THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 25, 2016

Science and
Technology

Emotional Quotient

Goalpost

Endosulfan induces
infertility in male mice:
IISc researchers

Why do students
become angry? What
can teachers do
about it?

What is special about U.S.

education? Achuth shares his
experience at New York
University

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Exam Prep | Admissions | Scholarship alert | Internships | Offbeat careers | Science | Technology | Campusline
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The UPSC challenge

SCHOLARSHIP
ALERT
Dr Goh Keng Swee Scholarship

Several myths surround the civil services exam, but here is what you need to do to succeed.
There are several
options available
at home or online
for UPSC
coaching.

NAGENDRA PRATAP

he Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is the central

authority that conducts various examinations to recruit
candidates for various government services such as civil services, engineering services, defence
services and so on. The civil services,
however, have always had an added
allure. Hence, the selection process is
much more competitive.
Let us first try to understand the
importance of civil services in a democracy such as India. For effective
administration, it is vital that our political leaders are given non-partisan
advice. Effective co-ordination is required between the various institutions of governance. Policy-making
must be effective and regulated and
able leaders are required at every level of administration. In addition to
this, civil services executives must offer free, frank and unbiased advice to
the government (irrespective of who
is in power) to fulfil their responsibility to the public who elected the
government.

DIFFERENT OPTIONS
Given the significance of the role
played by civil service executives, it is
only fair that recruitment to these
services is done in a conservative
manner. As of today, there are nearly
25 different services in the government that recruit their workforce
based on the civil services exam conducted by the UPSC. This includes
Indian Administrative Services
(IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS),
Indian Foreign Services (IFS), Indian
Revenue Services (IRS), Indian Postal Services, Indian Railway Services,
Indian Trade Services, among others.
More often than not, we hear about
how difficult it is to crack the civil
services exams. Is it for the highly
intelligent only? Or for those with
excellent academic records? Do peo-

Sufficient practice, taking mock tests and a dose of good luck are needed to scale the exam.
ple from engineering or medical
background find it easier? Does one
have to choose their graduation subject carefully to gain an upper hand?
Does one need to study 16 hours a day
every day for a year? Does one need to
relocate to Delhi to find good coaching classes? The answer to all the
above questions is a big NO.
In reality, clearing the civil services
exam (CSE) has no shortcuts and
there are no magic tricks. Students
have to plan their study and work
accordingly. Previous-year toppers
have all come from various backgrounds and some of them hadnt
even scored a second class in their
degrees prior to CSE. All toppers have
had access to the same books that
lakhs of other students did. The only
thing they did differently was that

they practised writing, took mock

tests, were confident, and, of course,
had a dash of good luck as well!
Anyone with a valid undergraduate
degree and between 21 and 32 years
of age (as of August 1 every year) is
eligible to appear for the civil services
exam. The upper limit for age is relaxed for people from certain categories (SC/ST, OBC, Disabled etc).
General category candidates are allowed, maximum of six attempts at
the exam while special category students are given more leniency.
There are several challenges before
the UPSC aspirants fear of exam,
fear of unemployment, fear of failure,
lack of information, lack of proper
guidance and right resources to prepare for the exam. But one of the
biggest challenges faced by students

Power your exam preparation

This mobile app helps aspirants test their skill,
knowledge and writing speed.
KATHAKALI NANDI

ooking to improve
your preparation for
bank
examinations
and government jobs
at your convenience?
Career Power, an online test
preparation portal for government jobs, can be of help.
Starting out as a coaching institute in Delhi, the organisation has now successfully
launched an online portal
and its mobile phone application to assist aspirants with
their preparations.
Anil Nagar, co-founder and
CEO of Career Power says,
Delhi tops the list when it
comes to government job aspirants. Almost 65 per cent of
the traffic on our websites is
from mobile phones. Thus,
launching a mobile app was a
natural decision to provide
easy accessibility to our users. In the past nine months,
we have seen almost 50,000
users. The Career Power app
has more educational content than the website on entrance
tests,
group
discussions and interviews,
notifications, sample ques-

CM
YK

PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM

is the choice that they have to make

whether to move to Delhi and study
there, or do self-study at home. This
is a big decision and one that is often
made without proper research. These
days, there are several options available at home or online for UPSC
coaching. Students, however, fear the
new ways and tend to adhere to the
tested ways, even if they are not convenient or fruitful.

INTERVIEW
Clearing the interview is the final
hurdle in the civil services exams.
The following guidelines are generally believed to be useful for tackling it:
Dos:
Be polite and greet all five members
on the interview board confidently.
Do not take a seat untill youre

INTERNSHIPS

Out

Customer Support Executive for

Houzify

Category: HR.Executive
Location: Noida
Stipend: Rs. 3,000 8,000 per
month
Eligibility: All students
Website:
http://bit.ly/Twenty19TH521

Category: Sales and Business

Development
Location:Bengaluru
Stipend: Rs. 10,000 15,000 per
month
Eligibility: All students
Website:
http://bit.ly/Twenty19TH520

HR Executive for Day in and Day

Copy Writer at Uptown Ideas

Category: Copy Writer
Location: Chennai
Stipend: Rs. 1,500 5,000 per
month

Eligibility: All students

Website:
http://bit.ly/Twenty19TH522

Video Content Creators for

Krea
Category:
Video
Content
Creators
Location: Work from home
Stipend: Rs. 7,000 per month
Eligibility: All students
Website:
http://bit.ly/Twenty19TH523
Courtesy:
www.twenty19.com

India Fellow Social Leadership

Programme
The aim of this fellowship is to take
young Indians through a year-long
leadership programme that sets them
on the path to becoming socially conscious future leaders and thus bring
about positive change.
Eligibility: Open to any person who is
appearing for the final-year examinations of graduation or postgraduation from any discipline or even
working professionals between 20 to
28 years of age.
Application: Online
Prizes and rewards: Training and mentoring, stipend of Rs. 15,000 - 18,000
per month for 13 months.
Deadline: February 29
Website:
http://www.b4s.in/plus/IFS379

The Young India Fellowship (YIF)

2016-17
The programme is to help Fellows
become well-rounded individuals
who are able to think critically about
issues from multiple perspectives,
communicate effectively with a commitment to public service. It is a fully
residential one-year postgraduate
Fellowship programme.
Eligibility: Any graduate less than 28
years of age is eligible to apply. Finalyear college students can also apply.
Application: Online, by post
Prizes and rewards: 225 Fellows will get
opportunity to connect to esteem
mentors. Also, tuition expenses,
boarding and lodging will be
provided.
Deadline: February 29
Website:
http://www.b4s.in/plus/TYI399
Courtesy: www.buddy4study.com

Keep the past, protect the future

tion papers, etc.
Study material can be
availed for free. Besides this,
aspirants can test their skill,
knowledge and writing speed
via the apps paid service. as
well. The organisation provides assistance for different
bank examinations and SSC
entrance test.
Starting as a classroom
coaching centre in Noida in
2010, the online portal and
mobile app prove to be of immense help to aspirants located in tier two cities that
lack such services. The organisation now has a team of 50

persons who manage the app,

prepare and create study
content. The team members
include aspirants who have
already appeared for the tests
and are supervised by team
managers.
Elaborating on their plans
to widen the ambit of the online portal, Nagar said Currently, we provide study
material for banks and SCC
tests. We plan to roll out similar services for Indian Railway examinations and MBA
entrance tests soon. We also
expect to launch it in our app
version as well.

