Online education is likely to continue for another academic year in the telangana state

 Hyderabad: Online education is likely to continue for another academic year in the state, owing to the current pandemic situation, and in anticipation of a third wave of Coronavirus in the country, government sources told this correspondent.

An official in the state education department said students and parents should be prepared to further adapt to the lack of physical, face-to-face classes at least until the end of this year for the academic session of 2021-22. "Even with the first wave of the pandemic that was only half as deadly as the second wave, educational institutes were not opened in February. As we prepare for a third wave now, online education is the only way," said the official.

The new academic year in the state is so far scheduled to begin from mid-June, once schools reopen after summer vacations on June 1. Some private schools' bodies like the Telangana Recognised Schools' Management Association (TRSMA) are demanding that the government releases an academic calendar soon so as to prepare teachers as well as students in time.

On Monday, the central and state education ministries will hold a meeting to discuss the future of online education and the expenditure required to set up further facilities. Sources told this newspaper that education secretaries of all states, with Union Education Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' and Education Secretary to GoI Anita Karwal will hold an interactive session to discuss how to make online education the priority for all expenditure even under Samagra Shiksha programme.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/140521/online-education-likely-to-continue-till-year-end.html

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Telangana State: Scholarship registration date extended till March 31st

 Hyderabad: The Telangana State government is offering post-matric scholarships for SC, ST, BC, EBC, minorities and physically challenged students and registrations can be done on the Telangana e-Pass website https://telanganaepass.cgg.gov.in/

The last date for registration of students and colleges on Telangana e-Pass website for sanction of fresh and renewal of scholarships for the academic year 2020-21 has been extended up to February 15.

The State government is offering post-matric scholarships for SC, ST, BC, EBC, minorities and physically challenged students and registrations can be done on the website https://telanganaepass.cgg.gov.in/


Due to Covid-19 pandemic rules, all educational institutions remained shut and they have been permitted to conduct online classes for students, who were attending the same from their homes, it said.

“With this, eligible students are not aware about last date of registration. Hence, they have not registered on e-Pass so far. Further, the admissions for various degree and PG courses are not yet completed. Considering these facts, government extended the date to March 31st, 2021 to open the e-Pass website for registrations of students and colleges for sanction of renewal and fresh scholarships for the academic year 2020-21,” it added.

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Subramaniam Swamy Asks Why Govt Being So Obstinate to Postpone NEET, JEE Main Exams

NEET, JEE Main 2020 Latest News: After witnessing massive support from state governments and students and other political leaders calling for postponement of NEET, JEE Main 2020, Rajya Sabha MP Subramaniam Swamy on Tuesday asked why the Centre is so obstinate. Also Read - NEET, JEE Main 2020: After Urging Centre, Mamata Banerjee Writes to PM Modi to Postpone Exams.

Taking to Twitter, Swamy said that the time has come for PM Modi to take a call and order the postponement of the exams. Also Read - NEET, JEE Main 2020: Here’s a Look at Safety Protocols For Aspirants Amid COVID-19.

“With so many state governments calling for postponement of NEET/JEE examination, and even Allen Coaching also, why the Ministry of Education being so obstinate ? PM Modi must take a call and order the postponement—now,” he said in a tweet.

On Monday, the Rajya Sabha MP said if the Central government goes through imposing the NEET/JEE exam now it will be a ‘giant mistake’ like the ‘Nasbandi’ in 1976 that resulted in the undoing of the Indira Gandhi government in 1977.

“If our Modi Government goes through imposing the NEET/JEE exam now it will be the giant mistake like Nasbandi in 1976 that caused the undoing of Indira government in 1977. Indian voters may suffer silently but have long memories,” Swamy had said in a tweet.

This reaction from Swamy comes amid the demands from students, parents and political leaders to postpone the entrance exams keeping in mind the coronavirus situation in the country.

The mass ruckus has broken out across the country after the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET (UG) on September 13.

Earlier in the day, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urged the Centre to take steps for postponing the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as it will be unsafe for students to physically appear in the exams in this pandemic time.

On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to PM Modi to postpone the JEE and NEET exams due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, saying lives of students should not be put at risk by taking such unilateral and bureaucratic decisions.

https://www.india.com/education/neet-jee-main-2020-subramaniam-swamy-asks-why-govt-being-so-obstinate-to-postpone-exams-4121840/

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Over 4,000 students demanding postponement of NEET, JEE Main 2020 by a day-long hunger strike

JEE Main, NEET 2020 Exam News: According to the leftist All India Students Association (AISA), over 4,200 students observed the day-long hunger strike at their respective home demanding that CBSE compartment exams of Classes 10 and 12 be cancelled.

The chorus for postponing various examinations, including NEET and JEE, grew louder on Sunday with over 4,000 students observed a day-long hunger strike to press for the demand in view of rising COVID-19 cases.

The protest came on a day Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the government must listen to the ‘mann ki baat’ of students and arrive at “an acceptable solution” and his party demanded that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) be deferred.

According to the leftist All India Students Association (AISA), over 4,200 students observed the day-long hunger strike at their respective home demanding that CBSE compartment exams of Classes 10 and 12 be cancelled and entrance exams such as the UGC-NET, CLAT, NEET and JEE be postponed.

Using the hashtag, SATYAGRAHagainstExamInCovid, many students also took to Twitter to appeal to the government to heed to their demands.

Manoj S, a JEE aspirant from Karnataka, said, “We have to report to the JEE exam centre at 7 am. My centre is almost 150 kilometres away and there are no train or bus services available currently. “Many of my friends have said that their centres are 200 to 250 kilometres away. How are we supposed to travel? How will we write exams wearing masks for seven to eight hours?”

