Coming up, a Facebook-like education website

Fed up of your child logging into Facebook at the cost of studies? The Rajasthan government has hit upon a remedy – a social networking site that will also help brush up a youngster’s academic knowledge. “The idea is to utilise the popularity of social networking sites among students. Most of them spend a lot of time on such websites every day,” a senior official of the state’s information technology department, which is developing the portal, told IANS.

The government portal will give tips to students on subjects like physics, chemistry and mathematics. Experts will be roped in to answer the academic queries students post on it. “We thought why not make it a bit educational so that students can not only enjoy the fun that these sites offer but also get to learn something,” the official said.

Students will be able to open up their individual accounts, add friends, upload photographs, play games and interact among themselves just like they do on Facebook. “What makes it stand out is the fact that there will be subject-specific links on the home page. We will store e-books, objective questions and coaching material related to each subject,” the officer added. The development of the portal is in the final phase, he said.

The government should popularise the website by approaching educational institutes across the state, including schools, colleges and coaching centres, said Abhishek Sharma, a volunteer working with a local NGO. “The students should be encouraged by the institutes to use this portal,” Sharma told IANS.

“It will be fun to have such a social networking website. I usually get distracted by these sites, but fun and studies going together must be great. I am eagerly waiting for the site to be launched,” said Manu Mishra, a Class 11 student.

Parents have also welcomed the initiative. “My son spends half of his time on social networking websites which could be utilised for sports or studies. I will definitely encourage him to use the portal being launched by the government as it will at least have some study or course and subject material,” said Ramkumar Joshi, parent of a Class 12 student.

Source: The Economic Times (Online Edition), August 7, 2011

Rajasthan to kick off free tutorials for rural engineering aspirants

The Rajasthan government is starting a free, online pre-engineering tutorial from May 15 for students in the state’s remote rural areas who can’t afford coaching institutes. The proposed 10-month programme is slated to be the country’s largest, with over 7000 students from all over the state together preparing for entrance exams like IIT-JEE, AIEEE and PET through video conferencing.

Students will be required to attend centres in their respective panchayats and district councils. All the learning centres have been connected through satellite with the main hub — Indira Gandhi Panchayatraj Sansthan in Jaipur — where the faculty will deliver lectures in subjects like mathematics, chemistry and physics. The sessions will be spread across 120 classes, and students can clear their doubts online.

“Every year, thousands of students from Rajasthan clear engineering entrance tests. But there are very few from rural areas. This can be a game-changer for them,” says R.K. Verma, Principal Secretary of state’s Science & Technology Department, the nodal agency for this programme.

The government is spending Rs. 9 million in the first phase of this programme, said Verma, adding from next year, the sessions will begin from April 1. Students securing 50% marks in mathematics stream are eligible for this programme. The state government will conduct a feedback session every three months to improve the teaching methodology. “If things move in the right direction, more students from villages will be able to make it to engineering colleges,” says R.P. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, Rajasthan Technical University (RTU), which conducts engineering courses in the state.

The government-run coaching class, however, will not be a threat to the booming coaching business in Kota. While the government is targeting students from remote villages, Kota’s coaching institutes attract aspirants from urban centres. Kota’s coaching institutes together corner around 25% of the total IIT-JEE seats.

However, high fees and living costs deprive rural students of good coaching and guidance needed for cracking exams like the IIT-JEE. “It’s a good initiative. If the state government approaches us for any support, we will be happy to offer it. Success, however, will depend on the quality of faculty and execution,” says Career Point CMD and CEO Pramod Maheshwari.

Source: The Economic Times, May 10, 2011