Delhi to have an exclusive tech varsity for women

Delhi will soon have a technical university exclusively for women. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said the existing technical college — Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, currently a part of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIP) — would soon be upgraded into a full-fledged university.

The Delhi Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University Bill, 2012, which will now be placed in the Assembly’s budget session. “The Indira Gandhi Institute has attained a level of maturity and has made rich contribution to the growth of quality technical education and research among women during last 12 years. Since 85% seats in the institute are reserved for Delhi girls, it has also given them better placement and career opportunities.

“We now want to upgrade it to meet the growing needs of the industry for relevant technology and product innovation,” Dikshit told reporters. Dikshit said Delhi would be the first state to have an exclusive technical university for women. “It will also facilitate additional enrolment of women in technological courses as parents are often reluctant to send their daughters outside Delhi for higher education. We expect that student strength will increase to almost two times the current strength in the next few years,” Dikshit said.

A senior technical education official said the upgrade of the institute would provide an opportunity for accelerated growth of women in technical education, technology incubation and product innovation vital for women empowerment.

Source: Hindustan Times, January 17, 2012

Ombudsman for Central educational institutions

The government on Monday announced grievance redressal mechanisms in higher educational institutions. All institutions affiliated to the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)and the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) will now be required to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for students and applicants before the commencement of the admission season this academic year.

All government-run central educational institutions, institutions deemed to be universities, deemed-to-be-universities, technical and management institutions and teacher education institutions would be required to constitute an Ombudsman-person with judicial or legal experience to be appointed from a panel suggested by the affiliating university for technical and management institutions and by the regulator for non-degree granting institutions. The concerned regulators would issue the detailed instructions to the educational institutions shortly.

Grievances galore
Talking to reporters in New Delhi on Monday, Human resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said there were several grievances that arose relating to students and applicants for admission in higher educational institutions. These grievances required prompt redressal in order to provide timely succour to aggrieved students and applicants. The Parliamentary Standing Committee, while examining the Bill to prohibit and punish unfair practices, had recommended that pro-active steps be taken to constitute grievance redressal mechanisms in higher education institutions, he said. Applicants for admission and students can apply to the Ombudsman for redressal of grievances and the Ombudsman shall deliver his/her order within one month. Although the order would not be binding on the institution, the regulator would rely on the frequency of non-observance to decide on continued recognition to such institutions.

Issues under ambit
The Ombudsman will have the jurisdiction to hear grievances concerning denial of admission, non-observance of declared merit in admission, non-observance of applicable regulations for reservation, withholding of documents and non-refund of fees in case of withdrawal of admission, discrimination and other such matters concerning students in pursuit of studies in the institution. In case of matters concerning weaker sections such as Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes / Other Backward Classes or minorities, the Ombudsman can co-opt a person of eminence from the area coming from the weaker section to assist him/her in arriving at a decision, Mr. Sibal said.

Source: The Hindu, January 17, 2012