Archive for September 2011
Prometric opens test centres, may go solo in conducting CAT
US-headquartered test-conducting firm Prometric Inc. opened its own test centres in India, paving the way for the company going solo in holding the Common Admission Test (CAT) for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). The company said, however, that “it will not drop its partners” in the near future. These include Everonn Education Ltd. and MeritTrac.
“We have now opened two centres of our own—managed and administered entirely by Prometric—unlike other centres which are of third-party vendors,” said Soumitra Roy, Managing Director of Prometric India. “We don’t know about the future, but will continue to expand our network.” Prometric, which has been conducting CAT online for the IIMs since 2009, is doing so in association with Everonn and Manipal education group-promoted MeritTrac.
Roy said the situation at Everonn is being closely monitored. The Indian company’s managing director P. Kishore is in judicial custody in an alleged tax evasion and bribery case. Roy also said that he didn’t want to associate an individual with the entire system. “We will take appropriate action at the appropriate time,” he said, without elaborating. Roy didn’t comment on a question over whether there was a conflict of interest in Everonn entering the management test-preparation business while being involved in conducting CAT for IIMs.
Prometric’s move was a sign of its ambitions for India, said Bharat Gulia, Senior Manager (Education Practice) at Ernst and Young. “They have a bigger and better bet on the Indian market. It’s a long-term view,” he said. “The online testing segment is growing bigger in the country and a firm like Prometric looks for a bigger share.”
The new centres have been opened in Gurgaon and Hyderabad—the first can accommodate 226 candidates in one sitting and the second 284. They will start operations this year. They are “state-of-the-art centres that will cater to global demand”, Roy said, without giving investment details. “They will be the benchmark for other test centres run by our partners.”
The first edition of the online CAT led to a flood of criticism owing to technical glitches and virus attacks that disrupted the testing process and affected thousands of candidates. Their protests forced the IIMs to go in for another round of exams. The 2010 CAT, however, went off smoothly.
The new centres, equipped with the latest technology and back-up systems, will end any apprehensions that students have, Roy said. The new centres may help the IIMs in their bid to make CAT a global test, a point that Roy also made. Besides, CAT this year is something of a “super exam” with the results determining admission for some non-IIMs as well. These include the management schools of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Faculty of Management Studies, the Delhi School of Economics and Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, all of which have scrapped their own entrance exams.
The setting up of the new centres was welcomed by Janakiraman Moorthy, professor at IIM-Calcutta, and CAT-2011 convenor. “It will help IIMs scale up things in future,” he said. Prometric “may go solo in future for conducting CAT”.
The move may help Prometric in its bid to gain a bigger share of the growing Indian education market that has drawn overseas companies such as Pearson Education, which has acquired local firm TutorVista, besides setting up a joint venture with Educomp Solutions Ltd for skill education called IndiaCan.
“India’s education system is becoming more international in scope,” Roy said. “The modernization of India’s approach to testing and evaluation is a critical component to ensuring that the Indian workforce continues to be seen as highly-trained, highly-productive and reliable… It is more critical than ever to enforce high security standards that assure fair testing experiences across the board.”
Source: Mint, September 30, 2011
There will always be a surprise element in the CAT pattern
Probably the only thing predictable about the Common Admission Test (CAT) is that it’s unpredictable. The computer-based CAT, introduced in 2009, is going along the same lines – there will be changes in format again this year. ET spoke with CAT convenor Janakiraman Moorthy to understand the reasons behind the changes. Excerpts:
What are the changes in the computer-based CAT this year?
CAT 2011 will have only two sections. The first section will focus on Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation; the second on Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. These two sections will be implemented sequentially with separate time limits. The examination will be held for 140 minutes.
Candidates will have 70 minutes to answer 30 questions within each section, which will have an on-screen countdown timer. Once the time ends for the first section, they will move to the second and will no longer be able to go back. Although new in the computer-based version of CAT, this format was practised in some of the earlier paper-and-pencil years.
But doesn’t this curtail candidates’ flexibility?
