A father remembers his beloved daughter, her shattered dream

C. Jaisankar

ARIYALUR,SEPTEMBER 03, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 03, 2017 04:20 IST

Shanmugam  

Neighbours too say Anitha was a role model for the entire village

Even as the State grieved for Anitha, it was her village that was the focal point on Saturday as hordes of residents used the occasion to vent their anger at the government for introducing NEET. For Shanmugam, 50, a daily-wage labourer at the Gandhi Market, the untimely death of his beloved daughter Anitha was probably the worst day of his life.

Anitha was a Class II student when her mother Anantham died in 2007. It was Periamma, 80, Anitha’s grandmother, who shouldered the responsibility of raising her and four grandsons. Mr. Shanmugam, with his meagre income, however, instilled and fostered the burning desire in his daughter to become a doctor.

“Despite our best efforts, we could not save my wife. If I had the wherewithal then, we could have saved her. It was then that I took a pledge to spend my earnings to make my daughter a doctor. But, this has shattered me and my family,” says Mr. Shanmugam, with tears rolling down his cheeks.

‘Well-behaved, studious’

Shell-shocked over her death, her relatives, teachers, friends and neighbours, who have gathered here, recall how she was well-behaved and, what the world has come to know by now, studious.

“Sometimes, she used to come to school little late as she had to complete her household chores. However, she was quick to pick things up. She was perfect in studies and discipline,” says Fr. K. Robert, former Headmaster of St. Philomenal Higher Secondary School in Kuzhumur, where Anitha studied up to SSLC.

P. Sekar, a neighbour, said the neighbourhood could never forget her. She was a role model not only among the Dalit students but also among others in studies.

Blaming the governments for the death of his daughter, Mr. Shanmugam said if Jayalalithaa was alive, she would not have allowed the Central government to impose NEET for medical admission in Tamil Nadu.

Despite our best efforts, we could not save my wife. It was then that I took a pledge to spend my earnings on making my daughter a doctor

Multiple court rulings haven’t curbed ragging: UGC

Shiv Sahay Singh
KOLKATA,SEPTEMBER 03, 2017 00:00 IST

Loud and clear:A file photo of students staging a protest against ragging in Hyderabad.G. Ramakrishna 

 
Study reveals that hostel residents are the worst-hit; the incidence is more in professional colleges, and a majority of the victims are male

Ragging in educational institutions is truly alive and kicking. Four out of every ten students admitted to higher educational institutions have been victims, a study commissioned by the University Grants Commission has found.

The study, titled ‘Psychosocial Study of Ragging in Selected Educational Institutions in India’, was done during 2013-14 in 37 colleges and universities across the country. It scrutinised the experiences of 10,632 students from different demographic profiles.

The study encompassed 13 colleges from the northern parts of India, 10 from the south, six from the east and eight from western India. The surveyed institutions included nine medical colleges, 11 engineering colleges and nine ‘degree’ colleges and universities.

“Analysis of the overall data reveals that almost 40% students admitted to having gone through some kind of ragging — 35.1% students faced mild ragging and 4.1% students were subjected to severe ragging. However, college-wise analysis shows significant variations in these values,” the study states. It not only highlights occurrence in terms of numbers and frequency but also deals with the prevalence of the practice irrespective of places, types of courses and gender divide. The study discusses causes and consequences.

The practice continues despite multiple judgements by the Supreme Court over the past two decades seeking to curb it. The court in 1999 and 2007 issued guidelines to curb ragging and felt the need again in 2009 to set up a committee of mental health and public health professionals to study the menace.

The study finds ragging is more prevalent among hostel residents at 45.9%, when compared with the 32.5% incidence seen among day scholars. The incidence was more in professional courses such as medicine and engineering — approximately 48.3% in medical colleges and 44.5% in engineering colleges. The figure is 28.8% for other courses. Instances of ragging was much higher among males.

Reported in media

The study examines ragging incidents reported in major media outlets between January 2007 and September 2013, and analyses 717 cases. The highest number of 97 was reported from Uttar Pradesh. The figure was 75 for Andhra Pradesh, 73 for West Bengal, 54 for Tamil Nadu, 48 for Kerala, 48 again for Madhya Pradesh, 42 for Maharashtra, and 35 for Punjab. “A total of 71 deaths due ragging was reported in that period. There were 199 cases of ragging that led to minor and major injuries to students, including 81 incidents leading to hospitalisation and causing permanent disability,” the report states.

