The Wrap: JEE Main, NEET, CUET dates soon; Nipah outbreak; West Bengal's education policy

Latest Education News: While the dates are not confirmed yet, major national-level entrance exams including JEE Main 2024 for engineering, NEET UG 2024 for undergraduate medicine and CUET UG 2024 for admission to central and other universities are likely to be held from January to May, reported the Times of India. While this general timeline is a standard one for these exams – they will be held in the same months as their 2023 editions – the National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to announce the exact JEE Main, NEET 2024, CUET UG dates next week.

The announcements of exam date will of course lend clarity to the lakhs set to write them but in Kota, Rajasthan, where thousands gather each year to prepare for them, suicides continue. Despite district administration, coaching classes, the police and parents taking increasingly desperate measures to prevent more deaths, another teen took her own life in the coaching hub this week. She was preparing for NEET 2024. Among the more sensitive students, there’s scepticism about the ability of spring-loaded fans and window bars to counter the effects of punishingly-intense competition, lack of empathy and isolation in the Kota coaching institutes. Another engineering student, at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Silchar, died by suicide, leading to protests.

In other education news, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow has extended the deadline to register for the Common Admission Test (CAT 2023). West Bengal published its State Education Policy 2023. Many parts of it are familiar, drawn from the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) but it also departs from the central policy on critical matters such as board exams, the restructuring of school education and language learning. Kerala closed all schools and colleges in Kozhikode in response to the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala.

In less grim education news, seven scientists and engineers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2022 and Delhi University is gearing up for the student union (DUSU) elections next week and all major groups have announced their candidates. Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) released its DUSU election manifesto promising menstrual holidays and a stop to fee-hike. Meanwhile, students in Jawaharlal Nehru University are trying to get their JNUSU election restarted.

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

Here’s what happened in education over the week.

Policy: RTE Act; UGC teacher training; Kerala mid-day meal scheme

• The new head of the Right to Education (RTE) Forum on why the RTE Act 2009 is still relevant and must be brought back into public discourse and discussion.
• Uttarakhand Waqf Board has decided that the state’s madrassas will teach the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) curriculum from 2023, teach Sanskrit and follow a dress code.
• UGC will train 15 lakh teachers in three years under Malaviya Mission through 111 training centres.
• The education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, placed the foundations of 142 PM Shri Schools in Uttarakhand. Pradhan also launched the Skill India Digital Platform. He met vice-chancellors of West Bengal state universities. The VCs had been appointed by the Governor, against the wishes of the state government.
• Kerala released Rs 210 crore for mid-day meals and insisted that the centre hadn’t released its share. The government pointed out that the centre's share that has come in was for the 2021-22 financial year.

Education News: Kerala general education minister, V Sivankutty, has been addressing the mid-day meal crisis in the state.

College Admissions: AYUSH NEET PG counselling; IIT Guwahati BSc Data Science; AIIMS INI CET

• Delhi University announced a DU Special Spot Admission Round of counselling set to start on September 18.
• Registration began for All India Institute of Medical Science’ Institute of National Importance Common Entrance Test (AIIMS INI CET 2024).
• Registration began for NEET counselling for MBBS and BDS management quota seats in Telangana. Gujarat started the third round of NEET UG counselling 2023. Karnataka started and Tamil Nadu declared results of the NEET counselling mop-up round.
• The AYUSH NEET PG counselling 2023 schedule was announced. This is for postgraduate programmes in alternative medicine.
• UPTAC counselling dates for B.Pharma were announced. This is for admission to pharmacy in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to the health miniter seeking reduction in NEET PG cut-offs to fill vacant seats.
• IIT Guwahati started registrations for online BSc (Hons) in Data Science and AI.
• IIT Kharagpur started the counselling process for its BSc-BEd programme under ITEP. The result of the sixth round of seat allotments in JEECUP 2023 counselling for Uttar Pradesh polytechnics was announced.
• TS LAWCET counselling – the admission process for law schools in Telangana – has been postponed to October.
• The NTA extended the DU, JNU, BHU, BBAU PhD exam registration date to September 22.
• Registration deadline for admission to Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) extended to September 20.

