Top News

The body of a first-year B Tech student of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) was found hanging in his hostel room here, the third such incident in less than a year, police said on Monday.

Third incident in less than a year

The deceased was identified as Rahul Yadav, an 18-year-old student of Computer Science, hailing from Raipur in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP Sonal Singh Parmar said.

Earlier, on February 16 and May 1, two female Nepalese students were found hanging in their hostel rooms on the KIIT campus.

Parmar said that the latest incident had taken place around 10.45 pm on Sunday and that the body was recovered by personnel of Infocity Police Station.

"The autopsy was performed at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar in the presence of the magistrate and family members of the deceased student," she said.

Police launch investigation

Preliminary inquiry points to friendship of the deceased student with “a girl of the same age based in Chhattisgarh”, police said, adding complications in the relationship might have led to differences between them.

His mother has filed a complaint against the family of the girl.

"The complaint alleges harassment of her son by the father, mother and brother of the girl. Based on her complaint, registration of a case at Infocity PS is underway," the police said in a statement.

The body of the student was handed over to the family members. Meanwhile, KIIT, in a statement, has termed the incident “sad and unfortunate”.

“It is believed to be a love-related incident. The student died by suicide due to personal reasons. The student’s mother has also been informed about this. His mother said that he had been in love with a young woman,” it said.

“After the postmortem, his mother informed that the girl’s father and family had threatened and intimidated the student. As a result, he was forced to die by suicide. The deceased’s family has said it will file a police complaint against the girl’s family,” the KIIT statement said.

The institute also expressed concern over the “increasing rate” of suicide among students in various educational institutions in Odisha and outside it.

The mother of the deceased student also expressed her apprehensions about ceiling fans in the KIIT hostel.

"The college authority is also to be blamed for keeping overhead fans in hostel rooms. There is no such facility in several hostels in Kota (Rajasthan), where thousands study," she said.

Over 520 reserved category teaching posts are lying vacant in different government colleges and universities of Assam, which is indicative of an acute staffing gap in the higher education sector of the state. The figures were placed before the Assam Assembly formally on Thursday by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu in response to a written query from Leader of Opposition, Debabrata Saikia.

In his reply, the minister has stated that as many as 522 posts meant for SC, ST and OBC candidates remain vacant in state-funded institutions. Of these, 429 posts are lying vacant in colleges while 93 positions in universities continue to wait for recruits.

Breaking down the numbers, Pegu said that Assam’s government colleges now have 297 OBC posts, 46 SC posts and 96 ST posts lying vacant. The shortfall at the university level includes 49 OBC positions, 13 SC posts and 31 ST posts.

The minister further revealed that the backlog is not confined to the reserved categories alone. Institutions of higher education also have 775 vacant teaching posts in the general category, underlining the broader recruitment lag across Assam's academic ecosystem.

It has led to apprehensions about the impact of prolonged vacancies on teaching quality, academic output, and compliance with reservation norms. The Opposition legislators argued that shortage comes in the way of learning outcomes and departmental expansion in colleges and universities. Educationists have also pointed out that such persistent gaps undermine the state's efforts to strengthen higher education and expand access for marginalised communities.

Although the vacancies were admitted by the government, no timeline was provided on recruitment in the Assembly reply. However, officials have hinted that the state is working on facilitating the hiring process through the Assam Public Service Commission and direct recruitment drives to fill posts lying vacant for a long time.

With over 1,297 posts of teachers lying vacant in various categories, the state requires a concerted and time-bound recruitment plan for adequate representation to restore academic continuity in the higher educational institutions of Assam, say stakeholders.

Hundreds of students from the Physical Education department at Banaras Hindu University protested loudly and incessantly in front of the Vice Chancellor's residence, demanding immediate action because their degrees were left out of the recent national recruitment drives.

Students of BPED and MPED courses picketed the residence of the Vice Chancellor early this morning, accusing the national recruitment bodies of overlooking their NCTE-approved degrees.

They said their cases had been declared ineligible for the vacancies released under NVS and EMRS examinations without fair grounds, thereby causing much anxiety relating to their career prospects.

Many students carried placards and shouted slogans demanding that the university intervene without further delay. They said despite completing two years of rigorous academic and practical training, they are being denied the opportunity to apply for teaching posts to which they are fully qualified.

STUDENTS SAY EXCLUSION THREATENS THEIR FUTURE

According to students, BHU-offered courses of BPED and MPED were not recognized in the recently-published recruitment lists. They said that it was unjustified since the programs had been approved by the National Council for Teacher Education.

