Steep fee hike keeps students away
Prabhjot Singh
Is higher education becoming out of reach of an average middle class family in Punjab? If admission trends witnessed in various parts of the state are any indication, yes. Higher education has much fewer takers this time than previous years. It is not only postgraduate classes which are getting a poor response.

Private schools in Himachal may face derecognition
R.K. Prashar
Several hundred private and affiliated schools in the state might face disaffiliation or de-recognition if they fail to comply the norms of the state school board of education in terms of equipping their institutions with requisite infrastructure indispensable in the interest of the students studying in those schools by October 31 this year.

ADMISSION DEADLINE

Steep fee hike keeps students away
Prabhjot Singh

Is higher education becoming out of reach of an average middle class family in Punjab?

If admission trends witnessed in various parts of the state are any indication, yes. Higher education has much fewer takers this time than previous years. It is not only postgraduate classes which are getting a poor response. There are less than 50 per cent takers for undergraduate courses in various rural and private colleges in the state, putting a big question mark over the future of higher education in the state.

Paying Rs 20,000 for hardly 100 to 120 teaching days a year is what higher education (postgraduate classes) is going to be all about. And a degree awarded at the end of two-year postgraduate course will not guarantee a job.

The steep hike in fee neither guarantees better or improved classroom teaching, nor does it promise restructuring of syllabi to make it job-oriented.

Developments in higher education in Punjab have been unprecedented. Managements of various private colleges, including their principals and senior members of teaching staff, have been out in villages and towns, convincing parents to get their wards admitted to undergraduate and postgraduate courses, offering several concessions, including payment of fee in installments. In some areas, the colleges have decided not to charge the increased fee, but the response has been far from satisfactory.

In Hoshiarpur, most colleges have offered to collect fee in two or three installments. Perturbed by the steep hike in fee and annual charges, students and their parents have been holding protests in various parts of the state, burning effigies of leaders of the ruling party.

Interestingly, only 10 per cent of the total graduates in the State go for postgraduate courses. On an average, 66,000 boys and girls graduate every year and of them 6600 join postgraduate classes. This year, the number of students joining undergraduate and postgraduate classes has come down to 3,300.

Unconfirmed report suggests that a prospective student who could not afford to pay the increased fee, ended his life in Mahal Kalan village in Ferozepore district.

Both Punjab and Chandigarh, have been losing their supremacy, in both quantity and quality education.

After Independence, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Chandigarh emerged as the centres for higher education. They attracted a big number of students not only from the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal, Rajasthan and Haryana, but also from overseas, including Thailand, Nigeria, Kenya, Cambodia and Mauritius.

A student from Himachal can no more afford to study either in Hoshiarpur or in Chandigarh because of a big difference in fee structure. While Himachal Pradesh, though with limited number of colleges, continues to be the cheapest, Haryana, too, has frozen the fee structure at the last year’s level.

In Haryana higher education is cheaper than in Punjab. Against Rs 20,000 a year in Punjab, it comes to Rs 2200 to Rs 2500 a year in Haryana or Himachal Pradesh for postgraduate courses.

The quality of education, too, has gone down. Though the University Grants Commission requires that a minimum of 180 teaching days be assured in all colleges and university teaching departments, the average in Punjab has been between 100 and 120 days. In Chandigarh, it is no different.

Private schools in Himachal may face derecognition
R.K. Prashar

Several hundred private and affiliated schools in the state might face disaffiliation or de-recognition if they fail to comply the norms of the state school board of education in terms of equipping their institutions with requisite infrastructure indispensable in the interest of the students studying in those schools by October 31 this year.

According to the newly appointed Chairman of the school board, Mr B.R. Rahi, cases of blatant flouting of the board’s rules and norms by private and affiliated school managements have been reported from various parts of the state. Consequently, the board has been constrained to take serious view of this burgeoning menace to quality education.

