Karnataka students anxious as colleges demand payment of fee before deadline

Coronavirus

Although some colleges are offering options to pay fees in instalments, students said it is not enough and that the amount must be reduced.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Representational image/PTI

Even as the discussion around whether schools can charge full fee rages on in education circles in Karnataka, students in universities and colleges alleged that they are under immense pressure to pay their fees even though it is not known whether they will have classes any time soon. The new academic year for higher education institutions usually begins around July-August, which is around the time that school students get promoted. This year, despite the pandemic, which has thrown life out of gear, college administrations intend to keep to the normal schedule. According to students, colleges have already given them deadlines to pay the fees. Students at Manipal University have been protesting the high fees on social media using the tag #BedaFees (Don’t Want Fees). Poornima (name changed), a student at Manipal University, said, “The college recently addressed the students and said 'students who come to private institutions are from financially stable families' and implied that we are simply creating an issue. This is not true. A lot of us took loans to study here, and with great difficulty. The college fails to accept any of this.” Poornima said that she and her peers have been told that they must pay Rs 2.5 lakh as fees by July 30. Students who sent an email to the institution, asking for concessions by giving proof of financial issues, have been given a two instalments option: first instalment by July 30, and the second instalment by September 30. “It is difficult to make arrangements for the fee now. The pandemic has created a lot of unexpected issues, including the financial burden and mental stress on parents. We have been trying hard to find a way out. Some students are thinking of taking a year off,” Poornima added. Students from other institutions are also facing similar problems. Abhishek, a student of Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, a premier fine art college in Bengaluru, said that the college has asked students to pay up the full fees of Rs 2.59 lakh by August 17, and the study tour fees of Rs 24,170 at a later date. The college has also said that students can pay in instalments: Rs 2,29,000 now, and the second instalment of Rs 54,170, inclusive of the study tour fees, at a later date. “Most of the students will be able to pay the fees, but there are a few students facing financial difficulties,”  Abhishek said. Besides, the college had decided that they would continue with online classes, while allowing 30% strength in classrooms from August 31. The classrooms will be conducted with all health safety guidelines, the college said in a notice. “So we have the option to attend classes from August 17, or alternatively, we can choose online classes. I am going to opt for classroom attendance because I don’t know how film studies will be taught online. But if it comes to virtual classes, I don’t want to pay the full fee for online sessions. We have not received any confirmation in this regard yet,” Abhishek said. Incidentally, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the governing body of universities in the Centre, has not made any substantial announcement regarding payment of fees. In a letter to universities and colleges dated May 27, UGC  ‘advises’ colleges and universities to ‘consider the matter sympathetically’ and ‘may also consider individual requests’. “We have received grievances from the students and parents stating that universities and colleges are insisting upon immediate payment of annual/semester tuition fee, examination fee, etc. They have represented that due to the financial hardship being faced due to the lockdown, they are not in a position to make payment of the fee,” the letter stated. “In view of the prevailing extraordinary difficult circumstances, universities and colleges may consider the matter regarding payment of annual/semester fee, tuition fee, examination fee, etc. sympathetically and if feasible, may consider offering alternative payment options to students till the situation returns to normal. If need be, the universities and colleges may also consider individual requests from students, received if any, concerning payment of fee, in a considerate manner, keeping in view the present COVID-19 pandemic,” it added. It has not specified if there will be a systemic change for the high college fees by reducing the fees or if it will provide any grants towards students. The situation has left students in the lurch. On one side, they are clueless about how they will manage financial stress caused by the pandemic. On the other hand, they are staring at the risk of losing an academic year as the college puts pressure on students and their families to pay up the fees.

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‘It was self defence, he was an alcoholic’: Bengaluru teen held for father’s death

Crime

The man who worked with an IT major for many years, is considered a math genius. An alcoholic, he had refused to enroll his kids in school and taught them at home.

