MHA bars IIT Kanpur from taking foreign donations

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September 4, 2012

The union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has barred Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur from accepting foreign donations, citing the premier institute’s laid-back attitude in submitting documents supporting the usage of foreign funds, an official said.

The institute has been barred under the provisions of Foreign Contribution Registration Act (FCRA), 2010, with immediate effect, informed sources said.

The prime objective of the act is to “regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution and foreign hospitality by persons and associations working in the important areas of national life”.

While IIT-K authorities refused to react to the development “at this point”, MHA has officially put the institute’s name in the list of organisations whose FCRA registration has been cancelled.

In the list for 2011-12, which carries 4,139 such institutions, 72 are from Uttar Pradesh.

MHA officials said the move to scrap the FCRA registration was “necessitated” after these top educational institutions failed to “submit satisfactory supporting documents of the fund usage”.

“The IIT-Kanpur has been very lethargic in supporting the usage of these donations in their annual receipts and hence we were forced to act in such a manner,” an official said.

Besides IIT-K, FCRA registration of eight other premier institutions in the country, including Jamia Milia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has also been scrapped.

While no official communique was received by the institute, officials said they have been “sounded on the matter”.

“We are aware about the matter… We are positive that this decision would not, in any way, hamper our growth,” a faculty member said, adding that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audits the financial transactions of IIT-K.

However, a senior faculty member admitted that the decision “would certainly create a lot of problems”.

“For many researches and other activities, foreign funding by our alumni is very crucial. MHA’s decision will hit us for sure,” he told IANS.

Another IIT-K professor said that last year the institute was exempted from such requirements as pressed by the government on the ground that the CAG was a “competent authority” thus foreign funding could not be stopped.

“Why did they bail everyone earlier and why are they hounding us now,” the professor asked.

IIT-K, one of the foremost institutes in the country for higher education, receives generous grants from its alumni and overseas organisations for research and other activities.

According to MHA officials, IIT-K (FCRA registration No.R-136530050) received foreign funding amounting to about Rs.6 crore in the previous financial year.

In 2010-11, the institute’s planning and resource generation department received a donation of Rs.4.08 crore from 772 donors of which 501 were domestic donors while 271 donors were from foreign countries, official said.

Many in IIT-K see the MHA decision as yet another “deliberate attempt” to push the premier institute into “submission before the central government’s authority”. Earlier, they alleged it was the move to hold common entrance tests.

Source: IANS

64 schools to refund excess fee: Delhi HC

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 3, 2012

Sixty-four private city schools have illegally collected higher fee from students since September 2008, a committee has informed the Delhi high court while recommending a refund of the money with 9 percent per annum interest.

The 600-page interim report of Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee, which randomly examined the accounts of 200 schools, was opened by a special bench of Acting Chief Justice AK Sikri and Justice Siddharth Mridul Friday.

The committee was constituted about a year ago to submit a report on the determination of fees in the unaided schools in Delhi.

Its first interim report was based on an examination of 200 unaided private schools out of a total 1,172 institutions.

In the case of 13 schools, the committee found that either no records were maintained or the accounts were fudged. It recommended strict action against these schools.

“The committee recommends that the schools be directed to refund the increased monthly fee from September 2008 till the date of actual refund along with the interest at the rate of 9 percent per annum,” the report said.

It also raised questions on the working of the department of education as it did not act in accordance with the law in inspecting the schools.

“The regulatory mechanism envisaged by the law has been thrown to the winds by the directorate of education. Schools are enjoying total and unbridled freedom in acting in the manner they like,” the report said.

“Right from the stage of granting recognition, the lack of supervisory control of the directorate is writ large. Hardly any inspections are done and even if they are, they are conducted in a most perfunctory manner,” the report said.

The bench July 20 directed the committee to submit a report on the fee hike in unaided private schools in Delhi.

After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, the schools increased the fees citing additional financial burden due to increased salaries of teachers.

The court gave directions for setting up a committee to audit the accounts of each of the schools to ascertain if the fee hike by them was required.

The committee also said that there were 143 schools which increased the fee without implementing the Sixth Pay Commission.

Many of the schools in the city were operating without even a bank account and years after years they were granted recognition, it said.

Several of the schools have not been maintaining proper accounts and were not getting their accounts audited as required by the law, and were also not filing annual returns, the report said.

“Some of the schools have been fabricating their accounts and getting various types of certificates from chartered accountants which do not qualify as audit reports,” said the report.

