Training programme for treasury staff launched in Ramanathapuram 

Special Correspondent
Ramanathapuram, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST


A click will do:Collector S. Natarajan inaugurating a training programme for treasury staff in Ramanathapuram.handout_e_mail

After computerisation of service registers and pension registers of government employees and pensioners at the treasury offices, the district administration has launched training programme for treasury staff for paperless operation.

Collector S. Natarajan, who launched the training programme for the first batch of 80 staff at Syed Ammal Engineering College here recently, said that after the completion of the training programme, paper work relating to presenting salary bills and computing retirement benefits would come to an end. Presentation of contingency bills, electricity bills, travelling allowance bills and telephone bills would also come to naught after total computerisation, he added.

In the first phase, service registers of 19,294 government employees and pension registers of 11,000 pensioners have been computerised.

After the completion of computerisation, government employees and pensioners could check and verify their records either on computer or Android mobile phone, he said. Computerisation would help in averting delay in computation and payment of retirement benefits and pensions, he added.

A. Kabibu, District Treasury Officer, said Thenkasi S Jawahar, Commissioner, Treasuries and Accounts Department, would inspect the training programme on Saturday. Training for the second batch of staff would begin on June 18 and end by July end. After an operation on experimental basis for three months, the paperless work would commence from November 1, he added.

A government school with two students 

S.P. Saravanan
ERODE, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST



The Panchayat Union Primary School at Nadupalayam in Sathyamangalam block in Erode. 

Block Education Officers launch admission campaign

The Panchayat Union Primary School at Nadupalayam in Shenbagapudur Panchayat in Sathyamangalam block has only two students in the current academic year.

The school was started in 1992 for the children hailing from villages of Nadupalayam, Chinnvai Pudur, Chinna Kuttai Pudur, Nadupalayam Colony and Thimma Naicken Pudur. The school had a strength of over 100 students, until the opening of a private school in the area last year. Admissions started dropping as only five students studied last year and it reduced to just two students this year. One is studying in Class II, while the other is in Class III. A headmistress and a noon-meal organiser with an assistant are working in the school.

Villagers said that the private school was offering English as the medium of instruction, fee concession and free transportation for students and hence they admitted their children there.

Based on a representation from Sudar, an NGO, Block Education Officers from the Department of Elementary Education visited the school on Tuesday and held a meeting with the people in the area.

The people said that they would send their children to the school only after the medium of instruction becomes English.

Their other demands were filling up of teacher vacancies and better facilities in the school. The villagers were assured that their demands would be taken up with the higher officials for necessary action.

Officials told The Hindu that they have launched an admission campaign from Wednesday in the villages in the area and expressed confidence of improving admissions in the coming days.

Law College begins issuing application 

Staff Reporter 
 
Coimbatore, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST

Government Law College, Coimbatore, began issuing application for the five-year law course on Friday.

The last date for submitting filled-in application forms was June 29.

Candidates except those from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities should pay Rs. 500 at any Indian Bank branch. Candidates from the two aforementioned communities should pay only Rs. 250and attachcommunity certificate. The college would start distribution of application forms for the three-year law course on June 27, the release added.

CM offers Rs. 7 lakh solatium to Pradeepa’s family 

Special Correspondent 
 
CHENNAI, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST



Edappadi K. PalaniswamiE_LakshmiNarayanan 

Government job for family member need of the hour: Stalin
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday announced Rs. 7 lakh as solatium to the family of Pradeepa, a medical aspirant from Villupuram district who committed suicide over her failure to crack the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.

He said the AIADMK government would always look after the welfare of students, and urged them not to take any extreme steps.

DMK working president and Opposition leader M.K. Stalin said he visited the bereaved family on Tuesday, and requested the Chief Minister to provide a government job to one of the family members of the victim.

Rahul condoles death

“Her brother is studying engineering, her sister is pursuing MCA and her father, a coolie, is struggling to meet their educational expenses. The government should consider providing a job to one of the family members,” he said.

All India Congress Committee president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the death of Pradeepa. In a letter to her father Shanmugam, Mr. Gandhi said he was aggrieved to hear of Pradeepa's death. “Please accept my condolences. My thoughts and prayers are with your family at this difficult time,” he said.