He urged the government to postpone the exams till normalcy is restored.

Anisha, hailing from Odisha, said with all the hotels and guest houses closed, where would they stay in case they have to travel for exams.

“I am from Balasore and my NEET exam centre is in Bhubaneswar. I will have to travel for five hours to take my exam. There are no hotels or guesthouses that are open. Where will we stay?” she said.

Siddh Dutt, who will be appearing for CBSE compartment exam, said, “I am an asthma patient. I am scared of what may happen to me if I catch COVID-19.”

Madhurima, who said she has to take four different entrance exams, wants authorities to listen to her appeal — “Please produce a vaccine so that we can take exams. “I am a JEE, IISER, DUET aspirant and also have to take another entrance exam,” she said.

Md Danish Khan from Bhagalpur in Bihar said he has been “allotted an exam centre in Patna, which is a COVID-19 hotspot”. “I do not want to risk the lives of my relatives by staying at their place when I go to take the exam. I also stay in a joint family and if I contract the virus, it will create a chain of infection,” he said.

A Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) aspirant from Kolkata, who requested anonymity, said she fears for her parents’ safety during this time.

“My father is a diabetic and my mother just had an operation for a tumour. Even if they go to drop me to the exam centre using public transport, I will be putting them at risk. The government is not ready to listen to us.

“We will have to sit and write the exams wearing masks, gloves and headgear under hot weather conditions,” she said.
Other students also shared similar woes and urged the government to postpone entrance exams and declare the academic year as a “zero year”.

The AISA lent solidarity to the demands of the students.

A day ago, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had appealed to the central government to cancel medical and engineering entrance exams JEE and NEET in view of the COVID-19 situation. He also said an alternative admission methodology should be used this year and the exams should not be conducted.

On Friday, Education Ministry officials had said the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) and the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) will be conducted in September as scheduled.

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh said student representatives of some universities, including Hyderabad Central University, Aligarh Muslim University and JNU, have written to the National Testing Agency over issues pertaining to the recently declared exam date of UGC NET.

“We request the authorities to address the logistical issues, before going ahead with the exam,” she tweeted. JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh tweeted

Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. A nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day and threw economic activities out of gear.

India’s COVID-19 tally sprinted past the 30-lakh mark on Sunday, just 16 days after it crossed 20 lakh, while 22,80,566 people have recuperated in the country so far pushing the recovery rate to 74.90 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

https://indianexpress.com/article/education/jee-main-neet-over-4000-students-observing-a-day-long-hunger-strike-demanding-postponement-of-exams-6567584/

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6 top research scholarships for Indian students

Research scholarship is a broad category of scholarships and fellowships that are given to students for the purpose of research at graduate, postgraduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels. Research plays a crucial role in a variety of fields including science, technology, engineering, medicine, etc.

There are various research institutions that offer scholarships for students to carry out research in specific fields. Furthermore, institutions such as IITs, IISc, IISERs, NITs, ICAR also offer fellowships and grants to support the research study of scholars in various fields. Here is the list of top six research scholarships for Indian students that one must keep track.

Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund Scholarships: This scholarship is meant for postgraduate students who are registered or admitted in a PhD programme at a recognised university or institution in India. Applicable for two years, this scholarship supports research in specialisations including sociology, Indian history, economics, geography, ecology, and environment etc. The candidates who are below 35 years of age and have obtained at least 60 per cent marks in both graduation and postgraduation can apply for this scholarship.

Provider Details: Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund
Eligibility: Students enrolled in PhD programmes
Awards: Up to Rs 18,000 per month and other benefits
Application Timeline: Between May and June (tentative)
Application Mode: By post (to Administrative Secretary of Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund)

Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship – IIT Ropar: Introduced with an objective to encourage bright minds to carry out research programmes at IIT-Ropar, this fellowship offers financial support to students having a PhD degree. It is mandatory for students to apply within five years after the completion of PhD. The fellowship is also open for candidates who have completed their PhD thesis under the supervision or co-supervision of IIT-Ropar faculty members. In this case, students are allowed to apply after three years of completion of their PhD degree.

Provider Details: Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar
Eligibility: PhD degree holders
Awards: Rs 45,000 to Rs 55,000 and other benefits
Application Timeline: Round the year
Application Mode: By post or in-hand application submission to the department/center in which the candidate intends to join as a Post-Doctoral Fellow

SERB National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF): This fellowship aims to identify motivated young researchers and provide them with support to carry out research in frontier areas of science and engineering. Under this fellowship, the students below the age of 35 who have obtained a PhD/MD/MS degree from a recognised university can avail variable benefits to carry out research at postdoctoral level. The candidates who have submitted their PhD/MD/MS thesis and are awaiting award can also apply. However, they will receive a lower fellowship amount till they qualify the degree.

Provider Details: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)
Eligibility: PhD/MD/MS degree holders
Awards: Monthly stipend up to Rs 55,000 and other benefits
Application Timeline: Between April and May (tentative)
Application Mode: Online, through the official website of SERB

Teachers Associateship for Research Excellence (TARE): This initiative of SERB is meant for students having a PhD degree in Science or MD/MS in medicine or ME/MTech in engineering or technology. The key objective of the scheme is to facilitate mobility of faculty members working in state universities/colleges and private academic institutions to carry out research in renowned institutions such as IITs, IISc, IISERs, etc. The age of the candidates should be less than 45 years and they must not hold any ongoing research projects or fellowship at the time of application submission.

