Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Buddha turns to scientists for help

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 28, 2007

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday urged Bengal scientists to help the state in boosting its agriculture output so it can keep pace with industrial progress.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the 14th State Science & Technology Congress at Jadavpur University, the chief minister showed his resentment with the Knowledge Commission and the insignificant role-played by the Centre to boost research. “Since Nehru, the Centre has promised to upgrade research facilities, but without much effect. Even the Knowledge Commission has not been able to raise our hopes.”
Urging the need for research, which can be applied in agriculture, Bhattacharjee said, “No civilisation has made progress depending solely on agriculture. We will have to turn our agriculture-based state into an industrial hub. However, we have to keep our agricultural growth rate intact, otherwise there will be a food crisis.”
Talking about agricultural hurdles, the chief minister zeroed in on inadequate irrigation, which is preventing fertile lands to be used as multi cropland. “Irrigation is a huge problem in South 24-Parganas. The rainwater is also not trapped, but flows to the Bay of Bengal. Rainwater harvesting will turn many of our districts into multi crop land and we want our scientists to help us out,” Bhattacharjee said.
Urging that there is no way to avoid globalisation, Bhattacharjee stressed that in such a scenario it will be important for a country to know its world ranking in science and technology. “No country can shy away from globalisation, but we need to create a level playing ground when it come to science and technology. Though we do more fundamental research in science and technology than China, but they are far ahead of us,” he said.
The state education minister Sudarsan Roychaudhuri also expressed concern that the brightest and the best are not attracted to research any more. “Centre’s role should be developmental, but it is focusing more on monitoring,” said Roychaudhuri.
Bhattacharjee also urged researchers to diversify use of jute and to make jute seeds available in the state. “With Nathula opening up to trade, our markets will be bombarded with Chinese silk. We have to upgrade our silk industry,” he said. Bhattacharjee also sought the help of researchers to fight against climatic change. “The scientists have predicted that a big part of Sundarbans will be under water due to global warming. The Shankarpur beach, for which we have plans to develop into a tourist destination will be eaten up by the sea. The researchers should help us in finding a solution to this problem,” he said.
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

IC pips SFI in Presidency

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 27, 2007

The Independents’ Consolidation (IC) won the students union election of Presidency College on Tuesday amidst the backdrop of a vociferous campaign on the industrialisation policy of the state government. Till reports last came in, IC had bagged 38 out of 73 seats while SFI had 33 seats. There was a tie in two seats of post-graduate first year.
The election result according to the IC is the students’ verdict against the government’s land acquisition policy in Singur and Nandigram. While the IC’s agenda was the “atrocity of the government at Singur and Nadigram,” the SFI tried to convince the students about how industrialisation will help the youth in getting jobs.
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is an alumnus of the college and the students of Presidency have an illustrious history of creating public opinion in the state for over a century.
“Globalisation, special economic zone and industrialisation are the magic words used by the chief minister to fool the people. The students of Presidency College have given their verdict against these magic words. They have voted against the chief minister’s move to acquire fertile land for industry,” said Debanjan Chattopadhyay, IC spokesperson.
The IC supporters along with the students of Jadavpur University (JU) had gone to Singur and Nandigram to help the peasants in their fight against the state machinery. The IC also tried to bring social activist Medha Patkar to the college to mobilise opinion against land acquisition.
The SFI on the other hand distributed leaflets and held meetings saying that Singur and Nandigram would lead to economic development. Apart from telling students about the rehabilitation policy of the state for uprooted farmers, the SFI also had come out with booklets and CD’s.
The SFI however, is not ready to see this result as a verdict against industrialisation. “We were defeated because of our organisational weakness in the college. It is definitely not a verdict against the chief minister’s policy of wooing industry and creating economic development,” said Kaustav Chatterjee, SFI’s Kolkata district secretary. However, the IC disagrees. “Our opposition to Nandigram and Singur made the difference. SFI has lost ground in post-graduate departments, which used to be their main forte,” said Chattopadhyay. The SFI however, have alleged that there were false voters in PG and have demanded re-polling in the two seats where the result was tied.
Presidency had become a bastion of the SFI for two years when the chief minister’s daughter Suchetana and Ajanta, the daughter of the former Left Front chairperson Anil Biswas were studying in the college. This year too the hopes were bright with the daughter of tourism, small scale and cottage industries minister Manab Mukherjee, Hiya and Saptarshi, the son of housing and public health engineering minister Gautam Deb, both first year students and campaigning for SFI.
“The verdict also shows that Presidency College students do not care about the sons and daughters of ministers who campaigned for a wrong cause,” added Chattopadhyay.
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Monitoring committee to look after Christian schools

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 27, 2007
The Christian schools in the state have formed a monitoring committee, which will not only help the institutions to protect its rights but also examine complaints against any institution. It may also recommend the Centre to cancel the status of the institutions, which flout norms.
The education cell of Bangiya Christiya Pariseba in association with West Bengal Association of Christian Schools (WBACS) and West Bengal Teachers Christian Association (WBTCA) instituted the West Bengal Monitoring Committee for the Christian Minority Educational Institutions (WBMCCMEI) on Tuesday.
On February 22 and 23, representatives of Christian schools went to Delhi and met the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) and the National Monitoring Committee for Minority Educational Institutions (NMCMEI), both set up by the human resource development ministry, for the upliftment of minority institutions. It was there that the decision to form the monitoring committee was taken.
Both NCMEI and NMCMEI have been empowered by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 to receive and investigate any complaints pertaining to the violation of minority rights and take necessary action. “We will be acting as an extended arm of the NCMEI and NMCMEI in Bengal and look after the problems of the Christian schools in the state and will address their case in Delhi,” said Herod Mullick, state secretary of BCP.
There are about 700 Christian schools in Bengal and the new committee will not only monitor them but will also help them to get the no objection certificate (NOC) from the state. “In many cases the state government does not want to give the NOC to minority schools. In such scenario, we would ask the state to give an explanation for their denial. If there is some fault on part of the school we will rectify it and if the government’s decision is faulty and is harassing the school we will fight it,” said Mullick.
The committee will also receive and examine complaints of violation of minority rights of educational institutions by government departments or by any public servants.
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Monday, February 26, 2007

