In a judgment that could limit access to professional education, India's Supreme Court ruled last month that colleges that do not receive government aid are not required to use state admission quotas for students from minority groups and lower castes.
A hectic lobbying is on at the state and national level by the managements of the 27 private medical colleges in the state to stall the proposal for online counselling for management quota seats this year. College managements say that Rs 700-800 crore is riding on these seats even as state health officials are busy putting together possible solutions to deal with the medical admission chaos this year.
In a setback to the Centre's proposed legislation for regulating admissions to and fee structures in private professional educational institutions, which also provides for reservation, a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday ruled out quotas in them.
THE HIGHER Education Department will initiate strict action against the private colleges that do not adhere to the rules. Also the recognition of such colleges could be cancelled, the Principal Secretary of the department Dr Bhagirath Prasad has warned.
Students and teachers in private colleges and universities would soon be eligible for government scholarships and research grants. The University Grants Commission has finalized a proposal to provide financial help to self-financing colleges. “The commission had discussed the proposal but no final decision has been made. The issue would be taken up in the next commission meeting,” UGC secretary RK Chauhan told Hindustan Times.
The Government of Madhya Pradesh issued the following press release: The State Government has put a ban on use of the words 'Indian' and 'National' by the private colleges with their name running in the state
FOLLOWING UP its warning to private technical colleges regarding charging of higher fees, the Directorate of Technical Education on Wednesday cracked down on at least three private colleges in the City, checking their records, mainly vis-à-vis collection of fees.
NEARLY 1005 students, who have cleared B.Ed entrance examination conducted by the Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), have become the victim of the ongoing tussle among the management of the various private colleges running the B.Ed courses. They could not get admission till date.
As many as 138 private institutes across the country, including 65 management and 15 engineering colleges, have sought permission to close from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). This is more than three times the number of institutes that had come up with the request last year.
The Bombay High Court, on Tuesday, asked the state government what it proposed to do to ensure seats in private medical colleges were not blocked in the name of students already admitted in government medical colleges. These seats ended up being filled through management quotas of the private colleges.
Students in self-financing universities and colleges may soon be eligible for a large number of University Grants Commission (UGC) fellowships and scholarships that at present are open only to students from institutions receiving government grants. The UGC has proposed allowing students from private universities benefits like the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and the Post Graduate Merit Scholarship, top government officials revealed.
Students may have to give two common entrance tests (CET) next year if private engineering colleges have their way. Members of the Maharashtra Association of Engineering Colleges (MAEC) have proposed conducting a separate entrance test apart from the MH-CET conducted by the state government. Association members met state higher education minister Rajesh Tope earlier this week to discuss the proposal.
The Afghan government is actively planning for the country's first private university. The American University of Afghanistan is to be American-style, with English-language instruction and mainly American professors. It is to open as an undergraduate institution, with graduate programs in the future. The Afghan Ministry of Higher Education has contracted an American organization for expertise on foreign institution building and is obtaining U.S. government funds. There will be a 10-month feasibility study from this summer, with the university slated to open shortly thereafter.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has partnered with the Afghan Government and other private donors to establish the private American University of Afghanistan set to open in 2006. Targeting 1,100 undergraduates from Afghanistan and neighboring countries, the university will offer programs in management, liberal arts, and communications, all taught in English. Additionally, President Karzai has emphasized that educational development is crucial to national development.
The present academic year in India has experienced chaos following fee hikes, public demonstrations and staying of admissions in private medical colleges. Following the Supreme Court judgment in October 2002, some private medical colleges in Mumbai had raised annual fees from about $2,500 to $7,500. In its judgement, the court had allowed financially independent private sector to run professional colleges, a right granted earlier only to minorities based upon religion or language.
Sylvan Learning Systems is extending its reach in international higher education to India. The company announced last month that it had put a down payment on a 250-acre site near Hyderabad, in south-central India, where it hopes to develop a university that would eventually enroll about 10,000 students in career-oriented programs.
MIT received a pledge for $350 million yesterday to create a new institute on brain research, the largest single gift to a university ever. The institute will focus on the way humans learn and communicate.
India's Supreme Court has ordered each state to review private institutions' tuition to forbid "profiteering." The Court's ruling mainly results from the for-profit orientation of many Indian private institutions-and their questionable quality. The fast private growth of Indian higher education due to the increasing demand for access has resulted in the sale of seats in many private institutions.