Anna univ to hold separate entrance test

PG Candidates Need To Clear AUCET 2019

A Ragu Raman TNN

Chennai:

30.04.2019

Friction between Anna University and the department of higher education has led to the university deciding to have a separate entrance exam for the PG courses it conducts on its own campuses.

Candidates for ME, MTech, MArch, MPlan, MBA or MCA at university departments, its constituent colleges and regional campuses will now need to clear the Anna University Common Entrance Test (AUCET) 2019. Till last year, the university used to conduct Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TANCET) and candidates were admitted to PG courses based on their scores in TANCET and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

“Students who wish to join the affiliated private engineering colleges and government engineering colleges have to appear for TANCET 2019,” said a university official.

As per the new system, Anna University will conduct the entrance for MCA and MBA on June 22. The syllabus for the test is likely to be similar to that of GATE. The registration of application would be exclusively online.

For ME, MTech, MArch and MPlan the test will be held on June 23. Registration of applications start on May 6 and the last date for registration is May 25. Due to the differences of opinion over reconstitution of Tamil Nadu Engineering Committee (TNEA), Anna University vice chancellor M K Surappa had resigned from the committee. Now, DOTE will conduct the online engineering counselling for UG admissions.

“Following the reconstitution of TNEA, the committee for Tamil Nadu Common Admission (TANCA) also changed and Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) commissioner was made the co-chairman of the committee,” said a source in the University.

PMK founder Ramadoss, meanwhile, has condemned the announcement of separate exam for university departments and constituent colleges by saying it would lead to confusion.

He has called for the removal of Surappa as VC.

Anna University Teacher’s Association (AUTA), however, has expressed full confidence in Surappa. In a statement on Monday, AUTA said, “The appointment was made by the governor of Tamil Nadu and politicians shall not undermine such a prestigious position.”

96% students clear ‘toughest’ maths paper; 50% schools register all-pass

CLASS X RESULTS: PASS PERCENTAGE RISES TO 95.2%, 0.7% MORE THAN 2018; TIRUPUR DIST FIRST WITH 98.53%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:30.04.2019

The overall pass percentage in the Class X state board exams in Tamil Nadu touched 95.2% this year, slightly better than last year’s 94.5% and as usual girls fared better than boys. A record 97% girls cleared the exam while 93.3% boys passed.

Of 12,548 schools, nearly half — 6,100 schools — registered 100% pass. More students cleared science subjects

(98.56%) and 96.46% students cleared maths, which was termed as the toughest exam in recent years. Tirupur district registered the highest pass percentage with 98.53% rate followed by Ramanathapuram, 98.48%, and Namakkal, 98.45%.

Headmasters said the number of those scoring centum in science and maths had come down because of the creative questions. “Students who were able to think and answer creatively alone were able to score 100 out of 100,” said G J Manohar, headmaster, Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chennai.

Students can apply for retotalling from May 2

Many students said the five marks section in science was also tough this year. “We have designed the question paper in a way to make it tough to score the centum. Students have to read the entire book and have to understand the concepts to score full marks,” said D.Vasundradevi, director of government examinations.

The matriculation schools registered highest pass percentage with 99%. Government schools saw 92.48% pass percentage, while aided schools registered 94.53%.

Students can download the provisional marksheets through their schools from May 2. From May 6, they can download the marksheets on their own by registering their date of birth and registration number.

Candidates can apply for retotalling from May 2 to 4 through their schools. The fee for retotalling for English and language is ₹305 each and for other subjects, it is ₹205 each.

AI flights delayed for second day

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:30.04.2019

Air India flight delays continued for the second day on Monday at Chennai airport, as congestion caused by Sunday’s delays affected services. It affected people who were returning home or travelling for business.

Around 13 departures were delayed by more than an hour since early morning. The delayed flights included three to Delhi and one flight to Singapore. The 6.10am flight to Delhi was delayed by more than three hours and left at 9.30am. Flights to Mumbai, Kochi, Madurai and Kolkata were delayed by an hour, while a flight to Mumbai and Coimbatore was delayed by less than an hour in the afternoon. The delays caused congestion at the airport though some of the passengers were alerted about the rescheduling in advance.

The delays were caused because of a slowdown of Air India's servers two days ago. The airline had set the snag right on Saturday night but there were problems in other airports. A few of the departures in Chennai were also delayed because of arrival delays. An official said handling of aircraft and baggage were hit because of the large number of delays. Spice-Jet flights were delayed throughout the day by nearly an hour. The disruption early morning on Monday created inconvenience to passengers as a huge number of travellers fly for work on early morning flights. The number of passengers are also high because of summer vacation. Around 10 Air India flights were delayed on Sunday creating chaos and long queues at the check in counters.

