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  • Himachal’s Daughters Are Top In Pursuing Higher Education

    Himachal’s Daughters Are Top In Pursuing Higher Education

    Hamirpur (HP), Feb 13 (UNI) 11.2% more girls in Himachal Pradesh pursue higher education than boys, according to a report of AISHE.
    The Gross Enrollment Ratio in the country is 27.3%, while in Himachal it is 38.7%, which means that Himachal has 11.4% more children pursuing higher education than the national average.
    Notably, the percentage of girls is almost the same as of boys in the state.
    According to the report, 62% of children in the age group of 18 to 23 years in Himachal are not pursuing higher education.
    Himachal Pradesh ranks 8th in the average gross enrollment ratio in the country. Chandigarh ranks first in the country with a gross enrollment ratio of 66.1%. Pondicherry is second with a 60.8% gross enrollment ratio, Delhi third with 47.6%, Tamil Nadu fourth with 46.9%, Uttarakhand fifth with 45.7%, and Kerala sixth with 43.2%, and Telangana seventh with 39.1% gross enrollment ratio.
    On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh is in the sixth position in the country in the gross enrollment ratio of girls. Chandigarh tops the list of girls with 77%, followed by Pondicherry at 61.1%, Kerala at 52.3%, Delhi at 48.5%, Tamil Nadu at 48.6%, and Uttarakhand at 48.9%.
    A total of 2.89 lakh students are registered in the Higher Education Institution of Himachal. Of these, 1.32 lakh are boys and 1.57 lakh are girls. There are a total of 454 higher education institutions in the state. These include 27 universities, 344 colleges, and 83 other higher education institutions.
    In Himachal Pradesh, most of the girl students remain in the top 10 in the 10th, 12th, and graduation examinations. For more than a decade in the state, whether it is CBSE or ICSE board examinations, girls have had more dominance than boys.
    This shows that girl students in the state are more aware of studies in this state.

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  • Education Budget 2023: From Focus on Research to Upskilling, here is What Stakeholders Looking For

    Education Budget 2023: From Focus on Research to Upskilling, here is What Stakeholders Looking For

    As the Union Budget 2023-24 will be presented on February 1, various stakeholders from the education sector share what are their budget expectations for this year. Stakeholders from the technology and medical sector expect to see a boost in research and development, more budgetary allocation for modern and state-of-the-art tools and equipment.

    ‘Investment in technology and upskilling is needed’: Prof Himanshu Rail, Director, IIM Indore

    Fresh flows of funding and incentives must be made into programmes like Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan and FutureSkills Prime. Implementation and audit taskforces must be built to accelerate and catalyze various ongoing broadband expansion and quality improvement projects. Investing in the advancement and enrichment of various technology and skilling platforms for students and educators like DIKSHA, NISHTHA, SWAYAM, etc. A detailed roadmap and resource allocation for escalating the implementation of the
    National Educational Technology Forum.

    The ‘Manodarpan’ scheme by the Ministry of Education could be enriched with expert resources to better guide students with issues like addiction, self-healing, adjustment training, and short online courses, one-to-one online sessions with subsidized fees, etc.

    Schools could be provided tax benefits or incentives for expanding their counselling services through counseling cells, career guidance services, or student awareness and sensitization clubs.

    The budget should also focus on making education services accessible and affordable for women, disadvantaged groups, students with special learning needs, and the differently abled.

    ‘Boost research and development’: IIT Madras team

    India has created a strong ecosystem of research in individual institutions, which was achieved in large part because of the infrastructure created over a period of time through budgetary allocations that came as grant-in-aid to these institutions. Capital Equipment in Centrally-funded technical institutions has been predominantly due to government funding.

    The forthcoming Union Budget hence may look at supporting the formation of a common pool of scientific infrastructure of costly, world-class tools, instruments, and equipment, spread across science and engineering institutions across India. All researchers and innovators in India should have access to these facilities.

