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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has devised a tool to calculate students’ global aptitude index. The index will help students in deciding their career choices as taking board exams is not mandatory any more.
The CBSE will be having a series of tests for Standard X students, which will check their social, scientific, numerical, art and behavioural science aptitude and other interest areas.
It will be a paper and pencil test for not more than two and a half hours. The board decided to have such a test after conducting a random survey in schools to check if parents were aware of aptitude tests.
The survey results were shown to a psychiatrist, psychologist and experts in psychometric, after which the index was designed. It will be an aptitude and interest test designed specially for the CBSE students.
Deepshikha Srivastava, principal of Rajhans Vidyalaya, Andheri, said, “Since the choice of subjects for students was based on the scores they got in Standard X board exams, it was a need of the hour. Parents believe that high scorers should be opting for science, even if they do not have the aptitude for the subject. Subjects in arts and commerce are not sought after by high scorers.” She added that the schools have been asked to submit the list of students who are in Standard X for the test. The last date for submission of names is November 15.
The board, however, specifies that the index should be just considered an indicator and not the final aptitude. “It should initiate a dialogue between the teachers and students or between counsellors and students,” said an official.
Even as the Obamas mean business on their maiden trip to India, they have not missed an opportunity to make a tryst with destiny and their future. They ensured in all the statements they made and the time they took out from the official programmes that the future lies with children and youth.
And that belief was driven by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. After she overwhelmed kids in Mumbai by her warmth, Michelle Obama will be spending time with nine young girls from New Delhi. The girls, aged between 9-11 years old, are supported by the Nanhi Kali initiative that helps underprivileged girl children get access to quality education .
“I think this is Mrs Obama’s way to show that she cares about education and understands how important it is for all children irrespective of their background whether they are privileged or under privileged,” said Sheetal Mehta executive director of K C Mahindra Education Trust (part of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group) which runs the Nanhi Kali initiative with its partner Naandi Foundation. The intiative provides academic and material support to over 60,000 underpriviliged girls across the country.
Michelle Obama, who has been bringing issues like child nutrition and health to the forefront back in her home turf, has left no opportunity to engage with kids and youth at various forums and every step of her itinerary. She wooed the kids heart in Mumbai by dancing with them and urged college students’ to ask tough questions from her husband, the President of the United States. But what was obvious was the fact that education is close to her heart, which is the key message she has sent out through her engagements with the children.
No wonder, in her address to college students at Mumbai, she urged students to strive for “gigantic” dreams and told them how her parents taught her to be humble and put every last effort in education. “As First Lady, I try my best to engage young people not just in the US but around the world. We need them to solve the great challenges of our times,” she said.
At the Humayun’s tomb President Obama and the First Lady did not miss the opportunity to talk with kids of migrant labourers who work at the tomb and gave them gifts as they began the Delhi leg of their visit. On her first day of visit at Mumbai too, she met 32 disadvantaged children and 11 volunteers of “Make a Difference Foundation”, another non-profit organsation that is run by the youth and teaches these kids.
“She encouraged us and stressed on the importance of youth leadership and told the kids that education is very important in life. And how education has helped her to come where she is now,” said 24 year old Sujith Varkey who is one of the founding members of “Make a Difference “ initiative in India and personally met Mrs Obama with the kids.
Mrs Obama matched steps with children as she danced to the hit son from the Hindi film Rang De Basanti at the Mumbai University. The couple celebrated Diwali with students of Holy Name High School and joined them in a Maharastrian folk dance. It was a signal about a change that is on the anvil and a hope that the kids can protect. The Economic Times
Presidents of 15 Canadian universities embark on a seven-day mission to India on Monday to woo students from the second fastest growing nation in the world.
It is the biggest mission to India by Canadian educational institutions after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on higher education during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here in June.
Though more than 150,000 Indian students go abroad for higher education each year, Canada gets only about 3,000 annually. Thus, Indian students account for a fraction of more than 90,000 foreign students who enrolled in Canadian universities last year.
With foreign students paying more than $15,000 in fees each and collectively pumping more than $6.5 billion into the economy, Canada is looking to a big jump in enrollment from India.
