TIPS TO SCORE BETTER IN BOARD EXAMS

                           TIPS TO SCORE BETTER IN BOARD EXAMS

                       Home Tutors And Private Tutors In Mumbai                          

If you will do proper justice to your studies ,you will score good marks. For that you must strategize your work properly and practice writing regularly. This will help to boost your self-confidence and in the final examination, you will be able to write the paper without any pressure.
Be it CBSE Board, ICSE Board,IB Board,IGCSE Board,ISC Board, SSC or HSC or any other board these tips will help you score better marks in any board exams:
1. A systematically written, clean and tidy paper will impress the paper checker; whereas
an untidy paper will lose a chance to score.
2. There is no hard and fast rule that you should write answers in serial order.But if
you follow a serial order in writing, lt will apper neat and, systematic. It will also
prove your discipline in writing.
3. Bold and clear, legible writing will definitely make a good impression. Your
handwriting is a reflection of your personality. It will reveal your clear thinking
process. So try to write in a clear and bold handwriting, spacing out each word
properly.
4. Go through the question paper and read it carefully. If you read it coolly, the writing of the
answer will be satisfactory.
5. Strictly answer the question as per the given instruction in the question paper. lf the paper-setter
has asked you to write an answer in 5 to 6 lines, avoid exceed the limit and
do not write a very long answer .Notice the marks allotted for each question
and then write the answer accordingly.
6. Do not write your answers in a hurry. If you are in a hurry to complete your paper, you are
likely to make mistakes in spellings and numbers etc.
7.Write the question numbers for every question that you write. If you are writing
short note, write the title clearly and then start the short note. Some students are
Very careless about this. The examiner should not get a chance to get annoyed of
Your carelessness.
8. Language papers line English, Hindi, Marathi, French, Sanskrit are not very scoring subjects. You cannot hope to score as you can score in your Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology , Social Science ( history, civics, geography, economics) Papers. But you should not neglect these subjects just because it
is not scoring.
9.To score better in languages and theory subjects make it a habit to underline the idioms and phrases you have used in your compositions/essays/paragraphs. If you
have used any quotations, make them distinctive by using quotation marks.
10.Underline the key words to attract the attention of the examiner.
Complete the paper in the given time or atleast 10 minutes before the final time. So, plan your writing accordingly. It' you wish to attempt any extra questions, attempt them at the end of the same question.
11.Your presentation of the paper should be so good that the examiner should feel
greatly satisfied and should say - 'This is what I had expected to see!!
We at UNIQORN HOME TUITIONS wish you all the very best for your exams.Create History.Break Records.Emerge As Winner!
VISIT US HERE: http://uniqorn.co.in/About_Us.html

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Uniform, but unworkable

The 9 August ruling of the Supreme Court that schools in Tamilnadu must implement Samacheer Kalvi immediately has received mixed reactions. Some think it is a great step forward for equality and social justice, while others fear that it will undermine the quality of education in some schools. I believe the judgment is flawed, and will prove harmful to the students, parents, and teachers of Tamilnadu.

Samacheer Kalvi, or the Uniform System of Education, was brought in with much excitement by the previous DMK government. It would, said the government, ensure a uniform curriculum across the state in public and private schools, require the use of standardised text books by all pupils, and protect the rights of children to education in their mother tongue.

The implementation of the scheme began in the 2010-2011 academic year for Standards I and VI, and it was set to roll out for Standards VII-X in 2011-2012. But then a new AIADMK government was elected in mid-2011, and objected to the content of the textbooks. The new dispensation claimed the books promoted the previous government's politics and policies, and they passed legislation to delay implementation of the scheme while the books were revamped. In the meantime, some schools waited for the new books, some spent large amounts on books that followed the earlier curriculum. Some halted the use of books altogether.

In June, the Madras High Court ruled that the new law was unconstitutional and that Samacheer Kalvi must be fully implemented this academic year itself, as previously planned. Books produced by the DMK government were acceptable, any objectionable sections could be removed or papered over, and the books should be used. The government's appeal to the Supreme Court proved fruitless, as the apex body affirmed the High Court's views.

All of this is happening after children have been in school for weeks. Valuable instructional time has been lost. Students have become innocent victims caught in a political crossfire over curriculum and textbooks.

The whole situation highlights several important problems - with Samacheer Kalvi in particular and with government control of education in general. First, this sort of political haggling is inevitable when government involves itself in the detailed operations of schools, and the ones who lose will always be the students. Governments are political; they are not educators. Their strengths do not lie in planning curricula or in writing and selecting text books. Schools are familiar with the exams their students will need to pass to be successful and can plan their curricula accordingly. They do not need detailed plans handed down to them by government officials.

