Education Affairs - October 2013

VOL.1 NO. 2

A

PUBLICATION

OCTOBER 2013

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TEACHING, TRAINING,edit KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB, Editor in chief Bijay Kumar Agarwal Consultant and Managing Editor Pradeep Gooptu Digital Head Kirty Kedia Senior Sub-Editor Ashok Chatterjee Special Correspondent Ambarish Mukherjee Reporter cum Copy-Editor Farah Khatoon Reporter Shaheryar Hossain Overseas Correspondent Snehasish Chakraborty (United Arab Emirates - UAE) Creative Visualiser Arun Chakraborty Design Shubhodip Das Communication Consultant Sagittarius Communications Pvt. Ltd. Photos Arijit Saha (freelancer) For advertisement, subscription and queries Call: 033-40229000 or mail us at: advt@educationaffairs.in subscribe@educationaffairs.in info@educationaffairs.in

Visit us at : www.educationaffairs.in Also follow us on: www.facebook.com/educationaffairs www.twitter.com/educationaffair All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. Printed and Published by Bijay Kumar Agarwal on behalf of the owner, GPF Trading Pvt Ltd. Printed at Satyajug Employees Co-operative Industrial Society Ltd, 13 & 13/1A, Prafulla Sarkar Street Kolkata – 700072.

Published from 34/1Q Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata – 700019 Ph : (91) 33 – 40229000, Fax : (91) 33 -24755324 Volume 1 Issue 2 for the month of October 2013 DL No- 39 dated 28/02/2013

Education is a process Education Affairs continues its journey thanks to the good wishes and support of our well wishers. The project was in the works for sometime but my team believes that alongside its web edition, the magazine will draw more students, faculty and academic experts into its fold with every passing month.

We have chosen to address a core concern of the education sector: that of finding worthwhile employment at the end of a graduation or post-graduation course. Of the many options available, the opportunities and demand of the banking sector appeared to be the most attractive to today’s youth.

The sector offers a good starting package for bright minds and they are bound to do well because all studies indicate that the demand for professionals in the public sector banks is at its peak right now.

Never before since our Independence have our public sector banks felt a greater need to extend their network into all parts and regions of the country, and to execute the vision of the government to drive inclusiveness in the Indian economy through extension of banking services and related support to the people at large.

Besides, the banking sector provides excellent opportunities for further training and education in all aspects of life in our country. Candidates need specialised education and training to qualify over and above their basic degree.

If selected, candidates are then immediately exposed to further training either in-house at banks or at dedicated training institutes so that they understand both the ethos of public sector banking and also the detailed workings of the machinery that keeps government owned financial institutions running and growing. It’s a great opportunity for students, to be able to learn as they work, through their entire working life.

Education is not one degree or one examination, but a process. As firm believers in this philosophy, we promise to bring you more such issues, ideas, information and wisdom in the coming months so that like us, education remains an integral part of your everyday life and work.

Do send us with your articles, comments and essays, but please make them concise and short. We also welcome photographs from avid shutterbugs and promise to recognize true talent in this magazine. Happy reading!

Bijay Kumar Agarwal Editor in chief education affairs 1

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB content BANKS WILL NEED 7.5 LAKH EMPLOYEES BY 2015 BECOMING THE BIGGEST EMPLOYER

Moving to greener pastures

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INFRASTRUCTURE IN CITY’S PREMIER COLLEGES PLAYS SPOILSPORT TO JOURNALISM DREAMS

Future of Media Studies

23

THE UNIVERSITY OFFERS UNIQUE OPTIONS ACROSS ALL LEVELS IN ALLIANCE WITH INSTITUTIONS LIKE IIMC AND CU

28

Visva-Bharati’s ‘meta’ dreams

readmore

17 Teacher crunch hits SSA schools I 19 IIMC improves its global ranking I 21 Students at Aliah University at a fix I 26 Future of the past I 32 Online Education I 34 Interview: Father Gaston Roberge I 36 CAT in the bag I 39 Freshers’ ragging raises its ugly head I 43 Read the digital way I 46 Briefs I 50 Medical education and the crisis it faces I 54-56 Events I 57 Hangouts I 58-61 Book reviews I 62 Book gallery I 63 Gadgets I 64 Building choices at academic institutions 2 education affairs

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BE WHERE IT MATTERS..

Education Affairs is a platform for eminent educators, practitioners, students and researchers from across the country, with specific focus on Eastern India, to come together and share their knowledge, experiences, innovations and the latest trends in education. It engages with its audience on pressing and relevant issue pertaining to education. If you want to address aspirants and thought leaders in the education fraternity, this is the place to be.

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education affairs 3

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, cover story CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

to greener pastures The lack of public confidence on the market forces and disbelief in the Government’s short and medium term growth projections has become evident over the past several years with many students today again preferring government jobs over private sector.

And, incidentally, it is not job security alone that is making a government job more 4 education affairs

attractive but also the lure of higher salary.

Yes, that’s true, at least for the banking industry. It may sound a little unusual but amid fear of getting posted in rural areas and narrowing scope of jobs in the private sector, students are preferring public banks informs experts from the field.

The reasons behind this new trend are many. Private bank employees have more work pressure in comparison to public sector bank employees. Moreover, the fear of losing their cushioned job lingers strongly.

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC

EDUCATION AFFAIRS EXPLORES HOW JOBS FARE IN PRIVATE BANKS VS NATIONALISED BANKS

“Salaries are deducted if we don’t perform well or if we miss office for any personal reason. We are also under constant vigilance by our seniors,” said Syed Imtiyaz, assistant manager at a private bank in Bangalore.

The problem is not just limited to deduction of salaries or constant vigilance. According to a senior employee of a nationalised bank, “getting more out of an employee” is practiced by the management of most private banks, unlike nationalised banks.

However, a bigger disappointment for em-

ployees of private banks is the fat salary of their counterpart in the nationalised banks.

Given the designation, salary drawn by a private bank employee is almost 2/3rd less than a nationalised bank employee.

While employees of private banks are fuming, common people are gradually switching to private banks to nationalised banks. They are going in response to the promise of better and efficient service provided by the private bank.

Rahamat Ali, a resident of central Kolkata education affairs 5

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB,

6 education affairs

(

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Private banks are well managed compared to nationalised banks

who holds regular transactions with both government and private banks in Central Kolkata, points at the irregularities at banks and makes a comparison. “Whenever I withdraw money from nationalised banks I waste two hours for clearance which is not the case in private banks. Private bank is always well managed compared to nationalised banks. Although nationalised banks are improvising with each passing day, the service is not at par with the any private bank,” Ali claims.

Apart from differences at the administrative level, there are also other difficulties faced by the employee of a bank which is considered a big hindrance. For instance there are trained professionals from various established background who carry on the administrative work in a private bank.

In most private banks often an employee with an MBA or a B.Com degree performs the bank operations who are specialised in their field, for instance - sales or operations.

Imtiyaz informs that, “Although like any nationalised bank our bank employees get different postings but they are restricted to their specialisation. For instance, if the employee of the sales department is shifted to another branch then he would be shifted in the sales department of the new branch.”

An employee of Central Bank of India reiterated, “There are no hard and fast system in postings in nationalised banks. After joining, an employee may be posted to accounts department, stationery department, sales department or any other arena of work. There is no specific guideline regarding the posting of em-

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC

Sector growth fuels bank

job demand

ployees. The Bank does it according to its choice and requirement.”

Just after serving maximum of three years in a nationalised bank, the officer of the bank is subject to transfer. Bankers face different types of adverse circumstances in a rural set up.

For employees who are married, the education of their children also gets affected. “For students who migrate from one school to another, switching to boards, catching up with lessons become difficult,” the official said.

According to banking experts, in the last 20 – 30 years, there has been number of irrational policies in the banking system. The bank employee, suggesting some updates said, “A person should be promoted to a higher grade only after proper judgement of managerial and communication skills. Every year, there should be capability test for increment. The increment should be linked with performance. Many employees are not eager to learn the basics of banking and the latest trends in banking.”

Private sector undoubtedly brings reforms in the services, however, a reform in the labour policy is in need. Otherwise, present generation will face tremendous exploitation and manipulation. By ‘hiring and firing’ method private sector will generate maximum profit as the labour force is abundant in our country.

A strong labour law can ensure the welfare of the employees irrespective of private and nationalised sectors and can be a true solution to unemployment.

Shaheryar Hossain s.hossain@geepee.co.in

WITH BANKING INDUSTRY SET TO BECOME THE BIGGEST EMPLOYER, IT NEEDS TO TRAIN IT’S WORK FORCE AT A FASTER CLIP Banking industry may be now turning out to be the new hot choice for many young job aspirants; there are many who still do not want to get into a bank.

There are certain mindsets attached. But perceptions are changing fast.

Deepak Narang, executive director of the United Bank of India (UBI), Kolkata, highlights the issue of excellent training and exposure provided by public sector banks. He admits it is a challenge to train such a large work force which is being inducted every year.

UBI has one training centre in Kolkata, just like in other states, but that’s not sufficient. That is why many of the banks have outsourced training.

“We haven’t done that yet but are feeling the need.

E-learning is another way of training youngsters and we are looking at that option too,” Narang says. He feels from the time IT companies started issuing pink slips, even engineers now look forward to bank jobs.

“It is a noble profession; there is great opportunity for career growth and the advantage of knowing the length and breadth of the country. There is scope to work for the common man and there is also great personality development. Yes, I believe, facilities should contd. on P9

education affairs 7

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB,

“The prerequisite

is graduation” V SIVARAMAKRISHNAN, EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT – EDUCATION SERVICES, MANIPAL GLOBAL EDUCATION SERVICES, INDIA’S PREMIER EDUCATION AND LEARNING SERVICES PROVIDER, TELLS EA HOW EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICES PROVIDED BY NON-GOVERNMENT PLAYERS IS HELPING ALL PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS How did you start the process of training bankers?

In 2007, ICICI bank approached Manipal group and talked about the problem they were having in expanding their branches and productivity among their work force as they were integrating technology in banking. They were one of the initial banks with a huge focus on retail and corporate banking. They talked about getting day one manpower productivity. At that point of time, Manipal and ICICI took a joint initiative called, ICICI Manipal Academy, where the purpose was to make the academy a premier skill training center in banking delivering day one job productive young bankers for ICICI bank. As we did this we scaled up the entire operations, so much so that today over 8000 probationary officers from ICICI Manipal Academy have graduated and are working in the said bank.

Q

Q 8 education affairs

What is the structure for education?

Every year now over 2,200 to 2,400 POs graduate out of our academy. The structure of the curriculum is basically divided into three parts – first is domain knowledge on banking operations, second is attitudinal, soft skills, customer handling, language and etiquette — all that make you a professional banker. Third part is hands on experience on core banking solutions. After this they are ready to hit the bank. As we developed this, we along with ICICI bank felt that this experience should be taken to a larger banking industry area.

Tell us about your tie-up with Bank of Baroda (BOB)?

Former BOB CMD, M D Mallya, picked the idea of training manpower for banks in 2009.

It really led to the formation of Baroda Manipal School of Banking. It was set up initially to target and make sure that their probationary officers were ready from day one when they join the bank. The programme

Q

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC contd. from P7

was similar to the one with ICICI bank in terms of the structure with slightly different curriculum as BOB is extremely focused on things like inclusive and agri banking. Today we are in our third year, when 1000 POs will graduate out of Baroda Manipal School of Banking.

Do you only train POs and not clerks?

This is the first level of officer training. If you look at Manipal Global Education Services as a banking training competency, what do we engage with? We engage with nine banks for long-term PO training, with another six banks for induction training for already recruited bankers. Look at the model of PO training. Banks were recruiting probationary officers, putting them on the job.

We reversed the model.

We recruited graduates, trained them first, and then send them job ready to the banks. So the hire-train-deploy was completely changed to train-hire and then deploy. So we run long-term probationary officer programme with BOB, PNB, ICICI, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Andhra Bank, Federal Bank and TN Merchentile Bank.

Next level for us was, many public sector banks wanted us to take POs through strong orientation induction. For example, Central Bank of India hires agrifinance officers. They wanted us to train them on agri-finance. Subsequently, for banks like Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, we run induction, onboarding programmes for POs and agri-finance officers.

Q

How competent is the faculty?

Today we have an academy which has 200 faculty with two-thirds are ex-bankers, one-third of faculty are soft-skill experts, customer handling experts and subject domain experts like economics, statistics – areas which we train bankers on. Subsequently, what we also do today is functional domain training. So we do short-term functional training in areas like treasury, credit, risk, MSME finance etc. We also do mid-management training. TN Merchentile Bank wanted training for chief managers. They handle branches so we do training for them as well. Today, we have over 6000 bankers who go through training at any of our academies. We have over 10,000 bankers working in banks who have graduated from our training.

Q

Where do you see this industry going say five years from now?

No other sector is directly, inextricably linked to the economy. Typically we follow a rule, where the banking sector will grow twice the GDP. But we have a few issues as well. We are severely under banked. If you look at the percentage of people who have a bank account, is very small. Among those who have bank accounts, the percentage of people who use the account for multiple

Q

improve and connectivity should go up at rural areas too. But working in a rural setting helps you understand the real India and helps you later in formulating bank policies,” says the executive director of UBI. On the subject of the young work force gelling with the older workers in bank , Narang adds, “Though the Gen-Y may not be loyal to the brand but they are an asset to the organisation. Since they are young they understand the younger generation better, they help banks in establishing younger client base. They need to be treated well. The older generation must adopt them. There is a disconnect between the two generations. The Gen-Y has different aspirations, outlook and working style and that has to be understood by the older generation of bankers. In our bank also we try to sort such issues. We have a special cell and a special DGM who deals with such issues.”

If the aspirants do SWOT analysis, they are likely to find more reasons to join a bank than before. Giving a thumbs up to banks as a career option, Shibu Cherian Chaco, marketing manager, Zonal Office, Bank of India, says, “It is a flourishing economy, pay is good and we have seen how even engineers get paid peanuts in private sector. For the PSUs the balance sheet is being revised.”

Glossing over transfers within different divisions and rural postings, he says, “Rural tenure is the only issue here but then bank is always endeavouring to diversify our services.”

Praising banks’ younger workforce, Chaco adds, “With most of the banks becoming core banking and IT being at its core, the younger lot is more technology savvy. They are fast and efficient. They increase banks’ efficiency.”

Subrata Chaudhuri, former DGM-IT of UCO Bank, is not surprised that banking industry will be the biggest employer in the coming years. He feels even IT students, who never thought of applying elsewhere outside their core area, are now applying for banks.

“With banking activity getting mostly IT related, there is greater scope for IT students. Banks have undergone automation as a result, working methodology has changed. Now it is more software oriented.

As a result, senior work force is not able to handle technology specific work. Also, banks have jobs security, better working hours and better working environment compared to IT industry,” says Chaudhuri.

Providing cutting edge training for to the younger work force is also a big challenge for banks. UCO Bank too has its own training centres in the city and the faculties there are all bank employees.

“But these centres cannot train all employees as they lack the infrastructure to train such huge number of employees within a time frame. So they outsource training. I too have been a technical trainer at such a centre,” says Chaudhuri. ashok.c@geepee.co.in

education affairs 9

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

(

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According to official data, top 20 PSU banks will have 25,000 vacancies in the officer category

products is again very small. This is a sunrise sector in many ways. From the 90s till the early 2000, the PSU banks had a recruitment freeze.

According to the Reserve Bank of India, 34.5 lakh personnel are going to retire in the next 3-4 years from these banks. If you look at official data, in the officer category, the top 20 PSU banks will have 25,000 vacancies. In the clerical staff section too these banks have again 25,000 vacancies. If you look at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 2012 about retiring employees’ attrition in banks and growth of 10 education affairs

banks, the report says even if you assume there is 12% increase in productivity growth of the banks, the banks will require over 1 million people to be hired in the next 5 years.

At 15% growth in productivity and growth, that number comes to 900,000. So any which way you cut the dice, banks will need about a million people in next 5 years. For this year, according to published data, across multiple sources, SBI itself is hiring close to 20-25,000 POs and other PSU banks put together are hiring another 20-25,000 officers. The figures for clerical staff, the figures are even bigger.

So, as Indian consumers get into banking, the demand will go up. Look at the structural changes the government is making like linking Adhaar for direct financial benefit. Then the RBI will issue new bank licenses, where again there will be fresh hiring. Every bank has to enhance productivity and that is done through the use of technology and by the ability to form multiple products. Today a bank is also into insurance, mutual funds, like NIS certification, IRDA certification etc.

A branch manager has to be very versatile in handling multiple products.

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC

Banks have to

recruit more today SPECIALIST REPORTS WARN THAT BY 2015, PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS WILL FACE A HUGE MANPOWER CRISIS

What are the criteria for selection of new students?

The prerequisite is graduation. Different banks have different strategies on recruitment. Most of the PSU banks will go through the IBPS route. For ICICI Manipal Academy we conduct entrance exam after the bank opens applications on its website. We focus across the country for tests, interviews and then selection.

All this we do together with the bank. Every bank has its own selection criteria. BOB in its first year advertised for POs for Baroda Manipal School of Banking and we got over 35,000 applications. IOB put out an ad last month for POs and we got over 80,000 applications. Finally 480 officers were selected.

Q

What are the reasons for so much interest in banking jobs from aspirants?

Many things work in favour of this sector such as prestige and respect. The bank manager is a respected person in society. There is a relative job security and longevity. Also this sector does not go through the ups and downs like many other private sectors. As a prospective career opportunity this is very good option.

Ashok Chatterjee ashok.c@geepee.co.in

Q

The state of the rupee, the high rate of inflation and poor economic growth of the country does not instill any element of optimism in the job market.

However, though the country’s economy might be limping but banks, both public and private seems to be a sunshine industry.

M. Balachandran, Director, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, in an interview with a leading newspaper had informed in 2011 that in the next five years, commercial banks will have to recruit almost 7.5 lakh people. This has some weight even today.

A government constituted committee report on human resources (HR) issues of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in 2010 had made numerous recommendations for manpower and recruiting planning. The report stressed that lack of proper manpower planning is resulting in wide variance in staff ratios contd. on P13

education affairs 11

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

Tips & Tricks PROBATIONARY OFFICER EXAMS ARE JUST ROUND THE CORNER. BROWSE THROUGH FOR A PROMISING BANKING CAREER

If you are in the league to join the 7.5 lakh recruits who would be filling up vacancies in banks in the next five years than ensure that you flex up your muscles. Banking exams are not rocket science rather it needs managerial skills coupled with good cerebral capacity to retain what you have prepared.

The PO exams by IBPS is held twice a year and hence you have ample time to prepare.

Unlike civil service exams, six months is enough for preparation.

Employing your innate managerial skills to prepare for exams is of utmost importance and it applies for any competitive exams.

Selecting the mode of preparation is also important as it will bear fruit.

Depending on the availability of resource one can opt for online preparation, join a class or prepare yourself. Netizens don’t shy from using the new facilities and preparing online is an ideal platform for them. A host 12 education affairs

of websites provide online coaching with study materials that can be accessed online.

Also mock test is an ideal way to prepare as the IBPS exam is conducted online.

Coaching centres are the traditional way and it is too a very dependable mechanism to prepare yourself.

Having a teacher to clear out doubts and group study is always the best way to learn.

Also if you are a believer of the old school and the physical presence of the book aids in learning, than this mechanism is not to be ignored at all.

Some people even go for self preparation which also cannot be ruled out to be a good preparation module. Sometimes you can be the best teacher for yourself. If you are confident about your abilities than you are game.

However, if you are taking this exam with seriousness then the combination of all is the best recipe. An effort to teach yourself whether by preparing online or by doing group study is ideal.

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC contd. from P11

Divide your time according to the different subjects that is part of the syllabus – reasoning, quantitative aptitude or numerical reasoning, English, general awareness and computer knowledge. Solving previous year’s papers and practicing is the key to cracking the exam.

Quantitative Aptitude Strategy This section is extremely scoring but it is time consuming. Hence this section requires good strategy to solve the problems which are based on multiplication and division.

Shortcut methods for each topics to counter formulas is the best way to solve this section as it saves time as well. Practice materials will arm you with easy methods.

However, what you require is rigorous practice as it will improve your speed, accuracy and time limit to solve a particular section day by day.

Computer Knowledge It is a major topic and is more theoretical. But though theoretical, the chances for scoring marks in this section are more. Question related to computer fundamentals,

across PSBs. The report stated, “Clerical staff today constitute single largest cadre in the total workforce (42 per cent) of PSBs. In the post-CBS environment in banks, the border line between the job of an officer and a clerk is rapidly disappearing. Having regard to this major change, continued requirement of clerical jobs is an issue that needs closer examination and in this context, banks need to seriously deliberate on the future requirement of clerical staff.”

According to the report by 2015, around 80 per cent of general managers, 65 per cent of deputy general managers, 58 per cent assistant general managers and 44 per cent chief managers would retire.

Another report by management consultant, Boston Consulting Group notes that the banking industry will need to hire a massive 9-11 lakh employees over the next five years with more than 80 per cent vacancies taking place in PSBs. Tanushree Bhattacharya, nodal officer for Hooghly for the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), agrees and claims that the public sector banking sector is today a more attractive option that ever before.

“The operations in banks are becoming multi-dimensional. Apart from the usual business banks are expected to do a lot of administrative work. Moreover, policies of government are now implemented by banks and every moment the work is getting manifold,” said Bhattacharya.

She further explains that, “Scheme like National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and others are implemented with the help of banks. Hence banking sector needs more people especially in the rural sector.”

This sunshine industry is attracting candidates who are looking forward to jobs in this sector. Last year, around 7.5 lakh sat for the examination for probationary officers (usually called PO CWE exam), out of which 61,339 candidates qualified.

While positing in the rural area and the frequent inter department transfer is an issue, Bhattacharya believes it to be a boon.

She says, “One should not take it as a hindrance rather it is a boon in disguise. It’s always good to have a variety of experience and posting in rural banks gives valuable exposure. There is only one posting at the districts for 5-6 years which will only help develop a person’s aptitude. The inter-departmental transfer is also not a hindrance. It requires two months to understand the needs of a particular section and one full year to be an expert in that zone. Moreover, all the departments are interlinked so it’s not that one will feel completely out of place.

Also, to avoid monotony and boredom in work it’s good to learn something different.”

Farah Khatoon farah@geepee.co.in education affairs 13

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

English This section tests your knowledge and command over the language. Yes correct English cannot be learned overnight but you need not have a degree in the language to prove your language skills. Those who had English as their first language in school definitely have an edge but spoken English is different from written or competitive English. And what you require is regular practice to prove your mettle. Brush up your knowledge of grammar and comprehension and you are ready.

Current Affairs It is a section which will reflect your level

(

of the people and some other important facts will help you retain it when you will be put to test.

Numerical ability This might be one of the dreaded section for people suffering with mathsphobia but the key to mastering this section is practice, practice and practice. The paper is meant to access simple mind calculations that would be required of a bank employee. When attempting the paper, one should attend to each question with proper attention. Learning shortcut methods in solving problems can help a great deal.

Cracking the interview The written is just half the battle won, winning the whole battle requires getting through the group discussion and personal interview. This section can be termed both tough as well as easy. It is tough because, there would be interviewers who can influence your performance. And easy because unlike the written test you don’t need to pre-

Applying your innate managerial skills is of utmost importance and it applies for any competitive exam

of awareness. Hence the best way to prepare for this section is to keep your eyes and ears open to the news unfolding around you.

Reading newspapers and keeping a tab on the issues that are making news is very important. Forget checking out page 3 of a newspaper. first, if you want to prove the examiner that you are well informed about things around you, give less priority to the entertainment section. But just watching news, reading newspapers and magazine is not enough, it is best advised to make a note of the things that you learn from these mediums. Making a note of the date, name

(

Internet, e-commerce and others are generally found in the books of secondary section.

Several books on computers are also available on bookstores as well as online.

For those who are not computer savvy can just solve previous year’s papers of PO and clerk exams. However, a prior knowledge of the subject is an added advantage.

pare rigorously.

Since this section will assess your ability to speak without any hindrance, shed your nervousness before entering the interview room.

Since this section will be the deciding round for your appointment, update your knowledge about banking, economy, policies and other business news. Talking firsthand to people who have cracked the interview will be of great help, but remember it is not the full proof formula.

Your interviewer will be different and so will be the question!

Farah Khatoon

farah@geepee.co.in

14 education affairs

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC

What new recruits say

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES AND COACHING CENTRES SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES ON COMMON WRITTEN EXAMINATION FOR CLERK CADRE AND PO AND OFFER SOME USEFUL TIPS “Just after joining the media in 2008, I came across the great recession in 2009. I saw many of my friends lose their jobs. It was scary. It shook me up.

I realied that it can happen again. I went back to studies and completed my masters, while working.

I planned to apply for National Elieducation affairs 15

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB gibility Test (NET) exams. But then it would have meant a long wait. At that point I thought of appearing for banking exams as banks are safe job options. There are lots of facilities and it gives you a decent salary for a comfortable living. Also few of my friends had also got jobs in banks.

Thankfully, I did not have to prepare anew as I was already preparing for NET. I devoted a complete month for banking exam. In the 30 days I only studied reasoning and Maths as I was confident about current affairs and English, courtesy my media background.

I bought enough practice sets for banks and test papers for other competitive exams. I timed myself as it is an important factor.

This time they have included another feature. Allahabad Bank requires us to sign us a surety bond of Rs 1 or 2 lakh as applicable with 12% interest. The interest is for the cost incurred for candidates training. I will have to pay the amount in case I leave my job within three years of joining.”

— Ananya Majumdar

Solve test papers, model papers and indulge in mock tests all the time.

Also following the syllabus is a must

Harsh, who is working with State Bank of India, SBI in Pilibhit, UP says it has been a good exposure for him till now.

“I joined the bank some nine months ago and look after the rural operations. I left my job in the print media to prepare for competitive exams for the PSUs or central government grade A services. I was also aware that in the financial year 2014-15, a huge chunk of bank employees will be retiring and so there will be lot of vacancies.

I feel getting a job through an exam is like winning lottery for average students like me.

Banks are also a secure option for job. So I included bank probationary officer (PO) in my list. Though I prepared for PO exam it became easy for me to clear clerk exams.

16 education affairs

— Harsh Pandey

Coaching Centres say Banking Services Chronicle, Jodhpur Park Debasish Mallick, centre coordinator, BSC says, “We have 50% success rate for IBPS written exams. For training students for interview boards, we have ex-bankers talking to our students at our Sealdah centre.”

Course fee: Rs 8,000.

Subjects offered: Maths, Reasoning, English, General Awareness, Computer and Marketing (only for SBI).

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Though I did not go to any coaching centre for this, I have seen many of my friends take admission in two to three coaching classes simultaneously to secure more than 60%. I devoted around 3-4 hours daily for this. Also solving question banks is a must.

Reasoning and Maths are the only difficult subjects, which you need to practice a lot.

Working in rural sector is an eye opener for me. Utilisation and penetration in the suburbs and remote areas is very less and it is really amazing to see that people from so far come to the bank.

I am happy at my rural posting as I get time for lot of things, even studies. I know it is a problem adjusting in rural settings. It is a tough posting with no electricity most of the times, no air-conditioner in office, water shortage –problems which the locals face.

Balaji Classes, Girish Park Ajitav Chaubey, owner, says, “Students passing out of Calcutta University will face problems in qualifying in future as IBPS is mulling over the idea of raising the qualification marks to graduates with minimum 60%.

Students should make up their mind about their future right after their school final exams. For banking they should start preparing right away, which will mean they will have lot of time to prepare well by the time they complete their graduation. They should carefully while selecting their coaching centre.

We also have online classes to familiarise students with the online examination process.

Our success ratio is 10:8.”

Course fees: Rs 6,500 for PO, Rs 5,500 for clerk and Rs 7,500 for both grades. ashok.c@geepee.co.in

ON CINEMA HEALTH special storyBEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA

Teacher crunch hits SSA schools EDUCATION AFFAIRS ANALYSES THE PROBLEMS FACING INSTITUTIONS THAT SERVE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID No playgrounds to play during break and deficit in the number of teachers in his school upsets him. It pains him more when he listens from his neighbourhood friend the triumph story of their school cricket team and how his teachers give regular practice to them in their school playground.

Rahul Kumar Gupta, student of class VIII at Adarsh Hindi High school at Kidderpore, expressed his grief saying, “I wish I would have studied in my neighbourhood friend Akash’s school (St Thomas School Kidderpore) where teachers would have trained me how to play Cricket.”

Gupta iterated, “Even during tiffin, Akash plays in their school playground. Unfortunately, we don’t have games teacher or a playground in our school. ” It may sound a little unusual but like the

Adarsh Hindi High School, many government aided schools running under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, lack playground, teachers and basic infrastructure. Under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), 19,82,000 teachers have been sanctioned to states and Union Territories. However, only 12,86,000 teachers have been recruited till December last year.

SSA, a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of Government of India, launched in 2001-2002 in partnership with the state governments and local self governments, to attain elementary education to all children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. For students going to schools due to SSA initiatives, scarcity of teachers greets them as ‘no education and only discipline at school.’

“There is acute shortage of teachers. In our school there are vacancies of 27 teachers but education affairs 17

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only 14 teachers are teaching the students from Class I to XII. Thirteen posts still remain vacant. Moreover, three of them will retire by December this year. By then only 11 teachers will teach 1,200 students. We will be in a fix by the end of this year. If no teachers are recruited till December 2013 then we would not be able to run the school,” said, B B Singh, head master of Adarsh Hindi High School.

According to Singh, School Service Commission (SSC) results have come out. The teachers are recruited through SSC. Earlier, there were para teachers surmounting the teachers in schools run under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. At present, there are no recruitment of para teachers. Government aided school administration could not recruit casual teachers of its own.

Pal Babu, a teacher at a school run under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in south Kolkata informed us that it becomes very difficult for the school authorities to serve mid-day meals. “There is no doubt that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is regular in delivering mid-day meal in our school but they don’t provide utensils to serve the meal,” Babu explained.

However, the motive behind SSA is to mainstream and retaining children by building up schools, additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for learning achievement.

As far as development work is concerned, there have been steady improrovement in West Bengal. Between 2010 and 2012, only 18 education affairs

two third of the total schools under SSA in West Bengal is not following the norms of students-teacher ratio of 1: 30 for primary section and 1:35 for upper primary section.

Likewise, according to the latest survey, it was found that only 44.5% of schools are not having usable toilets in 2012 and the number of schools with no useable girls toilets was more than 50%.

Some of these efforts have been in the field of primary education and a few also covering upper primary sector. Due to these interventions, initiated by government of India and the respective state governments, there has been considerable progress in providing access, improving retention and the quality improvement in primary education sector. Despite these efforts, much needs to be done for the special focus groups, and the upper primary sector. Quality improvement still remains a major concern, especially for upper primary sector. SSA is being used as an attempt to fill this vacuum and covers all the districts in the country unlike the earlier programmes on elementary education.

