Education Headlines 4th July, 2011

AICTE Relaxes Eligibility Criteria

AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) has now made admissions into various technical courses easier. This has been made possible as the council has lowered the eligibility criteria from 50% in Class 12 to 45% (in Physics, Chemistry and Math) from this year. The criteria will be applicable to Engineering, Hotel Management, Pharmacy and Architecture courses. The good news is that for the reserved category, the cut-off will now be 40%. This decision was taken in a meeting held in Delhi on 28th June.

Source: Hindustan Times, 30th June, 2011

Decision over OBC Quota Norms still Pending

Uncertainty prevails over admission of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) students in central educational institutions as the Supreme Court on 1st July, refused to issue any immediate clarifications on the confusion regarding norms for the implementation of 27 % reservation for the OBCs. In September 2010, a case relating to JNU admissions, the Delhi HC had said the cutoff marks for OBC should be 10% less than the minimum eligible marks for general category candidates and the matter came to the SC.

Source: Hindustan Times, 2nd July, 2011

JNU OBC Funds Used for Tours and Seminars: CAG

It was found in a performance audit of JNU ( Jawaharlal Nehru University) by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) that funds meant for the implementation of quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were spent on purchasing assets, national and international travel, field work and attending seminars/conferences.
The CAG made 26 preliminary observations after test-check of eight schools, one special centre of 10 schools and three special centers in the university.

Source: The Hindu, 2nd July, 2011

AIEEE Counseling Turns Candidate-Friendly

The uniqueness of the AIEEE 2011 counselling that is now in progress is the endeavour by the Central Counselling Board (CCB) to make the process candidate-friendly, reducing students' anxiety arising from procedural difficulties. The process that began with online registration, filling up of choices and choice locking from June 11 to 23, is scheduled to end with the last activity of ‘admission to allotted institute against spot round allotment' from August 16 to 20. The classes will begin on July 21 in the participating institutions, after the third of the five rounds of seat allotment.

Source: The Hindu, 27th June, 2011

Now a Common Proficiency Test for CA Aspirants

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is planning to allow students who have studied vocational courses or completed 12 years of basic education to appear in the Common Proficiency Test (CPT), an entrance exam to pursue. Presently, only those students who have passed Class 12 with regular academic programmes are eligible to appear in the test.

Source: Hindustan Times, 28th June, 2011

Two Students Suspended on Ragging Charges

Two undergraduate students were suspended by National Institute of Design (NID) on 28th June. The students were dismissed for a complete semester on allegations of ragging juniors. The decision was taken by the institute after submission of a detailed report by its anti-ragging committee, following some complaints of ragging.

Source: Yahoonews, 28th June, 2011