Bengaluru schools to open from Today
Karnataka primary and secondary education minister BC Nagesh on Thursday said his department is gearing up to reopen schools in Bengaluru starting from today, i.e., Monday. Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said he has sought a report from the Covid technical advisory committee (TAC). Once he gets the report, he will convene a meeting to discuss reopening of schools in Bengaluru and relaxation of other curbs.
The CM said, “We discussed Covid situation, how to manage it in the coming days, representations given by various organisations (for relaxations), functioning of schools, colleges and other issues during the cabinet meeting.
In Bengaluru, in-person learning for classes 1 to 9 was closed as a precautionary measure. Minister BC Nagesh said the Covid positivity rate in the current wave was higher in Bengaluru than the state’s average. “We didn’t know how the third wave was going to unfold. Keeping the safety of children in mind, we decided to close the schools,” he added.
He said the education department is well-equipped to manage schools once they reopen. Nagesh said, “With the brisk pace of vaccination of children aged 15-17 and the city positivity rate suggesting the curve is flattening, we are confident of restarting offline classes.”
He also said parents and teachers have been calling him to start schools since usage of mobile phones was having a negative impact and that students were unable to have any kind of physical activity.
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VP Naidu congratulates IIT Madras for bringing out science and tech magazine ‘Shaastra’
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday congratulated IIT Madras for bringing out science and technology magazine ‘Shaastra’, saying it will benefit those keen on knowing the latest developments in the world of science and innovation. The magazine addresses a mass audience and articulates not just Indian but global trends as well. Supported by 50,000 alumni of IIT Madras, ‘Shaastra’ is intended to serve as a platform to showcase sterling achievements in science, technology and innovation in India and abroad, to enable informed conversations between industry, academia, and policymakers.
Mr. Naidu tweeted“ I compliment IIT-Madras for bringing out ‘Shaastra’, a science and technology magazine. It is a good initiative as the magazine will not only benefit the scientific community but also those who are keen on knowing about the latest developments in the world of science and innovation.”
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University of East Anglia announces Sonny Mehta India scholarship for Indian writers
The UK-based University of East Anglia (UEA) has announced a fully sponsored annual Sonny Mehta India scholarship worth £28,500 for promising Indian writers. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is June 3, 2022. Students can check the website at uea.ac.ukfor more details on the application process and eligibility criteria.
The Sonny Mehta India Scholarship is open to creative writing students from India and the Indian subcontinent. It will cover tuition fee and living costs, as well as contribute towards all the moving expenses to the UK for the duration of the course. This scholarship is aimed towards encouraging young writers, by providing them with substantial financial help in the form of scholarships.
The postgraduate scholarship programme at the UEA is meant for all those aspirants who are self-funded and can validate genuine financial needs along with outstanding creative writing potential.
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Ed-Tech companies can’t be allowed where even IIMs can’t go, says AICTE chairman
The government is not against Ed-Tech companies but they cannot be allowed to delve into areas that are not their domain like offering diploma and degree courses, according to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe. The comments by the AICTE chairman come after the technical education regulator and University Grants Commission (UGC) warned universities and colleges against offering courses in distance learning and online mode in association with Ed-Tech companies, saying no “franchise” agreement is permissible as per norms.
“We are not against Ed-Tech companies, but they cannot be allowed to delve into areas that are not their domain. Norms are norms. We have given approvals to universities and colleges to offer degree and diploma programmes but they are supposed to offer it on their own and not piggyback on private companies or outsource their job to any third party,” Sahasrabudhe said. He said after closely observing the companies, it was found that they were directly releasing advertisements and were offering programmes like MBA and MCA.
“These are postgraduate programmes in management and computer applications that can only be offered by universities and approved colleges. Top institutions in the country like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are also not allowed to offer management degrees, they offer diploma in management. How can we allow ed-tech companies to do so?” he said. The UGC and AICTE have also advised students and parents to check the recognition status of any programme on their websites before enrolling in any course.
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BSEB Bihar board class 12 exams to begin tomorrow
The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) intermediate annual exam will be conducted between February 1 and February 14, 2022, in two groups. A total of 84 exam centres have been prepared in Patna for this exam in which 78,856 candidates are expected to appear.
This year, candidates will have a choice in all of the sections, whether it is objective or subjective, an official notice read. The Bihar Board 2022 admit card for class 10, 12 students have already been released, but can only be downloaded by the school principals. Candidates can collect their admit cards from their respective schools.
In case a student forgets or misplaces his/her admit card, the authorities at the exam centre will have to identify the student through the image available on the attendance sheet and roll call available and then get them a provisional ID card.
There will be 10 sets of question papers this year, ranging from A to J. Answer sheets for subjective questions of 70 to 100 marks will be collected as per the time mentioned at the end of the answer sheet. For objective questions, the first group will have to submit the OMR sheet at 11 am and the second group will be submitting it at 3:15 pm.
Keeping in mind the Covid situation in the country, only two students have to be seated on a bench and hand sanitizers will be available outside every room for students to use. In addition to this, no individual except for students and authorities will be allowed to enter the exam centre.
Education News
IGNOU launches BA courses in Urdu & Sanskrit for 2022 session
The School of Humanities, IGNOU, has launched Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Sanskrit (BASKH) and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Urdu (BAUDH), which will be offered from the January 2022 admission session. Nageshwar Rao, vice chancellor, IGNOU, in his presidential address at the launch of programmes said that many Urdu words are used by all of us in our daily lives and the amalgamation of the languages makes our culture unique.
The applicants interested to enrol in the programmes can access the admission portal of the university at ignouadmission.samarth.edu.in and register for the respective programmes. The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and IGNOU had recently signed an MoU to link vocational education and training with higher education.
The goal of the agreement is to create avenues for work opportunities for India’s youth and to strengthen the vocational and technical training framework. The progress of the programme will be monitored and reviewed by a project steering committee comprising representatives from both – the varsity and the skill ministry. The memorandum has been signed for a period of ten years and is subject to renewal on mutual agreement.
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DU issues notification to discontinue MPhil from next academic session
The Delhi University has issued a notification stating that MPhil will be discontinued from the next academic session in line with the National Education Policy-2020. The university will be implementing the policy from 2022-23.
However, a section of teachers criticised the move to discontinue the degree, saying it will be disadvantageous for students who are not economically strong and even for women.
In a notification issued on January 27, the varsity said MPhil programmes being run in various departments of the University of Delhi will be discontinued from 2022-23 in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.There won’t be any new admissions to MPhil programmes while students who are already enrolled will continue to study the course, according to a university official.
Former Executive Council member Abha Dev Habib said, “NEP-2020 is all about widening the gap between the haves and have nots. Either commit to doing a PhD or remain without a research degree. The NEP, which is floating on advertisement of ‘choice’, is taking away real choices which students had. Students with disadvantageous backgrounds looked up to MPhil as a research degree they could afford before going towards teaching jobs.
This degree (MPhil) is being discontinued not because of any organic need of the system but because of NEP-2020,” she said.
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