PRATHAM, an NGO working in the field of education, highlighted in their provisional Annual Status of Education Report 2012, that participation in education is not all, retention of students is most crucial as the dropout rate is rising with around 80 million children dropping without completing their basic schooling in India.

Since April 2010, Right to Education (RTE Act ) has been into effect and was enacted in 2009. In such as worrisome condition the significant of RTE might be questioned.

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IIM Kolkata improves its global ranking While President Pranab Mukherjee had been repeatedly stressing on the quality of Indian universities and expressing deep concerns that despite representing 17% global population there is not a single Indian university in the list of first 200 global ranking, the Indian Institute of Management—Calcutta (IIMC) is already undergoing the process of the most coveted internal accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

For the record, IIMC has already lined up the top honours for its teaching of finance as a management specialisation in a recent survey.

The AACSB is the global agency with which some of the best business management institutions like the Harvard and the Wharton Business school are accredited with.

The President had also asked the Human Resource Development Ministry to initiate steps for qualitative improvement and had commented that Indian universities need “clinical examination”.

India has a total of more than 600 universities and 33,000 colleges across the country.

“The institute had applied for the AACSB accreditation in the second half of 2012 and expects the process to be completed in 2014,” Dr Anindya Sen, professor of economics and Dean (Academics) of the IIMC said.

If all goes well, the Indian Institute of ManagementCalcutta (IIMC), will be the first Indian academic institution that would find a place in the Financial Times’ global ranking of business schools.

The Financial Times global ranking of management institu-

AMBARISH MUKHERJEE MAPS THE MEASURES BEING PUT IN PLACE TO HELP THE INSTITUTION SCORE OVER ITS PEERS IN THE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SPACE tions is recognised as the most creditable ranking by the industry.

To achieve this unique distinction the IIMC is in the process of receiving accreditation from the AACSB. Getting accredited with the AACSB is not an easy task and for this the IIMC authorities had to set up a separate office with four persons exclusively to handle the accreditation process.

A few years back IIM Ahmedabad had also tried for the AACSB accreditation but for some undisclosed reasons the effort was left midway.

The first phase for AACSB’s accreditation process is currently underway during which dignitaries from other foreign universities are visiting the IIMC premises.

Two sister IIMs—Ahmedabad and Bangalore— have got accreditation from the

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).

Management institutes the world over are accredited with one of the three internationally reputed agencies, namely EQUIS, AACSB and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Among these three accreditation agencies, mostly European business schools opt for by EQUIS accreditation, a majority of UK-based business schools go for AMBA accreditation while others try to get accredited with the AACSB. “Accreditation from the EQUIS or AMBA is not so difficult as they go by the total data of the institute. They decide on the basis of a data-based presentation and whether it is at par with global standards.”Dr Sen pointed out.

But the AACSB’s practice is quite different from the other two. It is more of a continuous process. The AACSB’s vision statement takes care of all the steps right from the beginning up to the end, he said.

It examines whether there are adequate arrangements with the institution to fulfil the target at every step such as the selection of the right type of students during the admission process, whether the organisation can provide proper infrastructure to the students and its ability to ensure necessary financial aids for its students.

Citing an example Dr Sen points out that suppose for a particular batch of students the teacher sets a target that 20% of the students may not perform well but it actually turned out that 25% of students did not perform well.

In such a situation the teacher along with experts go for a deeper analysis to find out 20 education affairs

that reason so that next year the target is met, Dr Sen said.

But how will the academic experience be different for students once the AACSB certification is in place?

Dr Sen says that creative thinking and communication will become an important fulcrum around which the courses will rotate. Students will be encouraged to think differently so that they are able to come up with innovative solutions to the problems faced by the industry.

There is also a process which will train the students how to face ethical dilemmas as in the process of handing complex business decisions, he noted.

The AACSB International has come out with a new set of accreditation standards in 2013.

After more than two years of study and collaboration with the global management education community, AACSB's Blue Ribbon Committee on Accreditation Quality (BRC) has critically examined market needs, re-considered definitions of excellence and the role of accreditation, and focused on defining new standards. The new focus areas include (a) drive innovation in business schools to create and sustain value for students, employers, and the communities they serve; (b) go beyond quality and ensure that business schools also have an impact through both scholarly education and the creation of new knowledge; and (c) require significant engagement between faculty, students, and business professionals, fostering meaningful intersections to create and share knowledge that is both scholarly and relevant to practice.

Meeting these will enable the West Bengal situated management institute to achieve the landmark of being the first one to have a global standing. One wonders whether this might eventually lead to escalation of fees as the current fees already stands at around Rs 13.5 lakh for the two year course that includes hostel and other charges.

IIMC INCUBATION CENTRE Earlier this year, IIMC has set up an incubation centre.

Management skills often becomes the backbone for social enterprises in the not for-profit category. Consequently, incubation units have become an integral part of the business assistance framework to offer critical support to newly formed enterprises.

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Students at Aliah University in a fix

SHAHERYAR HOSSAIN DISCOVERS STUDENT ISSUES THAT ARE BEING NEGLECTED AT PRESENT AT THE CM’S DREAM PROJECT Its a cruel joke. This year’s outgoing master degree batch of Aliah University does not know whom to go for their placements. While students allege that several times they have protested and brought up the topic of placement, each time Aliah University officials have responded to them with an excuse that placements are the responsibility of Techno India College and not theirs.

“Our course will end in December 2013 but till date we didn’t have industrial training and pre-placement training. Whatever jobs our seniors have secured are due to their personal efforts. Aliah University didn’t help them. The situation is same for students pursuing other professional courses from the university. We approached several times to the vice chancellor (VC), Syed Samsul Alam but he is reluctant to speak on this issue,” said Rahul Shukla (name changed), a final year student of the Master of Computer Applications. He further alleged that they did

not have any industrial training and preplacement training, which usually happens in the last semester, unlike other technical colleges. “Rather than teaching us, our professors give training to engineering students from Techno India College. They conduct our classes only during the initial days of every semester,” added Shukla.

Students say that neither Aliah University nor Techno India College is taking responsibility of their placements. In addition to that they are suffering from staff crunch. Students urgently need computer laboratories to gain practical experience in IT field. “We don’t have proper labs in our campus. Although we have two computer classes, they hardly suffice,” said Raj Kumar Singh (name changed), a final year student of Aliah University.

When Education Affairs contacted the Aliah University’s placement cell, the officials said, “You need to contact the VC for any information as he is out of town.” When we approached the VC over phone, he curtly education affairs 21

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replied. “I am in a meeting. Please ask for a proper appointment.”

Kabirul Islam, general secretary of Aliah University Students Union and secretary of Aliah University Trinamul Chatraparishad, who has been part of this mess himself said, “Aliah University had a five year agreement with Techno India College. It was mentioned in the agreement that Techno India College will teach and support the placement of the Aliah University students pursuing professional courses.”

Amid this blame game between Aliah University and Techno India, the ultimate sufferers are the students.

22 education affairs

It is not just the placements, which is the issue with the students, even space is.

Sources say that Aliah University collaborated with Techno India, due to scarcity of space. The University approached the College to conduct professional courses — Masters in media science, computer science, business administration and computer application in their premises. According to the agreement, Techno India College will be conducting the classes whereas Aliah University will conduct the examination. Students have their examination at DN 25, Salt Lake, which is on hire by the Aliah University.

Aliah University offers 24 professional and degree courses. The autonomous Aliah University is the youngest government aided state university in West Bengal, founded in 2007 after the approval of the Aliah University Act XXVII, having a goal of educating more and more minority students. The Aliah University officially started its courses in 2008. Except the Arabic department of Aliah University at Haji Mohammed Mohsin Square, other campus at DN 25, and DN 41, Salt lake are taken on hire.

The other campus where Aliah University is conducting its degree courses at Moulana Azad Bhawan, Salt Lake is also not owned by it. The land belongs to West Bengal Madrasah Board.

Aliah University has two campus, one at Gorachand Road another one at Rajarhat.

While former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee laid the foundation stone at Gorachand Road, where construction has not yet started, the present CM, Mamata Banerjee, laid the foundation stone of at Rajarhat, where the construction started in February, this year. “In an attempt to overcome the problems of infrastructure, the state government has allotted 20 acres land to the university campus at Rajarhat and also sanctioned Rs 242 crore for its construction,” added Islam.

Sources tell us that the 5,50,000 square feet Rajarhat campus will house lecture halls, hostels, auditorium, center for vocational studies, NCC center, staff quarters, a maintenance section, bank, post office and other essentials.

“There will be two buildings in the campus — one a 10-storey and 12-storey building. The state government had already handed over the money to the Aliah University and the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) will carry out the construction of the campus,” Islam further added.

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What’s the future in media studies?

WITH NEWS OF JOURNALIST BEING SACKED AND MEDIA HOUSES SHUTTING SHOP, THE ONLY OPTION, IT SEEMS, FOR JOURNALISTS IS TO LEAVE KOLKATA According to a report by FICCIKPMG the Indian Media and Entertainment industry which is estimated at 917 crores, will achieve a growth of 11.8 per cent in 2013 and touch Rs 1,66,000 crores by 2017 growing at a healthy CAGR of 15.2 per cent.

Sounds good? Hold on. The figures might portray a rosy picture and raise hope for aspirants in the industry but the state of affairs in Kolkata portrays a picture which is not so generous.

The city has been witness to the Bengal

Ponzi scam which saw many print and electronic media houses, run under the Saradha group, shutting down, rendering scores of journalist jobless. Cost cutting and job freeze have become a regular trait of the industry, failing to infuse any positive sign thereby making the future of many aspiring journalist uncertain. Moreover, the premier educational institutes of the city – Calcutta University, Jadavpur University and Rabindra Bharti University, are doing little to hone the skills of future journalists.

Whether one talks about the basic infraeducation affairs 23

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structure or the resource, the institutes of excellence fail to deliver. Calcutta University, which has a 63 year-old Mass Communication department has failed to live up to its reputation. Indrani Raha, Head of the department of Journalism and Mass Communication in Muralidhar Girls College, affiliated to Calcutta University, believes the problem is deep rooted in CU. “The situation is bad at CU and colleges under the university are suffering. There are no proper infrastructure in the department. Also poor standard of faculty adds to the problem.

There are hardly 10 good teachers among 1000 across Bengal,” said a concerned Raha.

The University department has only two full-time teachers with around 10-12 guest lecturers. Raha believes the standard of a journalism student passing out of CU is poor and holds the University responsible for it.

“Students from other departments get a job in media industry and not the journalism student. If only CU would have prepared it’s students then things would have been different. And if a CU student gets a job in the journalism sector, it is because of his/her own merit and not because of the University,” stressed Raha favouring for a change in the structure of the University.

Shipla Dasgupta a 2009 batch pass out of CU had to change the city in search of better training to fulfill her aspiration. She completed her masters degree from Commits Institute of Mass Communication and Journalism, Bangalore. “I could have done six internships in the duration of 3 years that I devoted to CU. But what mattered to the authorities was the 75 per cent attendance,” rues Dasgupta who has worked as Associate Producer with Big FM and as senior programme executive at Sangeet Bangla. Elaborating on the state of affairs at CU she said, “We heard there is one camera and also that 24 education affairs

it does not work! The syllabus is mostly theoretical failing to give the required 360 degree dimension. Almost 95 per cent is theory with just 5 per cent practical, which is not actually practical, while Bangalore institute gave 80 per cent practical and 20 per cent theory. Moreover, the syllabus is very narrow. There is nothing about cinematography as the syllabus is limited and restricted to a few popular filmmakers. Again it hardly talks about the technical part.” Dasgupta who is now a guest lecturer at Muralidhar Girls College urges CU to give in to the demand of dynamism to the subject.

Dasgupta’s batch-mate Rumela Lahiri took a similar step. She switched to Rabindra Bharti University (RBU) for better scope in higher studies and research only to be disappointed again. Lahiri who is interested in doing research in this field feels the environment in the city is not conducive. “The situation for students of journalism is grim in Bengal. The syllabus is 200 years old. WB students are lagging behind in NET because the syllabus is not designed in the desired way while the other State’s syllabus is NET oriented. Moreover, there is no scope for doing MPhil in Mass Communication here,” said Lahiri who is also a guest lecturer in Muralidhar Girls College. Emphasising that Bengal needs visionaries and not mere teachers and making a stark comparison she said, “CU course helps in content writing while RBU is like a coaching centre.”

Uma Shankar Pandey, Asst. Professor and Head dept of Journalism and Mass Communication, Surendranath College for Women also voiced his concern on the prevailing trend in CU. “As an academic discipline we are lagging behind. In fact Bangladesh is doing far better than us when it comes to doing research work in this discipline. The situation is stagnant here because we have

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lot of mediocrity,” said Pandey who urges that the personal initiative of providing internship opportunity to students should be institutionalized. Opining on the nature of faculty required for the department Pandey said, “In the government colleges there are teachers without any practical background while in the private institutes teachers mostly come from the field itself. Hence it a big mismatch. Theoretical impulse is of as much importance as the practical aspect is.”

When confronted with the problems faced by the students, the Registrar of CU, Basab Choudhury, who is now heading the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication in the absence of HoD assured that steps are being taken to bring back the honour of the department. “We are trying to bring back the honour of the department. The process to improve the department has begun and in two years we will cover all the loopholes,” said Choudhury, who acknowledging the problem of lack of teachers in the department added, “Not having full-time teachers is a major problem for us. Hence we are planning to recruit more teachers to fill up the vacancies. I acknowledge that we don’t have fulltime lab staff. Steps are being taken to constitute a phd committee and also placement officials.”

While Choudhury showed some ray of hope, Tapati Basu, former HoD of the department defended the arguments. “University doesn’t need full-time teachers. We need teachers from the profession as well, hence we need to strike a balance. The syllabus is also an updated one. Students have the habit of complaining and they will continue doing so. Our department is one of the best departments in India and our students get placed in well-known companies,” said Basu who has been associated with the department for the last 24 years. Commenting on the lack of

infrastructure in the department Basu argued, “CU takes only Rs100 from each students and not Rs 1000. So you should also take that into consideration.”

Jadavpur University which offers postgraduate diploma in Mass Communication appears to be better in terms of infrastructure and faculty but it lacks vision. The department has three full-time teachers with well-equipped library and the syllabus has been updated twice in the last 8 years, according to Santwan Chattopadhyay, Coordinator PG diploma in Mass Communication, JU. “JU’s diploma course is like a technical experience that gives an added value to your CV. It doesn’t fulfill anything other than this.

Campusing is nil if I may correctly say so,” said Radhika Gupta, a JU alumni. Contradicting Gupta’s status Chattopadhyay said, “I don’t think our students have any problem when it comes to placement because though we don’t have a placement cell, but facility for campusing is there. Reuters have recruited our students. The only problem is our students won’t be able to sit for NET because it is not a degree course.”

While the government institutes are singing their own melody, private institutes are cropping up rapidly to fill in the loopholes. And if the experts in the field are to be believed than, private institutes are the best possible option. Mrityunjoy Chatterjee, Director of Institute of Leadership and Entrepreneurship (iLead) who had been associated with NSHM College said, “The new media has brought a paradigm shift and the main challenge is to co-exists in this new system. The media industry collaborates fairly in the GDP of the country. The scope for media students is huge but you need to have your niche areas. Finishing school is the only option as it is the lab for creating professionals.”

education affairs 25

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM careers

Future of the past EXCAVATING PAST AND CONSERVING IT IS A REWARDING CAREER BUT DROP-OUTS POSE MAJOR WORRY Travelling back in time and striking a conversation with our forefathers to decipher the meaning of unsolved mysteries have always fascinated humans.

