What UK learns from East
A review of school standards that contrasts the British system with those of successful countries such as Singapore and China came up with interesting observations
Richard Garner
THE phrase “Go West Young Man” has lent itself to the English language for the past 160 years. But Education Secretary Michael Gove appears likely to ignore that advice as he looks to all parts East for inspiration on improving school standards in the UK.
In Shanghai, pupils spend less time in extra-curricular activities such as sport, concentrating instead on preparing themselves for exams in the basics

MIT to offer labs, certificates to virtual students
BOSTON: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is developing technology that will allow students taking courses online to use simulated labs, interact with professors and other students, and earn certificates. “The driver is to reach everyone out there who can’t be here,” MIT Provost Rafael Reif said.

Campus Notes
Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar
World Bank grant for research
GURU Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology has been sanctioned a grant of Rs 12 crore under the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) Phase-II of the World Bank. The grant is meant for scaling up postgraduate education, conducting demand-driven research, development and innovation.

   CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
n 7 scientists get awards
n Licence for maize hybrids

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What UK learns from East
A review of school standards that contrasts the British system with those of successful countries such as Singapore and China came up with interesting observations
Richard Garner

THE phrase “Go West Young Man” has lent itself to the English language for the past 160 years. But Education Secretary Michael Gove appears likely to ignore that advice as he looks to all parts East for inspiration on improving school standards in the UK.

He will soon publish evidence from his independent review body on the national curriculum comparing the English system with the rest of the world. Gove is aiming to make use other effective methods to provide what his officials call a “gold standard” curriculum here.

The report, by Tim Oates, director of research at Cambridge Assessment, will highlight places like Singapore and Hong Kong, which are at the top of international league tables. Singapore, for instance, insists its pupils learn their times tables by the age of nine, while Hong Kong teaches pupils about animal and plant cells by the age of 10 in science lessons instead of having to wait until secondary school. And the report does not just look to the Far East for inspiration—parts of Eastern Europe features in the list of countries to be marvelled at, too. Poland puts greater emphasis on classic books on its reading list for literature—the work of Homer and Sophocles as opposed to the three most popular books in GCSE exams, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird. A glance at the international league tables for reading and maths standards shows evidence Gove could cast his eye over other eastern countries, too.

The last PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) study in 2009 is topped by Shanghai, the first time China had entered schools for the survey. In Shanghai, pupils spend less time in extra-curricular activities such as sport, concentrating instead on preparing themselves for exams in the basics.

Then there is Finland. It has no league tables or targets; it instead relies on its teachers to prepare their lessons. Teaching there is the most sought-after career in the country.

But any attempt to “easternise” the curriculum over here is likely to have its opponents. “There are advantages to using international comparison data and it is right to view the curriculum in an international context but this must be put into perspective,” said Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. “We know the danger of putting too much stock in cherry-picked international statistics that do not factor in cultural context. The national curriculum must be right for pupils in this country, not a ‘me-too’ model based on what is done elsewhere.”

A second part of Gove’s announcement—that the curriculum reforms are being put back for a further year to allow a greater debate on the shape they will take—is being welcomed by secondary heads. “It is encouraging to hear the Department for Education recognise that rushed and poorly debated curriculum change creates chaos for schools by allowing them too little time to prepare,” Lightman said.

Gove said his review would be completed by the end of next year—rather than January— and would not be implemented until 2014. This is being interpreted by some as evidence that the review group has not come up with the solutions he would like, including a more traditional 1950s-style curriculum in its first drafts—a claim denied in the Department for Education circles.

— The Independent

MIT to offer labs, certificates to virtual students

BOSTON: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is developing technology that will allow students taking courses online to use simulated labs, interact with professors and other students, and earn certificates. “The driver is to reach everyone out there who can’t be here,” MIT Provost Rafael Reif said.

