BESU wait for INI may have got longer

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 30, 2007

Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) may have to wait for some more time before becoming an Institute of National Importance (INI). The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) in a letter has asked the state to hand over Besu to the Centre for upgradation, before it gets an INI status. However, the state is keeping its options open.
The Anadkrishnan Committee selected Besu to be upgraded to the status of Indian Institute of Science, Engineering and Technology (IISET). If upgraded, BESU will have an almost equal status as those of the IIT’s.
The Bengal Engineering and Science University Teachers Association (BESUTA) on Monday met the state higher education minister Sudarsan Roychoudhuri. “We are not opposed to handing over BESU to the Centre, but it needs some discussion,” said Roychoudhuri. “Besu as been brought up to its present stature by the people of Bengal and it has been selected as a top engineering college by the Centre. Then how can the Centre not listen to us?” he added.
The state government is also not very happy with the Centre. The MHRD missive sent to the chief secretary, Amit Kiran Deb, does not have any reference to the chief minster’s letter to the Prime Minister urging him to upgrade Besu. It has not gone down well with the state government.
Roychoudhuri has in a letter to the MHRD on April 24, pointed out that he wanted to discuss the Besu handover. The state government has raised two points. The first is on the admission of students through WBJEE in the state quota. “Earlier, the state had said that it would like to reserve 75 per cent of the seats reserved for the students from Bengal. But now it seems that the state is ready to soften its stand and might not bargain for a very big chunk of seats,” said Professor Partha Pratim Chatterjee, general secretary of BESUTA after the meeting.
The state government however would want some sort of participation in the governance of Besu, even if its handed over to the Centre. The state might want to nominate candidates on the universities governing board.
The teachers, however wants the INI status for BESU on its 150th year. “We are not concerned about the issue of governance or admission. We want the government to take a positive decision so that BESU can become an INI as early as possible,” said Chatterjee.
If the university is not handed over to the Centre, BESU will not be upgraded into INI and would receive a one-time grant of Rs. 519 crore for its academic and infrastructure upgradation from the state government.

Students Scuffle
Two students were injured in a clash between undergraduate and postgraduate students of Besu at around 2.30 am on Monday. The scuffle following the entrance of some guests without passes at the annual reunion programme of the varsity. Arnab Dutta, a fourth year student of civil engineering was admitted to the SSKM, while Md Tafiqulla, a third year student of computer engineering was admitted to the Howrah General Hospital. The police lathicharged to break up the clash. Three more were injured in the police laticharge.
(mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com)

SSC results delayed, more barriers ahead for teachers

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 29, 2007
There is some alarming news for both would-be schoolteachers, and many others who are already teaching in schools. Added to this, is the bother of School Service Commission (SSC) exam results being delayed by a day.
Due to a technical snag in the SSC website, the results of the SSC exam may be delayed by a day. “We are trying our best to upload the results in our website — www.westbengalssc.com — by April 30, but due to a technical snag it may not be uploaded before May 1. However we suggest t students to keep checking our website from April 30,” said Ranajit Basu, chairman of SSC. “Since May 1 and May 2 are holidays, the hardcopy of the results will be put up on the notice board of all our regional offices on May 3,” he added. 24,571 teaching posts are up for grabs for those who have appeared for the SSC exams.
But, those who have appeared for this year’s exams will have to fulfil certain criteria to be eligible for the teaching posts. As it is, for at least 62 per cent of candidates who have appeared for the SSC, clearing the exam will not be enough. This is because though graduation is the minimum qualification to become a teacher in a government-aided school, there is a rider attached to it. That is, those who do not have a B Ed degree will have to get it within 5 years of joining work.
Now, candidates who clear the SSC exam have a new headache. From this year, the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) has declared that in order to study B Ed, candidates require at least 50 per cent in their graduation. Among the 3,60,000 students who have appeared for the SSC this year, 38 per cent have a B Ed degree. There are many amongst the others who appeared for the SSC who do not have the required marks in their graduation.
This new circular from NCTE will not only put the teachers recruited through SSC this year in a bind, but also teachers who have been recruited and are yet to complete their B Ed. When asked about this matter, Basu said: “Our job is to fill up teaching vacancies in schools and we really do not know what will happen to those who have scored below 50 per cent in their graduation and have not done their B Ed already.”
Students are also worried about this new development. There are only 8,000 B Ed seats across Bengal. “Even though I got through the SSC 3 years ago, due to limited seats I have not studied B Ed. This year my brother has taken the SSC and both of us do not have 50 per cent in our graduation. We really do not know what will happen,” said Sampa Patra, a teacher in a boys’ school near Kalyani.
According to Basu, teachers who do not have a B Ed degree 5 years after their appointment will not be entitled to any increment or promotion. They will never be able to become a teacher-in-charge or a headmaster. But there are no plans to make 50 per cent in graduation as the minimum eligibility criteria in the SSC from next year. This is because it is already difficult to get teachers for English and science subjects.
The government too is yet to take notice of this fact. “We need to do an in depth analysis of the circular first. This is not the right time to talk about it,” said an official of the school education department.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

No CU mark sheets for 65 students

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, April 27,
Sixty-five students of Part I (Bachelor in music) of Bengal Music College, has been waiting for their mark sheets for two-and-a-half months as Calcutta University is facing a shortage of stationary.
The BA music results were declared on February 23. “We were amazed to see that the college authorities had put up a hand written list. We are not sure whether it was send by the university. And now there is no news of our mark sheets,” said a student on conditition of anonymity.
When HT asked controller of exams, Onkarsadhan Adhikari, about the mark sheets delay, he said, “We are aware of the problem. The students will get their mark sheets in a few days time. The stationary shortage delayed us.”
However, parents are not happy with the explanation. “How can the university come up with such a trivial reason? They have been publishing the marksheet of lakhs of students every year, but they do not have the stationary to publish the marksheet of 65 students! Even if there were no stationary, why would it take over two months to get it? Every time the students go to the university, they are told that the mark sheet will be handed over ‘next week.’ The university is playing with the future of our children, we fear they have lost the answer scripts,” said a parent on condition of anonymity.
On top of this, the university has given a June 20 date for the Part II exam. Agitated, some parents are thinking of going to court. “If they do not give the mark sheets by next week, then we will move court,” said one of the parents.
Unsure about marks acquired in Part I, the students are getting ready to take their Part II exam from June 20. “We are not even sure whether we have passed in all subjects. Only after seeing our Part I result, we could have known in which subjects we need to concentrate more. However, we fear that if we protest we may be victimised,” said another student.
The principal of the college, professor Swapan Nashkar, feels that the university is discriminating against his college. “Publishing the mark sheets is not in my hand. The results which were put up on the notice board was hand written and had no stamp or signature of the university authorities. It is a mystery to us; we really do not know why the university is taking so much time in publishing the mark sheets,” he said. “Actually with so many streams and modern subjects to look after, we feel that the university is not bothered about our college,” Nashkar added. mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

OBC quota not to be implemented this year

Chetan Chauhan, Saroj Nagi and Mou Chakraborty
New Delhi, April 26, 2007

STUDENTS WILL be admitted to central institutes, including IIMs, on last year’s pattern. A decision on admitting OBC students will be taken on May 8, the date for the Supreme Court hearing on the quota for such students. UPA and Left leaders approved this formula at a meeting on Thursday and the HRD ministry is expected to issue a directive to all institutes on Friday.
Admissions to IIMs are expected to start on Monday. “The IIMs were told to finalise the admission process. They can notify candidates for admission,” a ministry official said.
“Our results are ready. If the letter arrives on Friday, the IIMs may take a decision to post on the Internet that very night or by the next morning,” Ashish Bhattacharya, chairman of admissions at IIM-Calcutta.
Offer letters will follow the Internet posting, but students will have less time to decide whether to accept. “Normally students get three weeks to confirm they will take admission; this time it does not look like they will get more than two weeks,” Bhattacharya said.
The formula accepted by the meeting was that the new seats for OBCs (reserved) and other students (increased) would not be filled at one go. In all, 124,377 general and SC/ST students will get admission now while a decision on 12,216 others will be taken till May 8.
IIMs will admit 1350 students and 157 seats will remain vacant. IIM-C, which will fill 300 seats, will leave 18 vacant. At IITs, some postgraduate seats in IITs will be filled with undergraduate admissions scheduled for late May.
At the UPA-Left meeting, the government justified its earlier decision to withhold the results. The objective, a government note said, was to avoid an adverse effect on the Centre’s case in court and to ensure an early hearing. That objective had been achieved with a date fixed for the hearing, the note said. Hence, central institutes could be advised to admit those students who would not be affected by the court’s order.
HRD minister Arjun Singh, who chaired the meeting, first met leaders of UPA allies and tried to convince them about the ministry’s viewpoint. After the meeting, he briefed the Prime Minister.
The meeting was stormy. The DMK, the PMK and the RJD initially opposed admission, saying it would ease pressure on the Supreme Court. They later relented when Arjun pointed out that it involved the fate of a large majority of students. Byt they expressed concern about the effect of staggering the admission process.
They also asked if the government had a second option if the court did not vacate the stay on the OBC quota. The CPI(M) too raised the question. “If the stay is not vacated, the government will have to make another assertion, perhaps through another decision, another law and another constitutional amendment,” Sitaram Yechury said.
chetan@hindustantimes.com
snagi@hindustantimes.com
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

