Tuesday 15 March 2022

‘Introspection’ needed for promotion of Urdu medium education: Manoj Shrivastava (IAS)

Bhopal, 15 March 2022: Citing a survey wherein 98 percent government school teachers do not send their offspring to Urdu medium schools in the wake of lack of opportunities widely perceived, Manoj Kumar Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary (retired) to the government of Madhya Pradesh, has called for “introspection” for the promotion of Urdu medium education across the country.

“It is of no use crying for the promotion of Urdu language. The fact of the matter is that only 4.2 percent of family send their children to Urdu medium schools as per the Census 2011. We really need to introspect ourselves,” Mr. Shrivastava said here on Monday at the inaugural session of the two-day national seminar (14-15 March 2022) on ‘NEP 2020: Role of Urdu Medium Education in Achieving National Development Goals’.

The national seminar has been jointly organized by MANUU Regional Centre and College of Teacher Education-Bhopal. It has been sponsored by the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education which was set up to promote, develop and propagate Urdu language across the country.  

Mr. Shrivastava quoted a survey conducted by the government of Karnataka wherein it was reported that 98 percent government school teachers do not send their children to Urdu medium schools.

Hailing from Bhopal, Mr. Shrivastava had received his early education in a Hindi medium government school. He categorically said that Hindi as well as Sanskrit languages are also facing the same situation as thus creates a space for the three languages – Urdu, Hindi & Sanskrit—to come together and make a common voice for their promotion.

Addressing the audiences comprising intellectuals, teacher educators, research scholars as well as students, Mr. Shrivastava urged the pupil, who receive their education in Urdu medium schools and colleges, to come out of this inferiority complex, realize their potentials, do hard work and achieve what they deserve for.

Talking about the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, he said what openings are there in the new policy need to be identified and then utilized to the maximum extent for the betterment of Urdu language and Urdu medium education.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Halim Khan, Ex-Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Madarsa Board, welcomed the National Education Policy 2020. He said Urdu language has huge potential which can contribute to the nation building. He said the new policy supports teaching 1-5 students through their mother tongue. “Now, it is our responsibility to provide quality education through Urdu medium. Students coming to Urdu medium schools are equally good; they only need orientation and grooming,” he opined.

 

Prof. Khan also lauded the efforts and contributions by Manoj Srivastava for the promotion of Urdu language, particularly for the allotment of land for College of Teacher Education, Bhopal.

In his welcome address, Prof. Ahsan, Convener of the National Seminar, expressed concern over the fact that nearly 50 percent primary schools in India do not have sufficient number of teachers which makes it difficult to achieve National Development Goals.

Prof. Ahsan said the university (Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad) has approved to set up two hostels of 300 beds– one for boys (150 beds) and the other for girls (150 beds) at the newly built campus of College of Teacher Education-Bhopal.

Chief guest Prof. A.R. Fatihi from Aligarh Muslim University, highlighted the importance of various aspects of language. Lauding the National Education Policy 2020, he stated that there is a need to honestly work and implement the provisions made in the new policy which can yield good results in the time to come.

The vote of thanks was given by Principal of MANUU College of Teacher Education-Bhopal Prof. Noushad Husain. He is also the Coordinator of the National Seminar. He stated that paper presentations will be done in both offline as well as online mode.

After the inaugural session of the national seminar was over, the first technical session started.  It was presided by Prof. Sajid Jamal from Aligarh Muslim University.

Indian monuments paintings were presented to the guests. The paintings were done by Mr. Saifuddin Ansari, Assistant Professor at MANUU College of Teacher Education, Bhopal. Prior to joining MANUU, he had displayed his artwork in Germany, China and Pakistan which were globally appreciated. The technical support was given by Mr. Shabbir Ahmed, Syed Md. Kahful Wara, and Dr. Tarannum Khan.

Monday 14 March 2022

National Seminar on ‘NEP 2020 and Role of Urdu Medium Education in Achieving National Development Goals’ begins on Monday

 Bhopal (14th March 2022): MANUU Regional Centre along with College of Teacher Education-Bhopal is going to organize a two-day national seminar on “NEP 2020 and Role of Urdu Medium Education in Achieving National Development Goals” during 14-15 March 2022.

The national seminar will be inaugurated by Mr. Manoj Shrivastava, Additional Chief Secretary (Retd.), Madhya Pradesh at 3 pm today at MANUU Regional Centre, Bhopal. During the national seminar, a number of research papers/articles will be presented by the participants from across the country.