Organized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the Canadian education mission will travel to Pune and Delhi for meetings with educational institutions, the private sector and administrators to usher in new era in ties in this sector between the two nations.
Its major engagements in India include a roundtable with Indian university presidents, which will also be attended by Indian human resource minister Kapil Sibal and his Canadian counterpart Gary Goodyear.
The mission will also participate in the higher education summit being organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
"This mission is a way for us to get to know India and its needs more deeply - and to make sure that when Indians think of research and higher education, they think of us,'' said AUCC president Paul Davidson before the mission's departure for India.
"Educators and business people in India need to know that Canadian universities are open to building successful partnerships that will enrich experiences for students, strengthen links between our countries and advance international research collaboration,'' he said. The Economics Times
US President Barack Obama expressed the need for increased America-India partnership in the field of education, both in his speech at the Oberoi's Trident Hotel here and at a private meeting with a select group of people from Mumbai Saturday evening.
Among those present at the meeting with the select group was the head of Ryan International Group of Schools, Mumbai, Grace Pinto, who spoke about the contributions in the field of education in the US by her group in the past few years.
'I briefed him about our education projects in India and US, and other parts of the world. President Obama appreciated the efforts and said we were doing a great job,' she said.
'He asked us to continue with the same zeal to spread education among the largest possible number of students, especially those from the deprived sections.
The Ryan Group is the co-ordinator of the US-India Business Council's education initiative which has, among others, Pepsico chief Indra Nooyi as one of the advisory panel members, said Ryan Pinto, group chief operating officer, international operations.
A recent study has concluded that students who have high aspirations and put thought into their futures during their high school years tend to reach higher levels of educational attainment. And what's a significant factor in those goals and expectations taking shape in the first place? It matters if teens are involved in extracurricular activities -- whether it's football, fine arts or French club.
The research, by Sarah Beal and Lisa Crockett of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, surveyed hundreds of high school students about their educational and career goals and expectations while also examining the types of activities they took part in during high school. Then researchers studied how each activity, from extracurricular clubs and teams to part-time jobs to volunteering, was related to students' thoughts about their futures.
They found that student educational plans and their occupational goals and expectations were related to and predicted the level of education they ultimately attained. Also, extracurricular activities were related to students' educational goals and career expectations -- and vice-versa.
That unique relationship, the study says, played a role in predicting how far teens eventually went with their educations.
"Adolescents' expectations about their occupational and educational attainment as adults predict their eventual educational attainment, and these expectations seem to shape and be shaped by extracurricular activities -- which, in turn, contribute to young adult educational attainment," said Beal, a UNL graduate student in psychology and the study's lead author.
"It may be the case that adolescents learn about their abilities and preferences through the extracurricular activities they engage in, resulting in changes to their expectations for the future."
The longitudinal study tracked students from adolescence into adulthood. It showed that what adolescents think about their futures is relevant for their development through adulthood, and suggests that they can use their projections about the future to adapt their behavior in ways that promote achievement later in life.
"There is a longstanding notion that what adolescents do sets the stage for their adult lives," said Crockett, a professor of psychology.
"Our results support this idea and indicate that what they think matters as well."
What appears to happen, Crockett said, is that teenagers' plans influence their behaviors, especially extracurricular activities, which in turn influence their educational attainment.
"When you consider how important educational attainment is for adult life --- its relation to occupational attainment, financial security, health, and other aspects of well being -- it appears that the steps adolescents take have important implications for their future success," she said.
The study has appeared in a recent edition of the journal Developmental Psychology. –(ANI) source-http://newkerala.com
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will now on concentrate on education and health, said a top official.
"The future thrust areas for ISRO will be in food and water security , weather and climate , environment and ecosystem , sustainable development, support for informed decision making , education and health care, skill development and rural communications , as well as disaster management," said K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the organization.
He was delivering the 11th Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Silver Jubilee Lecture on 'ISRO Saga Forward'.
The eminent scientist also elucidated upon the vision of ISRO for the next 20 years, viz. space applications, space exploration, space assets and access to space.
"ISRO is working on GSAT 5P and RISAT-1 , the satellite Aperture Radar , which enables the satellite to look at the earth , even in the presence of cloud cover," he said.
