Delhi: Foreign applications surge New Delhi, July 4. Against an average 100 admission applications from foreign students in the previous decade, for the academic year 2022-23, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIU), Delhi, has received 650 applications from abroad for admission into undergraduate to Ph D programmes. Among applicants are students from SAARC nations, South Africa, Mauritius, Iran, Russia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Germany and South-East Asia. “The reason behind this quantum surge of applications from foreign students is GGSIU’s drive to diversify our students’ body. The university is grateful for the support of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Study in India programme of Educational Consultants India Ltd (EdCIL),” says a communique from the office of Dr. Mahesh Verma, vice chancellor of GGSIU. Chhattisgarh: Bagless Saturdays Raipur, July 7. The state’s school education ministry announced ‘bagless Saturdays’ for classes I-VIII to enable primary students to participate in yoga, sports, art and value education, among other activities. “The objective is to awaken children’s co-curricular interests and help them remain connected with school. Principals will be requested to plan activities in advance for Saturdays and display agendas on their notice boards,” said a spokesperson of the education ministry. Uttar Pradesh: Negligence investigation Ballia, July 8. Non-teaching staff of a government primary locked the school premises leaving behind a five-year-old boy in a classroom. The child was later rescued by family members who had to break the door open. Maniram Singh, Ballia district’s BSA (basic shiksha adhikari), said the state government has taken cognisance of the incident and directed the block education officer to investigate the matter. “Strict action will be taken against those found guilty of negligence,” he said. According to school staff, the boy had fallen asleep inside the classroom unnoticed by them. Odisha: Alleged ragging suicide Bhubaneswar, July 20. Rohit Pujari, the state’s higher education minister, warned strict action against students who severely ragged a first-year girl student of the BJB Autonomous College prompting her to suicide. The student was found hanging in her hostel room on July 2. Police found a suicide note in the room, in which the student said she was continuously harassed by three seniors. However, local police said they haven’t found any evidence of ragging or harassment. Addressing a press conference, Pujari said: “Police are conducting an inquiry and appropriate action will be taken based on their report. We have established anti-ragging cells and all steps will be taken to punish students/teachers indulging in this retrograde practice.” Meghalaya: SSA teachers’ salary row Shillong, July 20. State education minister Lahkmen Rymbui warned 5,000 teachers of government primary schools who continued a sit-in protest before the state secretariat to press their demand for five months’ overdue salaries. “The Central government is yet to release funds for clearing the pending dues of these teachers appointed under the Centre’s SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan) programme. If they don’t resume classes, we will have to issue a ‘no work, no pay’ order or withdraw grants to schools that are non-functional,”…
