In days gone by the dinner table was the center of family life. These days that tradition has gone by the wayside. This is very unfortunate because it shows in families. A tightly knit family was the beginning for life just a few generations ago and it showed in our country as a whole. These days most people have very little idea of what is really going on in thier extended family let alone in thier own home. The kitchen table was a place where the kids talked about what was going on, what they where doing, thier plans for the week etc over breakfast, lunch and dinner. These days a meal consists of whatever can be picked up in a drive through window or unwrapped while you’re on the way to do something.

Our modern age of accomplishing more, instant gratification and cheap massed produced everything has taken its toll on the family . We have substitued family time for all things cheap and meaningless. Mickey D’sFast food, the rehashed movie and chinese furniture.

When did the norm become having everything done for us? Taking no pride in anything including the family? Making a meal that took the afternoon used to be a source of joy for who ever made it, typically the wife. It took time and skill, both of which seem to be a rare commodity these days. If someone actually cooks these days it tends to be microwave dinner. The funny part is that in alot of families even this farce of making dinner is met with “you cooked dinner?”. My god! What happened to quality and pride?

When everything is replaceable in life what really has any meaning or value? How can it have any value or meaning?

A conversation held in front of the tv is distracted and quickly forgotten by everyone involved. It carries no meaning because there is no eye contact or true interaction. Conversations held over a true home cooked meal that was carefully prepared carries with it a whole lot more meaning. Why you ask well it’s simple. Whoever took the time to pick up, prepare and then cook everything must really care about who they’re making it for. They were willing to set aside the time necessary to cook such a meal. In this day and age of no time that in itself says alot. When the time is taken it doesn’t go un-noticed simply because it’s so rare these days. One of the biggest keys to family dinners is the initial effort put forth by the person that actually makes it. This sets things in motion for all involved to put extra effort into the family table.

Meetings around the dinner table are undistracted, face to face and more sincere. When home cooked dinners are included as a normal part of family life that family has a chance to become like the families of our fore-fathers – closer, more loving and sincere.

1. Introduction         

When there was no university elsewhere in the Europe; Takshasila, Vikramshila, Pallavi, and Nalanda were the centers of Global Education and attracting learners from all around the globe. The development of modern education in India started with the establishment of Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817. During British reign, Calcutta University was the first to confer the bachelor degree on women in 1883.

After independence various universities have been opened both by the government as well as private sector. The main motive behind opening these universities were not to earn profit but to serve the society by imparting higher education and conducting researches related to pure and social sciences. The fees charged from the students were minimum, hence these institutions were generating deficit so there was a need to go for the donations and aids to cover its fixed and running expenses. But gradually there was a drastic change in the scene .The education sector emerges as one of the most profitable business opportunity. The increase in the number of private schools and institutions supports the fact. Higher education is not an exception to this. Gradually most of the corporate entities have also entered into the picture.

2. Corporatisation of Higher Education

Now a days education sector is a trillion dollar industry. It is a service sector industry in the area of education as service with a huge global market in which students, teachers and non- teaching employee constitute resources for profit generation. So the concepts of marketing are also applicable. The organizations have to market their product and themselves in order to survive. In this industry the students are the customers, the teachers are the service providers and the institutions are organizers or marketers and teaching-learning process is no longer for the building of a nation but a business for profit making. Education at all levels, will continue to grow, because it cultivates the human mind and makes people important and useful in the all round development of a country, however for the corporate sector it will grow as a big service industry. Predatory and powerful MNCs are targeting public education, particularly higher education, for profit- making. Though predominantly a government supported service most governments are as consequences of neo-liberal economic reforms, withdrawing from it. The government of India through extensive privatization, commercialization and deregulation is encouraging this process.

3.  Education under GATS umbrella

In 1996, the United States provided exports of education and training services had reached 8.2 billion dollars, and its trade surplus in education amounted to 7 billion dollars. Higher education was the fifth largest service exported by the US. Therefore, the pressure of the United States on WTO member countries in relation to trade in education service is clearly understandable.

The US, the European Union (EU), Japan and Canada are the main powers behind the GATS. Though WTO membership consists of nation states, the transnational corporations of these countries that sit on all the important “advisory” committees and determine detailed policy shape its agenda. While denying access to decent healthcare, education housing and long term care to millions of workers and their families the world over, the agreement will confer ever greater political power on these corporations as they control and dictate public policy.

GATS have two components: (i) the framework agreement containing 29 articles, and (ii) a number of Annexes, Ministerial decisions etc. as well as the schedules of commitments by each member government, which bind them to allow market access, and /or remove existing restrictions to market access. This agreement covers all services, including education 

When the services are entirely provided by the government, they do not fall within the GATS rule. For a service to be out of the purview of the GATS rule it has to be entirely free. However, when the service have been provided either by the government partially or some prices are charged (as happens in education where some fees is charged) , or provided by the private providers , they shall fall under the GATS rule.

The informal WTO classification List (W/120) divides educational services into five parts: (a) Primary education (b) secondary education (c) higher education (d) adult education (e) other education.

The idea behind this is the creation of an open, global marketplace where services like education can be traded to the highest bidder. GATS cover the educational services of all the countries whose educational system are not exclusively provided by the public sector, or those educational systems that have commercial purposes. In India, we cannot get exemption in education from the application of GATS because education at all levels, particularly at higher education level is not entirely free (i.e. some fees has to be paid)

Corporate because of their huge financial resources are able to attract the best talent available in the country and hence they are providing the quality service to their customers (students). They have the access to the new sources of finances .In India also the issuing of shares by the schools and educational institution and its trading in the stock exchange will be a reality. Then the quality of the institute may be judged by looking at the share prices in the stock market and like any other business enterprises the wealth maximization will be the main goal of the institute and their entire effort will be to increase their market share and ultimately to increase the market capitalization. The government is reducing the grants given to the universities and colleges and these institutes are asked to arrange their own sources of finance .In that scenario those educational institution who will not be earning surplus will die like any other seek industrial unit. So it is the high time for those institutes to think for earning surplus and make themselves competitive for survival.

