STATE OF EDUCATION

Times of India (  07,Mar,2012  ) reports :

• Central Teachers Eligibility Test ( CTET ) was held on Jan 29, 2012

• 10,58,000  teachers registered to take the exam

• 900,000  teachers appeared for the exam

• Only 55,422 teachers managed to score the minimum 60 % required to pass the exam  (approx 6 %  passed)

• In last year’s exam , 14 % had passed

• CTET was started by the Government last year to to ensure that the quality of teachers across the country is standardized

Consequence ?

15 year old students from 73 countries took part in PISA [ Programme for International Student Assessment ], conducted by OECD

When tested on their reading , math and science abilities , Indian students stood “ second – to – last “ . So what ? Indian students were ahead of the students from Kyrgyzstan, who stood last !

Students from China’s Shanghai province , which participated in PISA for the first time , scored highest in reading . It also topped the charts in math and science

You are welcome to draw your own conclusion !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

LIVING ON BORROWED TIME ?

130 billion euro bailout for Greece could well be termed,

“ Give money , will splurge “

But lenders are not amused. They want the Greeks to tighten their belts. And here is how :

·     Current monthly minimum wage of 750 euros to be reduced by 22 %

·     Younger employees ( below 25 ), must suffer a cut of 32 % . Half of them are in any case unemployed !

·     Social security contributions to be cut by 5 %

·     15,000 workers to be paid 60 % of basic wages and be dismissed after 1 year

·     State work-force to be cut by 150,000 by 2015

·     Retirement age to be increased

Even as Greeks are rioting in the streets , no one is asking :

“ How long can any individual or a nation continue to live beyond its means ? How long can you live on borrowed time ? “

The writing is on the wall

Germans and French are unwilling to play , “ my brother’s keeper “  , for Greece , Portugal , Italy , Spain , UK etc

Forget global warming. Global cooling is around the corner !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

WANT A PATENT ? BE PATIENT !

Newspaper Pravasi ( 26 Feb 2012 ) gives following interesting – but far more distressing – info about working of India’s Patent Office in Mumbai :

• No of patent applications pending  ………………………………… 100,000

• Which will take to clear  …………………………………………………..  3  years

• No of requests being examined / year  ………………………….. 12,000

• Additional Patent Examiners being trained  ……………………..  250

• Which will help clear no of applications / year ………………… 40,000

• New requests being received / year  ………………………………… 25,000 +

• Annual growth-rate of requests  ……………………………………… ..   20 %

I would not be surprised if Indian scientists working in foreign labs are filing more patent applications abroad than the Indian scientists working in Indian labs !

Innovation will get a huge boost if Patents can be granted – or even rejected – in 6 months !

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

WHAT MAKES AAKASH DIFFERENT ?

There can be many opinions about Aakash tablet , but it is worth remembering that ,

• At its price-point , Aakash is the only tablet capable of bridging the digital divide between the urban and the rural India

• It will be used by persons who have not even seen a smart phone or a computer – much less used these

• Aakash is its own benchmark. Much like Walkman and iPod , it has created a new category - hence there can be no comparisons

• More than 2 million orders are a proof that , it is a product which millions have been waiting for

     No doubt there will be hiccups – as with any innovation

    With regards

    HEMEN  PAREKH

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