More madhyamik woes

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 26, 2007
There were complaints by students again at the madhyamik exams on Monday. This time it was the turn of the Bengali version of the Physical Science paper. Students claimed that some of the instructions that were given were confusing
The trouble was that students following the Bengali version of the question paper were not sure how many questions they had to answer. From the instructions, it appeared that the students had to answer 18 questions combining groups B, C and D apart from the questions from group A, which is compulsory. On reading the English version it becomes clear that the students have to answer only 10 questions from groups B, C and Ds.
“The Bengali instructions were very confusing. I cross-checked with the English version and then proceeded to write my answers,” said Binoy Ojha, student of Bijoynagar High School.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) officials have expressed regret at the continuing goof-ups but did not say whether any concrete steps would be taken against those who were responsible for the mistakes.
The question papers prepared by the subject experts goes to the moderators, who correct the language used in the questions, ensure that the questions are from the prescribed syllabus and also make sure that the paper follows the pattern of model questions given by the board to the students. After the moderation is done, proofreaders crosscheck the manuscript question with its printed version.
But teachers feel that too much political influence in the administration of the board has led to compromise in quality. “There is too much political influence when it come to selecting the paper setters and moderators. We feel it has influenced the infrastructure and quality checking of the question papers. Since we are finding repeated mistakes it is becoming clear that moderators and paper setters have not been responsible about their duty,” said Subhankar Bandhyopadhyay, general secretary of Secondary Teachers and Employees Association.
Swapan Sarkar, secretary of the board, has expressed regret about the incident but failed to explain whether any concrete steps would be taken to check such mistakes. “We will definitely find out how such mistakes have happened and will ensure that they are not repeated next time. The paper setters are all respected and senior teachers and we cannot straight away take disciplinary action against them. But we will decide what can be done only after the exams are over,” Sarkar said.
A parent attacked Sahana Palit, principal of Deshopran Shasmal Balika Vidyalay, after the guardian had complained against the tough question paper. Palit’s car was vandalised and she lodged a complaint with the Tollygunge police station and has also complained about the matter to WBBSE.
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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Goof-ups galore at Madhyamik exam

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 24, 2007
After the slip up in the English question paper, it was the turn of the Life Science paper on Saturday to baffle the students taking this year’s Madhyamik exams. There were contradictory questions in the English and Bengali versions of the question paper, some of which were also outright wrong as well.
While the Bengali version of question 2-(iii) asked students which vitamin deficiency lead to night blindness, in the English the word ‘vitamin’ was replaced with ‘hormone’. Though it was just a one-mark question, it put students in a spot, as no answer is possible for the English version.
“It is a big mistake. The question is baseless. Night blindness is caused due to the deficiency of vitamin A and hormones have nothing to do with it. The paper setters and moderators should have noticed it,” said Paromita Hota, life science teacher at Alipore Multipurpose Girls’ School.
Another teaser for students taking the English version was question 2-(ii). While the Bengali version asked ‘in which chamber of the human heart does the pulmonary vein open?’ the word ‘vein’ was substituted by ‘artery’ in the English version.
The answer to the Bengali version of this one-mark question is ‘left atrium’ while, the answer to the English version would be ‘right ventricle’. “The question in the English version is wrong not only because ‘vein’ was replaced by ‘artery’ but also because an artery never opens into but originates from the heart. It is the vein, which opens there,” said Hota.
In another question, the answer was inadvertently given out in the Bengali version of the paper. In the Bengali version, the question read: “What kind of microbe is yeast? Why is it called a beneficial fungus?” While the second part of this 3-mark question answered the first half of the question in the Bengali version, at least the English version did not mention the telling word.
“What have the paper setters and moderators been doing? How can such mistakes happen? This is the first batch of students for the new syllabus and such mistakes are confusing them. They are getting tense for their next exam,” said Subhankar Bandopadhyay, general secretary of Secondary Teachers’ and Employees’ Association.
Ujjal Basu, president of WBBSE, admitted that the error in question 2-(iii) was the board’s fault, but he refused to acknowledge the other goof-ups. However he assured that students’ interests would be looked after.
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Friday, February 23, 2007

Letter writing woes at Madhyamik

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, February 23, 2007
Students taking the Madhyamik examination today were stumped by one of the questions that appeared in the second language English exam.
The bone of contention today among examinees and their guardians was question no. 9 – the ‘letter writing’ section, carrying 12 marks. While the question failed to instruct to whom the examinees would address the letter to, it left no doubt that they could definitely send their grievances to the WBBSE.
There was confusion among many students and they had to wait for instructions as to what they had to do. “At first I thought I will write the letter without addressing it to anyone but then we cannot write a letter without addressing it to someone. I really did not know what to do until our invigilator helped us. It was really confusing,” said Himanghu Raptan, a student of Bijoynagar High School.
The board however has admitted the mistake. “It is definitely a slip on our part. Minutes after the exam started it was brought to our notice. We immediately informed all the regional offices to instruct the schools to tell the students that they could address the letter to anyone they wanted,” said Ujjal Basu, president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education.
“I have spoken to the students of around 36 schools today and none of them reported about any problem in letter writing. I was amazed to see that most of them wrote the letter to a friend because it was compatible with the theme, that is writing about visiting a fair,” he added.
Teachers did not agree and felt the mistake in the question would confuse a lot of students in the districts. “Many students in Kolkata were confused and to think of the district students who are mostly weak in English, we can only imagine how confusing it was for them. We really do not know how a question goes for print without any instructions. What were the moderators and paper setters doing?” asked Subhankar Bandhyopadhyay, general secretary of Secondary Teachers & Employers Association.
The feedback from the districts was not very encouraging. “Since the letter did not have any instruction so the students kept on asking us whether they would write a formal letter or informal letter. The students were utterly confused,” said Biswajit Poddar Shara Boys, New Barrackpore.
The board has said that it will find out whether it was a printing error or the error of the moderators and paper setters and has ensured that the students will not suffer. “During the head examiners meeting the matter will be discussed and it will be ensured that the examiners do not penalise the students who did not understand whom to address the letter,” said Basu.
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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Want to study in Scotland? Shell out £5000 yearly

