Do not conduct PG medical exam, assn requests V-C

Do not conduct PG medical exam, assn requests V-C

The Association in its letter said, “The University has announced tentative exam dates on August. We feel this is an extraordinary situation to conduct the exams.

Published: 11th July 2020 06:46 AM 

For representational purposes

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Government Service Doctors and Postgraduates Association (SDPGA) wrote a letter to the vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Dr M.G.R Medical University, requesting him not to conduct examination for post graduate medical students, scheduled in August and to award marks based on their internal assessments.

The Association in its letter said, “The University has announced tentative exam dates on August. We feel this is an extraordinary situation to conduct the exams. All medical colleges have been converted as Covid hospitals and the faculties are posted in Covid wards. So, it will be difficult to engage them as examiners and invigilators.

Moreover, all the post graduate students have been posted in Covid duty since March, it will be unfair to make them appear for exams without giving adequate time to prepare.” The SDPGA further said that it will be difficult to get clinical materials for practical examinations. “ SDPGA demands the government not to conduct university exams both theory and practicals and award marks based on internal assessments,” the letter added.

Final-yr PG med exams to start on August 25: MUHS

Final-yr PG med exams to start on August 25: MUHS

Yogita Rao & Ranjan Dasgupta TNN

Mumbai:  11.07.2020

The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences on Friday released the much-awaited exam schedule for final-year postgraduate (allopathy) medical students. Exams for MS, MD, microbiology, biochemistry, and PG diploma in different courses are now scheduled to start from August 25.

The PG exams were earlier scheduled in May and were deferred twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the university had already announced the dates for undergraduate and postgraduate exams for medical and other health science courses for 70,000 students in August and September, allopathy students were concerned about the uncertainty over their exams and pursuit of super-specialty courses. Around 2,300 such students are in the frontline of the Covid battle, of which 950 are in Mumbai alone.

The controller of examinations for MUHS, Ajit Pathak, said the university had promised to give students at least 45 days of preparation time before the exams. “The PG allopathy students and their examiners were both on Covid duty since the beginning of the pandemic...Now, as the first-year students have started joining their respective colleges, senior students can be relieved. We have also given them a day’s break between exams,” said Pathak.

Resident doctors, however, are worried that the hospitals may not relieve them of Covid duty with immediate effect. Some of them are already in the duty chart prepared for the coming week.

The university had to announce the exam dates soon as several MD/MS students seek admissions to super-specialty courses and fellowships to pursue higher studies. NEET for superspecialty courses is scheduled in September.

Also, a PG student from KEM Hospital and GS Medical College had moved court seeking directions to MUHS to declare the dates and hold the exams. The student had secured admission for superspecialty course in a Chandigarh college and completion of the PG course was important for admissions. The state had assured the court that they will work out a policy for announcing the exam dates.

K’taka govt says exams only for final year of UG and PG

K’taka govt says exams only for final year of UG and PG

Others Will Be Rated On Last Year’s Marks, IA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: 11.07.2020

The Karnataka government has decided to conduct exams only for the final year or semester of graduation, post-graduation and diploma courses before September-end, and promote all students of junior years and earlier semesters based on their internal assessment and marks of the previous semester/year exam.

The decision of the higher education department is applicable to all courses, including engineering and diploma for the 2019-20 academic year but not medical courses like MBBS and BDS which come under a separate department. The state government’s order does not apply to deemed universities which come under Union ministry of human resources.

Students of non-final year/semester, or of intermediate year/semester as the government order describes them, will be assessed based on a comprehensive evaluation scheme — taking into account internal assessment and marks of previous year/ semester exam in a 50:50 ratio. Students in their first semester/year will be evaluated entirely on the basis of internal assessment.

“If students want to improve their scores, provision will be made for them to appear for examinations during the next semester and students who fail to succeed in the comprehensive evaluation process shall face examinations for respective subjects in the next semester. Backlog subjects can be carried over as well,” higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan said on Friday.

99.3% students clear ICSE, 96.8% pass ISC

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination on Friday declared results for Class 10 (ICSE) and Class 12 (ISC) for 2020. While the pass percentage of Class 10 is 99.3%, the pass percentage of Class 12 is 96.8%. “Given the present circumstances, this year CISCE will not be publishing a merit list,” CICSE chief executive Gerry Arathoon said. P 3

Practical exams can be held via apps

The scheme of carry-forward for subjects in which the student has failed will be allowed for the current academic year and every student will be promoted to the next semester. However, they should clear the exam whenever it is held next.

The exam for final-year students can be online/offline or in a blended mode. Conducting classes before the exams to cover the remaining syllabus is optional. Final-year students with backlog should be compulsorily evaluated by conducting exams (online/offline/blended) as per feasibility and suitability, the order says.

In case a final semester student is unable to attend the exam for whatever reason, s/he will be allowed to appear in the next exam, which will be held at a feasible time. For considering the minimum percentage of attendance, the lockdown period will be treated as “deemed to be attended”.

Universities can conduct practical exams and vivas through Skype or other meeting apps. In case of intermediate semesters, practical exams can be conducted during the ensuing semesters. The institutes can adopt appropriate strategies for projects and dissertations. Reviewbased/secondary data based projects or software-driven projects can replace laboratory-based experiments and field survey based assignments.

The government has taken this decision after consulting educationists and university VCs and taking into consideration students’ health, wellbeing and future, the minister said.

