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In an exercise of substantial policy making aimed at providing a fillip to female students in higher studies, the Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Department plans to launch a new scheme to offer girl students ₹2,000 as month-end support—facilitating them to earn while learning.

The program, which remains in the planning stage, will supplement the department's recent move of suspending tuition for 842 higher education programs and issuing an additional ₹6,000 monthly subsistence allowance to cover students' lodging and food costs. Authorities admit that many young women still incur daily academic expenses such as transportation, books, and online materials.

To bridge this gap, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil announced on August 19 that there is a special 'Earn and Learn' scheme in the works. Colleges will offer on-campus jobs or part-time work plans to meritorious girl students, who will receive ₹2,000 a month directly deposited into their bank accounts.

Colleges will provide us with the list of beneficiaries, and the money will be deposited directly," Patil stated, adding that the scheme is not just intended to provide financial assistance but also skill development opportunities to students.

The state government will be admitting around five lakh students in the first phase, reaching an expense of ₹100 crore per month. For one year, the total implementation will run ₹1,000 crore.

Patil further promised that there are talks underway with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for mobilizing the required funds. Even though financial approvals may be delayed due to current budget limitations, the department is actively engaged in framing the policy and finalizing implementation plans.

The scheme will prove beneficial for such girls from poorer and rural backgrounds particularly, allowing them to pursue higher studies without any apprehension of economic insecurity.

If cleared, the move would be a revolutionary measure towards gender equality in the education system of Maharashtra.

Following the resignation of Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil as Kerala Youth Congress president, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty has called for his resignation from the MLA too following the charges of obscene behavior. "If the accused is a public representative, he should resign from that position," Sivankutty commented while adding, "There is a controversial issue which has been discussed in the public sector in Kerala for the last two days."

Serious charges have been made against Mamkootathil, who is a public representative, which is a serious issue. If there is any fear among these women to disclose their names, let them not be afraid. The government will be with them by giving them full protection and support. The government stands for justice. I would also like to remind you of certain legal aspects in this case," the Education Minister of Kerala stated.

"Even if complainants hesitate to disclose their names, they can approach the police and lodge a complaint. Police will file a case and initiate an inquiry. The privacy of the victims will be completely ensured. A woman has disclosed that she has informed the party's highest leadership," he further added. Sivankutty explained that the highest party leaders, who have been briefed on the incident, have a responsibility to report the crime to the police according to law. "Those leaders have some legal obligations. As per the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), if any individual becomes aware of a crime, he/she is bound to inform the police. Failing to report serious crimes to the police is an offense. The government will do justice in this regard. All support will be offered to women to lodge complaints. The law assures that it will follow its course," he said.

Implying that other revelations have surfaced, Sivankutty stated that the concerned public representative has to respond to society and his voters rather than simply resign from his organisation.

More serious disclosures have reached the news media. If the accused is a public representative, this issue will not be addressed by stepping down from organisational roles alone. The individual must account to society, not the organisation. The voters are the power in a democracy," the Education Minister of Kerala had said.

Sivankutty again emphasized that Mamkootathil quits his MLA position and tenders an apology. "Since the charge has been levied, if this individual is a people's representative, he must apologise and step down from his role. Otherwise, the common man, particularly women, will never pardon. I congratulate the sisters who exhibited bravery," he stated.

The "obscene conduct" charges of MLA Mamkootathil have been brought by writer Honey Bhaskaran and model Rini Ann George.

Honey Bhaskaran complained on Facebook that Rahul had messaged her on her social media handle. She claimed that it started with travel, and she replied to it, but there were a series of messages from him. When she realized he had no plans of halting, she blocked him from communicating with her. She stated that she came to learn through Youth Congress volunteers that he badmouthed her, and that she was the one who had started talking to him. Those allegations were made just a few days after Actress and model Rini Ann George alleged that the Congress MLA had sent her objectionable messages to her on several occasions and had also invited her to a hotel. George said that when she threatened to report his party, the leader had dared her to do so. She refused to name the leader or the party.

George asserted she had reported the incident to the party leadership, accusing wives and daughters of various politicians of having similar encounters with the party leader. She asked, "I want to ask which woman these politicians who were not able to protect the women in their own families will protect?"

"I thought of speaking up since I saw recently in social media that there are many women who have gone through this problem. None of those women are saying a word against this. So I thought of raising my voice for all," she said. Earlier on Wednesday, protesting against the allegations, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organized a protest march to the residence of Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil asking him to resign.

One class 10 student of a private school in Ahmedabad was allegedly stabbed to death by his classmate in a fight, resulting in a massive protest and school looting by locals and parents on Wednesday, police said.

The suspect teenager was nabbed by the police following the assault while the victim succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday night, an officer said.

Police confirmed that the victim and perpetrator were both students of class 10.

Earlier, state education minister Praful Pansheriya had stated that a class 10 student was stabbed by his junior who was a class 9 student.

"A 10th class boy attacked his classmate in Seventh Day School yesterday. The victim succumbed to the injuries during the night when he was undergoing treatment. Police have filed an FIR and the juvenile suspect has been arrested," Joint Commissioner of Police Jaipal Singh Rathore said.

On Wednesday morning, the situation soon turned into chaos, victim's relatives, parents of other students, and members of the Sindhi community went in large numbers to the school campus and demanded action against the administration. The mob vandalized the school buses, two-wheelers, and four-wheelers parked within the institute. They also attacked the school staff, police officials reported.

Police authorities at first fought to control the situation and shoved the crowd back from the school premises.

While the incident assumed a communal hue as the accused student is a member of a minority group, and the victim is Sindhi. As the protesters sat down on the highway, creating traffic jams. They shouted slogans against the police, calling for action to be taken against the school management.

"We demand justice. We lost our child today. It would be some other child tomorrow. Unless tough action is taken, it will repeat itself," cried a victim's relative.

Local MLA Amul Bhatt tried to calm down the mob with folded hands. Holding a megaphone in his hand, he requested them to keep their demands aside and let the police do their work.

Crime Branch Joint Commissioner of Police Sharad Singhal told the media that the city police commissioner has agreed to the protester's demand that the probe be transferred to the crime branch.

Police will probe the accusation by parents that six or seven individuals assisted the accused student in the crime and that evidence was manipulated by the school administration by requesting a water tanker.

"If we find evidence against other individuals, we will arrest them. A forensic unit will also confirm the report that a water tanker had been called by an individual from the school to sanitize the crime scene. We will take a serious step if evidence surfaces," Singhal added.

JCP Rathore requested agitators to put in writing their allegations against the school administration which would be sent to the related department for action.

Police are going through CCTV footage to find vandals, he said.

State education minister Praful Pansheriya has termed the killing "unfortunate and a red signal for a civilised society".

"There is a case being sought. The education department will investigate the case," he stated, and raised an eyebrow over increasingly aggressive behavior from students.

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.