Promoting excellence in teaching, both on campus and more broadly, is a fundamental goal of the Aga Khan Academies

Syed Akbar
Mombasa (Kenya): A rusted gate and dusty buildings welcome as
one enters the Government Girls Central School in this bustling
coastal city. The buildings may have been white washed several years
ago and they present the picture of utter neglect. But as the saying
goes appearances are deceptive, this girls’ school located in the
downtown area stands apart when it comes to academic excellence.

The Aga Khan Academy has made all the difference through its school
outreach programme. The government may have neglected the building,
but the Aga Khan Academy has transformed this government school into
an institution of excellence and modern learning. The teachers as well
as the headmistress underwent training at the Aga Khan Academy in
modern methods of teaching and when they returned to the school, their
academic style has undergone a sea change.

Right from the seating arrangement for students to blackboards and
education charts hung on the walls, the school underwent a complete
academic overhaul. The art of teaching students is not only novel, but
also scientifically designed to improve the grasping power. If the
school outreach has changed the concept of education in select
schools, the professional development programme offered to teachers
has changed the way traditional teachers look at education and teaching.

“The Aga Khan Academy has transformed the way people look at education
and learning, in the backward Mombasa city. Our students are excelling
both in academics and in real life,” says a teacher, who underwent
“training of trainers” course for six months offered by the Academy.
Thanks to the Academy, many government schools and private madarasas
in Kenya and other countries in Africa now offer international
standards education.

“Promoting excellence in teaching, both on campus and more broadly, is
a fundamental goal of the Aga Khan Academies. Each Academy
incorporates a Professional Development Centre to strengthen the
profession of teaching in the region by investing substantially in
teachers’ professional development. The Academy’s PDC supports
excellence in teaching by promoting best practices in teaching and
learning,” says Mr Salim AL Bhatia, director of Aga Khan Academies.

The Aga Khan Academy back home in Hyderabad too identifies and
develops teachers of the highest quality, who are committed both to
the all-round development of young people and to their own
professional growth as excellent teachers.

According to Gioko Maina of Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, they have also
come out with a Professional Learning for Educators Series to improve
the standard of teaching and learning identified during extensive
market research and interaction with government and departments of
education. The series includes programmes for teachers in various
subject areas as well as specialised programmes focusing on skills and
understandings related to education like improving the teachers’
fluency in English and effective teaching methods.

Radio tagging of Tri-Valley University students: Attorney-at-law Kalpana V Peddibhotla comes to rescue of Indian students

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: Indian students of the controversial Tri-Valley University are eligible for monetary compensation including refund of the tuition fee as they are victims of the university's actions. The students did not breach any criminal law but had only followed the university's procedures for the admission, according to attorney at law Kalpana V Peddibhotla.
Kalpana, co-founder and partner of Immigration Law Partners in California, practices immigration and nationality law. Thanks to her legal aid two of the Indian students were freed of their radio tags. More students will have their radio tags removed by US immigration authorities when Kalpana will take up their case later this week. Kalpana's family hails from Andhra Pradesh and she is now seen as a Messiah by the Indian students cheated by Tri-Valley University.
All that the students have to do is to file a case in a civil court against the university and seek refund of the money they had paid to the sham educational institution. They are even eligible for monetary compensation,
argues Kalpana.
Kalpana, whose father was born in Bobbili town, has taken up the cause of the Indian students after they were radio tagged. "The students have followed the procedures of the university. They have not breached any criminal law. Though radio tagging is one of the options exercised by immigration authorities in the USA, the Indian students do not deserve it as they are not criminals," she told this correspondent in a telephone interview.
Stating that the major issue before the students is whether they will regain their immigration status, Kalpana said "I believe that many of these students are the victims of Tri-Valley’s actions, and advocacy by the community and the attorney is needed to help restore their immigration status". What happens to their studies is another issue before them.
Kalpana's husband Peddibhotla Ram is from Hyderabad and both of them were in the city in December. She is a graduate of Chicago Kent College of Law, and UC Berkeley. She is admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court, the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Federal District Court.
According to her, the investigation by the Department of Homeland Security into alleged immigration irregularities at Tri-Valley University and the raid on the school on January 19, 2011 has resulted in a cloud of uncertainty over the immigration status of the school’s foreign students. "Shortly after the school closed I received a number of calls from students concerned, as did many other immigration attorneys in the country".
"This is a community issue", she said adding it has been tremendous to see organisations mobilising to assist the students the best they can. In the immediate days that followed, Jayaram Komati, the president of the Telugu Association of North America, recognised that this issue raised serious legal issues and requested that "he use my name along with Attorney Ashwani Bhakri as a potential referral to inquiring students".
Asked about the financial crunched faced by these students, Kalpana said TANA and other organisations have helped in securing some funds to assist with legal fees for some of the students. "It is my understanding that other community groups have also stepped forward to assist the affected students."
She said the Office of the Consulate General of India in San Francisco recently worked together with the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California to hold a community legal forum on February 5, 2010 to address the concerns of the students. Kalpana participated on this legal panel along with attorneys, Manpreet Gahra, Harjot Walia, and Palvir Shoker. Recently, the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP), has issued some details as to the immigration options open to the students. "However, these details leave many unanswered questions. I hope that in the coming weeks these questions will be answered by officials in the Department of Homeland Security. To that end, I believe further advocacy by the community is required."
The North American South Asian Bar Association, which is an organisation representing thousands of South Asian-American attorneys in the United States and Canada, intends to tackle some of this advocacy and will hopefully partner with other organisations to this end. While recognising there is an ongoing investigation and each individual student’s situation may vary, the lack of clear direction from DHS is resulting in students in similar situations being treated differently.
In the Bay Area, 18 students received Notices to Appear ("NTAs"), which is the initiation of deportation proceedings. These students were also "radio tagged." "I currently represent 7 of these students. Myself and Mr Manpreet Gahra intend to jointly represent an additional 8 more of these students. It is our goal to seek the best immigration options for each of these students, and ideally have the radio tags removed immediately."
She said on Thursday two of the Indian students had their radio tags removed by ICE, and "I will now seek to have their deportation proceedings terminated. Mr. Gahra and I hope to achieve similar results for the other students."

