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Journalism of Courage
In many ways, 2022 was a significant year for the education sector. While the Russia-Ukraine war highlighted the plight of medical students trapped in the war zone country, the learning gap — due to the online classes — was exposed through a series by The Indian Express.
However, the year also saw revolutionary changes like the introduction of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions.
Let’s take a look at the major events that made it to the headlines this year
Indian students in Ukraine
As the war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Indian students studying for a medical degree abroad were distressed about their safety. Much later, the Indian embassy rescued the students from Ukraine and other neighboring countries where the students escape and brought them back to India.
However, the students, mostly those in the fourth, fifth and sixth year of their courses in Ukrainian medical universities, say they were left with little choice but to head back – given practical difficulties involved in taking a transfer to universities in other countries, and the need for hands-on training for final-year medical students. Most of the students have been returning to Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia, Ukrainian cities in the west, which, they say, are “comparatively safer” and away from war zones.
Meanwhile, some of the struggling students have decided to give up on their medical dreams and have decided to settle for para-medical courses in India.
Learning gap in elementary classes post Covid-19
The last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the entire world and children were not left untouched. Shifting to online learning was a major change and learning loss and gaps were a prominent outcome.
Over two months, The Indian Express tracked a mathematics class of 10-year-olds in a Delhi government school to find how a teacher is racing against time to plug their critical learning gaps in the wake of the pandemic. The story of a teacher Neha Sharma and the 38 children in her Class 5 A illustrates the unprecedented challenge playing out in countless classrooms across the country. Recently, when The Indian Express revisited the classrooms, a significant improvement in learning has been noticed.
Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate admissions
The first-ever mandatory common entrance test for admission to undergraduate programmes in all the 45 Central universities was introduced this year. Admission to undergraduate courses in these universities henceforth will solely be based on the CUET score, and Class 12 Board marks did not carry any weightage in the university admissions.
Illegal appointment of IIM Rohtak Director
After Indian Express first reported the alleged irregularities in the appointment of IIM Rohtak’s Director Dheeraj Sharma in September 2021, the central government sent a show cause notice to Sharma to explain why the Ministry of Education (MoE) should not initiate administrative and legal action against him for abusing his position, “concealing” his Bachelor’s degree; and bringing disrepute to an Institute of National Importance.
Highest number of NEET UG applicants in 2022
A total of 18.72 lakh candidates had registered for the NEET UG 2022 exam, which is the country’s biggest common entrance held by the National Testing Agency (NTA). NTA recorded the highest number of application ever this year and registered 95 per cent attendance.
The Government First Grade College in Uppinangady, Karnataka suspended 24 girl students after they wore the hijab in classrooms. Sources said the authorities issued an order to comply with the college uniform, but the girls insisted on wearing the hijab. The girls protested the suspension which created a hijab controversy throughout the country.
NCERT drops content on Gujarat riots from Class 12 textbook
The NCERT has dropped content on Gujarat riots from the Class 12 Political Science curriculum as part of a “textbook rationalisation” exercise in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Page 105 of the book on the history of the “Naxalite movement”, and pages 113-117 on “Controversies regarding Emergency” have also been dropped.
The NCERT, in its note, said the removals as part of the rationalisation include “overlapping with similar content included in other subject areas in the same class” and “content, which is irrelevant in the present context”.
Indian students’ unchartered way to reach China
After two pandemic-hit years, China opened its borders to Indian students pursuing higher education courses in its universities in October. After having no luck in making chartered plane arrangements to reach China yet, Indian students are now finding different routes on their own such as via Sri Lanka, Dubai, Hong Kong and Myanmar, among others.
Indian students abroad facing accommodation issues
While the number of students going abroad increased after two pandemic years, these students faced several challenges in finding accommodation facilities abroad. A report by the global student housing company, University Living, shows there has been a 60 per cent surge in accommodation requirements among students compared to last year.
US university’s MoU with UP govt revoked
On December 18, the Uttar Pradesh government announced in an official statement the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with “Austin University in San Francisco, USA, to build a Knowledge Smart City at the cost of USD 42 billion (about Rs 35,000 crore)”. Later, UP’s Additional Chief Secretary (Infrastructure and Development) Arvind Kumar clarified that the MoU was signed not with the university but “Austin Consulting Group”.
Indians make up largest cohort of foreign students in UK
Surpassing Chinese nationals, Indian students have now become the largest group of foreign students in the UK, according to the latest Immigration Statistics Report released recently. The data shows that there has been a 77 per cent increase since 2019 in study visas of Indian students.
Nearly 24 per cent more study visas were issued in the year (ending September 2022) compared to the year ending September 2021, report reveals.
