Only 11 Pass English NET Paper

Only 11 candidates passed the June 2010 National Eligibility Test for English, whose results were announced on October 9. Of these, there are only two recipients of the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

Anybody aspiring to teach in colleges and Universities are required to pass the NET, conducted by the University Grants Commission biannually.

The UGC has been trying to make the NET all-pervasive, making it mandatory even for ad-hoc teachers. Junior Research Fellowships are given to NET toppers.

The UGC is yet to release a centre and subject-wise break-up of the data. The Indian Express has used data compiled by NET aspirants, who were students of Delhi University.

Despite repeated attempts, officials at the UGC were not available for comment. Surender Singh, Deputy Secretary and head of the NET Bureau at the UGC, refused to con firm the numbers.

The total number of candidates who took the test is not available. However, comparisons with other subjects confirm the worst fears.

A total of 309 candidates have cleared the Economics NET, and 113 of them got JRFs.
In Political Science, 516 cleared with 248 JRFs. History has 33 JRFs and 64 non-JRF NET qualifications.

English comes behind even subjects like Defence and Strategic Studies, Music, and Museology and Conservation.

Delhi, a centre for which numbers are available, is a case in point. More than 1100 candidates took the English NET in Delhi, of whom only two cleared it. One of them has been awarded the JRF.

That it has a clutch of prestigious institutions reflect in the performance of Delhi as a NET examination centre: 606 of the total 3,242 JRFs have gone to candidates who took the test in Delhi. Jaipur comes a surprising second, far behind with 275 JRFs.

Delhi leads in non-JRF NET too, contributing 486 of a total of 3991 passed. Jaipur is again second, with 278 non-JRF NETs.

Even with such impressive figures, Delhi too fares badly when it comes to English.

"The number of candidates who clear the English NET has been low for some time now, but this is by far the lowest. I think it is time that the UGC accepts that something is wrong with the system — it never manages to get good teachers as evaluators," said Head of the Department of English at the Delhi University, Sumanyu Satpathy.

Delhi University, facing an acute shortage of NET-qualified individuals, had decided to advertise on a national level for subjects like English, Economics and Computer Science recently. With about 75,100 vacancies in English alone, the crisis is set to worsen.

Candidates who took the English NET in June said it was not a difficult paper. "It was my third attempt and I was confident I would qualify. There were no issues with the paper this time — they had simplified it considerably and there were no grammatical and spelling errors unlike previous years," said a candidate who gave the test in Delhi.

Source: Indian Express

Art, Not Violence, is The Warp And Woof of Northeast India

By Maitreyee Boruah

Bangalore, Oct 20 : There is more to Northeast India than it just being the land of militancy.

This is what a group of artisans from the eight states in the region are trying to portray through the exquisite handicrafts that they have brought to the city.

“We are fed up of being tagged as people from a violence-ridden land. Northeast has a large pool of talented artisans, and we are here to promote our handicrafts and handloom works,” said Pam, an artisan from Ukhrul, Manipur.

Pam along with about 130 other artisans from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim are taking part in the ‘North-East crafts fair’, a 14-day exhibition-cum-sale of handicrafts held at Safina Plaza, Infantry Road.

The fair, which will end on October 31, is being organised by North-Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation Limited (NEHHDC) in association with development commissioner (handicrafts), ministry of textiles, government of India.

Pam and her co-artisan Presley have brought artifacts made of stone, which include grey-black pottery exclusively made by Tangkhul Naga tribe of Longpi village to the event.

“Unlike most other pottery works, Longpi stone pottery does not use potters’ wheel and is made completely with hands and moulds. Also, these pots are gas stove and microwave oven-friendly,” said Presley.

“Over 38 lakh people are employed directly or indirectly in the handicraft and handloom sectors in the region. Their works are unique and we try to promote their talent by organising such fairs across the country,” said RS Chankum, an official, NEHHDC. “These events are also an effort to give proper exposure for the artisans to a wider market and larger clientele,” he said.

“Be it the very functional laishingfee (quilted cotton materials) andkauna grass cushions and mattress of Manipur,endi silk fabrics of Meghalaya, artistic bamboo caps from Mizoram, or magnificent carpet using dragon, geometric and floral motifs of Arunachal Pradesh, the uniqueness of northeast region comes alive in its traditional craft works,” he added.

Lea Michele & Dianna Agron STRIP For GQ - Photos

'Glee' stars Lea Michelle and Dianna Agron take their clothes off in a GQ spread shot by Terry Richardson.

"I don't know how they got me to do half the stuff I did," said Lea, who recently went topless in UK Marie Claire.

Here are a couple of photos, see the rest of the sexy shoot here.