Advocate Ashok Agarwal, appearing for a group of parents, earlier said that if the report was submitted “it would be a great relief to the exploited parents, as they would be entitled to refund of the excess fee recovered from them by schools”.

The court would next hear the matter Sep 14.

Source: IANS

Haryana Govt to launch vocational courses at school level

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 3, 2012

The Haryana government is set to launch a project, under which students at the school level would be trained in vocational courses.

The project, to be run under ‘National Vocational Education and Qualification Framework’, would be inauguarated by Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at Gurgaon tomorrow.

Eight districts of the state have been selected for the project and five schools in each district are going to come under it, an official release said here today.

The districts where the project to be launched are Jhajjar, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rohtak, Ambala, Palwal, Mewat and Yamunanagar.

The project includes four vocational courses like IT, Retail, Security and Automobile along with basic education and the students could avail of the employment opportunities to their maximum after doing these courses at school level, it added.

Source: PTI

Potable water units to be set up in 17 Delhi schools

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 3, 2012

Seventeen Delhi government schools would get solar-powered water treatment plants to provide potable water to over 750 students daily in each institution, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said on Saturday.

With treatment capacity of 5,000 litre, the plants would be put up in schools for talented poor students, said Dikshit, inaugurating a plant at an east Delhi school.

“If all goes well with this plant, these systems would be installed in all 17 Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas which have talented students from weaker sections,” she said.

The plants are being installed by NGO Social Awareness Newer Alternatives (SANA) in collaboration with the government.

“The mechanism, which costs around Rs.25 lakh, will produce over 5,000 litres of drinking water daily of WHO standards,” said Sanchaiya Gajapati Raju, managing trustee of SANA.

The unit will include water bottling facility, including recyclable plastic bottles, and equipment to locally-produce chlorine that is used to disinfect bottles.

The treatment plant will be owned by the school and managed by trained Class 9-12 students.

Source: IANS

Girls to have separate union at AMU

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 3, 2012

Girls in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will now have a union of their own.

AMU vice chancellor Lt Gen Zameeruddin Shah said the university will have two separate student unions — one for boys and another for girls.

Gen Shah said the AMU Women’s College has traditionally had a separate students union for girls.

Once this was done away this, it led to cases of indiscipline, with members of the AMU Students Union barging into the Women’s College at odd hours.

The lady teachers of AMU are also keen on a separate staff association, it is learnt.

Source: IANS

J & K police sanctioned scholarships of Rs 11 lakh to school children

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 1, 2012

The Jammu and Kashmir police has sanctioned scholarships worth Rs 11 lakh to 153 school-going children of policemen, including 81 children of security personnel who laid down their lives for the security of the state.

The scholarships were awarded at a meeting of the executive body of Police Parivar Fund chaired by director general of Police K Rajendra Kumar, a police spokesman said today.

The beneficiaries, include 81 children of those personnel, who laid down their lives for the security of the state.

Scholarships have also been sanctioned in favour of 72 meritorious wards of serving personnel, who have secured distinction in Class VIII examinations during the last academic session, the spokesman said.

The police organisation has been taking care of the wards of its personnel, including those children whose parents have sacrificed their lives for safety and security of the people and saved public property, the DGP said.

“A policeman, having difficult nature of duty, always remains far off from his family in the service of the nation with the result his wards do not get required attention,” he said.

Kumar said other welfare measures taken by the police to promote educational career of the wards of its personnel include setting up of police public schools at various district headquarters and grant of scholarships in favour of meritorious wards.

Source: PTI

Jammu and Kashmir panel to direct private coaching institutions

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 1, 2012

The committee on subordinate legislation of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Thursday directed the officers of education department to come up with the legislation for regulating the private coaching institutions to be taken up during ensuing Assembly session.

The Committee also recommended amendment in the Education Act, 2002 so that the private coaching institutions could be brought under the ambit of the Act, an official spokesman said.

He said the committee, met under the chairmanship of legislator Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, also suggested revision of SRO 123 of March 18, 2010 to make it more comprehensive and student friendly.

The Committee urged the concerned authorities to frame rules for regulating the functioning of private coaching institutions being run in the state, the spokesman said.

He said that the senior officials briefed the committee about the measures taken by the department of education for regulating the functioning of these institutions.

Source: PTI

The committee on subordinate legislation of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Thursday directed the officers of education department to come up with the legislation for regulating the private coaching institutions to be taken up during ensuing Assembly session.

The Committee also recommended amendment in the Education Act, 2002 so that the private coaching institutions could be brought under the ambit of the Act, an official spokesman said.