The reason we have reduced the number of sections from three to two is because we want students who are equally competent in quantitative and verbal ability. Till last year, we have seen many students with a skewed efficiency. The reason for the ‘timed’ sections is that CAT-takers spend most of their time on areas they are strong in. This leads to a skewed score. They get high percentage owing to the fact that they have spent much time in their strong section, but on the other hand the sectional scores vary a lot. We have kept this in mind while changing the exam pattern.
Since its introduction, CAT has seen changes in its pattern every year. Will this practice continue?
There will always be a surprise element in CAT. However, for the past few years, we have been announcing the changes well in advance. The structure will be the same but there could be minor improvements.
The idea behind introducing the computer-based test was that CAT would become like GMAT – candidates can take the test anytime during the year. Do you see that happening in the near future?
Such options are open. This year, though, is more of a consolidation year for us. We are evaluating various possibilities of making CAT more convenient for students, especially those who are working.
The number of candidates taking CAT has been decreasing over the past two years. Do you expect the number to rise this year?
The reason for the dip in numbers vary – the economy, placements, technical glitches in the first year of computer-based CAT, to name a few. But things are looking up. Students are much more familiar with the computer-based CAT. This year, three test centres have been added – Bhilai, Dehradun and Jammu. Axis Bank has also increased the number of branches to 201 so that it is easier for candidates to access CAT vouchers.
Source: The Economic Times (Online Edition), September 30, 2011
IIT CAT 2013: Hard lessons for private coaching centres
The proposed common admission test format for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), could prove to be a damper for the Rs. 10,000-crore (Rs. 100 billion) coaching industry.
Come 2013, the existing marking system will be replaced with one where the focus will be on the performance at the board exams. Candidates will be chosen, based on their ranks in the board exams and the number of students who appear for the exam under the concerned board. “For example, a student from CBSE would get more points for being ranked fourth, than a student from the West Bengal Board,” said Gautam Barua, Director, IIT Guwahati.
At present, IIT aspirants appear for the IIT-Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE), which takes into account a student’s capabilities in physics, chemistry and mathematics (PCM). Board exams or class-XII results do not play a role in the final marking system. A student has to, however, score a minimum 60 per cent to qualify for the examination. Over 1.5 million students appear for the exams every year.
He said the idea behind changing the exam format “was to strike at the root of the coaching system that has gripped the country”. “We want these coaching classes to be transformed into schools,” he said, adding that the new format will encourage students to earn merit at the Plus-2 level. “The best way to do it, would be by encouraging students to perform better at the board exams.”
Coaching centres will, therefore, have to change their approach, said experts. For instance, Gautam Puri, Managing Director of Career Launcher, one of India’s better-known coaching institutions, said students will focus more on the overall package of subjects rather than just the PCM combination. “The way students prepare for the exams will change. Instead of focusing on the PCM, they will study everything. It will directly impact residential coaching institutions, which offer the code for cracking the earlier PCM-based exam. This kind of a coaching system will not be needed for just an aptitude test.”
At present, there are three types of examinations to apply for an engineering course — the IIT JEE for IITs, the All India Joint Entrance Exam (AIJEE) for other government engineering colleges besides the IITs, and the state board engineering exams for state engineering colleges.
The residential coaching programmes that Puri refered to are estimated to be a Rs. 400-500 crore (Rs. 4-5 billion) industry in Kota, a small town in Rajasthan, with a burgeoning student population. Over 70,000 students arrive in Kota to prepare for the entrance exams. While coaching institutions like the Forum for IIT-JEE chose to downplay saying it is too erealy to pass a judgment on the potential impact of the change, others like Pramod Maheshwari, MD and CEO of Kota-based Career Point, echoed Puri’s views.
“Now that Class XII board exam marks will also be taken into consideration, there will be a lot of competition to secure good marks in these exams. In this case, expert coaching will still be there. But, though the coaching modules would be modified as per the requirements, I believe there the business would be affected temporarily,” said Maheshwari.