CNI schools to turn child friendly, ban corporal punishment

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, March 25, 2007
Many modern-day teachers, like teachers in their own childhood, still believe sparing the rod only spoils the child. The Churches of North India (CNI) is changing all that. It will ban corporal punishment in its schools and make its teachers ‘child-friendly’.
The rules being drafted for the accent-shift will take effect in July and protect children from punishments like having to stand up on the bench, stand outside the class, squat in a kneel-down position, being beaten with scales and insulted in front of others. In Kolkata, more than 10 schools including La Martiniere, Pratt Memorial, St. Thomas, St. James, St. Paul’s and St. John Diocesan, are gearing up for the change.
“All punishments that involve physical abuse or end in mental and social stigma for the child should stop. Such punishments have a lasting effect. A child should not also be asked to stand outside the class because this amounts depriving him. His parents are paying for his studies and he has the right to attend the classes. Making standing up on the bench too is no solution either. So we are making firm rules barring teachers from administering such punishments,” said CNI head Bishop P. S. P. Raju.
The rules will lay down what a teacher can and cannot do. He will teach his students, adivise even counsel them, but never resort to physical or verbal abuse to discipline them.
If a student turns out to be too obstinate or wayward, the teacher, for instance, can make him write ‘ I will never do this again’ a hundred times. He will explain to the student why he was being punished. But if the student repeats the offence, the principal will step in.
“If the principal fails to make him fall in line, he will speak to the student in the presence of his guardians. If that too fails, we will send him to a counsellor. If this fails to work, we will ask him to go some other school,” said Raju.
To avoid police complaints and lawsuits the whole process of ‘trying to correct an unruly child’ will be documented. “Just as we don’t want children to suffer, we also don’t want our teachers be harassed by our students parents.
A teacher might at times feel that a particular student could do with some mild scolding. But he must scold the child in the presence of another teacher. With proper documentation the school will able to prove its point in a court of law. To help teachers adapt to the new methodology, there will be orientation programmes every three months. We have subject-specific orientation courses. But these programmes will be on teaching techniques,” said Raju.
The curriculum will cover areas like fighting with exam stress, child management and will cover the basic instructions in the UN charter for child protection.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Kolkata copes with shortage of NCERT books

Mou Chakraborty & Sujit Nath
Kolkata, April 24, 2007

The shortage of NCERT books, followed by CBSE schools is hitting the students hard. Particularly affected are students of Class IX and Class XII.
Taking advantage, unscrupulous traders are charging an exorbitant price for the books. The English Kaleidoscope and English Flamingo for Class XII, which cost Rs 30 are available for Rs 150. The Physics-I of Class XII is available for Rs 250 to Rs 300. The actual price is Rs 125.
Santosh Pathak on a visit to Kolkata, said, “I came from New Delhi with a hope that I will get books for my daughter. They are charging an exorbitant price. However, I don’t have any other options, so I bought the books.”
The booksellers said that NCERT has failed to publish an adequate numbers of books and therefore there is a major shortfall. “The entire syllabus has changed and the NCERT has failed to print the books,” Baren Das, a College Street bookseller said.
However, speaking to Hindustan Times, a senior NCERT official, Vishnu Chandra Patra, said, “There is no crisis of books in Bengal. We have our regional production and distribution centre at Panihati. The crisis is being created by booksellers.”
Last year, NCERT published 2.75 crore textbooks. Due to the change in syllabus and to avoid a crisis, we have printed 4.98 crore textbooks. “There are only 6810 CBSE schools in India, so how can there be a crisis,” said Patra. However, he added that schools eyeing for CBSE affiliation, prescribe NCERT books to their students, which sometimes creates a problem.
The worst sufferers are the student of Class X. “There are no books. We are taking advance money from the students and they are getting the books after a week,” said Shankar Das, another bookseller at College Street.
The marked price for the three Class X English books is Rs 100. It is available for Rs 115. Similarly, Class IX books of history and political science are available for anything between Rs 150 to Rs 200. The actual price for the books is between Rs 50 to Rs 75.
It is mandatory for schools to put NCERT books on the booklist or else their CBSE affiliation is cancelled. The principal of Hariyana Vidyamandir, Basudev Bhattacharya, said, “Even this year the NCERT had asked us to send requisitions for books required for our school through our recognised bookseller. The formalities were completed two months back, but the books have not arrived.”
To avoid the crisis, the schools are downloading the NCERT books from Internet and distributing photocopies of the first two chapters to all its students.
While the books are unavailable with booksellers and the schools, the students are flocking to NCERT’s regional production and distribution centre at Panihati. However, they are returning empty handed.
“After standing in the queue for an hour I got only one book,” said Bidhan Sarkar, parent of a Class IX student of Bharatiya Vidyabhavan.
Principal of Birla High School for Boys, Mukta Nain, said, “Schools follow NCERT books because the board examinations are based on these texts. This is why the shortage is felt most from Class IX to Class XII.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
sujit.nath@hindustantimes.com

From pillar to post
· Students from Class IX to Class XII are most affected
· Unscrupulous traders have jacked up book prices
· Booksellers blame NCERT for not publishing an adequate number of booksSchools are downloading the books from the Internet

Fresh court date, quota still on hold

Chetan Chauhan, Satya Prakash and Mou Chakraborty
New Delhi/Kolkata, April 24, 2007

THE SUSPENSE over IIM admissions remained on Tuesday as the HRD ministry did not withdraw the directive asking IIMs and IITs to keep admissions on hold. HRD minister Arjun Singh said the directive would stand and added, “I don’t think any fresh directive is required.”
Since Monday, when the Supreme Court declined to lift the stay on the OBC quota, it has looked unlikely that the quota can be introduced from this session. On May 8, the Supreme Court will conduct a hearing on the constitutional validity of the law passed by the Centre.
The hearing was fixed by the Chief Justice of India. Attorney general Milon K. Banerjee mentioned the Centre’s application for an early hearing, while the anti-quota camp protested. The CJI asserted that it was his prerogative to decide in what manner a case had to be heard. Fixing the date, the CJI asked the parties to complete all formalities by then.
The hearing is, however, expected to drag as indications are that the matter will ultimately go to a constitution bench. The Centre had submitted that the case involved complicated legal issues that should be decided by a constitution bench. Once the matter goes to such a bench, the Centre can again seek lifting of the stay, but time is the crucial factor.
As the stalemate lingered, IIM candidates fretted about their future. “Even after the Supreme Court order, the ministry is pursuing its agenda,” said Sourav Sen, who scored 99.49 percent in CAT.
Ashish Bhattacharya, chairman of admissions at IIM-C, said, “We cannot publish the result unless the Centre tells us to do so. We have informed the ministry about the problem of the students.”
Arjun Singh said all IIMs were cooperating. He reminded them they were government institutions and not private institutions — and autonomous bodies but not independent.
Arjun continued to defend the quota. On the court’s observation that the government was rushing through the implementation when it has waited for 57 years, he snapped: “I am not getting any out of this. It was Parliament’s decision to give OBCs reservation.”
chetan@hindustantimes.com
satya.prakash@hindustantimes.com
mou.Chakraborty@yahoo.com

Students anxious over the delay in IIMC merit list

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 24, 2007

With the OBC quota issue dragging on, students waiting for the IIM merit lists are an anxious lot. Not only are they finding it difficult to concentrate on other examinations, but they are also in a bind over whether to take admission to other management institutes or join a job as backup.
The first ranker in CAT from Kolkata with a 99.98 percentile, Mehul Agarwal, has appeared in the group discussion and interview of all IIMs except the one in Bangalore.
But the BCom final-year student at St Xavier’s College is now finding it difficult to focus on his studies. “My aim is to study at an IIM and that is why I have not even appeared for interviews in any other institute. All my efforts will be wasted if I do not get through any of the IIMs,” he said.
Another worry for IIM hopefuls is whether they should take up a job offer or wait for the final call from the premier institute. Nishant Mathur, a fifth-year student of biotechnology and biochemical engineering at IIT, Kharagpur, has bagged a job at ITC and has to join by June 7. “I have a 99.9 percentile in CAT and appeared for the group discussion and interview of all six IIMs. I have reason to believe that I will bag a seat in one of the IIMs this year but at the same time I cannot keep waiting endlessly. But if I start working, I do not think I will have the time to crack CAT next year,” Mathur said. “Some of my friends have taken up jobs despite getting interview calls from all the IIMs. Now, even if they make it to the final merit list, they have pay huge sums before leaving the job and joining IIM.”
Thousands of rupees are at stake for those taking admission to one of the lesser management institutes too. Meghna Agarwal, a chartered accountant, has appeared for group discussion at the IIMs of Bangalore and Lucknow. She has taken admission to XLRI, paying a fee of Rs 2 lakh, and is sceptical about getting a refund.
Same is the case with Sourav Sen, who has 99.49 percentile in CAT and has appeared for group discussions at four IIMs. “I have taken admission to S.P. Jain Management Institute, Mumbai, and the authorities have clearly stated that they would retain at least Rs 35,000 in case I left.”
But the chairman of admissions at IIM-C and member of the CAT group, Ashish Bhattacharya, has a few words of assurance for the students. “The government has urged all the management institutes to refund the entire money deposited the students with a deduction of only Rs 1,000 in case a students wants to take admission to an IIM,” he said,
The candidates feel they have become victims of politics “Where is the data based on which the OBC quota is being implemented and why are they including the creamy layer? Agarwal asked.Some also feel that the quota would dilute the standard of the premier institute. “The HRD ministry should not forget that the IIMs are known for quality students,” Sen said. mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Supreme Court and center lock horns over OBC quota