Provider Details: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)
Eligibility: PhD in Science or MD/MS in medicine or ME/MTech in engineering or technology degree
holders
Awards: Rs 60,000 per annum and research grant of Rs 5 lakh per annum
Application Timeline: Between March and April (tentative)
Application Mode: Online, through official website of SERB

ICMR Centenary-Post Doctoral Research Fellowship Scheme: This fellowship aims to support PhD/MD/MS degree holders to pursue research in the area of basic science, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and reproductive health including nutrition at ICMR institutions and centers. The candidates are required to apply for this fellowship within three years of completion of PhD/MD/MS. The age of the candidates should be below 32 years on the date of application.

Provider Details: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Eligibility: PhD/MD/MS degree holders
Awards: Rs 50,000 per month and other benefits
Application Timeline: Between July and December (tentative)
Application Mode: By post (to the Director General of ICMR)

Prime Minister Research Fellowship (PMRF): This fellowship aims to promote technical research studies and attract the meritorious students to pursue doctoral programmes at leading institutions in India. The students who have completed or pursuing BTech or MTech, MSc or integrated MTech or MSc degree can avail benefits under this scheme.

They are required to apply for a PhD programme at one of the PMRF granting institutes either through direct entry channel or lateral entry channel.

Provider Details: Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
Eligibility: BTech graduate, final year BTech, integrated MTech, integrated MSc students from IISc/IITs/NITs/IISER/IIITs
Awards: Stipend up to Rs 80,000 per month and other benefits
Application Timeline: Round the year
Application Mode: Apply through the PMRF granting institutions

https://indianexpress.com/article/education/top-6-research-scholarships-for-indian-students-6566150/

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Education Minister calls exam reforms in National Institute Of Open Schooling

The National Institute of Open Schooling needs to introduce reforms in its examination process so that the integrity of the institution cannot be questioned, Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said on Monday. He made the comments at a review meeting with officials of the open school. The meeting was also attended by School Education Secretary Anita Karwal.

"During the meeting, the minister discussed strengthening the examination mechanism. He said if we found some irregularities within the institution, we should take tough action against the culprit. He directed the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) officials that if they received any complaint against NIOS examination centres, they should resolve the complaint as soon as possible," the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement.

"The minister also directed the NIOS officials to reform the examination process so that no one can question the integrity of the prestigious institution. It was suggested that a dashboard must be created containing detailed information and contacts of all centres across the country.

It will have all the information and suggestions from stakeholders so that transparency will be increased in the system," it said.

During the meeting, suggestions were made about drafting NIOS syllabus on the lines of NCERT so that students can get a better understanding of the subject.

"The minister also reviewed the work of NIOS during COVID-19 crisis. NIOS officials briefed him that they are running four channels for their students, out of which, two are dedicated for secondary and higher secondary level.

The NIOS officials also informed that they are now providing six hours fresh content daily to their students, including weekends, which were only for two hours before the COVID-19 crisis," the statement added.

https://www.timesnownews.com/education/article/education-minister-calls-for-exam-reforms-in-national-institute-of-open-schooling-details/642144

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Unlock 4.0 guidelines: Will educational institutions reopen?

New Delhi, Aug 24: The Ministry of Home Affairs will soon announce the Unlock 4.0 guidelines. While announcing Unlock 3.0, the MHA had allowed Yoga institutes and gymnasiums to open. The MHA had however extended the lockdown until August 31 and had said that educational institutions would remain closed.

Educational institutions have remained shut for the past five months. A decision on whether or not to open educational institutions is likely to be taken on September 1. Guidelines on the same would be issued by the end of this month. There is however no confirmation on whether the schools would allowed to open or not. Guidelines are being prepared and a final decision is expected soon. There are reports which suggest that educational institutes may open in a staggered manner to ensure that there is maximum precaution taken. Further relaxations on public transport etc are also expected. Last week the MHA had instructed all states not to prevent any inter and intra-state transport for both persons as well as the movement of goods.

https://www.oneindia.com/india/unlock-4-0-guidelines-will-educational-institutions-open-3138385.html

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Online higher education sector to be worth $5 billion by FY25

 If the implementation of the latest National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 goes as planned, the move is set to open up several opportunities for online higher education. With the policy paving way for more formal education and skill development, an analysis by RedSeer Management Consulting has found that the online higher education and lifelong learning will be a $5-billion opportunity by financial year (FY) 2024-25. This will be a ten-fold growth from an industry size of $500 million in FY20.

The RedSeer Analysis juxtaposes growth of online higher education and lifelong learning on the potential growth in higher education among students and skill development among working professionals going forward. For instance, currently of the total addressable market (TAM) in FY20 for higher education stands at around 40 million students and 50 million working professional for lifelong learning. However, at present online paid users in FY20 is still 500,000 or 0.5 million each, which has a potential to grow on the back of the government's target of achieving 50 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) by 2035.

Hence, growth in opportunity for online higher education can come on the back of expected growth in student enrolment in higher education, up from 40 million in FY20 to 53 million by FY25, to 70 million by FY30 and 92 million by FY35, with the GER climbing from current 26 per cent to 32 per cent, 40 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.

Online higher education players like Great Learning too are bullish about the trends and agree with the RedSeer analysis.

"The concept of lifelong learning is the new normal now and this is being proven out by the interest we are witnessing among students and working professionals to upskill and power ahead in their careers. Despite the pandemic, we have seen a 5X growth in our learner base during the lockdown.

And we believe we have barely scratched the surface. Going ahead, we expect to grow at an even faster clip with the New Education Policy bringing several reforms to the higher education space. I am confident that over the next few years, this need for upskilling will spur ed-tech companies with massive scale and impact. The report by RedSeer further confirms this," said Hari Krishnan Nair, Co-founder of Great Learning.

