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Learning
beyond the campus Parents
suffer as child struggles Campus
Notes
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Learning beyond the campus EDUCATION is becoming gradually borderless with the increasing popularity of distance learning courses. The availability of these courses has assured that a person can pursue education from any state or university. Since distance is no longer an impediment to pursue a course, as most universities have study and examination centres in many cities, interest in distance education is growing very rapidly in India and is expected to double up in the next decade. Today, out India’s population of 1.2 billion, more than half a billion are in the age group of 18-30 years. By the end of next year, 19 per cent of our population, an estimated 235 million, will be in the higher education group. Barring few lakhs of successful students, the rest will not be able to get seat in any institute, since the infrastructure available cannot accommodate them all. The question is: what would the rest of them do? Distance education is invaluable as it provides every prospective student with a means for “studying at one’s pace, a course of his choice”, anytime anywhere. In India, we currently have about 14 million students pursuing higher education. The Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) in higher education is at 12 per cent, which is very low as compared to 70 per cent in developed countries. The government aims to take the GER to 30 per cent by 2020. Given the number of higher education colleges and universities that are currently in the country, this seems farfetched. The National Knowledge Commission has projected the need for 1,500 universities, but a recent more pragmatic approach of having at least one university for each district in India and developing distance education needs to be paid due attention. In the last forty years, distance education has emerged as a viable supplement and serious alternative to the formal system and shown a phenomenal growth. Technology has greatly facilitated in the reach of distance education to far corners of the country. As a force contributing to social and economic development, distance learning is today one of the most rapidly growing fields of education and training. It is fast becoming an accepted and indispensable part of the mainstream of educational systems in both developed and developing countries, with particular importance for the latter. This growth has been stimulated in part not only by interest among educators and trainers in the use of new, Internet-based information technologies, but also by recognition that traditional ways of organising education need to be reinforced by innovative methods. (UNESCO, 2000a). The expansion of World Wide Web, coupled with a continued fall in the cost of processing, storing and transmitting information, has contributed to significant shifts in how distance education is perceived by educators and how it is designed, delivered and administered. Presently in India, we have Sikkim Manipal University, Symbiosis, IGNOU, Annamalai University of Distance Education and Madras University of Distance Education as the most prominent institutes offering distance education. Distance education is seeing an increased growth in enrolment of students and acceptance among corporate who are increasingly hiring students with degrees from distance education institutions. Approximately, 22 per cent of the enrolment in higher education can safely be attributed to be covered under distance education programmes (World DIDAC, 2010, India). The last decade has seen tectonic shifts in how technology is being used in education and with dedicated institutes offering courses at par with regular colleges. Well-known universities like IGNOU and Sikkim Manipal University now offer placement services to successful students. Technological development allows for new paradigms of access and new delivery systems, linked to new types of demand. Continuous miniaturisation of equipment, reduced costs, increased user flexibility, portability and integration offer a whole range of new opportunities. These changes can lead to more effective centralised systems of development, and the distribution of educational services and software. They can also support a more open networked society with greater variation and more equitable access to educational resources through a network infrastructure. IGNOU offers distance education through its Virtual Class Room mode and provides access to digital repository of educational content. EduNxt by Sikkim Manipal University Distance Education (SMU-DE) is an award-winning learning platform that empowers students with anywhere, anytime access. Students can take tests and quizzes online, read articles, blogs, participate in discussion forums and access rich content. EduNxt students experience a ‘portable campus’, have ‘carry along mentors’ and regularly access over one million online books and journals. The Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning provides technology, which has access to all the three forms of learning, namely published/printed self-learning material, e-learning and pre-recorded DVD lectures and faculty interaction. Scores of students can avail this and so can on the job people who want to increase their degrees or skill sets. Considering the increasing demand for distance education, a lot of institutes have started offering customised programmes, which an individual can pursue through correspondence. Distance learning programmes are generally designed to serve an off-campus population. With a majority of people willing to learn while they earn, these programmes are the best option to upgrade one’s skills and keep in pace with the growing competitive job scenario. Based on extensive market research, SMU-DE offers career-oriented programmes in 51 courses across 11 disciplines. The courses have been developed by integrating a highly researched curriculum with industry relevant concepts and practices. Of late some of the leading distance education players are recruiting faculty with industry experience as it helps the students to be business ready from day one. Students opting for distance education are now exposed to case study contests and discussion forums. This ensures that they have the requisite knowledge and skills to be industry-ready professionals. At the end, distance education will allow quality and customised education to be delivered to a larger audience.