Others, however, said the new exam format will merely mean a change in the coaching syllabi. “The analysis that students study only for the exam and not for their boards is incorrect. Over the past five years, the average IITian has a board exam percentage of over 80 per cent. Good students will continue to look for help. As long as that happens, it will be business as usual,” said P K Bansal, CEO, Bansal Institute. Kota-based Bansal Institute gets over 12,000 students every year an average and the annual fees per student is Rs. 70,000.
The idea behind the change in the format, which was taken at the meeting of the IIT Council last week, was to curb the growing coaching culture. Terming the coaching system as a “racket”, Sanjay Govind Dhande, Director, IIT Kanpur, had observed that the entrance examination system had to change.
Source: Business Standard, September 29, 2011
Mumbai calling: Harvard provides the answers
US-based Harvard University has, in principle, agreed to partner with the Maharashtra government to provide training for its elected representatives, bureaucrats, executives and academicians on issues relating to governance and development. This will be the first time Harvard University has agreed to be part of such a venture in Maharashtra. The university expressed its desire in this regard during its recent interaction with a high-level delegation led by Maharashtra’s minister for higher and technical education Rajesh Tope.
Sanjay Kumar, higher and technical education secretary, who was part of the delegation, told Business Standard: “We kept all four proposals for consideration of Harvard University which include training for elected representatives, propelling of a quality research programme in Mumbai University and other universities in Maharashtra, and the university’s engagement in the development of a world class traning institute and using its expertise in the resource mobilisation for the education sector.”
With Harvard University giving an “in principle approval” to take part in the project, the government will submit a detailed proposal which will be cleared by the university’s board of directors. He said the state government would provide the necessary funds for the same.
Harvard University has also agreed to be associated in a capacity-building exercise for Mumbai University and other institutions in the state. “The objective is to build capacity of the stakeholders in higher education, including vice chancellors and academician administrators,” said Kumar. According to Kumar, Harvard University also responded positively to help the state government in setting up a world-class training centre. “Harvard University’s in-principle approval is the result of the government’s regular interaction with its officials.”
The move comes at a time when the Centre is yet to pass the Foreign Education Bill which would allow foreign universities to have campuses in India. Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had tabled the much-awaited Foreign Education Institutions (Regulation of Entry And Operations) Bill, 2010 in the Lok Sabha on May 3, 2010. The Bill is aimed at regulating the entry and operation of foreign educational institutions which are imparting, or intend to impart, higher education in India. It will also permits foreign education providers to set up campuses in he country and offer degree courses. The Bill will not only bring in the much needed investment in the education sector, but will also draw foreign students and help India arrest brain drain.
Harvard has had a long association with India. Harvard Business School, for instance, has been conducting executive education or management development programmes in India since 2008, but out of five-star hotels. It has also been planning to have a classroom of its own for its executive education programmes. Indian corporate honchos, including Ratan Tata and Anand Mahindra, were reported to be helping the top institute find one.
HBS, which is ranked higher than all Indian B-schools, is looking for a permanent classroom is and that is likely to put more pressure on executive education programmes offered by Indian B-schools. On an average, such programmes comprise around 35 per cent of the revenue stream for most leading B-schools in the country.
Source: Business Standard, September 29, 2011
Higher education subsidy plan misses target
An ambitious scheme to make higher-education loans more attractive to poor students has failed to achieve its target because of inadequate marketing and the lack of coordination between various agencies.
The scheme was launched in 2010 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and gives full interest subsidy (a student will not have to pay the interest for the loan he or she avails) to students from families earning less than Rs. 450,000 a year. The interest subsidy is valid for the length of the course the student is enrolled for as well as a moratorium of either one year or six months after employment, whichever is earlier.
An HRD ministry document says that only 40% of the budgeted amount was used in FY2011. “In the previous financial year, a total of claim of sum of Rs. 203.28 crore (Rs. 2.03 billion) was reimbursed to Canara Bank out of the total budget of Rs. 500 crore (Rs. 5 billion),” says the document, a copy of which has been reviewed by Mint.
Canara Bank is the nodal agency for the subsidy scheme, following a decision by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). Other banks lending to students under the scheme can claim the subsidy from Canara Bank, which in turn gets reimbursed by the MHRD. The MHRD has allocated a budget of Rs. 640 crore (Rs. 6.4 billion) this fiscal for the subsidy scheme.
“Proper utilization of the fund requires coordination among banks, state governments and the MHRD,” the ministry note added. A MHRD official said the scheme has not received enough attention because of poor awareness and lack of support from banks and state governments. “Till recently less than 15 states have notified a designated authority who can give students an income certificate,” the official said, requesting anonymity. He refused to name the states. The official added that though interest rates on education loan are higher than those for vehicle and home loans, some banks hesitate to sanction education loans, branding them “risky”. Another official in the MHRD said the ministry has informed the finance ministry and IBA about this and “hopes to see a better result by the end of this year”.
India wants to increase its higher education enrolment by nearly 30 million in a decade. Currently around 15 million studying for college degrees in India, around 12.4% of those eligible. Of these, less than one-tenth take student loans, according to official data.
Geeta Bhukal, education minister of Haryana, said the scheme is good but it needs wider publicity. “Many don’t know how to avail (of the loans). The publicity has to be much more prominent,” she said. However, the minister said that she is not sure whether her state has notified any designated authority for the scheme or not. “I need to check it.” An official with Central Bank of India said that many states are yet to notify a designate authority for issuing the income certificate, which is posing problem. “It’s a cumbersome process to lodge claims as all the data has to be collated from all the branches by the central office and then passed to Canara Bank,” he said, requesting not to be named as he is not authorised to speak to media.
A Canara bank official, who too did not want to be named, said the figures are provisional as they had given banks’ time till 31 August to claim the subsidy. “We are providing sufficient publicity but the main issue is that many of the states are yet to notify the authority who can issue the income certificate to the eligible candidates”, he said. “We are still collating the data and the final amount could be more than Rs. 200 crore (Rs. 2 billion)”, he added.
A finance ministry official said his ministry has asked “banks to promptly inform loan seekers meeting the income criterion that they are eligible for the subsidy. Most banks are doing it. But there are a few instances where this is not happening.”
Source: Mint, September 29, 2011
ISB Hyderabad to set up incubator for entrepreneurs
Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) is all set to establish an entrepreneurship incubator for its students, alumni and even outsiders. The institute only has a virtual incubator, called K-Hub, at present, which supports the start-ups and growth of high technology ventures.
“With more than 20% of the students being involved in entrepreneurship in some way or the other, there is huge growth happening in this area. Hence, we are working on a physical incubator model,” said Prof. Kavil Ramachandran, professor of family business and entrepreneurship at ISB.
The incubator, which will take at least one year to come into being, will help those with an entrepreneurial bent of mind, those who run family businesses and others who want to set up their own ventures by mentoring them through the start-up and growth phases. Besides idea validation, the incubator will help in business plan preparation, strategy creation and business development support.
The current K-Hub is a hybrid business incubator created in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh government. It provides virtual incubation support to new and emerging SMEs. Through specialised mentoring, the programme aims to accelerate growth and self-sufficiency of these enterprises. More than 100 SMEs have already benefitted from the programme.
“Setting up the physical incubator is a priority item for the institute and it will be based on the virtual incubator model,” said Ramachandran. The incubator will be initially set up at ISB’s Hyderabad campus and may be extended to its upcoming Mohali campus later.
Source: The Financial Express, September 27, 2011
India hopes to achieve WHO’s doctor-people ratio by 2028
India will take at least 17 more years before it can reach the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended norm of one doctor per 1,000 people. The Planning Commission’s high-level expert group (HLEG) on universal health coverage (UHC) – headed by Dr. K. Srinath Reddy – has predicted the availability of one allopathic doctor per 1,000 people by 2028. It has suggested setting up 187 medical colleges in 17 high focus states during the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans to achieve the target.
