Bharat Rakshak

hnair wrote: One sees a few FB posts about this guy from the area, but very rare

Singha wrote: a few of the founders of such revered cos if they donated 5% of their net worth we could have a massive world class science center here on the likes of any leading city worldwide...instead we are forced to soldier on with the decrepit and aeging Visveswaraya science center which clearly lacks funds. why is HAL satisfied with its unchanging museum and doesnt improve it to a much bigger facility featuring life scale models?

hnair wrote: One sees a few FB posts about this guy from the area, but very rare

negi wrote:Giving back to institutions in terms of financial aid is a foreign concept ( I am not saying it is bad) , it's just that our institutions during their inception never thought on those lines. Even today it's primarily the IITs which can claim to have an alumni network which is big and resourceful enough to actually make such efforts count. It's a chicken and egg problem , for one to give back to his/her institution there should exist a body which can utilize those funds judiciously but then latter implies that institution should enjoy a fair bit of autonomy in such matters in the first place apart from the IITs there are not many Govt. instis which enjoy autonomy in such matters the HoD of the dept. will have to run around the babus to just get a sanction for accepting aid , even there after a nice photo op of a big cheque being handed over it's highly likely that the funds will be deposited in a safe and key thrown away . Take for example the kind of effort put in by folks on BRF who wanted to make a donation to the IA , even after the funds were collected just handing them over to the IA was a big challenge in itself simply because IA never had any such process or system in place.

negi wrote:Take for example the kind of effort put in by folks on BRF who wanted to make a donation to the IA , even after the funds were collected just handing them over to the IA was a big challenge in itself simply because IA never had any such process or system in place.

SriKumar wrote: Could you please comment on why you think the cut-off should be around 1000. Even people who comment about the current drop in standards do acknowledge the original 5 IITs and the two thousand or so ranks that they accepted….so, am a bit curious why your cut-off is half that.

I don’t see any analysis from your side that considers the cost of the current status quo. If one focuses exclusively on the benefits of a system and dis-regards the cost (in a cost-benefit analysis), it is quite easy to make a case in favor of any system.

Singha wrote:here is the note by a iit kanpur faculty pankaj jalote (a top10 JEE ranker in his day!) on the spending issue and expansion of IIT UG strength. he lists some reasons why that is necessary incl increasing the number of IIT UGs in the indian economy....people who had chance to take the best available UG education in india.
http://www.iiitd.edu.in/~jalote/GenArti ... Ratio.html

Arjun wrote:... most other accepted measures of high IQ - including the Olympiads, GRE and Mensa

matrimc wrote:

Arjun wrote:... most other accepted measures of high IQ - including the Olympiads, GRE and Mensa

Arjun ji, high IQ is not measure of anything, least of all the ability to slog through research. As it has been said several times in the past, research is not a 100 m dash but a marathon.
Regards

RamaY wrote: I got barely passed my +2 with 55% marks onlee... If you ended up in a ti-stall, I would be collecting waste paper only

Sanskrit has been made an optional subject across the Kendriya Vidyalayas from the academic session 2012-13. Students who wish to study the language will now have to take it as an optional subject like any other foreign language.

UN Khaware, joint commissioner (academics), KV Sangathan, says, "Sanskrit was never a compulsory subject. Most government schools have Sanskrit only till class VIII. It is only in the KVs that Sanskrit was taught till class X."

A curious coincidence led 62-year-old V Ravi to read about the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute attached to the Madras Sanskrit College in Mylapore which is languishing for want of funds at a time when he had just begun learning Sanskrit. An email thread, circulated on the subject, had made its way to the mailing list of the IIT-Madras alumni batch of 1971.

Now, its members - including Ravi who has volunteered to be the coordinator - are not just contributing to the cause, but working out ways to sustain the institution's future as well.


"When my father passed away, I had to perform several rituals, but I didn't know what they meant. This prompted me to learn Sanskrit. I have been attending classes organised by the Sringeri Mutt on Sundays for the last three months. The language is highly scientific and well-structured. It is a pleasure to learn," Ravi said.

