Friday 25 March 2016

Online Education in India – Going the Right Way

Technology in education is creating a disruption in the higher education sector globally. Heavy textbooks and notebooks are paving the way for technology led means of learning like interactive videos and virtual live learning sessions. Online reading devices, mobiles, tablets, laptops, multiple digital tools and applications are revolutionizing the learning habits of the student community.

According to the Docebo report of July 2014, the global market for self-paced e-learning is growing very fast in the developing economies of the world – the highest being 17.3% in Asia, followed by Eastern Europe (16.9%), Africa (15.2%) and Latin America (14.6%).

Online education has the potential to bridge the gap between the education provider and a student by providing a more engaging, interactive and mass reach platform. Features such as live instructions, video conferencing, remote test administration and peer to peer networking equip online education to complement the brick-and-mortar classroom training. At the same time, innovation will be required to overcome the challenge of low engagement and high dropout rate on the student side and lack of edtech adoption on the faculty side.

Within India, there has been a steady growth in the adoption of blended or hybrid learning models and even complete online delivery models. Institutions in the country like the Indian School of Business and the Indian Institute of Management are experimenting with direct to desktop models for providing executive education while Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai) has successfully delivered courses on edX. Government and private institutions such as Acharya Nagarjuna University, Annamalai University, Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and Amity University have launched their distance degree programs in online mode. Many training companies have launched courses in areas such including Digital Marketing, Big Data, Healthcare, Law, Finance and more. There has been an emergence of online assessment companies who are supporting these online learning programs by providing rigorous assessment tools.

With new government initiatives such as the Digital India Initiative to drive up the internet penetration and the launch of Swayam (the MOOC Platform), more companies emerging in the space and a very favorable demographic dividend, you can expect to see a lot of action in the field of online education in the coming years!

About the Author:

Ishan Gupta is the CEO of EduKart.com, an Indian online education platform.

Disclaimer: This is a contributed post. The statements, opinions and data contained in these publications are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of iamWire and the editor(s).

Source - http://www.iamwire.com/2015/03/online-education-india/111949

Higher education in India: Vision 2030

Over the last two decades, India has remarkably transformed its higher education landscape. It has created widespread access to low-cost high-quality university education for students of all levels.

With well-planned expansion and a student-centric learning-driven model of education, India has not only bettered its enrollment numbers but has dramatically enhanced its learning outcomes.

A differentiated three-tiered university system – where each tier has a distinct strategic objective – has enabled universities to build on their strengths and cater across different categories of educational needs.

Further, with the effective use of technology, India has been able to resolve the longstanding tension between excellence and equity.

India has also undertaken large-scale reforms to better faculty-student ratios by making teaching an attractive career path, expanding capacity for doctoral students at research universities and delinking educational qualifications from teaching eligibility.

The road to progress: 2013 to 2030

In recent years, India has undertaken massive structural and systemic changes that have started to yield encouraging results. The country has been touted to have the best-in-class post-secondary education system at present. Some of the significant factors that have contributed to this growth and can help envision the 2030 dream includes:

Expansion of a differentiated university system with a three-tiered formalized structure
Transition to a learner-centered paradigm of education
Intensive use of technology
Reforms in governance

Highlights of India’s education sector

India is the single largest provider of global talent, with one in four graduates in the world being a product of the Indian system

India is among top 5 countries globally in cited research output, its research capabilities boosted by annual R&D spends amounting to over US$140 billion

India is in the fourth cycle of its research excellence framework, with at least a 100 of Indian universities competing with the global best

23 Indian universities are among the global top 200, going from none two decades ago.

In the last 20 years alone, 6 Indian intellectuals have been awarded the Nobel Prize across categories

India is a regional hub for higher education, attracting global learners from all over the world

The country has augmented its GER to 50% while also reducing disparity in GER across states to 5 percentage points

The Indian higher education system is needs-blind, with all eligible students receiving financial aid. Two-thirds of all government spending towards higher education is spent on individuals, including faculty and students

India’s massive open online courses, started by several elite research universities, collectively enrol 60% of the world’s entire student population

Indian higher education institutions are governed by the highest standards of ethics and accountability, with every single one of them being peer-reviewed and accredited

To achieve the envisioned state in 2030, transformation and innovative interventions would be required across all levers of the higher education system

Vision 2030: where do we see India?

