Swamy not offered JNU vice-chancellor post: Smriti Irani

Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday denied reports that senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has been offered the job of Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor.

"No law of the land provides me with these powers, moreover Swamy ji is beyond the age bar for the post as well," she said.

Irani also announced that the first draft of the new national education policy is likely to be ready by year end.

Saying that she has been deliberating with the stakeholders and had held three regional meets, including one in UP along with video-conferencing with district magistrates, she noted that she proposes to ready the first draft by December this year.

Stressing that the Narendra Modi government aspired to provide world class education to youngsters in the country, she said under the Global Initiative Academic Nation programme (GUIAN) which aims at inviting foreign experts to India, the ministry had received names of 320 faculty members so far.

She also informed of a central government initiative "Shala Darpan", under which parents of a student going to government-run schools would be able to check the attendance of their children, and also of teachers, their report cards and many other things in real time. This was an endeavour to improve the educational standards in the government-run schools, she said.