After a meeting with the staff of the institute, he realised that they were making a lot of sacrifices to keep the place running as the grants from the government stopped in 1995. Now surviving on contributions from corporates and private donors, the institute has introduced a scheme where it sends out books published as an outcome of its research in exchange for a lifetime membership of Rs 2,000.

Dr K S Balasubramanian, deputy director of the institute, says they have brought out 13 books over the last two years. "One of our library members sent out an email about the plight of the institute and we got about 100 lifetime subscribers. Since we are not well-versed with software, Ravi has offered to help us with technological support as well. There may be individuals abroad who might want to read a commentary on Thiruppavai, for instance. We could digitise it and send it to him," he said.

The IIT-M alumni club of 1971 is considering approaching the Planning Commission to ask for a grant as there have been previous instances when the body has extended its support to projects that help ancient languages survive.

"An alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad has expressed interest in designing a website for the institute. People could donate through the site. The institute could also cater to people living abroad who wish to learn Sanskrit by formulating content and charging users a fee to conduct the classes," Ravi said.

"I need to have volunteers to pull this off, though. A person each in major cities, could coordinate locally. Right now, only our batch is involved with this. We are trying to locate people we know from the various batches of IIT-M alumni to go back to their batch and spread the word," he added.

The present selection system has failed to bring in students who are genuinely interested in path-breaking engineering work

Last week I came across a remarkable report on international education tests conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Pisa 2009 tests indicate that China has an education system that is overtaking those of many Western countries and that Shanghai was on top of the international education rankings for schools. Andreas Schleicher, responsible for the highly-influential Pisa tests, claimed that the results showed the “resilience” of pupils despite tough backgrounds, and the “high levels of equity” between rich and poor pupils. He believes that it's a philosophical difference — expecting all pupils to make the grade, rather than a “sorting mechanism” to find a chosen few — and, that anyone can create an education system where a few at the top succeed; the real challenge is to push through the entire cohort.

However, the glass is only three-quarters full. It is important that we now focus on why it is one-quarter empty. Mr. Schleicher has a point in that “anyone can create an education system where a few at the top succeed”. The success of our BTech products is partly due to the selection process. Unfortunately, many IIT faculty members and alumni base their entire pride and self worth on this “success”. The fact is that if we admit only those from the top few per cent of a national exam, they will do well no matter how the test is conducted.

There are other reasons why the IIT entrance procedure needs a major revamp. The present selection system depends on machismo in physics, chemistry and mathematics — ideally suited for coaching classes, condemning young boys and girls to a concentration camp atmosphere for two years or so. This is the period these youngsters should spend exploring their interest and aptitudes but are prevented from doing so. This straitjacketing is probably filtering out the innovative and curious ones who hate such narrow perspectives, ensuring that IITs are denied some young Indians who might be truly interested in path breaking work. It is time for a rethink on the objective of the selection procedure for IITs.

Another unfortunate aspect of the JEE debate is that it obfuscates the real issue facing IITs. The future of IITs does not depend on the selection process of undergraduates. No matter what process is adopted they will do well. Within a decade IITs will have little to show for as academic institutions unless policymakers and faculty members start taking pride in the MTech and PhD programmes. It is worth remembering that BTechs comprise less than half of IIT graduates every year. The majority are MTech and PhD degree holders. They make a huge contribution to technological development in India in the public and private sector. It is this group that needs constant improvement, encouragement and recognition. This will not happen unless IITs transform from mid-20th century, narrow-visioned technical institutions to modern, multidisciplinary research universities.

Bade wrote:Anyone knows the % of BTechs who opt for IIMs immediately after graduation these days. If a majority of the JEE toppers have an entrepreneurial mindset and the selection process basically filters out the ones who are willing to put in the hard work for 1-2 years, have excellent analytical skills which has never been questioned by any, why not have them join IIMs instead, or even get IIMs to partner with IITs to have a full fledged 4 yr management degree program.

Separate out the pure engineers/scientists aptitude wallahs from MBA seekers. Both skills are needed anyway by the industry.

nelson wrote:Compromise reached. Win-win situation, is it?

Govt.-IITs row over entrance test resolved; Sibal skips meeting