Australian education fair

DP Education India, a
student placement service provider, will be organising an Australian
education fair in Chennai at
Hotel ITC Grand Chola on
February 6.
The fair, spread across 14
cities, will bring together
prominent universities and
educational institutes from
Australia.
It started on January 25
at Kolkata and will con-

asked to do so.
Maintain eye contact with your
interviewer(s)
Before answering a question, take a
few seconds to think through your
answer and keep it short and to the
point.
If you do not know the answer to a
particular answer, it is better to admit it openly.
It is quite possible that interviewers may not agree with your opinions.
Do not get very defensive.
Donts
Avoid fidgeting. Maintain a dignified posture and keep your hands and
head steady.
Never resort to wild guesses or
speculation.
While answering questions, do not
give away your lack of confidence
through your expressions or body
gestures.
You should not come across as being arrogant or overconfident. That is
a big minus.
Avoid unnecessary humour. Do not
try to get overly friendly with the
interviewers.
Do not leave the interview hall unless youre asked to do so.
In summary, to become a civil service executive is a matter of great
prestige. In order to be successful,
one needs to be methodical and systematic about their study plan. It is
extremely important to turn a deaf
ear to myths and focus on what is real.
Practice is of course vital.
The writer is head of UPSC classes,
SuperProfs.com.

This private scholarship is administered by the Association of Banks in

Singapore (ABS) for students who
want to pursue undergraduate studies at local universities in Singapore,
that is, National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological
University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore University of Technology and
Design (SUTD).
Eligibility: Students who apply for undergraduate study (including honours) and demonstrate leadership
qualities and possess good academic
and co-curricular activities.
Application: Email
Prizes and rewards: Three to four scholarships which include tuition, airfare,
annual maintenance allowance of
SGD 6,500, hostel allowance and settling-in allowance for a maximum of
four years.
Deadline: February 22
Website:
http://www.b4s.in/plus/DGK572

clude in Coimbatore on
February 11.
The fair will also be organised in Ludhiana, Chandigarh,
Gurgaon,
Delhi,
Mumbai,
Ahmedabad,
Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Kochi.
A total of 37 Australian institutions are participating
in the fair.
Application fee waivers
and scholarships will also
be available.

Students are advised to

bring along their original
academic certificates along
with photocopies.
One can also visit the IDP
office to pre-register for
priority processing and detailed counselling with
trained and experienced
Australian counsellors.
For
details,
visit
https://www.idp.com/india/
studyabroad/lp/australiaeducation-fair.

From the burial mask of King Tutankhamun to the hashtag on Instagram, history is
all around us.
MICHELLE NEHA
Archaeology.

CHOICES

TRAVEL THE WORLD

very students first

thought when opening a history textbook
is Why do we have to
now learn about what
someone did hundreds of
years ago. If only the watermelon had fallen on Newtons head instead of the
apple! Well, there is method
to the madness that we call
the syllabus.
History gives me confidence, its no longer about
memorising dates and blurting it out on to the paper,
says Haritha, who is currently pursuing history at Lady
Shri Ram College, Delhi.
A key aspect of history is
that it is constantly created.
It is not just confined to the
past and the dead. In fact, it
can be divided into three segments: Ancient, Medieval
and Modern history. When
women got the right to vote
they made history, when we
placed a man on the moon
and created a mission to
Mars were making history.
The next time someone asks

Heritage walks would not be possible without a historians

inputs. PHOTO: V.V. KRISHNAN
if you know about the Chennai Floods you can scoff and
say Know it? I survived it!
From the burial mask of
King Tutankhamun to the
hashtag in Instagram, history is everywhere! Then why
dont we want to study it?
There are students who
want to pursue history but
there is a lack of advertisement. Students are so fed up
with memorising dates in
school that they run away
from it. There is a greater focus on kings and queens, and
the history of society is being
ignored. Says Dr. Anita
Rane-Kothare Head, Ancient

Indian Culture at St Xaviers

College, Mumbai.
All of us want a good job,
lots of money and prospects
and, well, a degree in history
just doesnt seem to cut it!
You couldnt be further away
from the truth. Politicians,
educators, writers and editors also have a background
in history. Research, management and business organisations also employ history
graduates. And the most famous field that brought to
light King Tutankhamun, the
terracotta army of China
and, of course, the Indus Valley
civilisation,
is

Studying history can give

you the opportunity to travel
the world in search of new
and exciting places, live in
harsh conditions and learn
about cultures that you never knew existed. Preserving
natural monuments, manmade monuments and various cultural practices also
form an important part of a
historians job. A degree in
history also gives a competitive edge in the civil services
examination. Hence, in
north India, there is a great
demand for history degrees.
Maybe you do not want to
trek through the Amazon
jungle or wade through the
Saharan desert no fear!
There are courses such as
cultural anthropology, linguistics, tourism and heritage
management
and
cataloguing that can be done
from the confines of the museum. You can relive and
teach history every day! After all, many who pursue history land jobs as lecturers
and teachers.
On the job front, Archae-

ological Survey of India, universities

and
several
organisations hire history
graduates all the time. The
prospects abroad are also
monumental. From cataloguing to game creating, history has never been more
exciting. Historians catalogue tons of information,
read obscure documents and
follow dangerous leads. They
are the detectives of the past
who help protect the future.
Every student must know
their history and culture. It is
essential for survival, says
Dr. P.D. Balaji, Professor and
Head, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology. University of Madras.
So the next time you play
Age of Empires, Assassins
Creed or read Horrible Histories, you have a historian to
thank. Without them the
world wars would be a faint
memory and the Opium
Wars could be confused for a
band name.
The writer is pursuing
B.Sc. Visual
Communication at Ethiraj
College for Women,
Chennai. Email:
nehabastian@yahoo.co.in
ND-X

NOIDA/DELHI

02 EducationPlus

THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 25, 2016

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SNAPSHOTS

IISc: endosulfan induces

infertility in male mice

CCMB: novel drug delivery

for breast and colon cancers
Y. MALLIKARJUN

n the quest for non-toxic

and targeted cancer therapy with no side effects, scientists have demonstrated
the efficacy of a novel drug
delivery system, using a
combination of RNAi and
nanotechnology for breast
and colon cancers.
With RNAi technology
paving the way for suppression of genes implicated in
many cancers, specic and
and effective mode of drug
delivery to the targeted tumour was essential for a successful therapy.
The study led by Dr. Lekha
Dinesh Kumar and her
group from Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology,
Hyderabad, in collaboration
with The University of Western Australia, European
Cancer Stem Cell Research
Institute, Cardiff University
and Regional Cancer Centre,
Thiruvananthapuram, demonstrated the successful insite delivery of an anticancer
biological drug (c-Myc)
against breast and colorectal
cancers using multimodal

R. PRASAD

CARTILAGE
TISSUE FROM
COW KNEES

In a new
approach to
cartilage tissue
engineering, cells
from cow knees
have been
successfully used.

CUCKOO'S BLUE
EGG COLOUR
INHERITED

Cuckoos lay
their eggs in other
birds' nests. It is
found that blue
eggs are inherited
from the female
bird.

JASON-3
DELIVERS FIRST
DATA

4 days after its

launch on 17
January, the
Jason-3 ocean
satellite delivered
its first sea surface
height data.

SCIENCE BEHIND
SNOW'S
SERENITY

A thick blanket

of snow covering
streets absorbs
sound very well
producing a
calming effect, says
a new study.

