Choose Your Educational Institution Wisely
Are you thinking of getting an admission to a new educational institution?
Have you done your background check? Do you know whether it is a recognised one or not? Recently, a Madhya Pradesh-based institute was not given recognition by a bench of justices comprising K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra and turned down their plea to sympathise with students who would suffer if recognition was not granted. The bench asserted that the students enrolling were mature individuals who should have investigated and not been negligent to the details of the institution they were applying to. They also felt that some institutions blatantly violated the norms and then sought indulgence of the court either in the name of mercy or sympathy for the students, financial constraint of the institution or with the plea that they had been inappropriately treated by the statutory regulatory bodies. The Supreme Court said that students taking admission in educational institutions without verifying whether they were recognised or not were to be blamed themselves.
Institutions imparting a course should maintain the sanctity of law and not deviate from it. Students should be careful of the institution they are choosing as it might jeopardise their futures.
Australia Gives a Boost to Asian Languages
Don’t be surprised the next time you see an Australian speaking better Hindi than you. According to news.com.au, the Asian Century White Paper, released by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, proposes the teaching of at least one of four priority Asian languages – Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian or Japanese – in every school in Australia. The paper sets out 25 key goals to help Australia take advantage of Asia’s expanding profile. Australian Education Minister Peter Garrett feels that the importance of Asia is going to increase over the next century, thus, no child should be denied the chance to learn an Asian language. Children will have the option to study an Asian language from primary school to the end of high school via both traditional and modern teaching methods (like Skype). The road map to 2025 includes dramatically boosting Asian studies in schools. Many future jobs will involve interacting with China, India and the like.
The decision to include Hindi is a welcome move as it shows the growing importance of India. It’s high time that we Indian citizens know our national language better than our foreign counterpart.
Grim Higher Education Scenario in India
Low gross enrolment ratio (GER), inequitable access to higher education and the lack of quality research are some of the problems faced by India’s higher education sector. The government has proposed several initiatives concerning expansion, equity, excellence, governance, funding and implementation and monitoring to overcome these obstacles in the 12th Plan. A report prepared by the Planning Commission, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and private firm Ernst & Young says that although there has been an 11 per cent increase in student enrolment in higher education courses and a 9 per cent growth in the number of institutions in the past decade, the numbers have not helped improve the scenario. Amitabh Jhingan, partner and national leader, education practice, Ernst & Young said that the government has set an aggressive target of doubling the GER in higher education from the existing 15 per cent to 30 per cent by 2020. He added that the private sector could aid in the achievement of this outcome and play a pivotal role through the creation of knowledge networks, research and innovation centres, corporate backed institutions and support for faculty development.
Potential Doctors Fail to Pass the Screening Test
It is mandatory for Indians who have completed their undergraduate medical education abroad to pass the screening test by Medical Council of India (MCI). Passing this test will help them get certificates from the state medical council, permitting them to do a yearlong internship in a university or hospital in the state. However, close to 10,000 students, i.e. 75 per cent fail to do so every year and are currently unemployed or underemployed. Chief patron of All India Foreign Medical Graduates’ Association, Dr. Ameer Jahan said that each student who studies abroad spends Rs. 15 to 20 lakh, half of what it would cost at a private college in India but the duration of the course abroad is longer than in India. This test is held in March or September, and failing the test delays the student by another six months. Senior MCI officials said that they will not cancel or dilute the test because they feel that doctors are dealing with lives and the field of medicine; and this cannot be taken lightly. Now, the graduates plan to approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Parliament demanding that the test be scrapped. Many dreams of thousands of students have remained unfulfilled because of this test. Let’s see what the PM has to say about it and let us all hope for the best.
Think Twice Before Taking up MBA
MBA colleges have mushroomed all across our country; from 200 MBA colleges in the nineties we have approximately 3300 of them today. Every second student aspires to be an MBA graduate and struggles through the various hurdles enroute. However, a recent national survey on MBA graduates’ employability report mentions that the hiring levels of an MBA student are very low. National Employability Report – MBA Graduates, Annual Report 2012 cites low employability of MBA graduates across specialisations. Employability for management students remains below 10 per cent for any functional role in the field of HR, Marketing and Finance. On the other hand, it ranges between 10 and 20 per cent for roles involving sales and client servicing. These statistics tell us that there is an urgent need to assess the course and see whether the students are getting enough practical knowledge and turned into industry-ready individuals. Varun Aggarwal, COO and CTO, Aspiring Minds, which conducted the survey, feels that management students and colleges should be given personalised employability feedback and guidance to take the right, corrective steps. This will lead to more students getting jobs and will also meet the large talent needs of our growing industries.
Longer Repayment Term of EDU Loans
This news will surely bring you some relief if you are a student planning to take a loan to study. No longer do you need to repay your education loan in a period of five to seven years. Now you can pay them after ten to fifteen years thanks to our Union Minister of State for Finance, Namo Narain Meena. He informed this decision via a letter to his minister K.V. Thomas. He was sure that this change won’t have any retrospective effect. The finance ministry decided to liberalise the repayment term after Thomas drew attention to the plight of students from Kerala planning to take an education loan. Meena said that banks cannot turn down applications for educational loans on flimsy grounds and that defaulted loans will be considered as non-performing assets. This change will definitely be welcomed by the student fraternity as it will help reduce the burden on their shoulders.
Volume 2 Issue 6
