Students yet to receive benefit of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowships

Under this scheme a candidate is eligible for over Rs 16,000 financial assistance per month. (Representative image)

NEW DELHI: Over 2,500 students are still waiting for financial assistance promised under the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowships (RGNF) scheme for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, formulated and funded by ministry of social justice and empowerment and ministry of tribal affairs. The batch of 2013-14 are yet to get any money so far, they are alleging that despite repeated attempts to contact the University Grants Commission, which disburses the money, no one in the commission is ready to meet them. The social justice ministry officials however said that the fund has not being released as the UGC has not submitted the utilization certificate of the previous batch. 

RGNF is open to candidates who belong to SC and ST and wish to pursue higher studies such as regular and full time MPhil and PhD degrees in sciences, humanities, social sciences and engineering and technology. There are 2,000 slots for SC and 667 slots for ST candidates every year for all the subjects. Under this scheme a candidate is eligible for over Rs 16,000 financial assistance per month. 

"We have not got anything so far. And they have called for a fresh batch. We approached the UGC which is supposed to disburse the money, but we are being snubbed by officials there saying that they don't talk to students. The entire batch is waiting for the financial assistance till date," said Senthalir, who is pursuing her PhD in political science from Madras University. 

Social justice ministry officials, however, said that UGC has not given utilization certificate of earlier disbursal for RGNF. Officials said UGC still has some funds left. On its part, UGC says since RGNF is a government scholarship, ministry should not break the continuity. As for not furnishing utilization certificate, commission sources say, process is being streamlined.

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Delhi University to fill vacant reserved seats

NEW DELHI: With some seats in the reserved category still empty, Delhi University has written to the colleges with a new schedule to fill these seats. 

The notification issued by deputy registrar (academic), Ram Dutt, on Saturday said, "In light of the fact that a few seats of SC, ST and OBC are still vacant in some colleges, it has been decided that the colleges will fill the seats in accordance with the following schedule." Colleges have been told to display the vacant seats on its website and notice board at 10am on Monday. 

Registrations will take place on Monday and Tuesday till 4pm. By 5pm on Tuesday, colleges will notify the list of eligible candidates and admissions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday.

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UGC bans dissection in all colleges

In a new notification, the apex body has asked colleges and universities to stop dissection and experimentation on animals for life sciences courses.

CHENNAI: After dithering for years, the University Grants Commission has finally buckled under pressure from activists to ban dissection of animals for academic purposes at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels on college campuses.

In a new notification, the apex body has asked colleges and universities to stop dissection and experimentation on animals for life sciences courses. "No animal from any species shall be dissected, either by teachers or students for any purpose," read the notification.

The UGC's decision is an improvement on the partial ban on dissection it issued in 2011. "Those were just guidelines, which had several loopholes," said Dr Chaitanya Koduri, science policy advisor for People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), India. Peta had taken part in the UGC deliberations pushing for a ban. "In the previous guidelines, teachers were allowed to dissect as students watched, while post-graduate students were allowed to dissect unprotected species," he said.

The move comes after UGC observed that many of the animals used for dissection were caught from their natural habitats. "Their indiscriminate removal disrupts the biodiversity and ecological balance," it said, citing the "alarming" decline of the population of various species of frogs.

Observing that various laws and regulations about animal welfare are not observed while prescribing animal use in curriculum, the body has directed colleges to revamp their curriculum to accommodate alternatives to dissection, like using models, charts and simulation.

While some academicians feel that technology can never be a substitute to cut through tissues to feel the texture of the viscera, many feel that methodology is archaic. "The point is for students to understand the concept. That can be done by taking them out on field trips instead of keeping them cloistered in a classroom," said professor M A Akbarsha, director of Mahatma Gandhi-Doerenkamp Centre (MGDC) for alternative use of animals in Life Science Education, Bharatidasan University, Trichy. He said dissection was introduced in colleges in India in the early 1920s. "While Britain, which initiated live dissection in the country, has introduced several measures to restrict experimentation on animals, we continue to kill them," he said.

UGC has also called for including animal ethics as a chapter in appropriate courses of study in order to sensitise students. Teachers say using alternative digital methods to teach have an edge over live dissection in more ways than one. "It is not easy to explore the anatomy of smaller species during live dissection. There are several good digital alternatives which provide scope to prod and examine all organs. Besides, there is also ample space to repeat the exercise," said M C Sathyanarayana, retired assistant professor of AVC college, Mayiladuthurai. He said finding animals was also getting increasingly difficult. "As a result, many of them are procured illegally," said Sathyanarayana, who has been fighting against animal dissection for years.

The UGC has also directed all institutions of higher education to constitute dissection monitoring committees to ensure strict compliance of instructions relating to the use of animals for research. It has also asked institutions to maintain appropriate records of procurement, their transport and use of anesthesia.

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GATE score now valid for three years

KOLKATA: Scores of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) will henceforth be valid for three years. This will allow graduate engineers aspiring for admission to masters degree programmes gain more work experience after completing their bachelors degree.

With GATE valid only for two years till now, students could only continue on a job for a year after completing their BTech and then get admitted to an MTech course. "A student who wanted to work for two years to repay a loan taken before admission to BTech couldn't do so till now as his GATE score would have lapsed. But the change in rule will give them flexibility," said a senior official of the GATE admission committee.

Partha Pratim Biswas, former executive council (EC) member of Jadavpur University and a teacher, said: "The GATE score is important to get jobs in PSUs that do not hire graduate engineers too often. Some times, job opportunities in PSUs open after a gap of a year or two. It will greatly benefit those candidates who are waiting to get PSU jobs as the GATE score will now be valid for one more year."

The two-year validity of GATE scores was a deterrent for students who wanted to do their MTech after joining jobs and gaining considerable work experience. "Most firms have a probation period of one year. So students need another year to gain experience. Moreover, companies also want students to get more than a year's industry experience. Now, students will get an opportunity to gain more than a year of industrial exposure and then join the MTech programme," Biswas added.

A senior teacher of chemical engineering at JU further added, "The course curriculum that engineering students follow at various colleges hold relevance for a maximum of four years. Hence, even if the validity of GATE score is increased from two years to three years, there will be no dilution. Relevance of domain knowledge won't be destroyed."

"If the GATE score that a student may have achieved at the end of their fourth year undergraduate studies is valid for three years, then he can join a job and then pursue MTech with considerable work experience. He will not have to reappear in GATE after two years of working, which would have required him to prepare for the examination all over again," said another teacher.

The success of extending validity of the GATE score card from two years to three can only succeed "if the GATE question pattern remains unaltered for three years. Else, the quality of students will vary," pointed out Biswas.

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Over 600,000 primary teachers' posts lying vacant

NEW DELHI: Over 600,000 posts of teachers at primary level are lying vacant under the state sector and the national literacy mission, parliament was informed on Monday. 

"The total teachers post lying vacant at the primary level both under the state sector and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan are 6, 06, 191," human resource development Minister Smriti Irani told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. 

"The states recruits teachers based on their recruitment rules. However, teachers who are appointed have to possess requisite qualification prescribed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)," she added. 

Irani said that the recruitment of teachers on contract basis therefore does not affect the quality of teaching adversely as all teachers recruited have to meet the educational qualification as well as professional qualifications. 

"However, professional qualifications are sometimes relaxed under section 23 of the right of children to free and compulsory education (RTE) Act, 2009 for states where there is a shortage of professionally qualified teachers, with the provision that they acquire the same through a two year training programme in distance mode," she said. 

Irani also informed that the pupil teacher ratio (PTR) has improved nationally to 1:25 and most states barring Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have normative PTRs.

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India-Japan effort

Over 50 Indian and Japanese researchers are building an information network for natural disaster mitigation and recovery in India. 

Started in 2010, the five-year DISANET project is in its final stages. Pilot testing is scheduled to begin in two months on Chennai's Marina Beach. Due to end in March 2015, the Rs 35 crore project is co-funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Japan Science and Technology Agency. 

The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH); National Geophysical Research Institute; IIT Kanpur; IIT Madras; International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad; Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Hyderabad, IMD, Pune, the University of Tokyo and Keio University have developed technical bases for communication to be used in immediate rescue and post-disaster restoration efforts. Strong motion sensors have been deployed in the Indo-Gangetic plains in the foothills of the seismically-active Himalayas, while building sensors have been installed in Chandigarh. 

Both countries have been struck with natural disasters in the recent past. 

For the complete story, click on 'College Life' under 'Campus Life' on www.educationtimes.com

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Govt to formulate new education policy

PUNE: The government proposes to formulate a new education policy (NEP) aimed at meeting the challenges posed by lack of quality, research and innovation in our educational institutions. 

A statement issued by the press information bureau states that the information was given by the minister for human resources development Smriti Irani in the Rajya Sabha. 

The National Policy on Education 1986, as amended in 1992, has been the guiding document for the policies of the Union government in the education sector. The government has been following National Policy on Education 1986, as modified in 1992, which provides for National System of Education implying that up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of a comparable quality.

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