Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Country Needs Really Qualified Doctors: SC Upholds NMC Regulations For Foreign Medical Students
Country Needs Really Qualified Doctors: SC Upholds NMC Regulations For Foreign Medical Students
by Sanjeev SirohiMay 15, 2022
In a very major development with far reaching consequences, the Supreme Court as recently as on May 2, 2022 in an extremely laudable, learned, landmark and latest judgment titled Aravinth RA vs Secretary To Government Of India Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare in CA 3585-3586 of 2022 and cited in 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 473 has upheld the validity of Regulations 4(a)(ii), 4(b) & 4(c) of the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations 2021, Schedule II 2(a) and 2(c)(i) of the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021.
Of course, the Apex Court unequivocally held that the National Medical Commission has power to frame these Regulations for foreign medical graduates. The Bench comprising of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice V Ramasubramanian observed that, “It is true that the country needs more doctors, but it needs really qualified doctors and not persons trained by institutions abroad, to test their skills only in their mother land.” The Court was considering an appeal challenging the Madras High Court which had earlier dismissed the writ petition filed by a student who wanted to join an Under Graduate Medical Course in Anna Medical College, Mauritius.
To start with, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment authored by Justice V Ramasubramanian for himself and Justice Hemant Gupta sets the ball rolling by first and foremost putting forth in para 1 that, “Aggrieved by the dismissal of his two writ petitions praying respectively for, (i) a declaration that Regulations 4(a)(i), 4(a)(ii), 4(b) & 4(c) of the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations 2021, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Licentiate Regulations’; and (ii) a declaration that Schedule II 2(a) and 2(c)(i) of the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021, hereinafter referred to as “CRMI Regulations”) both published on 18.11.2021, are ultra vires and violative of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution, the writ petitioner before the Madras High Court has come up with the above appeals.”
Needless to say, the Bench then states in para 51 that, “As we have seen earlier, the appellant challenged the validity of Regulation 4(a)(i) and Regulation 4(a)(ii), 4(b) and 4(c) of the Licentiate Regulations on several grounds, one of which is the lack of power under the Act. But the provisions extracted above would show that NMC had the power to frame the above Regulations.”
Quite forthrightly, the Bench then postulates in para 52 that, “Prescription of minimum standards would certainly include the prescription of the minimum duration for a course. It may be open to the medical institutions of other countries to prescribe a duration of less than 54 months for the students of their country. But it is not necessary for the NMC and the Central Government to recognise foreign medical degrees of a lesser duration, if the incumbent wants to have permanent registration in India.”
Without mincing any words, the Bench then stipulates in para 53 that, “The prescription of an internship for a minimum duration of 12 months in the same foreign medical institution cannot also be said to be a duplication of internships. The purpose of internship is to test the ability of the students to apply their academic knowledge on their subjects, namely the patients. Medical institutions of other countries may not insist on rigorous internship for students who may not put to test their skills on the population of their country. But it is not necessary for us to follow suit.”
As a corollary, the Bench then also points out in para 54 that, “Similarly, the requirement under Regulation 4(b) has been necessitated to ensure that the students who were imparted medical education in a foreign country demonstrate their skills first on the population of the country where they studied. The necessity for a Master Chef to taste the food prepared by him, before it is served on the guests, cannot be said to be arbitrary. Therefore, the challenge to the Licentiate Regulations, are wholly without basis.”
While cutting across the appellant’s specious contention, the Bench then minces absolutely no words to hold in para 55 that, “The contention that Section 36(4) recognises M.B.B.S. courses of a duration of less than 54 months and that therefore the Licentiate Regulations being a subordinate legislation is ultra vires, is wholly unsustainable. All that subsection (4) of Section 36 saves, are the qualifications already recognised before the date of commencement of the Act and included in the Second Schedule and Part-II of the Third Schedule to the 1956 Act. The fact that past sins are sought to be washed away, is no ground to hold that there cannot be a course correction. As a matter of fact, Section 60 which deals with repeal and saving, also saves under clause (b) of subsection(2), any right, privilege or obligation already acquired. This cannot be stated to be in conflict with what is prescribed for the students of the future. In any case, Section 36 deals only with recognition of the foreign medical courses and not registration as medical practitioner. Registration is covered by Section 33. Therefore, Section 36(4) cannot help the appellant.”
Most significantly, the Bench then states in para 56 what forms the cornerstone of this learned judgment that, “The contention that the country needs more doctors and that by restricting the registration of foreign medical graduates, the fundamental right of the professionals under Article 19(1)(g) and the fundamental right of the citizens under Article 21 are impaired, is to be stated only to be rejected. It is true that the country needs more doctors, but it needs really qualified doctors and not persons trained by institutions abroad, to test their skills only in their mother land.”
Most forthrightly, the Bench then envisages in para 57 that, “The argument that these Regulations constitute an extraterritorial law is misconceived. These Regulations do not encroach into the sovereignty of the countries where those institutions are located, by stipulating minimum standards for the students who want to practice there. These Regulations merely prescribe the minimum standards to be fulfilled by those who study in those institutions who want to practice here in India.”
Most remarkably, the Bench then expounds in para 58 that, “Insofar as the challenge to the CRMI Regulations are concerned, the same is without any substance. If there are institutions in some countries which offer primary medical qualification without mandatory internship, the students are supposed not to seek admissions in those institutions. The mad rush to become medical professionals, cannot drive them to countries where shortcuts to success are offered. The requirement under Para 2(a) of Schedule-II of these Regulations for foreign medical graduates is to ensure that only those who have acquired similar skills are allowed to practice Medicine.”
For sake of clarity, the Bench then seeks to clear the air by pointing out clearly in para 59 that, “The prescription in para 2(c)(i) of Schedule-II of these Regulations that such foreign medical graduates may be posted first in colleges which have been newly opened and have yet to be recognised, is a prescription of necessity. All medical institutions of the country are equipped to provide internships only to as many students as their permitted intake may allow. Therefore, this Regulation is intended to ensure that an undue burden is not cast upon the already recognised institutions.”
As a corollary, the Bench then holds in para 60 that, “Therefore, we find that the dismissal of the writ petitions filed by the appellant before the Madras High Court was fully justified. We could have dismissed the SLPs in limine, but we thought fit to take pains to bring on record the historical facts so that the challenge to these Regulations are nipped in the bud and they do not surface in a different form of avatar.”
Finally, the Bench then concludes by holding in para 61 that, “In view of the above, the appeals are dismissed. However, the costs imposed by the High Court of Madras upon the appellant is waived off, taking into account of the fact that he is a student and also for the purpose of showing the only extent to which, a court can show sympathy in such matters.”
All said and done, this recent, remarkable, robust, refreshing and rational judgment by the Apex Court has sought to send a very loud and clear message that the country needs really qualified doctors. It has also taken the most commendable stand of upholding the NMC Regulations for foreign medical graduates.
It also made it clear that the NMC Regulations are not arbitrary. It also made it indubitably clear that it is not necessary for the NMC and the Central Government to recognise foreign medical degrees of a lesser duration. What really is most comforting to see is that the Apex Court has even though dismissed the appellant’s plea but it has waived off the costs imposed upon the appellant by the Madras High Court considering the fact that the appellant is just a student. No doubt, the Apex Court has done the right thing in doing so!
.jpg)
Similar questions in PG exam paper confound students
Similar questions in PG exam paper confound students
RGUHS Alters One Question In 15 Minutes
Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru : A repeat of questions in the final PG general surgery examination created confusion among candidates on Saturday. While Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) claimed to have changed the question within 15 minutes of the goof up being flagged, students said the error robbed them of precious time.
A student told STOI the third and fourth questions (‘unilateral hydrocephalus’ and ‘surgery for hydrocephalus’) were the same in their general surgery paper IV (QP code: 8284).
“Both these questions required the same answer and many of us had even started writing it. Then the third question was changed. But we had already wasted our time and energy writing the answer,” he said. Another student said such an error at this level is not acceptable.
“While the third question was about a brain condition, the next question was about s urgery for the same condition. The answer to both is almost the same. After the issue was raised, the third question was changed to a condition of the kidney. Our question is, how do they set the paper in such a negligent manner? Why do they add to our exam anxieties with these errors?”
However, RGUHS registar Dr Ramakrishna Reddy clarified the two questions were not the same but only on the same topic. “We, however, changed the question within 15 minutes through online transmission. The third question was changed to ‘unilateral hydronephrosis’.
