Latest news with #Socially
The Print
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
BJP's OBC Morcha thanks Majhi for SEBC reservation even as BJD, Cong plan stir for more quota
While the BJD has announced it will stage an agitation on May 21 demanding 27 per cent reservation for SEBC students, the Congress said its activists would gherao the CM's residence on May 22 and 23. On the other hand, both opposition BJD and Congress announced the parties will hit the streets, demanding 27 per cent reservation for SEBCs. OBCs are called SEBCs in Odisha. They enjoy 11.25 per cent reservation in jobs but did not have similar reservation in higher education till now. Bhubaneswar, May 16 (PTI) Hailing it as a 'landmark decision', BJP's OBC Morcha and other social organisations thanked Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for announcing 11.25 per cent reservation for students belonging to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in higher education. A statement issued by the CMO claimed that hundreds of members of BJP's OBC Morcha and caste-based organisations from different districts of the state met Majhi at the State Guest House and expressed their gratitude and appreciation for reserving 11.25 per cent of the seats for SEBC students in the education sector. The state cabinet on May 14 decided to introduce 11.25 per cent quota for SEBC students in higher education. Majhi called it a 'landmark' decision as his government was the first to introduce quota for SEBC students in education. Senior BJD MLA and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, on the other hand, dubbed the reservation for SEBC students as 'fraud and deception' and rejected the BJP's claim of it being a 'historic decision.' The BJD demanded 27 per cent reservation for SEBC students across all educational institutions and has declared its intent to launch an agitation in support of this demand. Sahoo, also the BJD's OBC cell convenor, told reporters, 'Isn't it deceitful to claim such a move as historic when the reservation is only for vacant seats and not implemented in mainstream, professional or vocational education?' 'A massive peaceful demonstration will be held by the BJD near Governor House Square on May 21, and a memorandum addressing this demand will be submitted to the governor,' Sahoo said. Earlier, OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das had announced that Congress workers will gherao the CM's residence on May 22 and 23 demanding 27 per cent reservation for SEBCs in Odisha. PTI AAM AAM ACD This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
NDTV
15-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Odisha Reserves 11.25 Per Cent Of Seats For SEBC Category In Higher Education
Bhubaneswar, May 14: The Odisha government on Wednesday decided to reserve 11.25 per cent of seats for the students belonging to the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC), taking the total ratio of quota in education to 50 per cent in the state. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. "Our government, within 11 months of its tenure, has given justice to the students belonging to the SEBC category," Majhi said. Though the SEBC candidates were earlier getting reservation in jobs (11.25 per cent), there was no provision in education for which the opposition BJD and Congress were making demands both inside the Assembly and outside. Briefing reporters, the chief minister said that it is a landmark decision of the government to introduce an 11.25 per cent reservation in admission for students belonging to SEBC in universities, state government and aided higher secondary and higher education institutions from the academic year 2025-26. Majhi said the initiative ensures uniform implementation of reservation in admission for students belonging to ST (22.5 per cent), SC (16.25 per cent), SEВС (11.25 per cent), persons with disability (5 per cent) and ex-servicemen (one per cent) in institutions under the state government. The decision is taken in line with National Education Policy 2020, the chief minister said, adding that the move aims to promote access, equity, and inclusion, increase the gross enrolment ratio, and enhance opportunities for marginalized and disadvantaged communities in Odisha. However, the opposition BJD and Congress demanded at least 27 per cent reservation for the SEBC or OBC students in the education sector, including the medical and engineering courses. Senior BJD leader Arun Kumar Sahoo said, "The state government has not provided the reservation for the OBC students in medical and engineering courses. We demand the government to implement it immediately." If the reservation system is implemented in the medical and engineering courses, then only the SC, ST and OBC students can benefit, Sahoo said. "At least 27 per cent reservation should be provided to the OBC students. After bringing an amendment to prevailing law, the reservation should be enhanced to 54 per cent. The SC and ST should also get the reservation as per their population," the BJD leader demanded. State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das also said that the government should reconsider the decision, otherwise it would face protests across Odisha. "The government needs to provide 27 per cent reservation to the OBC students. The government has not made any change in the admission into medical and technical education courses," Das said. Despite repeated demands, the BJP government is playing with the future of the SC, ST and OBC people, who comprise 94 per cent of the state's population, he said. The Cabinet also approved five other proposals including merger of the state-sponsored Mamata scheme with the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). The scheme will be named Mamata-PMMVY. Earlier, beneficiaries used to get Rs 10,000 for the birth of a girl child under Mamata Yojana. Now, they will get Rs 12,000, the chief minister said. Beneficiaries will receive Rs 10,000 for the birth of a boy child under MAMATA-PMMVY. Women from PVTG community will be given Rs 12,000 for the birth of a girl child and Rs 10,000 for the birth of a boy for all live births, he stated. Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers, who used to get Rs 200 and Rs 100 respectively as incentive earlier, will now receive Rs 250 and Rs 150, Majhi said. In the next five years, the expenditure on Mamata-PMMVY would be about Rs 2,670 crore, he said. The state has also decided to construct a barrage in Mayurbhanj district at a cost of Rs 97.67 crore. The work is planned to be completed in 30 months, the CM said. The barrage would be built across the river Khairibhandan near village Analabeni in Jashipur block to provide assured kharif irrigation in the drought-prone region, inhabited mostly by backward, weaker and tribal population, he added.
