No smoking, ban on mobile phones, no talking to the press, ragging prohibited… all this and more will be part of a code of conduct for students as well as teachers in Chhattisgarh university and colleges. A decision to ensure its strict implementation was taken in a meeting of vice-chancellors with governor Lt Gen K M Sheth (retd) held here on 19.07.05. The code also prohibits students and teachers from approaching newspapers or political parties with their problems. Ragging of any kind would invite rustication, jail for five years and fine of Rs 5,000, the document circulated among students and teachers said. Sheth, who left for the US on 19.07.05, is reported to have directed the V-Cs to enforce strictly the code of conduct to improve the academic atmosphere in colleges. Besides a blanket ban on mobile phones, smoking and consuming liquor has been put in the bad behaviour category. Students have been told not to use bad language, use peaceful means of protest and desist from any sort of violence. They must not carry arms, deface college property or abuse facilities. They are expected to be courteous to their teachers. Students have also been advised to dress decently and take part in extra curricular activities. According to the document, teachers will have to stay in the college for at least seven hours daily on working days. There would be 205 teaching days in every academic year and teachers would have to submit their teaching plans to the principals on the first day of every month. These teaching plans should also be made available to the students. Teachers are expected to dress appropriately, discourage untouchability and not discriminate among students on caste and communal considerations. They are expected to maintain political neutrality and not encourage criminal activities.

News of Chhattisgarh

The Delhi high court has cancelled the candidature of 33 students who secured similar marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics in the latest Common Entrance Examination for admission to Delhi College of Engineering and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology. Their admission has, however, been kept in abeyance. Which means if CBI exonerates them in their final report, the university can consider them for the subsequent years ? Justice Vikramjit Sen based the order on the findings of CBIs preliminary inquiry report. The agency given the charge to probe into the alleged malpractice by Delhi University (DU), submitted a sealed report before the court on Monday. Its Joint Director was summoned to the court for a chamber hearing by the judge. The judge said if the CBI indicates the involvement of more candidates, DU can cancel their candidature. The CBI denied leakage of the entrance test paper. According to the agency, some candidates have confessed to their complexity in cheating. The unfair means which has been used pertains to the communication of the answer keys through the use of cellular phones. This explains why identical marks were obtained by these candidates who would have received the same answer keys from the other conspirators, observed Justice Sen. The judge declined to entertain the plea of those who did not feature in the merit list of 1,010 candidates to hold fresh examination, on the ground that DU would consider the next 33 students strictly in accordance with the merit list. The cancellation of the 33 students will automatically result in the consideration of the next students, he said. According to him, holding fresh examinations would harm the interest of those students who had the merit to make it to the list of top 1010 candidates. Justice Sen even denied giving a hearing to the 33 students who allegedly indulged in malpractice during the examination. So far as those students are concerned, they cannot possibly contend that they should be given an opportunity of being heard or that they have the legitimate expectation consequent upon their appearing in the examinations. Even at this preliminary stage, the case against them is not based on conjectures and surmises, held Justice Sen.

News of DU

Francis Fanthome,chairperson of the counsil of Indian School Certificate Examination ,has been asked to go on long leave after a probe began into allegation that he was misusing his position.Fanthom has been accused of misusing his title of counsil chairman by writing and editing over 60 books. Some of these books are taught in ICSE schools across the country .There are allegations that he gave out of turn approvals to two prominent Mumbai and Lucknow Schools .On 16th of July an executive committee meeting of ICSE decided that Fanthome should proceed on leave .The committee had earlier ratified a decision of a probe into his functioning .A retired judge is conducting the probe. As phanthome is the executive head of ICSE ,the committee decided that his presence could hamper the probes proceedings. To facilitate the probe,Fanthome was asked to proceed on long leave. Senior committee member Rita Wilson has been asked to take as chairperson for the time being .The probe report will be ready by August.

News of ICSE

Non-controversial economist B B Bhattacharya, currently director of Institute of Economic Growth, is most likely to become the 10th vice-chancellor (V-C) of Left bastion Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).Highly placed sources in the government said a formal announcement in this regard would be made soon. Bhattacharyas name was finalised at a meeting between HRD minister Arjun Singh and President A P J Abdul Kalam recently. What is surprising is the manner in which he has pipped heavyweights like former DUs V-C Deepak Nayyar, physicist from Texas University Sudesh Mahajan, two JNU professors Rajendra Prasad of School of Life Sciences and Dipankar Gupta of School of Social Sciences to the prestigious post.At one point, Mahajan was thought to be ahead of others in the race but objections were raised about his long absence from India. After doing his M Sc in physics, Mahajan has been in the US for nearly four decades. Sources in the Left parties said the red brigade had not suggested any particular name for the top job. A doctorate in economics from Delhi School of Economics, Bhattacharya did his MA from Allahabad University in 1966. He has worked in the field of macroeconomics, money and finance, public finance, international economics, development economics, among others.

News of Jawaharlal Nehru University

The last fortnight may not have seen a deluge of local applicants at DUs faculty of music and fine arts but there has been no dearth of foreign students wishing to enroll for the BA programme.Said Krishna Bisht, dean of the faculty: Theres been a steady rise in the number of international students opting for the undergraduate and certificate programmes especially from the Asian sub-continent. According to Bisht, the faculty admits 7-10 students from Asian and European countries every year. mm Most students are interested in instrumental music and take to instruments like. the sitar like proverbial duck to water.Last year, our first-year topper was a Japanese student, specialising in the sitar. Suneera Kasliwal, senior faculty member, chipped in: Language poses a problem for foreign students wanting to pursue vocal music. In fact, majority of the international students are from Japan, China, Korea and Thailand.While we do have students from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mauritius, students from the south-east Asian countries do especially well, added Kasliwal.She attributes this to the affinity between folk music of these countries and Indian music.European students, on the other hand, find it difficult as their music differs a lot from ours, informed Kasliwal.We are also trying to bring our students back to music. Last year, 200 applications were received while this year the number has already crossed, though a week is still left to go for the application deadline, said Bisht.To make the subject commercially viable, we will be introducing a postgraduate programme in thematic composition this year, said Bisht.The course would train students in composing music for advertisements as well as film tracks. This is besides the regular workshops the faculty conducts with experts like Amjad Ali Khan and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.We hope all this will get more Indian students to take interest in music, added Bisht.

News of DU

The death toll from a flash flood which hit a Chinese primary school last week has risen children trapped in their classrooms when the waters surged. Local officials in the town of Shalan, in Heilongjiang province, are being investigated for negligence, the official Xinhua news agency said. More than 350 children between six and 14 years old were enrolled at the school, though it was not clear how many were attending when the waters hit. The flooding was caused by very sudden and heavy rain, which a local water resources official said happened only once every 200 years. But there have also been complaints that the village of Shalan and the school were built in a low-lying area prone to flooding, known as the Shalan ditch.

news of China School

Institute of Distance Education .As per orders given by Honble Chancellor/His Excellency Governor of UP through his Principal Secretarys letter no E-3575/GS Dt. 03rd June, 2005 and subsequent decision taken by the Executive Council of the University in its emergency meeting held on 09.06.2005 Ch.Charan Singh University has closed down its Distance Education Programme with immediate effect.In compliance to the above mentioned orders CCS University, Meerut (UP) has cancelled authorization of all the study centres of Distance Education (within UP and outside) with immediate effect. The letter to this effect has already been sent to all the study centres on 10th June, 2005.The university will not be responsible for any payment and/or agreement made to any institution or individual. All the students registered under distance education are hereby informed to take back their fee from their respective study centres-Registrar

Distance Education Programme