Obtain thumb impression of all medical students: Madras HC

Court asked NTA to clarify the procedure followed when students enter exam hall

Published: 25th October 2019 05:36 AM

Madras HC

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the CB-CID along with the Forensic Department to visit deemed universities and obtain thumb impressions of the medical students admitted this year, in the presence of the Deans or Principals concerned and get the process videographed.

The bench comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and P Velmurugan issued the direction as only the fingerprints of students in government and private colleges were obtained, but not those admitted in deemed universities. It passed the interim order on the plea moved by S Dheeran of Coimbatore, seeking direction to the government to undertake proper counselling and mop-up procedure to fill 207 management quota seats available due to non-filling of NRI quota seats.

The court also suo motu impleaded the Director of Finger Print Bureau, Chennai as an expert is required for the process of comparing the thumb impressions. The court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to clarify its position on the procedure followed at the time of allowing the students to enter the examination hall and also come out with information to answer the question whether the fingerprints of the students, who were admitted for examination, had been obtained manually by using ink or through the biometric method. The NTA had submitted only the details of the thumb impressions of the 4,250 candidates admitted in government and private medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.

2nd-yr also under scanner

Chennai: Officials are planning to reverify certificates of all second-year MBBS students following cases of suspected impersonation last year too. A senior official told Express, “ We will be verifying documents of all 2nd-year students just like we did in the case of first year. We received an anonymous email claiming a 2nd-year student at MMC also indulged in impersonation. We found out he had written NEET in Bihar, that too in Hindi. But, when the dean called him to sign or write a sentence in Hindi, he could not. So, the dean filed a complaint with police”.

HC upholds dismissal of bus conductor

There is no error in imposing the punishment of dismissal as the charges were proved. 

 Published: 25th October 2019 05:47 AM By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Holding that an allegation of misappropriation of funds by a State Transport Corporation conductor cannot be viewed leniently, the Madras High Court has upheld the orders of the Corporation in Salem dismissing him from service.

Justice S M Subramaniam made the observation while allowing a writ petition from the transport undertaking challenging the orders of July 6, 2004 of the Labour Court at Salem, which reinstated P Manimaran in service with 25 per cent backwages.

There is no error in imposing the punishment of dismissal as the charges were proved. Such allegations of misappropriation cannot be viewed leniently and that too, when he had put in hardly two years service, the judge said.

“This court has no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the Labour Court has committed an error in passing the award of reinstatement with 25 per cent backwages with effect from March 9,onwards. Consequently, the award of the Labour Court dated July 6, 2004 is quashed and accordingly, the writ petition stands allowed,” the judge said.

Bail plea dismissed as withdrawn by S Jayagopal

Chennai: The Madras HC on Thursday dismissed as withdrawn a bail petition filed by AIADMK’s S Jayagopal and his relative Meganathan. Their counsel pleaded Justice C V Karthikeyan to permit them to withdraw the plea. Subashri (23), a techie, was crushed to death when a banner erected by Jayagopal in connection with his son’s wedding fell on her when she was riding a two-wheeler at Pallikaranai on September 12. She lost balance and fell on the road and was run over by a water tanker. In his bail application, Jayagopal claimed he did not erect the banner. Some party cadre had put up the banner out of love and affection and local police had falsely included his name in FIR.

Other universities

Deemed univ asks up to 1 year’s salary to issue certificate

Ragu.Raman | Oct 21, 2019, 04:43 IST

RAGU.RAMAN

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Chennai: Candidates applying for the position of assistant professors in government colleges were shocked to find that their previous employer, a deemed university in the city, was demanding up to a year’s salary as ‘service fee’ to issue experience certificates.

While colleges ask up to Rs 2,000 as administrative charges to provide an experience certificate, the demand of one year’s salary by the deemed university, located in the city’s suburbs, has raised concerns.

According to candidates, the institution has three categories for issuing experience certificates. “To get an experience certificate of up to three years, faculty members have to pay three months’ salary. Those employed for three years to seven years, six months’ salary has to be paid and those working for more than eight years, a full year’s salary is demanded,” the candidates said. Recently, the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) issued a notification to recruit 2,331 assistant professors for government arts and science colleges.

