He went to Saudi Arabia never to return 

Special Correspondent 
 
Ramanathapuram, June 05, 2018 00:00 IST


K.Panchavarnam with her family members at the Collectorate in Ramanathapuram on Monday.L. Balachandar 

Family seeks government’s help to bring back his body

When K. Karuppaiah (52) left for Saudi Arabia nine-and-a-half years ago, looking for greener pastures, he would have least imagined that he would never return home.

Karuppaiah of Moopanvalasai went to Saudi Arabia in 2009, leaving behind his wife, a semi-literate, and two sons, both school dropouts, after he was promised gardening work for a lucrative monthly salary.

On landing at the desert country, however, he found there was no garden. He was forced to herd sheep in a desert, far away from the town. Soon, Karuppaiah, an illiterate, became a shepherd, and a tent in a desert became his residence.

Whenever he wanted to return home, the owner, an Arab, would hold back his passport, intimidate him and issue threats. The poor man could not come home when his two sons got married a few years ago and when his brother K Arumugam died two years ago.

The only solace for the family was that he could be contacted over phone. His wife K Panchavarnam (46) would re-charge her phone for Rs. 25 to talk to her husband, as Karuppaiah would have no balance in his phone. Before she completed her enquiry about his well-being, the money would be exhausted.

After discovering that the Arab never paid his brother, Arumugam, who was working in Saudi Arabia, contacted him through his Arab owner and got his brother’s salary credited into his bank account. He was helping the family till he was in Saudi Arabia. The salary stopped coming after he returned home a couple of years ago and died, his son A Muniasamy said.

As the family members were trying to get him back home, a person from Kumbakonam working in Saudi Arabia, called them and informed them about Karuppaiah death. It appeared that the Arab owner found him dead on May 25 after Karuppaiah failed to respond to phone calls for two days, said Muniasamy.

He said he spoke to the Arab, who confirmed the death.

Panchavarnam, accompanied by her sons and family members, visited the collectorate here on Monday and requested Collector S. Natarajan to help her to bring back her husband’s body.

Muniasamy said the Arab, when contacted, assured them that he would clear the five-year salary backlog and send the body after Ramzan. However, he did not respond to phone calls now, he said.

Mr. Natarajan assured the distraught family to do the needful.

MBBS/BDS rank list expected by June-end 

Staff Reporter 
 
CHENNAI, June 05, 2018 00:00 IST

With the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) announced on Monday, the expected date of publication of the MBBS/BDS rank list is June 28.

The sale of applications will commence on June 11. They will be issued till 5 p.m. on June 18.

Filled-in applications should be submitted by 5 p.m. on June 19. Filled-in application forms along with enclosures should be sent to The Secretary, Selection Committee, No. 162, Periyar E.V.R. High Road, Kilpauk, Chennai-600 010, according to a release. The first phase of counselling will be held from July 1 to 5, while the second will be held from July 22 to 24.

The schedule will be put up on websites--

www.tnhealth.organdwww.tnmedicalselction.org--after completion of the second round of all-India counselling.

Counselling dates could thereforechange depending on the all India counselling.

Candidates can visit these official websites for updates.

The courses will commence on August 1 and admissions will come to an end on August 18, the release added.

Rise in pass percentage could see competition intensify 
 
R. Sujatha 
 
Chennai, June 05, 2018 00:00 IST

The increase will also push up competition for engineering seats; 1.59 lakh students have applied this year

A marginal increase in the pass percentage in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in the State could see cut-offs rise as there has been no increase in the number of MBBS and BDS seats.

Of the 1,14,602 candidates who took the test, 45,336 have qualified, a 39.55% success rate. Last year, it was 38.84%. There is also a marginal increase in the number of students who took the test in Tamil. This year, the pass percentage is 1.89% compared to last year’s 1.33%.

