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When I graduated from my engineering college, I had a strong desire to pursue further studies like a management degree. But immediately after my college got over, I got a job offer from a leading IT company. I was in a dilemma since both the paths were alluring. I discussed my situation with some friends and they suggested that I should do a distance learning course from a renowned institution.

According to them, this would not hinder my job prospects and at the same time allow me to fulfill my aspiration of MBA. The idea was very appealing and I applied to Symbiosis school of management. Unfortunately, I could not complete my course and had to drop out of it mid-way. The mounting pressure of a new job (that too of a software engineer) and the heaps of weekly assignments was taking toll both on my performance at work and my health. So personally distance learning didn’t prove fruitful for me. But this does not mean that it is not a good option for working people. As every coin has two sides, even distance learning has its pros and cons.

Advantages:

It does not require commuting: You can save on a lot of time, money and energy by cutting down on travel.  The time saved can be judiciously used for personal and professional life.

You can work at your own convenience: Since all the classes are asynchronous, you have the liberty to review your assignments or do your homework during off-hours or at home.

You have the freedom of living anywhere you like: All you might require is an internet connection or a computer, and you can do your correspondence course from anywhere in the world.  This provides a lot of flexibility to professionals, especially if they have a travelling job.

It’s a self paced learning: Not everyone is born a genius. Some of us might take longer to grasp some concepts as compared to others. In case of distance learning you have the advantage of learning and understanding at your own pace. This reduces unnecessary stress and increases satisfaction.

It’s easily accessible to all: Online classes address physical accessibility issues that some people with limited mobility encounter when taking traditional classes. You don’t have to worry about gaining access to a classroom or sitting on uncomfortable desks. Instead, you can use your comfortable furniture in your home while enjoying free movement and a chance to further your education.

Disadvantages:

You have to juggle between job and studies: Distance learning is only fruitful if you can manage both your job and studies with equal sincerity. You have to put in a lot of efforts at both fronts. If you falter at ant one front, it is bound to have negative repercussions.

It does not offer immediate feedback: In a traditional classroom setting, your performance can be immediately assessed through questions and informal testing. With distance learning, you have to wait for feedback until the instructor has reviewed their work and responded to it.

It may not be acknowledged by all employers: Till now, all leading companies show preference for candidates who have done a regular course. The job prospects might not be as bright with a correspondence course as otherwise. You might even have to compromise on the pay-package in some situations.

It doesn’t help in building oral communication skills: You do not get the opportunity to interact with teachers and other students on a personal basis. This inhibits the building of verbal skills which is an essential trait when you go for interviews.

It leads to social isolation: Most often you’ll be studying alone. Distance learners may feel isolated or miss that social physical interaction that comes with attending a traditional classroom. However this impersonality has been lessening with advances and use of communication technologies such as bulletin boards, threaded discussions, chats, email and conferencing.

Tags: Advantages of Distance Learning, Correspondance Course, Disadvantages of Distance Learning, Distance Education, Distance Learning, Education, Literature, People, Society

Teenage is that phase of a person’s life which is the most troublesome, not for the teenage kid but for his parents! We all know it is so tough to handle teenagers, especially in the modern age where their demands are ever increasing.

Peer pressure and competition has fueled their demands even more. In the race of staying ahead teenagers are not teenagers any more, they want to be treated like grown ups and how! These days since most of the kids are tech-savvy, they want latest gizmos too. And one gizmo that is right up on their priority list is that latest mobile phone which is better than their friend’s. And the parents of these kids are definitely is a fix, as to whether buy them a mobile phone or not.

What parents feel: Seeing the recent MMS cases of school kids the parents certainly feel that getting their young one a mobile phone is going to spoil them. But the teenagers feel that having a mobile phone in today’s age is a must. Some parents do feel that mobile phones are essential for kids, as they can stay connected all the time. In today’s time the parents themselves are so busy that they can’t be with their children 24X7. So in such a situation a mobile phone is a useful gadget to know what their kids are doing and to keep a check on them. But what is to be done when the mobile which helps them to stay connected with their kids itself is spoiling their kids? The features like video recording, camera, Bluetooth, and MMS can be easily misused by the kids. That is what holds back a parent from buying a mobile phone to his kid. Also, a mobile phone doesn’t connect a child to his parents, but also to his friends. So most kids end up chatting with their friends all the time. There have recent cases where students have been caught using mobile phones in the schools. Such usage of mobile phone certainly hampers their education and studies. But obviously a mobile phone is useful for the kids if it’s used properly.

What teenagers feel: Young teenagers have another story to tell. For them mobile phone is something which is part of their life and they can’t do without it. It helps them stay connected to the global world which is very important in today’s competitive world. When parents themselves want their kids to be ahead in every field then why not to buy them a mobile phone when their friends have one. It is so demoralizing for a child when his friend is flashing his latest phone and the child doesn’t have one of his own. It makes the child feel discouraged and low on self esteem.

Use of mobile phones for teenagers: This is a communication age and a mobile phone is the ultimate tool for communication. With mobile phones having new and enhanced features like internet and blogging, it gives a child to express and display his creativity too. Also they want mobile phones have their own private space. Also teenage is such an age when a child trusts and shares with his friends than his family. So obviously they need the mobile phone to talk to their friends whenever they want to, whether at midnight or early morning. Apart from all this mobiles these days have various features like radio, video recording, and mp3 players which are entertainment sources for teenagers. So whenever they are getting bored they have their entertainment in their hands if they have a mobile phone.

To do or not to do: Well, having a mobile phone for teenagers is not that bad idea after all. But see to it your child is not misusing it. It’s very important for the teenagers to understand themselves that having a mobile phone is utility, not facility. They have to understand that teenage is such a naïve phase of life and they should not take such a step which can ruin their future. Also parents can keep a check to give their teenaged kids such phones which do not have features like camera and video recording, so that the phone can’t be misused by them.

Tags: Bluetooth, camera, Communication, Competition, Education, gizmo, gizmos, Kids, latest technology, MMS, Mobile, Mobile Phone, Mobile Technology, mp3, mp3 players, Parents, Pressure, tech-savvy, Teenage, Teenagers, video recording

Our India is having a large  intelligent  population the only hurdle is our education system. I firmly believe that if we can provide better education then others will face tough competition with our Indians. We lack in education system, which needs proper attention.

First of all it is necessary to make it possible for every Indian to get education. Steps should be taken that approach to education should be viable for every citizen.

Secondly, our Government should clear all the decks for providing education in interiors, which is lacking much as well as much populated. Our major population is in interiors and where as no proper provisions are there. Because these are remote areas and nobody can take risk to this challenging job because financial involvement is there with least recoveries, which will lead to a great loss.

Third reason is now our Govt. has commercialized hence not paying interest to this area of liability. They must pay attention to this sector, as this will become a major sector of growth. Today we are growth oriented and must know the necessity for the same.

Fourth, it is proud for we people today that the private sector has jumped into the education sector. But this lead to many malpractices.  We can notice when we come to know that the teachers in Govt. schools pay attention to only those students who are getting coaching from them for their own financial benefits only.

Fifth, private sector’s association in education is quite appreciated but not at this much higher cost. I can see that huge population is still unable to bear this cost.

Sixth, our technical education system is not up to the mark means it is not competent to the international standards. If there are some institutes competent to the international standards i.e., IIT’s etc. but few in numbers.

It is necessary for us to raise the strength of the same to get qualitative educated brands in large numbers.

Seventh, we must know that our large population is in rural areas where agriculture is main industry there. So, we should give attention to upgrade our agriculture industry we should give attention to this education sector to get technical agriculturists. Which I hope will boost our economy in top gear.

Eighth, our Govt. should know that after its commercialization it is not the liability of the private sector only to take it through. It is mainly on the Govt.’s shoulders as major population is eyeing on them.

More over & lastly it is to be said that our Govt. should not prepare the politically motivated programmes to please only to gain votes. Today we are looking after the growth of the nation, so, we must look after all these aspects and our children will praise us for efforts taken along with the results acquired.

We should join hands to make shining INDIA and a brilliant tomorrow.

Author of this article is Mr. Dilbag Chaudhary. A 55 year old guy from New Delhi, who is associated with Delhi BuildTech Pvt. Ltd. company. This article is completely his own views and we would like to hear the feedback from our visitors regarding this story. Please do post your views in the form of comment or do mail us at inews@inewsindia.com

Tags: Better Education, Competition, Education, Education System, Education System in India, India, Literacy

After giving the cheapest car to the world, India is on its way to provide cheapest laptop at a mere cost of $10. Yes! It is unbelievable but Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari said on Tuesday that research was being conducted to develop the laptop, especially for use by students, which will cost all of $10.

She said that the development of cheap laptop will combat problems like the low computer literacy and e-learning not only in India, but also the world over.

“Research in this direction is being already carried out at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras,” she told the e-India annual summit on information and communication technologies.

At present, the cheapest laptop range not less than $100. It is at least 10 times costlier. The “Xo” sold by the Massachusetts-based non-government organization ‘One Laptop Per Child Foundation’ sells for $188.

However, India did not sign up for the ‘One Laptop Per Child program’ after officials in the education ministry decided that giving a computer to every child is “pedagogically suspect”, and may actually be detrimental to the growth of the creative and analytical abilities of the child.

But Reliance Communications has been doing pilots of the OLPC in India since last year.

Earlier this year, Tata group has developed Rs 1 lakh car, the Nano which get famous not only in India but all over the world.

Tags: cheapest laptop, Computer, computer literacy, Education, India, Laptop, US$10 laptop

World Day against Child Labor (WDACL), 12th June, is a day celebrated across the globe each year to fight child labor. This year the day focuses on “Education, The Right Response to End Trafficking and Child Labor”.

Elimination of child labor and education for all are two sides of the same coin. Thousands of activities are held across the world to focuses on the need to improve access of children to education as the right response to child labor.

The only way to eliminate exploitation of children is free, compulsory and quality education for all, regardless of gender, race, religion, and social or economic status, as felt by all including the experts and social workers.

Education creates awareness of the right and duties of a person. This is the only media by which children can get awareness about their surroundings and the proper way to lead life.

The ILO has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labor. Many of these children work long hours, often in dangerous conditions. Their innocence gets lost in working for long hours for small amount of money. Their childhood is exploited by people for their little profits.

Many people don’t send their children to school because of poverty. Financial problems are the main reason. In place of school the kids are then sent for tiring jobs for small money.

Dropout’s school children specially remain a major concern, though the government has initiated many schemes. However, mid-day meal the lucrative scheme aimed to attract children to schools, is not helping the purpose of ensuring 100 per cent attendance. Reasons cited for dropouts are many, like poverty which compels children to work. Nevertheless, negligence of teachers in government schools worsens the situation.

Raman Magsaysay Awardee and Chairperson of National Commission for protection of Child Rights, Shantha Sinha says “The only way to eliminate the menace is to educate children, which is anyway a fundamental right of every child enshrined in the Constitution. Article- 21 (A) guarantees free and compulsory education to every child in the age group of 6-14.”

Government should come forward with major steps to achieve 100% education. Some of the steps can be:

1. Free and compulsory education
2. Provision of girls education
3. Ensuring proper faculty and trained teachers
4. Providing catch up education opportunities for children and youth who have so far missed out on formal schooling
5. Enforcing laws on child labor and education in line with international standards
6. Tackling poverty
7. Raising public awareness to tackle child labor
8. Promoting human rights and development

Not only the government but public should be aware of this need of education for all. Educated people should keep an eye in their vicinity and should teach others. A combined effort by all will help to eliminate child labor and will provide an educated society.

Tags: Child, Child Labor, Education, Literacy