Bengaluru, Jun 10: In all 30 children, aged 12-18, were administered Covaxin at Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) as part of Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical major Bharat Biotech’s clinical trials.
MMCRI is the only site selected in Karnataka for the company’s paediatric trials, currently being conducted pan-India across multiple locations.
On a positive note, when the vaccinated kids were followed up telephonically, mild pain at the injection site was observed in 10 subjects. No other complications were reported, according to sources.
In all, MMCRI had screened 53 children, of which 23 had to be rejected as they were ineligible for the trial, on account of either having antibodies or active infection.
According to Dr C P Nanjaraj, Dean, MMCRI, screening 50 children in each age group: 12 to 18 years, 6 to 12 years, and 2 to 6 years. During screening, we shall draw blood samples for Covid IgG antibodies and nasopharyngeal swabs for RT-PCR tests.
If IgG antibodies and RT-PCR are negative, they (children) will be eligible to get into the study. The study subjects (children) will be given two doses of vaccine 28 days apart, and will be followed up for six months for safety analysis.”
New Delhi, Jun 10: Delhi government on Thursday announced that annual examinations for classes 9 and 11 have been cancelled in the city and on the basis of the marks obtained in mid-term examinations, these students will be promoted to the next classes.
It was also announced that the registration for the admission process of classes 6 to 9 in Delhi government schools will start from June 11.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia conveyed these key
decisions pertaining to promotion policy in grades IX and XI, as well as admission policy in grades VI and IX.
It was hence declared that in the face of IX and XI examinations being cancelled in Delhi. Students will therefore be promoted based on the marks obtained in mid-term examinations.
Additionally, the admission process in Delhi Government Schools for grade VI to IX will begin from June 11 onwards.
Mr Sisodia, along with officials of Directorate of Education, took major decisions with respect to the promotion and admission policy in Delhi.
Mr Sisodia, who is also the Education Minister of Delhi, stated that while students in grade VIII were promoted without any hassle due to the no-detention policy but roadblocks in the promotion of students in IX and XI needed to be curbed.
Annual Examinations in IX and XI which were supposed to be administered from April 12 onwards were cancelled by the Delhi Government, keeping in mind the safety and security of students.
Mr Sisodia announced that Private Schools which have already conducted their annual assessments can follow guidelines postulated by the Directorate of Education with regards to promotion policy and declare their result.
For schools that did not conduct any mid-term examination or students who were not able to take all mid-term papers will be assessed based on the average of the marks obtained in the best two performing subjects out of five main subjects. This policy will be implemented in all Government and Private Schools.
The Annual Result of classes IX and XI in all Government Schools will be declared on June 22.
No student will be called to school instead, students will receive their result online or via a phone call or WhatsApp.
All such students who gave their mid-term in only one subject or were unable to give their
mid-term exam in any subject and students who did not receive minimum qualifying marks will be eligible for re-assessment. These students will be assessed through Assignments/Projects/School Based Tests etc for the promotion to the next higher class.
No additional physical or online assessment will be conducted for these students.
Further, Mr Sisodia provided information regarding admission policy of VI to IX grades, said that similar to the admission process conducted last year, admissions to Delhi Government schools will be held online. Parents or candidates can register their children or themselves online from June 11 onwards until June 30.
Admissions will begin from July 5 onwards, based on the registration of students. Students who are unable to register on the given date will be eligible to register in the second admission cycle which will begin from July 23 until August 6.
”Discussed the assessment & promotion policy for class 9th & 11th students with the @Dir_Education and team. Annual examinations for class 9th & 11th will be cancelled. Students will be promoted on the basis of mid-term examinations,” Mr Sisodia said in a tweet.
Earlier, the government had postponed classes 9 and 11 examinations in April this year owing to the second COVID wave.
New Delhi, Jun 10: The Ministry of Education on Thursday released the report of All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20, according to which the total enrollment in Higher Education in 2019-20 was 3.85 crore as against 3.74 crores in 2018-19.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Thursday approved the release of the report of All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20. This Report provides key performance indicators on the current status of Higher education in the country, the Ministry of Education said in a statement.