But when these institutions will be running on absolutely business principles for earning profit obviously the fees charged from the students will be higher. The application of some unethical and unfair practices for attracting the students and earning higher profit cannot be overlooked in that scenario.

4. Indian reality

In a country like India where a large section of our population is living below the poverty line, almost 35% of the population is still illiterate and we are talking about removing poverty and illiteracy, in that situation they will be the most mistreated people. So it is the government and its institutions, which will have to look at this aspect. Hence imparting higher education by charging high fees by the government run universities and college will not be desirable and the government has to look at the welfare aspect of its people. But before coming to any conclusion we have to consider the following two ground and hard realities in this respect: -

1.      India being the member country of WTO, must abide by the decisions and regulations of WTO. So it cannot stop the foreign universities and institutes to operate in India, which are having ample financial, physical and intellectual resources and are running on absolutely business principles for earning profit.

2.      The government of India is reducing the grants and aids given to the government universities and colleges and these institutes are called to mobilize resources from their internal sources as well as external sources. They are also asked by the UGC and NAAC to become more competitive.

So it is the time as well as the opportunity for our Government funded institutions/universities/colleges to make themselves competitive and to go for globalization. This can be only possible when they will stand on their own feet by earning surplus and are effectively and efficiently run. But at the same time we have to think for the weaker sections of the society who could not afford a high expenditure on the study.

Therefore it is very high time for educational institutes to build a business model, which will be able to compete with the foreign universities and also the weaker sections of the society will also be taken care of.

5. The model of Arvindo Eye Hospital, Madurai

The Arvindo Eye Hospital of Madurai has set an outstanding business model showing how an organisation can serve the society at large on one hand and can also earn profitable surplus on the other hand. At Arvindo Eye Hospital, economically poor people are provided treatment at free of cost and the patients who can afford are charged the requisite treatment charges. More than two-third of the patients treated in the hospital fall under the former economically unprivileged category and yet he hospital earns substantial profits. But a remarkable policy to be noticed is that the service provided to both categories of rich and poor patients are exactly same and no compromise of any sort is done with regard to the quality of treatment and service provided. The secret behind the success of the hospital is the volume of patients giving business and fact that hospital does not spend money on conspicuous consumptions. Promotion is through word of mouth and mass print media.

Similar model can be adopted by our government run and universities, whereby the required fees can be charged from students whose parents can afford the same, and concessions to be provided to the economically deprived students. With the globalization, liberation, privatization and economic growth more and more people are finding occupations in private sector leading to an increase in the purchasing power at the hands of the middle and upper class of the society who has become conscious of and can afford quality education at higher prices. This is a positive factor which the universities can cash upon and which further supports the above model.

Notes and References

1.      http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/news23/text001.htm

2.      Www.education. nic.in/htmlweb/iperposch.htm

3.      Www.pd.cpim.org/2002/feb17/02172002_wto_educ_2.htm_2000

4.      A Case study on Arbind Eye Hospital, Madurai, IIMB Review, September,2005.

5.      Kumar R; World Trade Organisation, Structure, Functions, Tasks, Challenges, Deep and Deep Publications, 2004.

Many car enthusiasts are becoming more and more aware of the beauty of automotive art. Such car lovers are the ones who drive the car art market. The automotive sculptural and painterly elements can be found somewhere between the necessities and luxuries of everyday life. Car enthusiasts appreciate the automotive splendor in terms of its form and shape, composition and line, texture and color, which had led them to appreciating automotive art as well, that is the work of those who can express such splendor in bronze, through a lens or on canvas. The appreciation has reached such an extent, that car art has been identified as its own genre, through the work of established artists. Other car art enthusiasts have established automotive art societies, to show that their passion goes beyond a mere hobby.

But automotive art appreciation to such an extent is relatively new. Only in the early eighties ahs car art become recognized as a field an d we can say that up to those days it didn’t even exist. The only form of automotive art back then was the individual work of a few artists who were so passionate about the subject that they started painting cars. The first form of an automotive art society was an alliance of relatively few artists, who wanted to be able to keep to date with what was new in this field and exchange ideas.

However, if we refer to automotive art as a means for automotive advertising, than its history goes way beyond the 1980s, all the way to the beginning of the twentieth century when ads and brochures for cars were paintings made by artists. This is the reason why the painting s of a car was associated to nothing more than a marketing illustration back then, whereas now automotive art is a genre in itself. What was then nothing but a mere form of advertising has now grown into an actual movement, as artists from all over the world get together regularly at select shows. All those involved in such events consider that cars are a very artistic subject and that they have evolved as an organization far beyond what they had expected, turning car art from painting for advertising into painting for art.

Car art has evolved so much that there are now quite a lot of collectors to whom the automobile is a state of art. And although most artists would be tempted to give a personal touch to their work by painting their own interpretations of the subject, they still keep in mind that the final goal is to please the art collector rather than themselves. And since for most of these automotive art collectors the function of the car still precedes its form, or, in other words, they just want to see the car, the artist’s creative and innovative possibilities are rather limited.

Most of these car artists have a tendency to identify with the genre, but there are some who state that to them automotive art is a form of art like any other, only that their paintings contain cars, instead of flowers, for instance. Still, most of those artists who are now representative for the automotive art have a lot of knowledge about cars, as they didn’t just switch from painting landscapes to painting automobiles. They do it out of passion for this subject. Therefore, we can say that automotive art will exist as long as automobiles do, and it doesn’t seem that their era is fading any time soon.

For more resources about car art or even about automotive art please review this website http://www.cartech49.com

Business finance is one of the most important aspects of running and maintaining a business. Finances dictate the success or failure of a business. If a business owner does not properly maintain their business finances then they will soon see problems arise. Business finance is something that every business owner must deal with and understand.

Part of business finance is setting up proper cash flow. A business owner needs to clearly define their accounts receivable and accounts payable. They need to maintain a steady and balanced cash flow at all times. This means they must never let your accounts payable exceed their accounts receivable in any given month.

A business owner must also carefully manage their debt. They should never let their debt get too high or out of control. They should maintain regular payment schedules to ensure they do not fall behind on repaying any debt.

Keeping clear and concise records is extremely important to keeping business finance under control. A business owner should either hire a professional or use some type of bookkeeping computer software to maintain accounting records.

It is important for a business owner to maintain a business budget, much like they would for their household. This will help them ensure they are keeping track of all the money coming in and going out of the business. This is a good method to avoid getting too much debt.

Proper record keeping can also help out should the business owner need to get a loan. Lenders prefer to have records to refer to when making a decision on a loan, especially for a business. Businesses are seen as risky because they can easily fail. Lenders like to see proof that they business is doing well or at least a forecast that shows significant proof the business will do well. This is what good record keeping does.

Business finance is something many people do not think too much about when starting a business. This is why so many businesses fail. When a business is just starting up lenders like to see a good business plan in place, including a financial plan. This shows the business owner is really understanding all that is involved with taking a business successful.

Every business owner should have their business finances in mind at all times. Money is the biggest indicator of success in business, so it makes sense for that to be one of the top priorities of a business owner. For proper business finance a business owner should maintain records for all of the money going in and coming out of the business. They should track all debts and money owed to the business, as well. By practicing good business finance, a business owner is going to be one step closer to ensuring their business succeeds.

Today, the mechanical industry relies mostly on sophisticated automotive and diagnostic equipments. Alignment machines, computer diagnostic stations etc are indispensable in repairing machines. Since these repair facilities are high-priced, automotive and diagnostic equipment financing has assumed greater importance today. Those seeking automotive and diagnostic equipments with reliable financing companies which provide equipments at great terms can certainly do a lot good to their business.

Automotive equipments are of a specialized nature and at times facilitate only a single repair. Therefore it is essential to keep a set of such equipments in order to provide the repairing service without any interruption. At times, the automotive equipment set may be costlier than a vehicle. This is the reason for why people are going for automotive equipment financing.

There are several categories of automotive and diagnostic equipment financing which include air compressor financing, welder financing, automotive hand tool financing, brake lathe financing and so on. You can apply for any loan by submitting a loan application to the financing company. One can avail online application forms for getting automotive and diagnostic equipment financing, courtesy the internet.

Diagnostic equipments are much sophisticated owing to which modern automobiles rely mainly on them. The computer diagnostic systems help in many repair functions and also help in communicating with specific automotive diagnostic equipment. There are various diagnostic equipments available, which are highly useful in acquiring a complete report of the vehicle which also includes the areas that need repair. The diagnostic equipments due to their sophisticated nature are high-priced. Again constant changes in computer technology also call for upgrade in automatic diagnostic equipment. Therefore automotive and diagnostic equipment financing can be acquired from any reliable financing company that does call for long procedures. The financing company should also be ready to clear the loan to the qualified automotive companies without any problems.

There are various types of loans available for automotive and diagnostic equipment. For instance, Dynamometer financing helps you to buy a dynamometer that is used to measure the rotational speed and torque of the engine. This machine is very expensive and so if you wish to own such equipment, you need to go for financing.

Before going for automotive and diagnostic equipment financing, you should pursue a research on the financing companies that have branches near your locality. Ensure that the company has been in existence for at least a decade. Also verify the interest rates and mode of payment. You need to confirm whether you can get the loan without waiting for so many days.

There are some reliable financing companies that provide various types of loans for getting automotive and diagnostic equipment. Such companies have simple application procedures and they provide fast approval of loan. Therefore you can buy the equipments at any time you need. This is of course vital for smooth running of your company.

You can simply fill the online application form provided by the financing company and can get fast approval provided the information is true. Therefore it is possible for any company to buy the expensive automotive and diagnostic equipment today.

Five proactive steps a business can take to beat the credit squeeze including business finance, planning and taking a positive approach to meeting and solving the problems that might arise.

The credit squeeze is a fact of business life and is not just about money but confidence in the market too. There are always winners and losers in every business situation and confidence and business finance can beat the credit crunch.

1. Ensure the bookkeeping and financial accounts of the business are up to date.

Keeping the accounting records up to date is an essential first step to ensuring the business owner knows exactly where the business stands. Reviewing recent financial performance and taking positive action to increase sales and margins where possible and control costs by eliminating waste protects the business from surprises and downturns.

By having available the recent costs, views and action can be taken to reduce those costs and in some circumstances to increase business costs where the profit potential is highest. For example a detailed examination of advertising and promotion costs may indicate some campaigns should be reduced while the money saved invested in better performing areas.

Not all sales produce the same profit for the business. By concentrating efforts on the highest profit margin products and services the effect on working capital can be reduced which can take the pressure off working capital funding.

2. Preparing a realistic business plan can help the business plan ahead.

Many small businesses prepare a business plan when starting up especially if government grants or business finance is to be applied for. Failing to prepare an updated business plan during a credit squeeze can be a plan to fail.

During a credit squeeze a business can find itself operating in an unstable market where the rules and actions of the past might not be evident in the future. Banks increase the cost of borrowing, customers save money by leaving the market and sometimes failing to pay or at least taking longer. Suppliers tighten their grip by increasing prices and demanding tighter payment periods.

Business takes steps to protect income, cash flow, liquidity and in extreme cases survival. That is why failing to meet these new challenges is a plan to fail.

Prepare a business plan on the basis of the recent history and extend the financial results forward following the recent trends. Input into the financial forecast the opportunities that can be exploited to increase business and take a realistic view of the potential negative factors that may be suffered.

The business plan should include both a written view of the next twelve months ahead and include a profit and loss account reflecting the optimistic view and the most negative view with contingency plans should the worse scenario become a fact. A cash flow statement calculated from the business plan to show the effects on liquidity is a vital tool.

3. Improve financial flexibility to increase the business finance options.

Arrange the business finances with more than one bank and increase the number of financing options. A single bank may not offer the size of overdraft or loan facilities or the competitive rates the business requires. View the financial market as a competition between suppliers for your business finance and utilise several to spread the finance between them.

By maximising financial flexibility options for bank accounts, loans and overdrafts and financing asset purchases the effect on business progress can be minimised. Consider leasing agreements, invoice factoring and other specialist financial institutions in addition to the main bank account provider. Cash flow and working capital requirements are crucial.

4. Go out and get more sales.

When sales go down it is easy to become depressed. Fight it and remember how the business obtained new sales channels and customers in the past and exploit the opportunities in the future. Focus on the unique selling points of the business and its products and revitalise campaigns to increase sales.

Consider sales and product diversification into both related and other areas. There are always new opportunities including new products and markets, selling existing products to a wider audience including increased geographical presence. It may help to list all sales activities in sales channels and look for more sales channels in which they company can operate.

5. Ask for professional advice and assistance.

Increase the level of communication with each professional advisor including accountants, financial advisors, solicitors, bank managers and business advisors and any managers of financial institutions. The more the merrier and by keeping in touch more opportunities and more favourable responses will be possible.

There is no such thing as a silly question when the future of the business and its employees are at risk. Discussing options with a variety of professional advisors increases those options and if increased business finance is required for growth or survival in the future, the higher level of personal dialogue will ease that route forward.

Education for All: Trend and out reach at Tamilnadu in India

The world convention on to Meet fundamental Learning requirements was adopted by the World Conference on Education for All at Jomtien, Thailand, in March 1990. The meeting design comprehensive review of policies concerning basic education. The Education for All (EFA) 2000 appraisal is a major global attempt that aims to enable the participating countries to

(i) Construct a comprehensive picture of their progress towards their own Education for All goals since the 1990 Jomtien Conference,

(ii) Identify priorities and promising strategies for overcoming obstacles and accelerating progress, and

(iii) Revise national plans of action accordingly.

EFA indicators which are grouped according to the following six ‘Intention Magnitude’:-

1. Expansion of early childhood care and development;

2. Universal access to and completion of primary education;

3. Improvement in learning achievement;

4. Reduction of adult illiteracy rate;

5. Expansion of provision of basic education and training in essential skills required by

Youth and adults; and

6. Increased acquisition by individuals and families of the knowledge, skills and values

organized for better living.

For this purpose a National Assessment Group was constituted in the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development consisting of senior officials of the Department concerned with EFA and representatives of specialized national institutions, like NCERT, NIEPA and NCTE. During its deliberations, the Group felt that the Indian exercise should be carried out in a larger perspective which takes into account the following important developments:

 The wide range of programmes initiated for achieving Universalisation of Elementary Education after formulation of National Policy of Education, 1986;

 The massive effort made in the form of literacy campaigns to reach education to the masses; and

 Enormous amount of activities in the field of primary education witnessed in the country on an unprecedented scale in the 1990s through projects and programmes specifically focused on EFA.

The EFA 2000 exercise is, therefore, seen not merely as a stock taking exercise but also as an effort to review and fine-tune strategies and programmes of basic education.

It is with this dual perspective in view that it has been planned

(1) to make the exercise quite comprehensive covering every dimension of basic education;

(2) to get the various component areas reviewed by independent experts from across the country; and

(3) to evolve a plan of action for the next phase, probably the final phase, of the national effort to reach the goal of EFA.

India’s EFA Assessment 2000 Country Report draws upon the following three documents:

i. Report of progress made with respect to the 18 EFA Indicators as identified in the General and Technical Guidelines given by the EFA Forum Secretariat;

ii. The State of the Art Review (Synthesis) on Learning Achievements; and

iii. The State of the Art Review on Learning Conditions.

The Department of Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken the initiative to commission twenty-four sub-sectoral studies on various aspects of EFA in India which seek to capture the varied experiences that have emerged from the projects, programmes and schemes undertaken during the last decade. The findings of these studies are proposed to be disseminated widely in India and abroad with a view to enrich the EFA 2000 Assessment exercise and provide useful inputs for policy makers, planners and administrators who are working towards achieving the goals of EFA.

Education for All – frame work

The goal of EFA in India are to be viewed in relation to the stage of education development that obtained on 1990 ¾ the year of world declaration on EFA. By then, fairly large expansion of in all parts of the country. Other sectors of education like adult education Non – formal education had also developed fairly well. Therefore, the main challenges in education in 1990s related to EFA have been the following: Access to basic education for the unreached segments and uncovered habitations

Qualitative improvement in content and processes of education; to make them more responsive to learning needs of individuals-children, youth and adults, families, community and development in different sectors of social and economic life. Consolidation and newer orientation wherever required in different areas of education through innovative programmes and changed role of educational personnel. Community participation in education; making education a people’s movement. Evolving effective and efficient management structures in education.

All goals and targets of EFA to be fulfilled in 1990’s have to be assessed in terms of the nature of the programmes, the degree to which they have led to achievement of the goals of EFA, and the promise they hold for making the processes and supportive structure sustainable. Thus, when EFA programmes were implemented in 1990’s,a new framework for development of basic education in the country was emerging which had the following broad features.

Holistic Approach

The holistic approach adopted for planning and implementation of EFA programmes is characterized by:

- A holistic view of basic education with grater linkages and integration between pre – school, primary education, non – formal education and adult education;

- Relating programmes of education with national concerns such as nutrition and health care, environment, small family norm and life skills education.

- Collaboration of different departments and sectors of development with primary education.

Education Grantee Scheme

The EGS centers in Tamil Nadu deserves special mention as an important new initiative in the 1990s.the remarkable success of EGS drawn the attention of planners and policy maker. The EGS centers covered 6-11 age groups who did not battened school. The key factors on which EGS hinges are community demand and government guarantee. By projecting community demand as a start-up point, EGS addresses the issue of enrollment and retention. The EGS is seen as successful mode of reaching the unreached or ‘Hard to reach’.

Education Grantee Scheme in Tamil Nadu (2004-2005)

ACTIVITIES

Administration arrangement: The coordinator have appointed.

Capacity building All the staff/ teachers have completed the strategy planning work shop.

Equivalence strategy The special effort is being taken to enroll the school drop out children.

Duration The short duration of the programme is 60-75 days.

School hours Two to three hours

Number of children per class 25 – 40 is high and low is 10-20

Teacher qualifications, Training and honorarium As per the government norm

Academic support and supervision The separate supervisors for every eight to ten schools

Teaching – Learning Materials The material prepared separately

Collaboration with NGOs Many EGS centers running by NGOs

A PROGRAMME FOR UNIVERSAL ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN INDIA

In accordance with the constitutional commitment to ensure free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years, provision of universal elementary education has been a salient feature of national policy since independence. This resolve has been spelt out emphatically in the National Policy since independence (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action (POA) 1992. A number of schemes and programmes were launched in pursuance of the emphasis embodied in the NPE and the POA. These included the scheme of Operation Blackboard (OB); Non Formal Education (NFE); Teacher Education (TE); Mahila Samakhya (MS); State specific Basic Education Projects like the Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project (APPEP); Bihar Education Project (BEP), Lok Jumbish (LJP) in Rajasthan; National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (MDM); District Primary Education Programme (DPEP).

Why Elementary Education

Social justice and equity are by themselves a strong argument for providing basic education for all. It is an established fact that basic education improves the level of human well – being especially with regard to life expectancy, infant mortality, nutritional status of children, etc. Studies have shown that universal basic education significantly contributes to economic growth.

Constitutional, Legal and National Statements for UEE

The Constitutional, legal, and national policies and statements have time and again upheld the cause of universal elementary education.

Constitutional mandate 1950 – “The state shall Endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 years.”

National Policy of Education 1986 – “It shall be ensured that free and compulsory education of satisfactory quality is provided to all children up to 14 years of age before we enter the twenty first century.”

Unnikrishnan judgment 1993 – “Every child/citizen of this country has a right to free

education till he completes the age of fourteen years.”

Education Ministers” resolve 1998 – “Universal elementary education should be pursued in the mission mode. It emphasized the need to pursue a holistic and convergent

approach towards UEE.”

National Committee’s Report on UEE in the mission mode 1999 – UEE should be pursued in a mission mode with a holistic and convergent approach with emphasis on preparation of District Elementary Education Plans for UEE. It supported the fundamental right to education and desired quick action towards operationalization of the mission mode towards UEE.

The Scenario so Far

Consequent to several efforts, India has made enormous progress in terms of increase in institution, teachers, and students in elementary education. The number of schools in the country increased four fold – from 2, 31, 000 in 1950-51 to 9, 30,000 in 1988-99, while enrolment in the primary cycle jumped by about six times from 19.2 million to 110 million. At the upper Primary stage, the increase of enrolment during the period was 13 times, while enrolment of girls recorded a huge rise of 32 times. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the Primary stage has exceeded 100 percent. Access to schools is no longer a major problem. At the primary stage, 94 percent of the country’s rural population has schooling facilities within one kilometer and at the upper primary stage it is 84 percent.

The country has made impressive achievement in the elementary education sector. But the flip side is that out of the 200 million children in the age group of 6 -14 years, 59million children are not attending school. Of this, 35 million are girls and 24 million are boys. There are problems relations to drop – out rate, low levels of learning achievement and low participation of girls, tribal and other disadvantaged groups. There are still at least one lakh habitations in the country without schooling facility within a kilometer. Coupled with it are various systemic issues like inadequate school infrastructure, poorly functioning schools, high teacher absenteeism, large number of teacher vacancies, poor quality of education and inadequate funds.

In short, the country is yet to achieve the elusive goal of Universalisation of Elementary education (UEE), which means 100 percent enrolment and retention of children with schooling facilities in all habitations. It is to fill this gap that the government has launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a historic stride towards achieving the long cherished goal

of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) through a time bound integrated approach, in partnership with States. SSA, which promises to change the face of the elementary education sector of the country, aims to provide useful and quality elementary

Education to all children in the 6-14 age groups by 2010.

The SSA is an effort to recognize the need for improving the performance of the school system and to provide community owned quality elementary education in the mission mode. It also envisages bridging of gender and social gaps.

OBJECTIVES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

 All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternative School, ‘Back to School’ camp by 2003;

 All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007;

 All children complete eight years of schooling by 2010;

 Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life;

 Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at

Elementary education level by 2010;

 Universal retention by 2010.

Structure for Implementation

The Central and State governments will together implement the SA in partnership with the local governments and the community. To signify the national priority for elementary education, a National Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mission is being established with the Prime Minister as the Chairperson and the Union Minister of Human Resource Development as the Vice Chairperson. States have been requested to establish State level Implementation Society for UEE under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Education Minister. This has already been done in many States.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will not disturb existing structures in States and districts but would only try to bring convergence in all these efforts. Efforts will be made to ensure that there is functional decentralization down to the school level in order to improve community participation. Besides recognizing PRIs / Tribal Councils in Scheduled Areas, including the Gram Sabha, the States would be encouraged to enlarge the accountability framework by involving NGOs, teacher, activists, women’s organizations etc.

Coverage and Period

The SSA will cover the entire expanse of the country before March 2002 and the duration of the Programme in every district will depend upon the District Elementary Education Plan (DPEP) Prepared by it as per its specific needs. However, the upper limit for the programme period has been fixed as ten years, i.e., up to 2010.

Strategies central to SSA programme

 Institutional reforms – As part of the SSA, institutional reforms in the States will be carried out. The state will have to make an objective assessment of their prevalent education system including educational administration, achievement levels in schools, financial issues, decentralization and community ownership, review of state Education Act, rationalization of teacher deployment and recruitment of teachers, monitoring and evaluation, education of girls, SC/ST and disadvantaged groups, policy regarding private schools and ECCE. Many States have already affected institutional reforms to improve the delivery system for elementary education.

 Sustainable Financing – The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is based on the premise that financing of elementary education interventions has to sustainable. This calls for a long – term perspective on financial partnership between the Central and the State governments.

 Community ownership – The programme calls for community ownership of school based interventions through effective decentralisation. This will be augmented by involvement of women’s groups, VEC members and members of Panchayati Raj institutions.

 Institutional capacity building – The SSA conceives a major capacity building role for national and state level institution like NIEPA/NCERT/NCTE/SCERT/SIEMAT. Improvement in quality requires a sustainable support system of resource persons.

 Improving mainstream educational administration – The Programme will have a community based monitoring system. The Educational Management Information System (EMSI) will correlate school level data with community based information from micro planning and surveys. Besides this, every school will have a notice board showing all the grants received by the school and other details.

 Habitation as a unit of planning – The SSA works on a community based approach to planning with habitation as a unit of planning. Habitation plans will be the basis for formulating district plans.

 Accountability to community – SSA envisages cooperation between teachers, parents and PRIs, as well as accountability and transparency.

 Education of girls – Education of girls, especially those belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, will be one of the principal concerns in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

 Focus on special groups – There will be a focus on the education participation of children form SC/ST, religious and linguistic minorities, disadvantaged groups and the disabled children.

 Pre Project phase – SSA will commence throughout the country with a well planned pre project phase that provides for a large number of interventions for capacity development to improve the delivery and monitoring system.

 Thrust on quality – SSA lays a special thrust on making education at elementary level useful and relevant for children by improving the curriculum, child centered activities and effective teaching methods.

 Role of teachers – SSA recognizes the critical role of teachers and advocates a focus on their development needs. Setting up of BRC/CRC, recruitment of qualified teachers, opportunities for teacher development through participation in curriculum related material development, focus on classroom process and exposure visits for teachers are all designed to develop the human resource among teachers.

 District Elementary Education Plans – As per the SSA framework, each district will prepare a District Elementary Education Plan reflection all the investments being made in the education sector, with a holistic and convergent approach.

Components of SSA

The components of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan includes appointment of teachers, teacher training, qualitative improvement of elementary education, provision of teaching learning materials, establishment of Block and Cluster Resource Centers for academic support, construction of Classrooms and school buildings, establishment of education guarantee centers, integrated education of the disabled and distance education.

Conclusion

Non-government Organization

Non – government organizations, commonly referred to as voluntary agencies in India, also participate in EFA programmes. For instance, a large number of voluntary agencies are implementing non – formal education programmes to meet the educational needs of out of school children. Many of them focus on socially and economically back ward areas and marginalized sections of the society and on education of girls. The current decade has seen the emergence of a number of EFA programmes supported by international agencies. These include support multi – lateral agencies including UN bodies, the World Bank and the ADB. Five UN agencies have supported the development of a joint initiative with the government of India and state governments on community based primary education. Assistance from UN agencies and bilateral dononars is in the form of grants, while the World Bank provides concessional loan assistance through IDA. Matching contributions in cash and kind are provided by central and state governments for such projects. The last three five year plans have witnessed significant shift in the expenditure of the department of education in the central government towards primary and adult education and away from tertiary education. That the central government is paying serious attention towards achievement of the goal of EFA is brought out by these actions of government.

Normal 0 “The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.”

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think – rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.”

Education is among the fastest growing service sectors of the economy. Education is one of the important public attributes of social and human development. Education has always been accorded an honored place in the Indian society. The development of education in India during the post independence period has been guided by the national goals and aspirations as embodied in the Indian constitution. Education being a powerful instrument of social, economic and political change, its broad principles and objectives are related to the long term national goals, the program of national development on which the country is engaged and complex short term problems it is called upon to solve. Prior to independence, the growth of institutions of higher education in India was very slow and diversification in the areas of the studies was very limited. After independence Education has become India’s “Super infrastructure”. It provides the strongest link between income aspirations and the realization of income goals. It can be controlled from with a household and without unreasonable dependence on the external environment and infrastructure. The congruence between internal economic goals of the nation is a pre-requisite for building viable and vital constituents that provide growth and education has accomplished a strong congruence between the internal aspirations of the household and the external objectives of the aggregate economy.