He said the committee, met under the chairmanship of legislator Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, also suggested revision of SRO 123 of March 18, 2010 to make it more comprehensive and student friendly.

The Committee urged the concerned authorities to frame rules for regulating the functioning of private coaching institutions being run in the state, the spokesman said.

He said that the senior officials briefed the committee about the measures taken by the department of education for regulating the functioning of these institutions.

Harvard University investigates mass cheating scandal of 125 undergrads

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 1, 2012

About 125 Harvard University undergraduates are being investigated for cheating in a final exam last year, the largest academic misconduct scandal in the prestigious institution’s history.

The Harvard College administrative board is reviewing the allegations of “academic dishonesty,” ranging from “inappropriate collaboration to outright plagiarism, on a take-home final exam,” dean of undergraduate education Jay Harris said in a note sent to students.

A comprehensive review of every exam from the class found that nearly half of the 279 enrolled students may have worked together in groups to develop and share answers.

Harris said the magnitude of the case is “unprecedented in anyone’s living memory.”

The students whose work is under review have been contacted by the board, which will meet with each student separately seeking to understand all the relevant facts and to determine whether any faculty rules were violated.

Students found responsible of academic dishonesty could face disciplinary actions including withdrawal from the college for a year.

“We take academic integrity very seriously because it goes to the heart of our educational mission,” said Michael Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, who sent a letter to the FAS faculty to outline actions the faculty can take to reinforce Harvard’s academic policies.

“Academic dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated at Harvard.”

While neither the course nor the name of students allegedly involved was revealed, Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper, said the students were enrolled in the ‘Introduction to Congress’ class taught by assistant professor Matthew Platt.

“These allegations, if proven, represent totally unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust upon which intellectual inquiry at Harvard depends,” said Harvard University president Drew Faust.

“We must deal with this fairly and through a deliberative process. At the same time, the scope of the allegations suggests that there is work to be done to ensure that every student at Harvard understands and embraces the values that are fundamental to its community of scholars.”

The allegations surfaced last semester when the faculty member teaching the course questioned the similarities between a number of exams and referred them to the board.

After reviewing the exams and interviewing students who submitted them, representatives of the board initiated the broader review in consultation with the faculty member.

The board has not come to any judgment about specific cases.

Smith cautioned that the allegations should not lead people to draw broad conclusions.

“We must also not forget that the vast majority of our students complete all their assignments honestly, diligently, and in accordance with our regulations and practices,” Smith said.

“Allegations of inappropriate collaboration or plagiarism in a single class should not be allowed to diminish the good work or reputation of our outstanding student body.”

The administrative board is responsible for evaluating requests for exceptions to academic policies and review of students’ academic performance.

Source: PTI

SC directs 117 students to pay Rs 3 lakh each for illegal admission

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 1, 2012

One hundred seventeen medical students, who were granted admission in a private medical college in violation of law, were on Thursday directed by the Supreme Court to pay Rs 3 lakh each to the government.

Refusing to cancel their admission which was done in 2008, a bench of justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar directed the students to pay the amount which would be used for improvement of infrastructure and laboratories in government medical colleges.

The court also directed the Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital in Udaipur in Rajasthan to surrender 107 seats in a phase-wise manner which will be filled up by the students selected through common entrance test conducted by the state government.

“We, therefore, hold that each of the 117 students who have been admitted in the MBBS seats in the college will pay Rs 3 lakh to the state government on account of their admission in violation of the MCI regulations and the total amount received by the state government from the 117 students will be spent for improvement of infrastructure and laboratories in the government medical colleges of the state and for no other purpose,” the bench said.

“The college which was responsible for making the admissions in violation of MCI regulations will surrender 107 MBBS seats to the state government phase wise, not more than 10 in any academic year beginning from the academic year 2012-2013 and these surrendered seats will be filled up by the students selected in RPMT or any other common entrance test conducted by the state government,” the bench said.

Source: PTI

Punjab govt to take action against fake universities

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 1, 2012

The Punjab government has issued instructions to the district education officers to start departmental action against all employees working on the basis of certificates from fake universities.

Education minister Sikander Singh Maluka on Friday said written instructions have been given to all district education authorities in this regard.

He said 21 universities have been enlisted as fake by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Maluka said the Punjab government would not consider certificates of these fake universities while appointing a candidate for the government service.

He said the District Education Authority would be responsible for the scrutiny of certificates of the employees at the district headquarters.

He said District Education Officers must strictly implement the instructions so no impostor got government service through bogus certificates.

Source: PTI

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