The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

CAMPUS
How long can fee hike in colleges be put off?
Smriti Kak

'Jaago', a theatre performance by the students of Wigan & Leigh College at the Akshara Theatre.

For long the issue of a fee hike has been a much-debated subject. With the universities short of funds and the UGC also tightening the purse strings, funds for the colleges have caused concern to the authorities.

The fees in the colleges of the national Capital are abnormally low compared to the exorbitant sums that students have to pay for their school education. However, with a large chunk of students coming from the middle and the lower middle strata, the very opinion of a fee hike is thumbed down.

In the recently concluded conference of the Higher Education Secretaries, a reasonable hike in fee structure of college and university studies has been favoured. The participants also agreed for starting adequate number of self-financing courses in certain areas.

The conference involved discussions on the needs of adopting certain innovative measures by the universities and colleges to raise necessary resources. Also included in the suggestions, was the idea of rationalising teacher’s work as per University Grants Commission norms, to ensure optimum utilisation of the existing posts and undertaking consultancy and sponsored research from the government and industry.

The justification, being that inadequate financial condition was responsible for many teaching posts lying vacant. To ensure that the students do not suffer the idea of roping in consultants was mooted.

A consensus was also reportedly reached on a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation for all institutions of higher education within a time frame of two years.

700 Korean students train at Aptech

The 4th batch of students from Sungkonghoe University, Seoul, South Korea, who have come to India for computer training at Aptech, under the aegis of Aptech’s India Window Program, graduated recently. A convocation ceremony was held to mark the occasion.

Among those present was the President of Sungkonghoe University, Ex-Bishop Kim Soung-Soo. Aptech has trained more than 700 Korean students comprising around 35 batches from reputed Korean Universities, including Sungkonghoe University, Woosong University, Kookmin University, Hoseo University, Joongbu University, Chungang University and Woosuk University. The India Window Program at Aptech provides the participants with a complete package.

On completion of the course, participants undergo internship with a reputed IT organisation. During the internship, the participant gets to practically utilise all the skills that he acquired in the course by working on the latest technologies. The sole objective of the internship is to give all the participants ample exposure to India’s growing IT industry and today the Korean students, who are graduating from our centres, are well-equipped to pursue global careers.

The IT industry is on a fast pace in Korea, and the Korean Government is keen to promote its IT industry to augment its competitiveness in the international marketplace. As Korea moves ahead on this path, there will be an increasing demand for skilled IT professionals. The Korean Government is also striving to enhance co-operation in software and English language training. India’s IT and software expertise is internationally acknowledged.

Assocham Education international Fair

The Assocham International Education Fair AIFE 2003, with Rai Foundation as Academic partner, saw participation from painters, actors, mediapersons apart from the academicians. The focus remained on the importance of quality education and the fact that India is going to be one of the key drivers of growth for international higher education in the years to come.

The school principals from various schools participated in the fair. Speaking on ‘Changing Career Opportunities Post-WTO- Options After 10+2’, Ms Lata Vaidyanathan, Principal, Modern School, Barakhamba said, “The focus should be on internationalisation of curriculum rather than international curriculum.”

Dr Aruna Sitesh advocated that the state control of education has to go. Media having emerged as a preferred career choice among students, representatives from the electronic media spoke on ‘Media & Communication: The Place to be!’ Pointed out Rahul Dev, “Your depth is caught in the camera”, adding, depth, knowledge, intelligence and objectivity are the key essentials to being a journalist.

A seminar on ‘Fashion and Modelling: A New Era Dawns’ was also conducted. The panel of experts highlighted that how world of fashion has grown into a truly global competition in India and is opening up with lot of opportunities. Adil Ahmed, interior designer, Laila Khan Rajpal, artist and Pragati Sood, dancer, gave an insight into “Creative Careers”.

One of the significant upcoming industries, the insurance sector, was also a topic for discussion. L. P. Mehta, who spoke on Insurance New Avenues, said that “Multinational insurers are keenly interested in emerging insurance in the Asian market, because their home markets are saturated while emerging countries have low insurance penetrations and high growth rates. They also open up a lot of employment opportunities.”

The three-day fair culminated on a note apprising the students, teachers and educationists alike on the importance of quality education, various opportunities available, the market demands and need for multiple skills.

Interactive workshop

Career counsellor Usha Alberquerque addressing the audience at the IILM workshop, ‘Exploring Option for Higher Education in Contemporary Times’.

“Go beyond the conventional”, were the buzzwords at the ‘Exploring options for higher education in contemporary times’, an interactive workshop for parents and students on new career avenues. Career counsellor, Ms Usha Alberquerque at the Institute, conducted the workshop for Integrated Learning in Management in association with University of Bradford, UK.

The seminar stressed on the need to look at career opportunities with a fresh perspective, “students can specialise in advertising, films, animation, event management, beauty pageant management, fashion photography, robotics, biogenetics”, pointed out Ms Alberquerque.

She added that media, art and design, tourism, IT-enabled services, forensic science and biotechnology are some of the new and promising career options that are also available to students at the interactive workshop, which was organised by IILM.

The workshop attracted participation from students, career counsellors, teachers and parents.

Encouraging students to build on their strengths pursue their interests as career opportunities, Ms Alberquerque further added, “Students should develop their innate talents to build their careers. Ranging from rural management to healthcare management, from forest management to communication management, from disaster management to tourism management, the opportunities these days are endless.”

Air Hostess Academy to host Scholarship Exam

On the occasion of their fifth anniversary Air Hostess Academy (AHA), will be conducting an Annual Scholarship Exam on 8th February 2003.

This scholarship examination will be held in Gargi College and Venkateshwara College in the South Campus while as in the North Campus the venues will be Hansraj College and Laxmi Bai College.

This scholarship exam is an annual feature, and no registration fee would be charged from the candidates appearing for the examination.

Those who have passed their 10+2 examinations and are between 17 and 28 are eligible for this scholarship exam. Registration for the exam will be held in the above mentioned colleges, two days prior to the examination. Based on the percentage secured in the exam, the candidates will be eligible for getting 10 per cent to 70 per cent scholarships at the time of admission.