182 univs have held exams, 177 yet to decide: UGC

182 univs have held exams, 177 yet to decide: UGC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  17.07.2020

As of Wednesday 182 universities had already completed their examinations via online and offline mode, while 177 others are yet to decide on the conduct of examinations. On Thursday, the University Grants Commission shared an updated status of university examinations since the release of guidelines on July 6 regarding terminal semester/final year examinations.

As per the guidelines, universities and higher education institutions are expected to conduct the final year examinations by September-end either offline, online or in a hybrid mode. The UGC had sought responses from the universities on the status of the examinations and received replies from 640 of them. According to the UGC, 234 are planning to conduct the final year exams in August and September, which makes 454 universities which have either conducted the exams or are planning to.

There are 38 other universities which are planning the same as per the directions of the relevant statutory councils. The disruption of academic activities due to Covid-19 had adversely affected the conduct of exams across the country.

UGC may clarify hostel fee issue

UGC may clarify hostel fee issue

Ardhra.Nair@timesgroup.com

Pune: 17.07.2020

Students from various institutes in the city have taken to social media to vent their frustration over paying the hostel fee for the new academic year even though they won’t be using the facility. University Grants Commission (UGC) officials said they will consider issuing guidelines after studying the matter.

UGC vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan said, “We have not got any formal representation regarding these issues so far. The UGC will consider issuing suitable guidelines once we know a detailed statement of difficulties. We will ensure that students’ interests are protected in these difficult times.”

A student of MKSSS’s School of Fashion Technology wrote, “I got an e-mail from the college regarding the fee payment. They are not ready to give any concession in the fee for trips, gymkhana, etc, which we obviously will not be using. They are also not ready to reduce the Rs1,13,000 hostel fee.”

MM Hundekar, principal of the institute, replied, “The hostel is not compulsory for students. If a student is opting for hostel facility, s/he needs to pay a nominal fee. We have mentioned in the mail to students that those in financial trouble can inform the college and we will give concession on a case to case basis.”

Guv, CM clash on council seats likely

Guv, CM clash on council seats likely

Prafulla.Marpakwar@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  17.07.2020

A fresh cold war is brewing between Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray over the appointment of 12 eminent persons in the legislative council as nominees of Raj Bhavan.

The Governor nominates 12 eminent persons in the fields of literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service on the legislative council. The seats have been vacant since June 15 after the six-year tenure of the outgoing MLCs ended.

If a senior Congress cabinet member is to be believed, it will not be smooth sailing as Koshyari has taken a stand that there is no urgency, especially considering the pandemic situation. “Raj Bhavan has informally expressed the view that the appointments can wait,” he said. Raj Bhavan did not respond to TOI’s message on nominations to the state legislative council.

The Congress minister said going by past experience, Raj Bhavan may not approve the list of nominees in the first go. In January, the MVA government had submitted a list of two NCP leaders— Shivajirao Garge and A Nalawadi —for appointment to two vacant seats in the council, but the proposal was never considered. Even Uddhav Thackeray, who had sought to be nominated from the Governor’s quota, had been snubbed and his nomination rejected on technical grounds.

“We fear even if we submit a list of eminent persons, Raj Bhavan will delay the appointments since, under the law, no time-frame can be fixed,’’ he said.

Uddhav Thackeray

‘We’re not guv’s servants, have other work to do’

‘We’re not guv’s servants, have other work to do’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata:  17.07.2020

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she and her government were not Raj Bhavan’s “servants”, and their “only job was not to answer the governor’s queries”.

Banerjee’s riposte came around five hours after governor Jagdeep Dhankhar repeated his litany of charges against her government, including its alleged lack of response to his queries.

A livid Banerjee held up a bunch of papers during the press briefing at Nabanna, showing the answers her government had given the governor. “I responded to his queries four times on Wednesday,” she said. “Beshi barabari hochchhe (It is getting too much),” she added, referring to the governor’s charge of a “politically caged education” system in Bengal.

‘Guv speaks like politician’

Earlier in the day, Dhankhar had threatened to crack the whip on vicechancellors of state-run universities (of which the governor is chancellor) for giving his virtual conference the miss. He said he would have to set in motion action to “deal with their (the VCs’) conduct in accordance with the applicable act”, prompting the higher education department to issue a statement that the governor was crossing his brief on grounds that acts and rules could be challenged only in a court of law.

