Columbia University to set up research hub in Mumbai

Mumbai will soon have a high-tech research centre, and it will be set up by the world-renowned Columbia University from New York. To be operational from August, the centre will house faculty and students who will work on projects related to sustainable development, energy, climate change, education, water and health among others. The Mumbai centre will explore possible collaborations on research projects with city institutes like IIT Bombay and the Mumbai University. “We already have university-wide research centres in Beijing, Amman (in Jordan), and Paris, and this will be our fourth,” said Nirupam Bajpai, senior development advisor at Columbia’s Earth Institute. He will direct the Mumbai global centre, which was formally launched on March 22, 2010.

For those interested in policy-related matters, health, agriculture, etc., the centre proposes to offer lecture series. “Our faculty can put together lecture series for academicians, members of the Parliament, civil servants and others on issues of global strategy, water management and education where India is grappling to find solutions,” he said.

The centre will, however, not offer any courses, nor will it grant any degrees. Though some US universities have built branch campuses and degree-granting schools abroad, Columbia wants to take a different direction with the global centres. They are meant to act as flexible regional hubs for various activities and resources meant to enhance quality of research and learning. “We’re not thinking of bringing a full-fledged campus here now. We won’t be able to do justice to it. Also, getting faculty will be a challenge,” said Bajpai.

Source: DNA, March 23, 2010

Columbia University to set up research hub in Mumbai

Mumbai will soon have a high-tech research centre, and it will be set up by the world-renowned Columbia University from New York. To be operational from August, the centre will house faculty and students who will work on projects related to sustainable development, energy, climate change, education, water and health among others. The Mumbai centre will explore possible collaborations on research projects with city institutes like IIT Bombay and the Mumbai University. “We already have university-wide research centres in Beijing, Amman (in Jordan), and Paris, and this will be our fourth,” said Nirupam Bajpai, senior development advisor at Columbia’s Earth Institute. He will direct the Mumbai global centre, which was formally launched on March 22, 2010.

For those interested in policy-related matters, health, agriculture, etc., the centre proposes to offer lecture series. “Our faculty can put together lecture series for academicians, members of the Parliament, civil servants and others on issues of global strategy, water management and education where India is grappling to find solutions,” he said.

The centre will, however, not offer any courses, nor will it grant any degrees. Though some US universities have built branch campuses and degree-granting schools abroad, Columbia wants to take a different direction with the global centres. They are meant to act as flexible regional hubs for various activities and resources meant to enhance quality of research and learning. “We’re not thinking of bringing a full-fledged campus here now. We won’t be able to do justice to it. Also, getting faculty will be a challenge,” said Bajpai.

Source: DNA, March 23, 2010

IT companies hire non-techies, cut costs

New frontiers are being explored and barriers broken. The information technology space is opening up for non-engineers, even as IT graduates find a new calling in the lucrative pharma and biotech industries. When Ishwar Prasad graduated from a Mysore college two years ago with specialisation in commerce, a career with one of Indias top three technology firms was nowhere on the agenda. However, Prasad went on to do a six-month diploma in computer hardware management last year and is now helping some of the leading telecom companies in the world manage their computer desktops and other infrastructure, from a remote infrastructure management centre at the tech firm. As tech firms automate their commoditised service offerings, they do not necessarily need engineers to perform all tasks. Instead, they are increasingly hiring non-engineering graduates such as Prasad for testing software applications and managing computer infrastructure of their clients in order to do more with fewer staff and at lower wages than computer engineers.

From nearly 10% of their current workforce, non-engineering graduates could account for nearly 20-25 % of the staff at companies such as TCS, Wipro and HCL, over the next one to two years. Multinational rival Cognizant already has almost 20% of its global workforce who are nonengineering graduates. Prasad is among thousands of non-engineering graduates being hired by companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL and Infosys for performing highly automated tasks of software testing and computer infrastructure management with the help of user-friendly, readymade platforms that can serve multiple customers. In my hometown, working for Infosys or Wipro makes parents proud. I could have never got into such companies with a commerce degree, but now many of my relatives think I have made it big and become a software engineer, says the 27-year-old. Companies such as Wipro are already readying their strategies for shifting nearly 40% of software services to readymade templates that can serve additional customers without having to hire incremental staff.