Cyclone Fani to skip city, eyes AP, Odisha

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:30.04.2019

Tamil Nadu’s loss is Andhra Pradesh and Odisha’s gain, as cyclone Fani is expected to bring only light rain in Chennai and its surrounding districts, while heavy rain is expected in several districts along the east coast of India for the next two days.

According to IMD, cloudy skies and scattered light rain are expected in the city on April 30 and May 1 as Fani will pass Chennai coast at a distance of about 300 to 350km on May 1. However, once it crosses Chennai, the cyclone, which is expected to intensify into a severe cyclone by April 29, will recurve towards Andhra Pradesh.

The sudden shift in the course of the cyclone will bring heavy rain to north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha, as well as Gangetic West Bengal and Bangladesh.

“Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at a few places over Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, the rain depends on the movement of the cyclone,” said S Balachandran, DDG, IMD.

According to Skymet Weather, Cyclone Fani was about 750km east-southeast of Chennai on Monday evening. After it crosses the north of Chennai on May 1, it will recurve in the east-northeast direction towards Andhra Pradesh and veer further up north. By April 30, it is expected to intensify into a very severe cyclone and by May 1, extremely severe cyclone. By then, the cyclone is expected to shift course and bring heavy rain in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, south coastal Odisha and West Bengal.

While only light and patchy rain has been forecast in and around Chennai, winds are expected to gust at a speed of about 40 to 60kmph with lightning likely to occur at isolated places. The sea condition will be rough on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, different weather models are generating different results when it comes to the cyclone’s landfall. A few projected that the cyclone will weaken before it reaches Bangladesh coast, while others showed that it will make a landfall near Bangladesh.

“Though the cyclone has a cloud cover of about 1,000km radius, the actual rain-bearing clouds are only at about 100 to 200km radius from the eye. The rest are at a 10,000 to 20,000 feet height which won’t bring rain,” said Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist, Skymet Weather.

Girl whose dad is in jail for mom’s death gets 72%

GRIT AND RESILIENCE KEEP THEM GOING AND HELP MAKE A MARK

Aditi.R@timesgroup.com

30.04.2019

Gayathri (name changed) was nine when she saw her mother set herself on fire after enduring years of dowry harassment. She later died of her injuries. Her father was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the Palayamkottai prison. Gayathri and her two younger sisters were left to fend for themselves.

“But during those turbulent times we remembered our mother’s words — to be brave, stay focussed and be educated,” she said.

Gayathri scored 72% in the Class X board exams. Though it was a lot less than what she had hoped for, she is satisfied. “Math was the toughest, since the questions were tricky. I lost my marks there. But next year I will do better,” she said.

After her mother passed away, Gayathri and her sisters were sent to her paternal grandfather’s house. But their grandfather declared his helplessness and they moved to her uncle’s place. However, the siblings found their uncle was suffering from mental illness. The girls were rescued by the district Child Welfare Committee and a good Samaritan sponsored their education at a local residential school in Tirunelveli.

The incidents starting from her mother’s death have deeply scarred the 15-year-old. She has been struggling with bouts of depression and is undergoing counselling and therapy.

“My sisters were too young during the death of my mother, so they don’t remember anything,” she said.

But she has clearly planned her future. “I will be taking up pure science to become a nurse,” she saidand explained, “My economic condition does not allow me to prepare for NEET and pursue MBBS. My focus right now is to top the next board exams, get admission in a good college and move to Chennai with my sisters.” she said.

Directorate of examinations draws veil of secrecy over result details

A Ragu Raman TNN

30.04.2019

Along with abolition of ranks, the Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE), which conducts the state board exams, has drawn a veil of secrecy over the details of the results. This makes it difficult for parents and teachers to analyze the performance of students and guide them for higher studies.

“It would be easy for the students to select the groups in Class XI, if they know the performance of other students in the boards. Without knowing the competition, it would be difficult for them,” said Jayaprakash A. Gandhi, a career consultant. “It’s fine if they don’t want to give the details of toppers. But, they should at least say how many students score above 450 and 400 so that everyone can have an idea where they stand,” he added.

In the past two years, the board gave the slab-wise performance of students — the number of students who scored above 481 out of 500 marks, between 451 and 480, 426 and450, and 401 and 425 marks. It also said how many students scored between 301 and 400, and 201 and 300 marks. For the Class XII exam also they had given a break-up of performance – and also how many scored centum and how many students failed in single or multiple subjects, which helped the teachers analyze what worked and what went wrong.

But, this year after increasing the difficulty of question papers, and with

many students scoring less than 400 marks, the board simply did not share any of these details, which has left many teachers and parents confused.

In the plus 2 results also many students had no idea whether the cut-off would come down or go up without knowing the full details.

