Yogesh Avasthi

30 students of M P Arts & Commerce College hired as sales executives for Rs 10K a month By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, November 28, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009112820091128032756677a43e8ca5 ) Thirty girl students of a city college, not known to many, will soon be working for a multinational soft drinks company. These students of M P Arts and Commerce College in Raipur will work as sales executives, an official of a consultancy firm that played a role in recruiting them said. Those who got placements included students from the first, second and third years of arts and commerce stream.Twenty students received their call letters on Friday evening, while the remaining 10 will receive their appointment letters today. Initially, 100 girls were shortlisted for the placements. After two screenings, the number was reduced to 45. Post the final interview, 30 girls were selected. Th...

Anyone can enter the govt girls’ hostel at Sola Bhagwat without being questioned or frisked. There’s no full-time guard or a warden By Dhwani Pathak and Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, November 27, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20091127200911270338122181b7fc5a8 ) A visit to this girls’ hostel at Sola Bhagwat on S G Highway brings back dark memories of the ghastly Patan gangrape that hit the headlines more than a year ago. Not because something similar has happened here. But because something as horrific could easily take place. The Government Girls Hostel for Backward Classes is located in the premises of government quarters, barely 100 metres away from the highway. The area is pitch dark during the night. There are no streetlights on the 1-km stretch of road leading to the hostel. Forty nine girls stay in six rooms without any basic facilities — there are no cots, no lockers, no study tab...

Yogesh Avasthi takes you on a sepia-tinted tour of Gujarat University as it celebrates shashtipurti with 3.5 lakh students in its 356 colleges Posted On Tuesday, November 24, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009112420091124023152671d48376b3) ♦ The idea of setting up Gujarat University was conceived in 1920s by a group of learned men including Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Acharya Anandshankar Dhruva and Kasturbhai Lalbhai. ♦ The Gaekwad royal family was keen on setting up Gujarat University in Vadodara. However, later on it was decided the university will be set up in Ahmedabad after industrialist Kasturbhai Lalbhai and other prominent individuals offered their lands for building the campus. ♦ GU was established on November 23, 1949, and incorporated under the Gujarat University Act of the state government as ‘a teaching and affiliating university’. This was done as a measure of decentralisa...

The education board has sent a proposal to the state govt for introducing changes in textbooks of class VIII to XII By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, November 23, 2009 at 02:35:11 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=200911232009112302351135994c4e630 ) Soon, there may be little difference between the syllabuses of the state board and CBSE. The Gujarat Secondary & Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has sent a proposal to the state government for introducing several changes in textbooks from class VIII to XII. The proposal was sent after an expert panel, formed by the board to suggest ways to bridge the syllabus divide, submitted its report recently. The GSHSEB, sources say, wants to revise textbooks of the aforementioned classes in accordance with the National Curriculum Framework 2005 drafted by NCERT, a central body that helps education boards to improve academic standards. “If propos...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, November 22, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009112220091122022730390bec9a102 ) The state government is actively promoting English language learning in Gujarati-medium schools. Making them English-ready by the time they reach college is the agenda. The government is making sure the initiative opens up job prospects for the students of the state. Gujarat has often been criticised by some of the top BPOs of the country in the past for churning out graduates demonstrating poor standard of English in their job tests. While the supplementary reading books for the secondary section are already available, the Gujarat State School Textbook Board will now be introducing the same for Class V to VII and the higher secondary sections. Supplementary reading books for the primary section, to be introduced in 2011, will have poems and picture-stories to interest the stud...

Be it a birthday, an anniversary or just a fun evening, the 1983 batch of dental surgeons celebrate at the university bus stop every month By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, November 21, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091121200911210337001096d5743fb ) It has been their meeting place for the past 26 years. The Gujarat University bus stand has been witness to a group of dental surgeons meeting there every month since 1983 to celebrate a birthday, an anniversary or just have a fun evening. The time: midnight. The 1983 batch of dental surgeons refuse to celebrate the important days in their lives or their families’ at anybody’s house, hotel or any other place. The doctors who usually have a get-together on a Friday, made an exception and celebrated it on Thursday night, since it was the birthday of a batchmate, Dr Ina Patel. She was accompanied by her husband Dr Bhupesh Patel, also a denta...

With assistance from Mirror reporters, FDA officials acted quickly to trap the 3 pharmacy store owners selling schedule H drugs without a prescription. Result: All shops have downed their shutters By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, November 22, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror - cover story : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=200911222009112202345646827b7ee4c ) A day after the Mirror expose on chemists selling Schedule H prescription drugs over the counter to substance abusers, the Food and Drugs Administration swooped down on those same medical stores as part of their own investigation. Friday’s crackdown brought to light the rampant illegal trade of prescription drugs by these shops and irregularities in their account books. The result: All the three stores were asked to down their shutters till further orders. From corticosteriods to hormonal preparations, from anti-depressants to muscle relaxants, from cough syrups to ...

Scheduled drugs that give a high and are very addictive are being sold without doctors’ prescription. Children buy these like they buy candies By Yogesh Avasthi and Mehul Jani Posted On Friday, November 20, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2009112020091120030658796736afe64 ) Pics - Kalpesh Bhatt Your young son or daughter doesn’t need to search for drug peddlers or visit a squalid joint to get high. He/she can find his/her addiction at a medical store right in your neighbourhood. A Mirror investigation has revealed that several drug stores in the city, particularly in eastern Ahmedabad, are brazenly selling prescription medicines over the counter to teenaged substance abusers. What is more alarming is that the laxity shown by such stores is encouraging more youths to pop pills to get stoned. Mirror, in fact, came across two teens who started taking prescription drugs with their friends for...

Every alternate day, students of M G Science Institute spend more than two hours giving free, personalised lessons to children of municipal schools By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, November 19, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=200911192009111902590582888ceb13e ) What do college students usually do after classes? Hang out at kitlis or tuck into some fast food. Well, this group of Science students is zara hat ke. Students of M G Science Institute spend more than two hours every alternate day to teach children of class four service providers of the university. As part of the Chiranjeevi movement started by them in 2006, students of class 4 to 9 are given tuition in all subjects from 2.30-5.30 pm at the institute campus every alternate day. Saturdays are usually reserved for fun activities such as yoga and movie screenings, in which parents are also invited to participate. “Most of the lea...

Each teacher who has given a mark less to a deserving student will pay up Rs 100 as penalty By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009111820091118022524296b4d18dd0 ) The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board have issued notices to 2,511 teachers for mistakes in assessment of class 12 board examination answersheets. A teacher, who has made the mistake of giving a mark less to a deserving student, will have to pay up Rs 100 as penalty, the GSHSEB said. The mistakes came to light after students applied for reassessment. A top board official told Mirror that the teachers have either failed to check entire answers or to assign marks for the same, while some have faulted in totalling marks and some in carrying forward marks. The official, however, said the blunders have reduced considerably compared to 2008 after the board took strict ...

Incident occurred in Sahajanand School, Ellisbridge on November 10 By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, November 16, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20091116200911160147598436492b345 ) Three senior students of Sahajanand High School, Elisbridge allegedly stripped a class IX boy in a toilet, forced him to dance and took a video of the act on a mobile phone. The accused threatened the boy against informing anyone of the incident else they would post the video on YouTube. The incident occurred on November 10, after which the boy’s parents are reported to have met the school principal and lodged a complaint with the police. Sources said the boy, a minor, hasn’t attended school since the incident took place. The English medium school is housed on Sahajanand college campus. Boy threatened AM learnt from the victim’s family that the accused were also minors, students of class X and XI of the sam...

Will teach school students how to fill up online forms and complete the admission procedure for pharmacy, engineering and other courses By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, November 15, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009111520091115032514953df2cad42 ) Confusion reigned during the admission process for degree and diploma engineering and pharmacy courses this year. Scores of students had problems understanding the online admission process introduced for the first time by the admission committee for professional courses. Looking at this year’s debacle, the state education department has decided to send representatives to city schools to explain the online admission process and tests to class 12 students and teachers. “Students, especially their parents, were confused about how to fill up online forms, various rounds of the admission process such as reshuffling etc. This initiative will help ma...

By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, November 11, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091111200911110228362654bc00656 ) The Federation of Foreign Education Consultants in India (FFECI) has requested the Victorian government in Australia to publish the list of training colleges being audited for posing as ‘high risk’ to foreign students. THE Victorian government had begun with a list of 17 colleges. But the number more than doubled to 41. The colleges are suspected of exploiting students, migration fraud and breaches of education law. The colleges — all run by private providers — provide vocational courses for mainly Indian students seeking permanent residence in Australia. Investigators are examining facilities and courses offered against federal government guidelines. FFECI secretary Raghuvir Singh Khuswaha said, “Authorities of the Meridian Group, which closed down four colleges in Sydney...