Visa guidelines for Indians travelling to the UK; a word of caution for Indian students against bogus agents

By Syed Akbar
The UK government has issues a set of guidelines for people including students seeking visas to the United Kingdom. Here are the guidelines:
"The UK welcomes genuine travellers. If you intend to travel to the UK, you require a valid passport and UK visa. The UK's Visa Services are committed to making the visa application process as easy as possible. We would like to give our customers the following advice: Please read the visa information on official UK Government websites and provided by UK Visa Services' commercial partner, VFS Global. For UK visa enquiries and information, customers can call 080-40084008. Calls are charged at local or STD rates depending on your location," according to UK authorities..
1. There is no charge for visa application forms. They are available on the VFS website and from VFS visa application centres (see VFS website for locations). Current visa fees are on the VFS website.
2. Obtain good immigration advice. You do not need an agent to make a UK visa application. But if you would like more advice, please choose an agent carefully. They should charge reasonable fees. They cannot influence visa decisions, which are made by UK Visa Services. If you are cheated, please report this to the police.
3. An agent cannot guarantee to get you a visa. The decision to issue a visa is made only by visa officers working for the UK's Visa Services.
4. Please complete your visa application form fully and submit all the correct documents. If you submit false information, forged documents or use a false identity, you will be detected and your application will be refused. You also face a ban on travelling to the UK for 10 years.
5. Your biometric data (fingerscans and photograph of your face) are taken when you submit your visa application. This helps us to protect your identity from being used by others. It also tells us if you try you apply in a false identity.
Beware of job scams. Many people in India are being cheated with job offers in the UK that do not exist. Please stop and think carefully before you part with your money, your passport, your identity or your current job.
=================
For students
=================
1. Before you make a student visa application, please read the current published Tier 4 PBS guidance carefully. It is available at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/pbs/Tier4migrantguidance.pdf
2.You must have a Visa Letter from your chosen UK education institution. This institution must be registered to recruit international students and the Visa Letter must make you an unconditional offer. You must submit all the original documents with your visa application that were assessed by the institution and led to the offer. These documents must be listed in the Visa Letter.
3.You must also provide evidence of your financial ability to pay the course fees and maintain yourself in the UK. The amount you are required to show depends on the duration of your course and whether you are studying inside or outside London. You must provide evidence of any fees not already paid, in addition to your maintenance costs.
There is no cut off date for student visa applications to go to the UK. There is no quota.
4. Please be aware that it is possible that your education provider's status on the sponsor's register may change. Please check the status of your chosen education provider before you apply for your visa. Its status may also change between your visa being issued and you travelling to the UK. You are therefore advised to check the sponsor's register before you travel at:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/whatisthepointsbasedsystem/sponsoringstudents.
5. If the education provider has been suspended, you are advised not to travel until its status has been resolved. If the education provider's licence has actually been withdrawn before you travel, your visa will be cancelled and you will not be permitted to enter the UK.
Websites: http://www.vfs-uk-in.com/; http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

