Mumbai: After initially debarring several law and BEd colleges from this year’s admission process, Mumbai University has allowed them to participate in it, but with hefty fines and a substantial cut in student intake. In some cases, the university issued affiliation certificates, but they have now been cancelled.The university reduced the intake capacity by 50% for 39 law and 29 BEd colleges that do not have an approved principal or a single approved teacher on their rolls. Additionally, it has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on each. In another category of colleges, which have less than 50% approved teachers, the university has cut the student intake by 25% and has asked them to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh each. In the second category, there are 11 law colleges and 23 BEd colleges. Some of these colleges plan to move court against the university’s decision.This is the first time the university has taken such stringent action against affiliated colleges for failing to appoint approved teachers. The collective reduction in intake is expected to affect around 6,000 to 8,000 seats during the ongoing admission season.In a letter sent to a law college on Monday, the university stated that the affiliation certificate issued for the 2026-27 academic year stands null and void. It said the certificate had been issued due to a technical error by the affiliation department and added that any students admitted beyond the revised 75% intake capacity will not be enrolled by the university. The college will be solely responsible for such admissions, it stated.The university’s registrar, Prasad Karande, told TOI that the action taken is only on the basis of lack of approved teachers and that the university has not yet considered infrastructure. A principal said that no local inquiry committee visited their college before issuing such a diktat and therefore, colleges are planning to move court. A university official, though, said these colleges had given an undertaking last year too and did not fulfil the requirements.There are 110 law colleges and 80 BEd colleges affiliated to Mumbai University.

Findings provisional, could change after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submits its report on injected drug and final post-mortem report is received

Navi Mumbai: A preliminary inquiry by a committee appointed by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has found no negligence on the part of doctors in the death of an eight-month pregnant woman at Rajmata Jijau Hospital in Airoli earlier this month.The committee concluded that the patient, Sonam Dongre, died after suffering a severe anaphylactic (allergic) reaction to a drug, complicated by food aspiration.However, it said its findings are provisional and could change after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submits its report on the injected drug and JJ Hospital issues the final post-mortem report.The preliminary report was tabled by NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde at the corporation’s general body meeting on Monday. It was presented by medical health officer Dr Rajesh Mhatre.Dongre died on July 1, after allegedly developing a severe reaction following an injection administered during treatment, triggering allegations of medical negligence. Another pregnant woman, Richa Mishra, also suffered an adverse reaction but survived.The inquiry committee, headed by Thane civil surgeon Dr Kailash Pawar, included Dr Vijay Kalyankar, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at JJ Hospital, and Dr Suchita Kinjawdekar of the Navi Mumbai Gynaecology and Obstetrics Association. Experts in forensic medicine, pharmaceutical chemistry and anaesthesia were also added to the panel.The committee also examined the case of pregnant patient Pratima Pal, who fell ill during treatment, and reviewed the death of another patient, Pratiksha Khandekar, who died while undergoing treatment on March 17.After visiting the Airoli hospital on July 8, and questioning doctors and other medical staff, the panel submitted its preliminary report on July 20.According to the report, Pal developed only mild side-effects after receiving an Isoxsuprine HCL injection, while Richa Mishra experienced a moderate adverse reaction but recovered. Dongre, however, suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction after being administered a 12mg dexamethasone injection, followed by food aspiration, which the committee said caused her death.The panel said the medical officers at Rajmata Jijau Hospital had followed appropriate treatment protocols and found no evidence of negligence. The final report will be submitted after the FDA’s analysis of the drug and the final post-mortem findings are received.Dongre was admitted to the Airoli hospital on June 30, after developing cramps in the eighth month of her pregnancy. As there was a possibility of premature delivery, she was administered dexamethasone around 3pm on July 1, to accelerate the baby’s lung development and reduce the risk of breathing problems.“Soon after the injection, her condition deteriorated and she became unconscious. When she turned critical, she was shifted to NMMC Hospital in Vashi at around 5.40pm. She did not respond to treatment and was declared dead at 6.15pm,” Mhatre said. He added that Richa Mishra was administered dexamethasone and Duvadilan injections; the latter is used to relax the uterine muscles and prevent premature labour. — George Mendonca