DAZZLING
DIAMONDS IN
THE SKY

A new Hubble

telescope image of
a star cluster
shows that it has
some of the most
luminous stars in
our galaxy.
CM
YK

f an association between the widely used

pesticide, endosulfan
and male infertility
has been found in the
case of humans living in areas where it has been extensively used, laboratory
studies on mice have now
conrmed that the pesticide indeed causes male
infertility.
A signicant reduction
in sperm count and sperm
motility in mice was found
to cause infertility in mice.
The pesticide-induced infertility was found to be
male specic. The results
were recently published in
the journal Cell Death and
Disease.
Thirty to 33 per cent of
male mice treated with endosulfan showed clear
signs of infertility. Its impact on mice is an underestimation as we used
lower doses. People are exposed to much higher doses and for a longer
duration, said Prof. Sathees Raghavan from the Department of Biochemisty,
IISc, Bengaluru and the senior author of the paper.
Ten animals per group
were studied and the experiment was repeated
three times.
A dose equivalent of 3
mg/kg of body weight was
used in the experiment.
This dose is equivalent to
that seen in places where
people live. Compared with
20-700 microgram/litre
serum concentration of endosulfan in humans, the
treated mice had a serum
concentration of just 4060 microgram/litre.
Besides lower serum
concentration, the duration of exposure was also
very short. The animals
were treated with four doses of endosulfan per day on
every alternative day for
eight days. In all, each
mouse in the treatment
group was exposed to 16
doses.
Detailed studies revealed that among all organs, liver, lungs and testes
were maximally affected
after the very rst day of
treatment. Kidney, liver
and brain were not affected. In the testicles, many
seminiferous
tubules
(where sperms are produced) were completely
devoid of mother cells that
become sperms.
Since it takes 30-35 days
for mother cells to become

The researchers found a significant reduction in sperm count and sperm motility in mice caused
male infertility. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

30-33 per
cent of male
mice treated
with
endosulfan
showed signs
of infertility
sperms, at the end of 35
days after the latest treatment, the number of
sperms in treated mice
was far lower compared
with mice that were not
treated with the pesticide
(control group).
Besides lower sperm
count, the motility of the
sperms
was
affected.
Twenty-ve days after the
last day of endosulfan
treatment, the motility of
sperms was signicantly
affected. However, at day
35, the pesticides effect
on motility was not significant. Thats because
spermatogenesis
[the
process in which spermatozoa are produced from
male germ cells] gets over
by 30-35 days. So the
effect probably wears off
after that, said Prof.
Raghavan.
It is to be remembered
that unlike mice that
were exposed to endo-

sulfan for a limited period, people living in the

areas where the pesticide
is being used are continually exposed and may see
the effect on motility continuing to be signicant if
effects on humans is the
same as seen in mice.
The researchers carried
out mating experiments
to double check the effect
of lower sperm count and
less motility in mice.
They allowed the pesticide-treated male mice to
breed with female mice
(in 1:3 ratio of male and
females) that were not
treated with endosulfan.
The mating experiments
were carried during three
periods (5-10 days, 20-25
days and 30-35 days after
treatment with the pesticide). About 30 per cent
of males did not give any
progeny, he said.
In all three mating
windows, the percentage
of infertile males increased as opposed to zero infertile males in
control groups, indicating
that the reduced sperm
count and motility contributed towards reduced
fertility in males, notes
the paper.
What is indeed significant is that the 20-25day window showed the
most infertile males. This

y friend Professor
Jayakrishna Ambati
of Louisville, KY, USA, alerted me about a recent paper
by Dr Derek Abbott and his
group from the University of
Adelaide, Australia, with the
title: Too good to be true:
when overwhelming evidence fails to convince
(which appears in <http://
arxiv.org/
abs/1601.00900>). They ask
the following: A small
amount of bad can produce
a good outcome. (Incidentally, this is referred to as
Parrondos Paradox). But,
can too much good produce
a bad outcome? Or, is an
inverse Parrandos Paradox
possible? And they show
that indeed it is possible.
This inverse is termed the
Braess Paradox. In order to
understand the whole thing,
I went over to Wikipedia
and found some nuggets.
Parrondo's
paradox
(named after its creator
Juan Parrondo) says that a
combination of losing strategies becomes a winning
strategy. Wikipedia cites an
excellent example of the
Parrondos Paradox in gambling. I quote: consider two
gamesGame AandGame B,

with the following rules: 1.

InGame A, you simply lose
$1 every time you play. 2.
InGame B, you count how
much money you have left.
If it is an even number, you
win $3. Otherwise you lose
$5.
Say you begin with $100
in your pocket. If you start
playing Game A exclusively,
you will obviously lose all
your money in 100 rounds.
Similarly, if you decide to
play Game B exclusively,
you will also lose all your
money in 100 rounds. However, consider playing the
games alternatively, starting
with Game B, followed by A,
then by B, and so on (BABABA...). Now, you will steadily
earn a total of $2 for every
two games.
Thus, even though each
game is a losing proposition
if played alone, because the
results of Game B are affected by Game A, the sequence
in which the games are
played can affect how often
Game B earns you money,
and subsequently the result
is different from the case
where either game is played
by itself. Parrondo's paradox
is used extensively in game
theory, and its application in

The Jessica Lal case is an

instance of too much of a
good thing leading to a bad
result. PHOTO: AFP
engineering, population dynamics,nancial risk and
other areas.
What then is the Braess
Paradox? Wikipedia states
the following. This is the inverse of the Parrondo paradox, discovered by Dr.
Dietrich Braess, a mathematician at Ruhr University,
Germany. He cites the following example. The traffic
police in a city decide to construct a bypass road in order
to ease the ow of vehicles in
a crowded road. Now, each
driver decides to take the

bypass in order to optimize

his time. Soon enough, the
bypass road is also crowded
and traffic jammed. Good
intention has led to bad result! Alas, we see this all too
often in cities across India.
This is but one example of
the Braess paradox.
The paper by Abbott and
colleagues wants us to imagine a court case where witness after witness is lined
up, in an identity parade, to
testify whether the suspect
defendant is actually the
same person as the perpetrator of the crime. Now, human memory is inherently
uncertain, and thus the
process would include random error. The more witnesses there are the better
(say about 13 of them). If the
identity parade is biased, intentionally or not, say, because (i) the suspect is
somehow conspicuous, or
(ii) the staff conducting the
parade directs the witness
towards him, or (iii) the suspect by chance resembles
the actual perpetrator, or
(iv) the witness holds a bias,
say, they have previously
seen the suspect, then an innocent suspect may be selected with the probability
greater than chance. The
sheer number of witnesses
can now inuence the judg-

therapeutic gene targets,

that RNAi technology can be
made an affordable and amenable therapy for cancer,
observed the authors of the
study, which was published
in May, 2015 in Molecular
Cancer Therapeutics.
According to Dr. Lekha,
Principal Scientist and Project Leader, Cancer Biology,
CCMB, unlike the chemodrugs which do not distinguish between normal and
cancerous cells, the biological drug used by them specically shuts down the gene
implicated in cancer. Describing their work as proof
of concept, which could be
applied to different types of
cancers, she said this type of
biological drug is going to be
the future for cancer therapeutics which might eventually replace chemo-drugs.
Dr. Lekha said that her division would soon start work
on biological drugs for inhibiting tyrosine kinases which
are the targets of the present
chemo-drugs. This could
revolutionise cancer therapy
from general to more specific molecular treatments in
future, she added.

Bird named after Salim Ali

is only to be expected as
at 25 days post-treatment,
the sperm count had
dropped to its lowest
point and the sperms had
the least motility.
Besides fertility, the
pesticide was found to
damage the DNA and increase the levels of error
prone DNA repair leading
to genomic instability. Reactive oxygen species
were found to be the
culprits causing damaging
to DNA and the DNA
repair mechanism.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has
classied endosulfan as a
Class II pesticide (moderately toxic) and it is listed
under the Stockholm convention as a persistent
organic pollutant, given
its environmental impact.
The Stockholm Convention held in 2011 had
advised the phasing out of
the pesticide over a veyear period and India has
agreed to phase out its
use by 2017. Currently,
Kerala and Karnataka
have banned its use as
people in Kasargod district in Kerala had reported
several
health
problems related to its
use. The pesticide was
aerially sprayed on cashew plantations in the district.