It is a routine incident and there was no time wasted. In fact, it is more of a spelling correction,” he said, sharing screenshots of an email sent to the team about corrections in the said question paper. “We changed the question immediately to a different topic. There is no question about students writing the answers as we made the corrections within 15 minutes,” he said.
In another faux pas, the PG anesthesiology paper I (QP code: 7291) was used as it is by Dr NTR University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. While the paper was held at RGUHS on May 7, the examination at Vijayawada University was on May 13. Both papers, with 10 essay-type questions for 100 marks, have the same questions. Both universities said it was an inadvertent error caused by the paper setter.
While a source at Dr NTR University of Health Sciences said it was not a copy of the RGUHS question paper, RGUHS registrar Dr Ramakrishna Reddy said the
The question paper used at NTR University was also used by RGUHS on May 7 agency that sets the question paper might have set it for the AP university as well.
Woman gets divorce on grounds of husband’s imprisonment
Woman gets divorce on grounds of husband’s imprisonment
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad : A Gandhinagar court has granted divorce to a woman because her husband has been imprisoned in a murder case and would not be able to perform marital obligations in future. The divor ce petition was filed by the woman, who lives with her son at her maternal home in Hudko village of Gandhinagar district. She said that she got married to a man from Surendranagar district in 2014.
She was dissatisfied with the husband’s behaviour and thinking. She alleged that as disputes between them arose, the husband used to beat her after consuming alcohol and her in-laws too joined him in the tortur . She was allegedly thrown out of her matrimonial home in June 2015. I
n 2016, the husband was jailed in connection with a murder case registered with Visnagar police station. Since then, he has been lodged in a jail in Mehsana and the trial against him is pending. The woman filed divorce petition six months after the husband was jailed. The court issued a notice to the husband, which was served on him in prison but he did not respond. After perusing the material placed by the woman, the court said,
“It is proved that even after the intervention of those n ear and dear, it seems that petitioner is unable to stay together; that the opponent (husband) is unable to fulfil his marital obligations due to his imprisonment; that even in future, there is no possibility for reunion because of opponent’s imprisonment. Therefore, this is the fit case for granting the relief as prayed for. ” While dissolving the marriage, the court said, “Looking at the young age of the parties, it seems that for the better future of the petitioner (wife) and her child, the divorce petition is required to be allowed. ”
After child via surrogacy, woman fights for leave
After child via surrogacy, woman fights for leave
Saeed.Khan@timesgroup.com
Ahmedabad : A postal department employee has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) complaining that she has not been granted maternity leave because her child was born through surrogacy. She urged the tribunal to direct the department not to take any action against her by treating her absent on duty. On her argument that if paternity leave is granted to male employees, there is no point in denying maternity leave to her for having a child through surrogacy, the CAT has issued notice to the Centre and the chief post master general and stayed the department’s decision of not granting maternity leave to the employee.
The tribunal has also stayed any departmental action against her by treating her absent on duty, said the woman’s advocate P H Pathak. In this case, a resident of Isanpur who works as postal assistant since 2007, Dharmishthaben Sirsikar (35), had requested her department for sixmonth maternity leave from February 16 to August 12 submitting that she had become a mother via surrogacy on February 16. On March 21, the department rejected her request saying that there is no provision for maternity leave in cases the birth of the child took place through surrogacy.
‘Woman can’t be victimized on the ground of surrogacy’ Against this order, the employee moved CAT seeking declaration that the department is not justified in saying that there is no provision for sanctioning maternity leave to a mother whose child is born through surrogacy.
She has also sought to restrain the department from passing any adverse order against her and not to treat her as absent. The applicant has termed the department’s decision as arbitrary, illegal, sans any application of mind and violative of constitutional provisions. The department’s order does not give any reason and it is contrary to the aim and object of provisions of Maternity Leave Benefits Act, 1961. In her application, she submitted, “To distinguish between a mother who begets a child through surrogacy and a natural mother, who gives birth to a child, would result in insulting womanhood and the intention of a woman to bring up a child begot- ten through surrogacy. Motherhood never ends on the birth of the child and a commissioning mother cannot be refused maternity leave.
