Education Series on Australia

Australian Trade Commission has plans to work for the energy and food security of India. Michael Carter, Consul-Commercial, Australian Trade Commission, who was here in connection with 'Australian Education Excellence Showcase 2011,' an education series organised by the Australian Government, said that some of the Indian companies already acquired coal mines in Australia.

“Australia has been known for advance agricultural practices and we are ready to transfer the same to India,” he said. In the educational sector, the Curtin University of Australia already entered in to a collaboration with Chennai Business School.

According to Carter, the collaboration with Indian and Australian Educational institutions will take a fast face once the Foreign Education Bill under the consideration of Indian Parliament is passed.Leading Australian universities participated at the education fair in Kochi to disseminate contemporary information about Australian education, especially on the academic programs, scholarships, student experience, safety measures and career paths in Australian educational institutions to prospective students from India.The showcase featured senior representatives and faculties from over 15 leading educational institutions from Australia, including the Curtin University, RMIT, Deakin University and University of Western Sydney.

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/education-series-on-australia/251907.html

IIM-Calcutta to boost research and upgrade lab

The Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) plans to utilize the Rs.20 crore special budgetary grant to help students do research in global finance markets and to upgrade its financial research and trading lab.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the special grant to the IIM-C in the union budget he presented to the Lok Sabha on Monday.

"The money will help us upgrade our financial research and trading laboratory into a world class facility. The fund will also help students for further research in global finance markets," Ashok Banerjee, professor of finance and head of the lab, said on Monday.

The lab was set up on November 18, 2008, to support advanced applied research in financial markets and equip finance managers with the mathematical and conceptual theories.

"Lot of money is required for further research in the global finance markets. So, this money will help the students to a large extent," Banerjee told the sources.

"The grant will help us obtain important softwares and global market data. Right now this is going on a small scale. The special allocation will give a boost to our upgradation and research projects," he said. IANS

Source:http://indiaedunews.net/IIM/IIM-Calcutta_to_boost_research_and_upgrade_lab_13611/

Google to content farms: It's war

Google has set in motion the changes that it announced recently to combat "content farms"--companies that produce large amounts of inexpensive, search-engine-optimized content that have been frequently decried for their low quality.

But will there be sweeping changes in the way we view and navigate the Web? It's hard to tell just yet.

"In the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking--a change that noticeably impacts 11.8 percent of our queries--and we wanted to let people know what's going on," Google said in a blog post last week. "This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites--sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites--sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on."

Part of this strategy involves a Chrome browser extension called Personal Blocklist.

But Demand Media, the recent IPO at the forefront of the "content farm" controversy, said last week that it's been unaffected by Google's algorithm change, so far. "It's impossible to speculate how these or any changes made by Google impact any online business in the long term--but at this point in time, we haven't seen a material net impact on our Content and Media business," Demand Media executive vice president Larry Fitzgibbons said last night in a blog post. Demand Media, nevertheless, leaves open the possibility that its content could be affected in the future.

Indeed, Google said the changes may not be visible immediately, especially as the modifications to its algorithm are currently affecting only U.S. users. "We're very excited about this new ranking improvement because we believe it's a big step in the right direction of helping people find ever higher quality in our results," the Google blog post explained. "We've been tackling these issues for more than a year, and working on this specific change for the past few months. And we're working on many more updates that we believe will substantially improve the quality of the pages in our results."

What's at stake for Google here is the fact that critics have said content farms are making search results less useful and less relevant. With pressure from the "social search" trend fueled by Facebook's success and from search rival Bing inching up in market share, this decision may be more pressing for Google than it appears at first glance.

Soource: http://www.zdnetasia.com/google-to-content-farms-it-s-war-62207115.htm

Education key to a longer life

Washington, Feb 28 : Your granny was right after all in insisting that being attentive and studying hard at school and college helped you live longer, besides fending off risks of cardiovascular disease

Education is now also being correlated with lower blood pressure (BP), decrease in alcohol consumption, smoking and weight gain, according to latest research.

Researchers followed 3,890 people for 30 years from the Framingham Offspring Study, regarding their education levels, status of heart disease, the journal BMC Public Health reports.

Eric Loucks from Brown University department of community health, who led the study said: "Even when adjusted for socio-economic variables, education is inversely correlated with high blood pressure..."

Educated men (with more than 17 years of education) had a lower body mass index (BMI), a height to weight ratio, smoked less and drank less than men with less education, according to a Brown University statement.

Similarly, educated women also smoked less, had lower BMI, but drank more than their less educated sisters (however, they still drank about half as much as the educated men).

For both men and women, each extra level of academic study completed further reduced the incidence of high blood pressure.

--IANS

Source:http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-157287.html

Government to connect 6,000 colleges with fibre optics

Kochi, Feb 27 : Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said the government would connect 6,000 colleges under 800 universities in the country with fibre optics to build an international highway of information.

Inaugurating the Latin Catholic Samudaya Sangamam here, he said the project was expected to be introduced throughout the country in the next three to four years.

Stating that the object of the project was to provide information to each and every one in the country, the Minister said once the connectivity was through the information to each and every one would be made available free of cost.

The Minister also said the ministry would encourage the students living in coastal areas to choose their own course of study and the government would provide certificates on Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) system.

By doing this it would be able to give a right hand to lift these category of students from their backwardness, he added.

Mr Sibal also said the government would introduce new devices to know the quantity of fish concentrated in an area for the fishermen, which ultimately would help them to have big catch.

Earlier at a function in Kalamassery while pointing out that there will be a global opportunity as India would be providing the workforce of the world by 2050, he said the country would be the hub of knowledge.

Source:http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-157226.html

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Obama to discuss Libya sanctions with France,Britian

Washington: President Barack Obama will Thursday discuss punitive measures against Libya, including sanctions, with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the White House said.

“They will be discussing Libya and they will be discussing different options that we can take,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, saying the calls were due to take place later in the day.

“I am sure, broadly speaking, our options will be discussed,” he said, though he declined to detail exact steps Washington wanted to see taken, amid calls for sanctions and the establishment of a “no fly” zone over Libya.

