MASTERMIND STILL AT LARGE

Three more held in TNPSC Group II-A exam scam

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2020

The CB-CID police have arrested three more people, including the wife of the absconding key suspect Jayakumar’s car driver, in connection with malpractices in the TNPSC Group II-A examination held in 2017. Earlier, police had arrested two people including a woman who had worked at the district registrar offices in Sivaganga and Tirunelveli.

Police identified those arrested on Sunday as Sudharani, 28, wife of Sampath, driver of Jayakumar, the suspected mastermind in the TNPSC scam, another woman named Sudha of Thoothukudi, and Vignesh, 28, a resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar. They had secured jobs as group-II A officers fraudulently with the help of Jayakumar and police head constable Chithaandi, who played a pivotal role in getting them government employment after charging them ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh.

An investigation officer said Sudharani, a resident

of Korattur, was working in Tiruvannamalai while Vignesh was employed at Chennai, and Sudha at Tuticorini.

CB-CID sleuths had already arrested K Velmurugan, 30, brother of policeman Chithaandi and a native of Sivagangai district, and K Jayarani, 30, a native of Srivilliputhur.

Both Jayakumar and Chithaandi have eluded the police so far. Police raided Jayakumar’s house in Mogappair and seized 60 ‘magic’ pens (that use disappearing ink), a laptop and a pen drive, apart from a few documents. Police have announced a ₹1 lakh cash reward to anyone who can help them apprehend Jayakumar.

The TNPSC recruitment scamsters took lakhs of rupees from candidates and gave them the ‘magic’ pens to write the answers on the exam scripts. Once the ink disappeared after a few hours, the gang members could write the correct answers on the same answer sheets.

Police had so far arrested about 16 suspects in the TNPSC Group – IV recruitment scam, which was on similar lines.

Univ teachers council urges UGC to withdraw performance score system

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2020

The general council of Association of University Teachers (AUT) has urged the University Grants Commission and ministry of human resource development to withdraw academic performance indicators (API) for career advancement scheme for colleges professors.

API score is calculated based on research publication, output and guidance besides teaching in colleges. College teachers have said they find it difficult to publish research papers while teaching in colleges.

The general council also demanded the withdrawal of New Education Policy (NEP) released in 2019, saying it is against the spirit of public funded education. In another resolution, the council asked the state government to enhance the consolidated pay of guest lecturers to ₹50,000 a month as per UGC guidelines. Guest lecturers working in government arts and science colleges currently draw ₹15,000 per month as pay.

The body also urged the department of higher education to conduct democratic elections to the Pachaiyappa’s Trust Board and demanded victimization of teaching and non-teaching staff by the interim administrator be withdrawn.

It also demanded the withdrawal of cases filed against teachers who participated in the Jacto-Geo (Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisation) strike in 2019.

Supply up, tomato prices touch ₹15 a kilogram in retail

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2020

Time is ripe to have tomato soup and chutney.

Due to a good monsoon and increased supply, the retail price of tomatoes has come down ₹10 and touched ₹15 in city. The native variety is available for ₹8 a kilogram at the Koyambedu market and it is available for ₹13 to ₹15 a kilogram at retail shops. The Bengaluru variety is available at Rs 15 in wholesale and ₹30 to ₹35 a kilogram in retail stores.

Traders at Koyambedu market said supply of tomatoes has increased by 50% in the past few weeks. “We used to get 40 loads of tomatoes every day. Now it has increased to 60 loads a day due to increase in produce,” said V R Soundararajan from the Koyambedu Traders’ Association.

In Madurai, the price dropped to ₹7 a kilogram at wholesale markets and to ₹10 in retail markets. Last month, the wholesale rate was ₹40 a kilogram.

With prices dropping, the Madurai central market which gets tomatoes from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has stopped getting supplies. “The price is too low to meet the transport cost so they are dumping it in the borders or stopping with Chennai,” said Mattuthavani wholesale vegetable market president P S Murugan.

Cabbage and raddish are being sold at ₹10 a kilogram and a kilogram of kohlrabi costs ₹15. “They are the cheapest vegetables available now,” said a vendor in T Nagar.

However, prices of coconuts and drumsticks have increased in recent weeks. While a coconut sold for ₹25 in the wholesale market, drumsticks sold for ₹110 a kilogram. “Once local produce reaches the market, these prices will come down,” a vendor said.

Board exams: CBSE launches counselling

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2020

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday launched pre-examination psychological counselling for students preparing for Classes X and XII board exams.

The exams are scheduled to begin on February 15. While Class X exams end on March 20, Class XII exam will continue till March 30.

“The psychological counselling service will continue till March 30,” CBSE said in a release.

Students can get counselling through different modes such as IVRS (interactive voice response), live tele-counselling and through social media. Students or parents can dial 1800 11 8004, a toll-free number, to listen to recorded information on tackling board exams, tips for better preparation, time and stress management and important contact details of CBSE offices and frequently asked questions.

