Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 28, 2007
The last day of counselling on Thursday for admission to law colleges in Kolkata was stopped abruptly due to students’ protests following the university move to curtail seats without prior information.
Counselling was taking place at Hazra Law College since Monday and there were 1,280 seats up for grabs for the BA LLB course at the 6 law colleges under Calcutta University. The varsity had called 1,931 students for counselling and on Thursday, applicants realised 140 seats had been reduced at Surendranath Law College.
Angry students blocked Hazra Road from 12.30 pm to 6 pm. Seven students were injured in a lathi-charge when the police dispersed the protesters. “So many students have come to take admission, only to discover that seats have been curtailed. We will not let this happen,” said Abhijit Nashkar, unit secretary of All Indian Students Block (AISB) at Hazra Law College.
There were originally 840 seats in four government law colleges including Hazra Law College, Jogesh Chandra Law College, South Calcutta Law College and Surendranath Law College Two private law colleges, Kingston Law College and Vikas Bharti Law College offer 80 seats each. “I had not taken admission at a general degree college, because I was sure I would get admission in a government law college. Now that will not be possible and I only have the option of getting admitted to a private law college. But then, I cannot pay Rs 35,000 as fees every year,” said Poulami Ghosh, who has ranked 1,088 in the entrance exam.
CU authorities however, claim they had no other option but to reduce the number of seats. An inspection carried out by the university found that Surendranath Law College did not have adequate number of teachers and did not even have a principal. “According to Bar Council rules, colleges need to maintain a 1:40 teacher- student ratio,” said Imtiaz Gulam Ahmed, dean of law, CU.
Ahmed refused to accept that students did not know about the curtailing of seats. “After the seats were curtailed, all the law colleges had put up the information on their notice board. We do not have money to put up advertisements in newspapers every time. If students do not bother to look up the notice board we cannot help,” he said.
Teachers at the counselling session however, alleged that it was neither the university nor the bar council but Surendranath Law College that was at fault. According to them, the college did not take in full-time teachers even after posts were sanctioned. Instead, they preferred to hire contractual teachers.
The SFI said AISB should not have misguided guardians. “The university owes an explanation for the matter but, nothing can be done if seats are curtailed to maintain quality,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Law counselling ends on abrupt note
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 28, 2007
The last day of counselling on Thursday for admission to law colleges in Kolkata was stopped abruptly due to students’ protests following the university move to curtail seats without prior information.
Counselling was taking place at Hazra Law College since Monday and there were 1,280 seats up for grabs for the BA LLB course at the 6 law colleges under Calcutta University. The varsity had called 1,931 students for counselling and on Thursday, applicants realised 140 seats had been reduced at Surendranath Law College.
Angry students blocked Hazra Road from 12.30 pm to 6 pm. Seven students were injured in a lathi-charge when the police dispersed the protesters. “So many students have come to take admission, only to discover that seats have been curtailed. We will not let this happen,” said Abhijit Nashkar, unit secretary of All Indian Students Block (AISB) at Hazra Law College.
There were originally 840 seats in four government law colleges including Hazra Law College, Jogesh Chandra Law College, South Calcutta Law College and Surendranath Law College Two private law colleges, Kingston Law College and Vikas Bharti Law College offer 80 seats each. “I had not taken admission at a general degree college, because I was sure I would get admission in a government law college. Now that will not be possible and I only have the option of getting admitted to a private law college. But then, I cannot pay Rs 35,000 as fees every year,” said Poulami Ghosh, who has ranked 1,088 in the entrance exam.
CU authorities however, claim they had no other option but to reduce the number of seats. An inspection carried out by the university found that Surendranath Law College did not have adequate number of teachers and did not even have a principal. “According to Bar Council rules, colleges need to maintain a 1:40 teacher- student ratio,” said Imtiaz Gulam Ahmed, dean of law, CU.
Ahmed refused to accept that students did not know about the curtailing of seats. “After the seats were curtailed, all the law colleges had put up the information on their notice board. We do not have money to put up advertisements in newspapers every time. If students do not bother to look up the notice board we cannot help,” he said.
Teachers at the counselling session however, alleged that it was neither the university nor the bar council but Surendranath Law College that was at fault. According to them, the college did not take in full-time teachers even after posts were sanctioned. Instead, they preferred to hire contractual teachers.
The SFI said AISB should not have misguided guardians. “The university owes an explanation for the matter but, nothing can be done if seats are curtailed to maintain quality,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 28, 2007
The last day of counselling on Thursday for admission to law colleges in Kolkata was stopped abruptly due to students’ protests following the university move to curtail seats without prior information.
Counselling was taking place at Hazra Law College since Monday and there were 1,280 seats up for grabs for the BA LLB course at the 6 law colleges under Calcutta University. The varsity had called 1,931 students for counselling and on Thursday, applicants realised 140 seats had been reduced at Surendranath Law College.
Angry students blocked Hazra Road from 12.30 pm to 6 pm. Seven students were injured in a lathi-charge when the police dispersed the protesters. “So many students have come to take admission, only to discover that seats have been curtailed. We will not let this happen,” said Abhijit Nashkar, unit secretary of All Indian Students Block (AISB) at Hazra Law College.
There were originally 840 seats in four government law colleges including Hazra Law College, Jogesh Chandra Law College, South Calcutta Law College and Surendranath Law College Two private law colleges, Kingston Law College and Vikas Bharti Law College offer 80 seats each. “I had not taken admission at a general degree college, because I was sure I would get admission in a government law college. Now that will not be possible and I only have the option of getting admitted to a private law college. But then, I cannot pay Rs 35,000 as fees every year,” said Poulami Ghosh, who has ranked 1,088 in the entrance exam.
CU authorities however, claim they had no other option but to reduce the number of seats. An inspection carried out by the university found that Surendranath Law College did not have adequate number of teachers and did not even have a principal. “According to Bar Council rules, colleges need to maintain a 1:40 teacher- student ratio,” said Imtiaz Gulam Ahmed, dean of law, CU.
Ahmed refused to accept that students did not know about the curtailing of seats. “After the seats were curtailed, all the law colleges had put up the information on their notice board. We do not have money to put up advertisements in newspapers every time. If students do not bother to look up the notice board we cannot help,” he said.
Teachers at the counselling session however, alleged that it was neither the university nor the bar council but Surendranath Law College that was at fault. According to them, the college did not take in full-time teachers even after posts were sanctioned. Instead, they preferred to hire contractual teachers.
The SFI said AISB should not have misguided guardians. “The university owes an explanation for the matter but, nothing can be done if seats are curtailed to maintain quality,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Best brains desert govt schools
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 27, 2007
It can be called brain drain. Poor infrastructure and lack of choice of subjects are the chief reasons why government schools are losing meritorious students in Class XI. Government schools are unable to offer computer science and high scoring laboratory based subjects like biology, geography, statistics, home management and nutrition.
Crestfallen at losing the best brains, teachers have approached the school education department for immediate remedy. “Students want to take up subjects like computer science but we do not have full time teachers. Many students have left government schools and we have submitted a memorandum to the school education department,” said Dipak Das, general secretary of Wes Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association.
There are 44 government schools and each of them has at least 10 computers. The problem is lack of quality teachers. The companies provide for computer and teachers. The schools collect Rs 35 every month from all students as computer education fee. “The teachers given by the companies are fit to make the students computer literate. However, they cannot handle the course and we do not have control over them,” Das said.
Teachers blame the companies for not maintaining the computers and many of them are out of order. “Hindu School gives Rs 35000 to the companies monthly. Instead of giving money to the companies, the government can provide for two full time teachers and also maintain the computers. It will be a more profitable proposition,” said Das.
The teachers have also urged the government to select computer science teachers through the Public Service Commission exams before the beginning of the next academic session. So by 2008, the government schools can retain their best students.
Many government schools are unable to offer modern lab based subjects like biology, geography and statistics. “Most of the schools do not have teachers and laboratory for these subjects,” said Das.
“Lab based subjects are more scoring and that is why students want to take it up. Our inability to cater to this popular demand is costing us. Despite the teachers best efforts, we are unable to retain talent,” Das added. Many government schools are also unable to offer top arts subjects like education and music, which is very scoring and has a high demand. Reacting to the demand, school education minister Partha De said, “We will look into the problem and see what can be done.”
Meanwhile, three government schools, one in Kalyani and two in Cooch Behar are not offering science stream thus losing out their best students to government sponsored and private schools in the locality.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 27, 2007
It can be called brain drain. Poor infrastructure and lack of choice of subjects are the chief reasons why government schools are losing meritorious students in Class XI. Government schools are unable to offer computer science and high scoring laboratory based subjects like biology, geography, statistics, home management and nutrition.
Crestfallen at losing the best brains, teachers have approached the school education department for immediate remedy. “Students want to take up subjects like computer science but we do not have full time teachers. Many students have left government schools and we have submitted a memorandum to the school education department,” said Dipak Das, general secretary of Wes Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association.
There are 44 government schools and each of them has at least 10 computers. The problem is lack of quality teachers. The companies provide for computer and teachers. The schools collect Rs 35 every month from all students as computer education fee. “The teachers given by the companies are fit to make the students computer literate. However, they cannot handle the course and we do not have control over them,” Das said.
Teachers blame the companies for not maintaining the computers and many of them are out of order. “Hindu School gives Rs 35000 to the companies monthly. Instead of giving money to the companies, the government can provide for two full time teachers and also maintain the computers. It will be a more profitable proposition,” said Das.
The teachers have also urged the government to select computer science teachers through the Public Service Commission exams before the beginning of the next academic session. So by 2008, the government schools can retain their best students.
Many government schools are unable to offer modern lab based subjects like biology, geography and statistics. “Most of the schools do not have teachers and laboratory for these subjects,” said Das.
“Lab based subjects are more scoring and that is why students want to take it up. Our inability to cater to this popular demand is costing us. Despite the teachers best efforts, we are unable to retain talent,” Das added. Many government schools are also unable to offer top arts subjects like education and music, which is very scoring and has a high demand. Reacting to the demand, school education minister Partha De said, “We will look into the problem and see what can be done.”
Meanwhile, three government schools, one in Kalyani and two in Cooch Behar are not offering science stream thus losing out their best students to government sponsored and private schools in the locality.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Normality returned to South City Day College on Tuesday after five days of turmoil.
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 26, 2007
Classes will begin from July 7 and the teachers have promised to cooperate. The admission process will also go on normally.
The teachers of the college met principal Khogen Adhikari and the latter managed to convince them into withdrawing their resignations. “The teachers agreed to take back their resignations. They are not against the students but it had become impossible for them to continue tolerating the protests organised by the students for the wrong reasons. I understand their position,” Adhikari said.
The teachers urged the college administration to ensure that a healthy and peaceful atmosphere on the campus and to encourage academic activities. They have also asked the administration to take steps for the safety of the teaching and non-teaching employees during students agitations or similar situations.
Though the teachers have taken back their resignations, the matter has to be reported to the governing body of the college.
The students had submitted a written apology to the teachers on June 22, a day after all 30 teachers of the college put in their papers in protest against a students’ agitation.
The SFI-led students’ union had gheraoed the teachers for over 10 hours, alleging that transparency was not being maintained in the admission process. The teachers, however, denied the allegation.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 26, 2007
Classes will begin from July 7 and the teachers have promised to cooperate. The admission process will also go on normally.
The teachers of the college met principal Khogen Adhikari and the latter managed to convince them into withdrawing their resignations. “The teachers agreed to take back their resignations. They are not against the students but it had become impossible for them to continue tolerating the protests organised by the students for the wrong reasons. I understand their position,” Adhikari said.
The teachers urged the college administration to ensure that a healthy and peaceful atmosphere on the campus and to encourage academic activities. They have also asked the administration to take steps for the safety of the teaching and non-teaching employees during students agitations or similar situations.
Though the teachers have taken back their resignations, the matter has to be reported to the governing body of the college.
The students had submitted a written apology to the teachers on June 22, a day after all 30 teachers of the college put in their papers in protest against a students’ agitation.
The SFI-led students’ union had gheraoed the teachers for over 10 hours, alleging that transparency was not being maintained in the admission process. The teachers, however, denied the allegation.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Wanted: teaching assistants at IIMC
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 24, 2007
Students pursuing their masters’ degree or PhD at institutions such as Jadavpur University and Calcutta University might consider heading to the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) for a teaching post.
From this year, IIMC has decided to hire bright university students as teaching assistants to teach their first-year students. Till now, second-year students of IIMC used to double up as teaching assistants, by helping freshers to understand whatever is taught after regular classes. “The decision to hire teaching assistants for first-year students has already been taken. Soon we will start recruitment,” said Anindya Sen, dean of program and research initiative, IIMC.
