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More news →Students skip exam at DTU
The student agitation at Delhi Technological University made its biggest impact so far, on Monday. Ninety-eight per cent of the total students boycotted their mid-semester examination. The peace and quiet on the campus on Monday, ironically, was the most troubling indicator of the unrest. "Roughly 65 students out of 2,900 across all undergraduate programmes appeared for the exam. The morning shift was attended by only seven candidates," said a university official. The press statement issued by DTU, however, pegged the attendance at 88 students. Students may have been conspicuous by their absence, but worried parents made their presence felt. Many, interestingly, had come without their wards just to keep tab on the response to the call for boycott. "The students are not being unreasonable. Would IIT be the same if it becomes a state university and its name is changed altogether?" asked Dr Prashant Borkar, whose son in first year also gave the exam a miss. Borkar's son, however, was not at home. He was at the Swarn Jayanti Park (Japanese Park) Rohini along with nearly 800 other DTU students to express his solidarity. "We have submitted a representation to the DU V-C asking him to reschedule the examination," said a student. On Monday, the varsity attempted to break the deadlock in vain. Mid-semester exams, according to press release, will be held on Tuesday too.
Indian student visas fall by half in Australia
The number of Indians granted student visas in Australia during the last financial year has fallen to 29,721, less than half of the number in 2008-09. Overall, the number of international student visas dropped more than 16 percent. The results follow a year of turmoil in the education sector, with legislative changes, the global financial crisis and student security issues putting pressure on student numbers, The Age newspaper reported Thursday. In 2008-09, 65,503 Indian passport holders were granted Australian student visas across all education sectors. But in 2009-10, the number fell to just 29,721. Overall, 50,540 fewer international students were granted visas to study in Australia in 2009-10 compared with 2008-09. A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Chris Evans said despite the fall, Australia was still receiving large numbers of applications for student visas, but that “the government understands it is a difficult environment for the international education sector at the moment”. She said the government had made changes to “protect the quality of education Australia offers and ensure the skilled migration programme is more responsive to the nation’s skills needs”. “Education is a major export market for Australia and there must be a focus on the quality of the export, not just numbers of students enrolling in courses,” the spokeswoman said. Stephen Connelly, president of the International Education Association of Australia, said the drop was not surprising but very worrying. “There is so much goodwill we generate from having international students in our country, and we are absolutely shooting ourselves in the foot at the moment,” he said. Connelly said the government and opposition had sent negative messages to potential students during the federal election campaign and work had to begin on improving Australia’s reputation. If the problems were not tackled quickly, Connelly said, there would be a further significant drop in student numbers. “Applications being received by agents would indicate that the numbers will go down even further. There’s a lot more pain in store, I would say.” But he played down the significance of student security issues, which flared up in Victoria last year following a series of allegedly racist attacks on Indian students. “(Student security) would be lower down on the list of reasons than the difficulties of getting a visa and the lack of differentiation among providers,” Connelly said. National Union of Students president Carla Drakeford said: “International student decline is dangerous for the university sector – not only because it creates a hole in university funding, but also because of the innate value international students bring to our community and higher education sector.” Drakeford said student security, accommodation and cost of living were all contributing factors in the drop, but she welcomed the government’s recent legislative changes designed to weed out “dodgy” providers. Matt McGowan, Victorian secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, said the drop had “very real potential to undermine the financial viability of some of our universities and other education providers”. The acting chief executive of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, Claire Field, agreed that the government needed to act quickly to reverse the decline. “The current and projected downturn in international student numbers is placing our economy, our education industry, and Australian jobs at risk.”
Indian student visa applications for Canada rising
At a time when countries like Britain and Australia are seeing an unprecedented rise in student visa applications from India, Canada is not concerned about this as it has seen a 100 percent rise in applications, a diplomat here said Sunday. “During the last few years, we have seen a 100 percent increase in the number of Indian students applying for study visa’s to Canada. We do not see any threat in the unprecedented rise, rather it’s an issue that how we manage all this,” Canada’s consul general here, Scott Slessor, told reporters. “Students are welcome to Canada but at the same time we have to check the authenticity of their documents,” he added. The UK Border Agency had stopped taking applications for some time after it received a record number of applications from the Punjab region. Similarly, Australia has also tightened its rules to keep a tab on unscrupulous and non-serious students. “India is one of the biggest sources of international students to Canada. Canadian institutes are known for their world-class infrastructure and international exposure. That is why we are seeing a surge in the number of Indian students applying for study visas every year,” said Slessor. He also said that the Canadian government is continuously monitoring the quality of the institutes. “The education sector is booming in Canada. But our universities and colleges are not coming up overnight. There is a regulatory authority in Canada that keeps a tab on the status of quality education. There are very strict rules that every institution has to follow,” Slessor pointed out. Slessor inaugurated a Canadian education road show, which was organised by city-based Canam Consultants Limited. More than 500 students participated in the event. Slessor said after China, India is probably Canada’s biggest source of international students. Gurbans Sobti, trade commissioner of the Canadian consulate here, said: “Last year, around 5,600 Indian students had gone to Canada for higher studies and we are expecting this number to considerably increase this year. From China, there were 15 percent to 20 percent more students who go to Canada for studies.”
