There are concerns that some regions of our country are falling behind in their educational attainments and this gap must be bridged by the end of the 11th Plan. The 6000 model schools in all the Blocks, the 30 new Central Universities, the 370 new colleges in educationally backward districts and the huge expansion in the number of IITs, IIMs, IIITs and IISERs and the planned universalisation of secondary education are all going to bear fruit only if the Central and State Governments work purposefully to see that outcomes match outlays. I must emphasize the importance of quality in our institutions of higher education. The pursuit of quality requires reforms in these institutions in the way they are run. The Plan emphasizes this and I would like the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Planning Commission to work together to see how these objectives can be actually achieved. The issue is no longer one of resources. It is of planning, management and delivery capability.
LONG-TERM MEASURES TO MEET THE SHORTAGE OF PILOTS: CONTRACTING OUT OF MANAGEMENT OF INDIRA GANDHI RASHTRIYA URAN AKADEMI AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FLYING TRAINING INSTITUTE AT GONDIA, MAHARASHTRA
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for management contract agreement of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi with M/s. CAE Inc., Canada and also gave its approval for formation of a subsidiary company of Airports Authority of India for establishing a flying and aviation training institute at Gondia in Maharashtra as a Joint Venture Enterprise with M/s. CAE, Canada.
The management for taking of IGRUA would be taken over by M/s. CAE Inc., Canada for better management of the Akademi in a more professional manner in order to produce 100 pilots per year.
The subsidiary company of AAI will establish a flying and aviation training institute which will help in meeting the growing requirements of pilots and technical manpower relating to the aviation industry.
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for introduction of the Block Grant Scheme of funding on the lines of IITs, IIMs, etc., for NIFT.
This will provide further functional / financial autonomy to the institute and will encourage it to generate more internal resources, promote innovation and result in an overall improvement in the standard of education and research.
The base year for the Block Grant Scheme shall be 2006-07 and the scheme will come into effect from 2007-08.
There is an urgent need to upgrade the forestry department to a college like the College of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Science and the postgraduate and Ph.D curricula could support the academics, research and extension programmes of various new disciplines in forestry.
‘‘There is a competent faculty with over 20 years of experience here with the department and many alumni members are serving at national and international levels as faculty and subject experts and are willing to collaborate with their parent department at OUAT for high-end projects,’’ says HoD Prof RK Pattnaik.
‘‘The department was established in 1987 at this second oldest agriculture varsity of the country following the recommendations of National Commission on Agriculture, 1976, under the direct support of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and later Indian Council of Forest Research and Education to look after education, research and extension in forestry science,’’ he adds.
‘‘But with the upgradation to a college the students can have special fields to do PG and Ph.D programmes in silviculture and agro-forestry, bio-technology and tree improvement and forest ecology and environment. Also utilisation of forest products which directly cater to the needs of the State as well as many international research projects can also be taken up through such an institution,’’ says Prof Ashok Kumar Sahoo.
Assistant Prof. Nirakar Bhol is of the opinion that if the upgraded status is accorded, then this college under OUAT would be a unique institution in the entire Eastern India and strengthen the position of the State Capital as another educational hub in forest-related research. Fourth year BSc Forestry student Jagannath Sahu thinks the upgradation plan can enable graduating B.Sc forestry students to have wider career options in natural resources management.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval to the proposal mooted by the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for revision of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Hostels for SC Girls & Boys. The primary objective of the revised scheme is to attract the implementing agencies for undertaking hostel construction programme, especially for SC girls towards the broader vision of containment and reduction of their drop out rate. According to the revised scheme, focus would be given for construction of hostels for middle and higher secondary levels of education. However, hostels can also be constructed for college and University levels of education. The hostels shall be completed within a period of two years from the date of sanction of the project.
The Government of India would meet the entire cost of construction for SC girls’ hostels as central assistance. However, in the case of boys’ hostels, the prevailing pattern of funding would continue, which is 50% for States, 100% for UT Administration, 90% for Central Universities and 45% for other Universities etc. Further, as hitherto, central assistance for NGOs would be eligible only for expansion of their existing hostel buildings. In addition to meting the cost of construction in the form of central assistance as mentioned above, the Government of India would also provide one-time grant of Rs.2500/- per student for making provisions of a cot, a table and a chair for each hosteller.
Another important provision included in the revised scheme is involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the matter of selection of hostel site and overseeing the functioning of the hostels. Further, it has also been provided in the scheme that priority in allotment of hostel accommodation would be given to SC students whose parent are either “Safai Karamcharis” or engaged in unclean occupations.
The Planning Commission, according to highly-placed sources, says GDP allocation to education will increase from its from current 3.5 per cent to 5 per cent by the end of the 11th Plan. Around 19.7 per cent of the total plan resources would be set aside for education, according to the sources in the Commission.
The Plan outlay for the education sector as a whole will thus be over Rs 2,20,000 crore, five times more than what it was during the 10th Five-Year plan.
… The plan outlay on education has increased from Rs 151.20 crore in the 1st Five Year plan to Rs 43,825 crore in the 10th Five Year plan (2002-2007). The expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP also rose from 0.64 per cent in 1951-52 to 3.74 per cent in 2003-2004.
