Countries which do best have a culture which supports education, says report
Click to read:
http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/uk-education-comes-sixth-global-league-table-130000692.html
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
UK education comes sixth in global league table
Click to read:
http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/uk-education-comes-sixth-global-league-table-130000692.html
Monday, 12 November 2012
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Graduate wage 'premium' cut by a fifth in just 10 years
Graduate wage “premiums” have slumped over the last decade because of a lack of jobs, pay freezes and rising levels of student debt, a major report has found.
By Graeme Paton | Telegraph – Wed, Nov 7, 2012 15:38 GMTClick to read the rest:
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/graduate-wage-premium-cut-fifth-153839150.html
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Why Management & Engineering Education in India Stinks Archie D’Souza | Sunday, 14 October 2012, 10:31 IST|
What do the letters MBA or M/B E/Tech. mean? Are they passports to high paid jobs? During my corporate life I must have
interviewed over a thousand management and over two hundred engineering graduates
from across the country. I haven’t found
even one percent of them employable.
And, that 1%, why do they have to apply for commercial jobs in the
airline or freight forwarding industries?
India today has close to 4000 management colleges with over 3.5 lakh
seats and an even higher number of engineering colleges offering 15 lakh seats. We pride ourselves on having the greatest
pool of technical personnel in the world.
What exactly do these so-called engineers and managers amount to?
An MBA graduate I interviewed recently wasn’t able to frame even a
simple sentence at a written test I gave him.
When I queried him about how he passed his MBA, he said he never
understood a word the teacher said in class.
All he did was learn certain answers by rote and reproduce them at the
examination. He could neither speak nor
write in English. He read with great
difficulty a passage from a Std. VII text and wasn’t able to translate it into
Malayalam. Most of the peons I’d hired
over the years could express themselves better than he in English. Where does such a person get employed?
I have a group of engineering graduates in my logistics
class. I was trying to explain to the
class how an injection-moulded product is made.
I asked the class a question about how poly-ethylene granules are made
expecting the answer from the so called engineers. I must say I was extremely disappointed. Most of the class, including the BEs thought
that plastic was mined from the ground like copper or iron ore. A few who didn’t think didn’t even know what
mining was. I’m talking about a group of
university graduates wishing to make a career in international logistics.
In India as elsewhere, students enrol in colleges hoping to acquire
a good education and, after graduating, a good job, which offers handsome pays
and perks. Because of the demand for
engineering and management graduates there are many aspirants and there has
been a proliferation of institutions offering these streams. In addition, there are institutions offering
an integrated BE/Tech & MBA programme.
But, has this improved the educational levels?
The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) chairman Mr.
SS Mantha told the Times of India (see TOI AUG 13, 2012) that “Colleges in
remote India and institutes of poor quality are not getting students. And for
colleges, there is just one key to attracting students: institutes need to be
top-of-the-line colleges. There is no payoff in running a bad college.” There have been several studies on this
subject and I’ve posted some of them in the blog. So what we see are MBAs and
engineering graduates not fit to be clerks.
After all what does it take to become and engineering or
management graduate? Mug up answers to
about a hundred questions. There are
question banks available for you.
Reproduce these and presto! You’ve can put a BTech or MBA after your
name. Lack of quality education has
resulted in there being an army of unemployable youth.
So, what are the remedies?
·
Many would suggest that we
limit the number of MBAs, but that would be a very politically unpopular
decision. But, raising the standard
ought not to be.
·
I think the BBA programme
should be abolished altogether. It doesn’t
make sense. Management and Law should be
PG disciplines
·
A person should have 3
years of mandatory industrial experience before s/he seeks a management degree
·
Every semester, for engineering
and management, should a compulsory 2 month internship period
·
At least 50% (I would
prefer 100%) of the faculty members in both engineering and management colleges
should have a minimum of 10 years industrial experience
·
Raise the salary levels of
instructors to industry standards to attract the best talent into teaching. Several management colleges have started this
practice and the results are very heartening
·
Consider a person’s
industrial experience akin to qualifications.
