If girls are educated, ‘angels’ will be found everywhere

Women must be properly educated and given training in skill building so that they could find their rightful place in society. If girls are educated, “angels” will be found everywhere. If all educated girls speak with one voice it will be a great voice.
This was stated by President Pratibha Patil at a function to mark the quasquicentennial celebrations (125 years) of the Isabella Thoburn College, first Christian women’s college of Asia, here on Wednesday. Ms. Patil expressed her deep concern at the rising trend of crimes against women and called upon the law and order enforcing authorities as well as society to create a safe and secure environment for women. She lamented that even as the country entered the 21st century, families were worried about lack of security for their women members. She suggested that girls be taught judo and karate for self-defence. “Self-defence is the best form of defence,” she said.The President noted that in Rajasthan, where she had served as Governor, young girls were inducted in the police.
The social condition of a nation could be gauged by the standing and status of its women. There was a strong correlation between women’s education and their overall progress, including their economic development. Ms. Patil pointed to illiteracy and lack of access to education and deprivation, which have existed along with the success stories of educated women, and felt this should reinforce the commitment to achieve the goal of education for all.

“A paradox of sorts exists as far as women in India are concerned. On the one hand they have proved to undertake all types of missions and works and on the other they faced numerous challenges and discriminations emanating from social prejudices and social evils.” While expressing dismay at incidents of female foeticide, practice of dowry and the helpless condition of widows, she said these issues needed to be handled by governments and society. Women’s empowerment was the need of society and the nation. As the country made progress on gender mainstreaming, more women would become partners in the activities of the nation and society.
The President emphasised a “forward looking and comprehensive approach” to meet the challenges of an “evolving society.” A special first day cover to mark the 125 years of the Isabella Thoburn College was released by the President. She also unveiled a plaque. Two college publications were released by Governor B.L. Joshi.
The college had a humble beginning. It started off as a small school in a small room in the Aminabad locality here on April 18, 1870. Six girls, whose names are unknown, were its first students. It became the Lucknow Women’s College in July 1886. The institution owes it present name to the first American woman missionary and educationist, Isabella Thoburn. The college, which is affiliated to the Lucknow University, today has about 4000 students.
Among the alumni are Mohini Giri, Laxmi Menon, Rajmata Vijaye Raje Scindia of Gwalior, Urdu fiction writers, Ismat Chughtai and Quraitullain Hyder, Mumtaz Jaan Haider, the first woman IAS officer, Asha Joshi and Sandhya Sahay.

Caste bias on the rise, Students availing of fee reimbursement plan targeted

Caste discrimination in colleges across the state, specifically in professional colleges, is on the rise. This is more so in the case of students availing of the fee reimbursement scheme. With the delay in government releasing the funds for colleges, the managements are forcing students to paythe amount. Students from SC, ST and BC categories, who are not in a position to pay, are facing discrimination. Some managements are allegedly even making casteist remarks and insulting students who fail to pay fees.
The government had directed all the colleges to maintain separate complaint registers to enable students to lodge such complaints. It had also warned the colleges of severe action if they resort to such practices. However, the government has failed to initiate any steps to check the errant managements. As a result, the associations have approached the University Grants Commission. The government was forced to act recently after the UGC intervened in the issue.
UGC joint secretary Dr K.C. Pathak has issued a circular to all the universities to curb caste discrimination in university colleges and affiliated colleges. In a circular, Dr Pathak stated that, “Several instances have come to the notice of the UGC on caste discrimination in higher education institutes. It has been emphasised that they should desist from any act of discrimination against students on grounds of their social origin. The university/institute/college should develop a page on their website for lodging such complaints of caste discrimination and also place a complaint register in the registrar/ prin cipal office for the purpose.” The government has circulated the UGC orders to all the universities and directed them to ensure its implementation.

Rural areas to get dedicated docs soon

The 3.5-year short-term medical course, which aims to raise a new cadre of health workers who will exclusively serve in rural and backward areas, is all set to become a reality. On October 19, Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad gave the Medical Council of India (MCI) a three-week deadline to endorse this new course, failing which the ministry will issue a directive to the MCI to recognize and roll out the course.
Azad told TOI that the course enjoys the backing of all state governments, and blamed an apathetic MCI for the tardiness.  “We have made up our mind to introduce the Bachelor of Rural Medicine (BRM) degree. Sometimes the MCI gets influenced by its own fraternity. With doctors unwilling to serve in rural areas, even after being given incentives, we are left with no choice but to introduce a new cadre of health workers,” Azad told TOI.  He added “We want an MCI stamp on the degree to make it universally recognized. The syllabus of the course is ready and it is need based. If MCI endorses it, students will get the confidence that the degree has a standing. If MCI does not agree, we will send them a directive that it has to adhere to.”  Union health secretary P K Pradhan said “The degree-holders will be rural public health officers and will look after primary and preventive healthcare. However, they won’t carry out surgeries.”
Pradhan endorsed the plan that all new BRM cadre would be given a career progression incentive, and they would be promoted to public health officers after serving for 10 years.  India is facing an acute shortage of human resources in health – the sting of which is being faced by the flagship National Rural Health Mission, and the vulnerable population in rural, tribal and hilly areas is extremely underserved.  In 2006, only 26% of doctors in India lived in rural areas, serving 72% of the population. Another study found the urban density of doctors is about four times that in rural areas, and that of nurses about three times higher. As of March, 2010, undue delays in recruitments resulted in vacancies even in available posts at health centres. Over 34% of male health workers, 38% of radiographers, 16% of laboratory technicians, 31% of specialists, 20% of pharmacists and 17% of ANMs and 10% of doctors’ posts were lying vacant. Overall, human resources in health shortfalls range from 63% for specialists to 10% for allopathic doctors.
The BRM also got the backing of the Planning Commission’s high level expert group (HLEG) on universal health coverage. The panel said, by 2022 India should have BRMC colleges in all districts that have a population of over 5 lakh.  It suggested that the course should focus on “high quality of competence in preventive, promotive and rehabilitative services required for rural populations with focus on primary healthcare.” It recommended that course should be mandated through legislation that a graduate of the BRHC programme is licenced to serve only in notified areas in the government health system. The panel, however, made it clear that the BRMS would be a unique training programme aimed at the basic healthcare needs of its target population.   The number of allopathic doctors registered with the MCI has increased since 1974 to 6.12 lakhs .

IIM-K cuts fees by 3%, Move To Save Students From Inflationary Pressure

IIMs are often in the news for raising their tuition fees. IIM-Kozhikode has bucked that trend, and has decided to roll back its tuition fees by Rs 30,000 per annum for its prestigious post-graduate programme from the 2012-13 academic session.The reduction is 3% of the total fee, and students would have to pay around Rs 9.7 lakh per annum.
Director Debashis Chatterjee told TOI the decision has been taken to protect students from the inflationary pressure in the economy. He said, “We have observed that during the last two years the student loan rates have increased between 2% to 4% per annum putting additional burden on the students. As a socially conscientious institute, IIM-K believes that its students be protected from steep increase in fee as most of our students avail student loans for their studies. Ten per cent of our students come from families that have an annual income of Rs 1 lakh or less.” He added, “IIM-Kozhikode has decisively shifted its orientation from exclusive elitism to inclusive excellence.”
The institute is also planning to start an orientation program for SC/ST underprivileged students with its pioneering Centre for Research and Social Transformation(CREST).Chatterjee admitted that the Rs 30,000 fee-waiver would result in the IIM-K’s loss of revenue of about Rs 1.2 crore annually. “We will also be increasing our post-graduate programme intake to 400 students from the academic session 2012-13, in spite of serious constraints in our infrastructure and acute water scarcity. This will offset the reduction in our income.” At present, the PG programme’s strength is 320.
Besides slashing the fee, Chatterjee is proposing to introduce a group of scholarships to support high achievers and contributors to the national cause. It has been decided to give full fee-waiver to 1% of students, having proven record of excellence in academics, sports, extracurricular or social activities through awards or recognitions at national or international level. Full fee-waiver would also be given to children of martyrs belonging to military, para-military or police personnel, who died in action.
POSITIVE MOVE
• 30,000 fees deduction/ annum
• Now, the students would have to pay . 9.7L/ annum
• Fee-waiver would result 1.2C/ Annum revenue loss
• Shifts focus from exclusive elitism to inclusive excellence

Notifications out for SI Posts

 The AP state level Police Recruitment Board on Thursday issued notification for the recruitment of 2,296 sub-inspectors, including 1,238 posts of civil SIs, 406 reserve SIs in AP Special Police and 301 SIs in Armed Reserve and 230 women SIs in civil and 21 fire officers. Those interested can download the application from http://www.apstatepolice.org.

Call for Minority Scholarships
The minister for minorities welfare Mr Mohammed Ahamadullah on Wednesday said that the registration for post-matric scholarships for minority students has been opened for the current academic year 2011-12. The students have to apply online for the scholarships under fresh category through website http://www.apsmfc.com, by November 21.