HLEG estimates that the number of allopathic doctors registered with the Medical Council of India (MCI) has increased since 1974 to 612,000 in 2011 – a ratio of one doctor for 1,953 people or a density of 0.5 doctors per 1,000 people. The nation has a density of one medical college per 3.84 million. There are 315 medical colleges that are located in 188 of 642 districts.
There is only one medical college for a population of 11.5 million in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (9.5 million), Madhya Pradesh (7.3 lmillion) and Rajasthan (6.8 million). Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu each have one medical college for a population of 1.5 million, 1.6 million and 1.9 million, respectively.
The HLEG has proposed a phased addition of 187 colleges. It expects that by 2015 under phase A, 59 new medical colleges will admit students in 15 states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. By 2017, 13 of these states will have an additional 70 medical colleges, and by 2022, another 58 institutes will be built in two additional phases (2017-2020 and 2020-2022).
By 2022, India will have one medical college per 2.5 million population in all states except Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The implementation of HLEG’s recommendations will enable the additional availability of 102,000 doctors by 2017, and another 190,000 doctors between 2017 and 2022. “With this rate of growth, it is expected that the HLEG target of one doctor per 1,000 will be achieved by 2028,” the report says.
It recommends that along with establishment of new medical colleges, the admission capacities of existing colleges in the public sector should also be increased. Partnerships with the private sector should be encouraged, with conditional reservation of 50% of seats for local candidates, fixed admission fees and government reimbursement of fees for local candidates. The revised MBBS curriculum proposed by the MCI (Medical Council of India) should be refined to put greater focus on preventive, promotive and rehabilitative healthcare.
“Measures such as a compulsory posting of one year for all MBBS graduates immediately after internship, with 10% extra marks weightage for one year of rural service and 20% extra marks for two years of rural service in the post-graduate entrance examination should be included,” the report suggests.
The World Health Statistics Report (2011) says, the density of doctors in India is six for a population of 10,000. India is ranked 52 among 57 countries facing human resource crunch in healthcare. Between 2001 and 2005, India had a doctor: population ratio of 0.5 per 1,000 population in comparison to 0.3 in Thailand, Sri Lanka (0.4), China (1.6), the UK (5.4), the US (5.5) and Cuba (5.9).
The nation has the largest number of medical colleges in the world, with an annual churning rate of over 30,000 doctors and 18,000 specialists. However, the average annual output is 100 graduates per medical college in comparison to 110 in North America, Central Europe (125), Western Europe (149) and Eastern Europe (220). China, which has 188 colleges, produces 1,75, 000 doctors annually, with an average of 930 graduates per institute.
Source: The Times of India, September 27, 2011
IITs gear up for a bright start to placements; first-time hirers queue up
India Inc. may well be treading with caution on hiring this year, but on the campuses of India’s premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), there is an air of optimism around final placements. Registrations at IIT-Bombay, Delhi and Madras outshine or maintain last year’s numbers, and first-time hirers are pouring in for placements, scheduled in December. “Companies are upbeat and there is no reason hiring will stop; in fact it may even increase,” says Kushal Sen, Placement Head, IIT-Delhi. Over 150 companies have registered with IIT Delhi as of September 22.
A similar number of firms had registered last year. IIT Madras currently has 100 firms registered in their placement portal compared with last year’s 60, says Ramesh Babu, Placement Head. Foreign companies such as Japan’s NTT Communications and Infoaxe from the US, have registered for the first time this year. Among the Indian first-timers are FMC Technologies , Broadcom India, MN Dastur, eGain, Essex Lake Group and Tribi Systems. NIIT University wants to hire PhD students, says Babu. Finisar from Malaysia, which hired last year, has confirmed this year as well.
Singapore’s Sumitomo has been visiting the campus since 2009 and has also registered this year. Company profiles reveal that global salaries can go up to as much as $60,000, says Babu. R&D and engineering firm King Abdullaziz from Saudi Arabia, which had hired students for 96,000 Saudi riyals last year, is yet to register, but the institute is hopeful. At IIT-Bombay, 100 companies had registered till August, and by December, the institute expects to cross last year’s 250-mark.