It’s a human’s curiosity that has compelled him to bridge the gap between the past and the present. Moreover, there are very few professions which are not just intellectually stimulating but adventurous too.

No, I am not talking about planchette or some supernatural stuff. I am referring to Museologists who travel to the crevices of history and unearth facts that never fail to amaze us.

Remember Stephen Sommers’s blockbuster film The Mummy where Brendan Fraser as an American adventurer and 26 education affairs

Rachel Weisz as an aspiring Egyptologist set out for an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra? Or the fantacy adventure laden comedy film Night at the Museums which had the whole museum coming alive? Closer home Srijit Mujherjee’s last release Mishawr Rohoshyo which saw Prosenjit Chatterjee trying to decipher some heliographic symbols inside the pyramids in Egypt?

India has over 7000 museums conserving it’s glorious past. Innumerable heritage sites and buildings dot the Indian landscape with artifacts that are priceless. India’s valuable treasures need trained manpower to preserve it for the generations to come and also new discoveries to be made to add on to the heritage. According to Professor Dr Sachindra Nath Bhattacharya, Department of Museology University of Calcutta the scope for Museologists is immense in India. “Apart from thousands of museum that India has, several institutes have their own museums.

Starting from Vishva-bharati to Bose Institute to Ramkrishna Mission, a museum is there to preserve their own heritage. Calcutta University itself has a museum in the College Street campus called Asutosh Museum of Indian Art. Again there are Parliament museum, Gandhi museum and others preserving our political history. Moreover, as per International Council of Museum, Botanical Gardens in Kolkata also comes under heritage site. So you need a trained workforce to work on so many areas at different level. Indian Museum itself requires around 100 trained professionals,” said

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Bhattacharya. Museums include wide range of professionals: the museum director, the welcome desk staff, the curator, the programming officer, the security manager and the restorer according to International Council of Museum.

The department of Museum Studies in CU was established in 1959 as a post graduate diploma course which was later developed into Masters Degree in 1962. The department now offers MA, MSc as well as Phd in museum studies. It has 6 full-time teachers with around 30 expert faculty and visiting guest lecturers.

Apart from CU, Rabindrabharti University also offers a Masters degree in Museology.

Again Indian Museum itself offers a variety of certificate courses which includes — Cultural Heritage & Indian Museum, a 6-month course for graduates, Epigraphy & Palaeography, a 3-month course and Indian Architecture through the Ages, a 3-month course.

Introduction of two new courses — Ancient Indian coins and Ceremics are on the anvil.

The courses, Sayan Bhattacharya, Officer on Special duty Education, informs attracts people from different backgrounds. “We have people from various disciplines – Arts, Commerce and Science — enrolling for the certificate course. A ration of 75:25 inter-disciplinary applicants registers. We even have a 67-year-old man with the bankground of engineering pursuing our course. We get around 40 to 50 applicants registering for the course each batch,” said Bhattacharya who added that the stimulus for these courses is not any monetary return or job, rather it is intellectual satisfaction.

But for those who are looking for a rewarding career this field has immense to offer. Students passing out of CU have been placed in different capacity in museums inside as well as outside India. “Students are placed at prestigious placed very well of their course. The education officer at Victoria Memorial is from CU, many other teachers from this department including me are also from CU as well, which is the second pioneering centre in India after the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda. One of our alumni is the Director General of Canada National University,” said Mohua Chakraborty, HOD Museum Studies CU, further informing that, “We get students from all across the globe, that includes, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even Canada.”

Despite the grandeur attached with the profession, Chakraborty informed that the interest of students is waning. “The number of applications have come down in the recent years. Though we have 100% pass-out result but there are many drop-outs,” said Chakraborty who reasons the socio-economic pattern as well the lucrative professions which lure students. It’s a big loss she feels.

“It’s a loss for the national economy. Some students opt out of the course because of their socio-economic set-up, which is often marriage. Others opt out because there are quick jobs like Banks and ITs which lures them away.” Another problem that the department faces is on the side of the faculties.

The University is facing a drop in the application for faculty, when the institute feels it requires good professors. education affairs 27

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM looking ahead

Visva-Bharati joins hands for a ‘meta’ university 28 education affairs

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TAGORE’S DREAM HAS LINED UP NEW COURSES AND CENTRES TO OFFER STUDENTS UNIQUE OPTIONS ACROSS ALL LEVELS, IN ALLIANCE WITH INSTITUTIONS LIKE IIMC AND CU Pradeep Gooptu Visva-Bharati (VB), the ‘global’ University set by Nobel Laureate ‘Kaviguru’ Rabindranath Tagore, continues to break new ground today as it did when it was set up.

Inspired by the model of American universities which had sprawling campuses and encouraged open framework in location of classes and academic exchanges, it continues to retain its unique ‘free’ ambience.

As a central university operating in rural Bengal, the university is perhaps the only one on the world that “takes in a student as an infant and provides education all the way up to the PhD and post-doctoral stage”, VB vice-

chancellor (upacharya) Sushanta Dattagupta said.

Students can join VB at two years of age and make it their academic and intellectual home till the post-PhD level, he says to point out the uniqueness of the institution.

Meta university One of the most exciting developments in the pipeline is the meta university pact signed between Visva-Bharati, the University of Calcutta (CU) and Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC). These three great institutions have been brought together education affairs 29

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(

(

VB has tied up with two leading global arts universities in the West for student exchange and transfer of credits

under the guidance of the central education ministry under an arrangement in which students of any one can undertake a course at another and obtain credit transfers.

“I see this as a very exciting opportunity for students”, says Dattagupta. A bright young mind can combine management studies, mainline academic credit and a course in music under this arrangement.

This will increase the visibility of all the institutions and improve the all-round education as far as students are concerned.

In a similar arrangement, VB has tied up with two leading global arts universities in the West for student exchange and transfer of credits.

30 education affairs

Inclusive development VB has now been asked by the Central

government to adopt some more schools outside its existing framework (of in-campus schools and literacy/vocational institutes) so as to deliver greater benefit to rural communities in the country. Its inclusive development, the VB way.

At the upper end of the education pyramid, the institution of Sriniketan set up by Tagore is very similar to the community colleges in the USA, and proves once again the timelessness and wisdom of the original founding fathers, says Dattagupta.

“Universities like VB are uniquely placed to work and develop the lives of all those in their nieghbourhood through creation of scholars, rural reconstruction, development and transfer of science and technology to farming and artisan communities and pioneering the production of new crops and farming practices”, says the vice-chancellor.

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school of creative and performing arts. A recent survey by a nationally respected publication placed VB first among the many arts colleges and institutions in the country. VB had struck the right balance between training and experimentation to unleash the creativity of students and faculty alike in a borderless, shackle-free environment, according to Dattagupta.

VB is not for run of the mill education and constantly strives to achieve a balance between experimentation with new curriculum and further focus on core areas. Every course and student activity is clued into rural culture, practices and the beauty of nature, he claims.

From the very beginning, Tagore had implemented the practice of getting scholars from overseas and other Indian states to train students and develop new skills. This mission is being renewed with fresh vigour.

In response to large number of foreign students who study there, from Asia and the West, efforts are on to further develop ties with matching foreign institutions for exchange of students and infrastructure. Like the specialised bhavans dedicated to China and Japan, new ones like centres dedicated to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh and South Korea are being planned.

New centres The Indira Gandhi Centre of National Integration is being upgraded and an International Students’ Centre being put in place as part of this.

In parallel, a Tagore Museum of Natural History is being built for preservation, display and research into traditional practices and skills. The scope of study would range from archeological projects to impact assessment and environment research in general.

As a memorial to the close relationship between Tagore and Albert Einstein, a new Einstein Bhavan is being built to undertake hardcore research at a world class research and development (R&D) centre.

“Tagore believed that authors had a social responsibility to convey science to the masses and this centre will take this forward by exploring new areas like cognitive sciences, Vedantic links and the relationship between philosophy and free though and science, among other things”, said Dattagupta. The centre will be somewhat like the celebrated

Lake Como in Italy.

In response to evolving student needs, a new centre for placement guidance and allround mental and physical development activities as well.

New courses In the works is a five-year interdisciplinary programme that will allow student to seamlessly cover two years of general undergraduate education and three years of specialised university grade education, but with a unique twist: students can obtain credits across disciplines. For example, a science student can gain credits in Sangeet and Kala Bhavan’s performing and visual arts courses alongside hardcore science education as part of a choice based credit system.

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Students can join VB at two years of age and make it their academic and intellectual home till the post-PhD level

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Tapping the world Outside Bengal, VB is best know for its

To meet infrastructure challenges like any other university in the country, VB is exploring ways to get in donors and sponsors, and also develop its alumni network.

“The outside world sees Rabindra-sangeet, or the works of Tagore, as art, but all of Tagore’s art was a medium of communication and cultural exchange. To renew this focus, the Music Board is being revamped so that the art of Tagore retains its purity but is also not cut-off from society and the world”, says Dattagupta.

Initiatives planned include development of the Granthan Bibhaga (publications division) in Kolkata; dissemination of the art and music of Tagore to the world, including instrumentation like the tanpura, khol and esraaj; and taking the Centre for Esraaj Studies worldwide.

Similarly, the large volume of manuscripts and ‘punthis’ is to be preserved through a National Centre of preservation of regional and traditional documents and texts. VB itself has around 10,000 such documents and the national list covers more than 300,000 documents. education affairs 31

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Online Education WITH EMPHASIS ON E-LEARNING, MORE AND MORE PORTALS ARE CASHING IN TO MAKE EDUCATION HASSLE-FREE AND INTERESTING, WRITES ASHOK CHATTERJEE

32 education affairs

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC Move over classrooms — education is now moving beyond the four walls. No, we are not going back to the gurukul system of education nor are we talking about the open-air teaching practiced at Shantiniketan.

The education system, having undergone drastic changes, is now threatening to overthrow the traditional system of education.

We are talking about online education – the new-age learning system which is taking India by storm. Every university and college is now offering distance education through online courses, which are not only convenient but also cost-effective. Students find the courses easier to relate to as most of them are tech-savvy.

They find the conventional courses time consuming and boring. Even students, who are getting into classrooms, are increasingly carrying more gadgets to class such as laptops, smartphones and tabs to name a few. Nowadays online courses can get one any degree — from basic graduation to even doctorate.

Another pioneering work which is set to take online teaching to the next level is the ‘Hole in the Wall’ experiment by TED Prize winner 2013, Dr Sugata Mitra, using the cloud technology. (Cloud computing is a type of computing which relies on sharing computing resources rather than local servers or personal devices).

More and more students are opting for online courses both in India and abroad.

According to College Explorer 2013 survey, there has been 96% increase in students taking online courses in the last five years. With a network of 1 million schools and 18,000 higher education institutions, India is one of the largest markets in the world. According to another survey, online education market in our country is set to rise by $40 billion by 2017 from the present $20 billion.

As a result online portals are getting popular. The fact that most of the competitive exams are conducted online is another reason for the students to get themselves familiarised with the new model.

Indian education portal, Meritnation, with the slogan, ‘school made easy’, has the objective of providing multimedia learning which will help in learning. They are into the K12 segment (from kindergarten to Class XII). On the proliferation and popularity of online education, Pavan Chauhan, founder of Meritnation, says, “This is a fairly new concept

for Indians. Since its inception, we have added slightly over 50 lakh users out of which 20 lakh were added last year. The pace of growth is exciting.” Someone who has been in the education business throughout and interacted with students, Chauhan felt the need to have Meritnation as he wanted to make a difference in the education sector and treat each child differently. Talking about his venture, which teaches youngsters about online education, he says, “The way students in smaller classes consume content online is very different from

those from higher classes.

In lower classes, parents would play an integral role with respect to their accessing the content for them. A good product will always keep that aspect in mind when designing content. It is extremely important to have a friendly interface with easy navigation. The good thing is that the next generation is so clued in about technology.”

He adds, “Through my interaction with students, I realised that in a classroom there are certain limitations. There are all types of students – students, who pick up the concepts well to students who take more time to grasp the subject etc. My basic thought was to treat each student differently, try to know what their strengths and weaknesses are and offer them a different six-month approach to learning. I knew it can only happen through technology.

That was the biggest motivation.” education affairs 33

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB interview

FATHER GASTON ROBERGE, JESUIT, ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF CHITRABANI AND FILM SCHOLAR SAYS HIS EXPOSURE TO TAGORE AND RAY WERE REASONS FOR HIM TO COME HERE

"Education system as a whole needs to change" You are working on an Indian film theory. What it is about?

It is a theory of Indian films.

I started with the book Indian film theory – Sholay and Beyond. There I tried to formulate the Indian film theory. If there are Indian films then there has to be a theory. Theory is a vision, a way of looking at things. If you produce a film which has been liked by millions of people over the years, I call it an Indian folk film.

I’m not creating anything new, it is already there. But we don’t know about it. It has to be formulated and our scholars haven’t done it. It is such a vast domain. I took Sholay and tried to extract the formula. Initially, I wanted to start with five films and compare them to see if it matches. But in the end I restricted to just one film. If my approach is of any good, then it should hold good for others. The film is not about one emotion or about two people in love, but a series of emotions. When you see Basanti dancing on the broken glass pieces it arouses so many emotions. The famous film director, Sergei Eisenstein, said ‘a montage of different emotions that end in a piercing idea or emotion is the aim of modern cinema’.

In classrooms, students are given examples mostly from western classics. Why aren’t 34 education affairs

they given examples from popular Indian films?

It is a complex situation. The teachers may not have studied about Bollywood films in depth. There is also the feeling that to be competent, they must emulate western scholars.

Scholars have coined the term, ‘popular’ because of the class mentality. I call popular films like, Sholay and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, ‘folk’ films since they have been seen by millions of people, several times over. Folk means people. Who decided that a film is a folk film – the people and or the scholars? I asked students what is it in Sholay that they liked and they gave me all sorts of answers – good dialogues, good story, good cinematography, songs etc. They gave me qualities which are not from an Indian point of view. In other words they don’t know what they liked in the film. The education system will prevent them from knowing because it is not discussed in class. If a teacher asks which film they liked watching, chances are they will not mention Indian films.

So, you are saying that the way film classes are conducted should change?

Education system as a whole needs to change. I always say that in a classroom, the class mindset is inflicted on a student. When I ask students if I, as their teacher, should watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, they say no because they feel it is not for me. When I asked a student

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why she watched it 3-4 times within a week of its release, she gave me a vague reply. But the next day she told me that the film is an affirmation of Indian cultural identity. That is the most important thing – to discover one’s identity. But our educational system does not allow us to do that. The relationship between the student and teacher is not very cordial. The teacher is not free to teach what he wants. He is bound by the syllabus. Students memorise to pass examinations. The moment they enter the classroom, it is like a jail.

What is the difference between the Indian and western approach to cinema?

In the western approach too much emphasis is on control. Their approach is more rational.

For India, it is from the heart. We need both.

One is not better than the other, but westerners put more emphasis on reason. Cinema came to India more or less the same time as it arrived in western world. Indian scholars felt that they should relate to western scholars because cinema came to India from West. The local scholars dealt with the first Indian film (by Dadasaheb Phalke) with the theory they learnt from western scholars. But the filmmaker didn’t go abroad to make their films. Phalke saw a western film, Life of Christ. He thought India too have many mythical characters.

Hence, Raja Harishchandra, the film was born.

And Phalke reacted as an Indian.

Your thinking was in variance to Indian film scholars?

