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The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the Calcutta High Court's order ordering a CBI investigation into the West Bengal government's move to create supernumerary posts in the West Bengal School Service Commission teachers' recruitments.

The highest court, however, clarified that the CBI investigation as ordered by the Calcutta High Court into other areas concerned with the hiring of 25,753 teachers and staff members in West Bengal's state and aided schools would go on.

"Considering the above discussion we are of the opinion that the Calcutta high court was not justified in referring the question of creation of supernumerary posts to CBI as per the cabinet decision," said the Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna as reported by The Telegraph.

The Supreme Court last week revoked over 25,000 appointments made in 2016. The state government had approached the apex court challenging the order.

On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised to safeguard the jobs of "deserving" teachers whose appointment was cancelled by a Supreme Court order. She also referred to the case of the all-India medical entrance test NEET and stated that the top court had not cancelled the entire examination in that instance.

"The Supreme Court has to demarcate between who is entitled and who not. Give us the list. No one should be allowed to shatter the education system. In the case of Vyapam in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, so many were murdered. They have never received justice so far. There were many accusations in NEET. The Supreme Court did not scrap the test. Why are you targeting Bengal? We wish to know. You are apprehensive of the talent of Bengal," she spoke to a delegation of terminated educators at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium.

The BJP had asked that Mamata and the Bengal cabinet ministers should be arrested for creating extra posts. They also demanded the CM's resignation.

The state had established supernumerary in state-run and state-aided schools. Over 23 lakh candidates had taken the state-level selection test in 2016. Vacant posts were 24,640, but 25,753 appointment letters were given. It was claimed that these supernumeric posts gave scope for illegal recruitment.

Irregularities in the recruitment of teachers had caused trouble for the Mamata Banerjee government. Several of the senior Trinamool leaders, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, are now in jail as part of the case.

A Dalit student has been demonstrating outside the Vice Chancellor's house at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for the last 14 days after allegedly being rejected PhD admission.

Shivam Sonkar stated that the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies in the BHU declared six seats of PhD, where three seats will be kept aside for Junior Research Fellowship candidates and three will be filled based on an entrance exam.

He said he had applied for admission through the entrance test and got the second rank. There were no reserved seats for Scheduled Caste candidates in the entrance test category, and the three seats that were there were given to General and OBC candidates.

Assam Cancels Remaining Class 11 Exams Due to Panchayat Elections. "Also, the department did not fill three seats under the JRF category," he alleged.

Sonkar contended that the university could have exercised its discretion in filling the vacant seats with other category candidates, "but refused" to do so in his case. Sonkar started his sit-in protest on March 21, one day after the declaration of the results.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Sanjay Kumar on April 3 assured him that his request for admission would be reconsidered, Sonkar added. But the student said he will not withdraw his protest until the university accepts him.

Reacting to this, the university administration released a statement explaining that Sonkar had applied for admission under the Research Entrance Test, which had two seats available - one for a General category candidate and one for an OBC candidate, both of which were already taken.

"Because he stood second, he could not be admitted," the statement said. The administration added that Sonkar is insisting that three vacant JRF seats be converted into normal entrance test seats so that his admission can be allowed. "Such a conversion, however, is not allowed as per PhD regulations, and his admission was not possible on account of his rank," it said.

Local MP Arun Govil handed out approximately 1,500 copies of the Ramayana to prisoners at the Chaudhary Charan Singh district jail in Meerut on Sunday.

Among the prisoners who received a copy of Ramayana were Muskan Rastogi, a woman who was charged with brutally killing her husband, and her boyfriend and co-murder suspect Sahil Shukla.

"While distributing the copies of the Ramayana in the jail, I also encountered Muskan and Sahil who, also, gladly accepted the copies of the epic. Though we didn't say a word to each other, I requested the inmates to promise that they would never do such an act in the future, for which they need to be behind the bars again," said Govil.

From January 22 of this year, the first anniversary of the inauguration of the Ayodhya's Ram Mandir, Govil has begun to distribute copies of the Ramayana. His goal is to distribute 11 lakh such copies throughout the nation during his tenure in Parliament over the next five years.

The ambitious initiative is designed "to counter negative thoughts among people that often drive them towards criminal activities," the BJP MP, who played Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's legendary Ramayan television series, said.

The Lok Sabha MP said he began his mission after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his approval. "When I fought the Lok Sabha elections, I was one of the poorest candidates.". Post-election, my financial situation deteriorated, yet I have resolved to use my personal resources for the distribution of the copies. Anyone who is interested in participating in this large project is welcome to join me. The copies will also be distributed among the MPs," stated Govil.

A website has also been initiated so that whoever is willing to have a copy can get in touch via the portal, Govil explained at his house in Defence Colony in Meerut. Ramayana is being printed in 13 languages at Geeta Press in Gorakhpur so that even non-Hindi speakers can read it, he said.

"Even if one can absorb just 10 per cent of the message and ethics in the epic in his or her life, it can result in the betterment of society as well as the self," Govil added.

A recent policy amendment in Jamia Millia Islamia's (JMI) PhD admissions has raised alarm over an apparent weakening of its minority reservation requirement. The amendment, introduced through a notification, now leaves it to the discretion of departments to voluntarily implement the 50% reservation for Muslim students rather than making it mandatory. The ordinance has been put up on the university website.

This has triggered warnings about the "dilution" of Jamia's minority quota. The amendment, which was made effective by a November 12, 2024, notification, amends Ordinance 9 (IX) on PhD admissions by replacing the term "shall" with "may."