Ravi Sinha, Placement Head, did not divulge the names of the companies, but expects firms from Japan, Korea, North America and few European nations. Work Applications, a Japanese enterprise resource management firm, has approached IIT-Bombay for the first time, says Sinha. Companies that are interested in hiring students from the IITs expected to get the requisite approvals from the placement committee and then sign into the placement portals. They have to mention the job profile, location and salary, based on which students can decide which firm’s interview to take.
All those who register do not necessarily come for the placements , which last till June. Not just the IITs, but Kolkata-based Jadavpur University too has its share of first-timers – Tokyo-headquartered IT firm Job Tessio and Abu Dhabi’s iron and steel firm Al Ghurair Group are in the process of selecting students. The Japanese firm is expected to offer Rs. 3.1 million per year while the latter will take care of accommodation, food and travel expenses of its employees, besides paying a salary of Rs. 360,000, according to Siddharth Bhattacharya, officer of placement and training.
Source: The Economic Times, September 27, 2011
Private engineering colleges mull 15-30% fee hike
Less than 10 days after the council of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) announced a four-fold increase in fees, private engineering colleges are mulling a hike of 15 to 30 per cent. Kolkata-based Institute of Engineering Management (IEM), for instance, has plans to hike fees from the current Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 110,000 yearly.
He says most other private engineering colleges in the state are soon likely to follow suit. “We will approach the state government for up to a 40 per cent increase in fees once the plans for hiking the fees in the IITs are finalised,” adds Chatterjee.
The story is similar at Bangalore’s RV College of Engineering, one of the better known engineering institutions. Its trust is planning a fee hike from the current Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 125,000 per student per year. “Currently,” says principal B S Satyanarayana, “45 per cent of the students pay up to Rs. 30,000, 5 per cent pay no fees and 50 per cent pay about Rs. 75,000. We are going to ask the higher band to be increased to Rs. 125,000 from the next session.”
Over 60 private engineering colleges in the western state have been demanding a hike in fees for more than a year now, citing issues of increasing expenditure and need to expand. The move to hike the fees in IITs is expected to give more teeth to the demand. But the fee hike, when implemented, is likely to have to a stronger impact given that while the all 15 IITs put together have about 10,000 seats, private engineering colleges have over 500,000 seats across more than 2,200 institutions.
That fees hike in private engineering colleges is a contentious issue is well documented. The Karnataka government had set up the B. Padmaraj Committee to recommend the formula for fee hike in Karnataka. The state, incidentally, is the second largest producer of engineers in India and has over 100,000 seats across 200 institutions.
“The approved student teacher ratio set by the AICTE [All India Council of Technical Research] is 15/1,” points out Satyanarayana. “The target ratio set by the IITs, is 10/1. For private engineering colleges to achieve the IIT target ratio, the annual fees should at least by Rs. 125,000 yearly.”
Another director, of a leading engineering college in Bangalore, says increasing the fees has become a matter of compulsion, following the order to implement the Sixth Paying Commission salaries. According to current rules, private engineering colleges can hike fees subject to the state government’s approval. However, according to industry experts, there are ways to work around the rules, given the fact that fees figures as reflected on balance sheets are often augmented by research and infrastructure expenses among others.
“If one talks about just expenditures,” reveals Ajay Antony, Director, IIT JEE and AIEEE, at TIME Institute, “a student at a private engineering college spends up to 30,000 more yearly by way of expenses as compared to an IIT. Just 40 per cent of the overall expense incurred by the student goes toward fees. Nevertheless more hike will inevitably follow.”
Source: Business Standard, September 27, 2011
UNSW: ‘Want to partner Indian varsities, not compete against them’
University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, is exploring partnership opportunities with top Indian educational institutions and businesses. While it does not intend to open an India campus or offer tailored corporate degrees, it is looking at research avenues in collaboration with centres of academic excellence in the country. On his recent visit to India to meet leading institutions and government representatives, UNSW President and Vice-Chancellor, Fred Hilmer, spoke to Piyali Mandal & Nivedita Mookerji about student safety on Australian campuses, competition from other countries in the race for being a popular overseas education destination and visa reforms, among other things. Edited excerpts:
Do you think the recent incidents of attacks on Indian students in Australia have had an adverse impact on the latter as an education destination?
