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Relatives of a young Haryana playschool teacher who was discovered dead on Tuesday have rejected police speculation that she might have taken her own life. Members of her family refused the last rites on Tuesday, claiming that she had been murdered and demanding justice.

On Tuesday, the Haryana state govt. suspended internet services in two districts of Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri for 48 hours and sent in extra police forces to stop any law-and-order problem, The Indian Express stated.

Meanwhile, the murder of the 19-year-old woman has been greeted with widespread anger in her native village and villages around it. The locals have intensified their protests, insisting on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the incident. To barricade the village, locals placed stones and tree branches on joining roads.

After the furore, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced that the case will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a fair and impartial probe.

In an X post, CM Saini had said, "The state government and police administration are taking all seriousness and transparency to provide our Bhiwani girl Manisha and her family justice. I myself am personally reading the reports of this case regularly. As per the family's demand, the Haryana government is going to shift this case to the CBI for a fair inquiry. Justice will be delivered fully in this case."

The woman had gone missing on August 11 after she had left home to meet a college with regard to queries for a nursing course. Two days afterward, on August 13, her body was discovered in a field in Bhiwani. Police later confirmed that forensic tests on her viscera and a handwritten note suggested that she could have ingested insecticide to end her life.

The woman had gone missing on August 11 after going out to meet a college to enquire about a nursing course. Her body was recovered two days later, on August 13, from an open field in Bhiwani. Police subsequently stated forensic examination of her viscera and a handwritten note that she had left suggested that she could have ingested insecticide to commit suicide.

A former sarpanch of the village also condemned the police, alleging that from the beginning they did not even investigate the case properly. The family claimed that when on the evening of August 11 the girl failed to come back home, they dialed Haryana's emergency helpline (Dial-112) and informed the police.

As reported by The Indian Express, the police officers accompanied the family to the college but interrogated only three inebriated men, who said that the girl had not been discovered and the college had closed at 1 pm. The sarpanch inquired as to why the police did not search the campus thoroughly and accused them of floating the suicide theory to assuage public anger.

There were also queries over the timing of the purported suicide note. In response to questioning why the note was not made public earlier, Rohtak Range IGP Y Puran Kumar replied that it was found on August 13 in the place where the body was recovered, though this information is not necessarily offered during the early stages of an investigation.

The IGP also stated that the investigation was conducted scientifically and in a strictly proper manner. The postmortem had been conducted twice, first at Bhiwani Civil Hospital and then at PGIMS Rohtak. Doctors kept their opinion suspended till viscera and other laboratory test reports were available. The results on Monday confirmed the presence of a toxic insecticide, an organophosphorus compound, in her kidney and intestine, the IGP stated. A medical board later advised the family of the outcome.

Despite all these accusations, protests continue. Fearing disturbances, the state government blocked internet, bulk SMS, and dongle services in the two districts from 11 am on August 19 until 11 am on August 21. The official directive, issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sumita Misra, did not mention the death but talked of the possibility of public disturbance, harm to property, and spreading of objectionable content on social media.

The order further stated that misuse of platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and SMS can lead to mobilisation of agitators and dissemination of rumours, leading to vandalism, arson, or violence.

FIRs to be filed, recovery of salary ordered by education department

In a drive against phony recruitment, the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Department on Wednesday sacked 22 teachers for using fake documents to attain government posts. The move comes after an in-house probe revealed the extent of the forgery.

Based on an order released by Secondary Education Director Mahendra Dev, the sacked teachers were firstly appointed by virtue of an advertisement published for assistant teacher posts in government secondary schools of Azamgarh division.

The hiring process was merit-based, depending on the candidates' high school, intermediate, graduation, and teacher training certificates. But after handling numerous complaints, the department launched a document verification drive. The investigation uncovered that all 22 teachers had presented fake educational documents in order to get their jobs.

"These teachers had been posted in various districts over the years, but their appointment was illegal from the beginning," the order read.

In accordance with the results, the department has directed the concerned District Inspectors of Schools (DIOS) to not only begin the recovery of the salaries withdrawn by such teachers but also register First Information Reports (FIRs) against them under suitable provisions of law.

The episode has added new questions about the integrity of recruitment within the education system of the state and the susceptibility of merit-based selection processes to manipulation. Sources within the department reported that additional verification is in progress to inspect for similar deception in other wings.

The state government has come under pressure to enhance background verification in recruitments for teachers, particularly following similar instances in other districts in the last year.

The move is a warning to people against fraudulently producing documents, officials say, and indicates the department's desire to purify the education system of corruption and malpractice.

The UGC (University Grants Commission) has formally banned both distance and online courses in psychology, healthcare, and nutrition in India  which will come into effect from July-August 2025 academic year ensuring that quality education and practical training are not compromised. There already existed UGC banned courses, and these are the new additions. This move of UGC promises eight benefits for Indian education including, enhanced peer learning, improved accuracy, reduced plagiarism, safer clinical practices, and better connection. 