K.S. SUDHI

wenty-nine years after the

demise Dr. Salim Ali, the
birdman of India, an international group of ornithologists
named a newly discovered species after him, thus paying
homage to the man who shaped
generations of ornithologists
and also contributed to the better understanding of birds.
Himalayan Forest Thrush,
Zoothera salimalii, thus goes
the name of the species, which
has been described from
northeastern India and adjacent parts. The research team
that identied the species included scientists from Sweden,
India, China, the U.S., and Russia.
Earlier, a bat species Salim
Ali's fruit bat that was rst
collected from Western Ghats
region of Theni district, Tamil
Nadu, was named after the legendary ornithologist.
The present study was initiated in June 2009 by Per Alstrm of Uppsala University,
Sweden and Shashank Dalvi of
the Alumnus of the Post Graduate Program, Wildlife Conservation Society- National
Centre for Biological Sciences,
Bangalore, while studying
birds at high elevations of
Western Arunachal Pradesh.
The researchers had discovered that there were two spe-

Lies, damned lies and statistics

SPEAKING OF SCIENCE

nanoparticles as the novel

drug delivery system.
Holding the potential for
translation from bench to
bedside in cancer therapy,
the biological drugs showed
effective accumulation to
therapeutic levels, thereby
triggering the inhibition of
neo-plastic spread. The effectiveness of the therapy
and the method was validated in vivo by tumour suppression in two knockout
mouse cancer models.
Following a daily dose of
intra-tumour
treatment
with multimodal nanoparticles conjugated to the RNAi
tool (c-Myc shRNA), it was
found that the tumour
growth was arrested and the
animal survival increased in
breast tumour models. Similarly, oral delivery of the
same drug to colon cancer
model mice showed that it
not only increased the animals survival but also reversed the cancerous state of
the intestinal tissue to a noncancerous state.
This study demonstrates,
through careful design of
non-viral nanoparticles and
appropriate selection of

ment.
Readers may recall the
case of the murder of Miss
Jessica Lal in April 1999,
who was shot dead because
she refused to serve drinks
to the criminal, stating that
it was past the closing time
of the bar. As many as nine
eyewitnesses to the event,
all friends and acquaintances of the criminal, refused to collaborate with the
trail judge, the police
botched up the report and
the trial court had to let the
culprit free. Too much of a
good thing manipulated
overwhelming
evidence
(lack of it here) failed to convict the murderer leading
to a bad result. (The case
had to go up to higher courts
before he was convicted
years later).
The famous line lies,
damned lies and statistics
was attributed by Mark
Twain to Disraeli, but curiously even here there is no
conclusive evidence. Some
say it was Bagehot who said
it, some attribute it to Leonor Courtney in 1895, but
the journal Nature in its November 26, 1885 issue
quotes a lawyer as saying
that there are simple liars,
damned liars and experts.
D. Balasubramanian
dbala@lvpei.org

The bird has been described

from northeastern India.
PHOTO: CRAIG BRELSFORD

cies of Plain-backed Thrush

breeding in sympathy in Arunachal Pradesh, India. These
were completely segregated
by elevation and habitat, one
occurring in mostly coniferous
forest up to the upper tree limit
and the other in alpine habitats
above the tree limit. Their
songs were strikingly different,
although no denite morphological differences were detected in the eld.
The research ndings were
published in Avian Research.
According to the researchers, it was realised that what
was considered as a single species, the Plain-backed Thrush
Zoothera mollissima, was in
fact two different species in
northeastern India. While the
Plain-backed Thrush in the co-

niferous and mixed forest had a

rather musical song, those individuals found in the same region, but on bare rocky
habitats above the tree-line
had a much harsher, scratchier, unmusical song.
The studies of specimens
from 15 museums in seven
countries revealed consistent
differences in plumage and
structure between birds from
these two populations. It was
conrmed that the species
breeding in the forests of the
eastern Himalayas had no scientic name. Later, the new
species was named as Himalayan Forest Thrush Zoothera
salimalii. The high-elevation
Plain-backed Thrush is now renamed as Alpine Thrush while
it retains the scientic name of
Zoothera mollissima, said a
communication.
The analysis of plumage,
structure, song, DNA and ecology from throughout the range
of the Plain-backed Thrush revealed that a third species was
present in central China,
which was already known. This
was treated as a subspecies of
Plain-backed Thrush and was
called as Sichuan Forest
Thrush. The song of the Sichuan Forest Thrush was
found to be even more musical
than the song of the Himalayan
Forest Thrush, the communication said.

QUESTION CORNER
LAW OF INERTIA
If we throw a ball up in a very fast-moving vehicle (like
an aircraft or a train), why does it come straight back to
our hands and not fall behind us?
SAJITH K., KOCHI, KERALA

According to Newtons rst law, every material object

continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a
straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by an
unbalanced (net) force impressed upon it.
When a person throws a ball up in a moving vehicle, say, a
train, the ball does come straight back to thrower as though
the train were at rest. This is an iron-clad evidence for the
law of inertia as the horizontal motion of ball before, during
and after the catch is the same. To paraphrase, owing to the
inertia of motion, the horizontal component vector of the
velocity of the ball is equal to the velocity of the train at the
moment the ball leaves the throwers hand. The former
remains constant during the balls ight. So if the train
moves with a constant velocity, the ball will exactly return
to the thrower.
Here, it should be noted that the gravitational force only
pulls the ball down, but not back or forth. This would also
mean that the ball does not experience any acceleration that
could change its forward velocity. Hence, the vertical force
of gravity affects only the vertical motion of the ball.
Therefore, in accordance with the law of inertia, it is
logical to expect the vertically thrown ball return to throwers hands in a train moving with a constant velocity. However, if the train accelerates during the ight, the ball will
fall behind the thrower. On the other hand, if the train
decelerates during the ight, the ball will fall ahead of the
thrower.
Dr. P. RAMESH BABU
Professor of Physics, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu

THIS WEEKS QUESTION

What technique is used to measure the distance of a
celestial object from Earth and also of its distance from
other celestial objects?
K.Srinivasan, Chennai
Readers may send their questions/answers to questioncorner@thehindu.co.in
ND-X

NOIDA/DELHI

EducationPlus 03

THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 25, 2016

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Dont just watch them simmer

Why do students become angry? It could be a result of the tension between their need for
personal space and craving for attention.
RAVI VALLURI
Anger is an
acid which can
EMOTIONAL
damage the
QUOTIENT
vessel of
eachers! Leave the
knowledge, if
kids alone, all in all
its a brick in the
left
wall, is a line from
the Pink Floyd production
unattended.

which articulated the anger

among students, years back.
We as school students rehearsed the chorus, School is
such a bore and we are building
more, for the musical Kidstuf,
directed by Barry John and the
music scored by Param Vir.
Today, homosexuality continues to be treated disdainfully by our society. Todays gen
next, fed by an implosion of information find this adult behaviour highly hypocritical.
Is your student a female in a
male body and in the process of
discovering his sexuality? Or
perhaps suffering from dyslexia? Or has the student been
forced into a discipline not of
their liking and aptitude?
These children are simmering
with anger, as conventional
mores do not embrace them.
And parents and teachers are
unaware of their predicament.

MANIFESTATION
Anger manifests as a vexed
and infuriated attitude of the
student. It is normal for any
student to be angry. It is a natural human emotion which
should not be suppressed. The
feelings need to be ventilated,
so that the volcano does not

GLOBAL BUZZ
News from around the world.
STUDENT LOAN STRUGGLE
Thousands of American students are appealing to the U.S.
government to forgive their student loans on the grounds that
their college deceived them with false promises. According to
reports, more than 7,500 borrowers owing $164 million have
approached the government in the past six months to have
their loan written off under a previously obscure federal law.
According to the law, if the borrowers can prove that their
schools used illegal tactics to recruit them, such as by lying
about their graduates earnings, then the debt can be forgiven.
This provides a new ray of hope for thousands of Americans
who got burdened with student debt after attending
disreputable schools that failed to get them decent jobs.

