Page 326 - Education
Manipur University impasse: Agitators refuse to cooperate with
Two days after the Centre formed a committee to look into the charges levelled against Manipur University Vice Chancellor Adya Prasad Pandey, the agitators at the institute have refused to cooperate with the panel, terming the move as "a ploy to undermine democratic movement". The academic activities at the central university has been under suspension for the past 45 days as the students and the teachers are agitating here for the removal of the vice chancellor (VC) over his alleged failure to appoint members in important posts, and administrative negligence. The HRD ministry instituted a fact-finding committee on July 12, with University Grant Commission (UGC) joint secretary J K Tripathy as the head, to inquire into the allegations against Pandey. The panel is supposed to submit its report one month from the date of the issuance of the order. Around 4.30 pm yesterday, the students and other staff members burned effigies of Tripathy, Union Minister Prakash Javedkar, and
The writing is on the wall: graffiti is art of expression but can also be vandalism
Earlier this month, 20-year-old Abhimanyu, a BSc student and SFI leader from Kochi's Maharaja's College, was stabbed to death allegedly because of graffiti by members of the Campus Front - the students wing of the Islamic Popular Front of India. According to the police, the victim was one of the students who wrote "communalism" over a graffiti made by Campus Front members. Disputes over graffiti are a familiar form of political expression in colleges, especially in those with a strong political history like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jadavpur University and, in this case, Maharaja's College. In May 2017, secretary of the Delhi University Students' Union filed a complaint upon finding pro-ISIS slogans on the walls of the Delhi School of Economics. In another instance in December 2016, five students of Maharaja's College were arrested over obscene graffiti on college walls hurting religious sentiments. The question therefore arises -- Is graffiti a form of art and expression or just ..
Post-matric scholarship scheme for SC students: Centre directive to states, UTs on depositing fees
The Centre has asked all states and union territories to instruct educational institutions to extend the date of depositing the fees for Scheduled Caste students eligible under its post-matric scholarship scheme till the amount is transferred to their bank accounts. The directive by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment comes in the wake of complaints of denial of admission by institutions due to delay in fee payments by SC students after the government, in May, revised the norms under the scheme. The scheme provides financial assistance to Scheduled Caste students studying at post-matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. These scholarships are available for studies in India only. Under the revised norms, the scholarship amount (including fees) will be deposited directly to the bank accounts of the students, so that they can pay the fees to the institution. The scholarship amount is released by the states and the practice so far is ...
NCPCR recommends use of AI, digital technology for regulating school fees
The NCPCR has recommended to the states a slew of measures like use of artificial intelligence and digital technology for regulation of school fees amid rising complaints of inappropriate fee hike against private and unaided schools. It has also suggested that states should form a committee in every district for such regulation, according to a child rights body official. The fees of schools should be fixed using a suitable mechanism by use of digital technology and artificial intelligence, said Priyank Kanoongo, member (RTE & Education) at the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The committees would be headed by district collector or district magistrate as chairperson and the fees should be determined for each school, he said, adding the panel would recommended a 10 per cent yearly cap on increase of fees. The NCPCR has sent its recommendations to the HRD Ministry. It also suggested formation of a parent-teacher association (PTA) who would participate in ...
Youth needs to be prepared for 'fourth industrial revolution': Satya Pal
Union minister Satya Pal Singh has said the young generation needs to be prepared for challenges of the "fourth industrial revolution" where robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing would dominate the world. He also said that India lagged behind in human resource development because even after Independence, the country followed the education system which the British introduced. On the sidelines of the BRICS Education Ministers' meeting here, the minister of state for HRD echoed the views of his counterparts that many of the current traditional jobs will become redundant or demand different qualification requirements in future. "In the last three or four years, we have done extremely well in India, and now we are waiting for the fourth industrial revolution where robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and such kinds of things will dominate the world. "We have to prepare our young generation for these emerging challenges," Singh said, calling for urgent ...
60 venomous snakes found in Maharashtra school's kitchen
At least 60 highly venomous Russell's viper snakes were found in the kitchen of a school in Maharashtra.The snakes were found yesterday in a Zilla Parishad school in Pangra Bokhare village of Hingoli district.Reportedly, the incident came to light after a female cook spotted two Russells vipers near the place where wood used for fuel was stored. When she started lifting more pieces of wood, she found the remaining poisonous snakes.After spotting 60 poisonous snakes in the kitchen, a panic like situation got created among the teachers and students.However, the snakes were later rescued by a snake catcher.
