Page 5 - Higher Education

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

LIVE: Top Congress brass reviews poll defeats in Chhattisgarh, MP

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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

Implement Centre's scheme on higher education: Pradhan urges Odisha CM

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, urging him to implement the PM-USHA scheme in the state that aims to improve higher education and graduate employability. In his letter to Patnaik, Pradhan said the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) will continue till March 2026 with a total outlay of Rs 12,926.10 crore but the states are required to sign a MoU with the Ministry of Education for its implementation. "The PM-USHA Scheme is an important step of the central government towards implementing the vision of National Education Policy, 2020, to attain higher levels of access, equity, and excellence in the states/UTs higher education system by prioritising the unserved and underserved areas," the letter, written on Wednesday, said. The focus should be on districts that have a low gross enrolment ratio (GER), higher population of Dalits and tribals, and are affected by left-wing extremism, among others, it said. Besides,

DU panel to frame guidelines for review of SOL's self-learning material

A Delhi University committee will oversee the review of the School of Open Learning's self-learning material and formulate guidelines for the preparation of future study materials, an official said on Saturday. This comes after repeated issues were flagged in the self-learning material that was presented before the Academic Council. A four-member committee of the South Campus director, Campus of Open Learning director, dean of academic affairs and the head of the English department will be notified by Monday or Tuesday, the official added. "The committee will oversee the review of the School of Open Learning's self-learning material and formulate guidelines for review of the preparation of study materials in the future," Delhi University's South Campus Director Shri Prakash Singh told PTI. A review report of the self-learning material was placed before the Academic Council for approval during a meeting on Thursday. The report was rejected after a council member pointed out grammati

US remains top choice for Indian students pursuing higher education abroad

Number of international students from India to the United States increased by 35 per cent and resulted in an all-time high of 2,68,923 students in academic year 2022-23

Medical education regulator defers decision on MBBS seat cap by a year

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has deferred by a year its decision to cap the number of MBBS seats to 100 per 10 lakh population following protests by southern states. The decision was taken after the Union Health Ministry on November 1 asked the medical education regulator to re-examine the provisions of the ratio of 100 MBBS seats per 10 lakh population in states. "It is informed that a decision has been taken by the Undergraduate Medical Education Board, National Medical Commission that the 'objective' clause under Chapter-1 of 'Guidelines for Under Graduate Courses under Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses and Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023" (notified by UGMEB on August 16, 2023) shall be implemented from academic year 2025-26," the Commission said. The NMC had in August stated that "After 2023-24 (from the 2024-25 academic year), letter of permission for starting of new medical ...

Narayana Murthy bats for creating 2,500 'Train the Teacher' colleges

Software icon N R Narayana Murthy on Wednesday advocated accelerating the National Education Policy's outcome by inviting 10,000 retired, highly accomplished teachers from the developed world and from India in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas to create 2,500 "Train the Teacher" colleges in the country's 28 states and eight union territories. This course alone is not sufficient, Murthy said. "We must show much respect and pay better salaries to our teachers and researchers. We must also provide better facilities to our researchers. We must honour them. They are role models for our youngsters. That is why we instituted the Infosys Prize in 2009. It is our small contribution to further the cause of research in India," he added. The "Train the Teacher" programme should be year-long, he said at a press conference here, where the Infosys Science Foundation announced the Infosys Prize 2023 in six categories. "Experts tell me that each set of four trainers can

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Low-cost higher education

A paradigm shift in mindset is necessary to ensure more options for those who face a choice between low-cost college education and none at all

PM Modi inaugurates development projects in Rajasthan worth Rs 5,000 cr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched multiple projects worth Rs 5,000 crore in poll-bound Rajasthan, and asserted that they will lead to further development of the state. At a function here, Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple development projects in sectors like road, rail, aviation, health and higher education. The projects started today will lead to further development. Together we have to make Rajasthan a developed and prosperous state, he said speaking at the function. He said till 2014, only 600 km railway line was electrified in Rajasthan while in the last nine years, more than 3,700 km of railway track has been electrified. The prime minister laid the foundation stone of various projects, including a 350-bedded trauma centre and critical care hospital block at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, and seven critical care blocks under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) to be developed .

Academic institutions agree to form agri-consortium to boost startups

India's higher educational institutions on Wednesday agreed in principle to create an 'Agri-Consortium' to give a push to startups in the agriculture sector. An in-principle framework in this regard was adopted by participating higher educational institutions (HEIs) during the 'Agri-Entrepreneurship in South Asia' Consortium-2023 that concluded at the Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur, on Wednesday. The two-day event was aimed at providing a common platform for academicians, researchers, students, and industry professionals to interact and deliberate on the latest trends and advancements in technology, research, funding avenues and requirements in the agriculture industry, an IIM Kashipur press release here said. The HEIs agreed to share startup databases among consortium members, disseminate startup support programmes, and networking, and share best practices on the platform. The event was organised by the Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development (FIED), an