The Wrap: NEET PG 2024 date; UGC policy for foreign universities; IIM Mumbai’s plans

Latest Education News: The past week opened a new chapter for higher education in India – one that will see the domestic university system getting more closely linked with foreign universities.

Deakin University GIFT City Campus opened for admissions. This is the first foreign university to set up a campus in India; the fee for its programmes will be around Rs 10 lakh. The same week, the University Grants Commission released its final guidelines for foreign universities to set up campuses in India. The UGC guidelines allow foreign universities to decide their admission policies and fees and to repatriate profits. The UGC rules also prohibit online courses and franchises and require campuses to offer scholarships to Indian students and faculty to stay in India for at least a semester. India and Australia also signed multiple agreements on education during the education ministers, Dharmendra Pradhan and Jason Clare’s visit to Gujarat.

At the other end of the spectrum of “internationalising” activities, Indian Institute of Technology Madras director, inaugurated the IIT Madras Zanzibar campus virtually. It will offer five programmes in five years.

In other news, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow issued admit cards for the Common Admission Test (CAT 2023) for IIMs and other top MBA colleges. CAT 2023 exam date is November 26.

Plus, here are six children’s books on Diwali celebration, customs and rituals. Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali (Image: Pexels.com)

Here’s everything else that happened in education over the week.

Policy: Bihar’s push for 75% reservation; Nitish Kumar’s comment; NMC meeting on medical education

• Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar found himself at the centre of controversy after speaking about women’s education and fertility rates in Bihar. The National Commission for Women’s Rekha Sharma “condemned” the remark. While Kumar’s tone and language were received badly, he was right. Decades of research has shown a strong correlation between women’s education and fertility level.
• After the caste survey, Bihar is pushing for 75% reservation in jobs and education.
• The National Medical Commission (NMC) met to discuss improving medical education and the process of NEET UG, PG counselling.
• West Bengal will conduct a State Achievement Survey to measure the progress made by school children on November 25.
• Haryana government will provide buses and mini-buses for students living in villages far away from their schools, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced.
• Maharashtra has added eggs and bananas to its school mid-day meals.

College Admissions: NEET PG 2024 date; AIBE 18 postponement; TS LAWCET counselling; SRMJEEE, AEEE registration

• The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced its exam calendar for 2024. The tentative National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET PG 2024) exam date is March 3.
• The All India Bar Examination (AIBE 18) was postponed but the new exam date clashed with CLAT PG 2024, the entrance test for postgraduate law programmes at the National Law Universities. It was postponed again to December 10 and this time it clashed with NLU Delhi’s entrance test, AILET 2024.
• Registration for design entrance exams, UCEED and CEED 2024 has been extended to November 20.
• The Goa Common Entrance Test (GCET) for engineering and pharmacy programmes has been cancelled. The UT will now participate in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main 2024) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
• Registration for counselling for law school admissions in Telangana (TS LAWCET Counselling 2023) begins on November 14. The full schedule is out.
• Amrita Vishwa Vidhyapeetham began registration for its entrance test, the AEEE 2024.
• Registration started for SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination (SRMJEEE 2024).

MBA Admission 2023: New MBA courses; mba placements; AI-ML in syllabus; IIM Mumbai interview

• Analysis | MBA placement rates and salary packages have recovered after covid-19 at the top 10 business schools – nearly all IIMs – at some MBA colleges in the top 100 ranks of the NIRF, medical salaries are still at or below Rs 6 lakh per annum.
• New Degree | Many top engineering and MBA colleges launched BTech-MBA dual degree programmes to improve employment opportunities for core engineering students and prepare engineering graduates for better job roles. IITs and IIMs are teaming up for these courses and for good reason.
• Interview | NITIE Mumbai spent 20 years pursuing an IIM tag. Getting it has meant a world of difference, noticeable most immediately in its placement rates. Its director spoke to Careers360 on his plans for IIM Mumbai, recruitment, funding and new courses.
• New Courses | Here are 20 new MBA courses and management certifications covering a range of fields from supply chain management, finance to sustainability. They were launched by IIMs, IITs and top business schools.
• College Profile | Army Institute of Management (AIM) Kolkata brings the “army ethos” into management education making for a very unique MBA programme.

Army Institute of Mangement Kolkata (Image: AIM Kolkata)

• Interview | IIM Ranchi has a new MBA curriculum that its director believes will make it “globally-oriented and locally-responsive”.
• Interview | ICFAI Business School (IBS) Hyderabad will offer courses that are relevant to the changing technological landscape, said its director.
• Syllabus Change | Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are changing what MBA colleges teach and how.
• Interview | It’s time for IIMs to start campuses abroad, said IIM Sirmaur director.

College Education News: IIT Madras Zanzibar campus launch; IIT Bombay QS rankings; new director at IIM Calcutta; Left sweep in UoH student polls

• Bidyut Chakraborty’s highly controversial tenure as Visva Bharati University VC has ended; students and teachers hope for a return to ‘normalcy’.
• IIT Bombay was ranked best in India and 40th in QS Asia University Rankings 2024. IIT Kharagpur came it at rank 5 in India.
• 10 students have been expelled from the hostel of Government Medical College Haldwani for ragging.
• IIT Kanpur has set up a centre for research in biomedical engineering.
• Chanakya National Law University vice-chancellor, Faizan Mustafa, among candidates in the running for Aligarh Muslim University VC.
• IIM Calcutta got a new director.
• An alliance led by the Left-leaning SFI swept the University of Hyderabad student polls.
• 40 companies participated in the Cluster 3 summer placements at IIM Ahmedabad, TCS was the top recruiter.
• The Government of Kerala approved a new campus for Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM) Kerala.
• The SWAYAM July exams were rescheduled due to the elections; no exam will be held on November 20.
• IIT Kanpur and Indian Institute of Skills Kanpur announced collaborations on three projects.
• Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and University College, Dublin signed an agreement for student exchanges.
• Amity University Online launched a certificate programme in ML and Generative AI.
• Delhi University’s English department raised the fees for PhD and then revised it following uproar from teachers and students.
• National Institute of Technology (NIT) Hamirpur has taken action against 24 students after the death of an MTech student, allegedly due to drug overdose.

School Education News: Air-pollution; West Bengal Board Class 12 practical exams; JKBOSE schedule

• Extreme air-pollution in north India saw schools close across several regions. Delhi Government ordered online classes; Noida and Gurugram closed schools as well. Delhi eventually rescheduled the winter vacations to keep schools closed. Haryana also tweaked its school timings as the temperature dropped.
• West Bengal board (WBCHSE) Class 12 practical exams are from December 1. The council issued guidelines for it.
• Jammu and Kashmir Board of Secondary Education has announced the tentative schedule for JKBOSE Class 10, 12 board exams 2024. Both sets of exams will likely start in March.
• The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti has extended the registration deadline for lateral entry into Classes 9 and 11 to November 15.
• Registration has begun for admission to Odisha Adarsh Vidyalayas.

Study Abroad: NORKA Roots’ student insurance; GMAT 2024; UK scholarships

• Kerala’s government body, NORKA Roots, has insured 3,000 students who have left the state to study abroad.
• The GMAT 2024 Focus Edition test began on November 7. The Graduate Management Admission Test is for admission to 2,400 business schools globally.
• University of Lincoln offers PG scholarship of Rs 4 lakh to Indian students.
• University of Sheffield announced 75 undergraduate scholarships for Indian students to study in UK.