‘T.N. needs a nursing university’ 

Staff Reporter 
 
CHENNAI, May 13, 2018 00:00 IST

Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday said Tamil Nadu should have a nursing university.

“You send a proposal to the Centre and we will get it done,” he told Health department officials during a national conference on the theme ‘Nurses: A voice to lead – health is a human right’, organised by the Tamil Nadu Nurses and Midwives Council in Chennai.

The Governor said Tamil Nadu had always been an important centre for medical diagnosis and treatment. It was the first State to enact the Public Health Act. The State enjoyed an impressive record in the reduction of infant mortality and maternal mortality rates. Private sector involvement in the establishment of hospitals has been prevalent in Tamil Nadu for years, he said.

The State ranked first in the country in terms of the number of children immunised, and took pride in the lakhs of eminent medical practitioners and nursing professionals engaged in providing healthcare, Mr. Purohit added.

C. Vijaya Baskar, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, said he would take up the request for setting up a nursing university in the State with the Chief Minister.

Speaking at the occasion, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan asked nurses to constantly upgrade their skills.

The International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12 across the globe to acknowledge the contribution made by nurses to health services and to discuss various issues concerning them.

Anna University postpones exam

CHENNAI, May 14, 2018 00:00 IST





Anna University has postponed one exam for first year students, which was slated to be held on May 19, as the exam date clashes with that of TANCET, the entrance test for postgraduate courses offered by the university.

It is learnt that the dates for TANCET were announced after those for the university's semester exams. The postponed exam may be held in June.

Delay in ICSE, CBSE results worries students

May 14, 2018 00:00 IST

Bengaluru

With CBSE, ICSE, and ISC results yet to come out, many students are worried as they are unlikely to make it to the first list of many colleges.

Two dozen faculty members for Palakkad medical college 





K.A. Shaji 
 
Palakkad, May 14, 2018 00:00 IST

Minister says 30 objections raised by MCI to be addressed

Faced with the directive of the Medical Council of India (MCI) preventing MBBS admissions for the 2018-19 academic year to Government Medical College in Palakkad citing faculty shortage, the State government has initiated remedial measures.

Two dozen faculty members would be appointed with immediate effect and the 30 objections raised by the inspection wing of the MCI related to hospital facilities at the college would be addressed with top priority, said Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) A.K. Balan.

After completing the process, the government would approach the MCI seeking to vacate the stay on admissions.

Run by the SC/ST Department, the college has 100 seats for MBBS and 70 among them will go to candidates of Scheduled Castes. Two seats will be allotted to Scheduled Tribes candidates and the rest will belong to the general quota. If the MCI refuses to vacate the stay, it will hit hard the MBBS aspirations of eligible SC/ST candidates.

This is the second time that the Palakkad medical college is inviting the wrath of the MCI. The Central agency had cancelled the admissions in 2017-18 academic year as well.

Ineligible for post

According to the MCI, there was a 40% faculty deficiency and a 52% shortage of resident doctors at the medical college.

The current medical superintendent is not eligible for the post since he lacks the mandatory administrative experience of 10 years, it has observed.

The government is yet to decide on the matter. The MCI was also critical about affiliating the district hospital to the Directorate of Health Services for the setting up of the medical college.

“The college was started by the previous government in haste without meeting the necessities prescribed by the MCI. The government is now in the process of removing the legal hurdles in appointing 253 staff members. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has allocated Rs. 325 crore to the college,” said the Minister, adding that the construction of buildings was fast progressing.

Karnataka’s 72% turnout is a record 

Special Correspondent 
 
Bengaluru, May 14, 2018 00:00 IST


All major parties trash exit polls, claim voter support; not averse to a Dalit CM, says Siddaramaiah

The 72.36% turnout in Saturday’s Karnataka Assembly election is a new record for the State, surpassing the 71.90% polling in 1978. The 2013 Assembly election recorded a turnout of 71.45%.

However, the low voter turnout in the 28 Assembly constituencies in Bengaluru city has caused concern in the Election Commission. The turnout in different constituencies remained in the range of 48% to 60%.

Reading the numbers

The high voter turnout has triggered a political debate, even as both the ruling Congress and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that it was an indication of the voters’ mood in their favour.

While the Congress is interpreting the high turnout as demonstration of support for its administration, the BJP reads the numbers as an urge for a change.

Though several exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly, the three major parties — the Congress, the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) — have rubbished them. While the Congress and the BJP vociferously claim that they would form the government on their own, the JD(S) has maintained that it would get many more seats than forecast by the exit polls.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah even tweeted, asking party supporters not to worry about exit polls. “So, Dear party workers, supporters & well wishers, don’t worry about exit polls. Relax & enjoy your weekend. Exit opinion polls are entertainment for the next 2 days,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in the Chamundeshwari constituency, one of the two seats from where he contested, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “This will be my last election.”

A Dalit CM?

To a question on the possibility of a Dalit Chief Minister, he said, “It is fine if the party decides to have a Dalit Chief Minister.” However, he made a strong pitch for retaining the top post, emphasising the absence of dissidence in the party during his five-year tenure at the helm.

“There is no dissatisfaction among the party MLAs,” he said, recalling that dissidence had affected the regimes of his predecessors like D. Devaraj Urs, Veerendra Patil, S. Bangarappa, and M. Veerappa Moily.

Mr. Siddaramaiah also ruled out the possibility of shifting to national politics. Responding to a question on a possible move if the party high command wanted him to play a larger role ahead of the next year’s Lok Sabha election, he said, “I will not go to national politics. I will restrict myself to Karnataka politics.”

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara, meanwhile, said there were a dozen of aspirants for the top post, including himself, and ultimately the Congress Legislature Party would elect its leader and the party high command would take a final decision.

BSY heads to Delhi

BJP State president and chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa maintained that the party was bound to form the government on its own and he would visit New Delhi on Monday, ahead of the counting on May 15, to consult central leaders on the process of government formation.

JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy left for Singapore, along with his son Nikhil, on Sunday morning.

He is expected to return to Bengaluru on Tuesday morning.

MCI PUBLIC NOTICE ...TOI 13.05.2018

Only 36 foreign students register for JEE (A)

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:
13.05.2018

Despite holding a good ground in global rankings, IITs have failed to catch the fancy of international aspirants this year. Only 36 candidates have registered for JEE (Advanced) — the entry level test for admission to IITs — this year as against 69 last year. Eventually, only 31appeared for the test last year and seven qualified.

Not just the rankings, IITs, on their own, have been taking mindful efforts in the last few years to increase students’ diversity on campus. Only last year, the premier institutes decided to reach out to international students in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the UAE, and have been holding exams at these centres. “We have been releasing admission details from time to time on our website and are also taking all measures to promote the institutes in these countries. We approach the Indian embassies in the selected countries with all the admission data required to ensure a smooth conduct of the test,” said an official from the JEE (advanced) organising committee.

Most JEE candidates from IIT-M zone

This year too, the highest number of candidates to qualify for JEE (Advanced) is from the IIT-Madras zone, which means that students from south India comprise a lion’s share of the total IIT aspirants. IIT-Delhi zone moved one rank up this year to the second place, replacing IIT-Bombay zone that draws students from the western region. Officials attribute the change to reshuffling of centres in two cities. A professor from IIT-Bombay said that Jaipur, which was with IIT-Bombay zone, has been allocated to IIT-Delhi. Also, Bangalore which was earlier under IIT-Madras has come to IIT-Bombay. TNN