STORYBOARD

NEET, dirty politics & blood money that turn children into martyrs

ARUN RAM

14.09.2020

There’s no pain like losing one’s child, more so when the child takes his/her own life. Parents of Jothi Sri Durga, 19, M Aadithya, 20, and M Mothilal, 21, who hanged themselves on Saturday, may never come out of it fully. Similar is the plight of parents of more than 10,335 students who died by suicide in the country last year. Of them, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, 1,577 were driven to suicide because of failure in exams.

But not everyone on the list makes it to the media. Jothi, Aadithya and Mothilal, as also V Vignesh of Ariyalur who died by suicide last Wednesday, did. They were all NEET aspirants from Tamil Nadu, where virtually every political party is in the race to lead the campaign against the medical entrance exam. While Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced a solatium of 7 lakh to Vignesh’s family, DMK president M K Stalin has promised that the party, once it comes to power, will “abolish” NEET (of course, he knows that the state can’t do that).

This is politics most foul. No doubt, a majority of our children in rural areas can neither access nor afford special coaching for competitive exams, which have become a prerequisite for clearing such exams (TN government statistics show only 1.6% of students without special coaching cleared NEET last year). But, after living in denial of the emerging reality of competitive exams and not providing our children the wherewithal to compete with their urban peers, our governments are trying to turn their failure into an excuse to oppose NEET, and the victims into martyrs and causes célèbres.

It was only a couple of years ago that the Tamil Nadu government revised its school syllabus, which had remained outdated for decades, all the while prompting children to practice rote learning to clear state board exams with high scores that would get them into professional courses. And, in 2017, when rural TN students had to take NEET along with the rest of the country, some – pushed further by parents – struggled, some succumbed.

Politicians who call for abolition of NEET know well that such competitive exams are here to stay, they could only get tougher (the soundness of these tests is a subject of another debate). They also know student suicides are linked not just to NEET, but also to JEE, UPSC exams and even school board exams. Will they call for abolishing all these exams? Will the government provide solatium to families of school students who die by suicide for fear of school board exams?

NEET became the TN politician’s high striker after MBBS aspirant and school topper Anitha’s death on September 1, 2017. The dalit girl from Ariyalur, who would’ve easily got into a government medical college if the Class XII score was the sole criterion, had impleaded herself in the state government’s petition in the Supreme Court against NEET. Nine days after the apex court dismissed the plea, she hanged herself. While our heart goes out to Anitha and others who couldn’t fulfil their aspirations, we should also hold responsible the governments that denied them equality of resources and opportunity. There’s blood on the hands that give the solatium.

Coaching classes for competitive exams thrive because our children are trained to mug up in classrooms without learning concepts. This is changing, but it may take a decade before the first batch of students pass out of Tamil Nadu schools after 12 years of learning under the new and evolving syllabus that could empower them with conceptual and perspective analytical skills as much as knowledge. Till then, we can’t afford to lose more young lives that could be nurtured for the nation’s development, not just as doctors, but also as artists, farmers, teachers, writers – and just about anything as meaningful – and their own happiness.

arun.ram@timesgroup.com

Spiritual Periyar’s rule if not now, never — POSTER BY RAJINIKANTH SUPPORTERS FROM RAMANATHAPURAM

POKER FACE Let's see if this oxymoron works

MKU private colleges write to VC against online exams

Madurai: 14.09.2020

The Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) private colleges’ management association, on Saturday, has written to MKU vice chancellor (VC) Dr M Krishnan and the principal secretary, higher education seeking to reconsider the decision to hold online exams for final year students. “We wish to represent that in case of such online exams, there are more chances of malpractices, like copying, consulting with others, referring websites for correct answers etc., Further, it is possible for impersonation to also happen in such exams. There will also be chaos if there are cases where internet connectivity fails or there are power cuts,” they said. The associationsaid NEET exam is being held for thousands of students in offline mode and sought to reconsider the decision to hold only online exams. TNN

A new confusion over arrear examinations

A new confusion over arrear examinations

AICTE chief said in an email that the council may be “constrained” to withdraw the university’s approval if exams are not conducted

Published: 09th September 2020 05:08 AM 

EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

By Sushmitha Ramakrishnan And sv krishna chaitanya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Will arrear exams be held for engineering students or not? Tuesday’s developments have left students and parents confused. While the State government, in the High Court, defended its decision to cancel the arrear examinations, the head of AICTE has threatened to withdraw the approval of varsities that do not hold the said examinations.

In an informal but strongly-worded communication sent to the Anna University on August 30, Anil Sahasrabuddhe, chairman of AICTE, had said the council may be “constrained to withdraw approval if exams are not conducted.” In the court, meanwhile, former vice-chancellor of Anna University, E Balaguruswamy, had filed a petition challenging the State’s decision to cancel the exam.

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The chronology

Earlier, the government announced the cancellation of all semester exams for April-May 2020 except for the end-semester students. However, it did not mention the status of arrear examinations in any of its orders. On August 26, Higher Education Minister KP Anbalagan broached the topic. “The government wants to give a chance to all students by declaring all those who have applied to write as passed,” he said. “If they paid fees, it means they were prepared to write it but were stopped by circumstances.”

Anna univ risks losing approval with no-arrear idea

THE decision was welcomed by students, and soon gained political attention. While the cancellation of semester examinations sailed through smoothly, the decision to clear students with arrears received flak from educationists. “The Government Order has been passed under the Disaster Management Act exercising the powers vested with the State Disaster Management Authority under the legislation,” argued Advocate-General Vijay Narayanan, representing the State government in court on Tuesday. 