    If a substantial portion of the funds earmarked for the National Research Foundation could be allocated for this model with equal participation from the established Higher education Institutes in terms of sharing existing world-class equipment available with them, it can impart a major boost to R&D in multiple disciplines across the country. This model could also be a game changer. It could potentially eliminate the need for individual research institutions and small businesses, startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to seek considerable funding to procure expensive equipment and tools needed for cutting-edge R&D activities. Instead, access could be provided to these users through this initiative for a nominal fee, which would be a cost-effective approach to innovation and R&D.

    ‘Research and better equipment should be the priority:’ Indian Medical Association

    The Indian Medical Association is expecting a 5 per cent allocation in the Union Budget. And, it should not be just for running expenses such as salaries but for infrastructure, research and better equipment.

    The Covid crisis has amply demonstrated the importance of universal primary care in the public sector. Health Policy 2017 firmly focuses on primary care: If possible the Centre should upgrade and enhance these figures and appoint MBBS doctors in the 1.50 lakh wellness centres. The policy recommends that health centres be established on geographical norms apart from population norms. This would also necessitate upgradation of the existing sub-centres and reorienting PHCs.

    The healthcare industry is the only industry which does not get input credit because of the exemption. Actually, the GST paid by the institutions becomes an expenditure and indirectly adds to the cost of treatment. Either some percentage of total GST paid by healthcare providers be treated as advance tax or MAT ( Minimum Alternative Tax ) or the GST paid by them on equipment or otherwise should be reduced to 5 per cent.

    Doctors and Healthcare organisations be given access to working capital and preferential funding to ensure that the overall cost of operations is reduced.

    ‘Emphasis on digitisation, regional languages’: Devyani Jaipuriya, Chairperson Dharav High School, Pro- Vice Chairperson- DPS International Gurugram, DPS 45 and DPS Jaipur.

    Increasing the GDP spend from 1.7 per cent to 6 per cent will help in opening more opportunities and bring education for everyone regime closer to success. We have similar expectations from the upcoming budget. After all the several progressive reforms in the National Education Policy 2020, we are hoping the Union Budget will announce developmental plans for areas like digitisation, internationalisation of higher education, investment in skill development, and emphasis on regional languages in technical and medical education, among others.

    Also, with technology taking the centrestage, new fields of employment such as Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comic (AVGC) are booming and require support to flourish. Thus, we are expecting the upcoming budget to be exemplary and give the education sector a breather from the ongoing fund crunch.

    In last year’s budget speech, the finance minister said, “In vocational courses, to promote crucial critical thinking skills, to give space for creativity, 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics, and 75 skilling e-labs for simulated learning environment, will be set-up in 2022-23.” For this year’s budget, the stakeholders expect to bridge the link between secondary and higher education.

    ‘Encourage vocational education:’ Prof Madhushree Sekher, Dean, School of Vocational Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

    Vocational Education requires decisive effort from the government. The whole concept of vocational education will be relevant only when secondary-level education in the vocational space is linked to higher education. We would like the government to recognise and encourage a continuum of vocational education from the school level to Higher Education Institute through the 3 Year B.Voc (undergraduate programme) and postgraduate programme relating to the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) skill- level 4.5, 5.5,6.7 and 7. This will enhance employability.

    With Edtech emerging as an important player in the education sector, companies are expecting a reduction in GST on education services, focus on the upskilling sector.

    ‘Emphasis on skill development will lead to country’s growth:’ Nikhil Barshikar, Founder and CEO of Imarticus Learning

    “We all know by 2030 India will have the largest pool of working-age population globally, surpassing China, so we need to ensure that the youth are truly employable. With the Union Budget 2023, we expect the government to recognize and encourage startups to focus on skill development and ensure that jobs are guaranteed. We would also like the government to acknowledge skill-to-job as a separate category and encourage the ed-tech platforms with some schemes or tax rebates.