By 2030, India will have the largest population in the world, in the higher education age bracket. Increasing urbanization and income levels will drive demand for higher education.
India’s economy is expected to grow at a fast pace; rapid industrialization would require a gross incremental workforce of ~250 million by 2030; India could potentially emerge as a global supplier of skilled manpower.
India has the opportunity to become a prominent R&D destination.
Given the expected socio-economic scenario in 2030, India would need a robust higher education system that can deliver on multiple imperatives.
A differentiated system of institutions with differing objectives and focus areas would be critical for achieving the proposed goals.

Conclusion

While it is important to address the existing shortcomings in the higher education system, it is more important to move towards a bold and inspirational vision.

We strongly believe that a stratified three tiered structure that enables seamless vertical and horizontal mobility of students would be able to create the desired intellectual, economic and social value. The implementation framework suggests the student at the center stage to foster innovation and choice, an ICT architecture that will increase access, equity and quality, and a transparent governance framework that will enable autonomy and self –regulation. A framework for governance has been detailed in the addendum document which proposes a mechanism based on outcomes and strong institutional accountability, clearly delineating the role and responsibilities of the government as well as public and private higher education institutions.

Source - http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Industries/India-sectors/Education/EY-Higher-education-in-India-Vision-2030

Thursday 24 March 2016

Fake Universities in India, Few Negative Bloggers play with the Reputation

Hi All,

I shall be thankful to you all for encouraging the Bloggers to write the truth about few Psycho Bloggers who write anything about reputed Brands and Try to harm their brand image for some bedeviled intention.

Such Bloggers have the tendency to write anything they think anything they want which simply causes nothing but Reputation compromise for Good brands. Thank god the brands have kinda good image that they do not have dependency on internet but their trust and quality itself encourages the users to acquire such brands even after such negative blogs. We recently noticed such issues faced by Amity University, Symbiosis University, IIMT STUDIES, Delhi University and IIMs too. Distance education has been one of those category which is cieticised by many fools who do not have enough knowledge either about the brand or the Distance Education Concept.

Negative Reviews and Fake DegreesThe internet and social media have developed a platform where people comments on services offered by study centers or university. Recent studies on books, companies and five star hotels show that most reviews and negative reviews are a complex scheme of white collar fraud. One study by Michael call this fraud “fake it till you make it”(Michael, 2015). Reviewers are paid by competitors to give negative comments to discredit an institution or company. In addition, they are also paid to make positive comments about the competitors.

Truth about the Brands:

Amity University:

Claims to be A Graded University

Amity is the leading education group of India with over1,25,000students studying across1000acres of hi-tech campus

Government Recognized

The Amity University has been established by an act of State Legislature and recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) through the Act of State Legislature.

Symbiosis Institute:

Ranked 2nd Amongst Institutes

LEADING DISTANCE LEARNING INSTITUTE IN THE COUNTRY:

EXTREMELY HIGH ACCEPTANCE IN THE INDUSTRY:

IIMT STUDIES:

Ranked 4th E-learning Institute

Affiliated with Gujarat Knowledge Society and Bharti Vidyapeeeth Institute (AICTE Approved)

Offers Certificate Courses (Not Degrees)

Claims to be connected with Giant Corporates and MNCs.

Enabling Growth Through Education

IIMT has played significant role in Professional’s life to develop their career. The idea of winning a "Higher Education Certificate" to make us call "Highly qualified professionals" is everyone's own cuts across all boundaries and is a universal aspiration as well. Unfortunately, also universal are the pitfalls that arise when choosing educational institute and thus there are many precautions to be considered before breaking all your monthly budget to adjust educational budget and going all into opting the "Dream Qualification". Here are few facts about IIMT STUDIES.

4000+

International Students
30

Countries where Students are offered Education by IIMT
1000+

International Nationalities Students
80+

Professional Programmes

Delhi University:

The University of Delhi is the premier university of the country and is known for its high standards in teaching and research and attracts eminent scholars to its faculty. It was established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential university by an Act of the then Central Legislative Assembly. The President of India is the Visitor, the Vice President is the Chancellor and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India is the Pro-Chancellor of the University.

When the University took birth, only three colleges existed in Delhi then: St. Stephen’s College founded in 1881, Hindu College founded in 1899 and Ramjas College founded in 1917, which were subsequently affiliated to it. The University thus had a modest beginning with just three colleges, two faculties (Arts and Science) and about 750 students. In October 1933, the University offices and the Library shifted to the Viceregal Lodge Estate, and till today this site houses the offices of the main functionaries of the University. The University has grown into one of the largest universities in India. At present, there are 16 faculties, 86 academic departments, 77 colleges and 5 other recognised institutes spread all over the city, with 132435 regular students (UG: 114494,PG:17941) and 261169 students (UG:258831,PG:2338) in non-formal education programme.

