On The Job Training Evaluation Form - Fy 17: Fill & Download for Free

Disclaimer: At the end of the day, ICAI is the boss.I am happy that finally there is a change and I have decided to stay happy by not thinking about possibilities beyond that, since at the end of the day …The change was long awaited and over due as well. It has been a decade since the last major change in syllabus. In a Profession like Chartered Accountants, this is like trying to file Returns for FY 2014–15 in FY 2017–18. On the contrary, Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of India (ICMAI) has already resolved to bring New syllabus, every four years. This is not just a resolution, but also very smoothly implemented plan, as ICMAI shifted from Syllabus 2008 to Syllabus 2012 and now Syllabus 2016, trying to keep its syllabus up to date with the trends.Before someone confuses New Syllabus with Devil’s curse, let me explain why changing syllabus is for the benefit of all, with no hardship involved.As I have explained in the past, New Syllabus will be applicable only to students who register for CPT, IPCC or Final after 30th June.For Students who have already registered or will have already registered by 30th June, for any particular level - New Syllabus will applicable to them for the next level.For existing IPCC students, Final will be under new syllabus, similarly for exisiting CPT students, Intermediate & Final will be under new syllabus. The syllabus is not dependent on your exam attempt but your course registration date.So please understand, there is no impact on the efforts that you have already made, books that you have bought or classes that you have joined.Changing course syllabus keeps the students up to date with the trends in the profession, which directly affects their employability. Else, companies would have to invest heavily in training of such Chartered Accountants and they might start considering alternatives.Besides, even ISCA subject has been dropped, IT subject has been streamlined. So if any of the above reasons doesn’t seem acceptable, atleast this would be.On one hand students cry for not getting well paid jobs, and then they also curse ICAI for making any change in the syllabus. “Chit bhi meri, patt bhi meri” (Heads is mine, tails too) will not work in your benefit. So, it is highly important to keep changing the Syllabus as per trends.For beginners, refer New Syllabus[1] & Old Syllabus[2][3] through footnote links.CPC BECOMES FOUNDATIONMore Accounts, Nightmare for Science Stream Students - Good move.Earlier Accounts was for 60 marks, now 100 marks. The increase in marks is coupled with some IPCC topics like Average Due Date, Accounting from Incomplete Records & Financial Statements of Non Profit Organization being introduced at Foundation level. This further strengthens the base for Accounting and for students joining from Science stream, this could be a nightmare.No restriction on other medium students, but learn English before you join CA course - Highly appreciative move.This is what the second paper’s structure says, Law for 60 marks with 40 marks General English. Limited Liability Partnership Act & Introduction to Companies Act has been added to the Foundation level. General English covers Articles, Reports, Emails, Formal Letters, Grammar, Comprehension, Anonymns, Synonyms, etc. Basically, the 10th / 12th standard English subject, compressed into a zip file. Another good move. One reason why many CA students lacked good English skills because there was no restriction on which medium school or college you come from. There is still no restriction, but ICAI has closed that loophole by introducing English. So Non-English medium students will now have to learn English properly and in-depth, before entering CA course.More Mathematics to keep students out of CA course - Good moveMathematics & Statistics has been expanded into a full 100 marks subject rather than the 50 marks zip version. Now this subject is value for study, as earlier too many topics were for too less marks. There is also a 20 marks logical reasoning included. While Mathematics & Statistics may not be extensively useful in CA profession, the knowledge of the same ensures strong reasoning & logical thinking capacity, which is highly important while auditing. This subject will also ensure students do not pass CA foundation in bulk quantity as before, but a check on the same can be maintained.Improved Understanding of Business - Requesting practical questionsEconomics is same as before, with 10 additional marks and Business Cycles as additional topic. Business & Commercial Knowledge is a wonderful subject added, only if the questions are more practical. The best part of this subject syllabus is the following part - “Students are expected to read atleast one financial newspaper and one business magazine.” Wow! This line says a lot. So question paper may contain some practical questions about ongoing issues. If this is true, then it would be a really great move.No more MCQs in Accounting, Law & English. Negative marking for Economics, Statistics & Mathematics - Great moveAccounting, Law & English are some important subjects which test the writing skills of the students. While Mathematics, Statistics, Economics & Commercial Knowledge is merely objective. Usually all subjects are tested at the same standard, however, ICAI took the brave decision of distinguishing the standard of evaluation for different subjects at the same level. This will definitely improve the competitiveness of the Chartered Accountants. Negative marking is same as before. It keeps answering merely by guess i.e. randomness of answering under check.IPCC BECOMES INTERMEDIATEShifting of Accounting Topics - Nothing special hereSome topics of Accounting have been shifted to Foundation while some topics have been borrowed from Advanced Accounting. Good thing is including all Accounting Standards in Accounting & Advanced Accounting subjects leaving behind only advanced issues for Final level. This will help students during articleship.Inclusion of useful topics at early stage in Law - Good moveTopics like interpretation of statutes, drafting deeds & documents, etc. have been included at Intermediate level itself. Consumer laws & brief introductions to labour laws has also been included. This ensures that the student is not completely blank about interpretations & legal documents. With this knowledge student can further build on with the practical knowledge he/she obtains. Certainly, Intermediate level has been designed keeping Articleship in mind and this is certainly a change for good.Learn the entire Costing all at once - Eat with two spoons nowThere’s one extra subject at Intermediate level, as Costing and Financial Management have been split into two 100 marks paper. The earlier Costing syllabus was certainly not enough for 100 marks paper, so now entire Costing i.e. the Costing at IPCC and Costing at Final level, both have been accomodated in one subject. I am doubtful, how good this move would be. Students have faced difficulties in Costing even at Final level because of multiple methods that can be used. Introducing such difficulty at Intermediate level is a big burden on students. All of this to insert one additional subject at Final level. Keep reading.Tax Subject is same as before. - Too much for too less.I still feel and this is with respect to all three ICAI, ICSI and ICMAI - either select certain chapters of tax laws or make them two different subjects. This is too much to read for so less marks, especially Direct Taxes which is a vast subject. Since ICAI’s motive is to accomodate more & more subjects in the syllabus, this is a move that they have made. As we know, at the end of the day …Advanced Accounting looks like dead end of Accounting - Not sureICAI has included Guidance notes in Advanced Accounting. There are only 5 other topics in Advanced Accounting which means each Guidance Note will now be tested in much deeper sense. In my opinion, it is too early to introduce Guidance notes. The syllabus of Foundation or Group 1 Accounts could have been spread over and shared with Group II Accounts, but ICAI seems to have decided something. I am adding an attention flag, it doesn’t seem appropriate.Audit subject seems quite improved in content - Very Good Move.The Auditing subject under the old course was too simple & pointless. Now the subject has been divided into topics as we have in Audit Plans. This is a significant improvement from the old syllabus as now it seems to include more practical subjects. We will only know how much they have improved the subject when the books are published, but as of now, looking at the topics, it looks convincing.Business Economics seems repetitive - Not so good moveFinancial Management is same as before, and now it feels like the only subject which is true value for marks. There is no cramming of topics in this subject and 60 marks is appropriate. However, the balance 40 marks Business Economics is like History of Finance & India Economy, which is good stuff, but these topics are already covered in Class 11th & 12th. Students already get the basic knowledge of Economics before CA course, so Business Economics seems repetitive. Again this would be a purely theoretical subject from the syllabus, a big question mark here.IT subject streamlined, SM same as before - That’s awesome!In original draft syllabus, ICAI had kept Information Technology subject in tact, but they have now streamlined the subject. As you can see the name is now “Business Information Systems”, thus, certain topics from ISCA will be introduced in IT subject. Only topics which are really very relevant have been retained. Strategic Management has been kept in tact. I wish there are more Case Laws in both IT and SM, it would have made subject more relevant. In CMA course, there are case laws from industry mentioned in Study Material, for students to understand concepts practically which are not asked in exams. I hope ICAI either now or later introduces such case laws.FINAL STAYS FINALFinancial Reporting has fewer topics, means more difficult- Not sureThe syllabus of Financial Reporting stays same except for exclusion of certain topics and shifting them to Intermediate level. Now although looking at syllabus, a student may think of it as a scoring subject, I feel the Financial Reporting subject will get more tougher because the topics which have been eliminated were the easier ones. This seems like a Lion’s den to me. Accident prone zone. Guidance Notes are going to bring in tough questions.Financial Management now looks interesting - Very Good moveThe old syllabus didn’t cover valuation in depth. Now there is an entirely new chapter on valuations. Besides, introduction of Islamic Finance is a great move. It would be an interesting topic to read, not sure about exam questions, as they would probably be theoretical. Interest rate risk management has been added considering the need of hour. The syllabus seems better, but I expect inclusion of Practical case studies like ICMAI modules which helps in understanding the practical aspects which students cannot learn in articleship.Advanced Auditing subject seems same - Requesting Case StudiesAdvanced Auditing subject has only been consolidated in a better manner. The subject under old syllabus lacked case studies and I feel the same would happen in new course as well. The way we learn Auditing and the way we apply in real world is different and this gap can only be filled in by Case Studies. Dear ICAI, Auditing is our key subject. Please include Case Studies here, make it more difficult but more practical so that it guides in real life situations as well.Allied Laws is like ‘Yeh bhi padhlo, woh bhi padhlo’ - Worst moveEither increase the weightage of Allied Laws or reduce the number of laws. ICAI did neither of them, but only included more laws without improving the weightage. This subject looks so crammed up. It was already so crammed up, and now they further added more laws to it. Now there are 17 Laws for 30 marks! I won’t say a word further about this, since you know, at the end of the day …Strategic Cost Management & Performance Evaluation, Copy cats! This war between ICMAI & ICAI is getting hotter - Great moveThis is an open war with ICMAI. In Cost & Management Accountant course, you have exactly the same subject at Final level with same name and same topics. This subject is certainly introduced to keep competition with ICMAI in check. This is great subject, in my opinion. It was the biggest difference between CA and CMA course which has now been eliminated. This subject might be partially practical and partially theory. Quantitative techniques have been reduced to four topics which is a good move. I wonder, would ICAI and ICMAI merge in future? They are eating each other’s scope, crossing the lines & raiding territories. When will this war come to an end!ISCA teachers go Jobless; Faith in ICAI restored - Legendary move!In draft curriculum, ISCA was retained with some relevant topics only. However, in Final Draft, they have removed the entire subject and introduced concept of ‘Elective Paper’. This is an absolutely welcome move. The choices in elective paper are nice. In future we may have more elective papers being introduced as per need. Now ISCA is covered in Advanced ICITSS course where ISCA would be an Online / OMR exam with multiple choice questions. ISCA wasn’t entirely relevant, hence they move the important topics to IT subject in Intermediate and some parts to the ICITSS course where I believe it won’t be too difficult. Now we will have Chartered Accountants with one specialization area. This is the future we were talking about. Hatsoff to ICAI, people in committee who stood for this suggestion.Direct Taxes is now more Comprehensive - Good moveThere is now a separate section for International Taxation which is actually very important. The 70 marks syllabus for Direct Taxes is same as before, however, I expect now questions would be more advanced and related to Assessment procedures as the Basic part has been covered in Intermediate level. Direct Taxes subject will require more practical knowledge, case laws would become important. Simple calculation questions won’t be asked.GST is the New Subject - Not ICAI, it’s Ex-FM Jaitley’s good move!The credit for this subject cannot be given to ICAI. It truly belongs to Arun Jaitley’s thoughtfulness and approach. GST is going to be effective soon and the new syllabus will include GST. There is nothing to worry about, as one GST law for 70 marks means many simple questions will also be asked. I am pretty sure, the first few attempts will see, many simple papers. Subject will be easier to pass & score than the other subjects especially because the syllabus isn’t vast and nor difficult. The Law is new and therefore, there aren’t as many complications as in case of Excise. Further, very few case laws would be applicable for first few years, almost negligible.OTHER CHANGESISCA exists, but in a different manner - Good moveThere has been a lot of confusion over ISCA subject, but the above picture will guide you. ISCA is not a theoretical subject anymore, nor it is part of CA Final. It is now a part of AICITSS course as a MCQ pattern paper. This exam will be similar to the old ITT exams, however, with a significant change in the syllabus.You can switch to New Course at any time - As expectedAs mentioned in above FAQ 41, you are allowed to switch over to new course at any point of time if you wish to. Probably the option would exist in the Examination Form that you fill up.Pass any Group of Articleship - A move for benefit of students.You can pass any Group of Intermediate, complete ICITSS training and start Articleship i.e. even after passing Group II, you can start Articleship.Combining IT Training & GMCS - Good move.ITT, Orientation & GMCS have been combined to form ICITSS and Advanced ICITSS. The first one has to be done prior to Articleship, while the other one in last two years of articleship.Final exam 2.5 years rule retained same as before - Good decisionIn Draft rules, it was mentioned, final exams can be given only after completing entire 3 years training. However, ICAI has after re-thinking, restored the rule to same as before i.e. after 2.5 years you can give your final exams.Alert! Irrespective of your Registration, ITT/Orientation/GMCS will be under New ICITSS course only - owing to administrative reasonsEven if you are registered under old course and you have not completed your GMCS or Orientation & ITT course by 30th June, you will be required to pursue ICITSS course instead of existing courses.Conclusion: Almost all remarks are appreciative. See why I am happy. There is change and the change is good. This is something that everyone will accept. The only problem here is, we are human beings. We have a lot of expectations. Our expectations have no boundaries and therefore, the more we think, the more we will be discontent. I feel happy that atleast some appropriate changes have been done. There can be so many more changes that we could imagine, but the Expert committee does consist of Experts who would have considered everything. No point in pondering over what could have been done or what should have been done, since at the end of the day …Friends who feel there could have been more changes or better changes - Yes, maybe you are right. However, let’s first appreciate the changes that have come after waiting for a decade and stay happy with what’s happening, instead of bothering over something that is not happening or not going to happen atleast in next few years.Edit 1 : The answer has been updated to reflect changes between draft curriculum & final curriculum. Feel free to ask queries about New curriculum in comments. If queries are personal, visit my profile for contact details.Related queries[1] In the CA final paper 6, which subject will have better career options?[2] What is the most significant change in new curriculum of the CA course?[3] Who will be most adversely affected by the new curriculum of CA course?Footnotes[1] http://resource.cdn.icai.org/45557bos35643.pdf[2] http://resource.cdn.icai.org/45099bos35101cpc.pdf[3] http://resource.cdn.icai.org/45100bos35101ipc.rar

Interesting that you should ask. Just a week or so ago, I ran across a list of Trump’s accomplishments in just 24 months in office. Just to compare, I also looked up Joe Biden’s record of accomplishments made in 44 years of service.I’ll list Joe’s first…1960: “[O]ne of the best pass receivers I had in 16 years as a coach.” — E. John Walsh, football coach at Archmere Academy.1965: Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware in Newark, with a double major in history and political science and a minor in English.1968: Graduated from Syracuse University College of Law with a law degree.1969: Admitted to the Delaware bar.1970-72: Served on New Castle County Council.1972-77: Single parent to two sons, commuting on Amtrak 75 minutes each way between his home in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, D.C.Joe Biden: Senate accomplishments1973-2009: U.S. Senator from Delaware, initially focussing on consumer protection, environmental issues, government accountability, and arms control. In his 6 terms as a senator, Joe Biden sponsored or co-sponsored 348 pieces of legislation that became law.1981-97: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years.1986: Introduced his Global Climate Protection Act, one of the first bills aimed at addressing climate change.1990s: Authored every major piece of crime legislation this decade, including the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.1992-1995: Strongly guided Balkans policy in the mid-1990s during the Bosnian War, producing a successful NATO peacekeeping effort.1994: Spearheaded the Violence Against Women Act, criminalizing violence against women and creating unprecedented resources for survivors of assault, which was followed by a 64% drop in domestic violence from 1993 to 2010.1997-2009: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, leading legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.1997: Led the Senate to approve ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.1998: Led the Senate to approve NATO enlargement and passage of bills to streamline foreign affairs agencies and punish