An essential part of the recruitment process for any new teacher is meeting the pupils: but how do you do that under lockdown regulations?

If you are a teacher looking to move between schools during the coronavirus lockdown, how can you make the most of the online education experience with your new class? This is interesting new territory for many teachers. But there are thousands and thousands of teachers and pupils already learning remotely, in virtual schools – can they offer insights?

At a virtual school, lessons are delivered in line with each person’s personalised curriculum. Exactly as you would expect in a physical school space, pupils are taught how to interact with teachers, their peers and lesson content using whiteboard technology, quizzes, voice and video as well as receiving and sending assignment tasks. How should you introduce yourself to a new class, if you are meeting them online for the first time? If we consider how teachers deliver excellent classroom teaching practice in a physical space, how they prepare should not be approached any differently in an online environment.

The military is preparing to deploy to the region to try to stop illegal logging and mining.

The HRD Ministry is prepared to conduct the pending board examinations for classes 10 and 12 for 29 crucial subjects at the first possibility, officials said. The ministry has also directed states to start the evaluation process for the exams already conducted and facilitate the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in evaluation of answer sheets. "We are prepared to conduct board exams for class 10 and 12 pending due to lockdown in wake of the COVID-19 situation in the country. The exams will be conducted for 29 subjects crucial for promotion and admissions to undergraduate courses, at the first possibility. The students will be given at least 10-days notice before exams are conducted," a senior ministry official said.

"States have been asked to start the evaluation process for the exams already conducted and have been advised to facilitate evaluation of answer sheets. CBSE will also issue instructions for marking or assessment of non-important subjects not included in the list of 29 subjects," the official said. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' had on Tuesday interacted with education ministers of states. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had suggested that students be marked on basis of internal assessment as it is not feasible to conduct the pending exams now.

Sisodia, who is also the education minister, said students of Delhi will be more effected due to delay in conduct of exams as different states have their own boards, while the national capital only follows CBSE. Education ministers from different states also put forward deliberations being made about their respective state boards.
The Bihar board has already announced results for three streams of class 12 and is in the process of evaluation of class 12 exams. The Uttar Pradesh board is yet to begin the evaluation and will take a call in this regard soon.

¿Recently there has been lot of speculation regarding CBSE board exams. It is reiterated that board's decision to take board exams for 29 subjects of class 10, 12 stands the same as announced earlier,¿ the CBSE clarified in a tweet on Wednesday. According to the HRD ministry officials, as of now there are plans to conduct competitive exams including JEE and NEET in June for admission to engineering and medical colleges.

For other undergraduate admissions, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is working on an alternative calendar for the new academic session which will notify the timeline within a week. A seven-member panel set up to study the issue has recommended that the undergraduate admission process be started in July-August and the new session for freshers be started from September. However, no final decision has been taken in this regard yet.

The CBSE has already announced that it will not be conducting any exams for students in foreign countries. Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

Later, a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended till May 3.

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Clearing the path for those stranded at different places across the country, the Union home ministry issued orders to state governments and union territories to facilitate their movement within and between states. It has further said that individuals should be medically screened at the source point and destination and kept in home or institutional quarantine on arrival as per the COVID-19 guidelines issued earlier.

The decision comes after many of the chief ministers demanded the same at the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, since trains would not be allowed to operate anytime soon, those stranded will have to be ferried by road. Some states, like Maharashtra, have already prepared a plan to send migrants to their respective destinations in buses. It has already sent buses to fetch students from Kota, of which one batch arrived in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday morning.

Inter-state movement
The order says that stranded people include migrant workers, pilgrims, students, tourists and other persons. It also mentions that the inter-state movement should be planned by the states and mutually agreed upon to transport people by road and that the states should develop a standard protocol with nodal officers (offices), where the stranded people would be required to register their details. The moving person(s) should be screened at the source point and allowed to travel if found asymptomatic. Buses should be sanitised and social distancing should be followed while seating passengers.

The ministry has also asked states falling on the transit route to allow the movement without any glitch. Passengers would be kept in home quarantine on arrival unless the health assessment requires the person(s) to stay in institutional quarantine. The home- quarantined people would be checked periodically.

No clarity on footing the bill
Sources in the Maharashtra government said that they had expected the order, but rued that it did not have clarity on who would pay the travel bills. "Ideally, the people who have the money should pay or their respective state governments should pay for the long and expensive travel. The UP government paid for the students and migrants from Kota and Delhi. Maharashtra also made arrangements to bring back students from Kota," said a bureaucrat in the know of the matter.

He further said that the government has kept thousands of state transport buses ready for the purpose. "We are in talks with the states. The order, which must be complied with by all unlike advisories in the past, should make the states respond to our appeal. The cost factor should also be sorted out when we negotiate in the wake of the new order," added the bureaucrat.

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Fans of South star Ajith, who turned 49 on Friday, were upset that the first look of Valimai was not unveiled as a birthday gift. The Tamil action thriller, co-starring Huma Qureshi,  is produced by Boney Kapoor. The makers felt the current scenario was not right for it. Kapoor posted, "As the world fights COVID-19, the artistes and technicians have mutually decided that we shall not promote any film of ours till we overcome this critical time. Till then, let us all fight this battle (sic)." 

