JEE aspirants wonder how to reach, how safe will it be Covid, Curbs, Floods & Lack Of Transport Worry Students

JEE aspirants wonder how to reach, how safe will it be

Covid, Curbs, Floods & Lack Of Transport Worry Students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.08.2020

After months of uncertainty over when they will finally be able to get done with their careerdefining exams, JEE and NEET aspirants are still unsure of two things — how they will get to their exam centre and how safe it will be.

Calls to postpone the exams have been trending on social media for two days now — climate activist Greta Thunberg and actor Sonu Sood are among those who have amplified the demand. Students, meanwhile, are concerned. “I live in Idaratganj and my centre is in Varanasi, nearly 130km away. Where I live is a containment zone. How am I supposed to get there? Will it be safe?” asked Shriyansh Jaiswal, a NEET-UG aspirant.

Parents from outside Chennai, have urged the Tamil Nadu government to ask hotels to open bookings for those travelling for the exams. They also want a transport plan. “The NTA and state transport departments could coordinate a plan for the day,” said N Vijayan, principal of a Chennai school. The process could be streamlined.

But this is a limited possibility in some cities. In Telangana, incessant rain for the past two weeks has damaged road connectivity to many districts. It’s the same in the flood-hit areas of Assam and Bihar. “Many students who take the exam in Bengal come from Bihar and Jharkhand,” Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee told the media. The state has kept the exam dates out of the total lockdown schedule.

As for safety, the broad guidelines have been laid down by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exams — fresh masks at the entrance, thermal screening, sanitisers, social distancing and separate rooms for those with Covid-19 symptoms. But those appearing are still worried, and not all states have notified any. The Assam health department, for instance, is yet to announce rules for applicants from containment zones. Goa has not come up with specific guidelines either. UP, too, will follow the central directives.

And space remains a concern. Odisha has exam centres in just seven cities, bound to lead to larger gatherings. Assam, too, is facing a challenge in finding more exam centres.

Some have come up with workarounds. “We will separate outstation students so that the post-exam exit strategy is in place,” said a principal at a school in Nagpur. In Kerala too, all applicants will have to contact their exam centre before time and inform them if they are coming from a containment zone, a hotspot or are yet to finish quarantine. Rajasthan — where all six districts which will host NEET and JEE exams have been witnessing a surge in Covid cases — has mandated buffer areas near exam centres.

Don’t postpone JEE & NEET, say parents

Don’t postpone JEE & NEET, say parents

Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:  27.08.2020

“Enthusiastic children will suffer the most if competitive exams like the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) are postponed. They will lose focus and interest. Kids like my child will end up joining other institutions rather than missing out on a year. They will give up their dream to join IIT and IITs will miss out on some good talent,” Swaroopa (name changed), mother of an SSLC and CET topper said.

Like Swaroopa, several parents and students are anguished over the demand for postponement of the exams.

There have been widespread protests and demand on virtual platforms to shelve the two crucial exams, with hashtags trending.

JEE Main is for admission to IITs and NITs and NEET (undergraduate) is for entry to medical colleges. While the former is scheduled to be held between September 1 and 6, the latter is expected to be held on September 13.

Manohar (name changed), a parent, said the pandemic must be dealt with tact and the exams, which are important stepping stones for students, must not be put off any further. “The world has understood how to deal with it (pandemic). We can follow the guidelines, maintain distance and go ahead with this,” he said, adding: “The solution cannot lie in avoiding important things. We never know what will happen next year.”

An open letter written by a group of parents in support of the exam says with so much media and political uproar over the issue, they would like to highlight the fact that there are people who think differently. As per the letter, all students applying for exams are adults “who can make a decision best for them”.

The letter goes on to say that the decision to write the test must be left to the examinees, but the matter should not be forced on everyone. Social media platforms too are abuzz with messages favouring conduct of the exams.

Good news on vaccine by early 2021, says WHO chief scientist

Good news on vaccine by early 2021, says WHO chief scientist

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  27.08.2020

“By early 2021, we should have some good news (about Covid vaccine),’’ said Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, World Health Organisation.

At the valedictory of the international conference on public policy and management hosted by the Centre for Public Policy at IIM-Bangalore on Wednesday, she said: “Then, there is the challenge of being able to scale and distribute it fairly around the world without letting the rich countries corner the limited doses. But India is in a good position because many companies are working on vaccine development, either on their own or in collaboration, and the nation is a manufacturing hub for vaccines.”

Responding to a question on how long the pandemic will last, she said eradication is not possible so development of a vaccine can protect vulnerable populations.

“The mortality rate is not going up in the second wave of the pandemic. This is probably related to demographics and other factors – we do not yet know why South Asia and Africa have lower mortality rates than Europe and the Americas,” she said.

“There have been warnings for health emergencies. Unless we have a system of strong surveillance, it can quickly go out of hand. What we do not have is public health cadre that is devoted to not just detection but also prevention, management, training and capacity building,” she said.

Recruitment of staff in varsities on hold

Recruitment of staff in varsities on hold

Shrinivasa.M@timesgroup.com

Mysuru: 27.08.2020

Following a warning from the University Grants Commission (UGC) that it would withhold grantin-aid if vacant posts are not filled in universities affiliated to it, varsities across the state had planned to roll out a recruitment process. To ensure transparency, the government had asked Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) to prepare a merit list and send it to universities concerned so that they could pick the best. KEA had even planned to write up dedicated software for the process.

