Cambodian Delegation Visits UGC

             he       higher        education
            Accreditation Committee  of
Cambodia visited the UGC on 8th December, 2003 and interacted with the officials on various issues pertaining to higher education and accreditation. Dr. H. Samnang, Director General, Accreditation Committee of Cambodia led the delegation. Other members of the team included Dr. Chealy Chet, Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Ojano Sabo, Director, Cooperation and Information, Mr. Ngoy Mak, Director, Mr. Khorn Sok, Officer 

and Ms. Sochet Sy, all from the Department of higher education Standards and Accreditation. The purpose of the delegation was to gather information on the Indian quality assurance and accreditation systems. The Govt. of Cambodia is planning to implement the assessment and accreditation of higher education institutions in their country. The delegation interacted with Prof. Arun Nigavekar, Chairman, Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chairman, Prof. Ved Prakash, Secretary and other senior 

officials of the UGC. The team exchanged information on the functioning of the higher education system in both the countries. The Cambodian delegation wanted to take cues from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The team also had interaction with NBA of AICTE, Secretary and other officials in Ministry of Human Resource Development, Educational Consultants India Limited (Edcil) and NAAC, Bangalore.

National Seminar on WTO Impact 
on Higher Education

Prof. A. Gnanam, former Chairman, Executive Committee, NAAC & former Vice Chancellor; Dr. Vidya Subramanyan, Dean, Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre of Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) Deemed University, Kumbakonam; Prof. R. Sethuraman, Vice Chancellor, SASTRA Deemed University, Kumbakonam; and Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chairman, UGC at the inauguration of the Seminar. Dr. A. Rama Gowda, former Chairman, AICTE; Prof. M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman, Madras Institute of Development Studies & former Chairman, Tamil Nadu Council of Higher Education, also participated in the seminar which was attended by over 100 participants in SASTRA, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu on 18th and 19th October, 2003.

UNESCO HONOURS 
INDIAN VEDIC
CHANTING 
HERITAGE

Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO at a meeting held on 7th November, 2003 at Paris declared the chanting of Vedas in India as an outstanding example of heritage and form of cultural expressions. The UNESCO declaration has brought international recognition to the excellent Indian heritage. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Delhi had submitted the candidature to the UNESCO under the intitiative of the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture. The Department of Culture, infact, has prepared a five year action plan for preservation of this great heritage which has been handed down over the centuries.