Presidency University students call off agitation
Presidency University students today withdrew their sit-in at the campus after the authorities said that couselling fees to courses in BA and BSc streams will not be charged from those hailing from economically weak background. Registrar Debojyoti Konar, the three Deans - Dean of Students, Dean of Science, Dean of Arts - Controller of Examinations left their offices at 9:30 pm, after being confined for over two days, a Presidency University official said. "We have promised that counselling fee will not be taken from students of BPL families. We will now formally place the proposal in a letter to the University's Governing Body where the views of students will also be incorporated," Konar told reporters after the sit-in was lifted. The students' demonstration began on July 12. Ayan Chakraborty, a spokesman of Independent Consolidation (IC), one of the two student unions spearheading the agitation, said "The agitating students, under the banner of IC and SFI, unanimously .
Calcutta University stands nowhere among the top: AICTE head
AICTE Chairman Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe today said it was a matter of regret that centuries-old institutions like the University of Calcutta "stand nowhere" among the top-ranked institutions of India. Sahasrabudhe, while delivering a lecture at the International Management Institute (IMI) here, said, "I normally don't talk of poor examples... But among the first three universities today - the University of Calcutta, University of Bombay and University of Madras... they stand nowhere among the institutions of excellence." He said he wanted to see these universities feature among the top 10 in the country. "Why have they slipped? Possibly because the leadership was not right... There are some other universities in the top 10, these universities, too, need to be among the top 10," the top AICTE official said. Sahasrabudhe said among the old institutions, Punjab University and Benares Hindu University have maintained their academic standard. Citing examples of ...
Raje asks locals, donors to assist setting up varsity for deaf and dumb students
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today called upon local people, donors and experts to come together to assist the setting up of the country's first university for deaf and dumb students. Raje said that the state government has taken an initiative to prepare a proposal for setting up the university under public private partnership (PPP) mode with an international NGO for which locals, donors, as well as experts should also come forward to help in the project. The chief minister was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a doll museum in Seth Anandi Lal Poddar Deaf & Dumb School here. The museum houses more than 700 dolls from 40 countries. Raje said the dream of setting up a higher educational institution for deaf and dumb students can be achieved through active participation and cooperation by capable people and the state government.
Naidu asks Indian varsities to take up 'big challenge', improve global rankings
Noting that Indian varsities had not been able to make it to the list of world's top universities, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today asked them to treat it as a "big challenge" and work hard to distinguish themselves from others. "Our universities have not been able to make their place in the list of the world's best universities. We should take it as a big challenge. The universities should focus on imparting to students the knowledge and skills they need to survive in today's fiercely competitive world," Naidu said, addressing the convocation of ICFAI University here. According to Times Higher Education's World Reputation Rankings 2018, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, was the only Indian institution to make it to the top 100 universities in the world this year. The IISc was ranked in the 91-100 band of the annual list topped by American universities Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford, with the UK's Cambridge and Oxford ...
Presidency University sit-in continues
Presidency University students union members today continued with their sit-in at the campus, to protest the "abnormal hike" in counselling fee to courses in BA and BSC streams. Registrar Debojyoti Konar, the three Deans - Dean of Students, Dean of Science, Dean of Arts - Controller of Examinations were all confined in their offices for over two days as the sit-in which began from 3 pm on July 12 continues, a Presidency University official said. "We have told the students the counselling process was being conducted by West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board (WBJEE) and the fee hike from Rs 100 to Rs 500 was their decision," the official said. "Still considering the demand of the students we have talked to the WBJEE and it was decided not to accept the counselling fee of those living under Below Poverty Line (BPL) but still the student unions are continuing their agitation," he said adding another round of discussion was slated to be held by late this ...
Guv tells Jadavpur University VC to take care of his health
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi today asked Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das to take care of his health and perform duties in accordance, days after he expressed desire to relinquish the post in the wake of an admission crisis in the varsity. Das visited the Raj Bhawan this afternoon and apprised Tripathi, who is also the Chancellor of JU, of the ongoing situation at the university, besides, doctors advising the VC to not put strain on his health, a senior official of the Governor's House said. "The Chancellor advised Das to first take care of his health and perform his duties in accordance with medical advice," the official said, when asked about the development in the 25-minute-long meeting. Das had told reporters in the JU campus that he, along with Pro-VC Pradip Ghosh, wanted to quit the post, on July 10, the day JU's Executive Council decided to reintroduce admission tests in the Arts faculty, putting an end to the impasse surrounding the
Haryana launches initiative to make primary school students fluent in English
The Haryana Education Department today said that it has launched an initiative aimed at capacity building of teachers to enable them help students to read, write and speak in English right from class 1. Under the programme titled 'I am not afraid of English', one Junior Basic Training teacher and a Block Resource Person per block has been trained to make students learn one sentence every day (minimum 20 per month for 10 months) in each class, an official spokesperson said here today. To start with, a booklet containing 1,000 sentences and phrases has been prepared. It contains 200 sentences per grade for all the five grades at the primary level of schooling. This way, a student who is in class 1, will be able to learn at least 1,000 sentences till he passes primary level, a spokesperson said. Six language labs have been established in selected Model Sanskriti schools in the state to facilitate digital learning and improve listening and speaking skills of the students.
