Beginning February 18, 2009, analog signals will no longer be provided by broadcasters. Digital signals will be distributed as a substitute. However, upon the ruling approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) analog signal subscribers are guaranteed that they will continue to receive services from their cable providers until 2012.

Before we bid our farewell to the analog signal, let us first understand the difference between analog and digital signals. What is digital signal and why do we need to adopt it? These are few questions that we need to know.

Analog signals are created from continuous transmission of electrical signals. While analog signals are continuous, digital signals are discrete. Digital signals are represented by 0`s and 1`s and sometimes referred to as on and off. With digital signals as the form of transmission, cable providers will be able to provide better quality video since digital signals are more compressible than analog.

As an advantage with this move to digital signals, freeing those frequencies used for analog transmission will allow other agencies to use it as an expansion. Government agencies can now expand their reach by adding a space in the radio spectrum.

Most households today are still using televisions with built-in analog tuner. How will you be provided with this digital signal if your television set is not compatible? A digital-to-analog converter can be used. This device will receive the digital signal coming from cable companies and converts it to analog signals which can be processed by the TV set. In addition, high definition television set (HDTV) is now available in the market. This new breed of television set works with the digital signal and does not need any converter.

Schools all across the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia have been teaching chess in the classroom. We're not talking about chess for children as an extracurricular activity but as an academic subject. Since the early 20th century Russians have dominated the world of chess. Why? Maybe it's because chess has been taught in Russian schools for about 50 years!

There had long been anecdotal evidence that chess promotes intellectual development in children. Then in 1991 and again in 1996 Stuart Margulies, a well-known educational psychologist, conducted studies on the effect that chess has on children's reading ability. Both studies showed that children, who participated in a school's chess program, improved their scores on standardized tests. The improvement was even greater for children whose initial scores were low or average.

In Texas in the 1990s a study showed that elementary students who participated in the school's chess for kids club showed more than twice the improvement in reading and mathematics between the third and fifth grades on standardized testing than did students who did not participate.

Why is chess so beneficial to young children? Chess has been proven to improve or increase:

* Math problem solving skills
* Reading comprehension
* Self-confidence
* Patience
* Logic
* Critical thinking
* Pattern recognition
* Ability to concentrate
* Analytical skills


The list goes on and on.

All across the country schools and teachers are getting the message and are bringing chess into the classroom. Chess clubs in schools have been in existence forever but now chess is being taught as an academic subject. New York City schools have been particularly effective in introducing chess to the classroom. This effort has been spearheaded by an educational, non-profit organization called, "Chess-in-the-Schools" whose mission is to improve academic performance and increase self-esteem among inner city public school students. Since 1986 this organization has been instrumental in teaching chess to over 400,000 students in New York City alone. In a recent survey of teachers involved in the program 86% reported that chess has had a "direct and positive" influence on their students.

On March 20, 2008 The International Herald Tribune reported that this year Idaho would become the first state to offer a statewide chess curriculum to all second and third-graders. Idaho has 40,000 second and third-grade students and the program is estimated to cost at least $200,000. How's that for putting your money where your mouth is?

Many states have enacted legislation approving the introduction of chess into school programs. In particular the state of New Jersey passed a bill which allowed individual boards of education to offer chess instruction beginning in the second grade. The bill stated that:

1. Chess increases strategic thinking skills and stimulates creative activity.
2. Students in countries where chess is offered in schools show an increased ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently excel in math and science.

If our politicians recognize the importance of chess for children, it must be pretty obvious.

It can be said that one of the former Presidents of the United States, President John F. Kennedy, was partly responsible for bringing antique scrimshaw whale tooth collecting, history and beauty to attention during his office and even after his death. There was even a book written titled John F. Kennedy: Scrimshaw Collector by Clare Barnes which detailed the collection of JFK. One might say that Kennedy's antique scrimshaw whale tooth collection started when he was young, when he spent time in Cape Cod and Boston close to the water. It is known that he grew up sailing and had always had a fascination with the sea. He also served in the United States Navy where he was honored with a purple heart medal. His actual collection didn't actually start until his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, gave him an antique scrimshaw whale's tooth as a gift upon entering the Presidential office.