Economic slowdown has no impact on Indian students pursuing higher studies in the UK, says British deputy high commissioner, Chennai

2009
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Nov 17: The economic slowdown had little impact on Indian students seeking higher education in the United Kingdom, says Mike Nithavrianakis, British deputy high commissioner.
Mike, who was in the city on a maiden visit after assuming charge in Chennai last month, told this reporter on
Tuesday that in fact, the number of students from South India seeking UK visas had increased. "The economic conditions are not encouraging and yet it has not impacted Indian students seeking higher education in the UK," he pointed out.
Stating that there's no cap on the number of visas issued to Indian students, Mike said the "UK welcomes genuine travellers". There is no cut off date for student visa applications to go to the UK. "There is no quota," he adds.
The British deputy high commissioner, referring to job scams, said many people in India are being cheated with job offers in the UK that do not exist. "Please stop and think carefully before you part with your money, your passport, your identity or your current job."
He has a word of caution too for Indian students. "If the education provider (university or college) has been
suspended, you are advised not to travel until its status has been resolved."

"Copenhagen must deliver a comprehensive politically binding agreement, under the UNFCCC. This must cover all the major issues including binding economy-wide emissions reductions from developed countries, significant action from developing countries to slow their emissions growth, and finance. Only this can deliver a legally binding treaty which puts the world on a trajectory to a maximum global average temperature increase of two degrees and provides a fair deal for developing countries. We want the Copenhagen agreement to lead to immediate action, without waiting years for final legal conclusion and ratification."

The UK is working for a legally binding treaty which puts the world on a trajectory to a maximum global average temperature increase of two degrees and provides a fair deal for developing countries. "We are 
going all out over the next few weeks to get an ambitious, fair and effective deal"..
Mike attended 12 meetings in 36 hours he was in the city, before leaving for Chennai. During his brief stay here, he interacted with Chief Minister K Rosaiah, leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu and a host of officials and leaders in a bid to further build the bilateral trade tie-up between the UK and Andhra Pradesh, explain and share about the problem of climate change and global warming, and create awareness about educational opportunities in the UK.
"The UK is pushing for a comprehensive politically binding agreement at Copenhagen, under the UNFCCC, which also sets out a very clear timetable to a legally binding treaty."
He said the UK wants the Copenhagen agreement to lead to immediate action, without waiting years for final legal conclusion and ratification.

UK-based Hyderabad doctors to reform medical education in India

Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: A group of Hyderabadi doctors based in the United Kingdom has taken up the challenge of reforming medical education and health services in India with the help of the Medical Council of India.
Following a presentation by the group, Association for Clinical Excellence, the MCI has agreed in principle to consider its suggestions at the MCI governing body meeting to be held in June. The ACE will submit a 15-page blueprint on reforms in medical education and health services which will be followed by a full-fledged report. If everything goes on well, the reforms process is all set to begin around September heralding India into a new phase of medical education and health system.
Though India is the biggest democratic nation in the world with over a billion people, there is no central body to issue clinical guidelines to doctors practising various super specialities, on the lines of the American College of Cardiologists or the Royal College of Surgeons. In the absence of nation-wide guidelines, different doctors even in the same hospital treat patients differently.
Surprisingly, India does not have the basic concepts of resuscitation or knowledge of evidence-based medicine. There is also no homogeneity (uniformity) of care.
"Doctors in India generally do not appreciate patients' rights. There is also lack of patient information system in the country. We do not have knowledge about audit and clinical governance as also about medical ethics," says Dr DV Nagarajan, who practices cardiology in Nottingham Deanery, UK.
Dr Nagarajan and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Anil Kumar Mulpur gave a presentation before the MCI president and general secretary in New Delhi earlier this week. They regretted that important concepts about resuscitation and advanced life support and trauma life support are not taught to medical students in India.
"The concepts about basic life support, advanced life support, advanced trauma life support and advanced paediatric life support should be introduced both into undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculum. These are life saving skills and every medical graduate should be familiar with these methods," they told this correspondent.
The ACE has volunteered to formulate a short curriculum incorporating concepts about evidence-based medicine and resuscitation, the two most important concepts taught in western medical schools which conspicuously absent in the Indian medical curriculum.