religious persecution overseas.1999: Co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on President Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions in Kosovo.2000: Sponsored the Kids 2000 Act, establishing a public-private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet access, and technical training to young people, particularly low-income and at-risk youth.Joe Biden: Vice President accomplishments-2017: Vice President of the United States.2009: Implemented and oversaw the $840 billion stimulus package in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.2009: Chaired the Middle Class Working Families Task Force.2010: Fought for Congressional approval of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which inserted accountability into the financial sector and fortified the stability of the financial system.2011: Led negotiations between Congress and the White House in resolving federal spending levels for the rest of the year and avoiding a government shutdown. Negotiated with Mitch McConnell to agree on deficit-reducing Budget Control Act of 2011.2012: Headed the Gun Violence Task Force in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.2012: Negotiated a deal with Mitch McConnell that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, averting a fiscal cliff and implementing the largest middle-class tax cut in history.2014: Co-chaired White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.2014: Served as the Obama administration’s emissary to Eastern European governments like Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine worried over Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in the region.Here’s Trumps list…..Economic Growth4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.Jobs4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.Unemployment claims at 50 year lowAfrican-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.American IncomeMedian household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.American OptimismSmall business optimism has hit historic highs.NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.Manufacturers are more confident than ever.95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.American BusinessInvestment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.DeregulationAchieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.Tax CutsBiggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into lawProvided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.Worker DevelopmentEstablished a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.Domestic InfrastructureProposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.Health CareSigned an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 statesProposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.Combating OpioidsChaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.$6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.$485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.Law and OrderMore U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the ConstitutionNominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.$137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.Border Security and ImmigrationSecured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible forOver 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.More than 48,000 with assault offenses.More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.TradeNegotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policiesWithdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTOOpened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-centuryAmerican beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decadeOK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.EnergyPresidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American historyUnited States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategyHeld a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.Foreign PolicyMoved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods ForceSince enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.DefenseExecutive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.$700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.Released an America first National Security Strategy.Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.Every member state has increased defense spending.Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.Veterans affairsSigned the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.Funding for the Veterans Choice program.Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

11th Five Year Plan India’s Education Plan!Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has termed the 11th five year plan as “India’s educational plan”. The 11th Plan, approved at the meeting of the National Development Council in December 2007, places the highest priority on education as a centred instrument for achieving rapid and inclusive growth. At INR 2.70 lakh crore, it constitutes 20% of the Plan, representing a credible progress towards the target of 6% of GDP. The 11th Five Year Plan presents a comprehensive strategy for strengthening the education sector covering all segments of the education pyramid. It is through universal literacy, access to education and knowledge-based industrial development that India will believably march ahead to join the front ranks of the great nations of the world overcoming the challenges of ensuring that everyone has an access to education and skill building in their activity.The wish list: The 11th Plan Approach PaperThe approach paper mentions that the 11th Plan should ensure, we move towards raising public spending in education to 6% of GDP. It must fulfill the Constitutional obligation of providing free and compulsory elementary education of good quality to all children up to the age of 14. It must ensure both access and good quality and standards in respect of curriculum, pedagogy, and infrastructure irrespective of the parents’ ability to pay.Elementary EducationUnder the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), dropout rates for both boys and girls of all social groups must be reduced sharply, if not eliminated altogether. This was around 31% in 2003-04 and was much higher in many states.With the Employment Guarantee Scheme adding to family income, the pressures are expected to somewhat reduce. Opening of crèches for children at the work site will reduce the incidence of girls dropping out to take care of younger siblings. SHGs formed by mothers should be given the task of preparing mid-day meals. A set of national testing standards will be created and a chain of institutions that test and evaluate children according to set norms will be established. Making available ICT solutions, shared management personnel, and management skills with the school committees will be crucial.Secondary EducationA major initiative for expanding secondary education up to class X, must be initiated in the 11th Plan and should include access to organised sports and games. The required expansion of secondary education calls for both public and private effort. At present, private aided and unaided schools account for 58% of the total number of secondary schools and 25% of the student population. The 11th Plan will have to find sufficient resources to evolve strategies to significantly expand the number of places in secondary schools, including expansion of intake by private schools wherever this can complement the public effort.The present trend of combining upper primary with secondary school education may need to be strengthened.Technical/Vocational EducationThe NSS data shows that only 3% of the rural youth (15-29 years) and 6 % of the urban youth have gone through any kind of vocational training. There is need to expand vocational training from the present capacity of a mere 2-3 million to at least 15 million new entrants to the labour force. While we have 5,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) (under the Ministry of Labour) and 7,000 Vocational Schools (under the Ministry of HRD), China has about 5,00,000 Secondary Vocational Schools. The 11th Plan must pay special attention to devising innovative ways of modernising the ITIs and increasing their number substantially. ITIs in India typically cater to around 40 skills compared with 4,000 in China.Vocational training for both men and women should be accorded top priority in the 11th Plan. An initiative at block level for vocational training (VET) should be taken. VET will be given priority at par with secondary education in allocating public sector financial and physical resources – land and other supportive services.Higher and Technical EducationOnly about 10% of the relevant age group in India go to universities whereas in many developing countries, the figure is between 20 and 25%. The 11th Plan must undertake a major effort to expand and improve the quality of our higher education system.The NASSCOM-McKinsey Report 2005 projections indicate that these will fall short by about 5,00,000 suitable professionals (representing an opportunity cost of USD 10 billion) by the end of the decade and in the absence of corrective action, this gap will continue to grow. However, if current trends are maintained, the IT-ITES sector will need an additional 1 million plus qualified people in the next 5 years and will generate exports of USD 86 billion in FY 2012.The 11th Plan must address these, new colleges and universities must be set up, to provide easier access to students in educationally backward districts. A specific plan for upgrading a few existing select universities with a ‘potential for excellence’ must be formulated, laying down specific parameters which are in tune with global standards. One university in each state should be made a model university through all round upgradation during the 11th Plan. Select state universities should be upgraded to the level of central universities.NKC Recommendations Translated to 11th Plan ActionMajor components of the 11th Plan relate to some of the recommendations made by National Knowledge Commission.School