The prime impact of these delivery models is the asset-based view as opposed to a labourbased one, that is, less number of people for the same work and an increase in operating margins per employee, while simultaneously reducing capital expenditure for their clients. The impact on employee mix (those with a BE degree vis-a-vis non-BEs) will be there but will not be applicable for all technologies and domain areas, said Saurabh Govil, Senior Vice President HR, Wipro Technologies.

For years, India’s $50-billion software exports industry has been hiring thousands of engineering graduates every year for writing software codes and processing back office tasks for top customers such as General Electric, Citibank and JP Morgan Chase. However, increasing wage inflation and rising attrition has forced them to seek ways to arrest linear growth. The skill mix today is different from a few years ago because of a fundamental shift in sourcing behaviour customers sourcing a broader range of services, including BPO/KPO, testing and IT Infrastructure Services (ITIS), said Shankar Srinivasan, Chief People Officer, Cognizant. While for the generic skill sets we hire graduates in science, humanities and commerce, for specialised areas we hire chartered accountants, statisticians, equity research analysts, lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and so on, he added.

If we are able to move a substantial chunk of our business to platform-based models that can be operated by non-engineering graduates with some familiarisation, we can lower our salary costs and even balance attrition, said the chief executive of one of the top Indian tech firms,requesting anonymity. Indeed, most of the entry-level computer science graduates are paid anywhere between Rs. 200,000 and Rs. 500,000 per annum by these software companies when they join, and with wage inflation of around 10% every year, the salary costs keep going up. If we can have 20-30% of our workforce from different backgrounds, it will help balance the equation and force traditional software engineers to think beyond pure code writing roles, the chief executive quoted earlier added.

Already, with companies moving to performance-linked billing models, wherein they are paid based on business results achieved and not on the effort put in, there is a need for software engineers to graduate to the next level. Clearly, India’s code-jockeys need to evolve and manage more complex, closely linked with business kind of roles. People skills are always core in our business but the platform will automate mundane/repetitive tasks and provide workflow automation which will free up the engineers to focus on higher-end value addition work, says Piyush Dutt, Associate Vice President & Head-HR, HCL Technologies infrastructure services division.

Source: The Economic Times, March 19, 2010

IT companies hire non-techies, cut costs

New frontiers are being explored and barriers broken. The information technology space is opening up for non-engineers, even as IT graduates find a new calling in the lucrative pharma and biotech industries. When Ishwar Prasad graduated from a Mysore college two years ago with specialisation in commerce, a career with one of Indias top three technology firms was nowhere on the agenda. However, Prasad went on to do a six-month diploma in computer hardware management last year and is now helping some of the leading telecom companies in the world manage their computer desktops and other infrastructure, from a remote infrastructure management centre at the tech firm. As tech firms automate their commoditised service offerings, they do not necessarily need engineers to perform all tasks. Instead, they are increasingly hiring non-engineering graduates such as Prasad for testing software applications and managing computer infrastructure of their clients in order to do more with fewer staff and at lower wages than computer engineers.

From nearly 10% of their current workforce, non-engineering graduates could account for nearly 20-25 % of the staff at companies such as TCS, Wipro and HCL, over the next one to two years. Multinational rival Cognizant already has almost 20% of its global workforce who are nonengineering graduates. Prasad is among thousands of non-engineering graduates being hired by companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL and Infosys for performing highly automated tasks of software testing and computer infrastructure management with the help of user-friendly, readymade platforms that can serve multiple customers. In my hometown, working for Infosys or Wipro makes parents proud. I could have never got into such companies with a commerce degree, but now many of my relatives think I have made it big and become a software engineer, says the 27-year-old. Companies such as Wipro are already readying their strategies for shifting nearly 40% of software services to readymade templates that can serve additional customers without having to hire incremental staff.

The prime impact of these delivery models is the asset-based view as opposed to a labourbased one, that is, less number of people for the same work and an increase in operating margins per employee, while simultaneously reducing capital expenditure for their clients. The impact on employee mix (those with a BE degree vis-a-vis non-BEs) will be there but will not be applicable for all technologies and domain areas, said Saurabh Govil, Senior Vice President HR, Wipro Technologies.

