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Guwahati University Appoints Prof. Medhi As New Vice Chancellor

Guwahati University has appointed the most senior professor of the university Prof. Okhil Kumar Medhi as the new Vice Chancellor of the university. Prof. Mehdi has already been working as Vice Chancellor of the university from June, 2007.

He specializes is chemistry research and has obtained his Post Doctoral degree from university in UK. Previously he has served as head of chemistry department and as dean of faculty of science in the university. The tenure of his job will be accounted from last year since he took charge as VC of the university.

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Tamil Nadu Government Wants More Control Over Deemed Universities

Tamil Nadu State Government is seeking more authority and power from Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry for controlling deemed universities in the state.

Universities who gets deemed status from HRD, reserves the right of complete control of admission process and fee structure. As a result, lot of government reservation quota seats are alloted to private candidates. Recently, Cettinad Medical College got the deemed status from the HRD ministry without the recommendation of the state government. As a result, the government lost about 83 seats under reservation guidelines.

The State Government demands control over fixing fee structure and allocation of quota as per new reservations guidelines in these deemed universities.

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AMU Penalizes Nine Students For Ragging Students

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has fined nine students of the varsity for ragging the freshers in the university hostel. All nine students are doing their Masters degree in business administration.

Although, no physical violence has been reported, but student complained of mental torture on the pretext of taking introduction. University is also planning to deny these nine students from availing any hostel facilities. A fine of Rs. 500 to Rs. 2,500 has been taken from these students. The prompt and strict action from the university management will act as a deterrent for others who indulge in ragging.

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IIIT Inaugurated by Sheila Dikshit in Delhi

A new information technology institute has been launched in Delhi, which was inaugurated by Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday. Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) will be state of the art technical institute with modern equipments. Delhi Government has expressed its full commitment in giving all the facilities and help in making this institute among top institutes in India in similar domain.

For the time being, the institute will run from the premises of Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology,Dwarka. Later, the permanent campus will be set up in Okhla region.

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NIFT Patna Started with 60 Students

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Patna has started the classes of its first academic year with 60 students. 30 students are doing Bachelors of Design in Fashion Communication, while the remaining 30 students are pursuing Masters Degree in Fashion Management.

At present, the institute will run from temporary premises of a Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority building near Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Bihar government has sanctioned 10 acres land and Rs. 586 million for the institute. The construction work and infrastructure build-up will be completed by the end of this year. Out of total sanctioned money, 270 million will be spent in the current financial year for initial setup of the institute.

Currently, faculty members from Delhi, Hyderabad and other branches will be teaching the students on rotation basis, till the branch does not gets its own permanent faculty members.

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DU soon to launch a Rehab Centre for Student Smokers

Soon a rehabilitation centre will be setup by the Delhi University for students who voluntarily want to quit their smoking habit. Delhi University has already declared North Zone as ‘No Smoking Area’. The rehab centre will be setup in next two weeks providing all the facilities to help students quit smoking.

Students have given mixed reactions to this initiative taken by Delhi University Students Union (DUSU). Although some students have raised concern about exposing their identity to their parents and relatives during the rehabilitation process, generally there is consensus about the implementation of this rehabilitation centre.

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Dropout Rate is Increasing at Alarming Rate in West Bengal

The dropout rate of teenagers is increasing in West Bengal, which is worsening the condition of education in the state. According to State Government records, about 5,000 teaching posts are also lying vacant in rural and semi-urban areas of the state. This further aggravates the situation as enough teachers are not available in the schools to teach the students.

Records from State Government shows that from 120 million children aged between 6 to 14 years who are going to school in the state, 60 million out of them drop their school education before reaching 10th grade. This makes the dropout rate of 50%, which is very high and needs immediate attention from the State Government.

Another factor that aids in worsening of this situation is the pathetic condition of schools in rural and semi-urban areas. Schools do not have basic facilities and teachers are not regular in their duty.

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IIT Delhi reduces Faculty Strength by 10 Percent

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has decided to cut down its faculty strength by 10%. Interestingly, the student intake has increased this year after the implementation of OBC reservation quota. Previously, the student-teacher ratio in IIT-D was 9:1 and after the cut down in faculty strength it will become 10:1.

Before the cut down, the sanctioned faculty strength was 556, which will be reduced to 506 after the layoffs. When asked about the reason, the officials told that it is a collective decision of the institute’s management.

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New IIT in Patna Starts with 109 Students

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.

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UGC Experts to visit 168 Universities to Assess Financial Grants

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 been 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 Tenth 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.