Appoint legal advisors for edu dept: HC

Appoint legal advisors for edu dept: HC

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:

The Madras high court has suggested the state government to consider appointing legal advisors for the school education department in all districts, to obtain proper legal advice before the authorities pass any orders.

A division bench of justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi observed that it is an admitted fact that in cases filed before the principal seat as well as the Madurai bench, majority of them are related to the education department. Because of lack of proper legal advice, many times, wrong orders are being passed due to which the interest of the department is affected. Therefore, it is appropriate to have a legal advisor.

The judges also suo motu impleaded the secretary of the school education department as a respondent and directed to take a decision in this regard and file a report before the court on October  28.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the school education department to condone the delay of 543 days in filing a writ appeal with regard to surplus teachers challenging a single judge’s order, which was passed in 2018.

Illegal claimants of Kisan scheme may lose all aid

Kisan Gate

Illegal claimants of Kisan scheme may lose all aid

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Cuddalore:

Agriculture department officials in Vridhachalam block in Cuddalore district have told ineligible beneficiaries of the PM Kisan scheme to return the financial assistance they had received before October 22, failing which they would be removed from the list of beneficiaries under all other state and central government schemes.

A CBCID probe had revealed that more than 61,000 ineligible beneficiaries have received financial assistance to the tune of ₹13 crore under the centrally sponsored scheme in Cuddalore district alone. The agriculture department, with the help of the revenue department and CBCID sleuths, has so far recovered ₹11.5 crore and is taking efforts to recover the balance ₹1.5 crore from the remaining 6,000 ineligible beneficiaries.

A senior agriculture department official said the diktat issued by authorities in Cuddalore district was specific to Vridhachalam block and it was not a common directive for the entire state.

“The agriculture department officers in Vridhachalam block wanted to expedite the recovery of money swindled by ineligible beneficiaries. Vridhachalam block accounted for one of the highest instances of PM Kisan scheme scam,” said the official.

Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme implemented in Tamil Nadu from January 2019. Underthe scheme, income support of ₹6,000 a year is provided in three equal instalments to all small and marginal farmer families.

Don’t treat Covid based on CT scan alone: Govt to docs

Don’t treat Covid based on CT scan alone: Govt to docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:22.10.2020

The state health department has asked doctors not to treat patients for Covid-19 based on CT scan reports alone.

Patients are being rushed to government hospitals with serious complications including septic shock because diagnosis and treatment is delayed, said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.

Several patients with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, cold and fatigue are treated for Covid-19 without undergoing RT-PCR test based on results of CT scan. Many patients refuse tests because they don’t want to be isolated as they think they could be ostracised by their neighbours. “Chances of missing diagnoses are higher when people are not tested,” he said.

Senior doctors say when tests and treatment delayed, risk of complications and death increase.

“Most deaths at our hospitals happened because tests were delayed. Many people, particularly the elderly, delayed tests as they were scared of being isolated,” said Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital dean Dr Therani Rajan. Complications and death in Covid-19 patients increase with age and among patients with comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. “We have saved many patients with cancer, kidney and heart diseases as they came in early. We don’t treat patients based on just a scan report. Physical examination, patient history and lab reports all play a key role,” he said.

National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Dr Prabhdeep Kaur said CT scan exposes patients to radiation. “It is required in patients who need it. But most patients don’t know that needless exposure can increase risk of cancer,” she said.

Many patients refuse RT-PCR test because they don’t want to be isolated as they think they could be ostracised by their neighbours

Admission to government BEd colleges in TN deferred

Admission to government BEd colleges in TN deferred

Chennai: 22.10.2020 

Citing shortage of faculty members in all seven government BEd colleges in Tamil Nadu, the southern region committee of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has deferred admissions to all colleges for 2020-21.

“The committee deliberated upon the issue of the existing continuation of recognition to all government colleges in Tamil Nadu. It is observed that the government institutions are running for the past two years without sufficient faculty members. In order to make a quality in teacher education human resource plays a vital role,” the committee said in its meeting minutes.

It said the committee has given ample time to the authorities with a requt to provide all the required number of faculty members. TNN

Only 8 TN govt, aided school students may get med seats

DID WELL IN NEET

Only 8 TN govt, aided school students may get med seats

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:22.10.2020

Going by the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) cut-off in 2019-20, only eight students from government and government-aided schools in Tamil Nadu are in with a chance for MBBS admissions this year. This is despite 89 students scoring above 300 marks. In 2019-20, 32 students from government and government-aided schools got above 300 and two students got MBBS seats.

This year, four students from government-aided schools who trained in the state-sponsored coaching programme scored above 500 marks. Two BC category students, with 497 and 495 marks, and two differently-abled candidates are likely to get MBB seats. The remaining 82 students, including the topper among government school students with 423 marks, do not seem to have a chance.

In 2019, cut-off in government medical colleges went up by nearly 100 marks in most categories due to the surge in top scorers in NEET after the first phase of counselling. Last year, the cut-off for OC category was 520 marks and for BC it was 470 marks. The cut-off for BCM and MBC was

458 marks and SC category it was 360 marks. For SCA it was 301 and ST 267 marks.

“The state government has revamped the syllabus. But, the teachers were not trained and they may need 3-4 years. We have to give government school students a separate quota for at least three or four years,” said Dr Prasad Mane, secretary, Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association.

“Giving a separate quota to govt school students also will strengthen the primary healthcare centres in rural areas,” he added.

“In 2017, a student with 470 or 480 marks got all India rank 2000. In 2020, students with the same mark get all India rank 20,000. That's why fewer students are getting MBBS seats despite the better performance,” Mane said.

