Universities Directed Not To Offer Healthcare, Allied Courses In Online Mode
According to the directive, any recognition already granted to HEIs for running such programmes in the July-August 2025 session or later will be withdrawn.
In cases where programmes have multiple specialisations - such as Bachelor of Arts courses in subjects including English, Hindi, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, and others - only the specialisations covered under the NCAHP Act, 2021, will be discontinued.
The UGC has instructed that no new admissions be made to the affected programmes from the upcoming session.
All stakeholders have been urged to take note of and adhere to the decision.
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Indian Express
10 hours ago
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How scientists built a password-protected mind-reading brain implant
Scientists have developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) — a device that allows the human brain to communicate with external software or hardware — which works only when the user thinks of a preset password. The findings were detailed in a study, 'Inner speech in motor cortex and implications for speech neuroprostheses', published in the journal Cell on August 14. The new system was developed by researchers based at Stanford University (the United States). Here is a look at how scientists built a password-protected BCI. But first, why are brain-computer interfaces significant? BCIs allow the user to control an application or a device using only their mind. Usually, when someone wants to interact with an application — let's say, they want to switch on a lamp — they first have to decide what they want to do, then they coordinate and use the muscles in their arms, legs or feet to perform the action — like pressing the lamp's on/off switch with their fingers. Then, the device — in this case, the lamp — responds to the action. What BCIs do is help skip the second step of coordinating and using the muscles to perform an action. Instead, they use a computer to identify the desired action and then control the device directly. This is the reason why BCIs have emerged as promising tools for people with severe physical disabilities. They are also being used to restore speech in people who have limited reliable control over their muscles. How was a password-protected BCI developed? The researchers involved in the study focused on 'internal-speech' BCIs, which translate brain signals into text or audio. While these types of devices do not require users to speak out loud, there is always a risk that they could accidentally decode sentences users never intended to say. To resolve this issue, the researchers first 'analysed brain signals collected by microelectrodes placed in the motor cortex — the region involved in voluntary movements — of four participants,' according to a report by the journal Nature. All of these participants had trouble speaking and were asked to either try to say a set of words or imagine saying them. The researchers then analysed the recordings of participants' brain activity. This helped them discover that attempted and internal speech originated in the same brain region and generated similar neural signals, but those associated with internal speech were weaker. This data was used to train artificial intelligence models, which helped BCIs to interpret sentences imagined by the participants after they were asked to think of specific phrases. The devices correctly interpreted 74% of the imagined sentences. To ensure that the BCIs do not decode sentences that users do not intend to utter, the researchers added a password to the system, allowing users to control when decoding began. 'When a participant imagined the password 'Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang' (the name of an English-language children's novel), the BCI recognised it with an accuracy of more than 98%,' the Nature report said. (With inputs from Nature)
India Today
13 hours ago
- India Today
No healthcare, allied courses to be offered online from July 2025
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a directive to higher education institutions (HEIs) to discontinue offering healthcare and allied programmes under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode. The ban will take effect from the 2025-26 academic session, starting BANS ONLINE AND ODL HEALTHCARE PROGRAMMES FROM 2025-26The decision follows recommendations from the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting held in April 2025 and was formalised during the UGC's 592nd meeting on July 23, ban targets specialisations such as Psychology, Microbiology, Food and Nutrition Science, Biotechnology, Clinical Nutrition, and Dietetics. Institutions that already received recognition to offer these programmes in online or ODL mode will have it have also been instructed not to admit any new students into these courses from the 2025-26 session onwards. In multi-specialisation degrees, only healthcare-related components will be example, a Bachelor of Arts programme with multiple majors including Psychology will see only the Psychology stream removed from ODL or online OVERSIGHT ON FOREIGN COLLABORATIONS AND UNRECOGNISED COURSESThe UGC's directive comes amid growing concern over unrecognised collaborations with foreign educational higher education regulator has reiterated that degrees or diplomas awarded through such unapproved arrangements will be invalid in entering into partnerships without explicit UGC approval under the 2022 and 2023 joint and dual-degree frameworks will have their programmes deemed notice builds on an earlier advisory from December 12, 2023, which warned HEIs against unauthorised tie-ups with foreign repeated guidance, several colleges and EdTech platforms continued offering online or joint programmes with foreign partners lacking UGC and academic experts say the move is aimed at safeguarding students from enrolling in courses that may not be valid for employment or further decision also reinforces the UGC's oversight of the growing online education sector, particularly in healthcare and allied disciplines where professional recognition is pulling online healthcare programmes from ODL delivery, the UGC is signalling stricter compliance requirements for HEIs and foreign collaborations. Students and institutions alike are being urged to align with the regulations to avoid invalid degrees and potential legal complications.- Ends
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
Universities Directed Not To Offer Healthcare, Allied Courses In Online Mode
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to stop offering allied and healthcare programmes covered under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, including Psychology as a specialisation, through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode from the July-August 2025 academic session. According to the directive, any recognition already granted to HEIs for running such programmes in the July-August 2025 session or later will be withdrawn. In cases where programmes have multiple specialisations - such as Bachelor of Arts courses in subjects including English, Hindi, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, and others - only the specialisations covered under the NCAHP Act, 2021, will be discontinued. The UGC has instructed that no new admissions be made to the affected programmes from the upcoming session. All stakeholders have been urged to take note of and adhere to the decision.