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, February 22, 2007

Eight educational institutions from Scotland are in Bengal scouting for possible tie-ups with various educational institutes in the state.
The team has already been to New Delhi and Kolkata is their final destination. “Currently there are almost 3000 Indian students studying in Scotland. Last year there was a 50 per cent growth in students from India. We are encouraging students to come to Scotland. We are also tying up with local educational institutions for those students who cannot come to Scotland,” said Roy Cross, director of British Council Scotland.
However be prepared to shell out extra. The course fee is £5000 yearly and living expenses will be another £5000. The students will be allowed to work for twenty hours a week and full time during vacation. “A two-year working visa awaits those who get a Scottish degree. The jobs are high-paying and an international work experience further extends the students market value in their homeland,” said Cross.
The delegation will be working on several proposals from their Indian counterpart and would like to offer opportunities like faculty exchange; staff exchange, resource sharing and credit transfer through tie-ups. When the student goes in for a top up programme in Scotland, they can do the same course in an Indian university and get a Scottish degree. If he wants to move to Scotland, he can transfer his old marks.
The team first met with Prof. A.R. Thakur, Vice Chancellor of West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) and discussed about the possibility of tie-ups. “We are looking for tie-ups with universities and colleges. We have a consortium of colleges with specific programme relevant to both the governments,” said Cross. The delegates are scheduled to meet the members from the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce, the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Pailan International School of Business & Media, IIAS, Bhawanipore College and Toonz Webel Academy.
Their trip has been arranged by the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), which was launched by Prime Ministry Tony Blair during his visit to India in 2005. “Scottish education is going global and we see India as a huge potential. We are talking to industry here and trying to find out their expectation so that our projects have an edge over the others,” said Cross.
Apart from hospitality, travel and tourism, IT, dental technology, aviation and other unconventional courses will be marketed by the team, which includes names like Scotland’s College International, Adam Smith College, Edinburgh’s Telford College, Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, Perth College and North Glasgow College.
The delegation plans to come back to India in a few months and would also invite parents to visit their institutions in Scotland. “We are here to explore opportunities. The proposals which we got will be evaluated and finalised,” said Cross.
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Now National Instruments belongs to JU

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 22, 2007

After the central cabinet gave approval on Friday to hand over National Instruments Limited (NIL) to Jadavpur University (JU), the university is now getting ready to turn the property into its third campus.
Located just opposite JU’s main campus, National Instruments, once the country’s leading institution for making implements for the army, will come under the university’s control in the next six months. This is the first university takeover of a unit “not run properly” for quite some time. This sick optical instrument-manufacturing unit was under threat, as promoters were eyeing the sprawling grounds to set up commercial and residential estates. The varsity, on the other hand, was also looking at this property to maintain the area’s academic environment.
The Centre has waived the equity capital of Rs 8.31 crore, loan of Rs 90.55 crore and interest of Rs 138.08 crore of NIL. It has also written off dues to the ministries of defence and home affairs — Rs 2.24 crore and Rs 0.87 crore respectively. The state government too has waived its dues of Rs 10 crore. JU will just have to pay a Rs 8-crore loan of NIL to State Bank of India. In addition, the Centre has also agreed to provide budgetary support in the form of grant in aid — Rs 1.58 crore — for paying arrears of salary and statutory due to NIL employees.
It will, however, take some time for the university to get the property. “The matter will now be referred to an appellate authority of the Centre and through various government bodies, the proposal will be sent to the board of directors of NIL, who will give their final nod. This process will require almost four to six months,” said Manoj Mitra, dean, faculty of engineering and technology, JU.
The university will now chalk out plans about how they would be using the property. The varsity plans to set up laboratories to carry out advanced research on industrial development in the huge space available on the NIL premises. “We will have programmes here through which we can earn revenue. There can be pilot plant projects done on behalf of some industry, collaborative programme with the defence, high-end training programmes with the industry, which would be remunerative. But we will also have to ensure that we have the capacity to implement all the programmes we undertake. For that, we will need some time to frame concrete plans,” said Mitra.
The university will also have to repair and renovate the property, spread over 450 cottahs, and have to transfer the 60 NIL employees to its payroll.
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Students cry foul over Madhyamik Bengali paper

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 22
The second day of the Madhyamik examination ended with students complaining of cryptic language being used in Bengali Paper-II and a tough grammar section.
Question-7, which was on verbs appeared confusing to most students. “They should have mentioned what they actually wanted the students to do. Though the board has asked us to follow academy spelling, they have not done so in the question paper. On top of that many students complained of cryptic language being used in the questions. Though no question was out-of-syllabus, mediocre students will not find it easy,” said Abhijan Bandyopadhyay, Bengali teacher of Patha Bhavan School.
But according to board officials, students were happy with the questions. “We have not received any sort of complaint from the students. On the contrary, they told me that they would be scoring very well,” said Ujjal Basu, president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
Basu visited six schools on Thursday and also met two sick candidates Sangita Bhowmik of Khanpur Girls High School and Manali Majumdar of Kantchrapara Railway High School. Both of them are taking their exams at ESI Hospital Maniktala. “Both of them though seriously unwell said that their exam was going well,” Basu informed.
Three students from various schools in Kolkata on Thursday went on to take their exam with chicken pox. They were provided separate rooms. Another student of Chandrakona Road S M High School, Jagonnath Dhura who does not have his hands was writing his exam with his legs. The board has agreed to provide him with a writer.
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CM intervenes in Besu agitation

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 22, 2007
Eight days into the teachers-students protest at Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU), Shibpur over its upgradation to INI status, the state chief minister has finally intervened to defuse the situation. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya wrote a letter to Prime Minster Manmohan Singh on Thursday urging him to upgrade the institute to INI status.
Last year, the Anand Krishna Committee had recommended the ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to upgrade Besu and name it as ‘Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology’ (IIEST) but till date there has been no response from the state. In his letter Bhattacharya urged the PM to upgrade BESU into an INI as a sesquicentenary celebration gift.
“The university is celebrating its 150th year and the teachers and students of BESU will feel greatly encouraged if the approval of the government of India in this regard is communicated and required funds are released while the celebration is on,” Bhattacharya wrote in his letter to PM.
The vice chancellor of the university, N. R. Banerjea has also written a letter to HRD minister Arjun Singh on Thursday, urging him to inform the university about the latest status of the proposal of upgradation. The teachers under the banner of Bengal Engineering and Science University Teachers Association (BESUTA) has been agitating since February 14, and students have joined in and started relay hungerstrikes along with the teachers. Classes have mostly remained closed for the past two days. In his letter to Singh, Banerjea wrote about his concern regarding the unrest and urged the minister to make a quick decision.
The teachers on Friday met higher education minster Sudarsan Roychoudhuri in this regard. The Minister had already intimated the Centre about the state agreeing to the INI status proposal through his letters dated 3-11-2006, 15-11-2006 and 16-2-2007 but has received no reply as yet. The minister today urged the teachers to withdraw their hungerstrike and assured that the state would do its best for the upgradation of Besu.
Teachers however felt that the riders given by the state urging a ‘participatory mode of governance’ and reserving 70 per cent of Besu’s seats for the state students may have spoilt their chance. However, teachers today decided no to go on an indefinite hungerstrike because of the CM’s letter addressing their concern. Instead they would be going ahead with indefinite relay hungerstrike.
Students carried on their relay hungerstrike and threatened to go on indefinite hungerstrike from February 26 if the Centre did not take any action. Some students also went to the Kolkata Book Fair on Friday to build up public opinion in this regard by talking to people and distributing leaflets.
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Struggle of life continues in Nandigram

