Indian Education System

[ashish raval]

As i watching Olympics what astonished me is the enormous pride and confidence that China has shown as a nation. The most inspiring thing of all was the precision of events coordinated. I think it is about time that we as a nation start a subject in the school entitled "nation building".

[R_Kumar]

As long as the JEE remains super-selective, the OBC tandava may not lead to super dilution etc, as long as the creamy layer is also allowed. Once the creamy layer is taken off, its again a fair game for prediction etc. But then every politico seems to be altering the ceiling for creamy layer somuchso in the near future, it may not make much difference. The problem of course is that the "really" deserving {meaning lower income groups} wont get the benefit. But then since IIT seats are left unoccupied if good candidates are not found, they would nt even otherwise, unless they performed better. What is necessary is perhaps free coaching-giri for lower income groups. Maybe the states can compete on providing subsidies for such efforts. Same holds for SC/STs.
.

Nowdays quota is not made for betterment of society. Its a tool to divide people and get votes and at the end rich people get the benefits. In my village 95 % families are "forward cast". There are more than 500 families and none of them have even anywhere close to Rs 6 L income. Rs 6 L is proposed new creamy layer income or may be they have already implemented it. I will say more than 20 % of the families falls below official BPL level income and they are getting free monthly rice and other stuffs. Even though they are proven BPL, they will not get quota benefits. Why? because some one has leveled them "Forward". Its disgusting.

[shaardula]

paging stan...

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/
check for china prep

[Stan_Savljevic]

paging stan...
check for china prep

Boss, sorry to inform that moi has no tv. Do PBS stories get available online? Seems like I will have to wait till it gets online/for sale.

[vina]

If folks crib here about IIT/JEE and the "Kota" business and how bad it is, this must be "Kota" taken to the extreme.. I can never imagine India turning into such a system. Basic human character of the Indian people would be robbed if thing came to such as pass. Gosh. NPS and Piss Baby (PSBB) are chicken feed when compared to this. Why even the "Kota" cram schools sound like heaven.

The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By

August 13, 2008
A Taste of Failure Fuels an Appetite for Success at South Korea’s Cram Schools
By CHOE SANG-HUN

YONGIN, South Korea — As the sun was dipping behind the pine hills surrounding this rural campus one recent Monday, Chung Il-wook and his wife drove up with Min-ju, their 18-year-old daughter. They gave her a quick hug and she hurried into the school building, dragging a suitcase behind her.

Inside, a raucous crowd of 300 teenage boys and girls had returned from a two-night leave and were lining up to have their teachers search their bags.

The students here were forsaking all the pleasures of teenage life. No cellphones allowed, no fashion magazines, no television, no Internet. No dating, no concerts, no earrings, no manicures — no acting their age.

All these are mere distractions from an overriding goal. On this regimented campus, miles from the nearest public transportation, Min-ju and her classmates cram from 6:30 a.m. to past midnight, seven days a week, to clear the fearsome hurdle that can decide their future — the national college entrance examination.

“Min-ju, do your best! Fighting!” Mr. Chung shouted as his daughter disappeared into the building. Min-ju turned around and raised a clenched fist. “Fighting!” she shouted back.

South Koreans say their obsession to get their children into top-notch universities is nothing short of “a war.” Nowhere is that zeal better illustrated than in cram schools like Jongro Yongin Campus, located in a sparsely populated suburb of Yongin, 25 miles south of Seoul.

Most Jongro students are “jaesoo sang,” or “study-again students.” Having failed to get into the university of their choice, they are preparing relentlessly for next year’s entrance examination. Some try and try again, for three years running after graduating from high school.

The Jongro school pursues a strategy of isolation, cut off from competing temptations of any sort. Its curriculum is so tightly regulated and the distractions so few that students say they have no option but to study.

“Sending Min-ju here was not an ideal, but an inevitable choice,” said Mr. Chung, a 50-year-old accountant. “In our country, college entrance exams determine 70 to 80 percent of a person’s future. It’s a sad reality. But you have to acknowledge it; otherwise you hurt your children’s future.”

Admission to the right university can make or break an ambitious young South Korean. The university that students attend in their 20s can determine the jobs they get and the money they make in their 50s. The top-tier schools — Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei Universities, collectively known as SKY— may hardly register on global lists of the best in higher education. But here, their diplomas are a ticket of admission, an envied status symbol and a badge of pride for graduates and parents.

The life of a South Korean child, from kindergarten to high school, is dominated by the need to excel in standardized entrance examinations for college. The system is so demanding that it is credited with fueling the nation’s outstanding economic success. It is also widely criticized for the psychological price it exacts from young people. Among young people 10 to 19, suicide is the second most common cause of death, after traffic accidents.

When virulent antigovernment protests shook South Korea this summer, most notably over President Lee Myung-bak’s agreement to import beef from the United States, many demonstrators were teenagers protesting the pressure-cooker conditions they endured at school.

Among the criticisms of Mr. Lee were accusations that he filled too many top government posts with people tied to Korea University, his alma mater. Yet when the president replaced his entire staff in June, all but one of 10 new senior secretaries had graduated from the nation’s three best-known universities.

About 600,000 Korean students enter colleges each year — 10,000 of them at the SKY schools — and more than one in five are “jaesoo saeng” who have redeemed themselves through cramming.

“I first felt ashamed,” said Chung Yong-seok, 19, who is trying again for Korea University after being denied admission last year. “I asked myself what I was doing in a place like this when all my friends were having a good time in college. But I consider a year in this place as an investment for a better future.”

Many of these hopefuls study alone or commute daily to a private institute. Many others enroll in one of the 50 boarding cram schools that have sprung up around Seoul.

Jongro opened last year. Its four-story main building houses classrooms and dormitories, with eight beds per room. The school day begins at 6:30 a.m., when whistles pierce the quiet and teachers stride the hallways, shouting, “Wake up!”

After exercise and breakfast, the students are in their classrooms by 7:30, 30 per class. Each room includes a few music stands, for students who stand to keep from dozing.

A final roll call comes at 12:30 a.m., after which students may go to bed, unless they opt to cram more, until 2:00 a.m.

The routine relaxes on Saturday and Sunday, when students have an extra hour to sleep and two hours of free time. Every three weeks the students may leave the campus for two nights.

