Indian teacher dies of COVID-19 in Abu Dhabi
Dubai: A 50-year-old Indian teacher has died of coronavirus in the UAE, according to a media report. Anil Kumar, a Hindi teacher at Sunrise School in Abu Dhabi, died on Sunday morning, the Gulf News reported. Kumar was detected with COVID-19 on May 7.
In a statement, the Sunrise School said, "The sad and shocking demise of Mr Anil Kumar, a senior Hindi teacher of Sunrise School on May 24, has left the entire Sunrise family in a pall of gloom.
"The bond that he had developed over the years, just as how we have with each faculty, makes the loss unbearable. The entire school is shaken and finds it hard to come to terms with this most saddening news," the daily quoted the statement.
Kumar is survived by his wife and two children. His wife Rajini teaches mathematics at the Sunrise School.
The coronavirus, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has claimed 245 lives with nearly 30,000 confirmed cases in the UAE. The virus has so far killed over 3,45,000 people across the world.
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SC stays UGC regulation pertaining to definition of caste discrimination
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a recent University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation after various pleas were filed contending that the Commission adopted a non-inclusionary definition of caste-based discrimination and excluded certain categories from institutional protection.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and the UGC on the pleas challenging the regulation.
The new regulations mandating all higher education institutions to form "equity committees" to look into discrimination complaints and promote equity were notified on January 13.
The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, mandated that these committees must include members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), persons with disabilities, and women.
The new regulations replaces the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, which was largely advisory in nature.
The pleas assailed the regulation on the grounds that caste-based discrimination is defined strictly as discrimination against members of the SCs, STs and OBCs.
It said that by limiting the scope of "caste-based discrimination" only to SC, ST and OBC categories, the UGC has effectively denied institutional protection and grievance redressal to individuals belonging to the "general" or non-reserved categories who may also face harassment or bias based on their caste identity.
Protests were held at various places against the regulations, with student groups and organisations demanding its immediate rollback.
