EDUCATION NEWS – JUNE 2009

Friday, June 05th 2009
Dubai calling for St. Xavier's, Kolkata
St. Xavier's College Kolkata will very soon have its overseas campus in Dubai if all goes as planned. The 200 strong college alumni association of Dubai has taken up the task of assisting the college administration with the new mission. The Dubai campus is expected to start by the end of this year. The administration is yet to finalize on the kind of subjects that would be offered at the under-graduate and post-graduate level. As per an initial survey there is a huge demand for English language training and also for management studies. The college also expects to take help from the two famous Jesuit institutes, XLRI and XIMB for the management courses.

Saturday, June 06th 2009
Medical capitation fee scam
The issue of Capitation fee demanded by medical institutions especially certain deemed varsities has certainly jolted the medical education scene. The issue was brought to light by a media led undercover operation in two Chennai based and in a Bangalore medical college. Sri Ramachandra University being one of the offending institutions which demanded Rs 40 Lakh from students seeking MBBS admission. The HRD ministry has already issued notices to the two Chennai colleges and the UGC has promised an independent inquiry into the matter. As per media reports a new link to this issue has been found. Members of the apex regulatory body- the Medical Council of India seem to have strong links with the offending institutions. As per law, the Supreme court ordered a ban on demand of capitation fee six years ago, but seats in medical colleges continue to be sold and auctioned.

Tuesday, June 09th 2009
Canada to recognize Indian Law degree
Canadian authorities have decided to recognize law degrees from India as equivalent to that of the UK and Australia. This hopes to broaden prospects for legal professionals coming from India and other Asian countries. The National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) has decided that three year full time law degrees from common law countries like India, England and Australia should be treated as equivalent. 

Wednesday, June 10th 2009
Bangalore based science institutes get a thumbs up from US
The US-based National Science Foundation ranked the National Center for Biological Sciences(NCBS) as the number one center in India for US graduate students to take up research fellowships and short-term programmes. Two other institutes, the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute for Information Technology have been included among the top eight destinations for science research. The NSF is an apex body in the US which offers fellowships to American students for short-term programmes in research and internships in institutions outside the US. The students will work on collaborative programmes where they will be integrated into research projects which are closely linked to their own graduate work at MIT. The MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives(MISTI) has been encouraging students for such international collaboration programmes.

Thursday, June 11th 2009
EFC approves expenditure on 7 IIMs, 10 NITs
The Expenditure Finance Committee(EFC) has given its nod for proposals of setting up seven IIMs, 10 NITs and 374 degree colleges in the country. With the proposals from the HRD ministry being approved by the EFC the process of setting up these institutions has been set in motion. The seven IIMS have been proposed in Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Haryana.