Whaling historian Clifford Ashley said that the gift of a whale's tooth was a "wish to present a distant friend with a trophy of the whale-hunt, a huge tooth that in actual conflict had threatened [the giver] and now stood a symbol of his success." For Kennedy, perhaps the whale tooth represented the life he admired and somewhat to live, the dangerous and romantic life at sea experienced by he and whalers of the 19th century.

A few photos of Kennedy show him sitting in the oval office with several antique scrimshaw whale teeth outlining his desk. Even his desk, given to him by England and called the Resolute desk, was made from remnants of the Resolute warship which was salvaged from the Artic by a whaling vessel in 1885. It is said that persons would send him antique scrimshaw whale teeth as gifts but only upon approval, as he was very particular as to what he collected. Kennedy was very interested in collecting antique scrimshaw whale teeth with historical figures including former Presidents. He also collected many antique scrimshaw whale teeth with sailing and whaling ships.

It is interesting to note that Kennedy sometimes gave antique scrimshaw whale teeth as gifts. One tooth in particular was given to the Swedish actress Greta Garbo after her visit and dinner to the White House in November 13, 1963. Nine days later Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. This whale tooth was perhaps the last gift he ever gave before his death. It was not known that the whale tooth was given to Garbo and employees of the Kennedy Museum and Library had always wondered where the "missing JFK tooth" was. In 2000, an employee for the Library's collection researched transcripts and letters to and from the Kennedy's where they found this message in a note written to Mrs. Kennedy from Garbo: "It was a most unusual evening for me that I spent with you in the White House. It was really fascinating and enchanting. I might believe it was a dream if I did not have in my possession the President's 'tooth' facing me." The tooth was loaned to the Library from Garbo's neice and heir, during an exhibition put on detailing relics of Kennedy's life.

In 1962 Jacqueline Kennedy commissioned a large whale tooth to be polished and scrimshawed by scrimshander Milton Delano for a Christmas gift to the President. The tooth has the Presidential seal scrimshawed on the whale tooth. JFK thought so much of the tooth that Jacqueline Kennedy buried him with the tooth in his casket.

Dangers of the Whale Fishery

There was a romance of whaling and the sea that drew men out to man a ship on whaling voyages. That romance still exists today as men and women board Navy vessels, sail around the world, or take cruise ships for vacation. However, whalemen of the 19th century often had a different fate and lifestyle onboard ship. Whaling missions lasted from three to five years at a time and were often on a ship that was filthy, where the work was hard and dangerous. One might compare it to today's hit series "The Deadliest Catch" on the Discover Channel. No one knew if when they left they would make it back home alive. But the adventures were there and many which drew many men onboard whaling vessels. One of the greatest and first scrimshanders to sign his work, Edward Burdett, was drawn to whaling, but perished when a whale dragged him into the ocean after getting caught up in a harpoon line.

Adventures at Sea Abounded

It was said by Fraces Robotti that there were three types of whalers: "...those who hoped to own their own whaleship someday, those who were seeking adventure, and those who were running from something on shore." Money wasn't necessarily key to joining a fleet, as most whalemen could have made more money joining the merchant fleet. Money could be a draw for whalemen but it was not even guaranteed that they would make a dime. Some of the lowliest crewmembers might even OWE the captain money if the whale harvest was poor. Those that participated in more than one whaling voyage were often those who hoped to own their own ship someday. Perhaps the entry level whalemen were looking just for adventure, to find themselves, or to go to an unknown place which might be better than where they came from. There are even stories of certain places like the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti, and Marquesas drawing whalemen because the number of women outnumbered men.