A woman cannot be discriminated against, as far as maternity benefits are concerned, only on the ground that she has obtained the baby through surrogacy. A newly born child cannot be left at the mercy of others as it needs rearing and that is the most crucial period during which the child requires care and attention of his mother.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Saturday, May 14, 2022
HC allowed medicos to pay half the fees
HC allowed medicos to pay half the fees
Chalimeda Ananda Rao Institute of Medical Sciences Karimnagar, MNR Medical College Kukatpally, Medicity Institute of Medical Sciences Medchal and MNR Dental College Sangareddy approached the apex court, challenging the high court’s ruling.
Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association and Telangana Junior Doctors Association, which fought the case on behalf of the students in the high court, have already filed caveats before the apex court. Ever since the high court found fault with the fee structure, the state government had remained silent and did not cha llenge the court order while the private medical colleges moved the Supreme Court.
The state government had even conceded before the high court that fixing the fee was the job of the admission and fee regulatory committee (AFRC) headed by a retired high court judge. The state had erroneously fixed the fee for the 2016-2019 block period even after the job was completed by the AFRC.
When there was pressure on the AFRC to review and raise the fee structure that was already decided by it for the block period, the committee refused to take a relook at its decision. The HC allowed the students to pay half of the fees and continue their studies. SC junks med colleges’ plea on retaining fee fixed by T govt Hyderabad : The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain petitions filed by four private medical colleges of Telangana seeking retention of the exorbitant PG medical fees fixed by the state government.
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and AS Bopanna dismissed the pleas at the threshold stage itself. When counsel for the four colleges requested the bench to permit them to withdraw their petitions so that they could file a review petition before the Telangana HC, the bench dismissed all the four pleas as withdrawn. The HC had struck down GOs (Nos. 41 and 43) issued fixing high fees for PG medical courses.
B’luru family flying to US spends ₹8L, gets a raw deal
B’luru family flying to US spends ₹8L, gets a raw deal
Bengaluru : May 6 was a ‘dream come true’ day for Karthik, an IT professional and his family in Bengaluru’s Electronics City as they were relocating to the US.
He paid Rs 8 lakh for business class tickets on Emirates airlines to transport the maximum luggage and travel with his wife Jaya, and two kids. But little did they realise that it would turn out to be an unpleasant experience at every step.
The 39-year-old had joined an IT company in the US in February. After finding a home in Princeton, New Jersey, he returned to Bengaluru on April 28 to take his family there. “We had 16 bags and were travelling with our toddler and infant. I had informed the airline’s customer care about the purpose of our travel and the specific need for children seats for the chauffeur cab service,” said Karthik. TNN
HC: Minor can’t risk life giving liver to dad
HC: Minor can’t risk life giving liver to dad
Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com
Mumbai : Observing that a minor’s life cannot be endangered, Bombay high court on Friday refused to allow a 16-year-old to donate a part of her liver to her father who is critically unwell in a Parel hospital.
“We are concerned about the minor and are not inclined to grant relief,” said a vacation bench of Justices Anil Menon and Nitin Borkar. Her petition challenged the May 11 order of the state authorisation committee headed by the director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research —the appropriate authority under The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994—rejecting her application to grant permission for the transplant.
The girl had filed the petition stating father is diagnosed with liver cirrhosis decompensated and advised liver transplant. The hospital committee was not accepting her application for organ donation.
SC rejects plea for postponement of NEET-PG 2022-23
SC rejects plea for postponement of NEET-PG 2022-23
Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com
New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Friday refused further postponement of NEET-PG, slated for May 21 for admission to PG medical courses, saying any further delay in holding the test would lead to lack of availability of full strength of resident doctors in hospitals impeding patient care facilities.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said NEET-PG 2022-23, which was earlier scheduled to be held on March 12, has already been postponed to May 21 because of the pandemiccaused delay in exam and admissions to PG medical courses through NEET-PG 2021-22. It agreed with additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that postponing the examination further could have debilitating cascading effect on patient care as well as next examinations which would be held in January 2023 as per the schedule laid down by the apex court in Ashish Ranjan case in 2016. “All preparations regarding NEET-PG Examination have been made.