Dr G R Ravindranath, general secretary of Doctors’ Association for Social Equality, said the government needs to increase the standard of its NEET coaching. “Despite the pandemic and only online coaching, students performed better than last year. Of 6,692 students 1615 have qualified. If the state government implements the 7.5% quota this year, around 370 students from government schools would get MBBS seats. All political parties should meet and urge the governor to implement this 7.5% reservation," he said.

Is Medical University Liable For Compensation On Unrecognised MBBS Degree: Supreme Court To Decide

Is Medical University Liable For Compensation On Unrecognised MBBS Degree: Supreme Court To Decide

By Garima

Published On 23 Oct 2020 12:41 PM 

New Delhi: A matter which can significantly change the outset of medical education in the country has reached the doors of the Supreme Court of India and soon we will have the decision of the top court on whether an educational institution or university can be sued under the consumer protection law for deficiency in services. Saying there have been "divergent views" of the top court on the issue, the SC has decided to examine the matter itself. 

A bench of honourable Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee have admitted an appeal filed by concerned 9 medical students against Vinayaka Mission University at Salem in Tamil Nadu, alleging deficiency in services. The case pertains to the 9 students of a medical course of the university who had sought a compensation of ₹ 1.4 crore each alleging deficiency in service and on account of "loss of social standing, academic years, career opportunities, mental and physical agony."

They alleged the university induced them to take admission in the course on a false assurance that it had all the requisite approvals from the authorities. The students were admitted in the offshore programme in 2005-2006 comprising of two-year study in Thailand and two-and-a half-year study in the university here, the plea said. The students were assured that they would be getting their MBBS final degree conferred by the university and recognized by the Indian Government and Medical Council of India.

However, after two years of study in Thailand, the students were informed that they should continue their course at Thailand and would be conferred a Foreign Medical Degree and should subsequently appear for screening test in India, the plea alleged. The students said they suffered loss of career opportunities as the National Board of Examination said that their qualification was "not a primary medical qualification since the Degree is not recognized by the Medical Council of India or the Council of Thailand.

In their petition, the medicos cited other judgments in which it has been held that educational institutions would come within the purview of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The university had objected to the maintainability of this plea contending that petitioners are not consumers and education is not a commodity, adds IANS The NCDRC, in its judgement of January 20, had said, "We are of the considered opinion that the institutions rendering education including vocational courses and activities undertaken during the process of pre-admission as well as post-admission and also imparting excursion tours, picnics, extra co-curricular activities, swimming, sport, etc. except Coaching Institutions, will, therefore, not be covered under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986." 

The university has relied upon apex court judgments in the Maharshi Dayanand University and in the PT Koshy cases to say that these verdicts have held that the education is not a commodity and educational institutions are not providing any kind of service. Hence, in matter of admission and fees, there cannot be a kind of service and therefore, there cannot be a question of deficiency of service to be adjudicated upon in consumer forum or commissions. Aggrieved by this, the students filed an appeal in the apex court. Hearing the plea, the top court while admitting the appeal, noted that there are divergent views of the Supreme Court on this issue. "Since there are divergent views of this Court bearing on the subject as to whether an educational institution or University would be subject to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the appeal would require admission. Admit," the top court said in its order of October 15. It asked lawyer Soumyajit, appearing on behalf of caveator university, to file the response within six weeks to the appeal filed against a decision of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), reports PTI.

https://medicaldialogues.in/news/education/is-medical-university-liable-for-compensation-on-unrecognised-mbbs-degree-supreme-court-to-decide-70751#.X5OHXGYjYwQ.whatsapp

Irula youth wins 2-year battle for higher education

Irula youth wins 2-year battle for higher education

Faced difficulties as he got both SC and ST certificates; SC certificate cancelled recently

Published: 24th October 2020 04:54 AM |

By Nirupa Sampath

Express News Service

CUDDALORE: While several Irula youngsters have been raising complaints about denial of community certificates, 21-year-old C Jayaraj has shown that with a lot of grit and patience, nothing is impossible. After struggling for almost two years, he has managed to secure an ST certificate, which will be crucial for him to pursue Masters degree. 

Jayaraj is the son of a daily-wage labourer, hailing from a Irula village called Samy Nagar in the outskirts of Cuddalore. He is the only person in his village to have completed graduation, and aspires to study further. However, a major hurdle came in the way — he holds both an SC and an ST certificate. 

Jayaraj obtained the SC certificate while applying to the Periyar Arts College in 2016. Much later, in December 2018, the Cuddalore sub-collector conducted investigations, after which it was decided that Jayaraj was eligible for an ST certificate. While the ST certificate was granted by the officials, they did not bother to cancel his SC certificate.

His ordeal began then. He visited multiple government offices, but in vain. “They kept sending me back, asking me to return on another day. Some officials said they had no idea how to sort out my issue,” says Jayaraj. In February 2019, he approached his college to get his community details changed in the transfer certificate (TC), but, it was not granted. 

On October 12, the RDO’s office came to his rescue and got his SC certificate cancelled. Soon after, he got his TC, denoting his community as ST. “Finally, there is some hope. I hope to clear the UPSC exams some day,” he said.

Chennai: 17-year-old boy steals Rs 7.5 lakh from doctor for PUBG

Chennai: 17-year-old boy steals Rs 7.5 lakh from doctor for PUBG

According to the police, the 76-year-old victim is from Anna Nagar. Since his children are out of the State, the man stays alone.

Published: 23rd October 2020 04:40 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A 17-year-old boy from Chennai allegedly stole Rs 7.5 lakh from a doctor using his bank details and OTPs to buy new mobile phones and buy premium packs in online games like PuBG and Freefire. The complaint has been withdrawn and police let the boy go after a warning.