The curriculum has no room for romance. Notices enumerate the forbidden behavior: any conversation between boys and girls that is unrelated to study; exchanging romantic notes; hugging, hooking arms or other physical contact. Punishment includes cleaning a classroom or restroom or even expulsion.

“We girls hear which girls boys consider pretty,” Park Eom-ji, 19, said. “But we don’t use much cosmetics, we don’t dye our hair, we don’t wear conspicuous clothes.” She added, “We know what we are here for.”

Kim Sung-woo, 32, who teaches at Jongro, remembered the even more spartan regimen of the cram school that he attended. In his day, he said, students desperate for a break slipped off campus at night by climbing walls topped with barbed wire. Corporal punishment was common.

Things are no longer that tough — too many parents complained. Still, “this place — metaphorically speaking — is a prison,” said Kim Kap-jung, a deputy headmaster at Jongro. “The students come under tremendous pressure when the exam date approaches and their score doesn’t improve. Girls weep during counseling and boys run away and don’t return.” In some schools, as many as 40 percent of the students drop out.

Korean parents are notably willing to sacrifice for their children’s futures. More than 80 percent of high school graduates go to college. The percentage of private spending on education, 2.8 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic product in 2004, is the highest among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“It’s a big financial burden for me,” said Park Hong-ki, 50, referring to the $1,936 a month that he pays to have his son at Jongro.

Students write themselves pep notes on pieces of colored sticky paper and keep them on their desks. “I may shed tears of sadness today, but tomorrow I will shed tears of happiness,” one said. Another admonished, “Think about the sacrifices your parents make to send you here.”

[Singha]

dont they have the concept of changing jobs and working up to better jobs or is it a one
shot deal wherein you get into LG/Samsung deal out of college and thats it - no lateral hiring
in later?

Min-ju turned around and raised a clenched fist. “Fighting!” she shouted back.

yay you go girl!

[Nayak]

In s'pore, there are many international schools. American schools are all the rage among korean expats. Even my amreeki manager was puzzled as to why the korean parents were so insistent on sending their kids to an American school. Enormous pressure on the poor kids to get into those schools with a waiting list going back to years.

[ChandraS]

X-post from Nukkad:

Thanks for the info Muppalla.

archan & Ramana:

I understand what you both are saying. At this point in time, I am not the one doing any interviewing for the firm. My info is sought to get a more comparable(or can call it standardized) picture of the student's academic background and achievements.

Case in point - while in my UG uty had 70% was quite tough to achieve, my friend in grad school had gone to one where 90% was the corresponding benchmark. We were both similar in almost every respect. Most desis are aware of this situation. Trouble is employers aren't savvy about this. So if they get a resume from a candidate with 75% from the uty my friend went to, their expectations also grow and the candidate may be evaluated for a different position than the one they aspire for. I see this as unfair to the applicant as they may be well qualified for the position they are interested in (and is available) than the higher one being considered by the firm. This is where I try to 'level' the playing field for them.

Boss, this needs to go the educashun thread. Please xpost. TIA. I ve seen loadsa doofuses from elsewhere get into positions with internal squabbling among Injuns leading to many positions denied unfairly to us. I ve seen the eye-eye-tee-vs-nonIIT squabbling more often. This will only go away with education, no pun intended.

[shaardula]

vina et al.,
the link i posted is exactly on this issue in china. brought back memories from childhood.

exactly the same situation as in india. 1 important exam. city-walas better shot. but the only level playing field for all irrespective of background. ditto like in india.

you can watch the preview. the full program will be online in a few days prolly.

[Avinash R]

10,000 schools under Knowledge Network

Mysore : “The Department of Information Technology, Government of India, aims to to interconnect about 10,000 schools across the country with the ‘National Knowledge Network,’ within the next three years. A project report is being prepared to implement this,” said N Ravi Shankar, Joint Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Government of India.

Inaugurating the new building of the International School of Information Management, University of Mysore, a Ford Foundation funded initiative, at the Manasa Gangothri campus here on Wednesday, he said, in a move towards improving standards in the educational sector, the Union Government has proposed to bring all schools under the National Knowledge Network.

In the begining, about hundred schools will be provided with the network.

This will gradually be increased to 10,000 schools within three years, he added.

The Union Government has also taken up the ‘Digital Library project,’ in a move towards establishing a National Library Network.

About a million books will be digitised and published on the web, he added.

[putnanja]

Vacant OBC seats will go to general category: SC

Vacant OBC seats will go to general category: SC
16 Sep 2008, 0022 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN

NEW DELHI: The Centre had chosen to ignore this important direction from a constitution bench of the Supreme Court — revert all vacant 27% OBC quota seats in central educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs, to the general category. ( Watch )

It can no longer do so. For, the same five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices Arijit Pasayat, C K Thakker, R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari on Monday asked the Centre: "Where is the confusion in this direction? It was crystal clear that the vacant OBC quota seats would go to the general category."

On August 2, this newspaper carried a Times View saying that reserved seats going vacant should be thrown open to general category students.

The Bench on Monday also reiterated its earlier order that the Centre, which appeared to be in a hurry to fill all the OBC seats, could not dilute merit by reducing the cut-off marks for backward class students much lower than that prescribed for the general category.

"If the cut-off for general category is 50% marks in the entrance examination, you cannot admit OBC candidates who have secured just 25% marks. You cannot dilute merit altogether. That is why three of the five judges on the constitution bench had favoured a cut-off for OBC candidates — either 5% (two judges) or 10% (one judge) less than that of general candidates," the Bench said.

The Bench asked solicitor general G E Vahanvati to take instruction from the Centre on these two issues raised by an application seeking direction to the government for proper implementation of the OBC quota judgment.

Vahanvati said he would get back to the court in two weeks on these issues with a status report on the vacancy position and the stand on cut-off marks for OBC candidates. Appearing for the applicant, senior advocate K K Venugopal said there were 432 seats from the 27% OBC quota lying vacant in various IITs and IIMs and accused the Centre of not reverting them to the general category.

"It is a national waste if these seats in prestigious institutions are allowed to remain vacant," he said. In its April 10 judgment upholding 27% OBC quota excluding the creamy layer, the bench had taken care not to dilute educational excellence for which India has made a mark in the world.

Justice Pasayat, writing for himself and Justice Thakker, had said: "The central government shall examine the desirability of fixing cut-off marks in respect of the candidates belonging to OBCs."

