IITs To Offer Online Masters Degree In Engineering Education

To address the shortage of trained faculty at a large number of engineering colleges across India, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will launch an online part-time Masters' degree in Engineering Education program. This program will train engineering graduates in teaching skills as well as how to orient students towards engineering research. It is expected that by 2020, demand for engineering faculty will rise by 70%. The plan is to train 6,000 to 7,000 faculty members every year to be able to meet the market demand.

Source: 1st January, 2012 Hindustan Times

Panjab University To Scrap Old Courses With Few Takers

Panjab University (PU) authorities may soon scrap about two dozen old courses with few or no enrolments. Some of these courses are being offered since pre-Partition days. The curriculum and education of these courses have also not been changed since then. These courses will include certificate or diploma courses like Ratna, Bhushan, Budhiman, Vidwan, Adib, Adib Alim, Adib Fazil, Maulvi etc.

Source: 3rd January, 2012 Expressindia.com

More Than 5 Lakh New Jobs For 2012

Despite uncertainty of the economic scenario in 2012, it is expected that companies will hire more than 5 lakh employees this year. IT and ITeS sector alone is expected to generate three lakh jobs. Job opportunities in retail, healthcare, consumer durable, and defence sectors are also expected to multiply this year.

Source: 1st January, 2012 Indian Express

29,000 More Medical Seats By 2017

According to the 12th Five Year Plan, 30 new medical colleges will be set up across India and 29,000 seats for medical aspirants will be added to already existing ones by 2017. Out of these, 18,000 seats will be for undergraduate medical courses while 11,000 seats will be for postgraduate medical courses.

Source: 2nd January, 2012 Uniapply.in

Higher Education And Research Bill Likely To Be Passed In 2012

The government has already presented the Higher Education and Research Bill at the end of 2011 in Rajya Sabha that seeks to scrap the All India Council for Technical Education and the University Grants Commission and establish the National Commission on Higher Education and Research (NCHER) as a regulatory body for university education in India. NCHER will also monitor professional, medical, vocational and technical education across the country.

Source: 2nd January, 2012 Indiaedunews.net

Japan, Singapore And The US Offer Support To Re-Build Nalanda University In Bihar

The government project of constructing Nalanda International University at the site of the oldest university in the world (with the same name) is drawing interest and funds from several countries across Asia. The university is being planned as a globally competitive research institution and its planning board is being led by Mr. Amartya Sen, who is a professor at Harvard and a Nobel laureate. Countries that have offered support for the project include Japan, Singapore and, the United States.

Source: 2nd January, 2012 The Hechinger Report