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The special initiative of 'Tamil Karkalam' as part of the ongoing Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 has filled students in government schools with glee and eagerness to learn Tamil and its rich heritage.

Sandhya Saikrishnan, a teacher of Tamil at Government Queens Inter College, Lahurabir here, and a Pracharak at Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Chennai, said, "The students are eager to learn and enthusiastic. I have been teaching them over the last few days, and they can now communicate in basic Tamil." She also appreciated the study materials supplied by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil: "very useful, simple and easy to understand."

Saikrishnan, one among 50 Hindi-speaking Tamil teachers recruited by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil to hold classes in schools in Varanasi and its surrounding districts under 'Tamil Karkalam', says,

Tanu Pal, a Class 9 student of the Government Queens Inter College, said she was feeling happy and excited to learn Tamil.

"I like it very much. Today I know Hindi, Tamil and English. I feel proud that I got this opportunity," she said.

An autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil leads this programme.

Explaining the aim, Director of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, R Chandrasekaran said the institute is committed to teaching the language to over 3,000 students who have Tamil as a non-mother tongue.

He said during an interaction with PTI that this course would be put online so that even students from Class 9 to 12 or anybody interested in learning Tamil could do so.

He added that close to 50 schools in the districts in and around Varanasi would be visited by the teachers in the next few weeks.

: About 3,000 students would be imparted the Tamil language by the teachers. This initiative has been mutually decided between the Ministry of Education and the Government of Uttar Pradesh ", he said.

Chandrasekaran said the institute has come out with a specially designed five-volume book series that would enable students to pick up Tamil in just 15 days and make learning quick and effective.

It is also aimed that the students converse in Tamil through this book after the end of the training. The books have been written so clearly that learners can study on their own. To this effect, all these study materials are on display at a dedicated stall at the ongoing Kasi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 venue, besides educating the initiative. At the end of the Kasi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 conference, Chandrasekaran said, about 300 students from Varanasi would come to Tamil Nadu to get more involved with the language and culture. "This initiative will help consolidate the decades-old cultural relationship of Tamil Nadu with Varanasi," he added.

The Bharathiar University administration will very soon constitute a committee to conduct an enquiry into long-pending complaints against teaching as well as non-teaching staff.

Officials said the V-C post has been lying vacant since 2022, while recently a new registrar was appointed to the university after a span of seven years.

During this period, the performance of Bharathiar University's administration has become lethargic, they added.

Moreover, the administration did not file appeals against court cases filed by teaching and non-teaching staff regarding monetary benefits, suspensions, irregularity in duty, misappropriation of funds, and other issues.

Besides this, a few teachers were suspended and their benefits withheld because of internal politics, which led them to seek legal remedies.

Due to this, the university has suffered some financial losses over the past several years, sources added.

"To sort out long-pending complaints, the university administration will constitute a committee which would look into the number of cases pending in court and concerning Bharathiar University and the current status. It would also assess how many staff were facing departmental action and the status of such cases. Besides, the committee would inquire into all complaints from staff and initiate necessary action. The committee shall act based on each case. If there is a prima facie case in an allegation, it will be referred for action, if not, the committee will resolve the issue internally. It will help avoid financial losses to the university," sources further said.

When contacted, University Registrar R Rajavel informed TNIE that they would suggest constitution of a committee with V-C committee convenor and the process is underway.

Delhi University is mulling plans to close or restructure several low-demand undergraduate programmes. An internal review of admissions, submitted to college principals last week, revealed persistent vacancies in some courses and colleges.

The university identified the programmes with the lowest student response based on the latest, or 2025–26, CUET-based admission trends. This data was compared to the 2019 admission cycle—when DU still followed the Class XII merit-based system—to argue that the current vacancy pattern is due to varying demand over the years, rather than the introduction of CUET, according to ToI.

The university used one to categorize the program "preference-to-seat ratio".

The two courses having the ratio of less than 50 could be discontinued, while courses with the ratio between 50 and 100 may see seats being redistributed. The high demand programmes, with a ratio of more than 200, are being proposed to be expanded. As per the data available, OMSP (Office Management and Secretarial Practice) and many BA programme combinations were in the low demand category.

Colleges have now been asked to review programmes which have received consistently poor admissions and submit a report by Monday. "All colleges have been asked to examine underperforming courses and begin the process of phasing them out," said the principal of a college in the South Campus, on condition of anonymity.

Four colleges - Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Swami Shraddhanand College and Zakir Hussain Evening College-have been cited as examples where the seat fill-up is the lowest and cancellations are the highest. As per the review, Aditi Mahavidyalaya enrolled 606 students against the 1,010 sanctioned seats while Bhagini Nivedita enrolled 359 against its 985 seats. The university said both colleges offer a number of BA programme combinations but offer fewer honours courses.

Another principal present in the meeting revealed that most of the BA programme combinations are no longer attractive to applicants.

"Some colleges have introduced combinations that don't attract students, while they offer no Honours courses at all. They were advised to weed out such combinations and retain only academically meaningful ones," the principal said, as quoted by ToI.

Stream-wise data revealed that commerce courses and a number of BA Honours programmes were in good demand, many of which received applications beyond approved capacity. Language programmes had the least response, with only about 81 per cent of the seats filled - the lowest among all streams. Officials said that restructuring is likely to be implemented from the next academic year forward to simplify the processes and improve seat utilisation.

Education has become an endurance test for more than 50 school and college-going students of Pachedoddi, a small village near Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district.

With no bus connectivity and no proper road linking their village to the nearby towns, students take a punishing 14 km walk each day. They trek 7 km to schools in Ajjipura, Ramanapura and Hanur, and another 7 km to return home.

The road goes through thick patches of forests besides uneven and unpaved mud roads that become treacherous during monsoon.

The fear of encounters with wild animals is always there as the region comes under the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Division, where the death of a tiger and the frequent movement of wildlife were reported only recently.

Children of Pachedoddi cry for CM's attention

Long walks to and from school, which few other children of their age are put through, have been forced upon them by lack of reliable transport. Once at school, they grow very tired, with many hardly able to concentrate in class.

"Our parents brought the issue to the notice of authorities but in vain. We have now written to the chief minister, " said a student of the village who along with a few of her friends wrote the letter.

Over the years, innumerable ministers, people's representatives, and officials of the department of education have come to Pachedoddi, promising to bring about a solution, but improvements like a proper road and regular bus service have been pending for far too long.

Recently, the students recorded a video of their struggle and circulated it on social media in a bid to catch the attention of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, but the effort did not yield any result. Despite hardship, the children of Pachedoddi are still pursuing education.

BHU vice-chancellor Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi underlined the importance of Kashi Tamil Sangamam and how it is facilitating mutual interaction between the people of the South and the North.

He pointed out that frequent exchanges would be required in order to create mutual understanding and underlined the fact that similarities within the states of India in no way reduce diversity, rather reinforce the very essence of Indian identity.

He lauded the role of KTS in furthering the vision of Viksit Bharat and made particular reference to the ‘Shabd’, an AI-based translation tool which simultaneously translated his remarks into Tamil and Hindi. The VC reiterated that KTS reminds us of the basic philosophy and intent of the program-to celebrate unity and "the many different ways in which we are one."

Prof Chaturvedi presided over the session hosted by BHU as part of the 4th edition of Kashi Tamil Sangamam on "Kashi in Tamil Imagination: Mahakavi Subramania Bharati and His Legacy". The first academic session of KTS 4.0 saw experts underlining the deep connections between the two ancient cultures of Kashi and Tamil Nadu, which the Sangamam celebrates with grandeur.

A 200-member delegation from Tamil Nadu comprising students attended the session upon arrival at the university campus.

He said Indians needed to internalize this civilizational unity, an echo of which is heard in the Vishnu Purana, and such programs as KTS help reinforce it. Delivering the keynote address, Prof R Meganathan from the National Council of Educational Research and Training spoke on the ideals of Shakti, Bhakti, and knowledge espoused by Mahakavi Subramania Bharati. The work, philosophy, and life of Bharati were discussed at length to bring forth how this iconic figure of Tamil literature had advocated the cause of national unity and shared Indian identity. He discussed Bharati’s poem “Achamillai, Achamillai, Achamenba Thillaiye” (“Fear not, fear not, there is no such thing as fear”), his nationalism and universality, and his intellectual engagement with Sri Aurobindo.

 In tune with the theme of KTS 4.0—“Let Us Learn Tamil – Tamil Karkalam”—Prof Meganathan spoke about various initiatives promoting Tamil language learning among non-Tamil-speaking populations. He also presented an NCERT documentary on Bharati, noting the poet’s command of more than 25 languages and his work as a nationalist, writer, journalist, and freedom fighter. He showcased a Tamil language tutorial developed by NCERT. Prof Meganathan said that all Indians should know a third language. He concluded with a poem he wrote about Subramania Bharati in which he talks about Bharati’s poetry, its social impact, and especially its impact on nationalist feelings of the people. Welcoming the guests, Prof PV Rajeev from the Institute of Management Studies, BHU, introduced the audience to Kashi Tamil Sangamam and gave an overview of Banaras Hindu University to Tamil students and teachers.

The private unaided schools in Delhi have started the Nursery, KG and Class 1 admission process for the academic year 2026–27. Application forms will go live on December 4, and the process will run till December 27.

The DoE had released the overall schedule last week, instructing each school to declare in advance its admission criteria, point allocation, and seat availability on their websites as well as the DoE portal.

But even as schools uploaded their individual 100-point frameworks, proximity once again emerged as the most decisive factor in selections -while parents' groups voiced concern about staggered disclosures, age-eligibility inconsistencies and the lack of a centralized dashboard.

