3 killed in Nepal landslide
Kathmandu, July 12 : At least three people died while several others were affected by the monsoon-induced floods and landslides across the Kathmandu valley on Thursday.
According to police officials, three members of a family died when they were buried by a landslide behind their house in Changunarayarn municipality in Bhaktapur, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Bhaktapur district, located inside the valley, was mostly affected due to the flooding caused by the swollen local river following torrential rain since Wednesday night.
Most of the settlements of the district were inundated while a major road-section of Araniko Highway was water-logged. Water entered the ground floors of hundreds of houses and locals struggled to get out of their houses. Most of the shops and businesses remained closed.
Nepal Army personnel were mobilized to rescue residents and help them move towards safer locations. Roads and highways were obstructed in several parts of the country due to the flooding and landslides triggered by the incessant rainfall.
According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the rain will continue for a few days in Kathmandu and in different parts of the country. It urged the general public to remain alert.
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Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.
The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.
While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.
It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.
Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.