EducationReorient Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan bringing in a strong rights focus to make Right to Education a reality: ensure basic learning conditions, special focus on Maths, Science & English, common syllabi, curriculum and pedagogy.Gradually reduce Central Government’s funding over the Plan period rather than move immediately to 50:50.Ensure minimum standards and norms for public and private schools and address systemic issues of accountability and decentralisation of decision making, teacher recruitment, teacher training, learning outcome measurement, teacher motivation.Recognise and encourage the role of private providers.Special focus on disadvantaged groups and educationally backward areas.Scheme for universal access and quality at the secondary stage; set up 6,000 model schools one in each Block, upgrade 15,000 primary schools to secondary level, additional infrastructure and additional teachers, hundred percent trained teachers.Use ICT-based pedagogy and learning aids, provide broadband connectivity to all the Government and Government-aided secondary schools.Strengthen teacher training and professional development.Vocational Training & Skill DevelopmentLaunch a National Skill Development Mission with an outlay of INR 31,200 crore to increase capacity from 2.5 million to 10 million per annum. The National Skill Development Mission would:Modernise existing public sector infrastructure to get into PPP mode with functional and governance autonomy, establish a credible accreditation system and a guidance framework for all accrediting agencies, encourage agencies to rate institutions on standardized outcomes, and establish a National Skill Inventory and a National Database for Skill Deficiency Mapping on a national web portal.Set up a National Qualifications Frame-work, which establishes equivalence and provides horizontal mobility between various vocational, technical and academic streams at more than one career points and a Trainee Placement and Tracking System for effective evaluation and future policy planning.Enlarge the coverage of skill spectrum to 1,000 trades with relevance to our emerging needs, while making a distinction between structural, interventional and last mile unemployability, and correspondingly set up programmes for 24 months, 12 months and 6 months duration. Finishing Schools will be encouraged to take care of last mile unemployability.Create a National Skill Development Fund imposing a universal skill development obligation on industry to invest in skill development of SCs/ STs/OBCs/Minorities/others candidates from BPL families – as their contribution to affirmative action combined with matching Government contribution.Enlarge the 50,000 Skill Development Centres programme eventually into a Virtual Skill Development Resource Network for web based learning.InnovationPut in place a National Innovation Policy which encourages competition among enterprises, greater diffusion of knowledge and increased support to early stage technology development initiatives and grassroots level innovators.Foster increased collaboration among the R&D institutes, Universities and private sector enterprises and leverage upon their cumulative strengths in designing and implementing various innovation programmes.Higher and Technical EducationImprove quality: work on a detailed reforms agenda including: a) admission, curriculum and assessment; b) accreditation & ratings; c) teachers competence and motivation; and d) restructure affiliated colleges and research for policy formulation.An apex independent regulatory mechanismaccompanied by greater autonomy and internal accountability; establish a high level committee to suggest specific reforms.Reduce disparities based on gender, caste, region, etc. through differential support.Establish 30 new Central Universities, 16 in States where they do not exist and 14 as World Class Universities (all India admissions, course credits, regular syllabi revision, incentives for faculty, strong linkage with industry and research institutions, no affiliated colleges, outsource non teaching functions).Establish a National Science and Engineering Research Board for rejuvenation of research in Universities.Launch a national Mission in education through ICT coverage in all the Universities and colleges; broadband connectivity through National Knowledge Network and requisite nodes within institutions; to be implemented through an empowered committee.Revitalise and reform polytechnics through industry linkage and teacher development, establish 210 community colleges and 700 polytechnics.Strengthen open universities and reform statutory bodies, scale up Sakshat as the education portal for 50 crore people.The 11th Plan must simultaneously address the problems of varying standards, outdated syllabi and also inadequate facilities.The National Merit Scholarship Scheme needs to be expanded to cover at least the top 2% of the student population in fields of education and skill training.Initiatives for inclusive developmentThe open schooling programme should be strengthened and expanded. In case of subjects that do not require laboratory work, it will be helpful for students to access prerecorded selection of lectures, tutorials, and standardised tests available at Internet kiosks.Testing and examination centres where students can take standardised examinations in parts can reduce the pressure. The 11th plan should pay attention to creation of electronically available content and testing mechanisms so hat the pressure on infrastructure can be eased.Adult Literacy ProgrammesAim is to increase adult literacy to 85% by the end of the 11th Plan period. Of the 30 crore adult illiterates in our country, a significant proportion is not covered under any adult education programme. A programme using the new computer based self-learning system will be framed for the 35+ age group. Currently, literacy programmes cover 598 out of 600 districts in the country.A computer based functional literacy tool developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has the capacity to make an adult illiterate read a newspaper in 8-10 weeks. This seems as a potential tool, if deployed nationally as a mission, India can become 100% literatewithin 5 years.The Check List-11th PlanElementary education and basic literacyThe 11th Plan needs to be seen both in the national and internationalcontext. As an economic powerhouse in the context of a globalising economy, universalisation of elementary education with quality is a must which only can lead to universalisation of secondary education.The National Policy of Education (NPE), as revised in 1992, had indicated three thrust areas in elementary education:Universal access enrolmentUniversal retention of children up to 14 years of ageA substantial improvement in the quality of education to enable all children to achieve essential levels of learningIn respect of Elementary Education, the objective of the NPE has been addressed in 11th Five Year Plan mainly through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the two flagship programmes of the Government, and through Teacher Education schemes.Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: Strategies and Fact FileThere has been a reduction in the number of out of school children, decline in gender and social gaps and a decline in drop out rates.The number of teachers and number of schools have increased substantially.Surveys show that 90% of rural population was served by primary schools in 2002-03 whereas some gaps have been noticed at upper-primary level. Infrastructure facilities have improved but backlog still exists.The existing challenges are bringing the 6-7% children under the ‘hard to reach’ category into the fold of education, issues pertaining to quality improvement, bridging social gaps and reducing inter-State, inter-district and inter-block disparities.The goal of universalisation of elementary education includes education for children with special needs (CWSN).Quality of education in terms of better educational attainment levels are a thrust area for the next phase of SSA.Special emphasis needs to be made on education of girls to launch a frontal attack on gender gap with a focus on ‘inclusion’ and ‘quality’ and keeping in view the forward as well as backward linkages. Girls education schemes could also offer opportunities for public-private partnership to augment the resources required for creating/up-gradation of girls schools at the upper-primary and secondary levels to improve infrastructure and facilities (library, lab and sports).Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan seeks to provide elementary education to all children in the 6-14 years age group by 2010 and 2% education cess has been levied on all taxes and earmarked to fund this programme. There is a need of more upper primary schools. At all India level, there was one upper primary school for 2.8 primary schools in 2004-05. In 2005-06 this ratio of number of primary to upper primary schools was 2.5:1. To bring the ratio of primary upper primary school to 2:1 (SSA norm), the additional need for upper primary schools works out to 1,40,000.98% of the rural population has been served by primary schools in 2002-03. In terms of habitations, 87% were served and only 13% were yet to be provided with primary schooling facilities within one km from these habitations. During the 11th Plan period 1,32,623 primary schools have been sanctioned and it is estimated that more than 96% of habitations now have a primary school within 1 km.Access facilities in the upper primary schooling is, however, still an issue as, only 78% of the habitations had such facilities within a radius of 3 km. in 2002-03.There has been significant growth in school infrastructure under the SSA. However, the huge infrastructure gaps and slower capacity to implement large civil works programmes in some States, has led to low completion rates. This means that allocations for civil works will need to be maintained for select districts in the 11th Plan period as well.One of the outcome indicators for reporting of SSA progress in the outcome budget is reduction of dropout rates by 5 percentage points