For years, India’s $50-billion software exports industry has been hiring thousands of engineering graduates every year for writing software codes and processing back office tasks for top customers such as General Electric, Citibank and JP Morgan Chase. However, increasing wage inflation and rising attrition has forced them to seek ways to arrest linear growth. The skill mix today is different from a few years ago because of a fundamental shift in sourcing behaviour customers sourcing a broader range of services, including BPO/KPO, testing and IT Infrastructure Services (ITIS), said Shankar Srinivasan, Chief People Officer, Cognizant. While for the generic skill sets we hire graduates in science, humanities and commerce, for specialised areas we hire chartered accountants, statisticians, equity research analysts, lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and so on, he added.

If we are able to move a substantial chunk of our business to platform-based models that can be operated by non-engineering graduates with some familiarisation, we can lower our salary costs and even balance attrition, said the chief executive of one of the top Indian tech firms,requesting anonymity. Indeed, most of the entry-level computer science graduates are paid anywhere between Rs. 200,000 and Rs. 500,000 per annum by these software companies when they join, and with wage inflation of around 10% every year, the salary costs keep going up. If we can have 20-30% of our workforce from different backgrounds, it will help balance the equation and force traditional software engineers to think beyond pure code writing roles, the chief executive quoted earlier added.

Already, with companies moving to performance-linked billing models, wherein they are paid based on business results achieved and not on the effort put in, there is a need for software engineers to graduate to the next level. Clearly, India’s code-jockeys need to evolve and manage more complex, closely linked with business kind of roles. People skills are always core in our business but the platform will automate mundane/repetitive tasks and provide workflow automation which will free up the engineers to focus on higher-end value addition work, says Piyush Dutt, Associate Vice President & Head-HR, HCL Technologies infrastructure services division.

Source: The Economic Times, March 19, 2010

Bill to allow foreign varsities faces opposition from Congress; No opposition to bill, says Kapil Sibal

The Centre’s hopes for a smooth passage for the foreign educational institution bill may be dashed, with a section of Congress expressing views similar to BJP and Left. Though questions on the desirability of allowing foreign education providers to set up base in India was raised by some ministers, the Cabinet gave its approval to the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation ) Bill recently. The Left had opposed the bill when UPA-I had tried to introduce it in Parliament. This time around, BJP has flagged off the complete autonomy that the bill gives to foreign institutions in matters of admission policy and the amount of fees that can be charged. Within Congress too these issues have been raised. Quite clearly when it comes to entry of foreign universities into India, a section of Congress considers objections raised both by Left and BJP as constructive.

Education is not a simple matter, decisions made today impact generations to come. If questions are being asked whether by Opposition or others, these should be welcome, a senior Congress leader said. Within the party questions are being asked about why the government is allowing foreign educational institutions to set up campus in the country when Indian institutions would not be permitted to set up base by these countries. Concerns have also been flagged off about the nature of courses that would be taught in these foreign universities. There are some who feel that these might not be in keeping with national interests or priorities.

The main causes of opposition to the bill within Congress is the lack of any regulation on the admission process and the level of fees that can be charged. Additionally, there is objection to the fact that these institutions will not be required to make provisions for reservations. While the charge is being led by Kapil Sibal baiters, the concerns raised will find traction among others in Congress as well. Mr. Sibal,who has described the approval given by the Cabinet to the bill as a milestone, has also come in for criticism from his party colleagues for indulging in piecemeal efforts. If reforms in education have to be undertaken, then they should be done with all seriousness. It should be the outcome of a process of consultation with all sections and stakeholders,not piecemeal efforts made after consulting a few, a Congress leader said. This is not the first time that Mr Sibal has been the subject of intense criticism in the party. Mr Sibal’s announcement of abolishing Class X board examination too came for intense criticism from the party for the hastiness the minister had showed.

No opposition in party to foreign varsities bill: Sibal
HRD minister Kapil Sibal scorched all talk of opposition within Congress on allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in the country. Mr Sibal said that the idea of a legislative framework to allow foreign education institutions in India was part of the Presidents address to Parliament. “There is no opposition to the bill. This is something in national interest. The Foreign Education Bill is part of the President’s address in Parliament,” the minister said.
Though the Cabinet gave its approval to the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, last week, there has been some cause of concern about the bills provision which allows foreign education institutions to have their own admission process and fix fees. Mr Sibal argued that the law of the land applicable to private institutions would be applicable to foreign universities aspiring to set up campuses in India. At present, the fee for private engineering and medical colleges is fixed by a state level committee headed by a private judge. There is no mechanism to finalise the fee structure in private universities.