Banerjee accused the governor of speaking like a politician. “I respect the chair he holds, but we also expect some courtesy from him. The governor is speaking like a political party man. It’s getting too much,” she said. “How many times in a day should I talk to him? We have jobs other than responding to the Centre’s queries. He can question us, can say that a BJP person was murdered before getting the post-mortem report,” the CM hit out.

The governor had also trashed the West Bengal Vice-Chancellors’ Council, terming it a “trade union”. “No other state has this forum,” he said. “This forum has met four times, and on each occasion it was against the chancellor.” The chief minister took strong exception to the comment. “Allow VCs to work with self-respect. Any vindictive action will spark reactions across Bengal,” she said, advising the governor to take a look at the state of affairs in UP universities and central universities such as JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia.

The chief minister also objected to Dhankhar’s asking the VCs to ensure that students do not have to pay beyond the stipulated fees during admission to colleges this year. “The governor doesn’t know that college admissions have gone online since the last two years,” she said.

The governor said he wanted the government and state universities to come out with a clear action plan on how they were dealing with students’ issues — from redrawing the academic calendar, deciding on the mode of examination and the degreeawarding process during the pandemic. “I have been in touch with the UGC chairman and have been updating him about the plight of students who keep on posting their anxiety to me,” Dhankhar said.

Banerjee said she had already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to get the UGC to re-examine its revised guidelines issued in July, and restore its earlier guideline that had asked universities and colleges to devise an alternative evaluation process during the pandemic. “The state government, in consultation with the VCs, has worked out an evaluation method. I would urge the governor to have patience and leave certain things to the administration,” the chief minister said.

'தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்ற போலீஸ் பணி நீக்கம் சரியே!'

'தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்ற போலீஸ் பணி நீக்கம் சரியே!'

Added : ஜூலை 16, 2020 22:48

மதுரை : துப்பாக்கியால் சுட்டு, தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்ற போலீஸ்காரரின் பணி நீக்கத்தை, உயர் நீதிமன்றக் கிளை உறுதி செய்தது.

உயர் நீதிமன்ற மதுரைக் கிளை வளாகத்தில், நீதிபதிகள் குடியிருப்பு உள்ளது.இங்கு, மதுரை, 6வது சிறப்பு பட்டாலியன் போலீஸ்காரராக இருந்த காமேஸ்வரன், 25, பாதுகாப்பில் ஈடுபட்டார். இவர், 2016 ஜூன், 9ம் தேதி மாலை, 5:30 மணிக்கு, துப்பாக்கியால் தனக்குத் தானே சுட்டு, தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்றார். சிகிச்சையில் குணமடைந்தார். இச்சம்பவத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து, காமேஸ்வரனுக்கு காவல் துறை சார்பில் குற்றச்சாட்டு, 'மெமோ' வழங்கப்பட்டது. அதில், 'துப்பாக்கியை தவறாக பயன்படுத்தி, தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்றுள்ளீர்கள்.காவல் துறையின் நற்பெயருக்கு களங்கம் கற்பிக்கும் நோக்கில், நன்னடத்தை விதிகளை மீறியுள்ளீர்கள்' என குறிப்பிடப்பட்டது.முடிவில், காமேஸ்வரன் பணி நீக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டார்.

இதை எதிர்த்து, காமேஸ்வரன் செய்த மேல்முறையீட்டை ஆயுதப்படை, டி.ஐ.ஜி., 2017ல் நிராகரித்தார். இதை எதிர்த்து, உயர் நீதிமன்றக் கிளையில், காமேஸ்வரன் மனு செய்தார்.தனி நீதிபதி, 'மனுதாரர் குடும்ப பிரச்னையால், மூன்று முறை தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்றுள்ளார். எதிர்காலத்தில் இதுபோல் ஈடுபட மாட்டார் என்பதற்கு உத்தரவாதம் இல்லை. காவல் துறை, ஒழுக்கமிக்க படை. இதில் பணிபுரிய, திடமான மனநிலை வேண்டும். மனுதாரர் மீதான குற்றச்சாட்டு உறுதியாகிறது. மனுவை தள்ளுபடி செய்கிறேன்' என, 2017ல் உத்தரவிட்டார். இதை எதிர்த்து, காமேஸ்வரன் மேல்முறையீடு செய்தார். நீதிபதிகள் எம்.சத்தியநாராயணன், பி.ராஜமாணிக்கம் அமர்வு, தனி நீதிபதியின் உத்தரவை உறுதி செய்து, மேல்முறையீட்டு மனுவை தள்ளுபடி செய்தது.

