DR SEEMIN RUBAB
In Kashmir valley, winter season heralds tuition frenzy. Students and parents are at a loss about deciding the right coaching Institutes. Usually these
Institutes offer coaching for the routine medicine or engineering entrance examinations. They create a hype about professional careers. The students who do not have an aptitude for so called professional careers like medicine or engineering are forced to appear for these exams. Those who do not qualify any entrance are written off by their families.
Many from affluent families are sent to the private medicine and engineering colleges of far off places. Those who come back and do not find any job in Kashmir are mentally tortured by their families. Sometimes even their spouses are not spared. All these leads to career, family and societal conflicts.
The students are thus advised to choose their education and career according to their aptitude and not according to market value or parental and peer group pressure. These days a plethora of career options are available. Remember to keep your options open that is never pin your hope on a single career or single Institute. Always keep a back up option as the number of openings in premier institutes is limited and aspirants are numerous. It is the right time for students who are in final year of higher secondary to think about a good education option. This is because during December –January period application forms and brochures of most of the national level exams are out.
This column outlines some lesser known but smart education options with little investment, high returns and universality. These include Integrated masters in basic sciences at IISER, NISER and UM DAE CBS. Five year masters is being offered at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Pune, Kolkata, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvanathpuram with intake capacity of 100 each. Eligibility for admission is based on the qualification of any of the two: KVPY or IIT JEE extended list.
This year IISERs have started a new option. Students securing 60 % marks at secondary and higher secondary level are eligible for interview directly. Scheme is open to students who pass class XII in 2010, the details will be available on the websites of IISERs in March. All IISER students will receive either KVPY/INSPIRE Scholarship of Rs.5000/-p.m.
Admission in NISER, Bhubaneshwer and UM DAE CBS, Mumbai is based on National Entrance Screening Test which will be held on June 6, 2010. They are affiliated to Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), a deemed university within Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. NISER and UM DAE CBS cater a five year integrated M.Sc. programme in basic sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology and Botany). Students admitted to NISER and UM DAE CBS get a stipend of Rs 3000 per month along with a suitable annual book grant. Those performing exceedingly well in M.Sc. may have a chance to be absorbed in R & D units and autonomous research institutions of the department of atomic energy.
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) has been set up under Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in the vicinity of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthpuram. IIST offers, inter alias, integrated masters in applied science (39 openings) B.Tech. in Avionics, physical sciences, and aerospace engineering, post graduate, doctoral and post doctoral program in space science. The admissions to the Undergraduate Programmes at IIST are made through the Space Institute Admission Test (ISAT). The Exam will be held on April 16, 2010. Srinagar is also among one of the exam centres.
Chennai Mathematical Institute offers graduate program in mathematics, computer science and physics and post graduate program in mathematics and computer. One of the exam centres is at Department of mathematics, NIT, Srinagar. Exam is expected to be held in end of May. Fellowships are available at the rate of Rs 5000 p.m.
Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata Offers B.Stat.(Hons.), B.Math.(Hons.), M.Stat., M.Math., M.S.(QE, Quantitative Economics), M.S.(Library and Information Science), M.Tech.(CS), M.Tech.(QROR, quality, reliability and operations research). Now the Institute has several centres throughout India including Delhi, Bangalore, Baroda, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, and Pune. Admission is based on national level entrance test which is scheduled to be held on 9th May 2010. Students who have qualified Indian National Olympiad in mathematics are exempt from entrance test of B. Stat. and B. Math. Fellowships are available in all the courses.
The regional Institutes of Education at Ajmer , Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Shilong offer Four Year Integrated B.Sc. B.Ed. course. The four-year course, the first of its kind in the country, provides for complete integration of content and pedagogy evenly distributed throughout the