E.g. a person who’s been in a management position for 10 years should be
recognised as an MBA and allowed to teach in MBA programmes
·
Raise the level of teacher
training
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Thursday, 20 September 2012
India Rated Worst Asian Country for Entrepreneurship: 6 Reasons Say Why By SiliconIndia | Wednesday, 19 September 2012, 16:51 IST |
(I have quoted from the article with my comments being in a slightly bigger font)
Bangalore: India known
for its talent tank, most of them who work for big organizations like NASA,
Microsoft and the tech bellwethers and manufacturing giants it has produced
over the years. Though India has seen many entrepreneurial ventures, it is
still the worst for entrepreneurship in Asia, according to a Gallup poll. The
reasons behind this are pointed to be widespread corruption, government
hurdles, lack of funding and poor technology and training, which results in low efficiency and high
start-up costs in India. So what are the major factors
that let down India in this poll? Let’s take a sneak peak
The so-called “talent tank” has been created nor because of but in spite
of the education system. Other than a
miniscule number of educational institutions quality education is unknown in
India. You start with a headline and the
cite organisations like NASA, Microsoft, etc. People working in these “tech
bellwethers” were never interested in entrepreneurship in the first place. So, please don’t cite them as examples. The reason why you see so many people in
these organisations is because of the population and the high number of
graduates being churned out by degree factories (I refuse to call them
universities) each year.
The number that
represents those working in big US organisations is a very tiny percentage of
the Indian graduate (I refuse to use the word educated) community which is but
a microscopic percentage of the nation’s population.
Widespread corruption, government hurdles and other factors mentioned
are facts that haven’t deterred entrepreneurs from starting and running very
successful businesses. The only country
in the World having a greater percentage of its population engaged in
entrepreneurship activities is Thailand.
This makes India the nation with the largest population of entrepreneurs
in the World. Gallup should be looking
at the United States where the number of entrepreneurs are actually coming down
and ask why that is happening. Maybe
corrective measures need to be taken there.
Willingness
to take the risk of running a business is not a common trait among Indians
Qualities required in entrepreneurs such as business thinking, optimism and persistence are common among Indians. But the most important part which is the willingness to take the risk of running a business is rare.
Qualities required in entrepreneurs such as business thinking, optimism and persistence are common among Indians. But the most important part which is the willingness to take the risk of running a business is rare.
As I stated
earlier, India has more entrepreneurs than any other country in the World. An aversion to risk would not have lead to
this.
The report said, “More than 60% of the Indian
population possesses personality traits that are crucial for success as an
entrepreneur - such as business thinking (69%), optimism (66%), and persistence
(65%) - which suggests a wealth of entrepreneurial capacity. However, willingness to take the risk of
running a business is not a common trait among a majority of Indians.”
Isn’t that so contradictory? I just need to repeat what I said in the
previous paragraph.
Reliable support from honest and efficient
government institutions is essential
According to the poll, around 46 percent of Indians say the government is the biggest hindrance in starting a business. More than seventy percent believed corruption is widespread in the government. More than sixty percent agreed that corruption is widespread in business. This view was particularly high among current business owners (72 percent) and those planning to start a business in the next 12 months (80 percent).
According to the poll, around 46 percent of Indians say the government is the biggest hindrance in starting a business. More than seventy percent believed corruption is widespread in the government. More than sixty percent agreed that corruption is widespread in business. This view was particularly high among current business owners (72 percent) and those planning to start a business in the next 12 months (80 percent).
Who exactly has
been polled? Tell me, how many of those
polled wanted to be entrepreneurs in the first place? While corruption in government is a fact that
can’t be wished away, there is much more corruption in private and
non-government public life. Has this
stopped the entrepreneurial class? Has
it deterred determined start-ups? The
fact that “corruption is widespread in business” has spurred rather than held
back a lot of would-be entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs need more diversified, localized
funding at the initial stage
The most helpful factor in becoming an entrepreneur in India is access to financial support. The study said, “The key problem for entrepreneurs seems to be less about the availability of funding and more about finding the right type of funding.
The most helpful factor in becoming an entrepreneur in India is access to financial support. The study said, “The key problem for entrepreneurs seems to be less about the availability of funding and more about finding the right type of funding.
Again another great
fallacy. I know of communities that fund
start-ups for fellow community members almost at the drop of a hat. People who don’t belong to these communities
also have access to funds. Sometimes, it
may take a little time to get to know about these sources. Please tell me about a viable venture that
has not taken off because of lack of funds.
The majority of existing venture capital funds for start-ups are focused on export-oriented IT or mobile solutions.” There
are only very few venture capital funds facilitating startups that offer the
high-demand products and services in the healthcare or energy sectors in
India's massive domestic market.