Over 400 varsities have held exams or taking steps in that direction, says UGC data

Over 400 varsities have held exams or taking steps in that direction, says UGC data

Shortly after UGC issued guidelines on exams on April 6, in which exams for final year students were mandated, the UGC had written to different universities seeking to know the status.EDUCATION Updated: Jul 16, 2020 18:19 IST

Amandeep Shukla

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Of the 640 universities which wrote back to the regulator, over 450 said they had either conducted the exams or were planning to do so in the coming months.(HT file)

Over 180 universities have already conducted exams for their students while another 234 are planning to hold tests in online in the months of August and September, according to data available with higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC).

Shortly after it issued guidelines on exams on April 6, in which exams for final year students were mandated, the UGC had written to different universities seeking to know the status.

Of the 640 universities which wrote back to the regulator, over 450 said they had either conducted the exams or were planning to do so in the coming months.

According to the data, accessed by HT, 182 universities have conducted the exams either in online or offline modes. 234 universities said that they were planning to do the same in August or September. Around 30 universities are waiting for directions from their statutory councils before they hold the exams.

According to information available with the regulator, 177 universities are yet to take a final call on holding these tests. In case of 27 private universities, which were set up in 2019-20, the batches in various courses are yet to enter the final year, so they don’t have to hold these exams.

Earlier, the UGC had on the basis of recommendations of a committee headed by Central University of Haryana (CUH) Vice Chancellor R C Kuhad said that universities should conduct the exams for students passing out of various courses in either online, offline or blended more (combination of online and offline).

The UGC has opined that holding exams is important to retain the credibility of the Indian education system and would be in the interest of students.

However, states like Punjab, Maharashtra and Delhi had expressed difficulty in conducting exams in view of the pandemic. The Delhi government had said that it was in favour of cancelling all exams.

The Punjab government, it is learnt, had also written to UGC to reconsider its suggestions. The regulator is learnt to have asked it find a suitable way to hold the tests. The HRD ministry has also released guidelines on how exams can be held.

The ministry has also felt that even state and private universities should abide by the guidelines of the UGC, which is entrusted with maintaining educational standards.

“The UGC has sought the data from various universities. In what is a positive sign, a large number of them have either held exams or are in the process. The UGC believes that holding exams for final year students would be greatly beneficial to their long-term prospects,” said a person familiar with the developments.

Of the 640 universities from which the UGC has received response were 120 Deemed universities, 229 private, 251 state universities and 40 central varsities. There are around 1000 universities in the country.

Over 450 universities have either conducted final exams or are planning to do so: UGC

Over 450 universities have either conducted final exams or are planning to do so: UGC

PTI | Jul 16, 2020, 07.28 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) Thursday said over 450 universities have either conducted their final examinations or are planning to do so in offline or online mode.

The status update by the higher education regulator came amid opposition by several states to conducting examinations in universities in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases.

The commission had asked universities for a status report on the conduct of examination.

It received responses from 640 universities including 120 deemed ones, 229 private universities, 40 central universities and 251 state universities.

"Out of the 640 universities, 454 universities have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct," the UGC said in a statement.

"While 182 universities have already conducted examination either online or offline, 234 are planning to conduct examination in August or September and 38 are planning to conduct examination as per the directions of the relevant Statutory Council," it added.

A total of 177 universities are yet to decide on the conduct of examination.

"In case of 27 private universities, which were established during 2019-20 to till date, the first batch is yet to become eligible for final examination," the UGC said.

Earlier this month, the University Grants Commission (UGC) in its revised guidelines directed the higher education institutions that final year examinations would be conducted in the month of September 2020, instead of July 2020, as per its guidelines announced in April.

Punjab, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Delhi have expressed reservations against the examination plan, citing the COVID-19 situation.

According to the HRD Ministry, the guidelines issued by the UGC have to be followed mandatorily as academic evaluation of students is crucial to ensure credibility and career opportunities.

The UGC guidelines of April and the revised guidelines of July changed the examination window from July to September.

However, it directed all higher education institutions to conduct the terminal semester or final year examinations either offline, online or in blended mode.

The first and second year students were exempted from the exams and will be assessed based on previous semester performance and internal assessments.

Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16, when the Centre announced a nationwide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day. While the government has eased several restrictions, schools and colleges continue to remain closed.