Yogesh Avasthi

After getting sozzled, three ticket checkers on double decker express leave the train at Maninagar to avoid being caught at Kalupur where they are supposed to sign off; they don’t attend office on Friday to avoid department probe, medical test Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, June 29, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013062920130629030557418c4810c1d/TTEs-make-travellers-vacate-seats-to-have-a-drink;-get-suspended.html The Ahmedabad division of Western Railways has suspended three travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) for dereliction of duty following a drinking session onboard Mumbai- Ahmedabad double decker express. Passengers said the officials and a few catering staff had got drunk and inconvenienced the passengers in a coach. The TTEs got down from the train at Maninagar station, giving rise to the suspicion that they had been tipped off by other railway officials who had come to know about their misdemeanour. The TTEs did not attend office on Friday, thus escapin...

Going against the University Grants Commission norms, Gujarat varsity scraps sports quota in admission to colleges; athletes feel let down even as the government wants to promote sports culture in the state Yogesh Avasthi, Pranjal Protim Boruah Posted On Thursday, June 27, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201306272013062702364316817c638ab/GU-LANDS-KNOCKOUT-PUNCH-ON-PLAYERS.html After knocking out scores of opponents in the boxing ring, Dhaval Bariya and Anmol Tiwari might have thought they booked the “big ticket” — a seat in one of the prestigious commerce colleges in the city that would help them to secure their future. However, the duo, who looked to avail of the sports quota, were in for a shocker when two of the most sought after commerce colleges denied them admission. This, despite the government spending crores of rupees on hosting Khel Mahakumbh and setting up a sports university to promote sports culture in the state. Mirror found out that against the rules o...

Unlike previous years, admissions to commerce colleges is dwindling with students preferring the integrated five-year course Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, June 25, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013062520130625022525871cd5848bb/BCom-passe-integrated-in.html Till last year, there was a mad rush for admissions to top 10 commerce colleges in city. However, the scenario is totally different this year. If current trends are any indication, commerce colleges have seen fewer takers compared to last year. According to educationists, students are now opting for integrated courses offered by institutes that are more job-oriented. The first merit list that was put up on June 20 was around 2 to 5% less compared to last year. On Monday the second merit list that was released was 2 to 5% lower compared to the first merit list. Students named in second merit list will have to pay their fees on June 25 and 26. Those colleges which still have unfilled seats are likely to put up...

Three schools in urban Ahmedabad had zero per cent result this time; authorities blame it on poor basic education Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Thursday, June 20, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013062020130620021150637b2b93d44/Cent-per-cent-down-from-32-to-9.html The state government seems to be going gaga over skill development with focus on education at Vibrant Gujarat summit this year. However, if we take into account the performance of schools in class 10, the indicators present a pretty bleak picture of the way things are going. Compared to last year, there has been a drastic dip in performance in urban and rural schools in Ahmedabad. This is evident from the fact that three schools — M Y Tutorial School in Shahpur, Karmyog High School in Sabarmati and Adarsh High School in Odhav — had zero per cent result in class 10 this time compared to two schools last year. In rural Ahmedabad, the situation was worse. Last year, no school had zero per cent result, while the nu...

Fear of house break-ins keeps residents of Maninagar society awake for past 15 days; men find it difficult to attend office, while children have been forced to skip school Yogesh Avasthi, Vijay Zala Posted On Saturday, June 15, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013061520130615025636809f0364bd1/Jaagte-raho.html Residents of a Maninagar society have been spending sleepless nights for the past 15 days. The fear of thieves has been keeping them awake all night. With the police doing little to infuse confidence in the people and stop the house break-ins in the area, they have decided to take their safety and security into their own hands. Men, women and children of Chandra Prakash Cooperative Housing Society Part II have been keeping awake with sticks and water pipes to keep at bay the perceived threat to their lives and property. According to the residents, for the past one month, thieves have been found frequenting their society and neighbouring societies in broad daylig...

Varsity prints New L J Commerce College’s old address in BCom application form; aspirants, including those from outside the city, end up at the old campus Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Saturday, June 15, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20130615201306150248472318115c6cb/GU-goofup-sends-students-to-wrong-campus.html Hundreds of students and their parents were put to inconvenience as Gujarat University printed the old address of New L J Commerce College in the application form sending them to the closed down campus, 12 km away. The college insists it had intimated the university of its change in address, but the university went ahead with printing the form with the wrong address because for it “the college still exists at the old address” of GNFC Info tower, SG Road. While the officials contest each other’s claim, it is the students and parents who suffer and will continue to suffer until the admission process gets over. Sale and submission of application forms for admission...

Most of the self-financed English medium schools make students buy ‘supplementary’ texts by private publishers, pushing the book bill up by around Rs 2,500; schools get 40% commission on these books, but do not pass on the benefit to students Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Friday, June 14, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013061420130614022315231ed32a90f/SCHOOLS-TURN-BOOK-SHOPS-PARENTS-PAY.html Schools justify it in the name of supplementary reading but parents cry foul, calling it business. Officials accept it is illegal but have done nothing to stop self-financed English medium schools affiliated with Gujarat education board from making their students buy books by private publishers. To wit, take the example of the set of books prescribed for class 7 by the board. It costs Rs 334, but parents end up spending up to Rs 2,500 for these and all other books that schools make them buy. In the margin lies schools’ profit, though they would not admit it. Most of the self-finance...

Gujarat Vidyapith employee holds up state transport bus for an hour after latter halts at varsity gate, blocking entry, again Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, June 04, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013060420130604023550981dcc9bd65/NO-GANDHIGIRI-IN-THIS-JAM.html An employee of the Mahatma Gandhi-founded Gujarat Vidyapith, known for its adherence to Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and peace, gave in to his decidedly un- Gandhian side on Sunday night after yet another bus driver got on his wrong side. Pradeep Sarvaiyya was trying to enter the university around 8.30 pm when he found a state transport (ST) bus parked right outside the gate. Forced to make a wide turn mid-traffic, Sarvaiyya stopped his car right in front of the bus and refused to move for the next hour. He refused to move his vehicle even as passengers on the Palanpur-bound bus got off, and chose alternate forms of travel. ST buses regularly stop at the university’s gate, despite the presence of a ...

Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Sunday, June 02, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20130602201306020213351375105e3a4/400-LD-Engineering-students-to-survey-Kutch-Jamnagar.html Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) has employed 400 students from L D College of Engineering to survey 200 schools each in Kutch and Jamnagar to identify their earthquake vulnerabilities. The Rapid Visual Screening (RSV) will begin in the month of June and is part of the National School Safety Programme by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), sources said. M N Patel, principal of the college, said, “Around 400 students will take part in this survey organised by the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA). These students will be divided in teams and sent to schools to check the buildings for non-structural elements. These include parameters like architecture, furniture and equipments, ceiling and overhead, wall mounted items and other elements like cracks on walls an...

Tarik Patel of Karnavati Dental College secured all-India first rank in NEET PG dental exam. He had taken educational loan for BDS and now wants to specialise in oral and maxillofacial surgery Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/201305222013052202510841812178c80/ST-driver%E2%80%99s-son-tops-NEETPG-dental.html Tarik who has seen his parents struggle to provide him and his sister best education says mediocre performance is not an option for them It is a forward leap for Ahmedabad students in national-level examinations for professional courses. After 23-year-old Kewal Kanabar secured all-India rank of 11 in NEET PG exam, another Amdavadi boy has secured all-India first rank in NEET-PG dental examination held in January. Son of a state transport driver, Tarik Pravinkumar Patel pursued his BDS from Karnavati Dental College. His mother is a cashier with Bank of Baroda. Both Tarik and his sister Bhaavi, who is currently pursuing BSc...

Ready MBA, MCA, engg projects are sold on net, which students can buy and submit for credits. This can be checked only if teachers monitor students’ progress every week Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, May 20, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201305202013052000593974685e91384/PROJECTS-ON-DEMAND.html Need to submit a project, but busy with parties? Or maybe too bogged down with other assignments? For all such troubled students here is something god send. A few angles have descended upon the earth to ensure that education doesn’t come in way of their degree collection. The troubled souls may outsource their headache, and along with it their learning to them. The service providers will ensure they have a heap of papers, typed and bound, to submit well before the deadline. If the students are in a hurry, they can simply take one from them over the counter. Of course, all this for a consideration. Cyber space abounds with advertisements of several service providers who are...

Such is summer vacation rush that tickets are fully booked on almost all routes; tatkal quota gets exhausted within minutes of booking being opened, giving rise to suspicion that agents are still at it Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013051420130514022923965a6cac26e/Travelling-by-train-Sorry-no-room.html Computerisation of railway reservation, installation of CCTV cameras to fend off touts, putting token dispensing machine to ensure equal distribution of ticket-seekers, deploying police force to ensure proper queue.... Yet tickets remain as hard to get as sighting a dodo. Be it regular reservation ticket or the tatkal variety, the problem is acute. Summer vacation has only compounded the woes of the average passengers who plan to travel by train. The railway’s 120- day window (now reduced to 60 days) to prompt people to schedule their travel well in time comes unstuck. Some passengers also suspect touts and agents are sti...

70-yr-old filed RTI plea in 2009; despite intervention by information commission, RTI is pending Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Wednesday, May 08, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013050820130508034050461f30ec71/Four-years-on-retired-teacher-awaits-RTI-reply.html It has been over four years since this senior citizen filed an RTI but he is yet to get a reply as per the Right to Information Act. P D Makadiya, 70, a retired school teacher had sought information about alleged irregularities in his school in 2009 from the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) and state education department. However, despite repeated intervention of the Gujarat Information Commission, he is yet to get a reply. In a bid to facilitate the process, the Information Commission, in March 2013, slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on officials of GSHSEB and the education department. But they are yet to respond. Makadiya, a retired teacher from Madhyamik Shala in Jamnagar, had file...

GSHSEB committee to submit report on multiple-choice question system by December Yogesh Avasthi Posted On Monday, May 06, 2013 ( http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013050620130506020537468437f839f/MCQ-Maths-Science-SS-papers-likely-for-Class-10.html By 2016, three SSC exam papers will contain just multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has set up a committee to explore the option of bringing other subjects under the MCQ model as well. Each year, 10 lakh students take exams in five core subjects — Science and Technology, Mathematics, Social Science (SS) and two languages — with a 50:50 split between MCQs and essay-type questions. The new system does away with essay questions in the three non-language papers. The 12-member GSHSEB committee is expected to submit a feasibility report on bringing other subjects under the MCQ system, which uses optical mark recognition (OMR), by December. GSHSEB chairman R R Varsani said,...