When it comes to textbooks and other such resources, schools and teachers are better placed to evaluate various options and determine what will be the best fit for their unique children, teaching styles, and circumstances. Indeed, even the National Curriculum Framework 2005, the central government's guidelines to states, emphasises the importance of giving flexibility to teachers and schools in determining the best way to achieve educational outcomes and the best resources to employ in pursuing those aims.

Children are different from each other, schools are different, and teachers are different. There is no reason, therefore, to assume that the same books will most effectively teach maths or social sciences or English in every situation. Those decisions are best left to individual schools. The government of Tamilnadu has demonstrated extreme arrogance in asserting that it knows better than parents and teachers how to teach children.

Inevitably, when governments involve themselves so heavily in the minutiae of education, the curriculum and textbooks will be politicised. Whether the government itself is writing the books, or a publisher is writing books to sell to the government, the incentive is to produce what will appeal to politicians. Say some good things about the party, and that probably earns you points. Emphasise the bits of history that play to the governing party's strengths, and that will probably help your case. And that's before we even start to think about the potential for bribery and corruption.

Is it any surprise, then, that the new government objected to the old government's chosen textbooks? And is it not all but certain that the scenario will repeat itself when the next new government is elected? Samacheer Kalvi increases the politicisation of education, and disempowers schools, teachers and parents. Neither is good for the quality of education.

Second, Samacheer Kalvi, like so many other government initiatives related to education, focuses entirely on inputs rather than outcomes. Everyone agrees that we want children who can read and write, add and multiply, speak well in their mother tongue and use English. All of these are outcomes. The books that are used, the teaching methods that are employed, the number of teachers, the hours spent at school, and the buildings and other facilities available are all inputs. They are tools for achieving educational outcomes. They are means, rather than ends in and of themselves. We should therefore focus on those ends, those objectives, and trust teachers and parents to judge the tools that are best used to achieve them.

Rather than setting broad standards and allowing parents and teachers the freedom to achieve those in the ways most well suited to their particular circumstances, politicians have focused on equality of inputs. If all pupils were exactly the same, all parents had exactly the same values, all circumstances were identical, and all children had the same goals, then focusing on inputs might work. But they are not. Outcomes are what matter, so governments should trust parents and teachers to figure out how those outcomes are best achieved.

And it is important to remember that Samacheer Kalvi applies to all schools, even private schools that are neither operated nor paid for by the state. The freedom of parents to choose the education that is best for their children has been removed. The ability of talented, experienced teachers to employ creative methods to teach their students has been severely undermined. By focusing on inputs, rather than on outcomes, the government of Tamilnadu has reduced incentives for teachers and schools to be innovative, to raise standards, to achieve more. None of that will be rewarded. Instead, teachers must follow government-determined rules and use government-approved resources.

The signal sent loud and clear is that it is those inputs, not outcomes, that are most important.

The forced requirement that all children must be taught in the mother tongue violates parental rights and is rather impractical in a cosmopolitan and multi-cultural state. The UN Declaration of Human Rights, in the Article 26, clearly states "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children." India was one of the first signatories of this Universal Declaration.

To implement this, not just in letter but also in spirit, the Tamilnadu government should not only allow private schools to decide the medium of instruction. It should offer choice to parents in government schools for different media of instruction. The parents should have a right to choose the medium of instruction in private as well as government schools.

The desire for quality education for all children is noble and surely one shared by all. But Samacheer Kalvi makes that more difficult. It ensures that all children will use the same curriculum and the same books, but it reduces the ability of teachers to respond to the unique needs of their students or for parents to choose the education they believe is best for their children. If the government of Tamilnadu truly wants to improve education for all children, it should free up teachers to teach, schools to determine the specifics of curriculum and resources, and parents to choose the education that is best for their children.

This is the best way to improve education for all: Not just the right to education but the right to education of choice.

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Struggling to go beyond the basics

In August 2010, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling announced the Total Literacy Mission, 2015 - a vision to transform things in the state through equitable, holistic, inclusive and globally competitive education. The state government also claims to have accorded the highest priority to elementary education, and has incurred the highest per-child revenue expenditure on education in the country - Rs.6,667 as against the national average of Rs.1,337.

Certainly, the state has successfully provided access to elementary education for all, with equitable access to boys and girls, and rural as well as urban children. But there are areas where more needs to be done.

A recently-tabled Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the performance of elementary education in the state during 2006-2011 revealed that the Perspective Plan for the development of education was prepared by Education Consultants India Ltd in May 2003. Eight years from that date, the department hasn't still initiated any action to get the approval of the government to begin implementing the plan. Indeed, after spending Rs. 6.57 lakhs on preparing the document, the department also didn't care to incorporate any of the suggestions voiced by the consultants in the annual plans it prepared.

