Parents are again apprehensive about this year's nursery admission that will start soon

But if last year was any indication, getting admission for tiny tots will not be an easy task.

"I heard that Somerville School in Vasundhra Enclave had already finished giving out forms. But can they do it so early?" asked Aditya Grewal, parent.

Unfortunately, schools are not obliged to follow a common admission schedule.

Moreover, according to the interim order of the Supreme Court, schools are free to fix the parameters of admission.

"Schools do not need prior approval from the Directorate of Education (DoE) for fixing the parameters. They just have to inform the DoE," said S.L.

Jain, chairperson, National Progressive Schools' Conference, an association of some of the best schools in the capital.

He added that it was early days to comment on the criteria. Last year, points were given for proximity to school, sib lings, alumni, single child/single parent, children with special needs, girl child, transfer cases, parents' qualification, national achievers and linguistic minority .

And irrespective of whether these criteria are discriminatory or not, it seems they will be followed this year too.

"Schools have the liberty to decide how many points to give to each criterion," said Ashok Aggarwal, advocate.

"I wish the schools, the government and the courts would seriously think of the harassment parents go through each year before nursery admissions," said Anuradha Mittal, who managed to get admission for her daughter last year in one of the Bal Bharti Schools.

The biggest confusion last year was regarding the age of admission to nursery .

"We will take children aged 3+ for nursery," said Amita Wattal, principal of Springdales, Pusa Road. The date would be announced on the website and forms available for one whole week, she added.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, mandated two accounting institutes - ICWAI and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to start new courses for accounting technicians. This was intended to fill the gap between supply and demand from the sectors as a shortage of one million personnel is anticipated in the field over the next three years.

Kunal Banerjee, President, ICWAI says, "Eligibility for the course is 10+2. We would be in a position to offer the course per haps in November this year. We expect to hold the exam in June 2009. The cost of the course would not exceed Rs 9000." The aim of the course is to create opportunities for poor students, particularly in rural areas, who cannot otherwise pursue an expensive course. The course would be available in both Hindi and English. "We are planning to have linkages with colleges, schools and universities in rural areas after reviewing their infrastructure for both postal and oral teaching," he says.

The duration of the CAT course will be a year. This will comprise examinations and computer training for 60 hours and practical training for six months. The orientation training programme will run for 15 days. It will consist of a foundation course comprising four papers and a competency level course comprising two papers.

The foundation course for entry into the professional ICWAI course and CAT would be common and the four papers would be the same. The CAT course has been so designed to ensure that a student can complete the course by branching out from the main course of the professional ICWAI syllabus.

A student, who has taken admission for the CAT course but is keen to pursue the ICWAI professional course, can now do so.

The Super Speciality Medical Courses on offer include DM Cardiology, M.Ch. (Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery) and M.Ch. Plastic Surgery, of three years' duration each.

Admission to these courses will be made strictly on the basis of an entrance test to be conducted by the university on September 25.

The session for these courses will commence on October 1.

The Super Speciality Medical Courses on offer include DM Cardiology, M.Ch. (Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Surgery) and M.Ch. Plastic Surgery, of three years duration each.

Admission to these courses will be made strictly on the basis of an Entrance Test to be conducted by the University on September 25, 2008. The session for these courses will commence from October 1, 2008.

Interested candidates can obtain the Admission Brochure-VIII (Super Speciality Medical Courses) inclusive of the Application Form, between 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on all working days (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) from any one of the centres listed below, on submission of a bank draft/ banker's cheque of Rs.750 drawn in favour of 'Registrar, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University' payable at Delhi.

(i) Admission Helpline Counter, GGSIPU, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110403; Phone: 23900166-168

(ii) Academic Section, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi - 110029. Phone: 26717226.

After completing this programme, the learners would develop vocational and entrepreneurial skills to widen employment opportunities, particularly the rural youth and the disadvantaged sections of the society.

Eligibility requirements for the programme will be offered to 10+2 pass-outs/ Bachelor Preparatory Programme (BPP) from IGNOU and 10th pass can enroll simultaneously for the BPP programme.

A petition filed by a number of students through Counsel A.D.N. Rao, alleged that this year, medical colleges across the country did not contribute as many as 700 seats to the all-India quota.

Many students who cleared the common entrance examination missed out on a seat in an institute of their choice after the second counselling for the all-India quota seats in medical and dental colleges was over. Moreover, there was no provision for a third conselling.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam agreed with the petitioners saying that 70 out of 117 medical colleges and 22 out of 27 dental did not furnish information about the vacant seats.

The Bench comprising Justices B.N. Aggarwal, H.S. Bedi and S.G. Sighvi ordered the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), which conducts the counselling, to find out the exact number of vacant seats from each college latest by September 5.

The Bench said, "The DGHS will compile the information latest by September 12 and will conduct an extended second counselling on 13th and 14th September at Delhi".

IGNOU has entered into a tie-up with the Aeronautical Engineering Research Organisation (AERO), Pune, to form a joint core group to oversee the planning and development of the programme and also to undertake and execute all such activities required for the fulfilment of the objectives described above. AERO will set up fully-equipped office infrastructure for the project on the IGNOU campus.

Initially four centres will be activated in the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western regions of the country. Course material will be developed in collaboration with experts in the aviation sector.
IPR and cyber laws

IGNOU is also exploring the educational avenues opening up in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR) and cyber laws.

The university has come up with a two-year Master's programme in IPR in collaboration with reputed Indian institutes and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. The objective of the course is to develop awareness, knowledge and practical skills in IPR issues. In addition to legal skills, the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and scholarship are the other features of the course.

Courses: (a) BSc in Medical Lab Technology (three-year); (b) BSc in Clinical Microbiology (three-year); (c) Diploma in Operation Theatre (one-year); (d) Diploma in X-Ray Technology (one- and two-year); (e) MSc / MLT/ Microbio/ Biotech (two-year)

Eligibility: (a) to (d) Class XII; (e) BSc Bio/MMLT. Contact the institute for details

How to apply: Prospectus and application form can be obtained from the institute on payment of Rs 300 in cash and Rs 400 by post

Contact: Delhi Institute of Paramedical &Technical Education, RZ-C-117, Gopal Nagar, Najafgarh, New Delhi-110043 Phone: 28011469, 28012349

E-mail: dipte@indiatimes.com

Website: www.orthoplusdipte.org

A. he Government of India conducts examinations through the UPSC and state public service commissions for appointing welfare officers at the central and state levels. The position is that of gazetted officers in family welfare, education, social welfare, tribal development programmes, prisons etc.

National bodies like the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) and National Institute of Public Co-operation & Child Development (NIPCD) and major community development projects also appoint welfare officers. Some of these jobs are also open to PG degree holders in related fields like sociology, psychology and economics.

As a social welfare officer, your functions would be primarily that of an executive. You would be involved in programme planning, funding, execution, monitoring, evaluation and auditing procedures.