    There is a massive surge in students and professionals opting for online courses, especially in tier two and three cities. The challenge arises in creating a stable digital infrastructure for such cities. With emerging technologies and market trends, upskilling is the need of the hour, and we hope that the budget also focuses on the upskilling sector”.

    ‘Give incentives to the Edtech sector:’ Abhishek Mishra, Chief Strategy Officer, Physics Wallah

    The Edtech industry needs government support in the form of subsidised schemes and incentives for improving online initiatives. Reduction in GST on education services to democratise education and increase reach among students, especially those who cannot afford quality education. The focus should be on upskilling, and reskilling so that students are equipped with such skills from an early age. New-age tech skills like AI and coding should also be included in schools’ and universities’ curricula. Accessible collaboration of government with edtech companies to improve digitization and enhance learning outcomes in the education sector.

    ‘Tax reduction on scholarships and student loans:’ Saurabh Arora, Founder and CEO, University Living

    With this year’s budget, we expect an increase in budget allotment for the education sector so that not only the higher education infrastructure in India improves but also new corridors open for education trade from Australia and other such countries. Recently, new regulations have been announced related to foreign universities setting up their India chapter and on the backdrop of this, the Indian government should allocate more budgets so that the internationalization of higher education becomes seamless.

    We also expect the government to announce new education trade policies for students as well as the companies in this space. We expect tax reduction on scholarships and student loans so that they are encouraged to pursue their higher education especially from abroad. With this budget we also wish to see more focus on NEP and new skilling programs to make the youth of India not just job ready but industry ready.

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  • Recent Developments And Challenges In The Indian Education Sector

    Recent Developments And Challenges In The Indian Education Sector

    There have been a number of recent developments in Indian education policy that have had significant implications for the sector and its stakeholders. While earlier policies, such as the Right to Education (RTE) Act in 2009, have helped India make commendable progress with ensuring universal access to primary education, the focus of recent policy has shifted towards transforming the quality of education to improve learning outcomes.

    The most notable of these was the eagerly awaited New Education Policy (NEP), released by the Government of India in July 2020, which promises to reform and modernise the country’s education system. The NEP 2020 replaces the previous education policy, which was released in 1986, and is based on the vision of “universalisation of education from preschool to secondary level” and aims to provide “quality and equitable education to all”.

    The NEP 2020 calls for several key reforms and initiatives, including the expansion of early childhood care and education, the introduction of vocational education and training at the secondary level, the promotion of a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to higher education, and the improvement of the quality and status of teaching as a profession:

    Early childhood care and education: The NEP 2020 emphasises the importance of early childhood care and education and aims to universalise access to high-quality preschool education for children aged 3 to 6 years. It also calls for the integration of preschool education with primary education, through the proposal of a new 5+3+3+4 system that consists of a Foundational Stage (3 to 8 years), Preparatory Stage (8 to 11 years), Middle Stage (11 to 14 years), and Secondary Stage (14 to 18 years). An exciting development in October 2022 was the release of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for the Foundational stage, which lays out a blueprint for high-quality early childhood education that is aligned with current research and universally accepted best practices.


    Primary and Secondary education: The NEP 2020 aims to provide a flexible and multidisciplinary curriculum for school education, focusing on experiential learning and critical thinking skills. It also calls for the introduction of vocational education and training at the secondary level to provide students with alternative pathways to traditional academic subjects.

    Higher education: The NEP 2020 aims to promote a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to higher education, with a greater emphasis on research and innovation. It calls for the establishment of a new regulatory framework for higher education, with a focus on autonomy and accountability.

    Teacher education: The NEP 2020 recognises the importance of teacher education in improving the quality of education and aims to improve the quality and status of teaching as a profession. It calls for the introduction of a new teacher education curriculum and the establishment of a National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to oversee teacher education in the country. In fact, this body has recently released a set of professional quality standards for teachers in the 21st century – known as the National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST, 2021).