Many years ago, I was invited to a film festival in Dhaka. In the jury was a famous Indian filmmaker. We saw Raghu Romeo. I liked the film because it aroused the emotions just like Bharat Muni says in Natyashastra that ‘if you arouse emotion by drama then most of the time, you reach a point where you cannot go beyond.

So you must jump to a higher level of emotion which is dance and song’. When I heard that the famous filmmaker did not like the song and dance bit in the film, I realised that he too was talking from a western point of view.

How did you arrive in India? Why India?

I came by boat. I had an uncle who was in

Canadian aviation during war. He was an expert in radar communication. When I was five, he came back from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) after spending two years there. He met lot of south Asians, Indians included, and fell in love with them. When I spent time with him, he would talk to us about the people he had known with fondness. He had tiger skin on the floor and also had a Boa Constrictor skin on the wall. It added to the fascination and mystery of the place. So, I took emotional interest in India.

And years later, I read Gitanjali and liked it.

Then I liked what I heard about Gandhiji. Then as a young Jesuit, I felt inclined to go to India.

So I volunteered to my superiors, when the opportunity came along. I did not come to convert, but I wanted to learn. I was intrigued to know what these people knew, especially in matters of religion. In my last night in New York, before taking the boat, I looked at the newspapers and found out that there was screening of three films from Kolkata. My destination in India was also Kolkata. They were screening Apu’s Trilogy. It set me in a special mood since I was going to India and I had just seen first time in my life Indian film.

So your first exposure to Indian cinema was through Ray? I liked Pather Panchali . The sequence, where Durga and Apu are having pickle in secrecy, is very interesting. There are eight close ups.

When I arrived in India and talked about it to the people here, they were interested to know who I was. I met some film scholars and I mentioned to them about the sequence and joy of two children. They told me it was Ray’s first film and the sequence I was talking about, was flawed. They said if he is to revise the film, he would reduce the close ups to just three or four.

That should be enough. I did not argue with them as I was not competent to do so. But on hindsight, strange it may seem, I appreciated the film from an Indian point of view whereas the criticism was from the western point of view. The Indian point of view of drama is the arousal of the emotions.

Ashok Chatterjee education affairs 35

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CAT in the bag

PRAKASH RAJPUT, ASSISTANT COURSE DIRECTOR, CAT, T.I.M.E. (TRIUMPHANT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION) TALKS ABOUT THE RIGHT FORMULA TO BELL THE CAT 36 education affairs

What is the trend amongst the new aspirant related to CAT? (Is the rate of applicants increasing or decreasing) With the CAT registration process ending on September 24, the number of applications is estimated to be around the trending average of 2 lakhs. The number of applications writing CAT is only one of the indicators and we would also need to look at the data from other national level MBA entrance tests, the distribution of the applicants in terms of freshers and work experience, the placements at the B-schools, the nature of the jobs being offered, etc before we may draw any generalisations.

CAT is one of the competitive exams given by thousands each year for a better career. Can you compare the job market, given the staggering rate of our economy?

Looking at the data from the B-schools available in the public domain as well as our internal sources, we are convinced that the job market is at par with if not better than the corresponding figures from previous years. The batch sizes at most of the Bschools have gone up. In fact, the number of seats

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For an aspiring candidate of CAT, how would you guide them to flex their muscles for the last minute preparation?

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What are the aptitudes and strategies that they need to adapt? Since it is online examination, what are the things that they should keep in mind?

There are quite a few misconceptions that some students tend to have at this stage of preparations and while planning for the D-day. We would like to draw the attention of the students to the following common mistakes: Error #1: Preparing only for ‘Important’ topics One of the biggest mistakes students make is to narrow down the syllabus and prepare only for select topics based on what has come in the past few years of CAT. The test tends to have a balance of questions of low, intermediate and high difficulty questions — For example, the QA area could have around 4-5 questions which are easy, around 7-8 intermediate and remaining difficult. Similarly, of the three sets in DI – one could be easy, one intermediate and one difficulty, etc. Now, it is possible that the easier questions are asked

Looking at the data from the B schools, this year, we are convinced that the job market is at par with figures from last year

Writing more mocks would probably be the best strategy for the students to get some perspective on CAT. It goes without saying that besides the mock, they should also find time to practice areas that they are not very comfortable with. Going with only a selecttopics or missing out on any allegedly 'not so important' topic could be dangerous.

Another aspect the students will need to keep in mind while analysing the mocks is the latitude for application of shortcuts/techniques. Often these would be indicated in the solutions. They should go through the solutions after writing a test and make note of the shortcuts.

In the end, the specific things which work for one may or may not work for another and in that sense every person is unique. It would be advisable to take feedback from mentors/faculty on the action plan and then review progress on a regular basis.

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within the IIM fraternity have almost doubled over the past few years. Again, International placements have been hit by the global cycles.

This has a bearing on the highest dollar salaries and the number of international placements that the B-schools can command.

Moreover, if we look at the long-term average for the B-schools in India, we see that most top management schools in the country have an exemplary track record of getting near 100% placement with very good salaries and job roles. In fact, of late, the dollar salaries for international placements range between $ 50,000 and $1,60,000 per annum.

The IIMs and other top-notch institutes claim an average placement salary of about Rs10-17 lakhs per annum! The highest salary on offer for domestic placements can be as high as Rs 30 to 40 lakhs per annum! The lowest salary on offer at these management institutes is about Rs 7-8 lakhs.

from a topic that you had not prepared well.

Therefore, it is in the best interest of students to prepare for all topics.

Error #2: Trying to guess the topic-wise distribution of questions CAT has been an extremely unpredictable exam. There is a high probability that topics or areas that have not had much of a weightage in recent years might make a comeback and catch the unprepared ones by surprise.

Also, it is advisable to not have any notions regarding the number of questions per area within the sections — QA / DI and VA / LR. The IIMs have only specified that the first section would have questions on QA and DI while the second on VA and LR. The exact composition of questions within the sections could be anything and even vary across slots and therefore students should prepare for all kinds of possibilities. education affairs 37

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB Error#3: Targeting a specific number of questions to clear cut-offs Targeting a pre-set number of questions to clear the cut-offs is not a great strategy. The cut-offs are a function of the difficulty level of the section and the paper. The call of attempting a certain number of questions is to be made during the exam but not before the start of the exam.

Error#4: Blind guessing It has been seen in ‘experimental’ conditions that indiscriminate blind guessing invariably leads to a negative/low score. However, if you are able to eliminate two/three choices (out of the four or five) on a proper basis, then, it is not advisable to leave out such a question even if you do not know how to solve the question.

Error#5: Getting carried away in the flow Before you have any ideaabout a section and start answering, your time is up. Attempt the easier questions first. .

What would be your tips for candidates who would be appearing for group discussion and interview?

It is a little early for students to worry about the GDPI process. In general, they can devote more energy towards securing a call from the desired B-schools. However, a couple of things which will help students with both the written

38 education affairs

exams and the GDPI process should be taken up now – such as reading habit and general awareness. It also helps with the entrance tests which have a section on GA. The list could include IIFT, SNAP, TISSNET, CMAT etc.

Not everyone is able to crack CAT. What are your suggestions for those who don't qualify?

There are several other exams besides CAT that a student can and must write. We collectively call them as OMETs (Other Management Entrance Tests). These would include XAT, SNAP, CMAT, MAT and Institute specific exams viz NMAT, TISSNET, IRMA, and IIFT. The test pattern of each of these tests is unique in its own sort and offers opportunities to students with strengths in various areas to perform well.

XAT is the second most popular management entrance examination after CAT. Apart from XLRI, which is one of the top-5 Bschools in India according to latest rankings by various independent agencies, XAT scores are used by more than 100 institutes across India. XAT is usually conducted in the first week of January.

From its launch in 2011 as a one-stop test for admission into all the AICTE approved Bschools in the country, CMAT has grown from strength to strength with a lot of state entrance exams being scrapped in its favour such as RMAT, MHCET, GCET, MPMET etc.

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINEreport ARTS, MUSIC special

Freshers’ ragging raises its ugly head Incidents of ragging in Indian academic institutions appear to have hit a new low – from the institutes of higher education like engineering and medical colleges it is now affecting school going children too.

And despite official denial, ragging is still rampant across the country with Uttar Pradesh topping the list followed by West Bengal in terms of the number of cases registered.

Activists of the anti-ragging organisation Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE) feel that ragging incidents go up with the beginning of new academic session.

SAVE advocates widespread use of Right To Information (RTI) Act to ensure timely action by the authorities in case one is ragged by seniors. According to Gaurav Singhal, the national coordinator of SAVE and head of it’s RTI desk, the RTI Act can be used extensively to pressurise the college authorities and the local police for proper action on ragging complaints.

According to Singhal, even colleges can be asked reasons why the anti-ragging squad does not conduct surprise checks at night, why

complaint boxes have not been kept at various locations at the college, or why the seniors found indulging in ragging have been given a very mild punishment or why the various antiragging steps as mandated by UGC’s anti-ragging regulation are not being implemented by the college, he said.

In 2009, the UGC had come out with the ‘Regulation On Curbing The Menace Of Ragging In Higher Educational Institutions’.The UGC regulations had many sections which include that every student and parents concerned, at the time of admission, must file an affidavit vowing not to indulge in ragging.

Post admission, printed leaflets are to be distributed to every fresher detailing addresses and telephone numbers of the anti-ragging helpline, wardens, head of the institution, all members of the anti-ragging squads and committees and relevant district and police authorities.

In reality, these rules are seldom implemented.

The big question today is: What is the current student community’s view on ragging?

According to Daniyal Khan, a second year student of Ashutosh College in Kolkata and the education affairs 39

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joint secretary of Student Federation of India (SFI), there are senior junior conflicts in colleges but ragging happens mostly in hostels where students from faraway places reside.

Further, he points out, in government institutions it is rare. Whatever happens are mostly in the private institutions, that too not in metropolitan areas.

“Institutions in non-metro areas remain out of the media glare”, he pointed out.

The private institutions do not exactly agree.

The general secretary of the Association of Professional Academic Institutes of West Bengal (APAI) Dhurjoti Banerjee says, normally college try to deny even if such incident occurs.

Moreover, Banerjee points out, if an incident takes place the matter is hugely exaggerated when it is reported by the student and parents.

40 education affairs

When finally the anti-ragging committee comes out with its report it is often found that what has really happened is usually only a fraction of what has been reported, Banerjee says. In other words, complainants overstate matters in their complaints.

He is also quite upset with the style of media coverage about college conflicts.

“Conflicts between seniors and juniors happen in almost every college. If it is a general college the papers will say students fought among themselves on so and so issues. But the moment it is an engineering college media will brand it as ragging. Isn’t it silly?,” Bannerjee asks.

All private professional and technological institutions in West Bengal are affiliated to the West Bengal University of Technology. The Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Samir

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Kumar Bandyopadhyay admitted that incidents of ragging do occur.

He points out one incident: “In 2011 at Birbhum Institute of Engineering and Technology there was a complaint that one senior student had beaten up a few second year students. A formal enquiry found the complaint to be true and he was suspended for one semester.

Dr Bandyopadhyay highlighted the relevance of the latest West Bengal Government missive about installing CCTVs in hostels and deploying additional security guards.

He said the objective of more CCTVs is to cover areas where untoward incidents might occur and not inside the class rooms.

As regard to additional security guards, the VC clarified that all hostels currently employs guards but only of one shift. Now it will be one more covering the entire 24 hours, he said.

The word ragging, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means fun raising programme of stunts, parades, and entertainment organized by students. That is how it is done in most of the western universities.

Indians have borrowed and adapted it into what is today known as college ragging.

According to the Chambers English Dictionary, ragging is an outburst of organized horseplay, usually in defiance of authority, or riotous festivity, especially of under-graduates in British Universities, associated with the raising of money for charity.

According to the Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedia Dictionary,: "Ragging means a noisy disorderly conduct, annual parade of students in fancy dress to collect money for charity, playing rough jokes, or throwing into wild disorder a person’s room etc."

The Supreme Court has given a more comprehensive meaning of ragging: "Ragging is any disorderly conduct, whether by words spoken or written, or by an act which has the effect of teasing, treating or handling with rudeness any student, indulging in rowdy or indiscipline activities which cause or are likely to cause annoyance, hardship or psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or a junior student and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the psyche of a fresher or a junior student."

In India, Tamil Nadu was the first state that passed anti ragging laws. The latest step in this direction is initiated by West Bengal Government that has asked all the engineering colleges to install close circuit televisions(CCTVs) in their hostels and increase number of security guards.

Lastly, but most importantly, we sought out some views from fresh college students this year.

Ms Moumita Ghosh has passed out from St Thomas’ High School this year with good results. Asked about the fear of getting ragged in the college, she said, “I hope I don’t face anything as serious as what we read in newspapers. Even if something happens I wish to take it in good humour and I am hopeful”.

It is this hope that GenX is calling upon, in the face of difficulty and in the face of uncertainty.

Is such a hope based only on optimism, or ignorance or something more substantial?

College freshers pin their hopes on protection from teachers, parental guidance and faith in the Government’s willingness and resolve education affairs 41

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB to govern and restrain destructive forces that might try to inflict pain in the small world of a college.

The anti-ragging movement received a boost after the Tamil Nadu legislation of 1997, in the form of a landmark Supreme Court judgment in May 2001 in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Vishwa Jagriti Mission.

The Supreme Court has consistently taken a very strong stand to prevent ragging. In 2006 the court directed the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to form a committee for formulate guidelines to control ragging.

Following SC directive the HRD Ministry appointed a seven member committee headed by former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Dr R K Raghavan.

The panel interacted with victims, guardians and all others concerned throughout the country and submitted the report in May 2007. The suggestions included a proposal to include ragging as a special section under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The SC then, on May 16, 2007, passed an order making it mandatory for all academic institutions to file an official FIR with the police station for all ragging related complaints to ensure that such cases are formally investigated under the criminal justice procedure and not by the academic institutions own ad-hoc bodies.

However, the menace of ragging did not end.

Come 2007, the SC again intervened by asking all higher educational institutions to include information about all the past ragging incidents of the respective institution in their admission brochures/prospectus.

It took two more years for the University Grants Commission (UGC) to wake up to the danger posed by ragging.

But the fact that ragging is still rampant is evident from two initiatives undertaken in June this year.

First, the IIT-Bombay banned birthday bumps inside campus premises. The IIT-Bombay has sent out a notice, banning birthday bumps on their campus. According to the notice, any such activities would be considered an offence equivalent to ragging. The ban has brought the focus back on this age-old tradition that still remains an integral part of birthday celebrations on campus.

At the Bombay IIT campus, giving birthday bumps currently involves several friends spanking the person with slippers, belts, etc. for around an hour.

The second is West Bengal Government de42 education affairs

cision to install CCTVs in engineering college hostels in the state.

Ragging: Some case studies Education Affairs spoke to some of the top executives of Indian firms to figure out whether they had undergone ragging during their student days. Two of them confessed.

CASE 1: Vijay Mitra (name changed) woke up in the morning and found himself sleeping in the balcony of the Kolkata Government Art College hostel. He was very puzzled. He clearly remembered going to sleep bare bodied with only a lungi on his single bed in the room shared with two more first year students.

He was in for a severe shock. His hair was glued together with Fevicol, an item easily available with art college students. He had been carried out on the bedcover used like a stretcher by few seniors while he had slept.

The day before, on their first day in college, all 11 first year students were accommodated at a hall in the hostel.

Around midnight a senior called them to his room. Several rounds of odd questioning followed and were finally told to strip, step by step, item by item and everyone together. The tormenters, all second year students, let them go after shaving their heads and mustaches.

CASE 2: Subhojit Dasgupta of Haldia Institute of Technology, during his first week in college was asked his body weight. He said 70 kg. Then for three hours he had to guess and say individual weights of each body part, like, he said “for the two hands I said they must be around 10 kgs�. Then came two legs, head, heart, liver etc..

Then the seniors added up the individual weights, and it came to 60 kg. Then, what did you hide, they asked. So your private part must be weighing 10 kg. It was measured but found lighter.

The punishment: Sleep under the bed of a senior, filled with cockroaches and cobwebs, for three hours.

These are real life stories. The art college student is now a top designer in one of the biggest media houses in India. The engineering college student is now working with one of the top global information technology companies as an analyst.

Ambarish Mukherjee

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Read the Digital way

KEEP YOUR NEW COMMUNICATION DEVICE READY AS WEIGHTY TEXT BOOKS ARE FAST BECOMING OBSOLETE, SAYS FARAH KHATOON The long queue in front of book shops under the open sky; the disappointing response ‘these books are yet to arrive, come next week’ from the dealer; coaxing for discount but in vain; getting stuck with a bad print, sounds synonymous with buying books for a new academic session? All these ordeals is fast becoming a passé with digital learning expanding it’s wings in the academic sector.

The use of e-books started in India in niches some years ago and is popular among netizens

who prefer the new media. Its use is spreading into the mainstream education system and this is giving digital learning a new dimension.

Attano, an e-book store based in Mumbai is offering digital version of text books for school, college and university students that can be accessed offline through tabs, mobile phones and laptops after downloading.

Talking about the e-book store, Soumya Banerjee, CEO Attano said, “Attano as an educational e-book store, is in association with over two dozen leading global and national publishers and content creators, can help any education affairs 43

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

student in India, irrespective of the class, get access to the books they need.”

With over 2000 leading titles spanning the entire kindergarten-post graduate spectrum, Attano has enabled students in over 88 cities in India get access to the educational content they need.

The audio and video aspect of Attano’s ebooks along with the interactive multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter along with InstaReports (test scores and solved solutions to test questions, even if you are offline) seeks to help students who may require extra guidance.

What makes the digital library more interesting is the concept of downloading chapters from a book instead of the entire book.

“ChapterBuy gives students an option of buying chapters at micro prices, something which is being available for the very first time, is affordable, convenient and legal. ChapterBuy starts from just Rs three. Each chapter costs approximately 15% of the cost of the ebook. A student, who has bought a chapter, can later buy other chapters or the whole ebook by paying only the difference. Now, students do not need to spend thousands of rupees on a single paperback book. We hope 44 education affairs

to repeat history; repeat what sachets did for shampoo sales, iTunes did for music sales, while helping content owners fight piracy,” said Banerjee.

The firm is working in tandem with publishers like Pearson Education and Sheth Publishers. Students of engineering, science, management, commerce and also arts can use the digital library.

Moreover, those preparing for competitive exams like IIT JEE, CSAT, NEET and others can take help of the test papers.

However, e-books are not just for students of higher studies, but even students from Class I can make use of it. A range of books on different subjects catering to CBSE board along with solved test papers can also be used by students of secondary and higher secondary as an add-on to their academics.

ChapterBuy’s e-books are compatible with state boards covering Maharashtra and Karnataka boards with more state board coverage coming soon.

K Srinivas, vice-president Higher Education & Professional at Pearson Education India, said, “India is a budding e-book market. All the leading global publishers in India and leading Indian publishers realize that the future is

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC RockStand thus curtailing piracy from the roots. Moreover e-books & e-Magazines have larger reach to the audience of metro cities as well as tier 2 and tier 3 cities which is difficult to reach. Thus, more books, more readers and more revenue for publishers. E-books also help in rural empowerment since they are easy to access and can be downloaded on a basic smartphone. Digital books help students, who are based in rural areas and help publisher to reach out to them.”

But will the digital world take over the oldworld charm of holding a book?

Jha said, “In today’s era technology has reshaped the way people think and live. They are readily adapting to new changes which are beneficial for them and are making their lives easy and comfortable. It does take time, but we adopt to better options. Similarly e-books with their benefits will be accepted very soon by everyone, even by avid book readers.”

Jha is confident this can be attributed to the

(

(

in e-books, the smaller publishers lag behind in recognizing the opportunity. The core pillars that will drive the e-book business — device adoption, Internet usage, broadband connectivity, time spent online and cost of access, continue to grow at breakneck speed. Importantly, Indians are amongst the world’s largest consumers of mobile content for entertainment purposes. We believe that the market for digital education content is at the cusp of hockey stick growth.”

The lure of this market led RockASAP Retail to launch its e-book application, Rockstand in a tie-up with TATA McGraw-Hill, Jaico Publishing, Astral Publishing and many more.

Rockstand is yet to start it’s service for students and is in discussion with NCERT, Educational boards, CBSE as well as more than 3,000 educational institutes including schools in Delhi / NCR. The most popular books downloaded are for CAT on quantitative analysis as well as on management and brand building books like Super Brand You, 100 Managers in Action, Breaking Barriers etc.

Srinivas points out that though it’s a nascent industry but it has potential. “These are early days but very encouraging signs. This isn’t a zero sum game. Students use textbooks at school and college but when they want reference reading, supplementary educational content, educational apps, learning videos etc, they look for digital content to help them learn smarter. We see e-books as an evolution of the paperback. At the least it is a combination of the paperback and the learning CD bundled along with the book but on the far side it opens far more possibilities with links, notes, social highlights, inbuilt dictionaries and more.”

This industry has a lot for publishers as well.

Srinivas points out, “We think of the Internet as another distribution channel. The Internet helps us reach new audiences and increase sales across geographies that might have been unprofitable from a physical books standpoint.

In the west, publishers have realised that adding e-books to their portfolio boosts sales rather than cannibalizes paperback sales.”

Reiterating the perception and explaining how the menace of privacy can be curtailed, Rishi Mohan Jha, Head, RockASAP Retail Pvt Ltd said, “The biggest threat which has been faced by publishers and authors is fighting against piracy. Rockstand supports anti-piracy and thereby helps publishers and readers to curb the menace. Here one cannot transfer, copy, take screenshot and print the book from

We hope to repeat history; repeat what sachets did for shampoo sales, iTunes for music

freatures of e-books like flipping pages (like flipping actual book pages), taking notes, automated bookmark etc with added features like day & night mode, font size flexibility, text to speech and lots more. With the digital industry appearing very promising, the possibility of students turning into couch potatoes are higher. But experts have a different take on it.

“We don’t think that they will fall prey to such practices. They do not have to depend on availability of books and will save their time from visiting a bookstore. Most of the students study at night and at last moment if they want to refer to a book which is not with them, they can go to Rockstand and download the book.

So, I think not only technology has made our life much easier but also hassle free and ebook reader is the best example of it,” believes Jha. At the end of the day, it will be battle between cost and ease of use of technology in the form of e-books, and the charm of buying and exchanging paper books.

education affairs 45

TEACHING, TRAINING,briefs KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

SMU extends its reach Singapore Management University (SMU) has signed a series of agreements with Indian institutions to extend its reach and tap into the trained human resources pool and large market in the country.

SMU has a pact with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) toj ointly design and offer a short duration exchange programme at SMU for BSE Institute’s global programme, while BSE will host SMU students in Mumbai. The two aim to jointly design and launch Management Development Programmes for Asian markets besides offering post-graduate certificate programme in areas related to financial markets. Also on the anvil are joint research in the area of capital markets, especially related to the Asian region and BRICs besides the usual student internships and exchange programmes.

With the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), SMU will have student exchange programmes running in parallel with jointly designing and launching management development programmes, particularly for Asian markets besides offering post-graduate certificate programmes in areas related to international trade and business and conducting joint applied research and case writing in international business focused on the Asian region.

Similarly, with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIMB), SMU’s academic alliance envisages joint executive education programmes and joint research besides mentorship support for post-graduate students in research, organising summer/winter research institutes and faculty exchanges including short duration joint appoint-

46 education affairs

ments. This could lead to joint certificationfrom both SMU and IIMB. In the engineering education space, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and SMU plan joint certificate and degree programmes in engineering and management while co-designing programmes on ‘Master of Science in Innovation’, joint executive education alongside faculty exchanges and short duration joint appointments. IITK could benefit from SMU faculty for joint research, co-host innovation workshops and help companies with business incubation functions.

The Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMT) has tied up with SMU with a plan to offer short certificate programmes in management education and other related areas.

SMU and the Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak, (IIMR) aim to take up exchange of faculty members, joint conferences and faculty research workshops and student exchange. In focus are areas like executive education and case initiatives.as also alignment of existing centres or departments to boost India-Singapore academic exchange.

SMU and Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, (IIML), aim to offer their students joint research exposure and create research assistance opportunities at both institutions.

They aim to take up issues like teaching effectiveness workshops and jointly offer executive education programmes to companies. SMU and IIML faculty could take up joint research in areas of mutual interest through options like exchanges, short duration appointments and formation of consortiums to share elective courses and other teaching resources. This could lead to to certifications from both SMU and IIML over and above normal student exchange.

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC

HS council’s intervention stirs a storm Putting the onus on schools to tackle any unrest arising from a change in policy, the higher secondary council is set to issue a circular iterating that merit should be the sole criterion for promoting students to a higher class. The proposed circular is an extension of the State government’s announcement that only deserving students should be promoted to the next class.

Earlier, the council had been accused of trying to interfere in the internal affairs of a Santoshpur school last December after a 22-hour siege by students over results of the HS qualifying test. A crisis had triggered after the management of Rishi Aurobindo Balika Vidyapeeth had refused to allow those failing the test to sit for the HS examination. The crisis led the Council to order a re-test which was withdrawn later after protest from the school administration. The school administration pointed out that the Council’s primary duty was to frame the curriculum and hold examinations.

Several other schools across the state were rocked by unrest over examination results.

To this outburst a senior official of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, highlighted the point of merit which according to the official should be the sole criterion for promotion of students. The official however added that if schools want to be lenient, it is their sole responsibility to take a decision.

However, the schools were reminded that they will have to tackle any student unrest arising out of an internal decision. The Council, though kept open the option to help the institution facing a crisis, only if they approach the council in times of distress.

At Santoshpur’s Rishi Aurobindo Balika Vidyapeeth, students who had failed the HS qualifying test had held headmistress Sreemati Ghosh and 13 other teachers hostage for 22 hours from the afternoon of December 17, demanding that they be declared passed. The school called up the Council that night to seek help in ending the unrest. A team of council officials reached the school almost immediately but its order to hold a fresh exam stirred up a storm.

The spate of exam-related unrest in schools after the Santoshpur incident had prompted governor M.K. Narayanan to call the then council president, Muktinath Chatterjee, to Raj Bhavan and seek a clarification from him on the council’s role. He asked Chatterjee to firmly deal with illegitimate demands.

The next HS qualifying exam is in January.

The Class XI annual exam is slated for March.

More than 16 lakh students will write the two exams in 2014. education affairs 47

TEACHING, TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, CAREER, PLACEMENT, JOB

JEE

to be tougher

The state JEE board plans to introduce more questions with multiple correct answers in next year’s exam to minimise the chance of examinees gaining by guesswork and reduce the number of questions so that they can spend more time on each.

The two-hour, 100-marks maths paper in this year’s JEE had 80 multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The 90-minute, 75-marks Physics and Chemistry papers had 55 MCQs each. The multiple correct answers were introduced last year.

The officials of the State JEE board expressed their satisfaction with more multiple

types questions as it helped them screen examinees better. Also, they feel that a minute and a half is not sufficient for answering these questions and hence more time will be allotted to the examinees. According to the revised pattern the number of MCQs with single correct answer will be slashed to increase the number of questions with multiple correct answers.

In 2013, five of the questions carrying two marks each in each of the papers had two, three and even four correct answers among the four options. Those who marked all the correct answers scored full marks.

No mark was awarded to an examinee who chose an incorrect option. There was, however, 48 education affairs

no negative marking for these questions.

For the other two-marks questions, 0.66 was deducted for every incorrect answer. For questions carrying one mark each, 0.33 was deducted.

This year performance in five 2-marks questions carrying multiple correct answers in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry were factored in to break ties. This was one of the 11 rules used to break score ties.

The academic sub-committee of the JEE board had proposed changes in the format after analysing the results of this year’s exam.

They found that candidates performing better in these questions were awarded higher ranks.

The board was set to make the exam tougher through the proposed changes. One prime intention is to is to curb the practice of getting through by random marking. The proposed changes will increase the screening layers and thereby make the examination tougher.

While in 2012 all the candidates who wrote engineering entrance were given ranks, the board this year awarded ranks to only those who obtained the minimum positive score — 0.33.

This year a little over 87,000 of the 1,10,000 examinees were awarded ranks.This year, 16,000 seats have remained vacant in engineering colleges.

In 2012, the board had reduced the number of questions to 80. Till 2011, those appearing for mathematics had to answer 80 one-mark MCQ questions and 10 short-answer-type subjective questions, carrying two marks each. In the combined physics and chemistry paper of 100 marks, the examinees wrote 90 questions of which 10 were short-answer type.

The board had scrapped subjective questions in 2012 and a year later split physics and chemistry into two papers, each carrying a weightage of 75 marks.

The JEE board also plans to hold a biology test next year to enable students to study BPharm after clearing the JEE. Students with physics, chemistry and biology as their subjects had to take the JEE maths test this year to study BPharm since the biology option was absent.

Students with even negative marks in mathematics qualified for the bachelor’s course in pharmacology at all institutes except JU this

OB, BOOKS, GADGETS, GROOMING, SPORTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC

Party asks college unions to behave Students should behave like one. They should neither attack teachers not should do anything immoral towards them. Trinamool Congress leaders have reportedly sent a rulebook to Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCCP) units in all colleges and universities across the state, imparting basics courtesy taught to children at home, while admitting in the process that there was substance in the allegations that ruling party supporters had beaten up teachers and principals in a series of attacks across campuses in the state.

The list, which is an effort to bring some order in the student wing of the party, also includes stopping the practice of people outside the college influencing matters inside, making it mandatory for student leaders to take permission for all political programmes and agitations which happens inside the college. In the past couple of years there have been many such cases where the student supporters of the ruling party have been involved in teacher assault. There have been incidents reported where Trinamool supporters attacked and injured principals and teachers after their members were caught cheating in examinations.

The rulebook drawn up by Trinamool Congress leaders is seen as a desperate measure to rein in student leaders who are regularly seen striking terror in different educational institutions across the state. Shonku Deb Panda, pres-

ident of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad reportedly admitted that he wants to find out the cause while maintaining peace in colleges. Among the instructions are that there would be no external interference nor an agitation programme in colleges. The guidelines state that all students and supporters of the Trinamool Congress should not attack teachers. TMC also made it clear that if there is any problem inside a college, or, if a section of teachers are indulged in wrongdoing, a written complaint is to be sent to Trinamool Bhawan headquarters.

Students are not supposed to take up matters in their own hands. Students and student bodies should not take up any political or other programmes in colleges, universities or anywhere without prior permission from the state leadership. The rule also bars strikes and blockades in colleges.

The student leaders and supporters have also been told to be cautious about any political conspiracy in colleges and universities, and should exercise restraint at all cost. Student bodies have been told to provide information on any instigation or conspiracy by the government.