Haryana launches 'I am not afraid of English' campaign in schools
The Haryana Education Department has launched 'I am not afraid of English' initiative to promote English language right from Class 1 in the state's primary schools, it was announced on Saturday.
Govt wants to open doors of madrasas for mainstream education: Naqvi
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said the government does not want to shut the doors of madrasas, but it wants to open their doors for mainstream education. Naqvi made the remarks at an event here to distribute certificates to the students who have been successful in a 'Bridge Course', jointly conducted by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Jamia Millia Islamia, for school dropouts and those studying in madrasas. A statement issued by the minister's office quoted him as saying that the government's 3T -- Teacher, Tiffin & Toilet -- formula to bring minority youths into mainstream education has been a tremendous success. The government does not want to shut down the doors of Madrasas, it only wants to open their doors for formal and mainstream education," Naqvi was quoted. He said that steps taken by the Modi government for the educational empowerment of the needy sections of the society, including the minorities, have ensured that the youths belonging to ..
'Bridge course' to open doors for formal education: Naqvi
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said the motive to introduce the 'Bridge Course' is to open the doors for formal and mainstream education for dropout students.The Union Minister clarified that the agenda is not to shut down the Madrasas, but to provide an opportunity to every student to get better jobs."The Central government does not want to shut down the doors of Madrasas, it only wants to open the doors for formal and mainstream education," Naqvi said.He further praised the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government to improve the education system for the marginal sections, so that they get better job opportunities."School dropout rate among Muslim girls has considerably decreased. It has come down from 70 percent to 35 percent, due to our awareness and educational empowerment programmes," Naqvi said.The course aims to get school dropouts and madrasa students into the mainstream.A total of 260 students were trained in the 'Bridge ...
Sonowal inaugurates VKNRL School of Nursing
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today inaugurated Vivekananda Kendra NRL School of Nursing here. The nursing school would provide nursing skills to under-privileged girl students in the vicinity of Numaligarh Refinery in upper Assam. Sonowal said that the VKNRL School of Nursing is a way towards paying tribute to the 855 martyrs who sacrificed their lives during the six-year long Assam Agitation. "Named after the great son of the nation Swami Vivekananda," Sonowal said the school will be an effort to materialise the maxim of Vivekananda "Service to man is Service to God". He advised the students of the nursing school to imbibe human values, empathy and compassion to serve the people. He also called upon the trustees of VKNRL School of Nursing to render quality and value-based education so that the school becomes an epitome of 'sustainability with quality'. Sonowal asked the people to take benefits of the state government's health schemes like Chief Minister's ...
UGC forms panel to probe allegations against Manipur varsity VC
The University Grants Commission has formed a panel to probe the allegations of administrative negligence and misutilisation of funds by Manipur University vice chancellor Aditya Prasad Pandey, a source from the HRD Ministry said today. "The panel was formed following a representation from the state government to HRD Ministry. The committee will submit its report by month-end, following which further action will be decided," the source said. Students of the university have been on strike for more than a month demanding the VC's resignation and an independent probe against him. "The state government feared a law and order situation and hence recommended the ministry to send Pandey on leave," the source said.
Student death: Inquiry report submitted, fake trainer's acquaintance held
A man, suspected to have helped procure fake certificates for the trainer who prodded a student to jump off the second floor of her college building here during a disaster management drill, was taken into custody, even as the official report was submitted today. Ashok, who helped R Arumugam get a fake certificate of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), was picked up for questioning, police said. Meanwhile, Regional Joint Director, Collegiate Education, S Kala today submitted a report to District Collector T N Hariharan on the incident, official sources said. The report would be forwarded to the chief secretary, as Chief Minister K Palaniswami has sought a detailed inquiry into the incident from the education and police departments. The Bharathiar University has also sought an explanation from the Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Science, which comes under its purview, sources said. They said preliminary inquiry revealed that Arumugam, a native of Tirunelveli, has ..
60 snakes found in school's kitchen in Maharashtra
Sixty highly poisonous Russell's viper snakes were found in the kitchen of a Zilla Parishad school in Hingoli district of Maharashtra, a school official said today. The spotting of so many snakes at one place created panic among students and staffers of the Zilla Parishad-run school located in Pangra Bokhare village of Hingoli district, about 225km from here in the Marathwada region. A female cook spotted two Russells vipers near the place where wood used for fuel was stored yesterday afternoon. When she started lifting more pieces of wood, she found another 58 snakes in the kitchen, he said. The school's headmaster, Triyambak Bhosle, said, "All of us panicked after seeing so many snakes. Several villagers rushed to the spot with sticks and stones but we stopped them from killing the snakes." A snake catcher, Vicky Dalal, was called and after toiling for more than two hours, he caught all the snakes and put them in bottles, he said. Bhimrao Bokhare, a school ...
