Delhi: 12-hour class schedule under NEP sparks row
The notification came a few hours before the new academic session, sparking widespread concern among the faculty and students. They say the move is impractical, exhausting, and ignores ground realities.
The university's notification dated July 31, 2025, states that all colleges and institutions are advised to function from 8 am to 8 pm for 'optimal utilisation of resources'. The move, ostensibly to accommodate the increased academic load and faculty deployment, has drawn criticism from educators.
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Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
State begins merging edu data systems to reduce teachers' workload
1 2 Pune: The state govt has initiated the integration of two key educational data systems — Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and Systematic Administrative Reforms for Achieving Learning by Students (SARAL). The fusion will streamline data entry processes and eliminate duplication of work which has long been a pain point for over 7.43 lakh teachers in the state. At present, teachers have to enter the same student-related information such as attendance, academic performance, enrolment, dropout data, and infrastructure details into both platforms on both portals. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune This redundancy not only consumes valuable teaching time but also adds to clerical stress during the academic year. Under the new plan, the state's 2.11 crore school students will now be mapped through a unified system, enabling teachers to update and manage data from a single point of access, the education department said. Maharashtra Samagra Shiksha is spearheading the initiative. "From this academic year, the process of integrating information from the UDISE and SARAL systems has begun," director Sanjay Yadav said. He added that education officers have been told to ensure that no student is left out of school. "The integrated system will be more teacher-friendly and reduce time spent on non-teaching tasks, allowing educators to focus more on classroom engagement and student learning outcomes," Yadav said. The move is seen as part of a larger effort to modernise the state's education management system and support the goals of National Education Policy which emphasises reducing non-academic workload on teachers. Mahendra Ganpule, former vice-president of Maharashtra Headmasters' Association, said, "Teachers will now be able to enter information at one time and in one place, saving them time and effort." More time for teaching efforts Teachers entered students' personal information into the SARAL system, including names, classes, attendance, and detailed basic information The central govt's UDISE system required comprehensive information about the school, physical facilities, school activities, libraries, students' bank accounts, scholarships, and materials quote Entering information into both govt online systems consumed a significant amount of teachers' time which also led to neglect in improving educational standards. This integration will be crucial for accreditation and exam management Rajesh Deshmukh I A ZP teacher from Velhe Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
CSAS 2025-26: Delhi University opens seat upgrade and mid-entry options in third phase
Delhi University begins third phase of CSAS 2025-26 admissions with new options Delhi University admissions 2025: Delhi University has commenced the third phase of the admission process for the 2025-26 academic session under the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS). This phase introduces the options of seat upgradation, new seat allotment, mid-entry applications, and category-based admissions. The third round of CSAS is open to students seeking to upgrade their previously allotted seats or re-enter the admission process. It also accommodates applications under special categories, including children or widows of armed forces personnel (CW), extra-curricular activities (ECA), sports quota, and ward quota. Seat upgradation and preference reordering window open Students who secured admission in either Round I or II of CSAS can now upgrade their college-course combinations. A specific window has been made available for this purpose, starting from 5 PM on August 2 to 4:59 PM on August 3. During this period, students must indicate whether they wish to upgrade and may also re-order their preference lists accordingly. After the conclusion of this window, individual colleges will begin the process of allocating upgraded or new seats based on the revised preferences and availability. Opportunity for mid-entry and correction The university will also open a mid-entry window from 5 PM on August 8 to 4:59 PM on August 10. This facility is aimed at students who could not participate in the first phase of CSAS, those who were unable to complete the second phase, or applicants whose previous submissions were rejected due to incorrect documentation or subject mapping errors. Students applying through the mid-entry window must pay a non-refundable fee of Rs 1,000. They will be allowed to make corrections in their subject-related details and update their course preferences. Candidates who were not allotted a seat in the previous rounds are also eligible to apply under this provision. Preference finalisation and vacant seat matrix Students have been advised to finalise their course and college preferences based on the updated vacancy matrix before 5 PM on August 10. Preferences submitted by this time will be considered for the next round of seat allocation. Seat allotment and fee payment timeline Colleges will allocate seats under this round from August 13 to August 17. Students who receive a seat offer during this period must accept the seat to proceed further. The final deadline for depositing the online admission fee is 4:59 PM on August 19 (Tuesday). TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
UGC NET sees 14% rise in PhD qualifiers, but 6% JRF cap may hinder research growth
