UGC releases guidelines for reopening of higher educational institutions

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November 6, 2020

The University Grants Commission (UGC) released guidelines advising higher education institutions, outside containment zones, to reopen in phases. The regulator stated that the institutions must start opening with research, masters and final-year undergraduate students. However, the number of students attending classes on campus, at a given time, should not be more than half the total student strength.

Higher institutions and schools across the country are closed since March 16. Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed state governments to decide on phased reopening after October 15.

Aside from standard precautions of regular disinfection of premises and screening of teachers and students on campus, the higher education regulator has also suggested institutions extend teaching hours and follow a six-day schedule to accommodate students in batches and ensure social distancing.

Also read: UGC extends application deadline for scholarship programmes

Wearing a mask is mandatory for all teachers and staff on campus. Attendance for students will be voluntary. Universities have been asked to continue online classes for students who wish to study remotely.

Residential campuses will be allowed to operate hostels where it is necessary, but sharing of rooms has been forbidden.

“Isolation facilities for symptomatic persons and quarantine facilities for those who were in contact with the positively tested persons should be there on campus or a tie-up may be made in advance with some Government hospital or approved premises or as advised by the local authorities so that, in case of necessity, prompt action may be taken. Proper arrangement of safety, health, food, water etc. should be ensured for those in quarantine and isolation facilities,” the guidelines also stated.

Delhi HC seeks replies over non-payment of DU staffers’ salaries

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November 5, 2020

The Delhi High Court Thursday sought response of 12 Delhi University colleges, which are fully funded by the AAP government, on a plea challenging the decision asking the institutes to pay outstanding salaries of staffers from the Students Society Fund (SSF).

Justice Jyoti Singh issued notices to the 12 colleges and asked them to respond to the petition filed by Delhi University Students Union (DUSU), which has challenged the October 16 order of Delhi government asking the institutes to pay the salaries of over 1,500 staff — both teaching and non-teaching — from the students fund.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on November 9, when another similar petition is to be heard.

Also read: Schools asked to refund access fee: High Court to Delhi government

“Let some money come to these colleges and teachers also,” the judge orally observed.

The high court said the October 23 interim order, putting a stay on the decision asking the 12 DU colleges to pay outstanding salaries of staffers from the students’ fund, will continue till further orders.

The 12 colleges which are affiliated with the Delhi University and are fully funded by the Delhi government are Acharya Narendra Dev College, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, Bhagini Nivedita College, DeenDayal Upadhyaya College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya Women’s College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College (DU), Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

The high court had on October 23 issued notice to the Directorate of Higher Education, Delhi University and Delhi government and sought their replies on the petition by DUSU.

Punjab govt constitutes school education reform teams

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November 5, 2020

Punjab government has constituted District School Education Reform Teams to monitor the activities of schools.

According to Information and Public Relations Department Punjab, a spokesperson of the school education department said that the concerned District Education Officer (Sec. Edu.) would be the head of the District Education Reform Team. These teams will coordinate to the respective DM/BM of their district and assist in the qualitative improvement of education by formulating its plan in line with the activities of ‘Parho Punjab, Paraho Punjab’.

Also read: Punjab government to appoint 8,393 pre-primary teachers

According to the spokesperson, these teams would assist in the successful completion of ongoing projects like Punjab Achievement Survey, Smart School Project, English Booster Club, Welcome Life, Buddy Group, Mission Shat-Pratishat and enrolment drive. These teams will motivate school principals, teachers and others to transform their schools into smart schools. At the same time they will guide the school heads to follow the instructions issued by the government regarding Covid-19.

Dr Sanjay Kumar Mallick joins DY Patil International School, Bokaro as founder principal

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November 5, 2020

DY Patil International School, Bokaro, Jharkhand has appointed Dr Sanjay Kumar Mallick as its new founder principal. Dr Mallick is having 32 years of experience in the education sector. He has also served 18 years in the Indian Air Force.

Dr Mallick is a psychologist, motivator, author, certified career counsellor, and trainer. Earlier, he was principal of Sant Nandlal Smriti Vidya Mandir for more than four years. He has served in DPS, Bokaro for 8 years.

Also read: Bhimaraya Metri appointed as new director of IIM Nagpur

DY Patil International School, Bokaro is one of the oldest groups in the country. The campus is clustered among old trees and lush greenery, creating a pleasant and inviting learning environment. ICT at DYPIS is a valuable tool that supports learning, communication, thinking, planning and problem solving for all students across all curriculum areas and is integrated into everyday learning. The School is Wi-Fi enabled.

Rajasthan College Education Department inks five MoUs

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November 4, 2020

In a major development, Directorate of College Education, Rajasthan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 5 institutions for quality improvement in education. College Education Commissioner Sandesh Nayak signed these MoUs on behalf of the department. He said that the quality of education remains a pivot in the new education policy. Unless education becomes a matter of concern and efforts, it will be difficult to establish qualitative changes in it, he added.

He also said more than 12 lakh students studying in 332 government and more than 1700 private colleges in the state, has been given voluntary organizations to provide employment skills training, train teachers and pave the way for the development of institutions. The govt is eyeing to bring it together.

Also read: Rajasthan CM inaugurates nine higher and 10 technical colleges

On the other hand, the Manav Nirman Sansthan, Jaipur has entered into MoU to prepare the youth for competitive examinations for participation in the implementation of various programs and schemes for character building and institutional development among the youth.

Dr Vinod Bhardwaj, Officer-in-charge of Innovation and Development in the Commissionerate of Operations of the program. During this period, Additional Commissioner of College Education BL Goel and other officials were present.

Not possible to conduct upcoming CA exams online, ICAI tells SC

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November 4, 2020

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) told the Supreme Court that it cannot hold the upcoming CA exam online as suggested by some of the candidates, in view of COVID-19, as it tests the analytical capabilities of the examinees.

