The Department of Visual Communication, J.J. College of Arts and Science, Pudukottai, organised a `film appreciation session’ at the viewing hall of the college recently.

R. Seshadri Rajan, Educational Multimedia Research Centre, Madurai Kamaraj University, was the chief guest and he exquisitely navigated the session. Two great pieces namely `Bicycle Thieves’ directed by Vittoria De Sica and `Pather Panchali’ directed by Satyajit Ray, were screened on the occasion.

Mr. Rajan explained how to read, conceive and review a film. He also dilated on the idea of categorising the genres of films.

For a question raised by a student into what genre the films Pather Panchali and Bicycle Thieves, he delineated the difference realistic film and neo realistic films. He also added that both were the best examples for neo-realistic films. The Head of the Department of Visual Communication of the College, S. Parthasarathy also spoke.

On behalf of the Department of Biotechnology, the BIBS Association of the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Arts and Science (women), Perambalur, conducted a State-level seminar on `Biotechnology: prospects and retrospect’. The Reader, Department of Microbiology, National Facility for Marine-Cyanobacteria, Bharathidasan University, N. Thajuddin, in his inaugural address spoke about the importance of micro algal Biotechnology referring the uses of algae, need for SCP and the efficiency of Spirullina’. The department magazine `Acmetech 05′ was released by the Director, The Rapinat Herbarium and Centre for Molecular Systematics, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi and Dr. Thajuddin received the first copy.

In the sessions that followed, Dr. John Britto, spoke on `Ethical issues in biotechnology’ when he referred to the probable effect of Biotechnology, the ethical and social impact of Biotechnology and the human therapeutic cloning. Scientist from the Botanical Survey of India, Southern Circle, Yercaud, S. Kaliamoorthy, spoke on the `recent trends in plant tissue culture’ and the Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology, Mahendra College of Arts and Science, Namakkal, spoke on `Opportunities in Biotechnology.

The Dean, Faculty of Life Science of the college, S. Sankaran delivered the valedictory address and the Principal, R. M. Meenakshi presided.

The Department of Management Studies of the Thanthai Hans Roever College, Perambalur, organised the second activity week 2005 recently, when experts from different fields gave guest lectures. Rajendran, lecturer, Department of Social Work, delivered a lecture `Mental health and management’.

The senior manager, Madras Cements Limited, S. N. M. Suri spoke on the `Need for human resources: accounting and auditing’ in the present day scenario and elaborated the potential of HRs in running a successful show.

Mr. Senthilnathan, an advocate, delivered an awareness lecture on legal aspects concerning consumerism and management, Senior Manager, accounts, Madras Cements Limited, Sridhar emphasised the existing accounting practices being followed in leading industries during his special lecture and R. Victor Lazarus of Southern Railway spoke on `essentials of communication and personality development.

More than 130 research papers were presented and 250 participants deliberated in the four technical sessions at the three-day 12th annual session of the Tamil Nadu History Congress held at A.V.C. College at Mayiladuturai in Nagapattinam district organised by the Department of History of the college recently.

If students cheat, before merit further examination, an Institute of marks, MCES’s College of Education and Research in Mumbra reportedly spent with gusto. Instead, the college, which takes place in a full-time one-year study Bachelor of Education (beds) flunked of course, the test and said that the authorization to suspend for the academic year 1999-2000.

The penalty was proposed to require students to cheat on the criteria set by the University of Mumbai for its BEd, of course. Under the guise of “work” looks forward to all students in the cleanliness of the premises a day before an inspection, so that the university would be cleaner, a chit.

The SSPM Krupa Guru’s College of Education and Research in Kalyan has gone a little further. Here, the authorities tacitly allowed to conduct its students had pocketed ` ‘R 10000 each during the collection of student fees.

Now, with two other colleges BEd member of the university, the college has been said, to keep the cinema several abeyancethanks financial and other irregularities by a committee of three members appointed by the university two years ago.

The decision, nor to education, State Department, was established on the basis of the report of the Committee on submission to a meeting of the Academic Council at the university on January 30. The two other higher education institutions have found, with rules are flouted Oriental Educational Trust’s National College of Education at Ulhasnagar and All-India Khilafat Commission’s College of Education at Byculla.

After the first inspection of all associated BEd 27 universities at the university during the years 1997, the group boards and colleges classified into four categories - A, B, C and D - based on their infrastructure. In January this year, in colleges “D” category were inspected again consider, in respect of previous directives.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) contributes 25 percent of total spending on rural development of entrepreneurship programs - up to Rs 38 lakh - 12 rural development and vocational training d ‘autonomy (RUDSET) institutions.

The areas covered include Agra, Bhopal, Gurgaon, ghaziabad of Jaipur, Jalandhar, Kannapuram, Madurai, Pune and Vettapalyam.

This was confirmed by the Dharmadhikari Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade.

He said he had received orders in this regard. Dr. Heggade was chairman of the seminar on the theme of “self-help groups: A step towards self-confidence,” organized by the Sri Kshetra Dharmastala Rural Development Project, Justice KS Hegde Institute of Management, Nitte, and Sri Dharmastala Manjunatheshwara College, Ujire on Friday. Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust is one of the sponsors of the RUDSET institutes.

The chairman of the Nabard, Ms. Ranjana Kumar, opened the seminar, as well as self-help groups (SHGs) should not be regarded as a grant-loan groups. Instead, they should be developed as the industry. Referring to a study Nabard of 560 SHGs in 11 countries, she said that the formation of SHGs has contributed to the increase in the average number of assets per household, 13 per cent.

All members have SHG schärfte culture of the economy, and most members are outside the agricultural sector. She said that SHGs could succeed, provided credit at the right time interest rates.

Of the problems facing SHGs, she said that the weakness of marketing has hindered their activities. SHGs do, far from distributors and develop their own sales network. Quality and a good network marketing are essential for the success of a product, and SHGs must follow to achieve success in their efforts.

Betonend that the interaction between the SHGs in various fields, she said, it would help develop a model of success. A document on the path of SHGs is also necessary. Although the majority of women have benefited from SHGs, much more to help, she added.

Mr. Vinay Hegde, President of the Nitte Education Trust, and Dr NK Thingalaya, former chairman and CEO of the Syndicate Bank, were present.

In an attempt to take education to the masses, the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) will launch a television channel - Yashbharati, in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

Educational programmes will be beamed from the varsity’s Nasikbased campus, using the GSat satellite, to over 170 remote learning centres spread across the state. Announcing this at a press conference on Sunday, YCMOU vice- chancellor Dr Baburao Sabale said that video-conferencing facilities would help students in these centres interact with course facilitators.

The channel will be launched on November 25 - Yashwantrao Chavan’s death anniversary. Sabale added that the YCMOU will be only the second open university after the Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) to implement a satellite education programme. Sabale added that if proper funding was made available to the university, around 1,000 more remote-learning centres would be set up by 2006.

“Such distance-learning programmes are more relevant in an age where the costs of conventional education are rising,” he said. Sabale added that the YCMOU had set up a virtual university for semi-arid tropics (VUSAT), in association with the Andhra Pradeshbased Integrated Crop Research Institute for Semiarid Tropics and the Swaminathan Foundation, on June 5. This is expected to take dry-land horticulture technology to the masses.

Sabale said the YCMOU had made a budgetary provision of Rs 30 lakh for its students to participate in the inter-university sports programme conducted by the All-India University Association. YCMOU’s school of health sciences is set to launch a bachelor’s course in nursing and hospital management, in addition to a course for midwives, which would be conducted in association with Dr Abhay and Rani Bang. He also added that a post-graduate diploma in environment and sustainable development would be launched in December.