The 50th percentile qualifying criterion includes the mark range of 691-119; for OBC, SC and ST categories it is 118-96 marks; for the physically handicapped in the general category it is 118-107; for OBC, SC, and STs in the same category it is 106-96 marks. From this year on, NEET scores will be used for admission to Ayush programmes besides MBBS and BDS. The Veterinary Council of India will also use the scores for admission of students to 15% of the 400 seats in the State under its purview.

Cut - off scores

The increase in the pass percentage will also push up competition for Engineering seats. This year 1.59 lakh students have applied for engineering courses. Last year, only 1.40 lakh applied.

Last year, in the State merit list, the general category topper had scored 646 and the last candidate to be admitted had scored 388. In the BC category, the merit list began with a score of 656 and the last candidate to be admitted had scored 326 marks. An MBC candidate with 634 marks was the topper in the merit list and the last candidate in this category to be admitted had scored 270 marks. In the SC category, it was 583 for the topper and 426 for the last candidate to be admitted, while in the ST category the first candidate to be admitted had 317 marks and the last candidate 200 marks.

“Somebody who scored 595 last year was in the 98 percentile but this time a student who secured 625 marks is in the 99.95 percentile. This means the competition is tougher this year. As far as the State’s performance goes, only 40% of the students from the State are in the 50% percentile bracket, pointing to lack of preparedness of students. The results show that preparation on fundamentals is key. The new syllabus with its focus on this will see students doing better in the coming years. The competition will get tougher in the coming years. Even a .001 percentile will make a difference when it comes to seats in government medical colleges,” said Archana Ram, director, SMART Learning Centre.

A systematic study schedule and integrated coaching in school helped me get a good score. I used to study in the morning and in the evening for three hours

N.E. Hari Narendhiran(625 marks) Kamala Niketan Montessori School, Tiruchi

The physics portion was tough. The residential coaching we took enabled us to clear the exam since we were taught how to approach the questions

M.Jhansi

(130 marks, Tamil medium ), Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Manachanallur, Tiruchi

seat matrix

neet 2018 mbbs NEWS

NEET 2018 cut off

SC agrees to hear plea for scrapping of upper age limit for NEET

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 05.06.2018

On a day NEET results were announced, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre, CBSE and Medical Council of India on a plea challenging the fixing of upper age limit to appear in the test for admission to medical courses in the country.

Agreeing to hear a batch of petitions filed by candidates who had appeared for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) this year and sought scrapping of the age limit, a vacation bench of Justice A K Goel and Justice Ashok Bhushan on Monday sought response from the Centre, CBSE and MCI.

CBSE had fixed upper age limit of 25 years for general category and 30 years for reserved category students to appear in NEET this year. It was challenged in the Delhi high court which had in February directed the Board to allow the students to provisionally appear in the exam. The test was held on May 6.

The Delhi high court, however, on May 11upheld CBSE’s decision on fixing the upper age limit for medical aspirants though it struck down a clause in the notification that barred students from open schools or those who had studied privately from appearing in the test.

The bench, at the outset, expressed reservations in entertaining the petitions saying it was a policy matter but it agreed to examine the issue after the petitioners contended that there had been no application of mind by CBSE and MCI in framing the policy. The court fixed the next hearing for July10.

Challenging the HC decision, senior advocate Amrendra Sharana and lawyer Amit Kumar, appearing for the aggrieved candidates, told the bench that the policy is arbitrary and restrictive in nature and should be quashed. They contended that age restriction was not there for appearing for entrance examinations of other medical colleges like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER).

“In almost all developed countries such as USA, Canada, UK and most of European Union, Australia etc there is no upper-age limit for studying medicine if the student is otherwise competent to undertake the course. Therefore, there is no rationale behind the decision of as to why a candidate above the age of 25 years is not competent to take medicine courses in India. Similarly, there is no upperage limit for pursuing engineering and law courses and the reputed IITs and NLUs have not provided for any upper-age limit for admission,” the petition said.