TN’s move to provide reservation in MBBS may revive govt schools

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:23.03.2020

The state government's move to provide special reservation for NEET qualified government school students may revive the staterun schools as it gives hope to the students to join MBBS.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced that the state government would form a committee headed by a high court retired judge to make recommendations on this regard. The special reservation would be provided within existing 69% reservation.

The number of students joining medical colleges from government schools has reduced from 34in 2016 to 2 last year following the NEET based medical admission. Though more than 2000 students from government schools qualified in NEET only two students were able to join due to the increase in the MBBS cut-off last year.

"It is an excellent move. More students will join the government schools thereby they would flourish again. It also would help government school students to study in government medical colleges," said G Shanmugavel, headmaster, Government Higher Secondary School in Chennai.

He said government school students are equally talented when compared to the private school students but not able to give repeat attempts to crack the test.

Last year, about 70% of students joined MBBS courses were old students.

"We have been demanding it for many years. Students' strength in government schools would be increased," said R C Saraswathi, headmistress of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar.

Another headmaster from a city school requested the government to relax the Class I to XII rule and asked to make it either Class I to XII or Class VI to XII. "Many government schools do not have primary sections. So, parents are admitting their wards in neighbourhood primary schools. They mostly come to government schools only in Class VI," he said.

A Peter Raja, president of Tamil Nadu High School and Higher Secondary Schools Headmasters' Association said the reservation would be a big encouragement to the government school students. "Parents also will get motivated to put their children in government schools. Bright students also will stay back in government schools after completing Class X," he said.

However, educationist Prince Gajendrababu called it as a populist announcement. "The state government has failed to understand the problem. The move has to clear several hurdles," he said.

‘Thanked you doctors, police’

23.03.2020

I am a dentist and I put on my scrubs and went to work in the morning. Every day we handle dental emergencies such as extractions. We have a thorough screening of patients and inform authorities whenever we come across people with a travel history.

At 1pm, I decided to do a small five-minute Bharatnatyam performance on Facebook Live wearing my scrubs as a tribute to healthcare workers and the police who are bravehearts. I choreographed the piece, where I emoted how the emergency services have been working in this time, how they check on those who are quarantined, how they treat people, how they follow up, and, in the end, I saluted them for their services. It was a personal experience that inspired me to do this – I was impressed by the beautiful way in which they did the follow-up for my uncle, who was in quarantine after returning from Australia. The dance was dedicated to healthcare professionals and essential services staff on the front lines. I salute you!

— Dr Sahana Selvaganesh, dentist

Govt cancels passenger trains, crisis looms at Central station

100s Of Migrants Stranded Without Food And Water

L R Shankar & V Ayyappan TNN

Chennai:23.03.2020

Hundreds of passengers, most of them labourers from other states, are stranded at MGR Central railway station struggling for food and water after the Centre decided to suspend all passenger train services across the country till March 31. 

They thronged the station premises, starving in the morning but queuing up for hours to get food packets brought by volunteers and water by Metrowater authorities at noon. They didn’t care about social distancing. All they wanted was food and water and a train to go home.

The authorities should have seen this coming when they cancelled trains.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel wielding lathis tried to chase them away, announcing over a megaphone that there will be no trains for a week. However, the irate crowd stayed put, shouting “Chalo Bihar, Chalo Bihar”. Totally outnumbered, the RPF personnel allowed the people to settle down in different parts of the station campus. A few hundreds would have left if railways had operated a special train which they had announced to Santragachi for Saturday night.

ENDLESS WAIT: Hundreds of workers are stuck as train services stand cancelled till March 31

Cancellation of trains comes as a surprise for many

But, a rethink on the part of the officials that they would be encouraging more people to travel in crowded coaches made them cancel the service. “The special train was cancelled because it is risky for people to travel because of the spread of the virus,” said an official. However, the total cancellation of trains has now stumped them.

Ram Kumar, a load worker, said he needed to return to his village in Bihar. “There is no work here. I have come to the station from Chengalpet with my family. We all came here a day earlier. We have confirmed tickets. But they now say trains are not there. There is no way for us to go back. Staying back is difficult as there is no work.” The workers have been flooding the station in the last two days.

Many said they did not know about the janata curfew and train cancellations. And they were not ready to believe that there would be no trains on Monday. “We will wait and see,” said a worker.

Ashish Kumar, who was at the station on Friday, said that for many of them returning to their worksite may not be an option. “No point in going all the way back because I have told them that I will not be returning for a few months. So if there are no trains, people will have to stay here till trains resume.”