Fox News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Georgetown refuses to cut ties with Israel, stands up to pressure from students
Georgetown University has refused to cave to anti-Israel agitators, saying the Washington, D.C.-based institution will not divest or end partnerships with companies tied to Israel. The announcement from Georgetown University Interim President Robert Groves comes after an undergraduate student body referendum calling for the university to divest "from companies arming Israel and ending university partnerships with Israeli institutions" passed with 1,447 students voting in support and 685 students voting in opposition. Groves noted approximately 7,200 total undergraduate students are eligible to vote. Student referendums are not binding on the university and do not dictate university policies, Groves said, explaining referendums serve as a temperature check on the student body's views. "Georgetown will not implement this referendum, based on our institutional values and history and existing university resources and processes that address our investments," Groves said in an email to the university community on Tuesday. He cited comments from former Georgetown University President John DeGioia, who resigned last year after more than two decades of service in the position to focus on recovery from a stroke. In 2013, DeGioia said, "a boycott of Israeli universities undermines the academic freedom that is essential to the mission of the Academy." The former university president added that "as an academic institution, it is Georgetown's responsibility to deepen engagement and foster dialogue between scholars and societies to enhance the entire global academic community." "Our University remains opposed to any such boycott," Groves said Tuesday. Groves cited the Socially Responsible Investing Policy (SRI Policy), which was adopted by Georgetown's Board of Directors in 2017. It states, in part, that the university is committed "to exercising ethical management" of its endowment, which "shall not be used as a tool to promote a political agenda." "I recognize there is a wide range of opinions on the conflict in the Middle East within our community," Groves said. "We have numerous events to present different perspectives on the conflict. Guided by the University's Policy on Speech and Expression, we will continue to protect the right of members of our community to freely express their views." "We are guided by our mission statement, which includes our belief that 'serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding'," Groves added. "This is a time to encourage such discourse." The announcement comes as the Trump administration has cracked down on American colleges where anti-Israel agitators have taken over buildings and sections of campus and hurled anti-Semitic rhetoric in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. In March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an Indian doctorate student at Georgetown accused of spreading Hamas propaganda.
Glasgow Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow University students block West End road amid protest
The protest, which began at around 11am, was in response to a University Court meeting scheduled for the same day at 1.45pm. The students, alongside supporters from the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee (GGEC), Glasgow University Celtic Supporters Club (GUCSC), and other pro-Palestinian organisations, are part of the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) campaign. READ MORE: Manhunt launched after man stabbed in 'targeted' midday attack The protestors called on the court members to vote for unconditional divestment from arms companies, which make more than 10% of their earnings from arms sales. This demand followed the release of the court agenda on April 16, 2025, which made no mention of a vote on divestment, only a revision of the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) policy. The SRI policy does not include the requirement to divest from arms companies. The roadblock is the latest in a series of actions on the university campus by GUJPS. In March, the group increased their presence on campus through continued direct action. Students took part in a 10-day hunger strike, established an encampment on Library Hill, and last month, more than 100 students blocked University Avenue. READ MORE: Scottish TikTok in uproar after baby named this common Scots insult GUJPS argue that the university's investments in arms companies make it complicit in war crimes and the genocide in Palestine. The group are also protesting the university's increased crackdown on student activism, as one of their members, Neve Mclean, faces a ban from the university campus. This is the second Glasgow University student to face these disciplinary measures for their involvement in student activism this year, following the ban of Hannah Taylor, which was recently revoked. Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah, Rector of Glasgow University, recently commented on the use of 'authoritarian' measures from the University management following the ban placed on youth demand activist Hannah Taylor. In January 2024, a Demilitarise Education FOI request showed that there were 23 active grants totalling at least £60,343,849 at the University of Glasgow, which were in partnership with—or in a few cases, directly funded by—10 defence companies. These grants covered research grants, studentships, and research centres, and were held across four schools at the University of Glasgow, including Engineering and Physics and Astronomy. READ MORE: Do you know him? CCTV image released following assault at Old Firm According to Glasgow University's Student Representative Council (SRC), they held an indicative referendum last month. The motion was: "Should the University of Glasgow stop investing in companies that earn more than 10% of their revenue from the arms and defence industry?" The motion passed with 83.9% of votes in favour. An open letter was published by the SRC in the days following the vote, but there has been no response from university management.