Medical Council of India does not know how many doctors practise in the country

Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, April 27: The Medical Council of India, which regulates
medical education, does not know how many doctors are practising in
the country.
The data maintained in the MCI register is old and contains even the
names of doctors, who are either dead or have left the country for
practice abroad.
"We are unable to update the data on medical practitioners in India, for
the simple reason that we do not have a system of re-registration in the
country. Our register contains the names of doctors who are
practicising as also of those who are no more. Unless we have a system
of re-registration in place, we cannot know how many doctors are in
the profession," MCI president Dr Ketan Desai told this correspondent.
The MCI has recommended that there should be a system of re-
registration of doctors at frequent intervals. But the powerful lobby of
doctors prevailed upon the Central government to keep the proposal in
cold storage for the last five years.
Moreover, the medical knowledge of an average Indian doctor is far
below that of his counterparts in Western countries. This is because
most of the doctors in the country do not want to update their
knowledge to be abreast of the latest developments in the medical
world.
"The MCI has made it mandatory on the part of doctors to attend 30
hours of continuous medical education programme every year in order
to become eligible for re-registration. This will keep them in touch with
the latest developments in the medical field. Many doctors are opposed
to it. The Centre has not cleared the re-registration proposal," Dr Desai
said.
According to him, the MCI has sent as many as 100 recommendations
on various issues to the Central government for clearance. There has
been no decision on them till now. Many of the proposals have been
pending for more than five years.
Dr Desai alleged that the Central government had been clearing new
medical colleges even after the MCI had turned down permission.
Suggesting that the Medical Council of India should be given full autonomy, Dr Desai said the Central government was vetoing the recommendations and proposals of the Council. "The Central government does not want to lose control over the medical education in the country. It wants to control the MCI taking shelter behind the MCI Act," he regretted.
He said the MCI has proposed to relax certain norms for setting up new medical colleges in States where there are not enough medical institutions. "Most of the medical colleges in the country are located in four Southern States. States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have fewer medical colleges. We have proposed to relax the norms on possession of land. Instead of a single piece of land, medical colleges can have land at two places," he said.
Present norms stipulate that a medical college should have a fully functional 300-bed hospital and a single piece of 25 acres land.

High dropout rate in Urdu schools

From Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: Strange it may sound but true. For every 351 students enrolled in Urdu medium schools in the State, 305 drop out before they reach the class 10.
Plagued with falling standards and shortage of teaching staff, Urdu medium schools in the State have become notorious for frequent drop out of students. Of the 77,000 students who enroll in Urdu medium schools every year, only 10,000 stay till they enter the class 10.
A whopping 67,000 students leave school for work as child labour every year. This in simple words means 305 students drop out of Urdu schools each day of the 220 days in an academic year. While boys end up as child labour, girls work as domestic helps. Some take admissions in Arabic madarasas as education there comes free with board and accommodation.
There are about 3,000 primary and upper primary Urdu medium schools under the control of the State government. The student retention rate in these schools is appalling low as compared with that of Telugu medium or English medium schools. While the State government blames the community elders for the failure of Urdu medium schools, educationists hold poor amenities including lack of sufficient number of teachers as the main reason behind the high drop-out rate.
Argues eminent educationist and All-India Urdu Educational Committee president Jaleel Pasha, "there is still acute shortage of teachers. No doubt, the government has relaxed the roaster system in schools but it is not sufficient. Urdu students should get scholarships on par with those from backward classes. What the government pays Urdu students is hardly sufficient for even purchase of textbooks".
According to official sources, only 1019 students have enrolled in seven of the Urdu medium residential schools managed by the State government. This in contrast to 750 students in just four English medium residential schools. The government even appealed to legislators to ensure better enrolment in Urdu schools in their constituencies.
There's no bridge school concept in Urdu medium schools. Even the open school system for Urdu school dropouts has failed to deliver the goods. The open school scheme was meant for the Urdu mother tongue dropouts at primary level in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nizamabad, Kurnool, Guntur, Kadapa and Anantapur districts. As many as 100 Urdu open schools have been set up including 40 in twin cities.

Ragging in medical colleges: MCI comes out with stern guidelines

2009
Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, April 9: Perturbed over increasing instances of ragging in medical colleges across the country, the Medical Council of India has come out with anti-ragging guidelines making it mandatory on the part of every student seeking admission into medical colleges to furnish "character certificates".