The Romance of Whaling Continues Today Through Antique Scrimshaw

The romance of whaling and the sea continued into the 20th century as people have always and still are fascinated with the sea. Thankfully, whaling has been stopped in the United States (except for certain tribal harvests), but the romance of whaling and the sea can be linked when one holds a piece of genuine antique scrimshaw. One might imagine the heartaches and struggles whalemen made while out at sea and what they were thinking when any piece of whale tooth was scrimmed. Each tooth tells a story of the person whose hand scrimmed the piece, some of a dangerous voyage others of thoughts of missing loved ones back home. Some say the antique scrimshaw whale tooth collecting done by former President John F. Kennedy helped increase the popularity of antique scrimshaw collecting in the United States. Kennedy who has a long history of life at sea and living on the water fell in love with the same romance that collectors experience today when they hold an authentic piece of antique scrimshaw.

Millions of people contributed and sacrificed tremendously to the outcome of the American Civil War. Hundreds of thousands of Americans sacrificed everything. Yet one man stands out in history and is credited above all others in influencing the outcome of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, a former Illinois lawyer, won the Republican Party nomination and became the President of the United States in 1860. The southern states, of which Lincoln only won 2 of 996 counties that he was on the ballot on, began quickly seceding from the Union and forming their own nation, the Confederate States of America. Abraham Lincoln and the majority in the north would not allow the Union to be dissolved, and an American Civil War was imminent.

The war, known to the southerners as the "War of Northern Aggression" or "War Between the States", was immensely feared, but also fiercely anticipated by both sides. Both northerners and southerners gave violent demonstrations and Abraham Lincoln had already evaded assassination attempts even before his inauguration.

In April of 1861 the Confederates fired on South Carolina's Fort Sumter and the fort was forced to surrender under heavy fire. Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to recapture Union forts and quell the uprising. Four more Southern states, including Virginia, seceded from the Union and the American Civil War was officially underway.

Militarily, the north was decidedly losing the war until the battle of Antietam occurred, the single bloodiest day in American history. While still not technically a strategic victory for the North, Abraham Lincoln now at least had enough political leverage to put into law the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed liberated slaves in southern states. While the Emancipation Proclamation had political motivations, it also helped to weaken the southern economy as freed black slaves were now also allowed to join the ranks of the Union army. By the end of the war about 179,000 black men served in the army and about 19,000 served in the navy.

Lincoln had always encountered northern opposition to the American Civil War (mostly anti-war Democrat "copperheads"), but none so drastically until after the battle of Gettysburg. While Gettysburg was a great northern victory, Lincoln had to initiate the war's second draft to replace the staggering 23,000 Union casualties. The northern citizens were far from happy, and even violent. The most notable example is the New York City Draft Riots. The riots were put down and Lincoln continued on and delivered the famous Gettysburg address.

Gettysburg proved to be the turning point in the American Civil War. Union victories at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga gave the North more confidence and Abraham Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant army commander. What Grant lacked as a military tactician he made up for in raw aggressiveness, beating the South through attrition with high casualties on both sides. Despite initial fears by the Republican Party (though Lincoln ran under the National Union Party) and war Democrats, Lincoln easily defeated George B. McClellan (former Union general appointed twice by Lincoln) in the 1864 presidential election.

The devastating American Civil War came to a conclusion on April 9, 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Lincoln could finally focus most of his efforts on reconstruction and beginning to mend the deep scars between the North and South. When asked how defeated Confederates should be treated, Lincoln responded "Let 'em up easy". History had other plans however as on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C., a single shot by stage actor John Wilkes Booth ended the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Thai Royal Family - Thai King

We will take you from the present Thai King to the former great Thai Kings that can be found in the history books of Thailand.

The Thai King is the ceremonial head of state in a constitutional monarchy. Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 just following a government overthrow.

The present Thai King, His Majesty King Bhumibol, ascended the throne fourteen years later, after King Ananda Mahidol, his older brother, passed away. King Bhumibol is the longest reigning king in Thai history and the longest ruling monarch in the world.

Respect for the Thai King

Thais show great deal of love and respect to the Thai king. No one insults or talks negative about the Thai King and the Thai Royal Family as any criticism the Thai monarchy will result deep offense to Thai people and can cause legal actions.

