solutions and for the individual to become economically independent.

The NEP 2020 has given the destination to reach through its initiatives and educational reforms. This policy document integrates all essential targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sets the direction for HEIs to restructure, reconfigure and transform themselves as vibrant multidisciplinary institutions that support and foster learning. It has provided new guided educational frameworks and monitoring mechanisms to improve the delivery of quality education with salient features and clear objectives. It is now for HEIs to deliver the expectations of the NEP 2020 by reinventing its structure, policies and implementation process.

The future

Eventually, this calls for educational innovation that aims for contemporary educational models addressing the key perspectives evolved in the NEP 2020. The foremost perspective is delivering a Holistic and Multi-Disciplinary Higher Education. It aims to develop all-round capacities of the learner through an integrated education; a student of arts and humanities shall aim to learn science, engage in vocational subjects, give in more efforts to develop personal and professional skills. The entire Indian Industry across sectors feels NEP 2020 as a very impressive forthcoming policy as it has brought Vocational Education to the mainstream of education. The country will benefit from exploiting the fruits of its demographic dividend. This shall converge in improving individual capacities in critical thinking, soft skills, problem-solving abilities, creativity etc. There is an emphasis for the wide implementation of the Choice Based Credit System which allows flexibility in education that system to benefit students. The idea of the Academic Bank of credits (ABCs) is all set to attract more life-long learners to skill and upskill. It helps a student to become all-round individual with holistic development and become more Industry ready. However, the need of the hour is to examine how HEIs can build their resources and create an optimal learning environment to promote a flexible and innovative curriculum. The effectiveness of high-quality learning is an outcome of the learner characteristics, self-directed learning, teacher, high-quality teaching pedagogy practices, assessment methods, availability of learning resources including digital resources and technology-enabled learning environment. The vital strategy for fruitful implementation would be investing aggressively in Teachers' capabilities and promoting a culture of academic research work in inter-discipline and multi-discipline. Hence, it is the responsibility of the HEI’s to set up seed funding to promote and pursue the best scientific research within the Nation while they shall benefit from National Research Foundation (NRF). The growing concern for high-quality education has made NEP 2020 also set up four independent verticals through the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) to carry on the task of regulation, accreditation, managing funding and financing, and framing the expected learning outcomes for higher educational programmes.

With the effect of the pandemic crisis on the global economy, an indication has occurred that India will emerge as a cost-effective knowledge hub. The country shall attract an increased number of foreign students and researchers. India has responded to the Internationalization of Higher Education in its NEP 2020. The concept of educational hubs is enticing but the milieu of HEIs should intensively work to provide quality assurance and sustainability. There are some agendas that are yet to be addressed which include regulatory, policy and operational questions.

Another important aspect is the necessity for Good governance and leadership for improving the quality of Higher education. Without the governing bodies and the leaders, the vision of the NEP framework will become unattainable. NEP provides a strategic direction to governing board that makes it possible for efficient utilization of resources, fund management, self-disclosures, implementation of transparency & accountability and encourages participation of all stakeholders in decision making. The NEP aims to create more independent self-governing institutions ensuing innovation and excellence.

To conclude, HEIs must build a sustainable education strategy for implementation of the NEP that aims to ensure equity and inclusion in and through education by addressing all forms of exclusion and marginalization, disparity, vulnerability and inequality in education access, participation, retention and completion and in learning outcomes. HEIs must strike a balance between increasing the enrollment rates and pledging to deliver the best class holistic and multidisciplinary education to the learners for exploiting the opportunities in the flight of Industry 4.0, Pandemic times and beyond.

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