Dr Farhat Khan, the author of a controversial book, was arrested from Pune in Maharashtra on Thursday while she was undergoing dialysis in a hospital, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.The arrest was made in connection with her book named ‘Collective Violence and Criminal Justice System’, which was kept in the library of the Government Naveen Law College in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city.The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has alleged the book being taught to law students has highly objectionable contents against the Hindu community and the RSS.According to police, Khan was suffering from a serious kidney ailment and needed dialysis on a regular basis.“The controversial writer, Farhat Khan, was arrested in Pune when she was undergoing dialysis in a hospital there.Papers (pertaining to the case) were also handed over to her,” Mishra told reporters in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.Authorities have also started a probe into complaints related to another book and if any objectionable content is found, then it will also be linked with the same case, the minister said without elaborating.On December 3, the Indore-based college’s LLM student and ABVP leader Lucky Adiwal (28) filed a complaint against author Khan, the book’s publisher Amar Law Publication, principal of the institution Dr Inam-ur-Rehman and professor Mirza Mojij Baig in the matter.Earlier, an official said the Indore police had traced Khan to Pune and she was served a notice under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).“After registering a case five days ago on the issue of the controversial book, we were searching for Dr Frahat Khan and had sent teams to places in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rajesh Kumar Singh said.“On the basis of leads, we traced her to Pune and served her a CrPC notice, as per which she was asked to cooperate in the probe and remain present in court at the time of submission of the charge sheet,” he said.The DCP said the Indore-based author was suffering from a serious kidney ailment and needed dialysis on a regular basis.When she went from to Pune from Indore, at that time also she underwent dialysis at a hospital in Sendhwa town on the Maharashtra border, the DCP added.The ABVP had alleged the book contained objectionable content against Hindus, the RSS and promotes religious hatred.The state higher education department had formed a seven-member committee to conduct a probe into the case.A member of the committee said the panel had recorded statements of 250 students and teachers.The higher education department’s commissioner Karmaveer Sharma on Wednesday said the committee has not yet submitted its report.An appropriate action will be taken into the matter on the basis of the probe report, Sharma said.On Tuesday, a local court refused to grant anticipatory bail to the Indore-based law college principal Inam-ur-Rehman and professor Baig, both named as accused in the case.Their lawyer Abhinav Dhanotkar had said the rejection of bail would be challenged in the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Bhopal: Dr Farhat Khan, the author of a controversial book, was arrested from Pune in Maharashtra on Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.The book named 'Collective Violence and Criminal Justice System' was kept in the library of the Government Naveen Law College in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has alleged the book being taught to law students has highly objectionable contents against the Hindu community and the RSS."The controversial writer, Farhat Khan, was arrested in Pune when she was undergoing dialysis in a hospital there," Mr Mishra told reporters in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.Authorities have also started a probe into complaints related to another book and if any objectionable content is found, then it will also be linked with the same case, the minister said without elaborating.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comOn December 3, the Indore-based college's LLM student and ABVP leader Lucky Adiwal (28) filed a complaint against author Khan, the book's publisher Amar Law Publication, principal of the institution Dr Inamur Rehman and professor Mirza Mojij Baig in the matter. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)Featured Video Of The DayAAP Says We Are Like "Chhotu Makkhi Party", BJP Responds With "Hit" Jibe
FROM THE next academic year, expected to begin in June 2023, all undergraduate (UG) degree programmes in Maharashtra will have a tenure of four years, as per the National Education Policy, 2020.In a government resolution (GR) issued late Tuesday, the state higher and technical education department asked all universities to formulate regulations for the same.It also shared recommendations made by the state-level committee headed by Dr Ravindra Kulkarni, former pro-vice chancellor of Mumbai University (MU), preparing a roadmap for implementation of the NEP.According to the recommendations, a student should have option to exit or leave the four-year course after each year.For example, a student will get a certificate if exiting after completing first year, diploma if exiting after two years, bachelor’s degree after three years and bachelor’s degree (honors/reserach) after completing four years.These exists (except the final year) would be possible after completing a bridge course, which would train student in employment skills.Also, students should be allowed to choose the semesters – six in all – they want to join. If one joins the course in semester 1, the student would be allowed to exit only after completing semester 2.The one entering the course in semester 3 would be allowed to leave only after completing semester 4.This would hold true for semesters 5 and 6 too.However, many, especially teachers, have raised concerns about the recommendations.Dr Madhu Parajape, general secretary of Bombay University and College Teachers Union (BUCTU), said: “The government has failed to show any commitment toward financial aspects of these reforms in terms of fees and grants given to aided colleges. Instead, by allowing a student to leave the course in between, the government will encourage dropping out of higher education. There is already a shortage of manpower due to the government’s failure in filling up vacant posts of teachers.”BUCTU had last month taken part in the three-day protest by All India Teachers Federation against NEP, outside the UGC office in Delhi.Many teachers also pointed out the absence of academic councils and boards of studies in most universities, which are responsible to prepare a new curriculum for the reforms.While such bodies are being set up in many state universities, MU still awaits the election process to start.The universities, however, are confident of implementing the recommendations.Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Shivaji University in Kolhapur, D T Shirke, who is currently holding the additional charge of MU V-C, said: “There is adequate time to introduce the changes. The national curriculam framework too is ready for reference.”Dr R S Mali, former Vice Chancellor of Kaviyatri Bahinabai North Maharashtra University in Jalgaon, said, “The universities are prepared. All have been aware of the impending changes and with a prescribed roadmap, implementing the reforms should not be an issue.”
