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Showing posts from August, 2017

India’s Education System Needs Improvement

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Nirmal Singh Lotus points out that education in India has taken an unregulated path which is leading its host to disastrous outcomes, including criminal activities, suicides and other among schoolchildren. It is now time to review the things that are essential to robust the education system in order to make it socially usable for prolong period. Indeed, books play an integral role in transforming our lives with knowledge. Reading has become a primary source of entertainment for students and others. Nirmal Singh Lotus thinks the primary means of communication to a wider audience is though words and in fact it should be in a civilized manner. Nowadays, reading has become a hobby for students, for the publishers are trying to produce ‘reader friendly’ content. This indeed builds a moral perspective on world. The main purpose of education is to instill hard skills as well as make them a better citizen. Professional growth is incomplete without the growth of personality which will

Removal Of Minority Status Can Help Improve Indian Universities, Says Union Minister

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Minority status institutions usually reserve half their seats for a particular community, such as Muslim or Sikh, and no reservation for Dalits. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that the cancelling the minority status of the two universities will do no help in regulating the institutions or improving the quality of higher education in India. The main drawback of the education system in India lies somewhere with the regulatory system, consisting of at least central level bodies, some of them due to the inefficiency of the staff and others because of the corruption. The Centre has decided to withdraw the minority status of two universities funded by the taxpayers. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that the case of Jamia Millia Islamia is ongoing in the Delhi High court. Last year, the same case was run against the Aligarh Muslim University claiming that the universities were established as an act of the Parliament and not by Muslims. The government has decided to cancel the minority status

HRD Ministry To Train 11 Lakh Teachers By March 2019

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Nirmal Singh Lotus is happy to see that the ministry of human resources development is all set to start teacher education programmed across the country which aims to train around 11.09 lakh untrained teachers by March 2019. Nirmal Singh Lotus further noted that it is giving some serious goals to qualitative learning by giving away tablets to over 2,000 students of Kendriya Vidyalayas to make them understand intrinsic science and mathematics lessons smoothly. According to HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, “Teachers' education was an important part of school education reforms and there were over 11 lakh untrained teachers in schools under Sarva Shiksha Adhyayan - six lakh in government schools and five lakh in private ones. Earlier, under the RTE Act, they were supposed to complete diploma in elementary education by 2015,” reported by the Times of India. Javadekar further clarified that there would be no extension and indeed this is the last chance to exhibit right

Aadhaar Will Now Be Mandatory For Open School Exams, Says Nirmal Singh Lotus

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The National Institute of Open Learning will now make Aadhaar a mandatory requirement for candidates who wish to appear in the examinations. The step was taken after the HRD ministry’s approval. This is a major and a positive change in the open exam structure as there were many cases involving people using a proxy. They would pay someone to sit in the exams for them and due to lack of security; the proxy would give exams instead of the real person. With the involvement of Aadhaar, this would not be a problem anymore. Nirmal Singh Lotus said that during the previous exams, there were many proxy candidates who were found sitting in the exam halls. This has made Aadhaar mandatory. He also stated that new scanners will be put in the halls that will check the thumb prints of the candidates and will match with the ones on their admit cards and exam forms. NIOS was established in 1989 and is known for providing courses on both secondary and senior levels. Besides the academ

IIT Entrance Exam: Officials Confirm Admission Process To Go Online From 2018

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Nirmal Singh Lotus appreciated the fact that that the entrance examination for Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) will be made online from 2018 making logistics and evaluation process easier. The move was decided by the Joint Admission Board (JAB) on Sunday. Decisions were taken by JAB, the policy making body on IIT admissions. In order to make logistics and evaluations easier, the entrance examination for Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will go completely online in 2018. These crucial changes were discussed on Sunday. The online mode has been introduced to make the process of examination at designated centres hassle free without the use of pen and paper. Nirmal Singh Lotus would like to inform that as of now students can go for optical mark reading (OMR) sheets which needs to be filled by pen or pencils. These sheets are later evaluated by machines. Director, IIT-Madras, and Chairman JAB 2017, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi in a statement said, "It has been d