According to the police, the 76-year-old victim is from Anna Nagar. Since his children are out of the State, the man stays alone. A maid and her son lives in the first floor of the house, said the police. “The boy who studied in a private school helped him to go out and was always at hand to provide guidance with using gadgets,” said the police officer.

The boy had allegedly collected details of the man’s credit card while helping with online transactions. 

“The boy, a PuBG addict, used the card to purchase premium packs in the game and used the same to book for championship games. In order to play the game without any hassles, he purchased mobile worth Rs 30,000 and used it only for the game,” said a police officer.

He also purchased mobile phones for his friends. The incident came to light recently when the doctor checked his bank statement and found at least Rs 7.5 lakh was gone over the past one year. He approached the Anna Nagar Cyber Cell.

The boy confessed when the police found messages of PuBG purchases in his mobile. However, the doctor withdrew the complaint saying that he did not want to spoil the life of the boy. The police seized the mobile phones.

KUHS Seeks Permission From Centre, State To Reopen Medical Colleges

KUHS Seeks Permission From Centre, State To Reopen Medical Colleges

By Sanchari Chattopadhyay

Published On 22 Oct 2020 9:45 AM | Updated On 22 Oct 2020 5:58 PM 

Kerala: The Kerala University of Health Sciences has sought permission from the central and state government to reopen the medical colleges which remained closed for a long time due to the covid-19 pandemic. The medical institutions of many states remained closed after the pandemic hit the country during March. The Vice-Chancellor of KUHS Dr. Mohanan Kunnummal informed TOI that the association of State health University VCs arranged a webinar to discuss the current situation of Medical education where it was found that institution heads of most of the states are kin to reopen their institutions. 

There are more than 300 institutions including medical, dental colleges and homeopathy institutions, College of nursing, and pharmacy colleges under KUHS across the state which remained closed during the long period of a pandemic. Hence authorities are seeking permission for starting the classes again. 

According to TOI report, Haryana is most likely to open their institutions on November 1 while Maharashtra colleges may resume their classes from November 16th. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have reportedly scheduled reopening on December 1. Dr. Kunnummal stated that most of the VCs agreed that the pandemic might remain for some more time. However, they have considered that despite the constant risk of exposure, industrial and agricultural sectors have started their activities hence they are all of the views that the health sector which is no less essential should start operating as well. 

Due to the increasing number of COVID victims, there has been a lot of pressure on the healthcare sectors and there is often a scarcity of manpower, hence educational institutions need to reopen to meet the demand of the health care services. He also added that the meeting of the governing council which was held two days ago also passed a resolution regarding the same. He said that KUHS has decided to start a placement guidance centre and to begin 28 new courses so that it can contribute in developing manpower which is essential to address the new issues and challenges aroused in the healthcare sector due to the pandemic

https://medicaldialogues.in/state-news/kerala/kerala-cm-refutes-medical-negligence-charges-over-covid-patient-death-as-baseless-70748?infinitescroll=1

Stalin shedding crocodile tears: Palaniswami

Stalin shedding crocodile tears: Palaniswami

24/10/2020

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

DMK president M.K. Stalin is shedding crocodile tears on the issue of the 7.5% horizontal reservation in medical education, and is trying to gain political mileage, but the people will see through his designs, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Friday.

“The DMK and the Congress, which were responsible for the introduction of the NEET, have no right to say the AIADMK government has not mounted enough pressure on the Governor on the horizontal reservation issue. It is the AIADMK government that has created 3,050 new medical seats in the last nine years,” Mr. Palaniswami said in a statement.

The AIADMK government got a Bill on the horizontal quota through the Assembly to give an opportunity to students of government schools on a par with those of private schools.

“Hence, people will see through the Leader of the Opposition shedding crocodile tears...,” he said.

Mr. Palaniswami said that to gain political mileage, Mr. Stalin wanted to create an impression that it was because of the DMK’s efforts that the Governor was looking into the Bill.

He said the government had successfully contained the spread of COVID-19 and keeping in mind the welfare of people, he had announced that a vaccine, when available, would be given free of cost to the people.

“Mr. Stalin is afraid that the AIADMK government is finding favour with people and following my announcement on the vaccine, he is again indulging in ‘press release politics’. People will not be fooled by this,” he said.

Baseless: Stalin

DMK president M.K. Stalin on Friday charged Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami with making baseless statements about NEET and said the exams began to be conducted in Tamil Nadu only after he took charge.

“Mr. Palaniswami has no right to speak about competence in his statement. If he wants to prove his competence and worth to the people, he should get the Governor’s approval immediately for the horizontal reservation of 7.5% in medical admission,” he said.

Joining issue with the Chief Minister, Mr. Stalin said he had written to the Governor on the issue only with the good intention that he would take a swifter decision if both the ruling party and the opposition jointly raised the issue.

Colleges in Karnataka to reopen on Nov. 17

Colleges in Karnataka to reopen on Nov. 17

24/10/2020

Staff Reporter Bengaluru

After a gap of seven months, degree, diploma, and engineering colleges in Karnataka will reopen for students on November 17.

However, barring practicals, where attendance will be compulsory, it is not mandatory for students to physically report to the classroom.

The decision to reopen colleges after Deepavali was taken on Friday at a meeting headed by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

Minister for Higher Education C.N. Ashwath Narayan, while making the announcement, reiterated that students will be given the option of continuing with their online classes. “Those willing to attend offline classes should register themselves and get written consent from parents,” he said.

The decision was taken keeping in mind the future of students and the UGC guidelines, said officials. The department will issue a comprehensive list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on the modalities of resuming classes, including the number of batches that can be held in a day.