The planning process for the annual plan ideally starts at the habitation level, and moves upward to block, district and state levels. Also, annual plans should ideally flow from the Perspective Plan. However, the audit scrutiny revealed that annual plans were prepared by the Secretary, Human Resource Development Department without obtaining inputs from District Education Officers (DEOs). CAG report states that annual plans didn't contain any targets or strategies to ensure universal retention, improvement in educational outcomes etc.

Indeed, it appears that the only purpose for which the Annual Plans were made was to avail budget outlays on a year-to-year basis.

The grand announcment of the Total Literacy Mission did not spur the department into much action, either. The establishment of the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) was notified in September 2010, but even a year later, it had not been actually constituted, says the CAG audit. There was also a promise to embark on a Teacher Training Mission, and to formulate a Teacher Transfer Policy, but these remained on paper as well.

In statements made in August 2010, the state promised to provide all schools with computers and internet connectivity, to facilitate computer literacy and computer aided learning. But only 15 schools out of 776 got computers along with internet facilities under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme. 426 computers and accessories purchased under Computer Aided Learning Program (CALP) funds were not put to use, since department had not yet developed the course curriculum, software applications and training module for teachers. Various important committees such as the State Advisory Committee and State Quality Education Committee, envisaged under the RTE framework, had not been constituted as of November 2011.

While the state boasts of the highest per-child spending on education, there was a 37 per cent shortfall in the funds it was supposed to contribute to SSA. The central government, for its part, wasn't doing any better - it indulged in short release of its share in SSA funds by 31.90 percent.

While the state has a very positive Pupil-Teacher-Ratio on average, there is a concentration of excess teachers in easily accessible areas, affecting the quality of education in remote areas. Records in respect of South District revealed that 42 out of 107 Junior High Schools had excess teachers, whereas 18 schools in this district suffered from a dearth of teachers.

The audit team selected 40 schools all over the state to verify this. Its joint inspections with department officers and head teachers showed a concentration of teachers in excess to the needed strength in 32 schools, and a shortage in two. This was the case despite the department's notification in February 2010 that laid emphasis on transferring excess teachers to the schools that had shortages.

In October 2009, state government amended the Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2008 and prescribed the minimum qualification for recruitment as a primary school teacher as 'Senior Secondary Pass with professional training of two years in DIET or equivalent'. Scrutiny of records in 40 schools showed that 124 teachers (out of 324) did not possess this minimum qualification, and were untrained as on March 2011. The percentage of trained teachers was comparatively better in Primary Schools (76 percent) that in Upper Primary Schools (56 percent). North district fared worse on this count than the three others.

In September 2010, state government implemented Advancement of Educational Performance through Teacher Support (AdEPTS) survey in 18 schools, covering 267 teachers of elementary schools. While none of the teachers scored 'A', 80 per cent scored 'B' or 'C' and the remaining 20 per cent got 'D'. Similarly in order to gauge teaching learning processes in classrooms, the department carried out the Basic Achievement Survey in 112 schools in February 2011. The survey results showed that while most students (82 to 97 per cent) were average or below average in Mathematics, 56 to 69 per cent were less than average in Environment Studies/Science and Technology.

In order to improve the quality of education in the state, the department had allocated funds to initiate two interventions: a Learning Evaluation Program aimed at developing language reading material and science and mathematics kits, and a Computer Aided Learning Program (CALP). The first one failed, since the department didn't actually spend the funds earmarked for it!

For the CALP, Rs.50 lakhs per district was allocated for training teachers, creating infrastructure, developing and producing state specific e-learning materials and sensitising statutory bodies. But although computers and accessories costing more than a crore were purchased and delivered to the schools, the department didn't develop the course curriculum and software applications, or even the training modules for implementing the program. It was nothing more than a purchase contract for computers, which were never used.

The excessive focus on creating 'infrastructural access' seems to be holding back the state, and preventing it from moving beyond achieving the basic indicators of literacy and enrolment. It is evident that mere policy announcements are not enough. A serious review of the system to understand why the highest per-child expenditure in the country has not delivered evident learning outcomes is needed, and may even help prevent other states from repeating Sikkim's mistakes.

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Tamilnadu's striking progress in welfare

Tamilnadu's achievements in the provision of public services are reasonably well established. Could it be possible that as many people with "voice" remain invested in these public services, be it education or health or the PDS, that has prevented the collapse of these services in TN?

As someone who had not visited rural areas south of Maharashtra in the capacity of a researcher, my first trip to a few villages in Tamilnadu left me wondering if that field visit wasn?t a dream. We were looking at the state of public services in rural areas and were pleasantly surprised at the existence and quality of these services ? be it government schools, primary health care, or last (but not trivial at all) bus services - compared to what I had observed in the north Indian states.

