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<ul><li>The online submission of applications will be allowed till 11.50 pm on 21 September. </li><li>The correction of particulars of online form can be done between 23 and 25 September. </li><li>JNU will publish the first merit list for admission on October 29. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider. </a> </li></ul>The Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday said the deadline to submit the application for MBA, MPhil, and PhD programme under Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) category <a href="https://jnu.ac.in/sites/default/files/admission/DoA_Press%20Release_Sept01-2020.pdf">is September 21. </a> "JNU announces the application registration for admissions to the following programs for the Academic Year 2020-21: MBA, MPhil &amp; PhD under JRF Category and the Diploma of Proficiency. The deadline for application submission is September 21, 2020," <a href="https://jnu.ac.in/sites/default/files/admission/DoA_Press%20Release_Sept01-2020.pdf">read a press release from JNU.</a> The online submission of applications will be allowed till 11.50 pm on 21 September whereas the correction of particulars of online form can be done between 23 and 25 September. For MBA, the university will release the list of candidates selected for the next step on October 9 and the group discussion and personal interviews will be held from October 12 to October 22. JNU will publish the first merit list for admission on October 29. Apart from this, JNU<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/education/jnu-extends-date-of-registration-for-monsoon-semester-till-september-4"> also extended the date of registration</a> for the monsoon semester till September 4. JNU will remain closed throughout September, as per the Unlock 4.0 guidelines by the Ministry of Home Affairs. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-wants-to-increase-data-prices-to-100-per-gb-sunil-mittal-asks-subscribers-to-prepare-to-pay-a-lot-more/articleshow/77734318.cms">Airtel wants to increase data prices to ₹100 per GB, founder Sunil Mittal asks subscribers to ‘prepare to pay a lot more’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-china-talks-brigade-commanders-sit-down-to-discuss-pangong-tso-incident-again-today/articleshow/77884173.cms">Day three of India-China talks — Brigade Commanders sit down to discuss Pangong Tso incident again today</a>

JNU to accept admissions for MBA, MPhil, PhD under Junior Research Fellowship category till September 21

<ul><li>Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) secured the top rank in the list of <keyword id="9792819" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="top-central-universities">top central universities</keyword> by the Ministry of Education on August 13. </li><li>The Rajiv Gandhi University of Arunachal Pradesh ranked second in the list. Jawaharlal Nehru University was ranked third. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check the latest news and updates on Business Insider. </a> </li></ul>The Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), which was at the heart of the anti-CAA protests in New Delhi in February, secured the top rank in the list of top central universities by the Ministry of Education on August 13, r<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/jamia-millia-islamia-tops-central-universities-in-government-rankings/articleshow/77515366.cms">eported Times of India. </a>The varsity secured a 90% score. It is the first time that the JMI has been placed among the top 10 universities in the NIRF rankings, the institute said. It has been given the 10th rank in the country in the "Universities" category. Last year, it was ranked 12th. Rajiv Gandhi University, the only central university of Arunachal Pradesh, ranked second in the list. It was followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University (<keyword id="6356383" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="JNU">JNU</keyword>) — which witnessed protests over a fee hike — according to the NIRF rankings. <keyword id="9792818" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="top-central-universities-in-India">Top central universities in India</keyword>, according to the Ministry of Education <ol><li>Jamia Millia Islamia </li><li>Rajiv Gandhi University of Arunachal Pradesh </li><li>Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi </li><li>Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) </li></ol>“All the universities were required to sign a tripartite MoU with MHRD (ministry of education) and UGC for continuous evaluation. Jamia was the first university in 2017 to sign this MoU and present itself for performance evaluation,” JMI in a statement said. Meanwhile, the Delhi University (DU) marginally improved its ranking among the universities and in the "Overall" category. However, it is behind the JMI in both categories. DU rose to the 11th position this year from 13th position last year in the university rankings. Five DU colleges were among the top 10 colleges in the rankings with Miranda House bagging the top honours for the fourth consecutive time, followed by Lady Shri Ram and Hindu College. A total of 3,771 unique institutions had offered themselves for the "Overall", category-specific or domain-specific rankings for the India Rankings 2020. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/not-only-gmail-google-drive-meet-slides-docs-sites-groups-chat-keep-voice-services-also-facing-issue-as-per-google/articleshow/77652103.cms">Google confirms Drive, Docs, Meet and others report issues along with Gmail being down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/more-than-half-the-companies-in-india-have-faced-at-least-one-data-breach-since-going-remote/articleshow/77653222.cms">More than half the companies in India have faced at least one data breach since going remote</a>