Each college will have to form a COVID-19 task force to ensure that the SOPs are adhered to.

“At the district level, a task force headed by the Deputy Commissioner will also be formed. Cooperation of various departments has been sought. Issues such as opening of government hostels have also been discussed,” Mr. Ashwath Narayan added.

High Court dismisses architecture course aspirant’s petition

High Court dismisses architecture course aspirant’s petition

He wanted National Testing Agency to display answer key for drawing paper

24/10/2020

Staff Reporter MADURAI

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed the plea of an architecture course aspirant who sought a direction to the National Testing Agency (NTA) to display the provisional answer key for Drawing Part III paper of B. Arch admission conducted for JEE (Main) examination, April 2020.

The petitioner, T. Kavinraj, said Drawing Part III paper examination was conducted in ‘pen and paper’ offline mode to be attempted on a drawing sheet to test the drawing aptitude of candidates, for which there was no answer key.

He sought display of the answer key so that if candidates were not satisfied with it, they could challenge it.

The NTA submitted that for the subjective paper no answer key was provided and there could not be allotment of partial marks for every stage of drawing.

The answer sheets were assessed by two independent subject experts and if their assessment differed by more than 25 % it was placed for scrutiny before a head expert.then   If the difference between the marks given by the two experts was less than 25%, then the average was taken. The process of dual verification was followed in order to curb the possibility of incorrect assessment and prepare the result in a fair and transparent manner. The petitioner was aware of this system of conduct of the examination, it was submitted.

Justice S. Vaidyanathan observed that the common test was conducted throughout India and for Drawing Part III, which was a subjective paper, there was no need to award marks in stages and to upload the key answers in the website.

Except wishing the candidate ‘All the Best’ to come out with flying colours in the forthcoming examinations, the court said, it could not grant relief to him.

Anna varsity seeks PhD for asst prof jobs, faces opposition

Anna varsity seeks PhD for asst prof jobs, faces opposition

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  24.10.2020 

Citing University Grants Commission’s (UGC) guidelines, candidates who qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET), State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) have opposed Anna University changing the minimum qualification for assistant professors from postgraduation to PhD. They said as per the UGC guidelines, the minimum qualification for arts and science subjects is 55% in postgraduate course and NET qualification.

Anna University has notified 312 vacancies including 139 assistant professors, 106 associate professors and 67 professors in four campuses after a gap of six years. The notification said candidates applying for science and humanities teaching posts in the university should have one year experience after getting their PhDs and that all candidates should have secured first class in UG and PG. If the classification is not available, they should have a minimum 70% score in their programmes. Earlier, the candidates needed a first class in either UG or PG.

“There is no NET for engineering subjects. But fixing PhD as a minimum qualification for arts and science subjects, assistant librarian posts is against UGC guidelines,” said R Thangamuniyandi, secretary, NET SLET Association. He sought a new notification making 55% marks in PG as qualified for arts, science and humanity subjects.

Deemed univs hike MBBS fee by ₹2L/yr

Deemed univs hike MBBS fee by ₹2L/yr

No Cap On Fee; 5-Year Course Costs At Least ₹20L Per Year

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.10.2020 

Deemed universities in the state have jacked up tuition fees for undergraduate medical course by up to ₹2.75 lakh a year. The fee for 5.5 years of MBBS could now cost up to ₹13.75 lakh more, excluding caution deposits, hostel, laptop and uniform fee.

Chennai-based deemed universities — Chettinad Academy of Research and Education and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute will charge ₹24 lakh as annual tuition fee compared to ₹22 lakh in 2019. The revised fee was published on the medical counselling committee website of the Directorate General of Health Services. Annual tuition fee at the Saveetha Medical University has gone up to ₹24.75 lakh from ₹22 lakh in 2019.

“I was hopeful that the government will come up with some regulation to cap the fee for all deemed universities. It’s sad that it did not happen,” said Saravana Kumar R, whose son is aspiring to pursue MBBS this year.

In February 2019, the UGC Regulations 2019 said no deemed university can charge more than the fee prescribed by the committee constituted under the new rules. Nine months later, on November 27, 2019, UGC placed the draft regulations for observation and suggestions of stakeholders. The regulations said, “the institution shall charge from the students only the fee approved and communicated by the fee committee and no other fee shall be demanded or collected by the institution, either directly or indirectly under any other head of account or guise.” It even proposed to impose a fine of ₹10 lakh along with refund of excess fee and penal action.

On Friday, most deemed universities told TOI they did not hear further from the commission and that there have been no circulars asking colleges to cap the fee. Most colleges in Tamil Nadu charge at least ₹20 lakh per year.

Student counsellors say the fee for lab, library, hostel and other services can cost an additional ₹2 lakh. “Students and parents should not just go by the announcement on the webpage. They should read the college prospectus carefully,” said student counsellor Sathish K. In the first round of online counselling, students can choose to join or exit colleges allotted to them, but if they don’t take the seat in the second round, they have to pay a fine of ₹2 lakh, he said.

Many meritorious students do not join deemed university in the centralised counselling. In several colleges, seats are filled only during the “stray seats vacancy counselling” done by the college.

I was hopeful that the government will come up with some regulation to cap the fee for all deemed universities. It’s sad that it did not happen

SARAVANA KUMAR R

Father of an MBBS aspirant

IIT-M to conduct 57th convocation using virtual reality

IIT-M to conduct 57th convocation using virtual reality

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.10.2020 

The 57th convocaion of IIT Madras on Sunday will be held in a ‘mixed reality’ mode with the help of virtual reality technology where animated avatars of students would receive medals and degrees from dignitaries. For the first time, the institute released a teaser of the new mode of the ceremony scheduled to begin at 6pm.