Satya Prakash, Chetan Chauhan and Mou Chakraborty
New Delhi/Kolkata, April 23, 2007
THE SUPREME Court on Monday dismissed the Centre’s plea to vacate the stay on the introduction of a 27 per cent quota for OBCs in central institutes from the next academic year. A bench headed by Arijit Pasayat clarified that its March 29 stay on the reservation was “final” for the academic year 2007-08.
Solicitor general G.E. Vahanvati urged the court to refer the matter to a constitutional bench as it involved an important legal issue, but the court said the plea could be considered only in August when the constitutional validity of the impugned law would be examined.
That would make it virtually impossible for the government to introduce the quota from the next academic year. Even though the government started consultations with legal experts and mulled the option of seeking a review by a higher bench, time is running out.
Monday’s ruling is expected to hastened the publication of the merit list for admission to IIMs. Reporters asked IIM-A director Bakul Dholakia about an admission date and he replied, “That question can be answered by the order of the Supreme Court.”
No IIM will, however, act without instructions from the HRD ministry. “Fresh instructions will be issued soon. Before that, we want to discuss our legal options,” a ministry official confirmed, without giving a timeframe.
“After the ruling we feel we will get a government order in a couple of days, after which we can publish the results. We are waiting an instruction on the results as well as the quota,” said Ashish Bhattacharya, chairman of admissions at IIM-Calcutta.
The IITs set May 30 as a tentative date for IIT-JEE results, ensuring that candidates will not have to face a delay like their IIM counterparts. “Arrangements to introduce the OBC quota are in place, but the ministry will tell us what to do. We have over a month’s time and the problem should be solved before that,” said S.K. Dube, director of IIT-Kharagpur.
The IIMs has earlier pointed out that a delay in admissions could result in students going to lesser institutes even if they have CAT scores good enough to bag them IIM seats. Many private B-schools charge high, non-refundable fees and retain students’ original certificates, thus preventing migration to IIMs.
To make sure that students can shift to IIMs when the opportunity arrives, the government has now instructed all institutes to remove hindrances to ensure free mobility. The UGC and AICTE issued circulars instructing all institutes to deduct only Rs 1,000 as processing fee if a student opts out of any course. The remaining fees must be returned and any seat vacated due to migration must be filled from the waiting list.
All institutes, including universities and deemed universities, have also been instructed not to retain original certificates of any student. That would allow management students, for instance, to seek admission to IIMs once the OBC issue was settled. Should any institute flout these instructions, the government has threatened action including withdrawal of recognition.
satya.prakash@hindustantimes.com
chetan@hindustantimes.com
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Board won’t do away with Madhyamik exam

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 23, 2007
Although the NCERT’s focus group on examination reform wants to make taking the Class 10 board examination optional for those who wish to study further and keep the examination provision mandatory only for those who do not want to study further, the Madhyamik board may not adopt the suggestion in totality.
The NCERT will send the suggestion to all 41 state boards across the country soon. “We have not got the document yet. Let us have a look at it first. We are not very ecstatic about it, but we are not disregarding it either. The suggestions need to be discussed. I am sure there will be certain things which we will adopt,” said school education minister Partha De.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) is not keen either. “The NCERT can just offer suggestions but we will carry on with our existing system. If the state government wants us to follow certain sections, we will do that,” said board president Ujjal Basu.
The state body of the NCERT-State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) agreed with Basu. “We can just offer suggestions but the boards are autonomous bodies and it is not binding on them to follow our suggestion,” said director Rathindranath De.
The National Curriculum Framework made the recommendation in 2005 but the then state school education minister Kanti Biswas had vehemently opposed it, saying, if implemented, the quality of education in the state would go down. Biswas also felt evaluation at the end of class 10 not only helps a child understand his capabilities but also gives him a scope to upgrade himself.
Schoolteachers in the state share the same feeling. The state’s largest teachers’ organisation, All Bengal Teachers Association (ABTA), said the method if implemented would have disastrous consequences. “Education up to class 10 is broad-based. How can someone suggest that students not be evaluated after class 10? By making such suggestions, NCERT is playing with the students’ future and the education system of the country. We, definitely, will not allow that to happen,” said Shibaprashad Mukhopadhyay, ABTA general secretary.
The National Curriculum Framework had also suggested following a no-detention policy, which the NCERT is asking state boards to follow. The state school education department is ready to accept it, but with modifications.
“The question of detention does not arise if we can identify the weakness of the child and give him remedial teaching. And that is what we are going to do. We do not aim to take examinations to penalise a student but to help him upgrade his knowledge base,” said De.
WBBSE, from the new academic session, will introduce remedial teaching for students from class 5 to class 9. “The state government introduced the change in keeping with the suggestions made in the National Curriculum Framework. We feel remedial teaching is better than a no-detention policy,” said Mukhopadhyay.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Changes in the offing for WBJEE

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 22, 2007
The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) went off without any hitch on Sunday. But there is some bad news for prospective candidates — the merit list for successful candidates will be shorter.
For the first time, the WBJEE has introduced cut-off marks, and students will not be called for counselling if they score below that. The policy will be strictly adhered to even if engineering seats remain vacant. The board is also considering conducting the WBJEE along the lines of the IITJEE from next year.
From this year, IITJEE is conducting 2 exams on a single having questions on all 3 required subjects — maths, physics and chemistry. “Though we conduct the exams on the same day, there are separate papers for maths, and physics-chemistry. We are thinking of following the IITJEE pattern, but need to discuss the matter before reaching a conclusion. But, definitely there will be changes from next year’s exam. The first paper would be relatively easy, but the second paper would be crucial,” said Ashim Bose, member secretary of the Joint Entrance Board.
Also, from this year, students will get back their question papers for the IITJEE exam, but since last year, the WBJEE has been taking away the question paper from candidates. This too may change from next time.
Many examinees have complained of having both the Class XI and XII syllabi for the WBJEE, in spite of studying their Class XII syllabus for the HS exams. But the board was in no mood for any change. “It is easier now for students from this state when appearing for All-India competitive exams,” said Bose.
From this year, there will be undisclosed cut-off marks to make it to the merit list, and rank cards would only be issued to students clearing the cut-off. This has been decided after past experience showed that many successful candidates scored below 20 in the exam. This was partly due to the fact, that there are now many more seats for the engineering exam. Besides, many also fared poorly in English. From this year, students would also have to score at least 30 per cent in English and 45 per cent in physics, chemistry and maths.
“We will maintain the quality of students coming to study engineering in this state. The state will decide on cut-off marks, which will vary every year depending on the questions and will inform us. We are ready to have vacant seats in engineering colleges rather than having students of poor merit,” said Bose.
There will only be one phase of counselling for successful engineering candidates. This has been done to avoid complications and make the process hassle-free for guardians and their wards.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

IIMC delays publication of its merit list

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, April 20, 2007
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) will not publish its list of candidates on April 21, as declared earlier.

Infact the delay this time can be indefinite! The IIMC has decided to wait till June if necessary. “It will not be right to term it as indefinite delay but yes we are not coming out with the result as long as we are not advised to do so by the MHRD. And since our session starts from June 23 so the center has enough time to decide,” said Prof. Ashish Bhattacharya, Chairman Admissions of IIMC and a member of the CAT group.

The next hearing of Supreme Court is scheduled on April 23 and it is only after that the situation will become little clearer. The MHRD has made it clear today that if the IIM’s declare their result minus OBC category then their case in Supreme Court will become weak and hence has asked them to wait.

If the OBC quota were introduced then the IIMC would admit 318 students this year. Or else there will be 300 seats. As the period of publication of results is getting stretched the anxiety among the students are increasing. Many students would take admission in other institutes and would face financial loss if they get chance in IIMC and decided to take admission their. “We are aware of the plight of the students. But this is a special situation. The MHRD has already been briefed about this matter and we believe that thinking about the future of the students a decision will be taken quickly,” said Bhattacharya.

Keeping in mind the plight of the students the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has brought out a directive on April 19 asking all the management institutes to keep Rs. 1000 and refund the rest of the fee to the students if they wish to take a admission in some other institution. “This directive we feel will help the students to relax and if their fees is refunded they will not face monetary problem to take admission in the IIMs,” added Bhattacharya.

