Haryana
Ashoka students protest
Sonipat, May 6. Students of Ashoka University (AU, estb.2014) — ranked among India’s Top 3 private multidisciplinary universities in the EW India Higher Education Rankings 2024-25 — have joined the global outcry against Israel’s war in Gaza. In a letter, they have urged Vice Chancellor Somak Raychaudhury to end all academic and research collaboration ties with Tel Aviv University. AU has research partnerships with Tel Aviv University, ongoing faculty and student exchanges, research collaboration, short-term and joint study programmes.
“As the Israeli military’s brutality persists… students across universities are now actively calling on their institutions to boycott Israeli universities and exchange programmes, to have open dialogue about the war on Gaza. The spirit and the results of ongoing protests in universities in the form of encampments — embarked on by students of Columbia University — are live examples,” said the letter.
Tamil Nadu
IIT-M’s record fund raise
Chennai, May 8. For the second year consecutively, the premier Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras raised record funding aggregating Rs.513 crore from alumni, industry and individual donors in the financial year 2023-24. Sixteen alumni and 32 corporate partners donated Rs.1 crore and above.
“The funds received will be used for technology research and development as well as for deploying technology already built by IIT-Madras, in various parts of the country based on societal needs. In addition, it will also support deserving students with scholarships as well as the Sports Excellence Admission programme. Steep academic growth needs steep rise in funding,” said V. Kamakoti, director, addressing a press conference.
Tripura
Vidyajyoti investigation
Agartala, May 16. Chief Minister Manik Saha said he will convene a meeting with education ministry officials to investigate the poor performance of state-run Vidyajyoti Schools in CBSE’s class X and XII school-leaving board exams.
In 2019, 125 state board-affiliated schools were renamed Vidyajyoti Schools and affiliated with the Delhi-based CBSE board to provide “better education” to students. This year, 61 percent of students cleared the CBSE class X examination while 59 percent cleared the class XII exam.
“I will soon convene a meeting to check the reason behind the poor results. Everything will be sorted out,” said the chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio, addressing a media conference.
Delhi
Emmanuel’s new broom
New Delhi, May 15. The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has mandated compulsory 50 hours’ training per year for all teachers of CISCE-affiliated schools.
“Of the 50 hours, individual schools can arrange training for 25 hours with the remaining 25 hours conducted by the council,” said Joseph Emmanuel, recently appointed chief executive and secretary of the council, addressing a press conference. “CISCE will conduct the training in online and offline modes with teachers given the option to choose either. Teachers will be obliged to pay a nominal charge for attending the training on completion of which certificates will be awarded,” he added.
Manipur
De-recognised university
Imphal, May 30. UGC has removed the private free-of-charge Sangai International University (SIU, estb.2015) from its list of authorised universities for failing to provide necessary documents during inspection.
In a public notice sent to the state’s department of higher education, UGC has advised students not to apply for admission into any of the university’s programmes with effect from May 30. “All degree certification issued by SIU will not be recognised or valid for the purpose of higher education or employment,” said the public notice.
Assam
Iris classroom debut
guwahati, may 31. Dressed in a traditional mekhala chador (traditional Assamese attire), Assam’s first AI (Artificial Intelligence) teacher christened Iris, shook hands with students leaving them awestruck as she also answered questions at the city’s Royal Global School — Assam’s top-ranked day-cum-boarding school in the EW India School Rankings 2023-24.“The school plans to leverage the humanoid robot’s capabilities to personalise learning and make education more engaging for students in the northeast region,” said a school spokesperson, addressing a press conference
Equipped with voice-control, Iris responds to students’ queries with detailed explanations. The robot was developed in collaboration with Makerlabs Edutech under its Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) programme initiated by NITI Aayog, the Central government’s think tank.