This comparative qualification is important. If readers in Tamilnadu react to this article by protesting or by bringing to my notice the many failings of the system there, I will not be surprised. In fact, the high standards that they set are an important part of the Tamilnadu story (more on this later).

Seeing is Believing: Education and Health Services

The better education and health outcome indicators in the southern states (especially Kerala and to some extent Tamilnadu), compared to the north, has been acknowledged for a long time. And yet to see it with one?s own eyes really drives home the point.

An anganwadi in Villupuram district. Pic: Reetika Khera

Government schools in rural areas resemble what one imagines schools should look like: a school compound, with a boundary wall, classrooms, an office, a playground; teachers for (almost) each class, teaching activity using text books and blackboards.

Another impressive aspect was the mid-day meal (MDM) programme. The MDM is one programme which has found roots in the north Indian states as well and yet there are several issues with its implementation: the complaints include irregularity, menu not being followed, quality of the food, that it takes away from teaching time since teachers get involved in some aspect of the MDM (e.g., record-keeping). However, it was easy to see that Tamilnadu is still years ahead of many of the north Indian states that are taking this programme seriously: the question of the meal not being served on any particular day does not arise here; children get more nutritious food, including eggs thrice a week (and sprouted chana, we were told, on the other three days); further, the Tamilnadu MDM programme also has a health check-up which includes ?injections? (as one child told us in Maamandur village), measuring of height and weight of children, eye testing and a dental examination.

In Sicko, a film on healthcare, Michael Moore starts by documenting the difficulties of individuals in the US who are at the mercy of private health insurance companies. Then, he visits countries that have a decent public health system based on a strong commitment to free and universal health care. Starting with Canada, he visits the United Kingdom, France and ultimately, Cuba. I felt in December 2009, that the film should have ended in Tamilnadu. A primary health care centre in Chintalpalli, Dharmapuri district confirms that what I saw in Villupuram was not a dream. Pic: Reetika Khera

The most striking contrast between public services in northern states and in Tamilnadu was the provision of free primary health care (which includes immunisation, ante-natal care, post-natal care, eye care), with a noticeable emphasis on preventive health care. PHCs were well-equipped and functioned well. Amongst the ones we visited was the Iruvelpattu Block PHC (Villupuram district, TN), which provides 24-hour service (each Block, we were told, has one 24-hour PHC). It had a 30-bed hospital, an operation theatre, x-ray machine, a TB unit, an AIDS unit, a pharmacy which provides free medicines to everyone, facilities for blood and urine tests and colour-coded dustbins for segregating medical waste. Not unimportantly, the toilets had running water supply, a bucket and tumbler and soap.

The staff at this PHC was equally impressive: four doctors (including two female doctors) one of whom was a surgeon; five nurses, a lab technician, a pharmacist, two drivers for the two ambulances and other support staff. The staff are highly motivated and are courteous to the patients seeking treatment at the PHC. (When we visited, we were also received courteously, but patients were given priority over us - as they should - in sharp contrast to visits to government offices in northern states, where routine activities sometimes come to a standstill in order to attend to us.)

There is pride and joy in doing their work which was hard to miss amongst other government staff as well (whether it?s the time-keeper at the bus stand, or the anganwadi helper/worker, or the panchayat clerk or the school teacher). At the Tiruvannainallur PHC (Villupuram district, TN), we met a nurse who had quit her Apollo Hospital job in order to "give back" to the state that had made her education possible.

Lessons from Tamilnadu

The functioning of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Tamilnadu has already been written about. And it provides some insights into why things work there but are in shambles in large parts elsewhere in the country. In 1997, when other states in the country were forced to move to a "targeted" PDS, the Tamilnadu government was forced to reverse its decision within a few days under public pressure (Srinivasan, 2010). As mentioned in the opening paragraph, continuous public pressure has been an important part of Tamilnadu's "success".

Everyone was entitled to subsidised foodgrains from the PDS at Re. 1/kg. (Now it is free.) The PDS is not a source of just foodgrains in TN. Ration shops in TN, we were told, provide seventeen items (including sugar, salt, spices, soap, semolina, edible oil, kerosene). Unlike the north, where the opening of the ration shop remains a bit of an occasion, in TN these shops seem to open at least once a week. It is not uncommon to see people carrying large bags full of groceries from the ration shop.

Whether providing rice at Re. 1/kilo (or free) is required or sustainable is debatable, but there is no doubt that the inclusion (in the PDS) of those with ?voice? has certainly played a role in preventing a collapse of the system in TN.

Similar remarks apply to other government services. We found that gram panchayat officials and elected representatives reside in the village and access the same facilities as the most disadvantaged (including Dalits and other marginalised groups). When the children of the "thalaivar" (panchayat president), the organiser of the MDM, of the panchayat clerk go to the same school as the children of the NREGA labourers (this still happens in some places we visited, though private school enrolment is far from negligible in Tamilnadu), it is in everyone?s interest to make the schools work.