Explaining why second-year students were relieved of their assignment, Sen said, “The second-year students are under a lot of academic pressure and they also have to do their internships at various companies. It becomes very difficult for them to help first-year students with their study lessons. Sometimes they had to do so at very late hours and we decided to do away with it.”
The teaching assistants hired from various universities will have to attend classes at IIM along with the freshers and then stay back on campus for “tutoring sessions”. “We will hire students specialising on the module being taught in class. Thus the teaching assistant should have in-dept knowledge about the subject and should be able to handle teaching others,” said Sen.
This year 300 students have taken admission in IIMC and they have 3 semesters in their first-year covering 17 different courses. There will be different assistants for each of these courses. The teaching assistants will have to come to campus at least 5 days a week for a duration of 3 months, which is the timeframe of each semester. “After the course gets over, assistants can go back to their respective campuses and do their research work,” the dean Sen.
Apart from helping students understand their lessons, teaching assistants will be also required to correct answer scripts of class tests and quizzes. The IIMC campus is in the outskirts of the city and it might pose a problem for scholars travelling there. To counter that, IIMC is lining up an attractive compensation package. Apart from good money, the teaching assistants will be given an appointment letter as well as certificate of participation.
They will also have the rare distinction of both studying and teaching at IIMC, which they can put in their CV. That not too bad is it?
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 24, 2007
Students pursuing their masters’ degree or PhD at institutions such as Jadavpur University and Calcutta University might consider heading to the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) for a teaching post.
From this year, IIMC has decided to hire bright university students as teaching assistants to teach their first-year students. Till now, second-year students of IIMC used to double up as teaching assistants, by helping freshers to understand whatever is taught after regular classes. “The decision to hire teaching assistants for first-year students has already been taken. Soon we will start recruitment,” said Anindya Sen, dean of program and research initiative, IIMC.
Explaining why second-year students were relieved of their assignment, Sen said, “The second-year students are under a lot of academic pressure and they also have to do their internships at various companies. It becomes very difficult for them to help first-year students with their study lessons. Sometimes they had to do so at very late hours and we decided to do away with it.”
The teaching assistants hired from various universities will have to attend classes at IIM along with the freshers and then stay back on campus for “tutoring sessions”. “We will hire students specialising on the module being taught in class. Thus the teaching assistant should have in-dept knowledge about the subject and should be able to handle teaching others,” said Sen.
This year 300 students have taken admission in IIMC and they have 3 semesters in their first-year covering 17 different courses. There will be different assistants for each of these courses. The teaching assistants will have to come to campus at least 5 days a week for a duration of 3 months, which is the timeframe of each semester. “After the course gets over, assistants can go back to their respective campuses and do their research work,” the dean Sen.
Apart from helping students understand their lessons, teaching assistants will be also required to correct answer scripts of class tests and quizzes. The IIMC campus is in the outskirts of the city and it might pose a problem for scholars travelling there. To counter that, IIMC is lining up an attractive compensation package. Apart from good money, the teaching assistants will be given an appointment letter as well as certificate of participation.
They will also have the rare distinction of both studying and teaching at IIMC, which they can put in their CV. That not too bad is it?
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Friday, June 22, 2007
Changing courses mid-stream
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 22, 2007
A recent trend among students has put those wanting to study English as their first option at a disadvantage.
Mohit Kashyap (name changed), a science student of St. Stephens’ School has got 70 per cent in his ISC exam. He could not crack JEE and his percentage would not guarantee him a BSc honours seat in any reputed college. Hence, Mohit has applied for English honours in the better colleges in the city and hope to get calls from more than one college because his percentage is higher compared to his competitors from the humanities.
“I could not apply at Lady Brabourne College, because I have 69 per cent aggregate, whereas the college is asking for at least 70 per cent. But many of my friends who had science in their plus-two are applying,” said Anusha Bhowmick, (name changed) who passed out of South Point High School. “This is not right. It is easy for the science students to have a better aggregate. The colleges should have separate eligibility criteria for those seeking English honours from different streams,” she added.
The teachers are helpless. “We know such things happen. But we do not have any option other than preparing a merit list giving equal weightage to all students. That is the university rule,” said Debabrata Chowdhury, principal of Ashutosh College. “The main problem is that while students from any stream can apply for humanities, it is not applicable the other way round. Those who studied humanities in the higher secondary level remain in a disadvantageous position,” he added.
Mohit’s father explained why his son applied for an English course, “When he passed Class X with 80 per cent marks, we insisted that he took up science because that is what we know meritorious students do. And an English honours degree was always the last option for us in case he was unable to do well or crack JEE. English can now offer him several other avenues.”
Some teachers do not object to this line of reasoning. “Some not-so good students from the science stream may apply for English honours, but then they won’t get the subject unless they have the minimum required marks in English. No mater from which stream a student comes they have to be good in the subject,” said Monidipa Ray, principal of Gokhale College.
Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla Girls High School, feels another reason for science students later opting for humanities is immaturity. “I have seen several cases where students discovered they did not like the stream, several months after taking up the course. At Class XI, students are too young to decide which stream to opt for and they take up science thinking it would increase their stature among friends and relatives. But after Class XII, they realise their mistake and are forced to opt for a humanities degree.”
Jadapur University for instance, has seen many science students taking up English. “Last year a successful WBJEE medical candidate chose English because he loved the subject more. Since we conduct a written test, we can distinguish the genuine cases,” said Nilanjana Gupta, professor of English at JU.
mou.chakraborty@hindustantimes.com
Kolkata, June 22, 2007
A recent trend among students has put those wanting to study English as their first option at a disadvantage.
Mohit Kashyap (name changed), a science student of St. Stephens’ School has got 70 per cent in his ISC exam. He could not crack JEE and his percentage would not guarantee him a BSc honours seat in any reputed college. Hence, Mohit has applied for English honours in the better colleges in the city and hope to get calls from more than one college because his percentage is higher compared to his competitors from the humanities.
“I could not apply at Lady Brabourne College, because I have 69 per cent aggregate, whereas the college is asking for at least 70 per cent. But many of my friends who had science in their plus-two are applying,” said Anusha Bhowmick, (name changed) who passed out of South Point High School. “This is not right. It is easy for the science students to have a better aggregate. The colleges should have separate eligibility criteria for those seeking English honours from different streams,” she added.
The teachers are helpless. “We know such things happen. But we do not have any option other than preparing a merit list giving equal weightage to all students. That is the university rule,” said Debabrata Chowdhury, principal of Ashutosh College. “The main problem is that while students from any stream can apply for humanities, it is not applicable the other way round. Those who studied humanities in the higher secondary level remain in a disadvantageous position,” he added.
Mohit’s father explained why his son applied for an English course, “When he passed Class X with 80 per cent marks, we insisted that he took up science because that is what we know meritorious students do. And an English honours degree was always the last option for us in case he was unable to do well or crack JEE. English can now offer him several other avenues.”
Some teachers do not object to this line of reasoning. “Some not-so good students from the science stream may apply for English honours, but then they won’t get the subject unless they have the minimum required marks in English. No mater from which stream a student comes they have to be good in the subject,” said Monidipa Ray, principal of Gokhale College.
Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla Girls High School, feels another reason for science students later opting for humanities is immaturity. “I have seen several cases where students discovered they did not like the stream, several months after taking up the course. At Class XI, students are too young to decide which stream to opt for and they take up science thinking it would increase their stature among friends and relatives. But after Class XII, they realise their mistake and are forced to opt for a humanities degree.”
Jadapur University for instance, has seen many science students taking up English. “Last year a successful WBJEE medical candidate chose English because he loved the subject more. Since we conduct a written test, we can distinguish the genuine cases,” said Nilanjana Gupta, professor of English at JU.
mou.chakraborty@hindustantimes.com
Final decision on teachers’ resignation in 24 hrs
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 22, 2007
The students of South City Day College also known as Heramba Chandra College on Friday submitted a written apology to their principal, but teachers are yet to take back their resignations.
On Thursday, angry and tired of being gheraoed by the SFI-ruled students’ union, all 30 teachers had sent their resignations to principal Khogen Adhikari. The SFI supporters had alleged the college was not maintaining transparency in the admission process and gheraoed the teachers from 12 noon till 10.15 pm. The teachers countered that with the college starting online admission procedure from this year, the SFI was having problems in admitting their students and hence was creating trouble.
“The students have given a written apology and has promised to cooperate in running the college smoothly. I have requested all the teachers to take back their resignation letters but they have asked a day’s time for a rethink,” said Adhikari.
“If they decide to take back their resignations then the matter will end there. Otherwise, I will have to place the resignation letters at the next governing body meeting of the college,” the principal said. College authorities are convinced that the teachers will take back their resignation letters. The chairman of the college governing body Arijit Das, has also requested the teachers to change their decision.
Though teachers have refused to join work until they take their final decision, they have promised to help with the admission procedure. “We will go ahead with admissions from the first merit list on Saturday. I understand the problem of the teachers and support their view,” said Adhikari.
Teachers are quite perturbed about the situation they face in college. “We come here to impart education. Why will we get gheraoed repeatedly on every pretext? We are not going to tolerate it anymore,” said teachers of the college. Not only that, non-teaching employees are also not ready to get back to work unless the college authorities guarantee the students will “now learn to behave themselves”.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 22, 2007
The students of South City Day College also known as Heramba Chandra College on Friday submitted a written apology to their principal, but teachers are yet to take back their resignations.
On Thursday, angry and tired of being gheraoed by the SFI-ruled students’ union, all 30 teachers had sent their resignations to principal Khogen Adhikari. The SFI supporters had alleged the college was not maintaining transparency in the admission process and gheraoed the teachers from 12 noon till 10.15 pm. The teachers countered that with the college starting online admission procedure from this year, the SFI was having problems in admitting their students and hence was creating trouble.
“The students have given a written apology and has promised to cooperate in running the college smoothly. I have requested all the teachers to take back their resignation letters but they have asked a day’s time for a rethink,” said Adhikari.
“If they decide to take back their resignations then the matter will end there. Otherwise, I will have to place the resignation letters at the next governing body meeting of the college,” the principal said. College authorities are convinced that the teachers will take back their resignation letters. The chairman of the college governing body Arijit Das, has also requested the teachers to change their decision.
Though teachers have refused to join work until they take their final decision, they have promised to help with the admission procedure. “We will go ahead with admissions from the first merit list on Saturday. I understand the problem of the teachers and support their view,” said Adhikari.
Teachers are quite perturbed about the situation they face in college. “We come here to impart education. Why will we get gheraoed repeatedly on every pretext? We are not going to tolerate it anymore,” said teachers of the college. Not only that, non-teaching employees are also not ready to get back to work unless the college authorities guarantee the students will “now learn to behave themselves”.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Thursday, June 21, 2007
South City teachers quit en masse
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 21, 2007
ALL 30 teachers of Heramba Chandra College, popularly known as South City Day College, resigned on Thursday, putting a question mark on the BA and BSc Part-II examinations on Friday.
The mass resignation followed a gherao by the SFI-ruled union. The agitating students were alleging foul play in the admission procedure, which has gone online from this year. The teachers, on the other hand, said the SFI was upset because it could no longer push undeserving students for admission.
The college had put up a list of selected candidates on Tuesday and admission was scheduled to begin on Thursday. Because of the gherao, however, over 300 students went back without taking admission.
“Our objective was to prevent admission without transparency. The admission board has no student representative and is taking decisions against the interests of deserving students," said Indrajit Ghosh, the SFI’s Kolkata president.
Teachers, however, said the union was represented on the committee. “Their problem is that this online system does not allow them to push their own candidates,” said S. Biswas, a teacher.
“Disgusted with the ghearo, all 30 teachers submitted their resignations to me in the evening. I too am a teacher and share their views,” principal Khogen Adhikari said.
The resignation makes Friday’s examination uncertain for 791 Part-II students. “After the gruelling gherao, our teachers will not be able to take exam duty. We have asked the university to change the venue or make other arrangements,” the principal said.
Calcutta University’s deputy controller of exams, Debashish Biswas, hoped that the exam venue would not have to be changed.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 21, 2007
ALL 30 teachers of Heramba Chandra College, popularly known as South City Day College, resigned on Thursday, putting a question mark on the BA and BSc Part-II examinations on Friday.
The mass resignation followed a gherao by the SFI-ruled union. The agitating students were alleging foul play in the admission procedure, which has gone online from this year. The teachers, on the other hand, said the SFI was upset because it could no longer push undeserving students for admission.
The college had put up a list of selected candidates on Tuesday and admission was scheduled to begin on Thursday. Because of the gherao, however, over 300 students went back without taking admission.
“Our objective was to prevent admission without transparency. The admission board has no student representative and is taking decisions against the interests of deserving students," said Indrajit Ghosh, the SFI’s Kolkata president.
Teachers, however, said the union was represented on the committee. “Their problem is that this online system does not allow them to push their own candidates,” said S. Biswas, a teacher.
