Teaching
Tests and lessons
Swati Rai

Teaching as a career has come a long way from the days of guru-shishya system. On this Teachers’ Day let’s take a look at the current status and future prospects of this noble profession

In India one still can’t deny the reality of shortage of teachers, under-staffed schools, substandard or absent teacher training programmes at the grassroots level

Imparting education has always been seen as a noble calling on which depends the very foundation of society. Teaching as a career has always enjoyed an exalted status and teachers, especially in India, have been accorded a special place and respect. Education has been the key focus area in our country in the first decade of the 21st century and the widening scope of school education and rising demand for higher education have opened a host of opportunities for those interested in teaching. The education sector is one of the largest service sector industries in India. According to KPMG estimates, this sector will grow by around 10-15 per cent between 2011-2021. According to a report (2010) of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, India will need 20 lakh new teachers by the year 2015. This sector offers an entrant more chances of professional and academic growth. Coupled with this are the fringe benefits of lesser stress and work hours as compared to a corporate shift.

Globally speaking, teaching is the most undervalued profession. In India, this is so because a teacher’s contribution is not recognised and celebrated here. Along with this financially also it is not a lucrative profession. — Gowri Ishwaran, Principal, Sanskriti School, Delhi, and Chief Executive Officer of The Global Education and Leadership Foundation, Delhi

Teacher — Key Link in Human Resource Development Education is one of the foremost Millennium Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2000. All across the globe countries are committed to achieving these goals such as universal primary education and eliminating gender disparities at all levels of education by 2015. Education for All (EFA) is another global movement to provide quality basic education to all. World Teachers’ Day is held annually on October 5, to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. In 2011 the event addressed ‘Teachers for gender equality’, focusing also on the issue of the gap between women and men in leadership positions in school administrations, teaching positions and education systems. In India ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act’ 2009 promises free and compulsory education to every child in the age group of 6-14 years.

In the ‘glocal’ world that we inhabit, education services now encompass e-tutors, education consultancies, academic writing, coaching and training. It also helps that the education sector is by and large insulated from the rigours of recession.

Not the preferred destination

The picture, unfortunately, is not as rosy as it appears. Fact remains that in spite of a huge demand, teaching is neither a first career choice nor a career for life with most. At the most it is a convenient choice or compromise. Padam Shree awardee, founder Principal of Sanskriti School, Delhi, Gowri Ishwaran, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer at The Global Education and Leadership Foundation, Delhi, says, “Globally speaking, teaching is the most undervalued profession. In India, this is so because a teacher’s contribution is not recognised and celebrated here. The second reason is that financially it is not a lucrative profession.”

College teaching is certainly more preferred but there also number crunching exists due to lack of training or, sometimes, motivation. Smita Keron, Assistant Director Admissions, Amity School of Distance Learning, Noida, who with her previous experience in HR recruitment of teachers in the university opines, “There is a huge dearth of talent resources pool for hiring. On an average the selection ratio is 2:10, as the university selection procedure is strictly according to the UGC norms and we look at highly motivated and qualified teachers. The starting salary of an Assistant Professor is anywhere between Rs 40,000 and 45,000 along with other perks and a chance to also pursue a Ph.D in some cases.”

At the school level, the problem is played out in urban, rural and semi-urban contexts. By and large in the first two cases there is a shortage of teachers, in the other one there is a shortage of trained manpower. The MHRD’s, report of the Department of School Education and Literacy, titled, ‘Restructuring and Reorganisation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Teacher Education, Guidelines for Implementation’ states, ‘During 2010-12, around 8.17 lakh additional posts of teacher have been sanctioned under the combine RTE-SSA programme.’ It goes on to record that, ‘One of the major problems confronting the states with large teacher vacancy is the inadequate number of teacher education institutions.’ Coupled with this is the trend of contract teachers whose pay and service conditions are poor and their meagre salary and insecurity of term acts as a deterrent to their pursuing teaching as a career.

Another issue plaguing the profession is that of gender disparity in education administration. The 2011 UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF, ILO and Education International joint message states, “Women make up the majority of the teaching profession at the primary level, 62 per cent globally but as high a proportion as 99 per cent in some countries. Yet as the profession has become increasingly feminised, conditions of service, pay and status have deteriorated.”

Such inequalities at the top, also work as a disincentive to opt for teaching as a career choice.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Globally speaking, teaching is the most undervalued profession. In India, this is so because a teacher’s contribution is not recognised and celebrated here. Along with this financially also it is not a lucrative profession. — Gowri Ishwaran, Principal, Sanskriti School, Delhi, and Chief Executive Officer of The Global Education and Leadership Foundation, Delhi

Rote learning, chalk-and- talk methods have long been replaced by cutting-edge technological interventions in schools and colleges. Virtual tools, interactive digital sessions have invaded the teachers’ space. There are on and offline educational needs providers that are mushrooming by the hour. Mathematics and English language laboratories are a staple feature in most schools where teacher interference is optimum rather than overbearing.