Help at hand

South actor Pranitha Subhash, who features in Ajay Devgn's Bhuj: The Pride of India and Priyadarshan's Hungama 2, is part of an initiative to provide food kits to the underprivileged in hometown Bengaluru. She has not just extended financial support but is also taking part in the cooking and packaging of the food. "As the privileged section of the society, it is our moral responsibility to help those in need. Your small help can make a big difference in someone's life," says the actor.

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Karan Wahi turned to his rapper buddies for help to play a DJ in the web series, Hundred. His quirky character, Mad-E, arrives from Haryana to make it big in Mumbai's music industry. He also doubles up as a police informer. Wahi did a lot of prep to figure out his character's body language on the Hotstar show. Rapper Raftaar also helped him. "I sat down with Raftaar paaji and took several inputs as I was working with him on a reality show at that time," says Wahi. "But the stuff he wrote was way too good for a DJ rapper like Mad-E," he points out."

It seems actors today are finding different and unique ways to get into the skin of their characters and will not leave any stone unturned to do justice to their roles. The web-series has been getting a good response from the viewers so far and that has surely elated Karan.

Taking to his Instagram account, he shared a video from the same and in case you haven't seen it yet, it will help you know the character and its crux. Have a look right here:

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Thankyou I’ll remember u for LIFE...🤗🤗🤗🤗 Talking the talk to walking the walk. Meet me, @karanwahi ➡️ Manohar Dahiya a.k.a. Rapper Mad-E, in Hotstar specials presents #Hundred! All episodes streaming now only @DisneyplusHSVIP . . . #HotstarSpecialsHundred #DoKhilaadiProblemBhaari #ManoharDahiya #Mad-E @ruchinarain @itstahershabbir @ashutoshunlimited

A post shared by Karan Wahi 💜 (@karanwahi) onMay 3, 2020 at 8:31am PDT

Watch Hundred if you haven't so far, the actor may impress you with his performance!

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As many as 918 COVID-19 cases and 34 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of such cases to 8,447 in the country, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday, while asserting that the government is "extra prepared" if there is an exponential rise in the number of coronavirus patients.

Addressing a press briefing, Health Ministry's Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said the government is expanding the COVID-19 testing capacity in state-run as well as private medical colleges. "The total number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 8,447. A total of 918 new cases and 34 deaths have been reported since Saturday. The good news is that 716 people have recovered and have been discharged so far. Seventy-four people have been cured since Saturday. The government is extra prepared if the number of cases rises exponentially," he said.

"We are working on an urgent basis to expand the capacity for COVID-19 testing in government and private medical colleges across the country. Fourteen mentor institutes, including the AIIMS and NIMHANS, have been identified to mentor the medical colleges and expand the coronavirus testing capacity," Agarwal added.

According to ICMR officials, a total of 1,86,906 samples have so far been tested across the country, of which 7,953 have been found positive for COVID-19. "In the last five days, on an average, 15,747 samples were tested per day and 584 of those were found to be positive per day," an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) official said at the press briefing. Responding to a question about development of vaccines, he said, "There are 40 plus candidate vaccines that are under development but none of them has reached the next stage."

Relief distribution pictures banned

District magistrate, Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary has banned circulation of photos and videos showing distribution of relief on social media sites.

'Bengal not fighting a communal virus'

The Centre and the West Bengal government on Saturday pressed a confrontationist button over the Union Home Ministry writing to the state chief secretary and the director general of police seeking action against the 'dilution' of lockdown measures in the state, and over permission for religious gatherings given by the state cops. Hitting back, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hinted that the Centre had a communal stand and said her government was now busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and not any "communal virus".

AP govt introduces apps for food delivery

The Arunachal Pradesh government has introduced various Apps including 'U Tell Us' and 'Dukan Dada' to ensure essentials reach at the doorsteps of the people, officials said on Sunday. Besides the AP government, other state governments of the northeastern region have taken some fresh measures to maintain supply of essentials for effective enforcement of the lockdown.

No food, woman throws kids in river

In a shocking incident on Sunday, a woman threw her five children into the Ganga river in Jeghangirabad in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district. As soon as the police were informed, senior officers reached the spot and divers were pressed into service to locate the kids. The woman has been arrested. Sources, meanwhile, said that the woman had earlier said that she and her children were not getting food in the lockdown.

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Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Monday re-imagined India for the "post-COVID world" and suggested measures across different sectors, including an "epidemic preparedness budget" for the health sector.

"While there are concerns, it's worth praising how this crisis is setting a precedent with state governments coming together and co-operating with each other as well as with the Centre. I sincerely hope this becomes a norm and help overcome perennial battles like the water crisis, pollution, migrants' woes, women's safety, communal violence, healthcare etc," Haasan said on his Twitter account.