    Funding: The NEP 2020 calls for increased investment in education, with the goal of increasing the public expenditure on education to at least 6% of GDP. It also calls for the implementation of a new “performance-based” financing mechanism to provide additional resources for education.
    Equity and inclusion: The NEP 2020 emphasises the importance of equity and inclusion in education and aims to address the existing disparities in access to education, particularly for marginalised and disadvantaged groups. It calls for the implementation of affirmative action measures to ensure equal opportunities for all.

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  • Allowing Foreign Universities To Open Branches In India Would Harm Country’s Higher Education System: CPI

    Allowing Foreign Universities To Open Branches In India Would Harm Country’s Higher Education System: CPI

    The CPI has opposed the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) decision to allow foreign universities to open branches in India, claiming that it would “harm” the country’s higher education system. In a statement issued on Friday, the Communist Party of India (CPI) said the time allotted to put forward suggestions on the issue is grossly insufficient.

    “The policy will harm, dilute and destroy the Indian higher education system, leading to commercialization. This decision will make education expensive and Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and the poor will be adversely affected. “The decision is a reflection of the government’s pro-rich approach in the background of a statement made in Parliament by the education minister that Indians should stop depending on the idea that universities should be funded by the government,” the Left party said.

    It accused the government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of spending less than three percent of its budget on education when more allocation is needed. The CPI claimed that the policy of reservation and the principle of social justice will be harmed by this decision in a big way.

    The imposition of such a policy on the states is anti-federal and encroachment of the powers of the state governments, it said.

    “The CPI demands that the regulatory framework for such universities must be placed before and discussed in Parliament before taking any hasty and unilateral decision that can jeopardise the future of our students and the country. “The CPI calls upon all students’ and teachers’ organisations to resist this retrograde and exclusionary step,” it said. The UGC on Thursday unveiled draft norms, under which the foreign universities can decide on the admission process, and fee structure and repatriate their funds back home.

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  • New UGC Rules Will Ensure More Of Our Brightest Students Can Get Into PhD Programmes At An Early Age

    New UGC Rules Will Ensure More Of Our Brightest Students Can Get Into PhD Programmes At An Early Age

    Samir V Kamat, DRDO chairman, obtained his BTech (Hons) in 1985 from IIT Kharagpur and, in the next three years, completed his PhD from the Ohio State University in 1988. Amit Kumar at IIT Delhi did his BTech from IIT Kanpur in 1997 and obtained his PhD in 2002 from Cornell University. He is a Bhatnagar Award winner. Shubham Sahay at IIT Kanpur obtained his BTech from IIT (BHU) in 2014 and a PhD from IIT Delhi in 2018. At IIT Kanpur, students have routinely rated his teaching as outstanding.

    I can cite any number of cases from our higher education institutes (HEIs) of outstanding teachers and researchers minus a PG degree. Globally too, we have many such examples.

    Robert Burns Woodward entered MIT in 1933 for his UG programme but was excluded from MIT at the end of the fall term in1934 due to a lack of attention to formal studies. Later he was allowed to re-enrol in the fall term of 1935. Woodward obtained the UG degree in 1936 and a PhD degree in 1937. He was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

    Sayeef Salahuddin at the University of California Berkeley, who discovered the Negative Capacitance Transistors, received his BSc from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2003 and a direct PhD from Purdue University in 2007.

    It is not true that PhDs who have bypassed the PG degree will have inadequate knowledge of the core discipline, which will lead to degrading teaching or research standards. We may tend to dismiss the above examples as coming from only top institutes such as IITs, Purdue, and MIT.

    Let us not underestimate the talent that is present in the university ecosystem of India. Since our admission processes are by elimination rather than selection due to intense competition, a huge pool of highly talented students who could not get into top HEIs is part of the university system. Once we provide the opportunity to the passionate students among these to move into a PhD programme after their UG degree, they will have the chance to blossom into outstanding teachers or researchers.