According to the study, factors such as individual appearance, region of origin, language spoken, sexuality, and caste were factors involved in the incidents. About 20.7% of students who admitted to having been ragged said they were targeted for their looks and appearance. About 15.6% attributed it to their region of origin and 12.2% to their mother tongue.

The report states that the ability or inability to speak English often becomes a basis for discrimination and a factor in ragging.

The qualitative and quantitative data highlighted the fact that sexual harassment in the name of ragging is prevalent in some institutions. While 4% students admitted to having faced sexual ragging, more than 10% faced it in some institutions.

Harsh Agarwal, one of the authors, said there was remarkable variation in the prevalence of ragging across colleges and institutions. In some institutions the prevalence was as high as 75%, which pointed to the significance of institutional factors. “The response of a particular institution to ragging complaints and the attitude of the faculty [members] are the most important factors in influencing ragging,” Mr. Agarwal said.

Data collection was done between February 2013 and February 2014. Experts analysed the data in 2014 and 2015. Mr. Agarwal, Professor Mohan Rao, Dr. Shobna Sonpar, Dr. Amit Sen, Professor Shekhar Seshadri and Divya Padalia authored the 252-page report. It was submitted to the UGC in early 2016 and released on August 11, 2017.

Surveillance tools

Academicians and researchers said that during field visits it was observed that ragging was less prevalent in institutions that promoted a healthy interaction between teachers and students, and when there was a sense of community on the campus. Surveillance tools such as CCTV cameras proved to be ineffectual as they often induced a sense of complacency among administrators.

The researchers also noted some interesting anecdotes. In a medical college in Uttar Pradesh, the research team was having an informal conversation with a peon when a senior faculty member instructed him not to talk to the team. “The faculty member was afraid that the peon could reveal information pertaining to ragging,” the report states.

A girl student interviewed at a Delhi college said she was targeted because she was an ‘outsider’ and hailed from Bihar. Many students broke down while narrating their experiences. Many refused to talk inside the campus and quietly handed over their numbers so researchers could speak to them over phone.

33% enjoyed ragging

Curiously, of the students who admitted to being ragged, 32.6% said they enjoyed the experience, while 45.1% admitted to feeling bad only initially. Negative emotional experiences such as feeling angry was reported by 19.1% students, 12.1% said they felt helpless, and 8.6% felt ashamed and humiliated.

The researchers had a set of questions to assess the students’ level of support to ragging. The results show that 33.8% of students felt ragging helps build confidence and develop personality traits, and 34.8% felt it toughened them mentally. As many as 35.7% felt ragging prepares a student to deal with the harsh world outside.

“This normalisation of ragging is very dangerous, where the students are socialised into thinking that the world outside is a tough place and that a toughening-up exercise will help them succeed in this harsh world,” Divya Padalia, a co-author of the report, said.

800 BDS seats filled during spot allotment

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPTEMBER 04, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 04, 2017 05:11 IST

About 800 BDS seats in private self-financing colleges were filled on Sunday when the first round of spot allotment to the course drew to a close. As in the case of the MBBS allotment, 107 seats were transferred to the merit category from the NRI quota in 13 colleges for want of takers for the latter category. At close of counselling on Sunday, there were 26 NRI seats vacant in four dental colleges. These seats would be filled during a spot allotment to be held here on September 8.

Commissioner for Entrance Examinations M.T. Reju said here that even those colleges, which said they would go to court against the decision to shift the NRI quota seats to merit seats, cooperated with the CEE on Sunday.

However, some managements opposed the shifting of seats to the merit category which would fetch a lower fee. While the fee for the BDS merit seats is Rs. 2.9 lakh, the fee in the NRI category is Rs. 6 lakh.

NEET issue

Curious case of bar on government quota students seeking MBBS
By Siva Sekaran | Express News Service | Published: 04th September 2017 06:59 AM |

Last Updated: 04th September 2017 08:58 AM |

CHENNAI: CAN a student, who has obtained a seat in a professional course under the government quota during the previous academic year, seek admission in MBBS course after writing NEET for 2017-18?

This intriguing question has been raised before a division bench of the Madras High Court, recently. As per two GOs issued by the State government on July 28 and October 12, 2015, no such candidate can seek admission in MBBS course.

When a bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Abdul Quddhose asked Medical Council of India (MCI) senior counsel to clarify the issue, he replied in the negative. No such restriction has been imposed by MCI, he said.

Holding that the matter requires serious examination, the bench ordered notice on writ appeals from two affected candidates, returnable in two weeks. Till then, the earlier interim orders directing medical colleges to keep one seat each vacant for the appellants shall hold good, the bench said and added that the duo will be granted admission subject to the outcome of the writ appeals.

According to advocate M Ravi, his clients Gayathri Swaminath and Kannan alias Sivakumar, natives of Puducherry, had obtained admission in BDS and in engineering courses, respectively, under the government quota. While the former joined the BDS course in 2015-16, the latter the engineering course during 2012-13. They both wrote NEET 2017 and emerged successful.

However, they were denied admission by virtue of the two 2015 GOs, which prevented candidates who had obtained admission under government quota earlier in any of the professional courses, from seeking admission in MBBS course.

Aggrieved, the two moved the High Court and a single judge — K Ravichandra Baabu — dismissed their plea. Hence, the present writ appeals. Ravi contended there was no provision in MCI Act to deny admission to suitable candidates in MBBS course, on this unsupportive ground.

Govt orders banned entry

Gayathri Swaminath and Kannan had obtained admission in BDS and engineering courses under the government quota a few years back. They wrote NEET this year and emerged successful, but were denied seats due to two GOs in 2015.

Russian medicine's bitter taste

TNN | Sep 4, 2017, 13:52 IST

Chandigarh-based education consultant Dr Navpreet Kaur (third from right) along with some of the Indian medica... Read More

By: Anindita Acharya

Inside her Russian hostel in 2016, Kan upriya (21) sat arms crossed, body shaking. Just two years of the six-year MBBS degree at Orenburg had broken the non-quitter's will. The medical university is one of the best in Russia.

But for the now Panjab University student, "it was traumatic".

When a Delhi-based educational consultancy got the young woman from Himachal Pradesh into the foreign medical school after Class XII, her dream of becoming a doctor seemed close. Only after landing overseas she came to know that most of the subjects were in the local language. "For two years, I struggled to learn Russian," she said. "From theory to practical, almost everything was in that language. I felt cheated. My studies were hampered. I didn't want to waste any more of my parents' money ."

Russia is one of the major international destinations for Indian medical students--95% of Indian students in Russia are there to study medicine and the rest are in technical courses such as aviation. Every year, almost 6,000 Indians enter the world's largest country to become doctor. Ukraine, China, and even Kyrgyzstan entice those who find the NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) hurdle in India too hard to cross. Of Russia's more than 45 govern ment medical universities, only a handful offer the six-year general medicine course in English. A fourth-year medical student from a leading Russian university says on the condition of anonymity that she, too, was cheated by a contractor and enrolled into a university that has dual medium of instruction. "We were taught Russian in the first year.It is a tough language but we have no choice but to learn it, if we have to clear the examinations, practicals especially," says the student from Dharamsala. Almost a quarter of the Indian medical students in Russia quit midway. "Of 10 in my batch in the second year, 8 left," said another student, requesting anonymity.

Love continues

South Indians make up 70% of the desi medical students in Russia but a thousand-odd are also from the northern region--Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh especially. In the past two years, the number of Russiabound medical students from Chandigarh has increased. Dr Dinesh Singla, director of Rus Education in New Delhi says: "From 40-to-50, the figure has doubled." Despite all odds.

Educationists warn these stu dents and their parents to gather as much information as possible, and know that in most of these universities, the language of instruction is Russian and most of the professors are not conversant with English.Even the Indian embassy in Moscow has posted all the Russian educational opportunities on its website. Its education wing site. Its education win receives many complaints against contractors who make f alse promises, giving mislead ing information, cheat, and behave in a highhanded manner.