Harvard Student's Post Goes Viral On Jayalalithaa
{"items":[{"type":"image","title":"","description":"","images":[{"name":"Harvard Student's Post Goes Viral On Jayalalithaa","url":"harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_z5HG.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/entertainment\/tamil\/harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_z5HG.jpg"},{"name":"Harvard Student's Post Goes Viral On Jayalalithaa","url":"harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_GMfx.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/entertainment\/tamil\/harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_GMfx.jpg"},{"name":"Harvard Student's Post Goes Viral On Jayalalithaa","url":"harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_7Rsb.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/entertainment\/tamil\/harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_7Rsb.jpg"},{"name":"Harvard Student's Post Goes Viral On Jayalalithaa","url":"harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_AkSz.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/entertainment\/tamil\/harvard-students-post-goes-viral-on-jayalalithaa_AkSz.jpg"}]}],"description":"A Harvard student's Facebook post on J Jayalalithaa, the powerful Tamil Nadu Chief Minister who died on Monday, has been shared over 30,000 times since it was posted on Tuesday morning.\n\nJayalalithaa, 68, was buried with state honours at Chennai's Marina Beach yesterday, next to the man who starred with her in many films and brought her into politics, MG Ramachandran or MGR. \n\nLakhs of people paid their respects to the film actor-turned-politician who became one of India's most influential politicians.\n\nRead the Facebook post below\n\n\"She was only 16 years old when she starred opposite M.G.R in Ayirathil Oruvan. The entire cast & crew would stand up every time the veteran actor walked in, but the Church Park educated, English speaking Jayalalitha sat there with her legs crossed, reading her book. It was this audacity that went on to define the rest of her political career. Obviously, she was a charming, multi-faceted actor who was trained in various dance forms. But not so obviously, she was well read and witty, she was intelligent and she knew it. It was not merely her affair with MGR that drew her to politics, it was her prolific ability to speak in English & Hindi with an intellect that could match an economist. When MGR died, she sat conspicuously at his head for an entire two days, relegating his wife Janaki to a sidelined spot. Janaki\u2019s aids tried to push her away, in fact pinched her, stepped on her feet, but she refused to budge. When she got on to the carriage for the final procession, she was visibly pushed off it in front of all television cameras. This effrontery was what would help her survive all those years of politics that would follow. The entire party split into two after MGR\u2019s death, but four years later united under her leadership to form one formidable opposition.\n\nShe won against all odds. She was a white skinned Brahmin in a party that thrived due to its Dravidian anti-class rhetoric. She was a glamorous actor who cannot, by definition, be taken seriously. Above all, she was a woman trying to ascend to power in 1980s in Tamilnadu. An unmarried, childless woman. To put it in context, she was not only walking a path of thorns, she did it in an oxygen less chamber while her arms and legs were tied. It\u2019s a feat that she survived at all, not to mention that she actually thrived. In 1989, when she opposed Karunanidhi\u2019s presentation of the budget, she was almost disrobed in the assembly. This was in addition to being the recipient of lewd comments and hair pulling. This is probably the highest documented insult that a woman has ever faced in a state Assembly. Yet she persisted. She came out of that incident more guarded than ever before. She wrapped herself in layers of clothing and stopped wearing any jewelry at all. She succeeded at \u2018desexualizing\u2019 herself and branded herself as \u2018amma\u2019 (mother), the only known way to gain respect in that highly testosterone filled environment.\n\nEveryone knows her as the person who silences opposition and who creates sycophants who fall at her feet and worship her. This was the only possible way she could command, consolidate and hold on to the otherwise elusive power. If she was any more cordial than this, she might have as well been an airhostess.\n\nShe played popular politics. When the DMK promised laptops, she provided table fans, mixers and grinders instead all branded with her cherubic photograph on it. She accumulated disproportionate assets in 1996, and has faced her share of atonement. However, no one else, not even men, could have been a formidable opposition to the DMK that has systematized corruption and nepotism in ways that she couldn\u2019t. Forget her followers who baselessly immolate themselves or cut off their fingers in a spree of blind devotion towards her. I have spoken to several civil servants of the state who claim they function with lesser interference under her leadership than under the other party.\n\nAnd with four and a half years of her term left, there is no single leader that can fill her void. It will be several years, even decades, before another woman can even remotely achieve what she did in a state like Tamilnadu. Now her statues will come up all over the state, and for once I\u2019m glad. In a few generations, all that will matter is that there is a woman\u2019s statue as well, and that statue is not a mere kannagi who was venerated because she was a perfect wife, but of a woman who was a true and powerful leader of her own merit and her own making.\"","content_text":"A Harvard student's Facebook post on J Jayalalithaa, the powerful Tamil Nadu Chief Minister who died on Monday, has been shared over 30,000 times since it was posted on Tuesday morning.\n\nJayalalithaa, 68, was buried with state honours at Chennai's Marina Beach yesterday, next to the man who starred with her in many films and brought her into politics, MG Ramachandran or MGR. \n\nLakhs of people paid their respects to the film actor-turned-politician who became one of India's most influential politicians.