Candidates fear AIPMT may cast shadow on CPMT too

LUCKNOW: The connection between All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and Combined Pre Medical Test (CPMT) is haunting medical aspirants who feel the latter may also be cancelled like the former. Giving weight to their fear is that the gang of cheaters arrested by the UP STF just before the CPMT exam has admitted to providing 40 solvers in the AIPMT exam.

"The connection between AIPMT and CPMT is quite strong. In fact, the AIPMT case was exposed after racketeers in UPCPMT were caught. How is it possible that one exam is cancelled while the related one remains clear," wondered Ashutosh Gupta, a candidate in Lucknow. Voicing similar sentiments, Radhika Singh said, "I have a strong gut feeling that CPMT may also face a similar fate as the nature of the crime associated with the two exams is more or less the same."

Radhika's perception is a distorted version of the reality. According to officials at UP STF, the AIPMT racket was disclosed after the exam while the one related to UPCPMT was revealed after the exam successfully started. Director general medical education, Dr B N Tripathi said, "The university and STF have both informed us of a copying incident that occurred after the exam had started. As per STF report the candidates involved in cheating were arrested."

Dr Tripathi also informed that medical education directorate would go ahead with its plan for counseling and allotment of seats. "Admission process for 85% of medical seats in the state filled through CPMT will be finalised as per schedule. Admission against the AIPMT quota would take place after result of re-examination is announced," he said.

Candidates, however, questioned the university's certainty stating that a petition regarding UP CPMT is pending in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court which will be taken up for hearing on July 27. "What if the high court orders cancellation of the UP CPMT as well...the entire effort will go in vain," stated Shraddha Kumari who took the exam from Gorakhpur. To this, DG ME, said, "As of now, the high court has not given any directions to us. But whatever they say would be binding on us."

No ban for Indians to marry foreigners, Kerala HC rules

KOCHI: In a ruling that gives Indians the freedom to marry foreigners without any hassles, the Kerala High Court has held that there is no ban for Indians marrying foreigners under the special law. The concerned law, Special Marriage Act of 1954, doesn't specify that the parties getting married must be Indian citizens, the court pointed out.

The ruling was given by justice K Vinod Chandran after considering a petition filed by a 24-year-old woman from Kottayam in Central Kerala. Sandhu Simon of Keezhoor near Mulakkulam approached the high court through advocate Jacob E Simon after Thalayolaparambu sub registrar decided not to allow registration of her marriage with a foreigner.

In an application filed to the sub registrar's office, the petitioner had sought to register her marriage with a US national of Indian origin named Nitin Joseph as per the provisions of Special Marriage Act. Nitin had produced a certificate issued by the state registrar of Public Health Department of Illinois stating that no record exists there regarding his marriage.

The sub registrar, who is the designated marriage officer, had raised an objection to the application for registering marriage by pointing out that provisions of Special Marriage Act cannot be invoked as the marriage is intended to be entered into with a foreign citizen.

After considering the case, the court pointed out that Special Marriage Act does not contain any prohibition for solemnization of the marriage if one of the parties is a foreigner. A reading of the provisions of Special Marriage Act indicates that it indicates, in section 4, a marriage between "any two persons", the court said. The court found support on a 1993 decision by Himachal Pradesh high court.

Allowing the petition, the high court ordered the sub registrar to accept the application and solemnize the marriage after giving a notice as required by the Special Marriage Act

Students get a jolt on SC’s AIPMT re-exam order

KANPUR: The Supreme Court's decision to re-conduct All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) has given a jolt to the city's medical aspirants. The order evoked mixed reactions from the students.

While some students feel that re-examination may affect their performance and grades, others welcomed the apex court's judgment whole-heartedly. The Supreme Court (SC) has directed Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to hold the examination again within four weeks.

Just as the news about the court's decision on AIPMT came out, the deserted roads of Kakadeo coaching mandi became abuzz with students pouring in their coaching institutions. It was apparently a perplexed situation for the young medical aspirants. "I gave my 100 per cent in the first attempt that was held recently. That time I was mentally prepared for the exam, but now appearing for the exam again seems to be a painful thing. The moment I heard the news, I felt pressurised. Government should take strict action against the solvers and their gang as a whole. Many of us have to suffer now just because of them," lamented Swarit, a medical aspirant.

Similar words were echoed by another student, who on the condition of anonymity said, "Temperament is required for giving these competitive exams. It is not a easy thing to compete for very few MBBS seats all over the country. As I belong to general category, so I will not get the benefit of reservation. Now, re appearing for the exam would be a bit difficult. We were relaxed after the exam and have already lost the link. There will be a need to build the whole tempo again for the 100 per cent performance. But, yes, I respect the SC's order," the student said.

The exam results, which were to be declared by the CBSE on June 5, were postponed till June 10 at the centre because some irregularities were found in it. Over 6 lakh students from all over the country had appeared for the examination.

Several students from the city welcomed the court's judgment with open arms. "Paper was leaked on a large scale. There could have been thousands of beneficiaries from the same. I am glad that the SC took the decision in favour of innocent aspirants. Re-test is the best solution as genuine candidates will be selected," said Pradeep Verma.