Various experts, teacher educators, and research scholars representing various prestigious universities of the country will share their thoughts on how this New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is going to benefit Urdu language and Urdu medium education in the country.

Prof. M Halim Khan will be the guest of honour, and Prof. A. R. Fatihi will be the chief guest. The welcome address will be given by Prof. Mohammad Ahsan, Convener of the national seminar.

Coordinator and co-ordinator of the national seminar are Prof. Noushad Husain (Principal, MANUU College of Teacher Education, Bhopal), and Mohammad Sadat Khan (Assistant Regional Director, MANUU Regional Centre, Bhopal). The vote of thanks will be given by Mohammad Sadat Khan.

The national seminar is being sponsored by New Delhi-based National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education which was set up to promote, develop and propagate Urdu language across the country.  


Wednesday 27 October 2021

Ministry of Education notifies Four Year Integrated Teacher Education Programme

New Delhi (27 Oct 2021): Ministry of Education notifies the Four Year ITEP, a dual-major holistic bachelor’s degree offering B.A. B.Ed./ B. Sc. B. Ed. and B.Com. B.Ed. which is one of the major mandates of the National Education Policy 2020 related to Teacher Education.As per the NEP, 2020, teacher engagement from the year 2030 onwards will be only through ITEP.

It will be offered in pilot mode initially in about 50 selected multidisciplinary institutions across the country.

National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) under Ministry of Education has devised the curriculum of this course in such a way that it enables a student-teacher to get a degree in education as well as a specialised discipline such as history, mathematics, science, arts, economics, or commerce. ITEP will not only impart cutting-edge pedagogy, but will also establish a foundation in early childhood care and education (ECCE), foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), inclusive education, and an understanding of India and its values/ethos/art/traditions, among others. The Year ITEP will be available for all students who choose teaching as a profession after secondary, by choice. This integrated course will benefit students since they will save one year by finishing it in four years rather than the customary five years required by the present B.Ed. plan. The commencement of Four Year ITEP will be from the academic session 2022-23. Admission for the same will be carried out by the National Testing Agency (NTA) through the National Common Entrance Test (NCET). This course will be offered by multidisciplinary institutions and will become as the minimal degree qualification for schoolteachers.

The Four Year ITEP is a milestone achievement in fulfilling one of the major mandates of National Education Policy 2020. The course will contribute substantially to the revitalization of the whole teacher education sector. The prospective teachers passing out of this course through a multi-disciplinary environment, grounded in Indian values and traditions will be instilled with the needs of 21st century on global standards, and hence will be largely helpful in shaping the future of New India.

Source: PIB


Thursday 23 September 2021

MANUU College of Teacher Education-Bhopal Turns Single-Use Plastic Free Campus

Bhopal, 09th September 2021: As part of India’s plan to eliminate single-use plastics from the country by 2022, College of Teacher Education-Bhopal (a constituent college of Maulana Azad National Urdu University) has pledged and taken an initiative to make its campus single-use plastic free.

“Plastic pollution is a worldwide issue, with single-use plastics at the forefront. We are committed to eliminate all single-use plastics from our day-do-day lives, particularly from our campus,” stated Prof. Noushad Husain, Principal, College of Teacher Education.

Earlier, the Ministry of Education brought to the notice of all central universities (dated 16th August 2021) that Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had framed the comprehensive action plan for elimination of identified single use plastics and implementation of plastic management rules 2016 to eliminate single-use plastic.

As directed by Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad (02nd September 2021), College of Teacher Education-Bhopal has launched a slew of activities to eliminate single-use plastics from its campus. On this occasion, Prof. Noushad addressed the faculty members as well as other supporting staff.


In 2018, during the 45th World Environment Day celebrations, India took the pledge to eliminate all single-use plastics – carry bags, straws, and water bottles among others from the country by 2022.

“We need to work on providing easy to follow resources in order to reduce single-use plastic waste,” opined Prof. Noushad who floated several innovative ideas. He urged faculty members to inspire pre-service teachers to refuse to use single-use plastic.

On 09th September 2021, documentary film on plastic garbage was shown in Educational Technology (ET) Lab and the whole activities were conceptualized and executed by Dr. Neeti Dutta (Convener, Social & Cultural Committee) and her team members (Dr. Naheed Jahan Siddiqui and Mr. Saifuddin Ansari) in order to spread awareness, followed by a brainstorming session for minimizing and replacing plastic usage. During the brainstorming session, suggestions and innovation ideas were sought from the faculty members.