“I am not ruling anything out,” Carney said, though acknowledged “sanctions are something we are looking at.”

“Exploring the options means just that,” Carney said, when asked whether the Pentagon was laying plans to enforce a “no fly zone” to protect civilians in Libya.

source:http://www.livemint.com/2011/02/25003205/Obama-to-discuss-Libya-sanctio.html

Forget fuel costs, US farmers cheer oil surge

Kansas City, Missouri/Winnipeg, Manitoba: Not too long ago, a surge in oil prices such as this week’s would have caused a groan of misery from the US farm belt, forced to pay higher prices for tractor fuel and fertilizer. Today, farmers are far more likely to cheer.

The farm sector’s response to a surge in fuel costs has inverted for two important reasons: the rise of biofuels now means more corn and soybeans are likely to be drawn into the fuel pool; and the disconnect between natural gas and crude prices means fertilizer costs are not being dragged higher.

While neither trend is new, it’s been put in sharp relief this week as US oil prices surge to $100 for the first time since 2008 amid Middle East unrest.

On balance, the surge is far more likely to lend support for a near-record corn sowing season than it is to crimp farm income through higher costs for crop chemicals and transportation charges, analysts say.

“All indications are that the only thing that will keep a farmer from planting this year is if he drops dead walking out the door ... and then somebody else will grab his tractor and plant for him,” said Missouri corn farmer Richard Oswald.

“There is every incentive in the world to plant. High oil prices are just one more incentive.”

In addition, the surge has come long after most farmers have tilled their fields and locked in fertilizer purchases, leaving them better prepared than in 2007-2008, according to National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman.

“When we saw this (runup) a couple years ago, it really raised input prices and squeezed the margin,” said Tolman.

This year input costs may pinch, but they won’t puncture the upbeat mood. Grain futures have fallen sharply this week as risk-averse speculators flee the market, but most remain within sight of their records struck in 2008.

Profits this year look to be strong. The US department of agriculture has forecast farm income to be $94.7 billion in 2011, up 19.8% from the 2010 forecast and the second highest inflation-adjusted value in the past 35 years.

Limited impact

To be sure, higher oil prices raise transportation costs for farmers just like everyone else.

However, fuel to run farm machinery, trucks and other equipment accounts for only a tiny portion of overall inputs -- about 3% of the total cost of growing corn on an acre of land in central Illinois this year, said Gary Schnitkey, professor of farm management at University of Illinois.

That’s more than offset by the bullish impact on grain prices.

“I think crude oil probably causes (crop) commodity prices to go up more than costs,” Schnitkey said.

Another important factor is natural gas, used to make urea, a source for nitrogen fertilizer used on corn. Fertilizer generally accounts for more than 40 percent of the total operating costs for corn, versus 16 percent for soybeans, according to US department of agriculture data.

Until the past few years, a rise in oil prices would almost certainly have dragged natural gas higher; however the discovery of decades’ worth of cheap domestic shale gas has put a semi-permanent damper on the market, keeping prices at unseasonally low levels even as oil surges.

Partly as a result of the benign natural gas cost, fertilizer prices look to hold steady through the US spring planting season and then soften, said David Asbridge, president of NPK Fertilizer Advisory Services in St. Louis, Missouri.

“At the world level, we’ve got plenty of nitrogen fertilizer,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of imports coming into the US and there’s really no reason for prices to stay as high as they are.”

Oil prices have risen to a record premium over natural gas on an energy-equivalent basis. Natural gas futures traded below $4 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Thursday, near a three-month low.

Political unrest in Libya, which pumps nearly 2% of world oil output has sent Brent crude prices near $120 a barrel to a two-and-a-half-year high this week.

Upbeat countryside

All that means the mood in the countryside remains fairly ebullient as corn futures prices hold over $6.00 a bushel and government agricultural officials look for American farmers to plant 92 million acres to corn this spring, up from 88.2 million acres in 2010/11.

Ethanol makers are expected to consume a record 5 billion bushels of corn this year, or about 36% of the harvest, the USDA says.

And with strong global food demand for a growing population, food prices are forecast to rise 3.5% this year, nearly double the overall inflation rate.

This year, with natural gas costs staying low, and global demand for short supplies of corn strong, farmers won’t be deterred from planting corn.

“This year, with the price of corn where it is, and the yield advantage of corn over soybeans and the fact that it’s good to rotate, all of those are in favor of corn holding its acreage,” said North Dakota State University agronomist Joel Ransom.

source:http://www.livemint.com/2011/02/25113137/Forget-fuel-costs-US-farmers.html

Bangladesh, Russia sign deal for nuclear power plant

Dhaka: Energy-hungry Bangladesh has signed a deal with Russia to set up the country’s first nuclear power plant to generate 2,000 MW of electricity, officials said on Friday.

Two reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 MW, will be built at Rooppur at a cost of around $2 billion, with completion expected by 2017-18.

Russian state company Rosatom will supply fuel for the reactors, process spent fuel and subsequently help decommission the plant, the officials said.

Bangladesh has turned to nuclear to deal with power shortages that often stir public anger and are widely cited as a barrier to foreign investment in the impoverished country. Gas reserves are fast depleting and most coalfields remain untapped.

Barely 45% of Bangladesh’s more than 150 million people have access to power. The country faces a shortfall of 2,000 MW of electricity, resulting in frequent power cuts and economic losses estimated at nearly $1 billion a year.

source:http://www.livemint.com/2011/02/25134037/Bangladesh-Russia-sign-deal-f.html

IGNOU preparing online database of experts

New Delhi: IGNOU's National Centre for Innovation in Distance Education (NCIDE) is preparing a comprehensive database of experts who may be interested to be associated with various academic activities of the university such as course writing, editing, translating, question paper setting, moderation or evaluation. For this purpose, the university has developed a software namely e-Resource of Experts which helps in online database creation and management which will be useful for the faculty of IGNOU as well as for the experts.

