Page 2 - Education Ministry

Odisha ranks 5th in school education, Naveen Patnaik credits BJD's scheme

Odisha has achieved a tangible change in the school education system and ranked 5th in the country as per the Performance Grading Index (PGI-2.) between 2019-20 and 2023-2024 when BJD president Naveen Patnaik was the chief minister, officials said on Thursday. The state was ranked 14th rank in 2019-2020. The PGI 2.0 evaluates school education through 73 indicators across two categories: Outcomes and Governance & Management. BJD president Naveen Patnaik posted on X: "Glad to share that #Odisha has earned 5th rank nationally in School Grading System, as per Performance Grading Index (PGI-2.0) Report released by Government of India. Odisha has achieved score of 595.6 and secured PRACHESTA-3 grade for the academic year 2023-24, up from 14th in 2019. The PGI 2.0 evaluates school education through 73 indicators across two categories: Outcomes and Governance & Management." Patnaik was the chief minister of Odisha between 2000 and 2024. He is now the Leader of Opposition in Odisha ...

How medical education in India is pricing out future doctors and talent

From NEET coaching to postgraduate degrees, rising medical costs are forcing aspiring doctors to reconsider their future in the profession

World Bank grants $50 million to improve Sri Lanka's education system

The World Bank has approved a new USD 50 million additional financing package for Sri Lanka through its ongoing General Education Modernisation Project, which would benefit an estimated 5,00,000 students and 1,50,000 teachers. In a press release on Friday, the World Bank said the additional funding will help keep vital education reforms on track, improve teaching quality, upgrade school facilities, and enhance student well-being. The World Bank said the additional funding will focus on underserved schools, including those in the plantation communities and those supporting children with special needs. Schools across all nine provinces, regardless of grade level, are expected to benefit from this support, the press release said. This support is about making sure every child in Sri Lanka has the chance to learn in a safe, inclusive environment and that every teacher has the tools they need to help their students thrive, said David Sislen, World Bank Divisional Director for the Maldive

Education ministry forms panel to cut coaching centre dependance

The Education Ministry has constituted a committee to examine the rise of dummy schools, dependency on coaching centres and the gap between school learning and competitive exams

India rises in QS World Rankings, 54 institutions ranked in 2026 list

The number will rise further, said education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the back of India's National Education Policy's thrust on research, innovation, and internationalisation.

54 univs in QS World Universities list, India hits new high: Education min

India has hit a new high with 54 universities featuring in the coveted QS world rankings, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday while lauding the performance of the country's universities. He also asserted that NEP 2020 is not just changing the country's educational landscape, it is revolutionising it. "With a record 54 HEIs featuring among the global best, India hits a new high in the QS World University 2026 Rankings. From just 11 universities in 2014 to 54 in the latest rankings, this five-fold jump is a testament to the transformative educational reforms ushered by PM @narendramodi ji's govt. In the last decade. NEP 2020 is not just changing our educational landscape, it is revolutionising it," Pradhan said in a post on X. "Matter of immense pride that India is also the fastest growing education system among G20 countries and the fourth most represented behind only the US, UK and China. Confident that with NEP's thrust on research, innovation and ...

Centre recommends 7 states to adopt common board after poor exam outcomes

The Ministry of Education has recommended seven states to adopt a common board for classes 10 and 12 after an analysis by the School Education Department flagged that these states accounted for 66 per cent of student failures last year, officials said. The seven states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal. There are a total of 66 school examination boards in the country, including three national-level boards and 63 state-level boards (54 regular and 12 open boards), While the top 33 boards cover 97 per cent of students, the remaining 33 boards cover just 3 per cent of students. "Common board for class 10 and 12 is the way forward for ease of schooling. Not having a common board leads to poor academic outcomes. We have recommended these states to adopt a common board," School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said. A total of 22.17 lakh students failed Class 10, and 20.16 lakh failed Class 12 across the country in 2024. While the numbers hav