It may be recalled that barring a few, there are numerous schools in the state which do not even have the minimal number of classrooms and a playground, the sine qua non for any school before it seeks affiliation. Besides, such schools have employed low-qualified teaching staff at meagre wages.

Mr Rahi said the school board was seriously contemplating holding its own competitive examination for PMT for its students on the pattern of the CBSE.

ADMISSION DEADLINE

Engineering

Jul 28 National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136119

MTech degrees (2-yr):

Civil Engg: Soil Mech & Foundn Engg, Struct Engg, Water Resources Engg.

Elect Engg: Control Sys, Power Sys

Mech Engg, Electron & Comm Engg, Instrumentation

Elig: BTech in relev disciplines (MSc Physics also eligible for Instru)

Appln F: Send Rs 1050/- by DD favouring “Director, NIT, Kurukshetra”, payable at Kurukshetra to above add.

Jul 28 Punjab Technical University, Ladowali Road, Jalandhar 144001

MTech Courses (at Regional Centres at Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Chhapianwali, Bhaddal, Moga, Malout, Dera Bassi) (PT/FT):

Mech Engg, Electron Engg, Mech (prodn) Engg, Civil Engg, Power Engg, Elect Engg, Electron Engg, Control & Instru Engg, Industrial Engg

Elig: BTech in rel branch

Appln F & Details: Send Rs 250/- by DD favouring “Registrar, PTU”, payable at Jalandhar to ‘The Admission Cell’ at above add.

Jul 30 Madhava Rao Scindia Centre for VLSI Design, Research & Management, 1/12, Vijay Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow 226010

www.vlsicentre.com

PG Programme: VLSI Des & Mgt. (2-yr, FT)

Elig: BE/ BTech (E & C/ CS/ IT/ EE/ EI)/ MSc (Electron/ Phy/ CS/ IT).

Selectn: Merit, Interview

Appln F: Send Rs 200/- by DD favouring “Madhava Rao Scindia Centre for VLSI Design, Research & Management”, payable at Lucknow by 26 July at above add.

Details: Web.

Jul 31 Institution of Permanent Way Engineers (India),

Room No G-11, Rail Bhawan, Raisina Rd, New Delhi 110001

www.ipweindia.com

Diploma in Railway Engg (1-yr, Dist)

Elig: 3-yr Dip holders (Engg)/BSc/Bachelor’s degree with Sc or Maths as a subj in 10+2.

Appln F: Send Rs 75/- by DD favouring of “IPWE (India)” payable at New Delhi with stamped (Rs 15/-), self-add env (25 x 15 cm) to above add.

Details: Employment News (Jul 5 - 11).

Jul 26 Directorate of Technical Education Vocational & Industrial Training, Sundernagar, Himachal Pradesh

Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), (H P)

1) Mandi, Jogindernagar, Paolog, Bagsiad, Karsog, Bilaspur, Berthin, Nadaun (at Rail), Bhoranj, Shahpur, Nurpur, Nerharn, Pukhar, Saliana, Chamba, Bharamaur, Udaipur, Shamshi, Shimla, Rampur, Jubbal, solan, Shilai, Sainj, Kumarsain, Bangana, Bani & Dhameta.

2) (For women) Dharamsala, Shimla, Nahan, Reckong Peo, Kullu, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Palampur, Nalagarh, Mandi, Una, Chamba, Kasauli, Deegal, Chopal & Jawali.

3) (For Physically Handicapped) Sundernagar

Elig, Appln F & Details: Send Rs 90/- by MO to any of the above institutes.

Jul 25 Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra, 3, Mahapalika Marg, PO Box No. 1967, Mumbai-400001.

http://dte.org.in

BE/BTech (4-yr) (For J & K migrant candidates)

Elig: 10+2 PCM with Eng (50%) & wards of citizens displaced from J & K/ wards of IAS/ IPS/ IFS/ Armed Forces personnel on duty in J & K.

Appln F & Details: website.

Hotel Management

Jul 28 Punjab Technical University, Ladowali Road, Jalandhar 144001

http://ptujal.com

Hotel Management & Catering Technology

Elig: 10+2.

