Polytechnic faculty to be trained in emerging trends, technologies

Polytechnic faculty to be trained in emerging trends, technologies

 Preetika.p@timesofindia.com  01.10.2024 

Chennai : Faculty members of polytechnic colleges are to be trained in the latest technological trends such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, animation and coding to enhance their teaching skills. The National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) has introduced a two-year Master of Technology (MTech) programme, offering certification upon completion. 

“There is growing demand for courses on new technologies. We aim to ensure lifelong learning for educators by collaborating with industry experts,” said NITTTR director Usha Natesan. As of now 137 have enrolled for the programme, which will begin in Oct 2024. During audits and interviews with faculty members, the NITTTR observed that heavy workload of teaching, administrative tasks and extracurricular responsibilities left little time for professional development. 

“Not all teachers are comfortable with technology. There is a digital divide between those unfamiliar with basic audio-visual tools and younger, tech-savvy faculty. These courses are designed to bridge that gap,” said G Janardhanan, head of the Centre of Academic Studies and Research. While there are online modules, there are four mandatory in-person laboratory classes focusing on civil engineering, GIS, product management, and quality construction.

Upon completing a course, teachers must register for an examination to receive certification, Janardhanan added. To encourage participation and boost exam registrations, NITTTR had reduced the exam fee from ₹1,000 to ₹750. “Another challenge was the language barrier, but now all courses are available in regional languages, which we expect will increase enrolment,” he said. Sekar K, head of the AI department at Rajalakshmi College of Engineering, said the last online course he took was more than a decade ago. 

“Our students often know more about technology than we do. We need to keep adding value to their learning, and that means continuing our own education,” he said.Several institutions are incentivising faculty for completing these courses, awarding credit scores that are considered during appraisals. “This motivates us to keep learning,” he added.

Flights cancelled due to poor patronage

 Flights cancelled due to poor patronage 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 01.10.2024

Chennai : Two flights of Air Vistara -one from Delhi to Chennai and another one from Chennai to Delhi -were cancelled citing poor patronage. The Delhi-Chennai flight was scheduled to depart from Delhi at 7.50 am and land here at 10.30pm. Similarly, the Chennai-Delhi flight was scheduled to take off from Chennai at 11.25am and land in Delhi at 2.20pm. However, Air Vistara said both flights were cancelled. Those who had booked tickets on the flights were informed in advance, and their journeys were shifted to different flights on the same routes. Airport authorities said the flights were cancelled as a sufficient number of seats were not booked.

SC urges urgent disposal of cases against newly appointed minister Senthil Balaji

SC urges urgent disposal of cases against newly appointed minister Senthil Balaji

01.10.2024

Senthil Balaji, 48, was sworn in minister on Sunday and was assigned the same portfolios of ‘electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition and excise,’ that he had held previously in chief minister M K Stalin’s cabinet. 

The SC bench said the report submitted by the special judge indicates that he has 29 cases with him. In many cases, the trial has begun while in several others the trial is yet to begin. “The case which is the subject matter of this application has more than 2,000 accused and around 600 prosecution witnesses. 

Looking at the allegations which have been made at the charge sheet, the case requires urgent disposal.” The bench directed the registry to forward the copy of the order to the Madras high court registrar general to be placed before the chief justice for necessary action. SC said the Madras high court chief justice should entrust the case to the session judge, who is not burdened with other cases and directed the registrar general to submit a report on the next date of hearing. 

Senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Guru Krishnakumar, appearing for complainants, said Balaji was granted bail last week and now he has been made a minister. “Now it is more imperative to transfer the case outside the state. He is now a minister. We should have asked the court to impose a bail condition that he should not be made a minister,” Sanakaranarayanan said. The bench said it is a political aspect in which the court cannot do much. Krishnakumar said Balaji should be removed from the ministership. “You file an application and we will look into it,” the bench said and listed the matter for Oct 22. 

SC asks HC CJ to name another judge for Senthil Balaji case trial New Delhi : Supreme Court on Monday asked the Madras high court chief justice to appoint another judge for trial of a case related to TN minister V Senthil Balaji, who was granted bail last week in a money laundering case related to an alleged cash-for-job scam. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, which went through the report of a judge of a special court dealing with cases related to MPs and MLAs of TN, said he has 29 cases with him. “Considering the number of cases entrusted to the special judge, it would be appropriate that the chief justice of Madras high court appoint one session judge to deal with this case,” SC ordered. 

Flight disruptions expected at airport

Flight disruptions expected at airport 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 01.10.2024 

Chennai : The international airport will face changes in flight schedule due to airspace closure for the upcoming Air Force Day Parade, according to the airport director. Aerial performances, including flypasts and aerobatics displays, will require temporary restrictions from Oct 1 to Oct 8. To minimize disruptions, the airport has shared a detailed closure schedule, ranging from 15 minutes to two hours at various intervals. The first closure is set for Oct 1 from 1.45pm to 3 .15pm, with additional intervals on Oct 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8. 