It is not permitted under Thai law to speak in a negative way of the Thai Royal family and especially the Thai King. This offence can carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail which is a horrible sentence considering the poor state in which Thai jails are.

The majority of Thai households have pictures or paintings of the Thai King and even his predecessors in their homes. Many Thai people meet up in the famed Sanam Luang Bangkok Park each December when the Thai King has his birthday at which time they celebrate this national holiday so as to honor their beloved King.

The Thai King holds a much anticipated birthday speech each year and the King is known for speaking his mind and having his speech not being affected by political influence of any current government.

The former government of Prime Minister Takshin has been the focus of a recent speech and soon after his government was overthrown during a coup d'etat..

King Rama IV - King Rama V

The royal Chakri dynasty has held the power ruled Thailand since 1782. King Rama IV and that King's son, King Rama V, has been very popular and beloved Thai King's alongside with the present Thai King, King Bhumibol.

King Rama IV and his son have been credited with the modernization of the Thai Kingdom in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.

Royal Thai King Rama V's changes included for example the 1st hospitals that were available to all people and for building an extensive Thai rail network. More importantly, King Rama IV was also the Thai monarch that finally got rid of slavery which has been a blemish on Thai history.

New York has a pretty strange history as far as states go -- from the earliest European settlers who bought it from natives who didn't really live there, to the series of larger-than-life artists, politicians, and business people who make it unique to this day, the city's history is full of interesting characters and incidents. Some New York events are so strange that they almost sound fictional -- for example:

In 1789, George Washington took the first Presidential oath at Federal Hall. This is one of the stranger New York events because the city itself had been New Amsterdam in the previous century, and had been repeatedly occupied by the British -- it had also been the site of many battles.

In 1792, a group of stock brokers met beneath a buttonwood tree to sign a contract specifying that they would trade amongst each other. This New York event was a pivotal part of the state's history, since it launched the financial market now known as the New York Stock Exchange, the largest such market in the world. This New York event was a crucial turning point in the city's history, forever defining it as a center of finance and commerce worldwide.

In 1823, a brilliant pair of hucksters convinced hundreds of laborers to try to saw the city in half: a butcher and a contractor named De Voe and Lozier claimed that the population of New York put too much weight on the south side of the island. The only solution was to saw it in half, turn lower Manhattan around, and attach it again. Among New York events, this is surely one of the strangest: on the appointed day, hundreds of volunteers marched off to two camps where the sawing was to begin. And waited. And waited. De Voe and Lozier had perpetrated a massive hoax. Many contemporary historians believe that these New York events are too good to be true, and that the hoax is itself a hoax. But since the prank's victims would likely be too embarrassed to admit their complicity, the truth about this New York event will never be known for sure.

In the late 19th century the road currently known as Broadway -- originally a trail used by the natives and called "Wickquasgeck" -- was paved. This is one of the many New York events to inaugurate both a record and a cultural icon. At 150 miles, Broadway is one of the longest streets in the world, and one stretch of it (also known as "Broadway") is the site many plays, musicals, and other New York events.

In the 1920's many Jazz musicians considering where to perform referred to New York events as "The Big Apple", or the best and most desirable prize.

In 1965, a major blackout struck the city. Coming in the midst of a major crime wave, this New York event was rather disturbing to some people. But others managed to pass the time: nine months later, local hospitals reported a spike in the birth rate.

If you find yourself never having time to do anything then an Julia Lees Extreme Speed Reading course could be the thing for you. With this course you can be guaranteed of doing at least one thing in your life more quickly. If you love reading but never seem to finish books, have no time to even look at the newspaper, then this is the answer.

You will be reading quicker and more effectively when you finish an Julia Lees Extreme Speed Reading course. Now you will have time to read more and finish all those books piling up on your nightstand.

Be Able To Read Anything Fast

Many people think that the Julia Lees Extreme Speed Reading program is only for people who need to read academic material. True it does help you to read through complex articles found in academic journals and textbooks but it can also benefit a casual reader greatly.

When you take an Julia Lees Extreme Speed Reading course you are introduced to the different ways to approach different reading material. Reading an academic paper, reading a magazine, and reading literary books require different approaches.