BOX
q IIMC is set implement 3 percent OBC quota from 2007 academic session
q After CAT result was published on January 2 fresh list of OBC candidates was published by January 31.
q IIMC had called 1038 students for Group Discussion & Personal Interview (GDPI) from CAT
q 773 from general category, 134 students from SC category, 60 students from ST category and 21 students from physically challenged category 50 from OBC category
q Last year IIMC had admitted 300 students this year it is scheduled to admit 318 students after adding 3 percent seat for OBC
q If the OBC category is not implemented then IIMC will not increase seats and will take 300 students.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Army beckons studnets at job fair

Drimi Chaudhuri and Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 20, 2007
If you are 18+, fit and fine, courageous and savour adventure, the Indian armed forces has a job for you. “Do you have it in you?” is what the armed forces is going to ask you in Kolkata at the 16th career fair. The fair starts from Saturday.
The four-day affair at Ice Skating Rink will have all the three services —army, air force and navy — present in a big way for the first time, looking for quality officers.
The three services will set up a Defence Forces Career helpdesk. Specially commissioned documentaries will be screened and attractive pamphlets will be distributed. Counselling sessions will be organised to woo XI 12 pass-outs and fresh graduates.
Wing Commander R.K. Das, ministry of defence (MoD) spokesman in the city, said the Coast Guard would also be present. The ministry has also booked a slot on a Bengali TV channel for a show on Sunday on career prospects, particularly in the navy.
“Our pitch is that no other industry can provide youngsters with work that gives job satisfaction, a sense of adventure, quality of life and a sense of fulfilment for born leaders. An added attraction is the opportunity to go to places where no tourist can ever go, and the opportunity to participate in adventure sports,” said Das.
The pay, however, is not so high as compared to the corporate sector, the MoD spokesman said. But he pointed out that at the recently concluded Army Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi measures have been taken to bridge the gap. The chiefs of all three services presented a joint memo to defence minister A.K. Antony seeking an implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission.
Fort William sources said a major reason behind an extensive presence of tri-services at the career fair is an acute shortage of officers. There are 11,000 in the army, 1,200 in IAF and around 400 in the navy. Das, however, did not agree. “We are looking for quality officers. Most of the field force comes from rural India, but officers usually come from major cities. We are here looking for quality. Moreover, we want to expose today’s Bengali youth to the armed forces and to the benefits of being an Indian defence officer.”
Sanjeev Bolia, chief executive of Affairs, the company organising the fair, said the helpdesk will not only inform students about a career in the sector but will also answer queries through interactive sessions. “The tri-services, unlike many other government sectors, still command immediate respect. We are expecting a footfall of about 15,000 students this year. There will also be on-the-spot admission provisions with some institutes, along with on-the-spot education loans,” he said.
Apart from the armed forces, the fair will also feature other career options.
drimi.chaudhuri@hindustantimes.com
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

CU staggers language papers

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 18, 2007

Call it the population affect. Due to the steep rise in the number of first year students sitting for the Part I examination this year, the Calcutta University (CU) decided on Wednesday to stagger the compulsory language and environmental studies examinations with six set of question papers. While in 2006 92,000 students sat for the Part I examination, in 2007 the number has gone up to 1,20,000.
“This is a warning bell for Calcutta University. We have reached the optimum level in terms of expansion and student intake. We could not have accommodated so many students on the same day,” said Suranjan Das, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic) of CU.
CU already has 160 colleges under its ambit. The university has already urged the higher education ministry to easy off the pressure. As a result the state government has decided to have a new university in North 24- Parganas.
The Under Graduate Council said there will be six set of question papers for the compulsory subjects which, includes Compulsory English and Modern Indian Language, (which could be either Hindi or Bengali) and Environment Studies. Earlier the university used to have three sets of question papers for B.A., B.Sc and B.Com but for the Part I exam commencing on July 4, there will be separate set of questions for the honours and pass students for each stream.
Students however, may not be happy with this measure. “It is obvious that some students will complain of getting difficult and lengthy papers, while others may get a far easier set of questions. But we are confident that there will be no major headache. This is because the students are required to pass in these three subjects,” said a member of the UG Council.
The university will also try to ensure for spot evaluation. “We will have to rethink about the process in which we are conducting our exams and will have to look at the college distribution structure,” said Das. The university in its next UG Council meeting would try and ensure that the zonal centres offer an evaluation for teachers. For this to happen, the university will have to consider giving grants to the colleges to upgrade its infrastructure. The university would also consider increasing the stipulated 4-day duty leave given to the teachers for correction of answer scripts. CU would try to bring in spot evaluation for these three subjects along with the elective subjects to ensure that from 2008, as per the UGC guideline, the university is able to publish Part II result by June.

mou.hindustnatimes@yahoo.com

State fares poorly in NAAC

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 17, 2007

West Bengal colleges have fared poorly in the report of the National Assessment and Accredited Council (NAAC), declared on Tuesday. Among the 91 colleges, most of the institutions have received mediocre to poor grades.
Only Ramkrishna Mission Sikhshan Mandirs, Belur and Banwari Lal Bhalokia College, Asansol have received A grade. The rest of the colleges have received grades between B++ and C.
The government colleges too have not been able to perform well. While Jhargram Raj College, Maulana Azad College, Hooghly Mohsin College and Durgapur Government Colleges have received B++, Goenka College of Commerce has managed B+ where as Haldia Government College got a B grade. Vijaynagar Maha Vidyalaya Hooghly, Kalna College and Chandernagore College have all got B++.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Former students lend a hand to IIMC

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 16, 2007
The former students of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) will now collect funds for their alma mater by offering consultancies to various industries.
The Alumni Association of IIMC, in their executive council meeting held on April 14, decided to offer consultancy on behalf of the association. The fees collected from the consultancy services will be handed over to the association, which in turn will contribute the money to IIMC’s development fund.
“We will charge lower fees as part of our social commitment and also to be competitive. The consultant will keep his logistics cost and hand over the rest of the fee to the institute through the association,” said Ashok Banerjee, secretary of the alumni association.
Top consultants in the city charge up to Rs 50,000 per day but the alumni consultants would charge much less. “With many IIMC alumni having more than 30 years experience, and the reduced rates, we feel it is good enough to attract quite a number of projects,” said Banerjee.
Elaborating on the decision, Banerjee said, “Generally people are reluctant to give donations for the institute. But, if we offer them consultancy projects, where the alumnus can keep a part of the fee, they would not mind if the rest is donated to the institute. In fact, many budding managers will be able to enhance their portfolio by doing good consultancy projects.”
The association will be launching its official website shortly, where the consultancy project offers will be advertised. Interested alumni members can apply for the projects. “We are also roping in IIMC faculty to participate in the consultancy,” said Banerjee.
But a quality check will be kept over the matter. “We will not allow alumni to do lousy projects or handle a project lousily if he is working on behalf of the association,” he said.
The alumni of IIMC have always complained of getting less importance compared to IIM Ahmedabad. But with Ajit Balakrishnan, ex-IIMC and head of rediff.com taking over as the chairman of the board of governors at IIMC, hopes are high about strengthening the IIMC brand image.
“For the first time, a chairman has been chosen who is also our alumnus, so we hope that he will give importance to the alumni’s opinions,” said Banerjee. The association has already bagged 3 projects. Starting from this year, the association will also donate Rs. 1 lakh as scholarship for the needy students of IIMC.

If the OBC quota is implemented from the 2007 academic session, IIMC will need more funds. For infrastructural development, IIMC had asked for Rs. 147 crore (approx) and 50 acres of land. But, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has allotted only Rs.47.5 crore. Apart from this, there is a huge deficit from tuition fee. In its 2-year post-graduate diploma in management programme, there is a deficit of Rs 1 lakh per student, which cannot be covered by tuition fee. And with 600 students currently on campus, the deficit has gone up to Rs. 6 crore, which the IIMC is already paying through consultancy and other such programmes. To work things out, IIMC from 2007, has increased its course fee by Rs 20,000 to make it Rs 2 lakh.mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Students are a sensitive lot, SFI chief blames reactionary forces

The police firing in Nandigram have proved a disaster for the Students Federation of India. With SFI losing elections in all the three faculties of Jadavpur University, state president Sudip Sengupta talks to Mou Chakraborty on the tough task ahead of winning back their support base:

Is the SFI losing popularity among the student community after the police firing in Nandigram that killed 14 villagers and injured many more?
True, the students are a very sensitive lot. The incident in Nandigram has saddened us. But then who is responsible for the Nandigram incident? Four among those killed actually died when the bombs they were carrying burst. In a democratic country, a region cannot be allowed to remain cut off from the rest of the country for over two months. The administration had to act. We need to know who instigated women and children to remain in the forefront of the villagers when the police were marching in. We need to find out those who are trying to resist the progress of Bengal?

Who are they?
The reactionary camp in Bengal includes the Naxalites and the rightist forces. They want to halt the progress of the state. For the last 30 years the Left Front government did a lot for the development of the state. Now the government wants industries. But these forces want to disrupt the law and order of the state. The results are the incidents in Nandigram, JU, Shalboni and many other places. Their success lies in scaring away investors for the state.

It seems the SFI’s image has taken a beating. How do you plan to refurbish your negative image among students?
Industrialisation will happen in Bengal. We have lost JU and Presidency not because of Nandigram but because of our organisational weakness. If we explain to the students of JU and Presidency, how industries will not only ensure them jobs, but will also change the economy and life style, we will win all elections. It is wrong to say that we have lost the student elections after Nandigram. Except in JU, we won all the students’ elections held in 12 colleges after the Nandigram incident.

But how can you deny that the brilliant students are rejecting SFI? You lost in Presidency College after Singur and then again lost in JU after Nandigram.
Brilliant students do not study only in JU and Presidency. They love the state and they have been voting for us. We need to take the right message to the students. We will show them CDs and paper cuttings related to Nandigram and Singur and will explain to them what the state government plans to do on the industrial front. With so many investments coming to Bengal and so many sick industries including Dunlop, Sulekha and Bengal Lamp being revived, the students will understand our point of view.

