Amid protests and echoes of a NEET re-test by students and organisations, alleging irregularities in the marking system used by NTA we have come across historical proceedings of the Supreme Court.

On July 8, the Supreme Court during its hearing stated that it was “ clear that leak of NEET UG question paper has taken place. We want to know the number of beneficiaries of question paper leak, and what action has been taken against them.” The bench of three judges (DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra )  accepted that the NEET paper was leaked through telegram, WhatsApp and other electronic means. It stated that when such papers got leaked it spread like a ‘wildfire’.  

Enquiry

They mentioned that the Court is aware of the fact that they are dealing with the lives of 23 lakh students. If the beneficiaries of the paper leaks are not found or arrested then the court has to order the reconduction of the examination. It has presented several questions to CBI and NTA and ordered them to file their affidavits by 5 pm July 10 and share these with petitioners as well. Court also wanted to know how many of them were among those students who were beneficiaries of grace marks provided by NTA. It  asked NTA regarding the steps taken to identify those beneficiaries, and the time duration between the leak of exams and occurrence on 5 May.  

However, NTA was not in Favour of conducting of the entire exam again. It apprehended that it can  “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates without proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality. 

“It is also submitted that at the same time, in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared,” the Centre said. “Scrapping the exam in its entirety would seriously jeopardise the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024,” the Education Ministry said. 

Thus in a nutshell we can say that the center is in search of proof for mass malpractice with the questions of the examination system on 5th May. The next hearing is on 11th July when we can expect to observe the final decision. 

 References

Indian express , The Hindu

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Infrastructural problem 

Delhi has touched 50 degrees Celsius in recent days and is a victim of heavy heat waves these days. Amid these heat waves, Delhi University’s student union is concerned about students’ health conditions. Very few colleges of north campuses are loaded with facilities for Air conditions. Also, amid the water crisis in Delhi, the accessibility of fresh drinking water for students seems to be very difficult. Also, on a similar line, there are many infrastructural problems the university faces that are problematic for students. Thus, DUSU decided to put their demands clearly in front of the administration to solve the required infrastructural facilities in the University. Setting up Water coolers was on the forefront.

DU’s stand

On May 30, Delhi University on Thursday said that 25 coolers would be installed in various spots on the premises to solve the ongoing water crisis amid heat waves in the city. The decision was taken in a meeting of Delhi University Students Union representatives and DU officials. A student delegation led by Aprajita met Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh to present a memorandum mentioning various campus-related demands. The memorandum demanded the urgent need for cold and clean drinking water, particularly in the faculty of Arts, Central Library and north campus hostels.  

Other demands

However, along with the water availability, the memorandum also consisted of a lot of essential infrastructural reforms which are creating heavy problems for students amid these extreme heat conditions. The administration ensured that it would take the necessary steps to fulfil the required needs of students as soon as possible.  

In a nutshell

Thus, we can conclude that being one of the most reputed universities in the world. DU is morally obligated to provide its students with the best infrastructural facilities. To execute quality education, one needs an environment where knowledge can be nourished. Thus, a quality infrastructure can be considered a fundamental need for students studying on campus or living in hostels. Otherwise, it will be tough for students to maintain good health conditions amid these heat waves.  

References  

Freepik, lastly, Indiatoday, X handle ABVP

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The biggest festival of democracy: the “election process” has started. All over India, it is apparent to see leaders again campaigning with a basket of their promises. Thus, this election brings out novel problems, demands, and aspirations.

This is an acceptable fact that students of higher education form a considerable amount of vote bank for leaders. Thus, it becomes necessary for leaders as well as voters to have a look at what the present demands and expectations of students are in this Lok Sabha elections. Also, how Can we make this country a better place to live?  

Those who visualize the vital role of government in the development of the country must have the moral responsibility to know their demands. Every responsible citizen of India must vote for their country, no matter what their choices are. Only the active participation of citizens in politics can showcase our spirit of democracy. 

From students’ eyes, this election has a direct relation with their future. Especially in the field of higher education and employment demands, the leader-citizen connection is gradually becoming an intimate relation. This election following are the aspirations of students: 

1. More seats in government educational institutions: 

  One of the biggest aspirations that students hold is to increase their seats in government institutions. This will make the institutions more inclusive and will provide a level playing field for all students who aspire to study there. This is especially true in the case of medical and engineering candidates where market demand and supply both can be high. The need is if we get the proper infrastructure to aspire to our dreams, this will provide us with wings to fly.

WHO mentions that India needs 1.8 million doctors in India to deal with total medical demands. Every year there are a total of 3,39,125 enrollments in NEET. It means that they are willing to be in the medical field. Thus, proper infra and seats in the discipline tend to meet this demand through our knowledge economy. In a similar way in all disciplines, there is a need to provide a good quantity and quality of education for our overall development.