Students joining MBBS courses from this academic year (2009-2010) will have to submit along with other mandatory documents, a certificate from the head of the institution last studied that the student's character is impeccable and that "he or she had not displayed persistent violent or aggressive behaviour or any desire to harm others".

Only those students producing this character certificate will be eligible for admission into the MBBS course. The MCI has also made medical colleges responsible for any ragging incident that takes place on the campus. Parents will also be held responsible for the behaviour of their wards.

The MCI guidelines comes in the wake of a stern directive from Supreme Court that it take measures to prevent ragging in medical colleges. The guidelines were prepared by Dr RK Raghavan Committee appointed by the apex court.

Moreover, students seeking admission into hostels should submit personal undertaking every year. Respective universities will ensure that the MCI guidelines are strictly adhered to. The colleges should appoint ‘professional counselors’ at the time of admissions to counsel ‘freshers’ to prepare them for the life ahead, specially for
adjusting to the life in hostels.

"The managements should ensure that there will be a clear gap of one to two weeks between the date of joining of ‘freshers’ and the ‘seniors’, ensuring that classes for the seniors commence later, so as to enable the ‘freshers’ to familiarise themselves with the campus environment and adjust to the sudden changeover from schools to higher education," said MCI secretary Lt. Col (rtd) Dr ARN Setalvad.

The guidelines stipulate that all colleges should have anti-ragging committees and anti-ragging squads. Besides, there should also be a "mentoring cell’ to oversee and involve senior students as ‘mentors’ for the ‘freshers’. An anonymous random survey should be conducted by each institution across the entire first year batch of students every fortnight during the first three months of the academic session to cross-check whether the campus is genuinely ragging free.

Unscrupulous admissions: AICTE warns professional colleges

2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 2: Reacting sharply to unscrupulous college managements going in for admissions even before the release of the official schedule, the All-India Council for Technical Education has warned of penal action against such educational institutions if they did not stop admitting students illegally. Several professional colleges in the State, particularly those under minority managements, have started their own admission schedule in violation of the AICTE guidelines. These colleges are targeting students who secured low ranks in EAMCET or failed to qualify in the entrance test. Such students are being admitted under the so-called management or NRI quota.
The State government has not yet announced the admission schedule as it is awaiting the BC Commission report on quota for backward classes among Muslims. Once the report is out, the government will come out with an Ordinance to implement the quota for certain traditional groups in the minority community.
Only after this, the government is likely to announce the regular admission schedule for professional courses. The AICTE has taken a serious note of unofficial admissions in professional colleges and described it as nothing short of “commercialisation of education. The AICTE has issued orders to technical institutions and universities imparting technical education to ensure that strict official admission scheduled is adopted by all those concerned.
“It has come to the notice of the AICTE that technical institutions and universities including deemed to be universities, are admitting students to technical education programmes long before the actual starting of an academic session. They are also collecting full fee from the admitted students and retaining their school/institution’s leaving certificates in the original,” says AICTE member secretary Dr K Narayana Rao in his circular.
Some of these institutions are confiscating the fee paid if students fail to join by the date fixed by them. This is also against the AICTE guidelines. There are also instances of managements detaining certificates of students in a bid to forcibly retain the admitted students. Moreover, the time-limit for students to join the courses/programmes is also being advanced in some cases unrealistically so as to pre-empt them from exercising other options of joining other institutions of their choice.
The AICTE guidelines state that if a student withdraws before the starting of the course, the wait-listed candidates should be given admissions against the vacant seat.
“The entire fee collected from the student, after a deduction of the processing fee of not more than Rs.1000 should be refunded and returned by the institution/ University to the student withdrawing from the programme,” he said.
The AICTE said it would take penal action including cancellation of the recognition if the managements continued to violate its guidelines on admissions and fee structure.

