EDUCATION

Jamia Hamdard to join common entrance tests
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7
The Jamia Hamdard University, which has been granted ‘minority status’ almost 20 years after it was founded, has announced the decision to join the common entrance tests for admission to its professional courses.

The University’s Academic Council, in a meeting of its standing committee yesterday, decided to join the common entrance tests conducted by agencies prescribed by the government, the Jamia Hamdard officials said.

The university has been permitted by the government to adopt its own procedure for admission to 50 per cent of the seats reserved for Muslims. For the open seats in MBA, MCA and Pharmacy courses, the university will admit students according to the merit list (score card) from the common entrance tests.

The All India Management Association’s management aptitude test, conducted four times in a year, will be the basis for admission to the open seats for MBA course, it was pointed out.

For MCA course, it will be the score card issued by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. Admissions to the B.Pharm course will be made through the AIEEE examination conducted by the CBSE.

The other minority institutions like the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia University are resisting the regulations issued by the UGC in December last year to the central and deemed universities to admit their students to professional courses through common entrance tests.

CULTURE

Propagating the priceless legacy of Indian
classical music
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7
ITC’s Sangeet Research Academy (ITC SRA) is now all set to launch its world vision of transforming itself into a global institution propagating the priceless legacy of Indian classical music. On the occasion of its silver jubilee celebrations, the Academy, set up in 1978 as a pioneering public charitable trust by ITC to revive and nurture the heritage of Hindustani classical music, is rededicating itself to carry the treasure trove of Indian classical music to the greater Indian diaspora and other connoisseurs around the world.

The academy also announced the keenly awaited classical music extravaganza-ITC Sangeet Sammelan -in New Delhi.

To commemorate its silver jubilee, this year’s sammelan will be a four-day event at the Siri Fort Auditorium, starting February 12, where leading stalwarts of Indian classical music, Pandit Bimsen Joshi, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Smt Girja Devi among others will perform. One of the unique performances this year will be the kathak and tabla jugalbandi of legendary Pandit Birju Maharaj and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

In its true tradition, the sammelan will also give a platform to some of the most talented young performers in the world of Indian classical music including one of its most promising scholars, Omkar Dadarkar.

This is the 32nd year of the concert that occupies a pivotal position in the country’s musical calendar.

On the 25th year of its existence the academy will honour some living legends of Hindustani classical music.

Talking about ITC SRA’s global vision, the Executive Director of the academy, Mr Amit Mukerjee, said, “The western world is much more acquainted with instrumental music. Without aiming to create a divide between vocal and instrumental music, ITC SRA plans to introduce western cultural institutes to vocal music”.