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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Cultivating talent
Men benefit more from first-class university degrees than women Campus Notes Studyscape
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Cultivating talent WITH the summer vacations beginning, there is a great demand for summer camps. Summer camps are basically activities under the supervision of a mentor during the summer holidays. These camps offer non-scholastic activities which go much beyond the school curriculum. Earlier, when the vacations began, sultry summers were spent in maternal homes with the children being spoilt rotten and the mothers getting a much-needed break. Some lucky ones went to hill stations, while a handful went overseas for the long holiday break. Playing cricket in the nearby park or dressing dolls on a hot afternoon are things of the past now. Summer camps are the in thing and very much in vogue. Summer camp is a concept imported from abroad and is here to stay. It has caught the fancy of all. There are a number of camps suited for all age groups and one can choose according to the needs of the learner. These camps offer those activities which neither the parents nor the school can engage the child properly. Classrooms these days are flooded with students. Only exceptionally brilliant children or the naughty ones stand out. An average child is just another brick in the wall. In hot summers children spend their time watching TV, playing board games, fiddling with their play stations and computers. Summer camps are the ideal time to engage children in fruitful activities. Children learn new things which they are not taught in school. A variety of activities are offered and those which best suit the need of the child can be selected. Parents have to ensure that the activity takes place in a safe environment and is age appropriate. Summer camps are held away from the rigid environs of the school. Summer camps bid goodbye to books. They are the ‘masti ki pathshala’. A child grows as an individual as he interacts with his peers. He meets young learners and befriends them thus acquiring social skills. He gains experience and broadens his limited horizon. He acquires new skills and polishes the existing ones. Summer workshops allow the child to make new friends and learn how to intermingle freely. He emerges as a confident individual. The introvert steps out of his shell as he is now interacting in a smaller group. It is a novel experience where the child is not following the strict regimen of the school. On normal working days, classes take up all the time. On the other hand, summer camps allow the student to pamper and indulge himself. They are short learning experiences. A summer camp gives the child an entirely new perspective of his ever-expanding environment. These days summer workshops have much to offer. Mental maths, science magic, abacus, brain teasers, creative writing are there for those who want to exercise their grey cells. Those who are adventurous can go for hiking, trekking, water rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, etc. Those whose interest does not cover physical activities can opt for softer activities like pottery, sketching, calligraphy. Theatre workshops have a lot to offer and the child can let his hair down. The amateur takes up role-playing and his very persona changes. The hidden talent emerges and it is difficult to believe that your little one is there on stage, a usually tongue-tied child who is now able to speak in front of an audience. Dancing workshops are very popular among the young learners. Rock-and-roll, hip-hop, bhangra, free style, etc., are just a few of the dance types. Not only is dance a form of exercise but it is a discipline in itself. The child shakes a leg and is soon confident enough to participate in school functions rather than taking a back seat. Learning to play a musical instrument, cookery, sculpture, sand art, puppetry, story telling, public speaking are some of the other activities. The active ones often opt for swimming, roller-skating, horse riding, basketball and other games. A summer camp has to be age appropriate and need based. A soft child cannot rough it out on a hiking expedition and if forced to do so, may not enjoy the experience at all. An overactive child may find it dull to sit through a ceramics class. Camps help in the sublimation of extra energy all children seem to possess. Camps these days offer edutainment. These may be run independently or in association with the school. Some camps charge exorbitantly while there are some run under the aegis of government bodies that charge a reasonable fee. Parents should consult the child before enrolling him for a particular camp. There are special camps for toddlers and their mothers where it is all about bonding and enjoyment. Summer camps have much to offer. Children are productively involved and keep out of their parents’ hair. Academicians keep harping on holistic approach to education and summer camps fill in some of the vacuum left by the education system that is still in the process of being improvised. |
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Men benefit more from first-class university degrees than women MEN can expect a massive pay boost during the lifetime if they get a first-class honours degree from university — but women won’t earn an extra penny. These are the startling findings from new research from the Centre for Economic Performance, based at the London School of Economics, UK. The latest figures, from a study of more than 2,600 graduates from the LSE between 2005 and 2010, show that — on average — a student with a first-class degree earns 3 per cent more than those with a 2:1. However, a gender breakdown shows that this means 6 per cent extra (or £1,780 a year) for men and zilch for women. Over the course of a lifetime, this would be worth around £71,000 more for men — if their salary increases at the same rate. The authors of the research, Andy Feng and Georg Gratz, admit they are baffled by its findings. “The difference between monetary gains for men and women is a puzzle,” they say. One theory they put forward is that men are more likely to ask for more money or be given a higher wage offer in the first place by employers. “We honestly don’t know,” they add. The research goes on to show that there is an even bigger gap in earnings between those gaining a 2:1 and those getting a 2:2 degree — the difference is worth about 