Medical colleges make business in Andhra Pradesh

2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Aug 9: Private medical colleges have once again flouted admission rules by charging as high as Rs 60 lakh per MBBS seat this academic year.
Non-minority private medical colleges should collect a maximum of Rs 4 lakh towards tuition fee per year. This works out to Rs 20 lakh for the five-year MBBS course. But many colleges have charged students three times the maximum fee prescribed by the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee appointed by the State government.
Seventy per cent of seats in a private medical college, both minority and non-minority, are filled up by the convener of EAMCET through online counselling. The admissions for the remaining 30 per cent of the seats are left to the management but they have to follow the fee norms prescribed by the State government.
Students seeking admission into C category management seats need not qualify in EAMCET. The minimum qualification for admission is intermediate. Minority colleges have a total of 75 seats under management quota. Non-minority private medical colleges have about 500 seats under their control.
According to sources, some medical colleges sold the seats for as high as Rs 60 lakh. This is up by Rs 10 lakh over last year's price of Rs 50 lakh. Interestingly, the rates of medical seats in neighbouring Karnataka have come down to around Rs 32 lakh this year thanks to heavy competition there.
However, in the case of Andhra Pradesh there are a limited number of medical seats with virtually no competition among the private managements. PK Agarwal, member-secretary of the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee for medical and dental courses, issued orders on July 6 fixing maximum fee limits for the academic years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.
The order says "fee up to Rs 4 lakh per annum for each student for 30 per cent C category management seats has been fixed" till the academic year 2009-10 for non-minority medical colleges. The fee structure fixed for minority colleges is Rs 5 lakh.
In case of dental colleges, the fee fixed is Rs 2 lakh for management quota seats for non-minority colleges and Rs 2.5 lakh for minority seats.

Unesco guidelines against bullying, corporal punishment in schools

2007
Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 28: The United Nations Educational Social and Cultural Organisation has formulated guidelines for teachers and management of schools to check bullying, corporal punishment and other types of violence in educational institutions.
The Unesco has also put the responsibility of protection of child rights and prevention of corporal punishments in schools on national governments. In its guidelines for the academic year 2007-2008, the Unesco has called upon governments to come out with a national planning to prevent and respond to violence against schoolchildren.
The new guidelines come in the wake of reports that about 300 million children worldwide are victims of various forms of violence in schools and outside. About 30 million child victims are from India. Andhra Pradesh has one of the high dropout rates in the country.
Corporal punishment has been linked to high absenteeism and drop-out rate in schools. The dropout rate varies between five and 40 per cent in Andhra Pradesh depending on the age group of students and classes. Though the mid-day meal scheme has improved attendance, still 50 per cent of children of school-going age continue to stay away from schools in the State.
It also called for strengthening of legal frameworks in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly galvanising support for the prohibition of all forms of violence.
The Unesco has asked a group of experts including researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to consider the global context of school violence, the school experience, innovative policies and practices and come out with recommendations on making schools free from violence.
The recommendations also follow research reports that corporal punishment leads to poor mental health, as it blocks normal mental development.

AICTE introduces free education for poor students in engineering colleges

June 4, 2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 3: Meritorious students hailing from economically backward families, women and the physically challenged will get free education in engineering colleges.
The All-India Council for Technical Education has earmarked 10 per cent of seats in engineering colleges for "tuition fee waiver scheme". These 10 per cent of seats are in addition to the total intake of the respective colleges. The admission for these students is through convener and is purely based on merit and economic backwardness. The upper income limit fixed to qualify for the scheme is Rs 2.5 lakh per annum.
The State government has welcomed the AICTE's move as it will benefit at least 10,000 poor students in the State alone. The AICTE, acting under Section 10(e) of AICTE Act which empowers it to formulate schemes for promoting technical education for women, handicapped and weaker sections of society, has decided to introduce the scheme all over the country.
The proposed scheme will be applicable to the students of all AICTE approved technical institutions offering bachelors programmes in engineering, pharmacy, architecture and applied arts and crafts and diploma programmes of three years duration in all disciplines.
The scheme is purely voluntary but engineering colleges have welcomed it. "We do not have to set up more infrastructure. All we have to do is to provide six more chairs and one or two more computers. We are not losing on the economics because the no tuition fee seats are in addition to our regular intake strength," said Abid Rasool Khan, chairman of Mannan Institute of Science and Technology.
According to Dr K Narayana Rao, AICTE member-secretary, the waiver is limited to the tuition fee as approved by the State-Level Fee Committee for self-financing institutions and by the government for the government and government-aided institutions. All other fees except tuition fee have to be paid by the beneficiary.
"In the event of non-availability of students in this category, the benefit will be given to any other candidate of other categories according to merit. An award letter is this respect will be issued by the respective institution with the approval of the competent authority for admissions," he pointed out.
The institution, in turn, will be allowed to admit 10 per cent of its sanctioned intake or the number of actual tuition fee waiver granted by it, whichever is lower, as an additional intake in the same discipline/branch of study. The colleges will have to give an undertaking to the government that they will not charge tuition fee from these students for the duration of the course.
The State governments concerned will announce in the admission brochures the names of the colleges which have volunteered to provide free admissions to meritorious students.