Beware of leeches

Agents and contractors wait to sell gullible Indian stu gullible Indian students the foreign medical studies. Dr Navpreet Kaur, chairman and managing director of Phoenix Educ rector of Phoenix Educational Consultancy, Chandigarh, has a word of caution. "Many agents don't tell you beforehand that half the course will be in Russian. We advise the parents and students to be well informed. The In dian embassy in Moscow is the best source of infor mation," she said.

Some agents charge students triple the fee "They lie about fee structure, and the stu dents have to believe them because the Russian universities deal only with the contractors. Even the fee goes into the contractors' account ges first," Dr Navpreet Kaur said. The Indian embassy in Moscow has posted on its website: "The publicity in India about English-medium medical courses in the Russian federation is not correct. The medium is mostly Russian. No medical books in English are available in Russia. Only in some on contractors provide cases, education contractors provide you with the same."

NEET hurdle

Students, educationists, parents, they all blame the Russian trend on the fewer seats through NEET. Of more than 11 lakh candidates who took a shot at the entrance test in 2017, 6.5 lakh qualified. "When reservation limits the scope of admission, what options do the aspiring doctors have?" says a spokesperson of Jupiter Consultants, Chandigarh.

Dr Dinesh Singla of Rus Education has similar views. "Many more Indian students (than those who qualify) deserve to study medicine. Russia provides them with quality education and infrastructure," he said. Damanpreet, a third-year medical student of Crimea Federal University, is happy studying in Russia. "I like the practical classes and hands-on experience," she says.

India test too tough

The real struggle starts when Russian-educated doctors return home and sit the Medical Council of India's (MCI) mandatory Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) for a license to practice in India. Only about 15% students from Russian, Chinese, and Ukrainian colleges are able to clear. Ludhiana educationist Teejpreet Singh says: "Easier is to set tle down and practice in Russia and China. The MCI's standards are too high for average students," he says.

Dr Avinash Jindal, president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) unit in Ludhiana, says Chinese-andRussian-qualified doctors are unable to pass the India test even on the fourth attempt. "I have reservations about the standard of education in those countries," he says. The Indian embassy in Moscow also mentions this low performance in the screening test and warns students to "keep in mind before deciding to study medicine in Russia". Just be informed.

TN sets up special panel to scrutinise nativity certificates of MBBS aspirants

Pushpa Narayan| TNN | Aug 31, 2017, 21:25 IST

CHENNAI A scrutinising committee will verify nativitycertificates submitted by more than verify nativity certificates submitted by 428 students who have been admitted to MBBS/BDS courses through the single window counselling under the government quota, state health secretary J Radhakrishnan said.

A scrutinising committee has been set up to verify the authenticity of the certificates students have produced during the counselling conducted by the state selection committee. All nativity certificates will be sent to the districts and the respective collectors will hold inquiry. "If the reports are not genuine, the admission will be cancelled and criminal action will be initiated against the student," the state health department said in a press release.

Parents and activists had filed complaints with the health department and police alleging that several students had claimed "dual nativity." The counselling for 4733 MBBS/BDS government quota seats - in government colleges and government quota seats in self-financing colleges -- began August 24 based on the merit list drawn on the basis of NEET 2017. This year, there was 10 times increase in the number of students claiming nativity compared to 2016, when there were 49 students, officials said.

On Wednesday, the selection committee said of the 4546 admissions so far, 3012 students had studied in state board. Among these 28 who were not natives of Tamil Nadu, but have studied here since Class VII were given admission on the basis of their domiciliary status. Similarly, 428 native students, who studied in other states, have been admitted.

The students claiming nativity have produced a nativity certificate have given an undertaking to the state government that their certificates are genuine and that they have not claimed nativity in any other state. "If a native of Tamil Nadu has studied in Kerala, he or she may apply Kerala on the basis of domiciliary and apply to Tamil Nadu on the basis or nativity.

But no one can submit nativity certificates in more than one state," Radhakrishnan said.

If students who joined any of the government colleges across the state or deemed universities after being allotted the seats by the Directorate General of Health Services through the all India quota had joined the state counselling, their admissions will also be cancelled. Admission to management quota seats in self-financing colleges will be conducted until September 1. The second round of counselling for government quota seats left vacant after the first round will be held for two days from September 2, a release seat.