IIT profs to protest against Centre’s ‘failed promises’

MANOJ R NAIR

It is very rare that teachers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) resort to agitation to air their grievances. But the government’s delay in announcing new pay scales for faculty members has led to simmering discontent among the institution’s teaching staff. While the date and method of agitation has not been decided yet, the general body of IIT Bombay Faculty Forum, an association of teachers is planning to meet soon to discuss the issue.

While the protest options that are being discussed include wearing black badges or mass casual leave, more drastic plans include a refusal to mentor the new IITs that have been set up recently. IIT-Bombay is mentoring the new institutes at Gandhinagar and Indore, including selecting the faculty for the new centres and also providing teachers there till a full fledged teaching infrastructure is set up there.

Usually, new payscales for IIT teaching staff are introduced along with the revised salaries for central government employees. This time, however, while the Sixth Pay Commission for other government employees was announced in September 2008, the faculty members at IIT are still waiting for pay hikes that are due from 2006.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had appointed a pay review committee headed by Professor Govardhan Mehta, chairman of National Academic Acredition Council to make recommendations for revised pay scales, among other things, for IIT teachers.

The committee submitted its report on February 6. While the report’s contents were not revealed, the government appointed another committee on February 24 to examine the findings of the Mehta report. There has been no development in the issue since then.

Not making the grade...

FINE PRINT

Education is not yet a fundamental right in India. Governments’ failure to push through this single obvious point exposes the extent to which politics compromised the nation’s educational goals

TEAM TOI

Controversy is the constant companion of education ministers. If it was saffronisation of textbooks and headon-collision with IIMs during the NDA regime, UPA’s Arjun Singh has been top of the charts for nearly five years. Be it OBC reservation in admission to state-run higher educational institutions or autonomy of IIMs/IITs, Singh has earned his share of bad name.

Often the real picture is missed in the rhetoric. During Murli Manohar Joshi’s stint as HRD minister, the biggest achievement was the 86th constitutional amendment making free and compulsory education to children of age 6 to 14 a fundamental right. Though Joshi spent more time packing institutions with his own men, he should also be credited for putting Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan on track. It is also not that he did not have a case while taking on IIMs on fee hike issue.

Arjun Singh, an old HRD hand, had his task cut out. Desaffronise textbooks and institutions and make a mark. He started immediately and even revived bodies like Central Advisory Board of Education, discontinued during NDA regime. A new national curriculum framework was adopted, textbooks were changed, without creating much rancour. Even political adversaries admit the books are forward-looking.

But after the Supreme Court did away with reservation in private professional institutions in Inamdar case in 2005, Singh came up with the idea of not only restoring reservation in private institutions but also reserving seats for OBCs in government as well as private institutions. While constitutional amendment for reservation was smooth, enabling the legislation met with stiff resistance. Finally, Supreme Court upheld it last year.

To be fair, many of Singh’s positive decisions got lost in the raging fire on reservation. Higher education has never seen the kind of expansion as it witnessed under him. Part of the credit goes to PM’s emphasis on higher education and liberal funding. From Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research, many more IITs, IIMs, IIITs and SPAs, Singh ensured that institutes of excellence spread throughout the country. To bolster the university system, every state is being given a central university. Apart from that, 14 national universities are also planned. However, the manner in which UGC has been granting deemed university status to private institutions is being questioned.

Under Singh, SSA has progressed with an emphasis on quality. Even independent audit of elementary education shows that both SSA and Mid-Day Meal schemes are successes with enrolment rate going up across class and gender.

However, Singh did not show the same enthusiasm for pushing the Right to Education Bill. First few years of UPA regime were wasted in various committees and yet no common ground could be found on the landmark legislation. First the Planning Commission and finance ministry objected to a law that would cost the exchequer a lot. It resulted in the HRD ministry revisiting estimates and finally a figure of Rs 12,000 crore/year was calculated as cost to provide free education. But four years were lost. At the fag end of UPA regime, the bill was introduced in December.

In all this, secondary education is the sick child that Singh never attended to. The plan to have an SSA-like programme for secondary schools is still being put together and model schools are still a distant dream.