The focus of Commerce education was on building a strong foundation about the knowledge of business transactions and processes, primarily from the economics and accounting perspectives. In contrast, management education focused on building knowledge about overall business and its various functions, given its stakeholders and the market landscape. It was felt that one needed some disciplinary background, especially in science or commerce streams, or some work experience for effectively learning the management principles. Therefore, management education was intended for the graduate and executive levels, focused on nurturing future leaders who could lead the private and public sector organizations with a sense of social mission. The question surrounding the quality of Management education and its effect on Human Resource form the basis of the thesis.

In approaching this subject following hypothesis were laid down:

1. Quality of Management education is going down.

2. Due to mushrooming of B-Schools Admission procedure is becoming just

a formality.

3. Expectation of Industry is rising day by day from B-School students

Therefore, thesis asks the following questions:

First, what are the reasons for deterioration of quality of management education?

Second, what are the expectations of the corporate world from the B-Schools i.e. students?

Third, what should be the parameters to check the quality of management education?

In answer to the first question, the reasons are identified as being associated with the mushrooming of B-schools and growing demand of management personnel in the market, with the result leniency of government for encouraging more number of B-schools moreover certain loopholes in major government bodies giving affiliation and recognition

to these institutes as is discussed in Chapter 3.

In answer to the second question, regarding expectations of the corporate sector from Bschools it is argued that when it comes to recruitment or campus selection organization prefer students of those B-schools that produce quality students in terms of knowledge, physical skills as well as conceptual skills because every organization want to choose best out of the pool that too when they are having options more than they need. Ultimately country’s economy is generated by the organization having worth Human Resource and India being top in the list of populous nations having vast pool of Human Resource is no doubt having now quality Human Resource. Chapter 4 discusses how quality of education vis-à-vis management education affects Human Resource of a country.

In response to the third question, Chapter 6 surveys the different institutes in NCR,their admission procedure, faculty, placement which ultimately affects quality. .In this chapter we will also try to focus on quality tools . To achieve the objective of this study which is aimed to find a solution for a concrete social academic problem the thesis calls upon existing work from education studies, Quality management, recruitments of organizations , campus selection in B-schools. At this point, it must be stated that the thesis calls upon secondary sources also. Contacts were made with the various students studying in different B- schools of NCR. Management of these institutes was also contacted. However access was not possible in all institutes, in that case different faculties were contacted in -person. HR personnel’s of different organizations were also interviewed and in some cases questionnaires were got filled from the same. Research for the thesis also included an extensive literature search.

Every research work has its own set of limitations so has mine. I tried a lot to cope up with the limitations but still some of the limitations which I cannot neglect are as follows:-

1.     There was one major hindrance in gathering the data because management of the institutes were not ready to reveal the real data so had to cross check and neglect the small variations.

2.     Data gathered through questionnaires took time to get cross checked and at points

there were contradictions.

3.     Companies chosen were not ready to reveal their recruitment sources. Most of the

time concerned persons kept me waiting thereon giving very less details. So, I had no choice but to work on the same data and it became very difficult for me to analyse the same.

4.     Major limitation of this research is Quality tool six sigma as no institute is  applying any tool as such so was not able to analyse that part. Instead I gave a model of Six sigma for management institutes.

5.     A few of the parameters were not analysed because of the unavailability of the

data.

To address its research questions, the thesis is divided into seven chapters. The following describes the content of each. In order to trace the development of education in India vis-à-vis management education and its quality Chapter 1 examines the overview of education how it got transformed from “Gurukul” type to specialization focused. Its development after post independence and emergence of education as India’s super infrastructure. It also focuses governing/ managing bodies of higher education in India. Then, it also focuses social status of management education in India which discusses the pre independence education attitude of society. It also throws some light on shift in social status of business education during 1980. However, after analyzing emergence of management education in India Chapter 1 also gives an overview of quality of higher education as well as management education which went towards negative side with the growth of management institutes after 1990 i.e. liberalization after which various Multinational companies entered into India.

Chapter 2 discusses the six sigma as a tool of quality enhancement. It focuses on six sigma in detail, also that how it has generated profits for the organizations that have adapted it. In this chapter the complete process of six sigma and various terms associated with it have been it have been defined. As focus of my research is quality in management institutes so, chapter also discusses the role of six sigma in management education.

In order to have an in depth look into the management education and its quality chapter 3 gives us the description of quality in management education. In this chapter various parameters like admission , Faculty, infrastructure, placement etc have been discussed in detail and their affect on the quality of management education.

We are studying the quality of management education ultimately to know its affect on Human Resources which is the focus of Chapter 4 .It focuses on what B-schools are producing, how they are being absorbed in the corporates , what corporates are expecting out of a management graduate. It also discusses how MBA has its impact on employment and career. It also gives an overview of how business schools help in enhancing economy of a country. It also defines ‘FEM’.

As we know ‘Campus placement’ is one of the important sources of recruitment from where organizations directly take the new recruits. It not only reduces the cost of recruitment but also gives an organiastion an advantage of choosing from the good one as compared to choosing among the mixed pool of applicants. This is discussed in Chapter 5. It throws light on various organizations that go for campus placement.

Second last chapter i.e. Chapter 6 gives us a detailed insight about institutes (taken as sample) their criteria for admission, placement, their efficiency in placing their students. It also gives us a comparative analysis and aftermath of the campus recruitment of various organization. It is based on the data collected from various institutes and various oragnisations. It tells us the real stories of the various institutes and what actually organizations want from management graduates.