With an academic paper there are often sections that you can skip or skim and only pick out the important information. With a magazine you can probably scan through articles without much difficulty. When you read a piece of fiction you want to be able to enjoy each word.

You can learn all these skills through the Julia Lees Extreme Speed Reading course. This will allow you to read through textbooks and journals quickly and only concentrate on the important parts. When you read fiction quickly you experience the story in a different way then you would when you read at a normal pace.

Speed reading has the remarkable ability to transport you into the world of the book you are reading. You are going along with the action of the characters. This is an exciting way to read as you can experience the things being described in the book when you are reading quickly.

It is also a fantastic research tool to have. You can cut the time that you would normally spend researching something and get right down to what you need to do with an Julia Lees Extreme Speed Reading course. You will also learn effective note taking, something many people cannot do. Combine your reading skills and you will soon be able to get through that stack of books that has been waiting for you.

Why some things are better than others

All right, so you may have realized you want to learn some accelerated learning strategies.

Whether it is for school or for your job you have learned and found out the ups of accelerated learning.

So what then is the best accelerated learning system?

I have spent a lot of money trying to find the best one, after I was emailed one that I liked a lot I wanted more and searched and searched.

But a funny thing happened to me while searching. I spent over 70$ on some programs and around 90 or more on others. But still I seemed to just get more of the same.

Sure some were on audio, and a few were written more clearly and had some more pictures.

But none had too many new ideas, I kept finding myself using the same old strategies.

I found that even the memory books were all the same, the longer ones filled with a lot of filler and the shorter ones were sometimes downright embarrassing.

I began to realize that there was not that much more out there except to practice.

Now there were many good programs and people out there, a lot of them began pointing to a fairly new program out there, which is fair since my old program was taken off of the market.

The funny and ironic thing is that this program was around 60$ cheaper then almost all of the programs you find out there, yet it contained pretty much the same thing as everyone else.

In an age when people have numerous belongings and accessories for them we have to not only find a place to put them and devise easier ways to carry them, but also decide on what to accumulate and carry in order to get to everything we want inside of the places we own, rent or work in and drive. Locks on our doors, safe, office equipment, etc. are the protection choice that is available for securing our possessions and a persons mode of transportation requires the use of a key in order to not only open it up but to make it work. As we are more and more dependent on the places that house our items and out vehicles we tend to acquire more, not just by obtaining "stuff", but a larger key chain to keep our many keys that we own for a variety of functions. A key is the device that activates a lock and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Sharing common features are keys used on automobile and for the home. Generally they are one to two inches long and made of metal and feature various parts to them such as a thin blade with groves, a gripping area to turn the key and cuts varying in depths and spacing.

There are many keys out there that perform many jobs. The most popular key in use today is the cylinder key and most people probably have many cylinder keys in their possession to operate the locks of their home. Cylinder keys are used to operate pin tumbler and disc tumbler locks. Often confused for the skeleton key is the bit key that is used to operate bit locks. When operating a lever tumbler lock (like the ones on luggage) you would use a flat key.

Tubular keys have a tubular blade where the cuts are made in a circular fashion around the end of the blade of the key. These are commonly used to operate locks on laundry machines in laundromats and vending machines. Many of the warded padlocks in use today are opened when a corrugated key is inserted into it.

An interesting key is the hollow shank barrel key. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and looks a lot like the bit key. For use with some high security locks the angular bitted key is designed to cause tumblers to rotate in a set position within the cylinder, the cut of the key on the blade runs at right angles.

Vehicle keys come with a variety of features like the transponder keys and feature keyless entry and other items in the head of the key. They take advantage of various technologies such as infra red and radio frequencies and there are also the basic flat keys used to enter older models.

Keys are there in order to have a way to not only lock up and protect what is ours, but to allow us a way back in. Remember their importance and that no matter what, even if lost, there is someone out there with the professional skills that can replace one for you in case of any unfortunate loss or breakage occurs.