UGC latest news

According to the UGC directive, no higher education institution will offer psychology, nutrition, biotechnology, clinical nutrition, dietetics and food science courses beyond learning in both distance and online format, starting the next session. Recognitions accorded earlier in the said programmes are being excluded, but, this is being done to ensure that the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021 is being adhered to.

Why was there a need for Ban?

UGC banned online courses considering the downsides and concerns about the efficiency of practical and professional training using remote learning environments. Degrees that require practical training and on-site skills such as those dealing with health and psychology were deemed inappropriate to be offered on online platforms by the Distance Education Bureau Working Group and the UGC committee.

8 ways the ban will help Indian education move forward 

Enhanced Peer Learning

The physical interaction with peers will be available to students by transferring to regular classroom modes. The classroom setting promotes group discussions, peer comments, and collaboration, which is usually missing online. Such interactions are important to subjects such as psychology, which needs socialization and interaction between individuals in order to determine human behavior.

Fostered Faculty-Student Connection

Face-to-face classes enhance faculty-student relationships where teachers get to mentor and guide students individually. This contributes to the creation of trust, clearing of ideas more quickly and providing direct feedback. The doubtfulness of students can easily resolve with the teachers in this mode which is frequently absent in distance learning scenarios.

Improved Accuracy of Assessment

Course plans allow making closer and more realistic evaluations. Using lab work, presentations and demonstrations, teachers will be able to assess the actual abilities of students rather than the theoretical pass or fail tests. In healthcare and nutrition, activities shape effective assessment that is neither biased nor highly selective to the benefit of only a few.

Safer Clinical Practice

The distance education regulation is highly beneficial at enhancing the safety of patients and clients in that students will be given a chance to acquire practical skills under controlled conditions before entering practice. Since students undergo real-life experiences in the studies, they do not miss learning the most important knowledge such as bedside manners, hygiene and emergency responses skills that cannot be trained online.

Less Plagiarism and Malpractices

Paper exams and offline study minimize plagiarism and cheating to a great extent. Distance learning may cause the problem of easier monitoring of assignments and test conditions, whereas traditional supervision contributes to trust and integrity to the academic qualification, which supports the reputation of Indian professionals in the global context. 

Enhanced development of infrastructure

This ban will serve to motivate colleges and universities to further invest in improving the physical infrastructures like laboratories, simulation centers, and libraries. This evolution does not only serve the present-day students but it also provides a more solid base of the following academic development and research in these areas.

More Cooperativeness with Industry

On-campus degrees enhance the relationship between learning institutions and the health sectors. Students get a chance to do internships, live projects and visit industries more than remote or distance learners and this enhances their job ready experience.

Standardized Curriculum and Quality Control

In physical courses, the regulation bodies such as UGC and NCAHP can more easily be fair in terms of similarity and quality of the curriculum delivery in their institutions. Routine checks, inspection, and training of the faculty can be imposed more effectively to have uniform outcomes in relation to education throughout the country. 

This move by UGC is undoubtedly a significant modification to higher education in India as this is an area where classroom learning is still required in a variety of subjects like psychology, healthcare, and nutrition. Experts are of the view that colleges will now be required to upgrade their classrooms and labs to provide students with better hands-on learning. 

Apparently, many students will find it a bit challenging to attend regular classes but this regulation will make Indian education compete with the best in the world. For students, it means more real-life learning and better preparation for jobs.

All-in-all, the ban indicates the efforts of the UGC preserving academic rigor and quality within professional education in India.

Thirty-four students of government schools in India have been chosen for the coveted Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science, popularly called the Sakura Science Programme. Organized by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the programme gives youngsters the opportunity to experience Japan's advanced scientific growth alongside its lifestyle first-hand.

The 2025 session would be conducted from August 17-23 with the Indian students joining the students from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. There are 13 boys and 21 girls Indians who have been selected from the Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Odisha, Puducherry, West Bengal government schools and the demonstration schools of the Regional Institute of Education (RIE) at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Mysuru. There are three supervisors in the group.

India has been a part of the Sakura Programme since 2016, and more than 630 students and 90 guides have made trips to Japan under this exchange scheme since then. The program, which was launched in the world in 2014, is aimed at enhancing scientific curiosity among young minds and developing international collaborations.

The chosen students were flagged off formally at a function conducted at NCERT, New Delhi, by the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education. Sanjay Kumar, Secretary DoSEL, Professor Prakash Chandra Agrawal, Joint Director, NCERT, and Archana Sharma Awasthi, Joint Secretary, DoSEL, accompanied them.