In Pratapgarh (Uttar Pradesh), on the other hand, the husband of a government school teacher told us that their children went to a private school (not to the government school that his wife taught at) because the government school was no good!

The fact that at least some people with voice have remained "loyal" to the government system in Tamilnadu (to some extent), appeared to have a visible impact on the quality of government schools as well. When we asked the panchayat clerk (Villupuram, TN), how it was that teachers were always on time and teaching in government schools, he found it hard to comprehend our question; finally he said that if the teacher were to come an hour late, there would be four parents at the school demanding to know why he/she had come late.

In response to our question as to why things worked in TN, we were often told that there was a strong monitoring system which prevented theft, or slack. However, people weren?t able to tell us why the monitoring system had not fallen prey to corruption and collusion in TN, to the extent that it had in the north.

Rosy as all this might sound, one should not assume that there is no corruption there: we were told of a lab technician charging Rs. 5 to make an x-ray in the general hospital; the noon meal organizer said that it was possible to pilfer a little from the stocks that come for school children (but not too much); a thalaivar told us very candidly that he had to spend lakhs for his election campaign and equally openly told us that this money was spent on buying votes by distribution of ?sarees, shirts and drinks?.

In a situation where the Panchayat President is not paid any salary, it is not hard to guess how this money is recovered. The real mystery is how, in spite of the existence of corruption, public services in Tamilnadu remain functional in a way that few other Indian states have managed.

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Liqvid e-Learning seeks up to $10 million venture capital funding

Liqvid e-Learning seeks up to $10 million venture capital funding - Economic Times You are here: Home>Collections>Venture CapitalLiqvid e-Learning seeks up to $10 million venture capital fundingBiswarup Gooptu, ET Bureau Jan 21, 2014, 04.42AM ISTTags:venture capital funding|Liqvid e-Learning|educational software(Liqvid e-Learning is seeking…)

NEW DELHI: Educational software maker Liqvid e-Learning Services is seeking a second round of equity funding and has begun talks with a number of venture capital funds as investors show renewed interest in India's education services sector.

Liqvid, whose flagship product is the customised English language learning software EnglishEdge, is looking to raise up to $10 million (Rs 61.5 crore), and has held earlystage discussions with Matrix Partners India and Nexus Venture Partners, among others, according to people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

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A successful deal could value the company at about $50 million (Rs 307.4 crore). The company expects to use the funding to expand into international markets, including South-East Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America as well as build its mobile business.

Vivek Agarwal, cofounder and chief executive of Liqvid declined to comment on the proposed deal.

A spokeswoman for Nexus Venture Partners said the fund had not invested in Liqvid while Matrix Partners India did not respond to email queries on the deal.

In August 2012, the Noida-based company raised $3 million (Rs 18.4 crore) from a unit of one of Japan's largest investor firms, SBI Holdings. However, it could not be ascertained if SBI Holdings, which manages assets exceeding $3 billion (Rs 18,444 crore), will participate in this latest round.

The negotiations, if successful, will see venture capital make a comeback to the country's e-learning space. Barring British media group Pearson's 100% takeover of consumer internet services firm TutorVista last year, there have been few exits from the sector for investors.

"There has been a slowdown in the space, because there have been only a few large players that have emerged. Barring TutorVista, which catered to the US market, the others have found it hard to scale," said Raja Lahiri, partner at Grant Thornton India.

Participation by venture capital in India's broader education space also took a sharp plunge in 2013 when investments dropped to $13 million (Rs 79.9 crore) compared with $77 million (Rs 473.4 crore) invested in 2012, according to research firm Venture Intelligence. "The (e-learning) companies cannot focus simply on the domestic market, because it's not big enough for them to scale up," said Lahiri.

Founded in 2002, Liqvid, which has already made a foray into US and Singapore, caters to the consumer as well as enterprise markets. It counts the various Indian Institutes of Technologies, British Council, Cairn Energy and the Essar Group among its clientele.