“Disgusted with the ghearo, all 30 teachers submitted their resignations to me in the evening. I too am a teacher and share their views,” principal Khogen Adhikari said.
The resignation makes Friday’s examination uncertain for 791 Part-II students. “After the gruelling gherao, our teachers will not be able to take exam duty. We have asked the university to change the venue or make other arrangements,” the principal said.
Calcutta University’s deputy controller of exams, Debashish Biswas, hoped that the exam venue would not have to be changed.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
New colleges to get rolling this session
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 19, 2007
THE STATE government had recently announced the setting up of six new colleges under Calcutta University (CU) and the good news is that these academic institutions will start admitting students from this academic session. The higher education department has already sanctioned the proposal and the university is currently in the process of inspection.
Classes for colleges under CU will start on July 16 and therefore activities have been put on the fast track to ensure that the new colleges get rolling from the current academic year.
“There is enough time. Within one week we will give them clearance. The (new) colleges will get ample time to distribute forms and admit students,” said Suranjan Das, CU pro vice-chancellor (academic).
To begin with, the colleges will be given permission to admit students in BA general course and gradually they will be allowed to open commerce and science sections and honours courses.
“It takes time for every college to set up the laboratory and library that is required to offer science, commerce and other modern subjects. Once the colleges fulfill these criteria they will be given affiliation for other streams too,” said Das.
All these colleges are being set up under the state government’s pay-packet scheme. Under the scheme the colleges have developed primary infrastructure and the state government will provide salary to its teaching and non-teaching employees.
“We have given sanction to 17 colleges under various universities. They are coming up in areas where there are no colleges within a 15-kilometre radius . The ratio of schools in those areas have also been taken into account,” said higher education minister Sudarshan Roychoudhuri.
Jibontala Mahavidyalaya, Canning; Mohitosh Nandi Madhavidyalay, Jangipara; Bamunpukur Humayan Kabir Mahavidyalaya, Hooghly; Shirakole Mahavidyalaya, Shadhan Chandra Mahavidyalaya and Amdanga College will be the new colleges under CU.
The new institutions come at time when the university is requesting the state government to lessen its pressure by shifting some of its colleges to other universities.
“We know that the university has tremendous pressure. The introduction of Part I, Part II and Part III system has put more pressure on the university. But the state government already has plans for a university in North 24 Parganas and if that happens about 50 colleges will go move out of CU and our pressure will be lessened,” said Das.
The higher education department is already looking for land in Barasat to construct the university. The new university will definitely ease the pressure on CU that at present caters to 160 colleges and admits over one-lakh under-graduate students every year.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 19, 2007
THE STATE government had recently announced the setting up of six new colleges under Calcutta University (CU) and the good news is that these academic institutions will start admitting students from this academic session. The higher education department has already sanctioned the proposal and the university is currently in the process of inspection.
Classes for colleges under CU will start on July 16 and therefore activities have been put on the fast track to ensure that the new colleges get rolling from the current academic year.
“There is enough time. Within one week we will give them clearance. The (new) colleges will get ample time to distribute forms and admit students,” said Suranjan Das, CU pro vice-chancellor (academic).
To begin with, the colleges will be given permission to admit students in BA general course and gradually they will be allowed to open commerce and science sections and honours courses.
“It takes time for every college to set up the laboratory and library that is required to offer science, commerce and other modern subjects. Once the colleges fulfill these criteria they will be given affiliation for other streams too,” said Das.
All these colleges are being set up under the state government’s pay-packet scheme. Under the scheme the colleges have developed primary infrastructure and the state government will provide salary to its teaching and non-teaching employees.
“We have given sanction to 17 colleges under various universities. They are coming up in areas where there are no colleges within a 15-kilometre radius . The ratio of schools in those areas have also been taken into account,” said higher education minister Sudarshan Roychoudhuri.
Jibontala Mahavidyalaya, Canning; Mohitosh Nandi Madhavidyalay, Jangipara; Bamunpukur Humayan Kabir Mahavidyalaya, Hooghly; Shirakole Mahavidyalaya, Shadhan Chandra Mahavidyalaya and Amdanga College will be the new colleges under CU.
The new institutions come at time when the university is requesting the state government to lessen its pressure by shifting some of its colleges to other universities.
“We know that the university has tremendous pressure. The introduction of Part I, Part II and Part III system has put more pressure on the university. But the state government already has plans for a university in North 24 Parganas and if that happens about 50 colleges will go move out of CU and our pressure will be lessened,” said Das.
The higher education department is already looking for land in Barasat to construct the university. The new university will definitely ease the pressure on CU that at present caters to 160 colleges and admits over one-lakh under-graduate students every year.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Monday, June 18, 2007
IT companies to hire in US
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 18, 2007
Over 25 Indian companies will travel to US to hire NRI IT professionals who want to come back. Clickjobs.com, a part of BharatMatrimony enterprise is organising an ‘Indo-US job fair’ in New Jersey on August 25 and 26. “India has become a favoured destination for MNC’s, financial institutions, and IT companies. Many professionals, settled in US, want to come back,” said Michael M.Bala, business head, ClickJobs.com.
According to Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a non-profit professionals’ network established to help Indo-Americans join the mainstream business community in the US, around 60,000 IT professionals have returned from the US in last three years. “It is true that many NRIs based in US are now coming back to India. Most of them are returning in Bengal to join an IT company. The state would have been benefited more, if they had formed their own companies, like the NRI’s in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are doing,” said Bikram Dasgupta, Chairman of IT Committee of India American Chamber of Commerce.
Many well-known IT companies have been recruiting large number of NRI’s from the US. “The value of dollar is falling and at the same time with the booming economy the opportunities in India too are growing. This is one of the main reasons why many IT professionals based in US are heading back to India,” said a top executive of Wipro Infotech.
“It is not only the money that matters but the scope of growth in India is higher and that is one reason why many US based software professionals approach us regularly for job opportunities in India, which instigated us to organize this fair,” said M.Bala of ClickJobs.com.
Parikshit Bhaduri, who worked in the US for twenty years but decided to come back to Kolkata and join Connective Systems. “I did not want my son and daughter to grow up in an alien atmosphere. There are huge opportunities in India and there is no point of staying away. Many of my friends are also coming back,” Bhaduri said.
Many IT professionals are coming back with a salary cut. “It is true that the Indian salary will not match my US salary. But at the same time it will be more than what many other Indian professionals will be getting. Though we were paid more in the US, it was less than what an American got,” said A. Dutta, who has returned and joined an IT company based in Kolkata.
Answering why the companies are hiring these professionals, Sanjay Khendry, Vice President of Sierra Atlantic, a mid size software company based in Hydrabad said, “Since they have lived and worked in US they have the exposure and know how to handle US clients. Though we are not matching their US salary, we are paying them reasonably well.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 18, 2007
Over 25 Indian companies will travel to US to hire NRI IT professionals who want to come back. Clickjobs.com, a part of BharatMatrimony enterprise is organising an ‘Indo-US job fair’ in New Jersey on August 25 and 26. “India has become a favoured destination for MNC’s, financial institutions, and IT companies. Many professionals, settled in US, want to come back,” said Michael M.Bala, business head, ClickJobs.com.
According to Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a non-profit professionals’ network established to help Indo-Americans join the mainstream business community in the US, around 60,000 IT professionals have returned from the US in last three years. “It is true that many NRIs based in US are now coming back to India. Most of them are returning in Bengal to join an IT company. The state would have been benefited more, if they had formed their own companies, like the NRI’s in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are doing,” said Bikram Dasgupta, Chairman of IT Committee of India American Chamber of Commerce.
Many well-known IT companies have been recruiting large number of NRI’s from the US. “The value of dollar is falling and at the same time with the booming economy the opportunities in India too are growing. This is one of the main reasons why many IT professionals based in US are heading back to India,” said a top executive of Wipro Infotech.
“It is not only the money that matters but the scope of growth in India is higher and that is one reason why many US based software professionals approach us regularly for job opportunities in India, which instigated us to organize this fair,” said M.Bala of ClickJobs.com.
Parikshit Bhaduri, who worked in the US for twenty years but decided to come back to Kolkata and join Connective Systems. “I did not want my son and daughter to grow up in an alien atmosphere. There are huge opportunities in India and there is no point of staying away. Many of my friends are also coming back,” Bhaduri said.
Many IT professionals are coming back with a salary cut. “It is true that the Indian salary will not match my US salary. But at the same time it will be more than what many other Indian professionals will be getting. Though we were paid more in the US, it was less than what an American got,” said A. Dutta, who has returned and joined an IT company based in Kolkata.
Answering why the companies are hiring these professionals, Sanjay Khendry, Vice President of Sierra Atlantic, a mid size software company based in Hydrabad said, “Since they have lived and worked in US they have the exposure and know how to handle US clients. Though we are not matching their US salary, we are paying them reasonably well.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Learn to weave magic at Rabindra Bharati University
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 16, 2007
Magical mystery tour, anyone? For the first time in India, there will soon be an institutionalised course on magic at Rabindra Bharati University! And, not breaking the spell, in a couple of years, a full-fledged university on magical arts!
Well-known magician P C Sorcar (Junior) is the man behind both these initiatives. To begin with the magic course at Rabindra Bharati will be a paper in the drama course offered by the university. Sorcar has also coined a term for the course, ‘Dramagic’. Later on it will floated as a full-fledged undergraduate honours programme by the university. “I am in the process of writing down the syllabus and structure the course. Everyone close to me including my daughters are helping me out in this process,” Sorcar said.
The course will have various aspects to it. There will be modules dealing with open-air magic; the module on theatrical magic will deal with the use of magic in a theatre production. This will be followed by onstage magic and finally there will be a module on close up magic, which are tricks done by hands. “We were scheduled to begin the course this year but due to some unavoidable problems we will not be able to begin it before the 2008 session,” said Santosh Gharui, registrar of Rabindra Bharai University.
Talking about why he decided to teach magic to people Sorcar said, “The objective of all my initiative is not only to help people learn magic but love and respect it as an art. They should not equate it to necromancy or superstition. But that cannot be done unless people know about the science behind it and that is what I want to do by teaching magic to others.” “In a land, where ancient shastras teach us that the ‘real’ or physical world is actually ‘maya’ or illusion, the course on magic will teach students that they should trust their eyes and follow the logic behind everything that happens,” he added.
Talking about his dream of opening a university of magical arts Sorcar said, “I have some land at Baruipur and would open the university their. This first of its kind university will be built without any help from any government.” Sorcar is already taking to various magicians to become part of the faculty.
But even before the course at Rabindra Bharati starts or his dream university takes shape Sorcar wishes to start a certificate course on magic for children up to 14-years of age. “This course will not only help them to learn small magic tricks but it will aim at making the kids aware that magic is an art form and it is based on science, there is nothing supernatural about it,” he said.
Sorcar does not have the fear of losing popularity by teaching the magic tricks and breeding new magicians. “Magic is an art. If a very big artist teachers painting to others no one can take away his masterstroke away in the same way even if I teach magic to the whole world the artist in me will continue to exist and perform.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 16, 2007
Magical mystery tour, anyone? For the first time in India, there will soon be an institutionalised course on magic at Rabindra Bharati University! And, not breaking the spell, in a couple of years, a full-fledged university on magical arts!
Well-known magician P C Sorcar (Junior) is the man behind both these initiatives. To begin with the magic course at Rabindra Bharati will be a paper in the drama course offered by the university. Sorcar has also coined a term for the course, ‘Dramagic’. Later on it will floated as a full-fledged undergraduate honours programme by the university. “I am in the process of writing down the syllabus and structure the course. Everyone close to me including my daughters are helping me out in this process,” Sorcar said.
The course will have various aspects to it. There will be modules dealing with open-air magic; the module on theatrical magic will deal with the use of magic in a theatre production. This will be followed by onstage magic and finally there will be a module on close up magic, which are tricks done by hands. “We were scheduled to begin the course this year but due to some unavoidable problems we will not be able to begin it before the 2008 session,” said Santosh Gharui, registrar of Rabindra Bharai University.
Talking about why he decided to teach magic to people Sorcar said, “The objective of all my initiative is not only to help people learn magic but love and respect it as an art. They should not equate it to necromancy or superstition. But that cannot be done unless people know about the science behind it and that is what I want to do by teaching magic to others.” “In a land, where ancient shastras teach us that the ‘real’ or physical world is actually ‘maya’ or illusion, the course on magic will teach students that they should trust their eyes and follow the logic behind everything that happens,” he added.
Talking about his dream of opening a university of magical arts Sorcar said, “I have some land at Baruipur and would open the university their. This first of its kind university will be built without any help from any government.” Sorcar is already taking to various magicians to become part of the faculty.
