Seeking newer pastures to encourage the popularisation of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA), the University Grants Commission (UGC) has now told Vice-Chancellors to ‘encourage’ more students to appear for the exam on ‘cow science’. The ‘exam’ will be held on February 25, and as it is not mandatory, perhaps the registration so far needs some official help to increase.

The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, is under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. This is their first major ‘public exam’ and is titled: Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar Examination.It has five categories for students : primary (up to class 8), secondary (from Class 9 to 12), college and university students, the general public and Non Resident Indians can also take the exam and everyone will earn a  certificate.

According to news reports, Aayog chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiria wrote to the Minister of State for Education, Sanjay Dhotra, seeking support in scoring “wide publicity” to the proposed exam. The January 18, 2021 letter states that the minister issued instructions to all educational bodies and boards to make sure the exam got publicity and eventually became a great success. It stated, “I request you to advise the Secretary (Higher Education)/Secretary (SEL) and the concerned officials of UGC, AICTE, Central Universities, IIT, IIM, NITs, CBSE, Kendriya Vidyalayas, NIOH, IGNOU, and other Central Governmental educational institutes to issue necessary instructions for help in the online Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar Examination and give wide publicity to make the examination a great success.” 

On February 12, UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain wrote to all VCs to ensure “wide publicity to this initiative”, and to ‘encourage’ students to register for the examination. It, of course, does not specify what this “encouragement” must be, but has been marked to “all vice-chancellors of all universities”. 

According to the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog’s official website, it was set up “vide Resolution dated 21st February, 2019” to organise animal husbandry on “modern and scientific lines and to take steps for preserving and improving breeds, and to stop the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” It is a “high powered permanent apex advisory body with mandate to help the Central Government to develop appropriate programmes for conservation, sustainable development and genetic upgradation of Indigenous breeds of cows. The Aayog will review existing laws, policies as well as suggest measures for optimum economic utilisation of cow wealth”

The “Gau-Vigyan Exam will be an on-line exam to be conducted throughout the country on the same day” and “there is no registration fees.” It also mentions that the results of the hour long will be announced on February 26 on the RKA’s website and “successful and meritorious will be given cash prize / certificate in a ceremony.” The exam is in multiple Indian languages including Sanskrit. The registrations started on January 5 and will end on February 20, there will be a ‘mock exam’ on February 21, and the real exam will be held on February 25.

Related:

Hate speech quadrupled, cattle vigilantism doubled in Karnataka in 2020!
SC directs Centre to consider withdrawal of Cattle Protection Rules
UP: Hand over cowshed project fund or we will release 15,000 cows!

The post Why does UGC want herds of students to take ‘cow science’ exams? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Amit Bandre

While there is no denying that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has failed to discharge its obligations towards higher education, the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill is far from being the answer. The Bill, if implemented, will vest more powers in the Union Government, rob institutions of their autonomy and skew higher education in favour of the market place.

Read more about the implications of the HECI Bill here.

Even though HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, tweeted that that the MHRD will be receiving suggestions to the draft till 7 July, the possibility of the Bill being tabled at the moment means that it has been, yet again, pushed through without participation in detailed deliberation with educationists, teachers, students, and academic staff.

Given the circumstances, we must request our legislators – especially members of the Opposition – to urgently engage with the MHRD on the matter, raise our concerns in the Parliament and demand that the Bill be immediately sent to the Standing Committee for wider consultation.
betteruniversities.in has drafted a letter addressed to the MPs along with consolidating a list of email addresses of various opposition members of the Parliament. The letter has already been translated into seven languages and an attempt to translate it in various other languages is also in progress.

We hereby urge everyone to write to their own state representatives and request a blocking of the HECI Bill. Click here to see how you can participate in the email engagement process.

Reject the HECI Bill.
Act quickly and share widely.

First Published on Indian Cultural Forum
 

The post Appeal to Participate in the Email Drive Against the HECI Bill, 2018 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
90 days down, the build up to an All India University Strike

It has been close to three months since the‪ #Occupy UGC movement started as a spontaneous response of students to UGC's utterly rash decision of discontinuation of the non-NET fellowship scheme.

Due to the sustained protests, the government was compelled to review the decision, pass it on to the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) which has further passed the matter on to a Review Committee. There is still no clear communication from the Government about the proceedings or decisions of the MHRD, the UGC or the Review committee on the status of the non-NET fellowships.

Over two months ago, on November 5, 2015 the HRD Minister, Smriti Irani had given certain reassurances to the protesting students. There has been no clear-cut reassurance however, from the MHRD, backed by any written order (government resolution) indicating clearly that the fellowship(s) would be either enhanced or expanded. When she met the protesting students, Irani had also assured them of fair representation before the Review Committee; far from representation, for over a month after the first protest, students were not even given an appointment with the Ministry. On January 13, 2016 when irate students finally blocked the road in front of the MHRD, they were given an audience with officials in the MHRD, but not with the Minister.

The workings of the Review Committee meant to look into the usefulness of the fellowship are also suspect. Students were first put in touch with the head of the Review committee who informed them of the Committee’s meeting slated for January 16, 2016. Since then however students have been informed that no further date for any meeting has been fixed. This has been the reason, among others of the decision of the protesting students to intensify the protest. The #Occupy UGC group of protesting students has called the attitude of the government towards students' issues ‘irresponsible’ and further criticized the government for lack of accountability in the functioning of the UGC and the MHRD.

The indefinite delay on part of the government in resolving the issue — discontinuation of the non-NET fellowship scheme that benefits students with lack of opportunity and access—is completely unjustified and intolerable. There is a sense of restlessness and impatience at the absence of any written commitment, Order or GR from the MHRD.

Hence the next one month will see spiraling protests:
1)   A nationwide signature campaign will be started on the January 18, 2016 reiterating the demands for an increase in the budgetary allocation to the non-NET fellowship and an expansion of the non-NET scheme to state universities without any exclusionary criteria, for all research scholars. Also, the signature campaign will raise the demand that the overall budgetary allocation for education be increased to 10 per cent in the upcoming budget session, as fund-cuts in education under World Bank and WTO diktats are undermining the education system in the country.

2)   The signature campaign will conclude by the February 15, 2016 and students from all Universities have been urged to send signatures sheets to the JNU Students' Union office till February 17, 2016. The signatures will be submitted to the MHRD, the President of India and the Prime Minister of India. The signature campaign will also run online, to ensure maximum participation.

3)   The #Occupy UGC Campaign has also called for an All-India University Strike on the February 18, 2016 in all Central and State universities, demanding adequate funds for research fellowships. On the day of the strike, the signatures collected thus far will be submitted to the MHRD.

References:
1. To Study or to Not be Able to Study
2.  Where is the news? Peaceful students protest faces police brutality in Delhi
3. Why higher education in India must not bow to the market

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