each year. It is expected that the dropout rates of children for the elementary cycle would be reduced from 50.39% in 2004-05 to less than 20% by 2011-12, during the 11th Plan period, even in a conservative scenario.Financial Progress of SSA: GOI Releases and ExpendituresNew Thrust AreasNeed to work towards and enhancing quality of an integrated system of teacher educationLinking teacher education with institutions of research and higher educationContinued professional development of teachers and teacher educatorsEstablishing linkages between CRCs-BRCs-DIETs-SCERTs-Universities/Apex AgenciesICT in EducationInformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be used in schools for a variety of purposes to improve the effectiveness of the classroomtransaction. The technologies that can be used include computers for computer-aided instruction and computer-aided learning, satellite based programmes on television, radio programmes, etc. Several attempts have been made in the past 5 years to evolve an ICT strategy for government schools, both by the Ministry of HRD and the Department of Information Technology (DIT). However, a concrete strategy for a phased coverage of schools has not yet been finalised. The latest effort is report of the Committee on Technology in Education (with representation from MHRD and DIT) finalised in 2005. This Committee made the following recommendation – out of total no. of 10,00,000 schools in the country, the programme ‘Technology in Education’ will cover 6,42,600 schools, which include 4,22,400 primary schools, 1,61,700 upper primary schools and 58,500 secondary schools. Every school will have server, five PCs, printer, Internet connectivity of 256 kbps plus other consumables, etc. The total cost for implementation of ‘Technology in Education’ in 6,42,600 schools is estimated to be 2,7631.8 crores. The entire programme is to be implemented in 3 years starting from 2006. Under SSA the focus has been on implementation of computer-aided learning (CAL) at the upper primary stage. About 10,000 schools in the country have implemented this strategy by providing 4-6 computers in an upper primary school. Various models of procurement of hardware and maintenance as well as development of multimedia content have been used by different States and UTs. Corporate foundations and several private sector organisations have been actively involved in this work. In a few States, like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttaranchal, programmes for interactive radio instruction (IRI) are being implemented with the support from some resource organisations.However there is still not adequate clarity about the objective for introduction of ICTs in schools and appropriate strategies for thispurpose. Existing provisions for CAL are restrictive. Most States are not in a position to expand the coverage of schools, since this activity is presently funded only under the innovation component that provides INR 15 lakhs each year, per district. The followingare the recommendations for this component: (a) Several technologies or applications of technologies should be encouraged. These include:Computer Aided Learning (CAL): The children (group of 4) interact with the multimedia content and teachers act as facilitator.Computer Aided Instruction (CAI): The teacher centric instructional content is displayed by using large screen TV. Instead of regular CRT monitor, the CPU can be connected with TV with the help of Video Tuner card.Satellite based education: The satellite receiving terminal, digital receiver and set top box could be placed at Audio visual classrooms. The TV used for CAI can be used for this program as well by plugging the satellite signal.Radio Programs: Radio programmes are being used in some States for literacy, orienting teachers and even for students, during or after school. IRI is being implemented in a few States.Such a diversified use of technologies is more appropriate than using only computers.(b) There is an urgent need for national and State level policies on the use of technologies in education. Such policies should address aspects like – educational objectives for introducing ICTs; nature of technologies, equipment; procedures for procurement and maintenance; phasing of implementation in schools; setting of standards for content; evaluation/cost – benefit analysis etc. Such policies should form the basis for an expansion of the use of ICTs in schools.(c) ICTs are most effective at the secondary and upper primary stages. Therefore only upper primary schools need to be included in the initial stage.(d) ICTs could be used effectively for training and capacity building of teachers, resource persons at cluster and block and DIET personnel. Once ICTs are available at school level, they can be easily used for the purpose of transfer of information for MIS.(e) Internet connectivity needs to be considered vis-à-vis the costs and the likely educational benefits.(f) The programme for introduction of ICTs should not neglect the aspect of maintenance of equipment and the payment of recurring costs of electricity, consumables and internet connectivity.(g) In all cases, cost-sharing and revenue earning models should be factored in while planning for use of ICTs in schools.It is recommended that ICTs in education should not be included under the district level innovation component, but should become a part of the State level plan. Allocations should be approved for this component only if a State/UT has developed a clear ‘technologies in education’ policy that has articulated the aspects mentioned in (b) above.The implementation of this component should cover the dimensions of appropriate identification of schools, infrastructure and equipment, teacher training, appropriate software and multimedia content that is informed by an approach to the teaching learning process, utilisation of the infrastructure for adult literacy and training of youth, research and evaluation component.It is important to develop standards, and if necessary, a clearing-house mechanism to review the content developed for use of ICTs. At present there is a wide variability as well as duplication of efforts across the country for content development.An allocation of INR 5,000 cr. may be provided for the 11th Plan period at the initial stage for supporting programmes for use of technologies in education. Decisions on state-wise allocations could be taken by an empowered resource group or task force at the national level based on appraisal of policies and implementation plans prepared by States and UTs. Statesand UTs would also need to constitute task forces or resource groups tofinalise their strategies for this component. While this allocation may not be adequate to achieve coverage of all schools, it is more than 50 times the current annual allocations under SSA.Secondary EducationThere were 1,01,777 high schools and 50,272 higher secondary schools/institutions in the country as on 30 September 2004. Out of this 41.05 % belong to government and local bodies, 29.35 % are private schools receiver government aid and 29.60 % are private unaided. There are 41 examination boards out of which only two are of All India character i.e. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) with 8,300 (approx.) and 1,500 (approx) number of schools affiliated tothem respectively.The VisionTo move towards Universalisation of Secondary Education: the target during the 11th Five Year Plan is to provide a secondary school within 5 kilometers of any habitation and to provide a higher secondary school within a distance of 7-8 kilometers of any habitation. This will be part of the vision to ensure universal secondary education by 2017, i.e. the end of the 12th Five Year Plan, whereas the target for GER by the end of the 11th Plan could be fixed at 75% for secondary stage.To ensure 100% enrolment and retention up to Higher Secondary stage by 2020: Secondary education should be universal but not compulsory. The State has to take up the responsibility for providing access to secondary education. Not only universal enrolment, but universal retention and satisfactory quality of learning should also be a priority.StrategiesThere is a need for paradigms sift in the conceptual design of secondary education, the guiding principles in this regard are universal access, equality and social justice, relevance and development, and curricular and structural aspects.ICT @ Schools: The main objective of the scheme is to establish an enablingenvironment to promote the usage of ICT, especially, in Secondary and Higher Secondary Government and Government–aided schools in the rural areas. The present scheme has essentially four components. The first one is the partnership with the State governments and union territories for providing computer education and computer-aided education to Secondary & Higher Secondary Government and Government aided Schools. The second is the establishment of SMART schools, which shall be the technology demonstrators. Universalisation of Computer Literacy through the networking of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas with neighboring schools is the third component. The fourth component relates to the activities of State Institutes of Educational Training (SIETs) which are mandated to produce educational content in the form of films, videos, audios, etc. It is suggested that during the 11th Plan, the scope of the present scheme should be enlarged to target all the Government and Government-aided schools for providing ICT infrastructure. Further, special emphasis has to be given to incorporate teaching-learning methodologies for computer literacy.Universalisation of access and improvement of qualityIn the context of Universalisation of Secondary Education (USE), large scale inputs in terms of additional schools and teachers are to be provided to meet the challenge of numbers, credibility and quality. For assessment/provision of educational needs, physical infrastructure, human resource, academic inputs and effective monitoring of implementation of the programmes, following steps are required to be taken:Mapping of secondary schooling provisions (course mapping and