Students forced to take circuitous routes to Canada

FOREIGN DEGREES OF UNCERTAINTY

Students forced to take circuitous routes to Canada

Parth.Shastri@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:11.08.2021

On Tuesday, the Canadian government announcement on Twitter read, ‘we’re extending the #NOTAM (notice to airmen) restricting all direct commercial and private passenger flights to Canada from #India until September 21, 2021 #COVID19.’ The irate parents went into tizzy immediately – the move effectively increased the hurdles, time and money to reach Canada manifold in one swipe.

“When we started inquiries last month, a one-way ticket cost about Rs 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh. Today, it has increased to Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh along with quarantine and testing facilities in other countries. With Doha extending quarantine period from three to 10 days, the only other route feasible is through Mexico,” said parent of a city-based youth whose first semester starts from September 7. “Due to high rush, prices are hiked everywhere. We are told that the chartered flights from Maldives is the only option we have despite the obvious risks involved.” How does the route work? Sameer Yadav, a city-based immigration consultant, said that the agents from across the country try to pool in resources and book a flight where up to 150 students can go directly to Toronto.

“The students get RT-PCR done at Maldives, stay for two days, and then take the flight. We are not sure when the direct flights would resume, so many parents and students are taking every chance,” he said.

The parents meanwhile are scurrying for resources and praying for intervention by any of the two governments. “We brought so many Indians back through Vande Bharat mission. Why can’t we send our students to Canada with due precaution? Till they reach Canada, we can’t sleep. Almost all students are travelling abroad for the first time, and are at mercy of the agents. Is the risk worth taking?” asked a city-based textile unit owner whose son is all set to board a flight to Doha later this month.

‘Human rights issue’

Hemant Shah, director of Canada India Trade and Marketing for Overseas Friends of India Canada (OFIC), said that the Indian community in Canada has already raised the issue to the office of PM Justin Trudeau. “Isn’t it a bad start for the hundreds of students who are having the first brush with Canada? I believe that it’s not just a student issue, but also a human rights issue, as these students are paying money to get the best education. Many of them may also contribute to Canada’s progress,” he said. TNN

Prof R Velraj is vice-chancellor of Anna univ

Prof R Velraj is vice-chancellor of Anna univ

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.08.2021

Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday appointed R Velraj, 56, as vice-chancellor of Anna University. He will hold the post for three years from the date of assuming office. He is an expert in the field of thermal energy who has worked extensively in areas of building cooling applications, micro grid, solar applications and electronic cooling. He has published 193 research papers in indexed journals with H-index 52 and citations more than 10,000. He also guided 33 PhD scholars and has two patents to his credit.

Velraj, who has 33 years of teaching experience, is presently working as a professor at the Institute of Energy Studies, Anna University. He has also worked as director of the Institute of Energy Studies and director of Anna University-FRG Institute for CAD/CAM.

Born in Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district in 1965, he completed his BE (mechanical engineering), ME (energy engineering) and PhD at Anna University. He has executed several projects at university including erecting solar lamps at the College of Engineering, Guindy campus. He was further involved in a project converting the waste from hostels into bioenergy.

Professors from the university said the first major challenge before professor Velraj is filling up more than 30% vacancies at the university's four campuses. "There are more than 300 vacancies notified by the university previous year and not filled due to non-cooperation by the previous state government. Filling up these vacancies with qualified candidates is the most important task before the new vice-chancellor. It will help the university to get better ratings during NAAC assessment and NIRF rankings," a senior professor from the university said.

Secondly, the perception of technical universities needs to be improved. "The university has come out from major scams such as revaluation scam and procurement of mark sheets. In the past three years, the system was cleansed, and the university remained corruption free. The new vice-chancellor needs to build on it and improve the perception of the university globally," another professor said.

FRESH IDEAS: R Velraj receives appointment order from Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit

Cut-off for BCom admissions goes up

HIGH DEMAND

Cut-off for BCom admissions goes up

More High Scores In Class XII

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.08.2021 

The more number of high scores in Class XII, thanks to the weightage system followed, is set to increase the cutoff marks for BCom admissions compared to last year, with top colleges in the city estimating the increase at 1%-5% in all categories.

On Tuesday, after arts and science colleges closed online applications for admissions for the 2021-22 academic year, the number had come down by around 10% in most institutions. But, colleges expect an increase in the cut-off for courses including B Com. BSc (psychology), BSc (visual communication)

and BCA are among the most preferred. Applications for science courses have been fewer this year.

B Com admissions are based on scores in four subjects other than language and English. The merit list is based on the marks scored out of 400.

“At DG Vaishnav College, the cut-off for OC category for BCom (aided) is expected to be around 395 marks (98.75%) from 392 last year.

“For shift-2, the cut-off has increased by 5% for all categories from 340 last year to 363 this year,” said principal S Santhosh Baboo.

At MCC, the cut-off for B Com was 97% last year. “It is 98% now,” said principal Paul Wilson. In the second shift, the cutoff for B Com (accounting and finance), the cut-off was 98%, 100% and 97% for the first three lists.

The college received applications in a 1:10 ratio for political science, economics and English literature and fewer applications for science. “The reason partly could be the increase in interest in engineering courses and decline in the number of applications from outside Tamil Nadu.”

At Guru Nanak college, the cut-off for BCom general was 91.5% last year. “We expect it to be around 96% marks this year,” said principal M G Raghunathan, adding that admission has not been given to those with less than 70%.

At Ethiraj College for Women, the cut-off for BCom is not expected to come down in the second and third lists. “The competition will be tough,” said principal S Kothai.

At Loyola College, the demand for BSc (visual communication) has also increased. “For 100 seats, we received 2,200 applications, about 22 applications per seat,” said Thomas Amirtham, principal.

The demand for BSc (psychology) is high at Women’s Christian College.

“The number of applications increased by three times for psychology courses compared to last year. The cut-off marks is 393 out of 400 marks (98.25%),” said Lilian Jasper, principal.

The cut-off for B Com for general cataegory students was 390 marks in the first list.

Negative RT-PCR must for students of govt med colleges

Negative RT-PCR must for students of govt med colleges

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.08.2021

RT-PCR negative report will be mandatory for students joining government-run medical, dental and para medical colleges scheduled to reopen on August 16.

Students won't be permitted to attend classes or stay in hostels without a negative certificate, a circular from the Directorate of Medical Education Dr R Narayanababu sent to college administration said. Students who haven’t taken the test can get it done at the respective institutions, he said.

College administrators must sanitize classrooms, libraries, laboratories, hostel mess, hostel, college and hospital premises as per the standard protocol. Hand washing stations with liquid soap and sanitizer dispensers must be made available on campus, it said. Students with symptoms will have to be quarantined and treated as per standard protocol, he said.

Students won't be permitted to attend classes or stay in hostels without a negative certificate, a circular from the Director of Medical Education Dr R Narayanababu to college administration said

HC: How can govt apply state-specific OBC quota to AIQ?

HC: How can govt apply state-specific OBC quota to AIQ?

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.08.2021

How could Tamil Nadu’s reservation formula of 50% for OBCs be followed under All India Quota (AIQ) MBBS seats, wondered the Madras high court, adding that the very purpose of AIQ would be defeated if state-specific quota is applied.

“The demography of every state is different. Can an OBC in Rajasthan be considered an OBC in Tamil Nadu and will they get reservation under the Tamil Nadu reservation policy,” the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu asked on Tuesday.

State reservation can be applied only to the unfilled AIQ seats which are returned to the state pool, the court added. Since AIQ seats are meant for students from other states and those from Tamil Nadu, a separate reservation policy must be followed. Many states like Meghalaya do not have OBC reservation. Can such states insist that they will follow only state reservation in the seats they surrender, the bench wondered.

“If you want state reservation, then how does it become AIQ, it becomes your (state) seat,” the judges said.

Senior advocate P Wilson, representing the DMK, said: “We have a common list for the purpose of such AIQ seats issued by the central government and approved by the state. Once it is accepted by the state it becomes the government approved list.”

The issue pertains to a contempt plea moved by the DMK against the Centre for failing to provide 50% OBC reservation in AIQ seats surrendered by the state for admission to medical courses as directed by the HC from the current academic year.

Earlier, additional solicitor-general of SC K M Nataraj, representing the Centre, said, “All along SC and ST reservation has been provided in AIQ seats only on the basis of the Central Act. Now, if this is allowed, we have to adopt state reservation for OBCs alone which will lead to confusion.”

Recording the submissions, the bench adjourned the hearing to August 17.

State reservation can be applied only to the unfilled AIQ seats which are returned to the state pool, the court said

RGUHS announces conduct of MBBS Theory Exam September 2021

RGUHS announces conduct of MBBS Theory Exam September 2021: Karnataka: Through a recent notice, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) has announced the conduct of MBBS Theory Examinations during September 2021.The Under Graduate Medical...

Iran says one person dying of Covid-19 every two minutes

Iran says one person dying of Covid-19 every two minutes

Dubai:  10.08.2021

One person is now dying from Covid-19 every two minutes in Iran, state TV said on Monday, as West Asia’s worst-hit nation reported a new record daily toll of 588 fatalities. With authorities complaining of poor social distancing, state media say hospitals in several cities have run out of beds for new patients. Some social media users have criticised the clerical establishment over slow vaccinations, with only about 4% of the 83 million population fully inoculated.

Total deaths have reached 94,603, the ministry said, while cases rose by 40,808 in the past 24 hours to 4,199,537 in a fifth wave blamed on the highly transmissible Delta variant. “Every two seconds one person gets infected in Iran and almost every two minutes one person dies from the coronavirus,” state TV said, adding that most of Iran’s 31 provinces have moved from the lower risk orange level to red alert.

That compares to a reported rate of about one death per three minutes a month ago. In January, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned imports of US- and British-made vaccines, saying they were unreliable. Iran has blamed US sanctions for hampering purchases and deliveries of vaccines from other nations. Iran’s new President Raisi, who received his first dose of homegrown vaccine ‘COVIran Barakat’ in public on Sunday, has urged officials to speed up vaccinations. REUTERS

People in France must now show a health pass to order a coffee in a cafe or travel on intercity trains as President Macron’s plan came into full effect on Monday

US sees highest caseload since Feb

For the first time since February, the US is averaging more than 1,00,000 new Covid cases a day. Over the past week, the average number of cases doubled from two weeks ago, according to NYT database. In the same period, deaths have nearly doubled to 516 a day. The surge is tied to Delta variant and CDC director Rochelle Walensky has described the current stage as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”. NYT

Chinese officials punished for surge

China has punished a slew of officials for failing to curb a Covid-19 outbreak that’s spawned nearly 900 symptomatic infections in less than a month. Over 30 officials nationwide, ranging from mayors and local health directors to the heads of hospitals and airports, have been punished for negligence , state-run Global Times reported. BLOOMBERG