The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

CAMPUS
Is unbridled privatisation of education recoiling?
Sanjog Gupta

One of the striking issues that came to the fore during the recent DUTA strike was the increasing privatisation of education without ensuring the necessary standard. It attempted to highlight the obscure situations prevalent in private and 'self-financed' universities.

Pointing a finger at IP University, the teachers brought forth issues such as high fees, declining standards, mismanagement and other issues of concern. Incidents in the past week have shown the genuineness in the teacher’s concern.

The student protests in Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University have brought forth the loopholes in the management of the University. Recurrent changes in curriculum, obscure disparity in fees, mismanagement of examinations and results and insolent authorities have enraged the student community.

More than 1,500 students from far flung areas such as Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Noida went on an agitational path shouting," IP University is a money making racket".

Even though the students have been mollified by the authorities, the impasse still continues on the issue of AICTE certification. While the students claim the University had promised to acquire AICTE certification, the authorities, surprisingly, refute the charge altogether.

Whatever be the case, one thing is for certain-the University needs to improve its communication with the students who have reposed their trust in the institution by enrolling themselves.

Career fair

AIMA’s career fair was a big draw.

A three-day 'Career Options-2002' was organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA) at the Daulat Ram College from October 23-25. Mr. Abad Ahmed, senior faculty, FMS, inaugurated the sixth fair organised by the Center of Management Studies (CMS) of AIMA, New Delhi.

The fair boasted of 28 exhibitors from such diverse fields as VLCC in the personal care segment to the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The fair entailed personal interaction between students and institutions, to facilitate decisions and provide guidance pertaining to careers.

‘Protest Day’ by ABVP

The ABVP came together on October 29 in support of the modification to the NCERT textbooks. The ABVP severely denounced those forces who were trying to attack the BJP-led NDA government by raising the unsubstantiated issue on the pretext of ‘saffronisation’ of education.

They highlighted the Supreme Court decision in this regard and vowed to extend its support to the new NCERT textbooks.

The ABVP, fostered by the BJP, recognised the day as ‘Protest Day’ and held a demonstration outside ARSD College, South Campus.

They burnt the effigy of Delhi Education Minister to protest against the opposition of the Delhi Government to the NCERT textbooks.

They blamed the Congress Party for politicising education and categorised the concerns over ‘saffronisation of education’ as a Communist agenda, which was being supported by the Congress Party. They concluded their protest by handing over a memorandum to the Lt-Governor of Delhi.

DU Course revised

The Academic Council of Delhi University has decided that certain structural modifications will be implemented in the curriculum of BA History (Hons) from the next session. The changes are not radical, but do lend balance to the curriculum. Two papers-Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient and Medieval World and History of Chine and Japan-have been shifted from the third to the first year. Both papers are considered ‘tough’.

There have been certain inclusions as well-a paper on "Communalism and Ideologies and Practices" entailing text on Muslim League, Akali Dal and RSS have been included. Through the introduction of 'mapping', an attempt has been made to introduce an interdisciplinary approach to the course.

Inter-college debate

The Business Economics Association of Delhi University in association with the Royal Netherlands Embassy is organising an inter-college debate on November 1 at the Arts Faculty, South Campus. Teams from 20 colleges are expected to take part in the debate on the topic, ‘Globalisation and Liberalisation means sure Pauperisation of the Indian Masses’. The main feature of the debate, which is alluring so many contenders, is the prize for the best two speakers-a fully paid trip to Amsterdam in January.

Cultural festival

A dance performance by kids, organised by Cadence Design Systems.

The staff of Cadence Design Systems organised a cultural programme, which was attended by the managing director of Cadence, Mr. Jaswinder Ahuja.

Performances by children and adults included dance recitals to Hindi film parodies. The eventful evening concluded with the performance of Malik Musical Group, which had the company staff swaying to the beats of pop, bhangra and dandiya numbers.

War despatch

The Department of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, organised its annual festival from October 28-30. The teams were required to report on war. The students of the department staged a war simulation, complete with press conferences being conducted by the government at war. The participants at the event were required to present a report on the event.

APTECH foundation week celebrated

People swaying to the beat of bhangra at a cultural programme in the Capital.

Aptech Ltd. celebrated its ‘Foundation Week’ from October 14-19. The ‘Foundation Week’ was marked by festivity and creativity in all the 2,449 Aptech centers across 52 countries.

Even as the activities focussed on the learning elements, the students let their hair down at the antakshari and rangoli competitions along with cultural and sports activities. Presentations, animation, graphic exhibitions and workshops were also organised by the alumni of Aptech and Arena.

Aptech members and business partners were honoured on the ‘Founders Day’. Aptech announced the ‘Leadership’ awards for meritorious students during this week, which included scholarship of nearly 70 per cent of the fee.

The ‘Leadership’ awards will be open till November 15, 2002.

Conference on publishing

The recently held conference on ‘Book Editing and Design’, organised by the Institute of Book Publishing, New Delhi, was attended by eight officials of the Educational Development Center, Maldives.

The conference on ‘Book Editing and Design’, was held after the Institute of Book Publishing, established in 1987, received a request from the Maldivian Government to develop a course to improve the existing standards of the publishing industry in Maldives.

The institute had received similar requests in the past from India’s neighbouring countries and has also conducted courses for Malaysian, Philipino and Bhutanese delegates.

The course was conducted at the Safdarjung Club, New Delhi, from October 21-25.

The course was conducted under the guidance of Mr. S.K.Ghai of Sterling Publishers and was attended by eminent faculty members of IIMC and various publishing houses.

“The publishing industries in our neighbouring countries rely upon us to provide formalised education in the field of publishing,” said Mr.Ghai.

The number of books published in Maldives does not tally with its 97 per cent literacy.

The basic objective of the conference was to provide training in areas of publishing such as design, editing, writing and illustration. Hasan Nizam, the leader of the delegation said, “the Indian publishing industry is equipped with far superior infrastructural facilities. Our main motive is to receive formalised training in this field since publishing activities in Maldives are conducted on an ad-hoc basis.”

Dr. J .Bhagyalakshmi, a faculty member said, “we are teaching the delegates how to publish quality books for primary education, thereby indirectly contributing to the development of education in Maldives as well.”

In spite of being an Islamic country, the delegation typifies the non-orthodox and forward-looking culture of Maldives. The delegation includes three women, a testimony to the gender equality in the society. Nizam said, “we do not subscribe to fundamentalism and are extremely liberal in our outlook.”

According to Nizam, the most impressive feature of the Capital is its “cultural diversity.” He said, “my country is mono-cultural, and in New Delhi, you can feel the multi-cultural environment of the city.”

The institute would also be conducting a 10-day course for publishing professionals in November, which would be attended by delegates from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries.

The overriding endeavour of the institute is to ensure that the abundance of publishing knowledge transcends our domestic boundaries to facilitate the overall development of the industry in the region.