Giving an illustration, he had said: "It can be indicated that five marks grace can be extended to such candidates below the minimum eligibility marks fixed for general category students. This will ensure that quality and merit do not suffer." Justice Pasayat had also faulted the concept of carrying forward to the next academic year the quota seats which remained unfilled. He said: "If any seats remain vacant after adopting such norms, they shall be filled up by candidates from general categories."

Justice Bhandari had said a rational reservation system benefited the entire nation where citizens should have access to quality education. "There should be no case in which the gap of cut-off marks between OBC and general category students is too large. To preclude such a situation, cut-off marks for OBCs should be set no lower than 10 marks below the general category," he said.

[Vipul]

The Great Indiuan Nightmare.

George Bernard Shaw once asked an attractive woman seated next to him at a dinner table, "Madam, would you go to bed with me for a thousand pounds?" The woman shook her head. "How about 50,000 pounds?" he continued. The woman, after further thought, coyly replied, "Perhaps." Shaw continued, "How about five pounds?" The woman exclaimed, "Mr Shaw, what do you take me for!" Shaw calmly replied, "We have already established what you are. Now we are merely haggling for the price."

In the great Indian Education Bazaar, everything is up for sale -- government, media, educational institutes, foreign faculty, collaboration with foreign varsities, endorsement of teaching shops by reputed names for credibility, successful candidates in competitive exams posing as alumni. The only issue is the price, and you can haggle over it.

"I threatened one institute with legal recourse if it uses my name in any of its brochures," said a topper, whose name the institute was using to position itself in the market.

Says a parent, "My son joined the BBA course offered by a Delhi-based institute. Mortgaging my house in Bihar, I paid Rs 12 lakhs as fees, only to realise later that it wasn't accredited with the UGC (University Grants Commission). Worried, I admitted my son to the Delhi [Images] Open University, too. My son now studies in two institutes without any time for himself, and has gone into a depression and developed suicidal tendencies."

Representatives of the concerned institute respond, "The parent shouldn't have just gone by the ads. These are meant to attract students for our business." Writes a frustrated professor who gave up teaching, "The impotent rage that I felt during those years as a professor, about kids literally crying their hearts out, but still refusing to come out in the open has killed all traces of compassion in me."

The problem starts with the UGC, the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), and the HRD (Human Resources Development) ministry. An entrepreneur who had gone to register a distant education course that could be enabled on the Internet was told, "The normal process takes a long time and as your course is on the Internet, it may not pass at all. Saheb, aap hamari dekhbal karo aur hum aap ka kaam karva denge (You take care of us and we will ensure that this course gets UGC recognition)."

The rules of the game are weird, "They are more bothered about floor space, toilets and the like. I can rotate faculty across five programmes and they won't care two hoots," cries the professor.

Bureaucrats exploit an impotent society and an overburdened judiciary to earn slush money. Good institutions are harassed, and those bad are indulged. And for the bad institutions, there are middlemen who help them get out of trouble "We realised that the solution for all the complaints against us lay with a person in Punjab, who had all the right connections in the ministry of education," says a representative of another educational institute.

The media comes out completely scarred. "I can't even write about a good institution like the ISB (Indian School of Business) as the biggest advertiser would have a problem," says an editor of a leading English daily. "There is pressure on me to have the dean of a private institute featured on my front page," says another editor.

Articles with misleading facts are planted in the media, and come in handy for those who resort to advertisements to gain credibility. "They are the biggest advertisers and we need to keep them happy," says an ad sales head. B school rankings and awards are up for sale; the price is paid through advertisements. "If you push us up by a couple of ranks, it wouldn't be noticed by anyone," an institute once said to me.

They entice publications through other methods. For instance, four months into the launch of our business magazine, Outlook Business, a private university awarded us the 'best business magazine.' A few years ago, Outlook was awarded 'the most popular magazine amongst the masses.' Aware of my deep suspicion and dislike for such honour, I was once offered 'an entrepreneur with social consciousness.'

The nation watches in dismay as the game goes on. They fleece and post lavish profits. No questions are asked. No taxes are paid. There are no regulations. Glance at advertisements featured in the leading Indian publications. People who shout the most are the biggest liars. Often, the job placement figures and the salaries offered are not even half of what is claimed.

"What some of these so-called MBA institutes produce are kids who know how to wear a tie and spout jargon that would only help them sell an insurance policy. So, why should we pay pounds to buy peanuts?" asks a source closely linked to placing students in jobs. Those who can't grant MBA degrees because they lack the mandatory AICTE approval find these can be secured from private universities in Chhattisgarh or Europe.

A student visited an international B school in Europe whose degrees are hawked in India. He now writes, "We walked into a college which is not bigger than my 4,000 sq ft house and we could meet only two people during our entire stay." This foreign institute isn't even recognised by its own government.

A parent, whose son went on one of the international study tour, retorts, "All my son did on the tour was to visit a few night clubs. He had a lot of fun at my expense. It was never a study tour."

To create an image for themselves, some institutes invite international professors to lecture on one of their campuses. The professors allow their names to be used, obviously, for the right price. Teachers who haven't visited India in the last five years find their names mentioned under visiting faculty in the ads of dubious institutes.

Now the new game is consulting and executive education. While investigating a recent executive education advert by an Indian institute which claimed that they tied up with a couple of very prominent global university and B school, we realised that their contribution was a mere two per cent of the entire course content.

In times of financial crunch, even the best global institutes and universities are up for sale -- all for the right price. A mail to some of these varsities elicited panicky response or silence. They left it to their Indian partners to 'manage' the Indian media.

The realisation you have been taken for a ride sinks in -- often very soon. As I write this column, another student has committed suicide in Delhi. And the lies continue. The fa�ade is unchallenged.

Corruption thrives. Slush money pours. Unemployable manpower grows. Employable manpower is a trickle. An over-burdened economy is made to pay more for the trickle. A poor population is forced to borrow to fund education for their children -- no returns guaranteed. The income gap widens. The economy weakens. The India growth story is challenged. It is real.

A professor harassed for being a whistle blower and forced to resign says, "If a person like me cannot make an honest living in this country, I would be more concerned about the country's future than for myself."

This is The Great Indian Nightmare.