“For the first time in the history of the institute, convocation will be held virtually in aunique ‘mixed reality’ mode, ensuring the safety of all amidst the global pandemic and at the same time enabling our graduating students to have a memorable convocation,” IIT Madras said in an announcement. The unique mode combines the aspects of both real world as well as the virtual world to create a new environment. It will see the interaction of physical and digital objects, it further said.

"In every convocation since 1964, everyone looked forward eagerly to the award of the President of India gold medal. It would indeed be very disappointing if the awardee is not present here with us for the first time," institute director Bhaskar Ramamurthi says in the teaser video released on Friday. The video concludes with an animated avatar of a gold medalist appearing on stage indicating that such avatars of students would receive medals and awards.

Nobel laureate David J Gross from University of California will be the chief guest.

In a communication to students, the institute announced that it had dispatched degree certificates. It also said the convocation would be a short event with only the major prizes being awarded. The department degree distribution programmes will showcase all graduates receiving their degrees and provide a conferencing platform to greet each other and the teachers.

IIT-M asked students to take videos of them receiving degrees from parents or grandparents or spouse or persons of choice. The video will be broadcast when the students name announced in the department degree distribution programme.

Navsari nurse ends life, alleges harassment by seniors

Navsari nurse ends life, alleges harassment by seniors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Surat:23 10.2020 

A 28-year-old nurse ended life by hanging herself at her residence at Vejalpore town in Navsari district early on Thursday morning allegedly due to harassment by her seniors.

The deceased, Megha Acharya alias Megha Amit Khambhati, a resident of Moonlight apartment at Jalaram society was working as a staff nurse with the civil hospital in Navsari. Police said that Acharya had used her dupatta to hang herself with the ceiling fan at about 3 am.

Sources said that Megha had got married one-and-ahalf-year-ago with Amit Khambhati, a resident of Nanapondha village in Valsad’s Dharampur taluka.

Khambhati is working in a private company and stays with his parents in the village, while Megha was living in a rented apartment in Vejalpore along with her mother.

Police have recovered a four-and-a-half-page note from Acharya’s room. In the note, the deceased has levelled serious charges of harassment against her seniors at Navsari civil hospital. She has also named some of the staff in the note said police.

Sources said that Acharya had rendered exemplary service as a corona warrior during the ongoing pandemic at the civil hospital.

On Thursday, her family members refused to accept her body demanding justice and action against those responsible for forcing their daughter to take such an extreme step.

Talking with media persons, mother of the deceased, Minaxi Acharya said, “For a long time now, my daughter would come home and cry a lot. She would complain about her seniors harassing her in the name of work at the hospital. She was getting calls and messages from her senior at night. She was posted at the Covid ward for a few months and then shifted to the general ward.”

Deputy Superintendent of Police H K Rana told TOI, “We have recovered a suicide note from Acharya’s room. Prima facie it seems that the deceased was harassed at the workplace by her seniors. She has named few nurses in the note. Though her family life was disturbed, but there was no harassment from her in-laws.”

Woman files FIR after hubby sends intimate videos to others

Woman files FIR after hubby sends intimate videos to others

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: 23.10.2020

A 32-yearold woman from Sector 3 in Gandhinagar on Wednesday filed a complaint against her husband at Sector 7 police station, alleging that he had defamed her by sending videos of them to her relatives.

The complainant, a deputy mamlatdar, stated that she married with the accused, Sapnaswaroop Kharadi (33) in May 2018. She said her husband works for a private firm whereas she is a government employee, which gave him a complex, and he is harassing her because of it. She said he often demands money from her. When she refused, he threatened her.

To take revenge on his wife after she stopped giving him money, Kharadi, who had shot videos of their intimate moments earlier, threatened to malign her. As she did not heed the threat, he allegedly sent the videos, which he had shot on his mobile phone without her knowledge, to her friends and relatives last week. When one of her friends told her about her videos doing the rounds on social media, she asked her husband about it. He told her that he had not only sent the videos to her friends and relatives, but also to others, to malign her.

Physiotherapist booked

Physiotherapist booked

She Allegedly Sold Secrets of Doc’s Firm

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  23.10.2020

A doctor who runs an institute in Anandnagar area on Wednesday filed a complaint of cheating against his former colleague, a physiotherapist, alleging that she sold his firm’s trade secrets for financial gain.

In his FIR , Dr Het Desai stated that he set up an institute and research centre focussed on rehabilitation of pelvic floor muscles in women in 2018. Before that he had set up another institute for women’s wellness. In his FIR he said he recruited a woman physiotherapist, Sunita Patel, in 2016 and made her the CEO of his company, named International Institute of Pelvic Floor Research, Rehab and Education (IIPRE) as she gained his trust.

Desai states that Patel had assured him that she would not disclose the company’s strategy and trade secrets. She became the face of Desai’s company at seminars and webinars after being trained by him, he stated.

Desai stated that Patel’s behaviour changed suddenly in October 2019 as she began complaining that she was not getting due credit in the company. When Desai asked about her changed behaviour, he learned that Patel was also working for another company, where she had been using his trade secrets.

He asked Patel about this but she allegedly threatened to frame him in a police case. In January, Patel resigned from Desai’s’ company and started practising at another firm, allegedly using procedures developed by Desai’s company. She also told some of his clients to approach her and succeeded in luring them away to some extent, Desai stated.

