SHEMBLOG

One of the oldest women colleges in India is facing a severe shortage of funds and has reached near closure. St.Bede’s College in Himachal Pradesh is on the verge of closedown due to shortage of funds. The College Prinicpal, Molly Abraham, while speaking to a new agency (IANS) said that it was difficult to run the college any longer.

St. Bede’s College is a renowned institute and has been delivering services since 1904. The college principal was reported as having said that the government agencies did not cooperate and had reduced the grants to half. The college is one of the institutions that has been accredited as A+ by the popular accreditation agency NAAC.

On one hand, the government is trying to pour more funds in the primary and secondary education and on the other hand grants for higher studies are falling short. The college administration has strongly criticized the government for providing minimal support. Some well known public figures who have graduated from St.Bede’s have expressed deep concern for the current situation and the expected closure of the institution.  

The Indian government’s 11th Five Year Plan had insisted upon setting up new IITs to broaden the horizon for graduate and post-graduate education. The HRD Ministry had asked the various IITs if they could accommodate extra students. This initiative was further undertaken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had appealed to the IITs having extra land and the potential to expand.

IIT Guwahati has a major advantage in this regards and nearly 550 acres of its campus would now be used for expansion. The establishment is planning to increase its student intake by nearly three-folds. IIT Guwahati has proposed to enhance its present infrastructure to double its student capacity by the year 2012. The increase in student numbers would mean nearly a 54 per cent rise in the available seats.

According to a popular news agency, thousands of Tibetan Children who had enrolled in Indian schools are receiving strict punishment from the Chinese government. As per the reports the Tibetan children have been asked to confess about their teachings in the Indian schools, some of which are headed by the spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

There have been cases reported about children ebing smuggled in the adjacent regions, as religious teachings have been heavily dealt by the Chinese government. Young students are even said to cross the border, while trekking over mountains to receive the teachings in the Dharamsalas, located outside Tibet.

Various education societies and human rights groups have condemned the atrocities on the poor students, who have a right to receive religious education. Though the concerns have been subdues and do not pose a serious threat for harming any International relations, however, various authorities have warned the Chinese government to deal properly with the students. 

The number of Indians having migrated to or studying in Australia has nearly doubled in the last decade. Now, the Indian segment of the population is demanding more recognition and respect for their native language — Hindi. Indian students at the High School Certificate or the HSC level have developed an inclination towards learning the language and want to pursue it as a mainstream subject. However, a minuscule number of universities and schools offer Hindi and that too as an option.

Many Indians working as teachers in Australian schools and universities want to see Hindi being introduced in the school curriculum at par with other European languages. They feel that with the growing number of Hindi-speaking population in Australia and the increasing volume of trade relations between Australia and India, learning the language makes absolute sense. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Sydney has made a significant contribution towards this cause and it organises special Sunday Hindi classes for those wishing to learn Hindi.

The National Law School (NLS) was inaugurated by the Indian Presidnt, Pratibha Patil and Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit. National Law School is established in Sector 14, Dwarka, in West Delhi region.  As per reports the government had sanctioned Rs 110 crores to set up the law school, judicial academy and a National Centre for Mediation over sprawling 13 acres of land.

National Law School Bill was passed towards the end of the December, 2007. The university for NLS is a deemed univerity and is to have its own Vice-Chancellor.

National Law School offers an integrated B.A. L.L.B (Honors) Degree programme. for students who have qualified their senior secondary exams and are below 21 years of age. A total of 80 seats are available, in which 10 seats are reserved for foreign nationals. The fee structure is fixed at 35,000 INR per semester.

Eight students have set a precedent for contesting and claiming one’s right to education by winning a legal battle against government schools that had denied them admission. Vipin Chandra Pal Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Babarpur had denied admission to two girl students. Naazneen and Nasara were told that they were over 18 years of age and hence, couldn’t seek admission into the school.

The students’ petition was filed at the Delhi High Court and their case was argued by Ashok Aggarwal. He argued the case on the basis of the fact that the right to education is mentioned as an Indian citizen’s fundamental right and it couldn’t be declined due to the consideration of their age. Six other students had sought admission to various government schools in Delhi but were denied on some whimsical pretexts.

One of these six students, Kiran was seeking admission to Class 7 but was denied on the basis that she had completed her earlier education in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and her transfer certificate wasn’t countersigned by the concerned authorities. However, the Court ruled that a student’s education couldn’t be compromised due to the sluggishness of the bureaucratic system. The other five students have also been granted admission into various government schools.

According to a report published by the popular news daily, TOI, Singapore is much more than a second home for Indian students. This place offers inexpensive education and better learning enivronment than India itself. The expenses on education are one-third of that in US or UK.

What is amazing about this place is that seventy five percent of the students are foreigners. This small island country in the South Asia has become the favoured destination for the students all over the world. There are four state universities in Singapore, The National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and SIM. Besides these universities there are many vocational training institutes, management institutes and campuses of many foreign institutes.

Already, the economic experts have reiterated to start looking in the East, instead of West. With good education opportunities and schools in the East, students may be happy considering Singapore and therefore reinforce the idea.

Indian students studying in Singapore have expressed their contention for selecting this destination for continuing their education. Students have been reportedly said that the place is secure and freedom that supports the growth is adequate. All this puts Singapore in the most favoured tourist places for students.   

Even with nearly seventy percent of its students being women, the Punjab University’s student’s union has never had a woman president. Even more striking is the fact that like this year, many times, only male candidates have applied for the president’s profile.

On a few occasions, women have contested and they were even elected for posts of vice-presidency but they are yet to make it to the position of the president. This fact seems surprising for a state which has made headway in increased household incomes and the level of state education is also high. Some people fear that this might become a trend which would then make it difficult for future potential women contestants.

Most people in the college campuses believe that the women don’t lack the courage or the mental fortitude needed for the top job but they seem to suffer from a pre-conceived notion of politics being a source of uninvited trouble. While some girl students are believed to refrain from politics because of parental pressure.