The National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences has already booked online test centres and is going to issue admit cards to the candidates soon. Any delay in the exam will be detrimental to the larger public and national interest,” Bhati said. › Fewer resident docs, P 5 ‘Further delay in exam will lead to fewer resident docs’ Appearing for candidates favouring postponement of NEET-PG, senior advocates Rakesh Khanna, Anand Grover and P Wilson complemented each other in giving variety of reasons, including helping the doctors who were underprepared because of Covid duty, to seek postponement of examination by eight weeks.
Bhati said that more than 2 lakh MBBS doctors have already registered for the examination, the highest number in the last four years of NEETPG. She said that a majority, who had also worked hard during the pandemic, have registered and prepared for the examination and there should not be any postponement of the examination which would cause harassment to them. Bhati said any further delay in NEETPG 2022 will lead to fewer number of resident doctors (40,000) in hospitals as there are supposed to be three batches of doctors who are studying PG courses and are available for patient care and treatment in hospitals.
SC: Can’t put off NEET-PG again
SC: Can’t put off NEET-PG again
New Delhi : The SC on Friday refused further postponement of NEET-PG, slated for May 21 for admission to PG medical courses, saying any further delay in holding the test would lead to lack of availability of full str ength of resident doctors in hospitals, impeding patient care facilities. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant said NEET-PG 2022-23, which was earlier scheduled to be held on March 12, has already been postponed to May 21 because of the delay in examination and admissions to PG medical courses through NEETPG 2021-22. TN
BSc intake: Students will have to wait till June
BSc intake: Students will have to wait till June
Ahmedabad : Class 12 science students, whose results were announced on Thursday, will have to wait till June for admissions to BSc courses as the Gujarat University has not yet selected the agency to execute the admission process. The university hires a private agency to conduct the online admission process for 35 affiliated science colleges. Around 14,000 BSc seats are available this year. The university has just begun the process of issuing a tender to select the agency. “The process is likely to take a month. The admission will only begin after that,” sources said. TNN
Finding curry ‘too salty’, man tonsures wife’s head in Vatva
Finding curry ‘too salty’, man tonsures wife’s head in Vatva
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Ahmedabad : 14.05.2022
A Vatva man forcibly shaved the head of his 28-year-old wife and assaulted her after accusing her of adding extra salt to his food. The incident so terrified Rizvana Shaikh, a resident of Insaniyatnagar flats, that she gathered the courage to approach the police three days later.
Filing a complaint against her husband with Vatva police on Wednesday, she said that she got married to Imran, 29, eight years ago. “He is a mason who works as a casual labourer to earn a living. On May 8, around 2pm, Imran came home for lunch. I gave him chapatis and curry. He did not like the taste and began abusing me for adding extra salt to the food.
Though I told him that I would make something else, he continued to abuse me verbally,” she told police. Rizvana, allegedly, asked him not to abuse her over such a petty issue. “This enraged him and he got a stick and began hitting me. I threatened to call the police if he did not stop. Hearing this, he looked around and grabbed a razor. Before I could understand what was happening, he held me by force, pulled my hair and began shaving my head mercilessly.
All my pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears,” she told police. Rizvana claimed that Imran released her only after shaving her entire head. “My screams brought the neighbours rushing to the house. They told me to go to the police but I was so frightened and traumatized that I managed to do so only after three days,” she said. The police have filed a complaint of causing hurt, uttering abusive words and criminal intimidation against Imran.
New direct flight to Abu Dhabi
New direct flight to Abu Dhabi
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad : 14.05.2022
Adding to the frequency of direct flights between Ahmedabad and Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia on Friday launched a new direct flight connecting the destinations. The return flight will operate on Monday and Friday, departing from Abu Dhabi at 6. 10pm IST and departing from Ahmedabad at 6. 50pm IST.