body{margin:0px;}google_ad_client=\"ca-pub-8415620659137418\";google_ad_slot=\"3278470286\";google_ad_width=\"640\";google_ad_height=\"110\";google_ad_channel=\"9126527482,1000001862,1000000195\";google_adtest=\"off\";google_safe=\"high\";google_hints=\"venture capital tutorvista e-learning\";google_max_num_ads=\"2\";google_override_format=true;google_page_url=\"http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-21/news/46411340_1_matrix-partners-india-nexus-venture-partners-sbi-holdings\";");document.close();})();' frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="110">FEATURED ARTICLESBig Bazaar leases 50 trucks to sell products during the 3-day Republic Day saleHow Akshai Varde has made Vardenchi Motorcycles a Rs 1 crore remodelling businessLal Bahadur Shastri's grandson Adarsh Shastri leaves job at Apple to join AAPMore:Lal Bahadur Shastri's grandson Adarsh Shastri leaves job at Apple to join AAPLimited offer: SpiceJet, IndiGo cut fares by 50%; Air India, Jet, GoAir may followIncome Tax department puts HRA exemption under scannerAAP finally asks Somnath Bharti to mind his languageWant to withdraw from your provident fund account? Here's how!Google maps find alien 'spaceship' on Moon? body{margin:0px;}google_ad_client=\"ca-pub-8415620659137418\";google_ad_slot=\"4755203488\";google_ad_width=\"300\";google_ad_height=\"250\";google_ad_channel=\"9126527482,1000001862,1000000195\";google_adtest=\"off\";google_safe=\"high\";google_hints=\"venture capital tutorvista e-learning\";google_max_num_ads=\"4\";google_override_format=true;google_page_url=\"http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-21/news/46411340_1_matrix-partners-india-nexus-venture-partners-sbi-holdings\";");document.close();})();' frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="300" height="250"> RELATED ARTICLESVenture capital firm Kalaari closes $150 million...
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February 7, 2012IN-DEPTH COVERAGEVenture CapitalE-learningTutorvista© 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reservedIndex by Keyword|Index by Datewww.economictimes.comFeedback|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use|Advertise with us document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js' %3E%3C/script%3E")); COMSCORE.beacon({ c1:2, c2:6036484, c3:"", c4:"", c5:"", c6:"", c15:"" });

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IIM-Bangalore is India's No. 1 in business management research: Stanford Study

BANGALORE: A Stanford study of Indian universities, colleges and institutes puts the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) on top in the Business and Management Research category. Four other Bangalore institutes figure in the list.

The study was done by Prof Sharique Hasan of Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

He based the rankings of Indian institutes on productivity in social science research. The universities were ranked in these categories: sociology, demography and family studies, economics, psychology, and business and management.

The grading is based on the number of peer-reviewed articles produced by an institute and the number of citations these articles received. IIT-Delhi, IIM-Calcutta and Indian School of Business follow IIM-B in the top league.

While the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is ranked No. 10, the Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, is at No. 27.

The Institute of Social and Economic Change and National Institute of Advanced Studies, both from Bangalore, are ranked 16th and 31st in the Sociology, Demography and Family Studies category.

Prof Devanath Tirupati, director in charge, IIM-B, said: "The survey certainly reflects IIM-B's higher priority to research."

"The survey presents a comprehensive picture of where social science researchers in India are publishing. IIM-B's lead over others, within the Business and Management Research category, is an interesting quantification of the research being carried out in a wide number of areas within the institute," said Arnab Mukherji, assistant professor at IIM-B.

According to the researcher, raw data includes any article published in one of the 3,015 social science journals indexed by ISI. The author should be affiliated to a university or institute located in India, and should have published the article between 2000 and 2010.

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8 Indian-American high school students among Intel Science Talent Search competition finalists

8 Indian-American high school students among Intel Science Talent Search competition finalists - Economic Times You are here: Home>Collections>Research8 Indian-American high school students among Intel Science Talent Search competition finalistsPTI Jan 22, 2014, 10.32PM ISTTags:Vishnu Shankar|University of Chicago|Intel Science Talent Search competition|indian-american|Horace Greeley High School|Harker School(Eight Indian-American…)

WASHINGTON: Eight Indian-American high school students have been named as finalists in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition in the US.

In all 40 science students from across the nation have made it to the science competition for this year, which is considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious in the US.

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The eight who have made it to the list are Anubhav Guha and Preeti Kakani from New York, Rahul Siddharth Mehta from Chicago, Ajay Saini from Massachusetts, Vishnu Sarkar and Sreyas Misra from California, Anand Srinivasan from Georgia, and Parth Thakker from North Carolina.

The students are among the 40 finalists, who would gather in Washington from March 6-12 to compete for USD 630,000 in awards with the first-place winner receiving USD 100,000 from the Intel Foundation.

These 40 finalists were narrowed down from 300 semifinalists and nearly 1,800 entrants.

Guha from Horace Greeley High School in New York made it to the prestigious list for his research on "Discovery of Rare Earth Oxide Nanoparticles as Agents for Prolonging Fluorescence Imaging in Biological and Other Systems: Fluorescence Studies from Single Molecules and Dispersions."

Kakani from Jericho Senior High School in New York was selected for her research on differential Gene Expression Prior to Eye Opening in Mouse Superior Colliculus; while Rahul Siddharth Mehta from the University of Chicago Laboratory High School in Chicago made it to final round for his research on "A New Max-Flow Algorithm for Sparse Networks".