Mr Pokhriyal noted that in the last five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20, there has been a growth of 11.4 per cent in student enrolment. The rise in female enrolment in higher education during the period is 18.2 per cent.
He emphasised that the continuous focus is given by the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on education of girls, women empowerment and empowerment of socially backward classes are well reflected by the increased participation of women, SCs and STs population in Higher Education as shown by the Report.
‘I feel delighted to announce the release of the All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20 report. As you can see, we have improved in GER, Gender parity Index. The number of Institutions of National importance increased 80% (from 75 in 2015 to 135 in 2020),’ the Union Education Minister said in a tweet.
‘It is heartening to note that the number of PhDs has also increased by 60% in the last five years,’ he said.
‘We have noted a tremendous growth of educational institutes in the country. The number of universities has increased by 30.5% from 799 in 2015-16 to 1043 in 2019-20. The number of colleges has increased by about 8.4% from 39,071 in 2015-16 to 42,343 in 2019-20,’ he said.
‘The Gross Enrolment Ratio or the percentage of students belonging to the eligible age group enrolled in higher education is 27.1% in 2019-20, which has seen a rise from 26.3% in 2018-19 and 24.3% in 2014-2015,’ the Union Education Minister said in a tweet.
Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre said, ‘The results published in this report are indicators of the success of the policies adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the higher education sector of the country. I hope this report will help our policymakers to further improve the higher education scenario of the country.’
Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare said this report is the 10th in the series of All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) annually released by the Department of Higher Education. The continuous rise in the enrolment, number of institutions, gender parity is a part of our country’s major move towards improving access, equity and quality in light of National Education Policy 2020, he added.
As per key features of All India Survey on Higher Education Report 2019-20, total enrolment in Higher Education stands at 3.85 crore in 2019-20 as compared to 3.74 crore in 2018-19, registering a growth of 11.36 lakh (3.04 per cent). Total enrolment was 3.42 crore in 2014-15, the report said.
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), the percentage of students belonging to the eligible age group enrolled in Higher Education, in 2019-20 is 27.1 per cent against 26.3 per cent in 2018-19 and 24.3 per cent in 2014-2015.
‘Gender Parity Index (GPI) in Higher Education in 2019-20 is 1.01 against 1.00 in 2018-19 indicating an improvement in the relative access to higher education for females of eligible age group compared to males,’ the report said.
Pupil Teacher Ratio in Higher Education in 2019-20 is 26, the report said.
In 2019-20: Universities: 1,043 (2 per cent); Colleges: 42,343 (77 per cent) and stand-alone institutions: 11,779 (21 per cent).
3.38 crore students enrolled in programmes at under-graduate and post-graduate levels. Out of these, nearly 85 per cent of the students (2.85 crore) were enrolled in the six major disciplines such as Humanities, Science, Commerce, Engineering and Technology, Medical Science and IT & Computer.
The number of students pursuing PhD in 2019-20 is 2.03 lakh against 1.17 lakh in 2014-15, the report said.
The total number of teachers stands at 15,03,156 comprising 57.5 per cent male and 42.5 per cent female.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 8: A four-time MLA and now representing Kannur Lok Sabha Constituency, K Sudhakaran MP, has been appointed as the new President of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) replacing Mullappally Ramachandran following the failure of Congress party in the previous Assembly election in the State.
The 73-year-old Congress MP was informed about his new responsibility over phone by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, sources said on Tuesday.
“I will try my level best to revive Congress party with the support of party cadres and regain their confidence,” K Sudhakaran, the second time MP from Kannur, said.
He was also a Minister of Forest and Wildlife in Kerala during 2001-04.
He was elected from Kannur to the 17th Lok Sabha by defeating PK Sreemathy of CPI(M) by a margin of 94,559 votes, and to the 15th Lok Sabha by defeating KK Rajesh of CPI(M) by a margin of 30,000 votes.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 8: Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on Tuesday staged a walkout from Kerala Assembly in protest denial of an adjournment motion seeking discussion over illegal felling and smuggling of centuries-old rosewood trees from a tribal village in Wayanad.