[Rye]

Indian education system needs to go back to the basics of education -- teaching elementary mathematics, calculation of interest rates, and maintaining savings, etc. --- tools to survive even if one does not have a college degree (which is usually worthless if it is from one of the JNU-like graveyards of educations or the equally worthless private colleges that just print degrees without any capability to teach a damn thing).

Create interest in science by creating a syllabus that will help kids solve problems in their local environment -- people need to understand why science is useful in empowering the human before they will bite and go the whole way.

JMT

[Tanaji]

The biggest hurdle today is the extreme disparity between demand and supply that has been artificially created due to the socialist mindset.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Noone posted this article, I assume
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodnam ... F%29&sid=1

Here's why NRIs are coming home to the IITs:
They feel culturally more comfortable to live and work in India
There are research opportunities comparable to the west
Greater involvement of industry in R&D means better funding
IITs have a research focus: encouraging environment, space and facilities
The NRIs feel being a part of brand IIT is creditworthy worldwide

Call it the return of the native. In a clear reversal of the brain drain syndrome, highly qualified Indians who have studied and worked abroad are coming back home to be part of their country's education system and knowledge pool. And nowhere is this welcome trend more perceptible than in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) which has seven institutions across the country. In Delhi's IIT, 25 of the 40 faculty members appointed in the last one year are foreign-returned. Mumbai has 40 and the others IITs are recording anywhere from 2-5 faculty members who have come back to serve in India. Also check the buzz on the blog RRI (returning resident Indians); there's an increasing number of queries about career opportunities at the country's premier technology institute.

Niloy J. Mitra, assistant professor at IIT Delhi's department of computer science and engineering, joined the faculty last year to teach computer graphics, visualisation and industrial geometry. It was the prospects of doing better research work that prompted Mitra, who has a PhD from Stanford University and post-doctoral degree from the Vienna University of Technology, to return home. Says he: "The salaries are not at all competitive but the facilities and funding are as I expected. IIT Delhi was my choice because of the great research opportunities that it offers." {On the dot, thats what I universally hear from folks who joined IITM too. The issue is also one where grant money cant be directly used for international conference travel, which more or less constrains folks from making one (or at best two) intl conferences per year, a pittance if one has to go around selling their hearts, souls and minds in this cut-throat industry.}

Brothers Vinay and Rahul Joseph Ribeiro had no plans of returning to India. Now, Rahul teaches in the mechanical engineering department and Vinay in the computer science and engineering department of IIT Delhi. "Culturally we are more comfortable at home, there are more research opportunities here. Also, opportunity and funding from industry for research work has increased," says Vinay who studied at IIT Madras before going abroad for higher studies.

Some of those who have returned are surprised that India is not lagging too far behind vis-a-vis research facilities. Take Prof Supratik Chakraboty of IIT Bombay. He says he was happy to find out that he would be able to do the same kind of work in India that he had planned to do abroad. {I must comment that this is a mixed bag. For pen and paper fields, the scope of research is more or less the same at either place.. And there are many fields like that. There are some very wicked fields like device physics, RF design, antennas etc where equipments at the sophisticated end are a must. The scope for this type of work is rather limited or constrained to 1 or 2 gens of "bygone" stuff. This cant be redressed asap, but over the next decade or so, things may get a bit better than what it is today. Thats a bigggggg stumbling block.} After doing his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford and working for a year in the advanced cad Research group at Fujitsu Laboratories in the US, he has been a part of the computer science department at the IIT. "It was a great feeling to know that there are opportunities back home in academia and research. I feel the number of people coming back is due to this support system. Other than the formal applications, there is a lot being done through informal networking and word-of-mouth which is influencing people to return," he says. {Yes, I have seen at least 3-4 emails soliciting some type of interest. The folks back in India are desperate, and that is most obvious. If only the GoI played more ball to the administrators, this could be a looooooot better. When will the messiah come?}

The trend is spread across all departments, say members of the IIT Delhi faculty who are happy with this brain drain reversal at a time when the faculty crunch is at its peak. {I assume "Dil maange more" is still the rule. Knowing the thinking in some of these people, I will be wrong if I did nt add that.} Says Prof B.N. Jain, deputy dean, faculty, IIT Delhi: "In the recent past, we have seen a growth in the number of people returning from abroad and opting for teaching at IIT as a career option. The institute is playing a very proactive role in attracting these people. If the government expects us to grow at 54 per cent, then the faculty has to grow at the same pace." Among the initiatives taken by IIT Delhi is the Outstanding Young Faculty Fellowship where the institute tops the pay package by Rs 10,000 per month for five years. {10k is too small, but if they can top it off with some soft/flex funds, I am sure that will be a definite consideration. Soon. Waiting for the economy to grow more soon.} "Even though the amount is very small, it is an initiative taken to encourage and recognise these highly talented pool of people," says Jain.

Now a part of the system, these new faculty members are addressing various issues varying from a shortage in the number of students opting for PhDs and the Union HRD ministry introducing caste-based reservation for faculty. {Yes, they are trying to fix the mess that gets flinged from MHRD at a pace at which they cant definitely keep up. Guess what, research takes a beating if someone focusses on wasting their time on crap like this. A 1008 curses on Arjun Singh.} "There is a distinct lack of faculty. The shortages have gone up and will go further up. There is a problem with the small number of people opting for a PhD," says Prof Amitabh Bagchi, who returned to IIT Delhi to teach structural properties of networks, algorithms and data structure after studying at the Johns Hopkins University. There are many industry tie-ups that professors like him are working on whereby students will be paid high salaries by the industry to do research work at the Institute.

At an event hosted by the World Economic Forum at Stanford university earlier this month, participants were asked to speculate on how high-tech clusters like Silicon Valley, Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park and Bangalore will evolve in coming decades. Two teams were formed to come up with contrasting projections: a positive and a gloomy scenario. The team working on the positive scenario highlighted the role of the Indians returning to contribute to the knowledge pool. {:)}

In a paper, 'Bangalore In 2025: Global Innovation Hub or Backwater?' later published by Harvard Business Publishing, researcher Navi Radjou lays much hope in the returnees of the future—thousands of US-resident Indians with PhDs and mbas who, from 2012 onward, will return to Bangalore to launch startups and run research institutes. These "returnees", he predicts, would be instrumental in accelerating the inflow of scientific knowledge, business acumen, and VC capital from the US to Bangalore. {I remember saying that some three or so years back with a very crude model and an even cruder understanding of the giant scheme of things back then. Now we have some official backup based on some scientific study, I presume.} They will "help forge strong social networks both in India by scaling up their clean tech and bioengineering startups into multinationals. By 2025, they will become India's Bill Gates and serve as new role models for the Indian youth."

At the IITs, the reversal has begun much sooner than anyone could have predicted. And those who are coming back to India seem to be a happy lot despite not-so-impressive salary packages. {Yes, I see and hear the same from folks I meet at conferences. Nothing beats like Indian food and way-of-life, trust me.} Many of them say they just want to contribute and the IITs are providing them a perfect platform to do just that.

They should have also done a small coverage of the IISc and TIFR folks. I see more folks returning to these two places too. Anyway, not a bad summary at all.

[Vipul]

Defence study centre fights for space, faculty.

PUNE: Six years after it was set up to serve as a premier institute for research in defence and strategic studies, the National Centre for International Security and Defence Analysis (Nisda) at the University of Pune (UoP) continues to grapple with issues like inadequate space and lack of expert faculty.

Research initiatives have almost come to a standstill as Nisda awaits renewal of approval by a review panel of the University Grants Commission (UGC).A visit by the UGC review panel is due since February 2007 considering that Nisda’s initial approval was for a five-year term. The centre went operational in February 2002.

Most expert faculties, who were appointed for the initial five-year term, have made an exit on account of lapse of term. Fresh recruitment is subject to UGC’s review and recommendation, Nisda director A.S. Dalvi told TOI on Tuesday
Nisda is in need of 10 research associates, including one reader, three lecturers and six research assistants. It is banking on a change following the UGC panel’s anticipated visit next month.

[Nayak]

Campaign to turn Chandigarh vegetarian
2 Oct 2008, 1040 hrs IST,IANS
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CHANDIGARH: A student organisation wants to turn Chandigarh into a city of vegetarians. They've made a good beginning by persuading the owner of a non-vegetarian eating joint to switch over to vegetarian food.

Members of YES!+ club (Youth empowerment and skills workshop), a youth wing of Art of Living, have brought this change with the power of persuasion.

"We were on a tree plantation drive at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) here when we noticed a restaurant operating inside the campus, offering non-vegetarian food to the students," Himani Datta, a volunteer of YES!+, said.

"We went to the owner of the joint and talked to him. We apprised him of the bad effects of non-vegetarian food on the health of the person and on the environment. After a long discussion with the owner, we finally convinced him," Himani said.

"In return, we helped the owner design his new menu, catalogues and placards. Students of various colleges of the Panjab University (PU) contributed to this effort," she added.

"We were serving non-vegetarian food for commercial reasons. Seeing the enthusiasm of these young students and on their continuous insistence I decided to change the menu to vegetarian," said Praveen Fakay, owner of Combo Food.

"I was impressed with their straightforward way of directly approaching me and I am sure that this bunch of students can bring a big change in society," said Fakay.

"I am proud to be a part of this initiative and I firmly stand for vegetarianism and urge all youngsters to adopt it," said Pranav Talwar, another volunteer and a student of electrical engineering at PEC.

"Now we are planning to approach other prominent non-vegetarian eating joints in the city. Our endeavour is to make this whole city vegetarian," Talwar said.

"It is a proven reality that we will become healthier both physically and emotionally if we lead a vegetarian lifestyle. We will conduct seminars and campaigns all over the city to educate the masses about the benefits of vegetarian diet and woo them to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle," said Himani.

She added that there are around 100 active volunteers of YES!+ in the city.

All volunteers of YES!+ here have adopted vegetarianism.

Other activities of YES!+ include educating masses about global warming, pollution, taking out cleanliness drives and planting trees.

Talk about time-pass, these idiots should actually be studying and not talking cr@p about global warming. I support child-education programmes, setting up chapters for senior citizens etc.

But global warming ?? Looks like a crowd which has a rich sugardaddy to pamper their life-style and go around preaching.

[Saral]

I havent found any mention (on BR) on the IIT/IISc-HRD initiative of video courses started earlier this year.. From what I can tell, this is far more systematic and comprehensive than anything that is out there (for technical engg education; yes including MIT, Berkeley, Stanford etc). This initiative is spearheaded by MS Ananth of IIT Madras. Those who bunked too many classes can make up now

links:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=nptelhrd Playlists for courses

http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/ nptel site


Highly Recommended: Enounce youtube plugin to control speed of video (many of them can be watched at anywhere from 1.5x to 2x without comprehension loss.. note: one needs to be fully familiar with accents)

--from FAQ on difference between MIT OCW and NPTEL --

The last important difference between NPTEL and OCW is that there are 110 video (approximately 4500 hours) lecture courses from phase I and there will be about 400 video lecture courses (with about 16000 hours of lectures) at the end of phase II. In addition, IITs have large repositories of video lectures prepared already from their own efforts outside of NPTEL and these are also being made available as free and open educational resources for all. When this is completed, this will be the largest single repository of technical courses in the world in the streaming video format and will be helpful to everyone who is interested in enhancing his/her learning.

[Stan_Savljevic]

I havent found any mention (on BR) on the IIT/IISc-HRD initiative of video courses started earlier this year.. From what I can tell, this is far more systematic and comprehensive than anything that is out there (for technical engg education; yes including MIT, Berkeley, Stanford etc). This initiative is spearheaded by MS Ananth of IIT Madras. Those who bunked too many classes can make up now

This is an initiative taken primarily for the above reason. Far too many bunks happened to be witnessed in the 2000+ batches. Thats the time when internet started appearing in the hostel zone and intra-hostel gaming contests became the norm somuchso folks would have contests till like 4 AM and wake up around 12 or so just in time for food. There was a faculty committee incorporated to come up with an innovative solution for this mess. Some suggested taking internet off the hostel zone, just like old days. That was seen to be a solution with no proper rational basis and this video thingie was what came out of all these meetings. Good that its available far and wide. In fact, I would nt be too surprised if folks outside benefit (per-capita) far more by this than folks inside the iit system, knowing how they cram for quizzes in the last minute.

In fact, there is some initiative to scan and post free pdfs of texts written by folks inside {class-materials} for public access so many engg colleges would nt feel pulled down for want of a good syllabus. Should wait and see what comes out of this. Not another glacial event, I hope. In the early 80s, the IIT system was a master at this. I remember going to some small micro-libraries inside esb and finding tons of materials on course-work and how IIT faculty hosted and conducted extra courses for faculty in the rest of India to come to speed with innovations et al. This was the pre-internet era. Somewhere along the line, this was forgotten. Good that things are starting to go back to Nalanda roots, one step at a time.

[Stan_Savljevic]

There was one other report I read somewhere on IITs and other central technical universities having a separate one man commission with a 3 month timeline for payscale revamp. Cant seem to locate it now. That will cosy up some potential recruits, perhaps.

In what could bring cheers to the university teachers, the UGC-Pay Review Committee on Friday recommended a whopping over 70 per cent pay hike with additional allowances and new positions to academics. The committee, headed by Prof G K Chadha, today submitted its report to the UGC Chairman Prof Sukhadeo Thorat.

As per the recommendations, at the entry level, a faculty member will join as an assistant professor, not as a lecturer as earlier, and his new pay band will be between Rs 15,600 to Rs 39,100. The teacher at the entry level will be entitled for a grade pay of Rs 6,600. At present, a lecturer's pay scale is between Rs 8,000 to Rs 13,500.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holn ... 031975.htm

With elections to the Lok Sabha and some state assemblies round the corner, the government on Friday raised the income ceiling for crea
my layer from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh annually in a move that will cover more OBCs under the reservation criteria.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Eyei ... 556616.cms

The Indian government on Friday sanctioned Rs 3.25 billion ($69.2 million) for upgrading madrassas under a scheme for providing qualit
y education in these institutions by introducing subjects like maths and English. "The scheme is meant to encourage traditional institutions like Madrassas/Maktabs/Darululooms to introduce science, mathematics, social studies and English in their curriculum," the minister said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt ... 557089.cms

[shaardula]

must watch:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_cov ... ocial_ent/

[sanjaykumar]

Thanks that's India at its inspirational best.

[ashishkp]

Hello Everyone,

I would like to raise an entirely new issue on this National Security
Forum.

In my view , the biggest threat to Indian national security and prosperity
is not China, Pakistan, Islamism or any such factor that immediately
comes to mind...Instead , the biggest threat to the Country is
" how we treat our teachers."

I have specifically put this content up on this strategic Issues
forum because it is strategic and I hope the moderator lets it remain here
for discussion.

India reached the height of its power and glory when the teacher was at
the head of our society. Under the leadership of the teacher
India was a nation to be reckoned with. Today ... India's fall and the
deterioration in standards across the board and in all walks of life
is mainly because the least qualified people are joining the teaching
profession ... because the salaries are so low compared to other
professions and since the Teacher and his family struggle to make ends
meet ... it results in low prestige associated with the extremely tough job
of moulding children. The same thing is happening to Armed forces
personnel and their salaries...in my view however ... much more damage
is being done when we consider the treatment given to teachers as a class
of people because of its large scale and devastating implications on our
society as a whole.

I have thought deeply on this subject and I have designed a very large
school project consisting of 30,000 schools which has as its
central theme, the idea that to get the best people into teaching ( mainly
primary education ) we need to create a lifestyle around the teaching
profession. Once we create a nice lifestyle around the Teachers
profession , the best and the brightest people will take to teaching and
within 10-15 years India will again begin its long journey to the top.
If we neglect the teacher , it does not matter what else India does ,
we will fail in every possible endevour. We might remain as a country
due to geography , but we will fail as a nation. Security is not about having
the best weapons , its about having quality people ... and in India today
we just do not have the necessary quality of human resources.

Under the 30,000 primary schools programme,Each school will be built
under a Public Private Partnership Model and run by private parties
who will follow very strict norms laid by the Government .At the
concept stage itself the understanding will be that the schools will revert
to government control after a period of 15 years.As education is a state
subject,in this case the schools will be handed over to the state government.
This kind of understanding will prevent any kind of landgrab. It is therefore
vital that the Lease should not be more than 15 years (A 30 year lease is
not a good idea). There also will be a need to keep the wrong people out of
the teaching business ... so at the proposal stage itself , one of the criteria
will be that a promoter can bid for a school project only if he has either 2
Judges or a Vice Chancellor or a 2 retired generals on its board. Since
there are more chances that this category of people will not
associate themselves with crooks ... we can be sure that the wrong
promoters will not get into the teaching profession.

In addition to this ... Each school will have a mandate to take 7 other
schools in its area under its wing and extend teaching resources to them. The
concept here is that while the students of these 7 other schools will
not have the most modern living and learning resources, they still will have
access to the best teaching talent available. If we see Dr. APJ Abdul Kalams
life , he was not from an affluent family ... but he had a good teacher who
inspired him. We need to at least provide all the children in this country with
access to a good teacher ... and this programme does this as a total of
240,000 schools will be covered all over the country at a minimum cost.

I believe that the deteriorating status and condition of the teacher and the
teaching Profession, in our society, is India's No. 1 national Security threat
and that is why this subject and the 30,000 Schools project is being put up for
discussion on the country's premier National Security forum.



Thank you for your time.



Ashish Puntambekar
Project Visualizer

[shiv]

Ashish - I broadly agree with your views on the state of teachers in India and have no specific disagreements with your proposed solution.

But there are curious anomalies in education in India that could improve with tweaking.

For example the cities are filling up with really expensive schools where the well heeled send their children - and some of those children actually get an education (believe it or not). Rural education and government schools (other than Kendriya Vidyalayas) are the worst

When it comes to college education - Government Engineering and Medical colleges head the list of the best institutions. They are heavily subsidized and pay teachers relatively well apart from providing accommodation and lifelong security. Private colleges have ended up being a mixed bag - with a huge percentage being pure money spinning ventures.

It is a reflection of how little education is needed and how bad one's education can be to note the paradoxical praise that India's education system gets for producing "the largest numbers of skilled #$2#s "

Education is intimately related to infrastructure, and infrastructure is connected with politics and all need to be addressed.

In any case - I am sure your scheme is well intentioned and can only help.

[harbans]

Certainly Teachers in India deserve a much better deal, considering the fact that Gurus have been traditionally revered in India. But the fact is there are many constraints here. The US for example has an excellent education system that many Indians have made good use of. 150 million Muslims will prefer to be educated in Madrassas and learn by rote the Koran before anything useful to contribute to contemporary society.