But even before the course at Rabindra Bharati starts or his dream university takes shape Sorcar wishes to start a certificate course on magic for children up to 14-years of age. “This course will not only help them to learn small magic tricks but it will aim at making the kids aware that magic is an art form and it is based on science, there is nothing supernatural about it,” he said.
Sorcar does not have the fear of losing popularity by teaching the magic tricks and breeding new magicians. “Magic is an art. If a very big artist teachers painting to others no one can take away his masterstroke away in the same way even if I teach magic to the whole world the artist in me will continue to exist and perform.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Thursday, June 14, 2007
JU missive to minister: Questions JEE Board marking method
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 14, 2007
THE WEST Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) Board has rubbed the Jadavpur University the wrong way.
The Jadavpur University has on Thursday shot off a letter to the higher education minister Sudarsan Roychoudhuri requesting him to find out how marks of this year’s WBJEE was calculated.
The students taking WBJEE this year took a 100 marks exam in maths while there were 50 marks each for physics and chemistry. The WBJEE board had decided to convert the scores of math into 200 to prepare the merit list. This left the JU fuming.
“We do not accept this method. We want to know whether such method has really been followed,” said JU vice-chancellor S.K. Sanyal.
In their letter to the minister, the JU authorities have also questioned the functioning of the WBJEE Board. They have told the minister that if the Board failed to be transparent and democratic then a separate autonomous body should be formed to conduct the exam.
“An autonomous body like the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the College Service Commission (CSC) with representation from all stakeholders could be the model,” said JU executive council member Partha Pratim Biswas. But he added, “If the WBJEE Board lives up to its autonomy model and functions democratically, we will accept it”.
He said, “The decision on how the ranking methodology to be adopted was not taken democratically. There was no mention of it during the Board meeting. It was the chairman who took the decision. This is the most unscientific way of preparing a merit list and we do not agree with the pattern,” said Biswas.
Disputing his claim, member secretary of the Board Ashim Bose said, “The decision was taken at a confidential committee meeting and later approved by the Board”.
The Board still holds that the decision to give more weightage to maths has its merits. “The primary requirement for engineering students is to be good in maths. I do not think that the decision is entirely wrong. However, we are no one to comment on the method since whatever the WBJEE Board decided we implemented that,” Bose added.
JU admits top rankers of WBJEE for its engineering faculty and hence the merit list prepared by the Board affects their quality of students intake.
A section of JU’s engineering faculty is also demanding a full-time chairman like those in the PSC and CSC. At present, as per government order vice-chancellor of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU), Shibpur, N.R. Banerjea is the chairman of the WBJEE Board.
The JU teachers also want the Board office to be moved out of the BESU campus and housed in a separate building. A member of the JU engineering faculty said, “We need this problem to be rectified. If possible a fresh list should come out this year. In any case there should be more transparency from next year”.
The West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) however does not have any problem with the method adopted to prepare the merit list. “The joint entrance board is an autonomous body. We do not have any problem with the methodology. It’s their prerogative,” said WBUT registrar S.R. Islam.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 14, 2007
THE WEST Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) Board has rubbed the Jadavpur University the wrong way.
The Jadavpur University has on Thursday shot off a letter to the higher education minister Sudarsan Roychoudhuri requesting him to find out how marks of this year’s WBJEE was calculated.
The students taking WBJEE this year took a 100 marks exam in maths while there were 50 marks each for physics and chemistry. The WBJEE board had decided to convert the scores of math into 200 to prepare the merit list. This left the JU fuming.
“We do not accept this method. We want to know whether such method has really been followed,” said JU vice-chancellor S.K. Sanyal.
In their letter to the minister, the JU authorities have also questioned the functioning of the WBJEE Board. They have told the minister that if the Board failed to be transparent and democratic then a separate autonomous body should be formed to conduct the exam.
“An autonomous body like the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the College Service Commission (CSC) with representation from all stakeholders could be the model,” said JU executive council member Partha Pratim Biswas. But he added, “If the WBJEE Board lives up to its autonomy model and functions democratically, we will accept it”.
He said, “The decision on how the ranking methodology to be adopted was not taken democratically. There was no mention of it during the Board meeting. It was the chairman who took the decision. This is the most unscientific way of preparing a merit list and we do not agree with the pattern,” said Biswas.
Disputing his claim, member secretary of the Board Ashim Bose said, “The decision was taken at a confidential committee meeting and later approved by the Board”.
The Board still holds that the decision to give more weightage to maths has its merits. “The primary requirement for engineering students is to be good in maths. I do not think that the decision is entirely wrong. However, we are no one to comment on the method since whatever the WBJEE Board decided we implemented that,” Bose added.
JU admits top rankers of WBJEE for its engineering faculty and hence the merit list prepared by the Board affects their quality of students intake.
A section of JU’s engineering faculty is also demanding a full-time chairman like those in the PSC and CSC. At present, as per government order vice-chancellor of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU), Shibpur, N.R. Banerjea is the chairman of the WBJEE Board.
The JU teachers also want the Board office to be moved out of the BESU campus and housed in a separate building. A member of the JU engineering faculty said, “We need this problem to be rectified. If possible a fresh list should come out this year. In any case there should be more transparency from next year”.
The West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) however does not have any problem with the method adopted to prepare the merit list. “The joint entrance board is an autonomous body. We do not have any problem with the methodology. It’s their prerogative,” said WBUT registrar S.R. Islam.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Teachers cry foul over extension denial
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 13, 2007
Teachers of various varsities alleged on Wednesday that Siddhartha Ray, a nuclear physics professor of Kalyani University, has been refused extension due to political reasons.
Ray retired in September 2006 and has been given repeated extensions by Vice Chancellor Arabindo Das. “It is purely for political reason that an eminent scientist like Ray is being denied an extension. This is the clear case of discrimination. The students are going to suffer because Ray does not belong to the Left lobby,” said Dipak Banerjee, general secretary of All Bengal University Teachers Association (ABUTA) and a professor at Jadavpur University. A joint petition has been filed by ABUTA to Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who is also the chancellor of all state universities. The faculty and students of Ray has also submitted their petition.
Professors in Bengal retire at the age of sixty but are eligible for extension for five years, provided the university feels he is needed. Last month, the Kalyani University had set up a screening panel to decide on the extension. “Strangely, two among the three academic experts are not from Ray’s stream. The departmental committee report on Ray was not tabled. The screening committee did not recommend Ray’s extension,” said Tarun Nashkar, ABUTA joint secretary and a professor of engineering faculty of Jadavpur University.
Nuclear physics professors from all universities have urged Gandhi, to provide Ray an extension. “At a time when we are finding it tough to find good teachers we need Ray. The real losers will be students,” said Banerjee.
Amit Ray, the director of UGC’s Inter University Accelerator Centre, a facility used by over 70 universities with radio physics departments, has also written to Gandhi urging Ray’s extension. “Ray’s contribution to nuclear physics research and his ability as a teacher cannot be questioned. I would strongly urge you for an extension so that Ray can guide the students and conduct research on an area which is very critical to the nation.”
The university however is yet to give its official verdict. “I cannot comment. How can someone claim that the university has not given an extension to Ray? We have not come out with any statement in his regard yet,” said Vice Chancellor of KU, Arabindo Das. “We will no be able to comment on the mater until the Executive Committee of the university takes final decision,” said registrar of KU Utpal Bhattacharya.
mou.hindustanimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 13, 2007
Teachers of various varsities alleged on Wednesday that Siddhartha Ray, a nuclear physics professor of Kalyani University, has been refused extension due to political reasons.
Ray retired in September 2006 and has been given repeated extensions by Vice Chancellor Arabindo Das. “It is purely for political reason that an eminent scientist like Ray is being denied an extension. This is the clear case of discrimination. The students are going to suffer because Ray does not belong to the Left lobby,” said Dipak Banerjee, general secretary of All Bengal University Teachers Association (ABUTA) and a professor at Jadavpur University. A joint petition has been filed by ABUTA to Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who is also the chancellor of all state universities. The faculty and students of Ray has also submitted their petition.
Professors in Bengal retire at the age of sixty but are eligible for extension for five years, provided the university feels he is needed. Last month, the Kalyani University had set up a screening panel to decide on the extension. “Strangely, two among the three academic experts are not from Ray’s stream. The departmental committee report on Ray was not tabled. The screening committee did not recommend Ray’s extension,” said Tarun Nashkar, ABUTA joint secretary and a professor of engineering faculty of Jadavpur University.
Nuclear physics professors from all universities have urged Gandhi, to provide Ray an extension. “At a time when we are finding it tough to find good teachers we need Ray. The real losers will be students,” said Banerjee.
Amit Ray, the director of UGC’s Inter University Accelerator Centre, a facility used by over 70 universities with radio physics departments, has also written to Gandhi urging Ray’s extension. “Ray’s contribution to nuclear physics research and his ability as a teacher cannot be questioned. I would strongly urge you for an extension so that Ray can guide the students and conduct research on an area which is very critical to the nation.”
The university however is yet to give its official verdict. “I cannot comment. How can someone claim that the university has not given an extension to Ray? We have not come out with any statement in his regard yet,” said Vice Chancellor of KU, Arabindo Das. “We will no be able to comment on the mater until the Executive Committee of the university takes final decision,” said registrar of KU Utpal Bhattacharya.
mou.hindustanimes@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
SFI demands more medical colleges
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 12, 2007
The Students Federation of India (SFI) on Tuesday demanded that the state should have at least 8 more medical colleges to meet increasing demand and pressed for a speedy set up of the colleges.
The state has 9 medical colleges and now the SFI wants the number to increase to 17 in the next five years. The state government has proposed to build a medical college at Kalyani, Malda and Cooch Behar. “The demand for studying medicine is huge and the government would need at least 5 more medical colleges. To do that, the state needs private initiative and though the government has welcomed such deals, somehow things are not materialising,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI. “We want the state to ensure that things go in a positive direction.”
Till date, there have been proposals of floating private medical colleges at Haldia by the Eyecare Group; B.P. Poddar Hospital too has plans to come up with a private medical college soon. The JIS Group, which already has private engineering colleges, is aiming to open one at Kamarhati. The TB Hospital beside Jadavpur University has been taken over by the KPC Group to be converted into a private medical college, but the project is yet to take off. The Techno India Group too wants to open a private engineering college at Rajarhat.
But the colleges are taking time to take off mainly because of the rules set by the Medical Council of India for affiliation. In order to have a medical college, there should be a 100-bed hospital running for at least 3 years. In addition to this, the campus should be spread over at least 25 acres. Combining the equipment and other resources, at least Rs 100 crore is required to float a private medical college. “It is a long-term investment as opposed to private engineering colleges, where the invested money can be recovered by the very first year. So not everyone is interested,” said Sengupta.
While there are 17,000 seats in private engineering colleges, the state offers only 1,150 seats for students willing to study medicine. “The demand here is very high. That is the reason why medical colleges from Russia and China are coming to Kolkata to rope in prospective students. The students are not only forced to pay high tuition fess but also have to shell out Rs 5 to 10 lakh to the facilitators as passage money,” said Sengupta.
The private engineering colleges will start taking in students under the management quota from the current academic session. The SFI has also demanded that the state bring transparency in admission procedure, so that students getting admitted under this quota do not need to give more than US$4,000 to the colleges. In order to ensure that, needy but meritorious students fill up the 10 per cent free seats quota, the SFI will have complaint cells in every district.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 12, 2007
The Students Federation of India (SFI) on Tuesday demanded that the state should have at least 8 more medical colleges to meet increasing demand and pressed for a speedy set up of the colleges.
The state has 9 medical colleges and now the SFI wants the number to increase to 17 in the next five years. The state government has proposed to build a medical college at Kalyani, Malda and Cooch Behar. “The demand for studying medicine is huge and the government would need at least 5 more medical colleges. To do that, the state needs private initiative and though the government has welcomed such deals, somehow things are not materialising,” said Sudip Sengupta, state president of SFI. “We want the state to ensure that things go in a positive direction.”
Till date, there have been proposals of floating private medical colleges at Haldia by the Eyecare Group; B.P. Poddar Hospital too has plans to come up with a private medical college soon. The JIS Group, which already has private engineering colleges, is aiming to open one at Kamarhati. The TB Hospital beside Jadavpur University has been taken over by the KPC Group to be converted into a private medical college, but the project is yet to take off. The Techno India Group too wants to open a private engineering college at Rajarhat.
But the colleges are taking time to take off mainly because of the rules set by the Medical Council of India for affiliation. In order to have a medical college, there should be a 100-bed hospital running for at least 3 years. In addition to this, the campus should be spread over at least 25 acres. Combining the equipment and other resources, at least Rs 100 crore is required to float a private medical college. “It is a long-term investment as opposed to private engineering colleges, where the invested money can be recovered by the very first year. So not everyone is interested,” said Sengupta.