Union Ministry Team to Review NEHU imbroglio

Nehu students during the daylong non-cooperation movement on Tuesday.

Shillong, Oct 20 : A team of the union human resource development (HRD) ministry will on Wednesday begin looking into student protests over the appointment of a non-tribal as North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) vice chancellor.

The three-member fact-finding team is led by HRD secretary Vibha Puri Das. NEHU students have been protesting since Oct 11, the day A.N. Rai took charge as vice chancellor.

The student community under the banner of NEHU Students Union (NEHUSU) and Meghalaya Tribal Students' Coordination Committee (MTSCC) are demanding that a tribal vice chancellor to head the varsity, one of the country's premier central universities.

The team comprising additional secretary (higher education) Sunil Kumar and University Grants Commission (UGC) vice chairman Ved Prakash is to meet Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary, who is also the rector of NEHU, and chief secretary W M S Pariat to discuss the imbroglio which has affected the premier central university, a senior Meghalaya official said.

The Meghalaya government demanded that an HRD team from the centre visit the state to sort out the impasse.

Rai, a former vice chancellor of Mizoram University, was appointed by President Pratibha Patil after Pramod Tandon completed his tenure Sep 12.

"We will not accept Rai as our vice chancellor for his tainted credentials in Mizoram University. We will continue with our non-cooperation movement till the centre appoint a new vice chancellor," Kynpham Kharlyngdoh, chairman of the Coordination Committee, said.

"We want the central government to appoint a tribal vice chancellor to lead NEHU. The university was established to contribute to the development of people of the region and not to extend patronage to a coterie from outside," Kharlyngdoh added.

However, Rai has made it clear he will not bow down to the student pressure.

"Stepping down is not an option. I am here as the vice chancellor on the appointment of the president of India and I am honouring it. If the students are against me, they should approach the concerned authorities," Rai said.

"I am ready to sort any grievances relating to the university," he added.

Earlier, two powerful organisations in Meghalaya - the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) and Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) - demanded that a tribal candidate be appointed as the vice chancellor.

$120 Million ADB Funding to Tackle floods, land Erosion in Assam

Guwahati, Oct 20 : The north eastern Indian state of Assam will receive Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance to combat flooding and erosion, which regularly cause large economic losses and social upheaval in one of the country's poorest regions.

ADB's Board of Directors approved a loan package of up to 120 million dollars for the Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program, which will include both infrastructure improvements and non-physical measures.

ADB's loan funds will be released in tranches, with the first requested amount set at 56.9 million dollars. It has a 25-year term, with a grace period of seven years and annual interest determined in accordance with ADB's LIBOR-based lending facility.

The government will provide counterpart funds of 14.2 million dollars for a total first tranche cost of 71.1 million dollars. The full program investment cost is set at 150 million dollars with the government providing 30 million dollar equivalent.

A linked technical assistance grant of 600,000 dollars from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, administered by ADB, will be used to build up the capacity of those engaged in preparing and implementing the community-based flood risk management programs.

"The program will help reduce Assam's vulnerability to floods and erosion, spurring more private investment, growth and reducing poverty levels," said Kenichi Yokoyama, Principal Water Resources Management Specialist in ADB's South Asia Department.

Much of the state's rural and urban land is in flood-prone areas alongside the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries. Embankments and other structures protect about half of the vulnerable locations, but their effectiveness is reduced by insufficient maintenance and progressive river erosion. An increase in the number and intensity of extreme weather-related events linked to climate change is expected to worsen the current problems.

The program will focus on improving protection for communities in three sub-project areas covering 90 kilometers along the Brahmaputra River, where as many as a million people earn their livelihoods.

Over 40 kilometers of existing flood embankments will be renovated, riverbank erosion will be addressed using cost-effective and environmentally friendly technologies, and steps will be taken to put infrastructure maintenance on a more sustainable footing.

The program will also establish community-based disaster management committees and support flooding awareness campaigns, improved warning systems, community shelters and hazard maps. To gain a better understanding of the region's complex floodplain hydrology, scientific studies and monitoring projects will also be undertaken.

"By reducing flood-related losses and encouraging investments in intensive agriculture production, the incomes of farm laborers and marginal farmers are likely to rise substantially," said Yokoyama.

The Assam state government is the executing agent for the program, which is expected to be completed by September 2017.

Assam Elephant Deaths: Jairam Wants Action

By Kishalay Bhattarjee
Guwahati: Following the report on elephant deaths in tea gardens on the fringes of Kaziranga National Park, an anguished Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of Forest and Environment has sent a letter to the Chief Minister of Assam asking for stringent action against those responsible for the alleged poisoning.

