Students, Colleges, Universities put in one-click connect
All arts, commerce, science, education and law colleges in state will be linked to Commissionerate of Higher Education to bring in accountability, transparency and a paperless administration
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, March 19, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News - Latest§id=2&contentid=201103192011031902091667454a6070e)
In what can be termed as its most ambitious educational project, the state government has embarked on a plan to link all its universities, colleges, students, lecturers and administrative staff through a portal. Their aim: to bring in accountability, transparency and move towards a paperless administration.
Crores of rupees spent on travel, paperwork and postage, besides time, will be saved once the systems go online — the office automation system will become operational on April 1, while the linking of colleges, universities with the portal will be completed in June.
All arts, commerce, science, education and law colleges — grant-in-aid and self-financed — will be linked to the main portal of the Commissionerate of Higher Education (CHE).
There are eight lakh students studying in 403 colleges — government and grant-in-aid — across 29 universities in the state.
As many as 250 self-financed colleges will be included in the second phase, a couple of months after the portal is launched.
Online complaints
A highly-placed official at CHE, who did not wished to be named for obvious reasons, told Mirror, “Students whose problems have fallen on deaf ears, lecturers who have service-related queries and colleges facing administrative issues can complain online and action will taken in a specified time limit.”
In case a college fails to take cognisance of a student’s complaint, it will be taken to task.
The student just has to go online and file a complaint, which will be registered under an ID number. CHE will act as a watchdog that will ensure timely action.
The recent cases cited below, which generated a lot of heat in the college circles, could have been nipped in the bud if timely action was taken. It is here that speedy disposal will make a difference.
Female lecturers of N C Bodiwala College had complained of harassment by male colleagues to their principal and trustees. However, when no action was forthcoming, the complaint reached the police.
At New L J College, a female student had complained against a lecturer who verbally abused her. She had to make a hue and cry before any action was taken against the lecturer.
M G Insitute of Science Principal B K Jain said, “If this project becomes operational, it will save time and money, besides addressing many issues. However, many colleges have shortage of manpower and they need to be trained to handle things online. This is an area that needs to be addressed.”
Trackers to keep tab
Under the office automation system, letters, files and employee efficiency can be tracked. CHE can find out how much time an office staffer of a college or university takes to do a particular job.
All college-related information such as fees, number of students, faculty, enrolment, courses, facilities, exam-related details and extra-curricular activities will be known at the click of a mouse.
Colleges will have to regularly update the attendance of lecturers and the lectures they take on a daily basis.
The CHE will monitor if a lecturer’s promotion is due, grant to a college is properly utilised and salaries are disbursed on time.
Circulars and notice boards will become redundant as any information relating to an event, an exam or anything particular will be put online and an alert sent to every student.
Study material of all choice-based subjects in colleges will also be uploaded. This will benefit students who can access it and download it for free. Career guidance will also be provided.
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, March 19, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News - Latest§id=2&contentid=201103192011031902091667454a6070e)
In what can be termed as its most ambitious educational project, the state government has embarked on a plan to link all its universities, colleges, students, lecturers and administrative staff through a portal. Their aim: to bring in accountability, transparency and move towards a paperless administration.
Crores of rupees spent on travel, paperwork and postage, besides time, will be saved once the systems go online — the office automation system will become operational on April 1, while the linking of colleges, universities with the portal will be completed in June.
All arts, commerce, science, education and law colleges — grant-in-aid and self-financed — will be linked to the main portal of the Commissionerate of Higher Education (CHE).
There are eight lakh students studying in 403 colleges — government and grant-in-aid — across 29 universities in the state.
As many as 250 self-financed colleges will be included in the second phase, a couple of months after the portal is launched.
Online complaints
A highly-placed official at CHE, who did not wished to be named for obvious reasons, told Mirror, “Students whose problems have fallen on deaf ears, lecturers who have service-related queries and colleges facing administrative issues can complain online and action will taken in a specified time limit.”
In case a college fails to take cognisance of a student’s complaint, it will be taken to task.
The student just has to go online and file a complaint, which will be registered under an ID number. CHE will act as a watchdog that will ensure timely action.
The recent cases cited below, which generated a lot of heat in the college circles, could have been nipped in the bud if timely action was taken. It is here that speedy disposal will make a difference.
Female lecturers of N C Bodiwala College had complained of harassment by male colleagues to their principal and trustees. However, when no action was forthcoming, the complaint reached the police.
At New L J College, a female student had complained against a lecturer who verbally abused her. She had to make a hue and cry before any action was taken against the lecturer.
M G Insitute of Science Principal B K Jain said, “If this project becomes operational, it will save time and money, besides addressing many issues. However, many colleges have shortage of manpower and they need to be trained to handle things online. This is an area that needs to be addressed.”
Trackers to keep tab
Under the office automation system, letters, files and employee efficiency can be tracked. CHE can find out how much time an office staffer of a college or university takes to do a particular job.
All college-related information such as fees, number of students, faculty, enrolment, courses, facilities, exam-related details and extra-curricular activities will be known at the click of a mouse.
Colleges will have to regularly update the attendance of lecturers and the lectures they take on a daily basis.
The CHE will monitor if a lecturer’s promotion is due, grant to a college is properly utilised and salaries are disbursed on time.
Circulars and notice boards will become redundant as any information relating to an event, an exam or anything particular will be put online and an alert sent to every student.
Study material of all choice-based subjects in colleges will also be uploaded. This will benefit students who can access it and download it for free. Career guidance will also be provided.
