Schools Prepare For ‘Distanced’ Edu

Schools Prepare For ‘Distanced’ Edu

Forget Any Reunion Huddles; Assembly & Sports Not In Covid-Safe Schedule

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal: 16.12.2020

With no assembly, no sports activities and no hostel facility, regular classes of 10 and 12 will be reopened from Friday. A day after the state government announced regular school for classes 9 to 12, the school education department issued the standard operating procedure on Wednesday with clear instruction that schools will ensure that the students will not gather anywhere on campus.

For the re-opening of class 9 and 11, the department stated that school principals will decide as per the available space and enrolment of the students.

The department has directed the schools that the time table should be prepared in a way that the gathering of students must be avoided and SOP could be implemented properly. Students' presence will not be mandatory in the class, the department has categorically stated.

One-time permission granted by the parents to their wards to attend school will be applicable for the entire academic session.

Schools have been instructed to continue online classes. Students who do not want to attend campus academics and are willing to attend online classes should be allowed to do so by the schools. For government schools, full attendance of teaching faculty will be mandatory.

Prayer assembly, group activities, sports activities and swimming pools will not be allowed to open in the schools. Schools have been instructed that it is their duty to ensure that students will not gather.

Schools providing transport facility will have to ensure proper physical distance of the students and other staff in the vehicles. Vehicles will be sanitized periodically with 1 per cent sodium hypochlorite. Besides, other SOPs issued by the central and state government in the past will be required to be followed by the schools inside the campus. Residential schools will be opened as day schools. There will be no hostel facility.

Colleges to start from Jan 10, attendance not compulsory

Colleges to start from Jan 10, attendance not compulsory

Ashutosh.Shukla@timesgroup.com

Bhopal: 16.12.2020

Principal secretary, higher education, Anupam Rajan, has said that though theory classes in state colleges will begin from January 10, attendance in both the practical and theory classes will not be compulsory. SOPs on how to conduct classes in colleges would be issued in the next couple of days. SOPs decided by other states, where colleges are open, are also being studied and guidelines with clear dos and don’ts will be issued in a couple of days, Rajan said.

Talking to TOI, Rajan said that the decision to start classes was taken in the department’s review meeting on Monday and work on the SOP has begun. Chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who presided over the meeting, asked to start practical classes in colleges from January 10. Rajan said it was also decided at the meeting to allow colleges to hold theory classes from January 10, though attendance in classes will not be compulsory and online classes will also continue.

When asked whether attendance in practical classes will be compulsory, he said, “If someone feels, he doesn’t need to go to practical classes, he can miss the class. As of now, the students don’t have the facility to conduct practicals as colleges are closed. In the new year, they will have the facility but if someone feels that missing chemistry practical classes won’t make any difference to him, he can omit the practical classes as well,” Rajan said.

He further said that 50% students of the class capacity will be allowed to sit in the class at a time, therefore classes will be held in two batches in all the subjects. The same rule will apply for practical classes as well.

Stir called off

The school and college forum has cancelled the proposed protest on December 16 after the government’s announcement about the reopening of schools and colleges. Chairman, Association of Technical and Professional Institutes KC Jain, said, “We are assured by the state government. In such a situation, there was no meaning of organising protest.”

Fake marksheet racket busted in Anand

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

Fake marksheet racket busted in Anand

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Vadodara/ Anand:  16.12.2020

Acting on a tip-off, the Anand special operation group (SOG) busted a racket of making and selling marksheets and certificates and arrested three persons.

One of them is from Anand and two from Vadodara. As the trio is linked with a visa consultancy firm, cops suspect that the arrest could lead to a bigger fake visa racket as well.

SOG sleuths had got specific information that one Kanu Rabari, a resident of Atithi Apartment in Anand’s Mangalpura area, was running a visa consultancy firm through which foreign aspirants were sold fake marksheets and degree certificates of several educational institutes. When the cops raided his house, they found huge stacks of files containing fake marksheets and certificates of a number of educational institutes including Sardar Patel University, Gujarat University, Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) apart from colleges. As many as 106 fake marksheets and certificates, 16 original ones, 30 passports, mobile and cash worth Rs 22.50 lakh were seized from Rabari’s house. Rabari revealed that he was in touch with Vadodara resident Aditya Patel, who through another accused resident Hiren alias Sonu Satham, provided bogus documents to those seeking jobs abroad.

“The trio have confessed that they have forged hundreds of such marksheets and certificates,” said Anand district superintendent of police Ajit Rajian. “The trio used their knowledge of visa consultancy to execute the fraud. They were aware of the companies and countries where chances of marksheets and certificates getting cross-verified is low,” said Rajian. They have also seized 52 other fake marksheets and certificates, 57 rubber stamps, sophisticated printers and dye-making items among others from Satham.

The arrested trio ran visa consultancy in Anand

Ten universities to set up Kamdhenu Chairs

Ten universities to set up Kamdhenu Chairs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

16.12.2020

Ahmedabad: Ten universities from across the country have announced that they will set up Kamdhenu Chairs in their respective institutions of higher learning. Over 500 vice-chancellors and officials of universities from across the country took part in an open house organized by Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) on Monday to promote the idea of setting up ‘Kamdhenu Chairs’ in universities.

Among other objectives of setting up the chairs, RKA has proposed setting up of certificate and diploma courses on cow-based entrepreneurship and sensitizing students about the scientific, economic, environmental and spiritual importance and impact of cow.

The universities which have announced that they will set up Kamdhenu Chairs are Allahbad University, Kamdhenu University, RAJUVAS University, Central University of Haryana, Saurashta University, RKDF University, Jyoti Vidyapeeth Women’s University, Guru Govind Singh University and ICFAI University.

“Now the government has started to explore the potential of cows and panchgavya. There is need to promote the science related to indigenous cows and our education system should provide a platform as well as push in research on benefits of cows with modern sci-entific and processoriented approach,”

said RKA chairman Vallabh Kathiria.

Union minister of state for education, Sanjay Dhotre, said, “I am sure that the few colleges and universities will start the Kamdhenu Chair then others will follow. Research and practical implementation in form of products needs to be showcased, established economically and presented with accurate scientific data in time-bound way,” he said.

Apart from officials of over 500 universities, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe, UGC secretary Rajnish Jain, secretary-general of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Pankaj Mittal, and other officials connected with higher education and research were present in the webinar.

Aadhaar not valid to enrol for vaccine

NOT PROOF?

Aadhaar not valid to enrol for vaccine

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: 16.12.2020

The state government has embarked on its exercise of registering people for the Covid-19 vaccine, but survey teams do not accept Aadhaar card as proof of identity.

Satellite resident Lalita Patel was appalled to learn that the team surveying the area for senior citizens do not accept Aadhaar cards as valid proof. “Team members categorically told me that we should produce some other document like a PAN card or a voter ID card, but not an Aadhaar card,” Patel said.

Another team visiting a society in Bopal said they have been instructed not to accept Aadhaar cards as proof of identity. “The survey form has a column for a photo identification card. A PAN card, driving licence, passport or even a stamped bank passbook with a photograph will be acceptable, but not Aadhaar card,” a member of the survey team said.

District collector Sandip Sagale said, “The main purpose of the exercise is inclusion of everybody and so we are not insisting on Aadhaar card. If people do not have an Aadhaar card, any other authorised document for identification is valid.”

What went wrong on IIT-Madras campus

What went wrong on IIT-Madras campus

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 16.12.2020

The Covid-19 case tally at IIT, Madras, went up to 183 with 79 more students testing positive on Tuesday. Public health officials have identified crowding at the mess and sharing of toilets as one of the reasons for the cluster.

According to the Covid-19 registry, IIT-M reported two cases on December 1, and in the next 15 days the rate of transmission increased pushing the positivity rate to 19%. “It (cluster) has happened before in jewellery shops and meat markets. In every case, it was a violation of the epidemic protocols,” state health secretary J Radhakrishnan said.

In March, when the state announced a lockdown, 335 students continued to stay in the hostels. When public transport resumed, the institute sent some students back to their homes and the strength in the hostel came down to 180. “This is not the first time the institute is reporting a case,” a student said. “Months ago, when students tested positive, the institute sanitized the hostel and quarantined all students. There were no clusters. But this time, no sanitization of buildings or quarantine was done,” the student said.

One of the main reasons for the spread was overcrowding at the mess. The institute operated one mess for 180 students during the lockdown-.But when the campus reopened and the student strength increased to 774, the management still operated just one mess, the Himalaya mess. “It is the only place where students from all hostels meet. All mess employees have tested positive. What else could be the source?” a senior faculty member said.

Following the Covid cluster at IIT Madras, students in city college hostels are being tested

Money laundering is a continuing offence: HC

Money laundering is a continuing offence: HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: 16.12.2020

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the relevant date is not that of acquisition of unaccountedfor money but when such an amount is being processed and projected as untainted.

The high court made this observation while disposing of a batch of petitions filed in 2016-17, challenging the action initiated under PML Act and saying it can’t be invoked retrospectively.

Pointing out that money laundering is a continuing offence, the court noted that the offence under Section 3 of PML Act is a standalone in itself and one doesn’t need other schedule offences to proceed against a person. For constituting an offence under Section 3, connection of the transaction to proceeds of the crime is sufficient and not the crime, a division bench headed by Justice Aravind Kumar observed.