London, Feb 27 : When it comes to telling the difference between an English oak or a sycamore, one third of Britons might score a zero, according to a new study.

The researchers said that one third of Britons cannot identify the nation''s most famous types of trees

The study by UK firm Forest Holidays found that one in 20 people questioned could not name any of Britain''s common trees.

In fact, seven in ten people couldn't even identify the horse chestnut, which has produced conkers for generations of schoolboys in UK.

For the study, 250 adults were shown pictures of 10 of Britain''s most popular types of tree and were asked to name them.

Kolhapur students write papers barefoot following the divisional board's diktat

The Kolhapur division of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has banned shoes, chappals and socks inside the examination centres from this year.

Chairperson of the division Ujjwaladevi Patil said that the step has been taken to prevent students from using their footwear to hide copying material. "Last year, the division had banned footwear at a few examination centres. We were able to curb copying to a large extent and hence decided to implement the ban at all centres," she said.

The global slump is rearing its head on B-school campuses, including the IIM-B

The tidings for the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), which will kick off the 2009 placement season on Friday, are not very good. If one is to go by the indications from other B-school campuses that are already into the process, it will be a tough placement season.

New Delhi, Feb 26 : Union Cabinet today approved the proposal from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Ministry of Textiles for implementation of Other Backward Class (OBC) quota r

Concerned at the quality of higher education imparted in private institutions, the Centre plans to frame guidelines regulating the standard of education, fee structures and admission procedures in such institutes.

A group of ministers comprising Arjun Singh (HRD), Pranab Mukherjee (finance) and P Chidambaram (home) is examining the possibility of regulating private institutions, such as deemed universities, that come under the central government. The group is expected to submit its report shortly. The move is based on complaints by students who are either duped or imparted poor quality education.

Unesco has decided to display on its website names of genuine, accredited institutions across the globe to prevent duping of students.

"We have given a list of genuine institutes of 30 countries. By July, accredited institutes in 60 countries, including those in India, will find their names on the list. Students can verify from our list before applying," an official in Delhi said. The list has been drawn up in consultation with the respective governments. Unesco is also preparing a set of criteria to help students identify fake institutions. "By April this year, we will put out the guidelines to identify fake institutions," the official said.