Mumbai: Lady of Good Counsel School in Sion has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging ‘selective scrutiny’ after being flagged for operating in an unauthorised building.

The school contends that numerous British-era structures, including prominent institutions such as the Bombay High Court and the BMC headquarters, do not possess Occupation Certificates (OC) simply because the requirement did not exist at the time of their construction.

In its letter, the school has questioned why similar scrutiny is not applied to other heritage buildings across the city. “If the state is genuinely concerned about public safety and compliance, it should adopt a uniform approach rather than targeting individual institutions arbitrarily,” the letter states, calling for consistency in the enforcement of regulations.

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who submitted the letter on behalf of the school, emphasised that such long-standing educational institutions should be permitted to operate as long as they adhere to all necessary safety guidelines.

He pointed out that the school undergoes a structural audit every four years and submits a ‘Structural Stability Certificate’ to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). Additionally, the school also provides a fire safety certificate to demonstrate its compliance with safety standards.

As per Section 353B of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, any building that has completed 30 years of existence is mandated to undergo a structural audit to assess its stability and safety. These audits are a crucial part of ensuring that older buildings remain fit for occupation and do not pose a risk to students and staff.

Meanwhile, Devidas Mahajan, Education Inspector (South), confirmed that an investigation into the matter is currently underway. “At this stage, no conclusive decision has been reached. We will carefully consider the school’s perspective before making any determinations,” he stated.

The Maharashtra state education department had recently ordered an inquiry after receiving a complaint regarding the school’s operation in an unauthorised building. The department has since directed the education section of the MCGM to thoroughly examine the matter and submit a detailed report before any further action is taken.

Uttar Pradesh: Girl students who had arrived at YP Singh Inter College to give their board exam on Monday were asked to remove burqas before entering the exam center.

According to reports, several female students refused to remove burqas, stating they were ready to miss the exam instead.

After the issue escalated, the District School Inspector intervened in the matter. After a long delay, the students were allowed to take the exam.

A similar incident was reported from the Jaunpur district where female students who had arrived to take their Class 10 board exams, were asked to remove their hijabs, but they outright refused. As they were not allowed to enter while wearing hijabs, four students returned home without taking the exam.

The incident took place at Sarvodaya Inter College in Khudoli. Following the incident, the issue has sparked a debate on social media. The father of one of the students supported his daughter’s decision, stating that if she is not allowed to take the exam while wearing a hijab in the future, she will not appear for it. All the students are from Modern Convent School, located in Khetasarai.

The Class 10 and 12 board exams of the Uttar Pradesh Board, considered one of the biggest exams in the country, began on Monday. Except for Prayagraj, the exams were conducted across all districts of Uttar Pradesh on Monday. The Class 10 Hindi exam was held in the morning session. At the Sarvodaya Inter College exam center in Khudoli, four female students were asked to remove their hijabs before entering, but they refused. When they were not allowed to enter without removing their hijabs, they decided to return home.

Ahmedullah, the father of one of the students, stated that they had requested to take the exam while wearing hijabs after a security check, but the school authorities did not agree. He further mentioned that he had accompanied the students himself, but they were stopped at the gate.

New York: Vishvaa Rajakumar, a 20-year-old Indian student, has won the Memory League World Championship 2025 by memorising the order of 80 random numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds.

Memory League World Championship is an intense online competition.

According to the Memory League website, Rajakumar is ranked No 1 with a score of 5,000.

Rajakumar memorised 80 numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds during the championship held recently.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Rajakumar is a student of Puducherry-based ManakulaVinayagar Institute of Technology.

Speaking to The New York Times on his technique and strategies of memorisation, Rajakumar said,”Hydration is very important because it helps your brain. When you memorise things, you usually subvocalise, and it helps to have a clear throat.”

“Let’s say you’re reading a book. You’re not reading it out loud, but you are vocalising within yourself. If you don’t drink a lot of water, your speed will be a bit low. If you drink a lot of water, it will be more and more clear and you can read it faster,” he said.

Rajakumar said he was crying when he achieved the feat.

“They give you 80 random numbers that they display on a screen. You have to memorize all of those numbers as fast as possible, then click a button and a recall sheet appears. I wrote down all of the 80 digits — and I got them all right. My fastest time to memorize 80 random digits in this World Championship was 13.5 seconds, so almost six digits per second,” he to the newspaper.

He said after the completion of college, he would try to be a memory trainer and create a memory institution in India to teach other people these techniques.

“My goal is to make it big,” he said.