EducationWorld Higher Education Grand Jury Awards 2019-20
The inaugural EducationWorld Higher Education Grand Jury Awards have been introduced to acknowledge and recognise low-profile and newly established private higher education institutions (HEIs). Juries of knowledgeable educationists were specially constituted to recommend conferment of the EW Grand Jury Awards especially upon newly promoted or low-profile HEIs implementing best practices. To select newly promoted progressive private higher education institutions across the country, we invited nominations from educationists, individuals and HEIs themselves supported by evidence of best practices in nine categories — extraordinary leadership, campus design excellence, quality of campus life, IT integration, student diversity, sports and co-curricular education, newly emergent, professional education, vocational and skills education. Evidence-supported nominations were received from 520 private higher education institutions countrywide. To assess the evidence and rank nominated institutions in each category, this year’s Grand Jury comprising eminent educationists Dr. Ashok Misra, former director of IIT-Bombay, Dr. R. Natarajan, former chairman of AICTE and Anand Sudarshan, former CEO of Manipal Education and founder of Sylvant Advisors was constituted. The Top 10 ranked higher ed institutions were conferred awards at the EW India Private Higher Education Rankings Awards 2019-20 function held in Bangalore on June 22. The complete Top 10 EW Grand Jury Rankings 2019-20 is published below. Extraordinary leadership These rankings acknowledge extraordinary education leaders from progressive private higher education institutions. 1. Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal 2. IMS Unison University, Dehradun 3. JK Business School, Gurgaon 4. AIMS Institute, Bangalore 5. Sai International College of Commerce, Bhubaneswar 6. Adamas University, Barasat, Kolkata 7. Siksha O Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar 8. Mangalayatan University, Aligarh 9. Sri Venkateshwara College of Nursing, Bangalore 10. Usha Martin University, Ranchi Quality of campus life Private higher education institutions which provide excellent board and lodging facilities, health, wellness and other student welfare programmes are awarded in this category. 1. Vellore Institute of Technology 1. SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai 2. Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon 3. Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 4. G.D. Goenka University, Gurgaon 4. CMR Institute of Technology, Bangalore 5. Presidency University, Bangalore 6. ISBR Business School, Bangalore 7. Siksha O Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar 8. DIT University, Dehradun 9. Invertis University, Bareilly 10. Mangalayatan University, Aligarh Campus design excellence Institutions with attractive and conducive campuses which enable students to learn joyfully and give of their best were ranked in this category. 1. Amity University, Kolkata 2. Acharya Institutes, Bangalore 3. G.D. Goenka University, Gurgaon 4. Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal 5. AURO University, Surat 6. Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon 7. UPES, Dehradun 8. REVA University, Bangalore 9. Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai 10. DIT University, Dehradun Student diversity The Top 10 higher ed institutions which promote admission of students from varied socio-economic backgrounds, cultures and nationalities are: 1. Vellore Institute of Technology 2. Acharya Institutes, Bangalore 3. Sharda University, Greater Noida 4. SRM University, Sonipat 5. Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, Delhi 6. Noida International University 7. ISBR Business School, Bangalore 8. UPES, Dehradun 9. Invertis University, Bareilly 9. Navodaya Education Trust, Raichur 10. Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong…
Environment education for Google-savvy children
Dr. Krishna Kumar is former director of NCERT and former professor of education at Delhi University Every now and then, we hear about the release of a doomsday report detailing the dire state of the environment. The latest is a UN report which warns that more than a million animal and plant species will be lost if urgent action is not taken to stop the all-round assault on nature. This report has been prepared by the UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). If so many species are allowed to become extinct, the ongoing crisis of nature, including climate change, will exacerbate to an irreversible degree. Many reports on this subject have surfaced over the years, and they have supplied the basis of global agreements on the urgent need to address the world’s ecological crisis. They are received with a considerable amount of cynicism. The dominant view that little can be done or will be done, is coupled with ignorance about what can be done. Many believe what needs to be done is beyond the capacity of most governments. Among those who aren’t averse to doing something, tacit conflicts arise over who should do it first. This is because the pioneer will also suffer the heaviest cost of change, from improved technology to curtailed economic growth at least in the interim period. Finally, there’s a common negative perception about governments, their limited capacity and subservience to powerful corporate interests in petroleum, weaponry, plastic and so on. Somehow, even those who hold the extreme cynical view –‘nothing or very little can be done’ — believe that education can do something. What they generally mean is simple: education can create greater public awareness. This is a simple wide-spectrum remedy that people in high positions love to dispense orally. Dispensation costs little. Education costs a lot, so the matter seldom goes beyond orally conveyed agreements and promises. Education also evokes the feeling that the future holds potential for change. The burden of awareness feels lighter when it is placed on future generations. Transferring the burden to the next generation of presumably more enlightenened politicians is both convenient and convincing. Best of all, it involves no immediate commitment to education and its real financial demands today. These demands are seldom acknowledged, let alone estimated properly. Moreover, they are mostly interpreted in terms of infrastructure, computers and so on. In India, an age-old perception continues to lurk in the public and political unconscious minds. The perception is that education can be delivered under a tree. The image of ancient sages tutoring a handful of boys clad in ritual attire accompanies this view of education. When people criticise the modern, salaried teacher, they often compare her to this ancient sage whose material demands for imparting knowledge and learning were minimal even if the learners were royal princes. Therefore, our society does not appreciate the modern teacher. It pays ample lip service to the vital role teachers play, but no middle class parents want…