MKU to adopt UGC rules for Ph.D, M.Phil programmes

MKU to adopt UGC rules for Ph.D, M.Phil programmes

The regulations have been passed by the Academic Council

Madurai Kamaraj University has decided to formally adopt the revised University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations of 2016 that define the procedures and minimum standards to be followed for the award of M.Phil and Ph.D degrees.

The revised regulations drafted by the Research Committee of the university by adopting UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil/Ph.D degrees) Regulations 2016 in toto were passed by the Academic Council (AC) here on Friday.

Though a section of AC members registered concerns about certain provisions of the regulations and the urgency in adopting the regulations, senior members of the university administration argued that the UGC had made it mandatory.

A. Vijayarangan, Syndicate member, who chaired the AC meeting, and K. Muthuchelian, Controller of Examinations (in-charge), said that the UGC regulations had been notified in the gazette on 5 May 2016 and the university did not have a choice but to implement it retrospectively from that date.

K. Ravichandran, Special Officer, MKU, who moved the resolution, said that any further delay by the university in adopting the regulations would adversely affect research students. “All the students registering for Ph.D and M.Phil after 5 May 2016 will need a certificate that they completed their research work as per these revised guidelines,” he said.

The revised UGC regulations had brought several changes, particularly in the admission and evaluation process for Ph.D and M.Phil degrees.

Explaining the key changes, Mr. Ravichandran said that the minimum duration for Ph.D had been made as three years as per the new regulations.

Pointing out that admissions to both Ph.D and M.Phil would be done through a common entrance test conducted by the university, he said that restrictions had also been imposed on the number of M.Phil and Ph.D candidates a Research Guide could accommodate.

“There is also a condition that one of the research examiners should be from outside India,” he added.

Speaking at the meeting, V. Chinniah, Professor and Head, Department of Management Studies, questioned whether the Registrar’s office could push for such key changes in the absence of Vice-Chancellor.

“It looks like we may be getting a VC soon. Why can’t we wait till then?” he asked.

Another faculty member argued the need for adopting the regulations when the university had not implemented similar regulations of UGC, which dealt with appointments, including that of VC.

Acknowledging that the new regulations would help improving quality, S. Nehru, Principal, Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College, however, alleged that the regulations took away the autonomy of colleges to an extent in the admissions.

M. Kannan, Principal, Saraswathi Narayanan College, said that Ph.D and M.Phil admissions in the coming academic year could be affected as there were only a couple of months left for the academic year to commence.

Thanks to : THE HINDU - 11.03.2017

Expand your horizons

Expand your horizons

Learning on the fly is increasingly gaining popularity

“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit,” said NASA astronaut Frank Borman. Gone are the days when youngsters were forced to apply themselves only to blackboard-and-chalk teaching techniques. In a technologically-advanced era where Skype classes and smartphone-notes rule the roost, the concepts of education and learning have undergone a sea-change — show and tell — travelling to destinations related to the curriculum to see and learn, have become popular trends in education.

It is perhaps after identifying this trait that Thomas Cook decided to collaborate with schools and colleges and cash in on the opportunity to popularise experiential learning or education through travel.

Experiential

Abraham Alapatt, President and group head, Thomas Cook, elaborates on what made him and his team delve into planning and curating such tours: “We examined institutions in terms of what constituted an international model — apart from their syllabus — and realised it was the spotlight on practical training,” he explains. “While the emphasis in traditional schools was theoretical information, international curriculum, especially the American school system, focussed on non-classroom, practical development which often meant it was about real-life projects and experiences. There was a clear demand from these schools for a partner that could effectively create such trips for them and that’s why we decided to explore education tours,” adds Mr. Alapatt.

And the response has been enthusiastic. In the last two years, more than 1,000 students have travelled to the USA, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, the U.K, China and have benefitted by participating in programmes of NASA, visiting Harvard and MIT, doing a certification workshop in Chinese paintings, nitrogen workshops, attending Kung-fu workshops in a Shaolin temple, visiting the Volkswagon factory to witness how production management happens, going on a war trail of WW II to understand the role of Indian soldiers, visiting the U.N headquarters, architectural tours to Putrajeya, to name a few. “The clientele varies from IITs and IIMs to top schools across the country. This is not just a big-metro school phenomenon but often, a tier-2 and tier-3 phenomenon where students are hungry for such exposure,” explains Mr. Alapatt.

While students naturally respond with verve to such tours as they break the monotony of classroom teaching, teachers are duty-bound and time-bound to complete the syllabus. Thus, the question inevitably arises on how the teaching fraternity reacts to such forms of learning. Mr. Alapatt is quick to add, “Some teachers have been niggling in their enthusiasm until they went on a trip, while others have been passionate at this prospect and have driven the agenda within their schools. Teachers have realised that learning is more about personality development and not merely about learning by rote.”

For teachers too

Sheelan Misra, Head of Dept of Management Studies, New Horizon College of Engineering, Bengaluru, admits that the college has been organising such tours for their MBA and engineering students for four years now. “We want to expose students to foreign universities, help them get a feel of how a foreign economy operates, and a country’s business functions. In the last few years, they have travelled to Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and more. These tours help students widen their horizons and compete in a highly global world,” he adds.

Dr. Avinash, from School of Management Studies, Varanasi, believes that such trips help teachers too. “Our university has MoUs with universities in the U.S, South America and Europe. One of the key highlights is that they involve both student and faculty exchange,” he explains while stating that because of the faculty exchange, teachers have an opportunity to observe foreign teaching practices and tweak their pedagogy. He also points out how most foreign universities have various industries associated with them. “Traditional methods of teaching are no longer in use and it is through such travel jaunts that adequate, hands-on learning take place,” adds Dr. Avinash.

Vikram Bajaj, vice chairperson, RNB University, believes that such tours are instrumental to learning. He explained how students visited Dubai’s Port Khalifa and interacted with the officials to understand the port operations. “The trips were planned by students after collaborating with travel agents,” he explains.

Besides standard tour packages depending on the class, syllabus and so on, Thomas Cook offers tailor-made packages based on the syllabus that is being taught and the kind of skills teachers want to inculcate in their students. “Depending on what they want, we offer history, culture, language tours and more, after curating them to suit the specific requirements of each institution,” says Mr. Alapatt.

Madhuvanti S. Krishnan 

Thanks to : THE HINDU - 05.03.2017

Inspirational videos: Overcoming tough times

Inspirational videos: Overcoming tough times

Overcoming hard times

“Sometimes in life, when you fall down, you feel like you don’t have the strength to get up... You go home and lay on your bed… when no one's looking, when you don't have to impress anybody... and fear comes in...” If this is something you can relate to, this video can help you come to terms with these feelings and understand them. And here's the bonus: Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, talking about the time he went through depression and how to fight it. Everyone, at some point in their life, faces situations that fill their minds with anxiety and depression. 

(https://youtu.be/kKcRSboPgU4)

Everything is possible

Have there been times when you have doubted yourself or your potential? Every wondered why some people are better at doing things; how one can focus on a task and excel in it? What is it that links all these questions? Watch this video by inspirational speaker and entrepreneur Sandeep Maheshwari. It focuses on how awareness can help you achieve what you want and have complete control over your body, mind and thoughts. (https://youtu.be/mZ8nrpVHR4E)

Sarthak Saraswat  

Thanks to : THE HINDU – 28.02.2017

Know Your English

Why you should stop mansplaining

What is the meaning of ‘mansplaining’? (KS Nitya, Vellore)

‘Mansplaining’ is a relatively new word; it is a combination of ‘man’ and ‘explaining’. The word is normally used with men. When a man ‘mansplains’ the rules of cricket to a woman, he usually does so in a condescending manner. He is certain that the woman he is talking to knows nothing or very little about the game and that she understands very little about the technical aspects of the sport.