Mr Sibal said that foreign education providers will neither be discriminated against nor will be shown any favour. Confident that the government will be able to convince the opposition parties, the minister said, we are trying to go to a regulated regime from a deregulated regime on foreign universities. The foreign institutions will come through registration. As for the Left, which had prevented UPA-I from introducing the bill in Parliament, Mr Sibal said, the Left is already left out.

The government plans to introduce this bill in the current session of Parliament after it convenes following the recess. It will be introduced along with three other bills that were approved by Cabinet on Friday. Among these bills is the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010. This legislation lists out 25 unfair practices, including charging capitation fees, which will attract both civil and criminal action. Capitation fee charged by any institute will be a cognisable offence. People will be prosecuted without fear and favour, Mr Sibal said. The two other legislation are the National Education Tribunals Bill and the National Authority for Regulation in Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions Bill.

The National Education Tribunal Bill proposes to set up a two-tier grievance redressal system. Disputes pertaining to accreditation, affiliation and inter-institution matters will be adjudicated by the tribunals. The tribunal at the national level will comprise nine members. The tribunals will act as forums for fast-track and speedy resolution of issues in institutions. The state tribunals will adjudicate matters concerning teachers, employees and students of institutions in the respective states. The national tribunal would deal with all matters concerning regulatory bodies in higher education and also matters involving institutes located in two or more states. It would act as an appellate body against the orders of the state educational tribunals.

Source: The Economic Times, March 19 & 20, 2010

Bill to allow foreign varsities faces opposition from Congress; No opposition to bill, says Kapil Sibal

The Centre’s hopes for a smooth passage for the foreign educational institution bill may be dashed, with a section of Congress expressing views similar to BJP and Left. Though questions on the desirability of allowing foreign education providers to set up base in India was raised by some ministers, the Cabinet gave its approval to the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation ) Bill recently. The Left had opposed the bill when UPA-I had tried to introduce it in Parliament. This time around, BJP has flagged off the complete autonomy that the bill gives to foreign institutions in matters of admission policy and the amount of fees that can be charged. Within Congress too these issues have been raised. Quite clearly when it comes to entry of foreign universities into India, a section of Congress considers objections raised both by Left and BJP as constructive.

Education is not a simple matter, decisions made today impact generations to come. If questions are being asked whether by Opposition or others, these should be welcome, a senior Congress leader said. Within the party questions are being asked about why the government is allowing foreign educational institutions to set up campus in the country when Indian institutions would not be permitted to set up base by these countries. Concerns have also been flagged off about the nature of courses that would be taught in these foreign universities. There are some who feel that these might not be in keeping with national interests or priorities.

The main causes of opposition to the bill within Congress is the lack of any regulation on the admission process and the level of fees that can be charged. Additionally, there is objection to the fact that these institutions will not be required to make provisions for reservations. While the charge is being led by Kapil Sibal baiters, the concerns raised will find traction among others in Congress as well. Mr. Sibal,who has described the approval given by the Cabinet to the bill as a milestone, has also come in for criticism from his party colleagues for indulging in piecemeal efforts. If reforms in education have to be undertaken, then they should be done with all seriousness. It should be the outcome of a process of consultation with all sections and stakeholders,not piecemeal efforts made after consulting a few, a Congress leader said. This is not the first time that Mr Sibal has been the subject of intense criticism in the party. Mr Sibal’s announcement of abolishing Class X board examination too came for intense criticism from the party for the hastiness the minister had showed.

No opposition in party to foreign varsities bill: Sibal
HRD minister Kapil Sibal scorched all talk of opposition within Congress on allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in the country. Mr Sibal said that the idea of a legislative framework to allow foreign education institutions in India was part of the Presidents address to Parliament. “There is no opposition to the bill. This is something in national interest. The Foreign Education Bill is part of the President’s address in Parliament,” the minister said.
Though the Cabinet gave its approval to the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, last week, there has been some cause of concern about the bills provision which allows foreign education institutions to have their own admission process and fix fees. Mr Sibal argued that the law of the land applicable to private institutions would be applicable to foreign universities aspiring to set up campuses in India. At present, the fee for private engineering and medical colleges is fixed by a state level committee headed by a private judge. There is no mechanism to finalise the fee structure in private universities.

