Prof. Durgesh Mangeshkar

In the past 11 years since 2004, the criterion for admissions into the Engineering colleges of Maharashtra has been a field of constant change and experimentation by the decision makers in Maharashtra Government. Every State Education Minister and Government has been changing the rules of the game at whim often with vague or short notice thereby creating an air of nervous uncertainty leaving lacs of students, parents and also teachers in a state of perpetual confusion and chaos. This article delves deeply into the various elements of educational philosophy, academic content & objectives, economics and broad political ideologies which are at play due to which this matter remains unsettled so far. However, all these issues can be settled if the political leadership has will and strength to implement a comprehensive vision for delivering quality education along with access and equity. Before getting into the nuances of the elements at play, let us first examine the changes in ...

India is on the cusp of history. Our nation is blessed with a remarkable opportunity which experts call as the demographic dividend. Almost 65% of Indians are below the age of 35 years. This makes India one of the youngest nations in the world. Many of the developed nations like Japan, UK, Germany, France and US have a much older population. Hence, the number of Indians in the prime working age is the 2nd highest in the world after China. If these youth are equipped with employable skills and education, India can potentially be catapulted into being a superpower - into a league of its own in the next 10-20 years. In order to achieve this objective, one of the central areas of focus in education must be Science & Technology education. Indian youth needs to be educated, empowered and skilled to world-class levels in this aspect. Technology is indispensable in every business and a skilled work force at all levels is the urgent need of the hour. If we examine the quality of Scien...

The JEE MAINS 2015 shall be organized by CBSE and shall be held in 2 formats viz. Pen-Paper format (on 4 th April, 2015) and Computer-based Online format (on 10 th & 11 th April, 2015). Students have a choice whether to give in either of the 2 formats. However, the process of form filling has to be compulsorily done through Online mode at www.jeemain.nic.in between 7 th November & 18 th December 2014 .  The following points during form filling are to be noted : The candidate must fill all necessary details like name, address, date of birth, percentage of marks etc. carefully in the Online form. Latest photograph with light background needs to be uploaded. The photograph must contain name and date of birth at the bottom. Candidates are advised to upload the photograph, signature and thumb impression in a proper specified format given below : · Photograph : JPEG format with 3.5 cm (W) X 4.5 cm (H) size. File size must be bet...

"A successful 21st century teacher must have the 3 crucial elements of compassion, passion and dispassion. Compassion because the teacher needs to empathize with the student and tune up to the level of the student. Passion because only a flame ignites another flame. Passion for the subject is highly infectious - a desirable attribute of the teacher. And finally Dispassion is needed so that the teacher can learn from students feedback / criticism as well. A lack of one of these 3 crucial elements will manifest as an obstacle to enjoy the teaching process. A genuine teacher not just builds expertise in a student in a certain subject but also builds "learnability" which is invaluable for the student. I hope that in future years more of the dynamic educated youth in India take up teaching on a part-time or full-time basis and contribute to India's ascent to be a superpower by capitalising on the historic demographic dividend opportunity that India has today. I am optim...

This is the first part of a series of articles on the above subject. The education sector of India is in a state of disrepair. Over 6 decades of utter neglect from successive Union & State Governments and education regulators has allowed mediocrity or worse to flourish in a sector which can make or break India’s potential fortunes. India has the youngest population with 65% of Indian population below the age of 35 years and if we have to reap the benefits of this huge demographic dividend and emerge as a superpower within the next decade, this young population has to be provided education which focuses on skills, innovation, research and entrepreneurship. Else, India shall plunge into chaos and the likely consequences are not desirable for anyone who loves India. To place things in perspective, India 2014 has over 1.2 million schools, about 12000 junior colleges, about 9500 undergraduate colleges and about 650 Universities  affiliated  to UGC.  Every ...