Affiliation issue keeps college teachers, students on the edge

VNSGU VS SARVAJANIK UNIVERSITY

Affiliation issue keeps college teachers, students on the edge

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Surat:24.07.2021

Future of some of the oldest colleges of south Gujarat run by Sarvajanik Education Society (SES) hangs in balance as there is uncertainty over which university they would be affiliated to. Currently, these colleges are affiliated with Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) ever since they came into existence.

Now, with the formation of Sarvajanik University of SES, these colleges are gradually being disaffiliated by VNSGU as per government guidelines. However, the Sarvajanik University is not ready to give affiliation to these colleges without clarity on the issue of grants for salary and perks.

This has raised doubts about the future among the teachers and students of grant-inaid colleges of SES. The teachers and students of SESrun colleges on Friday held protests at VNSGU and made representation to the officials. The colleges in question include MTB Arts College, Sir P T Sarvajanik College of Science, Sir K P College of Commerce. However, VNSGU vice-chancellor K N Chavda clarified that the university had no role in it.

“There cannot be two acts or set of rules for a private university in the state and as per my knowledge, there are no disputes,” added Chavda.

VNSGU came into existence in 1966 in the campus Sarvajanik Education Society (SES). Meanwhile, SES’s Sarvajanik University was approved by the government recently.

Chairman of SES Kamlesh Naik said, “We had proposed the government that we will take only self-finance institutions (SFI) while the grant-in aide colleges will remain affiliated with VNSGU. We are ready to affiliate grant-in aide colleges only if we get assurance on grants from the government.” VNSGU started disaffiliation of eight colleges of which five are run by the SES, one by the Vanita Vishram Trust and two from Bardoli are associated with trust that runs Uka Tarsadia University. A senior syndic of VNSGU, Sanjay Desai, said, “Earlier, in May the government had ordered a process of disaffiliation. Since it was not done, government sent a reminder for quick implementation. Teachers and students of these colleges don’t need to worry as there will be no changes in benefits they are receiving.”

Corona batch: 23k from Guj went abroad for education

Corona batch: 23k from Guj went abroad for education

Fourth Highest Figure In India

Parth.Shastri@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:24.07.2021

Despite travel restrictions being in place for much of 2020, 2.61 lakh students made it to other countries for pursuing studies, revealed the data tabled in the Rajya Sabha by the ministry of external affairs. The number represented more than a 50% fall from the four-year high of 5.88 lakh in 2019.

Gujarat showed a similar trend with the student numbers falling from 48,051 to 23,156 in the same period, a 52% drop.

In terms of sending students abroad, Gujarat was in fourth place behind Andhra Pradesh (35,614), Punjab (33,412), and Maharashtra (29,079). In all, about 9% of the students who went abroad from India were from Gujarat. Even in the first two months of 2021, the state maintained that ratio.

The data from 2016 also revealed that the number of those aspiring to study abroad has doubled from 24,775 in 2016 to 48,051 in 2019.

“Covid has surely impacted the plans of many aiming for both graduate and postgraduate studies,” said Jay Trivedi, a city-based immigration and visa consultant. “Annually, about 15,000 students go to Canada and the US alone for further studies. The number has been affected a bit due to travel restrictions and other factors.” Trivedi added: “But the trend is here to stay, with countries such as Australia and Germany and some other European countries attracting students for specialized courses.” How will 2021 pan out for the students? Nethra Rangarajan (name changed), a city-based private university student, said that she had waited for a year to get admission in an AI learning course in the US.

Unable to get jab? Visit a mall

Unable to get jab? Visit a mall

Chennai: 24.07.2021 

If you haven’t been able to get vaccinated, visit a mall. Greater Chennai Corporation is conducting camps to vaccinate workers of malls and markets in the city and will open them up to members of the public as well.