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 21, 2007

You would not normally think that appearing for Madhyamik takes exemplary courage. But then, not everyone decides to take the examination just about a month after her father gets killed.
Madhumita Samanta of Nandigram’s Sonachura village has done just that. Her father, Shankar, a farmer, got killed in a violent clash over land acquisition on January 7 when their entire house was set on fire. And she not only lost her father, but also her house and all her belongings in the fire.
Though the entire village is still trying to cope with the tragedy, Madhumita decided to take the exam. A student of Kashuria High School, she took her exam from B.N. Balika Vidyalaya. “She told invigilators later that her exam went well,” said Ujjal Basu, president, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
This year, around 750 students are taking the exam from two Nandigram schools. But even while some, such as Madhumita, defied the tragedy, there are others who could not.
About 12 students did not appear for the examination on Tuesday. Basu, however, felt this was normal. “It is natural for some students to not appear for the exam. But in terms of overall percentage, it is extremely nominal,” he said.
Local residents said that most students who did not sit for their exams stay in Khejuri, where the sound of bombs has become a regular affair. “On Monday night too, some bombs were set off, which might have prevented some students from appearing for their exams,” said SUCI leader Bhabani Das.
The students most affected are the residents of the bordering areas of the tension-torn parts of Nandigram — at Sonachura and Gokulnagar. After dark, lights at each house were put off to avoid attacks, robbing candidates of valuable revision time.
The police, however, said that the examination was held peacefully at Dhanyakhola High School and Draza Mohan Girls School on Tuesday. “It seems that the protesters and the ruling party kept their promise of restraining themselves from engaging in brawls with each other for the sake of the Madhyamik examination,” a senior police officer said. Large police forces were deployed to tackle any sort of disturbances near examination centres.
Nakul Das, a guardian of an appearing candidate, said: “In this land-acquisition turmoil, our children’s studies have suffered a setback. However, as parents, we have done all we could to boost the candidates’ confidence.”
The Bhoomi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee has placed wood planks over dug-up roads to provide better passage to the appearing candidates. Ashok Guria, district CPI(M) leader, however, said: “Everyone has been responsible for spoiling vital preparation time of Madhyamik candidates from Nandigram.”
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Monday, February 19, 2007

The sweet smell of success

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 19, 2007
With the board exams just around the corner it is testing times not just for the students but also their parents. Most parents expect a lot out of their children, and sometimes it might lead to unforeseen circumstances.
So what should you do if you discover that your child’s results were below expectation? “If the child performs badly in the examination the parents should never throw a fit about it. Instead of being visibly angry or sad parents should support them and encourage them,” Dr. Aniruddha Deb, psychiatrist.
After exams are over, often teachers and guardians show their displeasure at the child’s performance. In extreme cases, this might even lead to suicide. “It is horrible to see how parents scold their children and physically abuse them just after they come out of the exam hall. The tutors sometimes join the scolding brigade and it is this attitude towards the child which leads them to commit suicide,” said Shiba Prashad Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of All Bengal Teachers Association (ABTA).
“If parents treat the marksheet and the examination as the central focus of their child’s education and turn the child into their wish-fulfillment machine, then they will be sorry later,” he added.
According to Bula Bhadra, HOD of the sociology dept at CU, parents should never ask the child after he comes out of the exam hall how much he or she would get. Instead they should always cheer them to perform with the best of their abilities for the next exam.
“Parents increasingly have the tendency of pressurising the child to perform well in the exam. What they do not understand is that not every one is capable of becoming an Einstein. If the child is not good at studies he may be good at games, art or some other activity. We do not understand why parents do not try to explore other talents of their child. After all a renowned musician might earn more than a blue chip company manger,” said Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, teacher of Patha Bhavan School.
But why is it that parents expect so much of their children? This is either concern over the child’s future or simply a case of keeping up with the Joneses. “Most of the children in our building are going to IITs. If our child cannot even get to pursue science after Madhyamik, it will become a matter of social prestige for us. More over his career will be uncertain,” said Ruma Ganguly, whose son is taking the Madhyamik this year from Jodhpur Park Boys School.
We must blame such parental pressures and expectations on our socio-economic conditions, says Prof. Bhadra. “But the root of this problem is the underdevelopment of India. There are not enough jobs and the only way to get established is by outperforming your competitors. Indian parents will have to learn the art of parenting where they do not push their child to mediocrity, by pressurising to perform, but help them to explore their talents,” she added.
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Saturday, February 17, 2007

Sharp drop in number of students taking Madhyamik 2007

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 17, 2007

The Madhyamik roll may be longer this year, but the number of students actually taking the exam has seen a dramatic drop.
Students are required to register their names for the Madhyamik examination when they are in Class IX. When the batch of 2007 enrolled for the exam, the total number of candidates was 45,822 more than the year before. But things have changed in less than a year’s time and the number of examinees this year is less by 89,575.
The sharpest fall has left the state government and the Madhyamik board groping for reasons, specially after last year when the number of Madhyamik candidates had increased by 1,37,866.
Though many would credit high to the success of Sarva Shiksha Aviyan (SSA) as its first batch took the Madhyamik last year, school education minister Partha De does not completely agree. “It is true that the reason for abnormal increase in number of students last year was partly because of the SSA. But the main reason was that since it was the last year of Madhyamik in old syllabus, most schools did not want to detain students and for that reason the number of candidates had shot up.”
But what went wrong this year? Was it the increase in dropout rate among students after Class VIII? Or did candidates decided to drop a year because of the new syllabus?
“I would not say that the decrease in number of candidates taking the examination this year is abnormal. But without a probe, we will not be able to say why this happened. We will definitely probe the matter,” De said.
The Madhyamik board too failed to give a concrete explanation but dismissed the argument that the new syllabus could be one of the reasons. “Of all the detained students, only 3,471 students opted to take the exam in the old syllabus last year. Hence, the new syllabus cannot be the main reason,” said Ujjal Basu, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
Instead, Basu said there could be many socio-economic factors contributing to the drop in the number of students taking the exam. “I have analysed the examination date of the last 30 years in an attempt find an answer to this puzzle but I am yet to decipher a steady pattern. It requires further study and cross verification from the socio-economic angle,” Basu said.
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Calling students: Dos and don’ts a day before Madhyamik