IGNOU's e-Resource of Experts has three modules including Data Entry Module, Data Access Module and Data Editing Module.

Data Entry Module is open for all. Any subject expert, who thinks that he/she can contribute for the aforesaid causes of IGNOU, can submit his/her profile online. There is also a provision of updating the profiles. The experts can update or modify their profile any time just by using their user ID and password generated at the time of registration.

Data Access Module has restricted access for the IGNOU officials only. The authorized IGNOU faculty and staff can access the e-Resources of Experts to search for an expert by name, subject area, specialisation or location etc.

Data Editing Module has restricted access for the administrator only for generating different types of lists of the experts. The administrator can add and update profile of an expert from time to time.

"Besides being highly user friendly for the experts, faculty, staff and the administrator, the e-Resource of Experts has certain features such as anybody from anywhere can upload his/her profile anytime, the profile of an expert can be updated from time to time by the expert as well as by the administrator. It provides facility to search for an expert by name, subject area of specialization or location and also gives a quick view of subject wise list of experts. Users can also view the complete profile of an expert for detailed information," said Dr. O.P. Sharma, Deputy Director, NCIDE, IGNOU.

All the profiles received can be scrutinized by the concerned faculty and the list of suitable experts may be generated online. Any expert who wants to join hands, can submit his/her profile online by clicking the button 'e-Resource of Experts', given on the home page of IGNOU's website www.ignou.ac.in . They should ensure that the information they provide is accurate. However, IGNOU reserves the right not to consider an expert to work in IGNOU which it believes has furnished wrong details or it finds it to be misleading or unsuitable for the University.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/ShowUNI.asp?newsid=7944

Students from USA visit Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh : A team of students of Public Health and Human Rights from different universities of United States of America visited Department of Community Medicine, J. N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University. The students have come under university exchange programme of India-Health and Human Rights, SIT Study Abroad and World Learning of USA. The team will assess the different levels of health care delivery system in India.

Dr. M. Athar Ansari, Chairman of the Department welcomed the students and team members presented a brief introduction of Department of Community Medicine and its role in the community for the advancement of Public Health especially in urban slums and marginalized population. Students visited different OPD of J. N. Medical College, which is a tertiary care health facility. They observed the functioning as well as resources available in the hospital.

Later, an interactive session was organized in the Committee Room of Dean?s Office. Prof. S. Abrar Hasan, Dean Faculty of Medicine welcomed the students and repied their queries regarding academic activities in the college. Prof. M. Ashraf Malik, Principal and Chief Medical Superintendent, JNMC thanked the students and team members for coming to J. N. Medical College Hospital for assessment of health care and discussed future plan of expansion of activities in the hospital like availability of smart card (Health Insurance) for below poverty line (BPL) patients.

The team also visited Z. A. Dental College and had a brief interactive session with Prof. S. H. Hashmi, Principal, Dental College. The visit to Dental College was organized by Dr. S. S. Ahmad, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Dr. Azim A. Khan Sherwani, Academic Director, World Learning, USA thanked the Dean, Principals and Chairman, Community Medicine for organizing the visit. The team will also visit Malkhan Singh District Hospital (Secondary Care Level) and Primary/Community Health Centre, Jawan, Rural/Urban Health Training Centres, and ROME Mobile Health Clinic of Department of Community Medicine.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/ShowUNI.asp?newsid=7984

Pakistani professor says people of India and Pakistan should not look upon each other with enmity

Aligarh : Dr. Tariq Rahman, Emeritus Professor of Socio-Linguistic History at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan said that that the people of India and Pakistan should not look upon each other with enmity but with togetherness and need for Hindi and Urdu to come closer.

Dr. Rahman was delivering the extension lecture on 'Social and Political History of Urdu' organized under University Extension Lecture at Aligarh Muslim University.

In his presidential address, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis encouraged the students to have a positive attitude towards their mother tongue. Prof. Azis strongly stressed upon the need for promoting Urdu medium schools.

Prof. S. Imtiaz Hasnain, Coordinator, University Extension Lectures welcomed the guests and introduced the speaker.

Later in the afternoon, the Department of Linguistics screened two documentaries, namely Urdu hai jiska naam and Urdu in Modern India in the Arts Faculty Lounge to mark the International Mothers' Day. The documentaries are produced by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India Related Picture1. Prof. S. Imtiz Hasnain addressing the University Extension lecture, L to R - Prof. Irfan Habib, Dr. Rahman, and Prof. PK Abdul Azis.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/Showlatest.asp?newsid=7986

NCTE lays down minimum qualification for person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in schools

 The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has laid down the minimum qualification for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in schools in its Notification. One of the essential qualifications specified in the Notification is that a person has to pass a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The TET will be conducted by the appropriate Government (Central Government and State Government) in accordance with guidelines framed by the NCTE for the purpose.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Lok Sabha today.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/Showlatest.asp?newsid=7955

HRD Ministry Constitutes Task Force to examine criteria for satisfying Deemed University status’

New Delhi: The Union Ministry for Human Resource Development, has constituted a Task Force to examine applications from 'institutions that need to take corrective measures to several criteria for satisfying the Deemed University status' regarding rectification of the deficiencies mentioned in the Report of the Committee constituted to review functioning of institutions deemed to be universities.