These are the top central universities in India

National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) entrance test schedule for the next session in 2020. According to the varsity’s official website, the online registration will begin from 2 March 2020. Interested applicants can visit the official website ntajnu.nic.in. The exam will be held from 11 May 2020 to 14 May 2020. And the admit cards for the same will be rolled out on 21 April 2020. The tentative date for the declaration of result is 31 May 2020. The test will include multiple choice questions (MCQs) of 100 marks. The duration of the online examination is 90 minutes. Here’s how to apply: <ul><li>Visit the official website ntajnu.nic.in. </li><li>On the next window, fill the application form for <keyword id="8014389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="jnuet-2020">JNUET 2020</keyword>. </li><li>Register with your credentials. </li><li>Upload documents and photograph </li><li>Pay registration fee and submit the form. </li></ul>The JNU entrance examination is conducted in two parts — JNU Entrance Exam, Combined Entrance Exam for Biotechnology. Last year, the examination was conducted from 27 May to 30 May. And over 116,558 students registered for admission against 3,383 seats.

JNUET 2020: NTA release entrance test schedule for 2020, check @ntajnu.nic.in

<ul><li>A long list of academicians including professors from Delhi University, JNU, Central University of Kerala, California University among others have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporting the conduct of JEE-NEET exams in the hope that students will not lose a year.</li><li>They say that they "wholeheartedly welcome" the government's move</li></ul>In what can definitely be termed as a shot in the arm for the government facing Opposition flak, a long list of academicians including professors from Delhi University, JNU, Central University of Kerala, California University among others have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporting the conduct of JEE-NEET exams in the hope that students will not lose a year. The initiative is coordinated by a group of concerned academicians. "We the members of academic fraternity fully support the government decision to conduct <keyword id="6392660" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="JEE">JEE</keyword> and <keyword id="6361994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="NEET">NEET</keyword> exams," they wrote. Hitting out at the naysayers, they wrote: "The dreams and future of our youth and students cannot be compromised at any cost. However, some are trying to play with the future of our students simply to propel their own political agenda and oppose the government. "We hope and strongly believe that under your able leadership, the central government will successfully conduct the JEE and NEET exams taking full precautions to ensure that the future of students is taken care of and the academic calendar for 2020-21 is rolled out." They say that they "wholeheartedly welcome" the government's move, while citing the Supreme Court dismissing a petition for postponement of these exams saying that any further delay in conducting the tests would result in waste of precious year for students. They wrote that "Youth and students are the future of the nation but in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, clouds of uncertainty have gathered over their careers too". There are a lot of apprehensions about admissions and classes which, they say, need to be resolved at the earliest. Prof. C.B. Sharma of IGNOU, Prof. Prakash Singh of the Delhi University, Prof. Sanjeev Sharma, the VC of MGCUB in Bihar's Motihari, Prof. Jayaprasad, the Pro-VC of Central University of Kerala, Prof. Ainul Hasan of the JNU are among some of the academicians who wrote the letter to PM Modi. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-neet-jee-2020-controversy/articleshow/77733682.cms">NEET-JEE 2020: Mamata Banerjee, Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders may approach the Supreme Court to challenge Centre’s decision</a>

JEE-NEET exams: Over 100 academicians from DU, JNU, and Central University Kerala write to PM Modi in support