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 17, 2007

With just a day left for this year’s Madhyamik examinations, revision, relaxation, healthy diet and ample amount of sleep are what doctors and teachers prescribe for examinees.
The mantra according to Ujjal Basu, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), is to stay calm. “The preparation time is over and those who studied throughout the year need to remain composed, so that they can deliver at the examination hall,” he said.
For those who find Basu’s recommendation hard to chew, here’s the doctors’ advise. Anxiety, say doctors, would only cause more stress, even making examiners forget their lessons. “If an examinee feels that he cannot deal with the anxiety and stress, he should visit a doctor. For others, a sound seven-hour sleep and healthy diet is recommended,” says Dr Rima Mukherji, consultant psychiatrist.
But what happens if you discover that the questions are indirect and you feel you have not studied them? “Students who have studied throughout the year only need to practice questions that they find tough to answer. If they revise thrice, they will automatically know what the examiner wants them to write,” said Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, teacher at Patha Bhavan School.
Examinations are not just about food for thought. What one eats before exams is just as important. Dr Babita Hazarika, executive dietician at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, said, “A major problem with students is that they start losing their appetite and skipping meals before an exam. This results in poor performance. One should take routine meals and eat what ones likes to eat, provided it is easily digestible.”
Losing sleep over examinations and sitting up late for last-minute preparations is inadvisable. “Most students tend to increase study hours a few days before exams. Sometimes parents advise them to do so. But it is wrong. The body is like a machine. It needs rest and if it does not get it, one cannot perform well,” psychiatrist Dr Aniruddha Deb of Crystal Child and Adolescence Guidance Clinic said.
Some students, however, fail to keep their pre-exam blues away and suffer from panic attacks. It happens if students do not relax adequately and it can even hamper their exams. “Trying to keep away from stress is key to avoiding panic attacks. Students should have enough confidence to face exams. They should keep in mind that they are not the first students sitting inside an examination hall,” said neurologist Dr Amitaba Ghosh from Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Friday, February 16, 2007

Colleges switch to Best of Five for admission

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 16, 2007

The times they are changing in Calcutta University. Admissions in all the 160 colleges under Calcutta University (CU) will be done following the ‘Best of Five’ method from 2007. While no migration certificate will be required for the ICSE and CBSE students the, admission criteria will be same for students from all boards. However, there is bad news for those who want to study honours; the university is considering an increase in the basic eligibility criteria.
CU took the decision on Friday after the Higher Secondary Council decided to discard grand total from marksheet and give grades besides marks for each subject, a practice which is followed by ICSE and CBSE board. “Now there is a parity in syllabus, examination and evaluation pattern. The under graduate council of the university has passed the Best of Five method and it has been forwarded to the syndicate,” said Suranjan Das, pro-vice chancellor (academic) of CU. However, passing in English will be compulsory and the marks obtained in Environment Education, a subject declared compulsory by Supreme Court will not be considered for ‘Best of Five’.
The university will also issue a written circular to all the colleges asking them not to have separate set of eligibility criteria for the ICSE and CBSE students. “There should be no discrimination. This is a policy decision and all colleges will have to follow it. We will give the minimum eligibility criteria but the colleges are free to decide on any cut-off marks and take admission tests,” said Das.
For admitting honours students, CU will calculate the ‘Best of Five’ and add the marks obtained in the subject in which the student wants to study honours. However for admission in general course only the ‘Best of Five’ method will be followed.
The cut off marks for admission in honours is yet to be decided. Till date a student seeking to study honours in the colleges under CU had to score minimum 50 per cent in aggregate and 45 per cent in the subject in which he wants to take honours. “We are thinking of increasing the eligibility criteria both in case of total marks obtained after ‘Best of Five’ as well as marks obtained in the subject in which a student wants to study honours. This will ensure that quality students come to study honours. We will however take the final decision on February 27,” said Das.
The university may consider to have separate eligibility criteria for the arts, science and commerce students. “Since arts is a less scoring subject, it will be unfair if we demand same marks from them as we would from the other streams. This aspect will have to be discussed,” said Das.
The move to have new admission procedure was taken by the CU after West Bengal State Council of Higher Education (WBSCHE) urged all state universities to decided on the admission criteria after HS changed its marking pattern. WBSCHE plans to have same basic admission criteria for all the colleges of Bengal and it is most likely that all the state universities will go for ‘Best of Five’ method from 2007. However the colleges will have to follow old admission norms for admitting students who will pass HS under old syllabus.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Industry and technical education bigwigs get together

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 14, 2007

State higher education minister, Sudarsan Roychoudhuri meet with representatives of various chambers of commerce in a bid to boost employment of engineers in Bengal.
Representatives from Indian Chamber of Commerce, Bengal National Chamber of Commerce, Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta Chamber of Commerce and Oriental Chamber of Commerce attended the meeting.
“We want to make our students employable and that is the main reason why I today met the representatives of various chambers of commerce to know what the industry actually wants out of an engineering graduate,” said Roychoudhuri.
Apart from industry bigwigs, officials from various technical institutes in the state attended the meeting. BESU, CU, JU and West Bengal Engineering and Science University, which affiliate all private engineering colleges in the state, were present. The representatives from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), in charge of preparing the syllabus for engineering courses in the country also gave their views.
The West Bengal State Council of Higher Education after looking into the suggestions provided by the industry will discuss the matter in March and prepare a guideline to solve the problems.
The business bodies were asked to provide input towards upgrading the syllabus. Roychoudhuri also asked the business leaders about what was restricting engineering graduates in Bengal from getting good jobs, and what the industry expected out of the freshers.
“We are trying to make an industry-institute partnership in the true sense of the term. I want the industry people to come and take classes in the technical colleges and universities, as this will ensure industry input in education,” said Roychoudhuri.
The higher education department has asked the industry representatives to tell the state which courses are essential and where more technical colleges need to come up.
However, the minister sidestepped any question about the exact number of unemployed engineers in Bengal. “We have data about the employed but none for those without jobs as they have never approached us with their details. We not only want to increase chances of employment of technical graduates but also want to ensure that the industry gets what it wants from Bengal in terms of technical manpower,” said Roychoudhuri.
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As easy as it gets: Council plans ABCD grading for colleges

