Dozens killed as airstrike hits school buses in Yemen
Sana'a, Aug 9: Dozens of people were killed and injured as an airstrike hit buses carrying children in northern Yemen on Thursday, according to the Yemeni branch of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC).
The school buses was targeted as they were was passing through a market in the rebel-held province of Saada, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.
"Scores killed, even more injured, most under the age of 10. @ICRC_ye sending additional supplies to hospitals to cope with the influx," Johannes Bruwer, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, wrote on Twitter.
The humanitarian organization said that the victims had been taken to one of the hospitals it supports in Sa'ada, located 230 kilometres to the north of the capital.
A spokesman for the Health Ministry of the Houthi rebel-controlled government, Yusef al-Hadari, said that the children were on their way to an educational summer camp organized by the Ministry for Islamic Affairs and that three buses had been targeted in the bombing.
Houthi media aired gruesome footage appearing to show the bodies of children. Other footage showed a young boy being escorted to a hospital, with blood all over his face.
CNN quoted witnesses as saying that the attack could be heard from neighbouring districts.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been carrying out airstrikes since 2015 against Houthi positions -- causing thousands of civilian deaths in the process, according to war monitors -- in an attempt to restore the internationally-recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The UN, the EU and numerous humanitarian organizations warned that the consequences of the Saudi-led intervention, such as a famine threatening almost 18 million people or a cholera outbreak infecting hundreds of thousands, reached the level of a humanitarian "catastrophe".
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UGC should engage in dialogue with state govts before proposing changes to regulations: M C Sudhakar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M C Sudhakar has written to Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan expressing his opposition to the recently published draft UGC Regulations, 2025.
He said UGC should be engaging in a dialogue with state governments before proposing any changes.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) called for public consultation of its draft for Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education Regulations.
In a letter dated January 13, Karnataka Minister for Higher Education Sudhakar said the state strongly opposes certain provisions related to the appointment of Vice-Chancellors, which he said, strike at the root of the higher education system and powers of the state government.
According to the minister, the draft guidelines provide no role for the state government in selecting the Vice-Chancellor of a university.
"The guidelines provide for a search-cum-selection committee appointed by the Chancellor/Visitor with no nominee of the State Government. The powers to appoint the Vice-Chancellor out of the panel recommended by the search-cum-selection committee is given solely to the Visitor/Chancellor," added the minister.
The qualifications required for appointment of Vice-Chancellors, which include non-academicians, also requires serious deliberation, he added. As per draft, said the minister, if the Vice-Chancellor is not appointed as per these guidelines, the appointment shall be null and void.
"This would contradict the provisions of the legislations governing Universities in the state, including in relation to the tenure and reappointment of Vice-Chancellors," he added.
The minister said the state government plays a critical role in advancement of higher education in the state.
"Karnataka is at the forefront of higher education with a gross enrolment ratio higher than the national average. Substantial funds are provided by the state government to administer and run public universities in the state. Apart from developmental grants to universities, salaries and pensions of the permanent teaching and non-teaching staff are provided by the state exchequer," said Sudhakar.
He also said UGC should ideally be engaging in a dialogue with state governments to assess the present status and issues faced by the universities pertaining to various student related issues in the present system before proposing any radical changes to the existing guidelines.
He urged the union education minister to direct the UGC to withdraw the draft guidelines immediately and engage in a wider consultation with state governments.