Rupabhra Singh, another medical students said, "Scrapping AIPMT does make sense, as using unfair means in exams can only hamper quality of doctors. The standard of examination process has dropped drastically in the country. Every year Munna Bhai's are caught. Government should take rapid and strict action against culprits. It is a matter of future of lakhs of students," the students said.

Meanwhile, SP Singh, who runs a medical coaching in the city, said that all his students have appreciated the SC's decision to re-conduct the exam. He suggested that a common medical entrance exam should be conducted in the country for all medical colleges.

"Conducting a common entrance exam will not only save time of the students, but also energy and money of the people involved in it. All my students have pledged to prepare themselves better to crack the all India exam. One month's time is sufficient to revise the course. It is a second chance for those who could not perform in the recently held exam," he said

With no rule in place, row over MBBS seats to test all

CHENNAI: The academic calendar in Tamil Nadu is never complete without hard-fought court battles over issues ranging from wrong key answers, to abolition of entrance examination and improvement examination.

This year, the contours of a brewing dispute are set to test the nerves of students, parents, administrators and the government alike. With fears of about 50% of available MBBS seats going to Class 12 students from previous years, top-scoring students of 2014-15 batch have rushed to the Madras high court crying foul.

The legal process may have come a wee bit too late for the fresh batch of Class 12 students, who see themselves as victims of a tough set of question papers and stringent evaluation resulting in a big dip scores including centums.

"Let us face it. It is settled law that a prospectus is a document binding on both sides — students as well as the government. Neither can the government introduce an amendment nor can students demand changes after going through the process. As of now, prospectus for medical education specifies only minimum age — 17 years — for candidates participating in counselling, but there is no upper age limit. So there is no rule stopping previous year students from participating in counselling this year, taking advantage of comparatively lower cut-off mark position," explained a government advocate.

Countering this, advocates being consulted by students of the present batch say it is never too late to stop an injustice. Citing the Supreme Court's Monday order scrapping the all-India pre-medical test, a senior jurist said: "If courts are convinced that treating students from more than one batch as equals and permitting them to take part in counselling will undermine fundamental right to equality, then they can stop it even at the eleventh hour. At the same time, the concept of legitimate expectation would come into play in favour of previous year students."

When there is no rule barring their participation, introducing a new clause now would amount to shifting the goalpost during the game, conceded another lawyer, saying, "there is enough elbow room to correct the anomaly, but the order can be put to effect only prospectively."

In 2005, abolition of common entrance test for all undergraduate programmes including MBBS gave sleepless nights to those supporting and opposing the policy decision. In 2006, a government move doing away with the improvement examination system was source of anxiety to several thousands. This year, till the last MBBS seat is allotted, students coming within the zone of consideration, will have to spend sleepless nights.

Previous year’s high cutoffs puts current batch on edge

CHENNAI: Medical aspirants from the 2014-15 Class 12 batch in the state could well be remembered as the 'unluckiest'. The lower cutoffs for admission to government medical colleges this year are expected to give medical aspirants from previous class 12 batches an edge in the race for the 2,200-odd seats this year.

Cutoff marks for MBBS seats in most categories rose over the three years from 2012 to 2014 with last year recording the highest in all categories. While the cutoff for the open category MBBS seat was 199, that for SCs and STs was 194.50 and 187.50 (see table). In the two years before that, cut-offs in the open category were 198.50 (2012) and 198.25 (2013) Similarly, cut-offs in the SC categoriy were 192 (2012) and 192.25 (2013).

However this year, the scenario changed. "The number of centums (students with 100/100) in 2015 were significantly low compared to last year,"said Doctors Association for Social Equality, general secretary Dr G R Ravindranath. In 2014, 2,710 Class 12 students scored centum in physics in state board examinations, while just 124 got centum this year. Last year, 1,693 got full marks in chemistry and 652 got centum in biology. This year, the numbers are 1,049 and 387. Physics, chemistry and biology marks are considered for MBBS admission.

"The fact that additional seats have been added this year will also have an impact on this year's cutoff," Ravindranath added.

Experts had predicted this year's cutoffs would be low due to tougher questions and stricter assessment. "But this has helped last year's aspirants make a clean sweep," said a parent of a student from the current batch who has moved the Madras high court saying the admission pitch will be skewed if students from last year's batch were allowed to participate in the admission process this time.

A senior Directorate of Medical education official, however, dismissed fears of students from the current batch. "The current year's cutoff is being worked out and we think there will only be a 0.5 difference," he said.

MCI rejects govt proposal for two new medical colleges

MUMBAI: In a major setback for the state government, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has rejected its proposal to start two new medical colleges at Chandrapur and Gondia, while granting permission to two private colleges. It has cited the state's failure to meet requisite educational standards, including adequate teaching faculty and infrastructure, for declining the permissions.

The last state-run medical college was started in Akola 13 years ago. With BMC's medical college at RN Cooper Hospital getting the approval, the MCI's decision has left the state red-faced. The colleges would have added a crucial 200 affordable seats to the state's existing pool of 2710, including 750 in Mumbai. Nearly 1.89 lakh students contested for the handful medical seats in MH-CET this year.

Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde blamed the setback on the erstwhile Congress government, which he alleged sent an ill-prepared proposal just to score brownie points with voters. "The proposals were sent without meticulous preparation such as infrastructure, faculty or funds. The announcements to start six new colleges were purely political," he told TOI on Tuesday.

Tawde, however, said they have not lost hope yet as efforts are being made to fill up positions of associate professors and professors. "We have been given more time by the MCI. We are hopeful of starting the colleges in this academic year," he said.

The Directorate of Medical Education and Research said medical teachers from government colleges in Nagpur, Akola and Yevatmal are being promoted and sent to the new colleges.

சிங்கப்பூரில் வெளிநாட்டு ஊழியர்கள் சம்பள பிரச்சனை அதிகரிப்பு

சிங்கப்பூர்,

சிங்கப்பூரில் வெளிநாட்டு ஊழியர்கள் சந்தித்துவரும் சம்பள பிரச்சனை அதிகரித்து உள்ளது.

சிங்கப்பூரில் பணிசெய்துவரும் வெளிநாட்டு ஊழியர்கள் கடந்த ஆண்டு, 4,500 பேர் தங்களுக்கு வேலை வழங்கியவர்களுடன் உள்ள பிரச்சனையை தீர்த்துவைக்க வேண்டும் என்று சிங்கப்பூர் அரசிடம் உதவியை நாடிஉள்ளனர். கடந்த 2013-ம் ஆண்டில் இருந்து ஊழியர்கள் சந்தித்துவரும் பிரச்சனையானது அதிகரித்து உள்ளது.
சிங்கப்பூரில் பணிசெய்துவரும் வெளிநாட்டவர்கள் அதிகபேர் தாங்கள் பணிசெய்யும் நிறுவனத்துடன் உள்ள பிரச்சனை தொடர்பாக புகார் அளித்து உள்ளனர் என்று சிங்கபூரில் சண்டே டைம்ஸ் செய்ந்தி நாளிதழ் செய்தி வெளிட்டு உள்ளது.

சிங்கப்பூர் மனிதவள மேம்பாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சக தகவலின்படி சுமார், 4500 வெளிநாட்டு ஊழியர்கள் தங்களுக்கு உள்ள பிரச்சனையை தீர்த்துவைக்க கோரி புகார் அளித்து உள்ளனர் என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது. இதுவே கடந்த 2013ம் ஆண்டு சுமார் 3,600 ஊழியர்கள் புகார் தெரிவித்து உள்ளனர் என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது. இந்த வருடம் மட்டும் வெளிநாட்டு பணியாளர்கள் மையத்திற்கு மட்டும் 2,000 புகார்கள் வந்து உள்ளது. இவையனைத்தும் சம்பள பிரச்சனை மற்றும் நியாயமற்ற பிடித்தங்கள் தொடர்பானவையே என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது. சுமார் 60-சதவீதம் புகார்கள் நியாயமற்ற பிடித்தங்கள் மற்றும் சம்பளம் பிடித்து வைத்திருப்பது தொடர்பானவையே என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது.

சம்பளம் விவகாரத்தில் வெளிநாட்டு ஊழியர்கள் சந்தித்துவரும் பிரச்சனையை தீர்க்க அமைச்சகம் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க தொடங்கிஉள்ளது. அதிகமான புகார்கள் வந்து உள்ளதையடுத்து வெளிநாட்டவர்கள் சந்தித்துவரும் பிரச்சனைகளை தீர்க்க அவர்களுக்கு இடையே விழிப்புணர்வை ஏற்படுத்த முயற்சி செய்து வருகிறது. கடந்த வருடம் ஆகஸ்ட் மாதம் வரையிலான தகவல்களின்படி, சிங்கப்பூரில் 1.32 மில்லியன் வெளிநாட்டவர்கள் பணிசெய்து வருகின்றனர் என்று தெரியவந்து உள்ளது. இவர்களில் பெரும்பாலானோர் இந்தியா, வங்காளதேசம், சீனா மற்றும் தென்கிழக்கு ஆசியா நாடுகளை சேர்ந்தவர்களே, அவர்கள் கட்டிடம் மற்றும் சுரங்கத்துறைகளில் பணியாற்றி வருகின்றனர் என்று தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது.

இப்பிரச்சனையை தீர்க்க நடவடிக்கை எடுத்து வருவதாக தெரிவித்து உள்ள சிங்கப்பூர் அமைச்சகம், அடுத்தவருடத்தில் இருந்து இப்பிரச்சனைக்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்க வேலைக்கு ஆட்கள் எடுக்கும் நிறுவனங்கள் ஊழியர்களுக்கு வழங்கப்படும் சம்பளம் தொகை மற்றும் விதிமுறைகளை எழுத்துப்பூர்வமாக வழங்க வேண்டும் என்ற நிலையை கொண்டுவர உள்ளதாக தெரிவித்து உள்ளது.