Universities

A large police contingent has been deployed at Annamalai University in Chidambaram after 3 students from Bihar and Jharkhand died during an agitation at the university while the District Collector has ordered probe into the deaths.

He has an engineering background, plays the sitar as a hobby and has not had much association with the University of Pune (UoP) except for occasional visits when he has served as an external examiner, conducted vivas for PhD students or given lectures at seminars and conferences. But that isn’t going to stop RK Shevgaonkar, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the UoP, to bring about some much-needed changes in the functioning of this learning institution.

His first reaction to the announcement of his appointment was:

In an unexpected move, just a day before the Bombay High Court hearing of the case related to selection processes for VCs; Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan, dissolved the existing search committee for the selection of Vice Chancellor of the University of Mumbai exercising his right as the Chancellor of universities.

The Hyderabad based Osmania University has postponed its Post Graduate examminations scheduled to begin on February 22 and 23. This is the sixth time in two months that the university had to defer the exams on account of the ongoing Telengana stir.

The demand for participation of states and universities based in different states in Higher Education and Research is gathering momentum. In this regard, a proposal to inclusion of states and state universities in the upcoming Bill for National Commission for Higher Education and Research has come up.

Taking into cognizance the many cases of suicides by students across Maharashtra, most of which were triggered by fear of failure in examinations, DB Kulkarni, noted critic and president-elect of the 83rd All India Marathi Literary Convention said, “There can be no bigger shame than the fact that young students as well as farmers are committing suicides in the land of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.” Kulkarni, invited to address the 61st Foundation Day function of the University of Pune (UoP), called for greater sensitivity on the part of the soc

Universities have a major role to play in the promotion of education. Equally important role is played by vice-Chancellors in a state. But there are many VCs who are indifferent to the educational needs and aspirations of the society. They need to be reminded of their responsibility towards the society as a whole. In this case, Andhra Pradesh seem to be lucky with a governor and chancellor of state universities like ESL Narasimhan who has his tasks cut out.