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Friday, October 18, 2024

UG courses: Only 23 out of 900 colleges opt for 4th yr

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesofindia.com 18.10.2024

Bengaluru : The fourth year of the undergraduate programme under National Education Policy 2020 has not taken off well in the city. Only 15 colleges in Bengaluru City University and eight in Bangalore University have started the fourth year of their programmes. No affiliate college of Bangalore North University has started the fourth year. The three universities have about 300 affiliated colleges each. It may be recalled that when NEP was launched in the state, students were offered four-year programmes. Colleges were given the option to offer the fourth year depending on the infrastructure and student interest. Bangalore University issued a circular asking interested colleges to apply.

Only eight of its 300 affiliate colleges expressed interest, with around 150 students pursuing the programme now. At BCU, 25 colleges expressed interest in running the fourth year but only 15 of them were found eligible. The minimum number of students per course is 15. About 460 students are now pursuing BCA, BBA, BCom, BSc and BA courses at BCU. NEP recommends a cluster system according to which, students from colleges where a fourth year is not available can approach those which offer the programmes. The fourth year did not go down well with the student community at all.

“There was alack of clarity in terms of the one-year post-graduation and how many colleges would offer that. It was only Karnataka that initiated the programme in 2021. Other states did not have four-year programmes as they rolled out NEP only in 2024. Moreover, colleges themselves were not enthused enough as it was relevant only for two batches of NEP. The new Congress govt in the state abolished NEP and introduced SEP. Why would colleges invest in human resources and infrastructure if it was only for two years?” said a senior faculty member of an autonomous college. “Some of the universities are large and it was practically difficult to arrange for a common class for students from various colleges wanting to pursue a particular programme. The cluster system was difficult for such universities. Colleges also did not want to make investments for only a few students,” said a senior academician.

Yet another academician said some universities also did not take keen interest as they feared they would lose out on the postgraduate students. “Many universities thrive on PG programmes. They feared that a fourth year would keep PG aspirants away from their campuses. So the fourth year was not encouraged enough,” said another faculty member.

Airfares skyrocket ahead of Diwali, up to 374% higher than normal

AGAINST LAST YEAR’S FESTIVAL, TICKET COSTS ARE AT LEAST 30% LOWER TIMES NEWS NETWORK 18.10.2024

Ahmedabad : Travelling is certainly going to be an expensive affair as Diwali holiday airfares around the festive season have skyrocketed. Compared to non-festival days, non-stop domestic airfares to various destinations from Ahmedabad, when booked now for travel between Oct 31 and Nov 5, are up to 374% higher. A return ticket to Bagdogra now costs Rs 59,356 (up 374%) against Rs 12,500 of normal fare per person. Similarly, ticket prices to Jaipur (125.5%), Jodhpur (94.3%), Jammu (87.8%), and Kochi (79.7%)have skyr ocketed, as these airports connect tourists to various holiday destinations from Ahmedabad with a direct flight.

“The overall demand for air travel ahead of Diwali is significantly high. Visa woes for certain countries have also led to a surge in domestic travel, with bookings going up by about 25% compared to last year’s Diwali,” said Virendra Shah, chairperson, Travel Agents’Asso cia tion of India (TAAI) Gujarat. This time around, destina tions in the Northeast, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu are very popular among people from Ahmedabad and Gujarat, said Shah. Interestingly, even though airfares are higher compared to non-festive days, they’re still cheaper against last year’s spike.

When booked afortnight before Diwali 2023, a return ticket for Kochi cost as high as Rs 57,400 per person. Similarly, tho se to Bagdogra (Rs 45,389), Jaipur (Rs 24,962), Dehradun (Rs 33,763), Chandigarh (Rs 36,998) and Kolkata (Rs 41,730) were also 30- 60% higher than this year’s airfares. Increased capacity and the recent fall in oil prices are considered to be among the factors for the fall in air ticket prices, according to industry players. The analysis by an online trav el portal showed that average airfare on domestic routes has declined in the range of 20-25% across the country.

Thursday, October 17, 2024

BCI told to decide on law course attendance

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 17.10.2024

New Delhi : Delhi High Court has asked Bar Council of India (BCI) to have its legal education committee finalise a stance on the requirement of attendance in law courses. A bench of justices Pratibha M Singh and Amit Sharma was dealing with a case stemming from the death of a law student, Sushant Rohilla, who died by suicide in 2016 after allegedly being barred from writing his semester exam due to a shortage of attendance. The court earlier questioned the mandatory attendance norms, asking BCI to file an affidavit. Rohilla was a third-year law student at Amity Law School and left behind a note which allegedly stated that he was a failure and did not wish to live. While the matter was initiated by Supreme Court in Sept 2016 following the incident, the case was subsequent ly transferred to the High Court in March 2017.

In an order passed recently, the bench directed BCI's legal education committee to hold a meeting and file its affidavit within two weeks. Listing the matter for hearing on Nov 6, the court granted further time to Amity Law School to present its stance on granting ex-gratia compensation to the family of the deceased. During the hearing, the counsel for Amity Law School said the institution was not at fault, adding that the parents of the deceased student were duly notified about the shortage of attendance. However, the High Court reiterated its query about whether the institute is willing to compensate the family. The court previously expressed an imminent need to re-evaluate the mandatory attendance norms in colleges and universities, as teaching methods changed substantially post Covid-19.

NEWS TODAY 17.10.2024

Medical student loses seat over NRI quota ineligibility

K.Kaushik@timesofindia.com 17.10.2024

Madurai : The selection committee of the directorate of medical education and Research withdrew the medical admission and NRI candidature of H Madhav Krishna following a Madras high court order. The court ruled that Krishna did not q ualify under the NRI quota as he is not a blood relative of his sponsor. Krishna, represented by his father, applied under the NRI quota with a certificate stating that his uncle, Ramesh Govindan Nair, would support him. However, the authorities required the relationship to be shown as uncle of the student, causing a delay in obtaining a corrected certificate and resulting in Krishna’s initial denial of admission. Krishna challenged the order in court, and a single bench granted him relief, allowing his admission to Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences.

The director of medical admission later challenged this order. During the hearing, it was argued that the NRI applicant must be related to the sponsor within the first degree. The prospectus specifies that NRI quota seats are for bona fide NRIs and their children or wards, including specific blood relatives. Krishna, being a son of the NRI sponsor’s wife’s cousin, did not qualify. A division bench of justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gowri upheld the rejection of Krishna’s candidature, stating that his disqualification was fundamental. Krishna’s seat was denied under the NRI quota, but he may apply under other available quotas. The error was caught early, preventing a longer disruption in his medical education.