“With the details, a student would know whether he would get admission in a good college or not. Now, many students with 180 cut-off marks believe they would get admission in Anna University,” Jayaprakash Gandhi said.

Some teachers claimed that the DGE has adopted moderation to increase the pass percentage in the maths exam this year. They asked the DGE to release the true results, which would reflect the actual state of school education. D Vasundradevi, director of government examinations, said, “We didn’t do any moderation. But, the question paper design was such that it was easy to clear the exam but tough to score high marks.”

Asked why the board was not sharing details, she said, “Other boards including CBSE are not sharing details other than pass percentage. We felt sharing the centum and performance details would demotivate the students.”

UNLIKE PAST TWO YEARS, THIS YEAR THE BOARD DID NOT SHARE ANY DETAILS LIKE SLAB-WISE PERFORMANCE, LEAVING MANY TEACHERS AND PARENTS CONFUSED

Madurai EVM Security lapse: Madras HC orders disciplinary 
action against errant Election Officials 

Meera Emmanuel April 28 2019 

https://barandbench.com/evm-security-lapse-madras-hc-transfer-election-officials/

After it came to light that a Tahsildar and three other municipal officers had trespassed into a room proximate to an EVM strongroom in the Madurai constituency, the Madras High Court has directed that disciplinary action be taken against errant election officials in charge.

The order was passed on a plea filed in the wake of the alleged trespass by Su Venkatesan, an electoral candidate representing the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

For allowing the security lapse, the Bench of S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad on Saturday directed the transfer of the following officials i.e. Dr S Natarajan, the Madurai Collector/ District Election Officer; Guruchandran, the Assistant Returning Officer to the Collector; Mohandas, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of elections and other police officers in charge.

A letter addressed by the ECI dated April 27 (Saturday) informed the Court of their transfer appointments with immediate effect.

The Court was working on Saturday to compensate for the Court’s holiday on April 18, in view of the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.

On noting that no punitive action had been initiated certain others, the Court has also directed the ECI to initiate disciplinary action or prosecution against the Personal Assistant (General) to the District Collector, Madurai District, among others reported having been involved in the incident as per a report of a designated Enquiry Officer.

The controversial incident occurred on the evening of April 20 in the No. 32, Madurai Parliamentary Constituency. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMS) had been taken to a strong room in Madurai Medical College Premises.

The EVM strongroom was expected to be monitored round the clock under strict security conditions. However, on the evening of April 20, a woman Tahsildar was found to have entered the document storage room situated above the counting room where the EVMs were kept.

As per the petition, she was allowed entry without authorisation and remained in the building for three hours, “for the reasons best known to her.” During the hearing yesterday, the Court was informed that the Tahsildar has been suspended following the incident. Three other municipal corporation employees were also reported to have accompanied her.

The petition goes on to inform,

“They did not even have any identity cards issued by the competent authority… Very shockingly, the Police and security personnel took note of their unlawful presence, only after three hours and detained them. But, on the intervention of some unidentified top officials in the City, they were let off, for obvious reasons.”

On coming to know of their illegal entry, efforts were made to contact the Returning Officer (RO), S Natarajan. However, the RO did not respond. Rather, the petitioner contended that he was only able to meet the RO around midnight.

“Shockingly”, the petitioner goes on to submit, “he [RO] said that he was not at all aware of the said incident and he came to know it only through me; which is totally untrue as he cannot be a person unaware of the said incident, when the unlawful entrants were let off only at the intervention of some officials from his office.

The said unlawful entry was made with an intention to make possible manipulations in the postal ballots.”

A representation was consequently addressed to the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to initiate a high-level inquiry into the matter. The Additional CEO for Tamil Nadu was therefore deputed to Madurai as the Enquiry Officer. A report in the matter was also submitted to the CEO.

The petitioner further alleges that there may be possible collusion between the trespassing Tashildar and her team with the ruling party to do unlawful things in their favour.

However, citing the failure of the Election Commission officials to discharge their duty, the Court was approached to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an officer not below the rank of the Principal Secretary to the Election Commission of India to conduct an enquiry into the matter under its direct supervision.

The petition also prays for a direction to provide a three-tier security system to election counting centres at Madurai and other constituencies through the deployment of adequate CPRF personnel.

Another interim direction prayed for was the appointment of a Special Observer in the rank of an IAS officer for No. 32 Madurai Parliamentary Constituency. The matter has been posted to be taken up next on April 30.

The order passed yesterday states,

“Having regard to the above discussion, we are inclined to grant the interim relief as prayed for, in the W.M.P.Nos.13147 and 13150 of 2019 and both the petitions are allowed.

We direct the registry to post the matter on 30.04.2019, for filing counter.”

Read the Order: