Fake faculty row: Anna univ to inspect all 440 colleges

Fake faculty row: Anna univ to inspect all 440 colleges 

Before Nod For Affiliation This Academic Year

Ragu.Raman@timesofindia.com 24.02.2025

Chennai : In the wake of last year’s fake faculty row, Anna University has decided to inspect all 440 engineering colleges in the state for granting affiliation for 2025-26. During the check, it will look into the permanently affiliated courses to rule out any malpractices. It will check various parameters including qualifications of the principal, faculty members, library, classrooms, labs, and admissions. Last year, top colleges were exempted from physical inspection. 

In a recent circular, the university asked colleges to submit biometric details of faculty members after authenticating them with Aadhaar through the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency and Unique Identification Authority of India. It also asked them to verify all certificates, including PAN and Aadhaar details, with originals. College chairpersons or secretaries of trusts were directed to submit an affidavit stating that all details submitted are true. It also mandated AICTE Faculty ID for all members. “Faculty qualifications, experience, scale of pay, and cadre ratio should be strictly followed as per AICTE norms to grant affiliation,” the circular from registrar J Prakash said. “Those pro grammes which have not fulfilled the stipulated affiliation requirements will be suspended or withdrawn without any further notice.” For the first time, the university sought details of all permanently affiliated courses to verify them.

“Anna University used to give permanent affiliation to courses if the college is offering the course for 10 years with better admission record and no prior punishment. However, it was found that some colleges misused the permanent affiliation and showed them as faculty members in other departments. So, it was decided to verify these courses also,” a source said. The last date for submission of applications for affiliation with a late fee for 2025-26 is Feb 28. AICTE Approval Process Handbook for 2025-26 allowed institutions to appoint up to 20% of faculty as Professors of Practice (PoP) — industry professionals with varying qualifications, including PhDs or BTech with significant industry experience. The university is yet to act against 2,500 faculty members found faking identities and working in multiple colleges at the same time. Some 30 colleges were involved. “There is a court case regarding POP qualifications. University is yet to action against the faculty members and colleges. Then only the physical inspection for 2025-26 will commence,” a source added.

Runaway bride: Woman doc elopes with female friend on wedding day, family ‘fakes death’

Runaway bride: Woman doc elopes with female friend on wedding day,

 family ‘fakes death’

TNN Feb 19, 2025, 23:38 IST

Agra: The wedding bells were supposed to ring, and guests had gathered in UP's Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday. On what should have been a night of celebration, the bride-to-be vanished—just hours before the ceremony. The 26-year-old homeopathic doctor had stepped into a beauty parlour to get ready but never returned. What followed was a desperate cover-up, a fabricated death, and a search that led to Jhansi.

"To avoid embarrassment", family members allegedly told guests that she had died of a heart attack while being taken to Meerut for treatment and called off the wedding.

However, upon reviewing CCTV footage from the parlour, police found that the woman had left with her female friend on Tuesday. The next day, both were tracked down and detained in Jhansi.

New Mandi deputy superintendent of police Rupali Rao said that an FIR had been registered under BNS section 137 (kidnapping) based on the complaint filed by the bride's father on Tuesday. "Two dedicated teams were assigned to the case, and the woman was safely located on Wednesday. Her statement is now being recorded in court, and further legal action will be taken based on her testimony," Rao said.

RG Kar doc’s parents yet to receive death certificate

RG Kar doc’s parents yet to receive death certificate

Feb 23, 2025, 0:05 IST

Kolkata: Parents of the post-graduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, who was found raped and murdered on Aug 9, 2024, are yet to receive her death certificate.

Though Panihati Municipality issued a cremation certificate, the parents said they were still waiting for a death certificate to be issued by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Parents said that when they approached KMC, they were told RG Kar would issue the death certificate.But the hospital authorities claimed the opposite and said the death certificate had to be issued by KMC.

According to civic health department officials, while KMC does issue death certificate for normal as well as unnatural deaths in most cases, for persons dying in a govt hospital within its jurisdiction, the death certificate is issued by the hospital concerned.

But the deceased doctor's parents said RG Kar officials had insisted that KMC must provide death certificates for all deaths occurring within hospital premises, including for "brought-dead" cases.

Upset over thrashing by teacher, 14-year-old jumps to death from 4th floor of school building in Hyderabad

Upset over thrashing by teacher, 14-year-old jumps to death from 4th floor of school building in Hyderabad

23.02.2025

A 14-year-old student died by suicide after jumping from the fourth floor of his school in Hyderabad, following alleged corporal punishment by a teacher. The incident led to protests from the boy's family and student organizations. The police have registered a case against the teacher and the school management for abetment to suicide.

HYDERABAD: A 14-year-old student died by suicide after he jumped from the fourth floor of his school building in Uppal on Saturday morning. The boy took the extreme step after being allegedly struck by a school teacher.

Uppal police said that the 14-year-old jumped from the fourth floor of the Sagar Grammar School building during school hours. On hearing a thud, the school staff rushed out and found the boy in a pool of blood. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

The incident led to a protest, with family members and a few student organisations demanding action against the school teacher.

The boy's mother blamed the school's physical training (PT) teacher for her son taking the extreme step.

At around 9.30 am, the student was found playing with a CCTV camera on the school campus. On seeing this, the teacher got upset and allegedly smacked him besides reprimanding him. "Later, the boy, under the pretext of going to the washroom, went to the fourth floor of the building and jumped to death," Uppal inspector Election Reddy told TOI.

The alleged incident of corporal punishment took place in front of other students. "Perhaps, he felt humiliated since he was smacked in front of others," sub-inspector V Chiranjeevi said. Before taking the extreme step, the 14-year-old wrote a note in his notebook, expressing his apology to his parents. Police have recovered the material.

Based on the complaint given by the family members of the deceased, a criminal case was registered against the teacher and the management of the school on the charge of abetment to suicide.

HC stays order on compassionate appointment to man

HC stays order on compassionate appointment to man

Kaushik Kannan

Feb 23, 2025, 0:26 IST

HC stays order on compassionate appointment to man

Madurai: Compassionate appointment cannot be considered a mode of recruitment, it is only to tide over the immediate financial distress of the family of the deceased employee, which occurred due to the sudden demise of the sole breadwinner, Madras high court has observed. The court said this while setting aside an order of a single bench which directed the authorities to grant compassionate appointment to the son of a deceased govt employee from Karur district.

The court was hearing an appeal preferred by the Karur district collector and block development officer of Krishnarayapuram, challenging the order of the single bench.

P Jeyaraman was employed as a panchayat assistant in Pappakkapatti village. He died during service in 2015, leaving behind his mother, wife, son J Mahendiran, and his sister as his legal heirs. At the time of his death, Mahendiran was 15 years old, and his sister was 12 years old. The family was in a precarious financial situation, as Jeyaraman was the sole breadwinner.

Mahendiran submitted an application seeking compassionate employment. The application was rejected since the petitioner was a minor at the time of application. After attaining majority, Mahendiran submitted an application in 2021. However, it was also rejected on the basis that it was made three years after his father's death. Hence, Mahendiran filed a petition before the court seeking relief.

The single bench stated that Mahendiran's application was rejected on the sole ground that he was a minor on the date of his father's death. However, the order did not address the indigenous circumstances of the family of the deceased employee. Hence, the single bench directed the authorities to grant compassionate appointment to Mahendiran. Challenging the order, the present appeal was preferred by the authorities.

A division bench of justice J. Nisha Banu and justice S Srimathy observed that the full bench of the Madras high court held that the legal heir is entitled to compassionate appointment if the application is submitted within three years from the date of the employee's death. If the legal heir is a minor at the time of submitting the application, then the heir is not entitled to compassionate appointment. It was further held that any application submitted after attaining majority, but by the time the three-year period had lapsed, the legal heir is not entitled to compassionate appointment.

The judges observed that in the case at hand, the applicant's father died in 2015. The three-year period was over in Oct 2018, and the applicant attained majority in 2019. Therefore, the petitioner was not entitled to compassionate appointment. The mother of the petitioner was entitled to compassionate appointment, but she did not choose to apply for the same.

"The compassionate appointment post cannot be kept endlessly vacant for the family of the deceased employee," the judges observed and set aside the order.

NEWS TODAY 23.02.2025

 

‘Tough’ CBSE physics paper has students on tenterhooks

‘Tough’ CBSE physics paper has students on tenterhooks 

Even 1-Mark MCQs Too Complex, Say Students, Feel Out Of Depth & Time

Ramendra.Singh@timesofindia.com 23.02.2025 

Bhopal : This was the board exam or JEE-Mains? That was the feeling among the majority of students after the CBSE class 12 physics paper on Friday. And on Saturday, social media was buzzing with complaints of how tough and lengthy it was. Students complained that the paper was far too heavy on numericals and broke from the pattern of a balanced distribution of topics and complexity.

 “It is not a competitive exam, but a qualifying exam. All three sets were lengthy, complex and needed strong problem-solving skills. How many children in India can solve such a paper without private coaching? How many CBSE students in villages can afford coaching?” asked a school teacher, requesting not to be named. 

Several teachers told TOI that even the section containing one-mark questions included very complex theoretical concepts that required a deeper understanding and far more investment of time than the weightage merited. Students faced ‘unforeseen components’ and numerical problems that demanded extensive calculations, requiring careful time management. Many struggled to finish the paper in time. Most of those who could, didn’t get time to revise. 

“The examination pattern deviated slightly from previous years, catching students off guard,” said a teacher. Derivations got far less weitage that previous years. “The numerical questions, especially those carrying two marks, proved exceptionally difficult. Several MCQs were extremely complicated,” said a student, Samarth Kumar. Some students said that one of the MCQs was drawn from topics excluded from the syllabus. Education experts suggested that the paper's structure could have been more balanced. They emphasised that while challenging questions are necessary to differentiate between students’ 

capabilities, the overall difficulty level should have been more moderate. Some teachers felt that the paper reflected the need of the times and would help acquaint students with the toughness of competitive examinations.