    By keeping our University educational system too rigid, we are only keeping many talented students from reaching the pinnacle of their real potential. That is why the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced the new four-year UG programme and flexible PhD regulations permitting these students with four-year UG degrees to join PhD programmes.

    There is an erroneous belief that UGC has done this to produce more PhDs.

    Getting into a PhD programme is also a long commitment requiring determination and hard work. The option of doing a PhD is only for those with the potential, passion, and focus for high attainment in a specific discipline. The goal of UGC in permitting students after a UG degree into PhD programmes is not numbers but quality.

    As per NEP 2020, the four-year undergraduate programme offers an honours degree, with the last year dedicated to research or an honours degree with a primary focus on coursework. The new regulations will permit students from both categories to join PhD degree programmes. But how can students who have not chosen the research path in the fourth year be admitted to a PhD programme? After a four-year course-based UG programme, the student may work on an industry or university research project and gain research experience. Such students, too, should get an opportunity to join a PhD programme without being forced to do a PG degree. Or they can be trained in research methods during the beginning of their PhD programme.

    In the UGC’s new PhD regulations, anyone who has completed a four-year bachelor’s degree programme in any discipline with a minimum of 75 per cent marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade is eligible for a PhD programme. UGC prescribes only the minimum qualifications for admission to a PhD programme. Universities can raise the bar to ensure that only the deserving are admitted to PhD programmes.

    The four-year bachelor’s degree programme introduced in our university system is designed to equip the students with complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creative thinking, and communication skills. This training will accompany rigorous specialisation in a chosen disciplinary or interdisciplinary major and minor subject area.

    A research study on the Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physiology, or medicine between 1901 and 2003 indicates that the majority of the winners who discovered their prize-winning results were aged between 31 and 40. Our creativity declines with ageing in most of us. India has almost 250 million students between 15 and 25 years old. The best among these need to be encouraged to get into research and innovation at an early age after their UG degree when their creativity levels are on an ascending trajectory if India has to become a world leader in research and innovation.

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  • 82% Of Students In Maharashtra Indicate Trouble In Funding Education

    82% Of Students In Maharashtra Indicate Trouble In Funding Education

    According to a recent survey of the effect of Covid-19 on higher education in Maharashtra has indicated that 82% of students envision trouble in funding their education in the new academic year 2020-21.

    Led autonomously by IIT-Bombay faculty BN Jagtap and education researcher Anand Mapuskar, the review has discovered 80 percent female and 84 percent male students have communicated trouble in subsidizing education.

    The urban-country isolate is obvious in the reaction to the study, as 78 percent of students from metro urban communities, 80 percent from locale central command, 83 percent at taluka home office, and 88 percent from provincial regions said they foresaw these troubles.

    The review was directed utilizing Google forms and with a sample size of 38,108 students (19,495 female, 18,602 male, and four transgender) overall college areas of the state.

    The sample size is around 1 percent of the number of students in the state. Up until this point, the state higher and specialized education division has not discharged any information on the effect of Covid-19 on students maharashtra.

    Illuminating the economic trouble due to Covid-19, the report has discovered that 27 percent of students dread that odds of proceeding with their examinations in the academic year 2020-21 are “low to low”. This dread has been communicated by 29 percent male and 25 percent female students. The rate is practically uniform over urban and country settings.

    While 73 percent of students expect that they should monetarily bolster their families. As indicated by the report, students have expressed that various alternatives will be should have been thought of to determine budgetary imperatives, including part-time employment (51 percent), participation in earn-and-learn schemes (18 percent), and helping family agriculture/business on a part-time basis (9 percent).

    The essential hotspot for web office for students is a versatile web with 79 percent profiting on the web education and 91 percent utilizing cell phones, while 32 percent have workstations or work areas and 6 percent have no gadget.

