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The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) will soon introduce negative marking for several parameters, including retracted research papers and citation of tainted papers, according to officials. The tenth edition of the NIRF was announced by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Since its inception, the NIRF has never had negative weightage. Anil Sahashrabudhe, chairman of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), the agency managing the NIRF, said the framework would introduce negative marks for retraction of research papers by journals. "For the first time, penalties are being formally stitched into the ranking methodology to act against research malpractice and misrepresentation of data. The negative marking system will soon be declared and draft norms are being readied," he said. The NIRF evaluates institutions across five broad parameters: teaching and learning, graduation outcomes, research, outreach and perception. With over 8,700 institutions participating
The Centre is mulling a review of the difficulty level of entrance exams like JEE and NEET to ensure it is in sync with the class 12 curriculum difficulty level and that students do not have to depend on coaching, according to sources. The review will be conducted on the basis of the feedback from an expert panel set up to examine issues related to coaching. "The panel is analysing data to study if the difficulty level of exams is in sync with the difficulty level of class 12 curriculum, which is the basis of these exams. Some parents and faculty members of coaching institutions feel that there is a mismatch between the two, which ultimately increases dependance on coaching," a source said. "Based on the panel's feedback, it will be considered to review the difficulty level of these entrance exams," the source added. In June, the Ministry of Education set up a nine-member panel to examine issues related to coaching, emergence of 'dummy schools' as well as effectiveness and fairness
The government has deferred the implementation of its recently issued revised guidelines for conducting competitive examinations for persons with disabilities (PwDs) until the year end, citing lack of preparedness among examining bodies and the immediate interest of candidates. In an office memorandum, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) clarified that all competitive public examinations notified until the end of this year may continue under the existing framework. "In view of the likely lack of preparedness of examining bodies for introduction and application of technology for conduct of exams and keeping in mind both larger and immediate interest of the Divyangjan community, this is to state that all the competitive public examinations notified/ to be notified until and including December 31, 2025 may be conducted as per the system in vogue before issuing the said guidelines," the memorandum said. However, candidates willing to use assistive ...
The Centre has tightened the rules on the use of scribes in competitive examinations for persons with disabilities (PwDs), making it mandatory for examining bodies to prepare their own vetted scribe pools within two years and phasing out the widely used "own scribe" system flagged for malpractice. The revised guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, aim to ensure fairness, transparency, and integrity in exams while aligning them with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The comprehensive framework is applicable to all competitive written public examinations linked to jobs and admissions in professional and technical courses. It incorporates directives of the Supreme Court and aligns with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The guidelines emphasise that candidates should be encouraged to attempt
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has started finalising the list of tainted candidates from the 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST), abiding by the Supreme Court's directive, and assured that none of them will be allowed to appear in the fresh recruitment exams, an official said on Friday. A senior SSC official said the commission's legal team has already submitted an undertaking to the apex court promising to submit the list of "tainted" candidates within a week. "Our lawyers have already given undertaking to the apex court about submitting the list of 'tainted' teachers within a week, relating to the 2016 teacher recruitment test. The process is in full swing. This much we can tell you," he told PTI on Friday evening. Dismissing concerns about tainted individuals being issued admit cards for the upcoming SLST exams scheduled on September 7 and 14, the official added, "Our lawyers assured the apex court on record that not a single tainted candidate will be allow