curriculum)Assessment of enrolment and physical infrastructureRequirement of schooling facilities and learning resourcesTraining of in-service teachersLearning Resources (ICT, Library, EDUSAT)Investment in this regard is requiredfor improving school libraries, laboratories and workshops to promote experimental culture while reducing the importance of external examinations. There is also need to have Computer–interfaced experiments and projects utilising database from public domain. In view of the above, a science laboratory and an art and crafts laboratory need to be set up in each secondary school.In conformity with the advocacy in the National Curriculum Framework(NCF- 2005) about curriculum enrichment for overall development of children rather than remaining textbook centric and ensuring that learning isshifted from rote memorisation, the secondary schools should beequipped with a Learning Resource Centre (LRC) with following inputs:Library and Separate Room:It is suggested that ICT Resource Room and Library of the school may be housed in one big room (minimum size- 10mx7.5m), or these may be housed in two adjacent rooms. Library shall be looked by a separate teacher.Provision for ICT Support: the tentative budget estimates for providing ICT facilities in all 1,81,520 schools is INR 24,160 Crore. The items of expenditure include: ICT infrastructure and maintenance, Librarian cum ICT coordinator’s salary, Infrastructure for pre- service teacher’s training, Training of ICT coordinators, In service teacher’s training in the use of ICT in the schools, Digital content procurement/development and distribution, Establishment of resources in schools by state governments, Establishment of resources in schools by KVS/NVS, Monitoring, evaluation, research. Innovation, etc.Such facilities can also be procured on BOOT basis through private sector which can provide maintenance and other support.Link with EDUSAT: EDUSAT can be used for conventional radio and TV Broadcast, interactive radio and television, exchange of data, video/teleconferencing and web-based education.Capacity BuildingOrientation of Secondary School Teachers: An Orientation Programmes for the Teachers teaching the Secondary Classes needs to planned and operationalised through NCERT.Orientation of Educational Planners and Administrators: To cover all the Headmasters of 1,81,520 schools during the eleventh plan, National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) needs to collaborate with and make a network of institutions like IASEs, CTEs, University Departments of Education, Management Schools, Regional Institutes of Education, (NCERT), Indian Institutes of Management, etc.Public Private Partnership57.04% of high schools and 62.83% higher secondary schools are run by private sector. Out of these 28.52% of high schools and 31.79% higher secondary schools are classified as private unaided schools.Private sector can be encouraged to invest part of its profit towards philanthropic activities in the education sector by adopting Government schools for improvement of infrastructure and resources like, library, science lab., audio-visual and ICT infrastructure, art workshops, sports facilities, drinking water and toilet facilities, etcSeveral functions of the government school can be outsourced through private sector involvementFor example, entire computer education can be outsourced from private sector who can provide computer and computer teachers for a fee. Similarly transport arrangements for students particularly for girls can be outsourced.Private sector should also be involved in designing curriculum and in designing a testing and certification system so that the demand for appropriate skill by the industry can be metOpen schooling systemIt is necessary to design, create and establish alternative Educational provisions for some prospective learners who will not be able to take advantage of formal schooling during stipulated school hours. The open schooling programmes up to pre-degree level are being offered by the National institute of open schooling (nios) and 10 State open schools (soss). The States that have set up soss are West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. The open schools network when fully developed should be able to cater to at least 15% students in secondary education. the openschooling network needs to be expanded to ensure that every state providesopen schooling facility through its regional language.Higher EducationAn exciting time has come for higher education in the country. The 11th Five Year Plan document proposes an almost 10-fold increase in outlay for higher and technical education. The planners have set ambitious targets to attract 15% students passing out of class XII (from the current 10%) into higher education by 2012 and 22% by 2017.In the new Plan, there’s more of everything – 30 new central universities are to be set up, seven IITs and IIMs, 10 National Institute of Technology, five research institutes to be called Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, 20 IIITs, two schools of architecture and 330 colleges in educationally backward districts.Infrastructure in existing universities and institutions is also in for major upgradation. Among the big beneficiaries of these special grants will be 17 yet-to-identified central universities which will get INR 3,298 crore. Besides, 39 engineering institutes will receive a whopping INR 6,749 crore, again for ramping up infrastructure. A good dose of funds has also been set aside for upgrading agriculture, management andmedical institutions. The document envisions wide-ranging reforms in the way higher education isimparted and much of the fund allocation has been tied up to the beneficiary institute carrying out structural changes.Analysis of the past Five YearPlans indicates that, there have been continuous efforts to strengthen the base by developing infrastructure, improving the quality throughseveral programs and schemes, introducing reforms in content and evaluation and encouraging generation of knowledge through research. The focus of fifth five-year plan was on infrastructure development, the sixth plan onwards the focus shifted to consolidation and quality improvement. The Seventh Plan laid emphasis on research and academic developments. It was from this plan onward that the development centers of excellence and area study programs got special attention. From the Eighth Plan onward, the need for differential funding was recognized. Under this plan, it was envisaged that the developing departments would be provided necessary funds to bring up their facilities and activities to an optimum level for their teaching and general research pregrammes. The Ninth Plan aimed at gearing the system of higher education to meet the challenges arising out of the major social, economic and technological changes. The focus of Tenth Plan was aimed at quality and relevance of higher education, research and development, management in financing and the use of the new information and communication technologies. The Tenth Plan provided the basis for higher education in the 21st century.Use of ict in Higher EducationDuring the 11th Plan period, it is proposed to spread the coverage of ICT to all the 360 Universities and 17,625 Colleges in a phased manner. The benefits yielded by the Programmes during 10th Five Year Plan would be continued and harvested for revitalising and empowering intellectual hubs (Universities and Colleges) of thesociety through network, e-Resources, online learning, access to globalresources, archiving of contents and e-Learning management techniques so that these reforms contribute immensely to enhance the access parameters ingeneral and in particular to various Social Groups, Minorities, Women, Backward and remote areas.In the first phase, it is proposed to cover 200 Universities and 5,000 Collegesacross the country for achieving the desired objectives by using Broadband,Wireless, DSL, Leased line/TDM/FTDMA VSAT/SCPC/DAMA/Radio Frequency link, for establishing connectivity depending upon the geographical location in phased manner: This will include the following provisions:Access to global resources including multimedia based educational content through networking of colleges and universities.Platform for collaboration among teachers and students using Communication Networks.Better access to e-Contents (e-Journals and e-books).Digitising of Indian intellectual Content (Ph.D. Theses/Dissertations)Development and Maintenance of Union Catalogue (Books, Serials, secondary serial, current holdings etc. and others non book materials for Universities and Colleges).Audio/Video conferencing system at Universities.Manpower Training.Total Estimated Expenditure : inr 1750 crAt nios level : inr 300 croreAt soss level : inr 1450 crore (29 soss)Open & Distance LearningEnrollment target– The ODL System, in the scenario of a growth rate of 20% in the student enrollment, is likely toaccount for about 30% of overall enrollment in higher education in thecountry. This will result in significant increase in the enrollment at the end ofthe 11th Plan, the ODL System should account for an enrollment of around 7million students.Development of New Programmes and Courses – A national qualityframework for such competency and skills would have to be a priority during the 11th Plan. The 11th Plan proposals for the ODL system require a special thrust on development of vocational programmes. As a policy measure, at least 10 % of credits being developed in each school should be devoted to vocational, employment oriented programmes targeted at enabling self-employment or increase in employability of people.Media Infrastructure-Gyan Darshan, Gyan Vani and EdusatDuring the 11th Plan, the efforts would be to develop complete audio visual curriculum based content on a course-to-course basis as well as on creating integrated media learning packages course-wise, which would be available both as CDs and as software on IGNOU’s e-Gyankosh, the national repository on open learning material and integrated with One Stop Portal Sakshat of MHRD for use nationwide.While one channel of Gyan Darshan (GD-I) was put on Direct-to-Home(DTH) access through the Doordarshan DTH platform, in the 11th Planthrust will be to provide the interactive curriculum based channel (GD-II)through the DTH platform so that a large number of learners are able tointeract through toll-free numbers directly from there own homes.Funds would also be required to develop large educational software in all regional languages for the 50 plus Gyan Vani Radio Stations that could be in existence during the 11th Plan.Over the next five years, anaugmentation of about 40 positions, including the teaching positions for theRegional Centres is proposed. 