The online higher education businesses can be broadly classified into two including full stack versus aggregators and niche versus mass segments. However, in terms of business models in online higher education and lifelong learning, the analysis pegs full stack models as best positioned to capture the growth though multiple models have emerged in recent times.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/online-higher-education-sector-to-be-worth-5-billion-by-fy25-report-120082101227_1.html

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NEET, JEE Exam 2020 Not to be postponed, NTA releases clarification - confirms the exam schedule

NEET, JEE Main 2020 Postponement: Secretary Education Ministry has clarified that the NEET and JEE Main 2020 exams scheduled for September cannot be postponed as per SC order.

NEET, JEE Main 2020 would not be postponed. Dashing the hopes of thousands of students, Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Education has confirmed that the entrance examinations cannot be postponed. Referring to the Supreme Court order, he has stated that the SC was very clear in its order and the examinations cannot be postponed. National Testing Agency, NTA has also release a clarification confirming the same, stating that the examination cannot be postponed.

In the letter tweeted by NTA, the agency has shared Supreme Court's order stating that that examination cannot be postponed any further. NTA has also clarified that the examination centres for students were changed as per request and further requests were also being catered to. Apart from this, elaborate precautions have also been taken for the safety of the students.

The plea for postponing JEE and NEET 2020 examinations was presented to the Supreme Court. 3 other petitions were also filed, asking the SC to ensure that the examinations were not postponed. Supreme Court had dismissed the petition to postpone the examinations, noting that the exams cannot be indefintely deferred. Pursuant to that, pleas were sent to the PMO for the same.

Earlier in the day. Dr. Subramaniam Swamy had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to ask the Education ministry to postpone NEET, JEE Main 2020 examinations. In the letter, the Union Minister points out the Supreme Court''s decision is not binding to the government. He has earlier tweeted his intent of the same after students approached him and asked for assistance to get NEET, JEE Main 2020 postponed. He has urged that the exam be postponed till after Diwali.

Taking to the social media channel – Twitter, he tweeted that he has already reached out to the Education Minister and asked him to conduct the examination after Deepavali. He decided to intervene after he was approached by students after the Supreme Court dismissed the plea to postpone the examination. He tweeted to confirm that he mean NEET and JEE and other such entrance examinations. Later he shared the letter he has written and shared he is 'hopeful but also pointed out that the students had been 'very late' in approaching, since the case has already been to the Supreme Court.

Updates on the same, once available, would be provided on this page. Students and parents are however asked to please be patient and continue the efforts. Delaying the examination may not be possible. Whatever may be the decision, we request the parents to please counsel their wards and discuss the matter with them.
NEET, JEE 2020 Exam

Meanwhile, Supreme Court has dismissed the plea and NTA has released the admit card for JEE Main 2020 examination. NTA has also released a notice confirming that the admit cards for NEET 2020 would also be released on ntaneet.nic.in shortly. The students, however, continue to reach out to twitter and the various authorities with plea to postpone the examination.

Clamour for postponing NEET gained momentum after a student in Tamil Nadu committed suicide, soon after SC’s dismissal of the plea. All students are again urged to please be patient and prepared for the examination. All necessary steps shall be taken for the safety of the students.As of now, JEE Main 2020 is scheduled to begin from September 1 and NEET 2020 is scheduled for September 13.

https://www.timesnownews.com/education/article/neet-2020-likely-to-be-postponed-emergency-meeting-underway-tweets-subramaniam-swamy/640535

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Postpone JEE Main, NEET 2020: MPs, Students Ask Education Minister

JEE Main and NEET 2020: With less than a month to go, demands for postponement of the engineering and medical entrance exam are rising sky high.

New Delhi:With less than a month to go, demands for postponement of Joint Entrance Examination Main, or JEE Main 2020, and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate, or NEET 2020, are rising sky high. The National Testing Agency, or NTA, is all set to conduct the engineering and medical entrance exams in September.

Concerned about health and safety, students have been running social media campaigns for months. Several politicians from Bihar, which has been facing floods, have also argued for the postponement of JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020.

Member of Parliament, Chirag Paswan, also wrote to the education minister highlighting the health and safety concerns related to the conduct of JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020 in September.

“Wrote to the Education Minister highlighting concerns of parents about JEE and NEET,” Mr Paswan said on social media.
The opposition leader in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, too, has sought a postponement. He wrote on social media: “Central Govt, NTA, UGC and IIT Delhi must have a considerate and humane view of the plight of the students and youth of this country! This hurry to conduct exams amidst spiking COVID cases will prove to be costly! In Bihar floods+Govt apathy will compound problems!”

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, too, has asked for rescheduling. “I have just spoken to the Minister of Education suggesting that NEET and other exams be conducted after Deepavali, he said on social media.

Meanwhile, students have flooded all recent social media posts by the Education Minister with ‘Postpone JEE’ and ‘Postpone NEET’ demands.
Despite student protests, NTA or the education ministry has not decided to postpone JEE Main and NEET 2020.

NTA has recently released JEE Main admit card. According to government sources, 6,49,223 out of 8,58,273 candidates have downloaded their admit cards. Out of the total candidates, 99.07% candidates have been alloted the test centres of their preference and 120 candidates have requested for a change in centre cities allotted to them. The agency will release NEET 2020 admit card soon.

https://www.ndtv.com/education/postpone-jee-main-2020-postpone-neet-2020-students-mps-to-education-minister-latest-news

 

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Supreme Court's verdict on final year university exams will be announced soon

The Supreme Court verdict on the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines to the state universities on conducting final year exams by September end is expected to be out soon. The top court had reserved its order on August 18, 2020 on whether the central commission be allowed to conduct final year exams in state universities across the country.