Last week NDTV had reported on four elephant carcasses found in three locations on the fringes of Kaziranga.

Two were found dead in Diffolo Tea Estate, one near Methoni garden and another in adjacent elephant reserve of Karbi Anglong.

Tea gardens are known to use pesticides and weedicides which can be harmful for wild animals. An enquiry is being conducted on the exact nature of death.

Though the Garden authorities claim that they have been using only approved chemicals accumulated concentration of pesticides can be extremely toxic.

NDTV has now been told by some of the garden staff that Thimet, a pesticide, may have been used at Diffolo Tea Estate.

"Most of the tea gardens are located in elephant reserves. The present incident also happened in an elephant reserve.

Sometimes they are very callous in disposing off weedicides and insecticides. They just throw away.

And they are accumulated in some waterholes and the elephant herd come at night and drink that water and get poisoned," said Dr Kushal Sharma, International Elephant Expert.

The worst tragedy of elephant poisoning was in Nameri in 2001 when villagers laced country liquor with a pesticide Demicron and killed 22 elephants.

But the accountability must be fixed with the forest department which is responsible for the loss of wildlife habitat by allowing encroachments and allegedly conniving with timber mafias still very active across the state.

Dengue Alarm in Assam

By Daulat Rahman

Guwahati, Oct. 19: Dengue is breeding in Assam.

The death of two persons because of dengue has put Dispur on high alert with the health department contemplating a study to locate possible breeding space in the state for the dengue-causing aedes aegypti mosquito.

This follows the death of Sanjib Bordoloi, 50, in Dibrugarh yesterday, who according to health department sources "had never been outside the state in at least three years". The death, said the sources, had confirmed fears that the mosquito was breeding locally.

Another person died in Guwahati last week. More than 50 people have so far been tested positive for dengue.

A health department official told The Telegraph the virus was contracted from a bite of the striped aedes aegypti mosquito that has previously bitten an infected person.

He said though experts opined that the mosquito did not exist in malaria-endemic areas like Assam and most of the victims were infected by the virus outside, there was a need for a study considering the fact that some patients recently tested positive were living in the state.

“We will engage experts and renowned physicians to conduct the study. The disease might take a serious turn and infect large number of people if the health department does not act immediately. In case the study finds breeding spaces of the mosquito in the state, the strategy to tackle it will be different.”

Dr Sadiqul Islam, registrar of the medicine department, GMCH, who is closely associated with treatment of dengue patients, said a few patients recently admitted to GMCH had never been outside the state. He said there was an immediate need for an in-depth entomological study to find the mosquito breeding ground.

Islam said aedes aegypti mosquitoes thrive during the rainy season but could also breed in water-filled flowerpots, plastic bags and cans throughout the year. He said normal symptoms of the disease include chills, headaches, severe pain in the eyes, backache and bleeding gums.

Nagaland Cops Arrive in Goa to Probe Trafficking

6 rescued girls to be questioned

Panjim, Oct 20 :  Nagaland police will arrive in Goa tomorrow to assist Goa women police in the investigation of human trafficking case wherein 11 girls were rescued from a beauty parlour at Porvorim on October 9.

Police sources informed that a team of senior Nagaland police officers will be recording statements of six Nagaland girls who are presently lodged at State Protective Home at Merces.

Women police had carried out a raid at ‘Lotus’ beauty parlour and rescued 11 girls hailing from Mizoram, Nagaland and Belgaum who are reportedly victims of human trafficking.

Sources had informed while only two girls are professional beauticians remaining were lured to Goa with a promise to teach them the skills.

On bringing them to Goa, they were pushed into flesh trade.

Six persons including five male employees and parlour lady owner Mahalaxmi Mishra were arrested on charges of trafficking and forcing the girls into prostitution.

Since, one of the rescued victims is a minor, the alleged accused are slapped with an offence under Goa Children’s Act 2003.

“Nagaland team has been gathering information from its Goa counterpart via telephonic conversation. They will not only be recording statements of the rescued victims but may also interrogate the alleged accused,” said the source. 

Nagaland State Commission for Women (NSCW) recently dashed a letter to Goa State Commission for Women (GSCW) expressing concern whether the Naga girls are really involved in the flesh trade or are falsely implicated.

Sources further informed that four Mizoram girls who were also housed at State Protective Home at Merces have been escorted back to Mizoram by a team of Aizawl police today morning.

Mizoram police in a similar action back there had rescued 10 girls and arrested three people, who wanted to send them to Goa.

While, women police is carrying out its investigation and SDM conducting an independent inquiry, Goa State Commission for Women is also conducting a parallel probe.