In fact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his independence day speech, had announced the setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and 30 central universities. The government is already working on which states will house these institutes of excellence.
"With increased funds, establishing these IITs and IIMs will not be an issue with the government. Besides, the government is also looking at public-private partnership to involve private parties in education," said a professor.
With less than 50 per cent of secondary school students in India continuing college education in any form, and almost two-thirds of Indian universities and 90 per cent of the colleges being rated as "below average" on quality parameters, the funds would be utilised to put in place a better system of education.
The Planning Commission is also targeting a gross enrollment ratio (GER) of 15 per cent by 2015. In the 10th Five-Year Plan, the GER was 10 per cent.
The state government has decided to open Odissi schools in every district in the State and outside for promotion of art and Odissi culture said Mr Gopinath Mohanty, secretary of culture department on Saturday evening at the closing ceremony of Dhenkanal Mahotsav.
He also told that the government would also open Sunday art schools from 14 November in Bhubaneswar and subsequently in the other districts also.
… During the day, Dr. Reddy also met Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh and urged him to start classes at the new Indian Institute of Technology in Medak from July 2008.
Though the complex is yet to be constructed, the Chief Minister’s contention was that land had been allotted and temporary structures could be put up in time for the next academic session.
The Chief Minister also sought an Indian Institute of Management for Andhra Pradesh at Vizag and an Indian Institute of Science Education and Research at Tirupati.
Besides, the State has asked the Centre to extend the mid-day meal scheme for students up to Class X and convert the Yogi Vemana University in Kadapa into a Central varsity.
Dr. Reddy also met Union Minister for Science & Technology Kapil Sibal and urged him to scan every tract of land in Andhra Pradesh so that the State Government could remain alert to possibilities of pests and diseases through weekly reports.
Also, the State Government has put in a request for setting up a National Institute of Animal Bio-Technology at Hyderabad.
… It was in 1910 that the first educational institute under public-private partnership was set up. Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore was a joint venture between the industrialist Jamsetji Tata and the government.
But in independent India, most of the investment in higher education has been done by the state.
In the India of the future, preference will be given to private-public partnerships to set up top institutes. This partnership will also be explored in the research facilities at the 30 proposed world class universities.
"One has to change the order and we have to change the organisational setup,” says Chairman of Knowledge Commission, Sam Pitroda.
This is a crucial decision. Within the Government itself, there has been tremendous opposition to the entry of private players in higher education.
But by throwing open the IITs and IIMs to private sponsors, the Government is finally breaking down resistance.
A World class Institute of Entrepreneur Development would be set up in Bhubaneswar soon to help state’s existing and upcoming entrepreneurs.
"The proposed institute would help particularly the first generation entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurs in general to upgrade them technologically with industrial management and marketing in the face of competition and inherent sickness syndrome", Commissioner-Cum Secretary Industries, Asok Dalwai told Odisha.in.
"The Ahemedabad based Entrepreneur Development Institute has evinced interest to set up the institute of excellence in joint venture with the Orissa government and the detailed Project Report for the proposed advanced center would be finalised very soon". He said.
He said with the submission of the DPR; state government would allot ten Acres of land for the construction of the institute.
Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.
A shortlist of 134 proposals received by the State Directorate of Technical Education and Training (DTE&T) for establishing Industrial Training Centres (ITCs) in various parts of the state has been sent to the Union government for final approval.
… The new proposals would add ITI capacity to 52 new blocks. It may be noted that Mr Patnaik had suggested the establishment of at least one Industrial Training Institute (ITI) or Industrial Training Centre (ITC) in each of the 314 blocks in December, 2006. The chief minister also suggested the upgrading of the technical education sector.
Amid mixed reactions, the ambitious "school choice Campaign" kicked-off in the State recently, involving both the gram panchayats as well as civil bodies in the districts.
The campaign advocates school vouchers to empower the poor to choose and demand better quality education for their wards.
The voucher of specific amount would be issued directly by the Government to parents’ instead of schools to fund child education at a school chosen by them. If a parent is dissatisfied, he can enroll his ward in another school.
The aim is to ensure greater accountability on the part of teachers’ and increase efficiency of the school. The Centre for Civil Society, which has launched this mission here along with 15 other states in the country, claimed to have achieved good progress after it was first floated here on June 19.
"Our intervention in the last four months has shown remarkable changes in people’s awareness level about the concept as the disillusionment with Government schools is widespread," maintained state coordinator of the campaign G B Dalai.
While sensitising the Government holds the key to its success, he said, Orissa Primary Education Programme Authority has evinced keen interest in the model and is willing to fund parents in some pockets on a limited scale under a pilot scheme.
The Orissa campaign plans to reach out to more than 2.5 million parents across Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Kendrapada, Khurda, Gajapati, Sundargarh, Koraput and Balangir. Across the nation, the organisation claimed, it has gained grounds in Delhi, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra among other states.
… District coordinator Trilochan Moharana said, more than 30,000 signatures have been collected and 13 citizen groups formed to spread the campaign message.
