CET to be held in Karnataka on July 30 and 31
Bengaluru: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to conduct the Common Entrance Test (CET) on July 30 and 31 across the state.
For the smooth conduct of exams, the government has extended a four-day quarantine relaxation for students and their parents or guardians from outside the state and country.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Higher Education Dr C N Ashwath Narayan told reporters that the government would take precautionary measures to conduct the CET as it did during the SSLC examination.
His department said in a statement that 1.95 lakh students will write the CET exams at 120 places in 497 centres across the state.
The Kannada Test for students from the border regions in neighbouring states will be held on August 1, Dr Narayan said.
In Bengaluru City, 40,200 students will write CET in 83 centres.
Thirty foreign students will also take the exam
The Deputy Chief Minister said the department has taken all precautionary measures and has framed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to conduct the exams.
Thermal screening, wearing of masks and physical distance will be strictly followed. The exam centres will be sanitised two days prior to the exam dates.
"The state government has also decided that those students who are tested positive for COVID-19 can also be given the opportunity to write the exam. However, there will be separate rooms arranged for them.
Students who show symptoms of cough and cold will also be made to write the exam separately. Arrangements will be made for ambulances as well as transport facilities at all centres, he said.
Bus transport has also been organised all over the state, he said
Speaking about four-day quarantine relaxation for students Dr Narayan said there was no need to panic as they had undergone all kinds of tests in view of COVID-19.
Dr Narayan said 188 students from border districts of neighbouring states will write the CET exam and they could do so at centres in border areas, not having to come to Bengaluru, as all arrangements had been made there
The state government has decided to postpone the PG-CET and Diploma-CET exams as the final year exams are yet to be held for those students, he said.
As scheduled, the PG-CET and Diploma-CET exams were to be held on August 8 and August 9, respectively.
The fresh dates will be decided after the final year exams of the PG and Diploma courses will be held, Dr Narayan added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
