
Neelam Pandey
Neelam Pandey covers education sector and gender issues for Hindustan Times. She is a policy wonk with a keen interest in politics.
Articles by Neelam Pandey

UGC likely to ease teaching norms for direct PhD holders from IITs
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON OCT 01, 2018 07:59 AM IST
IIT Kanpur professor Dheeraj Sanghi said it was an anomaly as PhD is a higher degree. “So if one has attained that why ask for a master’s? I am glad the UGC is looking into it.

CBSE Class 10 maths exam to have two test paper options
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 26, 2018 01:47 PM IST
Students appearing for the CBSE Class 10 board exams in 2019 are likely to have the option to choose whether to answer a standard-level or a higher-level mathematics question paper.

Class 10 and 12 CBSE Board exams may begin in February next year
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON SEP 26, 2018 07:01 AM IST
Around 2.8 million students are registered to appear for CBSE Class 10 and Class 12 examinations in 2019.

UGC panel for exam reform rules out ability test for graduates
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 21, 2018 12:04 AM IST
The UGC committee on exam reform suggested that 75% of internal assessment should be used in conjunction with 25% of external assessment, as it would counter negligence and carelessness by external examiners.

HRD ministry suspends Manipur University V-C citing concerns over campus peace
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, Imphal
UPDATED ON SEP 18, 2018 11:50 PM IST
The Manipur University vice-chancellor was earlier granted one-month leave on the advice of the HRD ministry amid demands for his removal over alleged administrative negligence.

‘But it was your rule’: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman counters Congress on Rafale deal
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON SEP 18, 2018 07:06 PM IST
The Defence Minister has also held the previous UPA government responsible for HAL being overlooked for the jet deal. Sitharaman said both HAL and Dassault could not agree on production terms. “It is not for us but the UPA to answer as to why the agreement between Dassault and HAL did not happen,” she said.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Rafale LIVE: Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging Pakistan army chief demoralised Indians
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 18, 2018 04:49 PM IST
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is addressing the media at Indian women’s press corps in Delhi.Here are the live updates:

HRD ministry to review performance of all central universities
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 16, 2018 07:58 AM IST
The review is taking place in the context of an MoU that was signed between universities, the MHRD and the University Grants Commission.

HRD ministry asks education bodies to issue warnings against ‘Momo challenge’
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON SEP 08, 2018 11:31 PM IST
Earlier, the Blue Whale challenge created panic among parents of teenaged kids as it gave players a series of tasks which include watching horror movies, waking up at unusual hours and self-harming to the extent of committing suicide

School syllabus may be cut by 15% next academic year, says HRD minister Javadekar
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 06, 2018 09:45 AM IST
NCERT is working towards giving the final touches to a curriculum rationalisation programme which will apply to all schools affiliated to the CBSE and state boards that follow NCERT syllabus, the minister said.

Got over 1 lakh suggestions on reducing NCERT syllabus, says Prakash Javadekar
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 06, 2018 08:32 AM IST
The Union HRD minister hoped that in the new academic session 10-15% of the NCERT syllabus would be reduced.

Panel discusses how to improve minority education in India
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON SEP 03, 2018 08:38 PM IST
The National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education (NMCME) had held a meeting on July 6 and the minutes were issued on August 20.

JNU may start sports quota in admissions
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON SEP 01, 2018 12:08 AM IST
Unlike other institutions, Jawaharlal Nehru University does not give any weightage to a student’s performance in sports while granting admission .

Parents’ literacy, income level no bar for IIT entry, study shows
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 29, 2018 08:13 AM IST
An analysis done by IIT Kanpur shows that the annual parental annual income of 8,531 students out of 31,988 who qualified for JEE Advanced was up to ₹1 lakh per year, the report accessed by HT shows.

National Education Policy maybe delayed for fourth time since announcement
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON AUG 27, 2018 10:56 PM IST
The National Education Policy (NEP) is likely to be delayed for the fourth time since it was first announced, with the government-appointed committee entrusted with the task of drafting the policy getting yet another extension till October 2018, officials said.

Manmohan Singh urges PM Modi not to change ‘nature, character’ of Nehru library
UPDATED ON AUG 27, 2018 08:17 PM IST
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru belongs to whole of India, not just the Congress, says Manmohan Singh in letter.

CBSE to offer help to those who lost Board certificates in Kerala floods
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 25, 2018 07:16 AM IST
The board exam certificates are crucial for higher education, while seeking jobs or even as a proof of date of birth. There are more than 1300 schools affiliated to CBSE in Kerala.

UGC to ease norms to admit more SC/ST students in PhD
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON AUG 23, 2018 11:04 PM IST
If seats for SC/ST/OBC remain unfilled despite this relaxation, universities will launch a special admission “for that particular category within one month from the date closure of admission of general category”.

States push for attendance to be given weightage in schools
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 22, 2018 11:22 PM IST
Rajasthan has specifically suggested that instead of teaching the entire syllabus to students who do not perform at age-appropriate levels, only specific core competencies should be developed

NTA announces schedule for NEET, UGC NET, JEE Main, CMAT and GPAT exams
By Nilesh Mathur and Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 21, 2018 06:42 PM IST
The Centre on Tuesday announced the dates for various exams to be conducted by the National Testing Agency till May 2019.

Dates for JEE, NEET and NET exam announced
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 21, 2018 05:50 PM IST
The exams for JEE Main I, JEE Main II, CMAT and GPAT, NEET (UG), and UGC (NET) will be conducted by the National Testing Agency, the human resources development ministry announced.

UGC to withhold grants if 21 Delhi University colleges don’t appoint principals
By Neelam Pandey
UPDATED ON AUG 20, 2018 03:18 AM IST
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has warned 21 Delhi University (DU) colleges that it would withhold their grants if they do not appoint regular principals

More agencies set to accredit institutions
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON AUG 17, 2018 09:07 AM IST
Multiple government and semi-government agencies will be allowed to accredit educational institutions in addition to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Board of Accreditation (NBA)

Now govt, semi-govt agencies to accredit educational institutions
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON AUG 15, 2018 11:04 PM IST
This will be in addition to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and National Board of Accreditation.

NCERT tells schools to introduce ‘yogic activities’ from Class 6
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 11, 2018 09:12 PM IST
The guidelines have been shared with all states and union territories for implementation.

IIT Council proposes scrapping JEE advanced, allowing students to choose campus over course
UPDATED ON AUG 09, 2018 01:48 PM IST
One of the proposals is for scrapping the advanced test under the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), passing which is a prerequisite for admission to the 23 IITs, three persons familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.

More students opting for PhD in Indian languages, reveals new report
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 04, 2018 11:41 PM IST
Since 2014-15, the number of students enrolled in a PhD programme in Indian languages increased from 5,874 to 7,850 in 2017-18.

IIMs set to admit graduates directly in PhD programmes
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 04, 2018 09:41 AM IST
Earlier, the IIMs were being asked to adhere to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) norms on award of PhD degrees. As per the commission’s, notification, only people with a master’s degree are eligible to pursue PhD.

Manipur varsity vice-chancellor granted leave on HRD ministry advice
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi, New Delhi
UPDATED ON AUG 02, 2018 11:28 PM IST
Manipur University’s vice-chancellor AP Pandey was granted one-month leave on the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry’s advice

Expert panel to hold meet to chalk out strategy for six eminent institutes
By Neelam Pandey | Hindustan Times, New Delhi
UPDATED ON JUL 31, 2018 11:47 PM IST
The committee will hold a preliminary meeting through video conference in August, and a final meeting in September.