RGUHS PG exams to begin on Tuesday

RGUHS will hold finalyear PG exams for medical, dental and Ayush courses from July 14. “Arrangements have been made. Students have been called back, their quarantine period is over. First-year paper in MDS is optional...MBBS exams have been tentatively scheduled for August 25. It depends on the situation as the number of students is huge,” said RGUHS VC Dr Sachidanand.

GU’s final year MBBS exams likely from Aug 6

GU’s final year MBBS exams likely from Aug 6

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  11.07.2020

The theory exams for final year MBBS students in Gujarat University affiliated colleges are likely to be held from August 6 to 13. This was decided at the meeting of deans of various GU affiliated colleges that met on Friday at the NHL Municipal Medical College.

These dates are tentative and a final decision on it is expected to be taken after some directive from the state government, said sources.

The practical exams for final year 1& 2 and second year MBBS students is likely to be held from August 15, sources added.

In the case of PG Medical courses, the exams are likely to be conducted after August  17.

While the dates for the terminal year exams for undergraduate students have been fixed tentatively, there is no clarity for intermediate year students for medical, dental and paramedical courses.

Many students are of the view that medical and dental courses are regulated by Medical Council of India (MCI) and Dental Council of India (DCI) and hence the recent guidelines of University Grants Commission do not apply to them. So, they are waiting for directives from the state education department, said sources. As per the UGC guidelines undergraduate students who are not in their final semester or terminal year are to be graded based on their internal marks and previous annual exam scores.

Gujarat University had already begun conducting exams for some final year paramedical courses which has been temporarily deferred. The varsity is yet to fix a new date for them, said sources.

I quit: PhD scholar hangs herself at IIT-Gn

I quit: PhD scholar hangs herself at IIT-Gn

Officials Remain Tight-Lipped

Ashish.Chauhan & Parth.Shastri TNN

Ahmedabad:11.07.2020

The suicide of a 32-year-old research scholar at the IIT Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) campus on July 6 sent a shockwave through the education corridors of the state capital. The victim, Piue Ghosh, who was from of West Bengal, left a moving ‘I Quit’ on the wall of her residence. Gandhinagar police are yet to ascertain the reason behind her extreme step.

IIT-Gn officials remained tight-lipped about the incident and attempts to reach Prof Sudhir Jain, the institute director, through phone and email yielded no results. A statement from the IIT-Gn public relations team read, “The incident is currently under investigation by police and the institute is committed to fully cooperating with them. We are unable to release any information or comment while the investigation is under way.”

The response identified Ghosh as a PhD scholar at the electric engineering department of the institute.

M H Solanki, the sub-inspector with Chiloda police station who is investigating the case, told TOI that Ghosh had hanged herself at her quarters on the campus.

“She had written ‘I quit’ and a few more lines on a wall, directing that her belongings be given to the needy and her organs donated,” he said. “Apart from this writing on the wall, no note on paper in digital format has been found that could be considered a suicide note,” he added.

Solanki said the statements of her family and faculty members are yet to be recorded. “Her parents are based in West Bengal and her husband is in the US,” he said.

Sources privy to the developments said Ghosh had returned to the campus from her parents’ home only recently. Due to the lockdown and subsequent online classes, only a few students are living on the campus. They added that her postmortem report is yet to arrive through which the precise time of death could be known.

“It is possible that her suicide occurred a couple of days before the body was found,” a police source said.

Ghosh’s profile on the IITGn website identifies her as doctoral student writing her thesis on the subject ‘Synthesis of gold nanorods with tunable surface plasmon resonance for the development of a bio-chemical sensing platform’ under Prof Arup Lal Chakraborty.

Her project aimed at designing a biomolecular sensor for simultaneous detection of multiple biomolecules. She had completed her BTech and MTech from Calcutta University before taking admission in IIT-Gn for its doctoral programme in 2015. Posts on IIT-Gn’s social media pages announced several of her academic achievements.

In letter to UGC, teachers pen shock over exam norms

In letter to UGC, teachers pen shock over exam norms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  07.11.2020

The Federation of Central Universities Teachers Association (FEDCUTA) has written to UGC chairperson D P Singh, stating that the new revised academic guidelines do not take into consideration the present condition in the country.

In its letter, the teachers’ body expressed “shock and disappointment” at the revised guidelines on examinations and academic calendar for universities issued by University Grants Commission in view of Covid-19 pandemic. It demanded immediate withdrawal of the revised norms. “The guidelines reflect a complete betrayal of its responsibilities towards the interests of students, faculty, and society at large,” FEDCUTA wrote, asking for fresh guidelines to enable closure of the courses for finalyear/semester students through the safest methods.

The letter added that the UGC guidelines had presented universities with a conundrum. “Even if that option is available on paper, conducting regular examinations in offline (pen & paper) mode by the end of September would be impossible for most universities. As per current government guidelines, it is not safe to reopen universities and colleges… UGC’s insistence... is aimed at promoting online examinations.”

The letter reiterated that for final-year students pursuing any bachelor’s or master’s degree, completion of the year had a greater urgency than their intermediate year counterparts as they needed to get their degrees and move on to further studies or employment.

“They are also the students who have already been through several rounds of formal evaluation and assessments. Only a small part of the total evaluation, was pending when colleges and Universities were shut down... Yet, UGC’s revised guidelines have mandated that examinations must be held for the final-year students,” the letter said.

Private Univs Use AI To Kick-Start Admissions In A Changed World

Private Univs Use AI To Kick-Start Admissions In A Changed World

Brace For August Classes, But Yet To Take A Call On Mode Of Instruction

Shradha Chettri & Mohammad Ibrar TNN

New Delhi: 11.07.2020

While the central and state universities are waiting for the University Grants Commission guidelines for vital decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic, most private universities have already worked out the academic calendar and the admission procedure.

