AIIMS, JIPMER to come under NEET: Minister

05/10/2019,NEW DELHI

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said AIIMS and JIPMER would be included under the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) from 2020 with the government keen on implementing the National Medical Commission (NMC)-2019 at a fast pace.

Two medicos, their fathers seek bail

05/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,THENI

Two medical students, Rahul and Praveen, and their parents Davis and A.K.S. Saravanan, who have been figuring in the NEET impersonation case have filed bail applications before a fast track court, as the Judicial Magistrate was on leave on Friday.

In connection with the case, seven persons have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Udit Surya’s anticipatory bail application filed in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court was treated as a bail application, and the court wanted to know from the CB-CID if the continued detention of the student was required. The hearing was adjourned to October 14.

On the hunt

CB-CID sleuths are on the hunt for suspected agents based in Bengaluru and Kerala, who had allegedly facilitated impersonators for the students, after taking large sums of money from them.

NEET illegalities may not be confined to T.N., suspects HC

Court impleads NTA, MHRD and Union Health Ministry as parties to case

05/10/2019, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Unable to fathom why the National Testing Agency (NTA) failed to put in place an effective system to prevent illegalities such as impersonation in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), the Madras High Court on Friday suspected that the illegality of clearing the test through proxies would have happened across the country and not just in Tamil Nadu. In the State so far, five students and their parents are under scrutiny.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and P. Velmurugan suo motu impleaded the NTA, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as respondents to a writ appeal and sought to know whether such impersonation in NEET had happened in any other State.

When Abdul Saleem, standing counsel for the Selection Committee in the Directorate of Medical Education, pointed out that so far, two MBBS students in the State had been found to have gained admission in government medical colleges apart from three more, who had joined private colleges, the judges said there appeared to be more than what meets the eye.

“These things could not have happened without the active connivance of the government as well as college officials. How could you not have a system in place for verifying the credentials of those who had applied for the test and those who come to write it? ,” the senior judge in the Bench said.

He recalled that it was to avoid such malpractices he had been persuading the authorities to insist upon submission of Aadhaar card details. “If you had verified the details through Aadhaar, such impersonation would not have happened and so many medical seats would not have gone waste and given away in a platter to undeserving candidates,” the judge said.

He added that at least in the future a reliable monitoring mechanism should be put in place. Replying to it, Mr. Saleem said, the NTA was contemplating the possibility of obtaining finger prints of the candidates to avoid such impersonations in the future.

The Division Bench directed the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) probing the NEET impersonation cases in the State to submit by October 15 a detailed report on the probe conducted so far.

The judges wanted to know the number of students and parents involved in the issue, the amount of money that had been transacted for such impersonation, the details of the agents as well as government and college officials involved in the offence.

The interim order was passed after impleading the CB-CID too as one of the respondents to a writ appeal relating to alleged irregularities in filling up non-resident Indian (NRI) quota seats in private medical colleges.

SRM Arts and Science Colleg Notification

Single med entrance to be held from next year

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi  05.10.2019

Medical aspirants will have to face just a single entrance test for admission to any medical college across the country, including AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) and PGI from next year.

The common National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to under graduate medical courses from the 2020-21session will be conducted as per the National Medical Commission Act 2019, health ministry said on Friday.

While the ministry has already started notifying rules to implement the new law, members of the National Medical Commission — which will replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) — will be chosen through a draw of lots on October 14. “The efforts of the government are to constitute the NMC at the earliest so that some of the major reforms can be implemented from the coming academic year 2020-21,” health minister Harsh Vardhan said.

Vardhan said the government is also working to implement fee regulations from 2020-21session.

Earlier in September, the ministry notified five rules under the NMC Act, 2019.

With the objective to reform medical education and end corruption, the new Act was passed by the Parliament during the last session replacing the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act.

The government has received nominations from 23 vice chancellors and 22 nominations from state medical councils for constitution of NMC. “The ministry has already invited applications for the posts of chairperson of the commission, presidents and members of four autonomous boards, members and secretary of the commission and the last date for submission of the applications is October 18,” Vardhan said.

