29 June 2014

Welcome, Mr Narendra Modi

I think that our new prime minister Mr Narendra Modi and his team will succeed in rooting out corruption completely. (I had the pleasure of working in Vadodara, a few years back. It was a nice experience to live in the city with very nominal auto-fares at a minimum tariff of Rs 7). 



Comedy programs on TV

Good comedy programs on TV have become rare these days. One comedy program which seems to be very interesting is telecast on Chandana. It involves common down-to-earth issues that surround many of our households. The lead actor who plays `Hanumantha Rao' acts excellently and so do others. They perform naturally with no over-action. Let me leave you with a few screenshots from one of the episodes of this comedy serial `Adechangaagi Kshamisi' (which I think is somewhat like that of R K Narayan's `Malgudi Days').




(I tried to provide a link to the program in accordance with the  hyperlinking policy of the channel, but couldn't).

  
It is good that the Delhi University versus University Grants Commission problem has ended amicably (according to last night's TV news reports) and that students can continue pursuing their 3 year degree programs.  

27 June 2014

Degree in doldrums?

Recent confusion over Delhi University's decision to extend its 3 year degree courses by one more year is an example of how our decision makers in higher education systems function. DU should not follow what American Universities do without proper analysis and planning. Science curriculum that students study in their 1st and 2nd year of their 4 year Bachelor's degree Courses in the US and the one that students in our Higher Secondary Courses study are not very different in terms of sheer content. What makes the difference is in terms of quality. Every knowledgeable educator knows that what we have in our HS Courses is quantity without much quality (except in the Indian School Certificate Syllabus). I think that our decision makers in Education should make changes only after in-depth analysis of all relevant issues involved, including any possible impact on students.

About Me

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Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
I am a retired K-12 Education Management Professional. I have worked at different levels in K-12 school systems, textbook publishing, elearning and Education NGOs. I have held memberships in The Association for Science Education (UK), American Association of Physics Teachers and The Malaysian Institute of Physics. I hold a 1st class B Sc Degree in Physics followed by B Ed [English and Physical Science] and M A [Childcare and Education] degrees. My published works include 59 articles in teacher development magazines in India and the US and a book entitled `Creative Classrooms and Child Friendly Schools' (listed in Amazon). This book is almost an anecdotal account of my professional experience in six countries (including Cambodia where I worked as Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Education, Youth And Sports). I served as mentor in the Certificate of Teaching Mastery Program offered by Teachers Without Borders.