Passengers are advised to check flight schedules and stay in contact with their airlines for updates. In light of the event, the airport and Marina have been declared “red zones” for security reasons, with a ban on drones and aerial objects from Oct 1 to 6, except for govt use. The airport is coordinating with the Air Force to ensure smooth travel during this period

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin moves to third rank in inter-se seniority of Ministers

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin moves to third rank in inter-se seniority of Ministers

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 01.10.2024 

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin stands third in the inter-se seniority of Ministers of the Tamil Nadu government.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister last week, Mr. Udhayanidhi, as Sports Minister, stood 10th on the seniority list.

His inter-se seniority follows that of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan.

His ranking is akin to that of Mr. Stalin when he was Deputy Chief Minister in his father M. Karunanidhi’s Cabinet, coming third after then Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan.

Ministers K.N. Nehru, I. Periyasamy, K. Ponmudy, E.V. Velu, M.R.K. Panneerselvam, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, and Thangam Thennarasu are the others on the list of top 10 Ministers (in that order) in inter-se seniority.

Senthilbalaji’s rank

Newly inducted Minister R. Rajendran stands 19th in terms of seniority, ahead of his Cabinet colleague R. Sakkarapani. Re-inducted Minister V. Senthilbalaji remains 21st on the list, which he was before he resigned the Ministership in February.

Another first-time Minister, Govi. Chezhiaan, is 27th on the list, ahead of Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. Following Mr. Rajan is re-inducted Minister S.M. Nasar at the 29th spot. Mr. Nasar stood 28th in the M.K. Stalin government that assumed office in May 2021.

On September 28, the Governor appointed Mr. Udhayanidhi Deputy Chief Minister under Article 164 of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, taking part in a function organised by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Women Development Limited on Monday, the Deputy Chief Minister distributed various awards to urban self-help groups.

‘AI can work only where there is natural intelligence’

‘AI can work only where there is natural intelligence’

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 01.10.2024 

Artificial Intelligence can work only where natural intelligence is present, said Hindustan University Pro Vice-Chancellor R.W. Alexander Jesudasan at a conference held in the city on Saturday.

Speaking at the Principal’s Conference, organised by St. John’s Public School, he said, “Data shows that not all people who go to primary education go to secondary education, and there is a huge cut from the people who attend secondary education to pursuing tertiary education, i.e., higher education.”

The conference, themed on ‘School Leadership - Leap Towards Global Benchmark’, aimed to shed light on the trends in the emerging educational society, with the heads of various schools focusing on important factors that impact children and how to deal with them.

“We need to move into a very important competency based education from the model of textbook-oriented teaching. There are a lot of valuable young minds sitting inside our classrooms, and it is the might of the teacher, under the leadership of a dynamic principal, who can change the learning method,” said R. Kishore Kumar, correspondent, St. John’s Public School.

Appealing to the principals to ensure that correct particulars are filled during exam registration, the Regional Officer of the Central Board of Secondary Education Dinesh Ram said: “We have issued three reminders regarding this. Due to the mistake of parents or the school, the child has to suffer, which could be avoided.”

14 govt. medical colleges in T.N. are functioning without regular deans

14 govt. medical colleges in T.N. are functioning without regular deans

Manpower shortage: In August, the Health Minister said the process of preparing a panel of 26 deans was under way.FILE PHOTO

Government doctors say having senior professors hold the post with full additional charge won’t help, as they would be reluctant to take initiatives in a temporary posting; vacancies at top level will also have a cascading effect on other posts

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 01.10.2024 

A total of 14 government medical colleges across the State are yet to get regular deans. Though the institutions are running with senior professors holding the post with full additional charge (FAC), the delay in posting deans affects medical colleges in more than one way, say government doctors.

The government medical colleges in Chengalpattu, Vellore, Kallakurichi, Salem, Erode, Tiruchi, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, Karur, Kanniyakumari, and the Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai are functioning without regular deans. Among these are institutions where the deans retired during March and April.

When The Hindu highlighted the issue on August 16 [‘Dean post remains vacant in a number of government medical colleges in the State’], health officials said the list (panel) of candidates had been sent to the government and a decision is awaited.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, on August 29, told reporters that they were in the process of preparing a panel of 26 deans and it would be completed in a few days. He also announced that counselling would be held for deans.

K. Senthil, president of Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association, said that they represented the issue two to three times in the last few months, through letters and in-person meetings, but nothing has transpired so far. “The Health Department should have prepared the panel [list of eligible candidates] before the vacancies arose. If the panel was prepared at least by April or May, the posts could have been filled from the list as and when vacancies arose in the institutions. Now, litigations have surfaced. The present situation is unwarranted as the department had sufficient time. The government seems to have missed an important step,” he said. He added that though the 14 government medical colleges were running with in-charge deans, the administrators could not match regular deans.

“Holding FAC is only a stop-gap arrangement. They will be able to manage day-to-day issues but will not be proactive and send proposals for initiatives as they know they will be replaced eventually. Regular deans should be posted at the earliest,” Dr. Senthil said. A. Ramalingam, general secretary, Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association said that if higher-level posts such as deans are not filled through regular promotions and kept vacant, it would have a cascading effect on other posts.