The flight will operate according to the aforementioned schedule till May 30. From June 3 to October 30, the departure timings of the flight from Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad will be 1. 10pm and 1. 50pm respectively. Recently, direct flights to a slew of international and domestic destinations were launched from the SVPI airport
Age no bar: 2-yr-old boy, 100-yr-old man undergo cataract surgery Both Beat Blur, Slaying Many A Misconception Too
Age no bar: 2-yr-old boy, 100-yr-old man undergo cataract surgery Both Beat Blur, Slaying Many A Misconception Too
Parth Shastri & Yagnesh Mehta TNN Ahmedabad/Surat :
Their vision was blurred and it had nothing to do with the 98-year generation gap between them. Two-year-old Lakshit Kayath of Surat and 100-year-old Mansukh Gandhi of Ahmedabad – both cataract patients – needed to go under the knife to improve their vision. Now, while one can now hope to clearly look forward to the future, the other can gladly look back at a life welllived, thanks to the efforts of Dr Manish Rawal, a city-based eye surgeon who operated upon Gandhi, a patient of diabetes, blood pressure and thyroid, who also contracted Covid-19 in 2021.
However, for Lakshit, it was the first of two cataract surgeries on Friday. While he was operated on the right eye at Surat’s Old Civil Hospital, he will undergo a similar surgery in the left eye after a few months. Cataract is rare among kids and as per experts, only three of Lakshit’s age are found with cataract out of 10,000. Difficulties with his sight in the only eye began last year for the centurion resident of Naranpura area in Ahmedabad. Gandhi, who had already lost an eye in an accident early on, was operated upon on Thursday. ›Continued on P 8 ‘Cataract may have formed during pregnancy’ The surgery was planned in October last year, but as his sugar levels shot up earlier this year, it had to be postponed. He’s very healthy and only required local anaesthesia.
The surgery went well,” said Dr Rawal, adding that Gandhi has remained his oldest patient to date. Talking about issues associated with cataract operation at an old age, Dr Rawal said that the cataract starts hardening as the age progresses after 65 years.
“We now use phacoemulsification procedure to remove the cataract, but at a very older age, it turns leathery and we need extra care. The operation also gets difficult due to relatively weaker eye muscles,” he added. Ghanshyam Gandhi, his son, said that his father’s life begins at 100. “He has had diabetes for the past 50 years. 5/14/22, 8:58 AM about:blank about:blank 2/2 But he has led a very disciplined life. He was driving a vehicle till the age of 95 years. He stopped only after the RTO did not renew his license! His joie de vivre inspires us all,” he said. Lakshit’s parents came to know about the cataract when they took the kid for a medical check-up for diarrhoea.
“The cataract was visible hence, we decided to remove it immediately as it can damage the boy’s vision permanently. The lens has been replaced with an imported foldable lens,” ophthalmic surgeon at OCHS, Dr Rishi Mathur, told TOI. About the reasons behind cataract at such a young age, Dr Mathur said:
“The exact reason is not known and could be because of infection during pregnancy. Parents should get routine health check-ups of children done on a regular basis.” Lakshit’s father Pavan works in a textile firm and he was unable to afford the surgery expenses at a private hospital which could cost him Rs 70,000 for one eye.
Students keen on foreign study fear losing a yr/sem Final-Year Engg, Arts, Sc Exams Only In June
Students keen on foreign study fear losing a yr/sem Final-Year Engg, Arts, Sc Exams Only In June
Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com
Chennai : Students keen on going abroad for higher studies for the September 2022 intake are worried as final year exams for engineering and arts and science streams are scheduled only in June. They may have to waste one year/semester if they don’t get marksheets and provisional certificates by July, say experts, urging universities to prioritize giving certificates by then. Post-pandemic, interest to study in foreign universities among final year UG students has upped, with queries reaching pre-Covid levels, say education consultants.
However, due to confusion over holding online exams, the pre-final se- mester exams held only in February. It delayed final semester exams. Final exams at Anna University (AU), usually over in May, are set to begin only in the last week of June. Vinoth, an engineering student from a city college, wants to join Masters in aerospace engineering at University of Sydney. “As per the current schedule, my final semester exams will be over in the first week of July. But the academic session starts in August. It would be very difficult to join the university this year as I may not get a provisional degree certificate or marksheet on time,” he said.
It is only after submitting the documents for completing the course will the conditional offer from the university arrive and help kickstart the visa process. “AUshould give priority to final year students so we can pursue higher studies in foreign universities without break,” he added. Swetha, who has got a seat at University of Manchester for a Masters in management information systems, said the course starts on September 9. “As per schedule, I will get the provisional certificate only in mid-August.
