Categories: Asia

We’ve held off on commenting on the ongoing scandal in Pakistan about the growing numbers of government officials with fraudulent degrees because we were waiting to see if there would be any government decision or action.  However, it looks like they’re going to continue to hedge their bets and not make a decision if they don’t have to.  To summarize the situation, Pakistan’s Supreme Court is asking parliamentarians to prove that they currently meet the requirements of a law that was taken off the books in 2008 when political power shifted.  Prior to that, parliamentarians were required to hold Bachelor degrees as an eligibility requirement.  Even though the law is no longer in effect, current elected officials were supposed to have complied with the law at the time they were elected, which is the basis for the current probe into the educational validity of nearly 1200 lawmakers.  The Ministry of Education has apparently contested the Higher Education Council’s role in the verification process (the MOE thinks the HEC has no authority to verify degrees either in country or out), adding even more excitement to the situation, in part because the Education Minister sees this situation as a minor offense on the part of elected officials and not something that, as others have predicted, could lead to mid-term elections as soon as this year and possibly shift the balance of power yet again.  It will be very interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2005254,00.html

http://www.interface.edu.pk/students/July-10/Fake-degrees-of-parliamentarians.asp

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/06-hec-declares-224-degrees-genuine-46-fake-rs-01

http://www.news-gate.info/hourly/hec-meeting-on-degree-issue-underway-in-karachi/

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20100716185331958

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=29800

The education sector in India has undergone some significant changes in the year since Kapil Sibal assumed office of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which is in charge of the Department of School and Literacy and the Department of Higher and Technical Education, among many other things. In late June, he issued two 100 Days Plans for overhauling India’s education system. His plan for the School sector addresses 10 initiatives, while his plan for the Higher Education sector covers 24 specifics.

In advance of a NAFSA conference, we have compiled a lengthy article and much abbreviated presentation on these aggressively optimistic plans for updating and overhauling India’s complex education structure.

In advance of a new curriculum guideline from the Ministry of Education, many primary and middle schools in Japan are already switching from a trimester system to a semester system. The major goal of this switch is to increase class time by 10-15 hours while also giving teachers more time with students. According to a survey by the Ministry, roughly 20% of public primary and middle schools had already made the transition. In another effort to increase class instruction time, many schools have also reduced the vacation days over the summer and at other holiday breaks.

For more information, check out the full article here.

Indian students will now be issued “smart cards” when getting their degrees in an effort to tamp down on rampant forgery. This will presumably work in conjunction with the online database of degrees that we discussed previously. Employers and universities in India will be able (and in the universities’ case, required) to check that an applicant’s credentials are what they say they are. There’s no information in this article if the smart cards will be accessible to universities and business outside of India, but since the database is expected to have worldwide applications, presumably the smart cards will as well.

For more information, check out this link.

For those of you who aren’t already a member of the yahoo group, inter-l (international educators list-serv, I believe), here’s a great reason to sign up for this free resource.

Shevanti Narayan, educational adviser and all-around-helpful-person from the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), has graciously posted scanned copies of the 10 pages of the UGC recognized universities in India from the 32nd edition of the Association of Indian Universities’ Universities Handbook.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inter-l/message/21251

(I don’t know if you have to be a member in order to view the message, but I don’t think so.  If you do, it’s free, and you choose whether you want to receive emails daily or as each one message is sent, or you can choose to view it entirely online so that you never get more messages in your inbox.)

In order to view and save the images, you have to go to the link above (at least, it didn’t work for me when I read it directly from my inbox).  Then click on one of the 10 images at a time.  Along the top of the screen, you should see View: Medium, Large, Original.  It seems to default to Medium, which is hard for my eyes to read, but Large and Original were fabulous.  After I changed the view size, when I saved each page, I was able to read them.

Thanks to Shevanti, those of us on a very limited budget now have a fantastic free resource for almost 500 recognized Indian universities!!!

India’s Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister has announced the establishment of a national database of academic credentials, including degrees and certificates from secondary school through professional degrees.  This electronic database would allow educational institutions, students, and employers to access the qualifications online for easy verification and retrieval.   It is expected to greatly reduce forgery as well as remove the need for direct contact with the schools.  This database is still in the initiation phase, and a task force is already examining it with recommendations expected in late March.

http://news.indiaid.com/blog/_archives/2010/1/12/4426540.html

Here’s a set of summaries on education-related news events in the year 2009 for India.  In sum, these are the topics covered (most of which have also been posted here throughout the year):

- New Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister making sweeping changes to all levels of education

- Dropping the Class X Board Exams in favor of continuous evaluation

- Introduction to new grading systems and semesters

- Free and compulsory education for all children from ages 6-14

- Violent racial attacks on Indians in Australia

- Computerized administration of the Common Admissions Test (CAT) to replace numerous higher education admissions tests (alas, there were many glitches in this implementation)

- Protests and strikes over pay/promotion issues and fee hikes

- Creation of the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) to ultimately replace the UGC, AICTE, NCTE, and DCE; there is also a plan to create a national accrediting body

- Mandatory accreditation for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

- Lots of examination of “deemed” and “deemed to be” university status

- Opening India to external providers of higher education and enacting laws to facilitate that

- Expanding Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)

http://nanopolitan.blogspot.com/2009/12/education-in-india-year-in-review.html

http://beta.thehindu.com/education/article71633.ece?homepage=true

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/a-testing-year-for-students-despite-reforms/380916/

Currently, Malaysia’s university academic calendar begins in June or July, setting it ahead of most other countries, which may hinder international student recruitment since many have not yet received their final secondary leaving examination results.  Malaysia’s Higher Education Ministry is considering adjusting their academic calendar for universities to start university sessions in August or September to coincide with secondary school graduations, holiday breaks, and school year dates to make it more appealing for many of their potential incoming students.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/22/nation/5347373&sec=nation

This article does a wonderful job summarizing the 10 major education topics that were headlines for Vietnam in 2009.  The topics are:

- Major tuition changes resulting in huge hikes

- Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) new 10 year plan not warmly received

- University entrance exams uncertain

- Schools becoming hospitals to fight H1N1 (swine flu) epidemic

- Improving teaching and learning methods

- Too many new fees at schools in excess of legal requirements

- Many higher ed institutions unable to meet basic requirements

- Student morality problems

- Revised dress codes

- Success for many Vietnamese doctors

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/education/200912/Top-10-education-issues-for-2009-885387/

According to this unofficial website, China Distance Education Holdings Limited (CDEL) is now authorized by the Jiangsu Provincial Education Examination Authority “to offer study process monitoring programs for self-taught higher education learners in Jiangsu Province.”  Usually, self-study programs require students to earn 100% of their credits needed to pass diploma or degree programs via final exams administered by the Ministry of Education (MOE).  Self learners typically can earn post-secondary education credentials awarded by the MOE without having to take the university entrance exams or attend brick-and-mortar universities or colleges.  Via CDEL’s new program, roughly 1/3 of credits may come from sources other than final exams: quizzes, attendance, and other assignments.

http://eskomjobs.com/2009/12/cdel-to-offer-self-taught-higher-education-study-process-monitoring-program-in-jiangsu/