Education Headlines 10th November, 2010

CAT 2010: This Time No Glitches On Day One

This year, the CAT exam began on 27th Oct. 2010. No technical glitches were reported on the first day. Last year, when the exam went online for the first time, many test centres reported technical glitches and due to that many students did not complete their test. The organisers of CAT can take a sigh of relief, as this year no technical error and other glitches were reported. This time, the IIMs and their US-based partners left no stone unturned to make sure that the students will not face any problem while taking this test. On the first day, not many students turned up for the test but the authorities were expecting a large number of students to take it up in the following few days.

Source: 28th Oct. 2010, DNAIndia

 

Yale Inked MoU With IIT And IIM To Train Faculty

Yale University has signed an MoU with a premier Indian Institute of Management and Technology to commence the Yale Leadership programme. The agreement was signed by President of Yale University Mr. Richard Levin, Director of IIT Kanpur Mr. S G Dhande and IIM Kozhikode Director Mr. Debasis Chatterjee. The Director of IIM Kozhikode Mr. Debasis Chatterjee said, "This MoU will create seamless boundaries for higher education and globalize Indians thought leadership while giving leaders an edge in global businesses." This initiative will help the institutes to share scientific, academic and technical information and enable them to exchange study materials related to academic leadership, to conduct joint workshops, seminars and conferences on academic leadership and management.

Source: 27th Oct.2010, Learn Hub

 

IGNOU All Set To Start New Science Programmes

IGNOU and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start a joint Centre of Excellence at the IBAB campus, Bangalore to commence MSc Programme in Bioinformatics and Applied Science. The programme will start under IGNOU's School of Science. Director and Professor of Bioinformatics, Mr. N. Yathindra said, "There is a serious dearth of professionals in this field in our country. The proposed programme is a unique programme, which is not being offered anywhere else in the country and will prepare manpower in Bio informatics and applied biotechnology." The programme is expected to start in the near future.

Source: 24th Oct. 2010, Newkerala.com

 

AIIMS Accused Of Violating Admission Norms

All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) has been accused by health ministry and students for violating post graduate admission norms. The institute gave special privilege to its students while hurting aspirants from other medical schools. UFIAIR Premier School accused the AIIMS for changing the procedure of admission just for the benefit its own students. Students have also alleged that the institute tried to secure more than the number of seats it is allowed. AIIMS offered 84 seats in general category across all disciplines this year. According to Supreme Court (SC) norms, it was allowed to admit 30 candidates from their own institute. However, AIIMS officials did not deny the alleged charges, and said, "unconscious error would be corrected." AIIMS conduct PG admissions twice a year and has denied setting aside 50% of its seats for the All India Post Graduate Medical Test in violation of government norms and SC rulings.

Source: 28th Oct. 2010, Hindustan Times

 

Supreme Court Issued Notice To States on Common Entrance Exam

The Supreme Court asked for the response of all the states, union territories and associations of private medical colleges on a petition by the Medical Council of India (MCI) seeking to implement Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to MBBS and post-graduate medical courses across the country. A bench of Justice Mr. R.V. Raveendran and Justice Mr. H.L. Gokhale issued the notices, on an application filed by the MCI according to which CET for MBBS and post-graduate medical courses would provide a single eligibility-cum-entrance examination. As per the proposed move for medical colleges, MCI's counsel Mr. Amarinder Saran told that the proposed of the new entrance test for under graduate and post graduate courses would make this admission process simple and hassle free while making the admission process more friendly for students. He also mentioned that with the help of this proposed move they will be able to prevent malpractices and irregularities that are taking place during the admission process.

Source: 22nd Oct. 2010, The Hindu

 

Aptitude Test To Replace The Optional Subjects At Civil Service Prelims

The Union Public Service Commission has introduced a new syllabus for preliminary exams, replacing the optional subjects with an aptitude test. It will prove to be a major step towards changing the pattern for the civil services entrance exams. The new pattern will be implemented from 2011 exams, and this will have two papers. The first will be General Studies, which includes current events, Indian history, geography, polity, economic and social development, general issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change - not requiring subject specialisation - and General science. The second paper, which will be the aptitude test, will comprise aptitude skills as well as comprehension, interpersonal skills, logical reasoning, decision making and problem solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy and English language comprehension skills of class 10th level.

Source: 20th Oct. 2010, Newkerala.com