MIT is already known for its OpenCourseWare programme, which offers some 2,100 courses online for free. Until now, students worked through MIT course material on their own and were never tested. Beginning in a few months, however, they will be able to see sought-after professors in videos, engage in student discussion groups, and take examinations.

“It is making MIT available on a grand planet scale,” said Anant Agarwal, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. “This is a great way to marry our mission in education and our mission in research.”

Students wanting to earn certificates through MIT’s online programme will have to pay a fee, university officials said, adding that fees had not yet been set. It cost $40,732 to attend MIT for one year on campus in 2011-2012. University officials stressed that the programme would not replace the campus experience and that online courses would be just as rigorous as those conducted outside the virtual world. “This is not MIT-lite,” Reif said.

Since the OpenCourseWare programme was launched nearly a decade ago, more than 100 million people have studied subjects ranging from anthropology to gender studies. courses in linear algebra and multivariable calculus have been among the most popular, MIT said.

Other US schools, including Stanford and Yale, offer similar online learning programmes. — Reuters

Campus Notes
Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar
World Bank grant for research

GURU Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology has been sanctioned a grant of Rs 12 crore under the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) Phase-II of the World Bank. The grant is meant for scaling up postgraduate education, conducting demand-driven research, development and innovation. TEQIP Coordinator Nawal Kishore said the grant would help strengthen laboratories and other infrastructure for research and M.Tech. programmes being run by the departments of Computer Science and Engineering, Applied Physics-Optical Engineering, Environment Science and Engineering, Printing Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Bio- and Nano-Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering, and Food Technology. Under this scheme, teaching staff, technical staff and office staff would be able to receive training in their fields in India and abroad. After two years, depending on progress, two of the departments would be able to function as centres for excellence, for which additional grant of Rs10 crore would be given.

CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
7 scientists get awards

Seven scientists of Chaudhry Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University have won awards for their research papers. They include four soil scientists, R.S. Antil, R.P. Narwal, Balwan Singh and J.P. Singh, who have been conferred with the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) Best Paper Award (2010-11) for their paper on the long-term effects of farmyard manure and nitrogen application on soil health and crop productivity under the pearl millet-wheat cropping system. The award was presented by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Srikant Jena, at a three-day annual seminar of FAI held at New Delhi. The article chosen for the award is based on findings of an experiment running in the Department of Soil Sciences of the university since 1967. The results indicated that combined application of farmyard manure and fertiliser N increased productivity and profitability of the pearl millet-wheat cropping system and maintained soil fertility. It has been predicted that for each unit (0.1%) increase in soil organic C, the productivity of pearl millet could be increased by 273 kg per hectare and that of wheat by 1,591 kg per hectare. The application of farmyard manure was found to be more beneficial in rabi (winter) season as compared to its application in kharif (summer) season. Two other scientists, Dr Surender S. Dhankhar, Associate Professor, and Dr Diwan Singh, Associate Dean, College of Agriculture, and Senior Scientist of Department of Agro meteorology, have been honoured with Best Paper Award. The best paper award has been given by the Indian Association of Agro Meteorologists for their research paper entitled "Seedling Establishment of Chickpea Cultivars in Varying Sowing Environments Under Field Conditions" published in the Journal of Agro Meteorology. Dr Dhankhar and another scientist, Dr Raj Singh, were also presented an award for their best oral presentation on agro meteorological services for sustainable development and agro climatic resource characterisation.

Licence for maize hybrids

Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University has granted a non-exclusive licence to Orissa-based Sansar Agropol Pvt. Ltd. for production of seed of its maize hybrids. As per the agreement, the private sector seed company will produce and market the seed of two maize hybrids, namely HQPM-1 and HQPM-5, developed at the university. The maize hybrids are in great demand among private seed companies across the country. The university has so far developed 14 single cross maize hybrids, and 10 seed companies across the country had reached an agreement with the university to produce and market of the seed of different maize hybrids.

— Contributed by Raman Mohan

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