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 14, 2007

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the higher education accreditation agency, is changing its grading system for colleges from April. It will now assess colleges on a four-point scale, which should come as a relief to the state government.
Unhappy with the existing 9-point assessment system (see table) the state was planning its own assessment system. It was also unpopular with colleges, as a difference of a mere five points meant a different grade altogether. With the new method there will be wider scope for normalising the score.
“There was also scope for making a biased assessment. The new model will check this,” NAAC deputy adviser M.S. Shyamasundar said from Bangalore.
But the state government was not yet ready to comment on the proposal. “I cannot comment on the merits or demerits of the method suggested by NAAC until I see it. The state government wants to have its own assessment body; the procedure is being finalised,” said Subimal Sen, vice-chairman of the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education.
The NAAC’s proposed model makes use of the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) obtained by colleges. There are seven criteria on which to assess colleges; weightage would be given to research and consultancy.
Colleges that get between 3.01 and 4 CGPA get grade A and remark ‘Very Good’; 2.01-3 is grade B and ‘Good’; 1.01-2 is grade C and ‘Threshold’. Those getting 0-1 CGPA would be declared ‘Below Threshold’ and get grade D (see box).
The NAAC passed the proposal at its 41st executive council meeting on February 10. It has now invited comments and suggestions before the proposal becomes a guideline from April.
The state government was particularly unhappy about assessing colleges in big cities and those in towns on the same scale, but Prof. Suranjan Das, NAAC executive committee member and pro-vice chancellor (academic) at CU, said this aspect too was being looked into.
Higher education institutions will now have to approach NAAC in two stages for requesting an assessment. The first stage looked into the college’s potential for undergoing assessment. After obtaining the organisation’s profile and some quantitative information, the council will suggest some improvements for reaching the threshold level.
“Many colleges do not want to assess themselves. This method will help colleges prepare their self-study report,” said Shyamasundar.
In the second stage, the institutes will submit the self-study report for the NAAC team to assess. The eligibility criteria for colleges and universities that can be assessed were also being relaxed.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Teachers protest paralyse BESU

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 13, 2007

The classrooms at Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) remained empty on Tuesday with all the teachers on mass casual leave in protest against the delay in declaring the university as an Institute of National Importance (INI).
The deadline for the submission of the 11th five-year plan is February 28, after which there will be no scope for BESU or any of the other six shortlisted institutions to try for INI status.
“It would have been the best gift from the government during our 150-year celebration. We are the oldest, one of the most respected and at the same time most neglected engineering institute in India. If the Centre does not take a decision now, the plan of declaring the university as an INI will be shelved forever and we cannot let that happen,” said professor N.R. Bandopadhyay of School of Material Science.
The Bengal Engineering and Science University Teachers Association (BESUTA) plans to carry on its movement and stay away from classes on Wednesday. The teachers would also gherao vice-chancellor N.N. Banerjea’s office. “We will urge our vice-chancellor to meet higher education minister Sudarshan Roychoudhuri and discuss the matter. We want something concrete from either the state or the Centre,” Bandopadhyay said.
The teachers are also planning to rope in students, non-teaching staff and alumni for the movement.
Though the state government had initially not been interested in the human resources ministry’s plans of upgrading BESU to an INI. But the minister later agreed to the idea with two riders — admission would initially be through the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) where students from all over the country would be able to appear and the administration of the university will be participatory in nature.
The state government gives Rs 12 crore to the university annually where as BESU has to raise Rs 8 crore from its own research and consultancy work. “We will have to voice our protest against the neglect and we want to meet the higher education minister to discuss the issue. If required, we will go to the MHRD too,” said a teacher.
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Monday, February 12, 2007

Amartya raise question on the state of education in Bengal

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 12, 2007
His own schooling was in the state. But Amartya Sen was anything but happy with the state of education in Bengal, at least at the primary level.
The Nobel winning economist rapped the state government on Monday for failing to provide proper education to children, forcing them to seek private tuitions. “I am a Leftist, but I will have to say that primary education has for a long time been neglected in Bengal compared to another Leftist state, Kerala,” Sen said at the convention of All Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association (ABPTA).
“Many people say that I write the same thing about the state of primary education since 1956. But then I have done that because there has not been much progress in this regard. So I have kept repeating the same thing,” he said.
He observed that the progress and well-being of Kerala was largely due to its strength in primary education. “Bengal has more cases of malnutrition and school dropouts compared to Kerala, which is because the latter’s primary education is stronger,” he said.
Criticising the culture of sending primary schoolchildren for private tuitions, Sen said, “It is a matter of shame for us. Other Southeast Asian countries such as China, Thailand and Indonesia have never heard of the concept of sending primary school students for private tuition. It only shows that the child needs extra help to learn and the teacher at school is not able to address his problem. It is an abnormal situation and we do not know how to get rid of it,” Sen said.
“I am not saying private tuition is very bad — even Tagore too had taken private tuitions instead of going to school but then everyone is not Tagore. The problem of private tuition can be understood only when we look at other countries,” he said.
Sen’s Pratichi Trust will now work with Unicef and ABPTA to help revive the 1,200 primary schools in Kolkata by 2008. According to Unicef, the child dropout rate in schools is 7 per cent in India whereas in Bengal it was 10 per cent.
Apart from the administrative problem and economic problem Sen felt the social problems related to primary education too needs to be addressed. “Though many schools have set up a mother-teacher committee, but the formers must realise that the those whose children are first generation learners cannot speak about their problems at open meetings and need more one-to-one interaction.”
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Friday, February 9, 2007

Teachers told to stay away from politics

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 9
Teachers who stand for elections neglect their primary duty, which is to teach, says Biman Bose, left front chairman. Teachers should resign from their post if elected or else stay away from politics, said Bose.
Speaking on the 73rd foundation day of All Bengal Primary Teachers Association (ABPTA) Bose said that, “Teachers should not stand in elections because being a public representative is a full time job. In such a scenario how can they take care of students.”
Bose pointed out those teachers who get elected as MLA’s and MP’s and yet hold on to their teaching posts were creating problems for both students and part-time teachers who fill in for them.
The previous left front chairman Anil Biswas, had also urged teachers not to file nominations for similar reasons during the 2006 assembly polls. But, many teachers like Anjan Bera, Debesh Das and Partha Pratim Biswas did not take heed. Bera and Das went on to win from their constituencies.
Bose also felt that teachers in primary schools were not working to their potential. “It is true that many schools lack infrastructure and teachers can do little. But in schools with no infrastructural problems are our teachers giving their best effort? Well I cannot say yes to this,” said Bose. He also urged teachers to look after the students’ hygiene.mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Ministers children turn up the heat at Presidency election

