Yogesh Avasthi

Missing semester-I papers recovered after FSL probe threat By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 03:31:02 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20090120200901200331025313fad7b44 ) An envious teacher ruined the career of 19 computer science students of Gujarat Technological University (GTU), well almost.Jealous over her senior correcting answer scripts of GTU’s first semester exam, the teacher allegedly removed answer papers of 19 students. The tainted teacher, lacking enough experience to check papers, wilted under the threat of narco-analysis test and returned the answer scripts. She was asked to resign immediately. Ironically, both were buddies. The melodrama fit for a mega serial was enacted at L J Institute of Engineering on SG Highway early this month. The answer scripts of the first semester exam conducted by GTU in December, 2008 were distributed among senior teach...

Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi moves around with a contingent of gun-toting securitymen, including Border Wing jawans, far in excess of the threat he faces By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, January 19, 2009 ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Latest&sectid=2&contentid=200901192009011920073861269d77e1b ) Don’t mistake him for a politician from the badlands of Bihar, under threat from the local mafia, or a top cop striding out of his office with a posse of senior cops in tow. He is Parimal Trivedi, vice-chancellor of Gujarat University, who’s strutting around with a contingent o f securitymen, including Border Wing jawans, totalling as many as 13 of them. Trivedi is guarded by three Border Wing jawans and three policemen, besides his own private security men, while he is in the university, and three jawans and four cops when he is at home. So, he must be a marked man, the prime target of his many enemies. That’s ...

Yogesh Avasthi (22-1-2009) The state education department will soon merge class-VIII in primary division. "We will soon include class-VIII in primary division. Gujarat and Maharastra are the only two states in the country where primary division includes class-I to VII. Other states, includes Class-VIII in primary section" "This decision likely to be implemented from new academic year. Due to this, class-VIII students will get more infrastructure facilities and educational aids. More students will be benefited through Central schemes and budgetary allocations", said source. In the first phase, 4000 schools in remote areas of the state which has facility of primary section only, will get extra class of standard-VIII. Class-VIII will be started in the same premises with more facilities. This will help in decrease drop-out ratio. Also, student will have more facilities at their door-steps. ‘For the effective implementation of the project, the state education department ...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, January 17, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-% 20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009011720090117022505835ad1f872d ) City boy Naishal Shah stood second in the all-India Chartered Accountancy (CA) exam, results of which were announced on Friday. Niket Thacker stood third in the national merit list. More than 20 students from state made it to the top-50 in the country. Of these, 11 are from Ahmedabad and about six from Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara. About 30 per cent of the students who appeared from the state are reported to have cleared Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) entrance examination. The examination held in November last saw girls outshine boys with a Gurgaon girl topping the list. Surabhi Aggrawal from Gurgaon had topped the examination, securing 72 per cent marks. Two girls could make it to the toppers’ list this time. A total of 14,606 students, including 1...

3-ft-tall TCS employee to get gold medal in tech cradle convocation By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, January 16, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=200901162009011602524214733d9c68c ) She hates people showering sympathy on her. Accepting challenges of life and co ming out in flying colours are her basic instincts. That’s Pankit Dinesh Bindel for you, a postgraduate in information technology fighting physical hurdles with élan since childhood. Don’t judge this 23 something TCS employee by her height. She is only three feet, but is all set to bag a gold medal during the fifth convocation Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, from where she pursued MSc in IT, on January 31. She would be honoured with the medal for securing distinction marks.The wonder girl was born on Born on May 15, 1985. Three years on, Pankit’s parents spotted retarded growth in her....

students from KG to Std V were forced to attend classes in the open as the school building at shahibaug was under repair By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, January 14, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009011420090114045515631863e10eb ) Blackboards, benches were set up in the skating rink to accommodate primary students Tuesday brought good news for primary students of Kendriya Vidhyalay in Shahibaug. Students from KG to Std V — who were forced to attend classes in the open for the past 15 days — were brought in from the cold.Central School works in two shifts. But the repair work in 12 rooms of the Old Red Building had forced students of both shifts out into the open in the middle of winter. As the photographs reveal, the students were studying in the open air even on Tuesday morning. That is till this reporter got in touch with Principal M K Kulshresht over the phone on Tuesday ...

The country’s first-ever education park-based city to come up in Nal sarovar’s vicinity, about 40 kmS from Nano car plant in Sanand By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 04:04:31 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009011120090111040431983e7e3bbc ) Site of the proposed education park-based city, displayed through a red square, and the surrounding areas, shown through a Google Earth picture The state government has given its nod to a proposal of creating India’s first-ever Rs 2,000-crore education park-based city near Nal Sarovar, about 40 km from Tata Motors’ Nano car plant in Sanand. Incidentally, Nano project is also worth Rs 2,000 crore.The project, named Nal Sarovar Education Park, will be promoted by an Ahmedabad-based firm New Era Agrotech Infra Private Limited, about 10 km off Nal Sarovar on a 2,000-acre plot near Durgi village. The company top brass and officials...

More than 150 students from Gujarat, including 72 from Ahmedabad, receive calls from IIMs following CAT results on Friday; number likely to rise significantly By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 03:57:51 AM ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009011020090110035751746c79d3176 ) Friday was a red letter day for education in Gujarat. Around 150 students from the state, including 72 from the city, have received calls from the various Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) following declaration of the Common Admission Test (CAT) results for the academic year 2009-10.Around 10,000 students from Gujarat, including 72 from Ahmedabad, had appeared for CAT to be eligible for admission in Business Management schools for the academic year 2009-10. The number of students being called by the IIMs is expected to rise once complete details of the results are out.Indeed, students from Gu...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 03:36:10 AM ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20090110200901100336108248ec2c28d ) A slew of new degree and diploma level technical institutes in pharmacy, business management and computer science are likely to open in the state in the academic year 2009-2010. A number of trusts, organisations and technical institutes have applied to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for permission to establish new institutes. According to sources, applications have been received for 54 MBA colleges, 12 MCA institutes, 31 engineering degree colleges, 15 engineering diploma institutes and 16 pharmacy degree colleges. The director of technical education board has proposed that existing engineering institutions run an additional shift to accommodate more students. The board has suggested this to eight out of 14 existing engineering coll...

GLS boss’ tripartite deal to ensure kids’ safety ready for implementation By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, January 09, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : Cover Story : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20Cover%20Story&sectid=2&contentid=2009010920090109032049496aa15cd22 ) GLS executive vice-president and eminent lawyer Sudhir Nanavati with the draft agreement at his office on ThursdayFor school children’s safety, January 17 will be a red letter day. The much-awaited tripartite agreement that will bind van owners, parents and schools to ensure children’s safety on school vehicles has been drafted and will be introduced in the Gujarat Law Society (GLS)-governed institutes on January 17. A parents-school managements-vehicle owners’ meeting will take place on the campuses of GLS-managed CU Shah Primary School, N R Primary School, GLS Primary School and K N Primary School, in which the agreement, drafted by the group’s executive vice-president, Su...

Elections for NSUI, Youth Cong office-bearers soon By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, January 08, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20090108200901080244372739e869fb ) In a bid to induct young turks and do away with the dead wood, the Congress has decided to introduce three-tier election system for selecting office-bearers for its youth wings — National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and Youth Congress. The elections for selecting the college, district and state level office-bearers, believe NSUI leaders, would help maintain transparency and promote pro-active leaders in the grassroots. Few posts of office-bearers would be reserved for SC/ST and minority communities to ensure representation of youth from all sections of the society. The tenure of each panel of NSUI and Youth Congress would be two years and 33 per cent of their seats would be reserved for girls. According to the new ...

Electronics grad bags a package of rs 6 lakh as Thirty companies visit LD College of Engineering in the first phase of campus placement and recruit 210 budding techies By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, January 05, 2009 ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=200901052009010504082096424fbf895 ) Anguished professionals spending restless nights fearing lay-off due to the global recession can take heart from the encouraging campus recruitment trend at LD College of Engineering in Ahmedabad. Hinting sunny days ahead, nearly half of the final-year students of the institution have lapped up lucrative jobs months before passing out.Sending positive vibes amid gloomy atmosphere, 30 companies, including Wipro, ABB, TCS, L&T and National Instruments, visited the tech cradle during the first phase of placement, which continued till December 31, and hired 210 budding technocrats. The average package of...

Students from the SEBC category and economically backward students from general category will benefit from the scheme By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, January 05, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20090105200901050349508558f3cc6b6 ) The state education department has decided to distribute free books to class IX and X students in the state from the next academic year beginning in June. Students from the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) and economically backward students from the general category will benefit under the state government’s scheme, which will cost the government Rs 10 crore.However, the scheme is applicable to students studying in grant-in-aid and government run schools only. Till now, the state was distributing free text-books to students belonging to Schedule Tribes (ST) and Schedule Castes (SC) up till class VIII. The commissioner, mid-day meal and s...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, January 03, 2009 at 03:09:01 AM ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=200901032009010303090154780013cde ) The resident doctors of the state medical colleges reiterated their demand for better compensation even as a section of them in Jamnagar, Rajkot and Surat observed a token strike on Friday in support of their plea.Citing example of the resident doctors’ pay package in other states, the medicos of Guajarat claimed that they were being given a raw deal. “We are on duty for 24 hours, but what we get against that is peanuts,” said a resident doctor in the state capital.There are around 2,000 resident doctors in the state. Of them, 1,100 are at service round the clock in Ahmedabad. At the time of joining, they get Rs 9,600 as stipend. In the second year, they get additional Rs 500, said a resident medico of Civil Hospital. The resident doctors of BJ Medica...

Alleges school authorities failed his daughter for refusing to join tuition classes run by Maths teacher By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, January 02, 2009 ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009010220090102032707828c5176cc0 ) Rajendra Patel received only the front page of mark sheets where question-wise marks are talliedRajendra Patel is overjoyed by a recent ruling of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that will now allow students to know their question-wise marks secured in examinations, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The December 22 ruling will help push the second RTI petition he filed on October 15 to get a dekko at his daughter Hevan’s complete answersheet. Rajendra believes the complete document will help him unmask the tuition scam going on at his daughter’s alma mater Vijaynagar Secondary School in Naranpura. He alleged that Hevan, who was a Std XI Science stud...

Council will return processing fee collected from prospective BEd colleges; move will check proliferation of sub-standard insitutes By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, January 02, 2009 ( Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009010220090102032705782280b3235 ) The National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) has decided not to approve any new PTC or BEd colleges in the state in 2009-10. The council on Thursday expressed its decision in writing to the principal secretary of education department. The move intends to check the proliferation of substandard institutes in the state. Following the decision, the NCTE would return processing fee it had collected from prospective BEd colleges from the western region (NCTE Bhopal). It had received some 100 applications for approval this year. A similar clampdown had been imposed on PTC colleges in state two months ago. NCTE western region, regional dir...

Ahmedabad railway division decides to give Sabarmati station a facelift after proposal to convert it into a terminus is rejected By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, January 02, 2009 at 03:26:55 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=2009010220090102032655610f16b7b45 ) SET TO GET A FACELIFT: Sabarmati railway stationWith the proposal of its upgradation being shot down in three successive railway budgets, it is becoming obvious that the Sabarmati railway station may not be given the central terminus status. Given the situation, the Ahmedabad railway division has decided to refurbish the station if not have it as a terminus.The Ahmedabad railway division DRM Rajiv Mishra, using his own discretion, has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for improving facilities and adding new ones at the Sabarmati railway station. The Ahmedabad division had since long wanted to replace Kalupur station with the Sabarmati stat...

Chetna Purohit receives a call on Wednesday from her 16-year-old son that he is being kidnapped from Kalupur station. Distraught mother, police and RPF search the station only to discover.... By Vijay Zala and Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, January 01, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20090101200901010238262664ee4bc30 ) Nisarg (circled) called up his family from a phone booth on platform No 4 of the Kalupur railway stationWednesday was a day the Purohit family will never be able to forget. Around 11.00 in the morning, when Shaileshkumar Purohit and his wife Chetna were at home, they received a call from their 16-year-old son that he was about to be abducted. Their son Nisarg, a class XI Science student of Mirzapur St Xaviers, had just left home on his bicycle to buy a book from Dilli Darwaza.Nisarg told his mother that he was at Kalupur railway station and was about to be abducted...