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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Learning on the move
Chaos that has blighted a generation of students
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Learning on the move
EDUCATION opens doors of opportunities. It helps one to lead a life of dignity and well-being. Denying education in the present competitive world is tantamount to denying a decent life. Fortunately, a majority of the people are aware of its benefits and don’t shy away from sending their children to school. In fact, all pains are taken to impart quality education by the government as well as parents. There are parents, especially those serving in the armed forces as well as paramilitary forces, who decide to stay-put in one place, sacrificing family life for their children’s education. Such parents feel that frequent transfers lead to disruption in studies. What is the general view? Tripta Katyal, who is now settled in Chandigarh is a daughter of an Army officer, says, “Nothing can take place of the rich exposure which one gets when one moves from one place to another. My sister and I learnt a lot because of the frequent postings. Most of the schools follow the CBSE pattern, so there is no obstacle in studies. For parents, it is all about finding a new school, new uniform, etc., but for children, it is a real fun. As children, we looked forward to exploring the new place, the new surroundings and the new school. We learnt how to say “farewell” decently to the past life and “welcome” to the new. There was a strange thrill in exploring the unknown and making new friends. We learnt that every place has its own beauty and also learnt to adjust beautifully in all circumstances”. The move comes with a lot of pain but in this world that has become a “global village,’ don’t we have to switch jobs across continents later in life? So why limit our learning experiences? Ravneet, who is married to an Army officer, comes from a civilian background. She says, “I was brought up in the City Beautiful. So, leaving it after marriage was difficult . I thought the best education was imparted in the city or in metros. I was wrong. My children have gained much from every school they have changed; and mind you, it’s after every two years. They make new friends, and have fond memories of their teachers and friends at the station we left behind. They have grown responsible. They help me pack and unpack the stuff and in the process we bond as a family. Every member of the family is assigned some duty, so the children love to shoulder theirs. Seeing them growing so, I feel they have an advantage, which, unfortunately, I didn’t have. In fact, after a few days, my children found Chandigarh a sleepy town. Also, the children learn to discard a lot of materialistic things which were once very dear to them. They learn to sieve the wanted from the unwanted.” Aparna, a senior lecturer at DAV School, Sector 8, Chandigarh, too feels the same. She is the daughter of an Army officer. She vouches, “With these frequent postings, one is exposed to the rich culture of India. No exhibition can do so. A short holiday stint at a place cannot substitute for the long, leisurely stay in a place where you absorb the surroundings. You meet new people, pick up the ethos of the place and carry it with you for life. I feel that I had a very rich upbringing compared to my children who are stranded, if I may say, in one place.” This is very true, as it has been noticed that while children who stayed in one place learnt essays and letters to score marks, others who frequently moved with their parents wrote effortlessly. You grow with new thoughts and ideas and are forced to come out of your cocoon. Exploring the market for a good deal, celebrating festivals with your neighbours, visiting the nearby historical or tourist places because you know you have to move on adds charm to your life. It also helps to move away from the mundane. The children become curious to know and explore. This itself is education in the real sense. In today’s world, such informal education can surely help earn rich dividends. This is the kind of learning which many schools claim to develop. And such children imbibe these naturally. They are more successful in debates, interviews and even in drawing room conversations. Sarah Gaur, a Class X student who has changed at least seven schools, feels that she has only grown in life with these postings. At present, posted with her parents in Ferozpur, she says, “Whenever I leave a place, I feel I will never get such close friends again. But I discover friends in the new surroundings who have their own qualities. Wherever we are posted, I discover the beauty of the place.” Formal education is very important, but if it can be assisted by an informal education that adds to your personality, it becomes desirable. Education on the move moulds one’s personality that is a bonus for life, and who does not like freebies? |