In JU, the SFI has named nine students for the vandalism. Do you have any proof? A section of students in JU feel that after losing the elections the SFI cadres themselves vandalised the science club and non-teaching staffs’ union rooms to give a bad name to your rivals.
We are sure that these nine students were involved in some way or the other. Though we do not have any proof, but it is an open secret. The teachers and students of JU know that. And for those who think that the SFI supporters have vandalised, well that is not our culture and we feel that such people need to stay in asylums.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

IIMC to play wait and watch game over OBC quota

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 1, 2007

IIMC-CALCUTTA will await the Centre’s orders on implementation of the OBC quota. Nevertheless, studying at the institute and recruiting from it will get costlier from this year.
IIM-C’s governing body on Sunday decided to hike tuition fees for its two-year diploma programmes by Rs 25,000 — from Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per year for students admitted this session onwards. IIM-C also proposes to ask students to pay their first month’s salary or a part of their first two months’ salary to the institute. However there will be discussions on this before the institute takes a final call.
Though the institute had initially thought of a fee hike to accommodate the now-stayed 27 per cent OBC quota, it is no longer linking the hike with the quota. “We need to further upgrade our infrastructure to become a truly global institute. That is why we are going for a fee hike. The OBC quota has nothing to do with it,” director Shekhar Chaudhuri said.
Starting April 12, IIM-C will send out offer letters to students, among whom 3 per cent were initially meant to be from the OBC category. “Since it is a Supreme Court stay order, we will have to wait for a government instruction. But if we do not receive any order till then, we will have to take a decision,” Chaudhuri said.
The institute spends Rs 3.75 lakh on each student every year. With the current tuition fee it has a Rs-1 lakh deficit per student. With 600 students on the campus, the deficit works out to Rs 6 crore.
So far, IIM-C has met the deficit with money from consultancy projects, research programmes and corporate training programmes. Now, along with raising the course fees, the institute will also concentrate on cutting the deficit through other avenues. “We do not take government grants. So whatever the deficit is, we find funds to meet that. At today’s governing body meeting, we decided to reduce subsidy,” Chaudhuri said.
To meet the deficit, the IIMC will hike the placement fee it takes from recruiting companies. The companies are classified into slots, with various fees charged depending on the slot. “Exactly how much extra will be charged from the companies is yet to be decided. But we do not fear losing out on recruiters. The companies get the best students here and it is natural they will have to pay a fee for that,” Chaudhuri said.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Check out the new learning experience in schools

Students, especially those studying in state-run schools are in for a totally new classroom experience. Learning will not only be more enjoyable, but the standards of teaching as well as learning are poised for a massive leap. Mou Chakraborty takes us through the paces of the new system.

From the new academic session, learning will become continuous and comprehensive in schools under the Madhyamik board. While schools will be bidding goodbye to the dreaded cane, and instead usher in activity guidelines, many others would be embracing newer and more effective technologies.
Though many schools would be undergoing changes, the schools under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, will see the biggest changes. Bengali-medium schools would finally, like their English-medium counterparts, have Continuous Comprehensive Education (CCE) from classes V to X. Except for class X, students of all other classes would have to take 8 unit tests besides, the annual examination. The unit tests would be held all through the year and would carry 15 marks and 10 marks in alternative tests.
The board will also introduce the 7-point grading system in schools for students from class VI to IX. Subsequently, students will get their marks along with grades. Grades will be introduced for the Madhyamik exams from 2009. There will only be 4 unit tests, carrying 5 marks each for class X students.
Bengali-medium schools would also get a taste of things once considered to the reserve of swank English-medium schools. There would be at least 2 parent-teacher meetings, conducted by the headmaster in the presence of all teachers. This would ensure more accountability from both parents and teachers.
And this is only part of the story. The syllabus has been restructured, teaching and evaluating methods changed. From now on, questions would be based on: learning, skill, knowledge and application. The syllabus would be broken into manageable units that would have to be finished within a stipulated period of time.
Promotion criteria have been relaxed slightly. Henceforth, students would not have to clear all subjects to get promoted. They can afford to fail in any one subject, while it is 2 papers for some classes. Only in classes IX & X, would students have to clear all subjects.
If you are wondering about the lowering of standards among students, then think again. There will be special remedial classes for students, who have failed to clear any particular subject. School hours will be increased by an extra 30 minutes. This will be utilised for an extra period daily, which would be equally distributed for remedial teaching, lifestyle education and environment studies. There will be around 200 working days every year and students would need at least 70 per cent attendance to get promoted.
While state-run schools are undergoing these changes, city-based English medium schools are forging ahead into uncharted territory. These school are going hi-tech, resorting to digital technology to further enhance learning and changing the traditional teaching-learning process.
Replacing the blackboard with LCD and plasma televisions, and the Internet, students are getting a taste of ‘smart classes’. This unique solution is aimed to enhance and enrich the process of teaching and learning in classrooms. Teachers have instant access to relevant instruction material, and also enables them assess and evaluate student learning. Teachers will be able to use digital resources such as graphics, animation, video clips, etc, in their teaching. While, DPS Ruby Park and Balygunge Shiksha Sadan has already installed ‘smart class’ facilities, DPS Mega City, Garden High and others plan to implement it in this academic session.
Classroom blues
Now are these changes just a fad of the changing times, or is it the real McCoy? A lot of soul-searching was done and the educational system was found wanting.
A lot of schools in the state were suffering from certain drawbacks, which were restricting the advancement of teaching and learning. Teaching was authoritative and teacher-centric. Classes were thus, mechanical and repetitive. So what happened was that students became passive listeners, and rarely participated actively in class. Thus, problem solving skills and tackling real-life situations were lacking in most students.
Lack of effective management skills, under-utilisation coupled with poor-quality teaching aids compounded the problem. What was criminal was that students were not looked after individually. There was a serious lack of teaching methodologies, and there were no tests to effectively assess the continuous progress of the students. There was also a lack in expertise in special education, and girl students were also found to be disadvantaged.
The proposed changes were suggested keeping in mind the suggestions of the National Curriculum Framework and various education commissions. The Framework suggested that students be able to “connect knowledge gained in the classroom to life outside school” and wean students away from rote methods. It is also evident, that it is extremely unfair to judge the merit of students on the basis of just the annual exams.
Testing times
The All Bengal Teachers Association feels that the changes would prove beneficial for students. “It is a very good approach to overhauling the education system. The unit tests will ensure that students study throughout the year, which in turn would boost their academic performance,” said the associations’ general secretary, Shiboprasad Mukhopadhyay.
But many teachers are unhappy. “With so many teaching posts vacant, how will we manage to conduct 32 extra classes throughout the week? Holding 8 unit tests would be an economic burden on schools. Moreover, it is not easy to evaluate 3,000 answer scripts every alternate week,” said Ashok Maity, general secretary of the West Bengal Headmasters Association. Teachers also have a grouse against the reduction in holidays by almost 20 days in a year. Many want the government to allow them paid leave.
Whatever be the opinion, it leaves no doubt, that the infrastructure of schools would be tested. Teachers would have shoulder newer responsibilities, and learn to adapt to the newer methods of teaching. Students likewise, would have to face a somewhat alien mode of learning. It would be the case of either sink or swim with the tide.
mou.hindustanimes@yahoo.com

JU suspends lecturer Mondol

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 13

Jadavpur University (JU) has suspended Monojit Mondol, a lecturer in the English department and has initiated disciplinary action against him.
If Mondol is proved guilty, JU can punish him by taking away his increment, demotion, censor, temporary termination, a public and written apology, fine and compulsory retirement.
The university authorities have charged Mondol for refusing to submit answer scripts of 16 students. Mondal had alleged that the students have scribbled obscene comments on the answer script. Due the lecturer’s refusal, the university could not publish the results of 120 students for three months. An internal enquiry found the students ‘not guilty.’
On April 12, JU sent the suspension letter to Mondol under university’s statue number 116. “The university has decided to suspend Mondol and he has already received the letter,” said Rajat Bandhyopadhyay, registrar of the university.
On April 4, the executive council (EC) of the university recommended disciplinary action against Mondol and demanded his suspension. Though no time limit has been mentioned, Mondol cannot return to the university as long as the disciplinary enquiry against him is not over. However, the university has not decided on the time frame of the enquiry committee.
The vice-chancellor will be on the enquiry committee and will conduct the hearing or will authorise a person to act on his behalf. Mondol will be allowed to present his case. Then the university will frame a charge sheet against Mondol. The findings of the enquiry committee will go to the vice-chancellor after which it will have to be tabled in the EC, which in turn will decide on Mondol’s punishment.
Mondol however had alleged that a section of teachers and officials of the university has always tired to harass him because he belongs to Scheduled Caste and got his job in a quota. Mondol has filed a criminal case against the university officials in this regard in the Alipore Magistrate’s Court.
Mondol had also alleged that the obscene comments written by the students in their answer script was a way of harassing him. He also claimed that his mobile phone was being hacked and he was receiving death threats. Mondol also alleged inaction on part of the university in this regard and filed another case in the Calcutta High Court, which is now pending.
Mondol refused to submit the 16 ‘disputed’ original answer script to the university because he was to produce them as evidence in the court case. Reacting to the suspension letter Mondol’s wife Baishakhi Banerjee said, “We have received the letter. But will react to it only after we consult our lawyer.” The Mondol’s would try to find out whether the university could suspend him especially when the matter is sub-judice.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