One of the innovative ideas came from Prof. Noushad who proposed to include an activity of making cloth bags by the pre-service teachers under the B.Ed. program which would be bought by faculty members and others in order to promote eco-friendly environment.


 

Further on 15th September 2021, workshop on making paper bags was held wherein all faculty members were provided with hands-on experience of how to make usable bags out of paper by Dr. Neeti Dutta. She also demonstrated how one can make cloth bags out of unusable clothes. In addition, she also led a team to dispose plastic items, thereby turning the Campus single-use Plastic Free.






Faculty members who actively participated in the activities were Prof. Abdul Raheem, Dr. Talmeez Fatma Naqvi, Dr. Khan Shahnaz Bano, Dr. Sakkeer V, Dr. Afaque Nadeem Khan, Dr. Rafeedali E, Dr. Jeena K G, Dr Jaki Mumtaj, Dr. Shabana Ashraf, Dr. Bhanu Pratap Pritam, Dr. Indrajeet Dutta, Dr. Shaikh Irfan Jamil, Mr. Shabbir Ahmed, Mr. Syed Md. Kahful Wara, Dr. Rubeena Khan, Ms. Abda Shabnam, Mrs. Tarannum Khan, Mr. Ahmad Husain, and Mr. Faheem Mohd. Khan.

Last but not least, special thanks to Mr. Syed Md. Kahful Wara and Mrs. Tarannum Khan along with ET Lab attendant Mr. Shabbir Ahmed for their technical support. 


Thursday 16 September 2021

Uniqueness of every child needs to be catered by teachers: Ms. Anita Karwal

With a view to strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy skills among learners, teachers need to have a mindset of a bit of change in order to cater to the uniqueness of every child, said Ms. Anita Karwal, Secretary (SE&L), Ministry of Education.

“Foundational literacy and numeracy are going to be driven only by teachers and the teachers will need to be having a mindset of a bit of change in their way they deliver education in the classroom and also the mindset of looking at the unique possibilities, the uniqueness of every child,” stated Ms. Karwal while chairing a webinar through virtual mode on 09th September 2021.

 


The webinar on “Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: A Pre-requisite to Learning and ECCE” is part of Shikshak Parv 2021 commencing from 5th September 2021 till 17th September 2021. The Shikshak Parv 2021 is being celebrated by the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education. The theme for this year’s Shishak Parv has been decided keeping in view the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, as ‘Quality and Sustainable Schools: Learnings from the Schools in India’.  

Ms. Karwal opined that every child learns at its distinct place, and therefore different interventions are required to deal with them.  “In a classroom of 30-35-40-60 students, each and every child is different and the typical chalk and board pedagogy that we have is not going to be adequate,” she said, adding that in a very challenging pandemic situation where children may have devices or may not have devices. 

“It’s actually a very difficult situation which requires a lot of deliberations and that is the reason why today we have administrators, planners, and people who are experts at governance, speaking to us along with the experts who have developed the NIPUN Bharat developmental goals and learning outcomes,” she said. 

“We lay a lot of emphasis on the foundational aspects of learning what we have seen in the last National Achievement Survey 2017. There is a long journey ahead of us,” Ms. Karwal said.  

“We need 100 % of our children to be proficient in their learning outcomes … and that is what we are working towards with the help of National Mission of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy that is NIPUN Bharat (launched on 5th July this year),” she said. 

The Secretary said that in a country with 36 states/UTs where very few of us has managed to open schools at the foundational level, adding that twenty (20) odd states have opened schools partially in the country, and only three (03) states (such as Lakshadweep and Ladakh) have opened schools from Class 1 onwards. “The need to continue education through various formats and modes is very essential,” she said.

Now delivering foundational learning to children who have never seen school particularly the new entrants in class 1 last year who have now gone to class 2, and the entrants in class 1 this year who have never seen schools. “It’s actually one of the most challenging exercises that the teacher will be required to deliver. In the center of all this is the teacher,” she said. 

While explaining the NIPUN Bharat intervention, Mr. Maneesh Garg, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, said that an enabling environment needs to be created to ensure universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy so that by 2026-27 every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy at the end of Grade III and not later than Grade V.

 


Explaining the developmental goals at the foundational stage, Prof. Sridhar Srivastava, Director (I/C), NCERT, said the first goal is to provide experience for health and well-being, socio-emotional development, nutrition, hygienic practices, and safety. Key competencies of the first goal are awareness of self, development of positive self-concept, self-regulation, pro-social behavior, decision-making and problem solving, healthy habits, hygiene, sanitation and self-protection, fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, gross motor skills, and participation in individual and team games and sports.