This chapter analyses faculty, placement also of various institutes. Effect on Human resources of various oraganisations ( taken as sample) and what they require. It also analyses the institutes focus as far as quality of management education is concerned. Chapter 7, the last chapter ultimately leads us to the Conclusion and suggestions. This chapter justifies the various hypothesis laid down for the research purpose which are quality related, admission related and expectation of the industry. This chapter’s main focus apart from hypothesis is “Six sigma model” which explains various areas as a quality enhancement points with the help of Fish-bone diagram. This part has been discussed under suggestions along with various other suggestions. Suggestions are followed by Bibliography. At the end various questionnaires have also been attached.

Gardens are a magical part of family life. Some outdoor space, however limited, is a real bonus when you have children. A space to run around in, play with a ball and learn to dig, water and nurture plants is really beneficial to kids growing up.

A good gardener can give you all sorts of ideas for your patch, whether you have a balcony or an acre or two. Just like interior planning, if you have the space you may want to define an area for adults and a separate area for children, as your needs are poles apart. Adults enjoy gardens for relaxation and peace, whereas children use them as areas for free play, for secret dens and for letting off steam.

So what do you need for the perfect children’s garden?

Lawns are a great all-purpose garden surface that kids can kick balls across and adults can sunbathe on. Of course they require maintenance – from regular mowing in the Spring and Summer to annual feeding and weeding to keep in tip top condition. Kids running a lot on a lawn can cause bare patches in hot weather and in wet weather mud may become an issue. But there are hard-wearing types of grass on the market. In particular fine-leafed rye grass stands up to heavy use.

When planting up a family garden go for robust plants that will withstand the odd flying football and trampling feet. Delicate plants should be tucked away in borders away from the play area, or in pots. Also beware of poisonous plants that little children may touch. They may even try to chew the flowers and berries. And sharp or thorn plants can cause accidents so keep these to a minimum for an easier life.

Children love discovering how plants grow and adore picking fruit and vegetables that they have cultivated themselves. Spring bulbs, planted in the autumn are very rewarding and fruit and vegetables that are easy to grow include runner beans, tomatoes, lettuces and blueberries. Herbs are also fairly foolproof.

If you have space small children love climbing equipment, swings and hammocks to play in. There are plenty of ready made apparatus available or some gardeners and carpenters will custom make stepping stones, tight ropes, even tree houses! Just make sure that whatever play equipment you use is properly anchored to the ground and that there is a safe landing underneath – grass or bark chippings both work really well.

Other ideas include a sandpit – either built-in or temporary. It should be covered when not being used to keep out rain and animals. Also, get sandpit sand not ordinary sand as it will be much finer and more suitable. A water play table or a paddling pool is also popular but young children will need supervision.

Another major attraction in a family garden is a pond. Children will enjoy the wildlife – insects, plants, fish even frogs. This is best left until children are steady on their feet and have an understanding of water danger. Even a shallow pond can present a risk to a young child.

A child’s ideal garden would probably have a secret den – a shady corner, some overgrown shrubbery or some space behind a tree. Its fun for children to discover these places themselves and claim ownership. But if that’s not possible you can buy in alternatives such as a tepee, a tent, or a Wendy house.

An important part of family life is of course eating together and what could be more enjoyable than a bit of al fresco dining? The transitional area between the house and garden is ideal for this – a hard surface like paving or decking provides a good base for tables and chairs and will make mealtimes a real event. Even a picnic on the balcony or lawn is a fun way to enjoy food together – maybe some of it grown and picked by the kids!

Kids love spending time outdoors and whether you have room for two people to sit or vast areas to play in its easy to make the most of the space. Even just hanging a birdfeeder and planting up a couple of pots will bring the outdoors to life for a child.

Many small businesses turn to traditional lenders when they are ready to open for business.  They gather together their business plan and head to a bank in the hopes that the bank will fund their venture.  For many small business owners that means using their personal finances as security and that is a terrifying proposition. The Best Finance Tips for small business are those that help them grown with minimal risk
 
There is an alternative though and that’s business-to-business finance.  There are companies whose goal is to offer an alternative to traditional financing and this can be the perfect avenue for many new businesses to pursue.
 
Business to business finance is essentially a simple concept.  Established businesses often want to invest in other businesses. They have the resources available to offer not only capital but in many cases advice as well.  The companies offering the money see this as a good investment.
 
There are companies that you can turn to when you decide to look into the prospect of business to business finance.  Some are the companies themselves. You contact the representative of the company who specializes in the business to business operations and get more information from them.  They will explain what their qualifications are and what financial opportunities they are offering. They will have the Best Finance Tips available for their specific business.
 
Another often overlooked aspect to business to business finance is when one business takes another under their financial wing so to speak.  By offering them support in key areas such as marketing, the smaller business will flourish which translates into increased revenue for the
larger supporting business.
 
One area that this might be utilized is in IT support.  Many fledgling businesses don’t recognize the need for having a strong web presence.  The Internet is a fundamental resource for any new business and in a business to business financial arrangement, if the larger business provides ongoing support in the areas of building and expanding an online market, their investment will grow.
 
Not all businesses offer to direct business to business financing to smaller companies.  That is the reason that there are companies created that handle the transactions and act as a proxy for the larger corporations.
 
In this instance of business to business to finance, a larger corporation who wants to provide financial support to smaller businesses contacts a company who provides essential financial services to those businesses.  An agreement is reached wherein the larger business provides
financial backing and their initial investment is secured in one of several ways. 
 
One way this type of business to business transaction takes place is the same route that traditional financing is handled.  Loan agreements are secured and the smaller business uses the capital to finance their business and make payments back to the larger corporation.  The larger

company who works as an intermediary takes a percentage and offers additional support, including business training and ongoing advice in an effort to ensure the smaller business is going to be successful.