Colleges, varsities ready vax status list of students, teachers and staff

Colleges, varsities ready vax status list of students, teachers and staff

Zeeshan Jawed@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:27.10.2021

Colleges and universities have already started making a list of how many students, faculty and other staff members have been fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or have not taken a single jab yet.

Though the government has not made vaccination mandatory for students to attend on-campus activities till now, the college and university authorities are preparing for a scenario, where only vaccinated people will be allowed to enter the institutions for classes or other works. The database of students, teachers and other staff will help the authorities identify those, who are due for the second dose or have not been vaccinated at all.

At St Xavier’s College, almost 80% students have received both the doses while the rest have received at least the first dose and will be eligible for the second dose in the coming weeks. “All our teaching and non-teaching staff have been fully vaccinated too,” said Father Dominic Savio, principal of St Xavier’s College.

At J D Birla Institute, 92% students are fully vaccinated while the rest are waiting for the second jab. “There will only be a handful of students who have not even received a single jab. Similarly, out of 123 staff on both our campuses, 113 have been fully vaccinated while nine are due for their second dose,” said Deepali Singhee, principal of the college.

The heads of various departments at Maulana Azad College have started collecting information on the status of vaccination of students. “Nearly 40% students have taken both the doses. Another 55% students have taken their first dose and will be due for their second dose soon. Similarly, both our teaching and non-teaching employees have received both the doses of the vaccine,” said Subhasis Dutta, principal.

At Lady Brabourne College, all the teaching and non-teaching staff have received both the doses. “About 60% of our students have received both the doses while 80% of the rest have received single dose,” said Siuli Sarkar, principal of Lady Brabourne College.

At St Xavier’s University over 95% students have received both doses. “Our entire teaching and non-teaching staff have received both the doses,” said Fr J Felix Raj, vice chancellor of the varsity.

Marriage used as conversion tool: UP

Marriage used as conversion tool: UP

Rajesh Kumar Pandey TNN

Prayag raj:27.10.2021

The Uttar Pradesh government has defended its anti-conversion law in its affidavit before the Allahabad high court, stating that “since marriage is being used as an instrument to convert an individual’s religion against his/her will, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 seeks to remedy the malady”.

Following a direction of the high court, the Uttar Pradesh government filed the affidavit in response to a bunch of PILs challenging the Act.

Significantly, while stressing that the community interest will always prevail over the individual interest, the Uttar Pradesh government has added that the law in challenge seeks to protect public interest and maintain public order, and safeguards the interest of the community.

Referring to the cases of a Hindu woman or a man wishing to marry a Muslim man or woman, the affidavit stated: “Even though Hindu woman wishes not to give up her faith, she will have to give up her faith in order to enter into a valid marriage and accept Islam as her faith. This will amount to forceful conversion. The position remains the same if a Hindu boy wants to marry a Muslim girl. Hindu boy will have to accept Islam.”

Canada’s first Hindu minister creates history

Tracking The Diaspora

Canada’s first Hindu minister creates history

WHILE PERSONS OF INDIAN ORIGIN WIN ACCOLADES, SOME RACIST ELEMENTS MAR THE JUBILATION

Toronto:27.10.2021

Canada’s first Hindu cabinet minister Anita Anand made history on Tuesday by becoming the country’s second-ever woman defence minister by replacing fellow Indo-Canadian Harjit Sajjan as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his new cabinet. Sajjan will be the new minister of international affairs.

Another Indo-Canadian woman Kamal Khera, the 32-year-old MP from Brampton West, also took oath as minister for seniors, taking the number of Indo-Canadian women ministers in the Trudeau cabinet to three. The sitting Indo-Canadian woman minister Bardish Chagger, who held the ministry of diversity, inclusion and youth of Canada, has been shuffled out.

These Indo-Canadian women are among six women ministers in the new cabinet. Trudeau demoted Sajjan for failing to address the allegations of sexual misconduct in the Canadian military and rewarded Anand and Khera for their work during the pandemic. Anand has been praised for her work as procurement minister and Khera, a registered nurse, for going back to work as a health-care provider at the peak of the pandemic. A three-time MP since 2015, Khera has also served as a parliamentary secretary to the ministers of health and international trade.

Anita was born in 1967 in Nova Scotia to Indian parents, who were both medical professionals. Her mother Saroj D Ram came from Punjab and father S V Anand from Tamil Nadu. Anita, who is on leave as a professor of law at the University of Toronto, was picked up as minister of public service and procurement by Trudeau in 2019 after her election as MP from Oakville near Toronto. She assisted the Air India Inquiry Commission with extensive research. The commission investigated the bombing of Air India Kanishka Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, that killed all 329 people on board.

Before Anand, Canada’s only woman defence minister was former Prime Minister Kim Campbell who held the portfolio for six months from January 4 to June 25 in 1993. AGENCIES

Minister of National Defence Anita Anand with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Unvaxxed staff can face jail term: Delhi govt dept

Unvaxxed staff can face jail term: Delhi govt dept

Sidhartha.Roy@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:27.10.2021

Ten days after nearly two lakh people employed by Delhi government were barred from working without getting at least one shot of an anti-Covid vaccine, various departments have started issuing stern orders to employees. One department “clarified” that non-compliance of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) order can attract action, including prison term of up to a year.

The DDMA had issued an order on October 8, mandating employees in departments, autonomous bodies, PSUs, local and educational bodies under the Delhi government, to at least get the first vaccine dose by October15. Unvaccinated employees were not allowed to attend office on October 16 and were told that the period of absence from duty till they get at least one dose, would be treated as “on leave”. The decision was taken in a meeting of the DDMA on September 29, 2021, aimed at ensuring 100% vaccination of all government employees, frontline workers, healthcare workers, teachers etc, who have frequent interaction with the public.

One man infects 8 in Bhopal; probe ordered

ACTIVE CASE TALLY 40

One man infects 8 in Bhopal; probe ordered

Jamal.Ayub@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:27.10.2021

A single Covid patient in Bhopal is said to have infected eight others, leading the health department to probe the role of the private hospital and patient’s relatives. It is alleged that the patient’s Covid status was reported only after four others in the family tested positive.

Overall, 11 new cases were reported in Bhopal on Tuesday, taking the active case tally to 40. Two of them needed hospitalization and the rest are in home isolation.

According to sources, last week a Govindpura resident tested positive for Covid-19 in a private hospital in Ayodhya Nagar. It is alleged that infection control protocols were breached by the patient and the hospital, and his Covid status went unreported.

The health department and district administration connected the dots on Monday when four members of the family were diagnosed with the infection. Health officials swung into action and began testing people in the locality and the family’s close contacts. On Tuesday evening, four of his neighbours also tested positive.

The contact trace count of patient zero of this cluster is now eight. Two of them are under 25 years of age, and two aged 50 and 58. Among the others are three men and a woman in their late 30s. Their condition is being monitored. Patient zero continues to be hospitalized.

₹8L income bar for EWS not over-inclusive, Centre tells SC

₹8L income bar for EWS not over-inclusive, Centre tells SC

New Delhi:27.10.2021

Facing questions from the SC over the rationality for fixing an income limit of Rs 8 lakh for EWS quota, which is the same for OBCs, the Centre said the determination cannot be a mathematical formula, suggesting the matter be left to the government, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.

Stating that the criteria was on the basis of the Sinho commission report, which had in 2010 suggested that the creamy layer benchmark for OBCs be adopted for EWS, the Centre said setting different limits on the basis of cost of living and per capita income was not feasible.

Checks to ensure only needy avail EWS benefits

Allaying the apprehension that the Rs 8 lakh limit is too high for people from the general category — which does not suffer from social and educational backwardness that are grounds for OBC reservation — and would result in over-inclusiveness, the Centre said there are other checks to ensure only needy people avail the EWS benefits in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions.

Responding to the court’s query on why the same income limit be applied across the country despite a rural-urban divide and different per capita income in different states, the government indicated that a certain subjectivity might be inevitable and said, “The determination has to be made on broad probabilities and it is impossible to achieve perfection/mathematical precision”.

“It is submitted that the principle of fixation of Rs 8 lakh as a criteria for determination of EWS as also for determination of creamy lawyer in the OBC category is rational and in keeping with Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. The exercise conducted to determine the creamy layer for the purpose of OBC reservation would be equally applicable for determination of EWS category,” the affidavit said.

Can’t force outside students to learn Kannada, says HC

Can’t force outside students to learn Kannada, says HC

State Gets Time To Reconsider Policy For Degree Course

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:27.10.2021

Students coming from outside Karnataka cannot be compelled to learn Kannada language, be it classical or functional, the high court on Tuesday orally observed, granting time to the state government to reconsider the issue.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi adjourned the hearing to November 10 vis-a-vis a petition challenging two government orders making Kannada a compulsory subject for degree students, following a request from advocate-general Prabhuling K Navadgi.

“With the understanding that the government will reconsider the issue, we adjourn the matter,” the division bench orally said. Earlier, the advocate general said people have to learn Kannada for employment purpose and they need not learn Kannada in a classical sense and he would get more instructions in the matter.

However, the bench queried as to how the state government can compel a student coming from outside to learn Kannada and added that the state government has to reconsider the issue and the court will grant time for the same. Senior advocate SS Naganand, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, told the court that the academic year had already commenced and students will have to make a choice.

Orders take away freedom to choose language: Petitioners

Samskrita taka) Trust Bharati , Bengaluru (Karna , - and three other institutions associated with the promotion of Sanskrit language/ study have filed this petition, challenging the validity of government orders dated August 7, 2021 and September 15, 2021, saying it goes against National Education Policy.

The petitioners have sought declaration to the effect that NEP 2020 does not impose any restriction upon the student to choose any particular language as part of the curricula for higher education. According to the petitioners, it will impede the admissions and rights of minority institutions, students and especially the teachers who are at the risk of losing employment as the options of choosing a language is now restricted.

They claim 1.3 lakh students and 4,000 teachers, who were teaching Sanskrit (600 teachers), Hindi (3,000 teachers), Urdu (300 teachers) and other languages (100 teachers), are going to be affected by this move of the government.

“The said orders take away the freedom to choose a language for study and makes it mandatory for all students in Karnataka to take up Kannada as a language in degree courses offered in all streams of science, commerce and arts. There is a restriction on the freedom of speech and expression enshrined under the Constitution. Though, Article 19(2) of the Constitution enables the state to impose restrictions upon the fundamental rights, the restrictions ought to be reasonable..,” the petitioners contended.

Further, they have argued that equating those students who have not studied Kannada at any point time till plus level with those who have studied Kannada is also equally opposed to Article 14 of the Constitution.