Corporation schools shine through the secondary school exams
Gone are the days when corporation schools were deemed below par. When in her sixth standard, Pavitha Preethi’s father advised her to join the Saidapet Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School. Having worked there as a commerce teacher for two years and having witnessed the painstaking efforts of teachers to help the students who studied there, he decided to defy popular opinion.
Preethi did her now-deceased father proud by scoring 1176 marks in the recently concluded secondary school exams. “I want to become an IAS officer someday,” beams Preethi. Corporation schools in Chennai have been doing well. From a total of 5788 students who had taken up the exams from schools run by Chennai’s Corporation, 5139 students (88.79 per cent) have passed. 65 per cent of these exam takers were girls and they showcased pass percentage of 99 per cent! Of the 2199 boys who had taken the exam, 1782 have passed. Sixty-nine students from the city’s Corporation schools added further sheen to the result pages, by scoring centum. “Our teachers coached us even more rigorously during January and February, putting us through numerous tests and exams, which helped me a lot. My favourite teacher is Jayalakshmi Ma’am, my commerce teacher,” concludes Preethi.
Indiabulls leaves Chennai
Indiabulls, the real-estate giant, known for its high dividend payouts, has sold its commercial assets in Chennai to Blackstone Group. The estimated transaction value is about Rs 900 crore. Earlier, Indiabulls had sold off its private holdings at Shollinganallur to Ozone-Group of Bengaluru. The company has taken these decisions so it can go asset-light, focus on its core markets. The company wants to focus on Mumbai and NCR markets. The US-based PE giant will now take over One Indiabulls Park at Ambattur that spreads over eight acres, with a total constructed area of 2.67 million sq. ft. and a leasable area of 1.94 million sq. ft. Multinationals including RBS, Yes Bank, Vodafone, and Kone are residents of the three-towered property. The company intends to utilise its proceeds to reduce its debt.
Relief to TN single mothers
What is to be put against the column ‘Father’s name’ in the birth certificates of babies born through semen donors? “Leave it blank,” said the Madras High Court. The judgment was a result of litigation filed by Mathumitha of Tiruchi. She had parted ways with her husband by mutual consent. But the Corporation picked out Manish Meena who was seen helping Mathumitha, to take up the paternal role legally. After a lengthy legal struggle, Justice M S Ramesh ordered the Chief Health Officer of Tiruchi Corporation to leave the disputed column blank and restrained the official from insisting on providing another name to be put on the birth certificate.
Cashless cops
Ever been caught for a traffic offense and negotiated the penalty with the cops? No more. Commissioner AK Viswanathan announced that the city’s traffic cops are going cashless. This move is part of the government’s e-governance initiatives and also aims to alleviate instances of bribery and ensure transparency. Traffic cops are henceforth forbidden to receive cash. They will instead issue challans to perpetrators, who can pay the levied fines through card machines with the police, or at courts or post offices, or through other online avenues within 48 hours. Defaulters would be issued summons. The Commissioner added that, with the help of techno-
logy, the cops intend to make this cashless fining system contactless too! n