Experts warn of research quality decline as JRF funding lags behind PhD demand. (AI Image) Over 1.28 lakh candidates qualified for PhD admissions in UGC NET 2025 exams, yet only 5,269 secured JRF Signalling a growing academic interest in doctoral research, over 1.28 lakh candidates qualified for PhD admissions in the recently declared UGC NET June 2025 results. This witnessed a 14% rise from the previous year, however, only 5,269 candidates secured the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), a figure that remains disproportionately low. Out of 1,88,333 candidates who cleared NET this cycle, only 5,269 qualified for both JRF and Assistant Professor eligibility, 54,885 qualified for Assistant Professorship alone, and the remaining 1,28,179 fell under the newly introduced 'PhD-only' category. This structural change, introduced in 2023 to allow candidates with NET scores to apply for PhD programmes without necessarily being eligible for teaching or research fellowships, has expanded the pathway to doctoral study, but not the financial support required to sustain it. However, without enough financial support, many deserving students are being left out, which also impacts the long-term research goals under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Speaking to Education Times, Brajesh Kumar Tiwari, associate professor, Atal School of Management, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, says, "The growing gap between UGC NET-qualified PhD aspirants and JRF awardees may harm India's research future and quality. While over 1.28 lakh candidates are now eligible for PhD admissions, only 4.1% have secured JRFs. This means several students lack the full-time funding essential for sustained research." Research in Social Sciences, Humanities, and other core disciplines require intensive focus. He says, "Without funding, many scholars take to teaching or work part-time, diluting their research output. This risks making research more quantity-driven than quality-oriented." Eligibility Expands Prof Tiwari says, "The 14% increase in PhD eligibility has been driven by several factors, including the updated UGC regulations in 2023 that permitted candidates to use their NET scores for both PhD admission and Assistant Professor roles. "This dual-benefit model made NET more attractive. Meanwhile, All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) data shows postgraduate enrolment rising from 43.8 lakh in 2020-21 to 45.7 lakh in 2022-23. A larger postgraduate base leads to higher NET participation. Yet, while eligibility has expanded, financial support has not kept pace. Despite a growing number of PhD students, rising from 1.69 lakh in 2014-15 to over 2.2 lakh in 2022-23, the annual JRF awards have stagnated between 5,000 and 9,000 for the past decade." Fellowship Limitations Budgetary limitations, the current JRF award model, are some of the reasons for this stagnation. "In the 2024-25 Union Budget, the UGC received Rs 4,066 crore, a marginal decrease from Rs 4,093 crore in the previous year. With much of this allocated to salaries and infrastructure, little remains for expanding fellowships. Meanwhile, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), a flagship NEP 2020 initiative meant to boost research funding, is yet to be operationalised. The delay in ANRF rollout has stalled the research funding setup," says Tiwari. The current JRF award model limits fellowships to the top 6% of candidates in each subject-category combination. Prof Tiwari says, "This percentage remains constant regardless of how many high-performing candidates there are or how much higher education enrolment has grown. This creates artificial cutoffs, excluding many deserving scholars. Globally, countries such as Germany and the UK adjust fellowship numbers based on actual doctoral demand and research priorities. India must adopt a more dynamic and responsive system." Some top institutions, including IITs, IISc, TIFR, IISERs, JNU, Delhi University, and the University of Hyderabad, offer internal fellowships and research or teaching assistantships. However, these are limited in scale and mostly confined to central institutions. "Internal support varies widely across institutions and disciplines. To address the funding gap, the UGC and Ministry of Education must incentivise and fund state universities to launch standardised, well-supported assistantship programmes at scale," says Prof Tiwari. The imbalance between the qualifiers and the JRF cap raises concerns about the future of India's research ecosystem. Ipsita Sapra, associate professor, School of Public Policy and Governance, TISS Hyderabad, says, "India lags globally in terms of high-quality research output, with fewer publications in reputed, peer-reviewed journals and limited contributions to original theoretical work. One key reason is underfunding of research. In India, publications are often treated as a means for career advancement rather than for contributing to original research ideas. Moreover, high costs and long duration of research, often taking 5-7 years, discourage scholars, especially when financial support such as JRF is unavailable." Alternative Funding Mechanisms Countries such as China have invested in research, while India has not made comparable commitments. Prof Sapra says, "Increasing the number of JRFs is essential as is developing alternative funding mechanisms. Collaboration between academia and industry, as seen in global universities, should be encouraged. Government funding remains crucial, as institutional fellowships are often far below JRF levels and not sustainable in the long term. Several Indian universities have had to suspend their internal research support due to lack of funds." JRF plays an important role in enabling scholars, especially from economically weaker backgrounds, to pursue research without financial insecurity. "Without such support, many capable students are forced to abandon their academic goals for paying jobs. This results in a research ecosystem dominated by the privileged communities," she says. Creating a Bottleneck For Prashant Kumar, a recent UGC NET qualifier in Economics, the gap in financial support has posed hurdles. Prashant, hailing from Bihar, says, "There has been a sharp increase in students appearing for the UGC NET, from around 4.5 lakh in June 2023 to nearly 7.5 lakh in June 2025. But the number of JRFs has not changed. Without fellowships, full-time research is only possible for the financially secure. The rest are forced to either drop out, go part-time, or struggle under financial stress. " Prashant adds that while central research bodies such as ICSSR and DBT offer fellowships, their numbers are extremely limited, and the selection process highly competitive. "A few universities offer internal assistantships, but these are not uniformly available," he says, adding, "This uneven landscape means one's access to research funding often depends on where they study." Prashant who relied entirely on self-study, YouTube lectures, and past year papers, says, "Even after qualifying NET multiple times, I have not managed to qualify for JRF. I have taken the exam six times since December 2022, and except for my first attempt, I have cleared all others." Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
