The PM’s independence day speech will be remembered for a long time for its groundbreaking educational steps. Here, we analyze them vis-a-vis Orissa.
- K-12
- "We will support 6,000 new high quality schools — one in every block of the country" [Orissa has 314 blocks. Currently the central govt has three kinds of schools: Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Ekalabya Vidyalayas. My guess is these will be Navodaya Vidyalayas. Until now, Navodaya Vidyalayas were being made one per district. Extending it to one per block will do wonders.]
- Higher education
- "We will also ensure that adequate numbers of colleges are set up across the country, especially in districts where enrollment levels are low. We will help States set up colleges in 370 such districts." [Orissa has 30 districts. As per the NSSO study of 2004-2005, Table 3.14.1 shows that in the 15-19 age group 29% people in Orissa are attending school/college and in the 20-24 age group this number for Orissa is 6.1%. (Both numbers are lowest among all but the small states/UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep.) For the Scheduled Tribe population these numbers are 17.1% for the 15-19 age group and 4.1% for the 20-24 age group.]
- "We will set up thirty new Central Universities. Every state that does not have a central university will now have one." [Orissa does not have one so it should get one. But considering that there are 23 other existing central universities, making it a total of 53 central universities, Orissa should get two.]
- "we are setting up five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research" [The five IISERs are at Pune, Kolkata, Mohali, Bhopal, and Trivendrum. A NISER is being set up in Bhubaneswar.]
- "eight new Indian Institutes of Technology" [Three of these IITs are announced to be in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Orissa should get one of the other five IITs.]
- "seven new Indian Institutes of Management" [Announcements have been made with respect to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Shillong. If Orissa gets a new IIT then its chance of getting a new IIM this round is much less. Orissa should try though.]
- "twenty new Indian Institutes of Information Technology." [There will be one in each main states, including Orissa, which does not have one. Existing ones are at Allahabad, Amethi, Jabalpur, and Gwalior and a new one is being established at Kanchipuram. ]
- Vocational Education
- "We will soon launch a Mission on Vocational Education and Skill Development, through which we will open 1600 new industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, 10,000 new vocational schools and 50,000 new Skill Development Centres."
- "We will ensure that annually, over 100 lakh students get vocational training – which is a four-fold increase from today’s level."
- More scholarships
- "We should seek not just functional literacy, but good quality education – education that is affordable, accessible, equitable – and available to every boy and girl who seeks to study. For the needy we will provide more scholarships."
August 16th, 2007
Following is from a UGC page.
Post-Graduate Merit Scholarship Scheme for University Rank Holders at Undergraduate Level for the academic session 2006-07.
The University Grants Commission, on the basis of a initiative of MHRD, had introduced Post-Graduate Merit Scholarship Scheme for University rank holders (in General and Honours Courses at Undergraduate levels) with the objective of attracting talents for pursuing post-graduate studies in basic subjects. The scheme is for non-professional courses only. The selection will be purely on merit basis. The awardees under this scheme can pursue their Post-Graduate programme in any area of specialization as also in any institution of higher learning in the country recognized by UGC under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of UGC Act.
Subjects identified at undergraduate level for the award of Scholarships
| S.No. |
Subjects |
| 1 |
B.Sc. (General) |
| 2 |
B.A. (General) |
| 3 |
B.Com. (General) |
| 4 |
B.Sc. (Botany) (Hons.) |
| 5 |
B.Sc. (Chemistry) (Hons.) |
| 6 |
B.Sc. (Mathematics) (Hons.) |
| 7 |
B.Sc. (Physics) (Hons.) |
| 8 |
B.Sc. (Statistics) (Hons.) |
| 9 |
B.Sc. (Zoology) (Hons.) |
| 10 |
B.A. (Economics) (Hons.) |
| 11 |
B.A. (English) (Hons.) |
| 12 |
B.A. (Geography) (Hons.) |
| 13 |
B.A. (Hindi) (Hons.) |
| 14 |
B.A. (History) (Hons.) |
| 15 |
B.A. (Philosophy) (Hons.) |
| 16 |
B.A. (Political Science) (Hons.) |
| 17 |
B.A. (Psychology) (Hons.) |
| 18 |
B.A. (Sanskrit) (Hons.) |
| 19 |
B.A. (Sociology) (Hons.) |
| 20 |
B.A. (Urdu) (Hons.) |
| 21 |
B.Com. (Hons.) |
Eligibility
While in General Courses the First & Second Rank holders at under-graduate level in the above mentioned courses only admitted in any Post-Graduate courses would be awarded the scholarship
In Honours Courses scholarship will be awarded only to the First Rank Holder.