The admission process has fully shifted online, mostly through AI-proctored entrance tests and live interviews. While classes are likely to start from August, the universities will decide on online or offline mode on the basis of the Covid-19 situation.

Shiv Nadar University announced in May itself its decision to conduct online admission tests “using an AI mechanism that is secure and ensures anti-cheating surveillance”. The university has also accepted existing SAT scores. In the absence of Class XII board marks, provisional admissions are being granted on the basis of school grades and entrance tests.

Rupamanjari Ghosh, vicechancellor of Shiv Nadar, said, “We are committed to ensuring that students continue their education without interruption during these difficult times.”

OP Jindal Global University is also taking the online route. The university’s law entrance test, a written examination since its inception in 2009, will be conducted entirely online on July 19. “It will become India’s first and only law entrance exam to be entirely online, AI-enabled remote-proctored,” said an official.

The system ensures recording of the candidates’ examinations for review to protect the integrity of the examination process, he added. The university has also conducted its admissions for all degree programmes through the online Jindal Scholastic Aptitude Test.

The admission process is also on at Amity University, which has live online interview sessions for some programmes. “For this year, we have made the admission process fully online. After filling up application forms, students have to upload three videos of randomised questions asked to them,” said Atul Chauhan, its chancellor. After a panel of interviewers evaluates the form and the videos, a selected student will get the admission letter on the admission microsite, he added.

At Amity, classes for senior students are starting on July 13 in remote teaching mode. For freshers, classes may begin before September.

Ashoka University has already decided August 24 as the orientation day and will begin classes on August 31. “Classes will be online till the mid-semester break, which begins on October  10. The decision on holding online or physical classes will be taken closer to that time,” said the university spokesperson.

Bennett University has provided a flexible online admission procedure. While the university will continue its engineering admission process till the JEE exams are conducted, it is admitting students who appeared for the JEE mains exams in January.

“If they have Class XII scores, they can secure admissions with their PCM (physics, chemistry and mathematics) scores. Even if there are students with no board exam results and they come to us with pre-board exam scores, we will provide them provisional admissions with our 60% eligibility criteria,” said Nandkumar Dhake, vice-president for sales and marketing, Bennett University. The university will cross-check their Class XII scores once the board results are out and complete the admissions.

Govt withdraws order granting honorarium to govt staff

REGION DIGEST

11.07.2020

Govt withdraws order granting honorarium to govt staff

Tamil Nadu government has withdrawn an order that granted honorarium to government officials and employees, who have been nominated by virtue of their official capacity as chairperson or members to committees, boards, panels or commissions set up by the government. In an order issued on Wednesday, the government pointed to the financial crisis arising out of Covid-19 and said honorarium should not be paid to serving government employees nominated to various committees, boards, panels and commissions. “The payment of honorarium already made need not be recovered wherever it was paid under a valid government order,” the order said.

Police conclude 14-year-old girl had committed suicide: Four days after the partially burnt body of a 14-year-old girl was found behind a saw mill near Adhavathurpalayam on the outskirts of Trichy, the Trichy rural police has concluded the case by stating that the girl had committed suicide. Police also said that Senthil, 24, of Othakadai was arrested on Friday, for abetting her suicide. Police sources said Senthil and the girl were in a relationship. Since their families had opposed their relationship, he distanced himself from her. Upset over his move, the girl committed suicide. The body was found on July 7. Police had formed six special teams to crack the case as there were speculations whether the girl was subjected to sexual assault and was murdered by anyone. Police had already ruled out sexual assault on the girl.

Stalin donates Rs 1 lakh to tribal girl: Appreciating the 16-year-old tribal girl C Sreedevi who secured 95% in Class X Kerala board of examinations, DMK president MK Stalin on Friday donated ₹1 lakh to her. On behalf of Stalin, former minister MP Saminathan, Madathukulam MLA R Jayaramakrishnan, district secretary (Tirupur South) of DMK Ela Padmanaban and other DMK functionaries handed over the cash to the girl at her settlement Poochukottamparai tribal settlement in Udumalpet range of ATR in Tirupur district. The settlement has no power supply, transportation facilities or mobile network coverage.

Senior lawyer VT Gopalan dead

Senior lawyer VT Gopalan dead

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  11.07.2020

Ace senior lawyer and former additional solicitor-general of India V T Gopalan died of cardiac arrest in the wee hours of Friday. He was 78.

The Queen Mary’s College on the Marina promenade and a vast open area of Anna University would thank the designated senior, as he successfully defended central move stalling the Jayalalaithaa regime’s move to build a new secretariat complex after demolishing them, said senior counsel and DMK MP P Wilson, who was assistant solicitor-general during the period. It was T R Baalu, who as the then Union minister for environment and forests, made central clearance a must for taking up a project of such size.

Identified by DMK leader Murasoli Maran for additional solicitor-general of India post, VTG represented the Centre in the high courts of Madras, undivided Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala for eight years from 2000. He also had the distinction of having served under both Congress and BJP-led central governments.

A lawyer with 54 years of practice, VTG was associated with such doyens of the Bar as N G Krishna Iyengar, R Kesava Iyengar, V K T Chari, M K Nambiar, S Mohan Kumaramangalam, K Parasaran, K K Venugopal and G Ramasamy. VTG defended the revenue of the Centre as ASGI in many cases, including constitutional law, customs, central excise, TRIPs, FERA and FEMA. He had also appeared before several other high courts on special assignments for the GoI. He had the privilege of appearing in all high courts and the Supreme Court during his practice.

Workers unpaid, waste piles up in Chitlapakkam

Workers unpaid, waste piles up in Chitlapakkam

Rotting Muck Added Threat In Covid Times, Say Residents

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.07.2020

Residents of Chitlappakkam now live amid a constant stink as garbage collection in 18 wards in the suburb has come to a standstill. The conservancy workers have not been paid salaries and this was the reason for the civic chaos, an official from the panchayat said.

President of Chitlapakkam Muthulakshmi Nagar Welfare Association, L Sundararajan said members of ‘Kizahdi Women Self Help Group’ were engaged in door-to-door garbage collection in the area. “They collected waste from every street with tricycles and minivans. But the garbage collection was stopped as the panchayat had not paid salaries of the workers,” said Sundararajan.

When a petition to this effect was sent to the chief minister’s cell last month, workers collecting garbage on tricycles were paid but not those who collected waste in minivans.

An official from the panchayat, on condition of anonymity, confirmed to TOI that there were salary dues. “Due to nonpayment of charges, garbage collection from 60% of the streets in Chitlappakkam and door-to-door garbage collection have been affected,” the official added.

With fear of Covid-19 all around, residents fear the uncleared, rotting garbage will be an added threat to their health, Sundararajan said.

Chitlappakkam has 365 streets with more than 50,000 people living in nearly 10,000 houses. Garbage is currently being collected from only 11 of the 365 streets and garbage is piling up in front of every household in the remaining streets, he added.

When contacted, executive officer of Madambakkam town panchayat, Ganesan, who is also in charge of Chitlappakkam, said while issues over payment of salaries were being sorted out. “Those collecting garbage on tricycles have been paid. Soon, the issue with minivans will be put in order”.

Chitlapakkam has 365 streets and a population of more than 50,000 people. Garbage is being collected from only 11 streets now since the panchayat has not paid the conservancy workers

Students want PG med exams cancelled

Students want PG med exams cancelled

Chennai:  11.07.2020

Service Doctors and Postgraduates Association (SDPGA) has requested Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University not to conduct university exams when they are engaged in Covid-19 prevention.

The exams scheduled for May were postponed due to the lockdown.A revised schedule released on Friday said the exams will begin in August. With many colleges converted into Covid hospitals and professors posted in Covid wards, it is hard to engage them for exam duty. Postgraduates on Covid duty since March were physically and mentally exhausted, SDPGA said.

Dr Sudha Seshayyan, university vice-chancellor said, “We have not cancelled final examination every before. request will be placed before the governing council and the MCI”. TNN

Litmus test: Next 15 days will chart path of city’s Covid curve

FIGHTING COVID-19

Litmus test: Next 15 days will chart path of city’s Covid curve

Numbers Falling, But Experts Caution Against Premature Celebration

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

11.07.2020

The effects of the relaxation in lockdown norms since Monday – an increase in crowds in public places – may have its effect from Saturday. If in the next 15 days the number of cases and deaths do not increase, Chennai can say it has flattened the curve, say epidemiologists.

All the virus needs is a host, says infectious diseases expert Dr V Ramasubramanian. “We are giving it lots of hosts when we crowd shops and fail to wear masks,” he said.

Covid-19 symptoms – fever, cough, cold, breathlessness, loss or smell/ taste and diarrhoea – usually start between the 5th and 10th day of exposure. “It takes another 2-3 days for them to get to the doctor and receive the test results. This would mean we are likely to see an uptick in the number of cases over the next two weeks,” he said. The incubation period – the period between exposure to an infection and the appearance of the first symptoms – is 14 days.

It’s still unclear if the virus is spread via tiny droplets, or aerosols, or through larger droplets expelled when an infected person sneezes or coughs. “We know the virus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air and infect people as they inhale. This risk is highest in crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation. So, if we have a symptomatic or presymptomatic person they can trigger outbreaks. The chance of it happening is bigger when rules of pandemic are not followed,” says infectious diseases expert Dr Subramanian Swaminathan.

Fresh cases in Chennai have been steadily dropping – from 2,206 on July 1 to 1205 on Friday – although adjoining districts such as Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur have been seeing an up and down variation. On July 1, the three districts together had 4,67 cases, 629 on July 3, and 410 on June 7. But for the next two days, they together had 600 new cases and on Friday had 522.

Many ministers and officials have been tweeting that the city has flattened the curve, but public health experts warn it may be too early to say. Senior virologist Dr T Jacob John of Christian Medical College said the state is climbing towards the peak – when the same number of cases is seen for at least a week. “This week, if there is no increase Chennai can rejoice. This may happen if the surveillance during lockdown is good. If fever clinics are doing their jobs and testing numbers are high we will still be able to isolate positive cases and stop the spread,” he said.

National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Dr Prabhdeep Kaur said flattening the curve will depend on doubling time, daily cases and deaths and positivity rate. “Each one of these factors shows the infection is down. During this time, the number of tests being done should not decrease,” she said.

We are giving Covid-19 lots of hosts when we crowd shops and fail to wear masks

Dr V Ramasubramanian | INFECTIOUS DISEASES EXPERT

No tests for SRMIST, VIT; Class XII marks admission criterion

No tests for SRMIST, VIT; Class XII marks admission criterion

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.07.2020

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) have decided to cancel their entrance exams due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic. The admissions in these institutions will be conducted based on Class XII board exam marks for 2020-21.

While VIT announced its decision on Friday, SRMIST may announce its decision in a day or two after finalising the modalities of admissions.

Around two lakh engineering aspirants were to take VIT Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE) in various cities. "Conducting VITEEE-2020 in various cities with rising infections has become risky and dangerous. To keep the student and parent community safe, VITEEE-2020 stands cancelled. The admission will be based on Class XII / pre-university marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics/ biology," VIT said in a statement.

Those who scored in JEE (Main) will be given weightage in admissions. The forms for providing the marks and JEE (Main) scores have already been provided on the VIT's website www.vit.ac.in.

"We have also decided to cancel our entrance examination SRM Joint Engineering Entrance Examination (SRMJEEE) and working on modalities like normalising marks among various boards. We will make an announcement in next few days," said Sandeep Sancheti, vice-chancellor of SRMIST.

He said conducting any competitive exam in the present situation would be very challenging. The university also will admit students based on JEE (Main) exam scores.

Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology has convened its board of studies meeting next week to take a decision on conducting the entrance exam.

Meanwhile, Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS) conducted the Vels Scholarship Admission Test (V-SAT) on July 1. "More than 10,000 students took the online test and we are in the process of releasing the results. We will offer scholarships to top 500 students," said Ishari K Ganesh, chancellor of VISTAS.

While VIT announced its decision on Friday, SRMIST may do so in a day or two after finalising modalities of admissions

SC allows serving of notices via WhatsApp, email

SC allows serving of notices via WhatsApp, email

CJI: If It’s 2 Blue Ticks, Receiver Has Seen It

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:11.07.2020

In a first, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed in principle that serving notices and summons to people, integral to judicial processes, through instant messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram, in addition to emails, would be legally valid. This will be a significant boost to designated messaging services, already widely used informally for official work in government, as they get a legal stamp of approval.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices R S Reddy and A S Bopanna agreed to suggestions of attorney general K K Venugopal and solicitor general Tushar Mehta that sending summons and notices through email would constitute valid delivery of these legal instruments asking a respondent to either appear before the court or respond to a court query. It said this innovation was needed as physical delivery of notices and summons was difficult in the lockdown period.

On another issue, the SC agreed to examine the Centre’s suggestion that banks could be permitted to get Letter of Acknowledgement of Debt (LAD) from borrowers within 45 days of lifting of lockdown to avoid initiation of recovery proceedings. This would ease anxiety of banks and thousands of borrowers in cases of expiry of three-year limitation period during the prolonged lockdown which could lead to initiation of recovery proceedings.

On messaging services, Venugopal expressed reservations about WhatsApp. “Since the messenger service claims that it is end-to-end encrypted, it would be difficult to prove legitimate service of summons/notices sent through WhatsApp,” he said. The CJI replied, “If the sent notice/summons in message form reflects two blue ticks, then it will constitute as valid service.”

However, Mehta said, “It is easy to tweak WhatsApp settings, as I have done, to not show the sender the blue ticks. This will give an erroneous impression that the person has not received the summons despite him receiving and going through it.” Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra agreed with Mehta.

SC: Won’t interfere with cheque validity period

CJI S A Bobde then said WhatsApp messages could be in addition to summons and notices sent through emails. However, in the draft order, the bench mentioned instant messaging services instead of WhatsApp or Telegram and said it would not commit the mistake of a photocopy machine being called a ‘Xerox’ machine. Formal orders from the court are likely to be uploaded on Monday.

However, the SC refused to extend the threemonth validity period for cheques. The bench said the three-month validity period for cheques was not stipulated by any statute but was based on an RBI direction under the Banking Regulation Act. As RBI through senior advocate V Giri pleaded that any tinkering with the cheque validity period could affect the banking system, the bench said, “We will not interfere with the cheque validity period.”

The SC had earlier ordered, “All periods of limitation prescribed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, shall be extended with effect from March 15 till further orders to be passed by this court in the present proceedings.”

HDFC Bank, through senior advocate Shyam Divan, had said where the three-year limitation period for repayment of debt prescribed under the Indian Limitation Act of 1963 had lapsed during the lockdown period or was about to lapse immediately after lifting of the lockdown, banks would be expected to move courts or tribunals for filing recovery proceedings or make a virtually impossible dash for obtaining LADs. The bank had sought extension of the limitation period to avoid massive litigation.

Sending summons and notices through email would constitute valid delivery of these legal instruments. Innovation needed as physical delivery of notices and summons difficult in lockdown period.

3-Judge Bench headed by CJI S A Bobde

UGC cites top universities like MIT, Cambridge to justify decision to hold final-year exams

UGC cites top universities like MIT, Cambridge to justify decision to hold final-year exams

UGC issued a circular Thursday, detailing SOPs for colleges and that they conduct a risk-assessment before holding exams. Health of students and staff to be monitored too.

KRITIKA SHARMA 9 July, 2020 4:48 pm IST

UGC building in New Delhi | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has sought to justify its decision of making final-year exams mandatory for college and university students by citing top-ranking global institutes such as MIT and Cambridge University which conducted exams during the Covid pandemic.

The UGC’s decision, announced Monday, drew a lot of flak from students, parents and faculty members, who questioned the need to conduct exams when the country is faced with a health emergency. 

Following this, the UGC Thursday issued a circular to colleges and universities, explaining the rationale behind its decision.

“Presently several universities have conducted/planned exams in online/offline/blended mode,” the circular said.

“Top-ranking universities of the world have opted for final exams to be done remotely. Like Princeton and MIT, University of Cambridge, Imperial College of London, University of Toronto and McMaster, University of Heidelberg and University of Hong Kong have resorted to the online technology-based model of conducting exams,” it added.

The UGC also gave examples of other universities like University of Oxford and National University of Singapore that conducted exams in ‘take-home’ format, apart from some other universities that used methods like term paper, open book, presentation, assignments and time-limited exams.

“In order to safeguard the larger interest of students, related to their academic and career progression, particularly those who are in final year/terminal semester, the institutions are required to chart out a plan to conduct exams,” the circular added.

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SOPs for colleges

The circular also detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for institutes with regard to conducting exams.

It asked education institutes to do a risk-assessment before conducting the exams if they are holding them in offline mode. The SOPs said the level of risk should be perceived differently for residential and non-residential students as the risk is higher for the latter.

“Higher education (institutes) should address the following concerns — preparation of risk-assessment and subsequent actions which varies, whether the institution is fully residential, partially residential or non-residential. The higher risk and bigger challenge is faced by institutions that are non-residential, where students will leave daily and come back the next day,” the circular read.

The circular also asked colleges and universities to make sure they monitor the health of their faculty members, counsellors, and other technical and non-teaching staff, who will interact with students regularly.

It also asked institutes to make sure they follow the basic safety measures such as sanitisation of the premises, thermal screening, safe physical distance and wearing of masks.

12 students in one room

Some of the other SOPs for institutes include making sure that sanitizers are available at each desk and everyone — students and invigilators — are wearing masks all the time.

Exam functionaries have also been asked to wear gloves at all times, especially while distributing the question papers. Downloading Aarogya Setu app has also been advised for all staff and students.

Further, the commission has given a sample seating arrangement plan to colleges, which they can follow. 

According to the plan, only 12 students should be made to sit in a room. Students should also be made to sit one seat apart from each other.

UGC considering a later start to academic calendar

UGC considering a later start to academic calendar

10/07/2020

Amandeep Shukla

amandeep.shukla@htlive.com

New Delhi : University Grants Commission (UGC), the higher education regulator, is considering a later start to the academic calendar as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep campuses shut and universities struggle to hold examinations.

An expert committee headed by Central University of Haryana vice chancellor R C Kuhad has written to UGC that admissions to undergraduate courses be completed by the end of October and the new session begin by November, according to a person familiar with the developments who requested anonymity. The panel has also recommended that for postgraduate courses, the admission process be completed by the end of November and the session commence from December 1.

The human resource development (HRD) ministry and UGC had appointed the Kuhad committee to make recommendations on the calendar for the Covid-hit academic year 2020-21. The panel had earlier recommended that the session begin from September-October .

With no improvement on the pandemic front, it has now sent revised recommendations to the UGC, which is expected to take a call in the coming days, according to the person cited above.

Significantly, it was in the same revised report that the Kuhad committee had also suggested that exams for the final year be held -- whether online, offline or a blend of both.

“The UGC had in an emergent meeting on July 6 discussed the part of the report about exams. Most of the suggestions were accepted. However, the committee has also given revised dates for the academic calendar. The UGC is yet to take a call on the revised dates. The panel has suggested that the session for Bachelor {degree} programmes begin from November 2 and Masters programmes from December 1,” said the person.

“It is expected that results of all school boards would be out by July-August so the session for undergraduate courses can begin early. The postgraduate courses would begin after university results are out. However, there may also be a need to compress semesters or readjust syllabus,” a second person said.

“Considering the trajectory of spread of Covid in India to extend the beginning of academic sessions for UG and PG courses from November and December respectively is a reasonable decision. However the decision of the Kuhad Committee, accepted by the UGC, to make it mandatory to hold the final year semester end or year end examinations in offline/online/mixed mode needs revisit...,” said former UGC member Inder Mohan Kapahy.

“But there is definitely advantage of being in a classroom...We hope the policymakers take the best decisions,” said Shubham, a student pursuing B Tech in Delhi

KGMU to study if coronavirus becomes airborne or not

KGMU to study if coronavirus becomes airborne or not

10/07/2020

Gaurav Saigal

Gaurav.saigal@htlive.com

LUCKNOW : The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has decided to conduct a study to find out whether coronavirus becomes airborne or not.

The study, first in the region, will be done by the department of pulmonary critical care medicine (PCCM). “We are in the final stages of deciding the test protocol. For now, the basic methodology has been worked upon,” said Dr Ved Prakash, HoD, PCCM department. Describing the methodology, Prakash said the idea is to analyse the breath of admitted Covid-19 patients and this shall be done by a ‘balloon method.’ The balloons are specially made for the purpose and such sampling could start next week, he said.

According to the test methodology, a patient has to release a certain volume of inhaled breath in the balloon, which will then be taken to the laboratory for the test. “A lot of news is coming from across the globe pertaining to the suspense over whether the virus can get airborne or not. The idea is to find out whether the virus stays in the air outside the patient’s body, and if so, then for how long it stays in the air. Samples will be taken from patients in the initial days of infection (within 5-days of testing positive), when it is said an infected person can spread infection to others,” said Prakash.

He said once this test proves the virus’ life in the air, further advanced tests will be done on its transmission to human body via air route. “If the virus is in one’s breath and then survives in the air inside the balloon, then it means it can spread,” he said.

“Recently scientists have claimed that Covid-19 virus is airborne, too, apart from its capacity to spread via droplets. We are studying the same claim about it being airborne,” he said.

“For the tests, labs in KGMU and Meerut Medical College will coordinate,” said Prakash, who is also the nodal officer for the Meerut Medical College.

KGMU is one of the biggest Covid-19 hospitals in the state and has treated and discharged over 200 patients till now. The campus has a capacity to admit over 200 patients and the bed strength is being increased by another 200.

Experts urge UGC to reconsider

Experts urge UGC to reconsider

10/07/2020

New Delhi : A group of eminent educationists wrote to the University Grants Commission (UGC), asking it reconsider making exams for final-year college students mandatory.

In a letter to UGC chief DP Singh, the educationists said the regulator’s latest advisory on examinations was unfortunate because it took “us backwards rather than forward”.

The decision effectively extended the period for holding of exams (for final year/semester cohorts) until September, the second such postponement. And it creates fresh uncertainty for states that had already decided to cancel exams, read the letter that counted former UGC chairman Sukhdeo Thorat among many signatories.

“...we are reiterating the reasons why many teachers and institutions had argued for cancelling the exams and declaring results based on previous performance. The recommendation to cancel exams was prompted by an unprecedented health emergency, not by doubts about the value of examinations,” it said.

When faced with such an emergency, cancelling exams has two main advantages: First, it avoids the extended uncertainty created by repeated (but unavoidable) postponements. Second, it protects the integrity of the examination by refusing to abandon its two most basic features – impartiality, or equal treatment of all examinees; and close supervision to prevent cheating, it said.

Given the realities facing the overwhelming majority of our students and institutions, examinations held in the “online” or “mixed” modes will be biased because they will favour students with better access to the internet.

A UGC officials said the commission has come to decision after extensive consultations. While most exams stand cancelled, we have only kept the option open for passing out students, in view of their career prospects, the official said.

State can’t hold exams, but waiting for UGC’s response’

State can’t hold exams, but waiting for UGC’s response’

10/07/2020

Hindustan Times Mumbai

A drone sprays disinfectants on mosquito-breeding sites at Mumbai Central.Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo

Medical workers screen Dharavi residents. SATYABRATA TRIPATHY/HT

Shreya Bhandary

shreya.bhandary@hindustantimes.com

Mumbai : Days after the University Grants Commission (UGC) said that all universities across India will have to conduct the end-of-term exams for final-year students by September, the state education department on Thursday, reiterating its stand, said exams will be not held owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, the state will wait for some days to hear from UGC over its decision before going ahead with its decision to promote students. “We have made our stand clear, but if they [UGC] still insist on conducting the exams, we request them to clarify on the steps for holding exams in such a situation,” said Uday Samant, minister of higher and technical education, Maharashtra.

In a virtual press conference, Samant said he wrote to UGC asking if students, who reside in containment zones, would have to give exams, and if they do, will they have to remain in quarantine thereafter. The state also sought clarity on the paper-setting process, especially since the representative group for university teachers announced that if exams are held, lives of students and teachers will be in jeopardy.

“Once the UGC responds, the state will announce its decision. We assure students that they will not have to wait till September to know the final outcome of the decision. We will end the confusion soon,” said Samant.

Samant said in a collective meeting on July 4, vice-chancellors (VCs) from all the 13 universities in the state reiterated that they are in no position to hold the final-year exams in online, offline or blended modes by September. He added that the minutes of the meeting with the VCs were shared with the government on Thursday.

The VCs instead recommended that all final-year students be promoted on the same formula applied for the promotion of students of other years. “The state has since April clarified that conducting exams for around 8 to 10 lakh students is impossible. Our decision has been based on the recommendations made by the VCs of state universities, keeping in mind the safety of staff and students,” said Samant. The VCs also suggested that students with backlogs (ATKTs) must also be promoted based on their previous semester performances. The VCs said all the students should be given a chance to better their grades later this year, when it is safe to hold exams, the minister said.

Medical students and interns asked to report for COVID-19 duty on short notice

Medical students and interns asked to report for COVID-19 duty on short notice

Medicos allege that they have been asked to pay for their own treatment if they test positive

10/07/2020

Final year MBBS students in private colleges and those pursuing internship claim they have been asked to report to fever clinics or COVID Care Centres on short notice. Many alleged that they have been asked to make own arrangements for accommodation, pay for their treatment if tested positive for COVID-19, and for tests if they go to a private laboratory.

An MBBS student at private medical college in Bengaluru said he got a message on Thursday morning asking him to report to their teaching hospital in two hours. “We were later told that we will have to go to the Department of Medical Education on Friday morning where we will be posted for COVID-19 duty. We have not been given any instructions,” the student said.

Many of these students in private hospitals, who are pursuing MBBS and are undertaking their compulsory one-year internship, are not paid, but others are paid in the range of ₹2,000 to ₹25,000 per month. This disparity has also rankled students. “We are not against being posted for COVID-19 duty, but we are urging the authorities concerned to ensure better planning and coordination. We also want the government to pay stipend if we are placed in public health facilities,” said a student. They alleged that college managements were unwilling to listen to their grievances and threatening to cut their attendance or initiate disciplinary action if they did not comply. An intern who works at a private medical college hospital in South Bengaluru said: “Four of the interns tested positive and three were hospitalised. They had to pay for their own treatment. In fact, we have been told that the college will bear the cost of one COVID-19 test and if we have to undergo another one, we have to pay for it.”

Worried about the safety of their families, students have moved out of their homes and are staying in hostels or shared accommodations. “We are also spending money on sanitisers and masks for our personal use,” said a student.

Monthly honorarium

Sources in the Medical Education Department pointed out that the government was planning to pay a monthly honorarium for students who were not receiving stipends. “We have submitted a proposal to the government and want to pay students from private medical colleges a fixed monthly sum if they are posted on COVID-19 duty,” said a senior official in the department. Several colleges had warned students of the possibility of being roped in. Earlier this week, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences had sent a circular to all its affiliated colleges that all their interns, postgraduate students, staff in all departments and streams will have to be ready to report for COVID-19 duty on short notice.

“Every day the number of patients and beds is increasing. It is like reporting for war. Students will have to be ready to report as and when the need arises,” an official in the department stated.

Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar said that if colleges do not pay interns stipend, we will write to the Medical Council of India to initiate action against them. “Regarding other grievances that the students have raised, if they send us specific complaints, we will attend to it immediately,” he said adding that final year MBBS students and interns will be placed in COVID Care Centres and fever clinics.

HC declines to pass order promoting UG, PG students

HC declines to pass order promoting UG, PG students

10/07/2020

Telangana High Court on Thursday declined to pass an order to the State to promote degree and post-graduate students to final year based on marks in internal assessment exams.

A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, hearing two PIL pleas, directed the State government to file a counter affidavit in three weeks. During the previous hearing on June 30, the government informed the HC that all Common Entrance Tests were postponed. The bench, however, did not pass any specific direction on UG and PG exams on that day. The petitioner’s counsel C. Damoder Reddy appealed to the bench to promote students based on their internal assessment marks. The AG told the court that the government had decided to hold examinations as per UGC norms following standard practices. Differing with the petitioner’s counsel, the bench observed that courts cannot compel the State government to take a policy decision on examinations.

Exams delayed, engg. students worry losing placements

Exams delayed, engg. students worry losing placements

Deemed and private varsity students safe as their online exams are over

10/07/2020

Engineering students of State universities after securing placements in IT companies are now unsure of their joining even as their peers in deemed universities enjoy that privilege.

With continuous postponement of final year exams, they are unsure of their result even as the deadlines of joining in several companies they were placed are already over. On the other hand, engineering students in deemed universities completed their examinations online and are ready to join the companies.

“Several of our classmates are worried over the delay in conducting the exams as the company deadlines for joining have either expired or nearing,” says Vaishnavi from Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology (CBIT). “The government should do something fast so that students selected in the campus placement drive don’t lose out,” she says expressing the concerns of hundreds of such students in JNTU-H and Osmania University.

Final year students get job offers in the fifth semester itself but join after completing the exams, which are usually over by May-end with results declared in June. However, with the pandemic, universities have postponed exams several times and the issue has also landed up in the courts now.

It is not the problem of just JNTU-H or Osmania University but of all the government universities in the country as exams have been postponed due to the pandemic. However, private universities and deemed universities conducted their exams online. A representative of Gitam, a deemed-to-be-university, said that online exams were conducted and even certificates have been issued to students joining companies or going abroad for higher studies.

“Government should explore online exams method so that thousands of students who are placed in companies join without any hassles. Why should they lose out when deemed universities’ students have the advantage of online exams,” asks the placement officer of a reputed college NLN Reddy.

If the government decides to follow the UGC guidelines, exams will be conducted only in September and students will graduate in October. Will the IT companies give some flexibility to students is a question?

Some students, who have been recruited and unwilling to share their companies’ names, said a few IT firms have adjusted the joining dates but several companies are yet to reveal their plans. “The delay will complicate things for us as we fear companies may choose to recruit others,” said a student from a private engineering college recruited in an MNC.

Cancel DU final-term exams, say academics

Cancel DU final-term exams, say academics

They ask UGC to reconsider guidelines

10/07/2020

The UGC’s latest guidelines extend the period for holding the exams. 

Sushil Kumar Verma

A group of about 30 academics across the country, including former University Grants Commission chairperson Sukhadeo Thorat, wrote to the current chairperson Dhirendra Pal Singh on Thursday appealing for the cancellation of the final-term examinations.

“I am hoping that as fellow teachers committed to the welfare of our students and the integrity of our examinations, you and your colleagues in the commission will take note of the widespread sentiment that this appeal represents,” wrote Mr. Thorat.

Fresh uncertainty

The UGC’s latest guidelines issued on Monday effectively extend the period for holding the exams and create fresh uncertainty for States that had already decided to cancel exams, the signatories, including Jayati Ghosh, Apoorvanand, Sunil Kumar, Nandini Sundar among others, wrote.

They argued that the call to cancel the exams was not being made because of doubts about its value, but precisely to avoid it being devalued. In the present situation, cancelling exams served the purpose of avoiding extended uncertainty through repeated postponements and protecting the integrity of exams.

Given the realities faced by an overwhelming majority of students, online or mixed exams would be biased in favour of those with better Internet access and without proper invigilation. Terming exams as “open book” was an attempt at renaming failing a virtue, they argued.

They appealed to the UGC to reconsider its advisory in the interests of students and ending the uncertainty involved by cancelling them.

2L ask UGC to scrap final-year exams

2L ask UGC to scrap final-year exams

10/07/2020

Nearly two lakh people signed a petition, calling for the scrapping of final-semester examinations in all universities across the country, as recommended by the UGC in a recent order.

Students in several universities had already submitted internal assignments, expecting to be assessed based in those and had even started preparing for entrance examinations for further studies, the petition noted. “The sudden decision by the UGC is bound to cause mental agony to lakhs of terminal semester students especially when many states like Maharashtra and Punjab have already decided to scrap their exams,” it read. The guidelines issued by the UGC are not in the wider interest of the student community as they would also delay the commencement of the new academic session, it argued.