Mr Sibal said that foreign education providers will neither be discriminated against nor will be shown any favour. Confident that the government will be able to convince the opposition parties, the minister said, we are trying to go to a regulated regime from a deregulated regime on foreign universities. The foreign institutions will come through registration. As for the Left, which had prevented UPA-I from introducing the bill in Parliament, Mr Sibal said, the Left is already left out.

The government plans to introduce this bill in the current session of Parliament after it convenes following the recess. It will be introduced along with three other bills that were approved by Cabinet on Friday. Among these bills is the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010. This legislation lists out 25 unfair practices, including charging capitation fees, which will attract both civil and criminal action. Capitation fee charged by any institute will be a cognisable offence. People will be prosecuted without fear and favour, Mr Sibal said. The two other legislation are the National Education Tribunals Bill and the National Authority for Regulation in Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions Bill.

The National Education Tribunal Bill proposes to set up a two-tier grievance redressal system. Disputes pertaining to accreditation, affiliation and inter-institution matters will be adjudicated by the tribunals. The tribunal at the national level will comprise nine members. The tribunals will act as forums for fast-track and speedy resolution of issues in institutions. The state tribunals will adjudicate matters concerning teachers, employees and students of institutions in the respective states. The national tribunal would deal with all matters concerning regulatory bodies in higher education and also matters involving institutes located in two or more states. It would act as an appellate body against the orders of the state educational tribunals.

Source: The Economic Times, March 19 & 20, 2010

Foreign Universities Bill – A Boon or Bane

The Union Cabinet recently cleared a bill that will enable Foreign Universities set up campuses in India. Any change in any existing system in India starts drawing unnecessary controversies even before it really takes place. The Foreign Universities Bill has also started on the same footings. While reporting for the Foreign Universities Bill, most of the media reports have started raising issues of shortage of faculty and poaching of academicians etc. We all know that more than 100,000 Indian students go out every year for higher education from India. Most of these students go out of the country to pursue their higher studies because of lack of facilities for quality education in the country. This also costs a huge foreign exchange outgo to the exchequer.

Till the BSNL-MTNL era, the Indian telecom sector had similar apprehensions and we could have never expected the level of telecom services if the same was not opened to private sector competition. The aviation sector also saw similar changes after it was opened to the private sector ending the Indian Airlines, Air India monopoly. The Indian educational sector is bound to reap more benefits in the days to come by the step of allowing the foreign universities to setup campuses in the country. Higher demand for quality academicians will only attract more aspirants towards this opportunity and is bound to bring in qualitative changes in the educational system of India.

While many other civil services offer better perks than academics, the real mentors of the country, that is, the academicians rank poorly on this count as well. Even on the global scenario, the Indian academicians are paid as low as nearly one-third than the advanced countries. Mr. Kapil Sibal deserves all kudos for pushing through this bill which will bring out all qualitative changes in the educational system of the country.

India will also have the opportunity of attracting students from other countries for pursuing education at lower costs as Indian will always have the advantage of lower infrastructure cost. India has already proved its competence in the global software industry. The software industry in India could thrive only because of availability of quality manpower and lower infrastructure costs.

The educational sector is also a very similar sector which is based on the same two components i.e. quality manpower and infrastructure and India certainly has an edge over many other countries in availability of both these components. The India-based online tutoring of students to many countries like USA, UK and Canada etc. clearly shows that India does not have any dearth of quality English-speaking manpower.

Source: IndiaEduNews

Foreign Universities Bill – A Boon or Bane

The Union Cabinet recently cleared a bill that will enable Foreign Universities set up campuses in India. Any change in any existing system in India starts drawing unnecessary controversies even before it really takes place. The Foreign Universities Bill has also started on the same footings. While reporting for the Foreign Universities Bill, most of the media reports have started raising issues of shortage of faculty and poaching of academicians etc. We all know that more than 100,000 Indian students go out every year for higher education from India. Most of these students go out of the country to pursue their higher studies because of lack of facilities for quality education in the country. This also costs a huge foreign exchange outgo to the exchequer.

Till the BSNL-MTNL era, the Indian telecom sector had similar apprehensions and we could have never expected the level of telecom services if the same was not opened to private sector competition. The aviation sector also saw similar changes after it was opened to the private sector ending the Indian Airlines, Air India monopoly. The Indian educational sector is bound to reap more benefits in the days to come by the step of allowing the foreign universities to setup campuses in the country. Higher demand for quality academicians will only attract more aspirants towards this opportunity and is bound to bring in qualitative changes in the educational system of India.

