Yogesh Avasthi

Varsity’s design-your-study-material contest rid teachers of preparing the course material and instead gets students to research subjects Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, October 13, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2012101320121013020851482803d56fa/GTU-to-get-students-to-design-study-material.html) So what does a university do to ensure students understand concepts clearly when the teachers, busy with research and administrative work, are unable to go an extra mile to help them out. It involves students in designing the course material and directing their own study. However, Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has gone a step further with this idea. The varsity has come up with a design- your-course material competition for students of MBA, MCA, pharmacy and engineering (diploma and degree) courses. Colleges can register groups of 8-10 students per class per semester for the competition. The groups will be required to prepare powerpoint slides on the sub...

Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, October 11, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2012101120121011023725748ae1489f9/Be-warned-the-next-victim-could-be-you.html) Accused Rakesh Chauhan is on the run A 50-year-old ‘gentleman’ offered spiked tea to a Bopal couple and a Dwarka resident aboard Haridwar Mail before escaping with valuables worth Rs 1.25L. The elderly couple was rushed to the ICU Next time you travel by train and your co-passenger offers you coffee or biscuit, think twice before accepting it. Bopal couple Mahesh and Gayatri Raval lost valuables worth Rs 1.25 lakh and landed in the ICU after consuming tea offered by a ‘friendly’ passenger. The 60-year-olds boarded Haridwar Mail on September 21. Already seated in the compartment cabin were Mayank Vayda, a resident of Bet Dwarka and another who identified himself as Ashok Khurana, 50. Mahesh and Gayatri Raval were admitted to Meerut General Hospital‘s ICU. While his condition improved within two days, Gayatr...

Optical Character Recognition machines will make entry of students’ marks by scanning answersheets. It will not only check human errors, but also save time Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, October 10, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2012101020121010023501529c74cd483/GTU-to-use-technology-for-errorfree-results.html) Keeping pace with time and technology, Gujarat Technological University has decided to introduce “Optical Character Recognition” (OCR) system to not only check human errors, but also reduce time in preparing results. Set to come in use by winter semester, the OCR machines will make entry of students’ marks by scanning answersheets. GTU plans to purchase 10 OCR machines which will scan about 27 lakh answersheets. “The university had held a demonstration to check the accuracy of the machines. The machine scanned dummy answersheets of more than 100 signatures. But the result was found 100 per cent error-free. Results that too...

As vice chancellor, Dr Parimal Trivedi used to send out circulars insisting on teachers not missing classes. As teacher at M G Science Institute he has avoided delivering lectures for 100 days Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, October 07, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2012100720121007022258732c89206af/No-lecture-this-sem-Parimal-Sir-is-busy.html) It is almost 100 days since Dr Parimal Trivedi went back to M G Science Institute after his tenure as vice chancellor of Gujarat University ended. He has reported at work, signed the muster, spent a few minutes either in principal’s office or the staff room and called it a day. The burden of lectures does not bother the former vice chancellor who is now a lecturer at the institute. As vice chancellor, Dr Trivedi used to send out circulars to departments and colleges affiliated to Gujarat University, asking the heads and principals to ensure classes were not missed. But now as a lecturer at the college he is avoiding teaching a...

Chief Minister Narendra Modi wants the Centre to explain money spent on Sonia Gandhi’s trips abroad, but state govt does not share details of his Japan trip; it also has not responded to an activist’s RTI plea for five years. Hemington James, Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, October 03, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201210032012100303012773921dad40c/And-how-much-did-CM-spend-in-Japan.html) Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday claimed that the Union government spent Rs 1,880 crore on personal foreign trips of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the last three years, and asked the prime minister to explain the expenses. But when it comes to his own foreign visit or movements in the state, he apparently is adamant on not sharing the details.  The state government has thwarted an Amdavadi, who filed an RTI to get the details of Modi’s Japan visit, and tossed his application from one department to the other for the information. Another social activist has be...

Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, October 05, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/201210052012100502223964557d973a2/State-wants-two-JEE-centres-in-all-districts.html) The Education Department has sought two centers in every district of the state to conduct Joint Entrance Exam (JEEMain), scheduled to be held on April 7 next year. Earlier, the state government had scrapped Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET) for admission in engineering courses to join the JEE-Main league. “The state government, in a letter to CBSE, has sought 14 centres for JEE-Main in the state. For the online test, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Junagadh centres have been suggested. For the off line test, the state has demanded centres at Bhuj, Gandhinagar, Himmatnagar, Jamnagar, Anand, Valsad, Navsari and Godhra. Aspirants can appear for online as well as offline test at Ahmedabad,” said an Educational department official. JEE-Main is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)....

Most of the visitors at Sabarmati Ashram pay glowing tributes to Gandhi in the diaries kept there, but some leave vulgar remarks; trustees contemplate installing CCTV cameras to catch those who make offending entries Yogesh Avasthi   Posted On Tuesday, October 02, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201210022012100203064332834a96618/To-Bapu-with-love.html) This hermitage was the hub of India’s freedom movement. The people who lived here and their thought inspired a generation to challenge the might of an empire on which the sun never set. The serene Sabarmati Ashram continues to inspire awe among most of the visitors from India and abroad even today. Sadly, some locals come here to abuse the apostle of peace, the Father of Nation, the Mahatma. There has been a surge in the number of visitors of late. As against a few hundred people visiting the ashram every day, the number now rises to 3000 on many days. Sabarmati Ashram Preservation Trust off...