Times View

The biggest disappointment has been the failure to ensure free compulsory education as a fundamental right. In the seven years since the Constitution was amended, the Bill is yet to be passed, although the issue seems to be close to everyone’s hearts. Expansion of institutes like IITs/IIMs and a new pay structure for teachers are a required boost. That said, unbridled growth of deemed universities is a cause of concern. UGC’s tough regulations are too little, too late. A holistic approach , an integrated blueprint is the need of the hour to ensure education for all at the primary level and accessibility to higher education.

RADIO ACTIVE

IIT-Bombay students launch their own community radio. Will bak-bak get intellectual now?

MUMBAI MIRROR BUREAU

Last night at 10 pm, students of IIT-Bombay opened up a new avenue to gain some freedom of expression for themselves. They joined the elite club of universities around the world, like MIT, Harvard, etc, who have their own student-run community radio. Hey radio jockeys, you have intellectual bak-bak to compete with now.

The pilot show kicked off last night, with an introduction, a book review, a travelogue, a hasya kavi sammelan and a programme on trivia – teasers of what to expect ahead. This web-based radio is run completely by the student body of IIT, its target audience being everyone who lives on the IIT campus.

“Students have been thinking of setting up a radio station for two years now,” says Sajid Shariff, one of the enthusiasts in the project. “But getting air space is a problem, so we decided to go in for web-based radio. Basically we want to articulate our thoughts, initiate debates and form a point of contact for the entire IIT community. And the cost of running a web-based radio is minimal.”

Of course, ‘freedom of expression’ comes with restrictions here, unlike in universities like MIT and Harvard where the freedom is a free-forall. There, professors are often, to use student terminology, ‘roasted’ on radio. There’s even an incident, famous in the student world, where students of a famous university targeted an Apple honcho on radio when he came on campus to give away prizes, after being in the news for going hunting and hurting animals. The ‘chief guest’ was hauled over the coals on radio.

“Obviously, we have to be more restrained and politically correct here, for our culture is different,” says Sajid. “We don’t want to have to shut down soon after launching! It took a lot to get permission to start it in the first place.”

So, the content will be perfectly ‘decent’, no, not even targeting IIT’s famous ‘dance club’ which is normally the target of many politically incorrect jokes among students. There will be travelogues narrated by students, panel debates on the burning topics of the day, interviews, plays. And yes, a fair amount of original music by IITians – some original compositions, some cover versions sung by IITians in different albums.

“Our USP is that the radio is open to all 10,000-odd residents on campus, including the 5000-strong student body,” says Sajid. “In fact, right now, we don’t have a fixed agenda. We’ve kept the plan fluid, so that we can shape it as we go along, with feedback from the community.

But what they aim to do is make the radio a mandatory part of life in IIT. “We want to make it a ‘need’ in IIT, where one must switch it on as a must, every day. We want to run all important announcements through the radio, have interesting serialised radio plays, basically concentrate all the action here,” says Sajid.

To begin with, the radio will run three days a week – Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – 10 pm onwards. The radio is available at http://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~cultural/radio/. Later, as and when more people come forward with content, the days and the talk time will be increased.

Students want to articulate their thoughts, initiate debates and form a point of contact for the entire IIT community through the radio

School is choosing elite over poor, say parents

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: It’s a case of the slumdog versus the millionaire, say parents of Andheri’s Seth Madhavdas Amarsee High School, who staged a protest against the school management on Tuesday.

The school—an aided SSC institution that had more than 4,000 students in the Gujarati, English and Marathimedium sections—has shut down KG to Std VI in the Gujarati section and has stopped admissions to junior KG in the English medium over the past few years. The management has started an ICSE school on the same premises.

While parents protest against the fact that affordable education for poor students is giving way to a school for the elite, the management claims it was forced to shut down the Gujarati medium sections as they had no takers.

“Four years ago, the management shut down junior and senior KG for the Gujarati section. Two years ago, they stopped Stds I to IV in Gujarati. Last year, they discontinued junior KG for English medium students and they plan to do away with senior KG (English) this year,’’ said Arvind Falsamkar, a parent.

However, Dr Leena Dalal, president of the Andheri education trust that runs the school said, “We had to do away with these sections as there was no demand for them,’’ she said. “We started an ICSE section because we felt the need to offer an ICSE education.’’