Coaching for competitive exams has emerged as a lucrative non-formal education sector with salaries as high as Rs 40,000-Rs 1,80,000 per month. This sector also provides avenues for e-tutoring. Institutes like VistaMind and Aakash Insitute, offer online coaching for MBA aspirants via videos, conference calls and DVDs. Aakash Institute has entered into an alliance with BhartiAirtel's, iTV service —iExam, for providing coaching services through Airtel digital TV.

While it is debatable whether technology will outdo and out run the human figure in the classroom; what is certain is that a teacher has to rewire herself to fit in the role of a facilitator to keep up with times.

Train the trainer

There is no substitute for training in the teaching profession more so now when the scope of education includes, life-skills, inclusivity, vocational training and hands-on learning.

Gowri Ishwaran says, “Training the teacher in a mercurial educational scenario is a must to make teaching more effective and professional in the 21st Century. Ultimately it is the teacher who is the can effect a positive change at the grassroots level. Unfortunately, we lack effective training programmes in our country today.”

While efforts are being made to empower the teachers to make the RTE a reality, it is going to be a tough tread. The National Council for Teacher Education is the premier institution whose main aim is the “achievement of planned and coordinated development of the teacher-education system and the regulation and proper maintenance of the norms and standards in the teacher education.” Its four sub-committees on Curriculum Norms and Standards; Accreditation, Innovative programmes in teacher education; Distance education; and ICT in teacher education, aim to reform the teacher-education system to improve the quality of procedures and practices and also of teacher education programmes and preparation.

— The writer is a skills trainer

Career Hotline
A number of choices

Q. I have done MSc in maths and BEd, and have been teaching in a convent school for the past eight years. But over the years I have lost interest in this job and want to switch over to a different field. What are the options available for me?

— Raima Roy

A. The skills that you’ve developed while studying and teaching maths —such as the ability to think logically as well as in abstraction — will prove to be a great asset in any profession. No wonder it’s called the queen of sciences!

Career opportunities are truly wide and varied for those who have a talent and passion for mathematics as the subject finds valuable multifaceted applications in all walks of life, including banking, business and law.

Some of the careers where a mathematical background is particularly valued are: Actuarial science (insurance), taxation, business management, finance, computer science, operations research, market research (specifically quantitative), and media planning.

The banking and financial services sector is another growth area where the work centres on portfolio management, financial control methods and forecasting, equity research, financial planning etc.

For all these, MBA (Fin), MFC, CA, CFA will hold you in good stead.

For RBI jobs: ww.rbi.org.in

Many financial services companies, research labs of multinational companies etc are aggressively hiring Indian mathematicians and the best part is that the pay package is better than that offered to IT professionals.

Business Analytics is another hot area which you can get into if you do an MBA.

If you love numbers, a career in mathematical research — be it pure or applied, can also be a fascinating pursuit.

Those specialising in mathematics or statistics can work as members of research teams in industry, statistical and data collection organisations, meteorology, information technology, aerospace and bioinformatics, econometrics etc.

Those who have studied pure mathematics are also in great demand. Maths and science are the keys to innovation and power in today's world. And this is the Golden Age for Masters and Ph.D. degree holders in mathematics.

After M.Sc Maths you can even enroll for MTech (in a host of engineering/technology disciplines including computer science at leading engineering colleges, including the IITs, after cracking the GATE exam.

So to sum up, after M.Sc (Maths), other than teaching, you have the following options:

• You can become a scientist, a statistical officer, a bank officer or an accounts officer.
• You can try job as a scientist in DRDO, ISRO, BARC and many private organisations.
• You can go for PhD and after that you can join teaching as a profession, which you know already.
• You can go for a professional course like MBA or specialisation in IT.
• You can take the civil services exam or various other exams conducted by the UPSC.
• Try for a government job.

So as you can see, the options are unlimited and it all depends on your interest and aptitude.

Make the best of a poor hand

Q. Although I had prepared quite well, I did not get a high score in AIEEE. As a result, I’ve had to settle for a middle-ranking engineering college. I have now learnt that the placements in this institution are also not very good. I’m very confused and dejected. Please help.

— Umang Sarthak

A. Try my favourite dictum: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. So what if the placements aren’t great, make sure you remain in the top-10 students in your class, so that even if a handful of companies come for campus recruitment, you get to appear for their interviews etc. Make sure your communication skills and fundamentals of your discipline are well in place.

I also came across a recent notification of IIT, Gandhinagar (Guj), inviting applications from students of other recognised engineering colleges to spend a semester or two at IITGN with full registration in any of the courses they offer (both at the undergraduate as well as postgraduate level). If accepted, this would really give you an extra edge when it comes to applying for jobs. The application deadline is October 1, 2012. You'll get all the details on their website: www.iitgn.ac.in/admission.htm.

I’m not sure whether such a scheme is offered at any of the other IITs. Worth checking out. Of course, you could go for a top-end MBA or MTech subsequently. So as you can see, what you perceive as the end of the road could be the beginning of a fantastic new journey!

