NMC Horizon Report – 2015 Higher Education

Summary of the Report

Makerspaces, wearable technologies and adaptive learning technologies are three of the six technologies that will have a profound impact on higher education within the next five years, according to the NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Higher Education Edition, released Wednesday by the New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative.

The annual report is developed by a panel of higher education experts to identify major developments in education technology and technological trends that will help shape teaching and learning in the near future. The researchers also identify the six most significant challenges facing education in the coming years.

Technological developments are sorted into three categories: those whose impact will be felt soon (or is being felt now), those that will come into p[lay in the mid-term (two to three years) and those that are a bit further out on the horizon (four to five years).

Source | http://cdn.nmc.org/

Women under represented in higher education in India: Report

Summary of the Report
Women continue to be under-represented in India’s higher education leadership despite nine-fold increase in the government expenditure on the sector between 2007 and 2012, according to a British Council report.

While women constitute 44 per cent of the 27.5 million students in country’s higher educational institutions, they constitute just 1.4 per cent of the professoriate and 3 per cent of vice-chancellors in the universities, it noted.
In most Indian universities, the representation of women academics is less than 40 per cent, added the report, titled 'Women in Higher Education Leadership in South Asia: Rejection, Refusal, Reluctance, Revisioning’.

“While in all categories of academic positions women are under-represented, this increases for higher positions. Thus, only 25.5 per cent of professors, 31.1 per cent of readers and associate professors, and 38.5 per cent of lecturers or assistant professors are women,” it noted, analysing a 2013 report of the government.

The report, prepared by the British Council in collaboration with the Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research (CHEER) of the University of Sussex, was released here at a two-day deliberation on the representation of women in higher education in South Asia. The event, organised by the British Council, concluded on Wednesday.

An analysis of the government data also indicated that women with disability represent only 1.9 per cent of the overall total number of academics in India. “Muslim women are also under-represented in Indian higher education, both in relation to male academics and overall. Of the Muslim academics, only 33.5 per cent are women, which is only 14.9 per cent of the total number of academics in India,” underlined the report.

The report found that women in higher education in South Asia, including India, were not prepared for leadership. There was also evidence that when they did aspire for leadership, they were frequently rejected for the most senior positions. Referring to interactions with women faculty, the report highlighted how the country’s universities’ selection procedures were “exclusionary and discriminated” against women. “First and foremost, most selection committees have only men. Very few have women. Most that I've gone through, have all men on the committee, for any position,” the report quoted a senior woman faculty.

The British Council suggested that educational institutions should adopt changes in work practices.

Source | http://www.britishcouncil.in/

Dalit Venture Capital to Aid Entrepreneurs.

The government on Friday launched a Dalit venture capital to encourage entrepreneurship among the scheduled castes.
The “venture capital fund for SCs“ would offer concessional finance to business initiatives of Dalits. Social justice minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said the fund, with an initial capital of Rs 200 crore, would render an unprecedented help to the community .

According to the scheme, about 30 people would benefit from the financing every year and the loans in each case would go up to Rs 15 crore.

IFCI Ltd will act as sponsor, settler and asset management company (AMC) to operate the scheme. The IFCI Ltd would contribute Rs 50 crore which would comprise Rs five crore as sponsor and Rs 45 crore as investor.

The social justice ministry also launched a `Green Business Scheme' for Dalits aimed at providing financial assistance for business initiatives to help fight climate change. Under the scheme, loans at concessional rate of interest for unit cost up to Rs one lakh would be provided to SCs for starting activities like e-rickshaw, solar pump and solar energy powered implements, polyhouse.

Source::::: The Times of India (Mumbai),Jan 17 2015, p.16

Australia launches new online database to help Indian students

Australia's Acting High Commissioner Bernard Philip has launched an online database to help Indian students find Australian university courses.

The database will also help the Australian students looking for study opportunities in India.

The database is an initiative of the Australia-India Education Council. It was funded by the Indian University Grants Commission (UGC) and implemented by Jamia Milia Islamia University (JMI).

"This website will be an excellent resource for Indian students seeking to complete part of their degree in Australia, and for Australian students wishing to study in India," said Philip.

"The database can be searched by location, institution or course, which will help students from both countries to find the information they need. I would like to thank UGC and JMI for their leadership in this initiative, which will further reinforce the strong education links between Australia and India," he added.

The database can be accessed at http://www.australiaindiacredittransfer.org/.

The website is being launched just before Australian students begin to travel to India under the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan (NCP) in 2015. (ANI)

Source | http://news.webindia123.com/

Centre to hike fellowships for research scholars

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday announced the highest-ever hike in fellowships for research scholars across the country. The hike, which will be effective October 1, will make fellowship amounts go up by at least 50%. More than 70,000 scholars will benefit from this hike.

According to the new guidelines, the junior research fellowship has been increased from 16,000 to 25,000. The senior research fellowship has increased from 18,000 to 28,000, research associate-1 from 22,000 to 36,000, research associate-2 from 23,000 to 38,000 and research associate-3 from 24,000 to 40,000.

Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna Dr CN R Rao said, “I am delighted. I congratulate the minister for this.”

An open letter to authorities by the Research Scholars’ Forum of India had said that the stipend for research students in India was very low compared to other countries at the forefront in science and technology.

Over the past few months, nearly 20000 research scholars from across the country had staged silent demonstrations.

Source::: Hindustan Times, (Mumbai Edition), 22.10.2014, p.10,   http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

‘Education is the best way to overcome social barriers’

Professor Abdul Shaban of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was a member of the chief minister’s study group which went into the backwardness of Muslims in Maharashtra. Speaking to dna’s Dhaval Kulkarni, Shaban stresses the need to “look at the grievances (of the Muslims) and take pro-active steps to bring the community to the larger fold of society”. Excerpts:

What are the reasons for backwardness among Muslims? Internal and external. Lack of education, opportunity and infrastructure are internal reasons, while external ones include counting them as aliens when there is a problem. The community has to understand that education is perhaps the best way to overcome social and developmental barriers. I am happy that there has been some realisation on this front in the last 10 years. Work participation rate in women is very low. However, the low participation rate in women can also be seen in developed states like Punjab and in the Rajput community. Lack of education among Muslim women and dominance of Muslim men in jobs like mechanical work and carpentry ensure that women can’t work in urban areas. The middle- and upper-class Muslims, who form around 15% of the community’s population, search for jobs like teaching and medicine for women. The report spells out the need for reforms in antiquated personal laws. Many reformers have objected to triple talaq and nikah halala. When a community feels threatened at a psychological level, it closets itself. So, issues like the status of women and caste get marginalised. There is now a need to take up issues related to women and reforms (in personal laws). (Regarding triple talaq) many are searching for solutions within and outside the sharia. It takes a larger consciousness level to accept suggestions for solutions outside the sharia. Many things needed by the community are present in the Sharia. (Triple and arbitrary talaq) was not the tradition of the Prophet and was adopted later on. There must be a debate and the community must adopt the best laws as per the need of the hour. Coming to Islam, women have traditionally more rights than others. Other religions have seen reforms like the right to property for Hindu women. However, only 1- 2% Muslims have granted property rights to women. What about the demand for a uniform civil code (UCC)? This is like asking a premature baby what it needs to have. There is a difference between a criminal procedure code and laws related to personal life, inheritance and marriage. Society is heterogeneous and many groups are embedded in cultural issues. (On the UCC) we have perhaps not evolved to a level where we can sort and keep the best. The fear in the community is this will be used to impose western (values) or (values) from the dominant group’s religion. Let’s work hard and if all groups and people develop, this question will be irrelevant. If you want to bring it, do it only for disputes. More than the UCC, the pressing issue is security of people. Why doesn’t the dominant community demand an anti-riot act? The government granted reservations for Muslims. What more should be done? There are many softer issues, particularly housing. People will not be able to come out of their problems if they are ghettoised. Mixed housing should be created based on a system of FSI, tax sops and benefits for developers and a cultural diversity index should be implemented.

Source::: DNA, 17.10.2014, p.07, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=71951&boxid=34967&ed_date=2014-10-17&ed_code=820009&ed_page=9

India hungrier than Lanka, Nepal





55th On Hunger Index, Status Still `Serious'

India has made some progress in reducing poverty level, but still ranks behind neighbouring Nepal and Sri Lanka on the Global Hunger Index and its hunger status remains classified as “serious“.India was at 63rd position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) last year. The 55th position in 2014 is better than Pakistan (ranked 57) and Bangladesh (57), but trails Nepal (44) and Sri Lanka (39).
“Progress in dealing with underweight helped India’s 2014 GHI score fall to 17.8 points,” the GHI report said.
The International Food Policy Research Institute and NGOs Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide have jointly prepared the report.While India is no longer in the “alarming“ category , its hunger status is still classified as “serious“. India has made progress in reducing underweight among children under five in the past few years, but “much work still needs to be done“ so that a greater share of the population will enjoy nutrition security , it said.
This year marks the end of a “data drought“, the report said, adding India has determined its first new provisional national underweight estimate in eight years. At 30.7%, it points to real progress compared with the last estimate of 43.5% in 2005-2006, it said. “As a consequence, India no longer ranks second to last on underweight in children, but 120th among 128 countries with data on child under-nutrition from 2009­2013,“ it added. Highlighting the efforts made to address underweights, it said since the last under-nutrition data became available, India had rolled out and expanded several programmes targeting a mix of direct and indirect causes of under-nutrition.
Nutrition-specific interventions that were scaled up after 2006 include a final push to expand the integrated child development services and the launch of the rural health mission.

Source:::: The Times of India, 14.10.2014, p.12, 

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=India-hungrier-than-Lanka-Nepal-14102014012021