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

Representative image

Close to midnight on Wednesday (July 22), the uncle of a 15-year-old girl in Bengaluru received a frantic call from her. Distraught and panicking, she informed him that her father had died after he was fatally injured by a pair of scissors. On Thursday, the girl was detained by the police. She gave a statement – her 46-year-old alcoholic father was killed following a late night scuffle at their home in a gated community in Mico Layout. The girl had told her uncle that it happened around 11 pm, as she was trying to study, when her father, in an inebriated state, started playing the piano very loudly.  “It was around 11 pm on Wednesday. He was drunk and was trying to play the piano. The family lives in a respectable gated society in Bengaluru and the neighbours have always complained about the loud noises, arguing and the fighting. So the daughter, who was studying inside, asked him to reduce the volume as she did not want the matter to escalate. He ignored her, which is when she came outside and reduced the volume herself. That angered him and he picked up a knife and tried to attack her. She sustained some injuries as well. She got scared and she picked up a pair of scissors, warning him to back off. However, he was so inebriated that he charged towards her and before she could react, his body weight fell on her and that is when the scissors pierced into him,” a close relative told TNM. The girl’s brother ran out to fetch the neighbours, who later reached the spot and called the police. ‘A habitual alcoholic, he was abusive’ The man’s family tells TNM that the deceased had a history of alcoholism.  “He was very learned and intelligent. After working for 12 years at an IT major. he quit. Two years in, around 2011, his wife delivered a second child. When the baby was ten days old, the mother died. This was the turning point,” the relative said. After the wife died, the man’s family stepped in. By then, however, the girl’s father had taken to drinking.  "We thought this was his way of dealing with depression after his wife’s passing,” the relative said. The man’s extended family moved to Bengaluru to help him out, but he was not very happy with the developments.   It was reported that he even forced his older child to drop out of school and began to home school both the kids, she said.  A colleague told TNM that he would ask to be referred to as their trainer and not their father. "He took his older child out of school, saying continuing in school will harm her. The man’s family made multiple attempts to intervene but were shot down every time, the relative said. Illegal detention? A source told TNM that the child is being kept at a home for girls and is being treated as a child in conflict with the law. A case under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been filed in connection with the man’s death.  However, it has been over 72 hours since she was detained, and TNM has learnt that she has not been physically produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, as is the requirement. “It seems that she has been remanded without an order. This is not done. The board should have been told that the child needs to be with her family, she needs to take part in her father’s funeral,” a person working closely with the Juvenile Justice Board told TNM. The girl’s lawyer confirmed that she had not been arrested in the case. Her nine-year-old brother is staying with another aunt, and has been called for questioning at least thrice till now, the family said. Neighbour’s statement to police In their statement to the police, a neighbour of the family wrote that the father had a history of ‘drinking every day and fighting with the children’ and that they have, on several occasions, gone over to the family’s home to sort out their issues. The statement adds that on the night of July 22, around 11.50 pm, the neighbour and her family saw the 9-year-old boy running towards the security room and he told them that his father had died. When they went up to the apartment with the security, they saw the father’s body in the living room, with his shirt soaked in blood.  “His daughter was also in the living room, she looked shocked. We asked her what happened. We also saw that there was a sharp object that was protruding out of his chest where he was stabbed,” the neighbour’s statement to the police reads. “The girl told us that around 11 pm, she was sitting in the living room and studying, while her father was drunk and was playing the piano very loudly. She told him that she was getting disturbed but he started a fight, yelling and slashing her with sharp objects. She then told us, ‘I got extremely scared and picked up two scissors that are used to cut paper and I was standing with my back to the wall with both those objects in my hand. He threw away the sharp objects in his hand and started slapping me hard. He did not listen to me, he came to hit me further and the sharp objects in my hand ended up stabbing him accidentally. I threw them away. By then, he fell on the floor, he was struggling to breathe and in a few moments passed away’,” the statement filed by the neighbour adds. The neighbour in the statement has also asked the police to treat the man’s death as accidental, since the daughter had “no intentions of killing or hurting her father,” and that since because he was being extremely violent towards her and she was scared that he might harm or even kill her, she had taken those scissors for self defence. The family says that the two children have suffered enough in their lives and the legal system has to take a compassionate view of what transpired.

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Man gives Mysuru DC's number instead of his, latter gets surprise quarantine call

Coronavirus

A man, who is yet to be tested and is a primary contact of an infected person, had given a wrong number as his own, which turned out to be that of the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner.