Stating that India joined the elite group of countries, having re-entry capabilities in 2007, Radhakrishnan also spoke about ISRO's plans and efforts to put man on the moon.
Stressing on the need for good minds, he spoke about ISRO's Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology at Trivandrum.
"The batch of B.Tech students will pass out in June 2011. Those getting good grades will be absorbed in the institute," said Radhakrishnan.
Calling both ISRO and IGNOU examples of 'learning organizations', the eminent scientist spoke of India's space programme from 1963 to the present and its vision for the future.
He said the Indian space programme as a society- driven one.
"In the 1960s, India was beset by several problems, like illiteracy. Hence the focus was on how communication satellites could be used to solve these immediate problems. This vision was shared by the entire organization and other successors of Dr Vikram Sarabhai," said the ISRO chairman. --IBNS http://newkerala.com
Thousands of teenagers in Indian Kashmir have been involved in violent, often deadly, pro-independence protests for months -- and Ali Raza's friends expected him to be in the middle of the mob.
But instead of throwing stones at security forces, Raza, 17, and his three cousins slipped away in September at the height of the unrest that engulfed Kashmir for much of the summer.
"My parents booked our air tickets to New Delhi, arranged for our stay and instructed us to apply to a college for the next academic year," said Raza, who is now in the Indian capital studying for the college's entrance exam.
Raza says he topped his class in Srinagar, the main town in Muslim-majority Indian Kashmir, and he is keen to pursue a career in banking.
"The recent violence made it clear that if I want to do something meaningful with my life then I needed to get out of Kashmir and maybe never return," he said.
"My old school friends back there now call me 'an infidel living in the enemy state of India'."
Young men wearing masks and chanting slogans against India have been at the forefront of furious separatist rallies in Indian Kashmir, pelting police and paramilitary troops with stones and rocks.
The security forces often opened fire in return, and 111 civilians were shot dead between June and October, most of them teenage students.
The rallies have declined in recent weeks after New Delhi released 50 jailed protesters, removed some security bunkers in Srinagar, and pledged to seek justice for families of victims.
Reflecting the climate of fear in the region, Raza and his cousins declined to be photographed by AFP in case their families still living in Kashmir were targeted by hardline separatists who disapprove of people leaving.
Life has often been at a standstill in Kashmir as groups campaigning for independence from India called repeated strikes and as the state government imposed curfews that trapped people indoors for days or even weeks at a time.
As a part of their ongoing "Quit Kashmir Campaign", separatist leaders have issued calendars every ten days declaring when strikes would be held.
"Nobody looks at the regular calendar, we check the strike calendar to see whether it is another day in the house," Muslim Jan, a lecturer in mass communication at the state-owned KashmirUniversity, told AFP by telephone.
"The violence has meant that the few students who can afford to, leave. Education is a major casualty of the violence."
All schools and colleges, government offices, banks, businesses and shops have remained closed for much of the last four months due to strikes and curfews.
Residents confined inside their homes become increasingly angry and frustrated.
"There is a huge sense of disillusionment. During my lectures, students shout and urge me to stop promoting peace or equality," said Mirza Rangrej, a teacher of sociology.
"My school was open just ten days out of 90 this summer. Some schools email their pupils but there are many students who do not have computers at home.
"They just sit idle, watch television all day and listen about the violence and bloodshed from their parents."
Exam timetables have also been wrecked, with no testing to decide who has graduated.
Syed Ali Geelani, a veteran separatist politician who has been organising the strikes and protests, justifies the disruption "as a petty sacrifice in the war of freedom waged against India."
"We want freedom and in this battle people of Kashmir will have to sacrifice education, property and even life," he told AFP.
Kashmir was the first Indian state to declare free and compulsory education in 1951 but the damage to education today threatens further problems for the region in the future.
"The government thinks unemployment is the biggest problem but they cannot tell us how youths will get jobs if they do not study and get qualifications," said a senior staff member at the Jammu and Kashmir state-run bank in Srinagar.
"My two teenage boys are not being allowed to study today, no one will give them a job tomorrow."
