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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Set up for an ideal future All of us have our own vision of an ideal education system, but we can still agree that it has to be a set-up where stress is on innovation, experimentation, creativity, independent and critical thinking. If this has provision for expended curriculum for students with special abilities and passion for a particular subject and develops skills and values that students need in life, what we have is just ideal. Bilingual teaching (English and the mother tongue) and computers and multimedia as tools for promotion of independent learning at all stages would lead us to this goal. Under an ideal education system, apart from imparting knowledge skills, equal emphasis is laid on development and enrichment of life skills through co-curricular activities, health education, civic and moral education, career guidance, physical education, community service and character development. Project work is an integral part of education at all stages of learning, while knowledge and inquiry is made compulsory at the pre-university level. Finding examples of such a system is difficult, even outside, but a country that has come closest to putting all this together is Singapore, which aims to become the world leader, especially in education, and is competing with India for the same space, thus. Even though many institutions in Singapore have attained international recognition and get a good number of foreign students, efforts to restructure and introduce advance courses are always on. A knowledge-based economy is the future they have in mind. Though being a developed country has worked to its advantage in global trade, commerce, marketing and education, it’s popularity as a center of education is more due to its cosmopolitan, composite and secular character, which has created conducive environment for foreign students. The education system in Singapore is broad-based, flexible and diverse, catering to every child’s needs, interests, abilities and aptitudes. It enables them to discover their talents, make best use of it and to develop in them a passion for learning. A student in Singapore undergoes ten years of schooling, six years of compulsory primary education and four years of secondary education. Primary education is compulsory. It comprises four years of foundation and two years of orientation stages, which is followed by Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which decides placement in secondary schools. Secondary education in Singapore is liberal and diversified, which comprises four to five years of education. At the secondary level, students are put in special, normal (academic) and normal (technical) schools for four, five and four years, respectively. Upon completion of their courses, students finally have to take GCE ‘O’ Level Examination in Special School and GCE ‘N’ Level Examination in Academic and Technical Courses. Students who clear GCE ‘O’ Level Examination become eligible to join junior colleges/centralised institutions to qualify for GCE ‘A’ Level Examination (Pre-University), pre-requisite for joining 3-4 years of undergraduate courses in the universities of Singapore. Students can also join polytechnics for three-year diplomas and the Institute of Technical Education to do one-two-year courses. There is also a provision to join vocational schools, special independent schools, privately funded schools and special education schools for students with special needs. All these enable students to earn Alternative Qualifications for entering college. The National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technical University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) are the three universities that offer courses in Sciences, Engineering, Computing, Medicine, Law, Public Policy, Humanities, Social Sciences, Music; Business, Communication and Information, Art, Design and Media, Sciences and Humanities and Technical Education and Business Management, Accountancy, Economics, Social Sciences and Information Systems Management. Singapore has emerged as an important centre of education in the recent years, even though it has an area less than half of Delhi and population merely one third of it. It’s about time we looked outside to know how good the competition had become. The writer is winner of Bolt Award (Chandigarh).
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Indian teachers meet the challenge Indian teachers are respected worldwide and have a lot to offer to the world, the US included. The international community is so impressed that Visiting International Faculty (VIF) sponsored 22 Indian teachers to the US this academic year. The VIF is the United States’ largest international-exchange programme for teachers worldwide. The VIF sponsors qualified international teachers for a maximum of three years in the US schools, using the federal government-issued cultural-exchange visa. “Indian teachers have a reputation of being well-trained, educated and professional, who have much to offer even as cultural ambassadors… teaching students about their amazing country, the world’s largest democracy,” says Ned Glascock, Communications Manager for the VIF. Talking to The Tribune, he said the selected teachers had been placed in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland and Florida in the US this school year. Designated as an official sponsor in the US State Department’s Exchange Visitor Program, the VIF selects teachers from more than 50 nations, matches them with the US schools and provides them with comprehensive logistic support. “VIF educators in the US teach more than 20 subjects, including elementary education, a variety of languages, English, mathematics, science, special education and many more. They are selected from countries like Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Venezuela,” he says. “Selected teachers from India do well in the US schools,” he adds. “Mathematics, science and special education are subject areas in regular demand and Indian teachers fit the bill perfectly. Though our organisation never intends to address teacher shortage, but the US indeed faces teacher shortage in these areas,” he says. However, he says, sometimes the ride for teachers may not be smooth. “It is a challenge to move one’s career to another country, and naturally anyone undergoing this may experience a little culture shock and feel homesick at times. To make the teachers get through it, we offer them comprehensive support services tailored to their needs, to help them adjust quickly to life and work in the United States,” he adds. Asked how big a challenge online tutoring from India could pose to teachers in the US, he comments: “There certainly may be areas in education in which distance education can be valuable, but, from the perspective of international cultural exchange, it is vital that teachers from India actually face the US classrooms. Otherwise, one of the most important aspects of international cultural exchange is lost. While students certainly can read books and use the Internet to learn about different countries and cultures, personal experience with people from different cultures
is the key to international education.”
