The big gap in the quality of Education in cities and villages - we need to fix it asap!

Students fare poorly in ZP schools

Survey Reveals That Kids Can Barely Spell Marathi And English Words

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: While it may not come as a surprise that students from zilla parishad schools in the interiors of Maharahstra fare poorly in English, a recent survey found that they could barely write even Marathi.
The survey—conducted by the school education department’s Quality Improvement Cell in 17 districts spanning 1,500 schools and 50,000 students— painted an abysmal picture of education in the state.
Conducted over the last two months, the survey found that over 60% of Class II and III students surveyed in Gadchiroli could not spell the word “bhajibhakri’’ in Marathi, or write the name of a friend. And only 38.5% could add 17 and 18.
Seventy-eight per cent of class VI students surveyed in Nagpur and Aurangabad could not answer questions meant for Class III students and only 9% could spell the name of their school in English.
Of the Class II and III students surveyed, only 29.8% were up to the mark, and of the students who were surveyed from Classes IV to VII, only 30.59% were capable of studying in the standard they were in.
Of the students surveyed in Nagpur and Aurangabad, no one could frame a sentence in English using the word “table’’. And only 13.33% could write the word “garden’’.
“The situation is bleak across the state. We found that very little teaching took place during class hours. Teaching hours were not properly utilised,’’ said J Abhyankar, who heads the Quality Improvement Cell.
He added that workbooks that were meant to be solved by students at home, were being solved by the teacher in class. “Instead of creating a lively, energetic environment inside the classroom, lessons were dull and boring,’’ he added.
While the survey mentions that it was not possible for the department to visit all schools in a particular area, and only a handful were surveyed, it was likely that conditions at most schools would be the same as those in the schools surveyed.
toireporter@timesgroup.com

News from the core!

‘Earth is getting soft in the middle’

Material In The Lower Mantle Makes Sound Travel More Slowly, Thereby Suggesting It Is Softer

New York: Scientists claim to have uncovered evidence that our planet Earth is getting soft in the middle.
The researchers in the United States have carried out a study and found that material in part of the planet’s lower mantle has unusual electronic characteristics which make sound propagate more slowly, suggesting it is softer.
“What’s most important for seismology is the acoustic properties — the propagation of sound. We determined the elasticity of ferropericlase (mineral) through the pressure induced high-spin to low-spin transition.
“We did this by measuring the velocity of acoustic waves propagating in different directions in a single crystal of the material and found that over an extended pressure range (from about 395,000 to 590,000 atmospheres), the material became ‘softer’ — that is, the waves slowed down more than expected from previous work.
“Thus, at high temperature corresponding distributions will become very broad, which will result in a wide range of depth having subtly anomalous properties that perhaps extend through most of the lower mantle,” the ‘ScienceDaily' quoted lead researcher Alexander Goncharov as saying.
In fact, Goncharov and his colleagues at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory analysed the composition and density of the material after watching the velocity of seismic waves as they travel through Earth. PTI
Is our scarred planet entering a new epoch?
Human activity has altered life on Earth so much that that scientists are proposing to change the name of the geological epoch we are living through from the Holocene to the Anthropocene.
“With more than half of all soils on Earth now being cultivated for food crops, grazed, or periodically logged for wood, how to sustain Earth’s soils is becoming a major scientific and policy issue,” Daniel Richter, a soil scientist at Duke University said. “Society’s most important scientific questions include the future of Earth’s soil.”
The name, Anthropocene, was coined in an off-the-cuff remark, by the Nobel prize-winning chemist, Paul Crutzen, in 2002. He suggested that the environmental effect of increased human population and economic development meant the Earth was entering a new era. But scientists want to redefine our epoch to reflect humanity’s impact on the planet. AGENCIES

Youth Festival - Aavishkar 2008

Medical students get ready to host youth festival

Mumbai: Come Wednesday and medical students in KEM Hospital will shed their white coats and get festive. From racing deftly made robots to swinging to salsa beats, students will bring in the GS medical college’s annual youth festival, Aavishkar ‘08, with a bang. The three-day event hosted in the sprawling Parel campus is likely to attract around 10,000 students from 73 colleges across the city.
The new feature this year is a technical festival called ‘Cautery’ that will see budding doctors pitted against students from other specialisations (engineering to arts and commerce). A wired-robot race called Robo-Olympiads is being projected as the festival’s flagship. Besides the 21 teams who have already engineered their robots in the run-up to the event, anyone with their previouslybuilt robot is free to race it on the tracks. For the more creative lot, a jive and salsa workshop by choreographer Sandip Sopparkar, an inter-collegiate clash of bands and a glitzfilled fashion show promises some fun. The festival is in its 26th year and it’s theme is called ‘Outer Space’. The fest will bring back some of its alumni to play judge. TNN