To ensure that the woman understands what he is saying, he simplifies or dumbs down his explanation. He mistakenly assumes that he knows more about the subject than the woman he is talking to.

Anil was trying to mansplain organic chemistry to my cousin — quite forgetting that she had majored in chemistry.

Treat us as your equals. Don’t give us your mansplanations!

What is the meaning and origin of ‘pipe dream’? (N. Sastry, Kakinada)

This is an expression that has been around for several hundred years. According to scholars, it refers to the pipe used by drug addicts to smoke opium.

Like any powerful drug, opium has the ability to transport an individual to a totally different world. While under the influence of the drug, the person believes that the hallucinations he experiences are real.

Therefore, when you say that something is a ‘pipe dream’, what you are suggesting is that it is a mere fantasy; something that will be impossible to achieve. It is a wish or desire that is unlikely to come true.

Wanting to buy a house in this neighbourhood is nothing more than a pipe dream.

Getting Indians to follow traffic rules! That’s a pipe dream.

How is the word ‘genteel’ pronounced and how is it used in everyday context? (Babu Rao, New Delhi)

The first syllable ‘gen’ rhymes with ‘when’, ‘pen’ and ‘ten’, and the second with the words ‘peel’, ‘feel’ and ‘kneel’.

The word is pronounced ‘jen-TEEL’ with the stress on the second syllable. Many consider this word to be rather old fashioned and limit it to formal contexts. When you say that a person is ‘genteel’, what you mean is that he is someone who belongs to the upper class; an individual who is polite and well mannered. The word is mostly used to suggest that the person is a well-bred individual.

It has a negative connotation as well. It can be used in everyday context to refer to someone who is trying very hard to come across as being well bred; someone who does not belong to the upper class, but pretends that he is.

Jasmine was born into a very genteel family.

What is the difference between ‘alternate’ and ‘alternative’? (V Nagesh, Hyderabad)

If you play tennis or cricket on ‘alternate’ days, you play the game every other day — not every day. For example, you may be playing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

‘Alternative’, on the other hand, suggests that there is a choice to be made. A person needs to choose from the things that are available. In American English, the two words are often used interchangeably.

Sarah was allowed to use the washing machine on alternate days.

The bank won’t lend us the money. What’s the alternative?

upendrankye@gmail.com

S. Upendran

Thanks to : THE HINDU – 19.02.2017

PG medical seats up by 4,000

PG medical seats up by 4,000

These slots will be available in 2017-18 session itself, says Minister J.P. Nadda.

The Health Ministry, on Thursday, increased the number of postgraduate (PG) medical seats in India by 4,000. In a release, the Ministry gave no further details but said that an “an all-time record number of over 4,000 PG medical seats have been approved by the Government of India in various medical colleges and hospitals for the academic session 2017-18, taking the total number of PG seats available to 35,117.”

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda informed that 2,046 seats were increased in medical colleges. “Considering the need for more PG seats in clinical subjects, the government had decided to amend the teacher-student ratio in clinical subjects in government medical colleges,” Mr. Nadda said in the press statement. This change alone had resulted in the creation of 1,137 extra seats in 71 colleges.

Many government colleges, out of the total 212, were sending their proposals and it was expected that at least 1,000 more seats could be added during March 2017, he said.

The increase in seats includes dental courses, which are equivalent to an MD or MS degree. According to the Ministry, the number of dental seats have increased by 2,147 in the last one year.

Mr. Nadda said there had been a total addition of 4,193 PG seats in the country so far. The Budget announcement of adding 5,000 PG medical seats was likely to be achieved soon, he said.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Thanks to : THE HINDU – 03.03.2017

Chasing dreams

Chasing dreams

Sivakamai will be flying out to Germany, thanks to the elocution contest ‘Wings to fly’.

Many students dream of travelling abroad for their studies. Wings to Fly, an elocution competition conducted this year by the Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME) and the Goethe Institut, provides this opportunity to students from corporation schools by arranging an educational trip abroad. Sivakamai, a student of Saidapet Girls Higher Secondary School, and one of the eight students who won the competition, shares her experience and excitement.