Telangana factor has not impacted job sector

Monster India, a leading online recruitment portal, has said the ongoing agitation for separate Telangana in the State has not impacted job recruitment so far. The promoters of the leading website are, however, cautiously watching the situation as any disruption in services could impact the business. “We cannot ignore the developments. The ongoing agitation has not had any impact so far, but there is a concern,” Monster India managing director Sanjay Modi said at a press conference here on Thursday.
Mr. Modi was here on Thursday to announce the launch of ‘Monster College’, a pan Indian hiring initiative, aimed at providing seamless connectivity between professional colleges and employers. As a first step in this direction, the portal had signed an agreement with Syntel. A leading IT and BPO firm, for help in sourcing the right talent from close to 2,000 engineering colleges across the country. He said the Hyderabad job market had not shown any declining trend in spite of the developments. The city had in fact witnessed positive growth trend in the job market, especially IT, IT enabled services and manufacturing segments.
On the recruitment market, he said though there was no impact of the slowdown on the segment which registered 12 per cent growth, the companies appeared cautious as they were not clear on the developments in the United States and the United Kingdom. While there was no impact of slowdown on the employment segment, there was no let up in the attrition levels to which stood at 4 per cent a month, he added.

24% rise in H1-B visas to Indians

More Indian skilled professionals are apparently winging their way to the US again. The US government has reported a 24% increase in H1-B visas to Indians between 2010 and 2011.In a statement on Tuesday, the US embassy in India said specialized skills work visas for Indians had increased from 54,111 in 2010 to 67,195 in 2011.
The US statement comes on the back of sustained Indian complaints from industry and the government that more and more Indian skilled workers trying to move to the US were being denied entry. Some Indian officials even pegged the rejections at an informal 20%. The Indian complaints were bolstered by statements made by US president Barack Obama seeming to suggest that importing Bangalore techies was bad for US business.
The US, however, rejected the Indian complaints. It said, “The 24% increase is tied to the highest ever H1-B application and issuance rates in the history of the US mission to India, and illustrates the booming nature of USIndia business relations.”It added, “India is the single largest beneficiary of H1-B visas by a wide margin: in the past four years, applicants in India have received more than twice as many H1-B visas as the four nexthighest countries combined.” The US also countered any suggestion that they were cracking down on L-1 (intra-company transfers) visas. It said, “India also remains the leader in issuances of L-1 (intra-company transfer) visas, issuing more than 25,000 L-1s in FY 2011 – or 37% of issuances worldwide.”

Fixing variable fee tough

The tough task of fixing the variable fee structure for professional colleges in the state awaits the state government. As per HC orders, the government will need to verify the audited accounts of over 3,000 professional colleges.
However, the department of higher education and the admissions and fee regulatory committee do not have any mechanism or human resources to take on such a huge task within a month. Though the managements of professional colleges were asked in 2006 to submit their audited accounts every year to the AFRC, they hardly ever do it. Last year, when AFRC issued a notification asking the managements to submit audited accounts, less than 100 professional colleges had responded.
The issue was discussed in a meeting held by deputy chief minister Damodara Raja Narasimha, who also holds the portfolio of higher education, with the officials of higher education department. The officials explained the “practical difficulties” involved in completing the task within a month. It was decided that these issues will be brought to the notice of the AdvocateGeneral to enable him to file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the HC orders.
The abolition of management quota seats also was discussed. The officials feel that there is no point in continuing with the management quota seats when there is no difference in the fee for convenor and management quota seats as per the HC orders.

Notification issued for 19,725 constable posts

The State government on Monday notified 19,725 posts of police constables and 704 posts of firemen in Fire Services Department with December 28 as the last day for receipt of applications.

The break-up of categories of constables to be recruited is : civil (men) 8,413; district armed reserve (men) 3,234; special armed reserve at central police lines, Amberpet (men) 93; AP Special Police (men) 4,270; special protection force (men) 645; civil (women) 2,976 and district armed reserve (women) 94.

The recruitment test for constables and 704 firemen of AP Fire and Emergency Services Department would be conducted by Police Department, said M. Malakondaiah, chairman, State-level Police Recruitment Board.

Candidates must be between 18 and 22 years as on July 1 for the post of constables. In the case of firemen, they should be between 18 and 30 years on the same date.
Applications would be received in all districts from November 14 to December 28.

MCI releases NEET syllabus

Even as the State government is awaiting response on its request to exclude the State from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to MBBS courses across the country, the Medical Council of India (MCI) released the syllabus for the examination on Friday.
A circular posted on the MCI website said that the syllabus has been prepared after review of various State syllabi as well as those prepared by CBSE, NCERT and COBSE. “This is to establish uniformity across the country keeping in view the relevance of different areas in medical education,” it said. However, confusion still prevails whether the State students have to take the EAMCET next year or NEET as there is no official communication from the Central government on State government’s request. Parents who called up The Hindu office expressed their displeasure on the government’s attitude that had first created confusion by saying that State would follow NEET, and after public outcry, backed out. “Students are tensed and the government should follow the issue on regular basis,” said the parents.
Officials are also unable to explain when the decision is likely to come. “We understand the urgency of students and will follow up the issue for expeditious decision,” an official said. ‘Syllabus prepared after review of State syllabi and those prepared by CBSE, NCERT, COBSE’
Confusion persists as there is no communication from Centre to Stat’s request for exclusion

Fun, Frolic & Festivals

Celebrating festivals and cultures bind man to his roots, traditions and beliefs. Traditionally festivals are celebrated as they spread joy, festivity and laughter. Apart from festivals, some days are celebrated in the memory of great national leaders. India celebrates Gandhi Jayanthi on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, Teachers’ Day on the birthday of Dr S Radhakrishnan on September 5, Children’s Day on the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru on November 14.

In the same breath, we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, Women’s Day on March 8, Friendship Day on August 1, Mother’s Day on second Sunday of May, Father’s Day on Second Sunday of June, Thanksgiving Day on fourth Thursday of November. With globalization taking place and the world entering our drawing rooms many of us celebrate all festivals and days as it marks an occasion and spreads happiness in our lives. We at TCG take a look at the festivals and days in the month of November.
 
Pushkar Fair: Pushkar Fair is one of the world’s largest camel fair and attracts thousands of visitors. Many of them flock to this fair for buying and selling livestock. Interesting competitions like ‘longest moustache’, ‘bridal competitions’ are held and there is sale of handicrafts. This festival ends on the day of Kartik Purnima and people flock to the ghats (banks) of Pushkar Lake at dawn for a bath and visit to the Brahma temple. It is believed that the waters of the Lake have mystical powers that would help in washing away people’s sins.

Bakra Eid/ Eid al-Adha: Across the globe Bakra Eid or Eid al-Adha is celebrated to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s faith and belief in God, as he was ready to sacrifice his son on the order of God. This day also marks the close of annual pilgrimage, Hajj. On this day, Muslims sacrifice domestic animals, such as goat, sheep, lamb, cow or camel. The animals are brought to their homes and well looked after before being sacrificed. The sacrificed animal is divided into three parts, one for the family, second for distribution to friends and relatives and third to the poor. The celebration of this festival too depends on the sighting of the crescent moon. On this day, men shave their heads and women cut a portion of their hair from their plait.

Gurpurab/ Guru Nanak Jayanti – According to the Hindu calendar, Gurpurab or Guru Nanak Jayanti is celebrated on the full moon day of Kartik month as Sikh religion founder and first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, was born on this day. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born in 1469 A.D. at Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi, presently in Pakistan. Special programmes and kirtans are held at Gurdwaras and homes and they are decorated and illuminated.

Prabhat Pheris, early morning processions, beginning from the Gurdwaras pass through the nearby localities singing ‘shabads’ (hymns) and on the day of the festival, Guru Granth Sahib (Holy Scripture) is also carried in a procession on a decorated float that is lead by Panj Pyaras (five armed guards) carrying the Nishan Sahib (the Sikh flag). Prior to this a three-day Akhand path (non-stop reading of the scripture) is held. Many of them work in community kitchens as part of karseva.

Many children must be aware of the anecdote of the Guru with a person near a masjid. The tale goes that Guru Nanak Dev Ji was one day woken up by a person and said that his legs were facing the god, he promptly told that person to shift his legs to that side where god was not there. After this, whichever side the person shifted Guru Nank Dev Ji’s legs, he saw god. It clearly confirms the guru’s saying: God is one, but he has innumerable forms. He is the creator of all and He himself takes the human form.

Kartik Poornima: Kartik Poornima is a Hindu festival and coincides with Guru Nanak Jayanthi. There are many names to this day like Tripuri Poornima/ Tripurari Poornima, Deva-Diwali/ Deva-Deepawali - festival of lights of the gods. It is believed that Lord Shiva killed demon Tripurasura with a single arrow to end his conquer of the whole world that he achieved by defeating the gods. It is also felt that Lord Vishnu’s fifth incarnation of Matsya (fish) took place on this day. Many of them perform Tulsi Vivah with Amla trees (Marriage of the Sacred fig and Citrus tree) on this day. Many people also take a dip in rivers as it is considered sacred. It also marks the culmination of month-long Kartik Snana (Kartik bath). 