STUDENT DEPORTED

Mixed signals from parents and peers may be the cause of your students pent-up feelings.
PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

erupt. Uncontrolled anger can

be contagious and lead to a rebellion in the classroom.
Why do students become angry? They unabashedly crave
attention, yet seek a personal
space, and are against what they
may perceive as cruel control.
Several students are stuck in
the mores of their homes and
schools, even the religious and
spiritual proclivities of their
parents and family with which
they cannot empathise.
During vacations students
may just like to chill out with
friends, spend a night over, play

KNOW YOUR ENGLISH

S. UPENDRAN
What is the difference between long for and long to? (Paramjeet
Singh, Patiala)
You usually long for someone or something. The expression is
mostly used to mean to desire or pine for the individual or thing. The
use of the phrasal verb suggests that your wish is unlikely to come true
in the immediate future. Long to is always used with things. One
always longs to do something meaning, one has a great desire to do
it.
The children are longing to meet Sachin and Kohli.
Sneha and her friends are longing to go to America.
Im longing for a hot cup of coffee.
Bala says that hes longing for good company.
What is the meaning and origin of in the offing? (N Dharamraj, Vellore)
When you say that something is in the offing, what you are suggesting is that it is likely to happen in the near future; chances are, it will
happen soon.
My boss says that major changes are in the offing.
I heard that theres a wedding in the offing.
Offing has nothing to do with off and on. The word, in fact,
occurs only in this expression; it does no occur independently in other
any other context. Offing refers to the horizon; it refers to the distant
part of the sea that can be seen from the shore. The original meaning
of in the offing was in the distant future. Over a period of time,
however, the meaning changed to something that will happen soon.
How is the word foible pronounced? (S Vimala, Chennai)
The first syllable foi rhymes with boy, toy and joy, while ble
sounds like the ble in trouble, bubble and double. The word is
pronounced FOY-bl with the stress on the first syllable. It is normally used to refer to a very minor flaw or weakness in an individual;
usually, in his character or behaviour. For example, a person may at
times behave in an eccentric manner. His friends may find his odd
behaviour mildly irritating or they may find it endearing! A foible is
usually harmless.
Most of the students admired the Principal despite her foibles.
For this relationship to work, we need to put up with each others
foibles.
The word comes from the world of fencing sword fighting. The
foible is the weakest part of the sword from the middle of the
sword to the tip. The strongest part from the middle to the hilt is
called forte.
Is it okay to say, The students were living in a dreadful condition? (N
Aravind, Salem)
Though such sentences are frequently heard in our country, they
are not grammatically acceptable. The word condition is not normally used when you are attempting to describe the situation or environment in which a person lives or works. In such contexts,
conditions is the preferred word. One usually talks about living
conditions and working conditions. Since the word conditions is
used, we say dreadful conditions and not a dreadful conditions.
The living conditions in the city are getting worse.
How do you manage to get any work done in such terrible
conditions?
****
A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running. Groucho
Marx
Email: upendrankye@gmail.com

with their gizmos or go on a holiday with their bunch of

friends. But instead, parents
suddenly conjure a holiday,
perhaps to keep a vigil on the
movements of the child. Students find this behaviour reprehensible and a breach of trust.
A student starts simmering
with anger and has pent-up
feelings when he receives
mixed signals and messages
about various aspects in life
from parents, peers and society
at large observing their double
standards.
The innocence of the child li-

kens it to egregious behaviour

by parents.

DENIAL
Apparently a couple of students from a prestigious school
in the city attempted to run
away as they claimed to have
discovered soul mates in each
other, much to the chagrin of
the parents and disbelief of the
school establishment. Both
parties lived in a world of denial.
The recalcitrant child refuses
to leave the sandbox when the
aura of the house is negative.
Imagine a house which has an

alcoholic father and a stressedout mother who is highly demanding. The student is unable
to perform well academically
and suffers from low self-esteem. Further the student
could be a victim of peer rejection, mood swings and psychosomatic disorders. The anxiety
of the child worsens with frequent burnouts, feeling deprived in comparison to fellow
classmates. It is quite likely that
the family is unable to support
the growing financial demands
of the student.
In such an eventuality, it is
the teacher who can fill the
chasm and create a serene atmosphere in the classroom, listen to the students voiced and
unvoiced needs, make them list
out what bothers them, encourage them to pursue sport and
hobbies and expand their horizons. Anger is an acid which can
damage the vessel of knowledge, if left unattended.
In the final analysis, as Stephen Hawking put it, People
wont have time for you if you
are
always
angry
or
complaining.

A foreign super student studying at Aarhus University,

Denmark, has been deported from
the country for working too many
hours in a part-time cleaning job,
according to reports. The move to
deport Marius Youbi, a 30-year-old
electrical engineering student,
triggered protests from the
university as well as the Danish
working unions. Aarhus University
has described Youbi as the best we Aarhus University
have. Demonstrations were held to
support him. His supporters created a Facebook page called
Let Marius stay which collected 8,000 likes. To strengthen
support, a petition with 18,000 signatures was delivered to the
Integration Minister Inger Stjberg. However, the Danish
Agency for International Recruitment and Integration, or SIRI,
is sticking to its decision.

TAPPING THE POTENTIAL

In an attempt to attract more varied candidates into
publishing, Penguin Random House has announced that it will
no longer require applicants to have a university degree. This
will give the applicants an opportunity to demonstrate their
potential, irrespective of their background. The publishing
house believes there is increasing evidence that there is no
correlation between having a degree and performance at work.
The move is designed to send a clear message to job-seekers
who have been through higher education that the university
they attended will not impact their chance of success, said Neil
Morrison, HR director of Penguin Random House, in a release.
COMPILED BY SARTHAK SARASWAT

Its back to the evergreen sciences

There is a sudden surge in the number of students who want to take up pure science courses.
T. BHUVANESHWARI
As the demand Classes.
Dr. V. Nalinakshi said that the
he trend of students pursuScience and Technology departfor IT
T
ing courses in the basic sciment gives Rs.10,000 per student
professionals
ences is picking up in recent
per year to those who have
years, creating hopes for the fuscored more than 70 per cent in
has
come
ture in the field of science. HowB.Sc.
down, more
ever, the demand for bachelors
The students pursuing B.Sc.
degree in industry-oriented
will
also get educational loans
students are
courses has decreased. So far, the
from the banks. Those who want
traditional engineering and medto do research will get scholaropting for
ical streams were the main atship from the government and
B.Sc. in basic
traction for students as well as
students belonging to SC and ST
parents. However, the situation
will get financial assistance from
science
is gradually changing, with more
the government to go to confersubjects.
students opting for basic science
ences and type their theses. Simidegrees, with support from government agencies. Physics,
chemistry, mathematics (PCM)
is considered the evergreen
course and chemistry, botany,
zoology (CBZ) in the degree colleges are in demand. Courses
with microbiology, biotechnology, electronics and computer science are not in great demand,
and not even 50 per cent of the
seats allotted are being filled for
microbiology and biotechnology
in most of the colleges.
Most of the private colleges
which offered B.Sc. courses in
microbiology and biotechnology,
affiliated to Tumkur University,
have closed in Tumkuru district
due to lack of strength. Earlier,
students were more attracted to
engineering courses as there was
an IT boom. The mushrooming
of engineering colleges in Karnataka with the increase in the
number of seats was also the reason as more students could get
seats in the engineering colleges.
Hence, the number of students
opting for B.Sc. in basic sciences
had decreased.
Principal of University College
of Science, Dr. H.Y. Eshwar told
The Hindu, Now, as the demand
for IT professionals has come
down, and the salaries offered by
IT companies starts from
Rs.10,000-11,000 per month
which is less than what it was 15
years ago, more students are opt-

Changing circumstances: Theres future in the field of science.

