NEW DELHI: A lot has happened this year, and students are in great turmoil as the education system is badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past week, there was another lawsuit filed against exams, this time for entrance tests for engineering and medicine.
The Delhi University students have lost their battle against the online open book examinations as the Delhi High Court upheld DU’s decision to conduct the final year exams via OBE.
Last week, many discussions held on the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 followed with the ministry holding a major conclave to discuss and explain it. Besides this, central and state universities released revised schedules and plans for exams and academic sessions.
According to the weekly wrap of education news, Newsd has listed below the biggest decisions and developments most relevant to educational institutions, teachers and students in the past week.
COVID-19 and Education
The UN Secretary General’s policy brief on education stated that this pandemic has caused “the largest disruption of education in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in all countries and continents. The brief also predicted that “an additional 23.8 million children and youth” could drop out or fail to attend school next year because of the economic impact of the pandemic.
Last month, over 1 billion students were affected by #COVID19 school closures.
Even before the pandemic, the world was facing a learning crisis.
We must take bold steps now, to create inclusive, resilient, quality education systems fit for the future. https://t.co/fD4nwEkqUg pic.twitter.com/71ksZO2DHP
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 4, 2020
JEE 2020 and NEET 2020 Exam:
The parents association that has taken the matter to the Supreme Court against the University Grants Commission guidelines, has now filed a PIL demanding postponement of NEET and JEE Main 2020 to December.
On August 3, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has announced that JEE Advanced 2020 will not be conducted in foreign centres for this session as restrictions on foreign travel and visa issuance will create problems to students.
CLAT 2020 Delay:
On August 4, the Delhi High Court has asked the Centre and the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLU) to respond to a law graduate’s plea challenging the test center that asked to take the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the NLU Consortium has postponed the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 indefinitely, which was scheduled to be held on August 22.
Central and state universities
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the opening of 11 new colleges in the state on Monday. In the past five years, 97 new colleges have been opened in the state.
Jawaharlal Nehru University announced that it has received Rs 445 crore from the Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) for the construction of academic buildings, hostels and research centres. The JNU teachers’ association has always opposed this funding approach.
In order to make online learning an integral part of the education system through the Delhi University Computer Centre (DUCC), the University of Delhi proposed an e-learning online educational programme – ‘OneDU’.
University of Hyderabad has also accepted online education, announcing that the new session will start on August 20, but will be conducted online.
Tripura’s Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath announced on Tuesday that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, admissions to 22 general degree colleges in the state will be conducted online.
Launch of Online Admission Portal in General Degree Colleges.
This system will make the admission procedure easy and transparent. pic.twitter.com/zargo0B8OE
— Ratan Lal Nath (@RatanLalNath1) August 4, 2020
Internship-embedded degree courses:
The UGC issued guidelines on internship courses last Friday, aimed at enhancing the employability of graduates.
University exams
The Delhi University has got a nod from the Delhi High Court for holding online Open Book Examination (OBE) for final-year undergraduate courses from August 10 with a series of guidance.
However, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) chose for assignment-based exams for all terminal and final-year students.
BHU also stated that students in the intermediate semester will be promoted to the next academic year, that is, students will not need to achieve the required minimum 4.0 grade.
#BHU की कार्यकारी परिषद् ने शैक्षणिक सत्र 2019-20 के मध्यवर्ती/अंतिम सेमेस्टर के छात्रों के लिए सेशनल परीक्षा को असाइनमेंट आधारित बनाए जाने के विद्वत परिषद् के प्रस्ताव को मंज़ूरी दे दी है। इस के तहत शिक्षक ई-मेल/इलेक्ट्रॉनिक माध्यम से छात्र-छात्राओं को असाइनमेंट भेज सकते हैं। pic.twitter.com/B50cAHW2i1
— BHU Official (@bhupro) August 5, 2020
Anna University, Chennai decided to conduct proctored online exam for the final-semester undergraduate and postgraduate students of the university departments and affiliated colleges by the end of August.
On August 4, the deputy chief minister and higher education minister of Karnataka, Ashwathnarayan C N, suggested that higher education institutions should address the problems faced by students in the final-year university exams.
NEP 2020 Discussion:
The Tamil Nadu government has rejected the Centre’s three-language formula proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on August 3 and stated that there would no deviation from the two-language policy being followed in the state.
The Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, has dropped the ‘Minister of Human Resource Development’ (MHRD) designation from his profile on social media, which coincides with the recent change in the name of HRD Ministry to Ministry of Education. The change of name was approved by the Union Cabinet on July 29 along with the new National Education Policy 2020.
Last Friday the ministry organised an online conclave on the NEP 2020 which was addressed by prime minister Narendra Modi.
Senior ministry officials and of the autonomous bodies that regulate various parts of the sector has attended the meeting.
शिक्षा व्यवस्था में बदलाव, देश को अच्छे students, अच्छे प्रोफेशनल्स और उत्तम नागरिक देने का बहुत बड़ा माध्यम आप सभी Teachers ही हैं, प्रोफेसर्स ही हैं।
इसलिए नेशनल एजुकेशन पॉलिसी-राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति में dignity of teachers का भी विशेष ध्यान रखा गया है: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 7, 2020