Indian Institute of Management:

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are a group of 19 public, autonomous institutes of management educationand research in India. They primarily offer postgraduate, doctoral and executive education programmes. The establishment of IIMs was initiated by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, based on the recommendation of the Planning Commission.^[1]^[2]

Indian Institutes of Management

Amity University is Fake, Symbiosis University is Fake, IIMT STUDIES is Fake, Delhi University is Fake, IIM is Not recognized

Amity is Not Valuable University, Symbiosis, IIMT STUDIES are not Recognized and not valuable institutes these are the matter of Bluffs and competitor Tricks those should be understood well before believing them. They are heavily reputed institutes of India and functioning across the world.

Let's salute them for their beautiful performance and make our country name up in the world.

Monday 21 March 2016

Don't Be Deterred By Failures: Smriti Irani Tells Students

dated: March 19, 2016 22:41 IST

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Don't Be Deterred By Failures: Smriti Irani Tells Students

Education Minister Smriti Irani said students must move ahead in life irrespective of the challenges.

ROHTAK(HARYANA): Education Minister Smriti Irani today asked the students not to be deterred by failures, but move ahead in life irrespective of the challenges.

Students should not be deterred by failure "but go ahead in life irrespective of failures", Ms Irani said while delivering the fifth convocation address of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Rohtak.

The Union Human Resource Development minister called upon the students to take inspiration from American information technology entrepreneur and inventor Steve Job's life.

She said Job's life was an inspiration to take up the entrepreneurial route to corporate life.

She said India being primarily an agricultural economy, the management graduates must utilise their management skills and knowledge to work for economic upliftment of the nation, especially agrarian sector, an IIM release said.

She congratulated the graduating students and said that they must have a vision forward.

Credit: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/dont-be-deterred-by-failures-smriti-irani-tells-students-1288893

Big reform: Modi government plans to redeploy bureaucrats and reduce patronage postings

Big reform: Modi government plans to redeploy bureaucrats and reduce patronage postings

NEW DELHI: Modi Sarkar is radically reorganising the bureaucracy, and the two signature reforms will be, first, one out of every five bureaucrats in the Centre will work on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's top priority schemes — Make in India, Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat, Digital India and Skill India —and, two, the long-standing practice of post-retirement sinecures will come under serious scrutiny.

..

Cuba Meeting Between Obama and Castro Exposes Old Grievances

HAVANA — President Obama stood beside President Raúl Castro on Monday and declared a “new day” of openness between the United States and Cuba, but old grievances and disputes over human rights marred a groundbreaking meeting and underscored lingering impediments to ahistoric thaw.

The two presidents, meeting at the Revolutionary Palace for the first such official contact between their two governments in more than a half-century, engaged in a frank and at times awkward exchange with each other and reporters. Mr. Obama at turns prodded Mr. Castro to submit to questions during an extraordinary 55-minute news conference.

Standing at lecterns in a cavernous granite-walled hall in front of Cuban and American flags, the two leaders traded criticism of each other’s countries even as both said they were committed to continuing on the path to normalizing relations.

“Give me a list of the political prisoners and I will release them immediately,” Mr. Castro said, asked by a reporter about dissidents his government has arrested. “Just mention the list. What political prisoners?”

Human rights groups quickly produced rosters, distributed over email and social media, of people they said had been imprisoned in Cuba for demonstrating against or otherwise challenging Mr. Castro’s government.

Mr. Castro sought to turn the human rights criticism on the United States, arguing that countries that do not provide universal health care, education and equal pay are in no position to lecture Cuba. He also said the United States military base at Guantánamo Bay should be returned to Cuba.

“It’s not correct to ask me about political prisoners,” Mr. Castro said.

Mr. Obama said he had pressed the Cuban president in their meeting over Cuba’s treatment of dissidents and reaffirmed that he would meet with some dissidents privately on Tuesday. But he also assured Mr. Castro that the United States had no intention of dictating his country’s future.

“I affirm that Cuba’s destiny will not be decided by the United States or any other nation,” Mr. Obama said. “Cuba is sovereign and rightly has great pride, and the future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans, not by anybody else.”