On the day of Kartik Poornima, Jains undertake pilgrimage to foothills of Shatrunjay hills of Palitana taluka to worship Lord Adinath atop the hill.

Children’s Day/Bal Diwas: This day is celebrated to honour the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who loved children and was popularly called Chacha Nehru. Born on November14, 1889, to Motilal Nehru and Swaroop Rani at Allahabad, Jawaharlal Nehru was loved by all. Nehru after earning a post graduation degree from Cambridge University returned to India and began working for the poor and downtrodden. Swayed by Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru worked with him in the country’s freedom struggle and became the country’s first premier after India got Independence from the British.  

Nehru loved children and roses and compared them with rose buds saying that the young ones were like the buds in a garden, who had to be nurtured lovingly with great care. On this day, many schools have cultural programmes and sports competitions. The children freak out and schools too treat them with biscuits and chocolates. Nehru is well remembered for letters to his daughter Indira, while imprisoned by the British. His ‘Glimpses of World History’ and ‘Discovery of India’ are quite well known.

United Nations has designated November 20 as Children’s Day with a move to honour the children world over. This day is preceded by International Men’s Day on November 19 so that people realize the positive roles men play in children’s lives. November 19 also happens to be the birthday of India’s first woman premier Indira Gandhi.

Thanksgiving Day: This day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November as part of a holiday season. In the US, this day is celebrated as one of the six important holidays along with Christmas, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labour Day. According to records, the first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 local Americans and the First Thanksgiving was celebrated to thank God for looking after them.

Muharram: Muharram happens to be Islamic calendar’s first month and moves from year to year in comparison to the Gregorian calendar. For Muslims, Muharram happens to be one of the four sacred months of the year and people should stay away from fighting. Apart from fasting in the month of Ramadan, some Muslims fast during these days too. Some Muslims are of the opinion that Muharram is a period of mourning, commemorating the Battle of Karbala.

Festival Dates
November 2 – 10 – Pushkar Fair
November 6 - Bakra Eid/ Eid al-Adha
November 10 – Gurpurab/ Guru Nanak Jayanti
November 10 – Kartik Poornima
November 14 – Children’s Day/Bal Diwas
November 24 – Thanksgiving Day
December 6 - Muharram

Dhoni too joins the ranks of Kapil & Sachin

First it was Kapil Dev then Sachin Tendulkar and now Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Abhinav Bindra. Can you guess what is common in all of them? Yes, apart from being sportsmen, all of them have become honorary Lieutenant Colonels in the Territorial Army. Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh pinned ranks on the shoulders India’s cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Olympian gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra at a ceremony recently. Dhoni has been commissioned into the elite Para Regiment, while Bindra was commissioned into the Sikh Regiment. The respective regiment chiefs Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia and Lt. Gen. Sumer Singh were also present on the occasion.
 
It was only on September 13 that President Pratibha Patil had approved the grant of honorary commissions to the two illustrious sportspersons in recognition of their achievements in their respective sports. The Indian cricket captain successfully led the country to victory in the World Cup this year and helped the team to reach the pinnacle in Test rankings for the first time in 2010. In 2007, Dhoni also led the team to victory in the inaugural T20 World championship.

Donning the Olive Green uniform, Bindra said that he would now build bridges with the army. Bindra was conferred the honour for winning the only individual Olympic gold medal for India at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Happy at donning the maroon beret, Dhoni said that his childhood dream had come true and he would make every effort to live up to it. He said that becoming a member of the elite Parachute Regiment involved rigorous combat and airborne operations training and he would soon find time to train for it. The cricketer who had earlier interacted with the army on several occasions said that he would motivate the youth to serve the country by joining the army.

Just like the cricket team which has members from all over the country, Dhoni too opted for the Para Regiment that had members from all the regiments of the Indian Army. Along with Dhoni and Bindra, the army also honoured a doctor by profession, Deepak Rao, a martial arts specialist, who has trained nearly 15,000 army troops in close quarter combat, with the rank of a Major. In 2008, Kapil Dev was conferred the honorary Lt. Col. rank in the Territorial Army and in 2010, Tendulkar was made honorary Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Shot at History:

Apart from receiving the honorary honour, Bindra has been in the news for his book and his dream of London Olympics. Releasing the book of the Olympic champion, ‘A shot at history’ written by Rohit Brijnath and published by Harper Collins, in Delhi, Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken said that he hoped that the photo of Abhinav Bindra would not be replaced from the corridors of the Sports Ministry for the next century. The minister said that the Olympic medalist had achieved the feat without much support from the government or anyone else. Maken said that the book should be an eye opener for people to excel in life.
Recalling his failure at the Athens Games in 2004, Bindra said that it had taught him that there was no guarantee in sport no matter how well you do everything right. He said that he learnt that one had to be perfect on an imperfect day. However, somebody had convinced him then that his time would come and it came four years later in 2008 at Beijing.
The Olympian said that the country too needed to make strides in the arena of sports. He said that in this respect China could be emulated as it won its first shooting gold in 1984, even though many would not agree to send their five-year-olds to far off training centres to become champions.

Speaking about the 2012 London Olympics, Bindra said that he was hopeful of clinching another medal. He stated that he would work very hard and give his best for a medal at the Olympics. The ace marksman had secured a place in the London Olympics after finishing a poor eighth in the 10m air rifle event of the Shooting World Cup in Munich in June this year.

Speaking on India’s prospects, the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awardee said that all shooters- Gagan Narang, Hariom Singh, Sanjeev Rajput, Ronjan Sodhi, Annuraj Singh, Rahi Sarnoba, Vijay Kumar - qualified for the Olympics were capable of winning medals and some of them had won laurels recently too.

Born on September 28, 1982 to Apjit and Babli Bindra at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Abhinav Bindra, currently is the World and Olympic champion in the 10m Air Rifle event. The gurus to spot the talent in the young lad were Amit Bhattacharjee and Lt. Col. Dhillon. In the year 2000, he happened to be the youngest and scored 590 to be placed 11th in the qualification round. Currently training under five-time Olympic shooter Gabriele Bühlmann of Switzerland, Bindra hopes to win more honours.

It was a proudest moment for Bindra in 2010, when at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony he got the honour of leading the Indian contingent. He also took the athletes’ oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories.

Bindra did his schooling at Doon School, Dehradun, and his graduation in Bachelors in Business Management from University of Colorado, US. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctorate in Masters of Business Management and Diploma in Sports Mental Management from Munich. However, on September 8, 2008, he was conferred Honorary Doctorate in Literature from SRM University, Chennai.

Box

Honour Scroll
·    2008 - Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist 700.5
·    2010 - Gold and Silver Medalist at Intershoot Netherlands
·    2007 - Gold Medalist Air Rifle Australian Cup, Sydney
·    2006 - World Champion Air Rifle World Championship Zagreb
·    2006 - Common Wealth Games, Melbourne – Gold, Silver, Bronze medalist
·    2005 - Asian Shooting Championship Bangkok - Gold Medalist
·    2005 - National Champion
·    2004 - Broke the Olympic Record of 96 Atlanta Olympics at Athens Olympics
·    2004 - Common Wealth Games Record Holder
·    2004 - Athens Olympics (Finalist)

Awards:

      • 2009 - Padma Bhushan
·    2009 - Rajiv Gandhi Award
·    2009 - Bharat Shiromani Award
·    2009 - India Youth Sports Icon
·     2001 - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
·     2000 - Arjuna Award

Are you right for the job?

The aim of selection process is to match individual skills, abilities and experience with the requirements of the job. When this matching fails, both employer and employee suffer in terms of performance and satisfaction. In order to find the right job fit, selection begins with assessing the demands and requirements of the job. In order to find a right job fit, we need a right job description. The process of creating a proper job description is by job analysis.  Job analysis involves developing detail description of the tasks involved in a job, determining the relationship of a given job to other jobs and ascertaining the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for an employee to successfully perform the job. Job analysis is important to keep the attention of employers in selection process.

 Most important parts of a selection process are resume, interviews, group discussions, tests and references. Let us try to understand more details about each process.

RESUME
Resume is the first step in the selection process. It provides pertinent information about the employee, which the company needs if the individual is hired. Information on the resume is concerned with the professional history and skills. It includes previous work history with employment dates, job responsibilities and duties, education and trainings and objective in seeking an employment. Well written resume is often a key to move into the second stage.
 INTERVIEWS
An interview is a conversation with a purpose. There are mainly three aims to be fulfilled i.e. obtaining information, giving information and motivation. Employment interview should provide an appraisal of personality by obtaining relevant information about the prospective employee’s background, his training, work history, education and interests. The interviewer should give information about the organization and job. Interview should be a friendly relationship between employer and employee. Sometimes types of interviews in selection process are:

Patterned Interview
This type of interview is well planned. It mostly measures the personality, motivation and interest that are required by an individual. The applicant suitability in regard to job competence and knowledge is evaluation through such means as school and work record, reference checks and tests.