Public speaking

As a child, I participated in everything from drawing competitions to singing competitions, but later realised that I have an edge in elocution. So I began to represent my school in Tamil Elocution Competitions. The encouragement from my headmistress Lyla ma’am and the support from my mother is the key behind the my success.

Passion to learn

Not everyone may like going to school, but it is something I am passionate about. I think learning is active and positive. To be successful, I work hard to achieve what I want.

On winning the competition for the second time

I thank the Rotary Club of Madras East for spotting my talent. Last year, I was among the eight students who got an opportunity to travel to Malaysia on an educational tour. This year again, I found myself in the finals.

The Rotary Club of Madras East and Goethe Institut, Chennai, trained us on ‘Story telling through the art of public speaking’ before the finals, which helped me a lot. I was elated when my name was announced as a winner.

I am eager to learn German as a foreign language (thanks to a scholarship from Goethe Insitut, Chennai / Max Mueller Bhavan). I am excited and looking forward to visiting Germany.

Plans for the future

The entire learning process during the two editions of ‘Wings to fly’ was an unforgettable experience. I focus on my communication skills, speaking with more clarity and eliminating waffle.

I liked the outlook of the people of Malaysia — their warmth and subtle gestures made us feel comfortable and welcome. I was impressed with the way they kept their city clean. Though I am yet to visit Germany, these trips have inspired me to become a part of the administration; my dream is to become the CM so that we can come up with similar ideas that would suit Chennai to make it self-sufficient.

Supraja Prasad ​

Thanks to : THE HINDU - 28.02.2017

CBSE schools in a fix over textbooks

CBSE schools in a fix over textbooks

Worried that NCERT books might be made mandatory for Classes I to VIII from this year itself

While a number of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools in the city use textbooks by various publishers for Classes I to VIII, a circular issued by the board, a few days ago, has put many of them in a dilemma.

The circular specifies that arrangements are being made for the availability of NCERT textbooks in schools across the country.

This has led to worries among schools that the board might bring in a rule for compulsory usage of these textbooks in the coming academic year.

The circular also specifies that schools can place orders online for NCERT books till February 22.

The CBSE, though, is yet to address the confusion among schools on whether this would be compulsory.

“While the circular does not specify whether the NCERT textbooks have to be used compulsorily from the coming academic year, it puts many of us in a tight spot as orders have already been placed for new textbooks in December for the 2017-18 academic year from the publishers,” said a principal of a city school.

Orders placed

The Chennai Sahodaya Schools Complex (CSSC) had, earlier, sent a representation to the board on the behalf of schools from across Tamil Nadu stating that while they were ready to follow the compulsory implementation of NCERT textbooks if implemented, they would like the rule to come into place from the 2018-19 academic year as most schools were done choosing textbooks for the year and had placed orders for the same.

“While it is mandatory for Classes XI to XII to use the NCERT textbooks, the board has allowed affiliated schools to use textbooks by other publishers for the rest of the classes and follow their curriculum based on the broad CBSE framework.

“The CBSE affiliation by-laws too specify that the schools are free to pick and use books by private publishers for middle school classes,” said Ajeeth Prasath Jain, Senior Principal of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram.

The State, however, is not entirely new to change of this magnitude. Matriculation, Anglo Indian and Oriental schools all adopted the ‘Samacheer Kalvi’ system a few years ago.

“If the CBSE clarifies and brings in a rule that NCERT books will have to be used across all schools, it will definitely narrow down the learning disparities among students from different States. Even though the textbooks used presently are based on CBSE curriculum, the content varies widely,” said K.R. Malathi, CEO, Auuro Educational Services. “If the rule is being brought in, the board should, however, give schools at least a year or two to make a complete shift to the NCERT textbooks,” she said.

S. Poorvaja 

 Thanks to : THE HINDU - 20.02.2017