My son wants to do BDS from UK

Q. My son is in Class X and wants to pursue BDS degree and that too from the UK. Kindly let me know the right way of getting admission in a dental surgery course in UK. How much would it cost? Will he have to go there for his Class XI and XII studies also?

— Ritu Sehgal

A. You can check out the net for the required information. http://nhsdentistry.org/dental_schools.php lists some of the major dental schools in the UK with their relevant contact phone numbers and web addresses so you can contact them directly if you're interested in sending your son to the UK for studying dentistry and working ultimately in General Practice or finally Private Practice.

Some dental schools even accept B.Sc graduates on a reduced course time, and one college even runs courses for as short as three years.

Advice: for UG courses do check the ratings in the Teaching Quality Assessment. Assessment is done by the British govt. See www.rae.ac.uk or www.educationuk-in.org

Apart from the other academic requirements, to get into a well-rated dental college, applicants must be proficient in the English language. The minimum acceptable level of proficiency being:

• GCSE English Language grade B or above
• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English grade B or above
• International English language Testing (IELTS) score of 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in any one component.

Dental school is four academic years in duration and is similar in format to medical school: two years of basic medical and dental sciences, followed by two years of clinical training (with continued didactic coursework). Before graduating, every dental student must successfully complete the National Board Dental Examination Part I and II (commonly referred to as NBDE I & II). The NBDE Part I is usually taken at the end of the second year after the majority of the didactic courses have been completed. The NBDE Part I covers Gross Anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, pathology, and dental anatomy and occlusion. The NBDE Part II is usually taken during winter of the last year of dental school and consists of operative dentistry, pharmacology, endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery, pain control, prosthodontics, orthodontics, pedodontics, oral pathology, and radiology. NBDE Part I scores are of importance when considering residency training after graduating from dental school.

Be clear and consistent

Q. I got into a business venture with my cousin straight after college. But now after four years, the venture is stagnating. I feel the need to study further and explore other possibilities. I am confident of scoring well in the CAT, but how will I explain this situation?

— K T vij

A. Lack of opportunity, shift in interest, the urge to learn new and varied things, peer/ parental pressure - it's up to you to explain these factors convincingly. Whatever you do, be clear and consistent in your communication. Never show desperation or ambiguity.

Pervin Malhotra email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com

Career compass: corporate trainer
Masters of social skills
Gauri Chhabra

With the services sector coming to the limelight, more focus is being laid on affective skills rather than on the cognitive understanding of one’s domain. Most professions today need certain specific skill sets that have to be learnt in the classroom or through experience. While education provides a basic framework, we still need to invest time and effort in honing the skills learnt and acquiring functional skills specific to an industry. That’s where professional trainers come into the picture.

If you thought that corporate training was all about breaking the ice with your oratory skills, think again, because there is more to it than what meets the eye. Here is what you need to know about a career in corporate training:

Step by step

The road to becoming a trainer is not a simple singular path. In my experience so far, I have hardly seen any young professional articulating his ambition to become a trainer at the start of his career. Corporate training is typically a job that people “discover” after working for a while and after gaining considerable experience in a particular field.

Most of the trainers start from a technical position. Efficient and effective use of their skills makes them gain expertise in their domains after a period of time. Then they start training in-house and later on may graduate to training full-time.

Corporate trainers typically find themselves teaching topics that people don’t learn in their formal education. These may include communication skills, business writing etiquette, public speaking, presentation skills and other job-specific functional and technical skills. There is a great need in corporations to improve the way their employees present themselves to the outside world, and training them is the straightforward answer. Trainers have the option of working as in-house trainers with organisations, join a specialist training firm or even work as independent and freelance trainers.

Teacher’s cousin?

A question that is often asked at education forums is: Is training synonymous to teaching? The answer to this is — NOT essentially. A corporate trainer can be called a ‘cousin of teacher’, who has donned a corporate coat.

There is a difference between conventional teaching and training. The former is cognitive in nature and is limited to conveying information, which can be accomplished with a slide deck or a classroom lecture. Professional training, however, is affective and provides people with the tools and skills they need either to change their behaviour or develop skills that they never had before.

In order to teach other people new behaviour traits, a trainer should develop these abilities beforehand. Also, most importantly, corporate trainers have to deal with mature adult audiences who have their own experiences and perceptions. Teachers have a certain position of authority because of which students have a natural tendency to follow their instructions, trainers enjoy no such luxury and have to build strong relationships with their learners to get the message across.

Skill set

The singular skill set that is key to being an efficient corporate trainer is social skills — a natural ease in dealing with people. Besides, an ability to present oneself with confidence, speak before a large audience with conviction, a mature thought process to create training material relevant to the audience, spontaneity to respond to difficult situations with ease, a good sense of humour, loads of enthusiasm, and most importantly, a passion for the subject matter that is being presented. Most good trainers also have that indefinable ‘charm’ that makes them create magic in a training forum and leave a lasting impact.

