Uttarakhand IIT-Roorkee expulsions shock Seventy-three first year B.Tech students of IIT-Roorkee scoring a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of less than five in the second semester, were served expulsion notices on July 10. The rule mandating expulsion of students with below-five CGPA scores in two consecutive semesters was framed last year by the IIT-Roorkee Senate (which comprises over 100 faculty). Reacting to the expulsion notices, the students petitioned the faculty and management to reconsider their decision. However, after a marathon discussion of the issue, the Senate stuck by its expulsion decision, maintaining that prior to joining IIT-Roorkee, they had agreed that poor test performance could lead to their expulsion. In New Delhi, officials of the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry declined to intervene. “IITs are autonomous bodies governed by their own rules. Such expulsions — though large in this particular case — are not an aberration as they had happened earlier in IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Kanpur,” a ministry official said. Kerala First Kaushal Kendra inaugurated Chief minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated India’s first community skill park (‘Kaushal Kendra’) at Chavara, Kollam district. The skill park will develop skills and improve the employability of youth in the state, a government official informed media in Kollam on July 11. Speaking on the occasion, Chandy opined that although Kerala students excel in academics, they need “finishing touches” to improve their employability. “Our Kaushal Kendra will give them this required push,” he said. According to Chandy, the kendra will provide career guidance, aptitudes testing and academic progression advice to students. A high-end digital library, connected with the World e-Library programme will ensure access to digitised, authenticated content from around the world. Moreover, in association with the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, the kendra’s language lab will help youth acquire proficiency in English and other foreign languages. Punjab Teacher training initiative Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal directed the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) and State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to jointly initiate an annual in-service orientation programme for government school teachers. The decision was taken following the chief minister’s meeting with Adarsh (model) School principals in Chandigarh on July 7. “Under the programme, teachers will be trained to improve their classroom management skills to enable them to discharge their duties with utmost dedication, sincerity and professional commitment,” said Badal. “Refresher courses/training modules must be made mandatory for all teachers who should attend at least one session per year for up-skilling their teaching capabilities and capacities,” he added. The minister sanctioned Rs.1 crore for the training programme. Assam Support for Central services aspirants Felicitating 15 youth from the state who successfully cleared the UPSC examinations which qualify them to serve in the Central government’s IAS, IFS, IPS and allied services, chief minister Tarun Gogoi assured the students community that the state government will introduce a scheme to assist candidates writing the UPSC preliminary examinations, and for those aspiring to enroll in coaching centres for IIT, IIIT entrance and other competitive exams. “The success…
