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Education News

a grant of Rs.1,000 crore over a period of five years from THEY SAID IT
the Centre. Simultaneously, its grant from the state gov-
ernment is declining. Against a budgeted Rs.32 crore it “We have to bring some changes in the
received Rs.25 crore in 2023-24. education system of our management
Indeed, hard days have befallen Bengal’s show-piece
university. institutions for more effective and inclusive
Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata) development of the country.”
President Droupadi Murmu urging Indian business
TAMIL NADU management institutes to connect their study
programmes with Indian corporates, consumers and
Stagnant enrolments society (Indian Express, December 7)

oor student enrolment in the constituent colleges “You must be joking about India becoming
of Chennai’s prestigious Anna University (AU) a developed, rich country by 2047 with
Pis causing anxiety within the management of 35 percent malnutrition today. Your
Tamil Nadu’s show-piece state government university, malnourished children today will be workers
one of India’s top engineering universities ranked in the in 2047... Our children’s high malnutrition
501-600 band worldwide by Times Higher Education levels should be the country’s shame that we
and among the world’s Top 2,000 by US News & World want to eradicate.”
Report.
In India as well AU has a big reputation and is Raghuram Rajan, former RBI governor, interacting with
regarded as only one step below the country’s IITs for media at the launch of his book Reimagining India’s
Economic Future (December 17)
engineering education. In the EducationWorld India
Higher Education Rankings 2023-24 — which don’t rate
and rank IITs & NITs — AU is ranked #2 countrywide “I don’t think (ChatGPT) has anything to do
after the venerable Indian Institute of Science, Banga- with education. I think it’s undermining it.
lore (estb.1908). Therefore there’s growing concern that ChatGPT is basically high-tech plagiarism…
poor enrolment in some of its 571 affiliated undergrad and a way to avoid learning.”
engineering colleges is dragging down the reputation of Noam Chomsky, American philosopher and linguist, on
the parent varsity. To deal with the problem, the varsity artifical intelligence and ChatGPT (Bangalore Times,
is reportedly contem- December 24)
plating revoking affili-
ation to 44 engineer- “The obstacle tripping India's growth is the
ing colleges that have mismatch between skills, jobs and incomes.”
reported enrolment
less than 10 percent Arun Maira, former member, Planning Commission,
of sanctioned student on a new economics for inclusive growth (The Hindu,
December 27)
intake in the past two
years. Of them, 13 are
in Chennai, Kanchee- “A record 40 countries including the US and
puram and Tiruvallur. India will be having general elections in 2024.
The AU manage- R. Velraj This adds a political element to prevailing
ment has issued uncertainties, especially since many of these
notices to 44 colleges asking them what steps they had countries are populous and economically
taken to improved enrolment in 2023-24. “A team of influential.”
experts will conduct inspections in these colleges to Dharmakirti Joshi, economist, in an essay titled ‘Back
verify their data. If these colleges haven’t improved their to Economy Class’ (Times of India, December 28)
enrolment in 2023-24, the university will withdraw af-
filiation for 2024-25,” says vice chancellor R. Velraj.
However according to B.V. Mudgal, former profes- “I am not a person who believes in a wish-
sor at the Centre for Water Resources at AU, the 10 per- list for the coming new year. Rather I am
cent enrolment bar is too low. If total enrolment is less someone who believes in a work-list for
than 50 percent of capacity, the college should be disaf- myself.”
filiated and should not be allowed to continue classes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with India
“The decision to revoke affiliation is welcome because it Today (January 8)

30 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2024
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