The Central Government had constituted a Committee of Experts to review the functioning of the existing institutions 'deemed-to-be-universities' vide its notification No. F.9-26/2009-U3A dated 6/7/2009 so as to satisfy itself of the justification of their continuance as institutions 'deemed to be universities'. The Review Committee (i.e., the Committee of Experts) had submitted its Report to the Government on 20/10/2009 which was accepted, in principle, by the Government.

see more @http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/Showlatest.asp?newsid=7957

New scheme for setting up of model degree colleges in 374 educationally backward district

New Delhi: Government has introduced a new scheme to provide central assistance for setting up of a model degree college in each of the identified 374 educationally backward district where Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education is less than the national GER. Under the Scheme the Central Government shall provide assistance to the extent of one third of the capital cost for establishment of each college, limited to Rs.2.67 crore. For special category states (i.e. all North-Eastern States Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), the central share shall be 50 per cent of the capital cost limited to Rs. 4 core for each college. During the remaining period the 11th Five Year Plan , provision exists for establishing 200 model colleges in identified districts, with priority being given to special category states and districts having concentration of weaker sections and minorities as well as other districts in Schedule V and Schedule VI areas. Those colleges which have been established on or after 1st January, 2008 in identified districts shall also be eligible to be covered under this Scheme, subject to their satisfying the guidelines of University Grants Commission in respect of model colleges.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Lok Sabha today.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/Showlatest.asp?newsid=7956

Life-insurance-cum-endowment scheme for school teacherss under examination in Planning Commission

New Delhi: The Planning Commission has acknowledged that school teachers are important stakeholders in our country's development and intimated that the proposal to introduce a life-insurance-cum-endowment scheme for school teachers is under examination in the Planning Commission. Proposal for health insurance for the school teachers has not been sent by HRD Ministry to the Planning Commission.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Lok Sabha today.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/Showlatest.asp?newsid=7958

Jamia to study 'minority institution' status for implementation

New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia said on Wednesday it will study the judgment by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) granting it "minority institution" status and work out the modalities of its implementation. 

"The judgment does not in any way change the essential character of Jamia. The university has always had a commitment to national goals of social justice and secular ideals. It will continue to uphold these in the future too," university vice chancellor Najeeb Jung said.

The NCMEI on Tuesday granted "minority institution" status to Jamia Millia Islamia, giving it the right to reserve up to 50 percent of seats for Muslims.

The order could change the secular character of the central university as it will not have to provide a quota for OBCs and Dalits. 

Jamia currently has 22.5 reservation for SCs/STs, 25 percent for students from the Jamia school and 3 percent for the physically handicapped.

The NCMEI judgment put to end the almost five-year-long case on a petition filed by the Jamia Students Union, the Jamia Old Boys Association and the Jamia Teachers Association in 2006 contending the university was a minority institution and not obliged to implement any other quota following the government decision to implement 27 percent reservation for other backward classes (OBSs) in the university.

The Confederation of Muslim Education Institutions of India was an intervening party while the vice chancellor of the university, the human resource development ministry and minority affairs ministry were the respondents.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Delhi/Jamia_to_study_'minority_institution'_status_for_implementation_13584/

Global standards required in agriculture education - Pawar

New Delhi: Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Sharad Pawar has called for evolving global standards to enhance quality and relevance of agricultural education and research in the country. 

Addressing a two-day conference of vice chancellors of agriculture universities and directors of ICAR institutes here today, Pawar said, "Requisite models of public-private partnerships must be evolved for educational activities as well as for development, application and flow of technologies from lab to the market place and for strengthening of National Agricultural Research and Education System infrastructure through active interface with the industry." 

He stated that, "In order to effectively address the emerging needs of agricultural sector, we require highly competent human resources. In this context, Global schools, demand-driven curricula, student centered and problem solving approach in curriculum delivery, effective co-ordination of multi-commodity and multi-disciplinary research in entire production to consumption chain of agricultural commodities and capacity building through training at the national and international level, are some issues which need priority attention."

"I am glad to share with you that the Council is contemplating a National Agricultural Education Project for which a committee is already working to suggest reforms andrenewal of higher agricultural education in the country," he further added.

Referring to the revised course curricula now implemented in agricultural universities, Pawar said that new curricula focuses on development of knowledge, skills and attitude. "To make it demand driven, new courses have been added including the Experiential Learning with the objective of entrepreneurship development in students," he stated. 

He called upon the vice chancellors to expeditiously take steps for adoption of the Model Act developed by the ICAR for agricultural universities. 

Expressing happiness over increase in number of woman students in higher agricultural education in the recent years, he said that 60 new girls hostels in 38 agricultural universities have been completed that can accommodate 3,000 more girl students. 

The Minister said, "Degradation of natural resources and unpredictable shifts in climatic patterns have been impacting the farming practices. Competitions posed by globalization and opening up of economies, ethical issues of trade related intellectual property rights, genetically modified foods and organisms and enforcement of strict quality regimes need immediate attention while developing technically qualified manpower. More than ever before, knowledge coupled with skills has become imminent for enhancing agricultural production, marketing and trade."

He further added, Pawar said, "The infrastructure including the laboratories, farm and other facilities in some of the institutions are quite old and need renovation and upgradation. He said that though the ICAR supports agricultural universities to the possible extent to develop globally competitive infrastructure for technology generation and dissemination and human capacity building, the States should also rise to the occasion by extending adequate support."

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Harish Rawat also addressed the conference. He said that agriculture in India, through research and technology development, has enabled the country, to increase the production of foodgrains by 4 times, horticultural crops by 6 times, fish by 9 times, milk 6 times and eggs 27 times since 1950-51. 

Rawat said, "The Department of Agricultural Research and Education extends, academic, professional, and limited financial support, to the state agricultural universities. Keeping in view the minimum essential requirements, which can bring about tangible changes at ground level, several new initiatives were put forth that needed greater financial support from the Government of India."

"The present era of partnership calls for enhanced collaboration between the agricultural universities and ICAR institutes, and other related agencies," he concluded.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Today/Global_standards_required_in_agriculture_education_-_Pawar_13583/

Five Maoists among 82 prisoners writing Bengal board exams

Kolkata: Eighty two prisoners, including five Maoists, lodged in various correctional homes in West Bengal appeared in the state's secondary board examination that started Wednesday, an official said.

"Altogether, 82 prison inmates have appeared in the West Bengal Board of Secondary Examination - Madhyamik examination. This is a record in the history of correctional home services department of the state. Last year, only eight prison inmates appeared for the secondary examination," said Additional Director General and Inspector General of Police (correctional services) B.D. Sharma.

The written examination of Madhyamik will continue till March 7. Around 10.04 lakh examinees, of whom more than 50 percent are girls, Wednesday appeared in the first language paper.convict

Of the 82 inmates, five were Maoists.