Seeking the leave of the House to move the adjournment motion, PT Thomas of Congress asked whether Forest Minister AK Saseendran, allegedly accused in several cases earlier, had any contact with the culprits behind the crime.
Though more than 40 cases have been registered in connection with the crime at Muttil village, no one had been arrested yet, he pointed out.
Demanding a High Court-monitored probe into the case, he said the smugglers ferried the timber worth crores from northern Wayanad to a sawmill in central Kerala in Ernakulam during COVID lockdown.
This could happen only with the support of those who are in power, leaving suspicion on a recent GO allowing farmers to fell trees except sandalwood from their land having title deeds. The GO was issued by the Revenue Principal secretary last year.
But, Minister AK Saseendran denied the Opposition charges assuring that a charge sheet on the issue will be submitted to the court soon after the inquiry.
As many as 101 rosewood trees, valued at Rs 10 crore, were found missing from the village, he added.
The Minister assured that stern action will be taken against the culprits and officials responsible for the illegal act.
Following the Minister’s reply, Speaker MB Rajesh denied permission to move the adjournment motion leading to the walkout by the Opposition members in protest against the denial of discussion on the matter.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 6: Covid-19 was detected in 14,672 persons in Kerala on Sunday while 21,429 patients have recovered from the disease, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
“In the last 24 hours, Covid was not detected in any person who recently came to Kerala from the UK taking the total to 126, and their samples have been sent to NIV, Pune for further testing. So far, 11 people who came from the UK were diagnosed with the genetically modified virus,” the CM said in a press release here this evening.
Meanwhile, 227 recent deaths were confirmed today as due to Covid taking the death toll in the state to 9,946.
He said 1,02,792 samples were tested during the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate is 14.27 %. Till now, a total of 2,05,07,598
samples have been sent for testing.
Today, 27 places were identified as new hotspots while five places have been excluded from the list, taking the total to 891 hotspots in the State.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: In a first, the global meet on gender equality hosted by The Gender Park earlier this year achieved carbon neutrality and became the first carbon neutral event of the state government.
The Gender Park, under the state’s Department of Women and Child Development, organized the second edition of the International Conference on Gender Equality (ICGE II) on February 11, 12 and 13 in association with UN Women.
With sustainability as its core theme, the three-day global meet held at The Gender Park’s new campus in Kozhikode followed PAS 2060 and ISO 14064 Carbon Neutrality Standards that set out the requirements for conducting and demonstrating carbon neutrality – allowing the event to improve environmental credentials with accuracy and transparency.
The Gender Park achieved its mission of carbon-neutrality at ICGE II by taking on board Vydyuthi Energy Services (VES), a Kerala-based energy and carbon consulting startup recognized by UN-WEP, who provided an overall framework for validating and preparing the calculations, and documentation of the entire event’s direct and indirect emission sources (Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3).
An independent third-party verification agency RINA Services S.p.A issued the carbon neutrality statement for the event. The total greenhouse gas emissions were 50 tons of CO2e for the entire event including the emissions related to organizing and onsite assessments performed for award.
The organization had offset these emissions through purchase of 50 units of United Nations Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) generated from a waste to energy project in Delhi listed under UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The department of Women & Child Development had taken massive steps to ensure that the conference fully adhered to sustainability as its core theme. It was in accordance with PAS 2060:2014, “Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality”.
The first step was to reduce energy usage by using efficient LED lightings with centralized custom controls, LED display screens over LCD projectors, minimal usage of diesel generators at the conference venue, thus significantly reducing the Scope 1 emissions of CO2.
Scope 2 emission, which is the utility energy from the state’s electricity board, was also validated. The event used eco-friendly items and avoided single-use plastics. Furthermore, close monitoring to reduce the dependency and operational efficiency of fossil fuel-based transportation systems were considered to reduce the associated Scope 3 emission sources.