Chandigarh, Punjab among top school education performers, Meghalaya lags

Chandigarh placed in fifth-highest grade in PGI-D 2023-24 for school education, while Punjab and Delhi follow in the seventh level alongside Gujarat, Kerala and others

NITI report urges adopting Turkiye's model to bridge India's skill gaps

A NITI Aayog report on Monday mentioned Turkiye as one of the nations from which India can adopt global best practices for addressing skill gaps in the country's medium enterprises. The report titled 'Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises' listed programmes of Turkiye in addition to Canada, Singapore and Australia for encouraging medium enterprises. The report said Turkiye's "KOSGEB provides distance training on entrepreneurship; an effective, easy and flexible entrepreneurship training without time and space constraints by E- Akademi Programme Entrepreneurship Support Programme, with preferential treatment for women, youth and handicapped entrepreneurs." Also, observing that Turkey's e-Academy is an online training platform providing subsidised courses, enhancing accessibility for SMEs across regions, the report said, "online training programs can be offered at a subsidized rate, and free of cost for marginalized groups (as provided in Turkey's e-Academy)." Turkiye is facing

Protesting teachers to hold meeting today with Bengal edu dept official

A six-member delegation of agitating teachers, who have lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court order, will meet West Bengal education department officials on Monday to find a solution to the impasse, one of the protesters said. State Education Minister Bratya Basu is unlikely to attend the meeting, officials said. The members of the Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum will meet the officials at Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the education department, in Salt Lake area, after the government decided to initiate talks with them, a protester said. Senior education department officials will hold a discussion with the protesting teachers around 1 pm, he said. The protesting teachers have been staging a sit-in for several days near Bikash Bhavan, demanding that they be reinstated in their jobs. They also refused to take part in a fresh recruitment exam as mandated by the top court. "We have been demanding that the deserving teachers be reinstated in their jobs. We are also ...

JNU students vote for revival of PhD entrance exam in 'referendum'

Students participating in a "referendum" held by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) have voted heavily for reinstating the entrance exam for PhD admissions in the prestigious university. In the polling, that took place between 5 pm and 10 pm on Saturday in the hostel areas on the university campus, 1,323 of the 1,424 votes cast favoured bringing back the JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE). Ninety-six voted against it while five votes were declared invalid. The Left-wing All India Students' Association (AISA), which holds the JNUSU president post, had urged students to vote for the restoration of the entrance exam. In a statement, the university student union criticized the JNU vice-chancellor for allegedly backtracking on her promise, made during a 16-day hunger strike, to conduct an in-house PhD entrance exam for 2025 admissions. "Madam VC backtracked from her word'. JNU VC consciously decides to pay no heed to the deans of the schools and chairpersons of the .

Mizoram declared India's first fully literate state, confirms CM Lalduhoma

On May 20, CM Lalduhoma announced Mizoram as the country's first fully 'literate' state. He said it in presence of Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary at a Mizoram University event

Centre halted education funds to Tamil Nadu for petty politics: MK Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday slammed the BJP-led Centre, alleging it halted education funds to the state for its "petty politics." Addressing a book release event, Stalin said since Tamil Nadu has not agreed to the 3-language policy, the Centre has not released Rs 2,152 crore. "BJP-led Centre has halted education funds to Tamil Nadu for its petty politics," the chief minister alleged. Further, Stalin informed that the state government would for sure approach the Supreme Court challenging non-release of education funds by the Centre. Like the state's success in the Governor case, which fixed deadlines for Governor/President over Bills, Tamil Nadu would win in the education funds related matter too, he expressed confidence. Stalin said the struggle to bring education to the state list of the Constitution would continue and in case education was not shifted to the state list, it would be out of bounds for all, he said, once again reaffirming the DMK's position on

IIFT to open its first overseas campus in Dubai, receives govt approval

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, which comes under the Ministry of Commerce, has received final approval to open its first campus abroad, however, final permissions from the UAE are pending