"Maoist leader Santosh Debnath (55), arrested six years ago, is appearing in the exam from Presidency Correctional Home, while Sukhshanti Baskey, the treasurer of the pro-Maoist tribal body - PCAPA (People's Committee Against Police Atrocities), and his three associates Prasanto Mahato, Dhritiranjan Mahato and Bikash Mahato lodged in Midnapore Central Correctional Home are also appearing for the exam," Sharma told the sources over phone.

"Of the 82 inmates, 11 are women. Most of the inmates are aged life convicts. The convicts and the undertrials wanted to study and they were provided with books by the correctional home authorities," he added

source:http://indiaedunews.net/West_Bengal/Five_Maoists_among_82_prisoners_writing_Bengal_board_exams_13580/

India asks US to prevent exploitation of foreign students

New Delhi: India on Wednesday said it expected the US to prevent its universities from exploiting foreign students, as has happened in the case of Tri-ValleyUniversity in California in which about 1,500 Indians face an uncertain academic future.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, in a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, said the government was confident that the "unfortunate development" in the Tri-Valley University would not affect the "excellent cooperation" between India and the US in higher education, under which over a lakh Indian students are studying in American universities.

"The government expects the United States would take steps to prevent such (Tri-Valley) universities from exploiting foreign students. The government would also advise Indian students to exercise due diligence in applying to foreign universities," he said soon after the Question Hour ended.

"I am confident that this unfortunate development will not affect the excellent cooperation between India and theUnited States in higher education, which includes the presence of over 100,000 Indian students at US universities, and who enjoy a strong reputation for academic accomplishments and responsible conduct," he added.

Krishna said while India recognized the right of every government to investigate and prosecute fraud, it has asked the US government that all Tri-Valley students, who are themselves victims of fraud, should be given adequate time and opportunity to transfer to other universities or adjust their status. And, if they desired so, they should be allowed to return to India honorably.

Noting that the US government had closed Tri-Valley University last month foralleged immigration fraud and other irregularities, Krishna said the university was authorized in February 2009 to admit a limited number of foreign students, but had not enjoyed state accreditation.

Its 1,500 Indian students constituted 95 percent of enrolment at the university and they were there on valid visas or authorization.

"US authorities had questioned a number of Indian students and 18 of them were initially detained and then released with radio monitoring devices on their ankles, pending completion of their investigations for possible involvement in irregularities," he said.

Krishna said India had strongly protested the radio collars as "unacceptable", which should be removed immediately and the US authorities had begun progressively removing them.

The US authorities, he said, have also assured that innocent students would have adequate opportunity to readjust their status or transfer to other universities.

Assuring that the government and the Indian embassy and consulates general in the US were fully engaged in addressing the welfare and academic future of the affected students, the minister said the Indian mission had got in touch with most of the students despite them being dispersed across the US without registering their new contact details.

The embassy and consulates "have provided all possible assistance to them, including through direct meetings, by organizing a free legal aid camp and issuing appropriate guidance and advisories", he added.

Krishna said that he personally took up the matter with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had also conveyed India's concerns to American authorities during her visit to the US.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/International/India_asks_US_to_prevent_exploitation_of_foreign_students_13579/

IIFM invites applications for Fellow programme in management

Bhopal: The Indian Institute of Forest Management in inviting applications for a doctoral level programme in management.

The areas of specialization in the doctoral level programme include the following:

- Communication and Extension Management

- Ecosystem and Environment management

- Environment and Development Economics

- Financial Management

- Human Resource Management

- Information Technology and Quantitative Techniques

- Marketing Management

- Sociology and Community Development

- Technical Forestry

To be eligible for applying for the programme, the maximum age limit is 45 year as on July 1, 2011. 

Once selected for the fellow programme, each student would be given a monthly fellowship of Rs.12,000 in first and second year, Rs.14,000 in third and fourth year and for extended one year (if applicable) during the programme.

Interested candidates are required to submit their applications in the prescribedapplication form with all supporting documents mentioned in the form. Application form and details about the programme are available at the institute's official website.

The form can also be obtained in person or by post by sending a request along with a bank draft of Rs.200. 

The last date for the sale and submission of form is March 31, 2011.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Madhya_Pradesh/IIFM_invites_applications_for_Fellow_programme_in_management_13578/

Symposium on trends in biochemistry inaugurated at AMU

Aligarh: Inaugurating a National Symposium on 'Current Trends in Biochemical, Biomedical andEnvironmental Sciences' organized by the Department of Biochemistry, Vice Chancellor P.K. Abdul Azis of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) said that it is quite appropriate in the present day scenario where interdisciplinary research is the norm and boundaries between various disciplines are getting blurred.

Prof. Azis said that the Department of Biochemistry has produced distinguished scientists and entrepreneurs and these alumni are working in theUnited States. He pointed out that AMU had decided to establish central instrumentation facilities with modern equipment to boost more research activities. 

Prof. Azis emphasized that the university needed biomedical, bio-engineering and environmental sciences departments and urged the faculty members to submit proposals for the same to theUniversity Grants Commission (UGC). 

He hoped that the symposium will promote scientific exchange and also encourage more collaborative and inter-disciplinary research at AMU. 

Organizing Secretary of the symposium Qayyum Husain, in his welcome addresses said that the first batch of M.Sc. Bio Chemistry passed out in 1959. "Since, then 56 students have obtained M.Sc. and more than 200 candidates awarded have gone to developed countries on post-doctoral assignment," he said.

He further added that the research activities of the department have been founded by national and international funding agencies. 

Faculty of Life Sciences Dean Masood Ahmed said that teaching of biochemistry had regained and affirmed the status of a foundation course on medical sciences. Health and disease of living organisms including human beings as well as of ecosystems are empirically assessed by biochemical parameters. 

He said that the product of the department has proved its worth in the developed world including USA, Canada, England, France and Germany and this department is considered as flagship department of this university. 

Prof. Rajiv Bhatt of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said that AMU is a vibrant campus. He said that Bio Sciences will be leading the future.