These awardees will have to submit the proofs of their merit position at undergraduate level as well as their admission in first year of Post-Graduate courses during 2006-07.
The scholarship would however, be subject to securing a minimum of sixty percent marks at undergraduate level.
Duration of Scholarships: 2 Years
Number of Scholarships per year:
| General Course |
1800 |
| Honours Course |
575 |
| Total |
2375 |
Rate of Scholarship: Rs. 2000/- p.m.(10 months in a year)
Other Conditions:
A student who is awarded the Post-Graduate Scholarship will not be debarred from accepting any other Scholarship. But candidate is entitled for only one scholarship either PG Merit Scholarship for University rank holding or Indira Gandhi PG Scholarship for Single Girl Child.
Students desirous of leaving the studies mid-way without completing the PG degree will have to take prior approval from the UGC by submitting an application along with justification through the concerned university.
The University/College institution will have to submit a certificate of completion of the PG Course in respect of each student availing this scholarship.
Documents to be submitted at the time of application:
Proof of admission to Master�s degree course in a recognized Indian University.
Matriculation Certificate.
Verification certificate from the institution where the candidate has taken admission (Annexture-II)
University Rank Certificate at U.G. level (Annexure-III)
Procedure for application:
Eligible students who are pursuing postgraduate 1st year course in any of the above mentioned subjects in the current year, i.e. 2005-2006 may submit their application for the above scholarship (Annexure I) giving full details like name, father�s name, date of birth, permanent and postal address, name of the undergraduate course, percentage of marks obtained along with merit certificate, postgraduate, course being pursued etc. (with all relevant attested copies of documents).
The application may be submitted to Joint Secretary (NIC), University Grants Commission, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002 within 15 days from the date of publication of this advertisement.
Application received after the due date will not be considered. Those who have applied earlier need to apply fresh in response to this advertisement.
Candidates are advised before submitting application should read guidelines for the scheme which is available on UGC website www.ugc.ac.in.
Envelops containing application should be marked as APPLICATION FOR PG MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FOR UNIVERSITY RANK HOLDER.
August 14th, 2007
Following are excerpts from a report in Pioneer on this.
Thirteen students belonging to B Tech, +2 Science and ITI of JITM, Paralkhemundi, have been chosen by the LBW Trust, which is based in Sydney, Australia, having the website http://www.lbwtrust.com.au.
The scholarships will cover the respective tuition fees in different programmes. The support is initially for a year and would be continued based on the academic performance of the students.
The awardees also include three female students. It is expected that this support will assist the selected students greatly, who are from weak financial background though being meritorious. It is also expected to encourage other students to perform well academically in order to avail similar opportunities in the future.
…
The LBW Trust was established last year with the purpose of providing education and training to impoverished and underprivileged people overseas and within Australia.
Candidates for assistance by the trust would be chosen from cricket playing nations among developing countries as well as from Australia.
The trust hopes that these young men and women, who are sponsored by it, would in their turn play their part in the upliftment of their countries.
Interested students should go to the Contact Us pages of the trust and send a mail to them to find out more about this scholarship and how to apply for it.
August 14th, 2007
Information for the Middle School Scholarship/National Talent Search (MSS/NTS) Examination can be found here and information on the National Rural Talent Search (NRTS) program can be found here. Information for the JBNSTS (Jagdish Bose National Science Talent Search) exam can be found here. These exams are normally taken as follows:
- MSS/NRTS (age below 15 for general, and below 16 for SC/ST)
- NTS (Students studying in Class 10)
- JBNSTS (Students who have passed 10 + 2 examination in this year and are studying Basic Sciences / Medical Sc. / Engineering in West Bengal are eligible)
August 11th, 2007
Earlier we gave pointers to the UGC ad for this scholarship. Following is the latest PIB release on this.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs provided Rs. 15.90 crores as fellowship to more than 600 Tribal students during 2006-07 for taking up higher studies. The fellowship provided under Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for pursuing higher studies such as M.Phil and Ph.D at universities, institutions recognized by UGC.