Falsamkar, however, said, “After the primary section was shut, many kids were shifted to other Gujarati schools.’’ Dalal denied knowledge of this, and cited an education department provision whereby 20 students were required to run a division.

Falsamkar added that poor students sought admission to the SSC section of the school and they could not afford to study in the ICSE school.

The school has shut a few classes in the Gujarati section and has started an ICSE institution there.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference…

original post at - http://themagictree.in/TMTBLOG/

Assuming that you would have read Sonia’s blog, I wouldn’t get into the ‘how it all began’ story. Rather I would like to share the ‘what we do’ story. And before I get to that let me just go back to my childhood and share some thoughts!

I studied in a convent - St. John the Baptist - Thane. There was this song we performed in a group somewhere [don't remember exactly where] - anyways, the song - ‘We are the World’ by ‘Michael Jackson’. It was the first English song that I had heard or sung and for no particular reason that I could understand at that age; I just fell in love with the song.

As a child I hadn’t grasped the complete meaning of the song and thought that it was just a church song sung by children, something about charity and all. Many years later did I truly understand the depth of the lyrics. Yes, it’s a beautiful and inspiring song! For those who haven’t heard the song, please go to YouTube and search ‘we are the world’. The point is - the thought of ‘making the world a better place’ was seeded within me at a very young age.

Music and song writing attracted me at a very early stage. I still sometimes go back to my age-old 200 page notebook, which has my very initial song compositions and poems written in break period for my favourite Teachers. Year after year I kept admiring different class teachers - the way they would talk, present themselves, encourage us, and guide us.

I was extremely happy with the way things were going until I hit engineering! It was at this stage that I realized the importance of practical education! Almost zero exposure to application based learning during schooling had its toll on engineering. The perception of what Mechanical engineering is was in contrast to what it actually was. I went into a phase of pointing out problems in the educational system but not thinking of doing something to solve them.

As any other youth I fell in love with movies. The ones which ended with a meaningful thought or social message touched me more - be it Raj Kapoor’s ‘Shree 420′ or Aamir Khan’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’. Movies like Ashutosh Govarikar’s ‘Swades’, Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s ‘Rang De Basanti’ - did have lot of influence on my thoughts.

It was only later in my final year of engineering, that I realized ‘To bring about a change, you have to be that change!’

The Magic Tree is that change; a positive change in the field of education. We take children beyond the classroom and textbook. Seeing children make or break stuff, using our kits gives me extreme joy. It lets me know that these children now have the skill of converting theory into lively applications. Whether they make or break the kit, either ways they know how not to fail!

‘I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot… and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that’s precisely why I succeed’ - Michael Jordan

The Magic Tree provides means for practical, application based learning. It produces educational kits and games that we would have loved to have in our school days. It allows the child to experience the feel of being an inventor or a discoverer. It boosts their curiosity, their nature to learn through asking questions and not by being fed with answers. It helps children to explore their potential and unlock their genius.

While researching, unlearning and then re-learning and training myself not to teach but to be able to make students to think, I have come across the likes of Don Herbert, Robert Krampf, Arvind Gupta, Steve Spangler and many more. Had it not been for the internet, I would have known all this at the age of 50, what I know at the age of 25! I look forward to the day when all human knowledge will be accessible by everyone at the speed of thought! Undoubtedly that will be the most important, exciting and dangerous phase of human civilization!

I wish someone had started The Magic Tree a hundred years ago, and that there would be hundreds of them by now in every part of the world.

The Magic Tree that gives, unconditionally,

The Magic Tree that provides knowledge and information, eternally.

Now in its second year of business I can proudly say,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference…

‘Liquid wood’ emerges as tomorrow’s plastic

Brian Whitley

Almost 40 years ago, American scientists took their first steps in a quest to break the world’s dependence on plastics. But in those four decades, plastic products have become so cheap and durable that not even the forces of nature seem able to stop them. A soupy expanse of plastic waste—too tough for bacteria to break down—now covers an estimated 1 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.

Sensing a hazard, researchers started hunting for a substitute for plastic’s main ingredient, petroleum. They wanted something renewable, biodegradable, and abundant enough to be inexpensive.