30 positions proposed for the headquartersinclude production, staff, transmission staff,staff for the Edusat relatedactivities and technical staff, at various levels.EdusatWhile an impressive setup of up to 131 Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs)is in place, another fifty are being installed. It is proposed to enlarge thisnetwork to about 500 SITs to extend the access to the disadvantaged and those in marginalised areas. It has also been decided to mobilise 10 teaching ends in the Edusat Network in addition to the teaching hub at IGNOU Hqs.Current Quality Status of Universities in India (as in 2007)Total Number of University Level Institutions (367)Total Number of Universities under UGC Purview (317)Number of Universities actually funded by the UGC (164)Number of Universities accredited by the NAAC (128)Number of Universities accredited by the NAAC and scoring above 60% (128)Current Quality Status in Colleges of Higher Education in India(As on March 31, 2005)Total Number of Colleges 17,625Number of Colleges under UGC purview 14,000Number of Colleges recognised under Section 2(f) of UGC Act 5,589 (40%)Number of Colleges recognised under Section 12(B) of UGC Act 5,273 (38%)Number of Colleges actually funded by the UGC 4,870 (35%)Number of Colleges accredited by the NAAC 2,780 (20%)Number of Colleges accredited by the NAAC and scoring above 60% 2,506 (17.9)There’s no denying the fact that there always are and will be plans. It is hoped that this plan will factor in overlaps, intersections and converging agendas while minimising wastage without loosing out on quality education. There is also no denying the pace of change in a socio-cultural context, as well as in the technological context. Technology and the needs of society arechanging even as we plan, so to speak. While it is true that all plans arehope, this plan will have to think-on-its-feet, sustain itself and even evolve as the very scenario it is to operate within changes.The World Bank supports the GoI’s education strategy as expressed in the 11th Plan Document. It reflects a realisation that education and skills development are at the core of the country’s effort to generate inclusive growth, rather than just growth which benefits a few but eludes many. And it reflects GoI’s commitment to address human capital shortages as quickly as possible, with significant increases in funding to be made available to the states. If anything, the concern is the capacity of the States to absorb and make the best use of those funds.Based on my own limited view and experience in India, it would appear that the poor quality and limited capacity of the India educational system may already be holding India back, but this government’s commitment to address these issues must be recognised and congratulated. The 11th Plan calls for a four-fold increase in educational investment over the 10th Plan, with large allocations for all education levels.It is interesting to see that there is more focus on the higher education. The only thing I want to comment on the plan is there is no exquisite mention on rolling more faculties. Suddenly there is such a huge increase in the number of universities. And if you start forcing the faculties currently available for the purpose, that would not help much. And preparing the faculties would be a mammoth task. Training teachers would take at least 10 years. Rolling more faculties should be considered.As before the focus has been on outlays, not on outcomes, the 11th five year plan brings a larger picture in comparison to the previous plans, looking at the allocations to education as opposed to thinking about improving the delivery of education services.Today, the situation in India is not lack of finances, but lack of proper delivery of education tools, which is of more value for students. So the focus should be on the learning outcomes, which refers to the accountability to the system, and this should be seen through teacher absentees, community control over schools, decentralisation of curricula, text books, exams, and use of school vouchers as way to deliver quality education.ePals in eLearning Agreements with National Geographic, IntelePals Inc., an Internet learning community, and National Geographic Ventures, which creates and distributes digital content for the National Geographic Society, have announced a partnership that will enhance the ePals site with National Geographic content to create unique learning experiences for classrooms, students and families around the globe.As part of the agreement, National Geographic has made a strategic investment in ePals. A representative of National Geographic Ventures and ePals will join the boards of the other, and the organizations have entered into a multi-year alliance and content agreement. Designed to enhance the way the Internet is used to foster safe and effective multicultural learning exchanges across media platforms, the first focus is to thread high-quality digital content from National Geographic: Stories of Animals, Nature, and Culture throughout http://ePals.com to create unique learning experiences.Initial topic areas of focus for the new alliance include maps and geography, habitats, global warming, natural disasters, people and culture, great leaders, water and weather. In each area, classrooms and teachers will be able to choose among projects that emphasize collaboration, 21st-century skill building and the use of school-safe communication tools to seamlessly work with learners around the world or down the block.Users will be encouraged to get into the act by building and sharing their own projects for use broadly within the community. ePals will also enable users in teacher and student forums, blogs and other community areas to 'Explore More,' delivering quality information in highly contextual.After All, It Is Difficult To Teach A Teacher : Mamta Sharma, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JN V) MungeshpurNavodaya Vidyalaya Samiti is an autonomous body that was set up to establish and manage fully residential co-educational schools (one in each district in the country) known as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV). Education in JNVs is free for all enrolled students, including lodging, boarding, textbooks, uniforms, etc.One of the first to integrate technology, NVS has actual grassroots experience in the integration of technology in education. In 1999, NVS and Intel started a joint initiative launched by the Department of Education, Ministry of HRD, Government of India. Since then, Intel has three ongoing programmes running, the Intel Teach curriculum, the Intel Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) and the Intel Learn curriculum. Digital Learning spoke to Mamta Sharma, the Vice Principal of JNV, Mungeshpur, who talks above the Intel-NVS collaboration and the digital opportunities in the school.How do you view the changes in the integration of ICT in school education?Officers came, the entire vision changed, the priorities change. Every person has their own vision and mission. ICT, once meant just the procurement of computers, now changed to not just the presense of computers, but also how much you are able to use these computers – ‘usage’ model. NVS believes that ICT integration means how you can most effectively use computers, how to effectively utilise the resources that we have, and how to benefit the community around! NVS has changed the definition of ICT integration with changes in the overall scenario. Writing a speech or presentation is not an end. Delivering it is an end, reaching out to the needy ones is another end to which the presentation itself is justa ‘means.’We also have project-based learning, where we have moved out of the textbooks, towards inquiry and how to search for solutions to a problem, making connections to real life. Real life connections would really mean, design activities in such a manner that meet the learning needs of the students, connect to the world outside of the classroom, and include meaningful tasks or projects that inHow do you integrate the given curriculum with ICT?The steps to integrate technology into the curriculum starts right from the day our teachers get training on professional development curriculum of Intel. They learn to use technology into their curriculum, practice student-centric approaches. These teachers then train other colleagues on the same curriculum. The teachers then plan multi-disciplinary lesson plans that not only promote judicious use of teachnology but also engae students into meaningful and authentic real life activities.How the scope of ICT in education changed?Earlier the teachers who would go for training on ICT integration were usually Maths or Science teachers. Now the perspective has become larger with Art teachers and Language teachers. So there is a lot of scaling-up that has happened since. I’ll give you an example, earlier when it came to teaching the science curricula, topics such as ‘the universe’ and ‘pollution’ were always there. Today, there are more sensitive issues that have been included. ‘Women empowerment’ using examples of women in different careers, etc, was a nice project that was done earlier. So teachers are also looking beyond the textbook.How do you evaluate teacher training?We don’t really evaluate teachers, but it is the programme that is evaluated in terms of how far we have reached? The issues faced by teachers are usually similar, just their proficiency levels in terms of ICT varies and they usually need brushing up of their technical skills. Regarding pedagogy, most teachers