“Even the apex court has upheld such rights and powers of the State authority under the Act if it does not conflict UGC guidelines.” On the other hand, advocate E Vijay Anand, representing the former V-C, said only universities have such powers. “The State government cannot interfere in these matters. The Supreme Court has held that the UGC is the ultimate authority in such issues. The UGC has advised the States only to promote the students while retaining their backlogs.

Arrears, as a result, cannot be cleared.” Universities do not conduct exams and give results based on the ‘whims and fancies’ of students and politicians. “Universities are highly autonomous bodies and their syndicates, senates and academic councils have all powers and authority, and only they can decide about the conduct of exams and passing of results,” Balagurusamy had recently said in a statement. Vijay Anand argued further that if the decision of the Tamil Nadu government is not quashed, students across the country would claim cancelation of arrears as a right. Recording the submissions, a division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice R Hemalatha directed the State to file a detailed counter and adjourned the plea to September 30.

AICTE stance

The AICTE is the national-level apex advisory body to conduct a survey on the facilities available for technical education and its approval is required by universities to run technical courses. Sahasrabuddhe, in his email, remarked that he found it surprising that final year students, who had failed in various courses in the earlier semesters, are being passed without conducting examinations. “This is not acceptable to award marks without conducting any examination and graduating the students. Such students will not be recognised by industry or by other universities for higher education,” he said.

While the State has defended its position in the court on Tuesday, in a telephonic conversation with Express on Tuesday morning, Sahasrabuddhe claimed to be informed otherwise. He said he had discussed the issue with the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. “He (Chief Secretary) also said that there is some misunderstanding...we are not waiving off exams for the failed students.

It is somehow a wrong interpretation by people based on the circular which was issued which was very clear that (said) all AICTE, UGC guidelines shall be followed,” he elaborated adding, “which means the exams will be undertaken.” He further said that council will not be withdrawing the varsity’s approval if arrear exams are held. “How can someone with backlogs be passed?” he wondered. Sahasrabuddhe further said that the remarks in the email will be meaningless if the State had not waived off the arrear exams.

No official letter yet

AICTE has not issued any official letter, it was an email, MK Surappa clarified to Express. When asked if Anna University issued any notification that waived off any arrear exam, Surappa said, “We have not issued any circular like that to students.” He did not want to comment further on the issue. Principal Secretary to the Higher Education Department S Apoorva was unavailable for comments through repeated calls. “We will follow whatever direction the court gives,” Higher Education Mminister KP Anbalagan told Express on telephone. Vice Chancellors of some varsities too have expressed the same position on the matter.

Madurai: Demand for Microbiology courses goes up

Madurai: Demand for Microbiology courses goes up

Due to the pandemic, the demand for microbiology courses has increased as it is evident from the number of applicants for such courses in the city colleges.Due to the pandemic, the demand for microbio

Published: 09th September 2020 12:35 PM 

By Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam

Express News Service

MADURAI: Due to the pandemic, the demand for microbiology courses has increased as it is evident from the number of applicants for such courses in the city colleges.

Under Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), The American College and Thiagarajar College are offering UG and PG programmes. Both colleges have received more than 1,000 applications each for B Sc Microbiology course and it is 50 per cent higher than previous year’s number. Sources said the pandemic motivated the students to choose microbiology course.

Speaking to TNIE, J Immanuel Suresh, Microbiology Assistant Professor for PG students in American College, said, the college usually receives 500 applications for B Sc Microbiology course for the 45 available seats. “We used to get 200 applications for M Sc Microbiology as against the 25 seats. This year, the department has received more than 1,000 applications for the UG course and 400 for the PG course. The college has got special permission to take in 78 UG students and 45 PG students,” he said.

“Microbiologists use their knowledge to avoid/treat the diseases caused by microbes, and develop new technologies to improve our life span. They work as biomedical scientists in hospitals and laboratories. They have great opportunities in the research domain across the world. Covid is certainly the reason for the increase in the demand for the course,” he said.

Similarly, Thiagarajar College received 1,200 applications for B Sc Microbiology and more than 200 applications for M Sc Microbiology. Speaking to TNIE, R M Murugappan, HOD of Microbiology Department, Thiagarajar College, said students excelling in the discipline have great career opportunities upon the completion of course.

“Microbiologists work in specimen collection and transportation, provide their expertise in testing the swabs for Covid test. Their knowledge will come in handy while managing a vast number of samples to be processed,” he added.

[Breaking] SC Dismisses Fresh Petitions Seeking Postponement Of NEET2020 [Read Order]

[Breaking] SC Dismisses Fresh Petitions Seeking Postponement Of NEET2020 [Read Order]: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain three fresh petitions which sought to postpone the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to undergraduate medical

Death Occurred Due To Single Stab Injury Can Also Attract Section 302 IPC (Murder): SC [Read Judgment]

Death Occurred Due To Single Stab Injury Can Also Attract Section 302 IPC (Murder): SC [Read Judgment]: 'It cannot be laid down as a rule of universal application that whenever the death occurs on account of a single blow, Section 302 IPC is ruled out.'

Schools Can Allow Students To Attend Classes, With Social Distancing, If Special Attention Needed & Online Teaching Not Possible: Madras HC [Read Order]

Schools Can Allow Students To Attend Classes, With Social Distancing, If Special Attention Needed & Online Teaching Not Possible: Madras HC [Read Order]: The Madras High Court on Wednesday held that schools in Tamil Nadu can allow students to attend classes, by following physical distancing norms, if special attention is required and online teaching is...

Out(r)age before exams: DU college’s power supply may be cut

Out(r)age before exams: DU college’s power supply may be cut

Mohammad.Ibrar@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:10.09.2020

Delhi University’s open-book (online) examinations are set to begin from September 14, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College in Dwarka may have its electricity supply disconnected a day before that for failing to pay power bills. The college, fully funded by Delhi government, has accumulated dues of over Rs 46 lakh over five months. The principal pleaded that despite numerous pleas, the state government hadn’t released adequate funds, leaving it with an overall deficit of Rs 21 crore. The college has already had its telephone connection terminated due to non-payment of bills.

A few days ago, the college found a BSES notice for disconnection of electric supply under Section 56 (1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, stuck on the main gate, giving the institution 15 days to pay the outstanding amount of Rs 46,38,270 or have the power supply halted.

Speaking to TOI, principal Hem Chand Jain claimed, “Since April 1, Delhi government has only twice given us 80% of the amount required to pay salaries. Other than that, we have received no grants. How can we pay the utility bills?”

Responding to this, a Delhi government official alleged that the government was in receipt of complaints of “serious financial irregularities” in DDU College and its “accounts are being audited”. The official said, “The electricity bill was due on June 25. Colleges have already been given 25% of their grants, and this covers all payments of the first quarter. So, the college needs to explain why it hasn’t paid the electricity bill for the first quarter. Where has the money gone?”

A BSES official said that since DDU was an educational institute, the power company had taken a “compassionate view” and had only served the notice as per DERC guidelines. “We are in touch with the college administration to resolve the matter,” the official said.

DDU College is among the 12 in Delhi University that are fully funded by Delhi government. These institutions have frequently complained about not getting adequate funds for five months. Though the Dwarka institution was not functioning since mid-March because of Covid-19, the principal explained, “Many things are still running in the college. We have to use basic lights from sunset to sunrise for security purposes. We need electricity for our laboratories, and there are teachers who come to the college on work. We cannot shut down the 14 elevators in our sevenstorey college building because they are used by the non-teaching and administrative staff.”

Jain added that in the pre-Covid years, the college ran up an electricity bill of over Rs 20 lakh every month. He disclosed that the institution had also received notice to clear the property tax arrears of around Rs 2.9 crore. “If this state of affairs continues, the college will likely witness a dip in the national ranking,” feared Jain, expecting to slip from the 15th spot it got in 2019 in the Union HRD ministry’s all-India NIRF rankings of colleges.

Some colleges and DU Teachers’ Association have periodically protested against Delhi government allegedly not releasing enough funds to the 12 colleges.

PRINCIPAL SAYS

Since April 1, Delhi government has only twice given us 80% of the amount required to pay salaries

GOVT OFFICIAL SAYS

Colleges have already been given 25% of their grants, and this covers all payments of the first quarter

No printing contractor, DU can’t give degrees

No printing contractor, DU can’t give degrees

Shradha.Chettri@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 10.09.2020

The gowns, mortarboards and speeches continue unchanged but what has disappeared from the Delhi University (DU) convocation is the degree. Since 2017, DU graduates are stuck in a paperless limbo as the university has failed to appoint a printing contractor.

This fact came to light in July this year when some graduates moved the Delhi high court for their delayed degrees, and the HC directed the university authorities to confer digital degree certificates.

Two months later, a portal has finally been set up to accept applications for degrees.

Sources in the DU said the previous contract was cancelled after an audit showed the same party had been printing DU degrees for years.

Degree torture: Burden of compliance on DU colleges

However, professor D S Rawat, officiating dean examination, said, “The contract of the old printing company was cancelled because they had made some mistakes. After that, the university could not finalise the tender document.” This year, DU has invited tenders from printers on March 11, June 8 and July 18, but few have shown interest.

“It is true that, earlier, degrees used to be sent to the colleges. All of a sudden, the practice stopped and we still don’t know the reason behind it,” S P Agarwal, principal of Ramanujan College, said.

When colleges raised this issue, a senior university official directed the examination department to resume sending degrees, but nothing changed. Now, the burden of compliance is on the colleges, as they have been told to provide details of all graduates since 2017 for issuing digital certificates. For the 2019 batch, photographs are also needed.

Sarthak Maggon, advocate for the students, said they have been getting many calls from graduates and have made a list of names to present to the HC on Friday. DU has already informed the court that it has received 30,000 applications for digital degrees, but issued only 23 to the petitioners in the case.

Students who need their degree urgently to apply to other universities have suffered the most in these years.

Times View

Who can believe that the administration of one of the top universities in the country failed to find a company that prints degrees in three years? Such an explanation is totally unacceptable. After the recent open book examination fiasco, this is further evidence that DU needs to get its act together. The future of students cannot be trifled with.

Bus passengers pay toll plaza

Bus passengers pay toll plaza

09/09/2020

Special CorrespondentKrishnagiri

Passengers came to the aid of three State Transport Corporation buses that were denied passage through the toll plaza for non-payment of toll fare here on Tuesday. The Hosur-bound bus carrying passengers from Vellore was stopped at the toll plaza. The bus conductors were apparently told that they will not have to pay any fare at the toll plaza. However, according to the toll plaza sources, there was no such exemption and the buses were asked to pay up.

Following this, two buses were pulled off the roads and the passengers were shifted to another bus. However, passengers of three other buses pooled up their own resources and paid the toll gate fare, much to their dismay, choosing not to be delayed for their destinations.

HC questions petitioner on warning letter

HC questions petitioner on warning letter

09/09/2020

Special Correspondent Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday asked a petitioner to explain on what authority he wrote a letter warning a private channel that airing a documentary on “Cauvery Calling” project would amount to contempt of court.

A Division Bench issued the direction while hearing a PIL petition filed by A.V. Amaranathan, a city-based advocate. ISHA Outreach, which manages the “Cauvery Calling” project, had complained that the petitioner sent an email to Discovery Channel warning that telecasting the documentary would amount to contempt of court.

Kodaikanal will welcome tourists from today: Collector

Kodaikanal will welcome tourists from today: Collector

‘Those applying for e-pass can now click on tourist category’

09/09/2020

Initially, only Bryant Park, Rose Garden and Chettiar Park will open for tourists.G. KARTHIKEYAN

Special Correspondent Dindigul

Tourists from other districts can visit Kodaikanal from Wednesday, Dindigul Collector M. Vijayalakshmi said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Collector said that following representations from applicants intending to visit the hill station and various trade and tourist associations, the district administration had proposed to permit people from other districts to enter Kodaikanal from Wednesday.

The Collector said from now, those applying for e-passes to Kodaikanal could click on the “tourist” category that was not provided earlier on the online application. The government had earlier accorded permission only for marriages, deaths and return of stranded persons to return. Health authorities in Kodaikanal said that initially, only three tourist spots — Bryant Park, Rose Garden and Chettiar Park — would open for tourists. Other locations, including Berijam Lake and Green Valley View, among others, would open in a phased manner after consultation with Forest Departments officials and others.

Similarly, for residents from Dindigul district, a valid identity card (preferably Aadhaar card) would be sufficient for entering the hill station, officials said, and added that based on the arrival of tourists and the level of cooperation from them, the next phase of relaxations would be considered.

Kodaikanal Hotel Owners’ Association president Abdul Gani Raja welcomed the move. “After five months, we are now hopeful of revival. People started enquiring from September 1, but tourists were unable to get e-passes then,” he said. The association, he said, would cooperate with officials.

However, eco-conscious people and residents expressed reservations and described the move as hasty.

Honoured for honesty

Honoured for honesty

09/09/2020

Special Correspondent THENI

Superintendent of Police Sai Charan Tejaswi and his team of officers honoured five people on Monday for their honesty.

On August 31, when Sundarapandi and his friend Mahendran of Varushanadu found ₹ one lakh cash left unclaimed in an ATM outlet in Cumbum, they handed it over to the Inspector of Police, Cumbum. The money was handed over to the rightful owner later.

On Sept. 6, Ketan Patel of Sivananda Nagar here went to an ATM on Periyakulam Road. He found two bundles of ₹ 2000 notes left behind the ATM’s chest. He took ₹ 4 lakh and handed it over to the Theni police station. CCTV footage revealed that bank employees had left behind the cash by mistake after refilling the machine. The bank manager took possession of the cash. Two days ago, Abdul Khader and Abdul Hakeem found four gram gold ring left on the road in Cumbum. When they handed it over to the police, it was found that a local resident had lost the valuable while riding his two-wheeler.

The SP presented them with a reward and thanked them for their gesture.

GRH rises to the occasion

GRH rises to the occasion

09/09/2020

Staff Reporter MADURAI

A 46-year-old woman from Tirumangalam, who was positive for COVID-19 and suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm, was successfully operated upon at the Government Rajaji Hospital here on September 2. Dean J. Sangumani said her problem was discovered at a private hospital two months ago. Since she contracted COVID-19, she was brought to the GRH. Neurosurgeons R. Manimaran and V. Prasad, under the guidance of department head R. Veerapandian, performed a procedure. The patient continues to be on ventilator support in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit but is recovering.

Positive woman delivers baby

A 23-year-old woman, who was COVID-19 positive, with pregnancy-induced hypertension and jaundice, delivered a healthy baby at the Government Rajaji Hospital. In a press release, the Dean said the woman was brought to the COVID-19 speciality hospital wing on August 11 in a critical stage. Doctors from different departments including urology, gastroenterology, obstetrics and gynecology monitored her health and ensured delivery through C-section. The mother and the baby have made a complete recovery and have been discharged.

TNSTC increases bus services

TNSTC increases bus services

09/09/2020

Special Correspondent TIRUNELVELI

The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation increased the bus services to the nearby districts on Tuesday.

As operation of buses to the nearby districts resumed on Monday, buses, which plied to Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Madurai, Nagercoil, Kovilpatti, Rajapalayam and Tiruchendur, attracted huge crowd. Since the passengers ignored physical distancing even as they travelled to these destinations, the TNSTC management increased the number of buses operated to these places on Tuesday.

“Based on inputs provided by our officials, we are operating around 70% buses,” the authorities said.

Complex jaw surgery done in city hospital

Complex jaw surgery done in city hospital

09/09/2020

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

A 75-year-old chronic tobacco user, diagnosed with Stage IV head and neck cancer, recently underwent a complex single-stage jaw implant reconstructive surgery at MGM Healthcare.

Senior consultant and head of the Institute of ENT at the hospital Sanjeev Mohanty said the cancer had metastasised to the lymph nodes in his neck. They removed the right half of his jaw bone and part of the eft half before reconstructing it.

Senior consultant maxillofacial and dental surgeon Abhilash Ayalur Bhaskaran and his team performed the procedure.

Dr. Mohanty said the surgery had to be done in one sitting to prevent the patient from contracting COVID-19 during hospital visits.

“ The patient was counselled and educated about the procedure so that he could be prepared for it and the follow-up,” he said.

The patient was discharged on the tenth day after surgery. The patient is able to swallow and his breathing functions are intact, Dr. Mohanty added.

Follow Covid norms, CM appeals on phone

Follow Covid norms, CM appeals on phone

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:09.09.2020

To drive home the importance of wearing masks and following social distancing, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will now directly appeal to one crore Delhiites through phone calls.

In the message, which is being broadcasted through phone, radio and other mediums, Kejriwal could be heard saying, “Now, we don’t have to be complacent and let the virus spread further in any circumstances. For the past few days, some people have become a little careless. You have treated me as a part of your family. I don’t want anyone in my family to fall ill. It is a serious disease. So, I am asking you today to swear that whenever you get out of the house, you will wear a mask and follow social distancing.”

He has also urged people to get themselves tested. “Delhi government has made the test free. If you have any symptoms, you should immediately get a test done,” he said.

Agri dept to weed out all ineligible beneficiaries from PM Kisan scheme To Trace Frauds With Aadhaar, Bank Details

Agri dept to weed out all ineligible beneficiaries from PM Kisan scheme

To Trace Frauds With Aadhaar, Bank Details

Team TOI

Chennai:09.09.2020

The state agriculture department has drafted its entire machinery to do complete verification of PM Kisan Scheme beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu to weed out all ineligible beneficiaries from the list before the next instalment of ₹2,000 per small and marginal farmer family – the seventh instalment of the dole – is disbursed in December, said state agriculture secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi. As Aadhaar and bank account details of all the fake beneficiaries are available with the government, none can escape from the probe, he said.

He said 10 teams headed by directors of agriculture and horticulture were carrying out departmental inquiries to identify ineligible beneficiaries and officials who had assisted them in the fraud. “We are zero-tolerant to misuse of government welfare schemes. Action will be taken against all those who are involved in the fraud. We are waiting for the final report from the probe teams,” he said. The departmental probe is in addition to the CB-CID inquiry that is underway.

Bank accounts of about 5 lakh fraudulent claimants have been frozen so far, he said. The state, as of March, had 39 lakh eligible farmers enrolled under the scheme, he said. Inquiries have revealed that around six lakh ineligible people had enrolled in the PM-Kisan Scheme portal in August alone, using the passwords of agricultural department officials. Of them, five lakh entries were from northern districts and the rest were mostly from western districts. About 11,000 fake entries have been detected in Madurai district and 4,800 in Tiruvarur and Karur districts. Fraudulent entries have been reported in Villupuram, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruppattur, Salem, Dharmapuri, Coimbatore, Chengelpet and Chennai districts also.

Cuddalore collector Chandrashekhar Sakhamurai said 70,709 ineligible beneficiaries had siphoned off ₹14 crore in the district, of which, ₹5 crore has been recovered.

More than 42,000 ineligible beneficiaries have been identified so far in Villupuram district and ₹5 crore has been recovered from their accounts. In Kallakurichi district, two lakh ineligible beneficiaries have been identified and ₹7.3 crore has been recovered from them. Seven people have been arrested from Kallakurichi district.

The PM Kisan Scheme, during its initial one year of existence, could not have been widely misused as the list of beneficiaries – small and marginal farmer families with land holding up to 2 hectares – were identified by a team of agriculture and horticulture officials under the guidance of district collectors. Their documents were validated before enrolling them as beneficiaries, he said. However, later, the Centre allowed left out farmers to upload their data online and allowed block-level officials to validate them. Internet cafes came into play at this stage. Many officials, it is learnt, gave their passwords to internet café owners to do the validation. They misused it as a business opportunity and enrolled multiple people from same family and also faked land records for landless applicants, all for benefits ranging from ₹500-₹1,000 per applicant. As a result, people from Cuddalore and Kallakurichi district got enrolled in Salem district and vice versa. As it developed into a mega syndicate in the last two months, it came under the watchful eyes of some diligent officials, who found an abnormal increase in PM Kisan Scheme applications.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, popularly known as PM-Kisan Scheme, launched in December 2018, the Centre gives financial assistance of ₹6,000 per year to small and marginal farmer families. Under the scheme, the Centre had disbursed ₹2,459 crore to Tamil Nadu farmers till January 30, 2020, as per a reply given by Union minister of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar in the Lok Sabha in February.

Passengers keep away from buses, MTC daily revenue hit

Passengers keep away from buses, MTC daily revenue hit

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 09.09.2020

MTC may have resumed bus services in Chennai, but commuters continued to shun public transportation.

A senior official said many buses returned with poor collection. “Some of the prime routes that usually generate about Rs 5,000 a trip on a normal day did not even fetch Rs 1,000,” he said.

The average per day collection of Rs 3 crore has dropped below Rs 1 crore. The revenue is not sufficient to cover the fuel cost, the official said.

Of the total 3,234 MTC buses, 2,300 are being operated now. Of these, nearly 1,200 buses are run full shift, from morning to night, and the rest are divided into two shifts. In both shifts, nearly 550 buses are operated.

Each vehicle requires 60 litres of diesel, the mileage being 6km a litre. About 50% of buses are more than five years old and hence consume more fuel compared to newer models, the official said.

Another official said people from neighbouring districts working in Chennai are using MTC services as suburban services on the Chennai-Chengalpet, Chennai-Tiruvallur, Chennai-Arakkonam and Chennai-Gummidipoondi routes are not available yet.

These people were solely dependent on suburban train services for their daily commute before the pandemic. Local trains are preferred as season tickets are cheaper when compared to MTC services, he said.

NO TAKERS: An official said buses on prime routes don’t even fetch a fraction of the earlier collection

PGI Rohtak to start phase-2 trial of Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine

PGI Rohtak to start phase-2 trial of Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine

Dr Vinod K Paul said that Bharat Biotech's vaccine candidate based on inactivated virus procured by ICMR and Zydus Cadila's candidate based on viral DNA are two Indian vaccines in second phase trial.

Published: 08th September 2020 11:06 AM 

'COVAXIN' was developed and manufactured at the company's Bio-safety Level-III high containment facility at Genome Valley. (Photo| Special Arrangement)

By ANI

ROHTAK: Post Graduate Institute (PGI) Rohtak will start the phase-2 human clinical trial of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking to ANI, Dr OP Kalra, vice-chancellor, PGI Rohtak said, "We got permission from Bharat Biotech to start a phase-2 human clinical trial of their vaccine. We've 300 volunteers, aged between 12 years and 65- years, out of which screening of 15 has been completed."

"We hope to get vaccine dosages by tomorrow morning," added Kalra.

Recently, Niti Aayog member Dr Vinod K Paul said that Bharat Biotech's vaccine candidate based on inactivated virus procured by ICMR and Zydus Cadila's candidate based on viral DNA are two Indian COVID-19 vaccines in second phase trial.

"In India, Bharat Biotech's vaccine candidate based on inactivated virus procured by ICMR is in the Phase II trial along with Zydus Cadila's candidate which is based on viral DNA. The Oxford vaccine candidate developed by Serum Institute of India is already in Phase III trial in Maharashtra and some other States," he said.

The total coronavirus cases in the country reached 42,04,614 including 8,82,542 active cases, 32,50,429 cured/discharged/migrated and 71,642 deaths, as per the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

NEET PG 2020: MCC notifies on refund process

NEET PG 2020: MCC notifies on refund process: New Delhi: Through a recent notice, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has informed about the initiation of the process of Refund for NEET PG 2020 admissions.The MCC has notified the

Breaking: Role of MBBS Students in COVID pandemic- MCI defines activities, lays down criteria

Breaking: Role of MBBS Students in COVID pandemic- MCI defines activities, lays down criteria: New Delhi: In a major move, the apex medical regulator, the Medical Council of India Board of Governors have now defined the activities where MBBS students can now participate and play their role

Arrear exams shall be conducted in Tamil Nadu: AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe

Arrear exams shall be conducted in Tamil Nadu: AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe

The issue came to light, after a strongly-worded email, written by Sahasrabuddhe to Anna University V-C threatening to strip Anna University's approval, was leaked on social media.

Published: 08th September 2020 11:19 AM 

AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe (Photo| AICTE website)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Engineering students who have arrears and had applied for re-exam in April/May 2020, have not passed and will have to write the exams to graduate, said Anil Sahasrabuddhe, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman.

The issue came to light, after a strongly-worded email, written by Sahasrabuddhe to Anna University Vice-Chancellor (VC) MK Surappa, threatening to strip Anna University's approval, was leaked on social media.

Sahasrabuddhe in his mail remarked that he found it surprising that final year students, who had failed in various courses in the earlier semesters, are being passed without conducting examinations. "This is not acceptable to award marks without conducting any examination and graduating the students. Such students will not be recognised by industry or by other universities for higher education," he said in the mail.

Sahasrabuddhe further asserted that, "AICTE will be constrained to withdraw the approval of Anna University."

In a telephonic conversation with The New Indian Express on Tuesday morning, Sahasrabuddhe confirmed sending the mail to Surappa and added that he had also discussed the issue with state Chief Secretary K Shanmugham. "She also said that there is some misunderstanding...we are not waiving off exams for the failed students. It is somehow a wrong interpretation by people based on the circular which was issued which was very careful that (said) all AICTE UGC guidelines shall be followed," he elaborated.

He further said that council will not be withdrawing the varsity's approval if arrear exams shall be held. "How can someone with backlogs be passed?" he wondered.

AICTE has not issued any official letter, it was an email, MK Surappa clarified to TNIE. When asked if Anna University issued any notification that waived off any arrear exam, Surappa said, "We have not issued any circular like that to students." He did not want to comment further on the issue.

On July 23, the government announced the cancellation of semester exams for all but final year students. On August 26, CM Edappadi K Palaniswami further directed the Higher Education Department to issue detailed guidelines on the cancellation of the April-May 2020 semester exams for all college students, barring those in their final year.

Expert explains

Expert explains

My son-in-law has purchased an old house in Chennai. Since it was a minor property, the vendor had obtained a clearance certificate from civil court.

Published: 08th September 2020 06:36 AM 

By Justice K Chandru

Express News Service

CHENNAI: My son-in-law has purchased an old house in Chennai. Since it was a minor property, the vendor had obtained a clearance certificate from civil court. According to the instructions given by the court, we purchased a DD against consideration of said property to get it registered. Following that, he applied patta and it was issued. After some weeks, my son-in-law applied for the name transfer of property tax card along with required documents at RO department, Vadapalani. They accepted his application but did not give a property tax card stating the city civil court has to be authenticated. Would the court give such a letter/authentication to RO department?

— TM Raju

Apply for a certificate of funds from the registrar, city civil court and give it to your Revenue Officer. Logic may not work with the officials of the government. This is a very simple procedure.

We have a property, which has a passage in the front, which is under easement (since the late 1950s) from the building in front as that is the only access we have to the road. The owners of the property in front constructed a demarcating wall separating their property from the easement land with a gate towards the passage for vastu compliance, which was kept permanently locked. Our property had uninterrupted access to the road since then till about mid 2000s, when the owners of the property started parking two-wheelers in the passage blocking access and started opening the gate and using the passage too although they had direct access to the road. Now they say that since they are the owners they have absolute right and we have the right only to use the passage and can’t protest their blocking/use of the already narrow passage for vehicle parking/repair. Do the owners of the land on which we have easement have the right to use the property (including parking of vehicles)?

— VaikunthaNathan

A property has to be used for the purpose for which it was intended to be used. If it is a passage, parking of vehicles obstructing the movement of others is a nuisance. In normal course, an owner of the land has a right to use the land, but if eastmentary rights are in existence, then that cannot be curtailed. In case the passage is obstructed intentionally by the owners, you may give a police complaint.

In early January 2020, I had booked, through a city travel agent, two flight tickets (for my wife and I) to go abroad (by Etihad Airways) in the first week of May 2020, and return by the end of July 2020. I had paid the entire fare amount, along with service charges, to the travel agent, in late January. Since no international flight was in operation because of the nation-wide lockdown, our trips stood cancelled. When asked for a full refund (due to airlines cancelling the flight) of the amount paid, the travel agent replied that they, in turn, had paid the amount to the airlines, and hence refund would be possible only when they get their money back. Is the travel agent not duty-bound to refund the amount to me, as my dealing was directly with him, not the airlines? Why should I wait till the airlines settle the travel agent’s account?

— PG Menon

File a consumer complaint against both the agent and the airlines complaining of deficiency in service and for refund of money as well as compensation.

Justice K Chandru is a former judge of the Madras High Court

expertexplains@gmail.com

NEET to have four reporting slots, more exam centres

NEET to have four reporting slots, more exam centres

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:08.09.2020

After a glitch free computer-based Joint Entrance Examination (Main), the next big challenge for the National Testing Agency (NTA) is the pen-paper mode National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) scheduled for September 13 for which 15.97 lakh candidates have registered.

In order to ensure social distancing and crowd management, the agency has increased the number of centres by 1,314 to 3,860 this year. In the standard operating procedures (SOPs) accessed by the TOI, reporting time has been divided into four slots of 40 minutes each starting from 11 am with candidates provided individual time slots. During each 40 minutes a maximum of 90 candidates will be allowed entry. At the end of the exam two invigilators will escort 24 candidates to the exit gate and the next batch will be allowed to exit only after the invigilators return.

According to NTA officials, while majority of the centres will have around 360 aspirants, there are 210 centres where candidates are 600 or more.

Apart from the centre superintendent and deputy superintendent for every 180 candidates there will be 30 invigilators, two water boys, two cleaning staff and four guards.

Till Sunday, more than 14 lakh candidates have downloaded admit cards.

“Social distancing protocol would be the key challenge for which we are planning in detail. Assigning of duties and procurement of masks, face shields, gloves, sanitisers and foot stickers are to be completed by September 9,” said an official.

“A candidate will show his/ her admit card where the roll numbers are written in large font, show the photo he/ she is carrying and remove the mask for face recognition from a distance of six feet. Then the candidate will be guided to the room. After sanitising their hands, the sealed OMR sheets will be distributed. Candidates are to open them after hand sanitising. One attendance sheet will have six names and they will sanitise the hand before and after signing,” said official.

Reporting time at the centres has been divided into four slots of 40 minutes each. A maximum of 90 candidates will be allowed entry in each slot

Universities submit exam plans, only Amravati for offline papers

Universities submit exam plans, only Amravati for offline papers

Hemali Chhapia & Yogita Rao TNN

Mumbai: 08.09.2020

Amravati University would be the only varsity in the state to conduct its final exams in the traditional pen-and-paper format; students would have to travel to colleges close by to even take their practical exams. Meanwhile, Mumbai University students prepping to take the online multiple choice model exam would be given a question bank for preparation.

Almost all other universities which submitted their proposals to the state government on Monday stated they would hold online take-from-home exams for candidates. For students who cannot take online exams, offline papers would be offered later. Shivaji University, Kolhapur, is the only varsity that is yet to submit its exam-related decision to the state.

State director of higher education (DHE) Dhanraj Mane said he has received proposals from all universities, barring Kolhapur. “We are compiling all the reports and we will present the same to the state government,” he told TOI. The final report will be forwarded to the disaster management authority. Universities have given detailed reports on the dates when exams would be held and how they would conduct them.

Final-year MU students will receive a question bank with at least 250 questions to understand the exam format. An official said the university is considering giving a question bank with a minimum 250 questions, but colleges can exceed the limit and give more questions.

“The final guidelines, expected to be released on Tuesday, will give more clarity. Whether these question banks will be prepared by individual colleges or lead colleges is still undecided. Since no two students can get the same question paper, we have to provide more questions in the bank. Attempt should be made to cover the entire syllabus,” said the official. While the questions will be in MCQ format and the paper will be of 50 marks, the university is considering giving 25 questions in the paper. It is not final though.

Most universities concurred on the fashion of conducting the exams: Online and in MCQ. SPPU has stated if a student is unable to appear for exams online, the varsity would conduct offline papers on OMR (optical mark recognition) sheets tentatively from October 15. A final decision on whether online exams would be proctored would be taken on September 10.

At Amravati University, though, exams will also require the varsity to procure masks and gloves for faculty and staff who will be handling the process. “We have decided to follow all the SOP (standard operating procedure) for conducting the offline exam. Refresher revision courses are on for students. Each exam will be of two hours and there will be no compulsory questions. Students have to merely answer six questions out of 10,” said Pradeep Khedkar, management council member of Amravati University. Candidates who are not currently close to the college can take the exams from any nearby college. All colleges will be exam centres. There would not be external supervision for practical exams. The university may provide Covid insurance cover to students.

Salary cut: Staff seek CS support

Salary cut: Staff seek CS support

Jaipur:  08.09.2020

As state government employees started their fivephase stir against salary cut on Monday, the representatives of All Rajasthan State Government Employees Federation met chief secretary Rajeeva Swarup and submitted a memorandum urging the government to withdraw its decision to deduct one-day salary and release their pending salaries for the month of March.

According to state general secretary of the federation Tej Singh Rathore, the chief secretary assured them of bringing their demands to the notice of chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

The cabinet had decided to deduct two days’ remuneration of officers belonging to all-India and state services and one-day salary of other state government employees (ministerial and sub-ordinates) from September to mobilise resources for Covid relief fund.

In a memorandum to the chief secretary, they demanded their pending salaries for March (16 days) be released and withdraw the order to deduct one-day salary.

They also demanded that the government must reverse its order to stop payment of cash for 15 days (out of 30 days privilege leave) when they go on leave.

Further, they demanded that the government should have a dialogue on their 15-point demand charter which was submitted earlier.

The charter includes issues pertaining to salary cuts, new pension scheme, contractual employees etc. On September 9, statewide protest will be held in villages, tehsils, sub-divisions, districts by burning the pay cut order. A campaign on Twitter against the government’s order will be run on September 14 and 15. On Sept 21-22, the employees will leave all the department WhatsApp groups for two days. They will neither take orders, nor give any information to higher officials (non-cooperation with the government). TNN

Phase 2 of human trials of vaccine starts in Rohtak

Phase 2 of human trials of vaccine starts in Rohtak

50 Volunteers To Be Part Of Trial At Institute

Sat Singh TNN

Rohtak:08.09.2020

After the successful completion of Phase 1 of human clinical trials of the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, the PGIMS-Rohtak on Monday has started trials for Phase 2 by roping in more volunteers for the process.

In the Phase 2, 330 volunteers would be administered Bharat Biotech's Covaxin vaccine throughout the country and of them 50 of them would go under vaccine trial at PGIMSRohtak. Bharat Biotech, in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research, began research on the first homegrown Covid-19 vaccine in the country a few months ago.

Dr Ramesh Verma, coinvestigator of vaccine trial at PGIMS, said screening of 15 volunteers was done on Monday and after getting a negative Covid-19 result, they would be administered the first dose of Covaxin on Wednesday. He said the following dose would be given after a 28-days and the impact of the vaccine would be seen on the volunteers over 6 months. He said this time the age category for vaccine trials is 12 years to 65 years. "For Phase1, we had invited healthy volunteers, but this time persons with controlled diabetes, asthma, etc. can also participate to observe impact of the virus," Dr Verma added.

Dr Savita Verma, principal investigator of vaccine trials in PGIMS, said they have received the vaccine for the second phase and the process would start as soon as the screening process gets over. She said the permission to conduct Phase 2 was given by the Drug Controller General of India based on the results of Phase 1. All volunteers who participated in the trial are healthy and keeping fine. In the first phase, PGIMS had covered 81 persons, while 250 people have registered for Phase 2, she added.

FOR A SAFE JOURNEY: A passenger used a hand sanitizer before entering a Metro station in Gurugram on Monday

HC: Employee dismissal unsustainable if reasons for no inquiry not recorded

HC: Employee dismissal unsustainable if reasons for no inquiry not recorded

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:08.09.2020

The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that the order of dismissal of an employee in absence of sufficient reasons recorded in writing dispensing with the requirement of holding inquiry into the person’s alleged misconduct is not sustainable.

The high court clarified that “the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank has to record reasons in writing as to why it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry”.

“Such satisfaction has to be a subjective satisfaction of the authority so empowered. Mere observation that the departmental enquiry at this stage does not appear to be justified is not sufficient to invoke powers under Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India to dismiss an employee,” Justice Anil Kshetarpal of the high court held. He passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Sarabjit Singh, a dismissed Punjab police constable.

The petitioner had joined Punjab police in March 2011. Two FIRs have been registered against the petitioner. The first FIR was registered in February 2020 on charges of rape and criminal intimidation over allegations that in 2010, before the petitioner joined police service, he had an affair with the complainant and the couple had a physical relationship. It was alleged that after getting the job, the petitioner stopped talking to the complainant. Therefore, she had reported the matter after remaining silent for over a period of nine years. The second FIR was registered against him in March 2020 for evading arrest and related charges when the cops tried to arrest him in relation to the first FIR.

After this, the petitioner was dismissed by the state government under clause (b) of the 2nd proviso to Article 311(2) of the Constitution from the service while dispensing with the requirement of holding departmental enquiry. Challenging the dismissal orders, the petitioner argued that the state police authorities did not record the reasons for dispensing with the requirement of holding inquiry and, therefore, the order is not sustainable.

COURT OBSERVES

What has been recorded is ‘it does not seem justified to conduct departmental inquiry at this stage.’ .... On careful reading of clause (b) of 2nd proviso, it is apparent that the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank, has to record reasons in writing as to why it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry

Class 5 girl murdered for beating 11-year-old boy at online game

Class 5 girl murdered for beating 11-year-old boy at online game

Both Hooked On Survival Shooting Game Since Start Of Lockdown

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Indore: 08.09.2020

A 9-year-old girl was bludgeoned death in Indore, allegedly by an 11-year-old boy, who was furious that she had continuously beaten him in an online game on Monday.

The suspect has been taken into custody and is being questioned. Police sources say he has admitted to hitting her on the head with stones. After killing her, he shut himself in his bathroom for hours.

They are neighbours in Lasudia, a northern suburb of Indore, and had been playing an online game — where contestants have to kill each other to survive on an island — since the beginning of lockdown, police said. “The boy became furious after constantly losing to the girl at the online game on Monday. He took her to a nearby field, where he hit her in anger in the head and face with three stones,” said DIG Harinarayanchari Mishra. “After she collapsed, the boy ran back to his house and locked himself in the washroom for hours,” added Mishra.

The victim studied in Class V. It was towards the afternoon that the family realized she was missing and began looking for her. Some witnesses said they had seen her at 10.30am walking towards a field with a boy. The family rushed there and found her body, Mishra said.

Police examine the site in Lasudia where the girl's body was found on Monday

‘Parents need to keep vigil on kids’ e-activities’

Police examined the crime scene and had barely begun their investigation when the boy’s family approached them to say he was missing too. Police didn’t see him as a suspect until one of his family members told them that they had located him — he had locked himself in the washroom and wasn’t coming out. A police team rushed there and gently counselled him into unlocking the door. After he stepped out, police spoke to him and he narrated the murder, leaving officers shocked.

“The girl had also killed a pet rat of the boy and teased him when he lost to her. This triggered the incident,” Mishra said, cautioning parents to be aware of their children’s online activities. “Parents should realise that these days, because of online classes, there are more chances of children being involved in such online games, making them aggressive,” he said. TNN