With just more than a week to go for the last date, several candidates, working as lecturers, found it difficult to get experience certificates. The weightage for teaching experience carries 15 marks and for each year’s experience candidates get two marks. “The institute is exploiting this rule and demanding one year’s salary to give experience certificate for more than eight years which would fetch full marks to the candidates,” said a former faculty member at the deemed university.

More than 200 faculty members, present and former, from the deemed university are qualified to apply for the assistant professors’ post, but, few have got the required certificate. “Our salaries are low. We cannot pay such a huge sum to get the certificate. When some of the old faculty members approached the university administrative staff, they were told that it is the university’s norms. We are not sure which norms allow the university to levy such a fees,” a former faculty member from the deemed university told TOI on condition of anonymity.
TRB is insisting on experience certificates this year to check malpractice. But many colleges are apprehensive to give salary details as they pay lectures very less. “Though the TRB’s new experience format is hard to tamper with, the candidates are facing difficulties in acquiring certificates. Some colleges are using the situation trying to exploit the candidates,” said A R Nagarajan, adviser to NET SLET Association.

The officials from directorate of collegiate education said they would take action against institutions demanding money if they receive any specific complaints.

Court News- universities

Med college told to cough up Rs 20L for ‘not satisfactory’ TC

Ram Sundaram | Oct 21, 2019, 04:10 IST

Chennai: The state consumer disputes redressal forum directed a medical college in the state to pay a fine of Rs 20 lakh and make corrections to a transfer certificate it had issued to one of its students. The character of the medical student, who went to court after his college refused an internship transfer so that he could take care of his ailing parents, was branded ‘not satisfactory’ in his transfer certificate.

V Balasundar Raj, a native of Tirupur district, joined MBBS course at Shree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences in Kanyakumari in September 2006.

He availed an education loan to complete his course in August 2011 and a provisional registration certificate was issued by the Tamil Nadu Medical Council for him to undergo compulsory rotating resident internship (CRRI) for a year.

During his internship, his father was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine) and his aged mother had limb ischemia (reduced blood flow) and left subclavian artery inclusion. Both were undergoing treatment at Vellore.

Balasundar applied for CRRI transfer to Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore. While CMC gave its nod, Mookambika Institute rejected the request. Balasundar then approached the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, to which the institute was affiliated to, seeking a transfer but there was no progress.

He then moved the Madras high court. In July 2012, the court directed the college to issue a no objection certificate (NOC) towards his transfer after he paid Rs 75,000 fees that was due. Despite paying the dues, the college delayed the certification process, said Balasundar, forcing him to file a contempt petition in court.

Irked by this, the college issued a TC and course completion certificate stating that the student’s character was ‘not satisfactory’.

Balasundar claimed the college wasted two years of his life and spoiled his future by making such remarks in the certificate. The college admitted to issuing such a TC as the conduct of the student had to be assessed only by the college authority.

Justice S Tamilvanan observed that the ‘improper attitude’ of the college was condemnable and unwarranted. “No educational institution should treat students as enemies,” he added. The forum directed the college to pay Balasundar Rs 20 lakh compensation for deficiency in services and agony caused, and another Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses.

Central,/ MCI

State gets MCI nod for 6 med colleges

Times News

Network | Oct 22, 2019, 04:54 IST

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: Two committees of the Medical Council of India have cleared the decks for six new government medical colleges to be set up in the state, said health minister C Vijaya Baskar. If the Union health ministry gives the final nod and financial sanction, the state will be able to add up to 900 MBBS seats into its matrix.

“We are thrilled. This is probably the largest number of seats Tamil Nadu has been sanctioned at one go,” Vijaya Baskar said. “We have been working hard to get the seats. On the day of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit, papers had to be signed by at least five ministers for six government orders to be released in 24 hours. I signed one of the orders in Mamallapuram. We did it and were able to convince the Centre that we were serious about it,” he said.

Now, encouraged by the results, the state has planned to apply for three more medical colleges in Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam and Tiruvallur. “We are in the process of finalising land for these colleges. This should add another 450 MBBS seats and allow us to create tertiary care hospitals in the districts,” he said. The addition of six colleges — in Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, the Nilgiris, Dindigul, Tirupur and Namakkal — will take the total number of MBBS seats in government colleges to 4,150. The state will have to recruit at least 600 more doctors, 300 staff nurses, paramedics and administrative staff besides completing construction work.

“We may not be able to open all six colleges by 2020, but we will try our best. A lot depends on when we get funds from the Centre,” said a senior official.

In August, the cabinet committee on economic affairs had approved setting up of 75 government medical colleges by 2021-22. The Centre has proposed to partially fund the project as it wanted to increase the number of medical schools. Tamil Nadu, which has 23 medical colleges, proposed medical colleges in the six unserved areas.

The state, which had made a policy decision to open one medical college in every district and increase seats in existing medical colleges, decided to use the opportunity.

In September, Vijaya Baskar presented the proposal to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and told him the state had made all arrangements, including identification of land, for the six colleges.

The administrative building of Hindustan Photo Films in Ooty, land in the collectorate complex in Virudhunagar and space around the government hospital in Tirupur have been earmarked for the new colleges.

TN Govt News

Govt warns colleges charging fees for experience certificate

TNN | Oct 22, 2019, 04:06 IST

TNN

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu directorate of collegiate education on Monday warned colleges and deemed universities that it will initiate stringent action against them if they demanded money from faculty members for issuing experience certificates.

A report carried by TOI on Monday pointed out that a deemed university in Chennai was demanding up to a year’s salary from faculty members seeking experience certificates. The Teachers Recruitment Board has notified 2,331 vacancies in government arts and science colleges for which the teachers would be applying. The board has prescribed a format to get experience certificates from their current and previous employers. “We receive complaints that colleges decline to issue experience certificates and attendance details and some deemed universities demand money to issue certificates. Some candidates complained that educational institutions were demanding resignation letters from faculty members if they sought experience certificates,” said C Jothi Venkateswaran, director of collegiate education in a circular to all registrars of universities and regional joint directors.

“If private universities demand money for issuing experience certificates, it is against regulations and they will face stringent action,” he said in the circular. The director urged all educational institutions to issue the experience certificates without delay.
Meanwhile, an expert as pointed out holes in the system. “No state university maintains year-wise staff data of their affiliated colleges. If colleges want they can give fake certificates for anyone since there is no independent data available for verification,” said A R Nagarajan, advisor to NET SLET Association.

Train info

IRCTC to pay compensation after delayed run of Tejas

22/10/2019, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA, NEW DELHI

A delay of more than three hours in the running of the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express on October 19 has cost the IRCTC around ₹1.62 lakh which the railway subsidiary will pay through its insurance companies as compensation to around 950 passengers, a first in the history of the Indian Railways, officials said on Monday.

The train left Lucknow at around 9.55 a.m. instead of the scheduled 6.10 a.m. and reached New Delhi at around 3.40 p.m. instead of 12.25 p.m. It left New Delhi at 5.30 p.m. instead of 3.35 p.m. and reached Lucknow at around 11.30 p.m. instead of 10.05 p.m.

The 450 passengers from Lucknow to Delhi would get ₹250 each and the 500 passengers from Delhi to Lucknow would be paid ₹100 each.

One official said each passenger can avail himself of the compensation through a link of the insurer provided with every ticket.

He also said the delay on October 19 had been caused by a derailment near Kanpur.

Since it began commercial operations from October 6 for six days a week, the train has maintained a tight schedule. On October 20, the Lucknow-Delhi Tejas reached 24 minutes late while the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas arrived right on time.

Under the IRCTC’s policy, ₹100 would be paid in case of delay of over an hour and ₹250 for delay of over two hours, the IRCTC said ahead of the launch of its first train.