New Anna varsity for affiliating engg. colleges

 New Anna varsity for affiliating engg. colleges

Bill passed in Tamil Nadu Assembly

17/09/2020

 R. SujathaCHENNAI

A new Anna University will be established, and all engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu will be affiliated to the Chennai-headquartered institution, according to a Bill passed in the State Assembly on Wednesday.

The existing Anna University at Guindy in the city will become a unitary institution under the name of Anna Technological and Research University (ATRU), with a focus on research and higher learning.

The reputed College of Engineering, Guindy, the Madras Institute of Technology, A.C. College of Technology and the School of Planning and Architecture will come under ATRU.

Tabling the Bills, Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan said the decision was being taken “only for administrative reasons”.

He later told The Hindu that the decision had nothing to do with the Centre’s offer to upgrade Anna University into an ‘Institution of Eminence’ with a matching grant of ₹500 crore to focus on cutting-edge research.

“Managing the affairs of the engineering colleges across the State that are affiliated to Anna University is consuming much of the time and energy of eminent professors of the university. In order to concentrate on higher studies and research in engineering and technology, the government has decided to reconstitute the existing university as a unitary-type institution by the name of Anna Technological and Research University,” he said.

The new Anna University and ATRU will have separate administrative structures and governing bodies, like the syndicate and the academic council.

Assistant professors write to CM

Assistant professors write to CM

17/09/2020

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

After being posted for 84 hours of duty in a week, assistant professors of the Department of General Medicine, Government Tiruvannamalai Medical College Hospital, have flagged their concerns to the Chief Minister and officials of the Health Department.

In a representation to the Chief Minister’s Special Cell, the Health Secretary and the Directorate of Medical Education, the assistant professors said they were facing mental agony due to repeated exposure to COVID-19, with work burden not being shared by other departments, particularly the Anaesthesia Department. The issue remained unresolved despite repeated representations to the dean, they said.

Anaesthetists were posted only on on-call duty for managing sick COVID-19 patients in the ICU. “As per ICMR guidelines, anaesthetists, respiratory physicians and doctors of general medicine are the primary care providers in COVID-19 management. But at the Tiruvannamalai Medical College Hospital, anaesthetists are not posted on regular duty at COVID-19 isolation wards or ICU care,” a doctor, on condition of anonymity, said.

They sought the Chief Minister’s immediate intervention.

Ayurveda doyen dies of COVID-19

 Ayurveda doyen dies of COVID-19

17/09/2020

 P.R. Krishnakumar, Chancellor of the Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women and the managing director of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore) Limited, died of COVID-19 in Coimbatore late on Wednesday. He was 69. A recipient of Padma Shri, who played a major role in the preparation of the Ayush protocol, Mr. Krishnakumar was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a private hospital in Coimbatore for over a week. His death took place around 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday

Consider raising age limit for retirement’

Consider raising age limit for retirement’

17/09/2020

Staff Reporter Madurai

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) to consider increasing the upper age limit for contract or temporary employees from 58 to 59 years, for engaging them on the basis of requirement.

Justice R. Suresh Kumar observed that if Tasmac does take such a decision, it would not mean that all contractual or temporary employees would be entitled to seek job extension up to 59 years of age.

The court said that Tasmac could consider each individual or deserving employee and on a need basis extend the contracts of those who have completed 58 years.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Tasmac employees, who cited a G.O. which said the age of superannuation of government servants who were in regular service as on May 31, 2020, would be increased from 58 years to 59 years.

The Tasmac clarified that the G.O. was applicable to those employees who were in regular service and not on contractual basis.

Online exams, a mockery’

Online exams, a mockery’

17/09/2020

Staff Reporter MADURAI

The manner by which Madurai Kamaraj University proposes to conduct final year examinations online was just a mockery and could not be taken as the right yardstick to know a student’s potential, said Save Madurai Kamaraj University Coalition.

In a press release, its secretary R. Murali said the university would be sending question papers thorugh email or WhatsApp to Principals of affiliated colleges. They will in turn send the questions to students who will write a three-hour unsupervised exam. “The exam is conducted just for namesake. There is no real need to hold it right away. Even if they do want to conduct it, it could be held in a manner which ensures social distancing, as not more than 300 students will be writing the exams,” he said. If the exams need to be conducted online, the colleges must have a system in place to facilitate a transparent exchange between the university and students, Mr. Murali said.

Colleges not paying salaries despite reserves, says dy CM

Colleges not paying salaries despite reserves, says dy CM

Student Funds Can’t Be Used For Salaries, Say Principals

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:17.09.2020

A day after teachers of a few Delhi University colleges moved Delhi High Court over non-payment of salaries, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged on Wednesday that the colleges were not paying the teachers despite having funds in the reserve.

Citing initial investigation results of an independent audit conducted by Delhi government, the education minister threatened action and said the university administration was acting as a pawn of BJP.

The colleges, however, said it was wrong to term the student society fund as a reserve fund and it shouldn’t be used to pay teachers. The 12 colleges funded by Delhi government have salary dues.

Sisodia claimed, “It was observed in these reports that colleges have kept a huge amount of money as fixed deposits rather than paying the salaries. Keshav Mahavidyalaya has Rs 10.52 crore as fixed deposits. If they have so much money, why are they not paying salaries to their teachers?”He also said Bhagini Nivedita College had around Rs 2.5 crore in fixed deposits. “It is surprising that they are claiming lack of funds, and at the same time, not cooperating with the auditors also.”

The principals of both these colleges will address a press conference on Thursday.

Sisodia said Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies didn’t even provide their audited balance sheets. “However, it was found that they have around Rs 3.5 crore in their balance sheet in 2018-19 and Rs 10.45 crore in fixed deposits.” Even Deen Dayal Upadhyay College has a reserve of about Rs 6.5 crore and one college even donated Rs 25 lakh, he added.

Sukhdev College principal Poonam Verma said, “These are student funds and the money comes to the college under various heads for various activities. It will be a gross financial irregularity to use them for salary. This money has been collected over 33 years.”

Verma claimed she had records of providing all documents to the auditors and for 2018-19, the college had completed the ELFA and CAG audits. “They are targeting these colleges because the chairperson of the governing body is not their nominee,” she alleged.

DDU principal Hem Chand Jain said, “If anyone has paid that money as loan, they can hang the whole college administration. The reserve is collected from students for ICT infrastructure improvement and student activities. It is not possible to use funds for students to pay salaries. If the government finds it correct, they should tell us that.”

Sisodia also raised the issue of how the funds given to these 12 colleges had almost tripled since 2014-15. “These people are playing with lives of their own staff members. AAP government stands together with the faculty and students of DU. But it seems the DU administration is singing the tunes of BJP and behaving like BJP’s party office. They are only focused on blaming Delhi government,” he said. “Under the pattern of assistance, it is mentioned that provisioning of grant will be made only on net deficit basis.”

Different teachers’ groups condemned the government’s allegations. Delhi University Teachers’ Association said, “It is unfortunate that teachers are caught in the crossfire of these allegations. DUTA believes that the employees must be paid their dues immediately.”

A K Bhagi of NDTF said, “It’s the duty of the government to pay salaries and other allowances and give grants for new infrastructure and maintenance.” INTEC called these allegations a diversion tactics of Delhi government.