They said the decision has put their future in jeopardy and demanded that the university ensure their degrees were recognized in all national-level recruitment processes.

A number of students present later described feeling "deeply disappointed" and "betrayed" because they felt their hard work was being dismissed.

VICE CHANCELLOR MEETS STUDENT DELEGATION 

As the agitation continued to swell, a delegation of students met the Vice Chancellor, who assured them that he would look into the matter urgently. He ordered concerned officials to initiate necessary steps and said two students and two teachers would be sent to Delhi to represent their cause before the Ministry. However, students said no such assurance had been given in writing so far. They said unless an official confirmation was issued and a delegation sent to Delhi for the same, they would not withdraw their protest.

 PROCTORIAL BOARD TRIES TO APPEASE PROTEST 

Officials from the Proctorial Board and faculty members reached the spot to pacify the crowd. Despite their efforts, the students maintained that they would not step back until their demands were formally acknowledged. They said rejection of their degrees at the time of job applications was not acceptable and immediate corrective action was called for.

If you are a student-or a parent-December 2025 is turning out to be one of the most-awaited months of the year. With winter vacations lined up, Christmas celebrations, and New Year holidays, schools across India are preparing for one of the longest year-end breaks in recent years. While several states have released detailed holiday notifications, many others will likely do so soon with temperatures falling and festivals nearing.

Christmas & New Year Holidays Nationwide

While Christmas on December 25 is a compulsory holiday for all schools across India, many this year are extending the holidays by declaring Christmas Eve on December 24 and New Year's Eve on December 31 as additional closure days. For most regions, January 1, 2026, will fall on a Friday and be declared another public holiday, giving students a long weekend-if not full a week-off.

December 24: Christmas Eve

Although not a statutory national holiday, Christmas Eve is a restricted holiday according to the official calendar of the Government of India. Many schools in North India are expected to declare a holiday on Christmas Eve.

December 25: Christmas

Christmas Day has remained a holiday in all schools in the country. In many states, winter break is considered to begin on this day, though many schools return to school after one or two days of holiday.

December 31: New Year's Eve

This implies that most schools close early for New Year's Eve and only open after the holiday, January 1st. This tradition is likely to happen in 2025 to allow students an easy transition into 2026.

State-Wise School Holiday Updates

Students in UP are in for a long winter break.

All government and private schools: December 20 - December 31

Schools of PM Shri: Closed from December 23 to January 1, 2026

In fact, the extended schedule represents one of the longest winter holiday blocks in the state's recent calendar.

Jammu & Kashmir

With temperatures recording several degrees below zero in Kashmir and parts of Jammu, the full winter schedule has been rolled out by the School Education Department.

Balvatika (pre-primary) : holidays from Nov 26, 2025 – Feb 28, 2026

• Classes 1 to 8: Dec 1, 2025 – Feb 28, 2026
• Classes 9 to 12: Holidays from Dec 11, 2025 – Feb 22, 2026

Kashmir being a place with extreme climatic conditions, has the longest winter break in India. Why December 2025 is special for students December might not have many national holidays, but regional calendars and extreme winter conditions in the north coupled with year-end festivals will ensure that students across India get one of the most relaxed month-end schedules of the year. With travel, festivals, and family get-togethers peaking in December, this extended break is expected to be welcomed by millions of students and parents. If you are planning trips, revisions of exams or year-end events, December 2025 will give you the perfect window.

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu right-wing groups have been claiming that the the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence was operating without any funding from the country's only Muslim-majority government, documents show that the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University which runs the institute continued to receive official financial support even when the erstwhile state was bifurcated and downgraded into two Union Territories.

A medical institute in Jammu's Reasi district is at the eye of a raging storm in J&K after the BJP supported a call by some Sangh Parivar affiliates to reserve the MBBS quota of 50 seats at the institute for Hindus only.

The right-wing groups have claimed that the institute runs with the donations of Hindu devotees; however, official documents show that it is managed by the multi-disciplinary SMVD University, which received Rs 121.30 crore ‘grants-in-aid’ from J&K government since 2017-18.

Along with some other educational institutions, the government medical colleges in Srinagar and Jammu are managed by the University of Kashmir and the University of Jammu, respectively, which also received ‘grants in aid’ from the J&K government during this time period.

The Comptroller and Auditor General defines 'grants-in-aid' as "financial assistance, donations or contributions" which are given by the Centre and state governments to universities, hospitals, co-operative institutions and others "for meeting their day-to-day operating expenses".

These grants fall under three separate object heads – ‘Grants-in-aid General’, ‘Grants for creation of Capital Assets’ and ‘Grants-in-aid Salaries’.