    “Further, the educational establishments need to rearrange time tables for courses including useful/lab hours. The time table for the odd semester of the academic year 2020-21 can have just hypothesis courses conveyed on the web. The research center courses, undertakings, and entry-level positions might be pushed back to the even semester or even to the following academic year,” Mapuskar said.

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  • Indian Colleges And Universities To Present 40% Course Online

    Indian Colleges And Universities To Present 40% Course Online

    Indian colleges and universities will be permitted to present to 40% of their coursework online, twofold the sum allowed now, as specialists endeavor to decrease scholastic misfortune as a result of the delayed effect of coronavirus on-campus education.

    Summit higher education controller University Grants Commission (UGC) has just settled a team to execute the change and as of late told a social event of executives, principals, and bad habit chancellors of higher educational organizations about its arrangement.

    “We are returning to rules to permit 40% of courses from the present 20% online (mode). This 20% to 40% online substance will help the mixed method of education, which is maybe the need of great importance,” UGC chairman D.P. Singh told the colleges and universities.

    India’s higher education segment, which includes more than 50,000 colleges and universities, is shut since the third seven day stretch of March to control the spread of covid-19. Although the Union home ministry was of the assessment that the foundations may open after July, following conferences with states and partners, the developing number of positive cases has made uncertainty about its reasonability. For instance, IIT Kharagpur has requested that its occupant students return home by 20 June.

    A government official who declined to be named said that however it was normal that the new scholastic year will start in August, it appears to be improbable that the scholarly schedule can go as arranged and it very well may be ordinary like a year ago for the initial three to a half year.

    “The disturbances have just removed three months of the instructing learning schedule and except if a mixed learning model is encouraged, more harm will be done to the higher education division. Prior we had permitted 20%, yet there is a developing acknowledgment that permitting up to 40% conveyance online will spare time and connect with students and instructors in significant work in the current condition,” the official said.

    The advancement comes amid a government push for online education and with the Union government attempting to build up a solitary vault of e-assets for every single educational foundation.

    This 40% coursework conveyance online will be unique about the completely online courses that the main 100 universities will be permitted to offer from the coming scholarly meeting, as declared as of late by the finance minister as a major aspect of a covid-19 improvement bundle for various segments.

    “This is to guarantee that the ordinary colleges and universities don’t remain behind,” said the government official referenced previously.

    Singh told the Indian universities and colleges that they have to improve their advanced framework and limit the scholastic loss of students, just as guarantee that educators embrace innovation to make the procedure smoother.

    “In the current situation, mixed learning is the path forward. A sizable bit of the course conveyance happening online followed by an eye to eye learning condition is by all accounts a need. In any case, establishments should put resources into the computerized foundation, which is likewise a costly issue,” said Harivansh Chaturvedi, executive of Birla Institute of Management Technology and interchange president of Education Promotion Society of India.

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  • ‘One Nation, One Exam’ Concept in The Works: UGC Chairman

    ‘One Nation, One Exam’ Concept in The Works: UGC Chairman

    From perceptible macro-level reforms to subtle nuanced shifts, India’s education system is undergoing a sea change under the New Education Policy (NEP), 2020. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is now aiming at combining NEET and JEE (Main) with the CUET to create a One Nation One Exam for all purposes. Talking to Vibha Sharma, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar spoke about important issues concerning the students. Excerpts:

    Some exam centres for the CUET said at the eleventh hour that they could not conduct the paper, while some said the computers developed glitches in spite of due checks. Lesson learnt this won’t happen next year.

    CUET

    The First Edition of CUET Evoked a Mixed Response. What went Wrong?

    There are three components of the CUET — one, setting the question paper and converting it into the digital format. Two, identifying the exam centres equipped with internet and computers and, three, a glitch-free software that collects the responses and processes these to give results.

    We only faced problems in the second part. Some centres said at the eleventh hour that they could not conduct the exam, while some said the computers developed glitches in spite of due checks. Lesson learnt this won’t happen next year. We’ll rope in more private centres next time.

