Delhi University (DU) is faced with a mounting money crisis as its approximated shortfall for financial year 2025–26 touched a staggering Rs 462.4 crore — a sharp 86% rise from last year's shortfall. Although the university experienced a small rise in funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the college is not even able to cover basic costs like wages and maintenance cost of regular operations, and the professors are expressing serious concerns about how much further the university will be based on student charges and internal income to stay afloat.

As per a Times of India news article, DU's budget placed before the executive council on July 12 shows that although the UGC had sanctioned Rs 473 crore for salaries in FY 2024–25, the actual salary outgo by the university amounted to Rs 478.7 crore, already above the grant by Rs 5.7 crore. The recurring outgo — including maintenance of infrastructure, library, and other essentials — was Rs 544.4 crore against a UGC allocation of Rs 313 crore, leaving an all-encompassing gap of over Rs 248 crore. Projections for 2025–26 are worse still, with a wage bill placed at Rs 540.7 crore and recurring outgo at Rs 683.1 crore, as against an allocation of Rs 488 crore and Rs 323 crore, respectively.

Most of DU's internal income now comes from student contributions. This month, DU increased its 'university development fund' by nearly 20% — double the usual annual rise — a move justified as an anti-inflationary measure but criticized as loading on students. Some fee components have risen over 200% over the past three years.

The problem is compounded by the plans of DU to scale up its infrastructure under the HEFA model. While the interest of 90% on the HEFA loans is paid by the Ministry of Education, DU bears the remaining 10%. For a cost of Rs 938.3 crore projected, the university would be required to pay interest of approximately Rs 93.8 crore. Faculty members argue that such a model compels DU to continually raise funds — often through fee hikes — to service debt, potentially compromising access and affordability for students.

Adding to the anxiety, UGC's grant towards capital expenditure under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scheme has fallen significantly — from Rs 32.8 crore in FY 2024–25 to a paltry Rs 10 crore in 2025–26 — while DU's projected expenditure in this head has increased to Rs 60 crore. Internal accounts also suggest the university is planning for Rs 246 crore in revenues from student fees for 2025–26, up from Rs 237.3 crore in the current fiscal.

Even as DU continues to close the gap between paltry grants and growing expense with internal revenue, the fate of public higher education and its reach in India remains uncertain.

A 10-year-old boy from Thrikkakkara's Cochin Public School was placed in the lime light after he was made to do laps and spend time in a dark room in solitude for being three minutes late to school on August 14. This harsh punishment has drawn protests and raised many questions regarding punishment and students' welfare in schools.

The student of Class 5 had come two minutes late, said reports, and was forced to do two laps of the school campus. School authorities later locked him up in a dark room alone and informed him that he would never be permitted to attend his own class again. The issue turned serious when the school informed his parents that he would no longer be permitted to study in their school. The public uproar followed quickly, with the boy's family members, relatives, and local social workers bringing the issue to wider attention. Student unions such as the Student Federation of India (SFI) and Kerala Students' Union (KSU) organized protests, terming the move a "heinous crime".

The school administration reported eight to ten students, including the boy, were late throughout the day and all of them were asked to jog two laps under a diary rule that latecomers jog three laps. They refuted allegations of isolating the boy in a dark room, stating that he was isolated in a special room with a teacher rather than outside the Principal's office

Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty reacted by asking the Ernakulam Deputy Director of Education to carry out a proper probe and report. He questioned the authenticity of rules published in the school diary, again saying that tailoring rules and meting out harsh punishments is not acceptable. The education department has warned that the school's No Objection Certificate (NOC) would be revoked if such incidents continue.

Locals, activists, and parents were concerned to the core about the psychological impact of isolating and intimidating children.“Separating the child from other students, making him wait in a dark room until his parents arrived, and the treatment of both the child and his parents by the school staff and administration are all deeply problematic,” Ashiq, an SFI worker, gave his statement to a news reporter.

The police complaint has been filed by the boy's family at the Thrikkakkara police station. The Deputy Directorate of Education has already visited the school campus and has issued formal warnings to the school against further strict practices.

This incident of student of class 5 being punished harshly has once again fueled the controversy about disciplinary action and children's rights in Indian schools. While Kerala's education department is keeping a watchful eye, parents and society are asking for safer and better treatment of children so that schools are centers of learning, not hotspots of intimidation and bullying.

On Tuesday, the Union Cabinet cleared a bill to establish an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati.  This is the second IIM in the North East after Shillong (opened in 2007) and the 22nd in India.

As stated by a senior government official, over Rs 500 crore has been approved by the Centre for the project. The decision further strengthens the role of Guwahati as a topmost educational hub of the country, already housing such apex institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, National Law University and Judicial Academy, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Changsari, Guwahati.

The new IIM will serve to plug a long-held gap in management education in the North East, providing quality programs and research facility for students from all over the country, top government officials said. Its establishment will bring in talent, induce entrepreneurship, and help in capacity building in fields of maximum priority for economic development in the region as a whole and of the country as a whole, they said.

Institutional infrastructure is also part of the Centre's overall plan to upgrade higher education infrastructure in the North East, which over the past two years has seen the inauguration of central universities, AIIMS campuses, and special purpose research centres. Officials said the objective is to fill the gap in accessing quality institutions in the region, enhance employability, and link the region with more active national and global economic networks.

The bill will likely be moved in Parliament in the current session.

Some of the world’s top universities are finally coming to India, thanks to a new rule from the University Grants Commission (UGC). If you’re an Indian student dreaming of a global degree without traveling abroad, your chance may be much closer than you think.

 What’s Changed?

Earlier, getting an international degree recognised in India was full of hassles. The new UGC regulation, announced this year, makes things much simpler. Now, students who finish their studies at a foreign campus in India can apply for official recognition online. The process takes just a couple of weeks instead of months, and you don’t have to run around for paperwork anymore. For most courses except medicine, law, nursing, and architecture, this means your foreign qualification holds the same value as one from the main campus abroad.

Big global universities are now allowed to open their own Indian campuses. They can set up admission rules, hire faculty, and decide their own fees (as long as they’re fair). However, courses are to be taught in person, no distance or online versions.

 Which Universities Are Coming?

Nearly fifteen well-known foreign universities are all set to start classes in India by this academic year. Names like University of Southampton (UK), Deakin University (Australia), and University of Liverpool (UK) stand out among the first batch. Gurugram, Bengaluru, and Gujarat are among the cities getting these new campuses. Universities from Australia, UK, USA, Malaysia, and more are joining in.

Here’s a quick look at some of them:

  • University of Southampton (Gurugram)
  • Deakin University (GIFT City, Gujarat)
  • University of Liverpool (Bengaluru)
  • Victoria University (Greater Noida)
  • Western Sydney University (Greater Noida)
  •  Illinois Institute of Technology (USA)
  • Lincoln University College (Malaysia)
  • La Trobe University (Bengaluru)

The Education Minister says the Letters of Intent have already been given to several universities. Some will welcome students as early as August 2025.

 How Does This Help Indian Students?

Top global degrees now available in India

  • No need for expensive visas or foreign travel
  •  World-class faculty and facilities
  • International recognition for your degree
  • Quick, easy process to get your degree certified in India

Most universities will begin with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business courses, with more subjects coming soon.

 What Should You Watch Out For?

Only study at UGC-approved campuses. The UGC has warned against fake tie-ups or online courses pretending to be foreign degrees. Proper campuses and approved programs are the way to go.

 Why Are These Universities Interested in India?

India’s student population and growing demand for high-quality education have made the country a top choice for global education expansion. Plus, new government policies are making it easier for foreign universities to invest here.

The Gujarat government has decided to make value-based lessons constituting Bhagavad Gita compulsory in the first language textbooks of students in Classes 9-12 in a major move to educational reform. The reason behind this move is to inculcate morality and ethics in students through their association with Indian cultural and spiritual heritage.

What the New Policy includes? 

School textbooks from academic year 2025-26 onwards will have chapters devoted to the Bhagavad Gita, as part of language curriculum in Gujarat, Hindi, Urdu and English. These chapters will also be incorporated in textbooks directly in case of Gujarati medium students. Additional booklets containing teachings of Bhagavad Gita will be provided to Hindi, Urdu and English medium students.

They revolve around value-based teachings that occur in the chapters and are meant to instill knowledge of living an ethical life, self-discipline, contentment, and self-control, which are major principles of the holy text in Hinduism. E.g., Hindi textbooks, the lessons of the Class 9 entitled Margdarshika Gita and Bhagavad Gita Aur Main, or the lessons of the Class 10 called Samarpan and Desh Bhakti Ki Sanjeevani have been included.