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Parents suffer as child struggles A new
study has found that even into adulthood, problem children continue to give their parents heartache. “What this study finds is that the children may have their own lives and moved on, but their ups and downs are still deeply affecting their parents,” said psychology professor Karen Fingerman of Purdue University. For this study, 633 middle-aged parents in the Philadelphia area rated each of their grown children’s achievements in relationships, family life, education and career. They were asked to rate each child’s successes compared to other adults the same age. Most parents had more than one child so there were reports of 1,251 grown children included in the study. Parents also answered questions about their own psychological well-being, what kind of relationship they had with their children, and whether each of their children had experienced specific physical, emotional, lifestyle and behavioural problems. Lifestyle and behavioural problems included: trouble with the law, drinking or drug problems, divorce and serious relationships problems. They also considered if each child’s problems were deemed involuntary, such as a health issue, and controlled for them within the study. The research found 68 per cent of parents had at least one grown child suffering at least one problem in the last two years. Close to 49 per cent of parents said at least one of their children was highly successful. The majority of parents, 60 per cent, said they had a mix of successful and less successful children, while 17 per cent had no children suffering from problems and 15 per cent had no children they rated as being above average on life achievements. The researchers then looked at how children’s successes and failures affected parents’ well-being. Parents who had more than one highly successful child reported better well-being. However, having even one problematic child had a negative impact on their mental health, even if the other children were successful. Simply having at least one successful child was not associated with better well-being. The findings suggest parents react more strongly to their children’s failures than their successes, according to Fingerman. “Having two children suffering problems may be more demanding than having only one child who suffers problems,” she said. “By the same token, having a successful child did not buffer the effects of problem-ridden children.” The findings were presented at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
— ANI
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Campus
Notes PUNJAB Agricultural University has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Washington State University for executing a joint research project in wheat. A grant of $ 1.5 million has also been sanctioned for this project. The MoU was signed by PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang during his two-week visit of the USA recently. According to the Vice-Chancellor, PAU already had dwarf high yield wheat varieties. Under the new agreement, efforts would be made to have further dwarf wheat varieties. Dr Kulwinder Gill, an alumnus of the PAU, is the principal investigator of this project and is at present with Washington State University. Dr Kang also visited North Carolina University, Raleigh, which has collaboration with Washington State University. "North Carolina University is strong in quantitative genetics. So, we will be having a three-way collaboration," he said. Dr Kang also had a meeting with the officials of Monsanto, a seed company which has developed BT crops, including BT cotton, for testing some of the cotton hybrids of the company at the university.
New academic session begins The new academic session at Punjab Agricultural University has begun with the completion of admissions to various undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the four constituent colleges of the university. The university has witnessed a huge rush of admission seekers for the six-year B.Sc (Agriculture) and four-year (Agriculture) programmes at the College of Agriculture. According to university officials, the six-year B.Sc (Agriculture) programme has been launched in order to attract more rural students with matriculation as the basic qualification. Dr R. K. Mahey, Registrar, PAU, said there was a big demand for MSc Microbiology and Biotechnology programmes, as the number of seats had to be increased from 15 to 20 and 10 to 20, respectively. Similarly, the five-year integrated MSc (Hons) programme in the discipline of biochemistry, microbiology, botany and zoology also attracted good number of students. These are self-financing programmes launched this year, he said. Dr P.P.S. Lubana, Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, said the four-year B.Tech (Agricultural Engineering) course attracted a good number of students because there were better avenues of employment with the private firms. This year, as many as 32 students have been selected by various companies like Mahindra and Mahindra, CLAAS India, Kirloskar Group, Tafe-Eicher, John Deer and Sonalika, he said. Admissions to this course are made on the basis of CET conducted by Punjab Technical University. The College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology is the only institute in Punjab which offers the B.Tech (Agricultural Engineering) degree at the undergraduate level. — Contributed by K. S. Chawla
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