<ul><li>The Human Resource and Development Ministry (MHRD) is likely to give a nod to a proposal of having a <keyword id="58192" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Common-Admission-Test">Common Admission Test</keyword> from the next academic session. </li><li>The test will be conducted for over 300 undergraduate, postgraduate courses and Ph.D. programmes. </li><li>The test, which will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) will rope in 15 central universities across Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka among others. </li><li>As of now, 10 central universities accept the scores of CUCET examination.</li></ul>The Human Resource and Development Ministry (MHRD) is<a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/education/article/nta-to-conduct-common-admission-test-for-15-central-universities-from-next-academic-year/504735"> likely to nod</a> to a proposal to have one Common Admission Test from the next academic session. The test is likely to take place in May next year. The test, which will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) plans to rope in 15 central universities across Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka among others. The test will be conducted for over 300 undergraduate, postgraduate courses and Ph.D. programmes. Earlier, the Central University Common Entrance Test (CUCET) was conducted by the University of Rajasthan every year. And 10 central universities accepted the scores of CUCET examination. It is a national level examination for admission to B.Tech, B.Sc, Integrated B.Sc, M.Sc, M.A courses. “NTA has the capacity and capability as the final aim is to make it a premium testing agency. It has already delivered glitch free, transparent and secure testing for a number of critical entrance exams such <keyword id="178605" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Joint-Entrance-Examination">Joint Entrance Examination</keyword> (JEE Main), National Eligibility cum Eligibility Test (NEET), <keyword id="147395" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Eligibility-Test">National Eligibility Test</keyword> (NET) by UGC, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) entrance tests,” an official from MHRD <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/now-common-entrance-test-for-15-central-universities/articleshow/71623044.cms">told</a> The Times of India. NTA is planning to get more centrally-funded universities into its ambit for the Common Admission Test. To address the loopholes in the education process, the government is also planning to introduce a common entrance examination for undergraduate admissions instead of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-draft-national-education-policy-one-common-admission-entrance-test/articleshow/69825504.cms">different exams for each university</a>. This is if a proposal by the draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019, goes through. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-draft-national-education-policy-one-common-admission-entrance-test/articleshow/69825504.cms">India may have one common exam for all college admissions-- if the draft National Education Policy is passed</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-bill-to-do-away-with-ugc-and-aicte-will-be-tabled-in-the-parliament-in-october/articleshow/71305689.cms">A Bill to do away with UGC and AICTE will be tabled in the Parliament in October</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/union-budget-2019-for-education-study-in-india-program-announced-by-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/70083474.cms">Study in India program to turn the country into an education hub for foreign students</a>

Government’s Common Admission Test to rope in 15 central universities from next year

<keyword id="6373840" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="UPSC">UPSC</keyword> exam is undoubtedly one of the toughest exam to crack, and even candidates with no worried in the world but of studies find it hard to pass the exam in one go. However, this year, 28-year-old <keyword id="4606817" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ummul-kher">Ummul Kher</keyword> has managed to clear the exam in one shot, bravely crossing all the possible hurdles that she could have faced in her journey.Born with fragile bone disorder, Ummul was just five when her family moved to Delhi from Marwar, Rajasthan, where she lived with her parents in a slum near Nizamuddin. Her father, a street vendor, sold clothes in nearby areas, and Ummul’s formative years were spent in struggle. Being physically unfit, she studied in Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for The Physically Handicapped till Class V. The family had to shift to Trilokpuri in 2001, after their shanties were demolished by the Delhi Development Authority. Once there, to make ends meet and for her financially deprived family, the bright Ummul started giving tuitions to slum children. She was just 11 then.Her inclination towards academics was not well supported by her parents who did not believe in educating girls beyond Class VIII. After failing to convince them for letting her study further, she took the bold decision and moved out of her house. In her quest for knowledge, she was supported by a trust that funded her education, because of which she got admission in Gargi College, Delhi. However, her struggling days were far from over. In 2012, she met with an accident that left her with 16 fractures and bound to a wheelchair for around a year, requiring eight surgeries.Undeterred, she cracked the Junior Research Fellowship for her Masters in International Studies in <keyword id="58265" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jawaharlal-Nehru-University">Jawaharlal Nehru University</keyword>, after which she was paid Rs 25,000 per month. After clearing JRF-NET, she started her M Phil from <keyword id="6356383" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="JNU">JNU</keyword>, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D from there. Having a strong will to make a name for herself, Ummur secured 420th rank in the UPSC exam, and is now determined that she would become an IAS officer and serve the people of her country. (Image source IndiaTimes)