The foothold

For those of you who wish to take up training as a profession, once you get a hang of things, you can cover the broad spectrum from communication skills, e-mail etiquette, conflict resolution skills, leadership skills. You can also go in for 3 to 5 day certification programmes. Academic bodies like ISTD (Indian Society of Training & Development) and XLRI (Jamshedpur) offer such certifications. Similar certifications are also offered by several Training and Consulting firms. Getting a certification is a good start for new trainers and usually helps them to understand ‘training’ as a function and also helps them acquire ‘trainer-like qualities’. Training certifications typically verify that their holder has an adequate grasp of the essential fundamentals at a certain acceptable level.

A certification programme can give you a passport to basic knowledge about how to make presentations effectively, design training courses, how to conduct a training needs analysis, how to set objectives for a training programme, how to deliver training effectively and evaluate its effectiveness.

However, certification says nothing about the quality or richness of experience and does not measure or reflect the hard-to-quantify characteristics that distinguish a ‘seasoned trainer’ from a novice. It is, however, a great ‘starting point’ for those relatively new to the field.

There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is beyond its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and recreate good ones.

Corporate training is an art for art’s sake. There is no checklist to follow in order to excel in this profession. There are 3 magic words that make you a good trainer — Confidence, Creativity and Charisma to hold an audience and change their attitude.

So, on this Teachers’ Day, if you want to breathe in a whiff of fresh air into teaching, put on your corporate coats and script a career for yourself in Corporate Training.

— The writer is a Ludhiana-based career consultant

Field in focus: actuarial science
Number game
R.R. Grover

Actuarial Science is the lifeline of the insurance industry. A very versatile discipline, it requires in-depth knowledge of mathematics, statistics, economics, investments, operation research, etc.

Traditionally, in India actuaries have been linked to Life Insurance only despite the fact that actuarial skills have application in the fields of investments, financial planning and management. Actuaries enable financial decisions to be made with more confidence. In short, actuarial skills are valuable for any business managing long-term financial projects both in public and private sectors.

Demand

Earlier, there was just one life insurance company in India. Thus, the demand for actuaries was also less. But now, with the privatisation of the insurance industry, there are nearly 24 life and 27 general Insurance companies and each requires at least one appointed actuary.

Institute watch

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management studies, Mumbai Amity University Uttar Pradesh (Amity School of Insurance, Banking and Actuarial Science) Banaras Hindu University Madras University Central University Rajasthan

According to IRDA, it is now mandatory for the General Insurance companies also to have an Appointed Actuary. The Appointed Actuary performs the high-end jobs. For performing the less complex work they need a team of nearly 10-15 fully or partially qualified actuaries.

Role

Actuary's role primarily has two dimensions. First, he is responsible to regulators, for which he is required to be a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI). Secondly, he has operational responsibilities within the ambit of his assignment for the discharge of which actuarial skills are required. Therefore, the demand is not only for full-fledged qualified actuaries but also for persons who have actuarial skills. And this demand is poised to experience a quantum jump in the immediate future. Actuaries are highly valued for their analytical skills.

Actuaries are experts in assessing the financial impact of tomorrow's uncertain events. They enable financial decisions to be made with more confidence by:

• Analysing the past
• Modeling the future
• Assessing the risks involved, and
• Communicating what the results mean in financial terms. Actuaries apply professional rigor combined with a commercial approach to the decision-making process. The actuary's skills in management and product design are used extensively in the areas of insurance, pensions, investment and, more recently, in wider fields such as project management, banking and health care.

Within these industries, actuaries perform a wide variety of roles such as design and pricing of product, financial management and corporate planning.

Actuaries are invariably involved in the overall management of insurance companies and pension, gratuity and other employee benefit funds schemes; they have statutory roles in insurance and employee benefit valuations to some extent in social insurance schemes sponsored by the government

Actuarial skills are valuable for any business managing long-term financial projects both in the public and private sectors.

Actuaries balance their role in business management with responsibility for safeguarding the financial interests of the public.

The duty of Actuaries to consider the public interest is illustrated by their legal responsibility for protecting the benefits promised by insurance companies and pension schemes. The profession's code of conduct demands the highest standards of personal integrity from its members.

Jobscape

Actuaries work in wide range of areas which include the following:

• Life insurance
• General insurance
• Health insurance
• Reinsurance Companies
• Pension funds
• Consultants
• Investments
• Government
• Academics
• Risk Management

— The writer is Director, Amity School of Insurance, Banking & Actuarial Science Amity University, Noida

Success sutra: tips to achieve your life's goals
Know where you are going
Zubin Malhotra

People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It’s as simple as that. And here are ten tips to make the going easier:

1) Include serious and fun goals

Vary the scope of your goals to include some just-for-fun dreams. Also, don’t be afraid to complete the easier goals first.

Building a momentum from these early successes will help you find the courage to tackle the larger tasks.

2) Include undefined goals

Don’t overlook a new developing passion or interest. Fearlessly add it to your goals even if you can’t totally articulate it.