Mumbai: On Monday, at least ten people were left severely injured and one dead after a BEST bus crashed into a roadside divider on the Sion-Panvel Highway in Mankhurd. Eight injured were passengers inside the bus, one was a driver and another a conductor, while the deceased was a pedestrian.Bhaskar Raosaheb Kagade, a 65-year-old farmer from Osmanabad, had come to the city to visit one of his daughters and attend a family function. He was struck and killed by the BEST bus just as he was preparing to leave for Pune to meet his other daughter. Kagade is survived by his wife, a son, three daughters, a daughter-in-law, and several grandchildren.His son-in-law, Sachin Pawar, who is a history professor at a junior college, said, “How many more lives are buses going to claim? There were already a few accidents prior to this at the spot where the incident happened.”The driver of the bus, Banvari Shriram Prasad Sharma (51), has sustained minor injuries to his head; however, the conductor, Vaibhav Waghmare, has sustained head injuries as well as fractures. Both are admitted to Rajawadi Hospital. All the passengers were rushed to Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi, and almost all have sustained fractures. Dr Shubhangi Ghodke, in-charge of the hospital, said, “Seven out of the total eight patients have fractures in some or the other part [of their bodies]. All of them will require a long hospital stay. We had to refer one patient to Sion Hospital, he has hand fracture as well as nerve compression.”Many of the commuters were on their daily routine. For instance, like any other day, Lata Waghela (42), a Mankhurd resident, was on her way to Vashi market to buy some fruits and vegetables to sell them in the area as a hawker. Her son, Tushar, said, “My mother has been doing this for 10 years. She has a fracture, but her chest has been paining too. We are still trying to understand the full extent of her injuries. Who will compensate her for the loss of livelihood?”Surekha Jadhav, mother to 22-year-old Ankita Jadhav, who has sustained minor injuries, said, “We are fortunate she is not as badly hurt. Our children’s lives cannot be at risk like this when they are out. These are avoidable incidents.”

Fewer young people are now choosing to study humanities or commerce

Mumbai: The classrooms are still there, as are the old college buildings that have opened their doors to generations of Mumbai students. But in the aided colleges affiliated with Mumbai University (MU), fewer young people are now choosing to study humanities or commerce.Data from the university shows that first-year enrolment in arts courses has fallen by a staggering 54% over the past 15 years—the sharpest decline across traditional undergraduate programmes. Commerce admissions have dropped by nearly 20% over the same period. Science, in contrast, has managed to record an improvement in student numbers, going up by nearly 11% in the same period.Educationists see the figures as more than a change in academic preference. They describe them as signs of the gradual erosion of public institutions that have historically made higher education accessible to students across social and economic backgrounds.They blame the steady slide on a combination of declining academic standards, outdated syllabi and the growing appeal of specialised, industry-oriented programmes that appear to promise better employment prospects. Unless aided colleges update their courses, invest in teaching and respond to a rapidly changing job market, experts fear that conventional degree programmes will continue to lose students. The consequences, they warn, will be felt most sharply by those who cannot afford expensive private colleges or specialised professional courses.“Our society has become so technical that it no longer recognises the importance of the humanities,” says former St Xavier’s College principal Fr Frazer Mascarenhas. “History, sociology, psychology and English literature develop perspectives and social skills that technical education cannot provide. We are progressing towards becoming a technocratic society, but one that does not necessarily feel fulfilled. This is a serious decline in human civilisation.”A former MU vice-chancellor says the decline in aided programmes was largely the result of their failure to change with the times. “The respective boards of studies have not thought seriously about making courses relevant and syllabi have not been updated with contemporary content,” he says. He points out that while universities elsewhere had reinvented the humanities through liberal arts programmes, aided colleges continued to offer the same old combination of subjects. “Liberal arts in private universities of India and abroad allow students to choose from a diverse basket that may include law, management, economics and the humanities. Here, the combination of subjects has remained largely unchanged, and humanities courses continue to be taught in their traditional form. They must be modified to meet the needs of today’s students,” he says.He adds that colleges are also struggling because teaching posts remain vacant, while the procedure for appointing the faculty continues to be archaic and cumbersome. “Courses cannot improve unless colleges are able to recruit good teachers and regularly revise what they teach,” he says.S S Mantha, former AICTE chairperson, says students seek degrees that have a clear connection with employment and are, therefore, moving towards AI, data science, cybersecurity, business analytics and digital marketing, among others. “Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in private universities, skill universities, deemed universities, autonomous colleges, foreign university campuses and online and hybrid education providers. Many institutions now offer interdisciplinary and industry-oriented programmes, increasing competition for students who would have previously enrolled in traditional degrees. These universities spread the same pool of applicants across many more institutions.”