India had the oldest universities in the World and the greatest respect for it's scholars and Gurus in Taxila and Nalanda. Laid to waste and ruins, books burnt, Gurus and shishyas alike beheaded and millions of volumes of knowledge burnt to ashes by maruading Islamists.

We also have the responsibility of churning out less institutions aka JNU which have destroyed Indian history by the urge to be more politically correct than scholarly accurate. We're just beginning to come out of a 1000 years of dark ages, and the time is coming slowly that teachers will once again be as reverred as they were in the past.

Fact is India does face multiple direct security threats and each deserves special and simultaneous priority. To get adequate funds available for the same and create a good ambience for those who work there, we need development and high growth rates. Without that we will neither have funds to tackle insurgency, Chinese expansion, or pay our Generals and educators enough to secure ourselves.

JMTs.

[Stan_Savljevic]

An email forward I received

> An analysis of 2008 JEE data, Ministry of Human Resources Development, New
> Delhi shows the following interesting results:
>
> Number of students who qualified for IITs from
> Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 2008 : 1,697 / 1,194 / 533 {The AP contingent at IIT M has always been high. Now with IIT H in the pipeline, this number can only go further up. As long as it fasttracks the development issues, thats all good.}
>
> Number of students who qualified for IITs from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in
> 2008 : 614 / 202
>
> Success rate of qualifying students, if parents happen to be from medicine,
> engineering, and teaching / research : 1 / 2 / 3 {Dont have a clue what this means}
>
> Percentage of IITians who left India after completing studies, during 1964 -
> 2001 and 2002 -2008 periods: 35 & 16 {I cant believe it is 16% still. I thought it was in the low-tens or probably 1-5% given the numbers I have seen here.}
>
> Percentage of IITians who moved to the US after completing studies, during
> 1964 - 2001 and 2002 -2008 periods : 30 & 12 {So the US has been the primary recipient, thats a no-brainer. I just wish they had an additional column on RTI statistics.}
>
> Percentage of IITians who stayed on in India after completing studies, during
> 1964 - 2001 and 2002 -2008 periods: 65 & 84 {Obviously, 1-x of the above statistic}
>
> (quoted by Business India, issue dated 2 November 2008) {I cant find a Business India on google, anyone has a link. Is there even a magazine by this name?}

[Stan_Savljevic]

Wanted to post this a few days back.
http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/10/5179 ... _medium=en

Ratan Tata, an Indian industrialist and Cornell University alumnus, announced today a gift of $50-million to his alma mater to help recruit top Indian students to the campus and to support joint research projects with Indian universities in agriculture and nutrition. The gift from the Tata Trusts, a group of philanthropic organizations run by Mr. Tata, chairman of the business conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd., will allow Cornell to establish and expand partnerships with Indian scientists that build on its strength in applied agriculture research. He graduated from Cornell in 1959.

[shaardula]

http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/23/stories ... 501000.htm

Towards creation of world-class universities

Philip G. Altbach & N. Jayaram

The challenges facing the creation of world-class universities are daunting. The first step is to examine the problems and create realistic solutions.

The government will create 12 Central universities, adding to the existing 18. This is a mammoth undertaking, for which Rs. 3,280 crore (about $73 million) has been allocated from the budget. Earlier in the year, India announced that it would create 30 “world-class” universities, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the coming five years. On the recommendation of the National Knowledge Commiss ion, the Centre is planning massive investment to upgrade and expand higher education. Other plans include enhancing the salaries of college and university academics — by as much as 70 per cent.

This prospect is welcome news since India lacks world-class universities according to international rankings, and Indian academics, compared internationally, are rather poorly paid. Students also suffer an immense shortage of places in top academic institutions and throughout the higher education system. India today educates only half as many young people from the university age group as China and ranks well behind most Latin American and other middle-income countries.

India exhibits a special problem at the top of its higher education hierarchy. With the notable exceptions of the IITs and the IIMs, and a small number of outstanding non-university research and training institutions — such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences — top-notch schools are rare. Indeed, none of India’s 348 universities is ranked among the top 100 in the world. Generally, when India wanted to innovate in the higher education sector, it has sidestepped the universities and started entirely new institutions such as the IITs.

However, if India invests large amounts of money and human capital in academic improvement and expansion without undertaking strategies to ensure that the investment yields results, resources will be wasted and failure assured. Despite a discussion on organising some of the new universities based on the American model, so far neither the funding nor the ideas seem adequate.

A newspaper reported an official as saying: “The view was that there should be no hierarchy or disparity in standards amongst universities, and the reforms and changes suggested for world-class universities should be applied to all universities.” This attitude shows a complete misunderstanding that the American system institutes a significant hierarchy among the public universities.

Just pumping money and resources into a fundamentally broken university system is a mistake. Establishing new universities, especially those intended to be innovative, requires careful planning and an understanding of the weaknesses of the current system. Let us outline some of the problems that need fixing before resources are given.

Bureaucracy without accountability: India is famous for sclerotic bureaucracy, and higher education fits into that mould. Few decisions can be made without taking permission from an authority above, and the wheels of decision-making grind slowly. Fear of corruption or loss of control entrenches bureaucracy. Teachers and academic leaders at colleges and universities have little incentive to innovate higher education — indeed quite the opposite. It is completely impossible to build world-class universities in this bureaucratic context. If the new institutions must tolerate responsibilities to both the Central government and the States in which they are located, the bureaucratic burden will be completely overwhelming.

Location: Great universities need to be located on friendly soil. In general, the best universities worldwide are in or near major urban centres or in places with intellectual traditions and strength. While it is entirely appropriate to have a good university in each State, the idea of a truly world-class university (an institution that can compete with the best in the world) in cities like Guwahati or Bhubaneswar is simply unrealistic. It would be extraordinarily difficult to attract top professors or even the best students, and the “soft” infrastructure, such as most cultural amenities, is missing. High-tech industry is also absent in these locations and would be difficult to lure. No amount of money will guarantee the establishment of a world-class university in such places.

The academic profession: Indian academics deserve higher salaries, and the move to dramatically improve remuneration is a positive step. It would be a serious mistake to simply give more money to the professoriate without, at the same time, demanding significant reforms in the structure and practices of the profession. Indian academics are rewarded for longevity rather than productivity, and for conformity rather than innovation. The most productive academics cannot be rewarded for their work, and it is almost impossible to pay “market rates” to keep the best and the brightest in the universities. World-class universities require a salary structure that rewards productivity.