Non- Directive Interview
Basic to the procedure is the minimum use of direct questions. Questions that can easily yield yes or no answer are avoided and instead general questions are substituted. It is felt that more an individual is allowed the freedom to talk about herself, without the limiting nature of direct questioning, the individual reveals her personality more as it really is and not as an individual thinks the interviewer wants it to appear.
Stress Interview
The stress interviewer in which the pressure is purposely put on the applicant may have some value for jobs where emotional balance is a key requirement. It involves putting the candidate under relatively severe emotional strain in order to test his responses. It is often characterized by the rapid firing of questions by several seemingly unfriendly interviewers.

GROUP DISCUSSIONS
The group discussion offers some promise for the appraisal of leadership and team work. Several job applicants are placed in a leaderless discussion and observers sit in the background to evaluate the performance of the applicants. The procedure has been to assign a topic for direction. In a group discussion, knowledge about the topic can also be assessed. Key point on which the observers focus is who assumes leadership, how conflicts are solved, how this is done and how members accept information. 

TESTS
Employers conduct selection tests mainly to determine an individual’s performance, accuracy and contribution to the work environment and job.  Tests are used to select those persons who are most likely to stay on the job.

Intelligence or mental ability test: They are used to measure ability to learn in an individual.

Clerical ability tests: They are used to measure aptitude to do simple work. They measure speed and accuracy with which an individual can perceive differences, sometimes verbal comprehension and mathematical ability and reasoning.

Mechanical ability tests: They measure ability to trouble shoot, spatial relation and assembly.

Personality tests: They are used to measure the non intellectual traits, most important for success or failure at work.

Interest tests: They are used to measure individual’s interests in terms of similarities with those people who are successful in their professions.

Achievement tests: They are used to measure specific performance related with the job.

REFERENCES
Many times applicants are required to produce documentary evidence that an individual’s performance is satisfactory in past positions. Such evidence is usually provided in the form of letters of recommendations or a letter of reference. These letters vary greatly in detail and information from writer to writer and such letters and statements are highly personalized, covering the characters and morals of the individual as well abilities and skills. And sometimes these letters are very limited in scope and only cover very few details and cover only dates of employment.

Psychological effects of Violent Media on Students

License to kill…..
Long long time ago, when the media didn’t invade our living rooms, people had to buy tickets to go and watch a movie. Usually parents would decide what was good for their kids and manage to see the movie without them, if need be.  And then in black and white, you can’t get very sacred of blood, right?

But now media is everywhere..you go for dinner, there’s TV playing there (even if it is on mute), you go to hotel to stay, the first thing the bell boy does is to switch on the TV in the room. Even hospital rooms and waiting halls are not spared of TV.
And what are the programs dished out on these TV channels?  Serials, news, movies, reality shows. And all of them nowadays have a generous dose of violence. Sometimes it is gory with weapons and blood, sometimes it is emotional with tears and taunts. But violence is there to stay.
And speak about movies. Have you come across a poster which did not show blood? Have you seen the newer and newer ways in which torture and killing are done? Now it’s no longer the simple trigger pulling! It’s all about big bad guys wielding primitive weapons and on a killing spree. Sometimes it is the hero who is doing it for cause and other times it is the villain. But the viewer gets caught  either way!
How does it impact the viewers? Do people forget after watching and get on with their lives? Or does the violence linger in the mind? Let’s find out.
Damage done to children’s minds
Durga Prasad, the father of a 6 year old daughter who lives in Singapore says, “ My daughter developed lot of fears due to violence in movies. She gets nightmares. She gets so scared, she gets up crying. She is afraid of adult males in places like metro stations and she asks us to take only taxis. Now we are avoiding all our movies.”
The damage done to this kid’s psyche cannot be undone very easily. Think of what kind of a life it is not to trust the goodness in humanity. How will she lead her adult life without using public transport? I am sure she will not express her fears and may be even learn to deal with them, but the subconscious mind will always be in a fearful mode.  She will have to unlearn mistrust and learn to trust others.
Ratna, a lady with teenaged kids reacts, “The repeated telecast of gory/violent/tragic incidents like acid attacks, road/train/air accidents, burglary (and the list goes on..) is very disturbing. Actually, the unending repeated telecasts of each and every news item puts me off. It seems so redundant and repetitive.
 Almost all the daily soaps in Telugu..There was a case pending  in SHRC about a serial too for violation of child rights. Almost all reality shows in Telugu, I hardly watch any of them.
And coming to movies, almost all recent releases always have posters where the hero wields a special weapon and there’s blood all over. And the movies have lot of meaningless violence.”
Sunanda, another parent with two school going children has taken precautions – they don’t have TV at home. They watch DVDs of some cartoons or healthy movies once in a way.
Neelu, the mother of a five year old says,” we watch mostly cartoons for her. She can handle the violence in them.  She thinks they are like fights among friends.But once we saw a murder movie and she was really scared. Since then she always asks us before a movie, ‘yeh bachhonwali hai?’”
But how many parents are so responsible? Do they have to sacrifice their entertainment? Don’t they deserve some TV or movie time after a day’s work?

Youth and violence
Deepa, a movie reviewer in her twenties says, “I hate violence in movies. But I watch it. It’s part of my job. But I can never become insensitive.”
Sailaja, a class IX student from Canada believes that there is a small possibility that youth can become violent because of the media they see. They may not realize it.
Sometimes I wonder if real life is learning from movies or reel life is showing the violence from the society. The news channels show crimes worse than those in the movies. So are they learning from movies? I personally feel movie is a very powerful medium and it needs to take itself seriously.

Violence in video games
Sailaja says, “I’ve seen the video games guys play. They’re so violent and guys are addicted, a couple friends of mine were on those games for 8 hours straight last night. I think with so much violence everywhere, people are becoming insensitive”
Gone are the days when video games were about eating carrots, digging a treasure, breaking a wall or winning a princess. Now there are games where the player is a suicide bomber! New weapons, strategies, how many people you can kill and the like are what thrills video gamers.

Fake vs real violence
Sailaja herself doesn’t mind the violence in movies and soaps, as she knows it is fake. But she just can’t stand violence shown in news channels. “It’s real, and makes me sad. I feel the world is getting destroyed.”
At times, the mindless live telecast of violent attacks has even sabotaged the rescue operations as seen in the Taj terrorist attack in Mumbai. 
Rahimuddin, a senior citizen says, “ The real crime stories make us feel there is no one to trust. They show how relatives or servants collude to kill old people for property or money. These episodes are enacted and shown. It is very scary. I can’t sleep peacefully. I am afraid to keep servants”

The good side of showing violence in news channels
Another youngster Adil feels this real violence has a useful angle to it, “ Showing atrocities on some castes or sections of society also helps us to realize that these evils need to be eradicated from society. I think it is good that such items are getting national attention and people like me want to do something about it”
A senior citizen Rukmini feels,” when they show real crimes on some shows, we can prepare ourselves to prevent such crimes”.

Media responsibility
Several times gory pictures of earthquakes, terrorist attacks, accidents and murders are flashed on news channels or in newspapers and magazines. There is a small statutory warning somewhere which says  that the pictures may be disturbing and should not be shown to children.
Similarly, many of the reality shows have a brief warning about viewers not attempting the stunts shown in the episode.
But these are like the ‘smoking is injurious to health’ type of warnings. Does it really prevent anyone from becoming a smoker?
Media must be more responsible in reporting. In the mad rush for improving TRP ratings, all semblance of ethics and morals are gone. Even laws are not helping. No one cares as they are never enforced.
Is the world really going to dogs? Is doomsday not very far?
Seeing the violence in media, one feels very dejected. Isn’t there no good in the society? Is the world coming to an end? NO. That’s not true.
I believe that media only wants to highlight what is sensational, what is out of ordinary and what is rare. That’s what determines the ratings. Imagine if media showed the sunrise and sunset every day, people wouldn’t care. But the ‘rare’ eclipse will bring lot of eye balls. Astronomically, both events are equally profound.
If media were to cover all the good things in the world, a 20 page newspaper wouldn’t be enough. Nor would a 24 hr news channel. Its only because ‘violence’ is rare it is showcased. And that it has to be shown repeatedly for two to three days.
Few years back when started doing some social work, I was surprised that there are many organizations and many people working for the good of some section of the society or the other. You name the cause and you find hundreds of efforts – education, gild child, environment, old people, destitutes, street children, disabled, peace. The list can go on. None of these efforts get media attention. Even if they do, it is a very small item in a news channel or a small paragraph in a remote corner of page 8 of a newspaper. You need to have specially designated days to remember them – like world disabled day. You don’t have such days for bad, right? Every day is a robber’s day, a terrorist’s day, a murderer’s day..think about it.
What can you do?
So youngsters, there is hope in this world. Take the violence with a pinch of salt! It has always been there in the society. It’s only getting showcased now as never before. But focus on the good. And you will notice that the good keeps growing. This is the power of collective consciousness. If most of the humanity can think good thoughts, the energy levels and frequencies of the society will change and more good will come. If we focus on the bad, THAT will increase. We attract what we think. So when you see a real news item reporting violence, you will do a greater service by sending out your love to the victims rather than hatred for the perpetrators. Not to say they should be left scot free. It’s YOUR focus we are talking about. In any case, law will take action and they will be punished.
Uma Garimella is an expert on teaching learning process and regularly conducts workshops for teachers and students through the organization she founded: Teacher’s Academy. She is a consultant at Centre for Education Technology and Learning Sciences, IIIT-H and Honorary Director, Centre for Faculty Development and Management, NMREC, Hyderabad. www.TheProfessor.in

King Khan

Live life king size goes the old adage and that holds true for Bollywood King Khan, Shahrukh Khan, who turns 46 on November 2 this year. Metros and cities across the country and world are agog with King Khan’s latest venture Ra. One. Reports in the media state that the movie is a super duper success and has already raked in 176 cr moolah and set to earn more laurels despite the negative sentiments.