From a slum dweller to an aspiring IAS, here’s the inspiring story of Ummul Kher

There has not been much of a breakthrough in JNU research scholar's case, who was found dead on Monday. The Delhi Police have so far only revealed that it appears to be a suicide case, and they have no indication of any foul play in this incident. 
 
The reason for taking this extreme step, however, is yet to be known as a suicide note was not found. However, cops said the boy was depressed over personal issues for some time. 
 27-year-old J. <keyword id="4295877" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Muthukrishnan">Muthukrishnan</keyword> ended his life at his friend's room in the University campus. His body was found hanging after two friends broke open the door at 5 pm. He had gone to the friend’s house in the afternoon to have food. He said he wanted to sleep and went to a room and locked himself inside. Later, on getting no response, his friends called the police. 
 “A call was received at 5:05pm on Monday that a person had locked himself in a room at a house in Munirka,” a senior police official said. When cops reached to the spot found <keyword id="23678" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Krish">Krish</keyword> (as Muthukrishnan was called by friends) hanging from the ceiling fan. 
 The case is being seen as the second <keyword id="1725862" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rohith">Rohith</keyword> Vermula death incident. Muthukrishnan too belonged to the Scheduled Caste and was an active member of the justice for <keyword id="3210782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rohith-Vemula">Rohith Vemula</keyword> movement. He was pursuing MPhil in JNU and was a native of Salem in Tamil Nadu. Muthukrishnan was an active student in all Dalit movements. In his blog titled "a universal mother without a nation", he elaborated how he met Rohith six times before he took the extreme step on January 17, 2016. "All the intellectuals from the marginalised communities will get arrested just for mocking fictional characters. At the same time, all the leading national institutes will be headed by people who cannot even clear the 10th standard exam. These people claim dissenters as anti-nationals and seditious. They are going to kill many Rohiths, like us, just for eating beef, for being rational, for being intellectually productive for the country. But we are the real sons of this land and after we are all killed, there will be no nation," he said. 
 
Meanwhile, student leaders of various students’ political wing have started blaming each other over the issue. 
 Reacting on the issue, <keyword id="3054758" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shehla-Rashid">Shehla Rashid</keyword>, former Vice president, JNU students’ union tweeted “JNU VC recently moved court against protesting students &amp; the HC banned protests at Admin block, to which Rajini refers in his last post L.” 
 On the other side, Saurabh Sharma, member ABVP and former joint secretary <keyword id="346405" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="JNUSU">JNUSU</keyword> tweeted “why were the anarchist-leftist gangs so prompt in reaching the site of suicide? Is it a care of criminal conspiracy? Was Rajini murdered?” 
 
The deceased scholar spoke about discrimination <a href="https://www.facebook.com/muthukrishanan.jeevanantham/posts/1945753248981124">in his alleged last Facebook post</a>. "When equality is denied everything is denied. There is no Equality in M.phil/phd Admission, there is no equality in viva - voce, there is only denial of equality, denying Prof. Sukhadeo thorat recommendation, denying students protest places in Ad - block, denying the education of the marginal." 
 
Cops are as of now going over his mobile and internet chat details to ascertain the cause of taking this extreme step.

Everything you must know about research scholar J. Muthukrishnan death case that has rocked JNU

<ul><li>The <keyword id="7914197" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshar-Forum-School-in-Guwahati">Akshar Forum School in Guwahati</keyword> is giving admission on a condition that the students will have to collect and submit 200 plastic waste items every month.</li><li>Guwahati in Assam produces nearly 3,700 kg of plastic garbage on a daily basis.</li><li>The school students recycle waste products to form ecological bricks.</li></ul> The Akshar Forum School in Guwahati is giving admission on a condition that the students will have to collect and submit <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bring-plastic-study-in-this-assam-school-for-free/articleshow/70387895.cms">200 plastic waste items every month</a>. "In order to stop the widespread burning of plastic in these villages, we decide to educate the community on the health hazards of burning plastic,” Parmita Sarma, founder of the school and a social worker at Tata Institute of Social Sciences told The Times of India. Guwahati in Assam produces nearly <a href="https://www.sentinelassam.com/top-headlines/plastic-ban-turns-into-a-farce-in-assam/">3,700 kg of plastic garbage</a> on a daily basis. And this certainly calls for the need to aware people on the impacts of using plastic. Established in 2016 by a couple — Mazin Mukhtar and Parmita Sarma — the school aims to recycle the waste plastic products and use it to develop their building. In fact, the school has its own recycling unit and students process the waste items to produce environment-friendly ecological bricks. Akshar Forum School has nearly 110 students, all from the nearby slums. The government too intends to spread awareness against plastic from schools. “Banning bottles, wrappers, packaging, bags, cups, plates, tumblers made of plastic or polystyrene on school premises and in school canteen, and encouraging the use of alternative biodegradable products will help sensitize students about the ills of using plastic,” noted a Central Board of Secondary Education <a href="https://www.sentinelassam.com/top-headlines/plastic-ban-turns-into-a-farce-in-assam/">(CBSE) circular</a> from 2018. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/amazon-alexa-is-being-used-in-maharashtra-schools-for-teaching-assistance/articleshow/70156968.cms">Good Morning Alexa: Students of Maharashtra village are taught by Amazon's virtual assistant</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/rajmal-meena-jnu-guard-help-from-neo-stencil-to-become-ias/articleshow/70275974.cms">Meet Rajmal Meena, a security guard from JNU who cleared university’s entrance examination, and is now aiming to become an IAS officer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ias-officers-helping-at-government-schools-as-part-time-teachers-in-india/articleshow/70161000.cms">This Indian state’s IAS officers have turned part-time government school teachers to improve the quality of education</a>

Plastic waste as school fees: A school in Assam adopts a novel idea

We are all familiar with the challenges for <keyword id="6375224" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="higher-education">higher education</keyword> in India. Not enough capacity – the danger that we will not be able to cope with sheer numbers and provide direly needed education to the majority of our young in the years to come, turning our so called <keyword id="576921" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="demographic-dividend">demographic dividend</keyword> into a disaster. Very poor quality – our existing institutions are in decline and the quality of new institutions are generally sub-par. Obsession with specialisation – in a society hankering for employment the emphasis on studying engineering, management, law, medicine, commerce, etc., is creating legions of trained manpower rather than problem-solvers and leaders. The government is making tremendous efforts to expand capacity by creating greenfield institutions, but there is only so much the government can do. It needs to be given a leg up by the private sector, but deplorably the regulatory <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword> remains constraining even for legitimate private players to set up institutions – most private institutions tend to be perceived as money-making rackets, with little or no concern for their students. In this context, much has been written and said about how to solve India’s higher education mess. Let me suggest three ideas that could radically change our country’s trajectory. While these ideas may seem far-fetched, I believe we, other than any country, have the opportunity to innovate in higher education and, in fact, have no choice but to do so. 
 