For example, if you wake up one morning with the desire to learn modern dance, add it to the list. Let the idea simmer in your mind until something more specific emerges.

3) Document your progress

While reviewing your goal list, record your progress and plot the next steps. Documenting your progress will enable you to identify behaviour patterns or other obstacles that are keeping you from accomplishing your goals — it can also show you how far you’ve come.

4) Manageable and rewarding

Divide big goals into smaller tasks, but not so small that they become tedious. Taking small manageable steps will keep you from getting overwhelmed by a huge goal.

For example, instead of vowing to "get organised" try listing "de-clutter my desk or filing cabinet."

5) Define the finish line

You’ll find it easier to complete certain tasks and track your progress if you determine the duration, the result, or the final outcome you desire from achieving a specific goal. Revise vague goals such as ‘do social service’ by specifying what kind of work you want to do. You may not be able to do this right away — undefined goals are good, too.

6) Prioritise

Arrange your goals to reflect what you want to begin working on right away. You may want to enter the Mr India contest and get a promotion at work, but rather than trying to find the time and energy to slog at the gym everyday and put in long hours at the office, focus on the goal that's more important to you.

7) Set limits

Somewhere between 20-45 is a good number for many people. Limiting your list to 45 goals forces you to make some choices. Less than 20 goals doesn’t offer enough variety to keep you moving forward.

8) Review your list weekly

Frequent review of your goals not only sharpens your focus, but also keeps up your momentum, and reminds you of what’s important. As you review the list, ask yourself, "What have I done to achieve a particular goal this week?" If the answer is "nothing," then it is time to ask yourself whether that this goal important enough to remain on your list any longer?

9) Revise and remove

Your life list should be constantly evolving — it should reflect what's important to you right now, not what mattered in the past.

Remember, there’s no penalty for changing your mind or modifying a goal to better reflect your desired outcome or changed circumstances. A short-lived passion for learning sculpture can be reborn as "find a creative outlet," or ambitions to get 95 per cent in physics can be tossed because sometimes a passing grade is enough of a victory.

10) Make your list public

Making your goals public solidifies your commitment to them, holds you accountable, and helps you connect with others who share your interests.

You’ll discover connections to social and professional networks that you didn’t know you had and get you lots of encouragement from the people who care most about you. So make sure to share the list with your friends, family members, and coworkers.

You can devote months of thought to spell-out your career goals, your one-year, your five-year goals. You may write them and stick them under a magnet on your fridge. But sad to say, without a proper disciplined road map, they are worthless.

Know why?

The goal is only the destination. How much thought have you given to the journey —between where you are now and where you want to go?

You need to strategise and map out each step so that you can check your position and stay on the right path.

Mapping also shows how far you are from your goal and what route to take next. Keep checking your list periodically to determine where you are.

Also, have a Plan B and Plan C in case things don’t work out.

Remember, no one is born with all the talents to achieve a goal — you learn as you go along. But the achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.

— The writer is Career Coach, Career Guidance India (www.careerguidanceindia.com)

Testing times: cracking cat quant section
Step up focus
Ulhas Vairagkar

By now most of the CAT aspirants are (hopefully) through with bulk of the basics. So let us discuss the specific actions they should take in the next 35-40 days to do well in Quant section.

Going by CAT-2011 pattern, this section in CAT-2012 is likely to have a mix of about 18-22 questions from Quantitative Ability (Quant) and about 8-12 questions from Data Interpretation (DI) areas. While it has not been explicitly spelt out in the CAT notification, the possibility that this section may also include one or two questions from Data Sufficiency area cannot be ruled out.

Strengthen weak areas

Based on your performance in mock tests, you should identify the topics/chapters where your attempts are less or you have made more mistakes. If you have not spent sufficient time on these topics so far, do it now! It will be a catastrophe if you get a large number of easy questions from these 'left-out' topics in your CAT slot! Remember, easy questions that can be attempted in less time could come from any chapter/topic.

Practice

While it is important to learn how to solve the questions, it is equally important that you learn to solve these in the least possible time. Practising under time pressure will help you to simulate exam conditions and you will not get panicky while writing CAT.

Take timed tests regularly to build time management skills. It is also important that you take regular computer-based tests so as to build comfort in solving questions on the screen.

Question selection

Selecting easy questions and leaving the tough ones without spending much time on the same is an important skill that you should aim to hone in the next 4-6 weeks.

- Develop scanning skill so that you can quickly get an idea of the structure of the section and are able to see all the questions properly.

- Develop your assessment skills to estimate the time needed to solve the question so that you don't waste time on the questions that take more time to solve.

Resist temptation

Most students make the mistake of continuing with the question with the hope that 'I know I can solve it' but end up spending as much as 7-8 or more minutes trying to solve it. Even if the question is solved, you have wasted time that could have been better utilised in solving more and easier questions.

It is important that you learn how to ‘resist temptation’ while practising. Fix a time limit of about 2.5 minutes per question. If it appears to you that the question may take longer than this time limit, you should move on and tackle the next question/s that appear doable within this time limit.

Improve familiarity in DI

Insufficient practice is the main cause of students not doing as well in DI. You should be regular in solving all kinds and types of DI sets so that you are fully familiar with each type and do not get flustered if you see any unusual / new type of DI set. While practicing, you would notice that some DI questions can be solved with visual observation— don't miss these easy picks.

Hone approximation skills

Using appropriate approximation techniques can save you valuable time in solving DI questions. Practice these techniques diligently so that you don’t end up wasting time in long and tedious calculations while you could have easily approximated and saved time.

- The writer is Director, Delhi, T.I.M.E.

Scholarship roundup
Scholarship for single girl child

Eligible candidates can apply online for the University Grants Commission-funded Post-Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child in any recognised university or college for 2012-2014.

Eligibility:

• Any single girl child of her parents. In a family if one son and one daughter is available then girl child will not be considered for scholarship under the scheme.
• Single girl child who has taken admission in regular, full-time 1st year masters degree course in any recognised university or a post graduate college.
• Admission to PG course in distance education mode is not covered under the scheme.

Check out: www.ugc.ac.in

Research opportunity

Applications are invited for the post of JRF/Project Assistant under Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India sponsored research project entitled "Development of inorganic nanophosphors: Luminescence and related studies" at SMVDU, India

Eligibility:

• JRF- The applicants must have first class M.Sc. in Physics
• PA- The applicants must have first class M.Sc. in Physics.

Deadline: September 7

Course cruising
Trading programme

Institute for technology driven financial management, Modrika, has opened enrolment for its Global Internship Programme in Algorithmic and High Frequency Trading. Ideally suited for MBA, MCA, B.Tech and B.E. students, this project-based training gives a comprehensive overview of all aspects of algorithmic and high frequency trading. Designed for both buy and sell-side market, this internship involves a top-down approach to algorithmic trading, wherein students are equipped with an overview of electronic trading, including factors driving the growth of this segment, identification of target markets and trading styles, designing trading strategies and their algorithmic components. As part of this program, the student is assigned to a trading, strategy/quantitative, markets research, portfolio management role specialising in either a cash or derivative product and application development.

Duration : 6 weeks to 6 months. Fee: Rs 15,000 onwards including taxes

Admission process: Online IQ test

Deadline: January 31.

Check out: www.modrika.com/internship.html

Diploma in rural management

Check out IGNOU's Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development. This course provides a comprehensive knowledge of socio-economic factors affecting transformation of the rural society. The contents are designed to impart an integrated understanding to the learners about the crucial dimensions of rural development.

Eligibility: Bachelors degree

Duration: 1 year

Medium of instruction: English/Hindi

Deadline: October 31, 2012

Check out: www.ignou.ac.in

MBA, BBA

Algol school of Management & Technology (ASMT), Gurgaon, invites applications for its two year full time MBA and 3 years full time BBA programme approved by UGC.

Eligibility: Graduation in any discipline from a recognised university for MBA, and Plus II pass for BBA. Candidates appearing in final examination 2012 can also apply.

How to apply: Application forms can be purchased from the campus by paying Rs 1200 in cash or downloaded and sent along with a DD of Rs 1250 drawn in favour of Algol School of Management & Technology” payable at Gurgaon.

Selection Prodecure: Based on MAT score/other National Management Entrance exams, Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Past Academic Record, Extra-curricular activities and Work Experience.

Deadline: September 30, 2012.

Check out: www.algolworld.com

Award for best chemistry teachers

The Association of Chemistry Teachers (ACT), in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Tata Chemicals Ltd. invites entries for its second series of Best Chemistry Teachers Awards (BCTA) 2012. This initiative has been launched to honour exemplary teachers involved in teaching chemistry and its allied subjects.

The awards were instituted last year to commemorate United Nation’s International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011). The call for entries is now open and will be closed on September 30, 2012. The nominations for the entries are classified in the five distinct award categories:

• Best Chemistry Teacher (Class XI/XII and equivalent)
• Best Chemistry Teacher (bachelors degree and equivalent)
• Best Chemistry Teacher (For masters degree and above)
• Best Chemistry Teacher for promotion of Chemistry as a subject
• Best Young Chemistry Teacher

Call for National Student Challenge

The Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bangalore, has announced the ‘Transform Urban India — National Student Challenge 2012’, a campaign to elicit innovative ideas and solutions from students across the country to drive positive change in urban India. This is the second cycle of this student challenge.

NSC 2012 will span the entire nation with a host of events conducted over a period of six months. It is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. NSC encourages students as urban citizens and future leaders to seek viable systemic alternatives to urban challenges they experience or witness in their day-to-day life.

NSC is open to teams of graduate or postgraduate students and students who have graduated after March 2011. Each participating team of three to five students from different disciplines is required to submit a problem statement and a proposed solution to tackle a particular urban challenge.