The revised ordinance, available on the university’s website, states: “While granting admission to PhD programmes, the Faculty/Department/Centre may pay due attention to JMI’s reservation policy adopted for admissions.” Previously, the policy clearly mandated: “50 percent of the seats shall be reserved for Muslim candidates.”

The amendment was approved by Vice-Chancellor Professor Mazhar Asif on behalf of the Executive Council and Academic Council and signed by Registrar Professor Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi in notification.

Being a minority institution with constitutional protection, Jamia is entitled by law to reserve 50% of the seats for Muslim candidates according to the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004. But the new amendment leaves the decision to implement or not implement the reservation in the hands of the administration.

The All India Students' Association (AISA) has condemned the decision as a "deliberate attack on the rights of Muslim students." The student body said in a Friday press release, "Jamia Millia Islamia, a constitutionally protected minority institution, is under law obligated to keep 50% of its seats for Muslim students. But the recent amendment has intentionally watered down this policy by making reservation voluntary."

AISA also presented figures on the alleged exclusion of Muslim applicants. Data given by the student body reveal that certain of the departments have plenty of vacant seats despite Muslim applicants being on hand. For instance, the Department of English has 17 vacant seats, although 15 non-Muslim applicants and only 12 Muslim students were accepted for the academic year 2024-25.

The students have demanded instantaneous corrective actions like withdrawal of the amendment and reimposition of the binding 50% Muslim reservation policy.

Days after a teachers' association under the University of Allahabad openly accused administrative lethargy in the Vice-Chancellor's office, the university has released a circular requesting teaching and non-teaching personnel to "strictly avoid" writing articles and expressing their opinions in the media, and threatening "strict action.".

The circular, dated March 29 and signed by Registrar Prof Ashish Khare, reads that "all the teaching and the non-teaching staff members of the University of Allahabad should strictly desist from writing articles, news, comments and views in print or electronic media, which directly or indirectly sully the image of the University of Allahabad".

It also threatens that "non-compliance will be followed by proper action against the erring staff member, under the provisions made under the Act, Statutes and Ordinances of the University.".

On March 25, Allahabad University Constituent Colleges Teachers Association (AUCCTA) had published a press statement, after holding its general body meeting, and said that "several of its members were upset and upset that files of colleges are sitting in the office of the Vice-Chancellor for months and (they) keep visiting the office of the V-C repeatedly to get even little work done.

AUCCTA president Umesh Pratap Singh was unavailable for comment on the Registrar's circular. A university department head, who spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity, called the circular "unfortunate". "Nobody can criticise the university authorities on record," the department head said.

The circular does not mention the teachers' association or its press release. Vice-Chancellor Prof Sangita Srivastava's office had referred a request from The Indian Express for comment to the Registrar. Khare, on being contacted, called the circular "routine". "This notification is a routine thing. We had issued one earlier as well and the present one is only a follow-up of that," he said.

On 14th November, 2024, Khare had issued a circular instructed teaching and non-teaching personnel that "except publication of articles or news of purely literary, artistic or scientific nature, any publication in the form of any article or news in print or electronic media platforms shall first be scrutinized by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) and then approved by the concerned authority.".

Replying to questions from The Indian Express on the new circular, Prof Jaya Kapoor, PRO of the university, said, "The (March 29) notice has been issued in view of the model code of conduct for teachers. Teachers can post their achievements and research work, but have been cautioned against making statements in social media, etc., on matters that would bring a bad name to the institution.". No action has been taken till date on anyone under consideration of the notice (November 14).

Allahabad University, formerly "Oxford of the East", was founded in 1887 and is the fourth-oldest university of modern India. It is a Central university since 2005 and belongs to the category of Institutions of National Importance (INI) consisting of 165.

Patliputra University (PPU) conducted its syndicate meeting at the university headquarters here on Saturday. Led by the vice-chancellor (VC) Sharad Kumar Yadav, the meeting witnessed unanimous consent of some major issues which were passed in the recent academic council meeting.

One of the major decisions taken, syndicate members consented to promoting teachers, a much-awaited step aimed at honoring academic achievements and offering growth chances to the arts, science and commerce stream faculty members. The VC stated this approval was a part of the university's continuing endeavors to increase staff morale and achieve quality education.

The syndicate approved promotion of 115 teachers to professor rank, nine of whom were promoted under career advancement scheme (CAS), while 16 teachers were promoted to readers' rank and then 31 assistant professors in senior grade scale, said PPU coordinator college development council (CCDC) Prof Rimjhim Sheel. She added that the same also sanctioned a proposal to include cases of promotion to non-teaching employees as well as those teachers who were left behind during the recent promotion process of the university in due course.

In another significant move, the university budget proposal of the 2025-26 fiscal year was also approved. The proposal entailed a detailed financial plan to enhance infrastructure, increase academic programme and fund research activities, ensuring the university's sustained progress and contribution in the field of higher education, said PPU registrar N K Jha.

The syndicate also agreed on a recommendation from the affiliated colleges to add vocational courses, increasing education opportunities and responding to the increasing need for skill-based training on a two-year temporary phase. The program will provide students with the practical skills and knowledge required to compete in many careers, and improve their employment opportunities, Jha added.

The university will organize its next senate session on April 3 to provide final sanction to all the proposals in respect of academic and development plan approved unanimously in the syndicate meeting, she added.