UGC raps private university over question in political science paper

The Greater Noida-based private university last week suspended a faculty member in connection with the question that recently appeared in the first-year BA Political Science paper of the institution.

The FIR quotes the Nesvad school principal as having stated that copies of question papers of all the subjects of Class 7 and one question paper for the subject of Gujarati language for the Class 8 were stolen.(Representational)

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An exam question asking students to share their observations on parallels between “Fascism/ Nazism and Hindutva” was against the “spirit and ethos of our country which is known for its inclusivity and homogeneity”, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has told Sharda University.

The Greater Noida-based private university last week suspended a faculty member in connection with the question that recently appeared in the first-year BA Political Science paper of the institution.

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On Monday, in a letter to the varsity’s Vice-Chancellor, UGC secretary Rajnish Jain sought an action taken report detailing the steps being taken to ensure “non-recurrence of such incidents in the future”.

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“… asking students such questions is against the spirit and ethos of our country which is known for its inclusivity and homogeneity and such questions should not have been asked,” the UGC secretary wrote.

As the question sparked a row, the University had issued a statement last Friday saying that it has constituted a three-member committee to look into the “possibility of bias in the questions”.

It also suspended the faculty concerned and expressed regret. The statement added that the University is “totally averse to any line of thought which distorts the great national identity and the inclusive culture inherent in our national ethos”.