Ajay Saini from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Massachusetts was selected for his research on "Predictive Modeling of Opinion and Connectivity Dynamics in Social Networks".

Vishnu Shankar from Monta Vista High School in California was selected for his research on the "3D Structure of Human DP Prostaglandin G-protein Coupled Receptor Bound to Selective Antagonists from GEnSeMBLE Predictions".

Anand Srinivasan from Roswell High School in Georgia made it to the final list for his research "RNNScan: Eukaryotic Gene Prediction via Recurrent Neural Networks Utilising Local-Feature Extraction".

Parth Thakker from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham was selected for his research "Design, Assembly, and Optimisation of Novel ZnxSeAgy Biocompatible Quantum Dot Sensitised Solar Cells".

Sreyas Misra from the Harker School in California was given entry to the final for his research on "Design and Characterisation of a Novel Single-headed and Hand-held PET Camera Using 511 keV Photon Collimation via Compton Scatter".

body{margin:0px;}google_ad_client=\"ca-pub-8415620659137418\";google_ad_slot=\"3278470286\";google_ad_width=\"640\";google_ad_height=\"110\";google_ad_channel=\"9126527482,1000001867,1000000195\";google_adtest=\"off\";google_safe=\"high\";google_hints=\"predictive modeling north carolina school gene expression\";google_max_num_ads=\"2\";google_override_format=true;google_page_url=\"http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-22/news/46463047_1_40-finalists-intel-foundation-research\";");document.close();})();' frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="110">FEATURED ARTICLESBig Bazaar leases 50 trucks to sell products during the 3-day Republic Day saleHow Akshai Varde has made Vardenchi Motorcycles a Rs 1 crore remodelling businessLal Bahadur Shastri's grandson Adarsh Shastri leaves job at Apple to join AAPMore:Lal Bahadur Shastri's grandson Adarsh Shastri leaves job at Apple to join AAPLimited offer: SpiceJet, IndiGo cut fares by 50%; Air India, Jet, GoAir may followIncome Tax department puts HRA exemption under scannerAAP finally asks Somnath Bharti to mind his languageWant to withdraw from your provident fund account? Here's how!Google maps find alien 'spaceship' on Moon? body{margin:0px;}google_ad_client=\"ca-pub-8415620659137418\";google_ad_slot=\"4755203488\";google_ad_width=\"300\";google_ad_height=\"250\";google_ad_channel=\"9126527482,1000001867,1000000195\";google_adtest=\"off\";google_safe=\"high\";google_hints=\"predictive modeling north carolina school gene expression\";google_max_num_ads=\"4\";google_override_format=true;google_page_url=\"http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-22/news/46463047_1_40-finalists-intel-foundation-research\";");document.close();})();' frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="300" height="250"> RELATED ARTICLES10 Indian-American among 40 Intel science finalists
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Hippocampus raises $600,000 bridge round from existing investors

Hippocampus raises $600,000 bridge round from existing investors - Economic Times You are here: Home>Collections>Venture CapitalHippocampus raises $600,000 bridge round from existing investorsBiswarup Gooptu, ET Bureau Jan 21, 2014, 08.44PM ISTTags:Unitus Seed Fund|TutorVista|Lok Capital|Liqvid|Learning centres|investors|hippocampus|Acumen Fund(The proceeds from the latest…)

NEW DELHI: Hippocampus Learning Centres has raised $600,000 (Rs 3.5 crore) from its existing institutional investors, the Bangalore-based rural education services provider announced late on Tuesday.

The proceeds from the latest equity investment, which is a bridge round, will be used by Hippocampus Learning Centres to expand its network, particularly in the upcoming financial year. The company currently operates more than 100 rural learning centres across Karnataka, with a student base of about 3,000, a 3X increase from the previous school yea, according to a press release.

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Hippocampus' risk capital investors include, seed-stage venture capital fund, Unitus Seed Fund, social venture capital investor, Acumen Fund, and impact investment firm Lok Capital.

"We are excited about how the Hippocampus team has built a low-cost delivery model which can be profitable at a tuition fee of approximately Rs. 250 per month. Hippocampus is part of an emerging movement in India to bring high-value, affordable services to the masses," said Dave Richards, managing partner, Unitus Seed Fund.

In 2012, the company raised $1.5 million (Rs 9.2 crore) from Lok Capital and Acumen Fund. It was also among the first three seed-stage investments made by Bangalore and Seattle-based Unitus Seed Fund in the same year.

Last year, a senior company executive said that Hippocampus was in the process of raising a fresh round of capital, estimated to be about $5 million (Rs 30.8 crore).

Founded by IIT Madras alumni and former Infosys Technologies employee Umesh Malhotra in 2011, Hippocampus provides quality learning to children in rural India through its pre-school education centres.

