CATEGORIES

WHY ARE B.TECH SEATS GOING VACANT AT AKTU?

The state university has reduced seats and changed its entrance test to improve standards. Despite vacant seats, UP government is setting up 6 more colleges.

MINOR DEGREE MAJOR IMPACT

Minor degrees are expected to reduce the number of engineering seats going vacant and equip B.Tech graduates with industry-relevant skills.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE A STRONG DESIGN PORTFOLIO

Academics, students on what makes a winning portfolio and how to build one. If you're serious about studying design, start at school.

'OUR DEGREE WILL BE OF NO USE'

Maharashtra's agriculture engineering students protested for 50 days against a change in the syllabus of a government exam that drastically reduced their chances of landing agriculture officer posts.

SETTING LIT NAGPUR FREE

The 81-year-old, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology Nagpur, is all set to become a university. With the change will come 14 new courses, 8 new departments, reforms in curriculum and pedagogy.

'INDUSTRY NEEDS PROFESSIONALS WITH CONCEPTUALLY-STRONG, INNOVATIVE MINDSET'

Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore has recently developed an open-source Aadharlike digital identity for 10 countries, is setting up a system that makes access to mental-health support easy and working on the implementation of 6G in India. Debabrata Das, director, IIIT Bangalore, discussed innovation, collaborations and courses developed. Edited excerpts.

PUBLIC loES HAVE RECEIVED LESS THAN HALF THE PROMISED FUNDS

The union government had committed Rs. 1,000 crore for every public Institution of Eminence. Since 2018, it has sanctioned only around Rs 3,400 crore for all eight taken together.

India's Best Universities 2023

100 public and 35 private universities ranked overall; 665 universities ranked across 11 academic domains.

HOW OSMANIA UNIVERSITY IS RAISING FUNDS

The state university in Hyderabad, Telangana, is struggling to pay salaries and pensions even with two-thirds of its posts vacant.

MANY HOPES PINNED ON VD COLLEGE

Once VD College is upgraded, it will become the first state-run, affiliating university in South Bihar. The region, one of the most backward in the country, needs it.

A GREAT UNIVERSITY IN CHAOS

Bidyut Chakravarty's tenure as VC of VisvaBharati has been a tumultuous one, replete with protests, suspensions, rustications and court cases.

EMPTY SEATS BUT GREATER DIVERSITY

How has switching to a national exam for admissions impacted central universities across the country?

'WE'RE LIVING ON PAST SAVINGS'

Public universities are left finding ways to be thrifty and generate income as their funding needs far outstrip government budgets.

CREATING A SAFE SPACE

A handful of Indian educational institutions, including IIT Delhi and NALSAR Hyderabad, have introduced gender-neutral toilets and spaces.

'THE UNIVERSITY IS A PLACE FOR UNIVERSAL THINKING'

In June 2022, University of Lucknow became the first state university in Uttar Pradesh to secure an A++ grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). LU will introduce a Faculty of Agriculture this year and has constituted a committee to guide the introduction of dual-degree and one-year postgraduate programmes, both recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020. Alok Kumar Rai joined LU as vice-chancellor in December 2019 and was re-appointed in December 2022. Edited excerpts from his conversation with Careers360 below.

'A WAY TO LIVE WITH EACH OTHER'

Graduation ceremonies, picnics, dealing with local authorities - how foreign students' associations and collectives help overseas students settle in.

A BUSINESS OF HER OWN

IIM Bangalore's business incubator, NSRCEL, has been supporting women entrepreneurs. Meet some of the business owners and their ventures.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR COLLEGE YEARS

The years of undergraduate studies can be utilised to set a solid foundation for a successful career even for those in non-professional courses. Here's how.

GEARING UP FOR CHANGE

How much progress have central universities made in implementing NEP reforms such as multiple exits, ABC registration, four-year UG programmes and dual degrees? Recently, UGC took stock.

'LONG WAY TO GO'

Disabled students are bullied and harassed on campuses and get little support. The number of disabled persons in higher education has dropped 14% from 2019-20 to 2020-21.

WHAT HAPPENED IN BENGAL?

West Bengal's teacher recruitment scam has stalled hiring for years and left generations of children without quality teachers.

ODISHA: FAILING ITS CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Odisha doesn't allow teachers holding qualifications in special education to join regular schools. This has left the vast majority of its 1.46 lakh disabled students without vital support.

SCHOOLING IN A 'FOREIGN' LANGUAGE

Kerala designed a series of textbooks and learning materials exclusively for the Muthuvans, a tribal community residing deep in the forests of the Western Ghats, who don't speak Malayalam and don't have a script.

CHAOS, CONFUSION ABOUT BOARD EXAMS IN CLASSES 5, 8

More states have framed policies for public exams in elementary school from 2023. But private schools are caught in a fix over them.

NOT 'TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND'

Ina country squeamish about sex education, two private schools have bravely started and protected LGBTQIA+ support groups.

BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS

Children even cross the Gomti river to attend classes offered by Koshish, an NGO which has student volunteers from an engineering college teach school kids from poor, marginalised communities.

NATIONAL VS INTERNATIONAL

Schools affiliated to international boards have spread even to tier-two towns. How do they compare with national education boards?

STUDYING SCIENCE WITHOUT BOOKS OR WRITING

Tamil Nadu’s volunteer-driven programme to encourage STEM learning has been received well but the frequency of the classes is too low.

SYLLABUS CUTS PUSH STUDENT TO 'DUMMY' SCHOOLS

During the pandemic, the CBSE exam syllabus was cut and the NCERT textbooks' content 'rationalised'. But the major entrance exams' syllabi remained the same.

LEARNING BEYOND CLASSROOMS, EXAMS

Workshops, internships, community service, field work in high school 'make children socially conscious, foster independent thinking'