New Delhi, October 1. Haryana’s Maharashi Dayanand University is India’s ‘Cleanest Public University’ in 2018, according to a Union human resource development ministry survey. The Swachh (‘clean’) Campus Rankings in three different categories were announced by Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti (October 2). The other top-ranked varsities are Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Delhi and Alagappa University, Karaikudi (Tamil Nadu).

In the residential campuses category of private universities, Pune’s Symbiosis International University is ranked #1 followed by O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Belgaum and Manipal University, Jaipur.

In the campuses of technical universities, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore is #1 followed by IIT-Guwahati, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, and the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), New Delhi.

Jharkhand

Foundation Day promise

Ranchi, October 3. Graduates of the Jharkhand Raksha Shakti (JRS) University (estb.2016) — promoted by the Jharkhand government, which specialises in police science and security management study programmes — will be given first employment preference in the state police force, chief minister Raghubar Das announced in the foundation day address of JRS.

“Modernisation of India’s security systems cannot be done only with induction of new weapons. Trained and skilled human resources are also required bearing in mind the continuous demand for trained security personnel in industrial units such as CCL (Central Coalfields Ltd) and BCCL (Bharat Coking Coal Ltd). Students graduating from JRS University will be well-equipped to cope with challenges of terrorism, economic and cyber-crime and judicial sciences,” said Das, speaking on the occasion.

Odisha

Odia University foundation

Bhubaneswar, October 9. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation of the proposed Odia University at Sakhigopal in Puri district, to be constructed on a 25-acre site at an estimated first phase outlay of Rs.10 crore.
The proposed university will provide higher education study programmes including M.Phil and Ph D using Odia as the medium of instruction. One of the 22 languages of the Indian Union, Odia was granted the status of ‘classical language’ in 2014.

The foundation of the new varsity is being built on the site where Bakula Bana Vidyalaya, the state’s first model open school, was established in 1909.

Delhi

QS India University Rankings

New Delhi, October 17. The first-ever India league table compiled by an offshore globally respected higher education institutions rating agency, was released by the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which publishes the annual QS World University Rankings of the Top 1,000 universities and higher education institutions worldwide.
The inaugural edition of the QS India University Rankings 2018 ranks universities and higher education institutions based on six parameters of education excellence including academic peer review, citations per faculty, international student and staff ratios.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) dominate seven of the Top 10 ranks with IIT-Bombay at #1, IIT-Madras (3), Delhi (4), Kharagpur (5), Kanpur (6), Roorkee (9) and Guwahati (10). The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore is ranked #2.

“This inaugural Indian league table reveals that research productivity at leading Indian institutions is increasing and its impact is gradually rising. They also enjoy good standing with employers while they receive less recognition from their international academic peers, perhaps suggesting the need to intensify regional and global collaborations,” says Ben Sowter, the London-based research director of QS.

 

Arunachal Pradesh

British Council training programme

Itanagar, October 28. The British Council and the state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation between Arunachal Pradesh and the United Kingdom. The MoU was signed by British Council director Alan Gemmell and Dr. Tayek Talom, the state’s higher and technical education director.

Under the MoU, 50 faculty members of public higher education institutions of the state will be trained by the British Council every year, starting December 2018. Of the 50 faculty members, 30 will be from government colleges, 10 from government polytechnics, eight from Central government institutions in the state and two from the higher education administration space. Moreover, 50 students of higher and technical educational institutions will be trained annually by the British Council in English language skills.

Paromita Sengupta with bureau inputs