FTII Pune, SRFTI granted university status, says Education ministry

Renowned film making schools-- Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata-- have been granted deemed-to-be university status, according to Ministry of Education. The new status will empower them to award degrees rather than just diplomas and also offer doctoral programmes. "FTII Pune and SRFTI Kolkata, have been granted deemed-to-be university status under section 3 of the UGC Act. The status has been notified following recommendation made by the University Grants Commission," a senior MoE official said. "Both institutes will launch doctoral, research and innovative academic programmes. They will also participate in NIRF Rankings and integrate with Academic Bank of Credits (ABC). Aligned with vision of National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, this landmark decision will pave way for greater autonomy, innovation and academic excellence in film and media education," the official added. FTII was set up by the ...

SC notice to education ministry on plea seeking fair grading by NAAC

The Supreme Court has sought response from the Union education ministry and others on a plea seeking measures to ensure fair and transparent grading by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of Higher Education Institutions. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the ministry, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the NAAC on a plea filed by NGO Bistro Destino Foundation. The NAAC, set up in 1994, is an autonomous body under the UGC that grades colleges and universities on parameters such as curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, research and financial well-being. "We wish to go deep into the matter and know how NAAC is functioning issue notice. Liberty to file additional documents," the bench said in its April 9 order. The plea has raised concerns of transparency and fairness in the process of assessment and grading of higher educational institutions conducted by the NAAC. The petition stated that under the present system of functioni

School enrollments drop in last 2 years: Union Minister in Lok Sabha

The country has reported a worrying drop in school enrollments in 2023-24, especially at the elementary level where numbers declined by around eight percentage points compared to 2021-22, according to government data presented in Parliament on Thursday. Replying to a question on the living standards of tribal people, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey told Lok Sabha that the gross enrollment ratio of tribal students at the elementary level declined from 103.4 per cent in 2021-22 to 97.1 per cent in 2023-24. In comparison, the GER of students from all communities dropped sharply from 100.13 per cent in 2021-22 to 91.7 per cent in 2023-24. At the secondary level (classes 9-10), the GER of tribal students dropped from 78.1 per cent in 2021-22 to 76.9 per cent in 2023-24, the data showed. For students from all communities, the GER at the secondary level decreased from 79.56 per cent in 2021-22 to 77.4 per cent in 2023-24. At the senior secondary level (classes .

5 foreign universities to open campuses in Navi Mumbai: CM Fadnavis

Five foreign universities have evinced interest to set up a campus in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday. These include three from the US, which is among the top 50 in the world, and one each from Australia and the UK, the chief minister said while speaking at a USIBC event here. The state is yet to sign a formal memorandum of understanding with the universities as they can enter into such an agreement only after getting a nod from the University Grants Commission, he added. The state is following up with UGC on the matter, and the universities will come up on an education city coming up in an urban settlement coming up across the harbour touted as the "Third Mumbai", he said. Fadnavis said Maharashtra is carving out dedicated zones with shared infrastructure in the new city dedicated to certain activities, like education, innovation, data centres, medical centres, sports etc. The new city will be three times bigger th

Govt committed to ensuring fair conduct of examinations: MoS Education

The government is committed to ensure fair conduct of examinations and trying to strengthen the system to prevent any malpractice, Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha. Replying to queries during Question Hour related to irregularities in the NEET (UG) exam held last year, the minister cited a Supreme Court order to assert that there was no systemic failure and the government has already asked CBI to investigate the matter and five charge sheets have been filed against 45 people in the paper theft case. Majumdar said the government has passed a new law 'Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024' and implemented many recommendations of the K Radhakrishnan committee. "Our government is committed that examinations are held in a clean system. We assure that under the Modi government, we will not allow any malpractice," he said. Already, he said, the Supreme Court has given a verdict that there is no systemic leakage

Education minister faces fallout for reviving lost battle: TN CM Stalin

He further alleged that the row over the imposition of the three-language formula had become a laughing stock in Tamil Nadu