Soumya Chatterjee

In an unusual turn of events, Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar got a call from the district COVID-19 quarantine control room asking him to undergo quarantine on Saturday. This after it came to light that a man, who is a primary contact of an infected person, and is yet to be tested, had given the DC’s number instead of his personal number. After getting the call, a surprised Sankar identified himself as the Deputy Commissioner and asked the control room personnel for further details. This led to the concerned officials to look for more information, such as the time of the test and address provided by the individual at the time of testing.  Speaking with TNM, Sankar confirmed the call had come from the team who are looking after primary and secondary contacts of persons who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He added that the district authority will not pursue any legal action against the errant person.  “We have warned the person. We are not going to dig deep into this. We have to ensure that this does not happen again. The intention for the people should be to give the right data and the intent is not to stigmatise or punish the patients. The only takeaway from this is that people should give right data,” the DC told TNM. “I got the call asking about my health status, while the call should have ideally gone to the concerned person. Sometimes we are not able to reach even those people who have tested positive as they give wrong numbers or do not pick up their phones. I do not know what they are gaining through this. They themselves would not know that if they are positive or not,” he added. Abhiram said that he is amused and equally shocked to see people going at these lengths to avoid hospitalisation or quarantine. He urged the people to give proper contact details of themselves and other relevant contact tracing information as it will help in curbing the infection rate. 

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‘Isolate at home or CCC for mild symptoms’: Ramesh Aravind appeals on BBMP's behalf

Coronavirus

In a campaign for the BBMP, the actor urged people to decongest hospital beds.

TNM Staff

Screengrab

Popular Kannada actor, director and television host Ramesh Aravind has appealed to the public on behalf of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), urging them to help preserve hospital beds for patients who have more serious forms of COVID-19. The video was shared in a tweet by Dr Giridhar Babu, an epidemiologist who is a part of Karnataka state's COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee. The doctor wrote, ““Let’s preserve the beds to those who deserve” a beautiful appeal by people’s star @Ramesh_aravind. Instead, Persons with mild or no symptoms can self isolate at home or at CCC” Appealing on behalf of Bengaluru’s civic authority, Ramesh Aravind says, “People with mild symptoms of slight cough or mild fever are using their influence and getting themselves admitted in hospitals and lying in hospital beds. There are many people waiting in queue for the same bed — those who need the bed urgently. But people with mild symptoms, who are in the first level of the disease, please don’t congest hospitals. Let us decongest the hospital beds. Only those who need it should use the service, this is my request.”A majority of coronavirus cases in Bengaluru have been reported to be asymptomatic. On the flip side, however, there are many COVID-19 patients who are seriously ill and unable to find a hospital bed. Several instances of the persons dying before they were able to receive medical attention have been reported in the state capital. Read: A large percent of COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic: Why this is concerning Urging patients to also make use of the COVID-19 Care Centres, BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad tweeted, “I request patients with no/mild symptoms to isolate themselves at home if they have facilities or at #Bengaluru CCCs.” Let’s preserve hospital beds for those who are more deserving. A message well articulated by @Ramesh_aravind @epigiri. I request patients with no/mild symptoms to isolate themselves at home if they have facilities or at #Bengaluru CCCs. https://t.co/oZEfqimndg — N. Manjunatha Prasad,IAS (@BBMPCOMM) July 25, 2020 After the outbreak of the pandemic revealed a massive shortage of beds in the state, the government has been forced to look for alternatives for COVID-19 patients, including encouraging treatment at home for mild and asymptomatic cases.  Bengaluru — where multiple deaths have been reported on account of lack of bed availability — records thousands of cases every day. Earlier this month, the state government had said that it was looking into making asymptomatic patients stay at home. Read: Karnataka mulls home isolation for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

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Crematorium fees for COVID-19 victims in Bengaluru waived: Karnataka govt

Coronavirus

Revenue Minister R Ashoka also announced an incentive of Rs 500 to civic body personnel for every last rites they conduct of COVID-19 victims.

PTI

The Karnataka government on Saturday announced waiver of crematorium fees for those who succumb to the COVID-19 infection in Bengaluru and said the city civic body would bear the cost. It said that from now on, families of the COVID deceased need not pay any fees fixed by the city civic body- Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)- across 12 electric crematoriums in the city. "There were reports in the media about difficulties faced in performing the last rites of those who died due to COVID-19 infections. Aimed at resolving those difficulties, certain decisions have been taken," Revenue Minister R Ashoka said. He told reporters here that BBMP had fixed Rs 250 as the cremation fee, Rs 100 for the ash collection pot and Rs 900 for the bier (bamboo stretcher on which the body is carried), all of which have been waived for COVID-19 deaths. "So it will be a waiver of Rs 1,250 per cremation. The BBMP will bear this cost," he added. Revenue Minister R Ashoka also announced an incentive of Rs 500 to civic body personnel for every last rites they conduct of COVID-19 victims. "This is in recognition of their services at a time when family members of the deceased are not ready to touch the body and not ready to take the body in some cases," he said. Noting that the government has identified 23 acres of land at five places around Bengaluru for burial or cremation of COVID-19 victims, the minister said local residents in all these areas are protesting against it. Appealing to the people for cooperation during these difficult times, he said the government's intention was to ensure respectful burial or cremation for the deceased. "Obstructing it is not right, it is not Indian tradition," he said. Pointing out that it takes almost a day's time for a COVID victim's body to be handed over for burial or cremation, he said according to experts and doctors, the virus will not remain alive for more than three hours. .”Also, bodies are either burnt or buried eight feet below. So there will not be any problem for those living in nearby areas and it will not spread infection. Cooperate with humanity," he said. "These lands identified are for all religions and communities and once the pandemic subsides, can be used for other deaths as well," he said.

