IIT Hyderabad 16th best in NIRF ranking

IIT Hyderabad 16th best in NIRF ranking

UoH bags 9th position and OU 32nd in the university category

The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has improved its NIRF 2021 overall ranking by one position.

City Bureau

Hyderabad 

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad has improved its National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2021 overall ranking by one position. The IIT Hyderabad secured 16th rank among the educational institutions in the country while it was in 17th position in the 2020 rankings.

The IIT Madras has topped in the overall rankings which was released by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday. The Indian Institute of Science and IIT Bombay bagged second and third positions.

The University of Hyderabad (UoH) was ranked 17th in this edition of the overall ranking while it was at 15th position in 2020. The National Institute of Technology-Warangal and Osmania University were ranked at 59th and 62nd positions this year while they were at 46th and 53rd positions respectively in the last year’s rankings.

Likewise, in the university category, the UoH has been ranked at 9th, Osmania University at 32nd and International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad at 83rd position, while their 2020 rankings were 6th, 29th and 78th respectively. In the engineering category, IIT Hyderabad was ranked 8th, NIT-Warangal (23rd), IIIT Hyderabad (54th) and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Hyderabad (62nd).

In the case of pharmacy, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad was at 6th position, while Kakatiya University and Anurag University were ranked at 48th and 61st positions respectively. The NALSAR University of Law and ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education got 3rd and 29th ranks in law category respectively.

The universities and institutions were ranked on various parameters that included teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practices, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and perception. The placements and research publications were key parameters among the above.

UP makes mid-term exams must for all univs, private institutions

UP makes mid-term exams must for all univs, private institutions

Isha.Jain@timesgroup.com

Lucknow:11.09.2021

All the universities, including private institutions, will conduct midterm examinations in the academic session 2021-22 which is slated to commence from September 13.

In its latest directives, the government has made midterm examinations compulsory for students enrolled for all courses, irrespective of the system (semester or annual).

The idea is to ensure that students do not suffer in case of any crisis situation like Covid-19 pandemic. “In case of unavoidable circumstances, the mid-term examination will help in timely promotion of students without causing any loss to them,” said the order issued by additional chief secretary, higher education, Monika S Garg.

The directives are a part of the newly-released academic calendar for session 2021-22.

As per the calendar, universities should close fresh admissions to first semester/year by September 13.

To regularise academic session, which got derailed due to prolonged closure of educational institutions in wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the government has also asked institutions to cut down on winter vacation, if required.

Move aimed to help in timely promotion of students

‘Teachers may get 15-day summer vacay in shifts’

In addition, teachers may be given 15 days of summer vacation in shifts so that teaching-learning does not get unhamper.

Universities have been instructed to approve only very important leaves, except maternity, of teaching and non-teaching staff. Condolence meetings of only teachers and administrative staff will be held on campus only after 3 pm. Prior to it, classes will take place on campus, the order said.

The government has also instructed universities to hold extra/online classes if the total number of teaching days – 90 for semester system and 180 for annual system – are not met. Students should be convinced to use higher education digital library.

Yogi gave ₹1,129cr from CM fund to over 71K poor people for treatment

Yogi gave ₹1,129cr from CM fund to over 71K poor people for treatment

Rajiv.Srivastava1@timesgroup.com

Lucknow:11.09.2021

He may have the image of a firebrand leader, but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has revealed his softer self by going way ahead of his predecessors in extending support to the poor and the distressed through the CM’s discretionary fund. In the past four-and-a-half years, Yogi has disbursed Rs 1,129 crore through the fund to 71,626 people for treatment.

The figures are more than double of what SP president Akhilesh Yadav gave away during his five-year tenure as the UP CM and almost 13 times more than Rs 84 crore released by Mayawati during her term (2007-12).

In the past five months (April1-August 31), during and after the second wave of coronavirus pandemic, around Rs 121 crore was provided as financial assistance to 6,618 beneficiaries.

Officials claimed that UP, with a population of around 24 crore, has fared better in tackling the pandemic as compared to any other state.

‘BJP govt extended ₹1.1k-cr aid to poor patients’

Saving lives and livelihood were the top priorities of the Yogi Adityanath government, they added.

In April, Rs 13.26 crore was provided to around 781 people while in May, this went up to nearly Rs 17.20 crore which was disbursed to over 943 people. In June this year, the government provided Rs 24.85 crore to 1,376 beneficiaries followed by Rs 29.33 crore to 1,497 people in July 2021.

Similarly, Rs 36.44 crore was provided to 2,021 people in August.

According to the details released by the CM’s office regarding the funds, the BJP government has till now extended help of over Rs 1,100 crore to poor patients.

The Samajwadi Party government under Akhilesh Yadav had provided Rs 552 crore to 42,508 people while the Mayawati government gave only Rs 84 crore to around 18,462 people.

Officials in the Chief Minister’s office said after coming to power, CM Yogi Adityanath had issued directives that help should be provided to people who had given up hope for treatment for the want of money. The government not only saved the lives of thousands of people but also ensured that they did not have to sell their land and property to meet medical expenses.

The year wise breakup shows the consistency with which the government provided help to the people.

