LDF to support Kerala government employees on strike

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government is set to implement the contributory pension scheme for fresh recruits in government service starting next fiscal, and the Left opposition has decided to support employees on strike against it.

A section of Kerala government employees have been on strike since Tuesday in opposition to the move to introduce the contributory pension scheme in the state.

At a hurriedly called meeting of the Left Democratic Front Thursday, a decision was taken to support the striking employees.

"The Oommen Chandy government is using the police to deal with striking employees and we will not be silent spectators. When the Left returns to power we will reverse what the Chandy government has done," said LDF convenor Vaikom Viswam after the meeting.

Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura are the only states that are yet to implement the contributory pension scheme in the country.

While the pro-government unions are not part of the strike, across the state skirmishes have been reported between the two sections.

A dozen protestors were arrested Thursday for obstructing those who reported for work.

Chandy told reporters that two rounds of talks were held before the employees decided to go on strike. He informed people that the situation was grave, as 80 percent of the state revenue was used to pay salaries and pension of around one million people. He said that only the remaining 20 percent of the state's revenue went to the remaining 3.20 millions in the state.

"When 90 percent of the state and central government employees in the country are on contributory pension, we find no reason why Kerala cannot go ahead with it. We have assured them that this new scheme is for only new recruits who join service from April this year, and will not affect a single government employee now in service," Chandy said.

Meanwhile, the pro-BJP employees union Thursday withdrew from the agitation.

Attendance figures in state government offices provided by the office of the home minister indicated that the strike had evoked a feeble response, and that 72 percent of the total employees in the state reported for work Thursday

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India Today Best BBA Colleges 2012

India Today Best BBA Colleges 2012: Bangalore's Christ University tops the list

TAGS: India Today Best Colleges Rankings 2012 | India Today Best BBA Colleges 2012 | Christ University

Students at Christ University, Bangalore.

Spread across 25 acres, Christ University, Bangalore, offers undergraduate, postgraduate and certificate programmes in various academic disciplines including law, education, sciences, social sciences and languages, commerce and management, and engineering. But it's the Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) course that is the unrivalled superstar.

Introduced in 1996, at a time when foreign degrees were the rage, Christ University's BBA degree offered a twin programme that allowed students the option of completing the first two years of their foreign degree programme at Christ University in Bangalore, after which they could complete the remaining years of their studies at an affiliated university abroad. Sixteen years later, it is still the most sought-after course at the college. The number of partner institutions has increased to six, including Western Michigan University, US.



The core curriculum of the BBA programme has been developed keeping international academic standards in mind and following a multidisciplinary approach, where students in the first and second years of the three-year undergraduate degree can opt for a range of allied courses such as public speaking or one which helps students improve their spoken English skills.

"The university also offers a 'critical thinking in politics' course which teaches future management professionals the importance of being aware of the political and sociological environment," says Jain Matthew, head of department, management studies.

In their final year of study, students pursue core management subjects with a choice of electives in marketing, human relations or finance. The assessment pattern varies between subjects with regard to the weightage given to internal and end-of-semester examinations. Apart from the first semester, all students must complete course-related projects as well as one internship.

"The approach is very practical and we are encouraged to think outof-the-box," says Shreya Rammohan, 19, a third-year BBA student from Bahrain. She recently completed an internship with a large corporate firm in the Gulf and is hoping to bag a good job offer. Last year, the top three job offers made to the students were from Tally Solutions, a financial accounting software company, (Rs 4.75 lakh a year), Google (Rs 3.8 lakh a year), and technical communication firm The Writers Block (Rs 3.37 lakh a year).

The BBA department is preparing for the arrival of more students at the new campus that is expected to open soon on Bannerghatta Road. Christ University is involved in a controversy surrounding the granting of deemed university status. But even as the matter rests with Supreme Court, its BBA programme soars on the popularity charts.

UGC awards 6 Utys 'potential for excellence'

 Banaras Hindu University and Osmania University, Hyderabad are among the six universities that have been awarded the status of 'universities with potential for excellence' by the UGC. The other universities which have been granted the status are: Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Mysore University, Rajasthan University in Jaipur, and Karnatak University in Dharwad.
  
The status will help these universities strengthen academic and physical infrastructure for achieving excellence in teaching, research and outreach programmes through additional UGC grant. According to sources in UGC, the number of universities being conferred the status will be increased to at least 10 in the 12th Plan period (2012-17).
  
Close to 40 varsities across the country had applied for the status, following which they were asked to make proposals. Subsequently, 10 varsities were shortlisted. Later, the proposals were vigorously scanned and evaluated by the UGC and these six were finally selected.