The president went a step further, in comments likely to be seized upon by critics of his push to pursue an opening with Cuba, conceding that the United States must face up to the criticisms Mr. Castro unleashed.

“I actually welcome President Castro commenting on some of the areas where he feels that we’re falling short, because I think we should not be immune or afraid of criticism or discussion as well,” Mr. Obama said.

The apparent rapport between the two presidents at the news conference was a striking display of warmth on a day that was dominated by the symbolism of the first tentative openings between Cuba and the United States since the Cold War.

Mr. Obama said he expected to see the lifting of the United States’ trade embargo of Cuba, something Mr. Castro called “the most important obstacle to our economic development and the well-being of the Cuban people.”

“We agree that a long and complex path still lies ahead,” Mr. Castro said, smiling warmly at Mr. Obama at times, even when the American president teased his Cuban host about the Castro family’s penchant for stem-winding speeches. “What is most important is that we have started taking the first steps to build a new type of relationship, one that has never existed between Cuba and the United States.”

There were awkward moments as well, with both presidents pushing each other outside their comfort zones. Mr. Obama, who was determined to mark the occasion with a news conference — something Mr. Castro seldom if ever does — prodded the Cuban leader to submit to journalists’ questions.

After Mr. Obama finished answering a question from Andrea Mitchell, the NBC News correspondent, he urged Mr. Castro to do so as well.

“It’s up to you,” Mr. Obama told Mr. Castro. “She’s one of our most esteemed journalists in America, and I’m sure she’d appreciate just a short, brief answer.”

Mr. Castro did answer Ms. Mitchell’s query about human rights, scolding her that the question was unfair.

Cubans crowded the streets of Havana on Sunday to try to catch a glimpse of President Obama and his family.CreditStephen Crowley/The New York Times

After the news conference, the two men joined hands in what appeared to be a cross between a handshake and the raising of a revolutionary fist; Mr. Obama held out his arm awkwardly and it ended up as neither.

Mr. Obama began his day at the memorial to the Cuban journalist and poet José Martí, whose ideals are invoked with zeal in Miami and Havana.

A Cuban military band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” under a billowing Cuban flag as the American president and a Cuban Politburo member appeared side by side, flanked in the distance by huge sculptured portraits of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, the revolutionaries who were intimates of Fidel Castro.

During his carefully stage-managed visit this week, Mr. Obama does not plan to meet with Fidel Castro, 89, the former president, who is Raúl’s older brother.

But he said in an interview with ABC News on Monday that he would be “happy” to meet at some point with the elder Mr. Castro. “If his health was good enough that I could meet with him, I’d be happy to meet with him, just as a symbol of the end of the — or the closing of this Cold War chapter in our mutual histories,” Mr. Obama said.

In Havana on Monday, many Cubans still seemed uncertain about whether they had permission to try to see Mr. Obama, never mind express a point of view. Cubans all over the city seemed to be constantly asking where Mr. Obama would be.

In Parque Central in Havana, Mr. Obama’s visit touched off talk of politics, freedom, race and the scene of an American president at Revolution Plaza near an image of Guevara.

“I see the Cubans in the United States talking bad about Obama because he was standing with the image of Che behind him,” said Alfredo Calderon, 83, a retired musician who now works as a custodian. “I don’t see it as bad.”

He continued: “I have to admit, I am 83 years old, and I have seen a lot happen. I did not think I would see that.”

In a nation that stifles dissent, the men in the square were quick to shout out the kinds of things they hope Mr. Obama will bring to Cuba. “Freedom of speech!” one man shouted. “Freedom of expression!” another echoed.

“We want change,” said Angel Maturrell, a small-business owner. “Change. Change. Change. All kinds. Any kind. We are tired of waiting.”

A few blocks away, Cubans and foreigners found themselves running into American lawmakers and V.I.P.s touring the city.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont was spotted by the cathedral; Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York was also easy to find. Wearing a seersucker suit and a Tampa Bay Rays baseball cap, Mr. Rangel said he could not have been happier. He spent decades in Congress working to end the embargo.

He said he was confident that restored relations would yield benefits for both nations.

“I never knew we could bring such a crack in the wall,” Mr. Rangel said. “We’re creating the right conditions for when change really comes.”

Credit: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/world/americas/obama-and-raul-castro-to-meet-in-pivotal-moment-for-us-cuba-thaw.html?_r=0

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Friday 25 March 2016