While many other civil services offer better perks than academics, the real mentors of the country, that is, the academicians rank poorly on this count as well. Even on the global scenario, the Indian academicians are paid as low as nearly one-third than the advanced countries. Mr. Kapil Sibal deserves all kudos for pushing through this bill which will bring out all qualitative changes in the educational system of the country.

India will also have the opportunity of attracting students from other countries for pursuing education at lower costs as Indian will always have the advantage of lower infrastructure cost. India has already proved its competence in the global software industry. The software industry in India could thrive only because of availability of quality manpower and lower infrastructure costs.

The educational sector is also a very similar sector which is based on the same two components i.e. quality manpower and infrastructure and India certainly has an edge over many other countries in availability of both these components. The India-based online tutoring of students to many countries like USA, UK and Canada etc. clearly shows that India does not have any dearth of quality English-speaking manpower.

Source: IndiaEduNews

India gets $1 billion from World Bank to improve education

The World Bank has approved two education projects worth $1.05 billion for India, designed to boost the number of children enrolling in and completing elementary school, and to improve the quality of engineering education across the country. India has made significant progress in meeting its education goals, especially at the primary level, the bank said announcing additional support for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a nationwide programme aimed at providing quality elementary education to all children. The bank has supported the SSA with two IDA credits totaling $1.1 billion since 2003.

“SSA – the largest ongoing Education for All (EFA) programme in the world – has been remarkably successful, particularly in achieving greater access to elementary education,” said Roberto Zagha, the World Bank Country Director for India. Between 2003 and 2009 the number of children reportedly enrolled in elementary education in India increased by 57 million to 192 million. More than two-thirds of this increase took place in government schools. “The number of children out of school declined from 25 million to 8.1 million during that same period, a truly remarkable achievement.” The $750 million in additional financing for the Second Elementary Education Project will enable SSA to expand activities related to increased access at upper primary level (grades 5-8), increase elementary level completion rates, and improve learning outcomes for the full elementary cycle (grades 1-8).

The $300 million for the second Technical Engineering Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP) will support some 200 competitively selected engineering education institutions to produce higher quality and more employable engineers. It will also scale up post-graduate education, research, development and innovation at these institutions, the bank said. This is the second phase of TEQIP, an envisioned 15-year phased programme initiated with the first phase from 2002 to 2009.

The project builds on the significant results achieved in the first phase of the project which supported 127 institutions and thousands of faculty members in well performing institutions such as National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, the College of Engineering Pune, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) Hyderabad, and Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra.

India gets $1 billion from World Bank to improve education

The World Bank has approved two education projects worth $1.05 billion for India, designed to boost the number of children enrolling in and completing elementary school, and to improve the quality of engineering education across the country. India has made significant progress in meeting its education goals, especially at the primary level, the bank said announcing additional support for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a nationwide programme aimed at providing quality elementary education to all children. The bank has supported the SSA with two IDA credits totaling $1.1 billion since 2003.

“SSA – the largest ongoing Education for All (EFA) programme in the world – has been remarkably successful, particularly in achieving greater access to elementary education,” said Roberto Zagha, the World Bank Country Director for India. Between 2003 and 2009 the number of children reportedly enrolled in elementary education in India increased by 57 million to 192 million. More than two-thirds of this increase took place in government schools. “The number of children out of school declined from 25 million to 8.1 million during that same period, a truly remarkable achievement.” The $750 million in additional financing for the Second Elementary Education Project will enable SSA to expand activities related to increased access at upper primary level (grades 5-8), increase elementary level completion rates, and improve learning outcomes for the full elementary cycle (grades 1-8).

The $300 million for the second Technical Engineering Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP) will support some 200 competitively selected engineering education institutions to produce higher quality and more employable engineers. It will also scale up post-graduate education, research, development and innovation at these institutions, the bank said. This is the second phase of TEQIP, an envisioned 15-year phased programme initiated with the first phase from 2002 to 2009.

The project builds on the significant results achieved in the first phase of the project which supported 127 institutions and thousands of faculty members in well performing institutions such as National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, the College of Engineering Pune, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) Hyderabad, and Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra.