Page 4 - Higher Education

UGC directs varsities, HEIs to publicise new criminal laws, dispel 'myths'

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country to publicise the new criminal laws and dispel "myths" surrounding them. Among the "myths" cited by the UGC are that the new laws "threaten" individual freedom and aim to establish a "police state", that sedition provisions have been retained under 'Deshdroh' and that these legislations enable "police torture". In its communication to the universities and HEIs, the UGC has also sent flayers mentioning these myths and truths. UGC Secretary Manish Joshi said, "The Higher Educational Institutions have been requested to publicise the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 around the themes contained in the flyers and by carrying out campaigns by way of displays through standees, distributing flyers and organizing seminars and talks by lawyers, judges both serving and retired and their respective faculties in their institutions." The HEIs have also been asked to share the .

Indian students turning away from British universities, shows data

Amid ongoing review for post-study work visa and restrictions on bringing along dependents on government-funded scholarships, official statistics released on Thursday showed Indian students are beginning to show signs of being turned off from applying for British universities with a four per cent drop in the applications from the country. While the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) figures show the overall number of international students for undergraduate places increased by 0.7 per cent, Nigerians and Indians were leading a downward trend after record rises in recent times. Applications from India fell 4 per cent compared to last year to 8,770 and from Nigeria by 46 per cent to 1,590. UK higher education remains attractive globally, with a 0.7 per cent increase in international applicants. The highest increases are China (3 per cent, 910 applicants), Turkey (37 per cent, 710 applicants) and Canada (14 per cent, 340 applicants). There has been a decrease in ...

Interim Budget: Allocation for tribal ministry up by 70% at Rs 13,000 cr

The government has allocated Rs 13,000 crore to the Tribal Affairs Ministry in the interim Budget 2024-25, a massive increase of 70 per cent from the allotment in the previous financial year. The tribal ministry was allocated Rs 7,605 crore in the financial year 2023-24. The Centre has earmarked Rs 6,399 crore for the construction of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in 2024-25, a 150 per cent increase over Rs 2,471.81 crore allocated for this purpose in 2023-24. The objective of EMRS is to provide quality middle and high-level education to tribal students in remote areas, enabling them to access reservation in high and professional educational courses and jobs in government, public, and private sectors, as well as having access to the best opportunities in education at par with the non-ST population. The allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana has been increased from Rs 300 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. Under the scheme, funds are provided to states or UTs havi

Interim Budget: UGC faces 60% cut, budget for school education increased

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has faced a budget cut this year with the Centre reducing its grant by over 60 per cent while the allocation for Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) has been slashed for the second consecutive year. The budget for school education has been increased by over Rs 500 crore but the grant for higher education has been reduced by over Rs 9600 crore from the previous fiscal year's Revised Estimate (RE). In the interim budget for 2024-25 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, the funding for UGC has been brought down to Rs 2500 crore from the previous year's RE of Rs 6409 crore, a 60.99 per cent drop. The IIMs counted among the noted business schools in the country, have faced a cut in the budget for the second year in a row. Last year, the budget for IIMs was slashed from Rs 608.23 crore (RE) to Rs 300 crore. This year, the budget has been brought down further to Rs 212.21 crore from the Revised Estimate of Rs 331 crore. Th

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The higher education sector needs further improvements

UP plans to integrate higher education with incubators to support biz ideas

According to a KPMG report, Uttar Pradesh emerged the country's fourth-largest startup ecosystem, with eight unicorns and two potential soonicorns. At present, two soonicorns are working in the state

No reserved posts can be de-reserved: Ministry on draft UGC guidelines

The Ministry of Education (MoE) on Sunday clarified that no reserved posts can be de-reserved after draft guidelines by the University Grants Commission (UGC) proposed that any vacancy reserved for SC, ST and OBC candidates can be declared unreserved if enough candidates from these categories are not available The 'Guidelines for Implementation of the Reservation Policy of the Government of India in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)' are in the public domain for feedback from stakeholders. The draft guidelines have been receiving backlash from several quarters. The Congress alleged there is a "conspiracy" to end reservation given to SCs, STs and OBCs in posts in higher education institutions and that the Modi government is only doing "politics of symbolism" on the issues of Dalits, backward classes and tribals. The JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) also staged a protest against it and burnt an effigy of UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar. Kumar also clarified that there has been no ...