Prof. Bilqees Bano, Chairperson of the Department of Biochemistry proposed a vote of thanks and Ms. Maria Salman conducted the inaugural session. A large number of delegates from all parts of the country participated in the deliberations.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Uttar_Pradesh/Symposium_on_trends_in_biochemistry_inaugurated_at_AMU_13577/

DU to come up with new hostel complex for girls

New Delhi: In what comes as welcome news for female students from cities outside Delhi who would like to join the Delhi University (DU), the varsity has decided to come up with a 1500 seat hostel complex.

The complex would be the largest to have been built so far and would be situated about 2 kilometers away from the North Campus in the Dhakka are near Mukherjee Nagar.

The accommodation that is to be built would be exclusively for female students who are pursuing postgraduation or studying in colleges at the Delhi University.

A special task force was set up by DU Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh last week to accelerate the work ok the accommodation project so that the new hostel rooms are ready for allotment by July this year when the new academic session at the varsity commences.

The task force, headed by proctor professor H.P. Singh, would begin its work on Thursday.

The vice chancellor Dinesh Singh said that he had been aware of the problems faced by girl students of the university from other cities who had to face trouble while looking for accommodation at the time of admissions at DU.

"The new hostel accommodation that is being built will have seats for postgraduation students as well as undergraduates and some seats will also be reserved for students from the north-eastern region," he stated.

He further added, "I have made a special task force that will ensure that the project is completed in time for the July admissions. This task force will also be responsible for the allocation procedure of the hostel rooms and coming up with other details such as eligibility. This hostel accommodation is going to be a benchmark."

Students had always suffered due to a dearth of hostel accommodation at DU. Currently, there are only 16 hostels for postgraduate students at the university, out of which four are solely for women.

Two of these hostels, namely Ambedkar-Ganguly Students House for Women and International Students' House for Women are located in Dhakka. Students at these hostels also have a bus facility for commuting to the campus and back.

There are 11 hostels for undergraduate students in individual colleges and eight of them have facilities for women. However, there are no separate hostel accommodation facilities for only girls provided by the university.

The situation had been worse during admissions last year as most hostels for undergraduate had been taken up for the Commonwealth Games delegates. For this reason, students had been asked to vacate their rooms for the duration of the games.

The construction for the new hostel complex had begun in the year 2009. the complex would include two hostels, a facility block, two dining halls and the residence of the warden and the provost.

The Rajiv Gandhi Girls Hostel would be made in the color schemes of grey and yellow and will have 400 double-seat rooms for the accommodation of students pursuing postgraduation at the university.

From the 400 rooms, 250 will be allotted to students from the northeastern regions because the ministry of tribal affairs and the North-East Council had contributed Rs.23.33 crore for their construction.

The Undergraduate Hostel for Girls will have 350 rooms. These are being made under the expansion plans of the university due to the other backward classes (OBC) reservation.

The hostel rooms at both hostels will include wardrobes and storage spaces for every inmate along with a shelf-cum-study table. Apart from two dining halls, the complex will have arched roofs and glass work for natural light. The facility centre at the complex would include an internet caf�, a gymnasium, a TV lounge, a sick room, reception and an administration block.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Delhi/DU_to_come_up_with_new_hostel_complex_for_girls_13576/

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Environment ministry rejects proposal for IIT in Indore

New Delhi: A proposal for the setting up of anIndian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Indore has been put on hold by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the time being.

Indore currently is also home to an Indian Institute of Management (IIM).

The government of Madhya Pradesh had sought permission from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the environment ministry for acquiring 80 hectares of forestland for the establishment of the proposed IIT. 

The proposed IIT had been sanctioned to the state of Madhya Pradesh by the Human Resource Development ministry in the eleventh five year plan.

The approval of the government under the Forest Conservation Act is required for the diversion of forestland for any purpose, except for one hectare of forestland for the construction of building that are of public importance such as schools, hospitals, community halls and dispensaries.

The proposal for acquiring the land for the IIT in Indore was rejected by the FAC as it said that the diversion of too much of forestland will damage the ecological balance in and around the area of Indore. 

Had the proposal been accepted by the environment ministry, Indore would have acquired the distinction of being the only city in India to have both an IIM as well as an IIT.

The FAC stated in its report that the proposal for diverting the forestland situated in the vicinity of an important city for the establishment of a non-specific project such as an IIT without taking up a detailed exercise for examining all feasible alternatives would be rejected.

The proposal would have meant the cutting down of around 7,164 trees in the forestland that has a density of 89.55 trees per hectare. An official informed that the area where the proposed IIT would have been set up is a reserved forest land of good quality and there is not much good forestland around Indore.

Another reason for the proposal being rejected was that the committee found that the land in Hasalpur village that was indicated in the proposal for compensatory afforestation was found to be not suitable for raise plantation and no alternative land for afforestation had been mentioned in the proposal.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/IIT/Environment_ministry_rejects_proposal_for_IIT_in_Indore_13575/

Union Budget - Expectations of the education sector

Every year the Union Budget creates lot of eagerness in the mind of every Indian as regards the Government's plans for different sectors. The Education sector also hopes to get its due share in the Union budget every year.

Though the Government expenditure - both, state and central combined - on education has grown over the years, from about Rs.97,375 cr in 2004-05 to Rs.1,89,325 cr in 2008-09, (according to data estimates by the Center for Budget and Governance Accountability) - this cannot be considered enough if we look at the actual requirements and needs of the sector. 

As a share of total government expenditure, the spending on education is stagnating at about 11.6%, while as a share of GDP it has increased only marginally from 3.01% in 2004-05 to 3.4% in 2009-10. 

The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) in its report on Higher Education has said "The present support for higher education, at 0.7 per cent of GDP, is simply not adequate. In fact, over the past decade, in real terms, there has been a significant decline in the resources allocated for higher education, in the aggregate as also per student. In an ideal world, government support for higher education should be at least 1.5 per cent, if not 2 per cent of GDP, from a total of 6 per cent of GDP for education. This is easier said than done. But the government should endeavor to reach these levels by 2012. Even this magnitude of state financing, however, would not suffice for the massive expansion in higher education that is an imperative." 

