Gift of Books Presented by Asia Foundation and CII

A non-profit organization based in USA, Asia Foundation, and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) are jointly presenting a gift of books to universities in North-East India. Nine universities in the north-east will benefit from the gift. These are: Nagaland University, Manipur University, Tripura University, Mizoram University, Tezpur University, Guwahati University, Dibrugarh University, Rajiv Gandhi University and Itanagar University.

Higher Education in India may get Costlier

Higher education in India may get heavier on the pocket soon. College fee is proposed to be at par with school fees despite oppositions from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. A committee constituted by the University Grants Commission is examining the proposal according to which up to 20 percent of the expenses of the university have to be met by student fees.

Not only this, a differential fee structure has been proposed as well. Under this, students who pay more as school fees will be paying higher college fees as compared to government school students. Poor and needy students may get more government scholarships as per the proposal.

IGNOU to have 3-D Virtual Classrooms!

One of the most popular universities for taking distance education in India, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is soon going to have 3-D virtual classrooms. This will give IGNOU students the feel of a real classroom!

The 3-D learning centres will be the first of its kind in the entire Asia-Pacific region. According to the scheme, 1000 3-D classrooms will be created all over India along with hi-tech educational material with the use of space technology from Centre of Higher Learning, NASA Stennis Space Centre.

The new technology will enable students to comprehend complex topics quite easily. Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between IGNOU and Core Projects and Technologies for the project worth Rs. 3000 crore.

On-Campus Jobs in the offing for Delhi University Students

Students of Delhi University will be able to work on the campus while pursuing their studies if the “earn while they learn” plan is approved by the vice-chancellor of the university. Under this scheme, students will be allowed to take up part-time jobs within the university set-up. This is going to be the first of its kind endeavour by any Indian university.

As per the plan, undergraduate and postgraduate students will get permission to work 25-30 hours per month throughout the year. The students will be allowed to pick up jobs according to their choice and convenience. There will be no obligation regarding the number of work hours.

At present, only research scholars can work in universities across India on an ad hoc basis. The new scheme will enable undergraduate as well as postgraduate students to take up a number of positions as given below:

• Library assistant

• Research associate

• Café manager

• Website/database developer

• Technician

• Swimming coach

• Physical education instructor

• Counsellor

• Gardener

• Security personnel

• Hostel caregiver

• Staff vehicle driver

The choice of working slots will be decided by the student.

The new scheme is aimed at:

• Encouraging the spirit of professionalism in students

• Perking up the self-esteem and self-worth of students

• Reducing financial burden on parents

The nitty-gritties of eligibility criteria still need to be worked out. It is hoped that once approved, the scheme will be gradually extended to foreign students as well.