While there are 17,000 seats in private engineering colleges, the state offers only 1,150 seats for students willing to study medicine. “The demand here is very high. That is the reason why medical colleges from Russia and China are coming to Kolkata to rope in prospective students. The students are not only forced to pay high tuition fess but also have to shell out Rs 5 to 10 lakh to the facilitators as passage money,” said Sengupta.
The private engineering colleges will start taking in students under the management quota from the current academic session. The SFI has also demanded that the state bring transparency in admission procedure, so that students getting admitted under this quota do not need to give more than US$4,000 to the colleges. In order to ensure that, needy but meritorious students fill up the 10 per cent free seats quota, the SFI will have complaint cells in every district.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Monday, June 11, 2007
Leeway for poor and meritorious WBJEE candidates
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 11, 2007
The decision has been finalised. From this year, a number of students from poorer sections will be able to enrol in engineering colleges. While, others would have to pay half the prescribed fees.
From this year onwards, 1,750 poor but meritorious students will be able to study at the private engineering colleges in the state free of cost, where as, 650 others would have to pay half tuition fees. The state government had decided this year to allow private engineering colleges to admit students under the management quota. But at the same time, they were asked to offer 10 per cent free seats to needy students and another 5 per cent at half the cost to students of the same category.
“The government order in this regard will be sent to the relevant people within two days,” said Sudarsan Roychoudhuri, the state higher education minister.
The students who have a Below Poverty Level (BPL) card will be eligible under this scheme. However, those who do not have the BPL card but their family income is less then Rs 8,000 rupees per month will be eligible for applying for full waiver of the tuition fees. And those students whose family’s monthly income is not more then Rs 10,000 per month will be eligible to apply for the half tuition fee waiver.
But the question now arises as to whether the government will bring out a separate list for such students before counselling. “It will not happen like that. The candidates will come for counselling according to their rank obtained in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE). When candidates apply for free-ship or half free-ship, their rank in WBJEE and also their economic background will be given weight,” said A Bose, member secretary of the WBJEE board.
The students, however, will not be able to avail this facility during the counselling session, but will have to apply at the college while seeking admission. “The government order will also give stress on the admission of girl students who are below poverty line, but have been able to clear the WBJEE,” said an official of the higher education department.
There are 62 private engineering colleges in the state. Now, obviously some colleges will be favoured over others by management quota students. The colleges where there is less demand will have the option to not offer the free and half-free seats. “If some college does not take students under the management quota, then we will not be able to force them to take students under free-ship or half free-ship. But at the same time, colleges, which will have demand for management quota seats, will have to take in an equal number of students under free-ship and half free-ship,” said Roychoudhuri.
The state government, however, is yet to form a monitoring agency to ensure that the colleges, which are taking students under the management quota, are offering tuition fee waiver to an equal number of poor students. This year, 45,000 students feature in the WBJEE merit list and counselling sessions are scheduled to begin on June 25.mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 11, 2007
The decision has been finalised. From this year, a number of students from poorer sections will be able to enrol in engineering colleges. While, others would have to pay half the prescribed fees.
From this year onwards, 1,750 poor but meritorious students will be able to study at the private engineering colleges in the state free of cost, where as, 650 others would have to pay half tuition fees. The state government had decided this year to allow private engineering colleges to admit students under the management quota. But at the same time, they were asked to offer 10 per cent free seats to needy students and another 5 per cent at half the cost to students of the same category.
“The government order in this regard will be sent to the relevant people within two days,” said Sudarsan Roychoudhuri, the state higher education minister.
The students who have a Below Poverty Level (BPL) card will be eligible under this scheme. However, those who do not have the BPL card but their family income is less then Rs 8,000 rupees per month will be eligible for applying for full waiver of the tuition fees. And those students whose family’s monthly income is not more then Rs 10,000 per month will be eligible to apply for the half tuition fee waiver.
But the question now arises as to whether the government will bring out a separate list for such students before counselling. “It will not happen like that. The candidates will come for counselling according to their rank obtained in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE). When candidates apply for free-ship or half free-ship, their rank in WBJEE and also their economic background will be given weight,” said A Bose, member secretary of the WBJEE board.
The students, however, will not be able to avail this facility during the counselling session, but will have to apply at the college while seeking admission. “The government order will also give stress on the admission of girl students who are below poverty line, but have been able to clear the WBJEE,” said an official of the higher education department.
There are 62 private engineering colleges in the state. Now, obviously some colleges will be favoured over others by management quota students. The colleges where there is less demand will have the option to not offer the free and half-free seats. “If some college does not take students under the management quota, then we will not be able to force them to take students under free-ship or half free-ship. But at the same time, colleges, which will have demand for management quota seats, will have to take in an equal number of students under free-ship and half free-ship,” said Roychoudhuri.
The state government, however, is yet to form a monitoring agency to ensure that the colleges, which are taking students under the management quota, are offering tuition fee waiver to an equal number of poor students. This year, 45,000 students feature in the WBJEE merit list and counselling sessions are scheduled to begin on June 25.mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Stepping into corporate shoes
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 10, 2007
With armed forces personnel deciding to become managers, corporate houses are falling over themselves trying to recruit them.
This is the case with the 72 officers who are into their second month of their “24-week Management Programme for Officers from Armed Forces” at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta.
A $2 billion business house from the Middle East — Sharaf Group — on Thursday picked up 7 officers, who are doing the course. They will be flying to Dubai on July 16 for a 3-week project, after which the company will make their final offer. “It seems that recruiters cannot wait for the course to get over. On the third day of the programme, Sharaf Group approached us for recruitments. There are many more companies which are coming for recruitment,” said Prafulla Agnihotri, one of the directors of this course at IIM-C.
But what is the main point of attraction for recruiters to pick up the officers even before their course is over? “People from the armed forces are dedicated, have lots of motivation and discipline. And these are the qualities, which are lacking in the corporate world. They already have good work experience and clubbed with the IIMC training and their hard-to-crack attitude, it is a combination which every company aspires to,” said Kamal Grover, HR head of Sharaf Group. Those who are finally recruited will be placed in either Dubai or Malaysia.
The lateral placements are scheduled to be conducted by July and August. The pre-placement talks and the initial placements for projects are scheduled to be conducted before July 10. There are many more companies such as Tech Mahindra, Mahindra SSG and Cadilla Pharmaceuticals that are lining up for recruitment. The institute is expecting other big recruiters — Aditya Birla Group, Infosys, Satyam, Wipro and ICICI Bank — to turn up for recruitment.
The officers are more than happy. “We never expected to receive placement offers even before our course started properly. This shows the credibility of the Indian armed forces. The companies are hiring us not only for our experience but also because of the time which we had spent in the armed forces and acquired certain skills. They know we are dependable and highly result-oriented,” said Major Biju Balakrishnan, who had retired from the army last year and is currently doing the course.
The officers getting trained at this residential programme are a mixture of engineers, human resource department officials, logistics managers, supply-chain managers and people with various other work profiles in the armed force. “They have enough experience. This course is giving them the theoretical knowledge, familiarising themselves with management jargon and is also equipping them to plan strategy. We want them to complete a portion of their training before they take the next round of campus interviews,” said Agnihotri.
Though the final offers are yet to be made, the officers are assured of a fat pay packet. “The exposure given to us by this course will take us places. The armed forces recruit the most talented people in the country and the IIMC is one of the premier management institutes of India. And since we have been picked up by both at one stage of our life, we feel we have the attitude and the knowledge to make it big in the corporate world,” said Balakrishnan.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 10, 2007
With armed forces personnel deciding to become managers, corporate houses are falling over themselves trying to recruit them.
This is the case with the 72 officers who are into their second month of their “24-week Management Programme for Officers from Armed Forces” at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta.
A $2 billion business house from the Middle East — Sharaf Group — on Thursday picked up 7 officers, who are doing the course. They will be flying to Dubai on July 16 for a 3-week project, after which the company will make their final offer. “It seems that recruiters cannot wait for the course to get over. On the third day of the programme, Sharaf Group approached us for recruitments. There are many more companies which are coming for recruitment,” said Prafulla Agnihotri, one of the directors of this course at IIM-C.
But what is the main point of attraction for recruiters to pick up the officers even before their course is over? “People from the armed forces are dedicated, have lots of motivation and discipline. And these are the qualities, which are lacking in the corporate world. They already have good work experience and clubbed with the IIMC training and their hard-to-crack attitude, it is a combination which every company aspires to,” said Kamal Grover, HR head of Sharaf Group. Those who are finally recruited will be placed in either Dubai or Malaysia.
The lateral placements are scheduled to be conducted by July and August. The pre-placement talks and the initial placements for projects are scheduled to be conducted before July 10. There are many more companies such as Tech Mahindra, Mahindra SSG and Cadilla Pharmaceuticals that are lining up for recruitment. The institute is expecting other big recruiters — Aditya Birla Group, Infosys, Satyam, Wipro and ICICI Bank — to turn up for recruitment.
The officers are more than happy. “We never expected to receive placement offers even before our course started properly. This shows the credibility of the Indian armed forces. The companies are hiring us not only for our experience but also because of the time which we had spent in the armed forces and acquired certain skills. They know we are dependable and highly result-oriented,” said Major Biju Balakrishnan, who had retired from the army last year and is currently doing the course.
The officers getting trained at this residential programme are a mixture of engineers, human resource department officials, logistics managers, supply-chain managers and people with various other work profiles in the armed force. “They have enough experience. This course is giving them the theoretical knowledge, familiarising themselves with management jargon and is also equipping them to plan strategy. We want them to complete a portion of their training before they take the next round of campus interviews,” said Agnihotri.
Though the final offers are yet to be made, the officers are assured of a fat pay packet. “The exposure given to us by this course will take us places. The armed forces recruit the most talented people in the country and the IIMC is one of the premier management institutes of India. And since we have been picked up by both at one stage of our life, we feel we have the attitude and the knowledge to make it big in the corporate world,” said Balakrishnan.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Friday, June 8, 2007
Second chance to become an engineer
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 8, 2007
For students who have harboured dreams of becoming an engineer but were not able to get through the JEE, there is hope yet.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released a circular directing all the engineering colleges in the country to admit students who have their passed BSc, through a lateral entry exam in the second year of engineering courses.
So long only students who had completed their diploma from polytechnics were given a chance to take lateral admission to the second year in engineering colleges. They had to take an exam known as Joint Entrance Exam for Lateral Entry (JELET) conducted by West Bengal Joint Entrance Board. But from this year, students who clear their BSc exams with maths as one of their combination subjects and score above 60 per cent in aggregate will be able to take the JELET exam. If they are successful, they will be eligible to take admission in private engineering colleges along with Jadavpur University and Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU).
But willing candidates will to have to wait for a year. This year’s JELET exam is already over and results are due in a week’s time. “By the time the circular arrived the JELET exam was already over. I do not think that it will be possible to organise another exam this year. It will be better if we start it from next year,” said Sajal Dasgupta, director of technical education.
But the SFI wants the BSc pass-outs to get the benefit from this year itself. “We have spoken to the higher education minister Sudarsan Roychoudhuri, and have urged him to take steps so that BSc pass-outs can be eligible from this year itself and we are confident that it will be done,” said Sudip Sengupta state president of SFI. “We know that the JELET exam for this year is over, but another exam can be arranged and we would not mind if these students join their classes in August instead of July,” he added.
This move by AICTE has opened new doors for the BSc graduates. “Our state does not have much scope for higher education and by completing the engineering degree, plain graduates will become more employable,” said Sengupta. “There are certain courses such as computer science and electronics where the polytechnic students cannot fill up the seats and these seats can be filled up by the BSc pass-outs,” he added.
However, implementing it from this year itself will not be an easy task. “The syllabus of JELET is made, keeping in mind the course content of polytechnic students. We need to have separate question papers following the BSc syllabus for these students. And to all this we need time and in no way can the exam be held this year itself,” said Ashim Bose, member secretary of the joint entrance board. Not only this, students now have the option of doing BSc in several subjects with maths as one of the electives and the government will have to decide students having BSc honours degree in which subjects will be allowed to take the JELET exam.
Every year, the state provides 10 per cent seats for students who come though lateral entry. This year there are 17,000 engineering seats available for successful WBJEE candidates, which means that JELET candidates will have 1,700 seats. “Sometimes students leave their seats even after taking admission in first year. Apart from the 10 per cent seats set aside, colleges can also fill up the vacant seats through JELET. This move will help both the colleges and students,” said S.R. Islam, registrar of West Bengal University of Technology, to which all 64 private engineering colleges in the state are affiliated.
mou.hindutsantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 8, 2007
For students who have harboured dreams of becoming an engineer but were not able to get through the JEE, there is hope yet.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released a circular directing all the engineering colleges in the country to admit students who have their passed BSc, through a lateral entry exam in the second year of engineering courses.