The process of giving ‘grants-in-aid’ to the university began in the year 2017 when the saffron party was in power in the Jammu and Kashmir state along with the Peoples Democratic Party-led government headed by Mehbooba Mufti.

The medical institute was stormed last week by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, and other affiliates of the Hindu right-wing that demanded the expulsion of 42 Muslim students, mostly from Kashmir who were selected for MBBS at the institute based on their NEET rankings.

Later, J&K BJP leaders led by LoP Sunil Sharma presented a memorandum to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, demanding reservation of the seats in the institute for Hindu students only, a move which was condemned by all the political parties in the Union Territory.

J&K chief minister Abdullah said on Tuesday, November 25, that Sharma should push the BJP-led Union government to declare the university as a minority institution. “But do keep in mind your role when you raise fingers on Muslims and allege that they have become communal, sectarian and do not tolerate others,” he said.

Article 30 of the Constitution, along with guidelines by the Supreme Court, empowers the country's minorities to set up their own educational institutions where up to 50 percent seats can be reserved for students from that particular community.

However, SMVD University is not a minority institution.

The medical institute, constructed on a 34-acre land parcel belonging to the SMVD shrine board, was allowed by the National Medical Commission on September 8 this year to open admissions for 50 MBBS seats for the 2025-26 academic session.

According to its official website, it intends to expand to 100 MBBS seat capacity by the third year and would also set up a dental college and a paramedical college. Among the faculty members presently working at the institute, some are Muslims. Hitting out at the BJP, senior National Conference leader Tanvir Sadiq said that the grants received by the university from J&K government, "clearly proves the institution (medical institute) isn't running on donations alone". “And when public money is involved, every citizen of this UT has an equal right to be there - irrespective of religion or background,” Sadiq, the NC’s chief spokesperson, said in a post on X.

In an ambitious endeavor aimed at equipping the country's schoolteachers for the future, the University Grants Commission has called upon all HEIs in the country to recommend teaching faculty willing and ready to serve as national mentors under the National Mission for Mentoring.

The initiative has been instituted under the umbrella of the National Education Policy 2020, representing a partnership between the National Council for Teacher Education and the Department of School Education & Literacy, which envisages a strong national mentoring network with the capability to contribute to the enhancement of teacher professional development throughout the country.

The directive requires that each HEI should select a faculty member who expresses interest and shows an inclination for mentoring and guiding schoolteachers.

The mission contemplates a pool of 1,000 national mentors who would support, advise, and collaborate with the about 95 lakh school teachers in India-whether permanent, contractual or para-teachers like Shiksha Mitra and Niyojit Shikshak.

WHAT THE MISSION WILL DO

The Bluebook for NMM, prepared by NCTE, lays out a detailed, structured road-map of how the mentoring mission shall be rolled out.

Some of the key features:

The mentors will resource schoolteachers on personal guidance, facilitation, reflection, and sharing of best practices.

A variety of resources will be created and translated targeting different mentoring contexts. Capacity building of mentors, awards/certificates, and non-monetary incentives will also be considered.

Technology-enabled platforms and networks enable interactions between mentors and mentees across geographies.

Ongoing evaluation, feedback by mentors and mentees, and institutionalization of the mentoring structures are emphasized.

At this scale, and with approximately 95 lakh teachers in the country, decentralized, peer-driven continuous professional support is urgent and strategic.

It calls upon HEIs for faculty nominations. In doing so, UGC draws upon the pool of mentoring talent in the higher education ecosystem to link experienced professionals with school-level practitioners from across the country.

WHAT A FACULTY NEEDS TO KNOW

According to UGC notification, institutions should be looking at teaching faculty that:

Demonstrate willingness and aptitude to mentor teachers

Have a history of participation in professional development and support of one's peers Are you willing to be onboarded into the NMM mentoring network? For individual faculty members considering nomination: Realize that the role of mentorship is not just a title; it is an active engagement, mentorship, and collaboration with mentees who are schoolteachers. Be prepared for training, onboarding, and perhaps technology-enabled mentoring sessions. Appreciate that this is a service to the teaching-learning ecosystem. Recognition, though non-monetary, may be part of the framework. Looking Ahead With HEIs now being asked to nominate mentors, the National Mission for Mentoring is all set to move from mere conceptualisation into actual implementation. The real test will be in how the mentor-mentee network is operationalized, how mentorship interactions are sustained, and how outcomes in teacher professional growth and student learning are tracked. If done successfully, this may be a big leap forward in teacher professional development in India, using peer-led mentoring and institutional collaboration at scale.