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 9, 2007

For the students of Presidency College, it is déjà vu. After around five years, the college has again become a stage where the lead players are the progeny of the state’s top-notch Left leaders.
In 2002, the protagonists were Suchetana and Ajanta, daughters of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and deceased party state secretary Anil Biswas respectively, who spearheaded SFI’s election campaigns and established the Left students’ union to victory at Presidency College for the first time.
This year, when the college goes to the polls on February 27, the SFI’s strength would be bolstered with the presence of Hiya Mukherjee and Saptarshi Deb, both active SFI members, playing significant roles. First-year students of physics honours and political science respectively, the former is the daughter of tourism minister Manab Mukherjee and the latter the son of housing minister Gautam Deb. What, however, remains to be seen, is whether history would repeat itself on February 27.
In the earlier occasion, while Suchetana was an avid SFI supporter, it was Ajanta who played the more active and important role. Although SFI continues to maintain that their organisational effort brought forth the victory for two consecutive years in 2002 and 2003, the fact remains that the SFI lost after Suchetana and Ajanta left.
SFI leaders at Presidency College feel they will win the election purely on merit, not with the appeal brought by the political backgrounds of Hiya and Saptarshi. “We will definitely win the elections this year, but it would not be because we have the children of two cabinet ministers in our ranks. Our ideology and performance is strong enough to make us sail through. Both of them are just like other first-year students and campaigning for the election because they are SFI members,” said college SFI unit secretary Dipendu Mukherjee.
SFI state president Sudip Sengupta agreed that it would be wrong to suggest that a Leftist students’ body would win elections riding on the shoulders of senior leaders’ children. “None of them has utilised their fathers’ names during campaigns. Earlier, while Suchetana was never actively involved and Ajanta emerged the leader, none of them had ever used their lineage. It would be wrong if extra importance is given to such students since everyone works for the organisation in the same spirit,” he said.
Saptarshi, however, has already grabbed the attention of the SFI state leadership because of his leadership qualities and popularity among students. “He has all the makings of a leader. We see a future leader in him,” Sengupta said. He pointed out that Saptarshi’s involvement went beyond being a senior Left Front leader’s son. A few days back, he met with an accident while putting up posters inside the college premises and ended up with a fractured leg and a broken jaw. “It just happened that I became an SFI member and for the time being I want to follow the instructions of my seniors,” he said.
Similarly, Hiya is busy running campaigns centred on Singur among her classmates. “We have received briefings from seniors and are acting accordingly. The real picture of land acquisition needs to be brought forth and we have already started working on it,” she says. Although Hiya said that she had no political dream, she is aware about what her union expects from her. Ask her if there is one thing that she would like to change about her college, and pat comes the reply: “Control of the students’ union.”
The reigning students’ body, Independent Consolidation, though confident about being reinstated, feels that the involvement of VIP children does make a difference. “We have had children of several senior leaders from various parties and they do manage to create a stir. We, however, know that talking about real issues will counter this effect. We have already started campaigning about the land acquisition issue and the SFI would have to fight us on this ground,” said IC general secretary Sayantan Saha Roy.
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Thursday, February 8, 2007

Busy parents result in errosion of maral values in students

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 8

Who is to be blamed for the rash behaviour of a teenager? Is it his school, his parents or should the blame go to none other than the offender?
School are ready to share the responsibility, but feel that parents, of late, have become too busy with their own lives to give adequate time to their children.
South Point High School has taken serious view of Wednesday’s incident and has decided to review it to decide what action should be taken against the 5 Class XI students involved. “We are investigating the matter. At the same time, we will not allow the guilty to walk free. We will take a final decision after investigating the incident,” said Krishna Damani, a spokesman.
The school accepted its responsibility but, at the same time, felt that parents have to shoulder responsibility when the child is not at school. “I would not say that the school has no responsibility for its students’ behaviour outside the school boundaries, but at the same time, it is the duty of the parents to guide and take responsibility of their children when they are not in school,” Damani said.
Most teachers feel that with changing lifestyles and increasing work pressure, working couples often neglect their teenaged children. Parents do not deny this. “My husband and I are under tremendous work pressure. We hardly get to meet our teenaged child every day, though we stay in the same house,” said Sharbari Mullick, mother of a Class IX student of St James School.
According to some, incidents like the one on Wednesday are proof of teenagers’ value erosion. “The car does nor belong to the student. Neither had his school provided it. Even if his parents did not know about their son driving the car, how could they have provided a driving licence to him? We cannot blame the school for all the students’ activities. But the schools too can provide students psychological counselling and value correction,” said Anjali Razdan, principal of Laxmipat Singhania Academy.mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Anglo-Bengali schools want govt recognition

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 7, 2007

West Bengal Nursery School Welfare Association (WBNSWA) demanded on Wednesday that all non-government Anglo-Bengali pre-primary Schools of the state be given government recognition and brought under the ambit of Sarva Siksha Abhijan (SSA).
The WBNSWA filed a deputation in this regard to Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. There are around 17,000 pre-primary Anglo-Bengali schools in the state. “The primary government schools begin from Class I and students above five years are eligible for admission. The government should recognise our job of catering to this huge student population, below five years of age,” said Debiprashad Paul, general secretary of WBNSWA.
WBNSWA further claimed that the government-run schools are a failure and that guardians prefer to send their ward to Anglo-Bengali schools. “In order to attract students the government provides midday meal. Our fees are low and we cannot always cater to the growing demand. We do not want money from the government, but recognition would be welcomed,” said Paul. “We prepare the base of the students who shine brightly in Madhyamik and HS examination,” he added.
The teachers also want the Anglo Bengali Pre Primary schools to be brought under SSA. “If we are brought under SSA we too can teach students free of cost. The governor has understood our problems and has agreed to take up the matter,” said Paul.
Almost a decade back the state government decided to do away with pre-primary schools and shifted all teachers to the primary schools.
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Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Anti-ragging panel visits state

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, February 6, 2007

Zero-tolerance to ragging. This is the message being disseminated by the anti ragging committee formed by the Supreme Court.
The seven-member anti ragging committee headed by R. K. Raghavan, the former director of CBI, was on a day’s visit to West Bengal. “We are quite happy with the situation here. The state government has taken a very proactive role and the situation can be further controlled if every institute has its anti ragging cell,” said Raghavan. Apart from the students and teachers, the team suggested the participation of parents in the proposed anti ragging cell.
The team went to Jadavpur University (JU) and interacted with the students and faculty. The team tried to find out what students mean by ragging and what is its content. Later in the day, the team met higher education department officials along with representatives from 16 colleges and members of various students unions.
The Raghavan committee suggested to the state to find ways to facilitative harmless interaction between the seniors and juniors. “The students told us that there are few incidents of ragging. We want the state government and the institutions to ensure that the interaction between the junior and senior students is done in a cordial manner. Mostly, the seniors mean no harm but it is due to their over enthusiasm that some incidents become big,” said Raghavan.
Answering why the team was not taken to ragging prone institutions like the Bengal Engineering & Science University (BESU), Shibpur but to JU, the additional chief secretary of higher education & science & technology department Asok M. Chakrabarti said, “Jadavpur once had a bad reputation for ragging, now it is a model of peace. We could have taken them to other places too, but since the team was on one-day visit they could not have travelled much.”
But Chakrabarti agreed that the state still has to sensitise students against ragging. “Though the reports of ragging have dropped considerably, but there are many incidents, which go unreported. We are creating an e-mail id to track such incidents,” he said. “The students cannot study in an environment where they are always fearful of seniors,” he added.
The anti ragging committee has already visited Guwahati and will now travel all over the country and then report back to the Supreme Court. If you want to report any incident of ragging you can e-mail to raging.edu@nic.in.
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Monday, February 5, 2007

Will clothes made of garbage be future fashion?

