Thanks to Giridhar, the report of the Goverdhan Mehta Committee for pay revision at IISc, IITs, IIMs, IISERs and NITs is available online.
Arunn on Indian scientists and science blogging.
More views on GATE, graduate studies in India (and abroad) from Niket and Giridhar.
A Dean at IIT-B is left red-faced by an ad for a JEE coaching school! [I'm not sure what the fuss is all about; the real fuss should be about IITs sole reliance on an exam that can be cracked only with the help of serious, intensive -- and in many cases, soul-sapping -- coaching.]
The ad, published in a newspaper on Sunday, carried a handwritten note from Gopalan, who had said, "Based on our experiences with our son, we very strongly recommend (this coaching class) to every parent and student in the process of choosing the best coaching class for JEE at Mumbai.''
The advertisement also mentioned that 30 professors and two deans from IIT had sent their children to the class.
YouTube has an education channel: YouTube.EDU. Kerim, at Savage Minds lists several such course video aggregator sites.
In these hard times, American universities have had to resort to pretty drastic measures. Here's P.Z. Myers:
The University of Florida has reached that point. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been told to cut 10% from its budget. Since the biggest chunk of any university's budget is salaries, that means a lot of people are going on the chopping block — and the administration has decided to simply get rid of entire departments wholesale, including geology. Think about it: a college of science that simply cuts off and throws away an entire discipline. Is that really a place that is supporting science and education?
Friday, March 27, 2009
HigherEd links
Filed under: Economics, HigherEd, HigherEd-India
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3 Comments:
I wonder why the IIT-B dean is upset. If his genuine opinion was that his son was helped in writing the JEE by that particular coaching class, he should stand by that opinion (and, given his position, preferably justify the system or explain why it is difficult or undesirable to change it). If that was not his opinion, why did he write it? Finally, why did he imagine that the coaching class would not see (and take advantage of) the publicity value of a note written by an IIT dean?
Advantage Tyagi. Why is the dean embarrassed? Even the brightest IIT grads with close to 10 point CGPA have freely admitted to attending either Brilliant or Agarwal coaching classes in the 90s.
If the Dean is red-faced, it must be because he is in a spot. IIT employment rule book says that you cannot make any public representation without taking the PRO's permission. You cannot even be consultant to a company if they will use your name to advertise. You can probably vote if you care, but you cannot stand for any election, or perform any political act on campus (faculty only). If ten faculty members are facing the same problem, like a broken elevator in a building they share, they cannot send a letter with ten signatures---that is considered collective bargaining and disallowed. If you are an IIT faculty, your wife cannot accept gifts from anyone professionally related to you (your husband can do as he pleases). I have seen the IIT rule book. I have stared into the abyss, and the abyss has stared back. Compared to that venerable document, Freddie of Elm Street in his primal form is a huggable cutesie puppy.
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