Muslim medical colleges fall in line, finally

2006
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 30: State government's strict vigil coupled with competition has forced the two Muslim minority medical colleges in the State to fall in line and admit students purely on merit basis.
This is the first time in many years that admissions into minority medical colleges are near transparent if not completely fair. Both the Deccan Medical College and the Shadan Medical College have followed the State government's new rules on admissions and fee structure as far as 70 per cent EAMCET merit seats are concerned.
However, they are yet to release the list of candidates admitted under the 30 per cent management quota. The State government has now made it compulsory for managements of minority medical colleges to adopt complete transparency even in admissions made under the management quota. They will have to follow merit and a fixed fee structure of Rs 4.50 lakh per year for 30 per cent management quota seats.
While Shadan Medical College has called for counselling EAMCET rank-holders from 1 to 3442, the Deccan Medical College invited even students who have scored up to 5,000 rank. This led to competition between the two colleges and the meritorious students, who otherwise used to run from pillar to post, stood benefited.
Deccan Medical College collected the prescribed Rs 30,000 per year from students seeking admission under the 70 per cent EAMCET seats. This has forced the Shadan Medical College, which collected Rs 1.60 lakh from students, to make an announcement that it would return the excess amount. The Shadan College has also announced second list.
Both the Muslim minority medical colleges together have 250 seats of them 175 seats fall under Rs 30,000 fee category and 75 seats under Rs 4.50 lakh category.
"I got admission in a non-minority college under payment seat (Rs 1.60 lakh). Because of the new orders (GO 297) and strict vigil by government, I got admission in Shadan Medical College under Rs 30,000 fee category. If the government did not ensure merit-based admissions in minority colleges I would not have afford education in non-minority college by paying Rs 1.60 lakh," says Lubna Muneer, who scored 1332 rank in the Eamcet (minority rank 46).
While Deccan Medical College has given seat up to the EAMCET rank 5045 (minority rank 243), the Shadan has now called candidates up to 5365 rank (minority rank 262).
"This is the culmination of a 11 year old struggle launched by minority education rights activist late Muhammad Fasiuddin. Now only one thing remains to be done. There should be single window admission in medical colleges too. Even at the government prescribed fee, minority colleges get Rs 1.56 crore per year from 100 students as against Rs 1.55 crore in case of non-minority medical colleges. When non-minority colleges could manage with the fee, there should be no problem with the minority colleges," Muhammad Ansari of APMERPC said.

Irregularities in minority medical colleges: Government finally flexes its muscles

2006
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 28: The State government has finally flexed its muscles to rein in unscrupulous minority medical colleges that have been collecting "tuition fee" as high as Rs 50 lakh from students under management quota.
The Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department on Thursday night issued orders (GO Ms No. 297) banning capitation fee in private unaided minority medical colleges and fixing a maximum fee of Rs 4.5 lakh per year per student under management quota.
Medical colleges violating the fee structure will face severe action including cancellation of affiliation. Following a report in this newspaper recently that minority medical colleges are collecting Rs 50 lakh as tuition fee from students seeking admissions under management quota, Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy convened a meeting with Health Minister K Rosaiah and senior officials of the Health and the Minorities Welfare departments and set right the mess.
There will be two categories of seats in private unaided minority medical colleges for purpose of admission and fee. The management will have to fill up 70 per cent of the seats through Eamcet rank-holders on merit and the fee structure for such students will be Rs 30,000 per year. The remaining 30 per cent of the seats will be management quota seats and they will be filled up by the management on an annual fee of Rs 4.5 lakh.
The tuition fee for the failed students in all subjects in each phase of study during each academic year has been fixed at Rs 15,000 per annum. This amount shall, however, be proportionately reduced depending upon the actual number of subjects in which the student has failed.
The GO bans management of minority colleges from charging any capitation fee and profiteering. The orders were issued based on the recommendations of Justice RB Reddy Committee on fixation of fee for students admitted into unaided professional educational institutions.
"Except the above fee fixed by the Committee, no other amount, either directly or indirectly can be unauthorisedly charged by the management. If any such other amount is charged under any other head or guise (e.g. donation etc) it would amount to charging of capitation fee. The surplus (profit) that is generated from the collection of the fee must be for the benefit of the Institution, and cannot be diverted for other purpose or for personal gain," the GO noted.
The students admitted to the course in a particular academic year will continue to pay every year the same annual tuition fee as paid at the time of their admission, till they complete the course. The management should collect the fee only for one year in advance from students.
Earlier in the absence of proper guidelines, unscrupulous managements were charging tuition fee as high as Rs 1.60 lakh per year from meritorious students admitted through Eamcet. The fee ran up to Rs 50 lakh for students seeking admissions under management/NRI quota.
The AP Minorities Educational Rights Protection Committee has appealed to parents not to pay money in excess of the prescribed tuition fee. "Parents and students can lodge complaints with the minorities welfare department or approach court in case the managements charge more fee," APMERPC convener Muhammad Ansari said.

