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Challenges ahead for varsities
Bedtime stories improve child literacy
Campus Notes
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Challenges ahead for varsities INDIA is at the threshold of graduating from the ‘developing’ category to the ‘developed’ one in near future. If numbers were any measure of quality, we should have done much better in the Education Development Index (EDI) and Human Development Index (HDI), as we have added at least 350 universities and more than 16,000 graduate and postgraduate colleges since Independence. The HRD minister has accepted the need of another 600 universities and 35,000 colleges. Even though the present set-up is quite large, it is well known that our education system is not as effective as it should be. It is unfortunate that in spite of many institutions of excellence, some as good as any in the developed countries, one basic parameter essential for sustained development and growth—quality of human resources—remains very poor. The education system has to share the major responsibility for the present state of affairs. Any good education system must do at least two things: One, develop the ability and capacity in the educated to solve various problems which impede the growth of a nation and two, help them become useful citizens. However, our education system has failed us on both the counts. Major challenge to the education system is to know the reality and relate the mundane, meaningless, mindless rituals of education in schools and colleges to local ethos and socio-cultural situation of students, teachers, parents and the local community. Internationalisation of education is becoming a reality with the General Agreement in Trade and Services (GATS) in place, which has opened doors for competitive capacity- building for growing nations like ours. A study by Knight, Jane and Hans de Wit says internationalisation of higher education in Asia Pacific countries identifies four rationales, academic, social/cultural, political and economic, for the globalisation of higher education and all the four rationale fit very well in our scheme of things. Fortunately, it has been realised by our policy-makers that participating in internationalisation of education is no more a choice because sharing of education, especially in technology, management and medicine, is vital for us. Today’s world is entirely different where death of distance has given birth to global markets chatarcterised by new knowledge and skills integrated with information and communication technologies. Such a world demands a different, more complex universal higher education system for universal learning. To that extent, the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill 2010 is welcome, but there are dangers associated with it. First, the government may regulate the entry of foreign universities but it should keep away from any regulatory role in education system per se. Why are we getting back to the era of ‘regulation’ having experienced its evil effects? Thus, the government should become the promoter of competition by letting in only the best, competition with whom will enrich our institutions. It is known that education is a business and most of the players, Indian and foreign, approach it as such. Like in any business, the focus is bound to be to generate surpluses rather than on what we need, i.e., necessary value addition to higher education. International education in present environment can provide distinct advantages, however, the service providers in most cases use smart marketing techniques and disguise their weaknesses to attract the students. Therefore, we have to be cautious to be able to reap maximum benefits as envisaged in the Bill. Certain obvious concerns related with the transparency and honesty of foreign universities such as complete disclosure of their physical and intellectual infrastructure, different components of fee, admission process, number of seats, syllabus, teaching faculty, etc., seem to have been addressed adequately. The government is also conscious of the need to register and assess such institutions, giving them autonomy in fee and reservations and ensuring that profits generated are ploughed back into their campuses in India. An unambiguous policy must ensure that students and parents are not cheated by a nexus of unscrupulous foreign institutions and the local players. It is obvious that only such institutions which are low-ranked in their own country are more enthusiastic to come to us rather than the best as they, in any case, get the students at their doorsteps because of the reputation. Our higher education system has many problems and the solution lies in improving it ourselves rather than expecting it to improve due to the competition generated after foreign institutions arrive. No doubt, competition is good and should be encouraged but competition only with the best is useful, not with the average or the mediocre. Therefore, is it not a good idea that while we let the foreign universities come in, we also introspect and initiate practical reforms? |
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Bedtime stories improve child literacy “Read for just even 20 minutes (every night) and it makes all the difference in literacy’s goals,” Laura Numeroff, a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of children’s books, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. Best known for her work If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, Numeroff launched the programme called ‘Sleepy’s Bedtime Stories’, co-sponsored by First Book, an organisation that provides books to children in need, and Sleepy’s, a mattress company. Dozens of children and their parents lay on beds or on the floor, listening to Numeroff talk about stories from her new books. “Do you love reading? Do you like bedtime stories? Do you want to be writers?” she asked as the children shouted “Yeah!” in unison. Numeroff said bedtime stories contributed a lot to her profession.