Kerala
Arabic University proposal
THE KERALA STATE Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has proposed the promotion of an Arabic University in Kerala. A detailed project report drawn up by KSHEC was submitted to the state government in Thiruvananthapuram on May 8.
According to Dr. P. Anvar, secretary of the council, the proposal moots a campus university on the lines of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi in the state. Apart from Arabic language and literature study programmes, the proposed university will conduct research on the growing role of the Middle East in world affairs.
The report cites the centuries-old association of Kerala with the Arab world, and the cultural influence of Arab intellectuals and scholars on the state’s literature, linguistics and history. “The proposed university could be a major initiative in bringing academic focus to the fraternal relationship between Kerala and the Arab world,” said Dr. Anvar, addressing the media.
Odisha
World Bank offer
“THE WORLD BANK is keen to finance the higher education sector, particularly for improvement in teaching quality, learning and research processes and gross enrolment ratio in Odisha,” World Bank (WB) official Kurt Larsen informed the media in Berhampur on May 6.
A formal meeting between WB officials and the state government is likely to take place in July when an international seminar on higher education is scheduled in Bhubaneswar, added Soumi Saha, a WB consultant.
Himachal Pradesh
Medical education thrust
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH government has allocated Rs.211.57 crore for the improvement and expansion of medical education and health facilities in the state in the new fiscal year.
While inaugurating a three-day annual function ‘Stimulus-2014’ of the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla, chief minister Virbhadra Singh said IGMC is a showpiece medical institution of the state and the government is committed to strengthening it.
Therefore to decongest IGMC, a second campus with a new 100-bed hospital with a project cost of Rs.150 crore will be constructed near Ghanahatti in Shimla district. Moreover, to provide more room to IGMC college and hospital, the dental and nursing colleges will also be shifted to the Ghanahatti campus, he added.
With three medical colleges at Chamba, Hamirpur and Mandi having been approved earlier, Himachal Pradesh (pop. 7 million) will boast five government medical colleges and an ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) Medical College in Mandi where MBBS classes started this year, elaborated government spokespersons.
Jammu & Kashmir
Forgery scandal
THE JAMMU & KASHMIR State Vigilance Organisation has registered cases against six education ministry officials on charges of embezzling scholarship funds allocated to students of the backward Pahari, Gujjar and Bakerwal communities of the Kupwara district. The cases were registered on May 23 after a preliminary inquiry revealed that funds aggregating “lakhs of rupees” were withdrawn fraudulently in the period 2009-11, a vigilance organisation spokesman informed the media in Srinagar.
The accused include the then zonal education officer of Vilgam; zonal education planning officer; member of the State Advisory Board for Development of Pahari-speaking People, and a headmaster of Vilgam.
According to the spokesman, the accused prepared fake and forged lists of Pahari, Gujjar and Bakerwal students, and disbursed Rs.6.27 lakh to themselves. “The accused in a conspiracy with Mohammad Yaseen Badana, a member of the Gujjar and Bakerwal Advertisement Board of Kupwara, disbursed Rs.12.10 lakh as per fictitious entries in the acquaintance/disbursement register,” explained the spokesman. “Verification revealed that the officials increased the number of beneficiaries to 1,984 against the actual 996, causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.”
Madhya Pradesh
PMT cheating scam
THE ADMISSION of 41 students into the MBBS programme of the state government-owned Bundelkhand Medical College (BMC) has been nullified by the medical education department of the Madhya Pradesh government on grounds of cheating and malpractice in the pre-medical test (PMT). Students whose admissions were cancelled on May 22 included 18 who wrote PMT in 2009, and 23 who wrote the exam in 2010, an education ministry official said in Sagar on May 23.
According to the education ministry spokesperson, the photos of the candidates affixed on PMT answer sheets didn’t match with the students enrolled after physical verification. A case has been registered against the students at the Gopalganj police station in Sagar.
With these additional disqualifications, the total number of students whose enrolment has been cancelled by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) for using unfair means to pass PMT has risen to 71 statewide.
Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs