Medical colleges to submit student data for new year

Medical colleges to submit student data for new year

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesofindia.com BANGALURU 10.11.2024 

New Delhi : Aiming to rule out any irregularities in MBBS admissions, National Medical Commission (NMC) has directed all medical colleges to verify and submit details of all students enrolled for the academic year 2024-25. This includes admitted students’ entrance exam (NEET) roll number, marks obtained in 10+2 (physics, chemistry, biology), merit number, date of birth, sub-category (SC/ST/ unreserved), and fees charged from them annually among others. Officials said this was done to ensure that all MBBS admissions are strictly in accordance with merit and not above the sanctioned intake capacity. 

“Earlier, the last date for submission of details was Nov 8 but many colleges have not filled or partially filled the required information. Thus, we have given a final deadline of Nov 23 to medical colleges to provide the required information,” B Srinivas, secretary, NMC told TOI. Last year, NMC carried out an informal exercise to double-check that MBBS admissions made by colleges were in accordance with the regula tions. It was found that there were instances, at least 30-40 of them, where the admission was inconsistent with the rules. For example, sources said, students who obtained less than 50% marks in 10+2 (physics, chemistry, biology) were granted admission. The NMC secretary said they have, for the first time, developed an online monitoring system to ensure faithful adherence to norms of admission and to further promote transparency and accountability in medical education. There are approximately 1.20 lakh undergraduate medical seats across govt and private medical colleges in the country. Srinivas said while granting admission in MBBS courses, medical colleges are required to ensure it is not beyond their sanctioned intake capacity. 

Also, colleges must make sure that the students meet eligibility requirements regarding age and qualifying marks. All students who are admitted in MBBS course are supposed to have qualified NEET-UG with the required percentile; 50th percentile and above 

Times of India ePaper bangalore - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-bangalore.cms 1/2 for general category, 45th percentile and above for physically handicapped and 40th percentile and above for reserved (SC/ST/OBC) candidates

Don’t keep MBBS seats vacant for candidates: SC

Don’t keep MBBS seats vacant for candidates: SC

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesofindia.com 10.11.2024

New Delhi : Supreme Court has disapproved of HC interim orders to keep a MBBS seat vacant in a medical college for a candidate alleging unfair denial of admission and said such a direction can be passed only in exceptional circumstances when a candidate presents a strong prima facie case. 

The order was passed by a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan who faced a piquant situation when two colleges approached SC saying HC, which had kept seats reserved for candidates, dismissed the petitions later and as deadline for admission was over, the seats will now remain vacant for the entire course period (five years), causing huge loss to them. 

Writing the judgment, Justice Viswanathan said, “Only if there is a cast iron case for the petitioner and the petitioner is bound to succeed in cases where error of the respondent is so gross as to negate any other conclusion, interim orders keeping seats vacant could be made.” The bench said courts certainly have the power to keep a seat reserved for candidates who have proved a prima facie strong case for their admission to a college, but the court must do so with “great caution and circumspection”. “In appropriate cases, even where the said exceptional criterion as set out above is met, the court will be justified in directing the petitioner to provide security, to the college-institution concerned where the seat is ultimately directed to be kept vacant or on whom ultimately the liability of the vacant seat would fall,” the bench said.

Medical colleges asked to submit details of students for new academic year

Medical colleges asked to submit details of students for new academic year

DurgeshNandan.Jha @timesofindia.com 1011.2024 AHAMEDABAD 

New Delhi : Aiming to rule out any irregularities in MBBS admissions, National Medical Commission (NMC) has directed all medical colleges to verify and submit details of all students enrolled for the academic year 2024-25. This includes admitted students’ entrance exam (NEET) roll number, marks obtained in 10+2 (physics, chemistry, biology), merit number, date of birth, subcategory (SC/ST/unreserved), and fees charged from them annually among others. 

Officials said this was done to ensure that all MBBS admissions are strictly in accordance with merit and not above the sanctioned intake capacity. “Earlier, the last date for submission of details was Nov 8 but many colleges have not filled or partially filled the required information. Thus, we have given a final deadline of Nov 23 to colleges to provide required information,” B Srinivas, secretary, NMC told TOI. Last year, NMC carried out an informal exercise to double-check that MBBS admissions made by colleges were in accordance with the regulations. 

It was found that there were instances, at least 30-40 of them, where the admission was inconsistent with the rules. For example, sources said, students who obtained less than 50% marks in 10+2 (physics, chemistry, biology) were granted admission. The NMC secretary said they have, for the first time, developed an online monitoring system to ensure faithful adherence to norms of admission and to further promote transparency and accountability in medical education. There are approximately 1.20 lakh undergraduate medical seats across govt and private medical colleges in the country. 

Times of India ePaper ahmedabad - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-ahmedabad.cms 1/2 11/10/24, 12:01 PM Times of India ePaper ahmedabad - 

Canada stops fast-track visa, decision will also impact Indian students

Canada stops fast-track visa, decision will also impact Indian students 

TIMES OF INDIA AHEMADABAD 10.11.2024

Ottawa : In a major policy decision that is likely to impact scores of international students, including from India, Canada on Friday ended with immediate effect a popular fast track study visa programme. Under the Student Direct Stream (SDS), which was launched in 2018, the processing time for eligible post-secondary students from selected countries, including India, was significantly shorter and approval rates higher. “Canada is committed to giving all international students equal and fair access to the application process for study permits,” the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement on Friday. Canada’s goal is to “strengthen programm e integrity, address student vulnerability, and give all students equal and fair access to the application process, as well as a positive academic experience,” it added. 

However, the IRCC said prospective students can still apply through the regular study permit stream. The move comes amid a diplomatic row between India and Canada. According to the Indian high commission here, India is the largest source country of foreign students with some 4,27,000 Indians studying in Canada. According to a news portal, immigrationnewscanada.ca, the SDS was launched with the goal of simplifying and expediting study permit processing for students from selected countries. The streamlined process allowed eligible applicants from countries such as India, China to enter Canada faster, typically within a few weeks, rather than waiting for the standard processing time, which could take several months, it added. 

Under SDS, Indian students’ applications were processed within 20 business days and now it may take up to eight weeks, said the moving2canada.com portal. PTI

NEWS TODAY 7-8-9.11.2024

 

Witnessing volatile marriages can cause relationship phobia This week’s advice is from counselling psychologist Dr Jyoti Kapoor

Witnessing volatile marriages can cause relationship phobia 

To help readers cope with their anxieties in these stressful times, TOI has launched Talk it Out, a series in which expert counsellors answer your mental health queries. This week’s advice is from counselling psychologist Dr Jyoti Kapoor

10.11.2024 

I’m a 14-year-old girl. Every weekend, I visit my grandparents’ house where they live with my uncle, aunt and their twin kids. Ever since they got married, my aunt and uncle have always been involved in fights, both physical and verbal. After my aunt gave birth, things slowly got worse. She wanted to raise her kids without interference from the elders. The couple’s fights would now involve the rest of the house. A small thing such as feeding the kids rice turned into a screaming match which ended with my aunt throwing a hysteric fit, and a family friend in the police had to be called. As a teen, my mind is already unstable. I have a rough social life, and have been facing problems with my (unofficial) partner, study pressure and more. My father is a neglectful husband and an absent father. He, too, verbally argues with my mother. All this has led to a deeprooted phobia of marriage and relationships in me. Being in this situation without an escape route causes panic and palpitations, yet I can’t avoid those visits due to tuitions. What should I do? — 

Anonymous 

You appear to be suffering from an anxiety disorder at present. Long-term chronic stress can lead to high stress chemicals in our bodies, thereby lowering our ability to take on more stress. A negative environment has a significant impact on our abilities to develop effective coping mechanisms and we may develop tendencies to avoid or escape stressful situations and if we can’t do that, we develop feelings of helplessness. This learned helplessness causes the development of anxious personalities with low confidence. Please reach out to someone you can trust and talk about these issues. Your parents may have interpersonal issues but if you 11/10/24, 10:22 AM Times of India ePaper chennai - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-chennai.cms 1/4 iStock convey your distress around the environment at your grandparent’s place and how it impacts you, they may understand and you may be able to find tuition nearby. You may also seek support from school counsellor or a mental health professional who can mediate family counselling so that your concerns can be highlighted. In case you can’t approach a counsellor or a professional, you may start journaling your feelings and emotions. Try to list activities that make you happy or release stress. Exercise, dance, music, sports etc help in reducing stress. Focus on who you want to be in the future, and what skills and resources you require to reach your goals. There is always something to learn from the challenging situations we find ourselves in. Try to answer the question: what am I learning from this situation? For example, if people in a marriage don’t get along, it’s not marriage that is the problem, it’s how the people treat each other. So you learn to treat people in your life better. 

I am a 16-year-old boy. Nowadays I am getting very frustrated, even by small matters. I cannot control my anger. I only have one friend and no one else with whom I can talk to and sometimes he also doesn’t listen to me. Whenever I am alone in my room I feel that my life is a waste and I feel like dying by suicide. I am also worried about my future a lot and cannot focus on my present and enjoy it. Please help me make my teenage years better. — Anonymous 

Teenage years are the time when we find ourselves at the crossroads of childhood (when we are not given much responsibility) and adulthood (when we are supposed to fend for ourselves physically, socially and emotionally). That’s why we often feel conflicted, develop more stress, and feel overwhelmed by emotions. Many genetic and hereditary psychological vulnerabilities also appear in this time period. Having someone to talk to and hold us is the need of this phase of life. Good communication with parents or someone in the family helps one get the necessary support and guidance. If that’s not possible, talking to a teacher or school counsellor can help. It’s important to reach out to someone emotionally mature or professionally trained. Mental health support is now available online as well, so you may reach out to a professional as well. 

I am a woman. I feel lonely most of the time as people in my locality are unfriendly. They don’t care for lonely ladies. My desire is to travel . But I don’t have proper company to travel in my community. I don’t know how to attract people into my life. If I had a single best friend, I would be happy. God has been unkind to me. I am soft spoken. Is that why I don’t attract friends? Please help. — Anonymous 

As long as we keep expecting others to help us, we are unable to see that we have to help our own self. Being alone is not a problem, loneliness is a psychological state. If you wish to improve your life, you have to focus on what you have, rather than what you don’t, starting from your physical health, your functionality, your mental faculties, the house you live in, the work you do and resources you have at your disposal. The next step is to identify what gives you happiness, the small things that you can do by yourself on a regular basis that you enjoy. If you wish to travel, there are many travel agencies which arrange plans for single women. And finally, if you are able to be relaxed and happy with what you have, people would like to be around you. You can seek professional counselling to identify underlying issues that might be affecting your ability to lead a more fulfilling life. 

If you need counselling, please contact the following helplines 

 Aasra +91-9820466726 (24x7)  Cooj +91 9822562522 (Mon-Fri, 1-7pm)  iCall +91 9152987821 (Mon-Sat, 10am-8pm)  Fortis +91 8376804102 (24x7)  Kiran 1800-599-0019 (24x7)  Sumaitri +91 9315767849 (2-6.30pm)  Saath +91 7926305544 (1-7pm)  Sneha +91 44 24640050 (10am-7pm)  Vandrevala Foundation 18602662345, +91 7304599836 (24x7)  Sanjivini Society 01140769002, 01141092787 (Mon-Fri, 10-5.30pm)

IIT-M introduces 6-month internships for B Tech students

IIT-M introduces 6-month internships for B Tech students

Ragu.Raman@timesofindia.com 10.11.2024

Chennai : Indian Institute of Technology Madras has introduced six-month internships for B Tech students to help them secure more pre-placement offers and gain better industrial exposure. According to the plan, students who joined in 2024-25 will not have any core courses in their sixth semester and the elective courses can be completed either in earlier semesters or in following semesters. 

Currently, B Tech students go for summer internships for a maximum period of three months. Industries and students have asked for longer internships. “All departments will now uniformly ensure that there is no core course during the sixth semester. Now, students can plan well ahead and take elective courses in earlier or following semesters to keep the sixth semester free,” said Prathap Haridoss, dean (academic courses), IIT Madras. The students can do courses online, as well. “They will have an eight month window from mid Nov to July. Students can do two internships, one long internship, or they can undertake projects in some universities or labs,” he added. 

IIT Madras has repositioned the curriculum and made it more compact. Prathap Haridoss said the initiative was taken after receiving feedback from the industry and the placement office. However, for students studying from the second year to the fourth year, it would be a little tougher. “They ha ve to do a little extra work to get the larger window,” he added. Faculty members said the initiative would improve the pre-placement offers. “Companies will be able to assess students better in longer internships. More pre-placement offers will lead to less competition during campus placements,” said Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, dean (students), IIT Madras. Students will also get more time to evaluate the organisation.  IIT Madras is planning to focus on placements and internship opportunities for PhD scholars, as well. “We are collecting details on skillsets and areas of interest. We inform companies about the availability of PhD scholars. Unlike B Tech students, research scholars can sit for placements throughout the year,” said Parasuraman Swaminathan, coadvisor (placements and internships), IIT Madras.