NMC withdraws nod for private med college, TN loses 100 seats

NMC withdraws nod for private med college, TN loses 100 seats

The selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education is attempting to find ways to accommodate them in other colleges.

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The last-minute notice by the National Medical Commission (NMC) about the withdrawal of permission to 100 MBBS seats in the new Kanniyakumari Madras Medical Mission Research Centre has put the state government in a fix. Under the 7.5% reservation category, five government school students have already taken up admission in said college. The selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education is attempting to find ways to accommodate them in other colleges.

The NMC withdrew the permission following a writ petition filed before the New Delhi High Court against the college and its trust, alleging that the land on which the building is constructed is disputed. Further, it put on hold, the letter of permission to the college dated July 4.

The NMC told the selection committee to ensure that students are not admitted to the college during the ongoing counselling until further communication. The 100 seats in the college comprise 60 government quota seats, 30 management and five under the 7.5% quota.

The selection committee said that since the counselling is being conducted online, students in the general category will be offered seats in other colleges. As per the committee’s revised seat matrix, there are 6,630 MBBS government seats and 1,683 BDS seats in the state. Under the 7.5% quota, 496 MBBS seats and 126 BDS seats are available.

Thesis approval not a must for postgraduate medical students to sit in exams, says NMC

Thesis approval not a must for postgraduate medical students to sit in exams, says NMC  

The move is aimed at curbing mental health issues and alleged harassment, besides easing work pressure

Priyanka Sharma

Published30 Aug 2024, 06:11 PM IST

The May survey of 5,337 postgraduate students revealed that around 51.8% of respondents faced challenges regarding their thesis-related work, while 11.6% experienced exploitation.(Mint)

New Delhi: India’s top medical education regulator has said that the approval and acceptance of thesis is not mandatory for students to appear in the final postgraduate examination—a move aimed at curbing mental health issues and ease work pressure.

Students will submit their thesis to the university through the head of department (HoD) and dean of the medical college, according to a letter Dr Vijay Oza, president of the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), wrote to medical colleges.

“The student cannot be prevented from appearing in the examination if he has not obtained approval of thesis from HoD,” said the letter reviewed by Mint.

The regulator’s directions are aimed at addressing concerns about mental health and alleged harassment of postgraduate medical students by HoDs. There have been incidents of students dying by suicide in Dehradun, Patiala and Bhopal. The NMC’s bid to ease pressure on students also comes in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation by the medical education community over the rape and murder of a young female doctor in Kolkata.

The PGMEB reminded medical colleges about the requirement to complete the final postgraduation examination by 31 December.

In a meeting with representatives from various health universities in July, the regulator was apprised of concerns about the dissertation and thesis being a prerequisite for appearing in the final examination for the postgraduation batch of 2021.

The regulator had clarified that, according to the provisions of Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER), 2023, all specialty and super-specialty students will conduct and write a thesis based on research.

“The thesis now accounts for 5% of the total marks in the clinical/practical and viva voce components, meaning 20 marks out of the total marks allocated for these components are reserved for the thesis,” Dr Oza wrote in the latest letter.

Earlier, there were no marks for thesis, but approval by the HoD or dean was a prerequisite to appear in the final examination. A student whose thesis was not approved couldn’t take the examination.

“External examiner outside the state will evaluate the thesis and take viva voce on it and marks will be given on quality of thesis and performance on its viva voce,” the letter said, adding that this change in the guidelines will help with the quality of thesis-related research work.

Mental health worries

Mint earlier reported about 15.3% of the postgraduate medical students suffer from mental health disorders, with 31.2% found to have considered suicide, according to a survey conducted by the NMC.

The May survey of 5,337 postgraduate students revealed that around 51.8% of respondents faced challenges regarding their thesis-related work, while 11.6% experienced exploitation.

About 8.2% students reported delays in thesis submission by their guides, which can contribute to increased stress and potentially impact their academic progress; 7.5% encountered requests for data manipulation, suggesting ethical concerns within certain thesis supervisory relationships.

The most common request was for better faculty guidance with 36.5% asking for it, followed by the desire to remove thesis altogether (23.4%). About 20.8% students desired extra time to complete their thesis and 12.7% sought financial support.

NEWS TO DAY 01.09.2024

 

Govt increases stipends of interns, resident doctors

Govt increases stipends of interns, resident doctors

 TIMES NEWS NETWORK  1.9.2024 

Ahmedabad : In a significant move, the state govt on Saturday announced its decision to hike the stipends for interns and resident doctors following the recent salary hike for contract-based specialist doctors at various healthcare facilities. The decision will benefit those pursuing undergraduate, postgraduate, and superspecialty programmes at the state’s six govt and 13 GMERS-managed medical colleges. 

The stipend hike comes after a gap of about three years and will come into effect from April 1, 2024. Students have been demanding a stipend hike and had made several representations to the state health department. The stipend rates have been increased for interns and residents in medical, dental, physiotherapy, homeopathy, and Ayurveda programmes. 

According to the new rates, medical interns in govt medical colleges will receive Rs 21,840 per month, dental interns Rs 20,160, physiotherapy interns Rs 13,440, and ayurveda and homeopathy interns Rs 15,120 as stipends. Medical residents with degrees will receive stipends ranging from Rs 1,00,800 per month in the first year to Rs 1,10,880 in the fourth year and as clinical assistants. Superspecialty medical residents will be entitled to stipends starting from Rs 1,20,960 in the first year and increasing to Rs 1,34,400 in the third year. Dental degree residents will receive stipends ranging from Rs 78,960 to Rs 83,496 per month, while physiotherapy degree residents will get Rs 35,280 in the first year and Rs 43,680 in the second year. Medical diploma resident doctors will get Rs 75,600 in the first year and Rs 82,320 in the second year as stipends. 

In the ayurvedic course, postgraduate resident doctors will get stipends starting from Rs 50,400 in the first year and increasing to Rs 57,120 in the third year. The stipend hike also extends to interns and residents at GMERS-managed medical colleges. Interns in undergraduate programmes will receive Rs 21,840, while junior residents will receive Rs 1,00,800, and senior residents will receive Rs 1,10,880.

SC directs adjudication on rent arrears payable by Madras Race Club to T.N. govt.

SC directs adjudication on rent arrears payable by Madras Race Club to T.N. govt.

The club must be allowed a fair opportunity to respond to the claim of ₹822.63 crore in rent arrears mentioned in the show cause notice of July 4 Supreme Court Bench

The Madras Race Club has been operating on the leased premises at Udhagamandalam for over 50 years and horse racing had been held on the premises for over a century

Krishnadas Rajagopal

 

New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Madras Race Club a full opportunity to be heard on the question of arrears of rent payable for 52.34 acres of land dispossessed from it by the Nilgiris district administration.

A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti directed a competent authority within the Tamil Nadu government to adjudicate the issue of arrears due from the club.

The club, represented by senior advocate C.A. Sundaram and advocate Rohini Musa, had challenged a Madras High Court order of July 5, which held that the rent arrears added up to a whopping ₹822.63 crore (without interest) as on June 30, 2023.

The court held that the club deserved ‘no further leniency’.

By the time of the High Court order, the district administration had already taken possession and sealed the property. The land is proposed to be used for an eco park project.

On Friday, Mr. Sundaram said the amount of ₹822.63 crore was decided without any adjudication. The club should have been given an opportunity to be heard. It had been thrown out of the property overnight.

The Madras Race Club has been operating on the leased premises at Udhagamandalam (Ooty) for over 50 years. Horse racing had been held at the premises for over a century. The club had made substantial investments in the infrastructure and facilities at the racecourse, including the construction of stables and other buildings to support horse racing and related activities.

Mr. Sundaram said imposing over ₹820 crore on the club was like “flogging a dead horse”.

Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, for the State of Tamil Nadu, said the amount of ₹822.63 crore was based on a show cause notice issued by the government against the club on July 4.

“A show cause notice can even say ₹3000 crore… The question is whether there was adjudication,” Justice Bhatti reacted.

The July 4 notice had said the amount was fixed taking into consideration the fact that the “substantial loss of revenue could have been utilised for public welfare, infrastructure development and other essential services”.

Disposing of the case, the court said the club must be allowed a fair opportunity to respond to the claim of ₹822.63 crore in rent arrears mentioned in the show cause notice of July 4.

The Bench left it open for the club to raise all contentions.

The court had on an earlier occasion, on July 10, refused to intervene in the dispossession of the land on the expiry of the lease.

On Friday, the apex court clarified that the order had however not endorsed the claim of ₹822.63 crore as rent arrears

Medical students go missing: Madurai High Court Bench orders SIT probe

Medical students go missing: Madurai High Court Bench orders SIT probe

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI 01.09.2024 

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed that a Special Investigation Team be formed under the supervision of Madurai Commissioner of Police to conduct investigation into the case of two missing medical students.

A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and J. Sathya Narayana Prasad took into account that a first year medical student of Government Medical College, Ariyalur, had gone missing from her home since May 22.

Similarly, a youth, a second year medical student of Government Medical College, Namakkal, had gone missing since May 18.

Mutual decision?

It was suspected that both had taken a decision together to move away from their respective homes. They are yet to be located. Police complaints were lodged in Tiruchi and Namakkal districts respectively. The court observed that there was no progress made in the investigation and said that it was deeply concerned about the safety of the two children which is of extreme importance.

The court directed the Special Investigation Team to be formed under the supervision of the Commissioner of Police, Madurai city, and functioning under the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Madurai city.

The court directed that the investigation should commence immediately without any delay.

Taking into account that two separate FIRs were registered, the court directed it to be placed before the Director General of Police so that they can be clubbed and investigation can be done in a coordinated manner.

The court posted the matter on September 23 for filing of the report on the progress made in the investigation.

Police search apartment complex near private university, seize ganja

Police search apartment complex near private university, seize ganja

Crackdown on drug network: Police officials conducted raids in flats near SRM University in Potheri. Special Arrangement

On instructions from Tambaram City Commissioner Abin Dinesh Modak, 168 teams comprising 1,000 policemen conducted searches in the apartment complex housing 688 flats in Potheri; the raids led to seizure of ganja from 15 students; tobacco products, liquor bottles too found

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 01.09.2024 

The Tambaram City police on Saturday conducted raids in apartments, occupied mostly by college students of a private educational institution, and seized ganja and other narcotic substances from the premises.

Acting on specific information that the students were using drugs, including ganja, Tambaram City Police Commissioner Abin Dinesh Modak instructed his officers to conduct a special raid at the apartment complex. Under the supervision of Additional Commissioner of Police, Tambaram, C. Mageswari, the police personnel carried out the special operation near SRM College at Abode Valley, Potheri.

More than 5,00,000 students attend various colleges and schools within the jurisdiction of the Tambaram Police. These institutions have students from all over the country. Universities, by their sheer size, have students staying at the periphery of their campuses. The students stay at rented buildings in gated societies, which take the shape of micro cities.

Explaining the reason behind the operation, Tambaram City Police Commissioner Mr. Modak said, “The local criminals as well as students who had dropped out, in a well-organised manner create a thriving criminal ecosystem by indulging in selling drugs, running extortion rackets, trading in protection money, and hiring criminals for assaulting innocent students. Hence strict action needs to be taken.”

The Tambaram City Police arranged a massive search operation at Abode Valley apartments in Potheri. This residential complex has 22 towers. Each tower has four floors with eight flats on each floor. There are 688 flats where around 3,000 students reside.

The operation that began early on Saturday morning, was carried out with 1,000 policemen grouped into 168 teams. The searches led to the seizure of ganja from 15 students. Ganja chocolates; bhang; tobacco (hookah) and a huge cache of liquor bottles were also seized. The operation led to registration of 20 cases and arrest of 21 people. The apartment has 60 abandoned two-wheelers and one four-wheeler. Some were suspected to be stolen and verification is in progress, he said.

History-sheeter Selvamani, 29, of Guduvanchery, who had spread his network around the apartment complex, was also secured in the operation and five weapons (swords and knives) used for threatening the university students were recovered, a police press release said.

The police have also arrested the owner of a dhaba from Uttar Pradesh who procured ganja chocolates from the State and sold it to the students. “We have also secured digital data, to further identify the criminals who are perpetrating crime, supplying drugs, and influencing innocent students to consume drugs so that they could be made pawns in the extortion business,” said Mr. Modak.