Female Enrollment In The Engineering Courses Below 25%, Nirmal Singh Lotus

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Engineering for long has been considered the most popular stream in India. About 11 lakh students applied for the JEEE Main exam in 2017 and 72% of them were boys. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that the difference in the male female ratio is quite large and is visible in the engineering and the technology courses in the country. Though the number of girls in the tech field is improving, the gap is still pretty large and uncompetitive. Even the ministry of Human Resource Development has made a statement saying that the difference in enrollment ratio in the technical colleges is worrisome and it’s high time that the ratio is close to equal now. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that in a survey conducted in for the higher education revealed that the percentage of the girls in engineering colleges is less than 25%. However the situation is not the same for BA and B.Sc courses. These are the courses where the ratio is almost equal with the enrollment of about 48% girls every year. This means

Supreme Court Dismisses The Plea To Make Yoga Compulsory In Schools

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Nirmal Singh Lotus is glad to hear that Supreme Court has refused to make yoga compulsory in schools for students from class 1 to 8 across the country, PTI reported. The pleas will include national yoga policy. The bench which was headed by Justice M B Lokur announced the decision, mentioning that only government has the right to take decision. “We are nobody to say what is to be taught in schools. It is none of our business. How can we direct that,” the bench said. Nirmal Singh Lotus mentioned about the petition that was filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and J C Seth, A Delhi BJP spokesperson and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and J C Seth filed a petition seeking the Human Resource Development Ministry, NCERT, NCTE and CBSE to “provide standard textbooks of ‘yoga and health education’ for students of Class 1-8 keeping in spirit various fundamental rights such as right to life, education and equality.” It further added that the State is taking the responsibility to give quality h

Indian students no longer give preference to MBA and engineering as career options.

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It is still too early for a developing country like India to see the two most influential careers fade away because of the shortages of the jobs in the field. And it is even more toxic as the majority of India’s population is still the youth. The two most raging career options in our country are MBA and engineering but the current scenario of the multinational companies firing their employees without any reason. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that the education system in the past few years noticed a lot of changes in its patterns and also their admission status. Understanding the insecurity in the jobs, even the students are now opting for different careers than just MBA and engineering and are looking for options where they would be more secure and sure about their future. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that MBA and engineering colleges offered high packages to their students and this motivated a lot of them to get admission in the best B school and the top most engineering colleges. Th

More than 100 pre-placement offers for IIT-KGP students, reveals Nirmal Singh Lotus

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IIT made certain changes to the annual curriculum that made it compulsory for the students to undergo summer internships during May and June. IIT Kharagpur students have got 118 PPOs [Pre-Placement Offers] from some of the biggest companies from around the world at the start of their new semester. ‘Students came to resume their classes for the new semester after completing the internships that were made compulsory and got a pleasant surprise. Companies like Microsoft and Samsung were lined up for them. 118-PPOs from some of the biggest names of the tech industry and it is just the beginning of the new semester – the future looks bright for the upcoming engineers. ’ - Nirmal Singh Lotus Professor in-charge of the placement and career development cell of IITKGP revealed that this year the highest number of pre-placement offers have come from Microsoft and Wipro, 14, with companies like Qualcomm and Samsung at 13 and 12, respectively. ITC, Unilever have also shown inte

Registrations Have Started For CAT 2017

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The registration for Common Admission Test 2017- India’s biggest entrance test for MBA admissions- opened on August 9 and will close on September 20. “There is no need to rush on day one itself. The registration is spread over a good 40 days. Candidates have enough time to apply for registration,” said the convener of CAT 2017, Prof. Neeraj Dwivedi in an interview to Nirmal Singh Lotus . After submission of application, candidates will be permitted to download their admit card from October 18, 2017 onwards, till the test date. The CAT website, iimcat.ac.in contains a FAQ section which addresses candidates’ queries. The candidates can also connect with the CAT helpdesk over email or phone. CAT 2017 will be held on 26 November in two sessions this year. I IM-L released the test notification last month. CAT scores are accepted by the 20 IIMs and more than a 100 B-schools across the country. CAT 2017 will be conducted in test centers spread across approximately 140 test citie