    Almost 90 universities have adopted the exam. Students have benefited from it. They can now apply to several universities with a single score.

    Some Students Say There Was Confusion and They Could Not Secure Admission to a College/University of Their Choice Because of the ‘Normalisation’ of Marks.

    Many universities such as the DU announced their admission policies in advance. It is possible that some students did not read the instructions about the One Nation One Exam combinations. One of the solutions is to create better awareness about possible combinations. It is important that students look for the combinations in advance and write the papers accordingly. Besides, the UGC will advise universities to come out with their admission policies well in advance.

    What About Those Who Have not Done Well in the CUET And May not Get a College of Their Choice Despite Scoring Well in Class XII?

    The contention that the normalisation of marks helps social science students and that they have an advantage over those choosing science is misplaced. Let us assume that the CUET was not rolled out and the admissions were held on the basis of Class XII exams. Average marks in social sciences are generally higher than average marks in physics, mathematics and chemistry. In other words, the situation would have been the same with or without the CUET.

    Marks were normalised only in one subject across different sessions, not across subjects. We will see whether or not the matter can be addressed next year. I am not promising anything because first we need to explore the possibilities and speak with experts.

    There is Criticism From Some Quarters That the CUET Will Encourage Coaching Centres.

    It is a genuine concern and for this very reason, the CUET has been introduced. With the new exam, students can apply to different universities using normalised scores. This year, the number of applicants in the DU has jumped from 2.5 lakh to 6 lakh, which shows that students have more opportunities because of the One Nation One Exam. Why didn’t it happen when Class XII marks were the basis of admission?

    Whenever there is a supply-demand mismatch, students will go for coaching to fare well in the exams. It is for us — parents and teachers — to realise that the purpose of education is to make our children lifelong learners. Is securing 99 per cent our objective in life? I don’t think getting into an IIT or a top university is the be-all and end-all of life.

    What More is in the Pipeline?

    education and

    Soon, the UGC will announce the National Credit Framework with school education, skill education and higher education as its three pillars. Every child, right from the school, will start earning credits. With this academic bank of credits, students can choose subjects for higher education and plan their career path. They can also shift to other universities, which was not possible earlier.

    Another area that needs attention is the accessibility of higher education at an affordable cost. The UGC will encourage top universities such as the IITs to offer online degrees with no age or time limit.

    The UGC is Also Working on Merging the CUET, JEE and NEET. When will it be Implemented?

    The UGC is working on the idea of “ One Nation One Exam”. With this, many logistical issues will be taken care of. Depending on their need, students can pick a combination of subjects from the same entrance examination.

    The UGC will discuss the matter with the stakeholders before taking any decision. We will hold several meetings with universities. It is not going to be implemented in the next two years. Students need time to adapt to such changes. The concept is at the stage of ideation.

    What do You Have to Say on The Charge That The Government is Trying to Saffronise The Education System?

    The only guiding document for the UGC is the NEP-2020, which clearly says that our education has to be based on Indian ethos, culture and civilisation. We can modernise the base and make it compatible with the western education, but we cannot undermine our own base. Students need to know how our civilisation survived for so long. Many people believe that India started prospering only after the British left. We need to have an integrated approach to our education. A professor of the IIM-Bengaluru cites the Bhagavad Gita while teaching students about leadership qualities. Knowledge, irrespective of the source and applicable to the present times, should be imbibed.

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  • AICTE Nod to ‘Vedic Board’ Without Syllabus Scan

    AICTE Nod to ‘Vedic Board’ Without Syllabus Scan

    Technical education regulator AICTE’s recent directive to colleges to accept the Class X and XII certificates issued by a new “Vedic board” comes without the scrutiny of the syllabuses & Without Syllabus Scan to assess whether these meet the requirements for admission to engineering courses, government sources said.

