Latest news with #IES
India Today
2 days ago
- Business
- India Today
UPSC launches Pratibha Setu to help top exam qualifiers find jobs
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has launched Pratibha Setu, earlier known as Public Disclosure Scheme, to help high-performing candidates who cleared all UPSC exams but missed the final merit list. The scheme aims to connect them with both government bodies and private Setu includes more than 10,000 candidates from exams such as the Civil Services, Engineering Services, Forest Services, CAPF, Medical Services, Geo-Scientist, and IES/ISS. These candidates have passed all examination stages but were not recommended for final IT WORKS?advertisementEmployers, both from the central government and the private sector, can register on the portal. Once verified, they gain access to the soft biodata of candidates, including qualifications and contact details. UPSC will provide employers with login credentials to browse this data bank and recruit as needed. Previously known as the Public Disclosure Scheme since 2018, the programme has been renamed Pratibha Setu to reflect its wider scope and initiative gives a second career option to candidates who narrowly missed selection. UPSC highlights that these individuals are 'almost as meritorious as the recommended candidates,' making the platform a valuable link between elite talent and suitable SETU: VARIOUS UPSC EXAM CATEGORIESThe scheme covers non-recommended but willing candidates from the following UPSC exams:Civil Services (CSE)Indian Forest Service (IFoS)advertisementCentral Armed Police Forces (CAPF)Engineering Services (IES)Combined Geo-ScientistCombined Defence Services (CDS)Indian Economic Service/ Indian Statistical Service (IES/ISS)Combined Medical ServicesBy offering this transparent and structured recruitment route, Pratibha Setu supports both eager aspirants and employers seeking qualified ensures UPSC's top-performing candidates are not overlooked, even if not selected through its standard interviews and final lists.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Education Department reinstates some research and data activities
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has repeatedly said that the February and March cancellations and firings at her department cut not only the "fat" but also into some of the "muscle" of the federal role in education. So, even as she promises to dismantle her department, she is also bringing back some people and restarting some activities. Court filings and her own congressional testimony illuminate what this means for the agency as a whole, and for education research in particular. McMahon told a U.S. House committee last month she rehired 74 employees out of the roughly 2,000 who were laid off or agreed to separation packages. A court filing earlier this month says the agency will revive about a fifth of research and statistics contracts killed earlier this year, at least for now, though that doesn't mean the work will look exactly as it did before. The Trump administration disclosed in a June 5 federal court filing in Maryland that it either has or is planning to reinstate 20 of 101 terminated contracts to comply with congressional statutes. More than half of the reversals will restart 10 regional education laboratories that the Trump administration had said were engaged in "wasteful and ideologically driven spending," but had been very popular with state education leaders. The reinstatements also include an international assessment, a study of how to help struggling readers, and Datalab, a web-based data analysis tool for the public. Related: Our free weekly newsletter alerts you to what research says about schools and classrooms. Even some of the promised reinstatements are uncertain because the Education Department plans to put some of them up for new bids (see table below). That process could take months and potentially result in smaller contracts with fewer studies or hours of technical assistance. These research activities were terminated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) before McMahon was confirmed by the Senate. The Education Department's disclosure of the reinstatements occurred a week after President Donald Trump bid farewell to Musk in the Oval Office and on the same day that the Trump-Musk feud exploded on social media. The Education Department press office said it had no comment beyond what was disclosed in the legal brief. Education researchers, who are suing the Trump administration to restore all of its previous research and statistical activities, were not satisfied. Elizabeth Tipton, president of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) said the limited reinstatement is "upsetting." "They're trying to make IES as small as they possibly can," she said, referring to the Institute of Education Sciences, the department's research and data arm. SREE and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) are suing McMahon and the Education Department in the Maryland case. The suit asks for a temporary reinstatement of all the contracts and the rehiring of IES employees while the courts adjudicate the broader constitutional issue of whether the Trump administration violated congressional statutes and exceeded its executive authority. The 20 reinstatements were not ordered by the court, and in some instances, the Education Department is voluntarily restarting only a small slice of a research activity, making it impossible to produce anything meaningful for the public. For example, the department said it is reinstating a contract for operating the What Works Clearinghouse, a website that informs schools about evidence-based teaching practices. But, in the legal brief, the department disclosed that it is not planning to reinstate any of the contracts to produce new content for the site. Related: Education researchers sue Trump administration, testing executive power In the brief, the administration admitted that congressional statues mention a range of research and data collection activities. But the lawyers argued that the legislative language often uses the word may instead of must, or notes that evaluations of education programs should be done "as time and resources allow." "Read together, the Department has wide discretion in whether and which evaluations to undertake," the administration lawyers wrote. The Trump administration argued that as long as it has at least one contract in place, it is technically fulfilling a congressional mandate. For example, Congress requires that the Education Department participate in international assessments. That is why it is now restarting the contract to administer the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), but not other international assessments that the country has participated in, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The administration argued that researchers didn't make a compelling case that they would be irreparably harmed if many contracts were not restarted. "There is