College Education News: IIMs, ISB Hyderabad in FT rankings; IIT course launch; SWAYAM exams

• 6 IIMs and ISB Hyderabad made it into the top 100 ranks on the Financial Times Business School Rankings 2023.
• IIT Kanpur changed the composition of its SC/ST Cell – for students from the historically-marginalised Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – against the backdrop of rising suicides in the IITs.
• IIT Gandhinagar launched its first e-master’s programme in energy policy and regulation.
• IIT Madras and Simplilearn launched a six-month course in digital tech and full-stack development.
• Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) Punjab has launched an online certificate course on the Right to Information Act 2005.
• Desh Bhagat University (DBU) transferred about 70 Kashmiri nursing students to a college that lacks permissions. A protest led to lathi-charge against students.

#DBU Students continue to protest for justice,#Justice4DBU_Students@OmarAbdullah @SukhpalKhaira @NasirKhuehami @MuslimSpaces pic.twitter.com/boMed6XGns

— Tejveer Singh, ਤੇਜਵੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ (@Tveer_13) September 16, 2023

• IIT Delhi has developed a map of soil erodibility, the first in India; Banaras Hindu University (BHU) researchers predicted agricultural drought in the lower Ganga basin in the near future.
• IISc Bangalore scientists announced they have developed a new approach to detect and kill cancer cells using sound waves.
• IIM Kashipur, Max Healthcare announced a nine-month PG diploma in hospital management.
• SWAYAM exams for the semester starting in January 2023 from October 19. The full exam schedule is out.
• BML Munjal University has launched a School of Liberal Studies with the offer of a four-year BA (Hons) degree.
• Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has launched a blended learning platform.
• The APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) finally announced the carry-over-paper results for the odd semesters after months of wait. The even semester examinees still wait, with their academic and professional careers at risk.

Medical College: NMC guidelines; MBBS exams; NEET PG, MDS, FMGE exams

• The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) cancelled the tendering process for postgraduate admissions and licensing medical exams, NEET PG, MDS, FMGE, and others.
• Answering a set of FAQs on the new medical college and MBBS regulations, the National Medical Commission said that 75% attendance in theory and 80% in practicals or clinical training will be a must for students to be allowed to write MBBS supplementary exams. They’ve also made the family adoption programme through village outreach compulsory.
• The National Medical Commission told the Supreme Court that there’s no bar on those with mental illness pursuing MBBS.
• 10 MBBS students were suspended for allegedly ragging juniors at a Telangana government medical college.

School Education News: Inspire, NMMS scholarships; Sainik Schools

Latest Education News: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann at the opening of School of Eminence (Image: PTI)

• Defence minister Rajnath Singh approved another 23 Sainik Schools.
• Application for lateral entry into Classes 9 and 11 of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas began.
• Registration began for Karnataka NMMS scholarship 2023 and the Rajasthan NMMS 2023 scholarship. This is the National Merit cum Means Scholarship.
• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) started registration for private candidates for CBSE Exams 2024. It also alerted candidates about private websites getting candidates to download CBSE practice papers.
• Odisha Board’s Class 10 exam registration has begun.
• Registration began for Inspire Scholarship 2023 for students aged 17-22 years.
• Supreme Court has upheld the Lakshadweep administration’s decision to remove meat from mid-day meals.
• Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated 'School of Eminence' in Punjab. This is the first such school in Punjab and replicates a model already in existence in Delhi.
• 1.30 lakh primary school teachers in Odisha went on strike against contractual appointments.
• Madhya Pradesh will give laptops to Class 12 students who score 60% and above MP Board exams 2024.
• Karnataka announced the Class 12 (or second PUC) supplementary exam result; over 41,000 students passed.

Study Abroad: Australia visa regulations; Commonwealth Scholarship

• Australia visa applicants, even those for student visas, have to show higher savings from October 1.
• Registration opened for Commonwealth Masters’ Scholarship for studying in UK.

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