Proximity dominates point systems

While the highest weightage across most major private schools has been assigned to the distance between the applicant's home and the school, institutions have continued the long-standing practice of giving paramount importance to neighbourhood access well above other parameters such as sibling preference, alumni status, gender considerations, or staff affiliation.

At Mount Abu Public School in Rohini, proximity accounts for 80 points out of the total 100. Siblings receive 10 points, girl or single-child applicants receive five and alumni or staff wards get another five. Principal Jyoti Arora was quoted as saying by HT, “Distance continues to carry the highest weightage, followed by sibling and alumni and staff links,” stating that the school tries to promote gender equality and incentivise families “to empower their daughters through quality education.”

Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, has similarly put neighbourhood proximity at the top. Principal Alka Kapur said the neighbourhood category carries maximum weightage because proximity ensures ease of access, safety and stronger community linkage for young learners. She added that sibling and alumni categories are weighted next since family association serves as "a significant indicator of continuity and engagement."

Other well-known schools including Venkateshwar International School, The Shri Ram School and Sanskriti School have implemented similar hierarchies in their 100-point matrices, HT reports.

Minority school uses religious criteria and catchment area

It is reported that St Michael's Senior Secondary School has taken a decidedly different approach, setting aside 40 points for practising Christians. It allots 30 points for neighbourhood distance, 20 points for alumni links and 10 points for siblings.

The school, which is a recognized Christian minority institution, requires both parents to be practising Christians to avail points on the basis of faith. To verify this fact, applicants should possess knowledge of “basic catechism”. “Christian parents are expected to know basic catechism to prove that they are practising Christians,” the school states.

Parents frustrated by staggered disclosure and mixed age norms

While many schools posted their criteria quickly, several had yet to publish, leaving families with a series of rolling uncertainties. The DoE’s directive on November 22 said when schools could start publishing criteria but did not mention a deadline for ending the process, forcing parents to check individual websites repeatedly.

"This creates unnecessary friction for parents who must continually check separate school portals for information," Delhi School Parents Association president Aparajita Gautam was quoted as saying by HT. She cited that such confusion would not have arisen if the DoE managed a single-window system: "The government should adopt a single-window system so points criteria and age norms for all schools are listed under one unified head."

Gautam also pointed to inconsistencies in age requirements. Though the DoE has directed schools to follow the 3+ eligibility norm in accordance with NEP 2020, some still list the minimum four-year age for Nursery admissions. “This only compounds the confusion,” she said.

Revised age norms and key deadlines to be followed by parents

The 2026–27 cycle will be the second year of the implementation of Delhi’s NEP-aligned foundational stage age criteria. As per the guidelines available at edudel.nic.in, for Nursery, the child should be three years old but not more than four years as on March 31, 2026.

In the case of KG, a child has to attain the age of at least four years but less than five, while for Class 1, the child has to be at least five but less than six years old. Children who are already enrolled in Nursery or KG during 2025–26 will automatically get a promotion to the next level, so only new applicants need to be within the specified age limits.

The DoE has also capped the registration fee at Rs 25 and prohibited the collection of capitation fees or mandatory prospectus charges.

How the point system and draw of lots work

Each private unaided school is supposed to declare its selection criteria and the points it assigns to each category. Schools consider factors like distance between home and school, sibling studying in the same school, parent being an alumnus and applicant being the ward of staff. Distance is said to be the category attracting the highest weightage continuously.

Once the applications are received, the schools have to upload a complete list of all applicants before the commencement of the selection process. Thereafter, the points awarded to each child will have to be uploaded prior to declaring any list of admissions.

If more applicants score the same points as the available seats, then the school must conduct a draw of lots. It must be video-recorded and done in the presence of parents with an announcement at least two days in advance.

Under the Right to Education Act, 25 per cent of seats remain reserved for children from Economically Weaker Sections, Disadvantaged Groups and for Children with Disabilities. These are filled through a separate centralised mechanism.

Documents parents should prepare

According to DoE, parents are advised to keep all the required documents ready before commencing the application process. These include a copy of the birth certificate of the child for age verification, residence proof like the ration card, electricity or water bill, Aadhaar Card, Voter ID or passport, and identity proof for both parents.

Recent photographs of the child and parents are also to be submitted. Parents should also provide proof if a sibling is studying in the same school and documentation if the parent is an alumnus of the school. Applications under the reserved category for Children with Disabilities require a government-issued disability certificate. How to apply: Online or offline Parents can submit applications through either the official websites of individual schools or offline, as decided by each school. After filling in all required details, parents must upload or attach supporting documents, pay the permitted Rs 25 registration fee and save the acknowledgement receipt for later verification. The applicants are thereafter expected to check the website of the school routinely for publication of applicant lists, points awarded and first and second selection lists along with dates for verification of documents and admission formalities.