The Supreme Court verdict on the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines to the state universities on conducting final year exams by September end is expected to be out soon. The top court had reserved its order on August 18, 2020 on whether the central commission be allowed to conduct final year exams in state universities across the country. Advocating on conducting final term exams, UGC during one of the hearings in Supreme Court had said that state universities final term exams shouldn't be cancelled as the future of students was at stake.

Supreme Court hearing status on UGC guidelines so far

 * The Supreme Court reserved judgement on whether the final year degree examinations in universities should be held before September 30, in accordance with UGC guidelines.
    The top court will also decide whether state governments have the power to take a decision against conducting final year examinations under the Disaster Management Act.
 * A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan has reserved the judgement on a batch of PILs along with some state governments - Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Delhi - questioning the UGC direction to universities to conduct final year exams before September 30.
 * The state governments have argued that they have the power to promote students without exams in the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
 * Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the UGC, contended before the top court that final year is the degree year and exams cannot be done away with.
 * Mehta cited examples of exams being conducted by some universities and added that many top-level universities have opted for online exams. Mehta insisted that foreign universities and further education require degrees.
 * Citing the UGC guidelines, Mehta contended before the bench that these guidelines are not merely for preaching and that they are mandatory.
 * The guidelines which have been challenged before the top court have a statutory mandate, Solicitor General added.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/education/news-ugc-exam-guidelines-supreme-court-verdict-will-be-announced-soon-final-year-university-exams-644060

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IBM partners with NSDC to offer free digital education to students

Under the partnership, IBM will catalogue its 30-plus Open P-TECH courses on eSkill India portal, with more than 60 hours of learning, as a knowledge partner.

Technology major IBM on Friday (August 21) announced its collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer ‘Open P-TECH’, a free digital education platform, focused on emerging technologies and professional development skills.

As a part of the collaboration, IBM will curate online courses from Open P-TECH platform and offer it to users via NSDC’s eSkill India portal to ensure that Indian youth have relevant skills.

The open P-TECH (Pathways to Technology Early College High School) platform was launched in India in March 2020 to equip young learners and educators with foundational technology competencies and emerging areas of technology.

Manoj Balachandran, Leader, CSR, IBM India/South Asia said that there are 9,000 learners and worldwide there are 44,000 learners under open P-Tech.

As a concept, P-Tech was first launched by IBM in 2011 in Brooklyn as a brick-and-mortar model. Balachandran said that the open P-Tech was to ensure that these learning modules have a wider reach.

Sandip Patel, MD, IBM India/South Asia said that skill gap is a reality in India. He added that data shows that there will be a 29 million skill deficit by 2030.

“The future is new collar jobs where individuals don’t have formal degrees but have the skills that are enabling them to be relevant to the job role. I am of the view that emerging technologies must be a part of student curriculum,” added Patel.

Patel also said that the content is currently available in English and will be further expanded into Hindi and 10 other Indian languages including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Urdu, Bengali. Soft skills will also be included and also gamified assessment, he added.

Under the partnership, IBM will catalogue its 30 plus Open P-TECH courses on eSkill India portal, with more than 60 hours of learning, as a knowledge partner. eSkill India is a digital skilling initiative from NSDC that aggregates digital learning resources through various Indian and global knowledge partnerships, to enable access to best-in-class learning resources for the India youth. Currently, over 1.6 million minutes of digital courses and content is available across various sectors in multiple languages.

IBM will provide online courses in emerging technologies like cyber security, blockchain, AI and machine learning, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), along with professional skills, like design thinking to learners between 18 to 22 years for free.

Manish Kumar, MD and CEO, National Skill Development Corporation said that technology is relevant to India’s future.

“Online trainings through digital platforms like Open P-TECH and eSkill India need to be accelerated to overcome geographical and socio-economic barriers. Digital learning will enable higher participation of women in the labour workforce as the scope for employability will increase.,” he added.

Kumar added that IT was among the sectors with lowest wage gap between men and women at 12 percent. This was in contrast to almost 30-35 percent in other sectors.

Under the partnership, Open P-TECH platform will offer courses to  develop soft skills, interpersonal skills, problem solving which is amongst a set of 11 key skills which are generally not available in a college curriculum, but are  high in demand and are valued in the job market.
In India, previously, IBM had partnered with Directorate General of Training at the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Central Board of Secondary Education, Niti Aayog and State Department of Education, and State Skills Missions to impact more than 400,000 lakh learners and students across 22+ states through its education and skilling initiatives.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/ibm-partners-with-nsdc-to-offer-free-digital-education-platform-to-students-5737481.html

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Telangana state schools maybe reopen in first week of September 2020

 Hyderabad: Telangana Chief minister Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao has called the cabinet meeting on August 5 in which possibilities to reopen schools from first week of September are likely to be explored.

On July 17, Chief Minister had announced that engineering colleges will begin from august 17.
Centre’s Unlock 3 guidelines

However, the Centre in its Unlock 3 guidelines has announced that the educational institutions will remain closed till August 31.

Private schools seek financial aid

Meanwhile, private schools in Telangana which are closed due to the coronavirus situation in the state have appealed for financial support from the government.

Telangana Recognised Schools Management Association President Yadgiri Sekhar Rao has shot a letter to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in this connection in which he has appealed for financial aid to private schools.

Online classes

Keeping in view the loss of learning in case of extended school closures, some private schools of the state have already started taking online classes. However, following concerns raised by parents about increased children’s screen time, Human Resource Development Ministry (HRD Ministry) framed guidelines recommending that the duration for online classes for pre-primary student should not be for than 30 minutes. For classes 1 to 8 two online sessions of up to 45 minutes each while for classes to 9 to 12, four sessions of 30-45 minutes duration have been recommended.