He stated that the second goal is to build the foundations of language and literacy, adding its key competencies are broadly categorized into—talking and listening, reading with comprehension, and writing with purpose.



 

Prof. Srivastava said the third goal is to build foundations of numeracy, and provide direct experience and interactions with the physical, social and natural environment. Key competencies of the third goal are sensory development, cognitive skills, concepts related to environment, concept formation, number sense, number operations, measurement, shape, and data handling.

Prof. Suniti Sanwal, Head, Department of Elementary Education, NCERT, said for holistic development of children, developmental goals at the foundational stage (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) is to develop competency among children that would ultimately bring learning outcomes.

 


Prof. Sanwal further explained that competency mainly consists of three components—knowledge, skills, and attitude. Development in all these three components of competency will bring learning outcomes (observable and measurable in nature) among children. These learning outcomes among children will enable transfer of knowledge in real life situations.

Speaking at the webinar, Dr. T S Joshi, Director, Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT) quoted “Gijubhai Badheka” (1885-1939.) He was an educator who had helped to introduce Montessori education methods to India. He is referred to as "Moochhali Maa". 

 


Dr. Joshi connected the New Education Policy 2020 with the efforts and contributions of Gijubhai Badheka in the field of education.

Wednesday 8 September 2021

Technology a reality; teachers need to be prepared accordingly: Prof. Ramesh Babu

Bhopal, 05 September 2021: With increasing use of technology that has almost replaced face to face learning, there is a dire need to prepare teachers accordingly, leading educationist Prof. B Ramesh Babu said on Sunday.

“You cannot set aside technology which has almost replaced face to face learning. Therefore, how to integrate technology in teaching-learning process is extremely important. The New Education Policy 2020 has given a big space for promotion of technology integration,” NCERT RIE-Bhopal Prof. Babu said while delivering an expert talk on Technology in Teaching & Learning.

The expert talk (online), which was organized by MANUU College of Teacher Education-Bhopal on the auspicious occasion of Teacher’s Day, witnessed participations of students, research scholars, and faculty from across the country.

Prof. Babu opined that teacher must understand the difference between tool and weapon prior to using technology during teaching-learning process. “For example, computer is a tool as well as weapon. Teacher must understand the difference between tool and weapon in classroom,” he said.

Stating that a tool is used for productive work whereas weapon used for destruction, Prof. Babu emphasized that teacher must know and use the right kind of technology or most appropriate one as per the need of diverse classroom.

Explaining the nature of technology, Prof. Babu stated, “technology simply amplifies ‘what is’ (referring to society)”. Whatever is prevalent in society be it inequality, inaccessibility or digital divide is amplified by technology, he opined.

He suggested a model of affordability, accessibility, and sustainability for technology integration. He said special attention should be given on cognitive accessibility as conceptual knowledge is not easily accessible; and here the role of teachers plays a crucial role.

“Technology is going to redefine teaching, learning and education that would bring in radical change. Relationship between teacher and student will undergo a change,” he stated.

According to Prof. Babu, there are four kinds/layers of teachers: preacher, teacher, transmitter, and facilitator. In the light of growing use of technology replacing offline teaching learning process, he said even transmitter has become facilitator. He also stated that students must be critical because education is always a critical process. 

The presidential address was given by Prof. Noushad Husain, Principal of MAUU College of Teacher Education-Bhopal. Prof. Husain, also the Chairman of the Expert Talk, thanked Prof. Babu for the excellent lecture on technology in teaching and learning.

The programme was convened by Dr. Neeti Dutta, Assistant Professor, MANUU College of Teacher Education, Bhopal and programme coordinators were Dr Naheed Siddiqui and Mr. Saifuddin Ansari.


Monday 9 August 2021

Higher Education needs Quality enhancement: Prof. Mohd. Muzzamil

Bhopal, 09 August 2021:  Despite having one of the largest systems of higher education in India, there is a need to scale up the quality of higher education, renowned educationist and former Vice Chancellor of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Prof. Mohd. Muzzamil said on Monday.

Prof. Muzzamil, a visiting fellow at the Oxford University, stated this while delivering an online lecture on “Quality Education, Accreditation and Teacher Development” to mark the successful completion of one year of New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The online lecture was organized here today by the College of Teacher Education, Bhopal (a Constituent College of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad).

Prof. Muzzamil opined that the country has one of the largest systems of higher education in the world with 1043 universities, 42,000 colleges and a total enrollment of over 3.85 crore. He, however, expressed concern over the quality of higher education, saying “there is a lack of quality in higher education. Hence, there is a lot of scope for improvement.”