So long only students who had completed their diploma from polytechnics were given a chance to take lateral admission to the second year in engineering colleges. They had to take an exam known as Joint Entrance Exam for Lateral Entry (JELET) conducted by West Bengal Joint Entrance Board. But from this year, students who clear their BSc exams with maths as one of their combination subjects and score above 60 per cent in aggregate will be able to take the JELET exam. If they are successful, they will be eligible to take admission in private engineering colleges along with Jadavpur University and Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU).
But willing candidates will to have to wait for a year. This year’s JELET exam is already over and results are due in a week’s time. “By the time the circular arrived the JELET exam was already over. I do not think that it will be possible to organise another exam this year. It will be better if we start it from next year,” said Sajal Dasgupta, director of technical education.
But the SFI wants the BSc pass-outs to get the benefit from this year itself. “We have spoken to the higher education minister Sudarsan Roychoudhuri, and have urged him to take steps so that BSc pass-outs can be eligible from this year itself and we are confident that it will be done,” said Sudip Sengupta state president of SFI. “We know that the JELET exam for this year is over, but another exam can be arranged and we would not mind if these students join their classes in August instead of July,” he added.
This move by AICTE has opened new doors for the BSc graduates. “Our state does not have much scope for higher education and by completing the engineering degree, plain graduates will become more employable,” said Sengupta. “There are certain courses such as computer science and electronics where the polytechnic students cannot fill up the seats and these seats can be filled up by the BSc pass-outs,” he added.
However, implementing it from this year itself will not be an easy task. “The syllabus of JELET is made, keeping in mind the course content of polytechnic students. We need to have separate question papers following the BSc syllabus for these students. And to all this we need time and in no way can the exam be held this year itself,” said Ashim Bose, member secretary of the joint entrance board. Not only this, students now have the option of doing BSc in several subjects with maths as one of the electives and the government will have to decide students having BSc honours degree in which subjects will be allowed to take the JELET exam.
Every year, the state provides 10 per cent seats for students who come though lateral entry. This year there are 17,000 engineering seats available for successful WBJEE candidates, which means that JELET candidates will have 1,700 seats. “Sometimes students leave their seats even after taking admission in first year. Apart from the 10 per cent seats set aside, colleges can also fill up the vacant seats through JELET. This move will help both the colleges and students,” said S.R. Islam, registrar of West Bengal University of Technology, to which all 64 private engineering colleges in the state are affiliated.
mou.hindutsantimes@yahoo.com
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Summer camp for govt schools
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 7, 2007
If you thought that the word “Summer Camp” did not mix with government schools, then maybe you need a rethink. Four government schools of Kolkata for the first time are organising summer camps for their students.
The students from Hindu School, Hare School, Bethune Collegiate School and Sanskrit Collegiate School are participating in the fun venture. “Never before has any government school organised a summer camp for their students. To begin with, we have organised a science camp for students which includes subjects such as physics, chemistry, maths, biology and geography,” said Dipak Das, secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association.
Hare School is hosting the camp and it began on Wednesday and will go on till June 9. About 100 students — from Classes VII and IX from the four schools — are participating in the camp. “Due to lack of infrastructure we are unable to take the students to a laboratory and explain various scientific theories thorough hands-on experiments. This camp is doing exactly that,” said Das.
The laboratory equipment and expertise are being provided by an NGO, Science Communication Forum. Eighteen teachers from various government schools are doubling up as instructors for the camp. Various experiments such as germination of seeds, harmful effects of paan masala, latitude and longitude, how day and night occurs, why the earth has time zones and how to calculate the time difference, what is kinetic energy, what is density and many more such topics will be explained to the students through experiments.
“In school one period lasts 40 minutes and it is within this time frame that we have to complete a certain portion of the syllabus every day. So we do not have scope for hands-on experiments in school and studies become very boring and exam-oriented, but in this camp learning through fun is the main motto and we believe that whatever the students will learn here will not be forgotten in a hurry,” said Palash Dey, biology teacher of Sanskrit Collegiate School.
For students who for so long did not understand theorems in mathematics, will have scope for learning the same through hands-on experiment on June 8. “We are thoroughly enjoying the camp. I never knew learning could be such fun. That seeing a seed actually germinate in front of your eyes, getting to know how the cells of a plant actually looks like and understanding the complexities of the solar system could be such fun, was never known to us,” said Upamanya Moitra, a Class IX student of Hare School.
“We plan to organise such camps during the puja vacation, summer vacation and winter vacation every year and extend it to all 48 government schools in the state. We have begun with the science camp, but we will also conduct camps on English in future,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
Kolkata, June 7, 2007
If you thought that the word “Summer Camp” did not mix with government schools, then maybe you need a rethink. Four government schools of Kolkata for the first time are organising summer camps for their students.
The students from Hindu School, Hare School, Bethune Collegiate School and Sanskrit Collegiate School are participating in the fun venture. “Never before has any government school organised a summer camp for their students. To begin with, we have organised a science camp for students which includes subjects such as physics, chemistry, maths, biology and geography,” said Dipak Das, secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association.
Hare School is hosting the camp and it began on Wednesday and will go on till June 9. About 100 students — from Classes VII and IX from the four schools — are participating in the camp. “Due to lack of infrastructure we are unable to take the students to a laboratory and explain various scientific theories thorough hands-on experiments. This camp is doing exactly that,” said Das.
The laboratory equipment and expertise are being provided by an NGO, Science Communication Forum. Eighteen teachers from various government schools are doubling up as instructors for the camp. Various experiments such as germination of seeds, harmful effects of paan masala, latitude and longitude, how day and night occurs, why the earth has time zones and how to calculate the time difference, what is kinetic energy, what is density and many more such topics will be explained to the students through experiments.
“In school one period lasts 40 minutes and it is within this time frame that we have to complete a certain portion of the syllabus every day. So we do not have scope for hands-on experiments in school and studies become very boring and exam-oriented, but in this camp learning through fun is the main motto and we believe that whatever the students will learn here will not be forgotten in a hurry,” said Palash Dey, biology teacher of Sanskrit Collegiate School.
For students who for so long did not understand theorems in mathematics, will have scope for learning the same through hands-on experiment on June 8. “We are thoroughly enjoying the camp. I never knew learning could be such fun. That seeing a seed actually germinate in front of your eyes, getting to know how the cells of a plant actually looks like and understanding the complexities of the solar system could be such fun, was never known to us,” said Upamanya Moitra, a Class IX student of Hare School.
“We plan to organise such camps during the puja vacation, summer vacation and winter vacation every year and extend it to all 48 government schools in the state. We have begun with the science camp, but we will also conduct camps on English in future,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
Summer camp for govt schools
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 7, 2007
If you thought that the word “Summer Camp” did not mix with government schools, then maybe you need a rethink. Four government schools of Kolkata for the first time are organising summer camps for their students.
The students from Hindu School, Hare School, Bethune Collegiate School and Sanskrit Collegiate School are participating in the fun venture. “Never before has any government school organised a summer camp for their students. To begin with, we have organised a science camp for students which includes subjects such as physics, chemistry, maths, biology and geography,” said Dipak Das, secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association.
Hare School is hosting the camp and it began on Wednesday and will go on till June 9. About 100 students — from Classes VII and IX from the four schools — are participating in the camp. “Due to lack of infrastructure we are unable to take the students to a laboratory and explain various scientific theories thorough hands-on experiments. This camp is doing exactly that,” said Das.
The laboratory equipment and expertise are being provided by an NGO, Science Communication Forum. Eighteen teachers from various government schools are doubling up as instructors for the camp. Various experiments such as germination of seeds, harmful effects of paan masala, latitude and longitude, how day and night occurs, why the earth has time zones and how to calculate the time difference, what is kinetic energy, what is density and many more such topics will be explained to the students through experiments.
“In school one period lasts 40 minutes and it is within this time frame that we have to complete a certain portion of the syllabus every day. So we do not have scope for hands-on experiments in school and studies become very boring and exam-oriented, but in this camp learning through fun is the main motto and we believe that whatever the students will learn here will not be forgotten in a hurry,” said Palash Dey, biology teacher of Sanskrit Collegiate School.
For students who for so long did not understand theorems in mathematics, will have scope for learning the same through hands-on experiment on June 8. “We are thoroughly enjoying the camp. I never knew learning could be such fun. That seeing a seed actually germinate in front of your eyes, getting to know how the cells of a plant actually looks like and understanding the complexities of the solar system could be such fun, was never known to us,” said Upamanya Moitra, a Class IX student of Hare School.
“We plan to organise such camps during the puja vacation, summer vacation and winter vacation every year and extend it to all 48 government schools in the state. We have begun with the science camp, but we will also conduct camps on English in future,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
Kolkata, June 7, 2007
If you thought that the word “Summer Camp” did not mix with government schools, then maybe you need a rethink. Four government schools of Kolkata for the first time are organising summer camps for their students.
The students from Hindu School, Hare School, Bethune Collegiate School and Sanskrit Collegiate School are participating in the fun venture. “Never before has any government school organised a summer camp for their students. To begin with, we have organised a science camp for students which includes subjects such as physics, chemistry, maths, biology and geography,” said Dipak Das, secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association.
Hare School is hosting the camp and it began on Wednesday and will go on till June 9. About 100 students — from Classes VII and IX from the four schools — are participating in the camp. “Due to lack of infrastructure we are unable to take the students to a laboratory and explain various scientific theories thorough hands-on experiments. This camp is doing exactly that,” said Das.
The laboratory equipment and expertise are being provided by an NGO, Science Communication Forum. Eighteen teachers from various government schools are doubling up as instructors for the camp. Various experiments such as germination of seeds, harmful effects of paan masala, latitude and longitude, how day and night occurs, why the earth has time zones and how to calculate the time difference, what is kinetic energy, what is density and many more such topics will be explained to the students through experiments.
“In school one period lasts 40 minutes and it is within this time frame that we have to complete a certain portion of the syllabus every day. So we do not have scope for hands-on experiments in school and studies become very boring and exam-oriented, but in this camp learning through fun is the main motto and we believe that whatever the students will learn here will not be forgotten in a hurry,” said Palash Dey, biology teacher of Sanskrit Collegiate School.
For students who for so long did not understand theorems in mathematics, will have scope for learning the same through hands-on experiment on June 8. “We are thoroughly enjoying the camp. I never knew learning could be such fun. That seeing a seed actually germinate in front of your eyes, getting to know how the cells of a plant actually looks like and understanding the complexities of the solar system could be such fun, was never known to us,” said Upamanya Moitra, a Class IX student of Hare School.
“We plan to organise such camps during the puja vacation, summer vacation and winter vacation every year and extend it to all 48 government schools in the state. We have begun with the science camp, but we will also conduct camps on English in future,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
BESU alumni renew INI status plea
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 7, 2007
The alumni association of Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) has once again appealed to the state and central governments to declare the university an Institute of National Importance (INI) during its 150-year celebrations.
The Centre needs to pass a Bill to upgrade BESU to INI status. “The 150-year celebrations of the university will come to a close in November. We want the university to get the INI tag before that. It would be the best gift that this nation can give to this deserving institution,” said S.P. Datta, working president of the Global Alumni Association of BESU. “But if the Bill is not passed in parliament during the monsoon session, the university has no hope of becoming an INI during the 150-year celebrations.”
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has himself written to Prime Minister Manmonhan Singh to upgrade BESU to INI status, but the Centre and the state are yet to sort out the issues of governance and admission procedure.
The state government wants to ensure reservation for students of Bengal at BESU even though admissions will be done through an all-India level exam. “We do not feel students of the state need such reservations to prove their mettle. Good students will not have any problem getting into BESU even if it becomes an INI,” Datta said.
The state has also asked for participatory mode of governance even after BESU becomes a central government institution and receives grants from the human resources development ministry. “The state and central governments should settle their issues through discussion. But our university should not be deprived of the INI tag in its 150th year because of bureaucratic or diplomatic reasons,” said S. Karmakar, secretary of the association.
Members of the alumni association feel that if the university is upgraded to INI status, both the state and the university will benefit from it. “The state government gives a Rs 15-crore grant to BESU every year. If the university is upgraded to INI, it will get a grant of up to Rs 150 crore every year. The state government will then be able to give the money to other state engineering colleges for development,” said Amitava Ghoshal, founder president of the alumni association. “Like Bangalore, we too can become a technology hub if there is a central university with INI tag near the city.”
The alumni association, founded in 2005 and with over 20,000 members spread all over Indian, Japan, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and US, has bug plans for BESU. The association plans to construct an auditorium for the university at the cost of Rs 10 crore. “The auditorium will have the capacity of accommodating 2,000 people. Once BSEU becomes an INI, it will need many such facilities for which the alumni association is always ready to help,” Datta said.
The association has announced Rs 1-lakh scholarship for students eligible for admission in BESU but without the financial support. It will also offer a Rs 5-lakh scholarship to needy students.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 7, 2007
The alumni association of Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) has once again appealed to the state and central governments to declare the university an Institute of National Importance (INI) during its 150-year celebrations.
The Centre needs to pass a Bill to upgrade BESU to INI status. “The 150-year celebrations of the university will come to a close in November. We want the university to get the INI tag before that. It would be the best gift that this nation can give to this deserving institution,” said S.P. Datta, working president of the Global Alumni Association of BESU. “But if the Bill is not passed in parliament during the monsoon session, the university has no hope of becoming an INI during the 150-year celebrations.”
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has himself written to Prime Minister Manmonhan Singh to upgrade BESU to INI status, but the Centre and the state are yet to sort out the issues of governance and admission procedure.
The state government wants to ensure reservation for students of Bengal at BESU even though admissions will be done through an all-India level exam. “We do not feel students of the state need such reservations to prove their mettle. Good students will not have any problem getting into BESU even if it becomes an INI,” Datta said.
The state has also asked for participatory mode of governance even after BESU becomes a central government institution and receives grants from the human resources development ministry. “The state and central governments should settle their issues through discussion. But our university should not be deprived of the INI tag in its 150th year because of bureaucratic or diplomatic reasons,” said S. Karmakar, secretary of the association.
Members of the alumni association feel that if the university is upgraded to INI status, both the state and the university will benefit from it. “The state government gives a Rs 15-crore grant to BESU every year. If the university is upgraded to INI, it will get a grant of up to Rs 150 crore every year. The state government will then be able to give the money to other state engineering colleges for development,” said Amitava Ghoshal, founder president of the alumni association. “Like Bangalore, we too can become a technology hub if there is a central university with INI tag near the city.”
The alumni association, founded in 2005 and with over 20,000 members spread all over Indian, Japan, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and US, has bug plans for BESU. The association plans to construct an auditorium for the university at the cost of Rs 10 crore. “The auditorium will have the capacity of accommodating 2,000 people. Once BSEU becomes an INI, it will need many such facilities for which the alumni association is always ready to help,” Datta said.
The association has announced Rs 1-lakh scholarship for students eligible for admission in BESU but without the financial support. It will also offer a Rs 5-lakh scholarship to needy students.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
CU axes environment science
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 5, 2007
Confusion is the word dominating the admission process of all colleges under Calcutta University (CU). CU has issued an order on June 4, directing all colleges not to include environment studies as one of the ‘best of five’ subjects while calculating the aggregate of students seeking admission in under graduate courses. However, many colleges like Presidency, St. Xavier’s, Loreto, Lady Brabourne and Scottish Church has already issued forms before this directive.
The university in its last circular, dated March 29 had asked colleges to admit students by calculating aggregate of best of five subjects. “Since the circular did not mention that environmental studies cannot be included as one of the subjects while calculating best of five we have already accepted forms where students have calculated their aggregate by including this subject. The Higher Secondary Council mark sheet awarded both grade and marks for environmental science,” said Mamata Ray, principal of Presidency College.
Scottish Church College too is facing hurdles over environmental studies. “We already have built a software which allows environmental studies as one of the best of five subjects. Many students have already submitted the forms online and at least for this year, it will be difficult for us to bring a change now,” said J Abharam, principal of the college.
However, according to Shyamal Sarkar, secretary of CU’s under graduate council all colleges will have to follow the circular. “If any college had included the marks of environmental studies in the aggregate, they will have to rectify it. It is not a big problem, since the colleges have not admitted any students yet,” said Sarkar.
The registrar of CU, Samir Bandhyopadhyay, however suggested that the university would take a final decision on Wednesday. “I feel justice will not be done if a section of students are allowed to include environmental studies marks in the aggregate. The final decision will be taken by the Vice Chancellor,” he said.
While most of the colleges started giving the forms online from June 1, St. Xavier’s’ and Loreto has been issuing forms for the last three weeks. St Xavier’s admissions start from Wednesday. “The university should have issued the circular earlier, now it is too late. This is creating confusion among students,” said Father P. C. Mathew, Principal of the College.
While CBSE did not have environmental studies as one of the subjects, students ISC and HS have scored highly in it. “All my students have scored above 70 in environmental studies. This is helping them to boost their aggregate. CU and Higher Education Council should have given this directive much earlier,” said Rupak Homeroy, principal of Ballygaunge Government High School. Agrees Father Mathew of St. Xavier’s’ College, “In any case this year the Higher Secondary Board students have not been able to get high marks but have scored very well in Environmental Studies, it is helping them to boost their aggregate.”
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
Kolkata, June 5, 2007
Confusion is the word dominating the admission process of all colleges under Calcutta University (CU). CU has issued an order on June 4, directing all colleges not to include environment studies as one of the ‘best of five’ subjects while calculating the aggregate of students seeking admission in under graduate courses. However, many colleges like Presidency, St. Xavier’s, Loreto, Lady Brabourne and Scottish Church has already issued forms before this directive.
The university in its last circular, dated March 29 had asked colleges to admit students by calculating aggregate of best of five subjects. “Since the circular did not mention that environmental studies cannot be included as one of the subjects while calculating best of five we have already accepted forms where students have calculated their aggregate by including this subject. The Higher Secondary Council mark sheet awarded both grade and marks for environmental science,” said Mamata Ray, principal of Presidency College.
Scottish Church College too is facing hurdles over environmental studies. “We already have built a software which allows environmental studies as one of the best of five subjects. Many students have already submitted the forms online and at least for this year, it will be difficult for us to bring a change now,” said J Abharam, principal of the college.
However, according to Shyamal Sarkar, secretary of CU’s under graduate council all colleges will have to follow the circular. “If any college had included the marks of environmental studies in the aggregate, they will have to rectify it. It is not a big problem, since the colleges have not admitted any students yet,” said Sarkar.
The registrar of CU, Samir Bandhyopadhyay, however suggested that the university would take a final decision on Wednesday. “I feel justice will not be done if a section of students are allowed to include environmental studies marks in the aggregate. The final decision will be taken by the Vice Chancellor,” he said.
While most of the colleges started giving the forms online from June 1, St. Xavier’s’ and Loreto has been issuing forms for the last three weeks. St Xavier’s admissions start from Wednesday. “The university should have issued the circular earlier, now it is too late. This is creating confusion among students,” said Father P. C. Mathew, Principal of the College.
While CBSE did not have environmental studies as one of the subjects, students ISC and HS have scored highly in it. “All my students have scored above 70 in environmental studies. This is helping them to boost their aggregate. CU and Higher Education Council should have given this directive much earlier,” said Rupak Homeroy, principal of Ballygaunge Government High School. Agrees Father Mathew of St. Xavier’s’ College, “In any case this year the Higher Secondary Board students have not been able to get high marks but have scored very well in Environmental Studies, it is helping them to boost their aggregate.”
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Not the end of the road
Mou Chakraborty / Rashmi Sharma
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
After declaration of Madhyamik, Higher Secondary and other board exam results, those who have not performed up to their expectations are feeling miserable. Have no fear — there are many famous and successful people — who have done the same.
The worn-out cliché, “failure is the stepping stone to success” still holds true. Exams are not the only thing in life. For many, bad results in their board exams have spurred them onto greater things in life. The moral: Do not break down. Instead, start looking at life from a newer perspective.
Dipanjan Banerjee, general manager (programming) with an upcoming FM radio station failed in his HS exams. While he took up science under parental and peer pressure, Dipanjan did not lose sight of his dreams, being independent in his thoughts. “I always chased dreams and never thought studying physics and maths would be instrumental in realising my dreams. However, after failing in maths, I realised the need to focus on academics and for one year I studied hard. I am not ashamed of failing, instead I feel proud that I passed with good marks the next year.”
He however, cautioned against people who are likely to take a dim view of underachievers. Although the negative undercurrents he felt from some relatives, peers and neighbours continue to hurt, even after 15 years, those who fail must not give in to criticism or peer pressure, he suggested. “Such comments stopped mattering as I went up the social and corporate ladder.”
One of the youngest ministers in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s government, Abdus Sattar, was never a topper in school. But he believed in consistency and was focused in life. Not only did he finish his PhD and become a professor, but also went on to become the youngest president of West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education followed by the minister of minority development and welfare. “The first boy in my class is yet to get a job and the second boy is not doing so well in life. So if your board results are bad, keep in mind that you still have time to develop yourself. And the only way to do it is by becoming optimistic,” Sattar said.
Famous painter Suvaprasanna scored 45 per cent in his Class XII exam, but he knew what he wanted from life. “My parents wanted me to become a doctor and when I took admission in Art College, they threw me out.” Today Suvaprasanna is happy that he pursued what he loved. “I have seen toppers who end up doing nothing great in life. If you have dreams and determination, nothing can stop you,” the artist said.
Anindya Chatterjee, lead vocalist and lyricist of Bangla band Chandrobindoo, recollects: “I did badly in Madhyamik examination and seeing my friends passing out with flying colours gave me a major complex. It was not the end but the beginning of my success in life. I motivated myself to cultivate my love for music and turned it into a full-fledged career.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
rashmisharma2006@gmail.com
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
After declaration of Madhyamik, Higher Secondary and other board exam results, those who have not performed up to their expectations are feeling miserable. Have no fear — there are many famous and successful people — who have done the same.
The worn-out cliché, “failure is the stepping stone to success” still holds true. Exams are not the only thing in life. For many, bad results in their board exams have spurred them onto greater things in life. The moral: Do not break down. Instead, start looking at life from a newer perspective.
Dipanjan Banerjee, general manager (programming) with an upcoming FM radio station failed in his HS exams. While he took up science under parental and peer pressure, Dipanjan did not lose sight of his dreams, being independent in his thoughts. “I always chased dreams and never thought studying physics and maths would be instrumental in realising my dreams. However, after failing in maths, I realised the need to focus on academics and for one year I studied hard. I am not ashamed of failing, instead I feel proud that I passed with good marks the next year.”
He however, cautioned against people who are likely to take a dim view of underachievers. Although the negative undercurrents he felt from some relatives, peers and neighbours continue to hurt, even after 15 years, those who fail must not give in to criticism or peer pressure, he suggested. “Such comments stopped mattering as I went up the social and corporate ladder.”
One of the youngest ministers in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s government, Abdus Sattar, was never a topper in school. But he believed in consistency and was focused in life. Not only did he finish his PhD and become a professor, but also went on to become the youngest president of West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education followed by the minister of minority development and welfare. “The first boy in my class is yet to get a job and the second boy is not doing so well in life. So if your board results are bad, keep in mind that you still have time to develop yourself. And the only way to do it is by becoming optimistic,” Sattar said.
Famous painter Suvaprasanna scored 45 per cent in his Class XII exam, but he knew what he wanted from life. “My parents wanted me to become a doctor and when I took admission in Art College, they threw me out.” Today Suvaprasanna is happy that he pursued what he loved. “I have seen toppers who end up doing nothing great in life. If you have dreams and determination, nothing can stop you,” the artist said.
Anindya Chatterjee, lead vocalist and lyricist of Bangla band Chandrobindoo, recollects: “I did badly in Madhyamik examination and seeing my friends passing out with flying colours gave me a major complex. It was not the end but the beginning of my success in life. I motivated myself to cultivate my love for music and turned it into a full-fledged career.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
rashmisharma2006@gmail.com
Design prospects ripe in state
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Design prospects ripe in state
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Govt school students rise and shine
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 2, 2007
Despite inherent disadvantages like poor infrastructure, students from government schools have performed better in Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations.
There are 44 government schools in the state, out of which 18 institutions have produced on an average forty students with star marks in Madhyamik. Among them Hindu School topped the list with 80 students and Barasta PCS stood second with 70. In Higher Secondary where students of private and government sponsored schools struggled to get 80 per cent on an average, government schools had at least 10 students scoring above 80 per cent.
“Our biggest handicap is that unlike the private schools, we cannot take an admission test but have to take students through lottery. Which means we get both meritorious as well as below average students. The reason for good results is that our teachers are able to churn out merit from students of all categories,” said Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association.
Abhro Ghosh, who scored 447 from Hooghly Collegiate School and is one of the toppers in HS, agrees. “My result would not have been possible without my teachers. My school and teachers always guided me and they are responsible for what I am today.”
“The environment of our schools is such that most of the students study diligently. The teachers give personal attention to students and even take extra classes in other government schools, something which cannot be seen everywhere,” said Shyamnarayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
Many government schools have teaching posts vacant. The condition is such that teachers from one school have often taken classes in another institution. “We have 120 teachers post lying vacant. However, 40 new teaching posts have been created. We hope the state will try and solve our problems,” said Das.