Recently, The CM Mamata Banerjee expressed her concern over the issue of teachers and principals being beaten up by students owing allegiance to the ruling party as well as of the opposition. Even party MLA and state higher education minister , Bratya Basu is supportive of the leash on the student body. education affairs 49

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM analysis

Medical education & the crisis it faces today 50 education affairs

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY INTERVIEW FOOD Doctors are victims of costly training and poor healthcare policies.

The guardians of the nation’s health find themselves in a state of desperate sickness.

The diagnosis has long been known and shared in privacy; not often have we mustered the guts to express the cardinal manifestations of the disease.

The process of the making of a doctor — is it fair and rational? Both the ethics and method need scrutiny.

Based on fallacious reports in the 1980s, governments stymied the expansion of state medical colleges. The opportunity to set up medical colleges was thrown open to the private sector.

So we had stiff competition for the seats in government institutions and the private seats were acquired by auction, under the covert legitimisation of capitation fees. Private enterprises should have supported the medical colleges with the income from the hospitals.

Instead, both the hospitals and the colleges were being supported by the oppressive capitation fee system. Mediocre medical colleges were serviced by substandard hospitals, almost without exception.

The attention was not on providing quality education and service but on a hurried capitalisation of the prohibitive fee structure. After initial protests the cowboy educators were joined by the high priests of equitable healthcare, which meant a submission to systematic plunder.

Multiple escape routes and exceptions to the merit lists were devised. This ushered in an era of unashamed cash and carry education in a society that was aspiring to be fair and inclusive.

The cash and carry segment had engulfed more than 60% of the undergraduate and 40% of the postgraduate seats. The proverbial politician can never be far away from the scent of money — no wonder that this sector is firmly in the clutches of political power brokers.

With the price tag of Rs 50 lakh for an undergraduate seat and Rs 1-4 crore for a postgraduate seat, are we not kidding ourselves with great expectations of ethical uprightness? The pressures to recover the mortgage are enormous.

A naïve society will continue to express surprise that a doctor is a commercial creature.

Does he have a choice?

The quality of education is yet another matter. Regardless of how many stages of education affairs 51

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM filtration we set up, money will rule. The chances of a college letting a Rs 3 crore seat go vacant for a term are small. There is still no national standard monitoring agency.

The state subject of health remains feudal and fragmented. The Medical Council of India’s (MCI) process of recognition and renewal has been a ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ type of transaction.

The standardisation of education and amenities remains a distant dream. The focus of medical education has been the number and cost of seats. Quality has not figured in the agenda — not at all.

The recent judgment that annulled common entrance tests probably had its points of legal validity, but it was a severe setback for the cause of standardisation and quality enhance-

(

(

An increase of specialists with a stagnant national bed count makes little sense

ment.

It is a pity that successive regimes in the ministry and the MCI have had neither the clarity of purpose nor the legal expertise to push it through. In recent times, there has been a campaign to exponentially increase the number of postgraduate seats.

It is emotive to equate the number of specialists to population statistics. Pragmatism demands that some cognizance is taken of the stagnation in the infrastructure and in absorption opportunities.

An increase of specialists with a stagnant national bed count makes little sense. It will produce a gross excess of manpower, thereby producing a cattle market of low-paid professionals.

The average pay for a newly qualified postgraduate doctor is already quite modest compared to peer group professionals. It is all too easy to fan the fire through social media at the expense of the prevailing reality.

In the last few years, postgraduate seats have already been increased, but as the healthcare infrastructure has remained virtu52 education affairs

ally stagnant, there is more than a hint of over supply.

Over a good part of the last decade, the national bed census has been static at 10 per 10,000 population, vis-à-vis a projected capacity of twice as much. With all the insight and inspiration, this figure refuses to budge for years on end.

What are qualified doctors, who have paid an arm and a leg for their education, supposed to do? Serve in rural outbacks without a modicum of civic infrastructure and livelihood?

Their life was supposed to be a profession, not an act of penance. And less than 30% of all doctors are in organised employment. Do we dare to add to this clutter of stagnant mediocrity?

Mindless populism has struck the healthcare

industry’s viability another deadly blow. The revenue potential of the industry has been seriously capped with the regulation of charges via population insurance and government reimbursement schemes.

These meagre tariffs very often render basic procedures unsustainable for hospitals. For the sake of maintaining numbers, some hospitals patronise these schemes at the cost of viability and quality.

Reduced charges for the financially hardpressed is not a matter of contention. But if these are applied to all and sundry, the result is catastrophic.

Private equity is justified in expecting some return for investment. Is it conceivable that the retail or information technology sector will have their earnings truncated?

How do we cost-cap a system, 80% of which is based on private equity? This paradox is further aggravated by the pretences to lowcost care.

Low-cost care in mass scale has and will remain a pipe dream. Eighty percent of the business for such providers is based on market

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY INTERVIEW FOOD prices with less than a fifth having some form of concession.

The slogan is appealing but the economics does not add up. It helps create an image but not a sustainable system. Making unsubstantiated claims without an audit or a national database on procedures and outcome has become a pastime.

Until we resort to a nationalised healthcare system, with both the delivery and professional reimbursement being standardised on a national scale, populism at the expense of economic viability is inevitable, and a dangerous path to tread.

With severe pressure on revenues and margins, the first impact is on the hapless doctors.

They are made to toil for a pittance.

Barring successful private practitioners, they can bid goodbye to any substantial raise in earnings. The pressure on margins is passed on to the doctors.

This remains the only professional segment that is being attacked by pseudo-socialisation and extreme political populism. It is not surprising that the interest of investors has been slow and unsure.

It is a supreme paradox that after spending crores to buy a mediocre medical education, the young professional is likely to be trapped in a stagnant industry of low growth and lower earnings.

How does the young doctor then justify the expensive gestation? Cutting corners of practice and presumed ethics will be enforced as an instinct for survival.

The tragedy of being trapped between myopic policy-makers, educational entrepreneurs (out there to make a fast buck) and the false prophets of populism is being enacted in all its frenzy.

That the bubble will burst is not in question — it is a matter of time. In a country where an economist prime minister has ushered in an era of stagnation it is not surprising that medical messiahs have added to the problem and not to the solution.

Caught in the crossfire of pseudo-socialisation and crude commercialisation will the doctor become a truly endangered species?

(Dr Kunal Sarkar is a Senior Consultant in Cardiac Surgery)

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ON CINEMA HEALTH eventsBEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM

War of borders The third edition of Jefferson debate organised by American Center at iLead got the auditorium warmed up with students from different colleges fighting it out in the war of words.

Completely relevant to the present global situation – the topic of the debate ‘A Country’s Policy of “Open Borders” Supports Economic Growth and Development’ saw an interesting session with students displaying their strong oratory skills combined with cerebral sensibilities. Rachel Sunden, Deputy Director of American Center moderated the session.

Students presented a well-researched argument, speaking for and against the nation. The major points touched by teams speaking for the motion was increasing the GDP of a country and better living opportunity for men with a boundaryless world. But the positive graph was torned down with the most daunting topic of terrorism and threat to national security with open borders.

While Suparna Goswami of Jadavpur University, Team 3, linked the stunted development of Kolkata with the excess migration of Bangladeshis in Bengal, Hamza Khan of St Xavier’s established the co-relation between 54 education affairs

labour and capital benefiting economic growth of a country. Amidst the spate of facts and figures from all across the world, occasional jibes at the world’s largest economy and some revered leaders made it an interesting session. Team 2 of JU standing against the motion questioned the ability of European Union and of Obama, whose own country’s financial is shaky. Another important argument was put forward by Soumista Sen of JU team 5, speaking for the motion, who linked monetary reason for Kasab’s links with the terrorist group.

The excitement escalated towards the end of the session when fiery speakers from Presidency University tactfully took a dig at the opponents’ arguments. Manvi Agarwal, who bagged the best speaker award for tactfully refuting her opponent’s arguments, “You really can’t help but play on it when your opponent is given you an opportunity.” Her counterpart Sautrik Dey had already established a firm argument, speaking before her, giving simple everyday life example to prove that open border will be nothing short of a burden. Resting his argument on ‘Economics don’t believe in dreamers’ the Presidency team together emerged the winner.

NSHM and TU lifted the trophy for first and second runners-up.

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY INTERVIEW FOOD

Kolkata Kaleidoscope A group of students from different schools of the city displayed their photography skills at fotowalas in Jhaal Farezi, a new culinary destination at Park Circus.

Students of Kriya Studio, belonging to different schools of the city exhibited a new perspective of the city of joy with their camera.

Around 150 snapshots of different moods of the city were captured by these young photography enthusiasts. Armed with a training of around 6 months, around 30 students from the studio sacrificed their precious early morning sleep every weekends to explore the city with a new medium. One of them was Paroma Neotia, daughter of Harshwardhan Neotia and Madhu Neotia. “I have explored a different part of me. It was a great learning experience as I experienced a new Kolkata with my lens.

We went in small groups to different parts of the city,” said the student of La Martiniere for girls captured her moments with the city with her 5D Mark camera gifted by her father. Aspiring to be a filmmaker, Neotia’s daughter exuded confidence.

There were other photo enthusiasts also who shared their experience and proudly pointed out at their pictures that adorned the walls of the restaurant. For Vidustha Jalan, Class XI student of Modern High School, it was an experience to be cherished forever. “I had been living and roaming around in the city for so long but never had I discovered the lanes and bylanes of the city which had so much to share. My camera lenses gave a new angle to my interaction with my city. And the experience was beautiful,” said Jalan.

Saurabh Rungta from the Kriya Studio who was excited with giving firsthand experience of photo exhibition to his students said, “The unique thing about these pictures is that they have been clicked by students who are uncorrupted. They are naïve and have just started their journey in this arena. So with their virgins what you see in the walls are imperfect pictures in perfect frames. It’s more about storytelling than about concentrating on the techniques. And I can proudly say they have done a good job. Rungta informed that he will be taking the students to Murshidabaad soon for the rural feel. education affairs 55

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM

Champions of Heritage The third edition of The Cycle Heritage kicked off in the city with yet another interesting theme – Ramayana.

True to it’s character the quiz is one of it’s kind that not just informs students about the precious heritage of India, but also test their mettle.

Teachings for life Shrimad Rajchandra Divinetouch organised a special programme to mark the launch of their self-development programme for teenagers at Kalamandir.

The organisation which 56 education affairs

This year too the quiz saw an increased participation with 60 schools battling it out.

After the preliminary rounds which were held at Kalamandir auditorium between 60 schools, saw six scholls making it to the final round. Ramkrishna Mission Narendrapur, Jadavpur Vidyapith, Calcutta Public School, South Point School, Alipore Girls and Boys and Assembly of God Church Tollygunge locked horns in the finals.

An interesting amalgamation of questions related to the history of Indian culture and heritage were thrown at the students who played it with ease. The finale also had some interesting gaming strategies based on the theme of the quiz. For instance, the finalist could use Brahmashtra to double their point or a kalash to seek help of their partner. RJ Mir made it an event to remember with his own quirky style which kept the young audience entertained.

Ramkrishna Mission Narendrapur who were leading slipped to the 2nd runners up position in the final round. Alipore Boys and Girls kept their steady pace and bagged the first runners up trophy. Jadavpur Vidyapith lifted the winning trophy becoming the champions of the Cycle Heritage Quiz 2013.

runs many other programmes for teenagers to remain grounded to their values launched their programme with a host of performances by some children. A small skit concentrating on the life of three teenagers and the common problems faced by the children today was focused. The problems of feeling aimless in life, feeling lonely despite being popular and others were beautifully potrayed. Also the answers to all their turbulences were conveyed through the skit.

The organisation offers different types of workshop related to time management, anger management, habit management and others for a holistic development of an individual. The programme ended with a pravachan by Pujiya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai.

Present at the event were people from different educational institutes and other organisations. Rita Chatterjee, Principal Apeejay School reminded the audience of the spiritual go-getting with Swami Vivekananda’s words – Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached. Satyajit Banerjee, Director Calcutta International School and Saloni Priya founder of Umeed appreciated the effort of the organization.

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY hangout INTERVIEW FOOD

Mango People Cuisine: Continental, Chinese, Fast Food Address: 23/31, Gariahat Road, Golpark, Kolkata - 19 Cost for two: Rs 550 Landmark: near South City College

Chai Break Cuisine : Italian, Fast Food, European Best known for: Italian Cost for two: Rs 500 Address: 53, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Kolkata - 19 Landmark: Opposite Modern High School

6 Ballygunge Place Cuisine : Bengali, North Indian Best known for : Bengali Cost for two: Rs 1, 000 Address: 6, Ballygunge Place, Kolkata – 19 Landmark: near Path Bhawan School

Green Apple Cuisine: Thai, Chinese, Italian, Continental Best Known for: Italian Address: 8/ 1 A, Little Russel Street, Kolkata - 71 Cost for two: Rs 500 Landmark: Near Metro Plaza

Jhaal Farezi Cuisine: North Indian, Continental, Café Cost for two: Rs 1, 500 Address: 42, Circus Avenue, Kolkata – 17 Landmark: near Park Circus seven crossing

Krazy Kebab Cuisine: North Indian, Mughlai Best Known for: North Indian Cost for two: Rs 1,000 Address: 85, Fazlul Haque Sarani, Jhowtala Road, Circus Avenue, Kolkata - 17 Landmark: near Park Circus Tram Depot education affairs 57

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM book reviews This book on Dwarkanath Tagore (1794), one of the first Indian entrepreneurs and philanthropists, is unique in that it is a tribute to the man from his peers. It is of interest to us because it highlights the immense contribution made by Dwarkanath to the development of Western education in our country at every level and in every discipline.

The man used his considerable wealth to play a prominent role in business and politics such as it existed at that time. A staunch loyalist of the rule of the English East India Company and the British, he was the moving spirit behind the Landholders Society (as a competent and efficient zamindar) and the Bengal British India Society.

Tagore criticized British despite his loyalty on several issues; he discussed the issue of educated Indians serving in the British Parliament as members, DWARKANATH TAGORE only to be told that

By Kissory Chand Mittra they had to be Chris(Originally released in 1870 by tians to do so.

Thacker, Spink & Co.) To come back to Published by PARUL, Kolkata, education, Tagore Rs.295/was the initiator of the movement that led to the creation of the Fever Hospital in the north of Kolkata. This institution was later renamed Pataldanga Hospital and is today the Medical College Hospital.

He set up the District Charitable Trust to sponsor needy students among others. The city Leprosy Hospital also came up living to his generosity.

Tagore was committed to the spread of Western education and yet was a scholar in many European and Asian languages, much like his spiritual guide, friend and advisor, Ram Mohon Roy. In collaboration with Gopinath Tagore, Dwarkanath helped set up the Hindu College.

When the Medical College was formally established in 1835, Dwarkanath provided scholarships to students to pursue their degree in

58 education affairs

medicine and backed them when students broke all social taboos to dissect dead bodies.

As further encouragement, he sponsored some of the best students to travel with him in India and in Europe to see the best practices around the world.

In 1835, the movement to set up a public library in Calcutta (as it was then known) was launched. Dwarkanath supported this movement with generous donations of cash and books. That institution is today the National Library and a bust of the donor still stands at the entrance.

The book is well edited and the print quality is impressive. While researchers and scholars may prefer the more exhaustive works of men like Blair B. Kling, this is good read for the lay reader. It captures the nervous, explorative spirit of the age and has its own charm to convey Dwarkanath’s substantial contributions to the development of India and Bengal.

While the book details his early education at home and Sherbourne's school on Chitpur Road, and his zamindari estates (where he was mercilessly efficient and businesslike, but not generous), it ignores Dwarkanath studied silence when it came to issues like the rights of poor cultivators. As a corporate minded entrepreneur with innovative ideas, sharp intelligence, Dwarkanath Landholder's Society had as members, Englishmen, Hindus, Muslims, and Christian landowners and was the first political association in India to ventilate grievances of a section. From this grew the British Indian Association, and then the Indian National Congress.