Medical degrees awarded by foreign medical colleges

2006
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 8: The career prospects of thousands of Indians studying medicine in China and Russia are at stake what with the Medical Council of India declining to issue them eligibility certificates.
Indian students who want to pursue medicine in medical colleges outside the country will have to first secure the "eligibility certificate" from the Medical Council of India before leaving India. After the completion of the medical degree in a foreign university, the Indian students will have to appear for a "screening test" conducted by the National Board of Examinations. Unless they qualify in the screening test, the students cannot practice medicine on Indian territory.
The MCI Act 1956 has recognised just 22 medical colleges/universities in the erstwhile Soviet Union. But it does not recognise any of the medical colleges in China. This simply means Indian students who qualify in MBBS from China are not eligible to appear for the screening test to practice in India.
Recently the Delhi High Court upheld the MCI Act 1956 while the Kerala High Court felt that Indian students qualifying from Chinese medical colleges/universities should be allowed to appear for the screening test. A batch of affected students has decided to file a petition in Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's order.
So far, 5000 students from Andhra Pradesh have joined various medical colleges/universities in China. This is the third year of Chinese institutions opening their doors to Indian students. This year 1500 students from the State have sought admission.
"Parents and students from Andhra Pradesh are preferring Chinese medical colleges for economic reasons. The standards in China are the same as those of our colleges. In fact, the hospitals there are better equipped. In private medical colleges here one has to shell down at least Rs 40 lakh while it is just Rs 9 lakh in China," says Ch Reraju who runs EdPlus Consultants in the city.
Reraju argues that MCI cannot refuse eligibility certificates to Indian students seeking admission in Chinese medical colleges for the simple reason that the World Health Organisation has included these Chinese institutions in its World Directory of Medical Schools. "When the USA and the UK have recognised medical degrees awarded by China, why the MCI deny the facility to Indian students," he wonders.
However, MCI former member Dr CL Venkat Rao cautions students from joining bogus medical colleges. "There are colleges in Vijayawada and Kakinada which are offering medical course partly in a foreign country and partly in India. Such colleges are not recognised. The students will have to undergo the complete course in a foreign country, obtain eligibility certificate before joining the course and appear for the screening test after the completion of the course," he points out.
Dr Muhammad Habeebullah of Aspertech Education Consultants says students pursuing courses in China need not worry about MCI regulations. "Even students who pass MBBS in the USA will have to appear for the screening test in India. The screening test is not restricted to students from China it is applicable to students who pass from foreign universities," Habeebullah argues.
Indian embassy officials in China, however, have a different story to tell about the facilities in medical colleges or universities there. Recently Indian diplomats announced that there had been increasing complaints about deficient infrastructure in China.
The common complaints from students includes non-availability of properly qualified English-speaking teaching facility in some of Chinese medical colleges.



Caution to Students

1. The Medical Council of India does not recognise medical colleges in China even those listed by the World Health Organisation in its World Directory of Medical Schools. This means those who qualify from Chinese colleges will not be allowed to appear for screening test conducted by the National Board of Examinations.

2. Students who qualify from the USA, UK and listed universities in erstwhile Soviet Union are permitted to appear for the screening test. However, the pass percentage is as low as seven.

3. MCI guidelines say that to be eligible for the screening test a candidate must fulfil the following three conditions: a) Must be a citizen of India 6) Must have obtained at least 50 per cent marks in intermediate in biology, physics and chemistry and c) The medical college should have been listed in the world Directory of Medical Schools.

4. The United Nations convention 1960 calls for mutual recognition of medical degrees through screening tests by respective countries.

5. If everything goes on well India and China may go in for reciprocal agreement on recognition of medical degrees. Presently a high level Chinese delegation comprising Dr Teigen Wo and Prof Chow Zhang is in India to hold talks with MCI. An Indian delegation is scheduled to visit China later this year.