Those who had confirmed tickets bought from the counter cannot cancel the tickets and get the money back because railways have also closed reservation counters till March 31.

A senior railway official said that “We have moved them out of the station building to prevent them crowding there. That defeats the purpose of cancelling the trains. Now, it is the responsibility of the state government to move them to a safe area or a shelter.”

The mass of people who used to work at restaurants, small eateries, paan shops, ice cream shops, small firms, industrial units in the city and its suburbs have suffered the most because of small businesses either cutting down staff or closing.

With a lockdown on the cards from Monday, they now have nowhere to go but to sleep on the pavements near central station waiting for trains to resume.

Coronavirus In Karnataka: RGUHS suspends all classes, lays down instructions for medical colleges, details

Coronavirus In Karnataka: RGUHS suspends all classes, lays down instructions for medical colleges, details: Karnataka: With the continuous spread of Covid-19 across the state, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka issued a circular suspending all classes till 31st March, 2020. In a letter to...

The particular susceptibility of old people to COVID-19

22/03/2020

In India, the first three deaths due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were among the elderly. There might be a number of reasons for the potency of such viral infections in old age, one being ageing itself as the immunity levels drop after the age of 50.

Secondly, multiple diseases – high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney diseases, strokes and cancer – are responsible for lowering the immunity. Thirdly, taking multiple drugs such as steroids and chemotherapy agents will definitely reduce the immunity. The fourth is the lack of proper nutrition. Elderly people, including in the rural areas, do not take a nutritive diet. So, more than one factor is responsible for lower immunity in elderly persons, putting them at high risk of infections.

Unlike earlier, we see that the immunity levels go down at the age of 50 as diseases start at the age of 40. This is why the older population picks up infections easily.

Normally, we see pneumonia that is commonly caused by bacterial infection. That is different. Coronavirus induces two major problems – chest infection and renal problems. Chest infection causes cough, breathing difficulty, and phlegm leading to respiratory failure. The lungs of a 20-year-old man are much better than the lungs of a 60-year-old. So, this is the reason for deterioration of health.

Coronavirus affects the lung, causes pneumonia and when pneumonia is not treated properly or persons do not respond to treatment, they go for respiratory failure and should be put on ventilator. Approximately 30% of persons affected by COVID-19 died due to kidney failure.

How can we protect ourselves? Elderly persons should avoid going out. Stay indoors, no small walks, no visits to parks or shops. Within the house, it is important to take care as children can easily transmit the infection to the grandparents.

They should always use a tissue or handkerchief when coughing or sneezing, and wash hands on returning from outside. In case of mild temperature or sore throat, they should isolate themselves immediately, and consult the family physician. It is important to keep all existing diseases such as diabetes under control.

They can drink hot water, and take a diet that helps in improving immunity. Gooseberry that is an anti-oxidant and rich in vitamin C, citrus fruits such as orange and lemon, nuts such as almonds, bitter gourd, honey, curd and mushroom, could boost immunity.

If they start adding such food a little more to their diet, the immunity levels will start rising after two or three weeks. Many of them are house-bound and not exposed to sunlight.

As a result, many of them have low vitamin-D levels. So, they can try and sit just outside their homes or walk within the premises for 30 minutes in the morning and evening for exposure to sunlight. If elderly persons take all these precautions, they can be safe.

Passport office to only handle urgent cases

22/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The Regional Passport Office here and all Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office PSKs will be handling appointments of only those who have emergencies, from March 23 to April 3.

The offices will not be functioning in full capacity.

In a statement, Ashok Babu, Regional Passport Officer, requested all those who have scheduled appointments for this period to reschedule them to a date after April 3.

The release added that social distancing was key to prevent COVID-19.

Retired doctors to be roped in

22/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

The Health Department has invited retired doctors to serve in government hospitals for the management of COVID-19.

“Our doctors, nurses and paramedical staff are working round-the-clock in government hospitals. We are now inviting retired doctors, experts and ex-servicemen. We have formed a team to identify retired doctors to be ready to come and work in government hospitals at any time,” said Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.

“Though the present situation in the State does not warrant such measures, we are looking at what happened in China, what is happening in Italy and the United States. When tackling COVID-19 is a huge challenge for even developed countries, we are looking at how we can face such challenges,” he told reporters, after inspecting the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on Saturday.

A health official said that they would be calling both retired doctors and voluntary private doctors.