ing for B.Sc. in basic science
subjects.
He says that earlier, students
who failed to get seats in engineering and medical courses
used to take up B.Sc., but, now,
even students who have scored
98 per cent in Class XII are taking B.Sc. instead of engineering.
Now, around 90 per cent of the
students who are pursuing B.Sc.
want to become lecturers and 10
per cent want to do research and
become scientists. Dr. Eshwar
said that as the demand in their
college has increased, they are
admitting students through
counselling for B.Sc.
Hema.B.H., a final-year, B.Sc
(PCM) student of University College for Science, said that though
she had scored more than 70 per
cent in Class XII she took B.Sc as
she was interested in research.
Vice-Chancellor of Tumkur University, Prof.A.H. Rajasab, told
The Hindu, As microbiology and
biotechnology are industry-oriented subjects, the teaching opportunities for these subjects are
less. Job opportunities in the industry have also decreased as
there are very few industries.
About 4-5 years ago, many students took microbiology and bio-

technology courses, as almost all

the students who completed the
courses used to get appointment
in the BT sector. But now, it has
arrived at a saturation point and
there are few opportunities in
the industry sector as there are
very few supporting industries in
the State.
In degree colleges, the posts of
lecturers in microbiology and
biotechnology are very meagre,
and in most of the colleges, the
botany and zoology lecturers
teach microbiology and biotechnology. Hence, M.Sc. in biotechnology and microbiology have
few teaching opportunities in degree colleges, and even in industries, post graduates are not
preferred as they expect more
salaries and may not stay in the
company.
Principal of Siddaganga First
Grade College for Women, Dr. V.
Nalinakshi said that B.Sc. courses with PCM and CBZ have full
strength whereas the B.Sc.
course with CZM (Chemistry,
Zoology, Microbiology) has just
15 students against 40 seats and
B.Sc. with CBBT (Chemistry,
Botany, Biotechnology) has 15
students against 60 seats. She
added B.Sc. with PMCs (Physics,

Mathematics and Computer Science) has 30 students against 60

seats and B.Sc. with PME (Physics, Mathematics, Electronics)
has only eight students.
Scholarship: Now, students
pursuing B.Sc in the basic sciences are encouraged by the government agencies by means of
scholarships.
The state government gives
scholarships to Scheduled Caste
and Schedule Tribe students, Minorities and Other Backward
Total number of students
who took B.Sc., B.CA and
M.Sc. under Tumkur
University.
In 2012-13, 4214 students
took B.Sc and 689 took B.CA.
(Bachelor of Computer Applications), 226 students
joined M.Sc. with a total of
5129 students.
'In 2013-14, 4353 students
took B.Sc. and 704 took B.CA.
(Bachelor of Computer Applications), 281 students
joined M.Sc. with a total of
5338 students.
In 2014-15, 4629 students
took B.Sc and 728 took B.CA
(Bachelor of Computer Applications), 558 students
joined M.Sc. with a total of
5915 students.

larly, students belonging to

Minorities and Other Backward
Classes will get financial assistance from the Minorities and
Other Backward Classes welfare
department.
Job Opportunities: For B.Sc.,
the scope is unlimited said Mr.
Rajasab. Those who prefer government jobs opt for the B.Sc.
courses in basic science. They
can work in banks, government
departments, as lecturers in colleges, teachers in schools with a
B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) or
D.Ed. (Diploma in Education).
B.Sc. with a M.Ed. (Master of
Education) can get them jobs in
the Education department.
Demand in foreign countries: In Europe and America,
industries fund the education of
students pursuing microbiology
and biotechnology, as there is lot
of demand for them in these
countries, said Prof. Rajasab. After the completion of the course,
they will find jobs in those companies.
He said that even in India,
apart from their corporate social
responsibility, corporate companies must fund the education of
the students pursuing the courses which help their companies
and also to carry out research
activities. This will also help to
have a close connection with the
Universities and Industries
which benefit the students.

MOOC advantage

FIITJEEs Fortunate 40 test

Massive Open Online Courses are gaining popularity in India.

KATHAKALI NANDI

TRENDS

ith the advent of

technology,
elearning is rapidly
gaining
importance and momentum. With the government
aiming at digitising India with
its Digital India initiative, educational institutes are also
working in tandem to help fulfil
the goal.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are fast gaining popularity among students and
working professionals as they
CM
YK

help them study at their convenience and time.

Websites such as edX and
Coursera enlist free online
courses from various institutes
across the world.
Such is the popularity of
MOOCs that last year Prime
Minister
Modi
launched
SWAYAM, a MOOC platform
in India, which will have two
courses from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay,
and one from Princeton University, U.S. The courses can
be accessed free of cost. Today, several other Indian institutes have collaborated with
SWAYAM and many more
courses are on offer.

Talking about MOOCs in

India, Ajit Chauhan, vice
chairperson of Amity Online
Education, says the biggest
advantage of MOOCs is accessing study content taught by
the best faculty at any given
time.
The biggest advantage of
MOOCs is the convenience of
learning. It helps deliver quality education to students, irrespective of their geographical
location. MOOCs allow students sitting in the most remote corner of the world get
access to the best of educational content at very practical
and economical prices. Apart
from study materials, students

get to participate in live discussions which help them get

their doubts clarified and interact with professors from
top universities and colleges,
Mr. Chauhan said.
Elaborating on the MOOCs
offered by Amity University,
Mr. Chauhan said about one
lakh students are already accessing them.
For all our MOOCs, tuition
is free. Students only need to
pay a nominal fee for the
examination charges every semester. Currently, all our certificate courses, which last for
two-three months, are on offer
on the MOOC platform. We
are also the first in the coun-

try to launch a bachelors

degree on the MOOC platform, Mr. Chauhan added.
Amity Universitys bachelors of arts degree, available
on the MOOC platform, is
spread across six semesters
and allows students to specialise in any one field during the
last two semesters.
Since its launch in 2015,
about one thousand students
have enrolled for the online
course.
We have 15 MOOCs on
offer and we are in talks with
top universities from abroad
to launch their MOOC degrees
through the Amity platform,
Mr. Chauhan said.

IITJEE is conducting a
selection test for its
Fortunate 40 batch, a CSR
initiative to support the young
and meritorious students who
are economically deprived.
Every year, Fortunate 40
picks forty students through
its selection test and guides
them from Class IX up to the
Engineering Entrance
Examinations.
Apart from this, students
may appear for some of the
other entrance examinations
such as International Junior
Science Olympiad (IJSO),
Junior Science Talent Search
Exam (JSTSE), National
Talent Search Exam (NTSE),
Senior Science Olympiad
(Physics, Chemistry,
Astronomy) and Kishore

Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana

(KVPY). The test will be
conducted on February 7
across India for the students
of Class VIII (going to Class
IX) and Class X (going to Class
XI) targeting JEE 2020 and
JEE 2018 respectively.
Selected students may avail
up to 100 per cent
scholarships on FIITJEE
classroom coaching
programmes and on hostel
charges.
Interested students can
register for the test for free by
filling up a form either by
visiting any FIITJEE centre
or through the website
www.fiitjeelogin.com on or
before February 4.
For further details, visit
www.f40.fiitjee.com.
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04 EducationPlus

THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 25, 2016

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doubt, ask and progress

In a society that settles for binary answers, whats the relevance of a
questioning mind?
ARUNA SANKARANARAYANAN

YOUTH

The manner in which a question is asked is also pertinent to how it is received.

Only if youth are

encouraged to
question the
status quo, can
we expect social
change to take
place.
tion the status quo, can we expect
social change to take place. A doubting mind is one that simply does not
accept things as they are. Asking why,
how and what role can I play are fundamental to eradicating prejudice,
fighting climate change and creating a
more just world.
Furthermore, in India, we have a
noble tradition of respecting elders
and those in authority. However, at
the same time, this reverence for older persons is often equated with not
asking questions. In fact, questioning
the authority is often viewed as disrespectful.
As a result, youngsters are often
dissuaded from raising doubts, and, in
the long run, tend to quell them all
together. Parents and mentors have

The Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, has

invited online applications for the
Online Common Admission Test
(CUSAT- CAT-2016) to be held on
April 30 and May 1 at New Delhi,
Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Jamshedpur, Allahabad,
Lucknow, Ranchi, Varanasi, Kota,
Dubai and all district headquarters of Kerala, for admission to
regular B.Tech programmes and
postgraduate programmes including LLM, MCA, three-year
LLB, MSc and MFSc. The CUSAT
has also invited online applications for the online Lateral Entry
Test (LET) for B.Tech admission
and forms will be issued for the
Department Admission Test
(DAT) for M.Tech, M.Phil, PhD
and Diploma programmes. Admission to MBA programme is
based on C-Mat/MAT/IIM-CAT
score, group discussion and interview and for M.Tech GATE score.
Online application facilities are
provided up to February 15 and
remittance of fee at bank through
chalan/net banking can be made
till February 22. Online registration for international students
provided up to April 30. Issue and
receipt of DAT application form
till February 22. Admit Card for
the online CUSAT-CAT and LET
can be downloaded from April 15.
Test and admission details, eligibility criteria and other particular are available in the detailed
prospectus published on the website
www.cusat.nic.in
or
www.cusat.ac.in.

FRI UNIVERSITY ADMISSION

TEST
The Forest Research Institute
(FRI) University, Dehra Dun, has
invited applications for the national-level admission test to be
held on May 8 for admission to
the following regular MSc pro-

WHATS NEW
IIAD PROGRAMME
The Indian Institute of Art and Design (IIAD) in collaboration with
Kingston University, London, is offering bachelors degree programmes
in Fashion Design, Interior Architecture and Design, and Communication
Design, at its campus in New Delhi.
Candidates who have appeared/
passed the CBSE/ISC/IB (or any other equivalent board) 10+2 examination in any discipline can apply.
CM
YK

grammes for the academic year

2016:
MSc Forestry (38 seats): Eligibility Three-year bachelors
degree in Science with at least one
of the subjects namely Botany,
Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Zoology or BSc Agriculture / Forestry with minimum
50 per cent marks.
M.Sc. Wood Science and
Technology (38 seats): Eligibility Three-year bachelors degree
with physics, mathematics and
chemistry or BSc degree in forestry with minimum 50 per cent
marks.
MSc Environment Management (38 seats): Eligibility
Three-year bachelors degree in
any branch of basic or applied sciences or BSc Forestry / Agriculture or BE/ B.Tech in
Environment Science with minimum 50 per cent marks.
MSc Cellulose and Paper
Technology (20 seats): Eligibility Three-year bachelors degree
in science with chemistry as one
of the subjects or BE/ B/Tech in
chemical / mechanical engineering with minimum 50% marks.
Age limit is 19 - 21 as on July 31,
2015.
The test will be conducted at
Dehra Dun, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Delhi, Lucknow, Jabalpur,
Jodhpur, Shimla, Ranchi, Jorhat,
Chandigarh and Kolkata.
Application form and Information Bulletin can be downloaded
from
the
website
http://
fri.icfre.gov.in or www.icfre.gov.in. Last date for receiving completed applications is April 4,
2016.

BITS ADMISSION TEST

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani,
has invited applications for the
online admission test (BITSAT2016) for admission to the integrated first degree programmes

that when we ask questions, we continue to listen when the other person
is providing an answer. Unfortunately, debates in the Parliament are a far
cry from how reasoned and respectful
debates should take place between
opposing camps. It is indeed a travesty of our times that the youth cannot necessarily look up to our leaders
as paragons of deliberate thought.
In her book, The Art of Listening,
sociologist Les Back makes a case for
the importance of living with doubt
in the service of understanding, of
trying to grapple with moral complexity.
Rather than embracing false certainties, we need to learn to tolerate
ambiguity and cultivate the patience
to ponder over labyrinthine problems
that dont necessarily have readymade solutions.
And, most importantly, students
should never feel compromised for
asking a question, however simplistic
it may seem to others. In fact, professors need to worry when students do
not have any doubts. Knowledge progresses only when we continue to ask
questions.
The author is Director,
PRAYATNA. Email:
arunasankara@gmail.com

he education system in the U.S. is

vastly different
from that in India,
and Ill point out a
couple of major differences. What I would like to
celebrate, perhaps, is the
freedom of choice offered
to students. Each student
will have his/her own
preference, likes and interests, in various areas of
study. The student is given the privilege of choosing the course, the
professors and, to some
extent, the class timings.
This has two advantages:
first, the students get to
study courses that are of
interest to them. This directly and positively motivates their engagement
in the class and in turn
their performance. Second, it empowers the students and creates a sense
of responsibility in them.
It also puts the onus of
performance on them and
encourages them to work
hard.

PRACTICAL AND
SENSIBLE
Secondly, I found the
curriculum and exams to
be very practical and sensible. One is given handson and theoretical knowledge, provided with
abundant resources and
given insight into the latest technology, by professors who are engaged in
doing in-depth research
in the field. This makes a
huge difference to the
quality of knowledge one
gets to possess and increases ones knowledge
base in the subject many
times. The exams are almost never a test of how
much ink a student can
afford to spare, or his/her
skill in planning strategically by going through

Achuth Krishnan Sreedevi

Most exams
even allow
cheat sheets
in which one
can write
down
formulae.
previous years question
papers or how much he/
she can memorise or
learn by rote. Most exams
even allow cheat sheets in
which one can write down
the formulae and such
other information which
would otherwise have to
be remembered. Lastly,
let me mention the shock
usually felt by the vast
majority of Indian students who have survived,
and in certain cases even
excelled, with last-minute studying in the Indian universities. It doesnt
work here! The education
system is built to engage
you throughout the semester and you are graded for your consistent and
steady
performance.

While this might seem depressing to some, it came

as a long overdue wakeup call for me. While all
these factors are in complete favour of the education system of America, it
has to be admitted that its
lack of affordability
looms large and grey. One
of the former Presidents
of U.S.A., Lyndon B Johnson, said Poverty must
not be a bar to learning,
and learning must offer
an escape from poverty.
The first part of the sentence might be true for
the Americans but not so
for the international
students.
Whether to study in
America or not, may be a
question one has to weigh
carefully before heading
for it, but never let there
be a question of whether
to study or not, for as Allan Bloom has said, Education is the movement
from darkness to light
and to light everyone certainly has a claim.
The writer is a student
of M.S., Computer
Science, at New York
University.

For success without pressure

BE/B.Pharm, M.Sc. offered at
Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses. The test will be held between May 14 and 28.
Those who have passed Class
XII / equivalent examination in
2015 and have secured a minimum of aggregate 75 per cent
marks in physics, chemistry and
mathematics / biology and with at
least 60 per cent marks in each of
these subjects are eligible to apply. Students who are appearing
for the Class XII / equivalent examination in 2016 are also
eligible.
The computer-based online
test will be of three hours duration and comprise objective-type
multiple-choice questions from
physics, chemistry, English proficiency, logical reasoning and
mathematics/ biology. Each correct answer carries three marks
and one mark will be deducted for
each wrong answer. The test covers a total of 150 questions. Test
centres will include Coimbatore,
Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram,
Goa, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mysuru, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam,
Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
The online application should
be submitted before March 5 on
www.bitsadmission.com. Time
limit for revising / editing the application by the candidate: March
6 - 7. Candidates can reserve test
dates during March 21 and April
10. The hall tickets can be downloaded between April 20 and 30.
In addition to applying for BITSAT 2016, candidates have to apply for admission to BITS as well
and give details of their Class XII
marks and preferences for different degree programmes offered.
The prescribed application form
for admission, detailed application procedure and so on will be
available on the website by May
20.
COMPILED BY
GOPAKUMAR KARAKONAM

Students who recently appeared for

the exam and are awaiting their results can apply as well.
All students must attend the iDAT
(IIAD Design Aptitude Test), portfolio evaluation, and interview. IIAD is
also offering scholarships up to 50 per
cent for meritorious students. The
deadline for submitting the application is April 30. Students can apply
online at www.applytoiiad.com. For
details, visit www.iiad.edu.in.

STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY
PROGRAMME

PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

to stop treating questions as signs of

impudence. In fact, when youngsters
ask a question, it shows that they are
thinking about what you said and are
interested in the subject. Furthermore, a knowledgeable person wins
the respect of others when she is able
to answer thorny questions without
getting heckled or defensive.
Even though modern Indian sensibilities may shy away from asking uncomfortable
questions,
an
argumentative tradition has been a
feature of our culture for aeons, according to Professor Amartya Sen.
In his book, The Argumentative Indian, Sen writes, The Vedas may be
full of hymns and religious invocations, but they also tell stories, speculate about the world and true to
the argumentative propensity already
in view ask difficult questions.
Thus, it should not be too difficult for
us as a culture to reignite our questioning minds so that we may confront uncomfortable truths rather
than shy away from them.
Of course, the manner in which we
ask a question is also pertinent to how
it will be received. It is important that
we speak in a respectful tone even if
we are challenging what another person says. Also, we have to make sure

WASSUP
CUSAT- CAT- 2016

Enthused by his experience at New York

University, ACHUTH KRISHNAN SREEDEVI
writes about what is special about a U.S.
education.
GOALPOST

s students, we are encouraged to get our doubts cleared by teachers, especially

before a test or an exam.
While encouraging students
to ask questions is extremely healthy,
teachers should also let them know
that being in a state of doubt, at least
some of the time, is also essential for
their growth and understanding. In
fact, having doubts is a hallmark of an
active, questioning mind. Even
though teachers may clarify doubts,
other perplexities are bound to arise
when a student engages with a problem deeply. Unfortunately, modern
society does not necessarily provide a
space for a doubting mind to come to
terms with itself.
We live in an age of instant gratification and quick fixes where people
expect answers at the click of a
mouse. As a result, patience, an oldfashioned virtue nowadays, is fraying.
With impatience on the rise, we are
also witnessing a society that settles
for binary answers. From Facebook
likes to TV anchors clamouring participants on debates to answer Yes or
No on complex social issues, the zeitgeist fosters black-or-white thinking.
Apart from leading to unhealthy polarisation, this kind of thinking is
simplistic and does not provide room
for reflective and reasoned thought.
In todays harried and hurried
world, people expect definitive answers. Because people have diminishing levels of patience, we are willing
to trade complexity for certainty.
Thus, our ability to tolerate ambiguity, which indicates a mature mind, is
receding.
We prefer pat responses to ponderous explanations. In fact, confidence
is often mistaken for knowledge,
whereas measured responses are
seen as dithering. After all, nuanced
answers that dont necessarily fall into clear-cut categories dont make
sensational news stories.
But as students and citizens of a
democracy, we have to appreciate the
significance of a doubting mind.
Minds that question, scratch below
the surface and look beyond binary
polarities are quintessential for the
functioning of a vibrant democracy.
Only if youth are encouraged to ques-

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

With the Board exams in March, here is how teachers, parents and students
can gear up for them.
Donts

MEENA GOPALAKRISHNAN

Humiliating any student, irrespective of the reason.

Expressing your work pressure to the students.
Ignoring a student whose performance is consistently weak.
There are a few Dos and
Donts for students as well.

EXAM PREP

oday, it appears that parents, teachers and students all are focused
only on success in the
board exam. Not only
the students, but also their parents are considered successful
when their ward scores high
percentage and teachers are
claimed to be exemplary in their
profession when they accomplish 100 per cent result for the
schools. Ultimately all three are
under high pressure.
Every year, the period from
December to March is crucial,
but this year, to add fuel to fire,
the long and unforeseen holidays due to the recent rains have
thrown the planned schedule for
this academic year out of gear.
Academicians are struggling to
find ways and means to tackle
the situation. To me it is not the
students who should be more responsible, but parents and
teachers, who should take utmost care in handling the students. A few suggestions are
listed below:

FOR PARENTS: Dos

First and foremost read the
mind of your child. He or she is
in the adolescent age, going
through physical and emotional
changes. Now the fear of exams
and peer pressure make him or
her even more restless.
Try to understand the mental
trauma of the child.
Speak softly and use encouraging words.
Try to spend quality time with
your child when at home.

Staffordshire University, U.K., has

invited applications for its B.A.
(Hons) in Advertising and Brand
Management programme. Taught at
the School of Art and Design at the
university, the programme emphasises skill acquisition and enhancement
through inquiry-based learning and
problem-solving.
Students who are passionate about
advertising are welcome to apply.
Those who have scored approximately 70 per cent in Class XII and have
good English language skills are eligible to apply. All applicants are invited

FOR STUDENTS: Dos

Before you start your work every day, decide the lessons to be
completed by end of the day.
In case something is left incomplete, finish it the very next
day.
It would be easier to understand if you read the topics a
couple of times before it is
taught in class.
Take down notes of what is
taught and complete the tasks
given, the same day.
Revisit your schedule, and tally the completion of tasks as opposed to your initial plan.
Take up self-assessments at
regular intervals.
Most important, always have a
positive attitude.

Self-assessments at regular intervals can be of great help.

PHOTO: S.SUBRAMANIUM

Give your child healthy food

and ensure that he/she doesnt
fall ill.
Keep awake at night till your
child retires to bed. He/she will
realise your concern.
Make the environment at
home conducive for learning.
Advise your child suitably that
he/she could read late hours
now but not on the day prior to
the exam.

tant role in this context. They

are responsible for the success
of the students and the reputation of the institution. Completion of syllabus, correction of
notebooks and answer papers,
setting question papers, coaching remedial students and conducting special classes are a few
of their responsibilities, and the
list is endless. Here are a few
suggestions for them:

Donts

FOR TEACHERS: Dos

Accuse them of wasting time

and not being responsible. In
the days to come, this will only
make the child panic.
Arranging parties at home or
outside or entertaining guests
even for a short while will distract the child.
Express your disappointment
on your childs performance in
tests.
Constantly speaking about
scoring high marks will damage
the confidence of the child.
Teachers play the next impor-

for interview which can be conducted

via Skype. Automatic merit-based
scholarships worth 1,000 for the
first year of study are available for all
applicants who meet the entry requirements.
For each subsequent year a student
studies at Staffordshire, he/she will
receive a scholarship based on their
end-of-year grades. The deadline for
submitting the application is February 15. Students can apply via UCAS.
For
details,
visit
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/
course/SSTK-00726.jsp

The Hindu Education Plus invites Indian students in foreign universities

to share their experience about the
campus, quality of education, city life
and adapting to changes abroad. The
article should not be more than 500
words. Send three different pictures
of yourself (one solo, two on the campus) of minimum 2MB size to
goalpost@thehindu.co.in

Beginning something when

you are restless.
Comparing yourself with your
friends in any context.
Being influenced any kind of
peer pressure.
Hiding any problem you face
with your parents or teachers.
Believing any rumours regarding modification of syllabus or
postponement of exams unless
your school authorities announce it.
The author is a retired
P.G.teacher. Email:
meena647@gmail.com

Take time to explain concepts

clearly so that a majority of the
class can understand.
Give sufficient time to complete the assigned task.
Return the notebooks after
correction at the earliest.
Keep motivating and encouraging your students.
Remember to spend a few
minutes with your students to
discuss general topics, have
short light-hearted conversations besides core subjects and
exam.

WRITE TO US

Donts

FEEDBACK
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educationplus@thehindu.co.in

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