Parents and teachers can access audio-visual content on CBSE’s website www.cbse.nic.in under various topics, including exam anxiety, depression, internet addiction disorder. It is also available on You-Tube and Facebook.

The board has roped in 95 principals and trained counsellors from CBSE schools located in and outside India. The service will be provided from 8am to 10pm on all days.

“City schools are taking care of their students. This counselling would be beneficial to students from remote areas. They can clarify doubts and get anxieties addressed by calling this helpline,” said R Srinivasa Raghavan, principal of Bala Vidyamandir Senior Secondary School, Adyar.

NEET PG 2020

Madras High Court quashes termination order given to nurse
Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order on the petition filed by the nurse T Blessie by observing that the inquiry was not conducted in a proper manner and was ‘discriminative’ in nature.

Published: 03rd February 2020 02:48 AM | Last Updated: 03rd February 2020 03:54 AM

Madras High Court building.

By Express News Service

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the State government to reinstate a temporary staff nurse who was terminated from service on charges of ‘dereliction of duty’ while assisting a delivery which allegedly resulted in the patient’s death at a government PHC in Tirunelveli in 2009.

Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order on the petition filed by the nurse T Blessie by observing that the inquiry was not conducted in a proper manner and was ‘discriminative’ in nature.

The judge observed, “When an employee has denied the charges by way of explanation, the authorities have no other alternative, except to conduct a detailed inquiry and give sufficient opportunity to the employee.”

The said procedure also applies to part-time employees like the petitioner, she added.

Noting that the nurse had only acted at the instructions of the duty doctor and the doctor is still in service, the judge opined the nurse has been made a scapegoat in the matter.

Nursing

```Madras High Court quashes termination order given to nurse

Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order on the petition filed by the nurse T Blessie by observing that the inquiry was not conducted in a proper manner and was ‘discriminative’ in nature.

Published: 03rd February 2020 02:48 AM  |   Last Updated: 03rd February 2020 03:54 AM

 Madras High Court building.

By Express News Service

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the State government to reinstate a temporary staff nurse who was terminated from service on charges of ‘dereliction of duty’ while assisting a delivery which allegedly resulted in the patient’s death at a government PHC in Tirunelveli in 2009.

Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order on the petition filed by the nurse T Blessie by observing that the inquiry was not conducted in a proper manner and was ‘discriminative’ in nature.

The judge observed, “When an employee has denied the charges by way of explanation, the authorities have no other alternative, except to conduct a detailed inquiry and give sufficient opportunity to the employee.”

The said procedure also applies to part-time employees like the petitioner, she added.

Noting that the nurse had only acted at the instructions of the duty doctor and the doctor is still in service, the judge opined the nurse has been made a scapegoat in the matter.``````

Nursing

Indian Nursing Council syllabus permits arts stream students, upsets professionals and academics

R. Sujatha

CHENNAI,  JANUARY 20, 2020 17:41 IST

Experts said students without a background in science would not be able to cope with the rigours of a nursing course

The Indian Nursing Council’s (INC) draft rules to revise the syllabus has upset professionals. The syllabus, available on its website, has opened the doors to students from arts and commerce streams.

“The Council has created a curriculum, which is the purview of the university,” said A. Jayasudha, principal of PSG College of Nursing. She also wondered at the wisdom of permitting students without a science background to take up nursing.

Students of Nursing study anatomy, physiology and microbiology. They are expected to not only assist the doctor but also administer treatment (such as providing injections or dressing wounds) and must have thorough knowledge of the subject to be able to carry out their job.

The INC syllabus has also prescribed applied anatomy, physiology and microbiology. “The INC is talking of a bridge course but unless the students complete a year’s bridge course they would not be able to cope with the rigours of the course,” she pointed out.

A member of the State nursing council said the syllabus is decided based on the requirement of the local population. “The National Health Mission has proposed to permit nursing students lateral entry in to MBBS. How will students from non-science background cope with the course,” asked a nursing council member.

The Principal of Omayal Achi College of Nursing S. Kanchana has written to the State Nursing Council and the INC expressing her reservations. She pointed out that even paramedical courses such as pharmacy and physiotherapy accepted only science stream students at the entry level.

“If we have two different disciplines of entry level then planning the teaching, learning process and matching the learning experiences cannot be fulfilled. We will be creating only robots with incongruent theoretical information and not nurses with human values,” she wrote.

University officials pointed out that when it was difficult for even the science stream students to grasp the subjects students from other streams of education would have greater difficulty to study the subject in the limited time frame the course offered.

Sudha Seshayyan Vice Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University said there were lacunae in the draft rules that needed to be addressed. The issue would be placed before its Board of Studies, which has experts in nursing education before any decision is taken, she added.```