This is perhaps the
only factual statement in this study.
However, funds are available of every sector.
Foreign investors need to understand India's
business culture
Another problem with funding is that the foreign investors pay no attention to India's unique market demands, talent supply and business culture. They often make wrong assumptions based on what has worked well in their home countries.
Additionally, in Indian startups there is a lack of angel funding and investor participation in companies’ management. Venture capitalists in India prefer to only finance expansion of existing businesses, rather than funding a start-up from scratch.
Another problem with funding is that the foreign investors pay no attention to India's unique market demands, talent supply and business culture. They often make wrong assumptions based on what has worked well in their home countries.
Additionally, in Indian startups there is a lack of angel funding and investor participation in companies’ management. Venture capitalists in India prefer to only finance expansion of existing businesses, rather than funding a start-up from scratch.
What exactly are
the pollsters trying to say in this statement?
Tell me, where can you do business without understanding the culture of
that place?
Indian entrepreneurs need more access to training
and mentorship
The report also said that only 22 percent of Indians who plan to start their business in the next 12 months have access to formal or informal training to start a business - which is much lower than the Asia average of 44 percent. Also there are not many entrepreneurs who offer their success stories for the young entrepreneurs to learn.
The report also said that only 22 percent of Indians who plan to start their business in the next 12 months have access to formal or informal training to start a business - which is much lower than the Asia average of 44 percent. Also there are not many entrepreneurs who offer their success stories for the young entrepreneurs to learn.
Almost every
management institute has a so-called entrepreneurship cell. The problem is that people manning them are
not capable of any kind of assistance.
Tell me, which entrepreneurship venture has been stopped because those
who wanted to start it lacked training?
Finding trusted partners is another big problem
According to the survey, only 16 percent of Indians say that a non-relative can be a trusted business partner. Also there is a lack of judicial infrastructure to protect the trusting relationship between entrepreneurs and business partners or between entrepreneurs and customers.
According to the survey, only 16 percent of Indians say that a non-relative can be a trusted business partner. Also there is a lack of judicial infrastructure to protect the trusting relationship between entrepreneurs and business partners or between entrepreneurs and customers.
A great fallacy to
conclude.
Click here to read the original article
http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/India-Rated-Worst-Asian-Country-for-Entrepreneurship-6-Reasons-Say-Why-nid-129624-cid-100.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=r2
Monday, 10 September 2012
What ails mainstream education and some remedies - Archie D'Souza - upadted today
Click to read
http://sunriseacademyonline.blogspot.in/2012/08/what-ails-mainstream-education-and-some.html
http://www.sify.com/finance/the-6-4-billion-business-that-are-india-s-cram-schools-imagegallery-others-mjls0vdijge.html?fod=textonly&story=7#galname
http://sunriseacademyonline.blogspot.in/2012/08/what-ails-mainstream-education-and-some.html
The $6.4 billion business that are India's cram schools
http://www.sify.com/finance/the-6-4-billion-business-that-are-india-s-cram-schools-imagegallery-others-mjls0vdijge.html?fod=textonly&story=7#galname
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
What ails mainstream education and some remedies - Archie D'Souza
I was attracted to a headline on July 6, 2012 which
read “Class Act: In India
Private Coaching is a $ 6.5 b Business” on the first page of the Business
Line. This, I thought, is a symptom of a
great malaise our nation, not just the education system, faces. Is this, though, some malignant incurable
disease? If what this report calls shadow education is a $ 6.5 b business,
which owes its existence to the under-performance of our school and higher
education system, there is also a parallel education system for which numbers
are not available; a system which is doing a great deal of good for job-seekers
and the economy as a whole.
The main problem with mainstream education is that the
system is geared and oriented with one goal in mind – securing a maximum amount
of marks, neglecting altogether acquiring of knowledge & skills, developing
an analytic mind (thinking, by the way, is discouraged in most schools and
colleges in the country) and inculcating the right values. This is where the parallel education system
comes in – a system that should have been a part of the mainstream but, because
of its absence there, has been filled by lacs, maybe crores, of
institutions/academies offering skills and knowledge needed by industry.
I happen to be part of such an institution, Sunrise
Academy of Management Studies (SAMS), situated in Kochi, Kerala. SAMS has been set up, not be academicians or
politicians, but by people from the corporate sector. Several studies conducted by central &
state government bodies as well as others mention the skills gaps that need to
be filled to make young people, including graduates & post-graduates,
employable. SAMS is a quest to do just
that in areas like Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Hotel
Management, Property Management and other areas.