Speaking about the success of his latest release, Ra. One, Khan said that he made the film after his kids said that he did not make anything for them. For this reason, he decided to something different and science fiction took off. The actor said that he hadn’t forgotten his early days when his films failed to ring the cash registers. He said that to highlight the film, he entered into a deal with UTV Indiagames to launch Ra. One game across social networks and gaming platforms.

All credit for the social avatar of his character - G.One surely must solely go to Shahrukh only. Agreeing that it was no longer the days of posters and trailers, Shahrukh added films needed to be promoted more aggressively and hence the game for Ra. One.

The actor revealing the story plot said that the movie is about a father-son with lot of special effects, action tale about a video game designer who finds the real and virtual worlds melting. He said that the title ‘Ra. One’ is short for Random Access 1.0 and also a pun on 10-headed Lanka King Ravan.

Describing the Bollywood Badshah, Ra. One director Anubhav Sinha said that the actor had this ability to be the perfect combination of who he was and what the public wanted him to be. He said that the actor was very spontaneous. Recalling an incident, Sinha said that during the production of ‘Ra.One’, he had asked the actor to record a birthday video for his son, to see when he would be away, instead the actor sang and danced for him holding everyone’s attention.

Unmoved by all the praises heaped on him, a grounded Shahrukh says that he has faced a lot of failures. He said that people had written him off after his film ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ produced under his banner tanked at the box office. Not to forget the internet company that also bombed.

Khan states that he doesn’t take any advance from any one, but believes that people who work with him will not suffer as he is good. With over 70 films behind him, actor, producer and television presenter Shahrukh made his Bollywood debut in Deewana in 1992. Since then slowly and steadily, King Khan has been climbing each ladder successfully. His films that have driven people crazy are Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De! India (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). However, even till date films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and My Name Is Khan (2010) have been earning revenue in the overseas markets.

With 14 Filmfare Awards under his belt, Shahrukh has received eight of these in the Best Actor category, which is a record for any actor. For his contributions towards Indian cinema, the Union Government honoured Shahrukh with the Padma Shri in 2005.

The actor became popular on the small screen for his role as Commando Abhimanyu Rai in Fauji and as the son of a circus owner in Aziz Mirza’s Circus. The actor has been compared to the veteran thespian Dilip Kumar for his acting style. Khan etched his name in the hearts of the people for his portrayal in Darr and Baazigar.

Khan has worked with every top director be it Yash Chopra, Mani Ratnam, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Karan Johar or Sanjay Leela Bhansali to give one hit after another. In the same breath, he has worked with Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai but has been paired with Kajol in six films, which have been runaway hits.
    
Coming from the heart of Delhi, Shahrukh has earned a place in the dil of every filmgoer. He has a hand in everything beginning from films, TV shows, advertisements, owning teams in Indian Premier League and F1 racing. Starting his career as a negative hero, Shahrukh soon reversed roles to that of a hero to say “Main Hoon Na” when people looked around for saleable heroes.   

Shahrukh has won the hearts of his fans by his charismatic image and witty humour. An Oscar would have been Shahrukh’s, only if he had said a big yes to director Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. The actor had refused to don the mantle of a host show in the movie which later went to Anil Kapoor. The Badshah said that ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was a very nice movie, however, it was not an Indian movie.

Many Bollywood actors have wax statues in Madame Tussauds, but King Khan has two- one here and the other in France. Just like his films, his stage shows too are also very popular. Like the Bollywood Shahenshah, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh has also hosted the very popular television show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.

Born to Taj Mohammed Khan and Lateef Fatima on November 2, 1965 Shahrukh did his schooling at St Columbas in Delhi, graduation in economic honours from Hansraj College and Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia.

Married to Gauri Chibber, Shahrukh is blessed with a daughter and son. Come Christmas and Shahrukh’s ‘Don 2: The Chase Continues’ will hit the screens. We at TCG wish Shahrukh Good Luck.

Careers in Social Media Marketing

Social Media is a platform easily accessible by anyone with access to internet. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns. With emergence of channels like Twitter, the barrier to entry in social media is greatly reduced. Social media marketing is known as SMO or Social Media Optimization and benefits organizations and individuals by providing an additional channel for customer support, a means to gain customer and competitive insight, recruitment and retention of new customers/business partners, and a method of managing reputation online.

1.    Social Media Marketing Manager: A social media marketing manager oversees the implementation of different social media programmes for clients. Such programmes could include social bookmarking, news, networking and tagging sites that include Delicious, Digg, Facebook and Stumbleupon.
2.    Reputation Manager: Due to the nature of the Internet, there can be times when negative information about a company or product shows up in search engines. A reputation manager strives to have negative information removed or takes measures to lower it in the search rankings.
3.    Copywriter: While a copywriter is typically employed to write sales letters, brochures, websites or ads, he can prove valuable in the area of social media marketing as well. Writing articles for social bookmarking and news sites or strategic updates for social networking sites can drive traffic to a client’s website.
4.    Link Builder: Backlinks are one of the most important elements to online marketing. A link builder creates these links to lead to your website. Search engines view a click on a link to your site as a “vote.” The more votes received, the more important your site is in the eyes of search engines, and the higher your ranking will be. A link builder uses all elements of social media to place links and create high-quality backlinks.

Social media is also being used to collect valuable data on trends in the marketplace, as almost all networks now feature applications to track popular subjects. A marketing professional may simply research the number of searches and likes of a particular subject or could undergo a process as complex as creating quizzes and inviting users to surveys in order to gain feedback to be used in marketing research. Many marketing degree programmes are now teaching students these new methods of information gathering.

1. Social media strategist/digital strategist
Chris Marlow calls this job “the top of the heap” in social media. These experienced marketing strategists understand how to create social-media marketing campaigns and measure their success. They may oversee a social-media team at bigger companies. “They’re the people who put together a plan,” she says.

2. Community manager
At Spherion subsidiary Mergis Group, recruiting practice director Greg Bennett says he recently filled a $120,000-a-year community manager position with a major company. Community managers oversee company blogs and forums, keeping visitors coming to the site through outreach on social sites, and moderating conversation to make sure nothing libelous or insulting is being said. The job calls for marketing experience as well as work in Web publishing, copywriting, project management and social media. Bennett says his recruiting research turned up several other, similar positions already earning in the same range. “Everyone I see wants the same thing,” he says. “Someone who is a marketing person but has been heavily involved in social media – they know how to run online symposiums, draw people into the company’s community, and keep them in.”

3. Blogger
Posting short articles filled with links to related Web sites has become a popular technique for improving a site’s rankings in search engines, such as Google. Marlow says $35 to $75 an hour is typical corporate blogger pay. Many bloggers have journalism training, but others who enter the field have their own personal blogs and use them to audition for corporate blogging jobs.

4. Social media marketing specialist
The virtual-world version of a marketing specialist, this job entails taking existing company marketing materials and circulating them effectively in various social-media channels, says Durbin.

5. Search engine marketing associate
A lower-level position than a social-media strategist or marketer, search engine marketing (SEM) associates work on building a company’s results in “natural search,” the unpaid results delivered by Google and other search engines.

6. Online customer service representative
A growing number of companies are watching social sites for customer complaints on social media sites – prominent examples on Twitter include Comcast Cares and Best Buy’s Twelpforce. “There’s a lot of work here, because it’s so expensive to take calls,” says Durbin of JobsInSocialMedia. Workers with call-center experience who write well are ideal candidates to cross over into this field.