Though they stumbled upon a great candidate early on, many US chemists had given up on it by the end of the 1990s. The failed wonder material: lignin, the natural compound that lends strength to trees. A waste product from paper production, much of the lignin supply is simply burned as fuel.

But while many scientists turned to other green options, a German company, Tecnaro, says it found the magic formula. Its “liquid wood” can be moulded like plastic, yet biodegrades over time.

Now, Tecnaro’s success could revive interest in lignin and propel the search for better and cheaper bioplastics.

“The lignin itself was misunderstood completely by [leaders in the field] and the majority of people,” says Simo Sarkanen, an environmental science professor at the University of Minnesota.

This past holiday season, nativity figurines made from Tecnaro’s “liquid wood” raised eyebrows among the bioplastic community. Sold as Arboform, the tough mixture is chock full of lignin—sometimes more than 50%, compared with the 30% threshold where many researchers would max out. The rest is fibre from wood, flax, or hemp, as well as a few additives.

Raw Arboform consists of dark brown pebble-sized pellets. It is processed using the same equipment used to make conventional plastic. The granules are dropped into a barrel and heated until they melt. Then the contents are highly pressurized and forced into a rigid mould—that of a figurine, perhaps.

As the liquid cools, Arboform actually conforms better than most plastics to the boundaries of complex moulds, says Benjamin Porter, a researcher with Tecnaro. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

Chandrayaan spurs space ambition in IITs

Srinivas Laxman | TNN

Mumbai: When Chandrayaan-I soared into space last October, so did the dreams of many young and aspiring IITians keen on a career with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). Says a professor from IIT-Bombay’s aerospace engineering department, “Ever since Chandrayaan lifted off, space has become the magic word among students. They aspire to become rocket scientists and hope to play a role in taking India beyond the moon some day.’’ The fact that Isro has planned a manned mission to the low earth orbit (Leo, 2000 km above earth) in 2014, a mission to Mars around 2020 and another to the moon is a great source of excitement, he adds.

Two fourth year BTech aerospace students, Shashank Tamaskar and Kartavya Neema, are already doing a research project on interplanetary flight. Says Shashank, “Inspired by Chandrayaan-I, I am doing a study on a satellite’s flight from Leo to the moon.’’ He started work on the project in August 2008, when Chandrayaan was being primed for its historic launch, and hopes to complete it in ayear.

Asked if he would like to join Isro, he says, “Definitely, after I complete my studies.’’ The budding rocket scientist said that the focus among students earlier had been on designing planes, but “with the success of Chandrayaan, most of us are talking about designing rockets and satellites’’.

Kartavya says he is designing a flight path for a satellite to Mars. “For both of us, the inspiration came from Chandrayaan,’’ he confirms, adding thathe’d love to work at Isro.

Space is IITians’ new catchword
Mumbai: The success of Chandrayaan-I has resulted in an increasing number of IITians being attracted to space studies. Gyandeep Singh Momi, an aerospace student at IIT-Kharagpur, said, “Space has become the catchword here after Chandrayaan and most aerospace students want to be involved with space technology.’’

Gyandeep says that Chandrayaan also had a strong impact at their student festival earlier this year. “Nearly 50% of the emphasis was on rocketry. And we had a Nasa astronaut talking to us.’’

After India tested its nuclear weapons at Pokhran in May 1998, the number of applications received by BARC’s training school in Trombay increased manifold. Today, job openings at Isro carry more lucrative packages because a slew of projects is in the pipeline. The space buzz has infected IIT-Kanpur as well. S Kamle, head of the aerospace engineering department there, says, “Now, there’s a lot of excitement in our department about space, with students talking about rocketry and satellites.’’ They had been designing a rover for Chandrayaan-II, he adds, which is slated for launch in 2012. But during PM’s visit to Moscow in 2007, a decision was taken to carry a Russian rover and lander instead. IIT-Bombay is also designing a micro satellite which will be launched by Isro’s PSLV. The project started when Chandrayaan-I was steadily moving from the laboratory and workshop to the launch pad at Sriharikota.

Isro is well aware of this excitement. “The success of Chandrayaan-I has given confidence to students. More now want to be part of India’s space programme,’’ says its chief spokesperson S Satish.