The government schools have to recruit teachers through Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC had advertised for recruitment in January, but they have not announced any exam date. Only after the exam, the PSC will put up a list of selected candidates and an interview will finally select the teachers. “The system is cumbrous and by the time PSC selects a candidate, he has already joined a government sponsored school through School Service Commission exam,” said Das.
However, many government school students with star marks may not get admission in their own institutions. “Government rules prevents us form admitting all our successful students to Class XI. Instead we have to split in 50-50 ratios and take students from outside,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 2, 2007
Despite inherent disadvantages like poor infrastructure, students from government schools have performed better in Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations.
There are 44 government schools in the state, out of which 18 institutions have produced on an average forty students with star marks in Madhyamik. Among them Hindu School topped the list with 80 students and Barasta PCS stood second with 70. In Higher Secondary where students of private and government sponsored schools struggled to get 80 per cent on an average, government schools had at least 10 students scoring above 80 per cent.
“Our biggest handicap is that unlike the private schools, we cannot take an admission test but have to take students through lottery. Which means we get both meritorious as well as below average students. The reason for good results is that our teachers are able to churn out merit from students of all categories,” said Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association.
Abhro Ghosh, who scored 447 from Hooghly Collegiate School and is one of the toppers in HS, agrees. “My result would not have been possible without my teachers. My school and teachers always guided me and they are responsible for what I am today.”
“The environment of our schools is such that most of the students study diligently. The teachers give personal attention to students and even take extra classes in other government schools, something which cannot be seen everywhere,” said Shyamnarayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
Many government schools have teaching posts vacant. The condition is such that teachers from one school have often taken classes in another institution. “We have 120 teachers post lying vacant. However, 40 new teaching posts have been created. We hope the state will try and solve our problems,” said Das.
The government schools have to recruit teachers through Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC had advertised for recruitment in January, but they have not announced any exam date. Only after the exam, the PSC will put up a list of selected candidates and an interview will finally select the teachers. “The system is cumbrous and by the time PSC selects a candidate, he has already joined a government sponsored school through School Service Commission exam,” said Das.
However, many government school students with star marks may not get admission in their own institutions. “Government rules prevents us form admitting all our successful students to Class XI. Instead we have to split in 50-50 ratios and take students from outside,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Friday, June 1, 2007
HS pass outs will have to fight it out for college entry
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
The Higher Secondary results are out and there aren’t too many smiling faces. Not that the pass percentage has gone down --- in fact it is up by a modest 2 per cent --- but marks weren’t as free flowing as students who sat for the ISC and CBSE Class XII exams. And that’s a big worry as admission to a college will become tougher.
While revising the syllabus and changing the marking system for this year’s exams, the HS Council had loudly proclaimed that the changes would remove the huge disparity in marks that existed between Higher Secondary students and those sitting for Delhi board exams. The purpose was clearly to give all students seeking admissions to colleges a level playing field. But that clearly hasn’t happened.
An analysis of the results show that HS pass-outs fared poorly when compared to those who have passed the ISC and CBSE Class XII examinations. Take, for instance, this simple statistics --- the HS topper from Bengal, Shornojit Chatterjee from Ramkanai Institution in Bankura, got 91.8 per cent while the ISC topper from the state secured a whopping 98.75 per cent and the CBSE first in Bengal got 96.2 per cent. What’s more, out of the 2.2 lakh-odd who passed this year’s HS exams, only four got past the 90 per cent mark. In both ISC and CBSE, this figure is at least 100 times more.
The problem is that with most colleges in the city and the adjoining districts doing away with admission tests and taking the marksheet as the sole criterion for admissions, the HS students are clearly at a disadvantage. The Calcutta University, for example --- it offers over one lakh seats in 162 colleges under it --- has asked all institutions not to give preferential treatment to any particular board. Loreto College, for instance, has already filled up most of its seats with ISC and CBSE candidates and only a handful seats are left for the HS pass-outs. Even the prestigious Presidency College will be holding admission test in only a handful of subjects. “If we find more high-scoring students from ISC and CBSE we will have to admit them. We can’t help but follow the instruction given to us by the university,” said J. Abraham, principal of Scottish Church College.
In fact, the post-mortem of the results has already begum in the city’s academic corridors to find out why marks weren’t flowing. One reason could be the lack of orientation programme for teachers regarding the changed environment, said All Bengal Teachers Associations (ABTA) general-secretary Shibaparsad Mukhopadhyay. “The syllabus has changed drastically, the marking system has changed, but most teachers, including those who checked answer scripts, were not properly trained,” he told HT.
Result: Students had problem understanding the new exam pattern. “For example, many failed to realise that exceeding world limit would cost them marks,” Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, a teacher of Patha Bhavan High School, said. “The Delhi boards follow the policy of giving full marks to students if the answer is to the point which the HS Council is yet to follow. Moreover, there are many objective type questions, projects and practicals which help the students to increase their score. All of them make a very big difference,” said Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla High School.
(mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com)
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
The Higher Secondary results are out and there aren’t too many smiling faces. Not that the pass percentage has gone down --- in fact it is up by a modest 2 per cent --- but marks weren’t as free flowing as students who sat for the ISC and CBSE Class XII exams. And that’s a big worry as admission to a college will become tougher.
While revising the syllabus and changing the marking system for this year’s exams, the HS Council had loudly proclaimed that the changes would remove the huge disparity in marks that existed between Higher Secondary students and those sitting for Delhi board exams. The purpose was clearly to give all students seeking admissions to colleges a level playing field. But that clearly hasn’t happened.
An analysis of the results show that HS pass-outs fared poorly when compared to those who have passed the ISC and CBSE Class XII examinations. Take, for instance, this simple statistics --- the HS topper from Bengal, Shornojit Chatterjee from Ramkanai Institution in Bankura, got 91.8 per cent while the ISC topper from the state secured a whopping 98.75 per cent and the CBSE first in Bengal got 96.2 per cent. What’s more, out of the 2.2 lakh-odd who passed this year’s HS exams, only four got past the 90 per cent mark. In both ISC and CBSE, this figure is at least 100 times more.
The problem is that with most colleges in the city and the adjoining districts doing away with admission tests and taking the marksheet as the sole criterion for admissions, the HS students are clearly at a disadvantage. The Calcutta University, for example --- it offers over one lakh seats in 162 colleges under it --- has asked all institutions not to give preferential treatment to any particular board. Loreto College, for instance, has already filled up most of its seats with ISC and CBSE candidates and only a handful seats are left for the HS pass-outs. Even the prestigious Presidency College will be holding admission test in only a handful of subjects. “If we find more high-scoring students from ISC and CBSE we will have to admit them. We can’t help but follow the instruction given to us by the university,” said J. Abraham, principal of Scottish Church College.
In fact, the post-mortem of the results has already begum in the city’s academic corridors to find out why marks weren’t flowing. One reason could be the lack of orientation programme for teachers regarding the changed environment, said All Bengal Teachers Associations (ABTA) general-secretary Shibaparsad Mukhopadhyay. “The syllabus has changed drastically, the marking system has changed, but most teachers, including those who checked answer scripts, were not properly trained,” he told HT.
Result: Students had problem understanding the new exam pattern. “For example, many failed to realise that exceeding world limit would cost them marks,” Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, a teacher of Patha Bhavan High School, said. “The Delhi boards follow the policy of giving full marks to students if the answer is to the point which the HS Council is yet to follow. Moreover, there are many objective type questions, projects and practicals which help the students to increase their score. All of them make a very big difference,” said Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla High School.
(mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com)
Districts outstrip city schools in HS merit list
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
In a total reversal of trend, district schools have outstripped city schools in the Higher Secondary exam merit list. It has shattered the popular belief that the best students flock to the city-based schools.
As many as 12 out of the 18 probable toppers in the HS exams this year are either from the districts or suburbs. Since, last results came in, only one student from Kolkata — Tomoghno Biswas from Nava Nalanda High School — has scored above 90 per cent.
The school education minister Partha De, however, refused to put too much emphasis on the disparity in results. “It will not be right to say that the students from the districts have done better than those from Kolkata or vice versa. The average result is very good and this is just the beginning. I am very happy with the result. It is true that the pass percentage has not increased in the districts, but with time it will go up,” said De.
One of the main reason for the city losing out is that many students like M Saraswati, the probable topper in the arts section of CBSE in Class XII exams this year, leave the state board after Madhyamik and migrate to other more scoring boards. “I realised that in the Bengal board I could not score much and I shifted to CBSE and have been able to score 93 per cent even in arts,” she said.
Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association too aired the same view. “Many top scorers in the city go to ISC and CBSE board schools because that is more scoring. Moreover, the socio-economic condition of villages has now changed. The parents and the students now know the importance of education,” he said.
Teachers from the city however are not too happy with the results. “Though the syllabus and question pattern has changed, not many students from my school have scored as expected. This was the first year for the new pattern and we hope from next year it will be different,” said Shyam Narayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
There is a silver lining for city schools though. Despite, more students from the districts making it to the merit lists, Kolkata has registered the highest pass percentage (86.85%). “Since this is the first year for the new pattern, we need at least 3 years to understand the pattern,” said Shiboparsad Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of All Bengal Teachers Association.
However, talking about the reason behind fewer students doing very well, Mukhopadhyay, said, “There were questions from every unit in the new question pattern. So the students who do selective studies were caught on the wrong foot.”
The new pattern of examination has seen an increase of 1.95 per cent in the pass percentage, compared to an almost 5 per cent rise in the last two years. While, there has been 5.78 per cent drop in students scoring between 30 and 44 in individual subjects compared to last year, there has also been a 7 per cent increase in the number of students scoring between 60 and 79 in individual subjects compared to 2006.
“The fact that the new system is working is proved by the fact that many mediocre students have become better. The most important gain is the over 1 per cent rise in students scoring above 80 per cent this year,” said Debashish Sharkar, secretary of West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education.
Also, girls have done better than boys with the pass percentage of girls increasing by 4.86 per cent. In the case of boys, the figure stands at 0.16 per cent. But the new mark sheet has created confusion among teachers, who were trying to make the grand total. “The council should have given some directions on how to calculate the grand total. It has only increased our workload,” said Harekrishan Bhattacharya, principal of Hare School.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
In a total reversal of trend, district schools have outstripped city schools in the Higher Secondary exam merit list. It has shattered the popular belief that the best students flock to the city-based schools.
As many as 12 out of the 18 probable toppers in the HS exams this year are either from the districts or suburbs. Since, last results came in, only one student from Kolkata — Tomoghno Biswas from Nava Nalanda High School — has scored above 90 per cent.
The school education minister Partha De, however, refused to put too much emphasis on the disparity in results. “It will not be right to say that the students from the districts have done better than those from Kolkata or vice versa. The average result is very good and this is just the beginning. I am very happy with the result. It is true that the pass percentage has not increased in the districts, but with time it will go up,” said De.
One of the main reason for the city losing out is that many students like M Saraswati, the probable topper in the arts section of CBSE in Class XII exams this year, leave the state board after Madhyamik and migrate to other more scoring boards. “I realised that in the Bengal board I could not score much and I shifted to CBSE and have been able to score 93 per cent even in arts,” she said.
Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association too aired the same view. “Many top scorers in the city go to ISC and CBSE board schools because that is more scoring. Moreover, the socio-economic condition of villages has now changed. The parents and the students now know the importance of education,” he said.
Teachers from the city however are not too happy with the results. “Though the syllabus and question pattern has changed, not many students from my school have scored as expected. This was the first year for the new pattern and we hope from next year it will be different,” said Shyam Narayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
There is a silver lining for city schools though. Despite, more students from the districts making it to the merit lists, Kolkata has registered the highest pass percentage (86.85%). “Since this is the first year for the new pattern, we need at least 3 years to understand the pattern,” said Shiboparsad Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of All Bengal Teachers Association.
However, talking about the reason behind fewer students doing very well, Mukhopadhyay, said, “There were questions from every unit in the new question pattern. So the students who do selective studies were caught on the wrong foot.”
The new pattern of examination has seen an increase of 1.95 per cent in the pass percentage, compared to an almost 5 per cent rise in the last two years. While, there has been 5.78 per cent drop in students scoring between 30 and 44 in individual subjects compared to last year, there has also been a 7 per cent increase in the number of students scoring between 60 and 79 in individual subjects compared to 2006.
“The fact that the new system is working is proved by the fact that many mediocre students have become better. The most important gain is the over 1 per cent rise in students scoring above 80 per cent this year,” said Debashish Sharkar, secretary of West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education.
Also, girls have done better than boys with the pass percentage of girls increasing by 4.86 per cent. In the case of boys, the figure stands at 0.16 per cent. But the new mark sheet has created confusion among teachers, who were trying to make the grand total. “The council should have given some directions on how to calculate the grand total. It has only increased our workload,” said Harekrishan Bhattacharya, principal of Hare School.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
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