Budget hike won't help education sector - Sibal

The 24 percent hike in the outlay for education announced in the union budget will not help the sector because what is needed is a change in mindset, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

"A 24 percent budget hike will not help the education sector. It is not just money allocation that we need, the country needs a change in mindsets involved in teaching, the quality of education and the education provider," Sibal said at the inauguration of the three-day Emerging Directions inGlobal Education (EDGE) conference in the capital.

"To change the dimensions of higher education in the country, we need a whole new crop of teachers who are responsible and willing to teach from their hearts," the minister added.

The annual EDGE conference brings together the heads of higher education institutions from all over the country, including vice chancellors, directors and educationists, to interact on policy making in the higher education sector. 

"While focusing on higher education, we also need to think of the diluting quality because of mushrooming institutes. The ministry has often done checks in such private institutions where the entire faculty is hired for a very short period to lure students," Sibal said, referring to the money minting business in the education business.

According to statistics by Ernst and Young, nearly 40 million students are expected to opt for higher education by the year 2020, compared to the current 17 million.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Today/Budget_hike_won't_help_education_sector_-_Sibal_13671/

IIMs trash HRD suggestions on teaching hours, smaller boards

 Faculty bodies at IIM-Calcutta and IIM-Bangalore have passed unanimous resolutions to set aside the reports which suggest reducing the size of IIM boards and societies and asking eachfaculty to teach for 160 hours a year.

Other IIMs are likely to follow suit seeking broader consultation on the proposed reforms.

They have trashed the HRD ministry-appointed committee reports on the new governance structure and teaching load, saying that they are based on incorrect data.

They believe that these recommendations are the outcome of several wrong assumptions andincorrect data and would not allow IIMs to become global leaders. These changes, if implemented, will have a negative impact on the morale of the faculty, IIM-B faculty said in a memorandum submitted to board of governors chairman Mukesh Ambani last week.

They have now called for a fresh panel involvingalumni and eminent academics to create a governance structure for long-term development of IIMs.

A five-member committee headed by IIM-Ranchi chairman R C Bhargava had recommended reducing the size of the IIM boards and societies by almost half, and allowing corporate bodies, individuals and alumni to become members of the IIM society by paying Rs 20 crore, Rs 5 crore and Rs 3 crore respectively.

The IIM-B faculty rejected the idea, saying that it will lead to a major structural change in the ownership of IIMs and would be completely against public interest. They believe that contribution for the society should be more in the nature of developing institutions rather than owning the institutions.

The dons at the elite Bschools have also taken exception to the HRD ministry's decision to fix a minimum teaching load for faculty which will be the same for all IIMs.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Karnataka/IIMs_trash_HRD_suggestions_on_teaching_hours,_smaller_boards_13536/

IIT-Kharagpur to accept LSAT scores

In a move which could open the doors for aspiring law students from India and abroad to its campus, IIT-Kharagpur has decided to acceptLaw School Admission Test (LSAT) scores for admission to its 3 year LLB Programme in Intellectual Property Laws.

Disclosing the development, a senior faculty of the IIT's law school said, LSAT-India is administered by Pearson VUE, the global leader in assessments and testing. LSAT-India provides a standard measure of acquired reading and analytical and logical reasoning skills that law schools can use as one of several factors in assessing applicants.

LSAT-India is a standardised test designed for admission to Indian law school by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), USA, which also administers the LSAT-global used by leading lawschools worldwide.

This is the first time that IIT Kharagpur has given recognition to LSAT and now it has the unique distinction of being the only law school in any IIT in India.

IIT Kharagpur's Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSOIPL) has been set up in collaboration with the George Washington University Law School.

Candidates from India and abroad with LSAT-India or LSAT-global scores are qalso will be eligible to apply for the programme.

source:http://www.indiaedunews.net/Delhi/IIT-Kharagpur_to_accept_LSAT_scores_13526/