The ICAI said its 3-hour exam is of a different pattern altogether, which have descriptive answers and not tick marks.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna asked the ICAI to publish on its website the steps taken for students welfare with regard to COVID-19 and disposed of the petition seeking a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the examinees in the upcoming CA exams. The Chartered Accountant exams are scheduled to be held on November 21 to December 14.

During the hearing, senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan, appearing for the ICAI, said that they don’t have any isolation room as examination centres and don’t have the facilities for doctors.

Also read: ICAI to SC: Will assess feasibility of conducting CA exams

He said that as directed by the top court in its last hearing, they have examined all the suggestions given by advocate Bansuri Swaraj, representing the petitioners.

“There was suggestion that can we hold an online exams. Ours exams has different pattern and therefore we cannot hold the online examination”, he said, adding that they test the analytical capabilities of examinees. The bench then told Swaraj that petitioners need to be reasonable in their demands and it was not satisfied with their responses.

Srinivasan further said that transport and accommodation was also sought by the petitioner but that is not possible.

Prasar Bharati to launch 51 education TV channels

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November 4, 2020

India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati inked MoU with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to launch 51 direct-to-home (DTH) education TV channels.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Prasar Bharati and Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology aims to bring quality educational programmes to every household, including those in rural and remote areas.

Also read: AP CM launches Jaganna Vidya Kanuka scheme

“Under the ambit of this MoU, 51 DTH education TV channels comprising Swaymprabha (22 channels) (M/o Education), e-Vidya for classes 1 to 12 (12 channels) of NCERT, Vande Gujarat (Govt. of Gujarat) (16 channels) and DigiShala under M/o Electronics and IT (1 channel) shall be available as DD co-branded channels to all DD FreeDish viewers. This move aims to bring quality educational programmes to every household, including those in rural and remote areas,” it said.

The services will be available free of cost for all the viewers 24×7, in line with government’s commitment towards skill development and providing quality education to the last person in the country, it said.

“This government initiative will go a long way in achieving Government’s goal of providing education to all,” the statement said.

AP CM promotes stress-free education for students

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November 4, 2020

In a major development, Andhra Pradesh State Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed the officials to choose a stress-free education after the five-month-long break caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chief minister has stated that the students must not be forced to complete the syllabus in a rush due to the delay caused due to the pandemic.

The Chief Minister told the Higher Education officials that education must be pleasant without any pressure. He also directed the officials to follow the central government instructions to take the required decisions. Officials have also been directed to implement Vasati Deevana and Vidya Deevana for the current academic year.

Also read: Delhi govt school students get lesson in social entrepreneurship

With regard to licensing and regulation of private universities, it has been decided that 50 percent of seats should be filled under the convenor quota and the remaining 50 percent under the college quota. The fee structure for the convenor quota will be fixed by the state government and will also consider the economically weaker students for fee reimbursement.

Officials have also been asked to focus on the integrated courses according to the industry requirement and asked for newer courses in the Polytechnic and Engineering streams. He also added that the state government is setting up a skill development centre in each of the parliamentary constituencies to improve the skill sets of youngsters who have completed polytechnic and engineering courses.

The schools in Andhra Pradesh have been conducting online classes for the students since March 2020 when the schools were shut during the pandemic.

UPSC CDS II final result 2020 declared

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November 4, 2020

Union Public Service Commission has declared UPSC CDS II Final Result 2020. Candidates who have appeared for the examination can check their results on the official site of UPSC on upsc.gov.in. A total of 241 candidates have qualified on the basis of the result of the Combined Defence Services Examination II 2019.

The result has been declared for Officers Training Academy. Earlier the result was announced on September 1, 2020. Suresh Chandra had topped the exam followed by Pravesh Kumar and Jatin Garg have secured rank 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Also read: UPSC announces NDA I and II Results 2020; check details

The number of vacancies to be filled is 100 for Indian Military Academy which includes 13 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ certificates, 45 for Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala Executive, including 06 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ Certificate holders and 32 vacancies for Air Force Academy, Hyderabad which includes 3 vacancies are reserved for NCC ’C’ Certificate (Air Wing) holders. Check more related details through the official site of UPSC.

Steps to check UPSC CDS II Final Result 2020

-Visit the official site of UPSC on upsc.gov.in

-Click on UPSC CDS II Final Result 2020 link available on the home page

-A new page will open where candidates can check the result

-Download the PDF file and keep a hard copy of the same for further need

IIT Madras alumni association launches free classes for professionals

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November 3, 2020

To help Indians, especially working professionals and students to grow on professional and personal dimensions, the alumni association of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is offering free masterclass series. These classes are being offered completely free of cost under the association’s annual flagship global event ‘Sangam 2020’.

Under the theme driving the new normal classes will train learners on how governments, businesses, and individuals can convert moment of crisis caused by the global pandemic to an era of opportunities.

The masterclasses being launched by IITMAA include lessons on SPRING – bouncing back from rejection, enhancing engagement in an attention-starved world — gamification in business and education, neuroscience, meditation and mental well-being — a journey into the heart to achieve personal mastery and excellence.

Also read: Incubated at IIT Madras develops gamified coding platform for school children

An official said “Sangam 2020 is about us driving a new normal. In this context, we have carefully chosen the masterclasses based on feedback from our IIT Madras alumni. The pandemic has deeply impacted our everyday lives and these classes will teach us skills to respond to these challenges and thrive.”

Meanwhile, students from IIT-Madras had developed a digital game ‘IITM Covid Game’ to create awareness among the general public, particularly children, on the importance of following governmental precautions to safeguard themselves against COVID-19.

The game is available free of cost and available in English as well as several Indian regional languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu.

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