• Create education SEZs 
• Offer surplus land within existing public institutions to new public or private institutions 
• Rapidly expand Massive Open Online Courses) (MOOCs ) 
 
Creating SedZs Creating <keyword id="776571" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Special-education">Special education</keyword> Zones (SedZs) akin to the industrial Special economic Zones (SeZs) can transform access to and the quality of higher education in this country. every year hundreds of thousands of our bright young students have no choice but to go abroad for higher studies. They spend billions of dollars and thousands of crores to get this education. What is worse, a simple demand-supply analysis of higher education suggests that these numbers will continue to grow, and grow exponentially. We are, in effect, outsourcing higher education to the US, UK, Australia and <keyword id="22501" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="New-Zealand">New Zealand</keyword>. Recently, one of my employees sent her son to study dentistry in <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword> even though she could ill-afford it. The new craze is “twinning programmes” where you study in an Indian university for 2 years and then complete your graduation and get a degree in the foreign university. <keyword id="6356662" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Singapore">Singapore</keyword> and <keyword id="6354539" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Dubai">Dubai</keyword> are ostensibly building education hubs for Asia, but the reality is that it is Indian students hungry for a good education who are swarming new institutions in these locations. The tragedy is that home-grown public and private institutions are now setting up campuses in neighbouring and far-away foreign locations to escape overpowering local regulatory constraints. In effect, even though we can ill-afford to, as a country, we are outsourcing, and increasingly so, our higher education to the west. Given that both the supply of students and the demand for college graduates are right here in India, why not replicate the “overseas and higher-quality” experience in India by creating SedZs along the lines of the manufacturing SeZs. Interestingly, the concept of SeZs for education first seemed to have surfaced in 2004. In a then oped, the <keyword id="2776992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="erstwhile-commerce-Secretary">erstwhile commerce Secretary</keyword> <keyword id="2776991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="P-P-Prabhu">P.P. Prabhu</keyword> had made a case vigorously for SedZs saying, “The Special education Zone (SedZ) institution should be treated as though it is deemed to have been established in a foreign enclave, and, therefore, freed from all domestic controls and restrictions. An SedZ institution...should not be required to seek any approvals for its courses; it would need to be allowed to charge any fees, follow its own admission criteria and award its own degrees, and so on. However, if an SedZ institution wants recognition of its degrees and diplomas in our country, it would be required to meet the standards and conditions of affiliation and recognition.” 
 
Leveraging surplus land in existing institutions 
I have recently been part of an effort to build a new private university in India. With our poor infrastructure it is impossible to build a high-quality institution away from a large urban centre in India. Faculty are unwilling to teach and live in a place that does not offer employment opportunities for their spouses and an excellent school for their children. A case in point are the new IITs and IIMs, several of which, established in far-flung areas of the country on vast tracts of land in isolated settings, are struggling to attract faculty for the lack of adequate social infrastructure around their campuses. Clearly, for new institutions, urban or suburban locations make most sense. Urban and suburban locations make sense also because of the emerging trend of inner-city university campuses that are tightly integrated with their host cities. As <keyword id="2776994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kerstin-Hoeger">Kerstin Hoeger</keyword>, full <keyword id="2776990" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="professor-of-architecture">professor of architecture</keyword> and urban design at Norwegian university of Science and Technology points out, “worldwide, universities and their host cities are evolving into ‘knowledge cities’.” She and others in the field argue that the erstwhile ideal of a mono-functional and isolated greenfield campus removed from the city, providing academics and students the distance to reflect on humanity, is fast becoming obsolete in the context of modern knowledge societies, and is giving way instead to open campuses that share a close relationship with their host city. In fact, when seen today many of the top 50 universities of the world – for instance, <keyword id="54274" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="MIT">MIT</keyword>, LSE, <keyword id="53675" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="harvard">Harvard</keyword> and TU Berlin to name a few – are embedded in such ‘knowledge ecosystems’ enabling them to perform better. However, the model demands tracts of centrally located urban or semi-urban land that are increasingly hard to come by and come at exorbitant prices. For a new university to incur the high cost of land acquisition in its early stages is crippling – most new institutions end up investing large amounts in <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="real-estate">real estate</keyword> even before they get started, unless they get subsidized and free land from the Government. Even so, most urban centres do not have unutilised land that the Government can allot for higher education. By contrast several central universities and institutes have vast tracts of land within urban areas that are underutilised. As an example, the <keyword id="58265" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jawaharlal-Nehru-University">Jawaharlal Nehru University</keyword> (JNU) in Delhi has a 1000-acre campus that is largely unused. <keyword id="105777" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Osmania-University-in-Hyderabad">Osmania University in Hyderabad</keyword> has a 2000-acre campus. Why not allow new institutions to co-build and co-habit campuses for a fee and ensure more efficient utilisation of scarce and precious space. The “rentals” for the land will help supplement and improve the <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> of existing institutions and not needing to spend their initial capital on land acquisition will help the new institution, in addition to giving them an attractive location to launch from. At the very least, the government should expand capacity and diversify areas of study in its central and public universities and institutes of national importance situated in central urban locations and built on vast tracts of land. 
 