JU set to return to normalcy

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 13, 2007
Normalcy is set to return in Jadavpur University, after the non-teaching employees withdrew their indefinite strike on Thursday. The happened after university ordered an inquiry into the recent vandalism on campus, targeting the union office of the non-teaching employees.
Friday looks set to be a ‘normal’ day in JU, after the university authorities formed a one-man inquiry commission, after they had been advised to do so, by Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who is also the chancellor of the university.
The additional chief secretary and principal secretary of the higher education department, Ashok Mohan Chakraborty, has been given the responsibility by the university to investigate into the April 5 incident and find out who were responsible for the vandalism of the science club and non-teaching employees’ union office.
Justifying the university’s decision to give the responsibility to Chakraborty, registrar Rajat Bandhyopadhyay said, “The stress was on ensuring an impartial inquiry. So we had to choose someone who had no political bias, and had no direct link with the university. Even prominent alumni could have been accused of partiality. But, Chakraborty is a top-ranking IAS officer and non-political, so we think he is the best person for the job.” But, the time frame of the inquiry commission and other details have not been finalised yet.
The non-teaching employees’ union is happy with the decision. “What happened on the night of April 5 was no less than criminal. We want the culprits punished, and setting up an inquiry commission is the first step towards it. So we have decided to join work, but the university should a time frame to come out with the findings. Otherwise, we may decide to cease work again,” said Swapan Ghosh, vice president of the union.
The SFI was also looking forward to the findings of the inquiry. “The vandalism done on April 5 was un-student like. We know who the culprits are, but we would be happy if the inquiry commission unmasks them publicly. Breaking the non-teaching employees’ union room, burning their 50-year-old records, stealing Rs. 60,000 from their locker and sending it to Nandigram is no heroic deed. We want the culprits punished,” said Apurbo Chatterjee, state secretary of SFI.
However, the arts, science, and engineering students’ unions are unhappy about the university decision. The student representatives of the three streams will meet Gandhi on Friday, to express their dissatisfaction, and also tell their side of the story. “It is highly undemocratic. A one-man inquiry commission would result in the incident being judged through the eyes of one person only. We wanted the representation of every party in it and had also conveyed it to our vice chancellor,” said Amit Chakraborty, spokesperson of the three unions.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Record number of teaching vacancies in state run colleges

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 13, 2007

There is good news for teachers. For the first time in its history, around 1,500 new posts for lecturers will be created in the colleges of Bengal.
“We are in the process of creating 1,500 new posts in the next two months. This will be the largest number of posts created by us since Independence,” higher education minister Sudarshan Roychoudhuri said at a conference organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Asked why the university needed to create so many posts, Roychoudhuri said: “The number of students all over the state is going up. So, we require more teachers to keep parity in the teacher-student ratio.”
The state will also get three new government colleges during the current financial year — one each in the Sunderbans and north Bengal and the third one in one of the western districts of the state.
The state will also get two state-aided universities, one each in north and south Bengal. The universities and the government colleges will ensure that the students in the remote districts have easy access to higher education.
The state has already urged the Centre to allot two central universities in Bengal. The Centre is already considering the proposal to set up a university in Jalpaiguri. The state may also get a second central university if the government decides to open a branch of Aligarh Muslim University in Murshidabad. A proposal in this regard has been sent to Delhi.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

IIMs sets new admission date

Mou Chakraborty and Rathin Das
Kolkata /Ahmedabad, April 12, 2007

THE SIX IIMs will delay the announcement of their admission lists, but not indefinitely. The list, initially due on Thursday, will be announced on April 21 and made on the basis of the IIMs’ capacities last year.
Because of the Supreme Court stay on reservations for OBCs, the HRD ministry had advised the IIMs to defer the process until further notice. The IIMs, however, decided against an indefinite delay as it would affect intake.
“Students cannot keep waiting. If we delayed admission further, we would have lost good students and it would have caused hassles for the students, too. We have urged the ministry to take this into consideration and take a decision before April 21,” IIM-Calcutta director Ashish Bhattacharya said.
Other than the IIMs, 81 institutes admit students from the CAT merit list and these will announce their lists around April 16, not being bound by the court stay or the government directive. In view of the uncertainty, many students would go to the other 81 institutes even if they could have made it to an IIM, the director said. Even after the IIM lists are out, very few of these bright students would leave their institutes because they would have already paid non-refundable admission fees.
The six directors had a teleconference following the ministry directive and decided unanimously not to defer the process beyond April 21 and to go ahead with the admissions as per last year’s intake capacities. “This decision has been taken to protect the interest of the student community,” IIM-Ahmedabad director Bakul Dholakia said.
The IIM-Calcutta director explained, “We are not trying to defy the government. If the government asks us not to publish the lists even on April 21, we shall do so.”
IIM-Bangalore director Prakash Apte will write to the HRD ministry explaining the decision not to delay the admission process beyond April 21. The admission process takes around three weeks and another three weeks is required for a programme to prepare weaker students.
The total capacity for the regular two-year PGP course in the six IIMs put together is 1450. They had planned an expansion of nearly 150 seats, but the list for these will not be announced on April 21 if no further directive comes till then.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
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Madhyamik schools abolishes final exam fears

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 11, 2007

Fear of annual examinations will be a thing of the past in Madhyamik schools. Students from Class V to Class IX studying in Madhyamik schools will from this academic session get their promotion based on their performance in unit tests and annual examination. Also a failure in two subjects will no longer amount to detention till Class VIII.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has chartered an academic calendar and has asked all schools to start Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). The board has released the CCE, grading and academic calendar booklet on Wednesday and it will be circulated to all schools.
For each subject, there will be eight unit tests through out the year carrying fifteen and ten marks alternately. Based on the marks obtained in the annual exam and all the eight unit tests, a student will get promoted.
“It is extremely unfair to judge a student based on one examination. Hence annual examination cannot be the sole criteria for promotion. The unit tests will also ensure that the students studies throughout the year. The teachers too will get immediate feed back on the students development after each unit test,” said Swapan Sarkar, secretary of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE).
The students who fail in one subject will also get promoted. A Class V student has to study six compulsory subjects. For promotion they will have to pass in a minimum of four subjects. In Class VI, out of seven compulsory subjects, a student will have to pass in five. Those studying in Class VII and VIII study nine compulsory subjects and needs to pass at least in seven. It is only in class IX that the students have to pass in all the nine compulsory subjects to get promotion. “Though this process, the teachers will impart remedial teaching and will ensure that a weak student can upgrade his learning potential,” said Sarkar.
It will be compulsory for students to take the unit tests and annual exam and the schools will have to conduct re-examination for those failing to do so on reasonable grounds.
The guardians too will be made aware of the child’s development. The head of the schools will have to arrange for at least two parent-teachers meeting in a year. Every school will observe a ‘guardian week’, where the guardians will be helped to assist and know about the development of the child.
Though the Class X students have been speared for this year, from 2008-2009 academic session they will have to appear in four unit tests of 25 marks each. In the pre board test exam, the students will require to pass in seven out of eight subjects. The academic calendar has in details explained how the general schools and the schools which host Madhyamik and Higher Secondary exam can have at east 200 teaching days.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com

Campus trouble at JU takes its toll over placement

Mou Chakraborty & Romita Datta
Kolkata, April 11, 2007

The career prospects of Jadavpur University students hit a low on Wednesday when the placement interviews were called off till the non-teaching employees withdraw their ceasework.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) was scheduled to go on a recruitment drive at JU on Wednesday, but the company stayed away after university authorities informed them that it would be impossible to hold the interviews till such time that the campus unrest settled down.
Infosys, which was to conduct interviews on Thursday, and Wipro too have been asked to postpone the programme. The engineering students will have their semester examination from April 23, as a result the interviews will be deferred by at least a month.
“We went to the vice-chancellor but no one seems to be bothered. The university authorities and the non-teaching employees are trying to teach us a lesson by not ensuring smooth placement interviews. We feel victimised for no fault of ours,” said Amit Chakraborty, a fourth-year mechanical engineering students and the spokes person of faculty of Engineering and Technology Students Union (FETSU).
The students fear that the companies will not return to recruit from JU this year. “The companies will go to other colleges and universities. It is true that JU’s name carries a weight, but if they find good students elsewhere why will they come back? Hence it is the loss of the general students who are not involved in any politics,” said Sarmistha Patra, a fourth-year engineering student.
Classes and research work remained suspended as the non-teaching employees refused to call off the strike sespite appeals from Governor and chancellor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and vice-chancellor S.K. Sanyal. The library, laboratory and toilets remained shut.
“We respect them both but everyone is requesting us to bring back peace on the campus and join work. No one is telling us when the inquiry commission will be formed,” Swapan Ghosh, general secretary of the non-teaching employees’ union of JU, said.
JU officials, headed by Sanyal, visited chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday and discussed the situation. Bhattacharya urged the university to conduct an impartial inquiry into the matter. “It is very tough to get an unbiased person who would agree to conduct such an inquiry. We have zeroed in on one such person. If he agrees, we will launch the inquiry commission in the next two days,” said professor Siddhartha Dutta, pro vice-chancellor of JU.
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JU campus interviews in jeopardy

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 10, 2007
The impending campus interviews in Jadavpur University (JU) are in jeopardy following the indefinite cease work by non-teaching employees of the university. Meanwhile, classes were held as usual, in spite of the non-teaching employees not reporting for work on Tuesday
The cease work by the employees, protesting against the ransacking of their union office and the science club on April 5, by unidentified students has put a question mark over the coming campus recruitments beginning this week.
Cognizant Technology Solutions is due to come to JU for recruitment on Wednesday, followed by Infosys on Thursday. The university authorities are not sure how the placement interviews would take place in the campus in the absence of non-teaching employees.
“It is true that are going to be problems, and it will be difficult to convince the non-teaching employees to join work but we do not want the students to suffer and are trying our best,” said Siddhartha Dutta, pro-vice chancellor of JU.
However, according to students, there is no guarantee that the two placement interviews would at all be conducted. “We have gone to the vice chancellor six times today but he has not given us any assurance that the placements would take place. For no reason, the non-teaching employees are playing with the future of innocent students,” said Amit Chakraborty, spokesperson of Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union.
Teachers also admit that the cease work would hamper campus interviews. “The non-teaching employees are responsible for opening the classrooms and building doors, and if these basic things are not done, then it will effect the placement interviews. We have urged the vice chancellor today to look into the matter,” said Keshab Bhattacharya, general secretary of Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA). The students attended classes on Tuesday, by opening the rooms using the spare keys kept with the departmental heads. But, what has really inconvenienced students is that the libraries remained closed and toilets were not cleaned.
The chancellor of JU and Governor of the state, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, had written a letter to the vice chancellor S.K. Sanyal on April 9, urging him to set up an enquiry committee, which would not be ‘prejudiced’ and would make an ‘impartial assessment and recommendations’ and ascertain who were responsible for the incident. The letter further stated, “It is important that a clear message should go to the campus that this kind of vandalism and violence is totally unacceptable.” The university has decided to constitute an inquiry committee by the end of this week.
Meanwhile, the non-teaching employees have replied that they would not take any decision before Wednesday. They even took out a rally inside the campus in the afternoon. “We are aware that campus recruitment will get hampered. But, how can students assume, that after ransacking our union room, we would cooperate with them to help them land plum jobs?” said Swapan Ghosh, vice president of the non-teaching employees’ union of JU.
Talking about innocent students not involved in the vandalism, paying the price, Ghosh said, “It is true that only a handful are guilty, but it is their duty to come out in the open and take a stand.”
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Students’ strike fail to strike a cord in campuses across Bengal

Mou Chakraborty & Subhendu Maiti
Kolkata, April 9
Classes were held as usual in Jadavpur University (JU), despite a state-wide students’ strike called by the SFI protesting against ransacking in JU a few days ago. However, in SFI-dominated colleges and universities, students were not able to attend classes.
While, classes were disrupted in some colleges, students of Jogesh Chandra College and Medical College attended classes after a clash with SFI supporters, during which 2 SFI supporters were hurt. The strike had no impact in Bengal Engineering and Science University, Presidency College and Visva Bharati University. Students in SFI-dominated Rabindra Bharati University, Ashutosh College, South City College did not attend classes.
“We had told earlier that students of this university would foil the strike called by SFI. They cannot get cheap publicity at the expense of a university where they have no mass base. The verdict has been delivered today,” said Amit Chakraborty, the spokes person for all the three students union of the university — Arts Faculty Students’ Union (AFSU), Science Faculty Students’ Union (SFSU) and Faculty for Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU).
The SFI however claimed that the students’ strike was successful all over the state. The SFI supporters met Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and handed them letters. “We have demanded that the state government should take action against them and the chief minister promised that he would look into the matter and take appropriate action,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI.
The SFI on Monday, identified 9 students of the university as the culprits responsible for ransacking the Science Club and the non teaching employees’ union office on April 9, which also includes the names of those involved in breaking the Lexus Motors showroom a few months ago following the unrest in Singur.
About 300 RAF personnel were employed in JU since Monday morning to avoid unpleasant incidents. The non-teaching employees’ union, which has about 1,700 members, had also gone on indefinite strike on Monday. Thus, students who had arrived in JU, hoping to attend classes found the classrooms locked.
“Our teachers helped us open the classrooms in the morning. Some classes could not happen because the locks of the classrooms could not be opened. But most of us attended the classes,” said Chakraborty. While classes were held in the science and engineering streams, students of the history, political science and English departments in the arts stream attended classes.
The teachers of the university under — Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) — today organised a sit in demonstration protesting the April 5 incident, but they also took classes. JUTA has also submitted a letter to the vice chancellor S.K. Sanyal, urging him to restore peace in the campus.
However, trouble might erupt on Tuesday, when the SFI will organise a meeting with non-teaching employees, teachers, and SFI supporters from the city to restore peace in the campus. The anti-SFI students’ unions that are in power right now in JU will have none of it. “Those responsible for the massacre at Nandigram cannot talk about peace. We would definitely take some step if SFI tries to organise any such meeting in our campus and would even consider staging a class boycott on April 10,” said Chakraborty.
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First martyr Mangal Pandey remains forgotten

Drimi Chaudhuri & Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 8

For years, he has been honoured as ‘the first martyr’ of the Indian freedom struggle. On April 8, the day he was hanged 150 years back, Sepoy Mangal Pandey of 34th Bengal Native Infantry, however, remains mostly unsung.
While historians continue to squabble over his birthplace and his actual role in the Sepoy Mutiny, the state government and even the Army remained mostly aloof. Barring a few ceremonies, in different parts of the state, the 150th death anniversary of Pandey was hardly observed across the state on Sunday.
On March 29, 1857, Pandey attacked Sergeant-Major Hewson and Lieutenant Baugh inside the military barracks at Barrackpore. Although these are considered to be the first shots of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, even in the suburban area, about 25 km from the city, the name of Pandey is lost. A bronze bust of Pandey was installed in 2005 at the barracks where he spent his last days, presently housing the state Police Training College (PTC). The column on which the bust stands, bears the legend ‘Sepoy number 1446 of 34th regiment’ who ‘fired at British officers in broad daylight on 29 March, 1857’. The only other sign is a small park by the Hooghly, Mangal Pandey Udyan, named after him in 1978.
Although on Sunday morning, there have been ceremonies like drawing competitions for children; the indifference of the administration has left local residents annoyed. According to them, instead of squabbling over his actual place of birth — Balia or Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh —Pandey should be remembered for his deeds.
“Most locals had no idea how he looked until the figurine was instated. Our children know Pandey’s name, but are not clear about his contribution. It is the government’s job to run awareness campaigns,” said Rathin Sarkar, a local who has been visiting the park for years with fellow evening strollers. He complained that unlike the nearby Gandhi Ghat, where maintaining silence is mandatory, couples have turned the Mangal Pandey Udyan into a lovers paradise.
Inspector General (Training), and PTC in-charge, Gaurav Dutta, said steps are being taken to install a statue of Pandey by the Public Works Department under a banyan tree from which he was reportedly hanged. However, even though the legendary tree still stands, since it is within PTC premises, people are not allowed access. “According to local belief, the banyan tree was where Pandey was hanged, but no one is allowed to visit it because it is within the barracks. Since no one has seen it, the story about the tree continues to spin and at times verges on the absurd,” local resident Biren Chowdhury pointed out.
The scene at the office of Bijoli Kanti Mitra, chairman of Barrackpore municipality, was equally indifferent. “Since we remain busy with civic work, we hardly have time to think of such events. But we are sure the state administration or the Army personnel at Barrackpore have plans to organise events,” a senior official from Mitra’s office said.
The Army, however, was also aloof towards the event. According to Wing Commander R.K. Das, spokesman of the ministry of defence, in Kolkata said, “The Army does not have any ceremony to mark the event because Pandey was not from the Indian Army. However, the Union government has a plethora of programmes lined up to commemorate the event throughout the year.”
The only scheduled programme is by the non-gazetted police workers association, which falls under the office of Inspector General of Police (Control). The association plans to hold programmes till April 8 next year, including sports meets, health camps and various competitions for school children. The apathy of the state administration becomes more obvious with state school education minister Partha De oblivious about the day. While he was not aware what and how the schools planned to mark the day, he passed on responsibility to West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Board secretary Swapan Sarkar was equally indifferent. “We do not have any immediate plans to observe the day.” Sarkar said.
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Statewide SFI strike

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 8, 2007
While the SFI is hopeful that the students’ strike on April 9 will be a success, the students’ unions of the three streams in Jadavpur University (JU) — arts, science, and engineering and technology — will try to ensure normal attendance in the university.
Protesting the ransacking of the science club and the non-teaching staff union room on April 5 by some students after the students’ union election results were declared, the SFI called for the all-Bengal students’ strike. While students of all universities in Bengal have been asked to take part in the strike, only colleges in Kolkata will join in and schools have been exempted from the strike.
Incidentally, the SFI has lost in the elections held for the posts in all the streams, including the arts’ elections where they had not lost in the past 8 years. The Arts faculty Students’ Union (AFSU), Science Faculty Students’ Union (SFSU) and Faculty for Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU) have come together and has decided to foil the students’ strike on April 9.
“While the SFI chooses to remain silent about Nandigram, they do not hesitate to make an issue out of a small incident for which we were not responsible. This is nothing but a political gimmick, and they would not be able to stop students from attending classes on a false issue,” said Amit Chakraborty, spokes person of all the three students’ unions.
The SFI however feels that the strike will be a success. “All we want is that the culprits are identified and they face the toughest punishment,” said Anirban Ghatak, Kolkata district committee member of SFI.
The Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) has condemned the April 5 incident, but will not support the strike. “Instead we will organise a sit inside the campus, and if students turn up we will obviously take the classes,” said Keshab Bhattacharya, general secretary of JUTA.
The SFI will also hold a meeting on April 10 in campus with students, teachers and non-teaching staff from across the state to protest the incident.
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Students get back IIT-JEE question papers