Dwarkanath died "at the peak of his fortune" on 1 August 1846 at the St. George's Hotel in and was buried at Kensal Green on 5 August 1846 in a private ceremony without any religious observances. He was feted by British newspapers like The London Mail. He had traveled overseas and become Mlechha or untouchable. For this and other reasons, his family expunged him from their memory and none of his sons (Maharshi Debendranath being one) or grandsons (Rabindranath Tagore for example) ever mentioned or recognised his existence. Yet the Tagore family continued to thrive and prosper an his wealth and his zamindaries for many generations. It was sad end for a great pioneer, who founded Indian caol mines, developed institutions of western education, established the first commercial ventures like banks, insurance and shipping companies and managing agencies (management organizations that ran industrial units for a fee).

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY INTERVIEW FOOD For many management gurus, Bennett, Issues like editorial controversies, mobile Coleman & Company Ltd or BCCL (owners application, the development of the Times and publishers of The Times of India (TOI) and Group Network are competently covered. Its The Economic Times (ET) group of newspa- also well written and therefore a good buy. pers and the Times branded TV and other new Ownership of the paper passed from the age media news and entertainment properties) now eclipsed industrial empire of R K Dalmiya is one of the best run companies in India. to his descendant Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain, This book seeks to capture the growth, evo- and via Ashok Jain to his sons. This ownerlution and development of BCCL, from the ship issue, disputed by some, is touched upon mid-1980s. Samir Jain, and then Vineet Jain, in the text. the sons of Ashok Jain, Like its landmark office transformed their comopposite the Chhatrapati pany from a normal Shivaji Terminus in media company based Mumbai, TOI is no out of Mumbai, into a stranger to editorial landdominant national marks and achievement, business. In the process, though this book misses the younger Jains out on some. transformed the way For the record, on 26 news and entertainJune, 1975, a day after ment were sourced, deemergency was imposed veloped, written, in India, the Bombay telecast and transmitted edition of The Times of in the country.

India in its obituary colThe book took many umn carried an entry that years to write and inread "D.E.M O'Cracy formation was sourced beloved husband of over a gap of around a T.Ruth, father of decade. Despite excelL.I.Bertie, brother of lent editing, the gap Faith, Hope and Justica shows in the way its expired on 26 June". This written. critical tone was however Its also not a mansoon dropped. agement tome on a corIn 1998, editor H.K. porate success story but Dua was dismissed as his THE TOI STORY rather a narrative of independent editorial

By Sangita P Menon Malhan how new ideas were policy was reportedly not Published by Harper Collins India first incubated, then put acceptable to the promotRs.350/out on trial and finally ers of the group. rolled out by the JainTOI launched its mobile led management team. application as one of the To its credit, it mainfirst in India, available in tains a neutral tone throughout and covers iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Symbian many of the critical views expressed by and Windows operating systems. thought leaders, journalists and rival editors Today, TOI is seen as a media pioneer across on what BCCL was doing. formats like television. Readers will find this One editor reportedly said the Times had book informative and pleasing, but do not exconverted a newspaper into a factory. Be that pect any insight into numbers and figures that as it may, this book does not venture to ex- are the foundation of the Times success story. plore the numbers and financials that fuelled the growth of the company. These figures made BCCL one the largest and most profitable ventures of its type in India.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations says TOI has the largest circulation among all Englishlanguage newspapers in the world, across all formats (broadsheet, tabloid, compact, online etc.).

education affairs 59

ON CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM Anyone can be an entrepreneur but it’s hard to be a good entrepreneur who not only achieves success but makes a qualitative difference.

Atul Jain, CEO of TEOCO (a telecom software solutions company), in collaboration from his friend Srinivas Bhogle, makes an attempt to define a good entrepreneur in his debut book ‘At What Price?’

The autobiographical book gives an insight into Jain’s journey from being an employee to an entrepreneur. It traces his journey from being a systems engineer at the Silicon Valley firm TIBCO for seven years to starting his own company TEOCO and then making it a million dollar company in just a year.

Under the subhead, ‘How to create profits without sacrificing your values’, Jain attempts to answer one of the most pertinent questions in business.

The 53 year old entrepreneur firmly believes it is possible to make profits without giving up principles.

“It is possible in this era of cut throat competition,” emphasized Jain.

Jain informs that he has never compromised on values and this was the secret behind his success in business.

At What Price?

In other words,

By Atul Jain with Srinivas Bhogle the book is a stage TEOCO by stage account of the journey of Jain and his company TEOCO. Jain uses the glossy pages of his book to impart tips to future entrepreneurs for a successful business initiative.

The limited edition book which is not for the purpose of free sale has been put together keeping in mind the psychology of a reader, he claimed.

The 162 page book contains several boxes with trivia to hold the attention of a reader, and this makes it readable.

Farah Khatoon

60 education affairs

Innovation is key to success Indian CEOs have their unique ways of innovation, which is people oriented, low cost and on the run. This kind of innovation is born out of thrift and a desire to squeeze the last ounce of value from limited resources.

It is jugaad in spirit and respectful of all forms of potential wealth.

Rekha Shetty’s book, Innovation Secrets of Indian CEOs gives you a glimpse into this kind of innovation. In her seventh book, the author brings together 50 Indian CEOs and their methods into the limelight. A life time in the field of innovation has given her a ringside view of Indian innovation techniques.

And what is commendable is that the book encourages us to be inspired from our own models rather than the western ones. She has spoken to some of the best Indian minds before compiling this book. The book talks about having a vision and then following it up with some bold and decisions. She, through the book, gives the message that one should be patient and back their decisions to the fullest. Each innovation takes time to mature.

Through small case studies, the book teaches us how to be smart in our work. And what is interesting is that each story has a moral – a lesson for the reader.

The author, Rekha Shetty, shares her experience about writing this book with Education Affairs: Indian economy is on a downward spiral.

What is your tip to CEOs in such difficult times?

Tough times are good for companies.

When the times are good, there is lot of flab, unrequired expenditure. During tough times, one should get rid of the excess. It is perfect time to get fit.

Apart from getting out the flab, what else should one do?

It is our chance to improve our skills. Say for example, if you are out of work then you sign up for a programme, which will make

education affairs 45

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY INTERVIEW FOOD you useful for the market. That way you improve your skills and master areas of knowledge which you never had before and that goes for across positions in an organization.

You can take that as a guard when the whole organization gets to run a lean organization.

After you have developed your skills, focus on running a leaner set up and a profitable organisation. Right now, there must be lot of things which can be improved. When you are going very well and going very fast, you don’t have a chance to stop and think.

How long did it take to complete this book?

It took me about six years. It is so because we looked at around 250 companies, their performance and what they had done. Out of that we picked the best 50. These 50 companies illustrated Indian style of innovation, which is very different from what you find across the world. We don’t have the luxury to spend a lot of time on research so we innovate on the run. It also has to be low cost. So, I chose businesses which showed all this and I wanted them to be inspiring for young people.

I have given examples like Infosis, which started with just Rs 10,000. Many of the people chosen are first-time entrepreneurs, who started with little capital but brilliant ideas.

They focus on how knowledge, wisdom and information which is going to fuel future businesses. There is lot for the young entrepreneurs to look at it and be inspired. These are the 50 CEOs, who have done extraordinary things with not many resources.

Talking of jugaad, how much does it pay in the long run?

My book is not about jugaad. Some of the CEOs may have resorted to it at some point of their career. But on the whole these are companies which are going about their business in the traditional way and working on structured innovation. Over a period of 20-25 years, I have developed my innovation toolkit, which has 47 building tools. My work is about long-term structured innovation. It is not about innovation once in a blue moon; it’s about innovation on demand.

You interacted with many CEOs. What did you learn from them?

Each one of them taught me something.

That is what the innovation secrets are all about. Each of them came out with one secret.

How long does a CEO, who has brought in some innovation in his company, hold on to see the results coming in?

It is about great ideas. Innovation is about putting great ideas into action. Getting a great idea which may be little wild, and then actu-

ally implementing it is a long process. The advice I would give anyone, who is starting out, is to take long-term view and be willing to wait to the dark night of the innovator. When you do anything for the first time, there are bound to be glitches and starting problems. It is natural that you would find bugs. You need to debug and overcome problems, you need to wait through the long night of the innovator and then you will reach the point you want to reach.

What are the traits of a good innovator?

It all depends on the atmosphere that is created. When a company is willing to handhold people over a period of innovation, everybody becomes an innovator because the company supports them but if a company is very harsh about the smallest failure, then nobody will want to innovate. The people around should also be supportive.

This is your seventh book. How did you get into writing?

My company only deals with innovation and we have been doing this work for last 25 Innovation Secrets of Indian CEOs years. I first started

By Dr Rekha Shetty writing to get across Published by Westland these ideas which can Rs.250/make India a great nation. Imagine 1.2 billion minds, all trained in thinking tools and all able to solve problems instead of just complaining, you can imagine how our country would be. My long-term plan, when I started, was to give people the ultimate mental software. In the beginning I used to train everybody but later I shifted my focus on advising companies. From my 20 years of experience in the corporate world, I know that anyone can be an innovator.

Ashok Chatterjee education affairs 61

A

ON CINEMA HEALTH interview BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM

Book

Gallery India and Malaysia: Intertwined Strands Author : Veena Sikri The book portrays the picture of linkages between Malayasia and India in terms of the tribulations faced by the enormous movement of manpower. It documents the role played by Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, among others, in shaping the relationship between India and Malaysia in the twentieth century.

Price : Rs 1250 Availability : Oxford Book Store, Star Mark, bookshopofindia.com and flipkart.com Bankerupt Author : Ravi Subramanian 62 education affairs

The story starts with a corporate and banking scam and then turns into intrigue and crime in the world of America academia.

Price : Rs 199 Availability: flipkart.com, amazon.com, infibeam.com and Barista outlets Scandal Point Author: Fahad Samar Story is about Ricky Kumar (handsome boy), ready for his launch as a Bollywood star. But things begin to go horribly wrong when London-born playboy and restaurant tycoon Gautam Goyal checks into a drug rehab facility in Mumbai. A case of mistaken identity looks like it will lose Ricky everything he has been poised to achieve and pits the

two against each other in a struggle played out in the harsh glare of the media spotlight.

Price : Rs 250 Availability:flipkart.com, amazon.com and infibeam.com Doctor Sleep Author : Stephen King Doctor Sleep is the sequel to King's novel The Shining. It is all about the story of a middle aged Dan, working at rural hospital and a special girl he must save from a murderous tribe of paranormals.

Price : Rs 599 Availability: flipkart.com, amazon.com, Crossword and Oxford Book Store.

The Lowland Author : Jhumpa Lahiri The Lowland explores

the relationship of Udayan and Subhash Mitra, two brothers from Kolkata – one drawn to 1960s Naxalite movement in Kolkata and the other an academic who leaves West Bengal to pursue doctorate and a new life in Rhode Island in the US. The Big Fix Author : Vikas Singh Description: The book gives a close up and personal look at the world of cricket. It deals with match-fixing, spot fixing and other corrupt practices that have rocked the cricket world in recently.

EMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA COVERSTORY gadgets INTERVIEW FOOD Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Comes with a 5.7-inch full-HD Super AMOLED (active-matrix organic lightemitting diode) display, but weighing at 168g and 8.33m wide, is both lighter and slimmer than the Samsung Galaxy Note II.

include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/ GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth v4.0 (LE), IR, and MHL 2.0. It comes with various sensors like Gesture, Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Gyroscope, Proximity, Barometer, Temperature & Humidity, and Hall Sensor.

Connectivity options on the Note 3

iBall Andi 4a Projector smartphone Comes with a 4-inch IPS WVGA display with a 480x800 pixels resolution and boasts of a pixel density of 233 PPI. The device is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor along with 512MB RAM. It sports an 8megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 The camera comes packed with a new 16.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor, a TruePic VII image processor and M.ZUIKO lenses that aim to offer the highest quality in any Olympus

The iBall Andi 4a Projector has a builtin 35 Lumens Projector that can deliver up to 480x640 pixels resolution. It can project up to a size of 8 to 10 feet and comes bundled with free tripod stand Connectivity options include EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G. It is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM. It also packs in a 1500mAh battery.

camera. The E-M1 also has an onchip phase detection that promises to focus on objects much faster than previous m4/3 cameras from Olympus

Samsung Galaxy Gear A smartwatch, notifies users of incoming messages, such as calls, texts, emails and alerts, delivers a preview of those messages and creates the opportunity for users to accept or discreetly ignore those messages.

The Gear lets the user answer calls without touching your phone. With speaker and microphone positioned in the wrist strap as part of the clasp, the idea here is that you can lift your hand to your ear as if you were holding your phone and they’ll be in the perfect position to carry out your call. education affairs 63

ON CINEMAstop HEALTH BEAUTY CINEMA HEALTH BEAUTY CINEM watch

Building choices at academic institutions Some management gurus talk about focus in business and in our work. Yet others highlight the need to adopt a more holistic approach towards work so that we don’t miss the ‘big picture’. When we were children, we were taught ‘not to miss the wood for the trees’.

The Indian education sector has sadly always been a captive to rigidity and inflexible rules. Scientists and technology classes studied their subject and nothing else, while social science/ humanities students were focused on issues pertaining to their world, and commerce/ management students were taught only how to maximise profits and create wealth.

As a result, we have men of science with little to show by way of applications (proof: India has one of the lowest number of patents filed in the world); social scientists found themselves lost in a world focused on material objects (proof: many states have abolished even the teaching of subject related to social sciences and humanities); and the world of business and political economy has nothing to show other than corruption and scams (proof: India is one of the most corrupt countries to do business in, according to all surveys).

Many years ago, great minds like Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore warned against an education system that taught only information and analysis but did not teach either creativity or ethics or moral and spiritual values. They said this would create a class of individuals which would serve none but their own selves, and “presume to buy human souls with their money and throw them into their dustbins when they have been sucked dry”.

The examination board for college admissions in the United States of America, some years ago, modified the evaluation process to include more components of humanities and language skills.

This was done partly in response to the 64 education affairs

feedback that great engineers and managers needed to be well-grounded in ethics and communication skills so they could be suitable corporate citizens both in their own country and in the world at large.

Today, American universities are famous for the flexibility and choices they offer students and scholars. Candidates training to be number crunchers of hardcore stock market data study history of business cycles, literature and the arts at their schools.

Our Indian system is still stuck in a time warp.

Though this issue covers the amazing academic flexibility in offer at Visva-Bharati in Shantiniketan, most students have to study and live within a framework of rigid rules and non-existent academic choices. Brilliant men and women in the performing arts have sacrificed all aspirations of having any academic achievements under their belt to sustain them once they are past their peak. Equally brilliant accountants connive with politicians, bureaucrats, politicians and bankers to commit fraud on the public.

Teaching is far removed from education. The holistic development of a mind into an educated person depends on exposure to multiple disciplines and a firm grounding in morality, ethics and human values.

While institutions like the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) have a Management centre for Human Values, very few colleges or universities can claim to have any thing even remotely resembling such a facility. Even if they do have such a centre, it is protected and inside a silo, so that students and scholars or any other discipline cannot access it.

Exposure to sciences, the arts and to skills required in the world of commerce combine to make a individual complete, but this is not offered by academic institutions in our system.

The exceptions are few and far between and the bulk of the student community is denied the benefits of a multi-disciplinary approach.

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