Health Ministry issues new guidelines for exams in covid times

News Network
September 10, 2020

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New Delhi, Sep 10: The Health Ministry on Thursday issued fresh standard operating procedures to conduct examinations amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which involves following precautionary measures.

"Examination centres are frequented by a large number of students, as well as their parents, and staff till the entire duration of the exam and therefore, it's vital to plan and conduct these examinations, while following specific preventive measures," said the Health Ministry.

The guidelines include ensuring physical distancing, use of face cover, frequent hand washing, use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers and following respiratory etiquette. It also involves strict practice of covering one's mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing, self-monitoring of health by everybody, not spitting and reporting any illness at the earliest.

Only those examination centres which are outside the containment zone would be allowed to function. Staff and examinees from containment zones will not be permitted.

"Such examinees shall be given an opportunity to undertake the examination through other means or the universities, educational institutions, agency may consider appropriate measures in this regard," the guidelines stated.

Universities, educational institutions and examination conducting authorities may plan out the examination schedule in a staggered manner so as to avoid overcrowding at any examination centre on any day.

"Keeping in view physical distancing norms, institutions should have adequate room capacity to ensure proper seating arrangement for the examination. Appropriate arrangements for personal protection gear like face covers, masks, and other logistic like hand sanitisers, soap, sodium hypochlorite solution etc. shall be made available."

Exam functionaries and examinees may submit a self-declaration about their health status at the time of entrance to the examination centre. Such self-declaration form may be circulated at the time of issue of admit tickets.

Students should also be given prior information on what they should carry, which includes exam related documents, admit card, ID card etc., face mask, water bottle, hand sanitiser etc.

Adequate manpower shall be deployed by the institution for maintaining discipline to ensure observance to distancing norms and other preventive measures at all times during conduct of the examination.

Adequate number of registration rooms and manpower for document verification and recording of attendance shall be planned duly ensuring social distancing norms.

Invigilators and supervisory staff need to be briefed on the code of conduct in the context of Covid-19. The examination centre should have a designated isolation room for isolating any person who is found symptomatic at the time of screening or during examination, till such time medical advice may be sought.

Besides this, entrances will have mandatory hand hygiene and thermal screening provisions. If any examination functionary and examinee fails to meet the self-declaration criteria, they shall not be allowed entry.

Only asymptomatic staff and students shall be allowed inside the examination hall. In regular course, a symptomatic candidate should be referred to the nearest health centre and given an opportunity to undertake the examination through other means or at a later date.

"However, if a student is found to be symptomatic, the permission or denial thereof, in such cases shall be granted as per the policy already enunciated on the issue by the examination conducting authorities," the Ministry added.

All staff and students to be allowed entry only if using face cover and masks. The face cover and mask has to be worn at all times inside the examination centre by all. Enough entry and exits gates for students and staff shall be ensured to avoid overcrowding.

Maintaining physical distancing of a minimum of 6 feet, when queuing up for entry and inside the centre as far as feasible. Specific markings may be made with sufficient distance to manage the queue and ensure social distancing in the premises.

Proper crowd management in the examination centre as well as outside premises like parking lots, waiting areas... duly following physical distancing norms shall be ensured. Bags, books, mobiles should not be allowed in the examination centre.

The examinees will be taken to a registration room in batches maintaining adequate physical distancing norms for document verification and recording of attendance. Thereafter they will be escorted in batches to the allotted examination hall.

Frisking of examinees, if needed, shall be undertaken after thermal screening. Personnel involved in frisking shall wear triple layer medical mask in addition to gloves.

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News Network
November 16,2024

Mangaluru: The Kavoor police in Mangaluru, Karnataka, have arrested three individuals from Kerala in connection with two separate cybercrime cases, including one involving extortion under the guise of a "digital arrest."

City Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal reported that one of the arrested individuals, Nisar, a resident of Ernakulam district, posed as a CBI officer. He allegedly threatened the complainant with arrest and extorted Rs 68 lakh. A case has been filed under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 308 (2) and 381 (4) of BNS.

In another case, the Kavoor police arrested two men, Sahil K P of Thiruvannur, Kozhikode, and Muhammad Nashath of Mappila Koyilandy, Kerala, in connection with a share trade fraud. The accused are alleged to have deceived the complainant by promising substantial profits from an investment in the stock market. Trusting the fraudsters, the complainant invested Rs 90 lakh, which was subsequently lost. A case has been registered under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 318 (4) and 3 (5) of BNS.