Highlighting the factors quality of higher education is dependent upon, Prof. Muzzamil opined as many as four things—students, teachers, infrastructure/facilities, and management—play a crucial role in enhancing the quality of higher education.

“Teachers need to be oriented, refreshed and trained,” he said, adding the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 talks about quality of education and rightly states that teachers should be motivated and energized.

He also stressed on developing the required infrastructure/facilities in order to keep pace with the current demands and improve the quality of higher education. He added that management refers to the effective and efficient utilization of resources of institutions wherein the role of the leader (who is heading the organization) matters the most.

Besides, he also highlighted the role of government policy, public and private sector educational institutions, civil society, parents, bureaucracy, judiciary, etc. in enhancing the quality of higher education across the country. Referring to the World Development Report (2018), Prof. Muzzamil stated that “quality learning” is extremely important in realizing the fruits of education.

At last, he also emphasized on the “equity and inclusive” form of higher education (as it has rightly been stated in the NEP 2020) wherein how to bring up the underprivileged and downtrodden section of society to the desired level of higher education should be taken care of.

“At present, we are living in a VUCA (volatile, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world. Still we are trying to maintain the quality of higher education,” stated Prof. Muzzamil who also held the position of vice chancellor of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly.

Last but not least, vote of thanks to the chief guest was given by Professor Noushad Husain, convenor cum Principal of MANUU College of Teacher Education- Bhopal. The online lecture was smoothly hosted by Associate Professor Dr. Talmeez Fatima Naqvi. Dr. Khan Shahnaz Bano briefed the lecture to the audience who represented various universities of the country.

 

Saturday 7 August 2021

MANUU CTE Bhopal to organize Online Lecture on ‘Quality Education, Accreditation and Teacher Development’ on Monday

Bhopal, 07 August 2021 :  MANUU College of Teacher Education, a premier institute of teacher education program in the city, will organize on August 09, 2021 an online lecture to mark the successful completion of one year of New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

 

The lecture on “Quality Education, Accreditation and Teacher Development” will be delivered by Professor Mohd. Muzzamil, an eminent educationist who is a former vice chancellor of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra.

 

Prof. Muzzamil, the chief guest of the program, also held the position of vice chancellor of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly. 

 

The program will be presided over by Maulana Azad National Urdu University Vice Chancellor Professor Syed Ainul Hasan.

 

The convenor of the program is Professor Noushad Husain, Principal, MANUU College of Teacher Education, Bhopal. The program will be hosted by Associate Professor Dr. Talmeez Fatima Naqvi.


---END---


Source: Press Release 

Tuesday 21 April 2020

MHRD Minister chairs review meeting on SWAYAM and SWAYAM Prabha

New Delhi (21 April 2020): Union Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal held a detailed review of the National online education platform SWAYAM and the 32 DTH Television Education Channels SWAYAM PRABHA in New Delhi today.  
A brief presentation of the progress of these schemes was made. In the lockdown condition there has been a tremendous increase in demand and the usage of SWAYAM Courses and SWAYAM PRABHA videos.

SWAYAM
1902 courses are available currently in SWAYAM, which have been offered to 1.56 cr. students since launch. Currently, over 26 lakh students are taking 574 courses on offer. In all, 1509 courses are available for self-learning. SWAYAM 2.0 also supports launch of Online degree programmes. Mapping of SWAYAM courses to AICTE model curriculum has been done, gaps identified. A similar exercise for non-technical courses is underway by a committee of UGC. 
 It was decided that all the 1900 SWAYAM Courses and 60000 SWAYAM PRABHA videos would be translated into ten regional languages and made available to the students so that more benefit can be derived from the same. The more popular content, and for engineering courses taught in first year shall, however, be prioritized for translation.
It was decided to decentralize the task of translation to the National Coordinators, who may be allowed to use all possible services like students, government or private agencies, available technology to undertake translation of content.
The whole project will be started immediately and completed in a time bound manner.  The popular courses and videos would be done first.  In order to complete this exercise  in the shortest possible time a number of educational institutions across the country would be asked to contribute.   Each NC shall submit an action plan to MHRD (E-mail: NMEICT@nmeict.ac.in) by 23rd April.
An advisory shall be issued to all Directors of IITs to provide all help to the NCs in the task of translation of content, creation of new content in gap areas, and acceptance of credit transfer.
            It was also decided that UGC and AICTE will follow up with Universities and institutions to accept SWAYAM credits. This will enable students to do part of their course though MOOC and part in various colleges. 
            Also, to encourage faculty to provide more courses under SWAYAM, appropriate incentives for their career will be provided.
             Further, UGC has been asked to prepare guidelines regarding online and Distance learning guidelines to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio.

