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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Bridging the gap between theory and practical Foreign students spurn UK varsities after immigration curbs
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Bridging the gap between theory and practical THE Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) programme initiated by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is an endeavour to develop the personality of children in such a way that they are able to have a holistic view in all spheres of life. It is an attempt to mould the children of today into creative and better citizens of tomorrow.
The programme attempts to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Besides book readings, it includes project works, class activities and extra-curricular activities. One day in the week is reserved for activities. Each child is encouraged to participate in some activity, which includes serious work like robotics for the scientists in making or cooking classes for the chefs of tomorrow. The activity days are fun-filled days, where the students walk into their schools sans bags with just their tiffin boxes and water bottles. It is a heady feeling because school, the epitome of learning, becomes a place to enjoy. The programme encourages the intermingling of students of different age groups that leads to exchange of ideas. The rest five days are spent giving their best, waiting for the activity day, where they have the freedom to dance, act, sing, etc. Indian children are known to excel worldwide in education, as our education system has been a rigorous one since ancient times. The ‘guru-shisya’ tradition inculcated the spirit of obedience and discipline towards the guru who prepared his students to face the world. Our schools have continued with the tradition, except for bringing in the required changes for every generation. The CCE programme aims to help the child to analyse, evaluate and then judge. Instead of learning by rote, the emphasis is to let the child gather and then assemble information coherently. In such a way, the learning is imbibed well and is also everlasting. Students in this process have to browse through the Internet or different newspapers. The children learn to sift the relevant from the irrelevant. This process enriches their knowledge. In fact, there are some schools in Punjab which have gone a step further. They have banned their students from culling information for projects from the Internet, although they welcome information from newspapers and magazines. This ensures that the children browse through the fine print everyday. Reading, thus, becomes a habit. These activities, besides teaching them to think and act, also help them to know the importance of organisational skills. A project is not conceived and made in a day; it needs preparation. A lot of thought goes into making a presentation or a project. Students learn to organise their thoughts and put in efforts to make a near-perfect presentation. This is essential for as we go further in life, presentations and meeting deadlines become part of our lives. The grading system has eliminated the cut-throat competition. A child might not be very good at studies yet might excel in sports or in extra-curricular activities and make up for lost ground. Now, there is more interaction among students and teachers. Verbal/oral skills of children are highlighted through debates and declamation and other contests. The CCE programme has done much to bolster the confidence of students. All it needs is proper co-ordination between different subject teachers. The activities have to be planned well in advance, so that students are not burdened on a particular day. The sheer fun of activities evaporates if adequate time is not given to students. Topics like environment, rights of the adivasis, structure of the judiciary, comparative study of farming and industry becomes more interesting when done as a team. The group discussions help one to listen and appreciate the others’ viewpoint. One’s perception grows as one explores one’s surroundings. On the whole, the CCE programme encourages children to observe, assimilate and interact to gain confidence and be able to deal with the real world. |
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Foreign students spurn UK varsities after immigration curbs INTERNATIONAL students are spurning the UK’s most prestigious universities as a result of government immigration curbs. Some courses at universities in the Russell Group — which represents 24 top institutions, including Oxford and Cambridge — have seen a drop of up to 30 per cent in applications from Indian students. The impact of strict new visa rules has been compounded by the negative publicity that followed the revoking of London Metropolitan University’s (LMU) license to teach overseas students last month. The drop in applications for courses starting this month also follows the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve in Manchester last Christmas. But university leaders said the government’s immigration clampdown was the decisive factor. Dr Wendy Piatt, director-general of the Russell Group, said: “As ministers crack down on abuse of the system, they must be careful about the messages they send to the world’s best and brightest students.” Under new visa regulations that came into force in April, students face tougher questions about their destination, limits on their ability to work and harder questions on their English-language capability. The Russell Group says overseas-student numbers must be maintained because educating non-EU citizens is “a major UK export industry” that brings in £2.5bn a year in fees. The application figures come as Craig Calhoun, the new director of the London School of Economics, spoke of his “concern” about overseas recruitment in an interview. He revealed there has been a “modest drop” in the acceptance of places from international students because “people are worried about the possibility the government might suddenly and without notice revoke visas”. “If you are a bright student and you have offers from the LSE and Cambridge and Harvard and you haven’t got a visa for the UK, what are you going to do? Every year we have students turned down for visas for reasons we can’t fathom.” He added that the LMU affair — where the university has won the right for a judicial review of the situation — had done “untold reputational damage” to the UK higher education system. His comments, echoed by other universities, are the first signs of the impact immigration controls are having on student numbers. At the University of East Anglia, Professor Edward Acton, its Vice-Chancellor, said “negative vibes” towards international students and academics were putting people off applying. The university had already had one “near-genius” mathematician unable to take up a post because of visa restrictions. “The regulations said we couldn’t appoint him if anybody within the EU could do the job,” he said. “There was — but they didn’t take into account a stellar Russian who could get you a Nobel Prize.” That restriction has now been lifted, but Professor Acton said the repercussions could still be felt as his colleagues received the message it was impossible to get a visa to work in England. —
The Independent
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Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak Seminar on tourism development A seminar on “Managing Sustainable Tourism Development” was organised by the Institute of Hotel and Tourism Management of Maharshi Dayanand University recently. Focusing on the six theme areas for sustainable tourism development, including human resources development, economic impact of tourism, environmental management, infrastructure development and investment, and facilitation of travel and regional and sub-regional cooperation, Dr Lalit K. Panwar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Tourism Development Corporation, in his address said tourism is a very good career option these days and students should think of this alternative. He revealed that the Ministry of Tourism Government of India has allocated 15,190 crore in the 12th Five-Year Plan, almost three times more than the last plan period. Claiming that it itself reflects the increasing demand of tourism as an integral part of the economic and developmental policy of India, he said during the period 2010-16, the Ministry of Tourism will be targeting over 12 per cent growth rate in the tourism sector to generate additional 2.5 crore jobs. Meanwhile, Dr Lalit K. Panwar gave another lecture at the Department of Political Science of the university. Speaking at the special lecture, Dr Panwar said the quest to acquire knowledge and serious efforts to holistically improve one’s personality, combined with planned and sustained hard work, can open the doors of success in life as well as the Civil Services examination. If a student is determined to achieve his goals, no force in the world can stop him from reaching the destination, he said.
Blood donation camp The Youth Red Cross Society of the university organised a blood donation camp on the occasion of the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day here recently. Around 500 units of blood collected at the camp were donated to the District Red Cross Society. Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak
Ensuring safe use of drugs A workshop on “Advanced Pharmacovigilance” was organised by the Department of Pharmacology of the university in association with the Indian Pharmacological Society here recently. Around 100 doctors and healthcare professionals attended the workshop, which primarily aimed at educating the clinicians to actively participate in pharmacovigilance activities held under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India. Speaking at the workshop, Dr S. S. Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor of the university, highlighted various drug-related adverse effects and stressed upon the importance of reporting these adverse events and contributing maximum to the national programme on pharmcovigilance. Pharmcovigilance is a discipline which helps in improving patient welfare by promoting the safe use of drugs. It relates to an early detection, assessment, prevention and management of drug-related problems. —
Contributed by Bijendra Ahlawat |