no harm alleged from not having access to as-yet uncreated data," the lawyers wrote. One of the terminated contracts was supposed to help state education agencies create longitudinal data systems for tracking students from pre-K to the workforce. The department's brief says that states, not professional associations of researchers, should sue to restore those contracts. Related: DOGE's death blow to education studies In six instances, the administration said it was evaluating whether to restart a study. For example, the legal brief says that because Congress requires the evaluation of literacy programs, the department is considering a reinstatement of a study of the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program. But lawyers said there was no urgency to restart it because there is no deadline for evaluations in the legislative language. In four other instances, the Trump administration said it wasn't feasible to restart a study, despite congressional requirements. For example, Congress mandates that the Education Department identify and evaluate promising adult education strategies. But after terminating such a study in February, the Education Department admitted that it is now too difficult to restart it. The department also said it could not easily restart two studies of math curricula in low-performing schools. One of the studies called for the math program to be implemented in the first year and studied in the second year, which made it especially difficult to restart. A fourth study the department said it could not restart would have evaluated the effectiveness of extra services to help teens with disabilities transition from high school to college or work. When DOGE pulled the plug on that study, those teens lost those services too. Contact staff writer Jill Barshay at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or barshay@ This story about the reinstatement of education statistics and research was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Proof Points and other Hechinger newsletters. The post Education Department reinstates some research and data activities appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump administration wins court battle ahead of military parade
The Trump administration has won a court battle to gut the Department of Education as the president prepares to celebrate his birthday military parade . A Maryland federal court declined to block a sweeping round of layoffs at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) - a quiet but crucial arm of the Department of Education that gathers and analyzes data on how American schools are performing. In April, two groups representing education researchers sued the government, claiming the Department had recklessly slashed 90 per cent of IES staff, canceled major research contracts, and put decades of valuable data at risk. They asked the court to reinstate the workers, revive the contracts, and stop any data from being destroyed. But Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled against them, at least for now, saying the lawsuit was too broad, lacked hard evidence, and didn't clearly show any direct harm. 'The record in this case underscores that it is poorly suited for preliminary relief,' Gallagher wrote in a 13-page opinion. Still, she didn't hold back in raising alarm bells over the Trump administration's actions - warning that the agency, now gutted, may no longer be able to fulfill its mission. 'IES is not doing a number of tasks Congress requires of it,' she noted. 'It has likely gone too far in downsizing.' The judge stressed that her ruling doesn't mean the case is over. She said the matter needs to go to trial with a full set of facts, and signaled that both sides may have to compromise. The court has given both parties until June 19 to lay out a schedule for the next steps - setting the stage for a high-stakes legal showdown over whether the Trump team has unlawfully gutted one of the government's main education watchdogs. The ruling comes just days before Trump's long-anticipated military parade, billed as a show of national might and administrative overhaul as he begins the second phase of his second term. But stormy skies could rain on the spectacle. Lightning in the area would force the Pentagon to delay the parade's marquee events - including flyovers and parachute jumps along Constitution Avenue. Still, Trump made it clear Saturday morning that the show would proceed. 'OUR GREAT MILITARY PARADE IS ON, RAIN OR SHINE. REMEMBER, A RAINY DAY PERADE BRINGS GOOD LUCK. I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN D.C.' he posted on Truth Social - fixing the spelling of 'perade' in a second post. The parade will be the largest military presence on D.C. streets since the Gulf War victory celebration in 1991 - and falls on Trump's 79th birthday . Though he's denied it's a personal celebration, he'll be front and center: delivering remarks, accepting a folded flag from a parachutist, and leading an enlistment and reenlistment ceremony. According to the Associated Press, the event will feature 6,700 troops, 150 vehicles, and 50 aircraft. The court decision coincides with a damning new report showing the Department of Education is spending $7 million a month on employees who aren't working - part of the Trump administration's controversial deferred resignation program. According to calculations by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, the department has spent over $21 million in just three months on idle employees, many of whom accepted Trump's offer to voluntarily leave their posts while continuing to receive pay through September 2025. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, chair of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), defended Trump's deferred resignation plan - which allows federal employees to leave their posts while still collecting pay - but blamed the courts for delaying further cuts. She said the judiciary was standing in the way of what voters elected Trump to do: slash bloated federal departments, including the Department of Education. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) echoed the criticism, calling the $7 million-a-month figure a 'slap in the face' to taxpayers. She accused federal workers of abusing paid leave and pledged to work with the Trump administration to overhaul Washington's bureaucracy. At her confirmation hearing in February, Education Secretary Linda McMahon backed Trump's promise to eliminate the department entirely - saying he intended to work with Congress to make it happen. An estimated 75,000 federal employees accepted the administration's deferred resignation offer across various agencies. But Democrats blasted the cuts in a letter to McMahon, calling the 1,300 affected DOE workers 'dedicated public servants' and warning the layoffs endangered vital education services. With a trial looming and tens of millions in taxpayer dollars at stake, the battle over the future of the Department of Education is far from over.
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump White House wins major victory ahead of military parade in attempt to eliminate entire government department
The Trump administration has won a court battle to gut the Department of Education as the president prepares to celebrate his birthday military parade. A Maryland federal court declined to block a sweeping round of layoffs at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) - a quiet but crucial arm of the Department of Education that gathers and analyzes data on how American schools are performing. In April, two groups representing education researchers sued the government, claiming the Department had recklessly slashed 90 per cent of IES staff, canceled major research contracts, and put decades of valuable data at risk. They asked the court to reinstate the workers, revive the contracts, and stop any data from being destroyed. But Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled against them, at least for now, saying the lawsuit was too broad, lacked hard evidence, and didn't clearly show any direct harm. 'The record in this case underscores that it is poorly suited for preliminary relief,' Gallagher wrote in a 13-page opinion. Still, she didn't hold back in raising alarm bells over the Trump administration's actions - warning that the agency, now gutted, may no longer be able to fulfill its mission. 'IES is not doing a number of tasks Congress requires of it,' she noted. 'It has likely gone too far in downsizing.' The judge stressed that her ruling doesn't mean the case is over. She said the matter needs to go to trial with a full set of facts, and signaled that both sides may have to compromise. The court has given both parties until June 19 to lay out a schedule for the next steps - setting the stage for a high-stakes legal showdown over whether the Trump team has unlawfully gutted one of the government's main education watchdogs. The ruling comes just days before Trump's long-anticipated military parade, billed as a show of national might and administrative overhaul as he begins the second phase of his second term. But stormy skies could rain on the spectacle. Lightning in the area would force the Pentagon to delay the parade's marquee events - including flyovers and parachute jumps along Constitution Avenue. Still, Trump made it clear Saturday morning that the show would proceed. 'OUR GREAT MILITARY PARADE IS ON, RAIN OR SHINE. REMEMBER, A RAINY DAY PERADE BRINGS GOOD LUCK. I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN D.C.' he posted on Truth Social - fixing the spelling of 'perade' in a second post. The parade will be the largest military presence on D.C. streets since the Gulf War victory celebration in 1991 - and falls on Trump's 79th birthday. Though he's denied it's a personal celebration, he'll be front and center: delivering remarks, accepting a folded flag from a parachutist, and leading an enlistment and reenlistment ceremony. According to the Associated Press, the event will feature 6,700 troops, 150 vehicles, and 50 aircraft. The court decision coincides with a damning new report showing the Department of Education is spending $7 million a month on employees who aren't working - part of the Trump administration's controversial deferred resignation program. According to calculations by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, the department has spent over $21 million in just three months on idle employees, many of whom accepted Trump's offer to voluntarily leave their posts while continuing to receive pay through September 2025. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, chair of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), defended Trump's deferred resignation plan - which allows federal employees to leave their posts while still collecting pay - but blamed the courts for delaying further cuts. She said the judiciary was standing in the way of what voters elected Trump to do: slash bloated federal departments, including the Department of Education. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) echoed the criticism, calling the $7 million-a-month figure a 'slap in the face' to taxpayers. She accused federal workers of abusing paid leave and pledged to work with the Trump administration to overhaul Washington's bureaucracy. At her confirmation hearing in February, Education Secretary Linda McMahon backed Trump's promise to eliminate the department entirely - saying he intended to work with Congress to make it happen. An estimated 75,000 federal employees accepted the administration's deferred resignation offer across various agencies. But Democrats blasted the cuts in a letter to McMahon, calling the 1,300 affected DOE workers 'dedicated public servants' and warning the layoffs endangered vital education services. With a trial looming and tens of millions in taxpayer dollars at stake, the battle over the future of the Department of Education is far from over.
Scroll.in
12-06-2025
- Business
- Scroll.in
UPSC admit card 2025 out for IES/ISS exams; to commence on June 20
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the Indian Economic Service/ Indian Statistical Services Exam admit card 2025 on the official website As per the notification, the IES/ ISS exam will be conducted from June 20 to 22 all over India. 'In case of any discrepancy in the e-Admit Card, the same may be communicated to the Commission immediately by email (at email ID uscms-upsc@ for taking the decision in the matter,' reads the notification. Direct link to the exam schedule. The Commission aims to fill 12 vacancies for the Indian Economic Service and 35 for the Indian Statistical Service. Steps to download IES/ ISS admit card 2025 Direct link to ISS admit card 2025.
