Global Banking School (GBS) has celebrated the graduation of 6,000 students during ceremonies held in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and London this summer. The graduates completed courses in construction, business, digital technologies, and health and social care. Many studied while working full-time, running businesses, or caring for their families. GBS said the average age of this year's graduates was 41, reflecting its focus on flexible learning for working adults. The celebrations came after the institution recorded a 92% positivity score in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2026, above the higher education sector average for the sixth consecutive year. Among the graduates was Kamrul Islam, who completed an HND in Construction Management while working as an Assistant Quantity Surveyor and running a perfume business. He said, "Balancing a full-time career, higher education and running a business was one of the biggest challenges I have faced." Another graduate, Yudzhel Medzhnun Shaban, from Penge in south-east London, said the course helped strengthen his management and technical skills while allowing him to continue operating his lift installation business. "Now I'm ready to grow bigger and provide more employment in my community," he said. GBS said many graduates are progressing into employment, entrepreneurship and further education across the UK.

NEET UG 2026 AIR 2 Panshul Bansal proved that success does not require giving up hobbies. The Faridabad student scored 715 out of 720, including a perfect 180 in Physics, while continuing to play video games, badminton, piano and other activities during his preparation. After the original NEET exam was cancelled, Panshul overcame the setback by staying focused and improving his performance in the re-exam. He said consistency, quality study and analysing mistakes mattered more than long study hours. Panshul now hopes to join his dream medical college and pursue a career as a surgeon. (PC: The Indian Express)

The National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the NEET UG 2026 results after releasing the final answer key for the June 21 re-examination, held following the cancellation of the May 3 exam over an alleged paper leak. A total of 11.25 lakh candidates qualified, with women accounting for over 58% of successful candidates. Aryan Gupta of Punjab and Panshul Bansal of Haryana jointly secured the highest score of 715 out of 720. Candidates can check their results on the official NEET website using their login credentials. The NTA said timely declaration will help keep the medical admissions and counselling schedule on track across the country. (PC: HT Print)

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has declared the NEET UG 2026 results, bringing relief to lakhs of medical aspirants across India. Candidates can now download their scorecards from the official NEET website using their application credentials. This year, over 11.21 lakh candidates qualified for undergraduate medical and dental admissions, with Aryan Gupta and Panshul Bansal emerging as the joint national toppers, scoring 715 marks each. Following the announcement, qualified candidates will proceed to the All India and State counselling process for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other undergraduate medical courses. (PC: X)

The QS World University Rankings 2027 reaffirmed the dominance of US and UK institutions in global higher education, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology retaining the top position with a perfect overall score of 100. Imperial College London and Stanford University shared second place, followed by University of Oxford in fourth and Harvard University in fifth. Rankings were based on indicators including academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, research impact, internationalisation, employability, and sustainability. The results highlight the continued strength of American and British universities in research, innovation, global collaboration, and graduate outcomes, with three of the top five institutions located in the United States. (PC: Wallpaper Cave)

More than 20 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21 under heightened security arrangements across the country. The National Testing Agency conducted the exam from 2:00 pm to 5:15 pm, including an additional 15-minute provision. Authorities implemented stringent monitoring measures, enhanced frisking procedures, surveillance systems, and coordinated security deployment to ensure a fair and transparent examination process. The re-exam was held following concerns surrounding the earlier NEET-UG cycle, making integrity and smooth conduct top priorities. Officials monitored examination centres closely while candidates adhered to revised guidelines. The large-scale exercise marked one of India's biggest entrance test operations, with authorities aiming to restore confidence among aspirants. (PC:  G. Ramakrishna)

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct a nationwide mock drill on June 20 ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-test scheduled for June 21. More than 2.5 lakh security personnel will participate in the exercise, which will assess preparedness and inter-agency coordination across over 5,000 examination centres. Authorities have implemented a three-tier security framework, with CCTV surveillance and paramilitary forces securing question papers and answer booklets. NTA also dismissed a viral social media video claiming to show a NEET-UG re-exam paper, calling it fake and citing multiple inconsistencies. Meanwhile, the National Medical Commission has tightened vigilance measures, while the Delhi High Court upheld the temporary restriction on Telegram. (PC: PTI)

Telegram has challenged India’s temporary ban in the Delhi High Court after the government blocked the platform until 22 June ahead of the NEET medical entrance exam retest involving nearly 2.3 million candidates. Authorities alleged Telegram was used to “defraud” students and ordered the platform to disable message editing until June-end. The exam was rescheduled after a May paper leak, triggering nationwide protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party. Telegram called the ban disproportionate, arguing leaks merely shifted to other apps. Founder Pavel Durov said hundreds of leak-related channels had already been removed. Critics, including internet freedom advocates and analysts, questioned the ban’s effectiveness and impact.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high-level review meeting to assess preparations for the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21. The meeting involved officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Testing Agency (NTA), state governments and higher education institutions. Pradhan emphasized transparent and fair conduct of the examination, with special focus on security arrangements, surveillance and coordination among agencies. Authorities have strengthened monitoring systems and warned against any attempt to disrupt the process. The review aims to ensure a smooth and credible examination while restoring confidence among millions of medical aspirants. (PC: X)

The QS World University Rankings 2027 have placed IIT Delhi as India's highest-ranked institution, rising five places to 118th globally. IIT Bombay secured the 134th position, while IIT Madras ranked 170th, making them the only three Indian institutes in the world's top 200.   The rankings highlight India's growing academic reputation, research output and employability performance. Several other Indian institutions, including IIT Kharagpur, IISc Bengaluru and IIT Kanpur, also improved their global standing. Globally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained the top position for the 15th consecutive year, followed by Imperial College London and Stanford University.