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Chaos that has blighted a generation of students IT might be supposed that students aiming to start university next year would welcome the news that cuts are to be made to tuition fees in one-third of English universities. But the lateness of the changes, which come less than three months before the university-application deadline for the academic year beginning in September 2012, is likely to create as much chaos as celebration. Many of the 70,000 students who have already applied for courses next year — and had to sign up to courses without knowing what the fees would be — will find that they will pay less than they expected. But equal numbers who applied to cheaper universities could now discover that institutions they had decided were too expensive are now within their budgets. They will not find out for sure until November 30, which does not leave much time to put in a fresh application before the deadline of January 15. This unnecessary problem is typical of the dog’s dinner the UK government has made of university funding in a series of moves that give every sign of having not been thought through properly, if at all. It was always paradoxical that if universities were becoming too expensive to fund from the public purse, the answer was to triple fees in a way that shifted the immediate burden from the individual student, who until last year paid fees up front, to a system where the government pays all the costs until they can be recouped years ahead when students have graduated and are earning more than £21,000 a year. There are good arguments for introducing some market pressures to university funding. But the government has been too radical too quickly. Trebling fees in one go was too big a leap — motivated by the desire to inflict unrealistic levels of cuts on higher education. Those cuts pressed universities to charge the £9,000-a-year maximum fee the government had allowed. Ministers were mysteriously taken aback by this and too late realised that this would place an additional £1bn immediate charge on taxpayers. So in the summer they announced incentives which said that universities charging under £7,500 a year would be allowed to expand. Last week’s changes are the universities’ response to that moving of the goal posts. Running a world-class university sector cannot be left entirely to the market because it will produce distortions — such as not enough students taking science, engineering, technology and maths courses, while at the same time arts and social science subjects risk becoming the preserve of the privately educated and affluent, as languages already have. Some of the government’s instincts have been sound here. Standards should be raised by the incentive that allows the country’s most sought-after universities to take in as many candidates with at least two As and a B as they want. It may well be that constant expansion of the undergraduate population is far from the unalloyed good suggested by the last government, which wanted half of school-leavers to go to university. But if we are to keep numbers at present levels, those who benefit most must pay more for it. There are social considerations, too, like the balance of subjects taken and the need to make sure that clever-but-poor students are given real encouragement and incentives to become undergraduates. It may not be a bad thing that university applications are down by 12 per cent year on year. A little more selectivity could help raise standards, too, and reduce drop-out rates. But we need to be sure that it is not the wrong people who are staying away. The government has stumbled at every step throughout this whole process. It needs a much more coherent approach for the academic year after next. — The Independent |
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Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar PROFESSOR Dockerall, Director, Education, Sterling University, Scotland, recently visited Guru Nanak Dev University to explore the possibilities of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of sports. While inspecting sports infrastructure on the university campus, Prof Dockerall said, "Sterling University is the best university in sports in Scotland just as Guru Nanak Dev University. Therefore, we desired to sign an MoU in the field of sports." Under this MoU, there would be an exchange programme wherein the students form both sides would have opportunity to visit each other's campus. Similarly, the faculty and researchers would also have chance to exchange views in the field of sports, he said. On behalf of the Vice-Chancellor of Sterling University, Scotland, Prof Dockerall also invited Prof AS Brar, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, to finalise the terms and conditions of the MoU. 24 students placed
Capgemini Company recently visited Guru Nanak Dev University for campus placements and recruited 24 students of the batch 2012 at a salary package of Rs 3.60 lakh per annum. Dr Hardeep Singh, Director, Placements, said earlier three students of the batch 2012 of the Textile Chemistry Courses of the university were offered job by the Advanced Academy for Development of Textile Technology (AADTT-DyStar) at a salary package of Rs 3 lakh per annum. He said as many as 471 students from various courses of the batch 2012 of the university had already been placed in eight different national and multinational companies. These students will join their respective companies in June 2012 after their final examination, he said.
Refresher course in social sciences
A "Refresher Course in Social Sciences" is being organised by the university at its Academic Staff College. The refresher course was inaugurated by former Vice-Chancellor and eminent historian, Prof J. S. Grewal. Prof. Harish Chander Sharma, coordinator of the course, said the refresher course included the subjects of history, political science, psychology, sociology and geography. More than 25 participants from all over India are participating in the course which will be held till November 29. — Contributed by G. S. Paul |
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Armed Forces
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