\n\nRead the Facebook post below\n\n\"She was only 16 years old when she starred opposite M.G.R in Ayirathil Oruvan. The entire cast & crew would stand up every time the veteran actor walked in, but the Church Park educated, English speaking Jayalalitha sat there with her legs crossed, reading her book. It was this audacity that went on to define the rest of her political career. Obviously, she was a charming, multi-faceted actor who was trained in various dance forms. But not so obviously, she was well read and witty, she was intelligent and she knew it. It was not merely her affair with MGR that drew her to politics, it was her prolific ability to speak in English & Hindi with an intellect that could match an economist. When MGR died, she sat conspicuously at his head for an entire two days, relegating his wife Janaki to a sidelined spot. Janaki\u2019s aids tried to push her away, in fact pinched her, stepped on her feet, but she refused to budge. When she got on to the carriage for the final procession, she was visibly pushed off it in front of all television cameras. This effrontery was what would help her survive all those years of politics that would follow. The entire party split into two after MGR\u2019s death, but four years later united under her leadership to form one formidable opposition.\n\nShe won against all odds. She was a white skinned Brahmin in a party that thrived due to its Dravidian anti-class rhetoric. She was a glamorous actor who cannot, by definition, be taken seriously. Above all, she was a woman trying to ascend to power in 1980s in Tamilnadu. An unmarried, childless woman. To put it in context, she was not only walking a path of thorns, she did it in an oxygen less chamber while her arms and legs were tied. It\u2019s a feat that she survived at all, not to mention that she actually thrived. In 1989, when she opposed Karunanidhi\u2019s presentation of the budget, she was almost disrobed in the assembly. This was in addition to being the recipient of lewd comments and hair pulling. This is probably the highest documented insult that a woman has ever faced in a state Assembly. Yet she persisted. She came out of that incident more guarded than ever before. She wrapped herself in layers of clothing and stopped wearing any jewelry at all. She succeeded at \u2018desexualizing\u2019 herself and branded herself as \u2018amma\u2019 (mother), the only known way to gain respect in that highly testosterone filled environment.\n\nEveryone knows her as the person who silences opposition and who creates sycophants who fall at her feet and worship her. This was the only possible way she could command, consolidate and hold on to the otherwise elusive power. If she was any more cordial than this, she might have as well been an airhostess.\n\nShe played popular politics. When the DMK promised laptops, she provided table fans, mixers and grinders instead all branded with her cherubic photograph on it. She accumulated disproportionate assets in 1996, and has faced her share of atonement. However, no one else, not even men, could have been a formidable opposition to the DMK that has systematized corruption and nepotism in ways that she couldn\u2019t. Forget her followers who baselessly immolate themselves or cut off their fingers in a spree of blind devotion towards her. I have spoken to several civil servants of the state who claim they function with lesser interference under her leadership than under the other party.\n\nAnd with four and a half years of her term left, there is no single leader that can fill her void. It will be several years, even decades, before another woman can even remotely achieve what she did in a state like Tamilnadu. Now her statues will come up all over the state, and for once I\u2019m glad. In a few generations, all that will matter is that there is a woman\u2019s statue as well, and that statue is not a mere kannagi who was venerated because she was a perfect wife, but of a woman who was a true and powerful leader of her own merit and her own making.\" "}
Telangana students express ire over Posani
Produced and directed by Posani Krishnamurali on the banner of Aman International, 'Operation Duryodhana' with Srikanth and Kalyani in the lead and Mumaith Khan in a special role, was released recently. The students of Telangana region belonging to Osmania University staged protests in front of 'Aradhana' theatre in Tarnaka and also at Gokul theatre in Yerragadda, alleging that the film was against the interests of the people of Telangana. They prevented the management from screening the film in the morning show. They demanded that the film be banned with immediate effect. Responding to the allegation and the agitations, director cum producer Posani Krishnamurali in a private TV channel says, 'I am not against separate Telangana State. Our film had no scenes that hurt the sentiments and feelings of any particular region.'
American students developing underwater drones to hunt for explosives
Groups of American college students are help making the seas safer – one less explosive at a time. The Department of Defense gave $15,000 last February to the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and four other schools to develop underwater drones that can detect unexploded bomb, missiles and mines off U.S. shores. “Some of it dates back to the Civil War. Some of it is World War II,” Michael Delorme, a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, told Fox News. “And the DOD is taking responsibility to go around and find these lost items and make sure they are safe and inert.” A drone that has been built and is currently undergoing testing at the school can be controlled wirelessly and contains a metal detector. “Its got a suite of sensors --- eyes ears nose mouth, just like you and I do,” Delorme said. More than 30 million pounds of abandoned explosives reside off the coasts of the U.S. “It was really great being on this project where we’re helping the Navy solve this real problem of having unexploded ordnance on the seafloor that could potentially hurt somebody,” Joe Huyett, a 22-year-old student at Stevens Institute of Technology.