Each year more than 600 students are provided the fellowship for the maximum duration of five years. The scheme is implemented through UGC on behalf of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Financial assistance of Rs. 8000/- per month is provided for initial two years to Junior Research Fellow and Rs. 9000/- per month for remaining period of the fellowship.
Beside this fellowship amount, contingency fund for humanities and social sciences is also provided at the rate of Rs. 10,000/- per annum for initial two years of the fellowship and Rs. 20,500/- per annum for remaining period of the research work. In the case of sciences the Contingency fund is provided Rs. 12,000/- per annum for initial two years and Rs. 25,000/- per annum for remaining tenure of the fellowship. The Government also provides assistance to the host institute for providing infrastructure. Amount of the departmental assistance is Rs. 3000/- per annum per student. An additional assistance of Rs. 1000/- per month is provided for escorts or reader assistance in cases of physically and visually handicapped candidates.
August 7th, 2007
Updated dated Dec 8 2007: Thanks to reader Priyanka (comment 108-109) we now have details on the increase in CSIR fellowship amounts. See https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=867 or http://www.csirhrdg.nic.in/fellowship%20revision.pdf for details. In short, the amount go up in two stages. From 1st September 2006 the amount for JRF goes up from Rs 8,000/month to Rs 10,000/month and then from 1st April 2007 the amount goes further up to Rs 12,000/month.
From a S&T department PIB press release.
Government of India, Department of Science & Technology (DST) has been considering the revision of research fellowships of Research Fellows and Research Associates from time to time. There are various practical considerations in deciding on the revision of fellowships which should take into account all possible scenarios and specially, availability of resources and the sustainability of increased fellowships. While attractive fellowships have to be instituted to attract promising candidates to take up research as a career, there is also a need to create an ambience required for pursuing research, which is a pre-requisite.
The Exercise of revision of fellowships is conducted through an inter-agency and extensive consultative process. The Department, as a part of the consultative process, had discussions with all the S&T agencies including the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC). The revision had taken into account the need for redesigning the research fellowships for meeting the needs of a competitive market environment for talent, and longer-term time horizon. It was also decided that both the Scientific Departments and the MHRD would harmonize the fellowship levels and effective dates for implementation. The following were the main recommendations apart from the revision of fellowships:
The candidate who qualifies through NET examination or its equivalent for admission to do Ph.D. should get a fellowship amount of Rs 12000.
All eligible candidates admitted in different disciplines to do Ph.D may be covered under a suitable fellowship programme in a phase- wise manner.
Fellowships to candidates, other than those qualified in NET or equivalent examination, admitted to pursue Ph.D in the institutions, recognized by relevant S&T agencies, would be covered by UGC norms.
Based on these extensive deliberations, the Department of Science & Technology has proposed the enhancement in research fellowships. Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences told media persons in New Delhi today that the Government has accorded approval for this enhancement, as given below.
Table: Enhancement of Research Fellowships for NET or Equivalent
(Rupees per month)
|
Sr. No.
|
Category
|
Current Fellowship
|
Approved Fellowship
w.e.f. 01.04.2007
|
|
1.
|
JRF/ SRF
|
Rs 8000/-
|
Rs 12000/-
|
|
2.
|
JRF/ SRF (Professional)
|
Rs 9500/-
|
Rs 14000/-
|
|
3.
|
Research Associate (1)
|
Rs 11000/-
|
Rs 16000/-
|
|
4.
|
Research Associate (2)
|
Rs 11500/-
|
Rs 17000/-
|
|
5.
|
Research Associate (3)
|
Rs 12000/-
|
Rs 18000/-
|
July 30th, 2007
July 29th, 2007
National Board of higher mathematics (NBHM) of the Department of Atomic Energy offers scholarships for students pursuing post graduate in Mathematics. Application for Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies (MA/MSc) in Mathematics for the academic year 2007-2008, in PDF and Word formats are available. Questions papers of previous years are available at these links: 2005 and 2006. The last date for the receipt of completed applications is July 30, 2007.
Following are some other opportunities provided by NBHM.