The accused were arrested in Koyilandi and presented before the court. The operation was carried out under the guidance of City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, led by Mangaluru North Sub-Division ACP Srikanth K, Kavoor Inspector Raghavendra Byndoor, Kavoor PSI Mallikarjuna Biradara, and staff members Ramanna Shetty, Bhuvaneshwari, Rajappa Kashibai, Praveen N, and Malatesh. 

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News Network
November 21,2024

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Hamas says the Israeli regime’s sole objective lies in “erasing” the entirety of the Palestinian population from across the Palestinian territories.

Khalil al-Hayya, a ranking official with the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks to the Palestinian al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday.

“The occupation targets everyone—it strikes hospitals, civil defense, women, children, and the elderly,” he said, adding that the regime sought to “empty Gaza of its residents, and displace the Palestinian people to fulfill its dreams of building a Zionist Jewish state across all of Palestine.”

The remarks came amid the regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on the coastal sliver that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

“This unprecedented aggression in modern times evokes scenes from the dark ages of human history, having crossed all red lines and exceeded every expectation of brutality in the modern era,” the Palestinian official lamented.

He also regretted that the regime had added “systematic and dangerous starvation to its aggression, falsely claiming before the world that it allows 250 [aid] trucks into Gaza daily. In reality, the number of trucks is far fewer.”

Hayya, meanwhile, regretted that “scenes of children torn apart, women screaming over their children, and heart-wrenching destruction have failed to stir enough humanity to stop these crimes.”

He decried the United States for vetoing the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions that are aimed at bringing about a potential ceasefire in the war, saying this indicated Washington’s “partnership in the aggression” and a simultaneous siege that the Israeli regime has been enforcing on Gaza.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official asserted that, despite what the Israeli official is after, Hamas would not hand over the regime’s captives “without [the regime’s] stopping the war.”

He called Netanyahu “the main obstacle” in the way of cessation of the aggression, saying the Israeli premier “blocks any progress for political reasons,” and citing his preventing conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in July.

Hayya also warned that the regime sought to expand the war beyond Gaza, but asserted that its goals are “impossible and will never happen.”

“Today, the enemy exposes its true intentions of extermination and displacement, but it will fail,” he stressed.

“The Palestinian people are resilient and will not surrender, as they believe in their humanitarian and political cause. The enemy and its allies will not succeed in achieving their goals. This steadfast people will endure, and the occupation will not prevail against them.”

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News Network
November 28,2024

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Mangaluru, Nov 28: In a major breakthrough, police have arrested Rahul, alias Bol Karmaveer Eshwar Jat, a Haryana native, for a brutal train murder committed on October 25. Rahul, a notorious interstate serial offender, was apprehended after a relentless investigation involving multiple state police forces.

The October 25 incident occurred during a train journey when Rahul got into an argument over a cigarette with Mauzzam, a resident of Chikkaballapur. The altercation escalated, leading to Rahul strangling Mauzzam to death. He fled the scene with the victim’s mobile phone, bag, and cash.

Muazzan worked as a sales representative and was differently-abled. He boarded the train on October 24 from Yesvantpur and occupied the Divyang Coach. The incident came to light on the morning of October 25 at Udupi, where a railway guard found Muazzam unresponsive. The railway police immediately rushed him to the hospital, but doctors declared him dead.

Accused Rahul was tracked down through an exhaustive review of over 2,000 CCTV recordings by police teams from Valsad, Vapi, Surat, and Udvada. His identity was eventually confirmed by a vigilant officer from Surat Central Jail, leading to his capture in a joint operation by Railway and Surat police.

Rahul’s criminal record reveals a trail of horrifying offenses across Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, and West Bengal. Among these are the rape of a mentally ill minor girl in Pune and the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman near Udvada railway station in Gujarat's Vapi district. Despite being arrested in the past, Rahul resumed his crimes after securing bail.

On November 19, he allegedly stabbed a 60-year-old man to death aboard the Katihar Express in West Bengal, with a case registered at the Howrah police station. In Telangana, he confessed to murdering a woman in yet another shocking crime.

Public Advisory:

  • Stay vigilant when traveling on trains, especially during late hours.
  • Report suspicious individuals or activities to railway authorities immediately.
  • Ensure your personal belongings are secure while traveling.
  • This arrest brings a sense of relief, but the investigations continue as authorities piece together the full extent of Rahul’s crimes.

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