Twenty teams will be shortlisted from across the country for the national finals. The shortlisted teams will be mentored by experts in the field of urbanisation, communication, and entrepreneurship who will help them to fine-tune their proposals. This year’s event also includes an academic conclave where students can submit research papers that will be reviewed by an eminent panel of academics.

The top entries in this category will get to present their papers at the national final in Bangalore. The best paper gets a cash prize of Rs 10,000.

To know more about NSC and engage, visit http://www.transformurbanindia.com.

Happiness @ work
Gems of ancient wisdom
Stem the rot fast

Vice like weeds — if unchecked — can grow very rapidly and ruin the field. To ensure that your garden is full of flowers, act fast when it comes to dealing with rotten apples.

On the birth of prince Ajatashatru, it was predicted that he would kill his father King Bimbisara of Magadha. Bimbisara’s wife Chellana abandoned the baby but Bimbisara brought the child back to the palace and years later Ajatashatru made an assassination bid on his father. He confined Bimbisara in his palace and later put him in prison. Finally he had his father executed.

King Lalitaditya of Kashmir had once, before his conquest of India, defeated one division sent by Arab King Mummuni. On his next attack at Poonch, Mummuni escaped by merging with some civilians. Lalitaditya’s wise minister Chankun advised him to finish off the Arab marauder, but the King of Kashmir allowed him to escape. Lalitaditya had to fight three battles before he could finally subdue him.

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had ordered that zamindar Malik Jiwan be trampled to death by an elephant, but kind-hearted prince Dara Shikoh ordered his release. Years later, when Dara was escaping from the clutches of his brother Aurangzeb, Malik Jiwan captured Dara and handed him over to Aurangzeb.

In the Mahabharata, King Jayadratha of Sindhu abducted Draupadi. The Pandavas rescued Draupadi and could have killed the villain had Yudhisthira not intervened. Later, Jayadratha became instrumental in the killing of Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu.

While taking timely decision is very important in nipping the evil in the bud, resolve and courage to fight adversity is another way to end it.

In the waiting room at Pietermaritzburg station, Mohandas Gandhi — shivering with cold and trembling with humiliation — decided not to run away to India, but to stay back and fight. Minutes ago, he had been thrown out of the first class train compartment for being a ‘coolie’.

As soon as the news of the passing away of Guru Gobind Singh came on October 7, 1708, Banda Bahadur took an oath to destroy the murderers of his guru. By May 24, 1710 — just two years later — the towns of Samana and Sirhind had been razed to the ground.

Sometimes even a tit for tat attitude too is helpful in making a person realise his mistake and make amends.

One day, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Principal, Sanskrit College, Calcutta, went to meet Kerr, his counterpart at Hindu College. Kerr was sitting with his feet on top of the table in his cabin. He neither corrected his posture on Vidyasagar’s arrival nor did he offer him a seat. Vidyasagar said what he had come to say and went away.

Later, Vidyasagar learnt that Kerr was on his way to meet him. He immediately sat on his chair, placed his feet on the table and got all other chairs removed from his cabin. Kerr went away a wiser man.

If every farmer showed compassion to pests, you would go hungry.

— Sai R. Vaidyanathan

The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com

Pharma sector hiring slides

Recruitment in the pharmaceutical sector may decline in the second half of this year due to drop in the hiring sentiment in the sector, a survey has said.

According to a hiring outlook survey conducted by jobsite Naukri.com, only 51 per cent recruiters are expecting to add new jobs in second half of 2012 as against 67 per cent in the first half of the year.

The survey further said, while in the first half of the year none of the recruiters had predicted a hiring freeze in 2012, now 11 per cent of them are saying that hiring will come to a halt in the next six months.

It may, however, increase when it comes to replacement hiring with 60 per cent of respondents positive about it as compared to 46 per cent in the first half of the year.

Commenting on the findings, Info Edge India Senior VP Marketing and Communications Sumeet Singh said: “Although the overall hiring activity in the pharma sector has been moving at a steady pace in the first half of the year, recruiters are now preferring to adopt a cautious wait and watch mode in the coming quarters.” Talent crunch seems to be an important issue being faced by recruiters in the pharma sector with 73 per cent saying that it was very difficult to find talent suitable for a job profile. A deeper analysis of the job scenario for the sector shows that about 33 per cent jobs created in the sector in 2012 are from Mumbai, 12 from Hyderabad and 11 from Bengaluru, the report said.

Most job openings in the sector are for job seekers in the 3-5 years experience levels, it added.

In expansion mode

Bharti Group firm Centum Learning will be expanding its training units across India by setting up about 100 centres in 2012-13 as part of a roadmap to make 15 million people employment-ready in the next 10 years. “India faces the risk of 500 million persons being unemployed in the next 10 years. We want to train 15 million persons and make them employment-ready in 10 years,” Centum Learning Chief Executive Officer and Director Sanjeev Duggal said. The company is aggressively expanding presence across the country, especially in rural areas where a majority of the workforce would come from, he added.