However, in a big jolt to universities just ahead of a new academic year, the finance department has asked them to put the recruitment process on hold till further orders. Sources in the state higher education department say the diktat is for all universities.

Universities in the state are plagued by a crippling shortage of teaching — by as much as 60% in several varsities. Data shows that in 19 state universities, 838 assistant professors, 536 associate professor and 354 professor posts are vacant.

“All universities have been asked not to go ahead with the hiring process due to the prevailing Covid- 19 crisis,” a source said. Additional chief secretary (higher education) EV Ramana Reddy said there is a general ban on recruitment across the state.

An official in the higher education department said, “The Covid-19 crisis requires huge resources. Universities have been directed to continue with the old system of guest faculty to teach and conduct practical classes. The government is likely to move towards a centralised recruitment process for all universities, once the situation returns to normal.”

G Hemantha Kumar, vicechancellor, University of Mysore, said: “We are sure that once the Covid-19 crisis blows over, we will get permission to continue with the recruitment process. All formalities including necessary approvals for recruitment have been obtained.”

Institutional quarantine for int’l travellers returning to UP waived, but with riders

Institutional quarantine for int’l travellers returning to UP waived, but with riders

Lucknow: 27.08.2020

The Uttar Pradesh government has waived seven-day mandatory institutional quarantine under certain conditions for international travellers coming to the state for more than seven days. It has also relaxed Covid-19 protocol for its natives travelling to other states for work for up to five days.

Speaking on revised guidelines for international travellers, additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said: “Earlier, anyone coming to the state from abroad for more than a week had to be quarantined for 14 days — seven days under institutional and remaining under home.”

However, under new protocol, pregnant women, people visiting the state in case of a death in the family, those suffering from serious illness and parents whose children are below 10, can avail full 14 days of home quarantine. TNN

‘Postpone or find another way to hold JEE, NEET’

‘Postpone or find another way to hold JEE, NEET’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  27.08.2020

With the dates for Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) nearing, deputy chief minister and education minister Manish Sisodia has again asked the Centre to reconsider its decision of holding the exams in the prevailing pandemic situation. Sisodia urged the Central government to either postpone the exams or find an alternative way of conducting them.

“The Centre has closed its eyes to the Covid-19 ground reality. Why is it forcing 28 lakh students to sit for the exams? They are saying that they will make all the necessary arrangements. But despite the arrangements, so many people have tested positive,” Sisodia said while talking to reporters on Wednesday.

“The arrangements that we live in are much better. Our health minister still got infected. Chief ministers of several states have been affected. How can we be assured that the students will not get infected?” asked Sisodia.

“The government can easily find an alternative. In times like this when countries across the world have come out of the entrance system model, we should not be stuck,” added the deputy CM.

“We have to accept that the country is still in the grip of Corona. In Delhi and a few other states, situation may be better but in other states, the Covid-19 is on the increase," Sisodia wrote in a letter to Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. He even asked Nishak to think not as minister, but as a parent.

Earlier on August 21, Sisodia had asked the Centre to find an alternative to the examinations. JEE (Main) is scheduled to be held from September 1-6, while NEET is scheduled for September 13.

SISODIA SAYS

The Centre has closed its eyes to the Covid-19 ground reality. Why is it forcing 28 lakh students to sit for the exams?

GIVING AIR TRAVELLERS A BETTER EXPERIENCE

GIVING AIR TRAVELLERS A BETTER EXPERIENCE

27.08.2020

Flying Vande or within air bubble? No need to register

New Delhi: Travellers planning to fly out of India on Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights or to air-bubble countries need no longer register with the civil aviation ministry before booking their tickets directly with airlines of their choice. The announcement comes within a week of the Union home ministry doing away with the registration protocol for travel to India from air-bubble countries.

India has so far created air bubbles with the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar and Maldives. The government, seeking to expand its travel orbit as the world gradually reopens, is in talks with Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

The idea of air bubbles is to ensure continuity of travel between India and these countries by eligible categories of people till normal flight operations resume.

For outbound flights, MHA guidelines say: “Before tickets of such persons are confirmed, the airline will ensure the destination country allows entry of such persons with valid visa. The conditions, if any, imposed by the destination country, will have to be fulfilled by the person intending to travel.” TNN

Rules framed on where & how to allow inflight Wi-Fi

New Delhi: India’s aviation regulator has framed draft rules for allowing inflight internet connectivity in the country’s skies. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) draft rules say “internet service through Wi-Fi on-board aircraft shall be available at minimum height of 3,000 metres or 10,000 ft above departure/arrival airfield elevation.”

Portable electronic devices (PEDs) being used by passengers for surfing the Net must be “used only in flight/ airplane mode” and the “pilot in command may, for any reason and during any phase of flight, require deactivation and stowage of PEDs”, say the draft rules issued by DGCA chief Arun Kumar. Based on public comments received on the draft, the final set of rules could be issued by later this year.

India had in December 2018 allowed inflight connectivity on flights to, from, within India as well as those overflying the country. Since then at least two Indian firms entered this space to become inflight and maritime connectivity (IFMC) service providers. Airlines will be required to “ensure the inflight and maritime connectivity (IFMC) service provider is approved by department of telecommunication, India, for provision of these services during the flight”, the draft rules say. TNN

NEW FLIGHT PLAN