CBSE guidelines out, MCQ-based exams for Class 10 & 12 in 1st term

CBSE guidelines out, MCQ-based exams for Class 10 & 12 in 1st term

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:07.09.2021

Like engineering students, CBSE school students of Class 10 and 12 in Bhopal will have MCQ-based questions in the first term in November and December.

This is not a only a new experience but a radical shift from the usual pattern of evalutaion, keeping both students and teachers on their toes.

Schools have begun organising orientation classes to clear the doubts of students and parents. CBSE had issued comprehensive guidelines for schools to conduct the exams.

The paper will now have case-based MCQs and MCQs on assertion-reasoning type. The second one is the one that will need more effort to get used to. Learning by rote will not work. Unless one has clear knowledge of concepts, it is difficult to atempt assertion based questions.

The tests will be of 90-minute duration and cover only the rationalized syllabus of Term I only (around 50% of the entire syllabus) Exams will be conducted under the supervision of External Center Superintendents and Observers appointed by CBSE.

The responses of students will be captured on OMR sheets which, after scanning may be directly uploaded at CBSE portal or alternatively may be evaluated and marks obtained will be uploaded by the school the very same day. The final direction in this regard will be conveyed to schools. Marks of the term-1 will contribute to the final overall score of students.

“Preparing for MCQ is completely different from theoretical exam preparation. Due to fear of third wave of Covid, I am not able to attend classes. In such a situation, preparing for the exams is dicey,” said Prashant Mishra, a class 12 student. Teachers said there is a lot of uncertainty regarding academics. “CBSE guidelines itself suggest that anything could happen. Instead of focusing on academics, students and parents are spending more time on the scheme of the examinations,” said a teacher.

Citizens can opt for early second dose, says Kerala HC

Citizens can opt for early second dose, says Kerala HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi:07.09.2021

The Kerala high court on Monday held that not allowing citizens to have the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine early, while allowing some categories such as those going abroad, was discriminatory, especially when they are willing to avail paid vaccination. Allowing pleas filed by Kitex Garments Limited and another company for early second-dose vaccination of their workers, Justice PB Suresh Kumar ordered the Central government to make changes to vaccine-booking portal CoWIN to allow citizens willing to pay for the second dose to choose between an early vaccination to be safe or a late vaccination for better efficacy.

Both the Central and state governments had agreed before the court that early second-dose vaccination is being allowed for some categories, such as people going abroad for jobs or studies, government officials requiring travel abroad, and those participating in the Olympics. The court held that citizens who pay for Covishield vaccine have the right to choose whether to be vaccinated after four weeks of first dose, as was originally prescribed by the government, or after 84 days as prescribed by the Central government citing better efficacy.

In the judgment, the court noted that vaccination is voluntary and the dosage gap prescribed by the Central government can only be considered advisory. In such circumstances, there is no reason for the Central government to oppose its own decision to distribute vaccines through private hospitals to enable people to get vaccinated early, the court said. The court has also clarified that it has not given a ruling on whether citizens have a choice for early vaccination or late vaccination while availing vaccines for free from the government.

Advocate Blaze K Jose had argued for Kitex that the preventing early administration of second-dose vaccines to the petitioner’s employees after having bought the vaccine at a cost of Rs 1.5crore amounts to discrimination.

People wait in a queue to receive Covid-19 vaccine dose in Kochi

Priests can’t become owner of temple deity’s land: SC

Priests can’t become owner of temple deity’s land: SC

‘Neither Can Collector Substitute Name Of Deity As Owner’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:07.09.2021

To stop the fence from eating the grass, the Supreme Court has ruled that priests, who perform daily rituals in a temple, cannot become owners of the land vested in deities and also stopped the government from becoming the owners of the said assets by substituting the name of priests with that of area collector. This ruling was given by a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and A S Bopanna while allowing an appeal filed by Madhya Pradesh government which had struck down a state government notification deleting the names of priests from revenue records as owners of temple land vested in deities.

Appearing for the state, advocate Saurabh Mishra argued that the executive instructions were issued to delete the names of ‘Pujari’ (priest) from the revenue record so as to protect the temple properties from unauthorised sale by them. Appearing for the association of priests, advocate Divyakant Lahoti submitted that the ‘pujaris’ have been conferred ‘Bhumiswami (ownership)’ rights, a right which cannot be taken away by executive instructions.

Writing the judgment for the bench and taking into consideration various decisions of the SC in similar issues, Justice Gupta said, “Taking into consideration the past precedents, and the fact that under the Gwalior Act, Pujari had been given right to manage the property of the temple, it is clear that it does not elevate him to the status of tenant in cultivation... Since the priest cannot be treated to be Bhumiswami, they have no right which could be protected under any of the provisions of the Code.”

The SC said in the ownership column, the name of the deity alone is required to be mentioned, as the deity being a juristic person is the owner of the land. “The occupation of the land is also by the deity which is carried out by the servant or the managers on behalf of the deity. Therefore, the name of the manager or that of the priest is not required to be mentioned in the column of occupier as well,” it ruled and said that the state government did not commit any mistake in issuing executive instructions to delete priests as owners of lands belonging to deities.

The SC did not approve of the state’s decision to substitute names of priests with collectors as owners of the temple land. “We find that the name of the Collector as manager cannot be recorded in respect of property vested in the deity as the Collector cannot be a manager of all temples unless it is a temple vested with the State,” it said.

Pujari has been given right to manage the property of the temple. It does not elevate him to the status of tenant in cultivation. Since the priest cannot be treated to be Bhumiswami, they have no right, which could be protected under any of the provisions of the Code

SUPREME COURT

Girls paraded naked to please rain gods

Girls paraded naked to please rain gods

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:07.09.2021

Madhya Pradesh is no stranger to bizarre rain rituals, but this one borders on the grotesque. Minor girls were paraded naked, carrying a heavy wooden flail, in Damoh district in the belief that it will please the rain gods.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo motu cognizance of the ritual and asked for details from the collector. Graphic videos of the parade have also been shared on social media. In the fag end of monsoon, drought looms over large parts of Bundelkhand, forcing villagers to desperation. People of a tribal village in rain-parched Damoh took to an age-old ritual in a last ditch attempt to appease the rain gods.

On Monday, two little girls, apparently aged below 10, carried a flail over their shoulders as they led a procession of village women, including their mothers. The women sang bhajans to seek blessings of the gods to save crops drying in the fields. They also begged for alms, mainly foodgrains, which were then used to prepare food in the fields to complete the ritual, said the mother of one of the girls. The children had no clue why they were disrobed and made to walk around the village. “This ritual has been happening for a few days,” said some of the villagers. The mother of one of the girls, who was paraded on Monday, said: “Our paddy has started drying due to lack of rainfall. We need water. This will bring rain.”

Damoh SP DR Teniwar said, “It is a tradition here that can be termed superstition. We will investigate. In case we come to know about force being used against the children while they are paraded naked, we will initiate action.”

Asked about videos of the parade being shared on social media, the SP said: “We will investigate the video’s authenticity and take action.”

Monsoon usually slows down in MP in September. On Monday, Damoh was 47% rain-deficient, followed by Panna district at 38% and Chhatarpur at 25%. Many rivers are dry. Unless it really pours this month or the monsoon overstays, Bundelkhand and many other parts of MP face a brutal summer ahead.

On Monday, two little girls, aged below 10, carried a flail over their shoulders as they led a procession of village women, including their mothers. The children had no clue why they were disrobed & made to walk around the village

Girl dies after swallowing 1-rupee coin

Girl dies after swallowing 1-rupee coin

Mysuru:07.09.2021

A four-year-old girl from a Hunsur village died after swallowing a one-rupee coin.

The girl died three days after the coin got stuck in the trachea followed by infection, at a hospital in Mysuru.

The girl’s uncle had given her a coin to buy balloon on Friday. She was playing with the coin, keeping it in her mouth. Accidentally, she swallowed it and she didn’t inform anyone in the family. The incident happened when she was in her grandmother’s home.

A day later, she developed breathing trouble and the family came to know that something was stuck in the windpipe. Doctors discovered that it was a coin after the girl told them in the hospital. However, it lead to infection and she died at the hospital.

Hunsur police said they have not received any complaint in this regard. TNN

Nimhans staff protests nurse’s assault

Nimhans staff protests nurse’s assault

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:07.09.2021

Several nurses and other employees of Nimhans staged a protest on Monday, condemning an alleged assault of a nurse by the head of clinical nursing services (incharge) at the institute.

With over 100 staffers part of the demonstration, patients faced inconvenience in the afternoon, said members of Nimhans employees’ association, which called for the protest.

On August 30, the nurse was allegedly manhandled by the head of clinical nursing services and a complaint was lodged against the officer at Siddapura police station.

AG Nagaraj, president of the employees’ association, said the institution was yet to take any action against the accused, who was also seen on campus on Monday. “It is inhuman to assault a colleague. Such attitude towards subordinate staff is objectionable. The act of manhandling a colleague is a criminal offence and officer must be suspended immediately,” said Nagaraj.

The competent authorities have initiated the suitable administrative procedure, said Nimhans authorities. However, they said functioning of the hospital was not affected. “The protest was not indefinite. The nurses came back to work and patient services were not hit,” said Nimhans medical superintendent Dr Muralidharan K.

Cops from Siddapura police station said a non-cognisable report was filed based on a complaint from the nurse. “With the court’s nod, we have registered an FIR against the head of clinical nursing services on charges of assaulting a nursing officer,” a cop said.

The All India Government Nurses’ Federation has written to the Union ministry of health and family welfare condemning the assault.

It is shocking that the head of clinical nursing services reportedly assaulted one of our nursing colleagues when she approached the former for redressal of serious grievances. The nurse was admitted to the observation ward. The cold response from the management has demoralised the nursing fraternity

K Khurana | SECRETARY GENERAL, ALL INDIA GOVERNMENT NURSES’ FEDERATION

UAE to launch green visa to attract talent and funds

UAE to launch green visa to attract talent and funds

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

07.09.2021

The UAE tops the list of hosting the largest number of immigrants from India, stated to be 3.5 million, according to a 2020 UN report. With the UAE set to roll out green visas and expand the eligibility for golden visas, this number may grow by leaps and bounds. Technology workers from India will stand to benefit as UAE plans to focus on hiring coders and attract technology companies.

In a press conference on Sunday, under the banner of ‘Projects of the 50’ which is a series of development and economic projects, aimed at making UAE an ideal destination for highly skilled individuals and investors, a restructuring of the entry and residency system was announced. A green visa will be rolled out, which expands the selfresidency status (in other words employer sponsorship is not required) to investors, entrepreneurs, highly skilled individuals, top students and graduates. Green visa holders can sponsor their parents and kids who are up to the age of 25, said a UAE government press release.Another stream of visa that was announced was the federal freelancers visa for self-employed workers based in the UAE and overseas in specialised fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital currencies. The existing Golden Visa eligibility will be expanded to include managers, CEOs, specialists in science, engineering, health, education, business management and technology.

Another regulatory change that was announced is that on loss of a job, the visa holder and dependents can stay in the UAE for up to 6 months, instead of just 30 days. Business trip permits will also upped from 3 months to 6 months.

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