The Wrap: IIT Delhi, Kota suicides; NMC changes passing marks for MBBS; NEET SS rescheduled

Latest Education News: The week ended with yet another suicide, at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. Anil Kumar, a Dalit undergraduate student in the mathematics department took his own life in his hostel, the second student to die by suicide at IIT Delhi in as many months. Ayush Ashna, from the same department, took his own life in August.

Kumar’s death came on the heels of a section of IIT Delhi students proposing a set of anti-discrimination guidelines. Similar to the guidelines IIT Bombay framed in July, IIT Delhi’s draft, too, states that asking ranks in the entrance tests, JEE Advanced and GATE, is “inappropriate”. The guidelines also assert that sharing of messages or jokes that are “abusive, hateful, casteist, sexist or exhibit bigotry” will be construed as harassment. According to sources within the institute, these guidelines were final but yet to be passed at the time this story was published.

Meanwhile, students have continued to allege that the IITs are reluctant to make concrete changes. The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle at IIT Bombay found through a Right to Information query that the institution denied admission to 80 bahujan – Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes – candidates in PhD; the group’s counterpart in IIT Delhi alleged that the maths department, of which Anil Kumar and Ayush Ashna were students, does not have any teacher from historically-marginalised communities. Student suicides seem to continue in the coaching hub, Rajathan’s Kota, with two more medical college aspirants ending their own lives last week.

In other education news, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), India’s apex advisory body on curriculum and textbook design and teacher training had its status upgraded, the National Medical Commission amended its MBBS regulations, the list of National Teachers’ Award winners for 2023 was announced and more. Here’s what happened over the week.

Policy: NCERT status; NMC guidelines on MBBS; Bihar insists on attendance

• The NCERT has been granted the status of a deemed-to-be university. This will allow it to launch programmes and offer degrees.
• The University Grants Commission has directed universities to not print Aadhaar numbers on certificates and degrees. The UGC will also hold a “mega town hall” to celebrate the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3. Prime minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be present.
• The NMC has reduced the passing marks for MBBS subjects with two papers to 40%. It was 50% earlier. The NMC has also announced it will hear grievances every Thursday from September 7.
• The education ministry will observe literacy week from September 1 to 8.
• Lack of coordination between two recruitment agencies in Uttar Pradesh has kept BSc Agriculture graduates away from government jobs for about five years. They now plan protests.
• Bihar Board relaxed the age limit for Bihar STET exam for teaching.
• Maharashtra will set up 1,499 new colleges over five years.
• Telangana's policy of reserving 100% MBBS seats for the state has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

#Kota जिला कलक्टर श्री ओपी बुनकर ने कोचिंग विद्यार्थियों में तनाव कम करने के लिए सुधारात्मक कदम उठाने के आदेश जारी किए।@AshokChandnaINC @RajCMO @RajGovOfficial @DIPRRajasthan @BunkarOp1 pic.twitter.com/5PnTiK7P9f

— District Collector & Magistrate, Kota (@Dcdmkota) August 29, 2023

College Admissions: GATE 2024, AYUSH NEET counselling

• Registration began for GATE 2024, the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, at goaps.iisc.ac.in
• AYUSH NEET counselling 2023 began for programmes in alternative medicine including ayurveda, siddha, and unani.
• The newest Indian Institute of Management, IIM Mumbai will admit students through Common Admission Test (CAT 2023).
• Karnataka PGCET 2023 schedule revised. The Post-Graduate Common Entrance Test will now be held on September 23, 24
• Bihar announced the schedule for NEET counselling round 2.
• Delhi University’s undergraduate spot admission result was announced. Over 1.29 lakh seats have been offered in the first 3 rounds. The DU PG admission schedule was also revised.
• The schedule for the NEET SS 2023 – the entrance test for super speciality programmes in medicine – has been revised. The exam will now be held on September 29, 30. Also, NEET SS 2023 will not be held in Srinagar due to security reasons.
• Karnataka NEET UG, KCET counselling schedules for round-2 out. These are for admission to medical and engineering colleges.
• Maharashtra’s round-2 selection list in NEET UG counselling was declared.

College Education News: Fake NMC permission letters; BDS scholarship

• Tata Steel CEO appointed chairman of IIT Kharagpur’s board of directors and K Sivan that of IIT Indore.
• Haleon India, Indian Dental Association expand BDS scholarship to 57 marginalised students
• The NMC cautioned students about fake permission letters to two medical colleges in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh – Meenakshi Medical College, Kanchipuram and Santhiram Medical College, Kurnool.
• Research scholars seek increase in JRF, SRF fellowships; ask for a status update.
• The West Bengal government will sanction funds for installing CCTV cameras on the Jadavpur University campus.
• Teachers at Aligarh Muslim University demanded that a regular vice-chancellor be appointed immediately.
• Delhi University cancelled a lecture by RJD member of parliament Manoj Jha; a section of teachers said it was done to silence the opposition.

School Education News: National Teachers’ Award list; exam dates; Bihar board's attendance rules

• The list of winners of the National Teachers’ Awards was announced. From this year, higher education teachers as well as skills education teachers are being awarded on National Teachers Day on September 5.

#KVS feels proud to announce that our two distinguished Teachers have been selected for the prestigious 'National Awards to Teachers 2023'.

1. Sh. Mujib Rahiman K U, Librarian, #KV Kanjikode
2. Smt. Chetna Khambete, PGT Biology, #KV No. 2 Indore

Congratulations!#ProudKVians pic.twitter.com/zSeqdaDspw

— Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (@KVS_HQ) August 28, 2023

• Classes 10, 12 board exam dates have been announced by several states.
• The Central Board of Secondary Education has published Class 10, 12 sample papers for CBSE exams 2024.
• Bihar Board (BSEB) has made 75% attendance in Classes 9-12 a must to appear in board exams.
• Kerala education minister V Sivankutty wrote to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister seeking action against the school teacher, Tripta Tyagi. Recently, a video had gone viral on social media showing Tyagi encouraging Hindu students in her class to beat a Muslim one. The private school in Muzaffarnagar was closed and the National Human Right Commission (NHRC) served notice to UP chief secretary, police.
• The top child rights body, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has instructed schools to not punish students for wearing rakhi, tilak, mehendi during rakhi.
• Jharkhand school principal beat up 50 students for not attending class. It was a private school.

Coaching: NEET, JEE coaching, Kota suicides, fake testimonials

• The alarming rate of suicides in Kota, Rajasthan, has prompted the local administration to take steps to ease the pressure on students. These involve a ban on NEET, JEE mock-tests for two months, Sundays off, half-days on Wednesday and more.
• An IAS coaching institute in Pune has been fined Rs 1 lakh for faking testimonials.

Study Abroad: Overseas education news

• Over 80,000 students have left Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to study abroad since covid. In August, 21 students of whom the largest group was Telugu, were deported from the United States.
• California Assembly passed the anti-caste discrimination bill.

What’s scheduled for next week? Our calendar alert – ‘Heads-up’ – is on Instagram. Follow here to stay updated!