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)

The government should consider providing a job to one of the family membersM.K. StalinDMK leader

State will get recognition for all medical seats soon: DME 

Staff Reporter 
 
CHENNAI, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST

‘Working on addressing the deficiencies pointed out by MCI’

With the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare turning down proposals to increase the number of MBBS seats from 150 to 250 in two government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, officials of the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) are taking steps to get the nod for the increased intake.

In its notification dated May 31, 2018, the Union Health Ministry rejected the proposal to increase the seats from 150 to 250 each in Government Tirunelveli Medical College and Madurai Medical College based on the recommendations of the Medical Council of India (MCI). The State government had also sought to increase the seats from 100 to 150 in the Government Chengalpattu Medical College. Apart from this, the Ministry also turned down the proposal for increasing the seats in a private institution - Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute.

‘Facilities lacking’

Officials said that MCI rejected the proposals, after it felt that the existing facilities were not sufficient for approving the increased intake.

G. Selvarajan, additional DME and secretary of selection committee, said, “We are looking at how we can rectify the deficiencies and approach the MCI again. There are chances that we would get the approval for the increased intake. If the approval comes, the seats could be added before the first phase of medical counselling itself. If not, they will be added during the second phase of counselling,” he said.

Last year, there were 2,900 MBBS seats in government medical colleges. Of this, 455 seats (15%) were surrendered for all-India quota.

“So, we had 2,445 MBBS seats in the State quota last year. Another 783 seats were from self-financing medical colleges and 127 from Rajah Muthiah Medical College. There were a total of 3,355 MBBS seats. It is only in the last two years that we have significantly increased the number of seats in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Apart from this, there were a total of 517 management seats in self-financing medical colleges.

No permission for renewal

The Union Health Ministry has refused to renew permission for four private institutions — Annai Medical College and Hospital (150 seats), Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Medical Sciences, Kancheepuram (150 seats), Annapoorna Medical College and Hospital, Salem (150 seats) and Sree Balaji Medical College, Chennai (150 to 250 seats).

In addition, it has rejected applications to establish four new private medical colleges in the State.

The MCI, in its executive committee meeting in April, had decided to recommend to the Central government not to permit admission of fresh batch of 150 MBBS students at Madha Medical College and Hospital, Thandalam in Chennai for the academic year 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.

If the approval comes, the seats could be added before the first phase of counselling itself. If not, they will be added during the second phase

Additional DME

Fee hike of up to 8% for professional courses

Bengaluru, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST

The fee regulatory committee, appointed by thegovernment, has recommendeda fee hike of up to 8%  from the previous year for professional courses. This  will be applicable for all medical, dental and engineering colleges for the 2018-19 academic year.

HC convicts ex-Minister, wife in assets case 

Mohamed Imranullah S. 
 
CHENNAI, June 07, 2018 00:00 IST

Sentences them to rigorous imprisonment; slaps Rs. 5 lakh fine

The Madras High Court on Wednesday convicted former Commercial Taxes Minister ‘Kadaladi’ V. Sathyamoorthy of the AIADMK, now 73, and his wife V. Chandra, 62, in a 21-year-old disproportionate assets case. They were sentenced to five and two years of rigorous imprisonment respectively and were slapped with a fine of Rs. 5 lakh each.

Justice G. Jayachandran allowed a State appeal pending since 2001 and reversed their acquittal by a trial court on August 8, 2000. The couple was found guilty of having amassed wealth to the tune of Rs. 83.32 lakh between January 1, 1992 and May 13, 1996 as claimed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). Immediately after the judgment, DVAC sleuths took the couple into custody and shifted them to the Puzhal central prison on the basis of warrants issued by the High Court Registry. Sathyamoorthy served as an MLA between June 17, 1991 and May 13, 1996 and served as Minister between May 17, 1993 and May 13, 1996 in the AIADMK government led by Jayalalithaa.

The couple was found guilty of having amassed wealth to the tune of Rs. 83.32 lakh between 1992 and 1996