What is TOEFL test?

What is TOEFL test?
The Test of English as a foreign language ( TOEFL) test is the most widely accepted English-language test in the world. No matter where you want to study, the TOEFL test can help you get there.
Advantages of TOEFL test:
· The TOEFL test gives you more choices about where you want to study.
· TOEFL is accepted by more institutions than any other English-language test in the world — including the top colleges and universities.
· The TOEFL test gives you more convenience and flexibility and is fair and accurate.
· The entire test is taken in one day, which saves you travel time and costs. And, there are more than 4,000 test centres to choose from.
· You can retake the test in just 7 days, if you want to improve your scores.
· The TOEFL test gives you the skills you need to communicate in real-life, academic situations.
· In the classroom and on campus, you will be able to communicate your ideas effectively.
· Listen to lectures, read textbooks and online research, write academic papers and e-mails, and speak with other students and professors.
· All test takers have a similar test-taking experience, which eliminates the inconsistency of interviews that could negatively impact your scores.
· Scores are objective and unbiased. Tests are scored anonymously by ETS-certified experts.
How to register for the TOEFL test?
1. Find the test centres, dates, fees, and disability accommodations
2. See a list of 6,000+ institutions in 110 countries, including almost every university in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, that rely on TOEFL scores for admissions, scholarship and graduation decisions.
3. One can take the internet-based test (iBT) or the paper-based test (PBT), depending on which format is offered at your test centre.

Point to remember:
· On the teat day one must bring valid identification (ID) or you will not be admitted to the test centre.

Educational Testing Service (ETS) launches TOEFL TV
1. Students can now watch useful videos on a channel available on YouTube- started by Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administrates TOEFL and other tests.
2. The videos will give tips to improve English language skills.
3. The channel will help students who wish to take admissions in any of the 6000 colleges and universities in over 130 countries which accept TOEFL scores.
4. Registered YouTube users can add videos to TOEFL TV by adding them to a group, where they will be reviewed and approved by ETS before posting.
For further details log on to TOEFL TV (www.youtube.com/ TOEFLtv

Mumbai’s ICSE and CBSE students’ admission on rocks

· The state government has decided to introduce 90% reservation for SSC students, as 30 to 50% of non-SSC boards i.e. CBSE, IB, ICSE, IGCSE- make it to Mumbai’s top junior colleges every year.
· This year the non-SSC students may find it extremely difficult to get into the city’s top junior colleges, despite of the high score.
· Schools and students fear that this decision will leave many non-SSC students without admissions, and 90% quota is unfair to other boards.
Source: Times of India

Marathi expected to be made compusory in Maharastra schools

· The state education department in a few months is expected to introduce clauses in the no objection certificate (NOC), required for any non-SSC board school to function in the state, that will make it mandatory for these schools to follow certain rules.
· The rules include teaching Marathi in primary classes and adhering to the fee structure prescribed by the state regulatory authority.
· Any school that does not toe the line will not get a No Objection Certificate from the government.
· The state has not issued the NOC’s to new non-SSC schools so the rules will apply to any new non-SSC schools. For the existing 700 non-SSC schools the state will make it mandatory for them to renew their NOC this year.

Source: Times of India

Summer Workshops - Have fun this summer

Do you want to learn something new this vacation? Except for those academic courses…here are some part time activities in which you may get yourself involved, if interested.

Some activities, which you may try out this summer, are:
1. Tarot reading
2. Horse riding
3. Paragliding
4. Rock climbing

Tarot reading: Tarot reading is a very short 6-day course, for all those interested to learn and get into the future. Tarot reading is an interesting art.
· Eligibility: above 18years
· Course fee: Rs.4500/
· Address: Andheri (W), Mumbai
· Contact: 9987279417

Horse riding: Amateur riders club has organised a camp, which has 2 divisions.
One division will teach basic riding to beginners, and the other division camp will impart a little more advanced techniques to those who have some basic knowledge about horse riding. One may also become a member of this club. The course is for just 10 days.
· Eligibility: open to all
· Course fee: Rs.4412 /
· Address: The Amateurs Riders Club, Mahalaxmi race course, Mumbai
· Contact: 9833626677

Paragliding: Paragliding is a extremely short 3 day programme with no prior experience required. There will be total 3 to 5 flights. Nirvana adventures conduct these courses in Kamshet, which is 3hours from Mumbai.
· Eligibility: Above 16 years and healthy all over without any heart or back problems
· Course fee: Rs.9600 /
· Address: Nirvana Adventures, Santacruz (w), Mumbai
· Contact: info@flynirvana.com
· Ph: 022- 26493110 / 26053724

Rock climbing: Rock climbing will be great fun at Arun Samant’s climbing wall in Goregaon. One is the basic course for beginners and the other is at the advanced level.
· Eligibility: Above 9 years
· Course fee: Rs.800/
· Address: Nandadeep High School, Goregaon (E), Mumbai
· Contact: arunsamantclimbingwall@gmail.com Ph: 09820428077

