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On December 5th, 2024, The National Medical Commission's (NMC's) Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) issued a notification requesting proposals for the establishment of new medical colleges that will provide an MBBS program with 50 available seats in 2025-26. On December 19th, 2024, The NMC published a press release reinforcing the earlier announcement made on December 5th regarding the establishment of additional medical colleges for Academic Year 2025-26. A press release issued by the NMC on December 19, 2024, reiterated this call for new medical colleges for the Academic Year 2025-26. The NMC has rescinded its Letter of Permission to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, located in Reasi Jammu & Kashmir.

In response to the aforementioned announcements, the NMC received other applications, including one for the creation of a new medical college called Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence. The MARB issued a LoP to the aforementioned college following the proper procedures, which included document review and in-person inspection by qualified assessors. Consequently, the institution made admissions," stated a letter from NMC.

"However, the NMC has received numerous complaints over the past two weeks containing serious allegations against the institution, including inadequate clinical material, inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of qualified full-time teaching faculty, and an inadequate number of resident physicians," the statement stated.

In order to confirm the accuracy of the complaints, the MARB made the decision to carry out an unexpected physical inspection. The team's assessment report proved that the allegations were accurate and supported. It said, "The shortcomings found were severe and significant in character.

What happens to students already admitted?

The Commission of Medical Education pointed out that if the institution would continue operating under such a condition, it would not only ruin the standard of medical education but also impair the academic benefits of the students.

The medical commission has concluded that the state/UT authorities will be the ones who will decide which students will be admitted in other medical institutions as supernumerary seats, according to the regulations that are applicable, in order to protect the rights of the students already admitted for the academic year 2025–26.

Decision comes amid recent controversy

The decision comes amid the recent debate regarding the acceptance of 46 Muslim students out of 50 for the first intake of the MBBS course at the medical college.

Local residents and various Hindu factions are requesting that specific quotas be allotted for by Hindu candidates attending the Medical College, as it was brought into existence with financial support from the Hindu public through Donations made at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, thus, through these donations, they should receive their "fair share/portion" of the financial benefits generated by this Medical College.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of Jammu & Kashmir now believes that instead of the BJP continuing with the current status and potential conflict amongst students at this Medical College, the BJP should take action to move those students to Existing Medical Colleges. Omar believes that the BJP has been utilizing Religious Political agendas (Politics, Sport & Food) for personal gain.

"The pupils passed tests and secured seats on their hard work," stated Omar. They received no favors from any. Adjust them somewhere else if you do not want them there.

"I do not think pupils would want to study there in the current situation. We ask the Ministry of Health and the Government of India to place these kids in different colleges. I would not have sent these youngsters if I were their parent. He continued, "We would not want them to study in an area with a lot of politics." "Close the medical college and provide our kids another one" (Vaishno Devi). Such a medical college is unnecessary. Put these kids in reputable government medical schools," he said.

In a mocking tone, the Chief Minister commented on the BJP's senior leader and MLA Sham Lal Sharma asking if Jammu should be its own state, "Who has stopped the BJP from becoming their own state?" The Chief Minister went on to say that the BJP had already destroyed Ladakh by dividing it from J&K, and now there is nothing to stop them from creating Jammu as a separate state. He added, "This could have been done back in 2019 when the BJP was doing everything around both the abrogation of Article 370 and dividing J&K into 2 Union Territories.

Under the National Education Policy (NEP), the University of Delhi (DU) has managed to keep up with the demands of its maximum exam load to date. Semester exams were administered to more than 700,000 students in approximately 90 colleges associated with the University, including its School of Open Learning.

For conducting exams, approximately 15, 000 question papers were prepared. Over 10, 000 teachers used multiple Central Evaluation Centres to assess answer sheets so that the evaluations would be done on time and would be transparent. 

Data has been compiled to indicate that exam participation has continued on the rise. Along with that, the number of question papers has continued growing gradually across each academic year from 2021/2022 through to 2025/2026. In fact, the university has set a new record for the number of question papers processed in a single session during the November/December 2025 session, with a total of 941 question papers being processed in a single session. This compares to a total of 228 question papers that were processed in the same session during 2024, which is a dramatic increase. Another indication of increasing workloads for the Examination Branch has been an increase in the total number of students taking exams in a given session, which increased from 69,808 students to 86000 students in a single year.