The Montessori Congress at Chennai in 2009

RUN-UP TO 2009 CONGRESS

City to host forum for Montessori schools

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: More than 100 years after Madame Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor who revolutionised education, set up the first Montessori school in Rome, and over 60 years after she lived and worked in India, the president of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), Andre Roberfroid, will visit Mumbai for the first time.
Roberfroid, who was earlier Unicef ’s deputy executive director for programme and strategic planning, will visit Mumbai and Chennai next week. He is here to prepare for the Internal Montessori Congress, to be held in Chennai next year. This will be the first time that India will host the Congress. In Mumbai, he will attend a forum organised by
Montessorians in the city. “We have invited experts from all walks of life who do not know about the Montessori system. We will put forth our views, beliefs and method of teaching before them, and discuss the Montessori way of life with them,’’ says Sheroo Desai, headmistress of Activity Infant School, one of the eight Montessori schools in Mumbai. There are 22,000 Montessori schools in the world, 300 of which are in India.
The forum aims to answer these questions—What are the challenges facing our work for children? If there are no restrictions, where do we want our work to be in 10 years? How can we maximise the contribution of stake holders and what steps can we take to harness the efforts of those working for children?

Technological Developments in Mumbai - part 2

SEALINK PROJECT TO COST MORE THAN RS 800 CRORE

Worli-Haji Ali section next on the anvil

Ashley D’mello | TNN

Mumbai: The state government is going ahead with building the Worli-Haji Ali section of the sealink and will be floating tenders for the 3.5-km bridge shortly. The section is expected to cost more than Rs 800 crore.
The western sealink, in its entirety, is supposed to stretch from Versova to Nariman Point. The Bandra-Worli section is under construction and the Worli- Nariman Point section was supposed to be built then. But there
were problems as not enough bidders were willing to come forward to build the huge Rs 4,200 crore section. It has now been cut down to two sections, from Worli to Haji Ali and another from Haji Ali to Nariman Point.
Government circles are now debating whether to take a route under Malabar Hill from Haji Ali and carry the vehicular traffic onto Marine Drive to Nariman Point or to go under the sea-hugging coast to Nariman Point.
Civic groups like Bombay First have pointed out that if the sealink is built as a bridge it would destroy the natural beauty of Marine Drive, which is one of the world’s best promenades and could be developed into a tourist hub.
PWD minister Anil Deshmukh said the issue of an underground tunnel under Malabar Hill or a road under the seacoast to Nariman Point would be decided after discussions with consultants.
The minister said speculation on what would happen has led to the feeling that the project would be further delayed. “This is not true, we will begin the Worli-Haji Ali section and will decide on the Haji Ali-Nariman Point section after discussions with our consultants,’’ he said.
The Versova-Bandra section of the sealink is also being planned. A survey has been conducted and feasibility studies are to take place shortly.
ashley.dmello@timesgroup.com

Technological Developments in Mumbai on the cards!