Higher edu institutions to get accreditation status, grading system to go

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country will no longer be given grades under the accreditation system, rather they will be categorised either as "accredited" or "not accredited", the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) decided on Saturday. In an executive council meeting held on Saturday, the NAAC also decided that the accredited institutions will be further given levels between one and five to encourage them to achieve the highest level. These sets of reforms will be implemented in two stages -- the binary accreditation (accredited or not accredited) system in the next four months, and Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation (level 1 to 5) by December. "There will be Binary Accreditation (either accredited or not accredited) rather than grades with an aim to encourage all the institutions to get on-boarded in the accreditation process thereby creating a quality culture in the higher education system," a senior Ministry of Education (MoE) official said. "Th

Enrolment in higher education reached 43.3 million in 2021-22: Report

As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) released on Thursday, 341 universities and university-level institutions have been established since 2014-15

Provide study material in Indian languages digitally: Govt to institutions

The Centre has directed schools and higher education institutions to provide study material for all courses in Indian languages digitally within the next three years, officials said on Friday. The decision is aimed at providing students the opportunity to study in their own language. "The government has directed all school and higher education regulators like UGC, AICTE, NCERT, NIOS, IGNOU and heads of INIs like IITs, CUs and NITs to make study material in Indian languages available for all courses in the next three years. "UGC, AICTE and the Department of School Education have also been asked to take up the issue with regard to state schools and universities," the Ministry of Education (MoE) said in a statement. "The above directions have emerged from the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) for promoting multilingualism in education at every level, so that students get the opportunity to study in their own language, and can have better learning outcomes," it ...

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NEET-PG exam likely in first week of July; no National Exit Test this year

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Postgraduate examination is likely to be held in the first week of July and the counselling in the first week of August, sources said on Saturday. They further said the National Exit Test (NExT) will not be held this year. "The NEET-PG examination is likely to be held in the first week of July. The counselling is likely to begin in the first week of August," a source said. According to the recently-notified "Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023" which have replaced the Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, the existing NEET-PG examination will continue till the proposed NExT becomes operational for the purpose of PG admission. The NEET-PG is an eligibility-cum-ranking examination prescribed as the single entrance examination for admission to various MD/MS and PG Diploma Courses under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.

MU, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies to offer course on temple management

The Mumbai University has said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies to offer a course on temple management. It will be one of the various diploma and certificate-level courses to be offered offline as well as in online mode under this collaboration. The university's Centre for Hindu Studies along with its Sanskrit Department has inked the MoU with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, a press release issued by the university said. The course will focus on holistic study of Hindu philosophy with degree and certificate courses.

Physics Wallah to expand to 100 offline centres in 2024, says co-founder

In May, Physics Wallah opened 50 offline centres, which it branded as 'Vidyapeeth Centers', with an investment of around Rs 82 crore in technologies

UGC notifies regulations for foreign higher education institutions in India

The regulations mandate that No Foreign Higher Educational Institution shall offer any programme in India without the prior approval of the Commission

JU teachers' body urges state govt to facilitate holding of convocation

The Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) has urged West Bengal Education Minister to take steps to facilitate the holding of the annual convocation of the varsity in time in the interest of students. JUTA general secretary Partha Pratim Roy in a letter to Education Minister Bratya Basu and Governor C V Ananda Bose said that convocation remains an integral part of a long and glorious tradition of JU and one of the "most cherished" events of students. "Considering the future and emotion of our students, we, on behalf of all the teachers of Jadavpur university fervently request you to ensure that our students get their valid degrees and certificates in due time," the letter, also signed by another senior faculty member Partha Pratim Biswas as JUTA President, urged. Contacted officiating Vice Chancellor Buddhadeb Sau told PTI, "I cannot tell you anything about the convocation till there is an official statement." Asked specifically, if the convocation will be held on time,

19,190 vacancies filled up in central universities, IITs, IIMs: Minister

The minister said that the number of vacancies in various faculty cadres is dynamic depending on recruitment, resignation and student strength

India needs to increase R&D spending to 3% of GDP: Kris Gopalakrishnan

Private sector must contribute 1.5% to such spending, he says in speech urging educational institutions to teach new technologies

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Gender parity in Delhi's higher education declined in in 2020-21: Data

The gender parity index in higher education in the national capital declined to 1.04 in 2020-21 from 1.16 in 2018-19, according to data published by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Gender parity index (GPI) is defined as the ratio of number of females to males enrolled in a given stage of education. The index ideally should be between 0.97 and 1.03, as per the report 'Women and Men in Delhi 2023'. However, the number of female students per 100 male students in important educational programmes in Delhi has shown a rise. Comparing the data recorded across various higher education courses in 2012-13 and 2020-21, it was observed that the GPI increased from 0.84 to 0.9 in PhD, 0.73 to 1.02 in postgraduate, 1.03 to 1.11 in undergraduate, 0.51 to 0.73 in PG Diploma and 0.53 to 0.84 in Diploma programme in regular mode of education. Of the total students in Delhi, around 90.1 per cent opted for general course as compared to technical or professional courses which include 92 p