3,674 physiotherapy, nursing seats empty

MISSION ADMISSION

3,674 physiotherapy, nursing seats empty

Ahmedabad: 23.10.2020 

The admission committee has so far allocated 13,910 seats for physiotherapy and nursing courses on the basis of the choice filling by the candidates. In all, the committee has initiated the process to fill 17,584 seats. As a result, 3,674 seats are currently empty after conducting first round of admission, said sources in the admission committee.

The committee had initially initiated the process for 20,633 seats of 518 colleges. The candidates were given three opportunities for registration following which a merit list of 33,615 candidates was drawn.

But, 3,049 seats of 73 colleges are yet to be approved. “The merit list included 33,615 students out of which 26,093 participated in the choice filling. There are 7,523 students who have not participated in the selection filling process,” said sources.

The college will be allotted on November 2 on the basis of choice filling by students in the first round. TNN

HC to consider replacing legal size papers with A4 in courts

HC to consider replacing legal size papers with A4 in courts

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  23.10.2020

The Gujarat high court has disposed of a PIL by directing its registry to place the issue before the chief justice for consideration on administrative side about doing away with the legal size papers in court cases and replace them with A4 size.

The HC sent the issue for consideration in response to the PIL filed by a law student Jaydeep Patel, who had sought directions that A4 size paper, with printing on both sides of the paper, instead of legal size paper with one side printing, should be used for all court proceedings. This is with a view to bring uniformity about the use of paper and printing thereon and to minimize consumption of paper, including the costs of the proceedings and consequently to save the environment.

The student had contended that if by altering rules the change can be brought into practice, it would save people’s money and spare them of great inconvenience. The HC also acknowledged the petitioner’s endeavour to highlight that there should be minimum use of paper to prevent ecological imbalance.

The high court agreed with the student’s request of considering on administrative side about amending the rules regarding documents and copies to be supplied by advocates and printing paper-books on both the sides of A4 size paper.

JEE & NEET frauds keep NTA on its toes

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  23.10.2020

Forged marksheets, alleged discrepancies in OMR sheets and fraudulent mails are keeping the National Testing Agency (NTA) on its toes since the declaration of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2020 and Joint Entrance Examination (Main) results.

The education ministry, health ministry and NTA have received 30 complaints, majority of them related to NEETUG, about “discrepancies” that subsequent investigation proved to be cases of forgery. NTA has decided to file police complaints about these.

Indicating the pressure to perform and the need to deflect parental anger, some candidates have been resorting to forgery of the marksheets of the NEET-UG 2020 and JEE (Main) to show they scored higher marks.

According to documents accessed by TOI, the faking was so smartly carried out that NTA had to retrieve the answer booklets and take a re-look. In one case a student mailed to NTA attaching a forwarded mail from the agency showing his results, however, the marks are different. “On investigation, we found out that the documents to be forged as the scores mentioned had not been issued to any candidate,” said a senior NTA official.

There are cases where candidates changed the percentile scores of two of the three question sections and the overall rank in NEET and then got their parents to send emails to the education and health ministries and NTA claiming that they had been issued two different marksheets. However, simple errors nailed these lies.

“All genuine grievances will be entertained by the NTA. However, manipulated and fabricated cases will be viewed seriously and NTA will be forced to take legal action against such candidates including cancellation of their candidature or other unscrupulous agents representing such candidates,” said Vineet Joshi, director general, NTA.

According to Dr S Kumar, chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar, medical admissions has been a “deep racket since 2005,” which however changed after NEET was introduced.

Full report on www.toi.in

JEE 2021 to be held in more regional languages

In order to widen the reach of JEE (Main), the Joint Admission Board (JAB) on Thursday decided to offer the computer-based test for admission to engineering and architecture courses in more regional languages. JEE (Main), which is also the eligibility test for JEE (Advanced) for admission to IITs, is currently offered in English, Hindi and Gujarati and its first cycle of 2021 is likely to be held in January.

The JAB meeting discussed the modalities for offering the test in regional languages and decided on a two-pronged approach. The first formula is that JEE (Main) can be offered in regional languages of states which conduct their local entrance exams for engineering and architecture courses. The second formula is that the test will be offered in the language of any state which is part of JEE (Main) and wants it to be included. TNN Full report on www.toi.in

Missing kid found 22km from home after 6 yrs

Missing kid found 22km from home after 6 yrs

Shubhra.Pant@timesgroup.com

Gurgaon:23.10.2020

One evening in 2014, Anurag, then a little over three years old, was playing near his house in Ghitorni when he got separated from his family. Since then, despite concerted efforts by his family, he couldn’t be traced until last Thursday, when a team of officials from the Child Welfare Commission, Gurgaon Police and the Delhi Police tracked him down to an orphanage in Kherki Daula, 22 km from where he went missing. Anurag was reunited with his family the following day after around six years.

Talking about the search operation, ACP (crime) Preet Pal Sangwan told TOI that the missing cell which was formed in September was informed about Anurag from CWC. After looking through police records in neighbouring cities in the national capital region, the team found a missing child report at Vasant Kunj police station that matched Anurag’s description.

“The major hurdle was that Anurag did not remember anything about his family or their address,” Sangwan recalled.

Police officers from Gurgaon and Delhi showed Anurag’s photo from 2014 to his parents and they immediately recognised him. “The family was taken to meet Anurag on October 15. Since the boy needed some time to mentally prepare himself before going back home, we gave him a week’s time to adjust with the new reality of his life,” said Sunil Kohli, CWC chairman, Gurgaon.

Few days after Anurag went missing in 2014, he was spotted roaming around in DLF-2 by police officers. They sent him to Udayan Care Home, from where he was recovered last week.