Career Prospects of a Noble Profession - A Teacher

Career Details:
This is one job, which is not concerned of fashion or demand. But today, teaching is not restricted to a textbook-style method. With technology gaining importance, it becomes necessary for a teacher to link her teaching to current events or provide that kind of information that the student doesn’t know already or is hard to find elsewhere. The teaching field is so vast, having areas of specialization; different skills and type of training are required for different levels. If someone is keen to make difference in a young one’s life, loves to impart information and has that kind of influence on a person, then one might consider teaching as a vocation. As per the government rules a school/college teacher cannot give service to coaching classes as well.S
Qualities of a teacher:
· A teacher not only has to be a friend but also a hard taskmaster when required. Teaching profession requires immense patience and perseverance. One needs to be able to communicate well to be able to develop interest.
· A teacher herself has to be educative, to educate.
· A teacher must have the basic qualities to ensure that the kids are comfortable with her. A teacher must understand, be loving, caring, patient, soft, presentable, and intelligent. In short a teacher plays a great impact on the children’s life. A teacher is a role model for the kids.
Future Prospects: In India a Teacher is always worried regarding her salary, as the cost of living will rise but their pay will not. In abroad Indian teachers are always considered for this profession. Many professors in the top institutes in UK are USA are Indians. Not only the pay but a teacher also gets the respect, which she deserves. An Indian teacher will start at $15000/ approx with a potential to grow as much as $25000/
Basic Qualifications:
1. For Pre-Primary: A basic Early Child Care and Education (ECCE), Full-time Diploma in ECCE, 1year autonomous course
2. For Primary and Secondary level: After Graduation one has to complete B Ed study. After post graduation they are called postgraduate trained teachers (PGTs)
3. For a postgraduate teacher: One needs a postgraduate degree in a particular subject or a doctoral degree is preferred.
4. Special School teachers: Degrees and Diploma in special education is to be done for teaching students with various disabilities.

NDTV Broadcast Training Programme

NDTV Launches Broadcast Training Programme

· The students will be trained with those who have made the news for 20 years.
· The eligibility criteria is Graduate and below 27 years of age
· The 1st batch will start by (March 09’) and 2nd batch by (July 09’)
· For more details log on to www.ndtvmi.com, ph: 01166176306

Competence in Software Technology Examination (CST)

What is CST?
CST is a nationwide examination conducted annually for graduates in any field by C- DAC, Mumbai, an R&D Institution of Government of India, and Department of Information Technology, Ministry of communication and Information Technology.
Eligibility:
A degree in any subject or engineering Diploma, Final year degree students can also appear for CST exams held every year
Levels of Examination:
E (Entry Level)
I (Intermediate Level)
D (Diploma Level)
G (Graduate Level)
Examination Centres:
Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coibatore, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Thane, Thiruvananthapuram
Admissions through CST:
· Full time Post Graduate Diploma in Software Technology at C- DAC centres (FPGDST)
· PGPM at International School of Technology Management, Bangalore
· MCA at Goa University
· MCA at NMIMS University, Mumbai
· MCA at Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore
· BCIDS at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai
· M.Sc (IT) at Smt. Parvathibai Chowgule College, Goa
Contact: For further details log on to http://cst.cdacmumbai.in/

Post Graduation in Disability Management

PG Diploma in Disability Management For Medical Practitioners (PGDDM-MP)
Eligibility: MBBS or equivalent qualification in Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha, and Homeopathy medicine. Preference is given to those who have 2 years experience in the areas.
Duration: Minimum 1 year, and Maximum 3 years
Fees: Rs.12000/
Institutes/Colleges: Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU), New Delhi offers The PG Diploma in Disability Management
Contact: www.ignou.ac.in

Changes to be done by the CBSE Board

Introduction: The CBSE board invited suggestions from students on its website and received a massive response. The board to which 9000 schools are affiliated, are making changes to get students playa vital role in decision making. The board put up a link ‘Interact with the chairman’ 4months back, on its website and got 5000 responses. The students have come up with many suggestions and the board is planning to implement on it. These are a few suggestions from parents and children about which the board is thinking to act upon; few of them are listed below:
· The board is thinking of allowing the use of calculators during accounting exams.
· The CBSE board will soon begin counselling parents about exams, syllabus, and the children.
· Another female student has suggested making the life skills programme more gender specific.
· Another suggestion was to introduce practicals for subjects other than science.
Conclusion: Based on the queries a list of FAQ’s have been prepared and sent to schools, so that they can talk to students about it.

SSC Board to enquire into good results of Schools

· The school fails the weak students of STD 9th, so that the school has cent percent results in the SSC board exams.
· The students who have been detained in STD 9th, then often choose to give private SSC board exams, so that they are able to save their detained year.
· The students who opt to give their exams privately, out of them 70% pass. That shows that there was no need to detain them.
· The Mumbai regional board will question the school concerned if their SSC results are outstanding. The field level education officers have been instructed to inspect schools in order to gauge how many students the school has failed in class 9th.