Nevertheless, the event had a certain amount of emissions that were inevitable and these emissions were compensated by purchasing certified emission reduction credits from CDM.
“The Gender Park is proud to have played the pioneering role in holding a carbon neutral event in Kerala which enhances awareness and capacity building activities in line with State Action Plans for Climate Change (SAPCC),” said Dr P T M Sunish, CEO, The Gender Park, which supports the state in its journey towards creating a #CarbonNeutralKerala”.
Being the country’s first such initiative, The Gender Park would open doors for creating gender equality and their engrossment in creating a sustainable ecosystem.
The high-profile conclave, which focused on ‘Gender in Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Business: The Mediating Role of Empowerment’, was attended by policymakers, academics, professionals and domain experts from across the globe.
The event discussed the crucial linkages between entrepreneurship, economic growth and poverty alleviation, which are in tune with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
New Delhi/Beijing, Jun 4: China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to explore ways to deepen trilateral cooperation and substantively expand the Belt and Road Initiative in Afghanistan, so as to bring more benefits to the people of the region.
Foreign ministers of the three countries held talks, hosted by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Guiyang on Thursday. Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi joined the dialogue via video link.
Wang said that the current international and regional situations are undergoing complex and profound changes, and the security and stability of Afghanistan and the region are facing new challenges.
Under such circumstances, it is more necessary for the three countries to strengthen communication and cooperation to make the situation in Afghanistan more conducive to the common interests of Afghanistan and other countries in the region, Wang said, reports state-run Xinhua news agency.
Atmar and Qureshi said Afghanistan and Pakistan are willing to forge closer and more friendly neighbouring partnership with China, strengthen joint construction of the Belt and Road, deepen cooperation in politics, economy and connectivity, and jointly promote peace, stability and development of the three countries and the region.
The three sides called for practically advancing the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, and ceasefire should be realised and violence should be ended at an early date.
They agreed that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan should be carried out in a responsible and orderly manner to prevent the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan and the return of terrorist forces.
China wants to invest in Afghanistan, eying its natural resources, especially copper. But it is wary of the security situation in the South Asian country in the wake of US troops drawdown by September 11.
China is concerned about the constant fighting between the government and the Taliban and Afghan groups. It is equally wary of the country becoming a den of Islamic insurgents who could threaten security and stability in its Xinjiang region.
Xinhua said China and Pakistan reaffirmed their firm support for the Afghan peaceful reconstruction and their willingness to expand economic and trade exchanges with Afghanistan, and to assist Afghanistan in enhancing its development capacity.
Raichur, Jun 3: Karnataka Transport Minister Laxman Savadi on Thursday said the state will explore all legal options against Central Registry of Trademarks recent order which ruled in favour of Kerala, allotting the short form ‘KSRTC’ emblem and the widely used term ‘Ana Vandi’ to Kerala SRTC.
However, Mr Savadi said, ‘Karnataka and Kerala RTCs have never competed with each other and even if Karnataka RTC continues to use the acronym KSRTC, there will be no harm to Kerala RTC. In a federal system, States need to cooperate and resolve our differences. Neither State should make this a
prestige issue.’
He said Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC ) and Kerala Road Transport Corporation are Public Service enterprises and unlike in private firms, the company name and logo did not affect both the Corporations much.
On Wednesday evening, Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju issued a statement stating the Trade Marks Registry issued orders under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 allotting the short form ‘KSRTC’ emblem and the widely used term ‘Ana Vandi’ to Kerala SRTC.
‘The Central Registry of Trademarks has ruled in favour of Kerala, rejecting Karnataka’s contention that Kerala must be barred from using the acronym,’ Mr Raju said in a Facebook post.
Both Karnataka and Kerala SRTCs have been using the acronym KSRTC for many decades now. However, Karnataka RTC registered the acronym and its logo with the Controller General of Patents, Designs and
Trademarks and issued a notice to Kerala RTC asking it not to use the acronym as they had patented it in 2014.
Kerala SRTC had soon approached the Registry, and the judgement in the case, favourable to Kerala, was issued recently, sources added.