IIT council gives nod to off-campus students

NEW DELHI: The IIT council on Tuesday gave in-principle nod for the HRD ministry's proposal to increase the IIT student strength to 1 lakh from the current 72,000 by introducing a new concept of 'non-resident students'.

The ultimate figure of 1 lakh is likely to be achieved by 2020. In a series of big decisions, the council also approved the Prime Minister Research Fellowship programme that will select 1,000 bright BTech IIT students and give them direct admission into PhD programmes with a higher scholarship. IITs will become part of the Global Research Interactive Network which entails foreign faculty, joint supervision of PhDs and students spending a semester in foreign universities.

New HRD channels will telecast IIT lectures live

NEW DELHI: Students across the country would soon be able to watch live telecast of lectures from six IITs and some other top institutions while seated in their living rooms, with the Union human resource department launching 32 Direct-to-Home channels to cater to their needs.



The department of space has agreed to allot two transponders on a GSAT series satellite for this ambitious project, while MoUs have been signed with many institutions, which will provide lessons and content that will be beamed on these channels.

New education policy soon: Smriti Irani

Union Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani has said the government will unveil a new education policy soon.



"We have received suggestions from people living in 1.10 lakh villages and over 1,500 municipal bodies ... we have prepared a document with the help of experts, including advice by education councils, to improve our education system. 

Irani unveils web platform for inclusive higher edu

The HRD ministry has unveiled an ambitious plan to facilitate web-based learning, involving applying for courses and accessing material online, to increase the reach and quality of higher education.



HRD minister Smriti Irani in a tweet outlined the structure of Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (Swayam) which promises linkages and assistance for web-enabled learning. 

The massive open online courses (MOOCS) platform will aim to create a student experience that begins with creating learning plans and providing information to prospective students about the courses that are available. The Swayam flow chart will allow students to check their eligibility and then proceed for preview and availability of teaching in fields of their interest.

The next step is contact with course coordinators for more detailed information. Application and successful registration lead to access to course materials as the learning process gets under way and now, as students begin following schedules, they can network with other learners to set up a shared work space. These workspaces can be homes or any available public space and the interaction can go up with online communication with other course-takers.

Mid-module assessments and guidance from supervisors are intended to keep students on track and up to the mark in their academic work that includes self-assessment. Successful course completion will lead to earning credits followed by a course review exercise and the next level of learning in the programme will get under way. Completion of requisite number of modules will lead to qualification at par with regular learning.

The e-learning programme has been structured to deliver results and improve inclusion as the admission processes to colleges and schools are unable to accommodate a growing number of applicants.

Panel to review ranking mechanism of educational institutions

To analyse the feedback received regarding its first ever rankings of the country's educational institutions, the Union HRD ministry constituted a nine member expert committee that would review parameters and suggest improvements.



The Smriti Irani led HRD ministry had earlier this month released rankings of the country's educational institutions and the committee headed by secretary of higher education Vinay Sheel Oberoi would analyse the feedback.

"A lot of feedback is about classification of the institutions. We have to think whether there can be more categories for other disciplines like say law. To look holistically at the entire exercise we have decided to form this panel," a senior official said.
Apart from Oberoi, Prof Surendra Prasad, chairman of National Board of Accreditation, UGC chairman Ved Prakash, AICTE head Anil Sahasrabudhe, additional secretary R Subrahmanyam and other senior officials would be a part of the nine member panel.

The committee would invite representatives from educational institutions to get a more comprehensive outlook of the issues.
Among the terms of reference for the panel are review of ranking structures, rationalization of parameters, setting up a national institutional ranking framework (NIRF) cell at NBA and also examine the possibility of loading all data related to educational institutions, on the All India Survey of Higher Education and a parallel website.

"The committee would work so the feedback received after NIRF 2015 can be used to improve the rankings for the next year," the official added.

Allocation of funds for higher education less than half of proposed amount

 Parliament's standing committee on HRD has expressed concern with the rising trend of huge gap between the proposed demand and the actual allocation of funds for higher education. In its report tabled on Wednesday, the committee said "the actual allocation is less than half of what the ministry had proposed."

In another report on school education, standing committee asked HRD ministry to carry out a ground assessment of schools that are not giving 25% admission to children belonging to economically weaker sections. In case of mid-day meal, the parliamentary panel said that the amount paid to cooks is meagre and compensation should be brought to the level of MNREGA wages.

Panel approves threefold hike in IIT annual fees

A proposal for a threefold hike in annual fees of IITs from the present Rs 90,000 was today approved by an IIT panel though a final decision would require the nod of HRD minister Smriti Irani.

Another key recommendation the standing committee of IIT council (SCIC) made was that the proposed new entrance examination designed to test the aptitude, conducted by National Authority of Test (NAT), would be held from 2017 onwards.

UGC sets up committee to look into off-campus centres

The UGC has set up a committee to look into all aspects of off-campus centres established by some institutions deemed to be universities without its prior approval or that of the HRD ministry.

The committee would comprise UGC members Prof H Devaraj, Prof Mohammad Miyan, Prof Sanjay Govind Dhande and Dr KN Shanti apart from a member convener, as per the minutes of a meeting held last month.

Several leading institutions, which are deemed universities had set up off campus centres without prior approvals, for which they have been issued notices by the UGC.

UGC lets deemed private universities have 6 off-centre campuses

 Barely three months after the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued notice to 10 deemed universities, including prestigious ones like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, for having off-centre campuses without clearance, it has amended its regulation allowing private deemed universities to have six off-campuses.



In case of government-established and managed deemed universities, the UGC's ceiling of six off-campuses will not apply.