As per the official statement, the university held semester examinations for more than 700, 000 students in about 90 colleges, which included the School of Open Learning. "The number of students examined in one session also went up from 69, 808 to 86, 000 within a year. This is the heaviest workload ever handled by the Examination Branch in a single session, " the statement said.

Operational Challenges and Coordination Efforts The extent of operations has grown substantially, thus demanding vigorous coordination in scheduling, distribution, evaluation, and the final processing of results.

The officials emphasized that such huge figures necessitated detailed planning in case they wanted to maintain the examination process efficient and effective. The officials used the comparisons between May, June 2025 and November, December 2025 sessions to highlight the increased pressure on the system. More than 800 papers were seen on several days, and there was a single day peak of 941.

Comparing the sessions from May, June 2025 and November, December 2025 revealed even more dramatic signs of system strain, with multiple days exceeding 800 papers and a one day peak of 941. According to university officials, the introduction of the NEP has substantially escalated the examination workload, which is mainly due to the increased student enrolment and the higher number of papers per semester. They pointed out that these quantities demanded highly concentrated efforts in coordination from scheduling, distribution, evaluation to the final processing of results.

Cops bust Rs 1.5 cr fake degree racket run by PhD holder "Name any course and you will get a degree from a recognised university." The Gomtinagar police operation on Dec 21, which led to the exposure of a well, oiled interstate racket, was a surprise to everyone. The gang allegedly made academic qualifications easily available. Job seekers got fake degrees and marksheets from the gang, which was led by the kingpin, a PhD holder, and was highly educated. The eastern zone crime and surveillance team of Lucknow police arrested three men accused of running the fake degree syndicate. 

"The investigation of the case which was initially presumed to be simple led to the discovery of a large- scale forged academic document supply network, " said Shashank Singh, deputy commissioner of police (East). Besides, the police have recovered 923 forged marksheets and degrees from at least 25 universities, along with 15 forged university seals, laptops, hard disks, printers, registers, and Rs 2 lakh in cash. An FIR was registered at the Gomtinagar police station under various sections of the BNS.

The police arrested three individuals who were identified as Akhilesh Kumar. He has a PhD in sociology from a private university in Odisha. Satendra Dwivedi (32) has an MSc in chemistry from a government university in Kanpur, and Saurabh Sharma (35) holds a diploma from a private institute. The police said the gang that investigators were after, was charging anywhere between Rs 25, 000 and Rs 4 lakh for 'ready, made' degrees, depending on the course and the credibility of the university. The courses included BTech, BCA, MCA, MSc, and BA. 

"The accused targeted candidates who were not eligible for jobs or higher education, " the DCP said. "They also assured fake degrees that look real and can pass verification." According to assistant commissioner of police, Gomtinagar, Brij Narayan Singh, the certificates were so well made. The police fabricated documents in the names of different institutions like Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, North East Christian University, Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal University, Kalinga University, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth and Sabarmati University. The arrest of various digital devices and financial records indicates the existence of detailed client lists and payment trails. "We are going through the digital information to find the beneficiaries who used fake degrees to get jobs, " said a senior officer.

HR experts say such rackets thrive because many private companies rely solely on submitted documents. Police are coordinating with universities and employers to trace forged documents already in circulation.

Fakir Mohan University (FMU), Balasore, is set to broaden its academic horizon by introducing Integrated Teacher Education Programmes (ITEP) after getting the green signal from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The university will be inaugurating four, year integrated programmes for BA BEd and BSc BEd, as per the sanctioned plan, featuring an intake of 50 students per course. Fakir Mohan University is thus elevated to the status of a pioneer institution in the state, alongside IIT Bhubaneswar, offering ITEP courses. 

The ITEP is a restructured model forom students seeking a career teaching, proposed by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Through the programme, the students get the opportunity to learn the subject in combination with pedagogy, educational psychology, and practical training. The goal is to enhance the standard of teacher education and to equip the new generation of teachers with the skills to face the changing demands of the classroom. In order to arrive at the decision, the NCTE team of experts inspected the site in detail at Fakir Mohan University. The survey was concentrated on infrastructure, academic readiness, faculty strength, and institutional capability to implement the programme as per the national standards.

The courses will be offered through the School of Education at the university’s Old Campus and are scheduled to commence from the academic session 2026–27.

Vice-Chancellor Santosh Kumar Tripathy said that all required teaching and non-teaching staff have already been appointed to ensure smooth academic and administrative functioning of the programmes. He added that the university is fully prepared to implement the curriculum as prescribed by regulatory authorities.