7 per cent in higher wages or the equivalent of £2,040 a year. There is no discernible gender gap in pay here, though. “We find sizeable and significant effects for upper second degrees and positive but smaller effects for first-class degrees on wages — we find that a first class and upper second are worth around £1,000 and £2,040 per annum, respectively,” says the report. The authors point out that those getting the £1,780 annual bonus for a first can be benefiting simply because they get one extra mark than those with a 2:1. The criteria for a first-class degree pass from the LSE is five scores of 70 per cent or more in five of a student’s nine papers. Scoring 69 per cent in the fifth paper would not cut the mustard. “Our study is probably the best evidence available that exam results matter but there’s a lot more work to be done in understanding what drives the gender split,” the authors conclude. The say “a sizeable fraction” of employers use degree classifications as the main indicator when assessing whether to hire someone — 75 per cent insisted on an upper second as the minimum entry requirement in 2012 compared to just 52 per cent in 2004. — The Independent
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Campus Notes WITH the enforcement of the model code of conduct for the Mandi parliamentary election, the selection of the Vice-Chancellor appears to have been delayed. Though a search committee has been constituted for the selection of the next Vice-Chancellor, work is suffering as a month has passed since the former Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.R. Dhiman, relinquished charge. A search committee comprising a nominee each from the Director-General, Indian Council of Agriculture Research, University Grants Commission as well as the state government has been constituted to select the new Vice-Chancellor. The committee will have a challenging task of selecting the next incumbent to head this university, which is acclaimed to be the one of its kind in Asia. With financial mess and allegations of irregularities being under a scanner, university scientists feel that a scientist of proven integrity and commitment should be the next Vice-Chancellor.
Key posts lying vacant
The key posts of statutory officials, including Dean Horticulture and Dean Forestry, have fallen vacant after the incumbents superannuated. Dr S.D. Kashyap, Dean, College of Forestry, had retired last month and his charge was handed over to Dr R.C. Sharma, Dean College of Horticulture. Dr R.C. Sharma too relinquished office on May 30, thus creating two vacancies in the university. Dr J.P. Sharma, Professor and Head, Department of Entomology, has been given the additional charge of Dean College of Horticulture, while Dr G.S. Shamot, Professor and Head, Department of Silviculture, has been directed to handle the responsibility of Dean, College of Forestry. It is worth mentioning that the two other posts of statutory officials, including the Librarian and Students Welfare Officer had also fallen vacant sometime in the past, but instead of making fresh appointments both the officials had been given extensions. While there is a visible resentment against this tradition of granting extension to retired officials, employees feel it would set a wrong precedent. Meanwhile, university authorities have sought relaxation to fill up the vacant posts of statutory officials at the earliest, as the model code of conduct will remain in force for nearly a month.
Admission process
The admission process for the various under-graduate courses in the College of Forestry and Horticulture is underway. The university has received as many as 4,000 applications against 38 seats for various disciplines of horticulture and 34 seats for various courses of forestry. May 31 was the last date of receiving applications. The university witnessed an overwhelming rush of applications which would now be processed. An entrance test would be conducted on June 30 for these seats on the main campus at Nauni as well as the Neri-based centre of the university, said the university’s registrar, Rupali Thakur. —
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Studyscape NEW DELHI: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is offering a master's programme in Gandhi and Peace Studies from the 2013 session, a statement said. The Master’s in Gandhi and Peace Studies (MGPS) is a two-year programme, which can be pursued by graduates of any discipline. “The main aim is to provide quality education at the post-graduate level of Gandhian studies... to specialise in one of the Gandhian models of development,” the official statement said. The last date to apply is June 15. “The duration of the programme is two years. However, it can be completed in a maximum period of five years,” the statement said. According to the university, the prospectus form is available at IGNOU for Rs 200 and all its regional centres. Further information is available on the university website www.ignou.ac.in. — IANS
Video games may boost kids’
cardiovascular health
MELBOURNE: High-intensity active video games may improve cardiovascular health in children, according to a new study. While other studies have assessed children’s energy expenditure and physical activity while playing active video games, this is the first study to measure the direct health benefits of high-intensity gaming on children’s arteries. Researchers from the University of Western Australia with colleagues from Swansea University evaluated 15 children aged from 9 to 11 to determine whether high-intensity and low-intensity active video gaming were good for cardiovascular health. Dr Louise Naylor and Michael Rosenberg, from UWA’s School of Sport Science Exercise and Health, compared children’s energy expenditure and heart rate when the children played both low-intensity and high-intensity active console video games and a session on a treadmill. The researchers found that children playing a high-intensity video game used as much energy as if they were exercising moderately, and that high-intensity gaming improved children’s cardiovascular health and was a good form of activity for children to use to gain health benefits. — PTI
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WITH the summer vacations beginning, there is a great demand for summer camps. Summer camps are basically activities under the supervision of a mentor during the summer holidays. These camps offer non-scholastic activities which go much beyond the school curriculum.