Online traffic schools are not the place to visit when you need to learn how to drive, but
they are the right stop if you need points dismissal, an insurance premiums reduction, or even a safety course for work-related certification. Online traffic schools use eBooks, animations, videos, and online texts to provide all required information. Online traffic schools are interactive and cover all the subjects that are taught in traditional, offline counterparts. Florida online traffic schools have courses designed to give drivers tips on ticket dismissals, insurance reductions, safe driver points and fleet driver safety. Florida online traffic schools cost about the same as DHSMV licensed traffic schools though they typically take far less time to complete.

The average course on Florida online traffic schools takes 5 hours to complete. Another great advantage of online traffic schools is the low cost. Some online traffic schools are free, and only require payment if you pass the test and want to ask for a copy of the certificate. More expensive online traffic schools may offer accelerated courses or delivery of your certificate directly to the court rather than to you. There are many other online traffic schools out there, so do your research.

For all you lead-foot drivers out there with a history of moving violations, there is a way to keep your insurance costs from becoming sky-high:Florida online traffic schools.

Florida Ticket Dismissal

Upon completing a fully licensed and accredited online driving school, you will not receive points on your driving record for all traffic tickets including speeding tickets and accidents. For those who desire to lower their insurance rates or to get a ticket dismissed, there are the defensive driving courses online for you. Between 10,000 and 12,000 ticketed drivers complete traffic school, so the Superior Court can dismiss points that otherwise would be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and in turn result in higher insurance rates. To see the course outline- Traffic Ticket Dismissal.

Defensive Driving

By taking a defensive driving or traffic class online you not only reduce your points and lower your insurance rates but in the process you become a better driver. By completing this course anyone can learn the defensive driving strategies, road rules and state traffic safety laws very easily by completing this course. You should do everything possible to keep points off your DHSMV driving record, which means obeying all traffic laws, driving defensively and completing an online traffic school basic driver improvement course, which will keep points off your Florida DHSMV driving record and protect your driving privilege.

Florida online traffic schools are interactive and cover all the subjects that are taught in traditional, offline counterparts. The ease and convenience of online traffic schools is the way to go. Besides where else can you you go to school in your pajamas.

The experience over the last few decades has clearly shown that unlike school education, privatization has not led to any major improvements in the standards of higher and professional education. Yet, in the run up to the economic reforms in 1991, the IMF, World Bank and the countries that control them have been crying hoarse over the alleged pampering of higher education in India at the cost of school education. The fact of the matter was that school education was already privatized to the extent that government schools became an option only to those who cannot afford private schools mushrooming in every street corner, even in small towns and villages. On the other hand, in higher education and professional courses, relatively better quality teaching and infrastructure has been available only in government colleges and universities, while private institutions of higher education in India capitalised on fashionable courses with minimum infrastructure.

Nevertheless, successive governments over the last two decades have only pursued a path of privatization and deregulation of higher education, regardless of which political party ran the government. From the Punnaiah committee on reforms in higher education set up by the Narasimha Rao government to the Birla-Ambani committee set up by the Vajpayee government, the only difference is in their degree of alignment to the market forces and not in the fundamentals of their recommendations.

With the result, the last decade has witnessed many sweeping changes in higher and professional education: For example, thousands of private colleges and institutes offering IT courses appeared all across the country by the late 1990s and disappeared in less than a decade, with devastating consequences for the students and teachers who depended on them for their careers. This situation is now repeating itself in management, biotechnology, bioinformatics and other emerging areas. No one asked any questions about opening or closing such institutions, or bothered about whether there were qualified teachers at all, much less worry about teacher-student ratio, floor area ratio, class rooms, labs, libraries etc. All these regulations that existed at one time (though not always enforced strictly as long as there were bribes to collect) have now been deregulated or softened under the self-financing scheme of higher and professional education adopted by the UGC in the 9th five-year plan and enthusiastically followed by the central and state governments.

