Collector's timely help saves TN boy from missing NEET exam

Collector's timely help saves TN boy from missing NEET exam

Collector Amar Kushwaha’s timely help saved a NEET aspirant from missing the entrance examination on Sunday.

Published: 13th September 2021 03:49 AM 

Collector Amar Kushwaha dropping a NEET aspirant at the exam centre in Yelagiri Hills on Sunday | Express

By Express News Service

TIRUPATHUR: Collector Amar Kushwaha’s timely help saved a NEET aspirant from missing the entrance examination on Sunday. The Collector was on his way to the Yelagiri Hills, when he saw 17-year-old Vediappan waiting for a vehicle at the foothills near the Ponneri check post.

Kushwaha was going to inspect one of the NEET centres set up at the hills in the district. It was already 1.15 pm and all the special buses had already left for the centre. Candidates had to report to their centres at 1.30 pm, 30 minutes before the test.

“I stopped at the check post to monitor the arrangements made to regulate traffic. Only special buses and private vehicles were allowed uphill,” the Collector told TNIE. At that time, I got to know Vediappan was stuck there, he added.

A resident of Vettavalam in Tiruvannamalai, Vediappan boarded a bus from his village in the morning, went to Vellore and then came to the district. The roundabout journey reportedly caused the delay. “He seemed nervous but I gave him a lift and dropped him at the centre 20 minutes before the test. After frisking and other procedures were over, he was allowed to enter,” added Amar Kushwaha. The district had two NEET centres.

NEET exam: Physics section most difficult, say candidates

NEET exam: Physics section most difficult, say candidates

This year’s NEET paper had new elements like match the column and assertion-reasoning questions

Published: 13th September 2021 04:44 AM 

NEET candidates at Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School in Chennai on Sunday | P Jawahar

By KV Navya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Amid opposition from political parties and a section of the public, the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted on Sunday. At least 1,10,971 students were scheduled to appear for the test from across the State. Most of the students TNIE interacted with found the Physics section the most difficult and time-consuming among all the three sections — Biology, Chemistry, Physics.

“The paper was tough compared to last year. In Physics, numerical questions were lengthy and I had to move to other sections to score marks. Ideally, one question must be solved in one minute. But Physics questions took way more time than that,” said one of the candidates, S Anuradha, at Velachery.

This year’s NEET paper had new elements like match the column and assertion-reasoning questions. Subject experts said Biology questions were the easiest, and Chemistry ones were moderate. “Biology section had questions mostly from the textbook but Chemistry and Physics sections had numerical and conceptual questions. Nearly 40 per cent of the questions in the Physics section were moderately difficult.

Last year, it was about 30 per cent. This may have an impact on the cut-off level,” said K Bhargav, a tutor at a NEET coaching centre at T Nagar. According to the parents, the online classes played spoilsport for the students. “Problem-solving questions are best explained offline. Subjects like Maths and Physics are very difficult to teach online. Students also lacked practice due to uncertainty around NEET in the State,” said one of the parents at Taramani.

1,10,971 Total number of students scheduled to appear from TN

17,992 Students scheduled to appear from Chennai

Exam time: 2 to 5 pm

Covid SOP followed

Covid code of conduct, including wearing masks, using sanitisers, and ensuring social distancing, were followed in most of the NEET centres in the city. Though there was little crowding at the beginning, police officials and staff at the exam centres ensured social distancing. Many exam centres arranged separate lunch rooms on the premises and had microphones to make important announcements

‘All parties in one tone to do away with neet’

Tiruchy: Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Sunday said that all the parties in the State assembly, including the BJP, had shown consensus to do away with NEET. We will continue to protest against it and with the help of all parties, hopefully do away with NEET, he added. He was speaking on the sidelines of inaugurating a ration shop near Katur in Cauvery Nagar at `16.25 lakh sourced from MLA fund. Tiruchy Collector S Sivarasu was also present.

Aspirant with error in hall ticket allowed to write test -

Aspirant with error in hall ticket allowed to write test -

The Times Of India

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:13.09.2021

Madras high court at a special sitting on Saturday night permitted a female medical aspirant, who received her admit card with a male candidate’s photograph and signature printed on it, to appear for NEET.

Petitioner S Vengatesan of Madurai, a goods vehicle driver, said his daughter Shanmugapriya had secured 92.8% marks in Class X and 91.54% in Class XII and has been preparing for NEET for two years determined to become a doctor. She had applied for the test by uploading her details online. However, on Saturday, they were shocked to see the photograph of a male candidate called Alex Pandian and his signature on the admit card she downloaded.

Justice R Suresh Kumar observed that all details such as her name, roll number, gender, category, application number and father’s name have been printed correctly as uploaded by the petitioner’s daughter, but for the photo and signature which were strangely of a male candidate. This shows that it is her admit card. Such a mistake could not have emanated from Shanmugapriya but only at the side of NTA, the judge said. Taking into account that she was a bright student, the judge passed the interim order directing NTA and authorities at the exam centre to permit the girl to appear for NEET without raising any objection. Following the court’s direction, Shanmugapriya was allowed to appear for the exam at a centre set up at Solamalai College of Engineering in Madurai

OVER 95% OF 16L ASPIRANTS TAKE NEET

OVER 95% OF 16L ASPIRANTS TAKE NEET

Times of India Delhi Edition

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2021 conducted on Sunday recorded one of the highest attendances in the past five years with over 95% of the 16.1 lakh aspirants taking the exam, reports Manash Gohain. The high level of attendance can be gauged from the photograph of aspirants queueing up outside a NEET centre in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. The last time the medical entrance exam logged 94% attendance was in 2017 when 11.4 lakh students had registered. The all-time high of 97% was recorded in 2018. ‘We are yet to receive reports from all the centres. But the trend so far, based on majority of the centre reports we have received, is over 95% attendance,’ said Vineet Joshi, director general, National Testing Agency. Two cases of impersonation — one each in Allahabad and Bangalore — have been detected so far. ‘We are looking at other doubtful cases. The numbers could be around 10,’ said Joshi. Three Covid-positive candidates were allowed to take the exam in isolation in Kerala.

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Advisory warns pensioners against online frauds

Advisory warns pensioners against online frauds

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:13.09.2021

In a bid to protect pensioners from online frauds, the district administration has issued an advisory for them. It has been found that many times fraudsters making fake calls to pensioners for online updation of their life certificate.

The district pension officer said that cyber conmen make a call to a pensioner with his complete data, date of appointment, PPO number, Adhar number and date of retirement, thereby giving an impression as if the call is genuine for online updation of life certificate.

Cases of senior citizens getting duped after sharing OTP has become quite common these days. Fraudsters, who impersonate as staff of the pension directorate, often make calls for updation of life certificates. Once a pensioner shares OTP with the fraudster, the latter gets direct access to the pensioner's bank account and thus money in the account is siphoned off. The official said that pensioners need to remain vigilant and cautious, as the pension directorate never makes a phone call to anyone for online updation of life certificate.

Senior citizens, pensioners on cyber criminals’ radar

Senior citizens, pensioners on cyber criminals’ radar

Over 24 Such Cases Being Reported Every Month In Bhopal

Sudeept.Mishra@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:13.09.2021

In the last few months, there has been a steady rise in cyber-fraud cases involving senior citizens and retired government officials. Every month around two dozen such cases are being reported in the city in which the elderly are targeted by online fraudsters, said cops.

The fraudsters posing as telecom company executives or bank officials send links to the victims and ask them to download remote access apps on their smartphone on the pretext of paying a meagre amount of Rs 10 for completing the SIM verification or KYC update and hack their phones to access their bank accounts.

The Bhopal cyber-crime branch has recently registered a number of such cases in which elderly people were duped by online fraudsters. Police have been issuing advisories regularly to spread awareness among senior citizens and pension account holders.

In on such case, victim Arif-Ur-Rehman Khan, 78, a resident of Aditya Avenue Colony on Airport Road, received an SMS on his mobile phone that his SIM card KYC had expired. Few minutes later, he received a call on his mobile phone on which the caller introduced himself as an executive with BSNL and took details apparently to update his KYC online. The accused told him to give the OTP received on his mobile number.

The senior citizen fell in the trap and gave the OTP received on his mobile number to the fraudster. The accused siphoned Rs 74000 from his bank account in three transactions.

In another case reported around a week ago, complainant Jai Kishan Sharma, 70, a resident Katara Hills, told police that an unidentified fraudster called on his wife’s mobile phone on September 1, and introduced himself as an executive of a telecom company. The accused lured the victim in his net stating that the KYC of her SIM card needs to be updated and sent a link to download an application. He took the code and hacked her mobile phone. However, due to a glitch he couldn’t siphon money through the app so he asked her OTPs making various excuses and siphoned Rs 1.9 lakh from her bank account.

ASP (Cyber-crime branch) Ankit Jaiswal said, the victims should report the cyber-crimes immediately to police, especially in cases of financial frauds. The money siphoned by the accused from the victims’ accounts remains in their bank accounts for some time before they withdraw it. If the cases are reported to police immediately, cops would contact the banks concerned to freeze the bank accounts of the fraudsters used to siphon money.