“My parents read to me every night and that started my love for reading,” she said. “When I was about nine-year-old, I was so excited about reading other people’s stories, and I wanted to write on my own. Here I am, doing it for a living.” If you Give a Mouse a Cookie was a huge hit in the US which prompted Numeroff to expand the book to an entire “If you give” series to include a mouse, a cat and a pig. Numeroff also wrote her autobiography, If you Give an Author a Pencil, written at a second-grade reading level so that all children can enjoy it. The author, however, admitted that making children excited about reading even as they are surrounded by high-tech gadgets is itself quite a mission. “First of all, the kids need to see their parents reading. If the parents are not reading, then why would they want to read? So it’s really important for parents to also be book lovers,” Numeroff was quoted as saying. She said parents might need a little bit of compulsion to get children to read. “I think a parent has the control and ability to say at eight o’clock: ‘Kids, no more technology, put your computers off, put your iPods down and we are going to read as a family.’” Meanwhile, Mona Thomas, a mother who attended the event, said she reads to her kids every night and they love it very much. “Sometimes it’s very late and we need to skip story time and they are very disappointed,” Thomas said. The mother said reading not only enhances the vocabulary and knowledge of her children but also makes them think. “I constantly stop reading stories and ask: ‘Do you know what that means, or ask what do you think is going to happen next, why do you think the character did this, how do you think about their feelings?’ We talk about feelings, vocabulary; so I really use stories to cover a broad range of information,” Thomas said. —
IANS
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Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar FOLLOWING a report of mass copying during the examination for English (compulsory) subject of B.A./B.Sc. Part-II held on March 31 at Centre No. 2 at SMDRSD College, Pathankot, Guru Nanak Dev University has cancelled the examination. The university has also asked the college Principal to replace the centre superintendent with immediate effect. Dr R. K. Bedi, in charge, examinations, said the examination had been cancelled keeping in view the mass copying report submitted by a flying squad. He said the examination now would be held on the Guru Nanak Dev University campus for which the date would be announced later. He said a penal fee of Rs 1,000 would be charged from each student.
Postgraduate exams from April 10 The annual theory examinations for postgraduate classes of different courses of Guru Nanak Dev University will be held from April 10. More than 50,000 students will be appearing in these examinations. Dr. R.K. Bedi, in charge, examinations, said all necessary arrangements had been made for the smooth conduct of the examinations. He said supervisory staff had been appointed to check the menace of copying. He said the roll numbers to all the eligible candidates had been sent. If any candidate does not receive the roll number by April 5, he/she can collect it from the Examination Branch-II on any working day on production of original certificates of lower examinations and two attested passport-size photographs, he said.
Deans appointed Dr Surinder Singh, an eminent physicist, has been appointed Dean, Academic Affairs, while Dr M. P. S. Ishar of Pharmaceutical Sciences has been appointed Dean, Students Welfare of the university. Dr Singh has over 31 years of teaching experience to his credit. He is having specialisation in the fields of environmental radioactivity and pollution, nuclear geophysics, radiation physics, seism tectonics and earthquake studies and applied material sciences. He has published 208 papers and has handled eight major research projects with CSIR, DST, NSC and IUAC (NSC). Meanwhile, a warm farewell was extended to the outgoing Dean, Academic Affairs. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. A.S. Brar, while speaking on the occasion, lauded the excellent services rendered by Prof. Raghbir Singh. He said during his term, the university scaled new heights in the fields of academic, cultural and sports. The Vice-Chancellor also welcomed Prof. Surinder Singh, the newly appointed Dean, Academic Affairs.
Lecture on cervical cancer Prof. R.C. Sobti, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab University, Chandigarh, while delivering a lecture on "Risk Genotype and Role of STAT and SOCs Genes in the Progression of HPV Mediated Cervical Cancer" said cervical cancer was the second most common cancer among women worldwide. In India there are about 130,000 cases and 70-75,000 deaths annually because of cervical cancer, he said, adding that the progression from normal cervix to invasive cervical cancer took about 7 to 17 years. He said the interaction of genotype with environmental factors also played a key role in the genesis of cervical cancer. In his presidential remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. A. S. Brar, said the need of hour was to work in collaboration to have the state-of-the-art research and a broader approach towards sharing research ideas in order to deliver the benefit of research to society. Meanwhile, Prof. R.C. Sobti was felicitated by the Department of Human Genetics of the university with the Professor Gurdip Singh Randhawa Oration Award. — Contributed by P. K. Jaiswar
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INDIA is at the threshold of graduating from the ‘developing’ category to the ‘developed’ one in near future. If numbers were any measure of quality, we should have done much better in the Education Development Index (EDI) and Human Development Index
(HDI), as we have added at least 350 universities and more than 16,000 graduate and postgraduate colleges since Independence.The HRD minister has accepted the need of another 600 universities and 35,000 colleges.
BA/BSc Part-II test cancelled
READING a bedtime story to your child for 20 minutes every night could improve his or her literacy by at least 10 school days a year, experts have said.Banking on this theory, an American non-governmental organisation has launched a programme which encourages families to read together for at least 20 minutes each night.