Background and Rationale

The move is one of the strategies that Gujarat has applied to the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to ensure active incorporation of Indian culture, traditions and knowledge systems in the education system. The Bhagavad Gita is discussed by the government as a religious book but also by them as a general and all round lesson on how to live a good moral life and the lessons taught could be applied to a person of any background.

Minister of State for Education, Praful Pansheriya, said, “Students will feel proud and connected to the rich, diverse, ancient culture and knowledge systems of India through the teachings of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.” This government initiative does not center on religion, however, the government further indicates that it serves the purpose of providing life intelligence and developing character.

In its previous academic year the Gujarat government had introduced an additional Bhagavad Gita textbook to classes 6th to 8th and this text book was placed in numerous schools. The new step, under an assumption that the general response was positive, also incorporates the upper classes (9 to 12) to engage them more on the teachings of the scripture.

In addition to textbooks, Bhagavad Gita recitations in morning assemblies in many schools also forms part of the value based education system in Gujarat.

Controversies and Challenges

The ruling has evoked an argument over the place of religious books in a secular education system. Others oppose it on constitutional grounds on the basis that using a Hindu scripture in school curricula can turn off other religious students. This move was challenged by the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (JUEH) through a public interest litigation (PIL) process to the Gujarat High Court on the question of its constitutional validity. The court has not allowed the policy to be stayed till further hearing.

In spite of these arguments, the policy garnered massive support in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly with parties, including the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress supporting the policy.

The Gujarat government moved to introduce lessons on Bhagavad Gita in first language textbooks to Classes 9-12 is a historic move in retro-fitting education to ancient cultural and ethical heritage in India under the NEP 2020. As it attempts to instill the moral lesson in students, relocation remains divisive by raising the issues on how secularism can be incorporated in the public schools. In any case, the program is a sure bet to transform the value education of thousands of students in the state beginning this academic year.

The state government has ordered newly accredited vocational and professional colleges to adhere to the approved fee structure of the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) and the Fee Policy Committee (FPC). Colleges that disregard these guidelines will be taken action against by the state.

The action follows a number of complaints from both parents and students that some institutions were collecting a higher fee than the one approved. The problem was exposed during the centralized admission process (CAP) carried out by the directorate of technical education and the state common entrance examination (CET) cell.

The department of higher and technical education in the state released a circular on Monday which said that according to the Maharashtra Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fees) Act, 2015, it is required of the colleges to exhibit their course-wise fees. According to the act, fee structures should be exhibited in English and Marathi in a manner that would be easy to notice for students and parents. They must provide the information in addition to their official websites for each academic year.\

The circular states, "The government has clarified that no institution can collect more than the approved fee for a professional degree, or postgraduate and diploma courses." It further states that institutions are also not supposed to take more than a year's fee at a time. According to the circular, if colleges collect any additional amount, in cash or kind, it would be considered embezzlement by law.

These rules are aimed at preventing exploitation of students during admissions, especially those coming from economically weaker backgrounds, or relying on scholarships. Many students have complained that they felt pressured to pay unapproved amounts just to secure their seats. This would often lead to financial stress for their families.

By implementing the rules that already exist, the state aims to make the admission process transparent and fair. In case students are asked to pay any other fee, they can complain to the government or the board of directors of the institution through a dedicated helpline, which will be provided at the State General Examination Room.

One of the members on the FRA committee, Dharmendra Mishra, suggested that students read some parts of the Act and visit official college websites regularly for fee information. "If students or parents find any irregularity in the fees, they must first go to the principal and later approach the FRA," he told ET.

Mishra stated that the FRA had received numerous complaints regarding increased fees in the last academic year, but most were from persons not immediately affected, for which it was hard to take action against the colleges. "We request students to make direct complaints to the FRA so that we can take appropriate action," he further said.

FRA details:

Tel No: 022-31980348 / 8828786264

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Are you a young aspiring student or in the middle of your career and have a dream to pursue your education in the UK? The Chevening Scholarship and Fellowship 2025 is one of the scholarships that is going to unlock the door to world-class education, exclusive networking and cover all your financial requirements. Interested Indian citizens can apply until October 7, 2025, and this year, there are also more opportunities than ever before to demonstrate the breadth of talent in India, both in the Tier 2 cities and in remote parts of the country, through the Chevening programme.

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  • Studies began: September-October 2026
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