It was observed that colleges have kept a huge amount of money as fixed deposits rather than paying the salaries of their staff… It is surprising that they are claiming lack of funds and, at the same time, not cooperating with the auditors

—MANISH SISODIA

Foreign students doing PG at AIIMS Delhi not paid stipend

Foreign students doing PG at AIIMS Delhi not paid stipend

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com

17.09.2020

Over 50 foreign students, mostly from Nepal, doing post-graduate and super specialty courses in AIIMS Delhi are not paid a stipend though they do the same work as Indian students, working as junior residents even during Covid. The prime minister of Nepal took up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was assured that the matter would be sorted out, but AIIMS argues it has good reason not to pay foreign students the stipend.

After being nudged by the health ministry, the two other autonomous central institutes, PGI Chandigarh and JIPMER, Pondicherry, have started paying foreign students the same stipend as their Indian counterparts. “We do not want to comment on what is happening in PGI or in JIPMER and we are not saying we are above the government. But we have put our arguments before the government,” said a spokesperson of AIIMS.

AIIMS officials point out that the prospectus states that foreign and sponsored students will not be paid stipends and that they had agreed to this at the time of admission. But a Delhi high court judgement in favour of the students in 2013 had pointed out that when it came to a fundamental right available to even non-citizens, to be paid for the work they do, the terms of the prospectus could not be binding. However, that judgment was later stayed till an appeal filed by AIIMS is adjudicated.

“We, as foreign nationals, might be in the same category as sponsored candidates, but we are not sponsored. We only submit a no-objection certificate to be admitted as foreign nationals. We are merely asking that we be paid for the work we do. We even did Covid duty just like others,” said one of the foreign candidates.

In Tiruvarur, the dead too apply for PMAY benefits

 In Tiruvarur, the dead too apply for PMAY benefits

Vincent.Arockiaraj@timesgroup.com

Tiruvarur: 17.09.2020

Scam in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) implementation is not new to Thalayamangalam village in Mannargudi taluk in Tiruvarur district where many who are dead have the rare distinction of resurrecting themselves from the grave to apply for PMAY benefits to construct houses.

The villagers themselves had exposed the officials who indulged in large-scale irregularities in construction of 275 houses under PMAY a few months ago. They took it to court too. The MDMK and CPM functionaries, who spearheaded the movement, said the scam was reported in most of the 430 villages in Tiruvarur district.

Of 275 ‘applicants’ in the village, money sanctioned to 103 beneficiaries was swindled without carrying out any work. Many among the remaining 172 ‘applicants’ had not applied. Except a few real beneficiaries, all others were cheated one way or the other by a syndicate of officials and local politicians, said P Masilamani, former president of the village and MDMK union secretary who exposed the fraud. “Swindling happened between 2016 and 2019, when there was no elected local body in place. But it came to light only in July 2020. Irregularities happened in construction of free toilets too. We lodged a complaint with police this July,” he said.

G Sundaramoorthi, district president of the CPM, said though action had been taken against some officials, the entire money should be recovered and all those involved in the fraud arrested. K Ambikapathi, a resident of Thalayamangalam, told TOI that money had been swindled in the name of his elder brother K Jayachandran, a retired sub- inspector of police, who died in 2018. “Being a government servant, my brother was not eligible to get any benefit under the scheme. However, forging his documents, officials swindled the money,” Ambikapathi said.

He maintained an account in IOB while he was alive. Money was credited to that account and subsequently transferred to some other accounts without anyone’s knowledge, he added.

G Chinnadurai, a farmer in the village, said two years ago, panchayat clerk Pugazhenthi approached him and got signatures on some documents by promising him a house under the PM-housing scheme. When the scam got exposed, he came to know that money was swindled in his and his father K Givindan’s name, who died in 2016.

Ponniyin Selvan, assistant project officer of District Rural Development Agency in Tiruvarur, who conducted an inquiry into the scam said four officials were suspended. Further inquiries were on, he said.

K Govindan, died in 2016, but money had been withdrawn in his name, said his family

98-year-old govt BEd college asked not to admit students

 98-year-old govt BEd college asked not to admit students

NCTE Sends Last Reminder Over Faculty Shortage

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:17.09.2020

Ninety-eight-year-old Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education in Chennai which conducts admissions to all seven government colleges of education in the state every year has been told to stop admission for 2020-21due to vacant posts.

The prestigious government autonomous college admits 200 BEd students every year and has 17 faculty members against the required 39.

The southern regional committee of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), which met through video conference on September 14 and 15, decided to send a last reminder before withdrawal of the recognition.

The committee gave 90 days to fill the vacant posts in the institute and submit the relevant documents. “Till then, admissions for the academic session 2020-21 shall be deferred,” said the minutes of the meeting uploaded on the NCTE’s website.

“The NCTE increased the duration of the BEd course from one year to two in 2016. Following this, the staff strength must be doubled. Due to no recruitment in the past four years, the college has only half the required strength,” a faculty member said.

The council has also deferred admissions for 2020-21 in two other government colleges of education in Pudukottai and Komarapalayam due to shortage of faculty members. The faculty members of government colleges of education said the lacunae of Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University has resulted in stopping the admission for most sought-after colleges in the state. “The university should have inspected these colleges and warned the state government about the faculty shortage,” they said.

3 dental colleges told to pay ₹8.1cr - The Times Of India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:

Acting tough on illegal admissions to professional courses, the high court directed three dental colleges in north Karnataka to pay Rs 8.1 crore (Rs 10 lakh per student) as cost for granting post-facto approval to 81 students who had completed BDS course.

These students were admitted under the unexhausted CET or government quota seats and they hadn’t appeared for the entrance test.

As per the direction issued by a division bench comprising Justices Krishna S Dixit and P Krishna Bhat, the students have to submit a stamped affidavit in two months and an undertaking to do rural service in Karnataka. The cost amount also has to be deposited with the court in two months and it will be transferred to the Chief Minister’s Calamity/ Covid Relief Fund.

The high court’s Kalaburagi bench said the college has to pay for the violation and the students, who were beneficiaries of the same, need to render one-year community service.

SB Patil Dental College and Hospital, Bidar, along with 35 students; Hyderabad Karnataka Development Education Trust’s Dental College and Hospital, Humnabad, Bidar district, with 22 students and S Nijalingappa Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Kalaburagi, with 25 students had approached the court in 2016 challenging endorsements issued by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences.

Admissions not approved

Refusing to approve the students’ admissions, the university stated that assessment of comparative merits by CET is a pre-condition for admission. However, it was later stated that the name of Mohammed Asif, a student of Kalaburagi college, was inadvertently included as a petitioner though he had appeared for CET.

The petitioners said there’s no legal requirement of CET as a pre-condition for admission of candidates under the unexhausted quota of government seats. Students shouldn’t be made scapegoats for the management’s fault, they added. During the pendency, by way of an interim order, the students were allowed to complete the course.```

கொடைக்கானல் செல்ல'இ - பாஸ்' கட்டாயம்

கொடைக்கானல் செல்ல'இ - பாஸ்' கட்டாயம்

Added : செப் 16, 2020 01:56

கொடைக்கானல்:கொடைக்கானலுக்கு செல்ல சுற்றுலாப் பயணியர் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட நிலையில், 'இ - பாஸ்' இன்றி பஸ்சில் செல்வோரை இறக்கி விடுகின்றனர்.