In his speech on the occasion, Sanjay Kumar called the effort a "golden opportunity" for young participants. He urged teachers and students to derive maximum advantages from the experience, citing how exposure to Japan's highly advanced systems would fire up future innovators and make India-Japan relations closer.

If you wish to study two degrees simultaneously, one online and the other offline then now it is achievable at Lucknow University. LU has opened up a window of opportunity for admission in its online courses. Existing students of any undergraduate or postgraduate courses can apply for admission in these online courses along with work executives and other applicants who wish to study online as they have time limitations.

LU is providing nine online undergraduate and postgraduate courses that can be undertaken along with on campus courses. Courses provided are BCom, MCom, MA in English, economics, Sanskrit, political science, master of social work, BBA and MBA.

"Our online programs are dual degree compliant meaning they can be taken in parallel with continuous degrees. This provides a flexible learning program whereby an enrolled candidate can study in one's own time and convenience, wherever located. Besides, we designed its curriculum industry focused where emphasis is given to the acquisition of practical skills that prove critical in achieving professional success," said dean, academics, Prof Geetanjali Mishra.

She informed that LU's online courses are comparable to offline, on campus, normal UG and PG courses. The only distinction is that in online courses students are not required to visit the campus. This provides a strong learning platform since all course content and evaluation are provided through a centralized Learning Management System (LMS), she added.

"We have created a four-quadrant multimedia content, i.e., these courses adhere to UGC's recommended four-quadrant approach (video tutorials, e-text materials, discussion forums and regular assessments)," she explained, adding that the courses provide a solid placement support that entails receiving guidance in navigating career opportunities. This course is made accessible and affordable, she added.

India's first privately funded mathematics research centre has been established in Mumbai. The Lodha Mathematical Sciences Institute (LMSI) has been opened with Dr Manjul Bhargava, the very first Fields Medalist of Indian descent, among the world's elite of the maths fraternity.

Dr Bhargava, professor at Princeton University, also sits on the advisory council of LMSI. He will head the institute's first programme, a seminar course in number theory and arithmetic statistics.

The four-month course will start later this month and continue until mid-December, and there are several more such programmes in the pipeline.

The philanthropic arm of Lodha Group, the Lodha Foundation, has also supported the initiative with a sizeable endowment. The Lodha family donated approximately Rs 20,000 crore to the foundation last year for education and research initiatives. The LMSI is the first initiative that has been established from this donation.

GLOBAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

The institute's advisory board includes some of the most influential mathematicians in the world.

Besides Dr Bhargava, members of the faculty are Dr Vikraman Balaji from Chennai Mathematical Institute, Dr Sourav Chatterjee, Dr Ravi Vakil, and Dr Yakov Eliashberg from Stanford University, Dr Alexander Lubotzky from Weizmann Institute of Science, and Dr Kavita Ramanan from Brown University.

Other Indian mathematicians of repute such as Dr Mahan Mj of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Dr Parimala Raman of Emory University will also be imparting future courses.

LEAD BY DR V KUMAR MURTY

Dr. V Kumar Murty, a number theorist and an arithmetic geometer with excellent work in the field, will head the institute. He was a former director at the Fields Institute and a professor at the University of Toronto.

Delivering the first address, Dr Murty also stated, "We know that in the very long history of India there were many great mathematicians who have made elementary contributions which have constructed the world we live today. LMSI intends to solve elementary problems which will make India a developed country and a world leader by 2047."

He also explained where mathematics can be observed in day-to-day technology, from linear algebra powering search engines to computational geometry powering e-commerce websites.

FUTURE PLANS AND IMPACT

Abhishek Lodha, managing director and CEO of Lodha Developers, joined in further, "It is important for us as a firm to make sure that our success somehow comes to the development of India. To that extent, the family as a whole last year decided to donate roughly a fifth of the ownership of the firm to the Lodha Foundation. We have realized that for any country to be strong, we must have innovative ideas and help develop innovation."

Ashish Kumar Singh, the chief mentor of Lodha Foundation, addressed the application of mathematics in contemporary technology. "The foundation of nearly all modern technological advancements is mathematical, be it cryptography, cyber security, war, and most importantly artificial intelligence (AI). At LMSI, our objective is to recruit top-quality researchers to get them to engage and collaborate on edge mathematics research that is newest."

BEYOND PURE MATHEMATICS

LMSI is also keen on employing new mathematical methods such as data science, operations research, machine learning, and optimisation to address health, infrastructure, and economic issues. The faculty will be at liberty to do pure research without having to suffer administration.

The institute also made an announcement for its first symposium on August 17-19 with lectures from its distinguished faculty. In the near future, LMSI is going to organize the Indian Congress of Mathematics in December next year, bringing India's best mathematical brains together under one roof with the vision to make it a yearly affair.

Lodha Group and Foundation believe the project will not just put India on the global map as a center for research in mathematics but also sow seeds of national development, fresh concepts, and innovation.