It will be very difficult to get a visa before classes start. I have postponed my plans to next year,” she said, adding that she plans to apply for universities in Canada during the next academic year. Deemed universities have completed their exams. Hari Venkatesh, a student from such an institution in the city, is confident of joining the Masters course in supply chain management at University of Kent in the UK. After a two-year lull, educational consultants were looking forward to the September intake.
They are worried. “For the September intake, we need to apply for a visa by the end of July so students can get it on time. But, we are doubtful whether they will get it as their exams are set to be completed only in the first week of July,” said R Sureshkumar, managing director of Chennai-based Truematics Overseas Education Consultancy. Srinivas Venkateswaran, director of Global Degrees, said that most of the top 100 universities in the world have one intake window in August or September. “Students might end up wasting almost one year,” he said, urging universities in Tamil Nadu to either advance the exams for final year students or speed up the declaration of results.
Vanjiram at ₹1,600/kg: Find other fish to fry
Vanjiram at ₹1,600/kg: Find other fish to fry
Oppili.P@timesgroup.com
Chennai : The seafood dinner you planned for the weekend might have to wait. Adverse weather in the past few days meant that the fibre boats which are allowed to enter the sea during the annual fishing ban period (April 15- June 15) stayed ashore, resulting in fish prices skyrocketing across the city. A fisheries department official said that, in Chennai district alone, there are more than 2,500 fibre boats. Of this, only about 200 ventured into the sea last week and majority of them returned with nothing or mini- mum catch.
Fibre boat owner S Dhanapal of Nochikkuppam said that they go up to Ennore to catch fishes. “All my six boats returned to the shore empty handed. I borrowed money for filling fuel to my boats with a hope that the catch will be good," he lamented. ABalaraman, a vendor at Kasimedu fishing harbour said that before the movement of cyclone Asani, there used to be decent catch. But, in the last three days, no catch arrived at the harbour.
“A kilo of paarai fish was sold at ₹700/kg, while sankara was priced at ₹500, matthi and kavali were sold at ₹300 and ₹200 respectively. Vanjiram, the most sought after, was sold at ₹1600 per kg last week,” said Balaraman. Avendor from Chintadripet fish market said that usually when the fishing ban is in place on the east coast, the markets source fish from west coast — both Kerala and Karnataka, but this time this was also affected. Only the fishes raised in tanks such as rohu, katla and mrigal are available in the market and their prices too are relatively high, he said
CM opens city’s longest flyover
CM opens city’s longest flyover
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Chennai : 14.05.2022
In a relief for 1. 25 lakh motorists using Velachery-Tambaram Highway everyday the second arm of Medavakkam flyover, longest in Chennai region, was opened for use from Friday. Motorists can now avoid three arterial junctions at Mount Medavakkam Main Road, Medavakkam-Mambakkam Road and Medavakkam-Sholinganallur road. It took the state highways department seven years to construct the three lane unidirectional flyover, which runs for a distance of 2. 03 km.
The project cost is ₹ 95. 2 crore. The first arm of the Medavakkam flyover, which is already functional, is about 1. 1-km long. With the opening of the twin flyovers, the highways department is optimistic that congestion at Medavakkam will reduce travel time of the public, particularly school/college students and those working in IT firms at Velachery, Pallikaranai, Thoraipakkam, Taramani and ECR, according to an official release.
"We hope that the traffic police don't close these flyovers too in the night. If done so, vehicles heading towards Sholinganallur from Pallikaranai have to take a detour," said G Vankatraman, of Pallikaranai. Along with this, chief minister MK Stalin inaugurated 12 warehouses and office spaces in Thiruvallur, Thiruvannamalai, Erode and Tirupur at ₹35 crore.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
கொலுசு அணிந்த சரஸ்வதி * நாகப்பட்டினம் மாவட்டம் கடலங்குடியில் உள்ள சிவன் கோவிலில் வளையல், கொலுசு அணிந்தபடி சரஸ்வதிதேவி காட்சியளிக்கிறாள். ச...
-
கட்சியிலிருந்து நேற்றே ஒதுங்கிவிட்டேன்! டி.டி.வி.தினகரன் தடாலடி பேட்டி vikatan news ராகினி ஆத்ம வெண்டி மு. படம்: ஸ்ரீநிவாசலு 'அ.த...
