IGNOU plans conference to celebrate International Year of Chemistry

New Delhi : Indira Gandhi National Open University is organising a two-day conference on Chemistry to create more interest of the youth in the subject leading to more innovations on the occasion of International Year of Chemistry.

This day was proclaimed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and UNESCO.

The conference aims to address the issues pertaining to Chemistry Education and exploring the newer and emerging areas of chemical research. An added feature is the inclusion of a session dedicated to the role of women scientists in chemical research commemorating the Centenary of Madame Curie s Nobel Prize, Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, said today.

The Sir C V Raman Chair and School of Sciences (SOS) in IGNOU will hold this conference titled Chemistry: Education and Research Frontiers from October 13 in the national capital, a varsity official said. A series of invited lectures by renowned persons of international acclaim and oral/poster presentations by the young scientists will be a part of the event.

The university is inviting applications for submission of abstracts on the topic Frontier Areas of Chemical Research till August 22, the details of which are available on IGNOU website.

IGNOU, Aditya Birla Group jointly to train rural ppl in stitching

New Delhi, Aug 5: Indira Gandhi National Open University and the Aditya Birla Group will now together train rural people in garment stitching, a varsity official said.

The open university today inked a pact with Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited's wholly owned subsidiary Madura Fashion and Lifestyle Limited to impart necessary skills and training in garment stitching to the community members who are unemployed, under employed and are residing mostly in the rural, suburban and disadvantaged locations.

Three short-term non-credit courses -- Basic Certificate in Garment Stitching for one month, Advance Certificate in Garment Stitching for two months and Advance Certificate in Garment Stitching and Quality Control for two and a half months -- will be taught under this MoU.

All of these programmes will be coordinated by IGNOU's Regional Center of Delhi-1 at Mohan Cooperative Estate.

"Many organisations are looking for trained human resources and are training them as a part of their corporate social responsibility. Learners may even want to pursue these courses at a certificate or diploma level which may be provided to them in the later stages," IGNOU VC V Rajasekharan Pillai said.

Under the MoU, Madura F&L will enrol at least 200 students per year as per IGNOU approved eligibility conditions and conduct programmes at approved learning centres only. A special study centre will also be opened in Bangalore for the conduct of these courses.

6-yr-old achieves 1st division in IGNOU's course of pottery

New Delhi, Mar 27 : Six-year-old Divya Prakash Pandey has surpassed all his elder classmates by passing a certificate in Craft and Design (Pottery) Programme in first division.

Divya has become the youngest pride of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) by passing the course under School of Engineering and Technology in July 2010 session with 76 per cent marks.

He is not only the youngest student at IGNOU but also the youngest student ever admitted in any university.

A class two student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Divya, had interest in Craft and Design (pottery) since childhood and so during the course of his studies, he created fusion in craft and design as well as magic, a university official said.

"He has created wonder in the world of clay by designing the famous magic trick 'Water of India' besides designing different pattern and creating innovative ideas in craft and design," he said.

The CCDP course is developed under the IGNOU-Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) project and aims at upgrading the knowledge and skills of artisans engaged/interested in pottery.

This programme envisages no prerequisite educational qualification for the target group of rural artisans and interested youths. It introduces artisans to conceptual designing as well as cost analysis and marketing of products.

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P Sainath criticises vast disconnect between media & masses

New Delhi, Jun 30 (UNI) Calling it a ''structural compulsion on news media industry to lie'', Palagummi Sainath, Indian development journalist today alleged that the media has become a corporate entity which is massively disconnected from the interest of masses.

Be it reporting about the fuel price hike, Bhopal Gas Tragedy or farmer suicides, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner condemned the media for reporting in interest of few rich class people.

''The fuel prices have been raised at a time when people have already been reeling under high food prices. Instead of becoming the voice of the masses, the media has been congratulating the government for championing the cause,'' Mr Sainath said.

He was speaking while addressing the gathering during IGNOU Silver Jubilee Lecture on ''Mass Media - But, where are the masses?'' at the University Campus here.

Lambasting the government for its decision to hike the prices of petro-products, he said, ''The prices were raised at such a time when the Prime Minister was at Toronto speaking about inclusive growth.''

All the conveniences of the rich like air travel, cars, computers and cell phones have become cheaper while the necessities of the poor including food, oil, among others, have become hundreds times expensive, he added.

Referring to the Bhopal Gas tragedy, he said instead of attacking on the criminals, the editorials have been attacking the activist industry. ''Their entire approach is based on writing about Warren Anderson and his return to the country which is least of the issues,'' he said.

The rural reporter also brought out the coverage given to the suicide of model Viveka Babajee. ''The print media has been giving two pages daily to the updates in the model suicide while they never showed that keen interest in reporting about the farmer suicides,'' he said. Even on front pages, her suicide took similar space as the winning of Indonesia Open Super Series by Saina Nehwal, he added.

However, the renowned journalist expressed hope that the upcoming young journalists, especially from the rural area, are attached to their land and people and would surely bring about the required turn around in the industry.

IGNOU waives fees for sex workers, wards

New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has decided to waive the course fee for sex workers and their wards enrolled with them.

With this initiative, IGNOU becomes the first University in the country to take such a step towards welfare of the community.

''We aim at helping the sex workers weaning away from such activities towards self development and economic independence in order to bring them into the mainstream of social milieu,'' IGNOU Vice Chancellor V N Rajasekharan Pillai told UNI today.

He said the initiative has been initially taken in Kolkata only.''We are trying to reach to such people in the whole country soon,'' he added.

The University has established a special study centre in Sonagachi in Kolkata to provide educational opportunities to sex workers and their wards. Currently, 11 sex workers have already enrolled under the Bachelor of Preparatory Programme (BPP) at the Centre.

This programme will enable the students to gain eligibility for the degree programmes in the University.

To a question if there were any specific courses these students show interest in, Mr Pillai said, ''Programmes in Social Sciences and Humanities interest them the most.''

Earlier, the University had approved a scheme of fee waiver for the jail inmates also.

Learn French through Hindi now!

New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) English is no more a bar to learn a foreign language.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched its latest programme of learning French via Hindi through distance education. Developed with the support and collaboration of the Embassy of France, the programme will enable all the students who wish to learn the language but are far from the network of the Alliances Franaises.

''A French language tutor has been placed at IGNOU for an year who will assist in the course. In addition, the university has been facilitated with several French learning methods,'' an IGNOU spokesperson said here last night during the programme's launch ceremony here.

The programme was launched by the Ambassador of France, Mr Jerome Bonnafont and IGNOU Vice Chancellor V N Rajasekharan Pillai.

Further, the Government of France also decorated three Indian teachers of the French language with ''Palmes Acadmiques'' for their valuable contribution to the promotion of the language among Indian students. They were Vasanthi Gupta and Padma Natrajan, both teachers at the Alliance Franaise de Delhi and Anuradha Karkun, teacher at the Mother's International School here.

A spokesperson from the Embassy informed UNI that the order of ''Palmes Academiques'', created in 1808, was to honour distinguished personalities from across the world for their intellectual, scientific and artistic contribution towards France and the French language.

IT students of IGNOU now to get guidance in Hindi

New Delhi, Feb 11 (UNI) Hindi-speaking learners of Information Technology and Computer applications will now be able to have better interactions with course instructors and counsellors following the launch of Open Course Guide system by the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

''The system can translate the content in Hindi instantaneously, which will make the programmes more learner-friendly,'' Prof K R Srivathsan, IGNOU Pro-Vice Chancellor, under whose guidance it has been started, said today.

The system has been introduced yesterday for the students of Master of Computer Application (MCA) and Certificate in Information Technology (CIT).

''The IOCG is the first of its kind open e-Learning system anywhere which effectively addresses the complex course events management required for open education programmes,'' Prof Srivathsan asserted.

Plans were afoot to add the Students Satisfaction Survey with built-in analytics and visualisation for each course and programme, he added.

Explaining the software, Prof Srivathsan said the IOCG pages have been set over an open Wiki area. ''For each course, the IOCG serves as an interactive 'Community Dashboard' for the course coordinator concerned, the counsellors, registered students and anyone interested in the courses,'' he said.

It supported pedagogically disciplined modes of engaging the learners and managing course events through multiple modes, he added.

Abolish manual scavenging, a practice that decries some: SKA

New Delhi, Feb 5 (UNI) The practice of manual scavenging was banned in India in 1993, but it still continues to downgrade a certain class of society, President of Safai Karamchari Andolan said here today.

''There are 6.76 lakh manual scavengers, popularly known as safai karamcharis, in India, though unofficial figures put the figure at 13 lakh,'' Dr Bezwada Wilson, SKA
president, claimed.

He was speaking during a lecture organised by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on ''Inhuman Practices of Manual Scavenging: Cleaning up shit'' in the
University's main campus.

Mr Wilson, a Dalit who was elected in alternative '25 people who will never make it to the power list' by Outlook magazine, emphasised on the social basis behind the practice of manual scavenging in the country, the reality of the life of a manual scavenger and the response by SKA.

He remarked that manual scavengers fell at the very lowest category of sanitation workers in the country, after sweepers, sewerage workers and septic tank cleaners.

Delineating the ideological basis of this inhuman practice, Dr Wilson, a post graduate in Political Science elected as Ashoka Senior Fellow in the Year 2009 from India, said, ''The caste system dictates that those born into particular Dalit sub-castes should enagage in manual scavenging, and should remain doing so throughout their lives.''

The lecture was followed by screening of Documentary on ''Lesser Humans''.

Dr Wilson is involved in a movement to eradicate manual scavenging since 1986, which was later formalised as the SKA in 1996. The movement has made a planning call
'Action 2010' for the purpose to eradicate manual scavenging by 31st December, 2010.

Terrorists do realise their mistakes : Lt Gen Sabharwal

New Delhi, Jan 25 (UNI) Although terrorism is an act of violence that spreads threat and fear among citizens, terrorists are human beings and they do realise their mistakes, Lt General Mukesh Sabharwal, Adjutant General of Indian Army, has stated.

''Today, there are cases when the arrested terrorists approach us requesting to admit their children in schools for general studies and development inclusively in the mainstream of the society,'' he said.

''This is because they had realised their mistake,'' he added.

Delivering the third Silver Jubilee Lecture at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here recently, Lt Gen Sabharwal also emphasised on the importance of internal security and said strengthening of local responders was necessary for it.

''Local responders, who involve capacity-building of the state police, para-military and civil forces, inclusive education and effort to change hearts, played a major role in maintaining the internal security of a State,'' he said.

He stressed that presence of mainstream media was also significant.

''The local media people have many kinds of slants and favours, and their reports are not conducive enough to ensure inclusive growth of the society,'' Lt Gen Sabharwal said.

Asked if the Army was doing anything to establish the country’s mainstream media houses in the State and protect them enough to function freely, a brigadier who accompanied the Lt Gen said such possibilities might be realised in gradual process.

Peace is possible through development measures and the Indian Army has taken a number of steps to empower the unemployed youth, women, ensure justice in the civil administration, he asserted.

''The Army believes that the fulcrum of all operations being the populace, all operations must aim at isolating the terrorists from the populace through people-friendly operations,'' he said.

Referring to the two bus services started between India and Pakistan from Uri to Muzaffarabad and Poonch to Rawalkote, he claimed that the feedback received from the passengers revealed that the grass was definitely greener at the India side.

Giving certain facts, he said the statistics between 1985 and 2005 spoke for themselves. ''The per capita income in Kashmir has increased by six times from Rs 2,874 to Rs 17,174. The people below poverty line (BPL) in the state have lessened by eight to 12 times. The imports and industry have increased in the state several times with taxable export value improved from Rs 89,000 lakh to Rs
6,33,000 lakh.''

Beyond borders: Pakistanis show concern for Indian minority

New Delhi, Jan 22 (UNI) Even though the relation between India and Pakistan has touched a new low after 26/11, people from the neighbouring country work as a binding force as they share views on minority and education in India.

Recently, a group of 30 students from a management institute in Pakistan visited Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here to interact with the university students on a variety of issues, including the status of minorities in India.

The team from Lahore University of Management Studies (LUMS), often called as the Harvard of the East, was led by professor Rafiq Ahmed.

In an interactive session with Prof Shambhu Nath Singh, Director of School of Journalism and New Media Studies, IGNOU, the Pakistani students showed concern regarding the treatment given to minority population in India.

Replying to their questions, Prof Singh asserted that the concept of minority in India was different from that in Pakistan and said in Pakistan, minority or majority was decided in terms of faith, unlike in India.

''India has various minority communities. The concept is not according to religion, but according to castes, sub-castes, languages and cultures,'' the professor explained citing an example.

A Muslim from Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal would differ from one another fundamentally and would hardly be able to even communicate with one another, he said.

''India is the unique success story in diversity in habits and lifestyles. The Indian Constitution has not allowed religion to play the main role here,'' Prof Singh said.

The team was also inquisitive about what draws Indian students to developed countries for professional education and not developing nations, including Pakistan.

Subsiding their anxiety, IGNOU students asked how many world-class institutes Pakistan had at present and whether the social ethos were conducive enough to pursue career studies there in peace without tension and worries.

Replying to another question raised by the Pakistani professor on the issue of proportional representation of Muslims in public services in India, Prof Singh said there was no discrimination.

''Most of the Muslims fall in the workers' group and they earn just as other Indian workers do. As there are not many Muslim middle class families in India, their representation is also low comparative to other middle-class groups,'' he stated.