2. Proper infrastructure in government institutions: –

Although there is a pretty good development in the case of infrastructure in government institutions, their depreciation is one of the biggest problems. It is the need of an hour that proper awareness should be there regarding infrastructure depreciation. Also, the depreciated appliance must be replaced with immediate action to provide a valuable learning experience.

3. Need for mental health professionals in the education sector: –

It is a unanimously acceptable fact that academic and other pressures create a lot of mental health problems for students. It is very normal to face this problem, but the real problem lies in the lack of appropriate mental health professionals in the education sector. One prominent psychologist Mr. Misra once said, “There is a need to provide appropriate positions to psychologists in India wherever required. The research here must not be mere replication of West.”  A report from India Today quoted that, “There is a need for 15 lakh counselors for 315 million students.” Thus, it is an urgent need of era to fill this gap of mental health professionals

4. To increase the placement rate: –

To build a safe and healthy future, most students, after a lot of hard work, demand good placement. Thus, whoever the leader is must ensure that it is very important to take care of the placements of students enrolled in their institutions. The reason is at the end of the day they are being added to the total employment rate of the country

5. To encourage sports in the present education system: –

India has a huge sports potential in its students. The medals won and accreditations are proof of our potential. The need is to foster potential by providing opportunities in the field of sports. Students with their sports abilities require appropriate infrastructure, training, counseling, and support from the government to perform miraculously. The government’s policy of Khleo India must be implemented effectively for the holistic development of students.

6. Start up the friendly environment: –

Students of this country have the dream of making this country a start-up-friendly zone. This will not only help in the creation of employment in the nation but also will help to foster the dreams of individuals to make their own company. India is full of startup capacity; the need is for funding and guidance. The government’s start-up India program must target these two components to encourage entrepreneurs from all sections of society to have their venture.

Thus, in a nutshell, we must say that in this election it is our moral responsibility to think rationally and then vote. Our vote matters in deciding the pathway that our country will uphold. Please make sure that your voter ID is with you. Have a good and rational analysis of each candidate and let’s vote together to make this Bharat ‘Viksit Bharat’. 

References

1. image-“https://feminisminindia.com/2019/04/08/indian-youth-voting-2019/“
2. image-“https://ddnews.gov.in/en/states/5-upcoming-states-elections-to-witness-record-60-lakh-first-time-voters/“
3. image-“https://theprint.in/health/aiims-delhi-indias-best-medical-college-thats-home-to-many-leaders-of-covid-battle/468097/“
4. image”https://navi.com/blog/startup-india-scheme/“
5. image-“https://www.hcbh.org/blog/posts/2023/may/benefits-to-seeking-professional-help-for-your-mental-health-concerns/“

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Students of Jammu and Kashmir are urging the government to set up examination centres at Srinagar for various Universities like (JNU, DU, JMI and AMU) entrances.

In a statement, the spokesperson of the Association, Nasir Khuehami, said that it is not possible for the students to afford air tickets to travel to other states and appear for exams as most of the them are hailing from marginalised communities.

As the examinations will be conducted from the next month, many students fear contagion, are giving second thoughts to traveling. It is going to be a lot of a hassle for students to travel to Delhi and other places when most of the students are not vaccinated as yet, and there is also a possibility of the third wave happening in the country.

Despite the pandemic, no centre has been allotted to Kashmir by these universities which has left the local students high and dry.

JKSA Secretary Davood Ahmad said: “It will be very inconvenient for the Kashmiri students to travel all the way and spend money on in other states if their examination centres are not arranged locally. This is really hard and grave situation especially for the students belonging to the average income group who can not afford the travel and accommodation expenses.”

He requested LG Sinha to urgently look into the matter and kindly establish alternative exam centre for Kashmiri students in Srinagar for the entrance exam, “otherwise large number of the students may miss the examination if the centre is not set up in Valley.”

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Nowadays, PM CARES is making headlines as the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has rejected a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking details of the PM CARES Fund, stating that the fund is “not a public authority” under the Act, reports The Hindu. The reply to the RTI with rejecting it also stated that, “relevant information in respect of PM CARES Fund may be seen on the Website pmcares.gov.in.”

When the PM CARES Fund was launched it was said by Mr. Kandukuri, who is a law student at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru that, “When we already have the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), having another fund did not make sense to me. I was curious about the composition and objectives of the Trust. I wanted to read the trust deed.”

It is here to be noted that, the RTI Act defines a “public authority” as “any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted — (a) by or under the Constitution; (b) by any other law made by Parliament; (c) by any other law made by State Legislature; (d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government — and includes any (i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed; (ii) non Government Organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government.”

Earlier as well the PMO in response to another RTI regarding the fund said, citing a Supreme Court observation that “indiscriminate and impractical demands under RTI Act for disclosure of all and sundry information would be counterproductive.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is PM CARES Fund’s, ex-officio chairman, its ex-officio trustees are the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

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