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Citizens should get test results in 72 hours: Karnataka govt instructs officials

Coronavirus

Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar has instructed the district officials to deploy additional data entry operators, and infrastructure and ensure sufficient testing capacity to prevent delay.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

Aiming to speed up COVID-19 testing, the Karnataka government has instructed all districts not to take more than 72 hours from the time of sample collection to the result being declared, following a high level meeting on Saturday. The decision was taken after Karnataka Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar, IAS, organized a web meeting with district collectors and District Surveillance Officers to discuss the reduction of delay of testing samples for COVID-19 across the state. The meeting was attended by Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Planning, Statistics and Program Implementation, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS, Commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare, and Dr Arundhathi Chandrasekhar, MD NHM (National Health Mission). "The districts were instructed not to delay sample results beyond 72 hours of collection (of the sample)," said an official. According to the new directions, the maximum time between sample collection and its transportation should not exceed 24 hours. Similarly, the time a sample arrives at a lab to its data being entered should not also exceed 24 hours, and not more than 24 hours should pass from the time data has been entered to the time the result has been declared. "A software has been developed to monitor the process from sample collection, transportation and movement between labs and districts," said the official. Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey has instructed that a text message be sent to all the people who gave their swab samples. Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar has instructed the district officials to deploy additional data entry operators, and infrastructure and ensure sufficient testing capacity to prevent delay. Senior official Shalini Rajneesh has suggested precautions to be taken so that no sample goes wasted without testing. "A WhatsApp group has been created for quick communication between districts to sort out issues related to testing," the official said. Bhaskar held a web meeting with district chief executive officers, and district surveillance officers along with other senior officials to reduce delays in testing Covid samples. Karnataka's COVID-19 tally breached the 90,000 mark with 5,072 new cases on Saturday, resulting in the state's tally rising to 90,942, even as 72 more patients succumbed to the virus.

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2036 new cases in Bengaluru, Karnataka’s COVID-19 tally crosses 90k

Coronavirus

72 people have succumbed to the virus, taking the total number of deaths in Karnataka to 1,796.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

According to the latest health bulletin released by the Karnataka government, 5,072 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Saturday evening, taking the total number of cases reported in the state till date to 90,942. The number of active cases in the state stands at 55,388. 2,403 people recovered from coronavirus in the state on Saturday, taking the total number of recovered patients in the state to 33,750. Among the discharged patients, Bengaluru Urban tops with 10,758 followed by Kalaburagi at 2,066 and Udupi with 1,997 recovered patients. Followed by Bengaluru, the districts where new cases were reported include: Belagavi with 341 new cases, Ballari which reported 222 new cases, Dakshina Kannada 218, Mysuru 187, Kalaburagi and Dharwad 183, Udupi 182, Vijayapura 175, Uttara Kannada 155, Bengaluru Rural 154, Hassan 151 and Chikkaballapura 101.  There were 72 new deaths reported in the state on Saturday, taking the death toll in Karnataka so far to 1,796. Bengaluru reported 29 out of the 72 deaths reported in the state on Saturday, followed by eight each from Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru, five in Belagavi, four each from Kalaburagi and Dharwad, two each from Hassan, Chikkaballapura, Havri, Shivamogga and Koppal, and one each from Davangere, Yadgir, Gadag and Tumakuru. There are currently 611 people who are on ventilator care while being treated for COVID-19. The majority of patients under intensive care units (ICUs) are in Bengaluru. The state reported that 32,765 samples were tested on this date. This includes both Rapid Antigen Detection tests and RT-PCR tests. The state has put a cap on the test for coronavirus in the state, which was previously Rs 4,500 in private hospitals and Rs 2,250 for government officials making use of private facilities. This has been further reduced to Rs 2,000 in order to make testing more accessible. Also read: Karnataka caps RT-PCR test for coronavirus at Rs 2000

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