The recent report of the District Information System for Education (DISE) says that 29% of elementary schools did not have a pucca building in 2009-10, up from 27% in 2007-08. Over 49% schools do not have boundary walls, only a slight improvement over two years when the proportion was 50%. Girls have a separate toilet in only 59% of schools, again only slightly better than 50% in 2007-8. Desperate parents are shifting their kids to private schools where enrollment is up from about 20% in 2007 to 24% in 2010. The number of Class 8 students taking private tuitions is also up from about 22% in 2007 to 31% in 2010. Most alarming is the fact pointed out in the DISE report that net enrollment ratio dropped from about 98% in Class 5 to 58% in Class 8. 

We have been talking of making India - knowledge capital of the world but is the government doing enough to provide good quality education? Budget speeches and political propaganda gives an impression that the government has increased spending on education in the past few years and the Right to Education Act (RTEA) is propelling an education revolution. But the reality appears to be different.

A meeting of state education secretaries in January last year had estimated that Rs 1.82 lakh crore will be needed to ensure that every child between 6 to 14 years gets good education, as per the RTEA act. This was to be given to the states over 5 years starting 2010. 

Let's not forget - our first generation scientists, scholars, teachers, leaders - all came from the village schooling system. If we want to see the country progressing in all areas - we must first improve our education system with the due budgetary support from the government.

source:http://www.indiaedunews.net/Today/Union_Budget_-_Expectations_of_the_education_sector_13581/

Central African Republic: Teachers provide education despite on-going violence

EI supports teachers in the Central African Republic who struggle to bring quality education to their students despite decades of political violence.

The all Africa website has reported that due to widespread destruction and displacement, the educational sector has been badly affected by a dire shortage of teachers and adequate physical infrastructure. For thousands of children, classes take place not in solid buildings of brick, but in rudimentary “bush schools.”

UNICEF's chief education officer in the country, Farid Boubekeur, told the humanitarian news and analysis service from the UN Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs that “needs are huge and funds insufficient. More appropriate infrastructure as well as qualified teachers are needed. Because of difficulties in the conflict-affected areas of the North, disparities in terms of access and quality are deepening.”

Many of the pupils attending schools in the northeast of the country were forced to flee their homes due to the conflict between rebel groups and government forces, and are now living in informal settlements in and around the village. According to UNICEF, there are more than 5,000 children of primary-school age and a total of 19 schools in the M'Brès Sub-Prefecture, 10 built of semi-perishable materials. Among the 76 teachers, 40 are pupils' parents, without any sort of qualification.

In line with country statistics showing an average of one teacher for about 94 students, the Ecole Ouande in the Linguiri village has two teachers, both contracted by the government, and one trainee. Unlike the two teachers earning a wage of 60,000 CFA (US$120), the trainee works for free, but is supported by parents who voluntarily contribute with 100 CFA each (50 cents).

Aid agencies have helped to build some 800 schools in the northwest, two-thirds of them “bush schools,” and have given basic teacher training to some 2,000 parents.

EI urges the national authorities to guarantee the employment of properly trained and qualified teachers; to stop resorting to unpaid trainees; and to provide decent teaching and learning conditions by building education infrastructures and paying adequate wages to teachers.

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1528&theme=healthandsafety&country=car

Georgia: Unions demand consultation on teacher qualification

Georgia’s EI affiliate, the Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union (ESFTUG), has responded to proposals for a new teachers’ certification process by calling on the Georgian Ministry of Education to engage with consultation.

After the ESFTUG’s tireless advocacy for national authorities to promote access to quality education in Georgian public schools, the government had decided to train teachers for the general certification and a teachers’ voucher system had been introduced in 2010.

The national authorities have selected the teacher training institutes entitled to deliver examination programs for government-accredited teachers. Unfortunately this system failed. The majority of teachers were disappointed and felt insulted as their professionalism was threatened by the results of the teachers’ general examination.

Following amendments to the certification law, which was issued on 4 December 2009, the latest round of registration of teachers for certification has begun. National authorities have taken responsibility for training 4,000 teachers in mathematics, physics and general skills, as well as the examination certification in professional development. However, Georgian teachers will not be provided with voucher funds from the government.

In a recent press conference, the ESFTUG’s President, Maia Kobakhidze, has called on the Minister of Education and Science to cooperate, underlining the point that cooperation between social partners would help to promote on-going education reform and enhance access to quality education.

Kobakhidze insisted that public schools should be informed before the registration deadline about the criteria for teachers; fees should be cancelled; the right for all teachers to take exams is respected, and more than 4,000 teachers get governmental benefits. She also said that only social dialogue and negotiations would be able to ensure teachers’ interests were adequately taken into consideration and their dignity defended.

EI supports ESFTUG’s request for better quality teachers’ training and urges the Georgian government to respect national and international norms concerning negotiation and collective bargaining.

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1527&theme=rights&country=georgia

Healthy Action: An activity book for teachers and learners

EI has worked with the Education Development Center and World Health Organisation to present their latest EFAIDS resource: ‘Healthy Action: An activity book for teachers and learners’.

The publication has been designed to help teachers and learners to adopt healthy behaviour and make healthy choices for better teaching and learning. It includes activities for teachers and classroom activities for learners covering four principle topics which are all inter-connected through the theme of maintaining overall good health. These include: tobacco, alcohol and other drugs; nutrition and physical activity; hygiene and sanitation; as well as, injury and violence prevention.

All the activities proposed are designed according to the life-skills based approach and participatory learning methodology. The same angle was used in previous EFAIDS resource materials, ‘Leadership in the HIV and AIDS response’ and ‘Learning for life’ (both publications are downloadable at http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids/en/documentation_ei.php).

While EFAIDS resources are used primarily by EI affiliated teacher unions around the world, they can easily be adapted to work with other target groups.