CBSE UGC NET 2017 notification has been issued and applications process starts on August 11

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday released the notification for the UGC NET examination. It will be conducted in November 2017. According to Nirmal Singh Lotus , the National Eligibility Test will be conducted on November 5 and the application process starts on August 11. The last date for applying online is September 11, while the fee can be paid until September 12. Aadhaar authentication will be used by CBSE for the applicants at the time of applying for the November examination. The CBSE conducts the exam on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to determine the eligibility of candidates for the post of assistant professor in Indian universities and colleges or for both Junior Research Fellowship and assistant professor. The UGC issued a statement which concludes that changes have been introduced in the qualifying criteria for the NET, according to reports by Nirmal Singh Lotus . According to a statement to Nirmal Singh Lotus , t

NEET Exams To Now Be Conducted In Urdu Also

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SC asks government to include Urdu as a language in the NEET exam, next session onwards, NEET is the common test for admission into medical courses and conducts exams in ten languages including Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Telegu, Tamil and Kannada. Before asking the Centre, the court had sought response from the Medical council of India, the Dental council of India, the Central Board of secondary Education for their support on making Urdu a medium for the NEET 2017. A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra, A.M. Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudar told that though they approve of the decision to make Urdu medium for the NEET exams but it would not be possible to include it this year onwards. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that the decision has been passed to include the language from the next decision but the council insisted that the language should be included in NEET examination from this very year. The thing is that the Centre would come under a lo

8-Year-Old Transgender Indian Girl Files Discrimination Suit In America - Nirmal Singh Lotus

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Nicole, who likes being called Nikki, is an Indian-American transgender who has filed a discrimination suit last week alleging the Heritage Oak Private Education is not letting her dress the way she likes, use the bathroom of her choice. She also alleged that she is not being allowed to go by female pronouns either. The family of the girl sued the school for forcing her to wear the same uniforms as the boys of the school and also for refusing to call her by the name she chose for herself. The reports are still based on allegations but the lack of response from the school’s authorities is not making things any better for the reputation of the school and is giving the allegations more ground. - Nirmal Singh Lotus Los Angeles Times reported that the parents, Jaspret Brar and Priya Shah sued the school and the company it operates under when the school refused to call their daughter by the name she goes by, Nikki Brar. The lawsuit filed by the parents of Nikki was based on t

Delhi High Court has sent notice to DU, CBSE, and Centre on the pleas of transgender community

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The transgender community challenged the guidelines of the authorities to get the ability to change their gender and name as a person – Delhi High Court has asked the Centre, CBSE and Delhi University for a response on the issue. The guidelines haven’t been changed and this was the first time a plea of this level was made by a community. Delhi High Court has sent strict notice to the colleges and the education boards to take the plea seriously and revert with a response in the coming week. CBSE [Central Board of Secondary Education] has revealed that such changes and requests can only be entertained if it is made before the result of the publication, any request after that will be void and will not be considered under any circumstance – special cases will be taken into consideration. - Nirmal Singh Lotus Delhi University and the norms at the colleges that work under the central government are also dependent on the boards and the records they have. According to DU’s guidel

From 9th August, You Can Buy NCERT Books Online – Will Be Home-Delivered, Says Nirmal Singh Lotus

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Private publishers took advantage of NCERT books not being available before the start of the new session but that will all change soon. NCERT has opened a new online portal through which new books will be sold and delivered. After 9 th of August, you will be able to buy NCERT books online without having to put a foot outside your homes and without struggling in long queues only to find out that the exact book you were looking for is out of stock. - Nirmal Singh Lotus The National Council of Education Research and Training [NCERT] told in a recent press conference that it is launching a new online portal where parents and students will be able to order books and get them delivered home. The portal will be active throughout the country – students will be given the ability to order for their textbooks online. ‘ Private publishers and publications have been exploiting parents for years. NCERT books go out of stock and these private book publishers come forward and sell the

Detaining Students Does Not Help In Their Studies, Instead Give Them More Attention In Class Says Nirmal Singh Lotus