Hippocampus expects to expand its enrollments to more than 7,500 students this coming year, the press release stated.

"With this new capital, we will be able to push forward with our expansion plans for the 2014-15 academic year and continue to invest in preparation for further scaling up," said Malhotra, chief executive of Hippocampus Learning Centres.

Early-to-mid stage risk capital firms have once again turned their gaze on India's education service providers. On Tuesday, ET was the first to report that Noida-based LIQVID e-Learning Services had entered into talks with a clutch of venture capital firms to raise up to $10 million in funding.

Separately, investors made a handsome exit from their investment in Bangalore-based TutorVista, after it was acquired by British media Group Pearson Plc last year. However, successes have been few and far in between.

Participation by venture capital in India's broader education space also took a sharp plunge in 2013 when investments dropped to just $13 million (Rs 79.9 crore), compared with $77 million (Rs 473.4 crore) invested in 2012, according to research firm Venture Intelligence.

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CAT 2013: IIM Indore sending scores of 700 students for verification and validation in batches

Shreya Biswas, ET Bureau Jan 24, 2014, 03.04PM IST

KOLKATA: Common Admission Test (CAT) scores of nearly 700 examinees for admission into the country's management institutes are being sent for verification and validation to Prometric, which conducts the tests, even as protests against a discrepancy in scores gain steam across the country.

Candidates across Indore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ranchi are preparing to file public interest litigations against the scores. They have already met the CAT convenor in Indore and some 20 CAT takers protested at IIM Ranchi on Monday.

A few days ago, MBA aspirants filed an online petition calling for a revaluation of scores, which they believe have discrepancies because of a skewed normalisation process. The country's premier management institutes, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), released the scores on January 14.

IIM aspirants' petition filed by Abhishek Leel and signed by 5000 candidates, addressed to IIM Indore on online forum Change.org, said many test takers got unexpectedly low scores in two sections, particularly in verbal ability. Some candidates found they secured more than 90 percentile in the quantitative aptitude section, but only around 30 percentile in the verbal ability section.

The petition also claims there are people who have regularly been scoring over 95 percentile for the past three years in CAT, but this year, their score has not even crossed 80 percentile. This would waste a full year for them as 80 percentile is not enough for admission to any institute.

CAT 2013 convenor, Rohit Kapoor, however, insists that the results are in order. "Though there is no provision for such verification and validation of scores, we are doing it only to help examines," he says. He also refuted the claim that 5,000 candidates have signed the online petition, claiming that the number of cases received through emails with unique registration numbers is 700.

Candidates also point to a case where a candidate has got an overall score of 55 percentile despite not attempting a single question which means that over 50per cent of CAT candidates have scored in the negative.

The way it works is, for 30 questions, each correct answer fetches a candidate three marks while an incorrect answer gets him or her -1. The raw scores are then normalised -- equated from different papers of various difficulty level based on a formula.

Kapoor says this is possible. "CAT was quite tough this year because we wanted only good people to come into the system. There were lot of complaints from people over the past few years that the difficulty level has gone down, so we worked on that," he says.

But Abhijeet Chandak, a CAT 2013 candidate, refutes this claim. "This time, I was much more confident that I will go past 90 in verbal ability and logical reasoning as the paper was not that difficult," says Chandak, a graduate engineer trainee in Gammon who scored 92.90 percentile in verbal ability and logical reasoning (VA & LR, section-II) in 2011 and 98.71 percentile in 2012 but his score dropped to 30.36 percentile in 2013.

  Kapoor, however, says in mock tests, the candidate pool is limited and question samples are fixed, whereas CAT is conducted over multiple days, with multiple sets of question papers. "To be fair to everybody, no one knows which question will come when," he says, adding, "Students are saying there is a calculation error but a computerised algorithm can't be wrong."

"It may be possible theoretically that over 50per cent candidates get scores in the negative. This can only happen if the difficulty level has gone up drastically this year," says Gautam Puri, co founder, Career Launcher, who has been taking the tests himself -- a common practice amongst caching institutes. But the normalisation process needs to be explained more clearly, he says.

Historically, CAT has had five to six errors in papers every year for the past 10 to 15 years, "which they have never accepted except in 2006," says Puri. "In GMAT, a test similar to CAT, you know at the end of the paper how many answers are right and how many wrong, while in CAT you can only know how many you have attempted," he says.

Prometric too denies any anomalies in the results. "For CAT 2013, we have conducted additional quality control to verify that 100per cent of our reporting is accurate and our methodology is fair, reliable and determines the right scores according to candidate performance," says Soumitra Roy, general manager, Prometric India.

As per IIM direction, it was the company's job to heighten the exam's difficulty, he says, adding, "As a consequence, only the best performing test takers earned the highest scores."

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