Women’s welfare officers without pay for 8 months
Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:05.10.2019

For the last eight to nine months, women protection officers and their junior assistants have not received salaries due to an oversight in paperwork. They include a total of 64 staff members, a woman officer and one junior assistant for each of the 32 districts, appointed under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.

An official source said the state social welfare department had failed to include their salary component in the annual budget allocation report for the fiscal year 2019-2020 submitted to the government. The monthly salary of the protection officer is ₹30,000 and that of the junior assistant is ₹12,000. Senior officials made several pleas to set right the anomaly. But, all the 64, hired on contractual basis, have gone without pay from February 2019.

When contacted, Chennai district social welfare officer Sandiya Maheshwari denied such a complaint. Commissioner of social welfare department T Abraham, however, said, “A few of the protection officers represented the issue to me after I assumed charge (two months ago). They will receive their salaries with arrears within two weeks. An order will be passed soon,” he said.

Abraham attributed it to a lack of communication between the finance and social welfare departments. As per the provision of the act that came into effect in 2006, the posts of protection officer and a junior assistant were created in the year 2008 after a directive from the Centre.

While ₹15,000 was fixed as monthly pay for the protection officers, it was ₹6,000 for the junior assistant. The salaries were doubled in November 2017. They, however, stopped getting their salaries from February 2019.

“We have been spending from our pockets. Since we are appointed on contract basis, many of us are scared to raise the issue as the officials indicated that we will be sacked,” said an officer, seeking anonymity.

The protection officers are entrusted with the task of assisting the victims of domestic violence, right from receiving complaints to executing the orders of the court besides ensuring they receive compensation. They receive 30 to 50 cases a month.

A source said the state social welfare department had failed to include their salary component in the annual budget allocation report for 2019-2020

HC seeks Centre’s report on NEET impersonation racket

‘Scam Not Possible Without Help Of Officials’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:05.10.2019

Madras high court has impleaded the central government in the ongoing NEET impersonation scam, saying the issue is not confined to Tamil Nadu alone. Asserting that NEET impersonation could not have been possible without the involvement of officials, the court directed the CB-CID to provide details as to the involvement of government or college officials in the scam.

“Prima facie, it is clear that without the cooperation of any person, it is impossible for a student to make another person write his exam. Therefore, the CB-CID shall give details of the number of students who gained admission by fraudulent methods, how many persons helped them during malpractice, and whether government officials or the college administration is also involved in this fraud,” a division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice P Velmurugan said.

The bench passed the interim order on the plea moved by S Dheeran of Coimbatore seeking direction to the state government to undertake proper counselling and mop-up procedure to fill up 207 management quota seats that have become available owing to non-filling of NRI quota seats.

In a recent order, the court directed 10 private medical colleges in Tamil Nadu to submit details of admissions made under the non-resident Indian (NRI) quota.

When the plea came up for further hearing on Friday, the court was informed that three more private colleges — KMCH Medical College, Coimbatore, Muthukumaran Medical College, Chennai, and Madha Medical College & Hospital, Chennai – have to be impleaded.

Recording the same, the bench suo motu impleaded the three colleges and directed them to file details of students admitted under the NRI quota and the procedure followed by October 15.

This apart, counsel Abdul Saleem representing the selection committee informed the court that two more students have been found to be impersonated and got admission in government medical college and three others had got admission in deemed universities and that CB-CID is investigating the cases.

To this, the bench noted that the fraud should have spread all over India and more students should have got seats by impersonation or duplication by playing fraud throughout the country.

The court then suo motu impleaded Union ministry of human resource development, national testing agency, Tamil Nadu’s health department and the DGP as party respondents and directed them to file details as to the procedures followed while allowing the students to enter into the examination hall and the procedures followed by the selection committee while admitting the students into the hall and whether any communication takes place in the exam hall.

The bench of the Madras high court noted that the fraud should have spread all over India and more students should have got seats by impersonation or duplication by playing fraud throughout the country