Teach for India Fellowship

A lack of education is the root of several major issues in India, and the right education for all our citizens has the potential to solve all these problems at one time:

•    If we educate India in the right way, our citizens will gain the necessary skills to survive in a competitive world. This would lead to better paying jobs and a higher standard of living, hence solving the crisis of poverty.
•    If we educate India in the right way, our citizens will have a broader mindset. This would lead to greater tolerance and an appreciation for all religions, hence solving the crises of religious violence and caste discrimination.
•    If we educate India in the right way, our citizens will be able to better understand the negative repercussions and immoral nature of fraudulent activities, hence solving the crisis of corruption.
•    If we educate India in the right way, our citizens will shy away from radical ideologies and will not be acquiesced easily, hence solving the crisis of terrorism.
•    If we educate India in the right way, our citizens will gain a moral conscience, and realize the worth of a human life and the position of women in society, hence solving the crisis of human rights violations.
Education goes far beyond writing your name, or reading a book. It is truly about transforming the entire nation.
India is currently facing one of the worst educational crises in the world. If you can read this page - you should feel extremely privileged. As an Indian citizen, the odds that you can read are just barely in your favor - 30% of India is illiterate. Besides the literacy rate being despicable

•    Our classrooms are understaffed (1 in 4 teachers will be absent on any given day)
•    Our teachers could be more engaged (Only 50% are likely to be teaching at any given time)
•    Our drop-out rate is unusually high (More than 1 in 3 children who begin primary school will drop out before reaching 5th grade)
•    Our education spend is relatively low (India spends only 3.3 percent of its GDP on education, compared to an average 5.8 percent in developed countries)
If we want to change these numbers, we need to wake up, and be the change. We need each and every citizen of India to be a significant part of the solution. We need to lead our country out of this crisis.
Theory of Change
Teach For India believes that in order for the country to achieve educational equity for all children, we need a movement of leaders across sectors who are committed to and will work toward ensuring that every child in India receives an excellent education.
•    To build this movement of leaders, Teach For India recruits India’s most outstanding college graduates and young professionals to serve as teachers in low-income schools for two years. In the short run, these young leaders act as a source of dedicated teachers in government and low-income private schools. Teach For India provides resources, training, and support to the Fellows so they can employ innovative teaching strategies and maximize their effectiveness in the classroom. During the two-years, Fellows gain important knowledge and experience of India’s educational system and its challenges, which enables them to provide solutions to problems faced within their classrooms and school communities.
•    In the long-run, Teach For India will build a powerful and ever-growing leadership force of alumni who, informed by their experiences and insights, will work from inside and outside the educational system to effect fundamental, long-term changes necessary to ultimately realize educational opportunity for all. Upon completion of their two years of service, Teach For India Alumni will collaborate through the organization’s Alumni Network, and regardless of the career path they choose after their Teach For India Fellowship, will work toward fighting educational inequity in India.
What does the Teach For India Fellowship entail?

The Teach For India Fellowship is a two-year paid assignment during which Fellows are placed as full-time class teachers in low-income schools. Throughout the Fellowship, Teach For India Fellows help close the achievement gap by leading their students to significant academic gains. In the second year of the Fellowship, Fellows implement a school-wide project to address one major obstacle to learning in their community.

Teach for India are Looking for

Applicant prerequisites:

Young and experienced professionals and students in their final year of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, are encouraged to apply.

Undergraduate degree - You must have completed all coursework required for your undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s degree equivalent) from an accredited college or university by last week of May 2012. You also must have received a secondary school diploma in order to be considered for admission.

Academic Record:

Both your graduate (and post-graduate transcripts if you are a post-graduate student) will be reviewed with scrutiny before an admission decision can be taken. Applicants must also pass any coursework indicated in their transcripts as in progress at the time of the interview.

Indian national/foreign national status:

Teach For India accepts applications from: 1) Indian citizens and 2) foreign nationals of Indian origin. Foreign citizens who are not of Indian origin are not eligible to apply.

Commitment and Location:

All applicants must be willing to make a full-time commitment to teaching and living in one of our placement cities (Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad) starting June 2012 to be part of the Teach For India Fellowship. Fellows of the program will be full-time staff members of the schools in which they are placed and will work stipulated school hours, six days a week.

English Fluency:

You must be fluent in English to be part of the Teach For India Fellowship, as we will be placing our Fellows in English-medium schools and will conduct all our training in English.

Age limit:

ince the Teach For India Fellowship aims at building future leaders, applicants will have to be born after 1st January 1976.

Who we are looking for:

Teach For India is looking for applicants who will be leaders in the classroom and beyond. We recognize that leaders come in many forms with varied past experiences, so there is no one profile of an ideal applicant. There are many ways to demonstrate leadership qualities, and we view applicants holistically by looking for evidence of demonstrated past achievement: achieving ambitious, measurable results in academics, extra-curricular activities, and/or work leadership.

We will select our Fellows based on their emerging leadership skills, specifically looking for:

•    Ability to achieve ambitious goals
•    Ability to work effectively in challenging environments
•    Ability to think and plan strategically
•    Communication skills
•    Commitment to continuously improving performance
•    Ability to think critically and base decisions on data and logic
•    Commitment to the Teach For India mission
We also seek evidence that applicants operate with professionalism and integrity, and meet basic writing standards.
Teach For India Fellows
The Teach For India Fellowship is probably the most challenging and transformational experience of a Fellow’s life. As teachers in classrooms, Fellows have multiple opportunities to confront and tackle challenges, motivate diverse stakeholders to work hard toward a shared vision, create and adjust plans to move further towards their goals and gain the confidence they need to succeed.
Role of Teach For India Fellows
Every Teach For India Fellow has two main responsibilities, through which they learn leadership skills in a hands-on, results-driven environment:
•    Classroom Instructional Leadership
Fellows are full-time teachers in English-medium government or low-income private schools for two consecutive academic years.
Fellows are expected to lead students toward academic achievement. Fellows foster this achievement by getting to know their students in and out of the classroom; creating instructional plans to match the whole class’ and individual student’s needs; delivering instruction in an engaging manner; working with other teachers, administrators and community members to build skills and obtain resources for the classroom; and administering and analyzing assessments to ensure that students are progressing towards their academic goals.
•    School Transformation/Leadership Project
In addition to teaching, a Fellow implement a transformational project in the school and/or students’ community directed towards impacting any challenge towards the achievement of their students.
Fellows create innovative and sustainable solutions to this problem. To carry out this project effectively, Fellows research and plan the project; invest students, families, teachers, administrators and/or community members to help implement the project; and troubleshoot the project in its execution phase.
By designing, implementing and managing a small-scale, sustainable project within the school community, Fellows build upon their leadership and project management skills. These leadership and management skills are transferable and Fellows can utilize the lessons learned through this project in other work they do after the duration of the Fellowship. Through this project, Fellows also develop a deep understanding of the many barriers to achievement and the complex problems associated with achieving equity in education. This experience shapes and guides the methods through which Fellows tackle educational inequity in the country, both in the short term and long term.
Why should I join Teach For India?

Teach For India offers you the chance to make a real difference in tackling one of India’s most pressing challenges — educational inequity. By presenting you with one of the most difficult challenges of your life, the Fellowship will help you develop leadership skills that are critical in today’s dynamic and fast-changing global work environment. You will leave the Fellowship literally ready for anything — and with the experience to advocate for a future in which all children have access to an excellent education.

What are the profiles of Teach For India Fellows?

Teach For India Fellows make a very diverse group of people, brought together by their past achievements and their passion to eliminate educational inequity. They hail from all backgrounds of study and work and range between 20 and 35 years of age. They come from a wide range of colleges such as IITs, IIMs, St.Stephen’s, St.Xavier’s, Christ University, Presidency College etc and companies such as Accenture, McKinskey, Mahindra & Mahindra, IBM, Ernst & Young, Schlumberger etc. By joining the Fellowship, you will get an opportunity to work with some of the brightest and most enterprising brains of the country! The figure below shows the distribution of our Fellows by profile

How does Teach For India’s approach to teaching differ from traditional approaches?

Teach For India’s “Teaching As Leadership” (TAL) model is based on the belief that excellent teachers employ the same skills as excellent leaders in any field. The TAL model requires teachers to plan purposefully, execute effectively, work relentlessly and reflect continuously in order to push students to significant academic gains.

Through the TAL model, Fellows become extraordinary leaders who can help their students make significant academic gains in the short run and advocate for systemic educational reform in the long run.

Which standard will I be teaching and what will be the medium of instruction?

Teach For India Fellows are placed in 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th standard classrooms where they teach all major subjects - including English, mathematics, reading, history and science — with the exception of regional languages.   English is the medium of instruction in all Teach For India schools and Fellows are not expected to know their students’ mother tongues.

Will I be trained adequately before I start teaching?

Teach For India will work relentlessly to ensure that all Fellows have the knowledge and skills necessary to lead their students towards achievement. The Teach For India Fellowship begins with a five-week Institute in May or June of 2012 that helps Fellows understand curriculum, create long-term and lesson plans, present content to students in a clear and engaging way, facilitate student practice and assess student progress, among other keys to successful teaching.  Additionally, each Fellow will have a mentor in the form of a Program Manager whose primary responsibility is to guide Fellows to become effective teachers and leaders.

How much will I be paid during the Fellowship? 

Teach For India Fellows will be paid a stipend of Rs. 16,000 per month. If required to relocate from their home city, Fellows will be given a housing allowance ranging from Rs.6,500 to Rs.8,000, depending on the city in which they will stay. In addition, Fellows will receive an allowance for school supplies.

How will the Teach For India experience help me grow professionally?

Teach For India strongly believes that excellent teachers employ the same skills as excellent leaders in any field, and that spending two years in the classroom will help Fellows develop leadership skills, such as organization, communication, problem-solving in an unstructured environment, people management and resourcefulness, that are valuable in any sector. Teach For India will select Fellows who have demonstrated excellence in the past and will work with them throughout the two-year Fellowship to ensure that they take advantage of the experience to become extraordinary future leaders.

What options will be open to me after the Fellowship?

Teach For India’s first batch of Fellows graduated in April 2011. The 80 alumni are now spread all over the country and abroad in jobs ranging from consulting to education startups; and as students in top universities such as Harvard, Cornell, Chicago Booth and Columbia. Teach For India supports its Fellows to pursue their individual career interests by training and mentoring them and striving to build relationships with top schools, universities, NGOs, and corporates throughout the country. Teach For India has already established close ties with HDFC, Godrej Industries, Harvard Business School, IIM Bangalore, the Indian School of Business, McKinsey & Company, Tata Consultancy Services, Columbia Law School, Ernst & Young and the Thermax Group, among many others. Please visit to know about our alumni in detail.

As the experience of Teach For America alumni shows, Teach For India alumni will be in high demand in any sector because they have the experience of overcoming immense challenges and have developed widely applicable leadership skills. Teach For America today has 20,000 alumni, several of whom have started their own groups of schools or work in the field of policy-making for education reforms.

The Rhodes to Oxfords University: Scholarship

Rhodes House, Oxford, is the home of the Rhodes Scholarships and the Rhodes Trust, and offers facilities for educational and other purposes.
About the Rhodes Scholarships
The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting outstanding all-round students at the University of Oxford.

The Scholarships provide transformative opportunities for exceptional individuals, encouraging them to fight ‘the world’s fight’ throughout their lives, and aiming to contribute to international understanding and ultimately peace.
Established in 1903 under the will of Cecil Rhodes, the Rhodes is the oldest and perhaps the most prestigious international graduate scholarship program in the world. A class of 83 Scholars is selected each year from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica and Commonwealth Caribbean, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Southern Africa (including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and Swaziland), United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Rhodes’s vision in founding the Scholarship was to develop outstanding leaders who would be motivated to ‘esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim’, and to promote international understanding and peace.
Rhodes Scholarship selection committees will be seeking young women and men of outstanding intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service.  The Rhodes Scholarships support students who demonstrate strong propensity to emerge as ‘leaders for the world’s future’.
At Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Rhodes Scholars join just over 20,000 students from more than 140 countries currently studying at the University, and are enriched by the stimulating and rigorous education and the vibrant cultural and community life.
Over 7,000 Rhodes Scholars have gone on to serve at the forefront of government, the professions, commerce, the arts, education, research and other domains. They are well known advocates for expanded social justice, and have advanced the frontiers of science and medicine. The caliber of Rhodes Scholars can be seen, for example, in their recent appointments and books.
The Rhodes Scholarships reflect one of the most visionary acts of educational philanthropy in history, making the Rhodes legacy one that is felt the world over. Today, Rhodes Scholars around the world also reflect their gratitude and commitment to the Scholarship by contributing, financially and in other ways, to securing and improving this life-changing opportunity for future generations.
A Rhodes Scholarship covers all University and College fees, a personal stipend and one economy class airfare to Oxford at the start of the scholarship, as well as an economy flight back to the student’s home country at the conclusion of the Scholarship. 

The diversity of backgrounds and contributions of Rhodes Scholars are reflected in the Scholar of the Week feature and for information on applying for the Rhodes Scholarships check the website.

Applying for the Rhodes Scholarships
83 Rhodes Scholars are selected annually from 14 countries or groupings of countries around the world. They are outstanding young women and men of diverse backgrounds and interests who show strong potential to be public-spirited leaders for the world’s future.

Selection in each Rhodes constituency is by committees comprised of Rhodes alumni and distinguished non-Scholar members of the community. Though the selection criteria are uniform across all countries, there are some eligibility requirements that vary.
General eligibility requirements and application information, along with the courses available for study on a Rhodes Scholarship, are available below

Rhodes selection criteria

The selection criteria, as found in the Will of Cecil Rhodes, govern selection across all Rhodes constituencies.  They are:
·    literary and scholastic attainments
·    energy to use one’s talents to the full
·    truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship
·    moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow beings.
In general, committees will select applicants of outstanding intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service.
The Rhodes Trust warmly welcomes applications from talented young women and men of diverse backgrounds. Selection of Rhodes Scholars is made without regard to gender, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, colour, religion, social background, caste, or disability.

Eligibility criteria for the Rhodes Scholarship
The following eligibility criteria apply to all applicants for the Rhodes Scholarships:
·    Citizenship & residency: Each applicant must fulfil the citizenship and residency requirements of the Rhodes constituency for which they are applying.  Please check the detailed information carefully via the country links.
·    Age: Age limits vary between constituencies and range from a minimum age limit of 18 to a maximum of 28 by 1 October of the year following election. In most constituencies, the age limit is 24 or 25. Please check carefully the specific age requirements for your constituency before applying.
·    Education: All applicants must have achieved academic standing sufficiently advanced to assure completion of a bachelor’s degree by the October following election. Academic standing must be sufficiently high to ensure admission to the University of Oxford, which has very competitive entry requirements, and to give confidence that Rhodes Scholars will perform to a high academic standard in Oxford. Individual constituencies may specify a 1st or equivalent. Please check the detailed requirements via the country links.  Some constituencies require an undergraduate degree to have been taken within the constituency of application.
What to submit
For detailed application requirements for each constituency, please visit the country pages via the country links in the website.  In broad terms, all constituencies will require the following materials in differing forms:
·    Evidence of academic record / transcript (complete or in progress) of undergraduate degree and any postgraduate study
·    Curriculum vitae/resumé or list of principal activities
·    Personal statement or essay (including, crucially, a clear statement of what the applicant wishes to study at Oxford and why)
·    Evidence of age / birth certificate / passport
·    English Language proficiency (where English is not the first language)
·    Photograph
·    List of referees (usually several are required) who can attest in confidential references to the character and intellect of the applicant, including academic, personal, extra-curricular and leadership achievements (and who should never include people to whom you are related)

Available courses of study and conditions of tenure at the University of Oxford

Subject to limited restrictions, Rhodes Scholars may read for any full-time postgraduate degree (including the BA with senior status over two years) at the University of Oxford.  The basic tenure of the Scholarship is two years, subject always, and at all times, to satisfactory academic performance and personal conduct. For the full listing of degrees offered by the University of Oxford, visit www.ox.ac.uk.

At the discretion of the Trustees, the Scholarship may be extended for a third year for those who take a recognized route to the DPhil.  The Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and the Masters of Financial Economics (MFE) are only tenable in the second year of the Scholarship.

Practical steps to making an application for the Rhodes Scholarships

Applications for Rhodes Scholarships for 2013 will open in mid-2012. Applications for 2012 have now closed.

Note to applicants: 
Successful candidates will be asked to provide original copies of academic transcripts (and other supporting documents as required).  References may be checked during application review, and any applications deemed fraudulent will be rejected. Authors of fraudulent applications will be pursued to the full extent possible under the law.

A Rhodes Scholarship is confirmed once a successful candidate has been offered a place in a Department or Faculty of the University and in a college.

The Rhodes Scholarships for India
For full information on the application process for the Rhodes Scholarships for India.

National Secretary for India
Professor Vir Chauhan
The Secretary
The Rhodes Scholarships in India
International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology
PO Box 10504
Aruna Asaf Ali Marg
New Delhi 110067 India
Telephone: +91 11 2674 2317 or +91 11 2674 1260
Fax: +91 11 2674 2316
Email: viranderschauhan@yahoo.com

Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQACs] in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)

Quality of Education now offered in many institutions of higher education, both general and technical, requires a thorough review and correction by the agencies concerned like NAAC of UGC, NBA of AICTE. Many Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), specially technical and professional colleges offering Engineering, Pharmacy, MBA and MCA are almost forced to shut down as there are no takers. Thousands of seats are lying vacant in hundreds of colleges in Andhra Pradesh. Quality in any service or product is the hallmark that decides its consumer acceptability and consequential occupation of market space in these days of free flow of demand and supply factors. Though some attention is given for the maintenance of quality of products in the industrial sphere, it was grossly neglected in the service sector. A special mention can be made with regard to the deterioration of standards of education at all levels, primary, secondary, UG and PG, including Research.

