Latest news with #StStephen'sCollege
Indian Express
19 hours ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Who's opting for DU's fourth year? More takers from Humanities, not Science or Commerce
Shalin Dan had always dreamed of studying at St Stephen's College. When he was admitted to its BSc Mathematics (Honours) programme three years ago, it felt like a goal fulfilled. But now, with Delhi University (DU) transitioning into a four-year undergraduate format in line with the National Education Policy, 2020, Dan has chosen not to continue. 'The first batch is always a trial batch,' said the 22-year-old, who now works as a merchandiser at a private firm. 'Seminars were held in our college, but even faculty members couldn't answer many of our questions. Especially in Mathematics, it didn't make sense to go in blindly without a clear research path.' Dan is part of a cohort of science students across DU choosing to exit their undergraduate courses at the end of the third year, despite the opportunity to pursue a research-intensive fourth year and graduate with an 'Honours with Research' degree. According to DU records, the fourth year — at least in this initial rollout — is being embraced more readily by students of Humanities and Languages programmes than those in Sciences and Commerce. As of last week, 9,674 students across DU have opted to exit early, according to data accessed by The Indian Express. The last date to make the choice is July 31. Tripti Mittal, (20), a BSc Mathematics (Hons) student at St Stephen's College, has chosen to stay on. 'I want to pursue a PhD in Mathematics. With the fourth year, I can bypass a full Master's programme… In seminars, we were told we could choose any topic in our subject of research,' she said. At Miranda House — consistently ranked among DU's top five colleges by the National Institutional Ranking Framework — between 40% to 60% students of Science students have chosen to exit the undergraduate programme after three years. In Humanities, the figure is notably lower, with only 25%-35% of students of Political Science and History choosing to leave. In the Commerce stream, too, not many are opting for the fourth year. At Shri Ram College of Commerce, the most-preferred DU college, only 170 of 900 BCom (Honours) and 74 of 210 Economics (Honours) students are opting for the fourth year. At Hindu College, another top-ranking DU college, Principal Anju Srivastava said that interest varies with the subject. 'In Sciences, around 30-35% students have expressed interest in the fourth year. History and Political Science may see more than 30% staying on, but Sociology and Philosophy may not see many takers. While English and Economics have more than 35% of the students opting to continue, Commerce may see less interest,' she added. At Kirori Mal College, the split is nearly even. As of Wednesday, 472 students had opted to exit while 455 have chosen to stay on. The highest number of students exiting the college is 66 in BCom and 60 in BCom (Hons) out of the 472. In the Sciences, specific departments are witnessing a sharper decline. In Physics, 40 students have exited, followed by Chemistry (38) and Mathematics (6). By comparison, in the BSc Programme Physical Sciences (with Chemistry), 38 students have chosen to leave. The contrast is sharper when Languages are considered. While Hindi and Sanskrit have seen two students each opting out, four students have decided not to pursue Urdu, suggesting a stronger interest in research among students. Kirori Mal College Principal Dinesh Khattar said the mixed response was understandable. 'It is quite natural for students to have a little insecurity. This is the first batch. They are bound to have doubts,' he said. 'So far, it looks like a 50-50 split across courses, but these numbers might change in the coming week.' At Ramjas College, Principal Ajay Arora said, 'About 45-50% students would like to continue with the fourth year. This percentage is almost consistent across every course, including Humanities, Sciences, and Languages.' He added that more than 50% of Chemistry students are staying on. The principal from a prominent North Campus college admitted that students of the Sciences are harder to retain in the fourth year. 'Many of them are either taking up jobs or opting for MA programmes elsewhere… Interestingly, students of Languages are showing more interest in research.'
Scroll.in
18-07-2025
- Scroll.in
Over 80 schools in Bengaluru, Delhi receive bomb threats
Nearly 50 schools in Bengaluru and about 40 in New Delhi received bomb threats through email on Friday morning, leading to students and staff being evacuated. In Bengaluru, schools in several areas, including Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Kengeri, received identical emails claiming that several explosive devices containing trinitrotoluene, or TNT, had been planted inside classrooms, India Today reported. The email added that the explosives had been 'skilfully hidden in black plastic bags'. Some of the schools that received the threat included MS Dhoni Global School, St Germain Academy, The Bangalore School, Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bishop Cotton Girls' School, Baldwin Girls' High School and Sophia High School, The Indian Express reported. After the threats came to light, bomb detection teams, fire officials, local police and dog squads conducted searches at the schools. Some schools declared a holiday, while others asked students to wait until the premises were searched, The Hindu reported. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told the Deccan Herald that all the schools had been evacuated and security personnel were conducting searches there. 'Nothing has been found as yet,' he added. Similar emails were sent to about 40 schools in New Delhi, according to reports. Unidentified Delhi Police officers told The Indian Express that 42 schools in the national capital received the emails at 10.53 pm on Thursday. The institutes informed the police and other authorities on Friday after discovering the email in their inboxes, the officers added. Some of the schools that received the emails included Richmond Global School, Abhinav Public School, Sovereign School, Bharati Public School and St Xavier's Senior Secondary School. Search operations were being conducted by the police, along with the bomb detection and disposal squads and fire department officers at the schools, the newspaper reported. The bomb threats in the national capital came two days after seven schools there received similar emails, which were later declared hoaxes. On Tuesday, Delhi University's St Stephen's College and a school had also received bomb threats through email. Several schools, hospitals and colleges in the national capital have been receiving bomb threats over the past year. In February, St Stephen's College, along with two schools in Delhi and Noida, had received bomb threats. This had come a day after a 15-year-old Class 9 student was arrested for sending fake bomb threats to four schools in Noida. The student was presented before the juvenile court. On December 13, six schools in Delhi received bomb threats through email. The senders had demanded about Rs 25 lakh in ransom. On December 9, more than 40 schools in the capital received similar threats, which the police later said were hoaxes.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
12-Year-Old Behind Bomb Hoax: Cops
New Delhi: A 12-year-old boy was allegedly the source of the threatening emails sent on Tuesday to St Stephen's College in North Campus and St Thomas School in Dwarka, police said on Wednesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Class VIII student, who studies at a different school in the city, sent the emails as a prank, according to police. He was apprehended briefly and later released. Meanwhile, the spate of bomb threats targeting the city's educational institutions continued for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, as schools across Delhi received bomb threats via email, triggering panic and evacuations. However, after thorough checks, no suspicious devices or substances were found on any of the premises. A Delhi Fire Services official said distress calls were received by several prominent schools, including St Thomas School in Dwarka at 5.26am, Vasant Valley School in Vasant Kunj at 6.30am, Richmond Global School in Paschim Vihar at 8.12am, Mother's International School in Hauz Khas at 8.14am, Prudence School in Ashok Vihar at 9.23am, and Prudence School in Pitampura at 10.25am. Two other schools — Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Lodhi Estate and St Thomas School in Paschim Vihar — also received similar threats. The email read: "Good Morning. Explosive devices are hidden inside backpacks and placed around the classrooms of the school. This is extremely serious. You will all pay for your sins. Roadkill and Benji are the persons responsible for this bloodbath. Release our names to the press/media." A police source said that the threat emails were routed through a German domain provider, and senior officials have written to the agency concerned to help trace the sender. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The emails are being sent via VPNs, which makes the tracking process extremely difficult and allows the sender to remain anonymous while issuing these hoax threats," the source added. A security operation was launched across the schools that were affected, with Delhi Police's bomb disposal squads, cybercrime units and dog units conducting thorough checks of the premises. Ambulances also remained on standby. The fire department said one fire tender was sent to each school, and complete sweeps were conducted in coordination with bomb squads and local police. During the inspection, sniffer dogs searched classrooms, corridors and open areas in the schools while bomb detection and disposal squad personnel used necessary equipment to scan for potential explosive devices. School administrators also took immediate action. A senior police officer said, "On receiving the information on Wednesday, police teams immediately rushed to the schools and the premises were thoroughly inspected. CCTV footage was also reviewed. Teams are working to find the sender of the email." Tuesday's mails, which were sent around 7.15am, had claimed that four IEDs and two RDX explosives had been planted on the college premises, including the library, and warned they would detonate by 2pm. DCP (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said, "Immediately after the threat was received, standard protocol was followed and a thorough search confirmed that there was nothing suspicious. Following that, our special staff team along with the cybercrime unit began tracing the source of the email, which eventually led them to a 12-year-old boy." A senior police officer added, "During questioning, the child admitted that he had sent the emails as a prank. He was apprehended and later released after undergoing counselling." "The general public, school staff, students and parents are requested not to panic. The situation is under control, and all precautionary and investigative measures have been taken," DCP Singh said. Meanwhile, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed BJP on social media platform X, stating: "For the third day in a row, bomb threats have been issued to Delhi schools. Neither Union home minister Amit Shah nor BJP's four-engine govts seem to care about the safety of Delhi's children. The BJP is hell-bent on turning Delhi into a jungle-raj." On Monday, threat mails had been received at Navy Children School in Chanakyapuri, CRPF Public School in Dwarka Sector 16 and CRPF School in Rohini, triggering panic and causing anxiety among parents.
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Indian Express
12-year-old briefly held for sending hoax bomb threats to Delhi school, St Stephen's College
A day after two educational institutions in the Capital — Delhi University's St Stephen's College and St Thomas School — received hoax bomb threats via emails, a 12-year-old boy who allegedly sent the fake threats was briefly held on Wednesday, said police. According to a police officer, the boy was apprehended in South Delhi, from where he had sent the emails on Tuesday morning. The boy was picked up and later released after counseling. The boy is a student of Class 8 at a private school. At the time he sent the email, his parents were out of the city for medical treatment, a source said. During counseling, the boy revealed that he wanted the schools to be shut down and had randomly tagged the email IDs of the college and the school. While an FIR has not been registered, the matter is being probed further, a source added. According to an official of the Delhi Fire Service, on Tuesday, threats were received at St Stephen's College around 8.01 am and St Thomas School in Dwarka at 8.51 am. He said one fire tender each was sent to the college and the school, and later the calls were declared a hoax after searches. Meanwhile, three schools in the city received similar threats on Monday, and seven other schools received such emails on Wednesday, officers said. According to sources, the emails sent on Monday and Wednesday are suspected to have been sent by different persons and are believed to be unrelated to Tuesday's incident. The emails that were received by the schools on Monday and Wednesday were sent using VPN (Virtual Private Network), the sources said further. The officer stated that legal action is being taken, and the cyber units of the respective district police are conducting an inquiry in their areas. Since last May, several schools in the Capital have been receiving similar hoax threats. More than 200 schools received bomb threats on their official email IDs in May 2024. Soon after, similar threat emails were sent to several hospitals, colleges, and the Delhi Airport. Earlier this year, in May, the Udyog Bhawan office at the Central Secretariat received a bomb threat via email, triggering extensive security checks, which ultimately resulted in the building being declared safe.
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Indian Express
St Stephen's College, schools receive bomb threats in Delhi, search operations begin
St Stephen's College in Delhi and Stephen's School in Dwarka received bomb threat emails Tuesday morning, prompting a search operation at the Delhi University (DU) college in the North Campus and the school. According to an official of the Delhi Fire Service, they received a call regarding a bomb threat at St Stephen's College at about 8.01 am and St Stephen's School in Dwarka at 8.51 am. He said one fire tender each went to the college and the school. According to a police officer, the mail received by St Stephen's College stated that a bomb was planted in the library of the college. Local police, along with the Bomb Detection Team (BDT) and Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), conducted a search operation but did not find anything suspicious on the premises. A similar bomb threat was received at three schools in Delhi Monday morning, prompting the authorities to conduct searches, but later the police declared the calls a hoax. These were the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) School in Rohini's Sector 14, the Navy School in Chanakyapuri, and another CRPF School in Dwarka's Sector 16. The officer stated that legal action is being taken, and the cyber units of the respective district police are conducting a proper inquiry into the bomb threats in their areas. Since May last year, several Delhi schools have been receiving similar bomb threats. More than 200 schools in the Capital received bomb threats on their official email IDs in May 2024. Soon after, similar threat emails were also sent to several hospitals, colleges, and the Delhi Airport. In May this year, the Udyog Bhawan office at the Central Secretariat received a bomb threat via email, triggering extensive checking that ultimately resulted in the building being declared safe. In June, a Delhi-bound Air India flight from Mumbai received a bomb threat after an airline crew member discovered a paper that had 'Bomb in flight Air India 2948, Air India 171' written on it. However, checks by the DFS and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) revealed the threat to be a hoax. According to the police, most of the emails have been sent using virtual private networks (VPNs). Senior police officers have previously stated that VPNs leverage anonymity and work on the principle that the server would not disclose the location or details, making it harder to trace the sender.