are good in NVS and now thankfully, most of them are also on par with technology. The training has components to gauge teacher ability in a peer-based evaluative environment, called ‘Showcasing.’After Showcasing, teachers get time to revisit their projects and make changes and that is the necessary feedback in terms of evaluation. After all, it is difficult to teach a teacher. But we still have to evaluate the teachers, which we do through showcasing and areas of improvement are suggested. So there are two aspects to teachers’ training. Firstly, as a teacher, they plan the lesson involving project based learning and integrating technology judiciously. Secondly, as student, they make student samples that highlight the higher order thinking skills imbibed by students while doing projects.What is the community involvement of your school?The Intel Learn programme has a component called ‘Pacesetting’ of MHRD under which we provide opportunity to children of neighbouring schools that might not have computers or infrastructure. In addition to developing IT skills in the laerners, the Intel Learn Programme inculcates necessary skills for the 21st century like collaboration skills and problem solving abilities. The curriculum is especially designed to also develop presentation and communication skills, basic skills which repair students for the workplaces of tomorrow.These students come to the Vidyalaya for a 15-day programme as they learn a curriculum called Technology. Using a project based approach, the curriculum activities and projects, demonstrate to learners how technology can contribute to and help improve their communities and variety of jobs respectively.Learners not only develop new technology skills and learn about their communities and various professions, the develop critical thinking skills as they collaborate to collect information, analyse that information, and finally, present it to their fellow students, teachers and other special guest from or outside their schools.How is the ICT component built into the syllabus?About 20% of the CBSE syllabus has to be taught through ICT wherein they have to bring projects connecting to real-life scenarios, catering to problem-solving skills, developing critical thinking and how to take typical topics and explain those which are difficult to explain in class, such as photosynthesis (Biology), chemical-bonding (Chemistry), etc, these can be easily explained using computers. The students are also motivated by the audio-visual aspect of the lesson. The student can actually see things that would not be possible to be observed otherwise. Using a computer-made presentation, such abstract concepts can be easily taught.What other challenges did you face in integrating ICT?Like I mentioned earlier, 20% of the syllabus in all subjects and all classes has to be taught using ICT, except for third language. According to the demand from students and their teachers, I feel we need more periods.I also feel that we need to have computers in every classroom. Currently we do loose a little time when students move to the Smart classrooms or the computer room. We also need to increase our infrastructure in terms of addinLeaderWhat forms the compelling basis on which Hey Math! solutions are based on?Every child, irrespective of whether they go to school system in any part of the world, we feel that they should get quality education. It is a well known and accepted fact that there is a fundamental teacher shortage. Because of that there is a subjective discontentment amongst the students and every one on the teaching quality of the subject teachers.This concern comes from the parents as well and they try to supplement with tutorials. They, out of desperation, send their children to the tutors. Again, tutors are also less in number; there is a fundamental shortage in the whole system. There is also no more one to one tutoring, and the students end up going from one set to another set of class rooms and end up doing additional work. The desired solid foundation of a given subject is not built up. When the students go back to the school, they find themselves in great trouble, as the teaching method in the school is very different from the tutorial teaching set up.Through our Hey Math! curriculum, we want to provide students access to the best teaching methodology by collaborating with high performing Mathematics system. We try to tap on the experts on Maths across the world to contribute to our contents. We understand the effective ways of digitising those and making available for students.Could you tell us about the adoption rate of Hey Math! programme, who needs it, where does it goIndian Government focuses on higher and technical educationTo promote the education in the country, the Union Government of India has cleared that the government will focus on higher and technical education in its 11th plan. This is the first time, the economic survey has equally devoted its attention to primary, secondary and higher education sector by highlighting initiatives in these sectors, which will further expand in the course of the 11 th Plan.However, it is also surprising that the survey is silent on the manpower crisis in higher education. Promoting and expanding higher education without making teacher's job attractive can result in a big crisis. The government has also committed to provide good quality elementary education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. In this regard, the achievement by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal Scheme and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya are noteworthy. According to the survey, SSA has already constructed 1.70 million schools, 7.13 additional classrooms, 1.72 million drinking water facilities, 2.18 toilets and free supply to 6.64 billion textbooks, while MDM provides free food to 9.7 billion children. In the 11th Plan, MDM will be extended to upper primary level that would result in inclusion of 1.7 billion additional children of classes VI to VIII. SSA is expecting to allocate more than INR 13000 billion and MDM will allocate approximately INR 10,000 billion. There are other two highlights; universalisation of secondary education and expansion of higher education institutes. The scheme – Universalisation of Access to Secondary Education (SUCCESS) envisages mandatory secondary education to children in the age group of 15-16 years by 2015 and universal retention by 2020. This includes work on eight new IITs, seven new IIMs, 10 new NITs, three Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, 20 IIITs and two new SPAs. Then, there is the plan for 14 world class universities, 16 central universities and 370 new degree colleges.WorldUK University dropout steady at 22%An drive to reduce the number of university dropouts has had no effect, according to a report from a committee of MPs. The proportion of students who fail to complete their degree has remained at 22% for five years.Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the committee, said, “Five years from our last report on student retention the percentage of students dropping out has not budged from 22%. This is despite some £800m being paid to universities over the same period to help retain students most likely to withdraw from courses early.”Poorer students, older students, disabled students and those with families – non-traditional students the government is keen to attract – are more likely to drop out. In 2005, St George’s hospital medical school, Oxford University, the Royal Veterinary College, Warwick and Bristol universities had below 3% drop out rates.‘For universities with consistently low retention rates the funding council’s regional teams should agree specific improvement plans,’ the committee’s report says, citing personal difficulties, dissatisfaction with courses and financial pressure as reasons why students drop out.A third of teachers ‘struggle with technology’: studyA third of teachers struggle to use the technology schools are equipped with and want more support and training, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), U.K. NFER’s first Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey (TVOS), which was completed by about 1,000 teachers, including heads and newly qualified classroom teachers, shows widespread use of information technology in schools 80% said it had made a difference to the way they teach.But a ‘sizeable minority’ (33%) felt they lacked the necessary skills to exploit the technology available to them and needed more support and information to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) in lessons, NFER found.However, NFER said when compared to research conducted in 2004, the findings suggest that teacher competence in using ICT has improved overall. Two thirds (67%) said they had the ICT skills to exploit the technology available to them and 62% said ICT helps to raise pupil attainment. Teachers also said ICT leadership in schools could be improved. Just 27% of respondents felt that the leadership of ICT pedagogy in their school was inspirational and only 44% said that their school is innovative in its use of ICT.Czech science award for school studentsThe Czech company Ceska Hlava, in collaboration with the Czech Senate and the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, has launched a competition for secondary school students. Entitled ‘Innovating Minds – Czech Awards for Young Europeans’, the natural sciences and technology competition is open to all European students up to 19 years of age.The prize will be awarded in five categories: information and communication technology (ICT), health and quality of life, environment, product and technology innovations and design and architecture. Applicants must submit their project synopsis online, including an independent expert’s review provided, for instance, by a science teacher. The applications for the Innovating Minds Award 2008 have to be submitted before 10 September. The award ceremony will then be held in October 2008 in Prague. An international jury will select the winners in each category. The jury is made up of scientists, politicians and experts from industry