To download ‘Healthy Action’ or to get any additional information on the book and other EFAIDS resources, please visit the EI EFAIDS website at: http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids/en/documentation_ei.php or email Delphine Sanglan at: delphine.sanglan@ei-ie.org

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1529&theme=hivaids&country=global

Petition against IIMs filed by CAT toppers

New Delhi: A writ petition by over 70 Common Admission Test (CAT) toppers was filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday for seeking a stay on the second phase of the admission procedure of theIndian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

Most of the students who have filed the petition are among the 1% top CAT scorers but have not received a call for admission from the IIMs due to pre-test criteria that had been kept hidden by the prestigious b-schools till the result for CAT-2010 was announced on January 12. 

The eligibility criteria for admissions have been changed by three IIMs after CAT-2010. Also, five other IIMs had decided to give weightage to Class X, XII and undergraduate marks. These changes in the admission procedure had been revealed only after the CAT-2010 results were announced.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/IIM/Petition_against_IIMs_filed_by_CAT_toppers_13564/

Global design competition for Nalanda University

New Delhi: As the historic Nalanda University is set to be rebuilt, Vice Chancellor Gopa Sabharwal said on Monday that a global design competition for the building's architecture will be announced in three to four months.

Talking to reporters in Delhi at a press conference, the newly appointed vice chancellor said that the new university will be built on an area of 446 acres, 10 km from the site of the ancient university of Nalanda in Bihar. 

"The university will be built in Rajgir, which is 10 km from the site of the historic Nalanda University. A global designing competition will be announced in coming three or four months for finalizing the architecture," Sabharwal said.

The Nalanda University Bill was passed by the parliament during the monsoon session in August 2010 and a notification for its creation was issued in November.

While the work for creation of infrastructure has already begun, the construction of the building and other details will start once the designs are finalized.

"The design must get ready by next year. We will try to built it as soon as possible but it is difficult to give a time frame," she said. 

The university, which will be an international state-of-the-art institution, will have post graduate courses in six disciplines.

The course include Buddhist studies, philosophy and comparative religions, historical studies, international relations and peace studies, business management in relation to public policy and development studies, languages and literature and ecology and environmental studies. 

Talking about the courses, Nalanda mentor group chairman and Nobel laureateAmartya Sen said that the courses like Buddhist philosophy and religious studies aimed at connecting the modern university to its historic past when Nalanda was the centre of learning that attracted students from all over the world.

"Courses like Buddhist studies, comparative religion, literature and history will connect it to its past. I hope some day we can also include astronomy in the courses as it was taught in the ancient Nalanda University," Sen said.

Asked about the absence of science related courses, Sen said that creation of infrastructure was one of the main reasons for this.

"You cannot teach science without a lab, so infrastructure was one of the main reasons why we have stressed on humanities. In the course of time, science courses will get included," he said.

While the government of India has created an endowment fund for the creation of the university, the project has also attracted contributions from many other countries including Singapore, Australia and China.

"We got $7 million from Singapore, $1 million from China, Australia is funding a chair, while Laos has given $50,000," Sabharwal said. 

Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo said that the aim was to create a university to facilitate exchange of ideas. 

"It will be a place where human beings gather and each contribute to development of others," Yeo said.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Universities/Global_design_competition_for_Nalanda_University_13563/

First Sir Syed Lecture held at TISS, Mumbai

Aligarh: The first lecture in the Sir Syed LectureSeries was organized by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) at Mumbai on Monday. 

The talk was delivered by eminent historian and former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Mushirul Hasan on "Voyage to Modernism: Syed Ahmad of Aligarh". 

He spoke about the breadth of Sir Syed's vision and the key role played by him in the educational upliftment of the country in general and the Muslim Renaissance in particular. 

The lecture was followed by a question-answer session. The lecture was attended by students and faculty members of different institutions of Mumbai. The Sir Syed Lecture Series was conceptualized by the students of TISS (several of whom are AMU alumni) to get the local students acquainted with his ideas. 

The lecture series seeks to discuss Sir Syed's thoughts in a theoretically-grounded manner and bring forth his relevance in present times. It also strives to identify new research areas on the workof Sir Syed and to enrich social sciences by arranging academic deliberations on his writings.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Today/First_Sir_Syed_Lecture_held_at_TISS,_Mumbai_13567/

CBI to investigate law college recognitions granted by BCI

New Delhi: Several affiliations that had been granted by the Bar Council of India (BCI) to various law colleges in the past five years are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI).

BCI vice chairman R. Dhanpal Raj had been arrested by the CBI from his residence in Tamil Nadu after a probe into the affiliation that had been granted to Global Law College in Ghaziabad.

According to sources, cash amounting to about Rs.75 lakh had been recovered during the raids conducted against BCI officials that had been arrested in connection with the case. R. Dhanpal Raj has been remanded by the court in police custody till February 25, 2011.

An FIR had been filed against a member of the Bar Council of Delhi, R.S. Rana, who had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy by demanding money from Manish Tyagi in order to conduct the inspection of a law college and giving a favorable report for granting recognition to the college. A trap had been laid by the CBI and Rana had been arrested with Rs.1 lakh cash in his hands.

An anticipatory bail petition by R. Dhanpal Raj had been rejected by the Supreme Court.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Law/CBI_to_investigate_law_college_recognitions_granted_by_BCI_13568/

Pakistan situation to be discussed at Jamia seminar

New Delhi: Six eminent scholars from Pakistan, the UK and Sweden will participate in a two-day international seminar on "The State of Pakistan" on Thursday organized by the Jamia Millia Islamia.

The main objective of the seminar is to discuss and understand politics and the state in Pakistan. 

"In recent years, the concerns about Pakistan's security and stability have been so overwhelming that the politics of Pakistan has not received adequate attention," a press statement said.

The event is organized by the Pakistan StudiesProgramme at the Academy of Third World Studies in Jamia. 

"The seminar will focus on the significant political developments in Pakistan and it will help gain deeper in sights into the new developments and challenges the country is facing today," the statement added.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Delhi/Pakistan_situation_to_be_discussed_at_Jamia_seminar_13572/