"The last full-scale war India fought was almost half a century ago, but poor healthcare is an everyday war leading to 1.6 million deaths annually. Yet, year after year our Defence budget overshadows the healthcare budget," Haasan stated and added that it's a "pity that India continues seeing Defence as a more newsworthy proposition compared to healthcare".

He suggested that India needs to earmark an "epidemic preparedness budget with immediate effect".

"We are under threat a lot more from within than from outside our borders. Our priority towards Health needs to be reimagined with a handsome budget to match," Haasan said.

The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) President later went on to talk about the Agriculture sector and said that India requires a 'Green Plus' revolution that firstly converts part of our agricultural land for an allied enterprise like processing, logistics, etc.

"Secondly, we need to accelerate productivity maximization on a war footing. Boosting agro based MSMEs will help retain youth in the sector and build a sustainable and prosperous future for farming. This will also solve the problem of seasonal lack of work for farmers," Haasan said.

He also suggested bringing India's vast informal sector into the formal fold.

"Bringing India's informal workers under the formal fold must become the biggest national exercise that the government needs to undertake in the near future. Other than boosting the morale of this segment and paving way for its growth, it will also mean enhanced tax collection, a lot of which can be ploughed back to improve infrastructure and offer welfare to the same workers," Haasan said.

"There is also a need to change our outlook towards the vast majority of women who toil their lives away under the status of 'housewife'. Women engaging in housework must be accorded job status. They have little or no savings and a Universal Income Guarantee will give a boost to their savings. Savings always help during any kind of crisis," he added.

Haasan even suggested correction in income inequality and poverty alleviation.

He added, "COVID-19 has shown us that poverty still remains India's most critical challenge. In a crisis, the rich will take a hit but they will not starve to death. Our leaders must learn to integrate the poor man's life in how they plan the running of the country. Relief measures are mere afterthoughts."

In conclusion, Haasan said, "It's time we reinvent the word superpower, India's pipe dream for decades. Let's be a universal thought leader, to put it in parlance a Vishwa-Guru and for all the right reasons."

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Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch feels the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic might lead to a postponement of this year's T20 World Cup by up to three months.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled in Australia from October 18 to November 15. Finch doesn't see that holding up given the current health crises affecting lakhs of people worldwide. "I think we might have to get our heads around a T20 World Cup that might be postponed for a month, two months, three months, whatever it has to be," Finch told 'SEN Radio'. Finch said he wouldn't mind seeing the game resuming without fans once the pandemic is brought under control.

"But as long as we can get live sport up and running. Whether that's with crowds or not, I don't think that makes any difference to the players. "We played one ODI against New Zealand with no crowd (and it) was really strange for first four or five overs, but then you got into your work," he said. Apart from the T20 World Cup, Australia is also set to host India for a bilateral series which includes a four-Test rubber. The ICC's Chief Executives Committee (CEC) is meeting on Thursday to discuss the financial implications of COVID-19 and also the contingency planning for all ICC global events, including the T20 World Cup, over a conference call. Finch feels authorities will need to be "creative" while rejigging the international schedule.

"I think we might have to get a little bit creative with how we do that (as part of a new-look schedule). Whether that's setting up and playing two Test matches in one hub or something like that," he said. Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood had suggested that the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy be held at one venue -- the Adelaide Oval -- to ensure that the rubber does go ahead. Cricket Australia is exploring options to save the series in the wake of the pandemic which has led to global travel restrictions as well.

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India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar enjoyed a fine snack prepared by his daughter Sara, 22, and happily shared his experience on social media.

Sara prepared a plate of beetroot kebabs for her father on Thursday and he simply loved them. Sachin shared this picture on Instagram, holding up a plate full of beetroot kebabs (left). Alongside, he posted another picture (right) of the plate, but this time it was empty. "Gone in 60 seconds! Thanks for the fabulous beetroot kebabs @saratendulkar," Sachin captioned his post that went on to receive nearly one million 'likes' within a few hours.

In an Instagram story, Sachin added that Sara also prepared a Tabbouleh (a Lebanese vegetarian salad), which was also a hit with the family, who are currently in lockdown at their Bandra home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This was over before we could say Tabbouleh," wrote Sachin.

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The death toll from the Coronavirus pandemic has slowed in some of the worst-hit countries, with Spain readying Monday to reopen parts of its economy as governments grapple with a once-in-a-century recession.

Italy, France and the US have all seen a drop in COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, with Italy — the European nation most afflicted — reporting its lowest toll in more than three weeks.

Spain's death toll has fallen in recent days, but as a small bump in deaths was reported on Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that the locked-down country was "far from victory".

"We are all keen to go back out on the streets... but our desire is even greater to win the war and prevent a relapse," he said, as some companies were set to resume operations at the end of a two-weeks halt of all non-essential activity.

In the US — now the world's worst-hit nation with a fifth of all deaths and more than half a million confirmed cases — the government's top infectious disease expert added to cautious optimism that the pandemic may have reached its peak.

Anthony Fauci said, "We are hoping by the end of the month we can look around and say, OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on?"

1,16,045
Total no. of deaths worldwide

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