This situation reached its extreme recently in the new state of Chattisgarh, where over 150 private universities and colleges came up within a couple of years, till the scam got exposed by a public interest litigation and the courts ordered the state government in 2004 to derecognise and close most of these universities or merge them with the remaining recognized ones. A whole generation of students and teachers are suffering irreparable damage to their careers due to these trends, for no fault of theirs. Even government-funded colleges and universities in most states started many "self-financing" courses in IT, biotechnology etc., without qualified teachers, labs or infrastructure and charging huge fees from the students and are liberally giving them marks and degrees to hide their inadequacies.

It is not that the other well established departments and courses in government funded colleges and universities are doing any better. Decades of government neglect, poor funding, frequent ban on faculty recruitment and promotions, reduction in library budgets, lack of investments in modernization leading to obsolescence of equipment and infrastructure, and the tendency to start new universities on political grounds without consolidating the existing ones today threatens the entire higher education system.

Another corollary of this trend is that an educational institution recognized in a particular state need not limit its operations to that state. This meant that universities approved by the governments of Chattisgarh or Himachal Pradesh can set up campuses in Delhi or Noida, where they are more likely to get students from well off families who can afford their astronomical fees. What is more, they are not even accountable to the local governments, since their recognition comes from a far away state. Add to this a new culture of well-branded private educational institutions allowing franchisees at far away locations to run their courses, without being responsible to the students or teachers in any other way. This is increasingly becoming a trend with foreign universities, especially among those who do not want to set up their own shop here, but would like to benefit from the degree-purchasing power of the growing upwardly mobile economic class of India. Soon we might see private educational institutions getting themselves listed in the stock market and soliciting investments in the education business on the slogan that its demand will never see the sunset.

The economics of imparting higher education are such that, barring a few courses in arts and humanities, imparting quality education in science, technology, engineering, medicine etc. requires huge investments in infrastructure, all of which cannot be recovered through student fees, without making higher education inaccessible to a large section of students. Unlike many better-known private educational institutions in Western countries that operate in the charity mode with tuition waivers and fellowships (which is one reason why our students go there), most private colleges and universities in India are pursuing a profit motive. This is the basic reason for charging huge tuition fees, apart from forced donations, capitation fees and other charges. Despite huge public discontent, media interventions and many court cases, the governments have not been able to regulate the fee structure and donations in these institutions. Even the courts have only played with the terms such as payment seats, management quotas etc., without addressing the basic issue of fee structure.

"Today, it is no longer desirable to undertake educational reforms in piecemeal fashion, without a concept of the totality of the goals and modes of the educational process. To find out how to reshape its component parts, one must have a vision of the whole". - UNESCO, Learning to Be, The Report of the International Commission on the Development of Education, 1972, p.175.

The National Policy on Education has laid considerable emphasis on value education by highlighting the need to make education a powerful tool for cultivation of social and moral values. Keeping in view the pluralistic base of our society, the education system besides preserving our cultural heritage has also to nurture our youth to be more adaptable to life in the changing environment. An inter-linking of education and culture has also been emphasized in the Programme of Action for implementation of National Policy on Education.

People say that "Values cannot be taught but caught". Against this belief educationists strongly advocate that values could be taught with sufficient care and caution. The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in its publication documents on Social, Moral and Spiritual Values in Education (1979, p.56) has drawn up 84 values to be inculcated through education. The cultural values need to be identified for standard curricula all over the country. Respect for the old, care for poor and up-privileged and tolerance should be some of the values. Value based inter-personal relations, importance of racial and religious harmony and concern for humanity should form the basis for friendship and cooperation amongst the people.

Fine arts, music, creative writing, puppetry and theatre are to be given due place in the curricula right from school to the university level. The curriculum should strike a balance between theory and practice. Creative work in fields of music, dance, literature, drama, visual arts is essential to cultivate the inherent tolerance of children. Value/moral education should be thought as a compulsory subject up to the high school level.

It should be made an examinable subject at the school level. Evaluation of value education should be based on compassion, self-reliance, respect and honesty. Language is an importance medium for inculcating, fostering and propagating of moral vales and national cultural heritage. Education through mother tongue needs to be ensured.