‘Right To Education Bill’ - A Brief Summary

1. The long pending piece of legislation of right to education bill has reached the Rajya Sabha in 2008, and there are huge chances of approval by the parliament in coming months.
2. The bill aims at reserving 25% seats in private schools up to class 8th for students from financially weak backgrounds. Some doubts have been raised about the future of these students after class 8th, education will be free till that level in private schools once the bill is approved.
3. The bill also stipulates that no child anywhere in the country will be failed from class 1st to class 8th. Schools can do away with final exams till class 8th and assess students on a regular basis.
4. Coaching classes is the next pointer in the list, as these private classes have developed into a virtual parallel education, into the mainstream. The High Court has ordered setting up of a committee to regulate coaching classes. If the committee finishes its job this year, it would mean an end to these coaching classes.
5. The government has even proposed setting up a committee of ICSE, CBSE, and SSC board to review the system afresh.
6. A committee is appointed by the government to formulate the policy of decongest city roads that all children travel by school bus. Rest can walk or use public transport, but will not be allowed to use private vehicles.

Ethical Hacking as a Career

What is Hacking?
Hacking is the act of attacking a system to steal valuable data or bring down the system. Hackers can usually erase their tracks in 20 minutes.

Details about Hacking:
· Predicting and then preventing a hacking attack is a difficult task.
· Hackers are constantly updated with newer techniques, and they can swoop down from any location and hide their identity.

How to prevent it?
· Rent a well and ethical Hacker
· There are 2 types of hackers, White-hat hackers and black-hat hackers.
· The white-hat hackers are professional hackers who use their skills to earn a living.

Career Prospects:
· According to NASSCOM there will be need for 1,88,000 cyber security professionals in the near future.
· Almost all companies and individuals having websites of their own will prefer professionals who would keep their website safe and secure. Thus demand of these white-hat hackers is growing, as the risk of crime fraud, stolen passwords, has become the biggest danger and major cause of concern.

One stop website planned for students to get all college details

Students will now get critical college details in one place.

1. HRD ministry asks colleges to disclose all details about themselves to help students.
2. Students trying to decide which colleges to apply will no have more information at their disposal.
3. Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) says it may like to make it mandatory for universities to display on their website, “critical details” about their affiliated colleges.
4. Technical and professional higher educational institutes are required to display, on their websites, certain critical information on enrolment, examination performance, physical facilities, human resources etc under mandatory disclosure norms.
5. It is an attempt to help students to make informed decisions about institutes and courses.
6. Mumbai University also recently asked its affiliated colleges to provide the information in the form of the minimum disclosure norms suggested by the ministry.
7. Colleges have to furnish all details, including year of affiliation and recognition, year of last accreditation and rating and whether it is a government-aided or unaided institute.
8. Colleges will have to give the name of each course (whether undergraduate, diploma or postgraduate, regular or self-financed), the annual fees and the selection procedure.
9. Colleges will also have to give details on the number of seats available, enrolment details, and the number of students who took the exam and passed and the total number who obtained a first division.
10. University says when the information is available at one place, students will be able to judge institutes for themselves, based on the strengths that a particular college emphasis.

Cygnus launches industry-academic collaboration programme

Introduction:
Cygnus Business Consulting and Research has launched Cygnus Industry Academic Collaboration (CIAC) programme with leading business schools in India. As a part of this programme, Cygnus conducts hands-on career-oriented workshops (COW) for MBA students at the business school in key functional areas like
1. Business strategy,
2. Marketing strategy,
3. Sales management, and
4. Equity valuation,
5. Leveraging the skills and experience gained by Cygnus , while doing business consulting and research projects in India and abroad.
During the last one year, Cygnus has conducted a number of such programmes in areas of business strategy, and equity valuation for the MBA students in ICFAI business schools in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai, Recently Cygnus conducted a similar workshop for the PGDM students of Siva Sivani Institute of Management, Hyderabad. These programmes have helped the students to secure quality placements in areas like business consulting, equity research, business research, corporate finance and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).

Objective: The objective of this programme is to make the MBA students industry-ready, by imparting the skills needed by the industry.

Details of the programme:
· Students will undergo career-oriented workshops (COW) for periods ranging from two to four weeks, wherein they are trained by Cygnus Senior Managers, on how to apply the knowledge, they gathered while studying MBA, in practice.
· Every student will be required to do hands-on projects in specific functional areas under the guidance of Cygnus Managers.

Fees:
Under the CIAC, fee structure is Rs.10,000/, every student will be required to do hands-on projects in specific functional areas under the guidance of Cygnus managers. Besides, they will be trained on business research tools like information search and business analysis as well as essential soft skills like business communication and presentation, he added.