Indian Institute of Management-Tiruchirappalli, that completed one year of existence, has many dynamic plans for the upcoming academic year.

The eleventh Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the country, IIM, Tiruchirappalli, recently lowered the curtains on an eventful first year that began with Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal laying the foundation stone.

Functioning from the premises of National Institute of Technology – Tiruchi (NIT-T), the IIM-T has traversed a path that laid a strong foundation for academic and extra-curricular development under the chairmanship of former SEBI Chairman M. Damodaran.

The team of 12 faculty members has been drawn from other IIMs, IITs and reputed institutions from USA and France. Also, a multi-cultural environment has seamlessly been fused by the inaugural batch of 84 students chosen from various parts of the country based on their over 98.23 per cent score in the CAT exam, says Prafulla Agnihotri, director of the institute. Though the initial plan was to start off with a single batch of 60 students, the response was overwhelming, he added.

Ever since the academic journey commenced on June 15, 2011, students had ample avenues for intellectual pursuits. Insight, the guest lecture series has enabled students to access the expertise of several distinguished hands in the field of management. “By the end of the course, the students would have met 20 personalities representing industry and academia,” said Godwin Tennyson, Associate Professor.

Slated for start this January is the Institute Distinguished Lecture series. It will begin with a lecture by C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, to deliberate on matters that have an impact on the current socio-economic scene in the country, he said.

Besides, efforts to engage with universities abroad for student and faculty exchange programs and joint research ventures are also underway.

The institute also plans to build a faculty team of 20 members, making it the highest faculty strength among all the newly begun IIMs, Dr. Prafulla said.

Though the focus is on academics, the institute also provides the students with opportunities that add to their wholesome development. Confluence 2011, the annual management summit hosted by IIM Ahmedabad, was a national level platform for students of IIM-T to prove their mettle. Mohanraj Ganesan and Abhijit Mishra from the institute bagged the first place in the event titled Kings of Advertisements and were rewarded with Rs. 35,000.

In another event at the same meet, Winners of Sellers Devulapalli Sharath and Sudhakar Ayyagari won a cash prize of Rs. 15,000.

The in-house clubs dedicated to academic aspects such as marketing, finance and consultation are as popular as clubs for music, photography and other interests among the students.

IIM-T has plans to increase the number of its in-house programme offerings, apart from its Fellowship Programme in Management set to begin this academic year, Dr. Prafulla said, informing that international placement offers for summer internships have already been made to the students from reputed companies abroad.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/education/college-and-university/article2787549.ece

Some good institutes have a late deadline for admissions to MBA courses, and aspirants must grab their chance now

The proverbial CAT is out of the bag. With the Common Admission Test scores declared earlier this week – most of the Indian Institutes of Management have declared their shortlists for Stage Two – the entire crowd of over 1.8 lakh MBA aspirants who took the CAT are divided into two categories: those who still have a shot at the IIM dream, and those who did not make the cut this year.

Cut-offs for the IIMs are obviously high – ranging between 95 at the newer institutes and 99.9 percentile – and what students now need to start focussing on is their Plan B. Counsellors, teachers and experts are forever harping on the need for a proper Plan B.

This, they say, helps decrease the pressure on candidates, and of course, gives them something to fall back on if they have a bad testing day.

While many of the colleges have already finished with their application process and are ready with their post-CAT score round, there are several reputed institutes where admissions will still be open. Among the bigger brand names are the IITs – which joined the list of 180-odd institutes that use the CAT score this year – that will start calling for applications any time now.

Further, given that many may not make it to the IIMs, or are likely to not clear the second round involving Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD-PI), applying to these institutes is certainly a sound move to consider now.

Experts advice students to keep their eyes peeled for any developments, including call for applications or announcements from institutes, in the coming weeks.

Lower cut-offs

Says Ajay Arora, director of the Triumphant Institute of Management Education, “There are a certain number of institutes with deadlines as late as February. For instance, TAPMI (T.A. Pai Management Institute) has extended its date. Other institutes, with lower cut-offs (many in the range of 80 to 90), are also there where students can apply in the coming weeks.”

He adds that students need to now go about looking for data – online and offline – on cut-offs of institutes, their credentials such as placement and faculty qualification and experience, and fees.

Applying to every other institute in panic is not a very good idea either. Individual applications cost between Rs. 1,200 and Rs. 1,500. So it is a good idea to do your research and select the most appropriate college.

Check it out

Experts advice that candidates should first check last year’s cut-off marks to gauge their chances of getting into any particular institute. These cut-offs are available with consultants and coaching centres and even on several websites that focus on management education. A good way to go about finding out is to approach the alumni of these institutes.

Says Gaurav Prashad, an MBA graduate from Symbiosis, “The best way is to contact alumni through social networking or register at www.pagalguy.com and similar websites that cater to this segment. It is fairly easy there to track alumni or current batches of the institute and get a fair idea of what cut-offs were. In the process, you may also end up getting some sound advice on how to go about preparing for the admission round, not to mention revealing information on the shortfalls of the institute.”

He adds that students are often naive and do not go looking beyond websites and brochures, which lands them in bad institutes.

Whatever you do, first check the affiliation of the institute, says Nirad, a CAT enthusiast who continues to linger on these education forums on the web well after MBA.

“I have heard of cases where institutes are affiliated to the Distance Education Councils of State Universities but are posing as full-time courses. Students have to exercise caution before they apply,” he explains.

Mr. Arora says that a good way to go about it is to go for the major cities (chances of placement are higher), look at the faculty credentials and then look at the brand name of the college or its standing in the education sector. “A visit to the institute could help too.”