An article by Vinod Agarwal on the editorial page of
the July 7 issue of the same publication deals with the supply chain challenge
and how to meet it http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/article3610114.ece .It mentions the great deal of investments
being made in logistics infrastructure. The
founders of SAMS, who have come from this and related industries, know exactly
the skill-sets needed in the logistics sector.
SAMS hopes to contribute skilled, knowledgeable and qualified
professionals through a unique set of certificate and diploma programmes.
It was Gandhiji who said that education should be of
the heart, head and hand. Unfortunately,
our mainstream education does not follow this great message of the Father of
the Nation. All it does is orient
students towards examinations right from kindergarten to post-graduation. The ability to cram useless subjects and
reproduce them in an examination is the basis of student assessment. Languages are part of the syllabus but
several students don’t learn to speak or write, several B.Com graduates can’t
do simple calculations and MBAs lack communication skills. These two links give interesting perspectives on the subject
The end-result is a huge population of qualified unemployable
youngsters.
I am not for a moment suggesting that every subject listed
in school and university syllabi are useless.
Many are indeed useful. However,
thanks to faulty delivery methods, students end up learning nothing. Several educational institutions are set up
by people who lack the values needed and this fact is reflected in the manner
in which these institutions are run. Teachers
lack the training needed to discover talent and inculcate it. This is mainly because those who take up
teaching do so because they weren’t able to get jobs elsewhere.
Let me list out two examples from personal experience.
- I was addressing a group of MBAs who were embarking on a career in Logistics. In a hall filled with about 200 people, I couldn’t find 50 who could read a map or locate a place on Earth. Less than 20 knew more than 5% of the capitals of countries on a list given. I didn’t even try to test them on world’s currencies. The concept of time-zones was alien to them. These are MBAs embarking on a career in logistics.
- Less than 5% of the graduates I come across know the basics of the subjects they’ve graduated in and less than 1% can communicate in English and this includes those who’ve come from ICSE and CBSE schools.
Universities across the country churn out lacs of
Engineering and Management graduates. Are
these graduates fit for employment? In my
corporate career I must have interviewed hundreds of these graduates and found
most of them with no employable skills what-so-ever. These frustrated individuals take up jobs
which are in no way related to their qualifications.
So, what is the remedy for
this?
- Raise the pay-scales of teachers so that the best talent is attracted to the profession
- Raise the level of teacher training and ensure that training is a continuous process throughout the teachers’ careers
- Encourage people from the corporate sector to take up teaching, especially after retirement. The corporate experience should make up for lack of qualifications. Bring in the Gandhian principles of education of the hand, heart and head
- The vocational education sector should be accorded due recognition
- Great emphasis should be laid on sports and extra-curricular activities
- MBA programmes should concentrate on people skills rather than lectures
- Close interaction between education and agriculture/industry will ensure that society benefits from jointly developed degree syllabi
- The methodology of teaching must change. The emphasis should be on knowledge and skills not performance in examinations
- Instructors in institutions of higher education should have a minimum 3 years corporate experience. For management and engineering this should be 5 years
- 25% of the time a student spend should be on industrial training
- Have a system of refresher courses for teachers to ensure that their skill and knowledge levels are always at the highest level
If the instructions in schools is of the right quality
and teachers are paid well. The shadow education system will die a natural
death.
Today September 10, I have added two more interesting links:
http://jobs.siliconindia.com/career-news/Top-Degrees-Picked-By-HR-Experts-While-Recruiting-nid-127079.html
http://jobs.siliconindia.com/career-news/Top-5-College-Majors-With-Highest-Unemployment-Rates-nid-127726.html
Top Degrees Picked By HR Experts While Recruiting
By SiliconIndia | Wednesday, 22 August 2012, 17:54 IST |
http://jobs.siliconindia.com/career-news/Top-Degrees-Picked-By-HR-Experts-While-Recruiting-nid-127079.html
Top 5 College Majors With Highest Unemployment Rates
By SiliconIndia | Wednesday, 29 August 2012, 15:42 IST | 5 Comments
http://jobs.siliconindia.com/career-news/Top-5-College-Majors-With-Highest-Unemployment-Rates-nid-127726.html
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