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Right of children for free and Compulsory Education Amendment Bill talks about removing detention for any class below 8. But the cabinet has scrapped the policy which will now be presented in the Parliament. Nirmal Singh Lotus says the introduction of detention in class 5 or class 8 on the basis of the final exams is a very regressive approach towards education. Education is not about passing the examination and getting promoted on to the next class, but it is about receiving proper knowledge and knowledge cannot be judged by a sheet of paper. If a child has not understood anything during the entire year, and somehow manages to clear the final examination then it would not be fair to judge the child’s progress based on that report. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that the decision taken by the cabinet shows regression in the education system of the country. According to the proposals made earlier in the amendment bill, if a child is weak in his studies then detaining him for a year

ISRO’s New Space Agenda For 2018 Will Have Two New Moon Mission, Says Nirmal Singh Lotus

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To lead the global lunar competition and to go deeper into moon’s surface, there will two new moon missions in the ISRO’s space agenda for the year 2018. The first one is the initiative taken by Team Indus and the second one will be the advanced version of the Chandrayaan mission – Chandrayaan-2. The Indian Space Research Organization has been at the center of the global space research programs for years and has taken an even stronger grip in the global lunar competition by bringing in two new moon mission after launching a 30 co-passenger satellites and Cartosat-2 last month. ISRO had made the likes of NASA and JAXA to applaud the efforts as the leaders in space. ISRO is fairly new in the race but with its new projects coming in the picture, even the more established space-faring nations will be looking over their shoulders. ISRO has made the announcements about its 2018 space program and is all set to be in the leading position. If the latest reports are to be believed, IS

Who Is Eligible To Pay Taxes?

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Nirmal Singh Lotus has geared himself to clear the misty sky about the ongoing confusion on filing the taxes and understanding the eligibility criteria. The returns and the fillings of these transactions are quite intrinsic, for the man himself has taken the charge to simplify the whole process. It is the need of the hour for the Indians who are settled abroad to know the tax obligations in India. Indeed, the rules and regulations need revision to make the process easier for green card holders in the US or those who have acquired citizenship in any other country. To make it a regulated system the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that providing details was optional and this will further help in facilitating refunds in case where individuals do not hold a bank account in India. Nirmal Singh Lotus defines tax residential status and explains its importance: If a person is a non-resident Indian (NRI), his country of origin will not be accountable for taxability. These law

Education Is Not About Grades, But Gaining Perspective, Says Nirmal Singh Lotus

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Nirmal Singh Lotus believes that education is not about getting a degree, but sadly that is all what todays’ youth values. Knowledge is not just about getting into a good college or doing a good course. Hemant Kulkarni says that the youth today lacks the basic essence of education, their focus is restriction to the competition and they are just trying to beat the competition. Though, seeing the cut off percentage of the colleges in the past years, it can be said that the students have been doing exceedingly well now but this kind of education is not going to help in either the development of the country or the students’ personal growth. Nirmal Singh Lotus says that unlike the common belief, the grades do not measure the intelligence of the students, it is your passion that helps one succeed for fail in his/ her field. There are so many people who do not get any formal education but are still the masters of their craft. If someone is dedicated towards the work that they do, th

Impact Of Cyber-Bullying On Youngsters

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Nirmal Singh Lotus has found that the youngsters are taking social media too seriously so much so that it is creating fear and anxiety, supports a UK survey. More than 10,000 youngsters aged between 12 and 20 think that cyber-bullying is widespread online. Nirmal Singh Lotus also found that more than 70 per cent of the youngsters were admitted to the social networking sites or pages that promote abuses and bully. As much as 17 per cent has been proven to have bullied content online. Around one in three are said to have lived in inhibition of cyber bullying keeping appearance as one of the criteria of abuse. Nirmal Singh Lotus finds out a survey by anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label which says that more than 40 per cent of the participants got into depression because nobody liked their selfies and as many as 35 per cent have been feeling low, for no one has followed them on their accounts. Nirmal Singh Lotus thinks that people are basically taking the negative effects ont