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/education/issues/article2801406.ece

WASHINGTON — The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds aren’t going to preschool.

Kids from low-income families who start kindergarten without first attending a quality education program enter school an estimated 18 months behind their peers. Many never catch up, and research shows they are more likely to need special education services and to drop out. Kids in families with higher incomes also can benefit from early education, research shows.

Yet, roughly a quarter of the nation’s 4-year-olds and more than half of 3-year-olds attend no preschool, either public or private. Families who earn about $40,000 to $50,000 annually face the greatest difficulties because they make too much to quality for many publicly funded programs, but can’t afford private ones, said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

And as more students qualify for free or reduced lunch – often a qualifier to get into a state-funded prekindergarten program – many families are finding that slots simply aren’t available, he said.

In Arizona, a block grant that funded prekindergarten for a small percentage of kids was cut altogether, although a separate public fund still supports some programs. In Georgia, a drop in state lottery dollars meant shaving 20 days off the prekindergarten school year. Proposed cuts in such programs have led to litigation in North Carolina and legislative battles in places like Iowa.

But even in states like New York, where state funding available for prekindergarten has remained relatively steady in recent years, fewer children have access to the programs because inflation has made them more expensive or districts can’t come up with the required matching dollars, said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education in Albany, N.Y.

Today’s climate contrasts with that of 2007, when then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer promised universal, public prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Other governors made similar commitments when the economy was stronger.

Far from meeting Spitzer’s goal, just 40 percent of 4-year-olds attend a state-funded prekindergarten program in about two-thirds of the state’s school districts, according to the advocacy group Winning Beginning NY.

“I think it’s a moment in time when we have to really push harder,” Easton said. “Pre-K is proven to be the most effective education strategy that we can invest in. What it means is that because we failed to live up to our commitment so far to our youngest children, more of them will end up out of work or they will make less money than they would’ve otherwise and more of them will end up in prison.”

Barnett’s institute has estimated it would cost about $70 billion annually to provide full-day prekindergarten to every 3- and 4-year old in America, including before- and after-care services.

About 40 states fund prekindergarten programs, typically either in public schools or via funds paid to private grantees, for at least some children. That’s in addition to the federal Head Start program, which is designed to serve extremely poor children and offers a broader range of social services. In some places, state-funded prekindergarten and Head Start programs are combined.

Typically, state-funded prekindergarten programs have a narrower focus on education and cognitive development and serve a broader population than the federal Head Start program, which serves nearly 1 million kids.

In Wisconsin, school districts that offer prekindergarten to 4-year-olds must offer it universally, and roughly 90 percent of districts do. But budget cuts mean districts are forced to make other changes like increasing the size of pre-K classes.

“Unfortunately, as the awareness and the need (for early learning) becomes more and more evident, our money gets tighter and tighter and tighter and more programs are not instituted in those areas,” said Miles Turner, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.

Three states offer prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds, according to Pre-K Now, a decade-long project of the Pew Center on the States.

The District of Columbia goes a step further, with universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds. The program is viewed by many as not just a way to help low-income children in the historically low-performing district, but also as a driver to keep middle- and upper-class families in the city and the school system.

At D.C.’s Powell Elementary School, 3- and 4-year-olds sit cross-legged with whiteboards and black markers in hand as teacher Laura Amling belts out, “Up, down, up, down” over classical music. The tots scribble marks similar to an “M” at her command.

This program is not child care. The schedule is filled with Spanish and other lessons, including “buddy reading,” with kids describing books to one another.

The kids eat breakfast and lunch family style, so they learn proper etiquette. Songs are sung as the children move to activities to help curb behavior problems. Teachers teach children coping skills and make home visits to bond with parents and children.

While it’s too early to know the long-term impact, Principal Janeece Docal says kindergarteners with a pre-K background are writing sentences and discussing books with 3rd-grade level content.

“They trust their teachers. They love their friends,” Docal said. “They are invested in their education and you can see that they own that classroom.”

Added Amling, “They want to learn and they are really so happy.”

Over the past decade, state dollars for prekindergarten more than doubled nationally to $5.1 billion, while at the same time access increased from a little more than 700,000 children to more than 1 million, according to Pre-K Now.

But cuts in state-funded programs began showing up in the 2009-10 school year, according to Barnett’s group. He said he’s concerned not just that fewer children will be served, but that the quality of the programs will also be affected.

Still, early childhood learning advocates say they are encouraged, in part, because of a recent federal emphasis on improving early childhood programs.

Nine states were awarded a collective $500 million in grants last month to improve access to and the quality of early childhood programs for kids from birth to age 5. A month earlier, President Barack Obama announced new rules under which lower-performing Head Start programs will have to compete for funding.

Not everyone is convinced it’s worth the cost.

Chester E. Finn Jr., president of Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, said the government should tightly target its resources on families who really need the prekindergarten programs and otherwise aren’t going to get them.

Finn, who has written a book about preschool policy, said Obama’s effort on Head Start is a beginning, but more needs to be done. Finn also questioned whether the government was capable of funding universal prekindergarten at a quality level.

“What the universal programs do is they provide an unnecessary windfall for a lot of families that are otherwise doing this on their own just fine, or pretty well, and not enough for kids who really need it,” Finn said.

Richard M. Clifford, senior scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said other developed countries – including much of Europe – provide prekindergarten programs.

“Kids come into the regular school better prepared to succeed in school,” Clifford said. “In the long term, eventually, I think you’ll see all 4-year-olds be eligible for pre-K in this country, but it will take a long time.”

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/recession-slows-growth-in_n_1210397.html?ref=education

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