Alumni meets strengthen ties with alma mater

The rationale of alumni meets is meant to ensure that former students of an institution don't feel being cut off from their roots.

First of all, I believe that everyone at one point or another in life faces a crisis and sometimes during such moments one is led astray or is utterly disoriented. So many successful executives and professionals commit suicide in a state of deep depression because they lose track of their true identity and goal of life as they become 'cog in the wheels' in pursuing their profession and living a day to day hectic, monotonous life and having to put up with tough deadlines. They don't really get the appropriate outlet to give vent to heir true feelings.

In this context, one gets a golden opportunity in the form of one’s alma mater in order to remain connected to one's roots which is the right place to reorient, re-discover and redefine oneself in times of crisis thereby not being driven to drastic steps such as suicide.

Secondly, such meets allow one to forge new relations and be in contact with successful and eminent people from the same profession who serve as both an inspiration and prospective source of assistance and help in times of need.

Thirdly, the alumni come forward to assist and contribute towards the 'health' and betterment of their alma mater for the benefit of existing students by making contributions in cash and kind as also by sharing their invaluable professional experience with prospective employees.

Fourthly, all prestigious institutions the world over have attained the stature that they finally have by allowing the alumni of that institution involve themselves in the work of institution building, finally taking the institution to dizzy heights.

Last but not the least, the alumni also become the role model for the students who try to emulate them.

But a word of caution, an alumni meet should first decide on its objectives, rationale and the benefits for all - the students, the institution and the alumni as well. An alumni meet shouldn't become a mere occasion for fun and entertainment. It is a serious business and must be treated in a very professional and business-like fashion.

Devashish Chakraborty

M.A (Part I) Mass Communication & Journalism

Department of Mass Communication & Jourmalism

Panjab University

A sigh of relief for female outstation students in Delhi University

The women’s safety body of the University of Delhi – Pehel – has proposed a centralized office in order to cater to the housing needs of female outstation students. If the said proposal is accepted by the University, the centralized office will help girls get safe accommodation in and around the two campuses of the university. In addition, private individuals providing paying guest accommodation to girls will have to get themselves registered with the office before renting out their property.

As per the plan, the centralized office will keep a record of accommodations near various colleges scattered all over the city. Unlike the present scenario of girls and their parents moving around Delhi to locate safe and affordable houses, the office will be a one stop answer to all their worries. The proposal is in line with western countries where similar systems are at work in helping students get good accommodation if they don’t manage to make it to the college hostels.

In the wake of incidents of outstation students getting harassed by their landlords, this is indeed a welcome move. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Have a look at Delhi University through maps:

1. Delhi University Colleges Map - Map 1

2. Delhi University Hostels Map - Map 2

Students’ Protest against Class Tests in Delhi University

An organization of the students of Delhi University, the Joint Task Force, recently organized a signature campaign to protest against the class tests taken in lieu of written assignments. As per the university guidelines, written tests are the basis for internal grading. These days it has caught on among teachers in various colleges of Delhi University to taking class tests in place of assignments which in turn are to be done from home over a period of time.

No doubt the process of checking 1000-word assignments is quite tedious and time-consuming, but it is the duty of every teacher not to wreak havoc on students with on the spot half-an-hour tests that in any case have the potential to be of inferior quality and quantity (oops!) than written assignments done over the term.

With the said practice among Delhi University teachers, the entire purpose of having an internal assessment is being thwarted. The Joint Task Force organised a signature campaign regarding this at the North Campus on Monday, December 17, 2007. Plans are in the offing for a similar campaign at South Campus as well.

The Role of Educational Institutions in Getting Jobs

The time is a history when students were taking higher education because they wanted that degree. Today when a student takes admission in a college, his/ her main focus is at the output of that education - job. Although the education system in India is one of the bests in the world, it is more of a theoretical one. The educational institute, therefore, should not only lay emphasis on providing that awesome engineering or MBA degree to its students but it should actually bring that engineer or business administrator out of him or her.

Placement Cell in a college can also be of great help. For the human resource manager of a company, a placement cell in a college is good news. It is in fact another word for a rich database about the students of a college. The recruiter at one glance can size up the talent in a given college. It also helps the students there to `package' themselves attractively to potential employers.

Rishabh Agnihotri
Chandigarh

Role of Research and Practical Training in Education

Research cannot define only research project. It is not an unnecessary burden rather it is necessary burden to develop perfect skills in a student, whether they are professional, technical or organizational.

A research project always motivates the student to achieve a goal oriented intention, so it helps in upgrading of coherent thinking as an independent and as well as in team working environment, which is very important for today’s career profile.

We all know everyone should have managerial and professional skills in order to lead at the work front and we cannot develop these without practical training. I do not think that practical training is different from research, rather practical training falls under the umbrella of research work.

Practical training and research both are equally important for students in today’s competitive environment. We can bring in more from practical training but steadiness on that front always requires our constant research in that area.

Amal Kumar

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER)

Mohali, Punjab

Breaking Gender Norms!

I read somewhere a few days back that we take pride in raising our daughters as sons but how many of us have the courage to raise our sons as daughters? However hard we may try, we cannot change our basic psyche of accepting men as superiors. This has been engrained into us over the centuries and has probably become a part of our genetic setup.

The only way we can curb female foeticide is by evolving the stereotypical setup where there is more equality among genders. Definitely our education system can play a prominent role in curbing female foeticide, the reason being that our family setup where there are multiple generations living together, do not provide the infrastructure for this evolution.

In an educational institute, a conscious effort can be made to provide the right education and atmosphere where mutual respect for the genders is taught. It may take time to get results but the results will definitely come if the seed is sown in the tender minds of our children.

Poppy Sharma,

Mohali

Role of Educational Institutions in Curbing Female Foeticide in India

The educational institutions have, indeed, a key role to play in curbing female foeticide. I believe that institutions help in creating a social ethos which would later become conducive to curbing such menace. Females have been worshipped in our scriptures as goddesses. Do we not love and hold in high esteem our mothers and sisters?

Following are some of the ways in which educational institutions and in turn the young generation of India can help curb female foeticide in our country:

• First, the institutions need to create awareness against female foeticide amongst the young men and women studying in these institutions. A point that is often overlooked is that it is not men alone who are responsible for female foeticide. Women, even mothers of a female infant, resort to killing and dumping the corpse of an infant in a trash box. So, it is a shame that women are involved in such detestable acts.

• Secondly, every young student of an institution should initiate a campaign against female foeticide in his/her locality as also in various adjoining rural areas.

• Thirdly, let this campaign assume the proportions of a mass anti-female foeticide movement bringing in various N.G.Os and other organizations. The movement should be so strengthened that it rocks the parliament as well as the society.

• Fourthly, and perhaps most important, these students should reform their own families and neighbourhood and remain alert all the time against any such happening in their vicinity.

• Lastly, a pressure should be built by youngsters on the government and the parliamentarians to pass the women reservation bill in the Union Parliament, thereby raising the status of women in society and ensuring women’s empowerment. A caution, however, is that a woman should not become a hindrance in the way of progress of other women.

Devashish Chakraborty

M.A. Mass Communication & Journalism

Panjab University

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.