Appln F: Download from web. Send Rs. 575/- by regd post. In cash at counter (Rs 500/-)

Details: Web.

Languages

Jul 31 Central Hindi Training Institute, Deptt of Official Language (M/o Home Affairs), 2-A, Prithviraj Road, New Delhi 110011

Hindi Typewriting (Corresp.) (6-mth)

Elig: CentralGovt/ Undertakings employees, Cl VIII (with Hindi)

Appln F & Details: Write to ‘Deputy Director’ at above add.

InfoTech

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay

http://www.dep.iitb.ac.in

PG Courses in IT (Through Live Interactive Video): DBase Mgt, Digi Signal Process, Distributed Sys, Foundn Algorithms 1, Foundn Lab, Mobile Computing.

Elig: Working Professionals, Teachers & Grads

Details: Web.

Management

Sep 12 Common Admission Test (CAT)

PG Programmes in Management (at IIMs: A’bad, B’lore, Cal, Indore, Kozhi, L’now)

Elig: Bachelor’s degree.

Test: Nov 23 (At 26 Centres).

Appln F: Send Rs 1200/- by crossed DD favouring the respective IIM with a cloth-lined, self-add, unstamped env (12” x 10”). Also at various SBI br. till Aug 22: Rs 1100/- (cash).

Jul 26 Institute for Technology & Management (Centre for Devpt of Leadership & Human Potential), 25/ 26, Institutional Area, Sector- 4, Kharghar (E), Navi Mumbai 410210

www.itmcdlhp.com

MBA (FT 2-yr, HR Mgt.)

MIB (FT 16-mth)

Elig: Bachelor’s degree (50%)

Appln F: Send Rs. 1000/- by DD favouring “Institute for Technology & Management”, payable at Mumbai to above add/ Download from web.

Details: Web.

Jul 28 Institute of Labour Development, 6/2, Near Keshav Vidyapeeth, Jamdoli, Jaipur

www.ildjpr.org

PG Diploma: Travel & Tourism Industry Mgt.

Elig: Bachelor’s deg.

Selectn: Entr. Test (Jul 21 & 22)

Appln F: Send Rs 300/- by DD favouring “Institute of Labour Development”, payable at Jaipur to IFCI Ltd, 2nd floor, Anand Bhawan, Sansar Chandra Road, Jaipur.

Details: Web.

Jul 25 Faculty of Management Studies, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001 (Raj)

www.lakesparadise.com

Master of: Tourism Mgt (2-yr, FT)

Elig: Bachelor’s deg.

Selectn: Entr. Test (Aug 10) (Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur)

Appln F: Send Rs 500/- by DD favouring “Director, Faculty of Management Studies, M.L.Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001”, payable at Udaipur. Also at counter till Jul 31.

Details: Web.

Social Sciences

School of Archival Studies, National Archives of India, Janpath, New Delhi 110001

Jul 25 1) Cert in Reprography

Jul 25 2) Cert in Records Mgt

Jul 31 3) Cert in Servicing & Repair of Records

Elig: For 1: Bachelor’s degree (Sc prefd). For 2: Bachelor’s degree. For 3: 10+2 (kn of Hin & Eng) Age: Below 50 yrs (for all)

Appln F & Details: Employment News (Jul 12- 18)

Jul 31 Institute of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India, 24, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110001

PG Diploma in Archaeology (2-yrs)

Elig: PG in Ancient or Medieval Indian Hist or MA/MSc with Archaeol or Anthropol (55%). Age: Below 27 yrs on Jul 31

Selectn: Written test & interview.

Appln F: Send request on plain paper, with self-add env (20 x 10 cm) to the Director at above add.

Pervin Malhotra, Director, CARING (www.careerguidanceindia.com), New Delhi
Email: HYPERLINK http://www.careerguidanceindia.com
pervin-trib@.careerguidanceindia.com