Pokhriyal lauds educational institutions for conducting final year exams

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November 19, 2020

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank hailed educational institutions for conducting final year college exams successfully in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. The minister also praised educational institutes and teachers for switching to online platforms for teaching during the pandemic.

“We took a strong stand and decided to conduct the exams. Some people opposed the decision, some went to the Supreme Court, but the SC also quashed their petitions and ruled that exams should be held,” Pokhriyal said.

When the decision to conduct JEE and NEET exams (for engineering and medical courses) was taken, some people hit the road to protest, but the majority of students who had burned the midnight oil to prepare wanted exams to be held, he said.

Also read: Pokhriyal: Committed to make India as a global hub of education

“The holding of JEE and NEET was so successful that the Election Commission, when asked how would they hold Bihar elections during the pandemic…their reply was they will adopt the pattern used for the conduct of JEE and NEET,” the minister said.

The new education policy stresses that students should be taught in their mother tongues because experts believe that it improves comprehension, he said.

“We do not oppose English but we insist on mother tongue….take the example of Japan, Germany, Israel, who prefer their own language to impart education and none of these countries are lagging behind in any field,” he added.

The new education policy is also the foundation of ‘atma-nirbharata’ (self reliance) because it introduces vocational training at early stage, he said.

UP CM hails SC order on assistant basic teachers recruitment

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November 18, 2020

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the Supreme Court order allowing it to fill up vacancies of 69,000 assistant basic teachers in the state as per results declared by it in May.

Adityanath said, “The Supreme Court judgement has put its stamp on the UP Government’s decision. Shiksha Mitras who have not got a chance will be given another chance by the state government.” Instructions have been issued to the Basic Education department to take permission from the Election Commission to distribute appointment letters to the selected candidates.

Also read: UP CM Adityanath launches portal for career and employment

According to an official of the Basic Education department, Shiksha Mitras are para-teachers, who were appointed by their respective village panchayats before 2010 in primary schools.At present there are over 1.50 lakh Shiksha Mitras in the state. The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to fill up vacancies of 69,000 assistant basic teachers in the state as per results declared by it in May.

A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit dismissed a batch of petitions including the one filed by the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shiksha Mitra Association’ challenging the Allahabad High Court’s decision to uphold the cut off marks for selection of assistant basic teachers in the states. The bench, in its judgement, said it has recorded the submission of the state government that a ‘Shiksha Mitra’ who has been unable to crack the test, would be given another chance to compete in the next selection.

Financepeer signs Rohit Sharma as its brand ambassador

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November 18, 2020

Country’s leading education fee financing segment Financepeer, has collaborated with star cricketer Rohit Sharma as its brand ambassador.

The ace batsman will be helping in transforming the education sector and introduce innovation across different segments of education with Financepeer.

The new partnership will help bolster the reach of Financepeer – ed tech and fintech platform, among the Indian parents and schools.

There has been a significant increase in number of parents depending on school fee financing models this year.

Also read: Financepeer provides relief to parents in Covid-19 crisis

Established in 2017, Financepeer has impacted a million lives with their business model that ensures access to education and seamless operations of schools.

Apart from fee financing solution, Financepeer offers insurance cover and digital learning platform, thus catering to holistic education needs of parents and students.

Rohit said, “I am pleased to be associated with Financepeer. I believe they have an interesting business model catering to the most important sector – education.”

Founder and CEO of Financepeer, Rohit Gajbhiye said, “We are extremely happy and honoured to collaborate with Rohit Sharma. Our brand is represented by our core values, transparency, integrity, accountability and commitment to society.”

Financepeer aims at making quality education accessible and affordable to the masses.

With its innovation in services and digital technologies, the edtech company has provided holistic education to almost one million students across the country.

Higher education institutes to reopen in UP from Nov 23

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November 18, 2020

According to officials, Higher education institutes in Uttar Pradesh will start classes from November 23 following UGC guidelines.

The classes will run with certain restrictions like maintaining social distancing, using hand sanitisers, thermal scanning and other facilities, according to the government order.

Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education, Monika Garg has issued a detailed order to all the state and private universities, district magistrates and registrars, the spokesperson said.

