NEWS TODAY 21.05.2025

 

‘How can this not be rarest of rare case?’

‘How can this not be rarest of rare case?’ 

21.01.2025

Kolkata : How can’t a PGT doctor’s rape and murder inside a hospital be considered a rarest of rare crime, asked the medical fraternity here, which had carried out a movement for almost two months, demanding justice for the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital victim. Doctors said that given the court’s verdict, they already knew convict Sanjay Roy would either be sentenced to death or life imprisonment but what disheartened them was that a crime, which had evoked spontaneous protests across the globe, was termed “not rarest of rare”. TNN

Failure of probe agency: Parents of RG Kar victim

Failure of probe agency: Parents of RG Kar victim 

Sarthak G & Sanjib Chakraborty TNN 21.01.2025

Kolkata : “Why is our daughter’s brutal murder not a rarest of rare crime,” the stunned parents of RG Kar rape-and-murder victim asked after convict Sanjay Roy was sent to jail for the remainder of his life. “My daughter was on duty at a govt hospital in Kolkata on Aug 9 last year when she was raped and then killed. Today, the judge stated that the incident was not rarest of rare. This is the failure of the investigating agency. CBI could not prove this case as rarest of rare. That is why the judge did not give Sanjay Roy the maximum punishment, which is death,” the victim’s mother said outside court.

The parents said they were not happy with the judgment but clarified that they were not questioning it. “We have nothing to say about the punishment handed out to Sanjay Roy. We’re not concerned if he gets life sentence or death. We demand that all the culprits involved in the heinous crime be punished. We have faith in law and will wait for the punishment of all the culprits so that my daughter’s soul gets peace. None can compensate for the death of my daughter. God had gifted me a diamond and I lost her forever,” the distraught mother said, breaking down. The victim’s father said, “We have not received justice yet. We don’t believe Sanjay Roy alone committed the crime. We will continue demanding justice by seeking punishment for all the culprits. The judge has done what he felt was right. There are HC and SC, and we will be waiting for justice.” The victim’s neighbours expressed disappointment and announced cancellation of amusement programmes, celebrations and events until the convict is sentenced to death. “We were shocked when he was handed life imprisonment,” Soumen Chakraborty, a neighbour, said.

No gratitude, no grievances, says Sanjay Roy’s mom

No gratitude, no grievances, says Sanjay Roy’s mom

Tamaghna.Banerjee@timesofindia.com 21.01`.2025

Kolkata : Sanjay Roy’s mother was relieved as her 35-year-old son was spared the gallows. “Why will he be hanged? The judge has made the right decision. I don’t know what may have happened. Police and the judiciary know that, and they have taken a decision,” she said Monday, speaking from behind the closed wooden door of her one-room home in a Kolkata neighbourhood. 

The woman in her 70s had kept her door shut throughout the day and only briefly came out to retrieve clothes she had put out to dry. She quickly retreated inside when a battery of reporters pressed for a reaction after a trial court sentenced Sanjay to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College on Aug 9 last year. “I neither have grievances nor gratitude towards police for whatever they have done. I can only curse my luck for my misfortunes,” she said from behind the closed door. 

Mamata vows to seek capital punishment in HC Kolkata : Bengal govt will appeal in high court for the death penalty, CM Mamata Banerjee said on Monday while expressing her dissatisfaction with the life imprisonment handed to Sanjay Roy, whom she referred to as a “noropishach” (monster). “I am really shocked to see that the judgment of the court today finds that it is not a rarest of rare case!” Banerjee posted on X. “I am convinced that it is indeed a rarest of rare case which demands capital punishment…We will plead for capital punishment of the convict at high court now.” Banerjee emphasised her shock at the court’s decision. She said the outcome might have been different if the investigation had remained with Kolkata police, rather than being handed over to CBI. —Dwaipayan Ghosh

Surge in NEET-UG cut-off marks: More students opt for Indian medicine courses

Surge in NEET-UG cut-off marks: More students opt for Indian medicine courses

Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com 21.01.2025

Chennai : Gaining admission to undergraduate courses in Indian medicine and homeopathy was tougher this year as the NEET-UG cut-off — the marks of the last student to enter the course — rose by an average of 100 marks in most categories, and by up to nearly 300 marks in select categories. While all seats in undergraduate courses for unani and siddha across colleges were taken, five in ayurveda and 19 in homeopathy were vacant after nearly five rounds of counselling, officials at the selection committee for Indian medicine said. The committee admits students to ayurveda, siddha, unani and homeopathy courses based on merit in NEET scores and the rule of reservation. 

“This year, we saw an increase in students interested in these courses,” said committee secretary Dr M Krishnaveni. The top student to join the bachelor’s course in siddha medicine had a NEET score of 592/720. The score was 585 for ayurveda, 551 for unani and 547 for homeopathy. These students weren’t exceptions, Krishnaveni said. “The difference in marks wasn’t huge.”

Offers galore for Ayush 

Krishnaveni said the last candidate to join siddha had a score of 539. “Barring unani, where the cut-off was 433, all others had a cut-off above 500,” she said. In 2023, the cut-off for siddha was 423, followed by 412 for ayurveda and 405 for homeopathy. The unani cut-off was 231 in 2023 compared to 433 in 2024. Barring unani, the cut-off for all courses in reserved categories was above 400 this year, while students with scores as low as 120 joined these courses last year. 

Experts say the rise in cutoffs was expected as the MBBS cut-offs have increased several fold over the past few years. In 2024, the cut-off for MBBS in the general category for govt medical colleges was 650, while for self-financing colleges it was above 600. In reserved categories, it was around 470. “Many students who have written NEET-UG several times are tired. They don’t want to wait and try another year as it gets tougher with each passing year,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels students. Students and parents agree. “My nephew missed MBBS by two marks. He passed out in 2020 and most of his friends have graduated. We know we can’t afford to pay fees in private colleges. So, he decided to join siddha this year,” said Rajkumar E, who works for a pharmaceutical company. “Many AYUSH graduates now have offers from clinics, pharma companies and govt,” he said.

NEWS TODAY 20.01.2025

 

Teachers enhance their skills using an app to make classrooms interesting

Teachers enhance their skills using an app to make classrooms interesting

Several educators are using The Teacher App to stay updated with new teaching ideas

Priyadarshini.Gupta@timesofindia.com 20.01.2025

Designed to address challenges faced by educators, The Teacher App was recently launched by the Ministry of Education, which offers 900 hours of resources, including lesson plans, worksheets, project-based activities, and question banks for teachers. The app aims to evolve classroom engagement by supporting continuous training and application of skills to teachers. The app is a user-centric platform addressing the evolving needs of educators from government and private schools, B Ed students, and trainers. 

Designed by Bharti Airtel Foundation, the app allows teachers to frequently engage with modules addressing practical classroom challenges, subject-specific pedagogy, classroom management strategies, innovative Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs), digital teaching techniques, specially designed life skills courses, foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) courses. The content has been curated for teachers and can be used by them at their own pace. The app was first introduced to the teacher community one and a half years ago for trials and gather feedback. 

Following a successful pilot in September, the app was officially launched in November last year. The launch saw an additional 12,500 teachers using the app. Approximately, 44,000 teachers are currently active users with over 35% of the registered teachers being active monthly users. Sumathi, a primary schoolteacher in Bengaluru, says she has utilised several teaching resources to enhance her teaching style. “Through the ‘Teaching Techniques’ course, I learned how to increase the ability of students to grasp concepts using engaging activities. For example, while teaching shapes, I encouraged children to form shapes like squares or triangles using their bodies in group activities. This hands-on approach helped students learn the concepts effectively who have shown signs of improved learning.”