    The website of the government-run institution that has set up the Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Sanskrit Shiksha Board shows that its Class XII students study one combined science and social science paper.

    However, one of AICTE’s eligibility criteria for BTech admission requires candidates to have passed their 10+2 examination with distinct papers on science subjects, choosing from physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, biotechnology, electronics, graphics engineering, and the like.

    The competencies possessed by students seeking admission to engineering programs must be thoroughly assessed. It’s very difficult for the higher education system to make up for knowledge deficiencies (carried over from school),” Onkar Singh, former vice-chancellor of the Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur, said.

    The AICTE had issued a circular to technical universities and approved institutions asking them to treat the Veda Bhushan and Veda Vibhushan certificates of the Maharshi Sandipani Board as equivalent to the Class X and Class XII certificates of other recognized boards.

    Two education ministry officials separately confirmed to The Telegraph that before issuing the circular, the AICTE did not study the Veda Bhushan and Veda Vibhushan syllabuses. Both tried to play down the development.

    “The AICTE has not conducted any study Without a Syllabus Scan of the (Maharshi Sandipani Board),” one of them said.

    But he added that the regulator had “circulated the decision for public awareness” about the recent government recognition for the board.

    “Colleges admit students on the basis of their own selection norms. They will see whether the students fulfil their expectations,” the other official said.

    “However, a college cannot deny admission saying the student had qualified (merely) with a Veda Vibhushan certificate.”

    The website of the Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratisthan, which has set up the Maharshi Sandipani Board, shows that the Veda Bibhushan syllabus has three papers of 100 marks each on the Vedas and one paper each in English, Sanskrit, social sciences & science, and mathematics. The Veda Bhushan has a similar syllabus.

    The Maharshi Sandipani Board, Vedic Board and the Bharatiya Shiksha Board of Patanjali Yogapeetha had in August received “equivalence” for their certificates from the government-designated body, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), bringing them on a par with other school boards.

    The Union education communicated the decision to all the states, the higher education regulator University Grants Commission, and the AICTE.

    The AICTE circular issued last week told the colleges: “You are, therefore requested to consider Veda Bhushan & Veda Vibhushan certifications awarded to candidates by MSRVVP equivalent to 10th Standard & 12th Standard certificates respectively for the academic purposes.”

    A former vice-chancellor of a state university said the AICTE should have examined the Veda Vibhushan syllabus thoroughly.

    “Many engineering colleges face up to 70 percent seat vacancies; they may lure these students,” he said.

    An email sent to AICTE chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar on Wednesday asking why the regulator has endorsed the Veda Vibhushan for BTech admissions without scrutiny has remained unanswered.

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  • AICTE, UGC Announces Plans To Adopt Cluster Approach For Similar Functions

    AICTE, UGC Announces Plans To Adopt Cluster Approach For Similar Functions

    The University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) decided on September 21, that a cluster approach may be adopted by clubbing officers of both the regulators to deal with similar functions. According to an official statement, the decision was taken at a meeting of all the bureau heads of the technical education and higher education regulators.

    “In the meeting both the regulators agreed to work mutually in areas of research and innovation, e-governance, translation of books in regional languages, and examination reforms, among others,” M Jagadesh Kumar,  chairman, UGC, who is also the interim chairperson of AICTE, said.

    Furthermore, Kumar at the meeting noted the need for unified functioning, an undeviating regulatory framework, and standardized processes. 

    The chairman further emphasised that both the higher education regulators must work in a synchronized way, learn from each other, share and adopt each other’s best practices and have a coordinated approach towards different aspects of higher education.

    Post detailed deliberations, it emerged that both UGC and AICTE must share a symbiotic relationship and mutually work on matters such as faculty development programme, students and faculty induction programme, skill development, internships, internationalisation, pursuing two degrees simultaneously in physical, online, hybrid mode and Indian Knowledge System and universal human values, among others,

    Kumar Said. 

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