MUMBAI: The state issued a government resolution (GR) on Monday making four-year undergraduate programmes in colleges mandatory from the next academic session. It set in motion implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) across the state. While the GR lays down the guidelines, colleges are sceptical about the practical difficulties they are likely to face with the sudden change in the duration of all undergraduate programmes. From concerns over lack of infrastructure to manpower and lack of internship opportunities to funding, colleges claim the implementation will not be an easy ride. The GR stated the guidelines must be implemented across courses from 2023-24. While opting for the four-year degree will be optional for students, as they can exit even after completing three-years' bachelor, colleges have to mandatorily offer it, said a government official. "Initially, there will be resistance, but eventually things will ease out. If colleges are given an option, they may not want to offer a single four-year course," he added. A former vice-chancellor, though, said the sudden change in the duration of all programmes is not feasible. "The government could have made the implementation mandatory in colleges offering postgraduate courses. Such colleges could have offered the programme without any strain on their current resources," he said. The principal of a suburban college said, "Unlike other states, some of the colleges here offer several courses. The total strength of undergraduate students in some colleges exceeds 5,000 across three years. Even if 50% of the students enrolled with us in the first year wish to pursue till the fourth year, we will need additional infrastructure for at least 1,000 students." He added that this can only be partly circumvented by sending these students off for internships or projects. The workload of teachers is likely to increase, pointed out a teacher from a south Mumbai college. "There is no clarity but hopefully we will have some examples from Karnataka, as students there will graduate in the four-year programmes before us," she said. "Many of our departments do not even have permanent teachers and this is an additional burden," he said. Several colleges have started holding meetings with their management to chalk out their plans. The principal of an autonomous college said that they plan to offer the four-year option only in two to three courses initially and then extend it to other courses. The NEP also recommends delinking junior colleges from degree colleges. Most colleges in the city, though, do not have attached schools. "The college building is already occupied in two to three shifts. The government is silent on the delinking part. For standalone colleges with no attached schools, delinking will be a challenge with no additional infrastructure," said another principal.
PUNE: The newly appointed state director of higher and technical education, Shailendra Deolankar has said that the New Education Policy's implementation in Maharashtra would begin from June 2023 with the four-year undergraduate degree courses. Government institutions will have to prepare an institute development policy (IDP). He also said that an audit of all senior colleges in the state would be conducted that would help parents and students decide about which institute to choose. This audit will be conducted every three years. Deolankar, during an interaction with the media persons, said that such an audit was imperative and the process would soon begin. "The Public Universities Act has provision for the audit of colleges every three years which is mainly academic as well as administrative. It is the right of parents and students to get detailed information about colleges and so far, this audit has been ignored," he added. Deolankar also said that colleges will be encouraged to undergo National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) reviews. "We shall start implementing the provisions of NEP from June, next year. As per the instructions of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the four-year degree programme will be the first step for the implementation. Besides, preparing IDP of government institutions and creating a cluster of colleges for inter-disciplinary studies will also be needed." The interdisciplinary studies model will be implemented on a pilot basis at colleges in Aurangabad and Nagpur. Deolankar said, "Many colleges that are government-aided have not received the NAAC grading even once until now. We are trying to encourage more and more colleges in Maharashtra to enter the accreditation cycle. We are also explaining its procedure for their benefit. The process will have to be completed in a stipulated period of time so that maximum institutions are rated."
PUNE: A group of resource teachers in Maharashtra who educate students with special needs has not been paid since March. An order about releasing the honorarium for some 170 such teachers was issued by Maharashtra Primary Education Council on November 17. However, the teachers said that they have still not received the money. Pune zilla parishad officials said that they have not received the money from the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad while the council officials said that they have disbursed the payment to all resource teachers till November. A resource teacher from Indapur taluka was given schools under Junnar taluka to mentor. He is the sole earning member and has had to take care of his living expenses in Junnar along with his family in Indapur without getting paid for nine months. "The situation is very bad. But we can't stop our work because students will suffer. Hence, we have been working without any pay for the last nine months since March," the teacher, who has some 75 schools under him, said. Another resource teacher, who lives and teaches in Bhor taluka, said that they were recruited under a scheme of inclusive education for disabled children but last November a batch of 166 people were included in Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan under the council and later on four more people were added taking the total to 170. "We get 25,000 as an honorarium per month and we have yet to get any money. We go to schools, train teachers in inclusive education, coach students, and go to houses of pupils who cannot go to school without parental help. All the expenses are coming out of our pockets. Some teachers are extremely poor. I have nearly 100 schools under me of which 35 schools have children with special needs. I am associated with 72 children with special needs," he said. While there has been an order stating the release of money for the resource teachers, it is yet to reach the zilla parishads who will then disburse it to the teachers. Ayush Prasad, CEO of Pune zilla parishad, said they had not received the money. "After your (TOI) query, we checked our MPSP account which shows near zero balance," he said. The order further says that except for those who went to the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court and have got approved an honorarium of Rs 75,000, the remaining are due to get Rs 25,000 per month. Kailas Pagare, state project director of Samagra Shiksha, said, "We have paid salaries of all resource teachers till November. We have already transferred the money to the ZPs. If the ZP has not demanded the money, there is a chance that they may not have received it or if they were appointed by ZP and not the MPSP, then they may not have received the honorarium. Also if the teachers never did any work, they will not be paid any honorarium. However, everyone who has worked and for whom the demand was made by respective ZPs has been paid."