Monorail work may start by June

2008 To Finally See Some Movement In Two Major Transport Projects

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is aggressively pushing for the monorail project, which is now expected to be ready for construction by June. According to MMRDA commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad, pre-qualification bids have been opened and seven firms are in the race.
“At first, two lines, one from Wadala to Chembur and another from Wadala to Jacob Circle, will be built. Later the Jacob Circle line will be extended to Malabar Hill,’’ said Gaikwad.
“A third line from Wadala to the Bandra-Kurla Complex will come at a later stage. A monorail for Thane, Kalyan and even Vasai-Virar is also being discussed,’’ he added.
Gaikwad said it will take 15 to 20 days to shortlist the seven bids. The financial bids will come later and work should begin by May-end, he said.
Last September, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had given the green signal for construction of four monorail corridors covering 70 km in the city and suburbs.
MMRDA officials said the cost of construction will be roughly Rs 85 crore per km and the trains are expected to run at a maximum speed of 65 km per hour.
The monorail is not considered a mass-transit system as it has passengers per direction per hour (PPDPH) of 15,000 as compared to the suburban rail trains, which have a PPDPH of 1.8 lakh. The monorail will serve as a feeder service for the existing railways and the proposed metro lines, said MMRDA officials.
Ambanis in the race
The two Ambani brothers are in the running for the monorail project. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Energy Limited has tied up with Hitachi while Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Engineering Associated has tied up with Siemens AG. International giant Bombardier Transportation India Ltd is going it alone while Larsen & Toubro Limited India has tied up with the Scomi Group for the bid. Videcon Industries has tied up with Aerospace USA and Gammon India has tied up with Met Rail (Swiss). There is also another consortium, called KPTL-JMC-INTAMIN, in the race.
ON THE CARDS
Two lines, one from Wadala to Chembur and another from Wadala to Jacob Circle will be built. Later, the Jacob Circle line will be extended to Malabar Hill
A third line from Wadala to the BKC will come at a later stage
Cost of construction: Rs 85 cr/km (approx). The trains will run at a maximum speed of 65 km/hr carrying 15,000 passengers per direction per hr toireporter@timesgroup.com

Connecting the young mind with the experienced one for a better growth - TOI - 28/01/2008

Guru-shishya tradition comes alive in 16 cities

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi/Mumbai: In Delhi, Utsav Mittal, a computer engineer, and his brother wanted to know how they could attract customers to their information security business. In Mumbai, Parag Patil, 26, wanted to know how he could modernise the technology he uses to manufacture composite pressure vessels.
The tradition of seeking knowledge and guidance from a guru came alive across 16 cities in India on Republic Day when Mittal, Patil and around 1,000 other aspiring entrepreneurs interacted with 200 experts from various business sectors as part of a countrywide mentorship programme organised by The Times of India in collaboration with PAN IIT, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and the National Entrepreneurship Network.
At the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Delhi campus itself, over 100 young entrepreneurs from across the city were mentored by former IITians with an aim to help them make their fledgling businesses grow or develop ideas still on the drawing board.
The event got a headstart with former President of India, A P J Abdul Kalam, delivering a lecture from Hyderabad that was webcast to all venues, including Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Jaipur, Indore, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Kalam said that all IITians should adopt one village each and help convert ordinary people into top entrepreneurs. PAN IIT should be focused on training rural and semi-urban students to help them develop employable skills. These skills in turn would produce globally marketable products, he said.
Each young entrepreneur was paired with a mentor, who lent an ear to the plans and problems. “Youngsters registered with us online for free while we asked the mentors to send us their details. We then tallied the line of work of both and gave a mentor to each participant,’’ said Geetika Dayal, executive director, TiE Delhi.
In Mumbai, the nation’s commercial mecca, over 75 entrepreneurs, young and old, were mentored through the day at IIT-Powai. Managing director of Triiton, Parag Rele, who played mentor, pointed out that he came across several great ideas. “But currently, they are just ideas. There is no clarity on how to convert them into sustainable widespread businesses. People were not clear about the road from here to there, the effort, the struggle and the money needed to reach that goal.’’
A lot of the mentors, the participants said, “cleared the blocks in their mind’’. Later in the evening, managing director of Tata Steel, B Muthuraman, shared some valuable experience with all of the Mumbai mentors and participants. He spoke of the importance of a vision and of looking at the bigger picture. “The tendency among youngsters is to look at the current problems. If you can’t decide where you want to go, how will you reach there? But in life, a lot of people just trudge along,’’ he said.
A clear vision, he felt, is what has made Tata Steel the company it is today. “We transformed a dead company. It started walking and running and now it is climbing a few mountains,’’ he said. Eventually, he left the audience with four ingredients for a successful business: be adaptable, be one with society, have a decentralised set-up and have financial prudence.

SHARING A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE: B Muthuraman, MD of Tata Steel, interacts with young entrepreneurs on the IIT-Bombay campus

HELPING YOUNG FIRMS GET A FOOTHOLD: Former President A P J Abdul Kalam spoke about the need to develop globally marketable products in a speech that was webcast from Hyderabad to other cities as part of the Entrepreneurship Mentoring Programme on Republic Day on Saturday