Rapidly scaling up Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) India has no option but to <keyword id="819920" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="embrace">embrace</keyword> online education in a big way. This is because MOOCs are capable of solving two of India’s most pressing constraints at once – access and quality. It is near impossible for the country to provide a high-quality university education to the millions of deserving students with the existing numbers and quality of faculty. Current faculty-student ratios will just not get us there. The only way to fundamentally shift that ratio is to have “massive” classes made possible by the new MOOCs. In online education, unlike in traditional education, a few high-quality professors can reach manifold students. Of course, people will get into a debate whether this has the potential to replace teachers but we have also seen developments like Kindle and music players which have redefined usage patterns. There is also the classic intellectual debate about whether online education will work in isolation, in the absence of a classroom full of students, peers and teachers, but new theories show that self-learning is a new model whose time has come. But more importantly, we need to ask ourselves if we can afford to engage in such debates. India seemingly has no choice! Unlike in the West, where online education only adds to what already exists (more like education for the educated), in India it has the potential to be the first port of call for millions of students who are currently left out of the higher education system, or are having to settle for lower quality alternatives. Even if this model is the second or third choice for developed countries, it is a luxury for India to spurn it out of hand. In fact, many young Indians are already taking to MOOCs in a big way. At roughly 10%, Indian students form the second-largest group on Coursera, the biggest US-based MOOC, which has 4.3 million enrolments from over 190 countries. On Udacity and EdX, the other top-3 MOOCs, Indians represent equally large proportions. Clearly, innumerable Indian students see great value in MOOCs since the demand for education, particularly high-quality education, is way higher than supply and availability. At the very least, online education provides another chance to students who cannot understand or clear a course in the first attempt, and acts as a great democratiser. Agreed that distance or online learning is not the newest idea on the block – it has been around for a while. There are 176 institutes in India that offer distance learning programmes and 26% students are enrolled in them. However, there is a need to deregulate and scale up the distance/online learning model to be much larger than what it currently is. If we are ever to achieve quality with access, there is also a need to mainstream this sort of learning. The ideal solution has to be a blend where online education plays an important role in mainstream education. 
 
(The <keyword id="842" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="author">author</keyword>, Pramath Raj Sinha, is <keyword id="1535570" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="founder-and-managing-director">founder and managing director</keyword> 9.9 Media. He has also served as the founding <keyword id="6548521" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="dean">dean</keyword> of the <keyword id="6357275" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-School-of-Business">Indian School of Business</keyword>. This article was contributed to Thinkers, a quarterly thought leadership magazine that features the brightest thinkers in the areas of economics and governance, philosophy and literature, science and technology, and management. To learn more about the magazine, please visit: <a href="http://www.thinkers.in/">www.thinkers.in</a> )

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