Admission into the ITEP programmes will be through the National Testing Agency (NTA), and candidates have to appear for the test in online mode. The university has stated that complete information on eligibility criteria, admission procedures, and timelines would be made available soon on its official website and in the leading newspapers.

The ITEP at Fakir Mohan University is anticipated to not only increase the availability of standard teacher education in the area but also to help produce a teaching workforce that is professionally trained and in line with the education reforms at the national level.

On 21st July, 2023, a public commemoration for the late Mr. N Vinaya Hegde, who was the founding member of Nitte Group of Educational Institutions and Chancellor of Nitte Deemed University, was held at Sharada Vidyalaya, Mangaluru at the request of the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese, Rt Rev Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha.

The Bishop presented a floral tribute to Mr.Vinaya Hegde and spoke of the many ways he exemplified true humility, saying: "Mr.Vinaya Hegde was true to his name". The Bishop encouraged those in attendance to follow Mr.Vinaya Hegde's example and make it their own as they work on behalf of the nation. He prayed for peace to the departed soul.

Ex, Vice Chancellor Prof B.A. Viveka Rai said that it was Vinaya Hegde who made Nitte not just a small village but a successful education hub. He said that through the institutions Hegde had set up, thousands had found the right path which resulted in a huge educational revolution along the coast. He said the locality had lost a great leader and that there is no one to take Vinaya Hegde's place and urged people to take his values in their own lives.

Kanchuru Educational Institutions Chairman U.K. Monu reminisced about his association with Vinaya Hegde for the last 25 years and mentioned that Hegde was always a source of support without expecting anything in return. Monu said Hegdes contributions were instrumental in the advancement of their institution. Tribute to Vinaya Hegde were paid by MLA Vedavyas Kamath, Prof M.B. Puranik, Prabhakar Sharma (retired ADC), and Capt Ganesh Karnik (ex, Legislative Council member), among others. In addition to these, a number of dignitaries gathered for the occasion, such as Karnataka Bank Chairman Raghavendra S. Bhat, Nitte University Vice, Chancellor Dr Satish Kumar Bhandary, Mangaluru Diocese PRO Roy Castelino, Kasapa president (ex.) Harikrishna Punaroor, Karnataka Bank chairman (ex.) Mahabaleshwara M.S., MLC (ex.) Monappa Bhandary, Mayor (ex.) M. Shashidhar Hegde and many more. The vote of thanks was delivered by Pradeep Kumar Kalkoor who also greeted the gathering. Dayananda Katilu was the master of ceremonies for the programme.

In a bid to curb male student dropouts and promote higher education, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the 'Babu Asoni' scheme on January 1, 2026, offering monthly financial aid exclusively to boys pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Postgraduates will receive Rs 2,000 per month, while graduates get Rs 1,000, credited directly to their bank accounts starting February 1.

The initiative targets families with annual incomes below Rs 4 lakh, excluding children of government employees to prioritize the underprivileged. First-year students in recognized Assam institutions qualify automatically, with applications set to open soon via a dedicated portal. Sarma highlighted the scheme's role in easing financial pressures amid rising education costs, mirroring the success of the 'Nijut Moina' program for girls, which provides similar stipends—Rs 1,000 for higher secondary, Rs 1,250 for UG, and Rs 2,500 for PG or BEd.

This male-focused scheme builds on Assam's aggressive push for gender-balanced education incentives. Since 2024 many thousands of girls have enrolled through "Nijut Moina" and have decreased child marriage rates by 30%. Parallel dropout trends of boys within rural/low-income families will also be addressed by "Babu Asoni". In the first year, officials estimate coverage of over 100,000 beneficiaries using funds from the State's Welfare budget.

Many Educationist agree that this is an excellent opportunity, but they want to ensure that it is monitored to prevent abuse and is integrated with Skill programs (such as Vocational Training). The Dean of a University in Guwahati stated, "This could be a game changer for Equity, but the sustained impact will require that Counseling accompanies Cash." Assam's goal is to have 100% Gross Enrollment by 2030, and this approach could set a National Example for Targeted Aid and Funding. However, critics point out that this is creating a Gender Divide; therefore, they advocate for Unified Support. Implementation challenges like Aadhaar-bank linkages remain, but early registrations are pouring in.