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 5, 2007
Think twice before you want to dispose your garbage. You might want to fashion stunning clothes out of them. National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) students have done just that. They have exhibited their wares for the competition at Fashion Spectrum 2007, their annual fest.
Students made their creations using blister sheets, ribbon, plastic straw, plates and bowls. “We are trying to inspire students to channelise their creativity in a different direction. They can now make clothes which are also eco-friendly,” said Jayati Mukherjee, Design & Student Development Activity coordinator of NIFT, Kolkata.
Nightwear out of transparent blister sheets, lingerie made of plastic cups and plates were some of the exhibited items. “These clothes were not daily wear, but they will look great on the ramp,” said Durbamala Roy, winner of the competition.
Another prizewinner Aloke Singh, has made shoes out of newspapers. In fact newspapers can be used to make clothes. Newspaper is pulped and chemically treated. Then it is weaved with yarn to make garments. Like jute garments, newspaper yarn can provide a trendy new look.
Used clothes, small pieces of cloth thrown away while making garments, plastic products, ribbon, thermocol, carry bags, wires, yarn, clay and even bicycle tyres and moped inner tubes can be used to make garments. “If we present it professionally there is a market for such garments. People look for comfort and style, if we can provide both who knows these products can be popular too,” said Singh.
Raymond’s manufactures eco-friendly fabric out of bamboo shoots. Designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh is using fabrics made from wood pulp fibre for her fashion line. The time is ripe for venturing into virgin territory feels NIFT students. Moreover, by recycling clothes, there will be less pollution. The clothes would also be cheaper.
More than 10,00,000 tons of textiles are discarded every year. In fact, textiles make up about 3 per cent by weight of garbage in household bins. Eco friendly garments are bacteria free, non-allergic and can breathe, which means that they are comfortable.
“We want our students to explore the concept of eco-friendly garments. So much goes to waste and we do not even know their end use,” said Mukherjee.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Friday, February 2, 2007

Nine-point grading in Madhyamik from 2009

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 2, 2007

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) will begin a nine-point grading system in Madhyamik from 2009. For Class VI to IX, however, the grading system will come into effect from this May.
“We will introduce grades from class VI to IX from the 2007-2008 academic session beginning in May. And when these Class IX students go to Class X, they will be the first batch to get grades in Madhyamik,” said WBBSE president Prof Ujjal Basu.
The WBBSE took the decision at its general body meeting on Friday. It also formed a task force that will decide on the modalities for introduction of the grading system. It will submit its final report by March 31.
The task force will also discuss terms of reference on various matters, like whether there will be marks along with grades or only grades and whether there will be a grand total. The highest grade, A++, will be accompanied by a remark. The lowest grade is yet to be decided. During summer vacation, teachers will receive training on how to award grades.
WBBSE will also review its exam regulations to facilitate changes. The teachers’ unions have suggested supplementary exams for students who fail in some subjects but score pass marks in their grand total. “We could promote these students to the higher class, give them special coaching in the subjects they failed and conduct a supplementary examination three months later. If they pass they will be promoted, otherwise not,” said Prof Basu.
The board will also review pass marks. Currently, students have to score at least 20 in each subject and 34 on an average to be declared ‘pass’ in a group. The board is thinking of bringing the pass marks down to 20.
The board also wants to start ‘cumulative report cards’ that will also state subject-wise marks and grades of the student in the previous class. “Preparing cumulative report cards is a laborious task but it would greatly benefit the students. The purpose of grading is to ease exam-related stress and ensure that students perform better. This cannot happen unless the teachers get to see how they have performed in the last few years,” said Prof Basu.
WBBSE will also deliberate on whether changes could be made to the academic session. They will also premeditate on whether promotion from class VI to VIII can be given on the basis of the grand total in the best four or five subjects.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Thursday, February 1, 2007

BESU students boycott classes over poor placement

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 1, 2007

Unhappy with placements, post-graduate students of Bengal Engineering & Science University (BESU), Shibpur, stayed away from the classrooms on Thursday and threatened to continue the boycott for an indefinite period if their problem is not addressed within a day.
Of the 225 post-graduate students, only 20 per cent have found placement till now. “While the university has already placed 97 per cent of the undergraduate students, why are they discriminating against the post-graduate students? We are more qualified and hence it is only natural that we should better placements than our juniors,” a post-graduate student said.
Registrar Bhaswati Mitra, professor in charge of students’ affairs Lieutenant Colonel A. K. Ghosh and professor in charge of training and placement Manash Shanyal met the agitating students, who sat on a dharna in the main lobby, but the students were not satisfied with the outcome.
The university authorities admit that the demand for placement is not unjustified, but plead helplessness. “It is true that post-graduate students are not getting good placements as compared to undergraduate students but then the market demand is higher for undergraduate students. We always try to ensure the best of placements for all student and we have assured the post-graduate students that all of them will be placed,” Mitra said.
Most companies who visit the campus for placements set 60 per cent marks in the Class X and XII examinations as one of the minimum eligibility criteria. It is here that most of the post-graduate students are disqualified. While the undergraduate students have to clear WBJEE for admission to BESU and therefore usually have 60 per cent marks in the Class X and XII exams, post-graduate students complete BTech or an equivalent exam, MCA, MBA or MSc and qualify GATE to study in BESU. Moreover some post-graduate students also cross the maximum age limit for job offers, which is 27 years.
“The post-graduate students forget that their department is only eight years old where as the undergraduate department is 150 years old. Most of us have scored above 60 per cent throughout our academic career while they have not,” said Abhigyan Bera, a fourth-year undergraduate student of BESU. “If the companies hire post-graduate students, they too have to spend less money on training them.”
The post-graduate students have sought a written assurance from the university that their placements will not be neglected. Or else, they would boycott classes indefinitely from Friday.
“We really do not know whether the students will boycott classes again from Friday because there has been no official communication from their end. Even on Thursday, they did not inform us before starting the agitation,” Mitra said.
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