July 25th, 2007
July 23rd, 2007
This scholarship for single girl child (i.e., no other brother or sister) is from UGC. Its notice and guidelines are here. One feature of this schlarship is that it does not preclude the recipient from having another scholarship from a different source. Following is an ad in Samaja about it.
July 21st, 2007
An IANS report on this appears in various media. Following are some excerpts.
Tata Steel Friday announced scholarships for those children of the families displaced by its proposed steel plant in Orissa’s Kalinga Nagar who have already taken admission in recognized colleges and institutes.
The programme, named Tata Steel Parivar Scholarship, will cover the cost of education and accommodation of students offering diploma, graduate or post-graduate degrees.
The money will be paid to the institution directly where the student has taken admission, a company release here said. …
I think the TATAs must go further and also ensure quality education for children (of displaced families) in primary and secondary school level.
July 21st, 2007
Foundation For Excellence (FFE) is a publicly supported non-profit organization that supports top students in India, who are from very low income families, with scholarships. Following is a blurb from their website:
FFE’s focus is to provide funds for higher education to students in India who are academically gifted and come from very low income families. Since inception, the foundation has provided over $4.35 million in over 20,900 scholarships to deserving students in the 25 states in India, over 40% of who are girls. The objective driving our programs is “No Scholar Left Behind”. We truly believe that these young people will be a significant part of a socially and economically stronger India in the near future.With the help of our donors and volunteers, we plan to keep on with our efforts until every deserving student in India gets the education that she or he deserves.
For 2006-07 they have given 264 scholarships to students from Orissa. The total worth of these scholarships is $58,000. The readers are requested to spread the word about FFE to students in need as well as to people who can volunteer or donate to FFE’s cause. Please go through FFE’s web page for more details. Few Oriyas who are very active in the three aspects of FFE (finding students, finding volunteers and finding donors) are Purna Mohanty from Northern California and Sandip Dasverma from Portland, Oregon.
One of the chief sponsors of FFE, Mr. Prabhu Goel, has recently taken steps to invest in Orissa.
June 15th, 2007
From http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=28365
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for introduction of a new Central Sector Scholarship Scheme of Top Quality Higher Education to Students belonging to Scheduled Tribes, to be implemented from 2007-08.
Continue Reading May 31st, 2007
Details of this scolarship is in this document. Following are some excerpts.
Title of Scheme: “Maulana Azad National Scholarship Schemeâ€
Objective of the Scheme: To recognize, promote and assist meritorious Girl
students belonging to national Minorities who can not continue their
education without financial support.
Purpose of Scholarship: Sholarship will be admissible for expenditure on Payment of School/College Fee, purchase of syllabus books, purchase of stationery/equipments required for the course & payment of Boarding/Lodging charges.
May 19th, 2007
FAEA, the Foundation for academic excellence and access offers scholarships for socially and economically disadvantaged students. It has an impressive governing council. Its objective as described in its web pages are:
to secure social justice for students belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged sections of the society. It emphasizes equality of opportunity to help students become what they would like to be so that they have a choice and are not dictated by economic and social necessity. It enables economically and socially disadvantaged students to study in the institutions, which provide academic excellence, access to structures of power and economic opportunity.
Its web page and students manual give more details on its scholarship program.
May 12th, 2007
Indian Express reports (thanks to Debendra Mohapatra for the tip on this) that the Department of Science and Technology of India has decided to offer 10,000 scholarships annually of Rs 1 lakh/year for students joining 5 year integrated M.Sc programs. The scheme was announced by the DST secretary T. Ramasami on April 10th at IISER Pune. It has not yet appeared in the Dept. of Sc. and Tech. website.
At present only few places in India offer such 5 yr M.Sc programs. Some of the places I know of are IISER Pune and Kolkata, NISER Bhubaneswar, IITs, BITs Pilani, Indian School of Mines, University of Mysore, University of Hyderabad, BESU, CUSAT, Pondicherry University, Sastra University, University of Pune, St. Xaviers Calcutta and some NITs.
It has been reported [1,2:ugc,3:kerela] that the UGC has also jumped into the fray in supporting universities and institutions that will have 5 yr integrated M.Sc programs.
This information has been passed on to key people in the Orissa government and they have promised to look into starting such programs in some of the universities and autonomous colleges in Orissa.
April 14th, 2007
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