Two weeks before its four colleges in Australia collapsed, officials of Global Campus Management conducted a seminar in Ahmedabad to recruit students and agents By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009111020091110031708437ddf2a897 ) Four international colleges in Australia suddenly wound up, putting in jeopardy the future of 2,700 shell-shocked students, including hundreds from Gujarat last week. What is more shocking is the company that runs the four colleges — the Global Campus Management/Meridian Group — held a seminar in Ahmedabad two weeks ago to recruit students and agents. The meeting was conducted at Hotel Pride in Judges Bungalow on October 26. Officials of the firm encouraged students to join the colleges, located at 13 campuses in Melbourne and Sydney, offering courses in hospitality, design, English language, fashion and secondary edu...

An exam committee formed by the GSHSEB says the state government should hire school teachers only after they clear a ‘licensure test’ By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 02:53:28 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091110200911100253282189c6a146f ) A 15-member panel constituted by the state education board to review the examination process of classes X, XI and XII has suggested introduction of a test for aspiring school teachers. The panel has said in its report that the state government should hire teachers only after they clear a “licensure exam”. The examination, the committee says, will help improve the quality of education in schools. “It is important to ensure high quality of teaching. Rather than control this only requiring minimum qualifications or ensuring participation of officials in the recruitment process, the state should consider a licensure exam which must ...

Nilesh Rathod and Yogesh Jadav traced the owner, an engine driver, to Ratlam with help from railway officials and called him to Ahmedabad By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, November 08, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009110820091108043212906a0d186c8 ) A good Samaritan returned Rs 45,000 hard cash to a railway engine driver after finding the latter’s wallet under his compartment seat. Siraj Mohammed never thought he would get his money. But Yogesh Jadav, who found the wallet, was determined to trace the owner of the wallet and personally hand it over to him. Yogesh and his cousin Nilesh Jadav were returning from Darjeeling in Guwahati-Okha Express on October 29. When the train reached Vadodara, Nilesh pulled out his luggage from under the seat and saw a wallet lying there. As the wallet belonged to neither of them, Nilesh asked fellow passengers if they had lost theirs. No one responded. He...

An in-depth investigation by this newspaper yields a stunning database of thousands of people revealing their mobile numbers, email IDs, landline numbers and home addresses. Shockingly, each data sold for just 20 paise by unscrupulous dealers By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, November 06, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20091106200911060341523282196f4b3 ) Yash Shah (20), Trupti Dave (22), Jayesh Shah (35) are all law-abiding Amdavadis. We have never met or spoken to them, but we know their phone numbers and where they live, study or work. We even know which clubs or bookstores they frequent and how much they spend on communication. The chances are that we might also know these things about you. How? You will be surprised, even appalled, but your personal information — which you guard so zealously — is being peddled for 20 paise. Don’t squint, you read it right, it’s 20 paise. Ahmedabad Mi...

District Education office is setting up a website that will have information on every school functioning in Ahmedabad district By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, November 05, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009110520091105030647609b3e28181 ) A website, being set up by the Ahmedabad District Education Office (ADEO) and scheduled to start functioning within the next one month, promises to list comprehensive data on all government-run and aided schools as well as of private schools located in Ahmedabad district. In all, there are around 550 schools in Ahmedabad district. All these schools have been sent a 48-page booklet containing 175 questions which go into minutest details of the schools. Fifteen days have been given to the schools to answer these questions. Said KK Rathod, district education officer, “A one-stop website listing details of all schools within Ahmedabad district is a much-n...

IRCTC says that while last year 2.14 crore tickets were booked online during the peak season, this year the number rose to 3.81 crore By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, November 04, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091104200911040235587819bf73b4b ) If e-ticketing continues to outsmart the traditional ticketing system, serpentine queues outside the booking counters on railway stations will soon be a thing of the past. Currently, 40 per cent of the tickets sold are booked online. Last year, the figure stood at 20 per cent. A convergence of changing customer behaviour patterns and technology is the reason behind the growing popularity of e-ticketing. According to ticket sale data provided by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which sells rail tickets online, last year around 20 per cent of the tickets issued were booked online. “Compared to last year, the online bo...

Locomotive Train Management System, to run 24x7, will be able to detect faults, diagnose, trouble-shoot and check performance of engines By Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, November 03, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=20091103200911030300239841fe25436 ) A new system in locomotive that will provide data with a single point access through internet to railway officers at remote locations is in the final stages of being introduced. The Locomotive Train Management System (LTMS) that is presently being tested on trial basis in four engines in Northern and Southern Railways will soon be introduced in Western Railway engines. The reports generated by the 24x7 service provider can be used by the railway authorities for decision-making, fault analysis, trouble shooting or diagnosis and check performance of a locomotive. Through the GPRS and GPS systems, railway officers sitting at a station will be ...