The classes will be run in a phased manner and it has been made mandatory for teachers, students, and employees to wear identity cards, he said.

Also read: UGC: Higher Education Institutions can apply for online courses till Oct 15

The institutions have been asked to prepare an academic calendar and run classes as per rotation with 50 per cent students.

The UGC had last week notified guidelines for reopening of universities and colleges across the country which have been closed since March in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For central universities and other centrally-funded higher education institutions, the decision for reopening of campuses has been left to the vice-chancellors and heads.

However, for state universities and colleges, the respective state governments were asked to take a call.

The universities and colleges were asked to plan the opening of campuses in a phased manner, with such activities that adhere to COVID-19 norms, including social distancing, use of face masks and other protective measures.

As per the UGC guidelines, students and staff are advised not to visit areas falling within containment zones.

Srinagar to upgrade 180 government schools to smart schools

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November 18, 2020

On an ambitious project, the Srinagar district administration will upgrade 180 government-run schools as “smart schools” by equipping them with modern amenities and learning tools.

The overall objective of the project is to improve the learning outcome of public schools and bring them at par with private schools. A dedicated team has been constituted for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the project, to be completed within six months at a cost of Rs 6 crore.

Under the project, a part of the Jammu and Kashmir government’s ‘Back to Village’ programme, the administration will upgrade infrastructure of these schools and improve learning outcome through a range of interventions, including capacity building of teachers.

Also read: Odisha Govt to upgrade schools for science education of SC/ST students

Some of interventions being made are refurbishing of buildings where required, upgrading of furniture and equipment, round-the-clock power and water supplies, and establishment of libraries, science laboratories, IT labs and smart classes, the officials said.

They said other highlights of the project are HR management, capacity building and training of teachers, continuous evaluation and society involvement, sporting infrastructure and games, skills labs, and innovation grant.

Before embarking on upgrade of the 180 schools — 120 in urban areas and 60 in rural areas of the district — the administration conducted a pilot project and modernised 25 schools during the last fiscal.

Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said the project was close to his heart and added that everything necessary would be done for modernising the schools.

Bihar NEET counselling 2020 merit list released

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November 18, 2020

The Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB) has officially released the Bihar UGMAC Merit List 2020. Aspirants can now check their merit position for state-quota of NEET 2020 counselling online by visiting website bceceboard.bihar.gov.in.

Along with the publication of Bihar NEET 2020 Counselling Merit List, the BCECEB has also released the Bihar UGMAC Rank Cards 2020 for all the qualified candidates. All candidates who had qualified for NEET 2020 counselling under state quota can now download their Bihar UGMAC Rank Cards 2020 by clicking on the link provided below. In order to download the UGMAC Rank Cards, candidates will need to provide their UGMAC ID and Date of Birth of the official website i.e. bceceboard.bihar.gov.in.

Also read: Bihar 12th dummy admit card 2021 released

Following the publication of Bihar NEET 2020 Counselling Merit List, candidates will be required to complete the choice locking process. As part of this, candidates will be required to log onto the portal using their UGMAC ID and password generated at the time of Bihar MBBS registration. Thereafter, they will be required to submit the necessary preference for colleges and courses. Candidates are allowed to provide multiple choices for the same. On the basis of the Bihar MBBS state merit rank, preferences of colleges/courses, availability of seats in a particular college, reservation criteria and other factors, the seats to medical and dental college will be allotted.

SC rejects plea for waiver of CBSE exam fees

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November 17, 2020

In a major move, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking direction to the CBSE and the Delhi government to waive exam fees for students of classes 10 and 12 in the current academic year.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah dismissed the petition filed by NGO ‘Social Jurist’ against the September 28 order of the Delhi High Court.

“How can the court direct the government to do this? You should give a representation to the government… Dismissed,” the bench said. The high court had asked the AAP government and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to treat the PIL as a representation and take a decision “in accordance with law, rules, regulations and government policy applicable to the facts of the case” within three weeks.