The CM helped 13,228 people with Rs 184.63 crore in 2017-18 through discretionary fund. In 2018-19, over 17,772 people were given over Rs 256.34 crore, while in 2019-20, about 18,014 people received Rs 280.23 crore.

Around Rs 132.55 crore was provided to 7,269 people in 2020-21. Help was provided for kidney transplants and patients suffering from cancer, heart ailments and other serious diseases.

Officials said the maximum money was given to patients for the treatment of cancer, kidney and heart disease.

Man caught with ₹13-cr cobra venom

Man caught with ₹13-cr cobra venom

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya

Jalpaiguri:11.09.2021

A man was on Friday arrested with cobra venom worth Rs 13 crore after he entered India from Bangladesh through the Hili border in South Dinajpur.

Salim Akhtar, from South Dinajpur, reportedly admitted the consignment was headed to China from Bangladesh via India and Nepal. The consigment was seized at 73 More, on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town. He was remanded for six days by the court.

The officials, acting on a tip-off, arrested Akhtar but those who were to receive the venom escaped. Red dragon stickers on the venom containers raised officials’ suspicion that these were meant for China.

Bengal forest minister Jyotipriya Mullick said several people had been arrested earlier too while smuggling snake venom.

Transfer plea on med grounds

Transfer plea on med grounds

Kolkata:11.09.2021

The school education department has issued an order, saying teachers can apply on Utsashree portal for transfer if his/her family member suffers from a serious disease. The district school inspector will forward the case to CMOH and Medical Colleges and Hospital. Depending on the report, such applications should be addressed within 14 days. TNN

From 16th in 2017 to 4th in 2021: CU climbs NIRF ranking ladder

From 16th in 2017 to 4th in 2021: CU climbs NIRF ranking ladder

Zeeshan.Jawed@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:11.09.2021

From being nowhere near the Top10 five years ago to ranking fourth on the National Institution Ranking Framework this year, Calcutta University has steadily climbed up the ladder by improving in several key areas, including teacher-student ratio, experienced faculty, student strength, regional diversity and quality of publications. The university, which was founded in January 1857, has also gained several points with respect to peer perception in the past five years, scoring almost 20 points.

With its improved performance in some of the key areas, CU figured just after IISc, JNU and BHU on the list, bypassing Jadavpur University, which ranked eighth, three rungs down from last year’s fifth position. “The ranking of the university at number four in the country and number one in the state is indicative of the collective zeal of our teachers, researchers, students and all other staff,” said CU vice-chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee. The NIRF rankings were published on Thursday.

In 2017, CU ranked 16th, in 2018,14th, in 2019, it ranked fifth and in 2020, it slid down to the seventh position. In 2018, the university fared badly in the faculty-student ratio category, scoring 15 out of 30. In 2021, the score under this head was 24.21 out of 30. In 2020, the university scored13.57 out of 20 in faculty with experience, but this time, the figure is 16.02 this year. The university’s peer perception score is also up from 37.39 out of 100 in 2019 to 45.77. But in 2020, the peer perception was 47.99. “The university created capital assets, excluding land and building worth Rs 26 crore. The amount spent on library and procuring new equipment for labs was over Rs 74 crore,” said an official.

At 45.77, CU lagged behind JU in peer perception score by almost 21 points, but it beat JU by almost 10 points in facultystudent ratio, four points in faculty with PhD and experience, 4.5 points in intellectual property and patents, 10 points in women diversity and 1.5 in region diversity. “Jadavpur University has faced a few issues in receiving grants over the past few years and that has impeded a lot of development. This reflected in the NIRF ranking this year,” said an official at Jadavpur University.

Five colleges from the state also figured on NIRF Top 100. Of them, only one—Bethune College—is a government institute. St Xavier’s College, with a total score of 67.41, ranked fourth, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira (67.26) ranked fifth, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara (64.45) ranked 15th, Ramakrishna Mission Residential College (62.50) ranked 21st and Bethune College

(52.23) ranked 77th. Bethune principal Krishna Roy said, “It is a matter of great pride that we are the only government college to be among the country’s Top 100. We are proud that we have been able to maintain the standard despite many adversities during pandemic.”

(Inputs by Poulami Roy Banerjee)

ONLY BENGAL MED INSTITUTE IN NIRF

ONLY BENGAL MED INSTITUTE IN NIRF

MCH bags 32nd position in nat’l ranking

Sumati.Yengkhom@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:11.09.2021

Medical College Hospital Kolkata has bagged the 32nd position among all medical colleges across the country, according to the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) 2021. In fact, the oldest medical college in Asia is the only medical institute from Bengal to have found a place in the ranking by the ministry of education, Government of India.

AIIMS New Delhi tops the chart for medical colleges followed by PGI Chandigarh, Christian Medical College Vellore, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore and Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in the second, third, fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Factors including the facilities — teaching as well as patient, hospital infrastructure, number of faculty members, number of research/study projects, number of undergraduate and post graduate students and their placement after course completion, number and quality of seminars/workshops, budgetary allocation for various activities are few of the criterion on the basis of which the ranking is done.

“We are happy to have found a place in the prestigious NIRF ranking,” said Medical College Hospital assistant professor Dibyendu Raycahudhuri, who was the nodal person to coordinate for the assessment.