திண்டுக்கல் மாவட்டம், கொடைக்கானலுக்கு, கடந்த வாரம் முதல், 'இ - பாஸ்' மூலம் சுற்றுலாப் பயணியர் அனுமதிக்கப்படுகின்றனர்.பொதுப் போக்குவரத்து துவங்கிய நிலையில், பஸ்சில் பயணியர் வருகின்றனர்.பஸ்சில் சுற்றுலா வருவோருக்கு, விண்ணப்பிக்க வசதி இல்லாத நிலையில், இ - பாஸ் நிராகரிக்கப்படுகிறது. அதேசமயம், இ - பாஸ் பெறாமல் வருவோர், வெள்ளி நீர்வீழ்ச்சி சோதனைச்சாவடியில் இறக்கி விடப்படுகின்றனர்.

தொடர்ந்து, இதுபோன்ற நிலை நீடிப்பதால், பஸ்சில் கொடைக்கானல் வரும் பயணியர் அவதிப்படுகின்றனர்.டாக்சி ஓட்டுனர்கள் சங்க செயலர் கணேசன் கூறுகையில், ''பஸ் பயணியரால் தான், எங்களை போன்றோருக்கு வாழ்வு கிடைக்கும். எனவே, பஸ் பயணியருக்கும் விண்ணப்பிக்கும் வசதியை அரசு பரிசீலிக்க வேண்டும்,'' என்றார்.

சப் - கலெக்டர் சிவகுரு பிரபாகரன் கூறுகையில், ''கொடைக்கானலுக்கு பஸ்சில் வரும் பயணியர் விண்ணப்பிக்கும் வகையில், வசதி செய்து தரும்படி, அரசுக்கு பரிந்துரைத்துள்ளோம். இந்நடைமுறை இன்று முதல் அமலுக்கு வரும்,''என்றார்.

தமிழக பாடத்திட்டத்தில் இருந்து 'நீட்' தேர்வில் 96 சதவீத வினாக்கள்

தமிழக பாடத்திட்டத்தில் இருந்து 'நீட்' தேர்வில் 96 சதவீத வினாக்கள்

Added : செப் 16, 2020 01:35

சென்னை:சமீபத்தில் நடந்த, 'நீட்' தேர்வில், தமிழக பாடத் திட்டத்தில் இருந்து, 96 சதவீத கேள்விகள் இடம் பெற்றதாக, தமிழக ஆசிரியர்கள் கண்டறிந்துள்ளனர்.

மருத்துவ படிப்புக்கான நீட் நுழைவு தேர்வு, செப்., 13ல், நாடு முழுதும் நடந்தது. தேர்வில், தமிழகத்தில், ஒரு லட்சம் பேர் உட்பட, 14 லட்சம் பேர் பங்கேற்றனர்.இந்த தேர்வில், மொத்தம், 180 வினாக்கள் இடம் பெற்றன. உயிரியல், விலங்கியல் மற்றும் தாவரவியலில், தலா, 45 வினாக்கள்; இயற்பியல் மற்றும் வேதியியலில் தலா, 45 வினாக்கள் இடம் பெற்றன.ஒவ்வொரு வினாவுக்கும், தலா, 4 மதிப்பெண் வீதம், மொத்தம், 180 வினாக்களுக்கு, 720 மதிப்பெண் நிர்ணயிக்கப்பட்டு உள்ளது.

இந்த தேர்வில் பெரும்பாலும், மத்திய அரசின், என்.சி.இ.ஆர்.டி., என்ற, தேசிய கல்வியியல் ஆராய்ச்சி மற்றும் பயிற்சி நிறுவன புத்தகத்தில் இருந்தே, கேள்விகள் இடம் பெற்றதாக, மாணவ - மாணவியர் தெரிவித்தனர்.இந்த பாடத் திட்டத்தை, சி.பி.எஸ்.இ., பள்ளி மாணவர்களே அதிகம் பின்பற்றுவதால், அவர்களுக்கு தேர்ச்சி மதிப்பெண் அதிகம் கிடைக்க வாய்ப்பு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.

இந்நிலையில், தமிழகத்தில், பிளஸ் 1, பிளஸ் 2 இரண்டிலும் சேர்த்து, புதிய பாடத் திட்டம் அமலான பின் நடக்கும் நீட் தேர்வு என்பதால், தமிழக பாடத் திட்ட புத்தகங்களுடன், நீட் தேர்வு வினாக்களை ஆசிரியர்கள் ஆய்வு செய்துள்ளனர்.இதில், 96 சதவீத வினாக்கள், தமிழக பாடத் திட்டங்களில் இருந்து இடம் பெற்றுள்ளது தெரிய வந்துள்ளது.

உயிரியலில் மொத்தம், 90 வினாக்களில், 87 வினாக்கள், தமிழக பாடத் திட்டத்தில் இருந்து இடம் பெற்றுஉள்ளன.இயற்பியல் மற்றும் வேதியியலில், 45க்கு தலா, 43 வினாக்கள் இடம் பெற்று உள்ளன. மொத்தம், 180 வினாக்களில், 173 வினாக்கள் நேரடியாக தமிழக பாடத் திட்ட புத்தகத்தில் இருந்து இடம் பெற்றுள்ளதாக, நீட் பயிற்சி அளித்த தமிழக ஆசிரியர்கள் கண்டறிந்துள்ளனர்.இந்த தகவல், தமிழக ஆசிரியர்களின், 'வாட்ஸ் ஆப்' குழுக்களில் பரவுகிறது.

தனியார் பஸ்கள் ஓடத் துவங்கின

தனியார் பஸ்கள் ஓடத் துவங்கின

Added : செப் 15, 2020 23:00

சென்னை:தமிழகத்தில் நேற்று முதல், தனியார் பஸ்கள் இயக்கம் துவங்கி உள்ளது. தமிழகத்தில், இம்மாதம் முதல், மாவட்டத்திற்கு உள்ளான பஸ் போக்குவரத்துக்கும், செப்., 7 முதல், மாவட்டங்களுக்கு இடையிலான பஸ் போக்குவரத்துக்கும், தமிழக அரசு அனுமதி அளித்தது.

ஆனால், பஸ்சின் மொத்த இருக்கைகளையும்நிரப்ப, அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும்; பஸ்கள் இயங்காத நாட்களுக்கு வரி வசூலிப்பதை, ரத்து செய்ய வேண்டும் என்பது உள்ளிட்ட கோரிக்கைகளை, அரசு ஏற்றால் மட்டுமே, தனியார் பஸ்களை இயக்குவதாக, தனியார் பஸ் மற்றும் தனியார் ஆம்னி பஸ் உரிமையாளர் சங்கங்கள் அறிவித்தன.

இந்நிலையில், நேற்று முன்தினம், தனியார்பஸ் உரிமையாளர்களின் ஆலோசனை கூட்டம் நடந்தது. இதில், 'பஸ்களை இயக்காத நாட்களுக்கு, வட்டார போக்குவரத்து அலுவலகமான, ஆர்.டி.ஓ., அலுவலகங்களில், 'ஸ்டாப்பேஜ்' என்ற படிவத்தை பூர்த்தி செய்தவர்களுக்கு, இன்சூரன்ஸ் கட்டணம் செலுத்துவதில் அவகாசம் நீட்டிக்கப்பட உள்ளது. 'அதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகளை, அனைத்து பஸ் உரிமையாளர்களும் செய்ய வேண்டும். பொது மக்களுக்கு பயனளிக்கும் வகையில், பஸ்களை இயக்க வேண்டும்' என, முடிவுகள் எடுக்கப்பட்டன.

இதையடுத்து, திருச்சி மாவட்டத்தின் பல்வேறுபகுதிகளில், நேற்று குறைந்தளவு தனியார் பஸ்கள் இயக்கப்பட்டன. இன்று, தமிழகம் முழுதும், தனியார் பஸ்கள் இயக்கப்பட உள்ளதாக, அவற்றின் உரிமையாளர்கள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

சசிகலா விடுதலை ; இபிஎஸ் என்ன செய்வார்? - டிரண்டிங்கில் விவாதம்

சசிகலா விடுதலை ; இபிஎஸ் என்ன செய்வார்? - டிரண்டிங்கில் விவாதம்

Updated : செப் 15, 2020 14:09 | Added : செப் 15, 2020 13:33 

சென்னை : சொத்து குவிப்பு வழக்கில் சிறையில் உள்ள சசிகலா, அடுத்தாண்டு ஜனவரி 27ல் விடுதலையாக உள்ளார். இதனால் அதிமுக.,வினரை வைத்தும், முதல்வர் பழனிசாமியை வைத்தும் சமூகவலைதளங்களில் விவாதம் நடக்கிறது.

வருமானத்துக்கு அதிகமாக சொத்து குவித்த வழக்கில் சசிகலாவுக்கு 4 ஆண்டு சிறை தண்டனையை 2017ல் உச்சநீதிமன்றம் உறுதி செய்து தீர்ப்பு வழங்கியது. இதனையடுத்து பெங்களூரு பரப்பன அக்ரஹார சிறையில் 2017ம் ஆண்டு பிப்ரவரி முதல் சசிகலா சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார். சொத்து குவிப்பு வழக்கில் சசிகலா அபராதத்தை செலுத்தவில்லை என்பதால், அவரின் விடுதலை தாமதமாகும் எனவும் கூறப்பட்டது.

இந்நிலையில், பெங்களூருவை சேர்ந்த நரசிம்ம மூர்த்தி என்பவர் தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தின் (ஆர்.டி.ஐ) கீழ், சசிகலாவின் விடுதலை குறித்து கேட்டிருந்தார். இதற்கு பதிலளித்த சிறை நிர்வாகம், சசிகலா 2021 ஜன., 27ல் விடுதலையாவதாக தெரிவித்துள்ளது. மேலும், அபராதத்தொகை ரூ.10 கோடியை அவர் செலுத்தாதபட்சத்தில் 2022ம் ஆண்டு பிப்ரவரி 27ம் தேதி தான் விடுதலையாவார் என்றும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இதுநாள் வரை சசிகலா அப்போது விடுதலை ஆவார், இப்போது விடுதலை ஆவார் என யூகங்களாக செய்திகள் வந்தன. ஆனால் இப்போது சிறை நிர்வாகமே அதிகாரப்பூர்வமாக இப்படி ஒரு தகவலை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் சசிகலா ஆதரவாளர்கள் மகிழ்ச்சி அடைந்துள்ளனர். அதன்விளைவாக காலை முதலே #Sasikala என்ற ஹேஷ்டாக் டுவிட்டரில் டிரண்ட் ஆனது.

முதல்வர் ஜெயலலிதா மறைந்த பின் சசிகலா தான் முதல்வராக பொறுப்பேற்க இருந்தார். ஆனால் அதற்குள் சொத்து குவிப்பு வழக்கில் நீதிமன்ற உத்தரவு வரவே இவர் சிறை செல்ல வேண்டியதாகிற்று. இதனால் எடப்பாடி பழனிசாமியை முதல்வராக அறிவித்தார் சசிகலா. அதன்பின் தமிழகத்தில் நடந்த அரசியல் கூத்துகள் அனைவரும் அறிந்ததே. துணை முல்வர் பன்னீர் செல்வம் கட்சியிலிருந்து விலகி சென்றது. பின் அவர் இணைந்து, துணை முதல்வர் பதவி பெற்றார். சசிகலாவை கட்சியிலிருந்து நீக்கினர். தினகரன் தனிக்கட்சி தொடங்கினார். இப்படி அதிமுக., தலைமை பொறுப்பில் பல அதிரடி மாற்றங்கள் அரங்கேறின.

சசிகலா சிறையில் இருந்து வெளியே வந்தால் அதிமுக., கட்சியில் ஒருவித புகைச்சல் நிச்சயம் இருக்கும் என்ற கருத்தே இப்போதும் நிலவுகிறது. இப்படிப்பட்ட சூழலில் சசிகலாவின் விடுதலை பற்றிய அறிவிப்பு அதிமுக.,வினர் இடையே சலசலப்பை ஏற்படுத்தி உள்ளது. குறிப்பாக இதை வைத்து சமூகவலைதளங்களில் நிறைய மீம்ஸ்களும், டிரோல்களும் வெளியாகி வருகின்றன. முதல்வர் பழனிசாமி முன்பு, சசிகலா காலில் விழுந்த வீடியோக்களை இப்போது மீண்டும் டிரண்ட் செய்து வருகின்றனர். சசிகலா விடுதலையாகி வந்த பின் அரசியலில் என்ன மாதிரியான விளைவுகள் இருக்கும் என விவாதங்கள் தொடங்கிவிட்டன. அடுத்தாண்டு சட்டசபை தேர்தல் வேறு வருகிறது. இதனால் சமூகவலைதளங்களில் இந்த விவகாரம் பரபரப்பு விவாதமாகிவிட்டது. இதனால் #Sasikala ஹேஷ்டாக் டுவிட்டரில் டிரெண்டிங்கில் வந்தது.

இதுபற்றி அதிமுக பிரமுகர் ஒருவர் கூறும்போது, முதல்வருக்கு எதிராக உள்ளவர்களும் எதிர்க்கட்சிகளும் சேர்ந்து சசிகலா விடுதலையை விவாதம் ஆக்குகிறார்கள். சசிகலா விடுதலையால் அதிமுகவில் எந்த மாற்றமும் ஏற்படாது என்றார்.

ஆனால் எதிர்க்கட்சியை சேர்ந்த ஒருவர் கூறும்போது, சசிகலா வெளியே வந்தால் அதிமுகவில் ஒரு தரப்பினர் அவரை ஆதரிக்கக் கூடும். அதிமுகவில் எங்களது ஸ்லீப்பர் செல்கள் உள்ளனர் என்று டிடிவி தினகரன் ஒருமுறை கூறியதை மறந்துவிடக் கூடாது என்றார்.

'நீட்' தேர்வு 'கட்-ஆப்' மதிப்பெண் இந்தாண்டு எப்படி இருக்கும்?

'நீட்' தேர்வு 'கட்-ஆப்' மதிப்பெண் இந்தாண்டு எப்படி இருக்கும்?

Added : செப் 16, 2020 08:46

கோவை: நடப்பாண்டுக்கான 'நீட்' தேர்வு 'கட்-ஆப்' மதிப்பெண் குறித்து தேர்வு எழுதிய மாணவர்களிடம்எதிர்பார்ப்பு எழுந்துள்ளது.

எம்.பி.பி.எஸ்., -- பி.டி.எஸ்., உள்ளிட்ட மருத்துவ பட்ட படிப்புகளுக்கான 'நீட்' தேர்வு கடந்த, 13ம் தேதிநடந்தது. நீட் தேர்வு கட்-ஆப் மதிப்பெண்களை தேசிய தேர்வு ஆணையம் வெளியிட உள்ளது. தேர்வில் தேர்ச்சி பெற்றதாக கருதப்படும் அடிப்படை மதிப்பெண் தான் 'கட்-ஆப்' என்றுகருதப்படுகிறது. பொதுப் பிரிவு மாணவர்களுக்கு குறைந்தபட்ச தகுதி மதிப்பெண், 50 சதவீதமும், எஸ்.சி.,/எஸ்.டி.,/ஓ.பி.சி., பிரிவு மாணவர்களுக்கு, 40 சதவீதமும் உள்ளன.

வெளிநாட்டில் மருத்துவ படிப்பபை தொடர விரும்பும் மாணவர்களும் குறைந்தபட்ச தகுதி மதிப்பெண்களை பெற வேண்டும்.நீட் தேர்வு-2020 'கட்-ஆப்' மதிப்பெண் தேர்வு எழுதியவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை, மொத்தகாலியிடங்கள், வினாத்தாளின் கடின நிலை, இட ஒதுக்கீடு போன்ற பல்வேறு காரணங்களின் அடிப்படையில் தீர்மானிக் கப்படும்.

தேசிய தேர்வு ஆணைய அறிவிப்பின்படி, நீட் கட்-ஆப் சதவீதம் என்பது பிற தேர்வர்களை ஒப்பிடும்போது, ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட தேர்வரின் செயல்திறன் விகிதம் குறித்த ஒப்பீட்டை அளிக்கிறது. அதேநேரம் 'கட்-ஆப்' மதிப்பெண் என்பது அந்த ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட தேர்வர் மொத்த மதிப்பெண்களில் பெற்றஅளவை வழங்குகிறது. கட்-ஆப் சதவீதமும், மதிப்பெண்களும் இட ஒதுக்கீட்டு பிரிவு மாணவர்களுக்கு வேறுபடுகின்றன.கடந்தாண்டு பொதுப்பிரிவு மாணவர்களுக்கு, 701-134, எஸ்.சி.,/எஸ்.டி.,/ஓ.பி.சி.,பிரிவினருக்கு, 133-107 கட்-ஆப் மதிப்பெண்களாக இருந்தது.

இந்தாண்டு முதல் அரசு பள்ளிகளில் படித்த மாணவர்களுக்கு, 7.5 சத வீத இட ஒதுக்கீடு வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

Experts urge parents not to burden their children with unrealistic expectations

Experts urge parents not to burden their children with unrealistic expectations

Sukshma.R@timesgroup.com

Madurai:

With four NEET aspirants committing suicide in the last one week in the state, counsellors and experts urge parents to understand the need for psychological support towards their wards, especially as the students will be even more anxious before the declaration of the results.

“There is no single factor when it comes to a student taking the extreme step. However, unrealistic expectations always play a role, be it from the parents or the students themselves. In such cases, it means the person is not ready to accept who he/she is,” said Arthi Sujai, a psychologist from Madurai. She also added that often suicides are the result of ideation over a long time, which can be suddenly triggered.

Aravindan Ganesan, psychiatric counsellor, Athma Hospital in Trichy, said parents should not impose their expectations on their children. They should not say anything that may emotionally hurt them. He said parents should not avoid small warning signs that the children tend to show. Children may often isolate themselves and stop conversing with family members, which can be a red flag, he said.

“Parents need to be with their children during such times and avoid comparing them with their relative’s children. Teachers can guide them with alterative career opportunities. For instance, chemists are as significant as doctors in western countries,” said Aravindan.

“Career counselling helps both students and parents take a step back and figure out what they really want. Since we are able to quantify the abilities of the child and give suggestions for careers, both parents and children are more likely to accept the choices,” said Arthi, who is also a career counsellor.

Mental health experts said that the Covid-19 pandemic can also add to the stress for students and parents this year. “The Covid-19 pandemic definitely has had an impact on students preparing for NEET. They could only prepare by online means, which is more stressful than in a classroom environment,” said Dr N Suresh Kumar, clinical psychologist and secretary, Tamil Nadu Association of Clinical Psychologists (TNACP), which has a dedicated helpline for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Six former High Court judges come to actor Suriya’s defence

Six former High Court judges come to actor Suriya’s defence

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.09.2020

A day after Justice S M Subramaniam of the Madras high court sought to initiate contempt of court action against actor Suriya for his alleged comment on the Supreme Court’s order allowing NEET exams during the Covid-19 pandemic, six former judges of the court have jumped to the actor’s defence.

Retired Madras high court judges Justice K Chandru, Justice K N Basha, Justice T Sudanthiram, Justice D Hariparanthaman, Justice K Kannan and Justice G M Akbar Ali have addressed a communication to the Chief Justice A P Sahi to leave the issue as it is and not to initiate any action against the actor.

“In today’s newspaper, we saw a news item informing that Justice Subramaniam has written a letter to you drawing your attention to a press statement of actor Suriya protesting against the conduct of NEET.”

“We are afraid that considering such a statement as contempt of court would be slightly off the mark and it did not require any action as requested by the judge. Where four students have committed suicide unable to meet the NEET requirement and in a surcharged atmosphere, an artistic person’s overreaction should not be taken seriously and out of context,” they said.

“If the letter is read in its totality and considering the good work done by him through his charitable trust which had helped hundreds of poor students to complete their higher education and get placements, we should show generosity and magnanimity in leaving the matter without any cognizance,” they added.

Noting that being former judges, they are concerned about the prestige and honour of the court, the six judges said, “We earnestly make this appeal not to take cognizance of the complaint and leave the matter as it is. It is our duty to make this appeal to your good selves so that the court is rid of any unnecessary controversies.”

The bar was also divided on the issue. While the Tamil Nadu advocates association (TNAA) condemned the statement made by the actor, 25 advocates led by veteran lawyer NGR Prasad said that every criticism of judiciary cannot be seen as contemptuous.

Political parties, media must stop glorifying NEET suicides: Court

Political parties, media must stop glorifying NEET suicides: Court

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 15.09.2020

Two days after three TN students committed suicide fearing National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the national admission exam for undergraduate medical courses, the Madras high court on Monday observed that media and political parties in the state must stop glorifying NEET suicides.

“If they stop such ‘nonsense’ and stop giving solatium to victims’ families such a trend would decrease,” the court said.

A division bench headed by Justice N Kirubakaran made the observation when advocate A P Suryaprakasam made an urgent mention before the court demanding the court to initiate suo motu contempt proceeding against the Tamil Nadu government for failing to prevent such suicides.

“In 2018, the court directed the state government to take appropriate steps to prevent NEET-related suicides. But the state has failed to implement the order in letter and spirit which led to four more suicides this year,” Suryaprakasam said.

Six ex-judges of HC to Suriya’s defence

A day after Justice S M Subramaniam, a sitting judge of the Madras HC, sent a letter to Chief Justice AP Sahi seeking contempt of court proceedings against actor Suriya for his remark against the Supreme Court order permitting NEET exams during the pandemic, six former judges led by Justice K Chandru made an appeal to the CJ to not initiate any action against the actor. “We are afraid that considering such a statement as contempt of court would be slightly off the mark... an artistic person’s overreaction should not be taken seriously and out of context,” they said. P 5

Not publicising suicides may help reduce them: HC

Responding to the plea, Justice Kirubakaran said the court could only blame media and political parties for glorifying such suicides. “They line up before the victim’s family to give solatium. This suggests that whoever commits such suicide would get money,” he said. “If this is stopped by the media and political parties and no publicity is given for such incidents, it might reduce,” the judge added.

The judge then said the bench could not take suo motu contempt as the 2018 order was passed in a single sitting. Justice Kirubakaran suggested the advocate file a contempt petition if needed.

HC refuses to stop work on Ooty medical college

HC refuses to stop work on Ooty medical college

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  15.09.2020

The Madras high court on Monday refused to stay construction of a medical college hospital in Ooty over alleged environmental violations. The court, however, restrained the state from felling trees in the 300-acre land allotted for the hospital till further order.

A division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice R Hemalatha also directed the state to ascertain whether the existing buildings of Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Company Limited in the said land can be used for hostel and other purposes instead of constructing new buildings.

The court passed the interim order on a PIL moved by advocate V Ramesh seeking direction to the state to utilise the land and buildings leased and owned by Hindustan Photo Films for establishing the government medical college hospital. Refusing to pass any positive order, the bench said the entire construction cannot be stalled as a hospital would require special building.

Representing the state, advocate-general Vijay Narayan submitted that the government medical college hospital was a long pending demand of Ooty residents and cannot be stalled. “Population is high in Ooty unlike Kodaikanal. Residents of the area have to travel to Coimbatore for medical emergencies,” he said.

To this, Ramesh said he is totally not against construction of a hospital for the area. “The land allotted for the project has been earmarked as grass land classification, which is the heart beat of Nilgiris biosphere. Establishing a college and hospital in the area would result in conversion of grass land to concrete jungle,” he added.

Kolkata beats odds, clocks 85% in NEET

Kolkata beats odds, clocks 85% in NEET

Anxiety At Exam Venues As Tense Students Wait For Entry

Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey & Tamaghna Banerjee TNN

Kolkata:14.09.2020

In a sharp contrast to JEE (Main), over 85% candidates appeared for their NEET (UG) 2020 examinations in Kolkata on Sunday. A little over 47% candidates had taken their JEE (Main) examinations. The high attendance, however, was overshadowed by anxiety, first to reach the exam centres on time and then to be admitted inside the halls.

Asked to report three hours before the start of exam and allowed entry over multiple time slots, several students, who were standing in queue in the heat, complained of feeling sick. Many even reported high temperatures when screened under a thermal gun at the time of entry. While at some centres guards allowed minor sways in the recorded temperature, at Haryana Vidyamandir in Salt Lake, where 400-plus examinees were writing the exam, none with temperature above 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit were allowed entry. The students were asked to stand under a shade — under a tree or some other canopy for sometime — and were checked again. They were allowed only after the temperature receded below 98.4.

“Just as I was about to enter the venue, the guard asked me to stand on a side saying I had high temperature. I was made to stand under a shade for 10 minutes following which I was checked again but the temperature was still high. After the third attempt, the temperature finally receded and they allowed me to enter,” said Amrita Chakraborty, an examinee from Kanchrapara.

At Adamas University, five candidates came with court orders to allow them to sit in separate rooms for the exam and not in the exam hall with other candidates. “We honoured the court order and made separate arrangements for them,” said Ujjwal Choudhury, pro vice chancellor. Out of the 380-odd candidates, 350 wrote the test at this centre.

Though isolation units for those with temperatures higher than 99.4 degrees were kept, these did not have to be used till last reports came in. At some bigger centres like DPS Ruby Park, 717 candidates wrote the test out of 840. At Birla High School for Boys, 350 wrote the exam out of 420.

NTA teams and observers were present at each centre. An underlayer Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet was given so that the second copy can be kept with NTA. The original copy will go for marking. Right from 11am, when the candidates started walking in, till the last candidate left the hall, the entire duration was videographed and submitted to NTA.

The lifting of the Saturday lockdown and efforts by transport department, along with Metro services, helped candidates reach centers on time. On their way back, though, students and parents complained of app-cab surge price. Demand peaked at the end of exam, causing a demand-supply gap, said Indranil Banerjee, secretary of Online Cab Operators’ Guild.

Tales of examinees’ courage behind NEET ‘success’ story

Tales of examinees’ courage behind NEET ‘success’ story

Tamaghna Banerjee & Mayukh Sengupta

14.09.2020

A girl from Murshidabad spent the better part of Saturday night on a Salt Lake road after travelling 200km from home; a boy from Malda came to Kolkata three days early to beat lockdown; a boy from Behrampore fell unconscious at the centre after an arduous journey, and wrote the exam from a wheelchair; a girl from Nepal stayed 14 days in quarantine at a relative’s home before appearing for the exam in Salt Lake.

They could still take the exam; there were a few who could not, even after trying their best.

As lakhs of aspiring doctors took NEET on Sunday, out poured tales of grit and courage from examinees, who crossed boundaries of district, state and even country — not to mention walls of fear and uncertainty — all in order to take this one exam.

Beldanga resident Noor Jahan Khatun and her father, a bidi worker, had booked a guest house in Salt Lake, hoping to check in on Saturday and reach the exam venue on time. But when they reached Salt Lake on Saturday evening, they were told their booking was not confirmed and asked to leave. Not knowing much of Salt Lake, father and daughter sat on the footpath near tank No.7, preparing to spend the night on the road as the latter started revising under the street lights.

It was sheer luck that a good Samaritan spotted them some hours later, and helped them check into another guest house. “Had it not been for that person, I don’t know whether I would have been mentally fit to take the exam,” said the girl.

With Saturday’s lockdown revoked only on Thursday, many examinees and their parents had already started from their homes in different districts and states on Wednesday to reach the city on Thursday, staying at hotels and guest houses around the exam venues.

85-90% attendance in NEET-UG: NTA

Attendance for the NEETUG on Sunday was between 85% and 90%, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced, based on random sampling. Those who missed the exams after testing positive for Covid will get another chance to take the test. P 9

Students pay ₹40k to book bus from Malda to city

Sohail Rana, who was appearing for the exam at Apeejay School, Park Street, said: “It was only after we reached the city on Thursday that we came to know that Saturday’s lockdown was revoked. Had we known earlier, we could have saved the money spent on hotel stay. We would have started on Saturday itself.”

Several from faraway districts said they had to face a harrowing time arranging for transport. A group of examinees who were appearing from a venue in Howrah, said they had to shell out Rs 40,000 to book a bus from Malda to reach the city. “There were around 20 of us who hired the bus. We started early on Saturday and reached on Saturday night. We had to pay Rs 40,000,” said an examinee. Another examinee from Malda, Sneha Das, said she had to pay Rs 13,000 to hire a car to her centre on Park Street.

Behrampore’s Bikram Nandi fell sick during the journey and collapsed upon reaching his Kasba venue. But he managed to write the exam from a wheelchair after he was medically cleared. “He didn’t want to miss the exam after making the effort to reach,” said his father Ranjit Nandi, who works at a private firm.

Queuing up outside the Haryana Vidyamandir exam venue was also Avantika Malik from Nepal, who came out of her 14-day home quarantine only on Friday. “We had started from Kathmandu on August 28 morning in a car with Covid-negative certificates and took a train from New Jalpaiguri the same night to reach Kolkata on August 29. Since then we were in home quarantine at a relative’s house on Zakaria Street,” said Malik, who was accompanied by her father.

But, for some students like Darbhanga resident Santosh Kr Yadav, the 600km distance proved too much to cover as he missed the exam by a mere 15 minutes. Yadav had boarded a bus from his hometown at 8am but was stuck between Muzaffarpur and Patna for close to 10 hours because of a traffic disruption, and could only reach Sealdah at1pm.

(With inputs from Amit Moulick)

Smooth & safe NEET, papers easy: Med aspirants; cut-offs likely to rise

Smooth & safe NEET, papers easy: Med aspirants; cut-offs likely to rise

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:14.09.2020

A relatively easy question paper, coupled with the smooth conduct of exams by the National Testing Agency (NTA), brought relief to most medical aspirants taking the NEET on Sunday.

Students who commuted by local trains to their exam centres did not face any hurdles, said Sudha Shenoy, a parent representative. They had to show their admit cards before entering stations and being a Sunday, they weren’t crowded.

Teachers are predicting a rise in cut-offs—by 10-15 marks —across institutes. From Maharashtra, close to 2.3 lakh aspirants had registered for the test this year. Most centres followed social distancing norms and the exam was well managed, but some places did see parents overcrowding outside the gates.

Tanvi Kulkarni, a student, said the paper was entirely from the NCERT domain and easy compared to the previous years. Anurag Tiwari, national academic director at a coaching institute, said that one question in physical chemistry possibly had two solutions, and it has to be seen which answer will be accepted by the NTA. Most questions were straightforward and easy to comprehend, he added. A few aspirants found the chemistry and biology section to be of moderately difficult level.

Keyur Cholera, from a coaching institute, said the cutoffs for open category students in Mumbai colleges are likely to go above 600—the paper carries 720 marks. While last year, too, the cut-offs were around 600, there were 26% seats in the open category. This year, with the interim stay on Maratha quota, 38% seats are unreserved.

At exam centres, thermal scanners, sanitisers and staff in PPE suits welcomed NEET aspirants. Most centres were well managed and the NTA had made proper arrangements, with no major negative reports, said Ruiee Kapoor, a parent representative. The reporting time was between 11am and 1.30pm for the exam that began at 2pm.

At SIWS College in Wadala, students got question papers 20-30 minutes late in two different blocks. “We were unable to open the digital lock on the trunk...NTA asked us to break it open. We lost a few minutes but students were given extra time,” said vice-principal Vaibhav Banjan. Around 1,200 aspirants took the NEET from this centre.

Nationally, over 15 lakh students had registered for the test. Despite the pandemic, exam attendance was 85-90% based on random sampling, said an official. Last year, it was 92.9%.

Candidates get screened outside a NEET exam centre on Sunday

Univs to hold online final-yr exams: Min

Higher and technical education minister Uday Samant, in a live interaction with students on social media, said state universities have taken a decision to conduct final-year exams in an online mode, in the multiple-choice questions format, after consulting their academic bodies. He said the state adhered by the SC directive and has decided on the exam format based on UGC regulations. TNN

NEET easy, admission cut-off may be up 20 marks

NEET easy, admission cut-off may be up 20 marks

Physics Paper Easier Compared To Previous Years, Say Students; State Board Candidates Find Biology ‘Moderately Difficult’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

14.09.2020

The cut-off for MBBS admissions in the state this year could go up by at least 20 marks, forecast experts, with most students finding the National Eligibilitycum-Entrance Test (NEET) easy, particularly the physics section.

On Sunday, around 80% of the 1,17,502 students registered turned out in Tamil Nadu. “The attendance was more or less like last year. The exam was incident free,” National Testing Agency officials said. Entry and exit were planned well, with social distancing maintained in most places, while there was crowding at a few places.

Chennai registered 80% attendance, while it was 82% in Trichy, 81% in Madurai and 79% in Coimbatore.

Each of the 180 questions — physics 45, chemistry 45 and biology 90 — were for 4 marks, with 1 mark deducted for negative answer.

While Sanjay Lokesh found the physics questions slightly tough compared to the others, Irene said all three sections were easy. “I was expecting tough physics questions. But, I was able to answer all questions,” she said.

While terming it easy, Vinayak V said wearing masks and gloves were not much of a problem as he had appeared for JEE (Main) exam.

CBSE students found all three sections easy, but state board students found biology questions moderate.

Manthra D, a state board student, said biology was a little tough. “Overall, the paper was moderate. It was not too difficult or too easy,” she said.

R Deepalakshmi, a government school student, said the questions in biology were a bit twisted. “Though I spent five hours inside the hall, the time went really fast.”

B Pavan Kumar, deputy director, FIITJEE (Chennai) said the cut-off could go up by 40 marks to 50 marks for general category. “The paper was easy compared to last year. Students and coaching institutes got more time to prepare,” he said.

Students found chemistry and biology easy compared to last year, he added.

Himanshu Sachdeva, senior physics teacher at Allen Career Institute, said a lot of formula-based and expected questions in physics made it easy for students. “Overall, the paper was easy to moderate. The cut-off will be slightly higher compared to previous year,” he said, adding that 4-5 questions were tricky in each subject.

Anurag Tiwari, national academic director (medical), Aakash Institute, said usually, physics questions were tough. “This year, the questions in the paper were not calculative and lengthy. The questions were straightforward,” he said. Chemistry and biology also had similarly worded questions. “Overall, the paper was easy.

Looking into the question paper and reactions, students will score high marks compared to last year. In every state, the cut-off will increase by at least 15-20 marks,” he added.

SMOOTH SAILING: Postponed by the pandemic, NEET was held across centres in the state. With stringent anti-Covid measures in place, around 80% candidates turned up to write the exam in Chennai

5 NEET spl trains run with just 21 passengers

5 NEET spl trains run with just 21 passengers

Ishita Mishra@timesgroup.com

14.09.2020

Officials at Dehradun railway station were taken aback on Sunday afternoon when an ‘exam special’ train, meant for NEET aspirants, arrived completely empty at the station from Moradabad. A team of doctors, government officials and other railway staffers deputed at the platform to check the students on arrival went back empty-handed.

Sitaram Sonkar, station superintendent at Dehradun railway station, told TOI that “since there were over 18 centres for NEET in Dehradun and 12 in nearby Roorkee, the railways had specially organised this train so that students could commute easily. “It came as a surprise to us that no one took the train,” he added. Interestingly, attendance at the exam centres in Dehradun and Roorkee was high and a large number of students could be seen queuing up to appear for the exam. A railways official said that “perhaps due to the Covid threat, students preferred to make their own arrangements to reach the exam centres rather than opting for the special trains.”

The fate of several other ‘exam specials’ operated by the Moradabad, Prayagraj and Agra divisions was no better. According to railways sources, the special NEET train that ran from Bareilly to Ghaziabad had just one passenger while the one from Bareilly to Lucknow had five. In all, the five special trains that the Moradabad railway division organised for NEET exam aspirants for travel to and from Dehradun, Roorkee, Lucknow and Moradabad got a total of 21 passengers. And the railways, which spent lakhs on operating these trains, made a princely sum of ₹1,040. Anuj Singh, assistant commercial manager (ACM), Moradabad division, said, “The Bareilly to Ghaziabad train got one passenger and earned Rs 65 while the Bareilly to Lucknow exam special got five passengers and had earnings of ₹230. Train no. 04305 — Bulandshahr to Bareilly — got three passengers and we have earned Rs145 from it. Maximum 12 passengers boarded the exam special from Haridwar to Bareilly, providing earnings of ₹600.”

Keshav Tripathi, PRO, Prayagraj division, said that the response of NEET aspirants to the exam special trains operated by their division was also “quite dull.” “The special train that ran from Aligarh to Delhi ---which was operated by our division -- was boarded by five people only, incurring a total income of around ₹250 for the Railways,” he said. (With inputs from Ramendra Singh in Bhopal)

FINAL PREPARATION: Candidates appearing for NEET travel in a metro train in Kolkata on Sunday

More than 85% candidates appeared for NEET-UG: NTA

More than 85% candidates appeared for NEET-UG: NTA

Covid +Ve Students To Get Another Chance To Take Exam

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 14.09.2020

Based on random sampling, the National Testing Agency said that the attendance for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) on Sunday was between 85% and 90%.

Those candidates who missed the exams after being tested positive for Covid-19 will get another opportunity to sit for the test, the date for which will be announced later. From this year the admissions to MBBS course in the 13 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry will also be made through NEET following the amendment in National Medical Commission Act, 2019, passed by Parliament last year.

In many places NTA also arranged buses and private vehicles to transfer candidates who arrived at the centres assigned to them earlier instead of the changed one.

A total of 15.97 lakh candidates registered for the test this year as against 15.13 lakh in 2019. The attendance in 2019 was 92.9%. Unlike JEE (Main), NEET-UG is a pen-paper exam and NTA officials said that it will be able to compile the data on Monday after the centres send feedback after the dispatch of the OMR sheets.

“Based on random sampling the attendance is found to be between 85% and 90%, which is marginally lower than that of last year. The tests have been completed successfully,” said a senior official at the NTA headquarters in Noida.

 The test was offered in 11 languages – English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu this year. Based on the initial report more than 77% aspirants took the test in English, around 12% in Hindi and 11% in other languages. At a centre in Mumbai the distribution of the question paper got delayed by half-an-hour as the access card to open the digital lock failed. Finally, the trunk had to be opened manually and candidates were given extra time. Following the ministry of health and family welfare’s standard operating procedures, NTA, to avoid crowding had to add and change centres of some candidates on September 10 and 11. Though the candidates were informed via phone calls and emails, they landed up in their earlier assigned centres in the morning. For instance, in Nagpur, NTA arranged buses and vehicles to transfer the candidates to their correct centres before the exams started at 2pm. Also as per MoHFW’s SOP, Covid-19 positive candidates were not allowed to take the exam on Sunday and they will be allowed to appear at a later date. According to Vineet Joshi, director general, NTA, “Candidates who missed the test or were denied entry as they are Covid-19 positive will be allowed to take the test later. They need to follow the procedure like email to NTA attaching their medical test certificate, etc. NTA will take stock and announce the date later.”

Candidates found the conduct of the exam safe. While the agency had allotted just 12 candidates per room, down from 24 in 2019, many candidates said their room had an even lesser number of candidates.

Full report on www.toi.in

A student wearing mask and gloves makes last-minute preparations for the NEET in Kerala on Sunday

HC upholds punishment of cop for participating in strike

HC upholds punishment of cop for participating in strike

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:14.09.2020

Observing that there was no infirmity in the punishment order passed by the authorities, Madras high court dismissed the plea moved by a policeman challenging his punishment for participating in an agitation.

The court was hearing the petition by V Marimuthu, a police constable attached to Madurai city police, challenging the punishment order issued to him when he was working with Coimbatore city police. The charge against him was that he along with 27 other policemen assembled and raised sloganson theofficecampusof the Coimbatore city police commissioner seeking to relieve those transferred. Justice R M T Teekaa Raman observed that they had also participated in a procession and a few of them had given interviews to the media.

Since the charges were proven after an inquiry, the disciplinary authority had issued punishment of postponement of increment for three years with cumulative effect to the petitioner in 2015. When he filed an appeal, the appellate authority had reduced the postponement of increment to two years without cumulative effect.

“In administrative law, transfer order and relieving order are two different things. Depending upon the administrative exigency the relieving order will come into force on a later date and the same is not per se arbitrary,” observed the judge. According to Rule 25 of Tamil Nadu Police Subordinate Police Officers Conduct Rules, noofficer shallengagehimself in strike on incitements there to on in ‘similar activities’. The expression ‘similar activities’ shall be deemed to include absence from work without permission or neglect of duties on any other act done or omitted to be done with the object of compelling something tobedoneby superior officers or the government and shall include any demonstrative fast usually called hunger strikes for similar purpose.

Patronage increases for long-haul SETC services

Patronage increases for long-haul SETC services

Deepak.Karthik@timesgroup.com

Trichy: 14.09.2020

A week after the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) resumed long-distance bus services suspended during the lockdown, the patronage has surged across cities, leading to an increase in services, addition of special buses and resumption of trips to more destinations. While weekdays continue to handle normal footfall, special bus services are being operated to ensure social distancing and clear the rushof thoseheading to Chennai and Bengaluru from the districts.

In Chennai, patronage for SETC has been slowly increasing.Thecorporation hasbeen operating 400 buses of which 300 were to various tier-two cities,but nowthe number is500. There demand has been more to operate to the southern districts. There has been a corresponding marginalincreasein revenue too, which officials say,helpedthecorporation pay for its fuel cost.

Before Covid -19, the corporation used to operate 1,100 buses and net a revenue of around Rs1.75 crore, but now only half of its fleet are operating and with lesser number of passengers, said the official. As of now, SETC is confining its operation to within the state. Karnataka had requested it to resumeservices,butthe authorities were awaiting clearance from the government in this regard, the official said.

In Trichy,when services resumed on September 7 after five months, it operated only 13-15 buses connecting Chennai. The patronage subsequently increased by up to 40% and during the weekend, heavy demandsawservicesdoubleto 30 a week. This was because a large number of families began travelling to visit relatives and attend family events in Chennai and vice-versa. Professionals and those heading to their workplaces kept the demand alive amid the Covid-19 spread. “On Sunday, we operated five special buses to Chennai, but the demand is not back to the pre-Covid-19 times,” a manager with SETC Trichy said. Ultra-deluxe (pushback seater) bus services were also operated to Hosur and Nagercoil from Trichy according to the demand. Limited train services to Chennai and absence of private omnibus operators were cited as a key reasons for the surge in demand.

In Madurai too, the demand for SETC service has increased in a week. From operating 30 buses on day one, SETC Madurai now operates 38. Officials said they have been operating buses on Rameswaram-Madurai-Salem and Rameswaram-Madurai-Chennai routes for the past two days.

(With inputs from P Oppili, V Devanathan and A Subburaj)

DEMAND UP