The nation is already paying heavily for this gross negligence. Though statutory bodies like UGC and AICTE are created at the National level with a specific purpose of coordinating, maintaining and promoting quality education, they proved a thorough failure in this aspect due to their acts of omission and commission. The Universities and their affiliated colleges greatly drifted from their specified path, focusing more on numbers and resorted to all kinds of unethical and non-academic practices, policies and procedures making the students ultimate victims. At the end of the day, students who became the sacrificial goat are blamed and criticized for their lower levels of knowledge, technical know how, attitudinal deficiencies, disregard to value system and their ethos.

In fact, the role supposed to be played by the so called temples of learning is not up to the mark and deserves to be corrected though not condemned. The general apathy for the students overall development and efflorescence of their fullest personality by providing opportunities/ facilities for showcasing their prowess and potentialities by many HEIs for their own reasons and commercial motives is the root cause for this sad state of affairs. There are institutions which give priority to admissions and examinations only as if there is nothing in between. There are colleges indulging in all kinds of malpractices in the conduct of examinations to boost their pass percentage.  The classroom instructions, practical work in labs, workshops for hands on experience are receiving rude shock in these so called HEIs.

This does not mean that all HEIs are doing or encouraging bad practices. There are very good Institutions on the educational map of India having National and International reputation for their high standards and have carved a niche for themselves among the intellectual circles following scrupulously the best methods and methodologies. Though some people justify and reconcile themselves that this dilution and adulteration of standards of education in HEIs is because of their multiplicity in hundreds and thousands, the failure on the part of bodies like UGC, AICTE, Universities, State Councils of Higher Education, NCERT, SCERT etc., cannot be overlooked and forgiven. They cannot escape from taking this criticism. At least now they have to take stern measures to set right things to save lakhs of students being fed and nurtured in pernicious and polluted practices and systems adopted in many of our modern educational super bazaars. Then only India will have great future as Knowledge Hub exporting largest number of technical trained manpower to cater to the needs of both developed and developing countries.

If India is to rise to the status of Superpower by reaping maximum benefit of our demographic dividend, it can become only by producing intellectuals, scientists, scholars, academicians, technocrats, innovators of high caliber by bringing them up in HEIs adopting proved sound practices to provide quality education and not through our military/economic power, or by having crores of unemployable educated youth in the country. Only quality oriented products coming out of the portals of HEIs will elevate the status of our Nation and provide dignified and decent careers to youngsters. Such concern alone will make lakhs of UGs and PGs come out with employable skills acceptable to MNCs. The talk that our educated youth are not having employability skills, fulfilling industry expectations etc. can easily be countered by fixing achievable bench marks in all activities of all stake holders of HEIs, closely monitoring and  reviewing the progress by  a group of academicians and experts headed by the head of HEI, accountable to University or state/national level  bodies. This step on the part of all HEIs will definitely make every difference and our HEIs can also claim that they are also producing useful and purposeful UGs and PGs armed with correct Knowledge, Skills and Attitude [KSA].

It is in this context that creation of Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQACs] in HEIs is being mooted by UGC, a statutory body created to monitor standards in HEIs, as early as 1956 through an Act of Parliament. It established NAAC as an autonomous body under Section 12 [CCC] of its Act in Sept 1994.  It is entrusted with the task of performance evaluation, assessment and accreditation of universities and colleges in the country. It is supposed to take measures so that all HEIs are empowered to maximize their resources, opportunities and capabilities. NAAC has been instilling a momentum of quality consciousness among all institutions aiming at continuous improvement and is triggering ‘quality culture’ by enhancing the awareness of Institutional Quality Assurance with all stakeholders.

All stakeholders are to be fully engaged in the endeavours of quality assurance of HEIs. Therefore, it is imperative that HEIs are motivated to establish their own internal mechanism for sustenance, assurance and enhancement of quality culture of education imparted by them as such internalization of quality would be invaluable in the enhancement of quality within the institution. The efficacy of external quality assessment would therefore be determined by the effectiveness of such institutional internal quality systems and processes.

In fact the IQACs were established in many HEIs, as post accreditation quality sustenance activity. They are proactive and functioning effectively on sound lines. Based on their success story, from April 1, 2007, NAAC is propagating to have such mechanism created prior to the accreditation in all HEIs which would help establish quality culture in them. The UGC has recognized this initiative and it has taken a policy decision to direct all HEIs to establish IQACs for which it has decided to provide seed financial assistance. It covers all HEIs, like Universities established under Central/State Acts, Deemed Universities, under Section 3 of UGC Act, colleges recognized under Section 2 f of UGC Act, all other non 2 [f] colleges affiliated to universities and all Institutions of National importance.

The IQAC is meant for planning, guiding and monitoring Quality Assurance [QA] and   Quality Enhancement [QE] activities of HEI. It would channelise and systematize the efforts and measures of an Institution towards academic excellence and be a driving force for ushering in quality by working out interventional strategies to remove deficiencies and enhance quality.

The IQAC Structure: It shall be constituted under the chairmanship of Head of HEI, assisted by a Director [Member Secretary] in case a University or Coordinator in the case of a college. This position may be held as an additional charge by the Faculty Member concerned or a new position of full time Director/Coordinator may be created. Besides Chairman and Director/Coordinator, there shall be five [in the case of colleges] eight [in the case of universities] senior teachers, one senior administrative official, two [in the case of a college] three [in the case of a university] external experts of quality management/industry/local community as members. All these members shall be nominated by the Head of HEI in consultation with the Academic Council in the case of a university or Academic Committee in the case of a college. The tenure of membership shall be for two years. IQAC shall meet at least once in a quarter. The quorum for the meeting shall be two thirds of total number of members. The Agenda, minutes and Action Taken Reports are to be documented with official signatures and maintained electronically retrievable format.

Functions: To develop and apply quality bench marks/parameters for various academic and administrative activities of HEI.

* To facilitate the creation of learner-centric environment congenial for quality enhancement.

* To take steps for faculty maturation to adopt methods for participatory teaching and learning process.

* To arrange for feed back responses from students, parents, and other stake holders on quality related issues.

* To disseminate information on various quality parameters of higher education.

* To organize inter and intra- institutional workshops, seminars on quality-related themes and promotion of quality circles.

* To document various programmes/activities of HEI, leading to quality improvement.

* To act as a nodal agency of the HEI for conducting quality-related activities, including adoption and dissemination of good practices.

* To develop and maintain institutional database through MIS for enhancing institutional quality.

* To prepare Annual Quality Assurance Report [AQAR] of HEI based on parameters/assessment criteria developed by the relevant quality assurance body like NAAC, NBA in the prescribed format.

* To arrive at bi annual development of Quality Radars [QRs] and ranking of integral units of HEI based on the IQAR.

* To interact with State Quality Assurance cells in the pre and post accreditation quality assessment, sustenance and enhancement endeavours.

The AQAR shall be approved by the HEI such as Syndicate, Governing Council/body for the follow up action for necessary quality enhancement measures. The AQAR shall be submitted regularly to the affiliating university, state-level quality assurance bodies, NAAC, NBA by a college. All HEIs shall submit AQAR and QRs and follow up reports to UGC as and when called for. The IQAC must create its exclusive window on its institutional website to regularly report on its activities as well as for hosting AQAR.

Benefits: Effective functioning of IQAC ensure heightened level of clarity and focus in institutional functioning towards quality enhancement, ensure internalization of quality culture, ensure enhancement and integration among various activities of the institution and institutionalize good practices, provide sound basis for decision making, act as a dynamic system for quality changes in the HEI, build organized methodology of documentation and internal communication.’

The State Quality Assurance cell [SQAC] and affiliating universities shall monitor the functioning of IQAC in the colleges and NAAC/NBA/other affiliating bodies shall monitor the functioning of universities and  Institutions of National Importance. NAAC/NBA peer teams will interact with IQACs.

The detailed format for AQAR of IQAC with 4 sections and searching 42 points in section B, if answered honestly, will unravel the realistic situation of not  only curricular, co/extra curricular activities of the institution but also probes the roles of stake holders of the institution, students, faculty, administrative staff, parents, local community, management, funding agencies, etc.. These 42 points pressurize/influence the persons concerned to do definitely something concrete and positive in the direction quality improvement in all spheres. It is noteworthy that UGC is providing seed money during   the Ninth plan of Rs 5 lakhs to each university and 3 lakhs to each college as one time grant to meet the establishment and strengthening expenditure of IQAC to all  universities and colleges which  are under sec 2 [f] and 12 b of the UGC Act.

Already many universities/ deemed to be universities/ colleges established their IQAC and reaping the benefits. The universities and colleges in AP are lagging behind despite the offer of financial support. Many professional colleges in AP realized that quality consciousness and maintenance is vital and crux for their survival. It is high time that they shall wake up and take earnest measures in the direction of quality improvement of education imparted in their HEIs. Let us hope good sense will dawn on the minds of those highly commercial managements and save lakhs of students from unemployability.