India, US for joint working group to boost education

October 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Australian and Indian Governments have stepped up their joint efforts to address issues affecting the 100,000 Indian students in Australia. The Joint Working Group (JWG) on Student Mobility met for the first time on 6 October, agreeing on a number of concrete measures to enhance the interests and welfare of Indian students.

October 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and Australia, in their first meeting of the joint working group on student mobility, have agreed to tackle unscrupulous education agents and check institutes offering poor quality of education. A press release of the Australian high commission here Friday said that both countries have agreed on a number of concrete measures to enhance the interests and welfare of Indian students in Australia.

September 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Thursday said it will hold the third joint military exercise with China next year and clarified that no such drill was planned for this year. "It was mutually decided during the last exercise that the next joint military exercise would be held in 2010, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said.

September 20th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan and Britain have decided to create a joint task force to reform the education system in the Islamic country, Geo TV reported Sunday. The decision was taken during a meeting here Saturday attended by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, among others.

September 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Wednesday said its relationship with India was undergoing "seismic changes" and will get a major boost during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit in November. Washington also asked Pakistan to prosecute those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks and stop infiltration of militants into India to rebuild confidence with New Delhi.

August 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and Singapore signed a Joint Action Plan on tourism cooperation here today. At the signing ceremony, the Indian side was represented by Sujit Banerjee, Secretary (Tourism), Government of India, while the Singapore side was represented by Lawrence Leong Yue Kheong, Assistant Chief Executive of International Group, Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore.

July 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The salient features of the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Bill are - - Free and compulsory education to all children of India in the six to 14 age group; - No child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until completion of elementary education; - A child who completes elementary education (upto class 8) shall be awarded a certificate; - Calls for a fixed student-teacher ratio; - Will apply to all of India except Jammu and Kashmir; - Provides for 25 percent reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission to Class One in all private schools; - Mandates improvement in quality of education; - School teachers will need adequate professional degree within five years or else will lose job; -- School infrastructure (where there is problem) to be improved in three years, else recognition cancelled; -- Financial burden will be shared between state and central government

July 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State governments must give up their "chalta hai" (laid-back) attitude to improve the quality of education to take India to new heights, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said here Thursday. The minister said there is up to 50 percent shortage of teachers in schools in various states.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With two new initiatives in research and higher education, Canada continues to forge new links and strengthen existing ties with India. David Malone, who was Canada's High Commissioner to India from 2006-2008, and is now the president of Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a funder of global development research, has outlined a new capacity building initiative to increase the ability of research institutions to shape economic and social policy.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Saying the government was committed to improve education standards in India, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said Wednesday a new apex panel on higher education will be formed soon. The National Commission for Higher Education and Research, which will encompass in itself the existing professional councils and regulatory agencies, including the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Medical Council of India and the AICTE, is likely to be formed within the first 100 days of the new government, Sibal told reporters.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - To boost its presence in the Indian education sector, Pearson, a Britain-headquartered education and information company, will invest $30 million in Indian education resource provider Educomp Solutions and Bangalore-based online tutorial firm TutorVista, the company announced Wednesday. Pearson will acquire 50 percent stake in Educomp Solutions for $17.5 million as part of their agreement signed Wednesday.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Pearson, a Britain-headquartered education and information company, will acquire 50 percent stake in Indian education resource provider Educomp Solutions for $17.5 million as part of an agreement signed between them Wednesday. The two companies will offer skills training as part of the agreement, a joint statement from the companies said.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - At a time when scores of foreign educational institutions are queuing up to woo Indian students, leading industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Friday said it will showcase Indian higher education and its rich variety at Kuala Lumpur. The CII, with the support of the high commission of India, is organising the India Education Fair 2009 during June 20-21, the industry lobby said.

June 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - India and the US have called upon the world to join hands in combating terrorism in a long-term, sustained and comprehensive manner, saying there can be no justification for any act of terrorism. The call was made in a joint statement issued here Wednesday after a meeting of the US-India Counter-terrorism Joint Working Group to discuss efforts to coordinate global counterterrorism initiatives.

February 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and Germany have set up a joint working group (JWG) for the automotive sector for increased cooperation in the field of technology, skill development and framework development. The joint declaration for the JWG was signed between Surajit Mitra, additional secretary, ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises and Wolfgang Hahn, director general, strategic planning and international affairs, German ministry of transport, building and urban affairs.