Soon after an emotional reunion, Anurag’s mother turned slightly apprehensive about whether the child will be able to blend in with the family after all these years. “I have spent all these years crying and making desperate visits to police stations hoping to find my son,” said Raj Bai, who, along with her husband Ramchandra travelled all the way from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh where they’ve moved to during the lockdown.

Anurag, who studies in class 4, however, was not excited to go home and live with his parents.

He scored 85% in the last annual exam and has dreams of becoming a soldier. He fears that moving back with his parents might disrupt his education. “I have been studying in a good school and have learnt so much. I fear that moving at this stage will hamper my education.”

REUNITED Anurag

Delhi govt announces festival bonus for staff

Delhi govt announces festival bonus for staff

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:23.10.2020

Delhi government on Thursday unveiled Diwali gifts for its employees and announced to pay cash equivalent of leave travel allowance, besides Rs 10,000 interest-free festival package in advance. The announcement made just before Dussehra and Diwali, is aimed to boost festival expenditure, a statement issued by the government said.

To help increase consumption expenditure and incentivise employees, Delhi government has also announced a special cash package in lieu of leave travel concession (LTC) for government employees, said its statement, which also underlined the hard work of the employees during the pandemic. It added that the government believed these steps would bring ease to the lives of the employees.

“With pandemic and lockdown creating a disruption in transport and hospitality sectors, Delhi government has observed that a number of its employees is not in a position to avail the leave travel concession to any place or hometowns. It has decided that cash equivalent of LTC will be given to its employees by way of reimbursement if an employee opts for this in lieu of LTC in the block of 2018–21,” the government stated.

Employees who are entitled to business-class airfare will get Rs 36,000 LTC, followed by Rs 20,000 for those who are entitled to an economy class. Lastly, the employees who are entitled to rail fare of any class will get Rs 6,000 LTC.

For enabling government servants to meet expenses relating to festivals and encourage spending, the government has decided that a special festival package of advance would be accorded to all government employees for any important festivals up to March 31, 2021. “Under the initiative, the amount of the package is Rs10,000 and will be interestfree. This amount will be paid as advance to the employees. Earlier, this provision was only there for non-gazetted staff. Now, it will be applicable to both gazetted and non-gazetted employees,” the government announced.

Employees would get a preloaded Rupay card of the advance value. “Disbursal of advance through Rupay card ensures digital mode of payment, resulting in tax revenue and encouraging an honest business,” the statement noted.

3 6kRS LTC FOR STAFF ENTITLED TO BUSINESS-CLASS AIRFARE

VC still on leave, so govt backs deputy

VC still on leave, so govt backs deputy

DU Split Into Two Camps With Two Pro-VCs

Shradha.Chettri@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.10.2020

The Union ministry of education waded into the tussle between Delhi University vicechancellor Yogesh Tyagi and pro-VC P C Joshi late on Thursday night to spell out that the appointments made by the VC were not “valid” since he is on leave and should not be acted upon.

The ministry is also learnt to have written to the President of India, who is the visitor, apprising him of the “crisis situation” in the varsity. According to an official in the ministry, the letter contains some recommendations and the visitor may convey his decision on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Tyagi had removed Joshi from the position of pro-VC and appointed Geeta Bhatt in his place. Joshi had, meanwhile, notified the appointment of a new registrar, Vikas Gupta, whose interview had been completed and appointment cleared by the executive council on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, Tyagi had approved and got notified the appointment of P C Jha as acting registrar and director, South Campus.

The letter from the ministry, however, was addressed to Gupta, giving him legitimacy for now. This was in response to a communication sent by Joshi on Wednesday stating that Tyagi was not discharging his duties and that he had not joined with a medical fitness certificate yet.

“It has been brought to our notice that a notification of charge of registrar was issued on October 21 morning, even before the working hours of the university, without active knowledge of PC Joshi who is the pro-vicechancellor, having charge of vice-chancellor at present as per the statue of the university, and an attempt was made to block the conduct of the executive council meeting scheduled on October 21 by the acting registrar appointed by Professor Yogesh Tyagi who is on leave,” said the letter, signed by Birendra Kumar Singh, deputy secretary.

The ministry has conveyed that if Tyagi wants to join office, he has to submit a medical fitness certificate. The letter reiterates that as Joshi will act as vice-chancellor, all orders issued with the approval of the vicechancellor should also have approval of Joshi.

The university had on Wednesday night declared the executive council meeting chaired by Joshi illegal. Jha, the VC’s choice for registrar, had at night sealed the office at Viceregal Lodge. “In the morning, the other group came along with Gupta and put an additional lock on the office. Once the new pro-VC, Bhatt, was appointed and she took charge, they went away. Now all the newly-appointed officials have taken charge,” said Jha, refusing to comment on the ministry’s letter. Bhatt is also the director of Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board.

Meanwhile, the Joshi camp circulated a letter issued by the ministry of education on August 31, 2020, which mentioned Joshi being given charge of the post of vice-chancellor during Tyagi’s absence on medical grounds and till he resumed duty.

The letter, signed by undersecretary P K Singh, read: “The posts of registrar and finance officers of DU are lying vacant for the last few months. It is understood that the interviews for these posts were scheduled last month but could not be held in the absence of Yogesh Tyagi, who was hospitalised. Now that PC Joshi has been given the charge of VC during the absence of Tyagi, he should fix the date for the interviews.” Joshi was authorised to preside over the selection committee if by then the VC was not back in office.

AK Bhagi, president of the BJP-affiliated teachers’ group, National Democratic Front, came out in support of Joshi. “As per the order of the ministry, Joshi has been working as an acting vicechancellor and the letter said that the VC will join upon intimation. Now, he has not joined after medical leave. Can he issue such orders from his home? According to us, all the communication coming from Yogesh Tyagi has no validity unless he is medically fit.”