At present, The company has close to 250 centres across rural and urban parts of the country at present. Out of this, 112 centres at gram panchayat level (in 90 districts), while another 135 centres are operational in the urban areas.

“This year (by March 2013), we are looking at 100 more centres (urban and rural),” Duggal said.

Asked about targeted revenues, he said the company is looking at clocking Rs 200 crore this year.

“Last year, we did about Rs 140 crore. This year, we should close at about Rs 200 crore. Our revenues are in the ratio of 50:50 for India and Africa,” he said, adding by 2017, the company is targeting a revenue of Rs 600 crore.

While rural initiatives account for about 30 per cent of the revenues, 20 per cent comes from urban centres and the remaining 50 per cent is accounted by corporate training.

“The focus is primarily on rural India and we expect the number of centres to be about 400-500 centres in the next 3-4 years,” Duggal said.

The company provides training in areas like rural BPO, housekeeping/facility management, telecom and retail. — TNS

CUBICLE TRENDS
Home perks

People who work from home are likely to be more productive due to quieter working conditions than those who go to office, a new study has claimed.

In the study published by Stanford, on whether employees are more or less productive at home or in the office, researchers created perhaps the first randomised study of remote work of a company.

The company was concerned about the rising costs of office space, and a 50 per cent annual attrition rate. They found 255 employees in its airfare and hotel divisions who both wanted to work from home and met a few requirements to do so.

The employees had worked for the company for at least 6 months, had broadband access at home and a private room to work from, ‘Wired.Com’ reported.

The researchers then split those 255 volunteers into two groups: those with even-numbered birthdays would work from home four out of five days a week, and those with odd-numbered birthdays stayed in the office.

Employees who worked from home had the same supervisors (all office-based) and worked the same shifts as their counterparts to ensure a direct comparison.

During the 9-month study, the researchers found a 12 per cent increase in productivity for the at-home workers.

Of that increase, 8.5 per cent came from working more hours (due to shorter breaks and fewer sick days) and 3.5 per cent came from more performance per minute. The researchers speculate this was due to quieter working conditions.

The work-from-home group also reported higher work satisfaction than those working in the office.

The researchers continued tracking stats for a few more months and noticed that employees who were already more productive tended to chose working from home while less-productive employees chose to stay in the office.

The study concludes that not only letting workers operate from home increase their productivity, it also helps attract (and retain) better workers for the company. — Agencies

Fruitful work experience

A US survey has revealed that as many as 70 per cent employees wish for more entrepreneurial experience at their jobs. In a survey by a financial services firm, 70 per cent of workers said they wished their jobs provided them with experience that could be used if they wanted to start their own business. However, only 15 per cent of respondents said they thought they had “what it takes to go out and start a business”, BusinessNewsDaily reported.

Thirty-seven per cent said they would feel better about starting their own business with the help of a business or other person.

A number of things prevented workers from jumping into entrepreneurship. 61 per cent workers were most afraid of losing personal savings, 58 per cent feared lack of support.

Bullying on the rise

Bullying at workplace, mostly by bosses, is on the rise and about one-third of the employees either face health-related problems or quit their jobs after getting bullied in office, a survey has found. Besides, nearly half of the employees do not confront their bullies and let go a majority of such incidents unreported, found the survey conducted among close to 3,900 employees across the US.

As per the survey conducted online by research firm Harris Interactive for human capital solutions provider CareerBuilder, 35 per cent of the workers said they have felt bullied at work, up from 27 per cent last year.

While 16 per cent of these workers reported they suffered health-related problems as a result of bullying, 17 per cent decided to quit their jobs to escape the situation.

Among the employees who felt bullied, most of them pointed to incidents with their bosses (48 per cent) or co-workers (45 per cent). Besides, many people also said they had been picked on by their clients and customers, as also by senior executives other than their own boss.

More than half (54 per cent) of those bullied said they were bullied by someone older than they were, while 29 per cent said the bully was younger.

As per the survey, the most common way workers reported being bullied was getting blamed for mistakes they did not make, followed by not being acknowledged, use of different standards and policies than for other workers, constant criticising and being yelled at by boss in front of others.

Other bullying tactics included belittling comments made about one’s work during office meetings, gossipping, stealing credit for work, purposely excluding from projects or meetings and picking on for personal attributes.

The study further found that 51 per cent people did not confront the bully themselves.

Of those who confronted the bully, about half said the bullying stopped while 11 per cent said it got worse, and 38 per cent said the bullying did not change at all.

About 27 per cent of workers who felt bullied reported it to their Human Resources department, but no action was taken in more than half of these cases.

All-India Essay writing competition

An online essay writing completion themed on education is being held as part of the 'In Our Hands' campaign by IDFC Ltd. Students aged 18 to 22 years across the country can participate in this contest. The word limit should not exceed 2,500 words.

Eligibility: The essay contest is open to all Indian college students holding a valid college id.

Topics: The students can choose any one of the following topics:

• Entry of foreign universities in India: boon or bane?
• Privatisation of education in India
• Reservation Policy v/s liberalisation of education