The media reports were quite damaging. They were based on relatively few incidents. The negative sentiment is unfortunate. When you are here, Australia is invisible. You see it as one place. However, in reality, it is a very big and diverse country. At our campus, we have had no issues regarding students’ safety. A word-of-mouth from the people who have been at our campus is very important. You know, these things happen and you have to live with them. We will have to continue telling our story.
The number was certainly higher earlier. Earlier, India was number four in terms of students’ enrollment. It has now slipped to the fifth spot.
What initiatives have you taken to instill confidence in people vis-à-vis education in Australia?
We are talking to educational institutions, agents and the government here. I hope they will get a better sense of things and realise that Australia is a good place to study. We are working with different government organisations regarding the flow of students back and forth. We have had anumber of conversations. During this visit, I am meeting the secretary of higher education and representatives from the University Grants Commission.
We have worked very closely with the Australian government on the student visa programme. The new recommendations will support high quality students. A favourable student visa programme is a critical part of the Australian policy. There is nothing stronger than the students studying in Australia going back to their country and vice versa.
What is the proportion of Indian students studying in your university on full fee? Do you propose to increase the number of scholarships?
Usually, most students from India are on full fee. Yes, we are looking at increasing the number of scholarships. We would moderately increase these for research programmes.
The US and the UK remain among the most favoured destinations for Indian students. Where does Australia stand in comparison? In addition, do you see any threat from Asian countries like Singapore?
Australia fell back a little after the bad publicity. I think we are seeing strong interest again. Every country has its own problems. I just came back from the UK, which is very troubled. In the US, funding for a number of universities is being cut. Australia has a relatively strong position. Our government is increasing funding for education. Moreover, when you pass out of college, you can get a job in the country. The Australian economy is good; they (students) will not find it difficult to get a job. As far as Singapore is concerned, we do not see it as a threat. Asian students like the experience of studying in Australia. It gives them a truly international experience.
We are an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) style university. So, the bulk of our collaborations would be in science and technology. We have a collaboration with the Prasad Rao Eye Institute. We are meeting officials from the Indian Institute of Science and expect some collaboration there. We are also working on a Masters of Public Health programme in collaboration with the Christian Medical University, Vellore. We had a number of discussions with Kapil Sibal, the education minister. We are also in talks with the IITs and IIMs. We are at an initial stage of discussion with IIM-Ahmedabad, for partnership around our flagship MBA programme.
We plan to start such programmes in the next two-three years.
We will hold discussions with corporate India in November. Our team is setting up a series of meetings with top-end corporate and industry leaders here. We are looking at building internship models. Under these, our students will have access to the corporate across India. However, we will not do any tailored corporate degree. It is very unlikely. We might conduct such courses in partnership with Indian educational institutes, but not with a corporate entity.
We believe in the partnership model. Universities, by nature, are local and we do better when we work with other universities like partners. It is mutually beneficial. Education is not a business. It is not a business market. The sector is generally very heavily regulated. We want to collaborate with universities and not compete against them to get more students.
These are still early days. India and Australia had been a bit off each other’s radar for some time. There is enormous opportunity in the information technology and energy sector, among others. The build-up will come from the history of engagement in education.
If you look at the benefits of pursuing these (competitive reforms) aggressively and holistically, they are very significant. In the late 80s and early 90s, Australia had lower economic growth than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Then, if you look at growth in the early 90s and through the early part of this century — the period we did all the competitive regulation — we grew above them consistently and had inflation below the OECD rate. So, the virtue is dual, that of good growth and low inflation.
You have to have a longterm view. Even as we started the process of reforms in the late 80s, we were able to bring in a lot of the laws only in the early 90s and it took some years. But, if you look back, if you have a 15-20 years’ view, this is probably one of the most significant areas of economic reforms we have undertaken.
The lesson for India is to be patient and stay on course.
Source: Business Standard, September 26, 2011
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