Bhatt, who belongs to the same group and has been appointed as pro-VC by Tyagi, refused to comment on the matter. "I have taken charge as pro-VC and am focusing on the new responsibility," she said.

The ministry has conveyed that if Tyagi wants to join office, he has to submit a medical fitness certificate. As Joshi will act as VC, all orders issued with the approval of the vicechancellor should also have his approval

Govt restores most visas for foreigners

Govt restores most visas for foreigners

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.10.2020

The government on Thursday restored all existing visas — barring electronic, tourist and medical visas — with immediate effect though in the case of medical visa it has been stated that foreigners intending to visit India for medical treatment can now apply afresh for this category.

The easing of restrictions will mean foreign nationals will be able to visit India for various purposes such as business, conferences, employment, studies, research and medical treatment. Visas for foreigners visiting India for medical treatment will be issued on fresh applications and they can be accompanied by an attendant as well.

In case the validity of restored categories of visas has expired, fresh ones of the appropriate category can be obtained from Indian missions or posts, said an MHA release. The Centre on Thursday also permitted OCI and PIO card-holders who intend to visit India for purposes other than tourism, to enter by air or water routes.

US’s proposed visa limit may hit Indians

The US State Department in a notification on Wednesday proposed to make changes to its visa regulations under which foreign professionals, which would fall under H-1B, would not be issued temporary visa for business. The move may impact Indian firms who send their techies on B-1 visas for a short stay to the US. P 20

Rules relaxed for OCI, PIO card-holders

As part of a “graded” relaxation of Covid-induced visa and travel restrictions for more categories of foreign nationals, the government also permitted OCI and PIO card-holders who intend to visit India for purposes other than tourism. This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the civil aviation ministry.

All such travellers will, however, be required to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the ministry of health and family welfare regarding quarantine and other health and Covid-19 matters. Medical visa for treatment in India is much sought after by foreigners, given availability of highly-skilled medical professionals and facilities. It is also a major forex earner for the country. With electronic and tourist visas still not restored, the earlier tendency of some foreigners to bend visa rules and seek medical treatment in India while on a tourist visa will no longer be possible.

In view of the situation arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government had taken a series of steps to curtail inward and outward movement of international passengers since February 2020. However, the curbs have been eased in a graded manner, as part of ‘unlock’ regime since June. With this move, the badly affected travel sector, including the worst-hit segments of airlines and hotels, could see some revival.

Full report on www.toi.in

81% women find it difficult to open up about their relationships to parents

81% women find it difficult to open up about their relationships to parents

Riya.Sharma@timesgroup.com  23.10.2020 

With social distancing being practised and work from home becoming the new normal, we have been spending a lot of our time at home, including on weekends. As most singles in India live at home with their parents, a survey recently aimed to understand the challenges faced by young men and women who are stuck at home and its impact on their mental health.

There are communication gaps between parents and their children, the survey conducted by Shaadi.com suggests, with the challenges seeming tougher for women than men.

The survey revealed that 81% women find it difficult to talk about relationship issues whereas only 65% men struggle with this. This is primarily because of the societal perception that surrounds women who are in relationship, making them hesitant about sharing things with their parents. This inability to share their feelings is making it stressful for 60% of the women.

Sujata Singh, a 28-year-old, who works in an MNC in Gurgaon, shares, “I don’t want my parents to know about my dating life. First of all, I don’t think they will understand it and even if they do, they won’t understand if it is serious or just casual dating. They might just become friends with the guy and there will be no privacy left!”

Disha Kumar*, a student of Law, adds, “I don’t think my parents need to know anything about my relationships. I am not sure how they will react if I tell them anything that bothers me in my relationship. I’d rather ask a friend for help as parents might take the problem too seriously.” On the other hand, 92% of parents said that their children are completely free to have conversations with them, as per the survey. But for women in particular, the generation gap is one of the top reasons why they are unable to open up to their folks. On the flip side, 72% parents said they did not feel that the generation gap made it difficult to communicate with their kids.

Vandana Suneja from Gurgaon, a mother of a 25-year-old, shares, “My daughter discusses her relationship with me sometimes. Though I feel she is hesitant at times, I think we have maintained enough trust that lets her tell me anything without fear of being judged.”

(*Names changed on request)

Societal perception that surrounds women who are in relationship makes them hesitant about sharing things with their parents, the survey points out

MY PARENTS DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MY RELATIONSHIPS. I AM NOT SURE HOW THEYWILL REACT, I WOULD RATHER TELL A FRIEND IF I HAVE SOME ISSUES

– Disha Kumar*, a law student

Now, access CBSE docus digitally using facial scan

Now, access CBSE docus digitally using facial scan

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:23.10.2020

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced “Facial Recognition System” (FRS) for students to have digital access to documents. Using the stateof-the-art FRS, the Board will enable students to download their digital academic documents of Class X and XII.

This computer application matches a human face from an image stored in the database. The computer and the human interact to map the facial features. In a similar way, a live image of the student will be matched with the photograph on the CBSE admit card already stored in the repository, and once successful, the certificate will be emailed to the student. This application is now available on “Parniaam Manjusha” and Digi Locker at https://digilocker.gov.in/cbsecertificate.html for all 2020 records.

CBSE has already pushed 12 crore digital academic documents in Digi Locker which can be opened by a student to access mark sheets, pass and migration certificates. “It is felt that the latest facility of face matching will immensely help foreign students and those who are unable to open Digi Locker accounts for any reason such as absence of Aadhaar card or wrong mobile numbers,” said Board said in a statement.