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After the successful opening of new IIT’s in Gujrat and Rajasthan, a new IIT was inaugurated in the capital city of Patna. At present, the land has not been allotted for the institute and will be operating from the temporary campus of a polytechnic. For the time being, IIT – Guwahati will act as a mentor in running the institute, till permanent staff is not recruited.

The Bihar government has chosen the site for the institution, and infrastructure setup will be done on priority basis. A full time director will soon be appointed for proper administration and speedy set up of the institute.

University Grants Commission (UGC) is sending a group of experts across different varsities to evaluate the financial needs of the universities.

A total of 168 universities will be visited by the group of experts from UGC, out of which 30 universities have already visited and their report has been submitted to the UGC. At the beginning of each five year plan, UGC assesses the financial needs of the universities and grants them the required funds after closely evaluating their performance, infrastructure and future requirements.

In a recent proposal by UGC experts, it has been recommended to increase the general development fund by 100% from Xth five year plan, under the General Development Assistance Program for all recognized universities. A proposal of merging several schemes has also been given by the experts for better management and allocation of funds from XIth five year plan onwards.

State government of Uttar Pradesh has announced the grading system policy for schools associated with Mid Day Meals (MDM) scheme. Following the complaints of sub-standard food being served in several districts of UP, including Barabanki and Allahabad, government has formulated this grading policy.

Under this scheme, schools performing well will be awarded points on the basis of pre-defined metrics. Points will be given for good quality food, better hygiene, keeping records of beneficiaries. Schools securing the highest grades will be given incentives from the MDM department. This will encourage better administration and distribution of meals in the schools.

The population of India is nearing 1.5 billion, and demand of more schools and colleges is increasing day by day. Currently, India spends of about 3% to 4% of GDP on education sector, which is very low as compared to several developing and developed states. Although government is aiming to raise this expenditure to up to 6%, but it still seems a far dream. Seats in educational institutes are far less than required.

Thankfully, with the introduction of distance education, lacs of students who are not able to get admissions in regular colleges and schools and students living in very remote areas are now able to pursue their studies. In recent years, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS) has played a major role in providing distance education to millions of students across the length and breadth of the country.

Distance education has provided opportunities for weaker section of societies, women and SC/ST candidates to complete their basic education as well as to pursue their higher studies.

Since the introduction of percentile system for admissions in various state colleges, management of international schools is concerned about the discrepancy creeping up in admission process.

It is alleged that percentile system does not give fair assessment to students of IB, and is biased towards the students of the state boards. The management of international schools have decided to create a pressure group to raise their voice against this issue, after parents and principals of ICSE schools filed plea in the court.

Many parents have even claimed that the ICSE board and international schools maintains better education standards compared to the state boards. The management of both ICSE and IB schools say that the boards have been unnecessarily suffering since the introduction of the percentile system.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is the most prestigious Indian institute for pursuing engineering studies. Lacs of students take part in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and only handful of them are selected for these premier institutes.

In recent years, the number of students reaching the merit threshold has increased significantly. Is this a healthy sign of fair education policy and better education system, or is it something else? Some of the IIT caretakers feels the other way. They are concerned over missing the raw talent of the country behind JEE.

Today, thousands of coaching institutes have popped up in every corner of the country, giving coaching to IIT aspirants and helping them crack the exam with minimum efforts. These students get well equipped by practicing anticipation of paper pattern and solving similar pattern of problems. The result is that some of the raw talents of the country remains behind in the race, and these paper cracking aspirants takes the front seat.

IIT caretakers are aware and concerned of this fact, and some of them have even suggested to completely change the structure of Joint Entrance Examinations.

Very soon, the proposed Aryabhatt Knowledge University will be setup in Bihar’s capital, Patna. The state legislature has cleared the bill for erecting the university in the states capital.

After being set up the university will act as a regulating body, and will regularize and standardize the education pattern in all affiliated colleges and institutes. The university has been named after the famous astronomer, Aryabhatt.

University aims to promote high tech courses and create a strong technical work force coming from the state. Some of the subjects that will be given emphasis are Information Technology, Nano-technology and Bio-technology.

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has submitted a plan of Rs. 100 billion to University Grants Commission (UGC) to improve its academic standards and over all infrastructure.

AMU is planning to offer 168 new courses apart from creating well equipped laboratories, new libraries, filling up more faculty positions and creating new sections in campus. AMU is one of the leading and prestigious university of North India, with a rich heritage and history. Since the inception of new technology and courses, university has progressed at steady pace and now wants to expand and standardize its academic structure.

The modernization plan was handed over to the UGC team, who recently visited the university campus.