Closure of schools

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the closure of schools. Following Centre’s announcement of a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak,  Universities and schools across the country have been shut since March 16. Later, a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24 coming into effect from the next day. According to MHRD, closure of schools due to Coronavirus pandemic has impacted over 240 million children of the country who are enrolled in schools.

https://www.siasat.com/telangana-schools-likely-to-reopen-in-first-week-of-september-1936628/

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JEE Mains to be postponed, due to COVID-19

This is part of the instructions issued by National Testing Agency, which conducts JEE-Main & NEET. JEE is scheduled in September first week, while NEET will be held on 13th.

New Delhi: with the Supreme Court Monday rejecting a plea demanding a further postponement of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts these exams, has come up with instructions to be followed by candidates when they write their papers.

According to the instructions, those appearing for JEE-Main, scheduled in the first week of September, will have to submit a self-declaration form along with a photograph, saying they have not tested positive for Covid-19 and have not had any symptoms like fever, dry cough or difficulty in breathing in the recent days.

This form will have to be submitted at the examination centre after it is verified by an exam centre officer and signed by the candidate on the spot.

The NTA uploaded these instructions on their official website late Monday evening and all candidates appearing for the exam have to follow the guidelines mandatorily.

“The candidates are advised to follow the instructions and the advisory in letter and spirit,” the NTA instructions said.

A similar set of instructions is also likely to be issued for the NEET candidates soon.

The NTA stated that the admit card will be of four pages this time, with one page dedicated to the undertaking form.

“On the day of the examination, the candidate has to also bring to the exam centre, the undertaking given on the Admit Card at Page-1 (duly filled in, except his/her signature which he/she will be required to do in the presence of Invigilator). This Undertaking is in addition to the one filled online at the time of downloading the Admit Card,” the notice on the NTA’s website read.

“Considering the prevailing Covid-19 condition, the NTA has made all efforts for smooth conduct of the examination. The students as well as their parents/guardians are also requested to cooperate with NTA for successful conduct of the examination in a safe and healthy environment by sincerely following the instructions and advisories,” the notice further read, urging people to be cautious.

https://theprint.in/india/education/jee-aspirants-have-to-sign-covid-undertaking-to-write-tests-as-sc-refuses-to-postpone-exam/484092/

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India, Australia MoUs between top educational institutions

India and Australia today decided to step up institution partnership, collaboration in school policy, skill development and vocational education at a bilateral meeting, which also witnessed signing of three important MoUs between top educational institutions of the two countries.

Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said the education dialogue with Australia "reaffirmed the commitment" made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Turnbull Malcolm in April 2017 "to strengthen the education, training and research relationship" between the two nations.

Javadekar is leading a four-member delegation to Australia to participate in the 4th Australia India Education Council (AIEC) meeting which was held at Adelaide today. "At a bilateral meeting in #Adelaide with the Australian Minister of Education & Training, Mr. Simon Birmingham. Emphasis was given to institution partnership, collaboration in school policy, online education, skill development & vocational education & training," the minister tweeted.

He further said his discussion with Birmingham has been "fruitful" and "will take the India, Australia education cooperation to a new level".

During the meeting, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Western Sydney University and India's Centurion University, a joint PhD agreement between Curtin University and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, and a MoU between Deakin University and the Central University of Jammu.

“Australia and India share many values and aspirations, as well as a fundamental commitment to education,” Birmingham said at the AIEC meet.

Noting that the cooperation between the two nations covers research, international education, academic mobility, skills and training and partnerships with industry, he further said, “During my visit to India last year I saw firsthand a number of the close partnerships already underway and the importance of India as a key education partner.''

Aiming at enhancing its footprints in India's booming education market, Australia also announced a fund of five million AUS dollars for the Melbourne-based Australia India Institute (AII) during the bilateral meet.

“AII will be pivotal in building closer cooperation between institutions both here and in India, boosting the mobility of Indian and Australian students and further supporting shared research priorities," Birmingham said.

The AII was established in 2008 and is hosted at the University of Melbourne. The Institute's mandate is to build knowledge about India among Australian government, business and the wider Australian community.

“Our meetings today and the continued work of the Australia India Institute will help further enhance the footprint of Australian universities and vocational education providers in the booming Indian market,'' Birmingham said.

Many more agreements are expected to be signed in the coming weeks, including a Letter of Intent on solar cooperation between the University of New South Wales and The Energy Resources Institute of India.
“With more than 8,000 co-authored academic publications since 2013, more than 400 research partnerships already in place and over 70 000 Indian students currently studying in Australia, the partnership between Australian and India will continue to go from strength to strength,” Birmingham said.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/india-australia-agree-to-step-up-education-cooperation-2652921.html

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Govt to Dissclose UGC, Wants Your Suggestions For Future of Education System in India

In a potentially game-changing move, the Ministry of Human Resource Development is looking to dismantle the University Grants Commission, the statutory body overseeing higher education in India, and replace it with the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI).

The first order of business for the Centre is to repeal the UGC Act of 1956 and replace it with the ‘Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of UGC Act), 2018—a new law that will usher in the HECI.

On Wednesday, the government opened the draft law for public consultations, and one can send their feedback until July 7. Unlike the UGC, the government’s new proposed higher education regulator, the HECI, will perform a diminished role. Among other facets, for example, the HECI will give up its grant-giving function to the Central ministry.

According to The Indian Express (TIE), the mandate for the HECI is to set, maintain and improve academic standards in universities.

“Just like how the ministry funds all technical institutes like the IITs, NITs and IISERs and the AICTE focuses on maintaining standards, the government can easily take over funding of central universities. We want to downsize the regulator’s role. There won’t be any interference in the management issues of educational institutions,” said a ministry official to TIE.

Comprising of 12 members appointed by the Central Government, apart from the chairperson and vice-chairperson, here are some of the functions of the proposed HECI:

1) Evaluate yearly academic performance by institutions and mentor those not maintaining required standards.
2) Specify learning outcomes for courses of study in higher education.
3) Establish an accreditation system for evaluation of academic outcomes by various universities.
4) Teacher training.
5) Promote greater use of technology in the classroom.
6) Set the standards for opening and closing institutions of higher education.
7) Set the standards for appointing heads of universities, including those in exalted positions.
8) Institutions approved by UGC will now have to endure another screen test with the HECI and show they are complying with their academic standards.
9) The education ministry will order the closure of ‘sub-standard institutions’ who do not comply within three years after Parliament passes the new law.

“The chief executive and other members of management of such institutions who do not comply with the penalty imposed by the Commission shall be liable for prosecution as per procedure laid down under the Criminal Procedure Code and may be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years,” states the draft.

Reports indicate that the idea for reshaping the UGC came from a meeting between Education Minister Prakash Javadekar and ministry officials, where they discussed the possibility of merging the UGC and AICTE. After some internal revolt on the merge, they decided to go ahead with the HECI.

The reaction to this proposed reform has been mixed. The government is naturally backing this move, arguing that the UGC has lost focus on monitoring various facets of regulating universities, reducing itself to just granting funds for educational institutions.

However, academics and concerned citizens are worried about the lack of autonomy, and the potential for greater government interference in higher education.

Instead of HECI with 12 central government appointees, which include among others secretaries from various ministries, decisions pertaining to universities should be left to a transparent and accountable body not swayed by political interests. They believe that the proposed move is a comprehensive assault by the government on the autonomy of universities.

https://www.thebetterindia.com/147856/ugc-news-university-prakash-javadekar/

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Could India’s poor school education system really stall its potential economic progress?

Could education be one of the four horsemen of India’s potential economic apocalypse?

In Chapter 5 of this year’s Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on Monday, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian lists four factors that could stall India’s push to catch up with the world’s developed economies. One factor is the creation of human capital, or, in the survey’s definition, people capable of doing the jobs on offer.

Here is how it stands: around 40% of children in Classes 3 to 8 cannot complete a reading or subtraction test prescribed for Class 2, with more children in higher classes capable of doing the test than those in lower classes. This means that children are learning, but they are not learning more as they should moving up the classes. The gap between what they know and what they should know is already wide. With technological advances this gap will widen, leaving them unable to take the jobs that advances in technology bring.

All of this is already well known. No one will contest that India’s school system – public and private – is failing its young. That a solid basic education is a necessary condition for accessing all types of opportunities, and especially higher education, is also uncontested. But there seems to be some demand-supply confusion over education and jobs.

While a great deal is said about the unemployability of Indian school-leavers and even graduates, it really is nothing more than hand-wringing. There is no evidence to suggest that investors have been stymied by the lack of prospective employees.

Remember that engineers and engineering degrees did not precede bridge-building or manufacturing. They followed it. The engineering college boom in India in the last two decades too was driven by a low-value-added computer industry. Higher education produced what industry demanded.

The school education system in India is in dire need of reform. And the question economists should be asking is this: why is it that education reforms have thus far failed to grapple with issues of equity (a corollary of quality) and what economic interests underpin the persistence of educational disparities?

https://scroll.in/article/866851/economic-survey-could-indias-poor-school-education-system-really-stall-its-economic-progress

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The traditional practice of more students opting for computer engineering is slowly fading by mechanical engineering

India is looking at a change of trend as far as the engineering discipline is concerned. The traditional practice of more students opting for computer engineering is slowly fading out and is being replaced by mechanical engineering.

An analysis of the data available with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the government body that is responsible for technical education in the country shows that the number of enrolments in Computer Science as a subject has been on a constant decline since the year 2012. The data also shows that enrolment of for Mechanical is going upward.In the last four years, enrolment in Mechanical has been the highest in the academic year 2013-14 at 534199, in the same year number of students enrolled in Computer science was 323697 and the number has shown a decline in the consecutive years.

With the increase in number of enrolment, number of student intake in these two disciplines has also shown a variation. The number of intake in Mechanical courses in various colleges across the country increased by two lakh from 2012-13 to 2015-16.

Officials in the government attribute it to the global trends of reducing demand for computer science engineering graduates.

"The IT industry was booming sometime back and more and more students were pursuing computer science but now the industry is saturated. There is more supply than demand of IT professionals in the industry which is the reason that students are moving towards other fields of engineering," said a senior HRD Ministry official, associated with technical education.

"Also, one does not need to study computer science engineering to pursue IT. Everyone is studying computers. If 100 people develop a software, only three people are required to maintain it, which reduces the demand for manpower. On the contrary, Mechanical is a field where one needs subject expertise to be able to work in the field," he added.

In terms of placement also, Mechanical has shown an increase in numbers over the last four years. In the academic session 2015-16 139162 students were placed as compared to around 95000 in 2012-13.

The least popular choices among students are Chemical and Textile engineering, even as engineering as a subject continues to be the top choice for students among professional courses like Management and Pharmacy.



http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-move-over-computer-engineering-mechanical-is-new-trend-2263362

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The latest government statistics every two in five elementary schools in India

India’s dream to win gold medals in Olympic Games seems to be far-fetched considering the ground reality. According to latest government statistics, every two in five elementary schools in India don't have playground and power connection, two of the 10 basic norms mandated under the Right to Education Act (RTE).

The initial findings of the latest pan-India survey (called as District Information System for Education or DISE) released this week highlights such a sorry state of affairs of world's largest education system. The survey covered 1.5 million elementary schools in 680 districts across the states catering to 19 crore children.With 40 per cent educational institutions, private and government both, having zero outdoor sports facilities, one can imagine the scale and magnitude of the sports talent India is losing every year. The revelations also cast aspersions over physical fitness of crores of children in the country which is aggressively campaigning for Yoga and Surya Namaskar across the world.

Bihar appears to be worst in the country, where only one-third schools in the state have playground and less than 8 per cent have electricity, say records. West Bengal also cuts a sorry figure with only 40 per cent schools offering playground and less than 13 per cent have electricity, finds the DISE survey conducted by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA).

Almost all the schools in Gujarat have electricity suggesting better classroom conditions for the kids and teachers compared to their counterparts in most states, but many of them are not able to play outdoors. One in every four schools in Gujarat don't have playground.

Maharashtra which has over one lakh elementary schools catering to 1.6 crore pupils appears to be far better than many states. Over 87 per cent institutions in the state do have playground and 94 per cent have power too.

Punjab stands out in the survey, suggesting more focus on sports and physical well-being of the children apart from education. An overwhelming 97 per cent schools in the state have playground facility and 99.9 per cent have electricity as well.

The analysis of last few years' data also suggests that schools have improved fast over the years, bridging gap of separate toilet facilities, drinking water and pupil-teacher ratio and ramp for specially-abled. However, acquiring playground, constructing boundary wall, power connection and computers has remained slow, owing to physical and financial constraints.

A recent study of Indian parliamentary panel has suggested that even for those children who participate in games, the sports are not their first career choice because of high risk, uncertainty and low rewards.

When it comes to spending on sportspersons, India is much below. The US spends a whopping Rs22 a day per person, the UK spends 50 paise and Jamaica 19 paise. India invests just 3 paise per person each day.

"Several schools in Mumbai including BMC schools don't have playground. The kids are supposed to exercise inside the classroom. One can imagine the kind of physical fitness such students have," said Ramesh Joshi, president of BMC school teachers Association.

"While medal winning countries focus on early training, high technology, state-of-the-art equipment, sports medicine, we are not even allowing such a large number of kids to play. Lack of sports not only compromises on their growth and fitness, physically and mentally both, but they also lose out on other crucial life skills such as team building, leadership, managing their own anger and failures and communication skill," said a former hockey player.


http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-over-40-per-cent-schools-without-playground-electricity-dise-report-2263577

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President Pranab Mukherjee in education can be expanded without compromising qualit good educational institutions

President Pranab Mukherjee Monday said education cover can be expanded without compromising on quality as he expressed hope that the outward flow of students from India can be reversed.

Speaking at the 60th Founders Day ceremony of Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, he expressed “shock” on learning from Delhi’s education minister that a large number of students cannot read text books. It is pathetic, he said.“Education can be expanded without compromising quality… We have so many good educational institutions. Still in the list of top 100 institutions of the world rated by top international agencies no Indian university or institution has found a place,” he said, adding that change had started and IIT-Delhi and IISC, Bengalore, found a place among the leading global institutions.

The President said that he is confident that many Indian institutions will be among the top in the time to come, as he recalled that ancient India led the world in higher education while referring to Taxila and Nalanda.

“Almost 1700 years, starting from year 6 century BC to 11 century AD, from the glorious days of Taxila to the collapse of Nalanda, India led higher education in the world. Taxila became the conclave of four civilisations; Greek, Chinese, Persian and Indian.

Read: Top jobs that Indians prefer and why

“I feel pained that every year more than 6,000 students leave India for higher education to Europe, Australia and North America…I want the flow to be reversed. That will depend on the type of education provided,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh Governor O P Kohli, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Madhavi Raje Scindia, President of the school’s Board of Governors, were among those present on the occasion.

Stressing that education is the alchemy that can take India to its next golden age, Mukherjee called upon teachers and students to work towards the democratisation of quality education.

He said education and learning are a lifelong process, and quoting Swami Vivekananda, added, “Education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion; is it worth the name?….”

Read: Lots of today’s jobs will not exist in future: Nilekani

The President also praised Vijaya Raje Scindia, the late BJP leader, for the vision and courage of establishing an educational institution exclusively for girls at a time when the national literacy rate among women was around 10 per cent.

He also congratulated the Board of Governors of the school and expressed hope that the high standard set by its founders would be upheld in the future too, according to an official statement.

Earlier, Governor O P Kohli called for maintaining a balance between modern and traditional values of the country in imparting education.

He said that while intellectual efficiency was important, equally important was emotional efficiency in a person.

Read: Housing for students in Delhi: Without a hostel seat, what some students have been forced to do

“In the urge to become modern, we should not forget our rich traditions and heritage. Spirituality and religion form part of the country’s traditions and we should follow them also while seeking modern education,” he said.

Kohli said one can achieve intellectual efficiency by becoming modern, but one is not complete without getting emotional efficiency and sensitivity.

He also called for providing “man-making” education as Swami Vivekananda had sought.

President Mukhrejee said: “As education is the alchemy of change in this society, it is needed that it should be democratised but democratisation does not mean mere mindless physical expansion.”

“Expansion of education can take place without compromising on its quality,” he said.



http://indianexpress.com/article/education/education-cover-can-be-expanded-without-compromising-quality-president/

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