Academic culture and governance: Indian universities are enmeshed in a culture of mediocrity, with little competition either among institutions or academics. Universities are subject to the whims of politicians and are unable to plan for their own future. Academics are seldom involved in their leadership and management. Bureaucracy governs everything and holds down innovation. Without essential and deep structural changes in the way universities are governed and in the culture of the institutions, there is little possibility for improvement. An additional challenge is that some of the world-class universities are to be created by improving existing State universities. This will be extraordinarily difficult since these institutions, with very few exceptions, are mired in mediocrity and bureaucracy, and are hardly amenable to change and improvement even with the carrot of additional resources.
Corruption at many levels

An element of corruption exists at many levels of the higher education system, from favouritism in admissions, appointment to faculty positions, cheating in examinations, questionable coaching arrangements, and many others. Damaging at all levels, corruption destroys research culture and makes a world-class university impossible.

Meritocracy at all levels: World-class universities are deeply meritocratic institutions. They hire the best professors, admit the most intelligent students, reward the brightest academics, and make all decisions on the basis of quality. They reject — and punish —plagiarism, favouritism in appointments, or corruption of any kind. Much of the Indian academe, unfortunately, does not reflect these values. Some of the problem is structural. The practice of admitting students and hiring professors on the basis of rigid quotas set for particular population groups — up to 49 per cent — however well-intentioned or justified, virtually precludes meritocracy. Deeply ingrained in Indian society and politics, the reservation system may well be justified — but to have successful world-class universities, meritocracy must be the primary motivating principle.

Role of research: World-class universities are research intensive. All highly-ranked universities in the world exhibit this characteristic. India faces several problems in developing a research culture. It is fair to say that today no Indian university, as an institution, is research-intensive. India’s universities can claim a small number of departments that have a high level of research — and many highly accomplished professors work in the system. And some institutions, such as the IITs and some non-university agencies like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and AIIMS, produce impressive research and are respected internationally. The creation of a research-intensive university is mandatory to achieve world-class status.

Resources: Rs.3,280 crore for the 12 new Central universities, plus the other impressive amounts announced for related projects, sounds like a lot of money. In fact, it is very inadequate. A world-class research university that can play in the best international leagues is an expensive undertaking — to establish and then to sustain. As an example, one large research-intensive new Chinese university cost around $700 million to build and has a total annual budget of close to $400 million.

Conclusion: The challenges facing the creation of world-class universities are daunting. Indeed, if India is to succeed as a great technological power with a knowledge-based economy, world-class universities are required. The first step, however, is to examine the problems and create realistic solutions. Spending large sums scattershot will not work. Nor will copying the American academic model succeed.

(Philip G. Altbach is Monan professor of higher education and director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, U.S. N. Jayaram is professor and dean, School of Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.)

[enqyoob]

If the author feels strongly enough, and has enough facts to articulate, the right place for this would be an article submitted to SRR. Obviously there does not seem to be much interest in participation, perhaps because people don't understand the strategic significance, or maybe they just have no information or inside knowledge to contribute.

IB4TL

[niran]

whoa! this is unfair, Herr Moderators increasing post count with IB4TL.

[enqyoob]

Ajay Pratapji, please feel free to post something substantive if you have something substantive to contribute - this thread was way out on page 3 of the forum with no one posting for weeks, so it wasn't exactly on fire with your enthusiasm.


Note that I have NOT locked the thread, merely asked why I should not.

Complaints about admins may please be addressed to the appropriate quarters. I am trying to do my job. What are you doing, may I ask, other than saying "nah-nah-nah-nah-nah"?

[niran]

Matter of fact, today I saw this thread first time.
the meaning of the jab was, IB4TL, and no questions needed.
there, my count went up by two posting IB4TL in the same thread.

[enqyoob]

OK, thanks. It turns out that the "TL" button is the only one I know how to operate so far, and ooooh! The Feeling of Power! It's almost like being "J-Gun". Tried TL and "Unlock" several times yesterday, and I think I can be trained to operate that with some practice..

Going... (a shame, because the idea that this is a primary threat to Indian strategic interests, is one with which I quite agree).

[Rye]

Isn't there a bigger problem of adequately-trained teachers for such a large number of schools in the proposal? Even if the schools can be funded/built, it seems like training of school teachers would be equally important.

[NRao]

India reached the height of its power and glory when the teacher was at
the head of our society. Under the leadership of the teacher
India was a nation to be reckoned with.

Assuming you mean "ancient" India that is true. However, that is a totally diff "education" (Western education does not have a equivalent).

However, got a question for you. How about literacy? I think literacy has a more meaningful place in society than mindless education. A glut of very well educated people could be detrimental to a society.

Comments?

[ramana]

Why is this in the Strat forum? Am going to move it to the Tech and Econ forum where there are many threads on status of Indian education.

And in future dont use lurid titles for thread topics.

Thanks, ramana

[Katare]

What is the basis of claiming that teachers are paid poorly in India? Define 'poorly' and as compared to who? Also define what is not poorly paid teacher salary? What is the basis of claiming that "least qualified" people are joining teaching professions? As of now I am not disagreeing with your claims but I would like to see some data to support those claims.

As for as I know primary school teachers (and teachers in general) are one of the better paid govt jobs as compared to other govt employees in same category. Although they do not have much scope for earning 'extra free money" unlike their counter parts in police, PWD and Forest departments which makes them little less desirable jobs.

[Rahul M]

Although they do not have much scope for earning 'extra free money" unlike their counter parts in police, PWD and Forest departments which makes them little less desirable jobs.

pvt tuition !
primary teachers at the lower end of the scale can gather anything between Rs 1-2k pm.
secondary and higher secondary can easily go up to 10-15 k pm. in cities that amount can touch 50k easily.

[Nandu]

Please change the title to something more appropriate and less sensational.

[Katare]

Although they do not have much scope for earning 'extra free money" unlike their counter parts in police, PWD and Forest departments which makes them little less desirable jobs.

pvt tuition !
primary teachers at the lower end of the scale can gather anything between Rs 1-2k pm.
secondary and higher secondary can easily go up to 10-15 k pm. in cities that amount can touch 50k easily.

Rahul,

That is extra money but they still have to work for it. It's not bribe aka free money.