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HAU, Hisar A 10-day short course on the latest trends in space and interior designing, sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), began at Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hisar, last week. Teachers, scientists and extension specialists from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand are participating in the programme. After inaugurating the course, Dr R.S. Dalal, Registrar, HAU, underlined the importance of space in the present scenario when the population was increasing. Interiors, which had great bearing on the moods of the people both at home and workplace, should also be given due importance, he said. Dr Dalal lauded the efforts put in by the Department of Family Resource Management in arranging the course. He said the ICAR had sanctioned five such short courses in the current year. On this occasion, the Registrar also released a course compendium prepared by the host department. Dr Sudesh Gandhi, Course Director and Head, Department of Family Resource Management, gave a brief account of the course. She said the participants would be sensitised about the latest trends in functional designing of space and interiors and given practical tips on wise use of available resources in interiors to enrich quality of life Earlier, Dr Veena Sangwan, acting Dean of the College of Home Science, welcomed the guests and the participants. Dr Kiran Singh, Dr Manju Mehta and Dr Satnam Kaur, course coordinators, were also present. — Contributed by Sunit Dhawan
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Agriculture Indira
Gandhi National Open University, School of Agriculture, Maidan Garhi,
New Delhi 110068 (M/o Food Processing Industries, GoI) Diploma in Dairy Technology / Meat Technology (1-year) Eligibility:
10+2 / BPP from IGNOU. Science and Agriculture students
preferred. Class 10 students can enroll simultaneously for BPP and
Diploma programme. Application Form: Send Rs. 100/- by DD
/ IPO favouring "IGNOU," payable at New Delhi / city where
Regional Centre is located to the Registrar (SR & E) or download
from the website. Also available at IGNOU regional centres on cash
payment of Rs 50. Application Deadline: 31 December
2006 Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University,
Fletcher Bhawan, Hisar 125004 (Har) PhD (Agriculture / Animal Sciences /
Basic Sciences / Home Science / Veterinary Science) Selection: Entrance
Exam Application Form: Send Rs 400/- by IPO / DD
favouring "Registrar, CCS HAU, Hisar" payable at PO / SBI,
HAU, Hisar to the Assistant Registrar (Academic) at above address /
download from website. Application Deadline: 27 November
2006
Armed Forces Indian Navy, PO Bag No 04, RK Puram PO (Main),
New Delhi 110066* Officer in Technical Branch (SSC) -
February ’07 Course Eligibility: Unmarried Indian
males with BE / BTech (55%). Selection:
SSB Interview; Medical Exam Application Form: Send by
ordinary post in prescribed format with all required documents to the
above address. Superscribe "SSC Engineering Branch – Feb 07 Or
SSC Electrical Branch February ’07; Qualification & Stream (eg
Mechanical / Electrical / Electronics etc)`85`85. Aggregate %" on
the envelope. Details: Employment News (21 – 27
October 2006) / Website. Application Deadline:
3 November 2006 *Repeat Advertisement. Indian
Army, Additional Directorate General of Recruiting, Rtg TGC Entry, AG’s
Branch, Army Hqrs, West Block III, R K Puram, New Delhi 110066 1) Technical Graduates Course (TGC)
(July 2007) 2)
SSC (Technical) Course (October 2007) Selection:
Group Tests; Psychological Tests; Interview; Medical Exam. Application
Form: Send in prescribed format with all required documents to
the above address. Superscribe with red ink "105th TGC:
Mechanical Engineering Or 105th TGC: AEC English Or 29 SSC
(Tech): Mechanical Engineering" on the envelope. Details:
Employment News (21 – 27 October 2006) / Website. Application
Deadline: 30 November 2006 Indian Air Force, Central
Airmen Selection Board, PO Box No 11807, New Delhi 110010 Airman in Group ‘X’ (Technical)
Trades Eligibility: Unmarried Indian males; Intermediate /
10+2 (Physics, Maths & English; 50%) Or 3-year Diploma in Engg
(Mechanical / Electrical / Electronics / Automobile / Computer Science /
Instrumentation Technology / Information Technology). Selection:
Written Test: January / February 2007; Physical Fitness Test;
Interview; Medical Exam. Application Form: Send by
ordinary post in prescribed format with all required document to with a
self addressed envelop (24 cm x 10 cm) to the above address. Superscribe:
a) For Group ‘X’ Trades, b) Aggregate Percentage of Marks`85`85.% in
Class XII / Diploma c) SOAFP Category if applicable" on the
envelope. Details: Employment News (21 – 27
October 2006) / Website Application Deadline: 17 November
2006
Engineering Birla Institute of Technology & Science
(BITS), Pilani 333031 (Raj) Admission for Second Semester: Selection:
For 3 & 4: Written Test & Interview Details:
Website. Application Deadline: 30 November 2006 — Pervin Malhotra
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