Also read: HRD Minister may take call on pending CBSE exams

“In the current year 2020-21, CBSE has demanded Examination fee from Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,800 from students of class X and Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,400 from class XII students depending upon number of subjects, practical, etc,” the plea said. In the last academic year, the Delhi government had paid examination fees to the CBSE of students of class X and XII, but in 2020-21, it has refused to do so citing financial crunch, it said. The NGO sought direction to the CBSE to waive the fee or direct the Centre to pay to CBSE from “the PM Care Fund or from any other available resources”, it said.

AICTE: Institutes to decide on tech degree nomenclature

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November 17, 2020

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) will not be providing equivalence of nomenclatures for different engineering and technology branches for higher education or faculty recruitment purposes. The council said it is for the institution to take a call on them.

The technical education regulator had in 2017 published a gazette notification regarding major or core branches of engineering and their appropriate courses leading to a degree in Engineering or Technology for recruitment in teaching positions.

“In spite this, the council receives a large number of grievances from faculty members and requests from governments, Directorates of Technical Education (DTEs) pertaining to eligibility for faculty positions in the AICTE approved institutions,” an official order said.

Also read: AICTE revises calendar: Academic session will start from Dec 1

“In view of the above, it is to clarify that, AICTE will not be providing equivalence to the qualifications obtained from the council approved institution and departments at any level for higher education purpose as well as for employment purpose,” it added.

“The list comprises all nomenclatures which AICTE had approved for their institutions to run. However, it is beyond the scope of AICTE to include and update from time to time the nomenclatures offered by various IITs, NITs, universities as these institutions are empowered to start courses with the approval of their board of governors or an academic council without the knowledge of AICTE,” member secretary Rajive Kumar had said.

Universities must play vital role in innovation: Naidu

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November 17, 2020

India can become the hub of knowledge and innovation and universities have to play a leading role in fostering a climate of creativity, inventiveness and enterprise, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said. The universities must not only become the centers of cutting-edge research but must also establish close linkages with the industry, he said.

Observing that the need of the hour was to channelize the energies of the youth in constructive, nation-building activities, he advised the youth to join the forces of growth and shun negativism. Pointing out that the nation was passing through a critical juncture and was facing many challenges, he advised the youth to come up with innovative solutions to tackle the pressing problems from coronavirus to climate change.

Also read: SC: Universities allowed to hold exams for 1st and 2nd year students

“This is the time for all sections, particularly the youth to be at the forefront of making India stronger on all fronts,” the vice president said. He urged the youth to be the torchbearers in eradicating Illiteracy, combating diseases, meeting challenges in the farm sector, ending social evils and discrimination of any sort like atrocities on women and eliminating corruption to build a New and Resurgent India.

In his first physical public interaction after the announcement of the COVID-19-induced lockdown in March, Naidu expressed happiness that the new education policy proposes a National Research Foundation to oversee research in the country and accords priority to skill-based education by imparting “21st century employability skills”.

Observing that the education sector, like others, also faced unprecedented disruption in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, he said it has brought forth new challenges for both teachers and learners.

After states announce 10th and 12th exam delay, all eyes on CBSE

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November 17, 2020

There is a dilemma witnessed across the country over the CBSE dates. The announcement of CBSE 2021 Board exam dates are highly anticipated by students and other stakeholders across the country. Various state boards such as Maharashtra and Gujarat postponing the Class 10 and 12 Board exams 2021 to May. The boards are also expecting CBSE to take a decision on similar lines.

Maharashtra state Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad recently confirmed that conducting Maharashtra Class 10 and 12 Board exams prior to May 2021 is not possible. The Gujarat State Government also announced that the GSEB Class 10th and 12th Board exams 2021 will be conducted in May next year. The Andhra Pradesh State Government has also hinted on a delay in the conducting of Board Intermediate Exams in April instead of February.

Also read: CBSE announces scholarship for single girl child

The CBSE along with CISCE had said both the two National Boards are contemplating on whether to Postpone Class 10 and 12 Board exams 2021 or reduce syllabus or employ a combination of both. The CBSE usually announces the date sheet for the Class 10 and 12 Board exams in the month of December.

With the postponement of Class 10 and 12 Board exams by several State Boards, CBSE’s decision is highly anticipated. There has been no update on CBSE 2021 date sheet as of now and is expected to come from the Ministry of Education directly.

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