Deputy commissioner Vishu Mahajan said vaccination camps had been set up at 10 malls and 38 markets. “Our target is to vaccinate 60,000-70,000 employees of malls and marketplaces. We have already vaccinated around 40,000,” he said. If doses are available, others who walk in will also be vaccinated, he added. Registration will be done on the spot and data entry operators will enter all details on the CoWIN portal. Locations such as Ranganathan Street, Ritchie Street and similar crowded areas are among the 48 locations to set up camps. TNN

Applications sought for UG, PG courses on labour law

Applications sought for UG, PG courses on labour law

Chennai:

The Tamil Nadu Institute of Labour Studies has invited applications for UG and PG courses on labour management. Candidates can contact coordinator (admission) R Rameshkumar on 9884159410/044-29567885/29567886. TNN

₹9,725 crore spent so far on Covid-19 vax programme

₹9,725 crore spent so far on Covid-19 vax programme

New Delhi:24.07.2021

A total of around ₹9,725 crore has been spent so far on the Covid-19 vaccination programme including procurement of vaccines and operational cost for vaccination, the government informed the Parliament on Friday.

It also maintained that there has been no delay in procurement of jabs and that the target of delivering 135 crore doses between August and December is on track, minister of state for health, Bharti Pravin Pawar, said in response to a question from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and TMC’s Mala Roy.

“Between August 2021 to December 2021, a total of 135 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine are expected to be available. There has been no delay in entering into purchase agreements with the domestic vaccine manufacturers. Advance payments have also been made to manufacturers for the supply orders placed with them,” Pawar said. TNN

Govt appoints 12 new VCs for central universities

Govt appoints 12 new VCs for central universities

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.07.2021

The government announced the appointment of vice chancellors to 12 central universities (CUs) on Friday.

“The VC appointments have been approved by the President for 12 central universities,” an ministry of education official said.

The newly appointed vice chancellors include Tankeshwar Kumar (Central University of Haryana), Prakash Bansal (Central University of Himachal Pradesh), Sanjeev Jain (Central university of Jammu), Kshitij Bhusan Das (Central University of Jharkhand), Battu Satyanarayana (Central University of Karnataka), Muthukalingan Krishnan (Central University of Tamil Nadu) and Basuthkar J Rao (Central University of Hyderabad).

Also appointed were Kameshwar Nath Singh (Central University of South Bihar); Prabha Shankar Shukla, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong; Alok Kumar Chakrawal (Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur); Syed Ainul Hasan, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) and Lokender Singh, Manipur University.

Union minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan had on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that a total of 22 posts of vice chancellors in central universities are vacant, out of which appointments to 12 posts have already been finalised by the Visitor, President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 10 universities, which still continue to operate without full time vice chancellors, include Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Surfeit of 95%-plus scores forces CBSE result revision

Surfeit of 95%-plus scores forces CBSE result revision

Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:24.07.2021

The CBSE board is faced with a unique problem this year: A sudden spike in high achievers. After the board’s software pored over the data submitted by schools, it recently found the count of candidates with 95%-plus had zoomed way above the previous years’ numbers.

The board was thus forced to reject a lot of the data, and it asked schools to rework their numbers, scale down the results and re-submit them by July 25. Little wonder then that its Class X results are likely to witness a delay. Earlier, schools across India were to submit the data by June 30, the deadline for which was extended to July 5.

“After that, we noticed that some schools had not followed instructions given to them for preparing the results based on the historical data. Also, some schools committed mistakes in uploading their data. Additionally, some schools have not yet submitted their data at all,” CBSE examination head Sanyam Bhardwaj told TOI.

There are two options in the CBSE results software: One, to upload the results data, and two, to submit the same after finalisation. “Most schools have uploaded the data, but have not submitted the same yet,” a source said. In Mumbai, some schools run by coaching classes and some popular chains of institutes were all pulled up for “inflated” scores.

Schools were asked to pick a reference year out of the past three (2018, 2019 and 2020) and stay in line with that performance. So, if a school picked 2018, when its performance was the most robust, results of 2021 had to be similar. If five students scored above 95%, then this time too, only five ought to be placed in the 95%-plus category, and so on and so forth.

“However, if a school in the reference year picked by them had two students with 95% or more, then this time they have four or five. Hence, we have asked them to streamline their results,” added Bharadwaj.

Students in Birbhum district of Bengal gather to collect their marksheets after the state declared class 12 results on Friday