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 8, 2007
For the first time ever, students who had appeared for the IIT-JEE competitive exam got back their answer sheets.
This was done to bring more transparency in the examination system and help students increase their chances of getting into IITs without the help of coaching centres.
From this year onwards, students will get only two chances for appearing in the IIT-JEE exam — the year of taking the higher secondary exam and — the year immediately afterwards. Moreover, only students getting 60 per cent and above in their Class XII exams would be eligible to take the test. “By giving away the question papers it will help freshers and second-timers to better their chances of cracking the exam the next time around,” said A.K. Ghosh, chairman of IIT-JEE at IIT Kharagpur.
This years’ IIT-JEE also saw a change in format. Instead of three papers on Physics, Chemistry and Maths, each of two hours duration, this time only two exams of 3-hour duration were held combining all the 3 subjects. Earlier, students had to tick the correct answer on the question paper itself, which had to be submitted. This year, students were also provided with an Objective Response Sheet (ORS), which they had to submit after marking the correct answers.
The question paper will also be uploaded at the IIT-JEE website along with model answers within a few days. This will ensure that the students can immediately find out how they could have fared in the exam. “Since we did not give back the question papers earlier, the mushrooming coaching centres used to cash in by selling students question papers, often of a dubious nature. From now on, students will have real question papers based on which they can prepare for the IIT-JEE. This is an attempt to curb the proliferation of coaching centres and help encourage students to prepare for themselves. Besides, it will also increase the transparency in the exam system,” said S.K. Dubey, director of IIT-Kharagpur.
The results of IIT-JEE are due on June 1 and counselling was scheduled to start from June 18 but the result may be delayed due to the stay order on OBC quota issued by the Supreme Court.
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Teachers at JU condemn students attack on non teaching staffs

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 7, 2007

The Jadavpur University teachers held an emergency meeting on Saturday, condemning the students who ransacked the science club and workers’ union office.
More than 100 teachers were present at the meeting called by the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA). “We want the university to find out who are responsible for this mess. Such action from the students is really not welcome,” said K. Bhattacharya, general secretary of JUTA.
Bhattacharya said that the acts of arson and vandalism on Thursday night could never be acceptable as a mode of protest or form of student politics. “We are deeply disturbed that the science faculty students’ union has demanded the immediate dismissal of two members of JUTA on grounds that they attacked the students, which is completely false and unfounded. We demand immediate withdrawal of such demands.”
The teachers have now taken up the onus of educating the students and spreading peace. They will distribute leaflets to the students on Monday, giving out the message of peace and condemning the acts of vandalism. They will also organise a sit-in demonstration the same day.
The AIDSO has condemned the SFI’s decision to call a statewide students’ strike on Monday. “It is they who are responsible for whatever happened on Thursday. Now they are trying to hide their face behind this mask. They cannot accept the fact that they have lost the elections and are now trying to divert the media attention in a different direction. Since the SFI is at fault, we do not find any logic behind their calling a strike,” said Srabani Kundu, office secretary of AIDSO.
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Tension prevails in JU campus

Mou Chakraborty and Saptarshi Banerjee
Kolkata, April 6, 2007

Despite Good Friday being a holiday, tension prevailed at the campus of Jadavpur University. There was an edgy calm and media persons were greeted with curious looks. Students were seen huddling together and questions to what happened on Thursday were met with blank and suspicious looks. Statements like, “We are not talking. Why don’t you talk to the authorities and various student union head,” were made to the media.
The trouble broke out after SFI lost the elections and continued till night in phases. Both the science club and the karmachari sansad were ransacked. The fire at the workers union started shortly after midnight. Initially, the fire brigade was not allowed to enter the campus, but good sense later prevailed.
Both the places, which is located just opposite the university’s central library was in a shambles. All glass panes on both the locations were broken. The doors were smashed; chairs and tables were scatted around the room. Even the computer monitors were not spared and pictures of Communist icons —Marx and Engels were lying on the floor. The blades of the fans were bent.
While the Jadavpur University authorities have promised a thorough internal probe, the police would conduct a parallel investigation to find out who actually carried out the vandalism on Thursday night.
Rajat Bandopadhyay, registrar of Jadavpur University said, “This is a work of a small section of students. We are also apprehending involvement of antisocial elements as well.” He said that around midnight the authorities received information that around 200 to 250 students had come out of the hostel with lathis and rods and were going towards the rail gate. The registrar added, “After sometime, we received information that they have entered the campus by overpowering the security guards. The guards were also taken hostage.” However no students have been identified because the incidents happened at night.
Bandopadhyay said, “The people who had lost the elections had earlier come to me to seek advice, as they were feeling insecure. I told them to stay outside the campus.”
Amit Chakraborty, the outgoing general secretary of FETSU said, “The SFI started the trouble with outsiders pitching in. These incidents have happened in the past also.” According to Chakraborty, the trouble started when the winners who had taken out a victory procession was stopped and attacked by two teachers and about 100 armed men from the workers union. He said, “The registrar is playing the role of a spectator. Six students of the winning group had to be hospitalised.” Chakraborty added that none of students affiliated to winning group have carried out the ransacking.
The SFI meanwhile has called a statewide Bengal students’ strike on Monday. Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI, said activists have started a sit-in demonstration in front of the JU campus from Friday evening. Sengupta said that they would continue with the demonstration till the guilty are identified and punished. The SFI leader said outsiders were also involved.
Parimal Debnath president of Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) said, “We will try to restore normalcy soon. We have also submitted a letter to the authorities saying that no teachers have played a role in the ransacking.”
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SFI loses more seats in JU elections

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, April 5, 2007
The consequences of the Nandigram firing last month are being felt by the CPI(M) even at the college and university level. The student wing of the party, SFI has lost the student elections in Presidency College and now it has been virtually wiped out in Jadavpur University.
On Thursday, the SFI lost all 4 students’ union panel seats in the science faculty and 5 seats in the engineering faculty in JU. Earlier, it had lost its 8-year-old grip over the arts faculty after having lost in the elections held on March 28. The SFI however, had something to cheer about, after they bagged all 38 seats in the elections held in South City College on Thursday.
SFI leaders admitted in private that the controversial land acquisition policy of the state government in Singur and the carnage in Nandigram were the principal causes of the setback. At least, students belonging to the elite colleges in Kolkata have given the thumbs down to the state policy.
“The students have definitely not liked the rude stance that the SFI had taken over the Nandigram issue. They have only remained the mouthpiece of their parent party and have never tried to understand nor answer the questions being asked by students about the atrocities on small farmers,” said Proloy Kumar Saha, outgoing general secretary of the Science Faculty Students’ Union, which will once again be controlled by ‘We the Independent’.
Of the 72 class representative (CR) seats in the science faculty, ‘We the Independent’ bagged 67 seats, while 2 seats went to AIDSO and only 3 went to SFI. In the engineering faculty elections, out of 160 CR seats — Democratic Students Front (DSF) got 158 seats — where as, SFI managed only 2 seats.
“Most students who take admission in JU are good students and think independently. The verdict given by the students in all the three faculties — arts, science and engineering — shows that students have rejected the land policy adopted by the Left Front government,” said Amit Chakraborty of DSF.
Meanwhile, the SFI ascribed its defeat in JU to organisational failure. “We will definitely come back. What we need to do is make students understand that the state policy to set up more industries will only brighten the future of the students. Even, those who are mouthing anti-land acquisition and anti-industrialisation slogans will have to scout for jobs once they are out of the university. This time students belonging to different political colours have come together to oppose us. We just need to make students see the real picture,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI.
The elections however, did not end on a peaceful note. After winning the election, students had taken out a victory rally within the campus, when they clashed with a section of the non-teaching staff.
“The non-teaching staff union is run by the CPM and obviously they could not tolerate our success. When we took out our victory rally they came out with rods and attacked us. Seven students were injured and had to be admitted to Arobindo Sheba Kendra,” alleged Saha.
The SFI however had a different version: “Out of joy they lost all sense and attacked some members of the non-teaching staff. This hooliganism is not expected from students and it is clear that they will not make the right use of their power,” said Sengupta.
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Central panel to monitor academic bodies

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, April 3, 2007

The Centres’ move to form a panel to regulate autonomous accrediting bodies for academic institutions has met with rumblings. The move, academicians feel will harm autonomy.
The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) plans to move a bill to form the National Monitoring and Coordinating Board for Accreditation’ (NMCBA), which will monitor the functioning of autonomous wings like National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE), National Board of Accreditation (NBA), the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The MHRD has sent the draft bill to all apex bodies for their comments. The bill according to many officials of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) will mean its death sentence. “We want the Centre to have a re-look,” said Professor V. S. Prasad, director of NAAC. If this bill is passed, all accreditation agencies will have to take recognition from the NMCBA. The board will be given the authority of monitoring assessment and accreditation of all higher education institutes. It will also control the purse strings of all agencies.
The proposed bill, according to many educationists, is an attempt by the Centre to curb the powers of all autonomous higher education assessment agencies. “How can the Centre forget that education is still under the concurrent list and the ground reality in every state is different? At a time when we need decentralisation, the Centre is trying to gain complete control over higher education,” said an official of the AICTE.
Many do not like the composition of NMCBA and feels that the Centre wants complete control over accrediting agencies. “The very existence of this board will be in conflict with that of the accreditation agencies. The composition of the board suggests complete bureaucratisation,” said a member of the UGC. However the chairman of UGC, Sukhadeo Thorat, feels it is still too early to comment. “I have just received a copy of the bill. After I go through it, we will send our comments to the MHRD,” he said.
The MHRD however has made it clear that the bill is not aimed at curbing powers from any organisation. “While going for higher education, students should know how a particular department of an institution ranks. Stand-alone accreditation bodies have their drawbacks and they cannot come out with such reports. This is where a central board can come into play,” said a high placed official of Higher Education Department of MHRD. “We want the academia to have a look at the draft bill and give us suggestions,” he added.
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