RNI NO . 7044 / 1961
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New Leagues of Learning
NEW DELHI Hridhan Singh : This refers to your cover story on unconventional courses ( Odball Courses : PhD In Pets Anyone ?, June 4 ). I finished school in the ’ 90s when liberalisation was still in its infancy . Back then , we were told that unless we got into an engineering college of a medical school , or became lawyers or CAs , we didn ’ t have much of a bright future . There was also the canonical option of government jobs , but it had lost its sheen somewhat to the new crop of kids passing out from English medium schools . I took the overcrowded rout of engineering back then , and I don ’ t regret it so much . But seeing all these new refreshing career options makes me want to be a 21st century student . These seem to be exciting times .
DEHRADUN Rakesh Agrawal : Just like a solid foundation is a must to erect a tall building , a strong , inclusive and integrated education , that introduces a world beyond just the textbooks to a pupil , is the necessary basic education that is required before students can even think of going to one of the colleges ranked in your special issue . ( Odball Courses : PhD In Pets Anyone ?, June 4 ) Sadly , education , more so basic education , hasn ’ t been the priority of the government . It is reflected in the budget allocation of successive governments . India ’ s budget share for education is lower than that of most BRICS nations . The share of education in the current budget is the lowest in five years . It ’ s safe to say that if Indian students are thinking of out-of-the-box education options like pet grooming , alcohol technology or tea testing , it is not because of the government , but despite of it .
ON E-MAIL Meghna Gill : Greetings , I am an Outlook subscriber and I went
India ’ s Top Professional Colleges 2018
www . outlookindia . com June 4 , 2018 Rs 60
Pet Grooming
Museology
ODDBALL COURSES
PhD in Pets , Anyone ?
Alcohol Technology
Professional colleges can now mean a variety of innovative streams . And the flagships ? Nobody wants engineering , only a few get medical . Here ’ s Outlook ’ s annual in-depth survey of the field .
June 04 , 2018
Carpet Technology
Tea Tasting
through the June 4 issue which highlights India ’ s top professional colleges for 2018 . As I am a pharmaceutical sciences student , it bothered me that the NIRF ( National Institute Ranking Framework ) of Indian pharmaceutical colleges was not mentioned in your issue . I don ’ t know the reason for skipping or ignoring this category but I would like to tell you that pharmaceutical sciences is very much a professional course . For many Indians , a pharmacy student is a “ chemist ” who runs a “ chemist shop ”. This is clearly a huge misconception . Pharmaceutical sciences is an important part of the medical profession that concerns the development of new drugs and therapies with the cardinal aim of ensuring and creating awareness about the safe and effective use of medicines . I harbour no hard feelings from this bypassing of the pharma sector in your issue , but I feel that an updated and aware magazine such as yours should have included
the pharma school rankings as well . It will be nice to see a pharma college ranking in your next special issue .
HYDERABAD Shishir D .: This refers to the story Taal of the Work Art Balance ( June 4 ). It ’ s so inspiring to read about these people . It shouldn ’ t be exaggerating to call them superhuman . Being an artiste requires a life time in itself . It is impossible for me to imagine juggling an art form with a professional career . But , maybe , it has to be done when their is so much love involved for something that you cannot bear to be apart from it even in completely contradictory circumstances . Coming back to superhumans , one must feel something like Clark Kent , turning up to office in a suit and donning the artistic cape before going on go ‘ up , up and away ’ to the spotlight .
Talk To The General
CHENNAI Kangayam R . Narasimhan : India has never been successful in halting Pakistan ’ s infiltrations across the LOC and the int ernational border . This does not mean that the Indian security forces are incompetent , rather it shows that the civilian leadership of Pakistan has no control over border incursions into India ( In & Around , ‘ Head-on app roach ’, June 4 ). The government in Pakistan is just a puppet of the country ’ s army . Indeed , there has been no breakthrough since Narendra Modi visited Nawaz Sharif in Lahore to convey birthday wishes to the latter . Obviously , Pakistan ’ s military did not like the warm handshake bet ween Modi and Sharif . It resulted , not in peace but in the attack on Pathankot . And the following surgical strike by India hardly helped to mend matters . Modi should invite Pakistan ’ s army chief , Gen . Qamar Javed Bajwa , to India . He has shown willingness to one-liner
GUWAHATI Ramarko Dasgupta
I ’ d have gone for alcohol tech , but given my affinity towards spirits , I doubt I ’ d ever graduate .
6 OUTLOOK 18 June 2018