SWAYAM Prabha
The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. Every day, there will be new content for at least (4) hours which would be repeated 5 more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience.
The following decisions were taken:
  • Possibility of redistribution of channels to match available content, and viewership shall be explored.
  • It was also decided to enrich the content in SWAYAM PRABHA by collecting content from who so ever willing to contribute the same under Vidya Daan Programme.  Subject expert committees shall be formed by each NC to approve the content received, before getting it uploaded on SWAYAM Prabha
  • The broadcast over DTH will be popularized through all available channels, including radio, social media.
  • The video content on SWAYAM Prabha shall be mapped to curriculum, and the academic calendar
  • For the translation of content of four IIT-PAL channels, CBSE, NIOS shall provide all assistance to IIT-Delhi. This matter shall be followed up by JS(IEC) in MHRD.

The decisions of the meeting will be reviewed by the Ministry for implementation.

SOURCE: PIB

Saturday 18 April 2020

Guidelines issued for safety and academic welfare of students: AICTE




New Delhi: Amid nationwide lockdown, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has issued instructions to colleges / institutions and has directed them that ensuring safety precautions during the threat posted by COVID-19 would be fundamental responsibility of all citizens of India, during this hour of crisis.  


Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the country is currently observing a lockdown till 3rd May 2020.
In view of the pandemic, the following guidelines are issued for strict compliance by all colleges / institutions:
1) Payment of fees:  
It has come to knowledge of AICTE that certain stand-alone Institutions are insisting that students should pay the fees including admission fees, during the lockdown. It is clarified that colleges/ Institutions should not insist on payment of fees till the ongoing lockdown is lifted and normalcy is restored. 
Further, guidelines in this regard communicating the revised timelines will be issued by AICTE in due course. Accordingly, all colleges/ Institutions are directed to display the information on their websites and also communicate the same to the students through email.


2) Payment of salary to faculty members:  
It has been learnt that various institutions have not paid salary to their faculty and staff members for the duration of the lockdown. Also certain institutions have terminated the services of certain faculty/ staff members. It is clarified that salary and other dues to the faculty/staff members will be released for the duration of lockdown and also Terminations, if any, made during the lockdown will be withdrawn. 
Hence, the same may be strictly complied with. A letter in this regard has also been issued to the Respective Chief Secretaries of the States / UTs including reimbursement of fees to colleges/institutions.
3) Discouraging fake news: 
Various interest groups / individuals are circulating fake news on social media platforms thereby creating misinformation and rumours. Discouraging any such fake news and reporting the matter to concerned authorities would be prime responsibility of all stakeholders. 
It is also advised that any information published on the official website of MHRD/ UGC / AICTE only may be relied upon. Hence, these websites maybe regularly perused for any updates. Similarly for other government circular, official websites of the concerned Ministries / Departments may be referred to .
4) Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme: 
Due to ongoing lockdown and restricted access to internet , activities pertaining to PMSSS for the academic year 2020-2021 have been delayed. However, it is clarified that the scheme will be continued as in the past once the lockdown is lifted. A calendar of events, laying down fresh timelines will be published in AICTE website in due course.
5) Online classes and semester examination: 
It is clarified that online classes for the current semester will be continued during the extended lockdown. A revised academic calendar will be issued by UGC/ AICTE subsequently. 
Regarding the conduct of semester examinations, it is clarified that UGC has constituted a committee for recommending the modalities of conduct of examinations, award of marks and passing criteria in examinations. Directions in this regard will be issued separately. Websites of UGC/ AICTE may be perused regularly.
6) Internships:  
It is clarified that some students would not be able to pursue their Summer Internship due to the ongoing lockdown. Hence, they are advised to pursue internship from home. In case the same is not feasible, this requirement may be fulfilled in December 2020.
7) Sharing of internet bandwidth with other colleges/institutions: 
Due to inability of certain students to access internet services, college/Institutions are advised to allow students of other colleges/institutions in their vicinity to access the internet facility at their colleges/institutions and colleges/ Institutions may accordingly permit students of other colleges/ Institutions to share their campus internet facility. Attendance rule may be relaxed in the light of lockdown and unavailability of good bandwidth in certain rural areas.
Source: Press Information Bureau