HYDERABAD l Saturday l June 21, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Govt panel to check fairness of entrance exams, need for coaching The Ministry of Education has set up a panel to suggest ways to reduce students’ dependency on coaching centres for transition to higher education To plug Gaps in current schooling system flags proliferation of ‘Dummy schools’ “The committee will examine the gaps in the current schooling system that contribute to students’ reliance on coaching centres, particularly the limited focus on critical thinking, logical reasoning, analytical skills and innovation and the prevalence of rote learning practices,” news agency PTI quoted a senior Ministry of Education official as saying on Friday ■ ■ Many students prefer to take admission in ‘dummy schools’ so that they can focus solely on their preparations for competitive exams. They don’t attend classes and directly appear in the board exams The panel will also study the effectiveness and fairness of competitive entrance examinations and their influence on the coaching industry 9-member Committee to be headed by Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Iran eases curbs to fly out 1,000 stranded Indians Declined Trump’s invite to the US to be in the land of the Mahaprabhu, says PM J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he declined US President Donald Trump’s invitation for a visit to Washington since he did not want to miss being in Odisha, the sacred land of Mahaprabhu Jagannath. Addressing the gathering here to mark the first anniversary of the BJP government in the state, Modi said it was more important for him to be in the land of Jagannath. “Two days ago, I was in Canada for the G7 Summit when I received a call from Trump. He said since you are already in Canada, why don’t you come down to Washington... I told him it was very important for me to visit the land of Lord Jagannath and declined his offer,” Modi said. IN a major diplomatic move, Iran has eased its airspace restrictions to facilitate the evacuation of Indian nationals stranded there amid escalating conflict. The decision, described as a special gesture by Iranian authorities, allows India to operate emergency evacuation flights to bring its citizens home safely . Three special flights operated by Iran’s Mahan Air will carry 1,000 Indians, including a large number of students, pilgrims, and others, from Iran’s Mashhad and Ashgabat to New Delhi, diplomatic sources said. The first flight will reach India on Friday at 11.30 pm. The other two flights will land at 3.00 am and 4.30 pm on Saturday . The evacuation effort comes under Operation Sindhu, which successfully brought back 110 Indian students from Iran. The students were first moved to Armenia, from there flown to Doha, and finally arrived in Delhi on Thursday morning. Iran’s deputy chief of mission in New Delhi, Mohammad Javad Hosseini, on Friday reiterated Tehran’s commitment to the safety of foreign nationals and highlighted the cooperation between Iran and India in times of crisis. He said about 10,000 Indians are living in Iran and those wishing to return are being evacuated, hinting at more evacuation flights ahead. The evacuation comes amid mounting regional instability as the conflict between I r a n and Israel entered the eighth day on Friday Iran continued to launch ballistic mis. siles at Israel, hitting buildings in Haifa and injuring 31. Israel said it carried out air strikes targeting Iran’s missile launchers. Meanwhile, several Indians remain stranded in both Iran and Israel. Journalist Raavish Zaidi, a Lucknow native, had a narrow escape when an Israeli missile struck his office inside the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting headquarters in Tehran. His father Amir Abbas Zaidi rued that Raavish could not attend teh last rites of his mother, who passed away a few days ago in Lucknow. Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abbas said he was approached by several families whose relatives are stranded in Iran. He said many families travelled to Iran for pilgrimage. “Unfortunately war broke out. Thousands are stuck... , and running out of essentials,” he said.  P9 (With inputs from Namita Bajpai in Lucknow) Snags: AI cancels 3 flights to/from city E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad As many as three flights, two from and one bound for Hyderabad, were cancelled by Air India on Friday due to “technical issues”. RGIA officials said that the Air India Hyderabad to Mumbai flight scheduled to depart at 12.10 pm on Friday was cancelled due to technical issues. They said that 92 passengers were affected by the cancellation of the flight AI 2534. The passengers were accommodated on an alternative flight, AI 2445, which departed at 2.10 pm. Earlier in the day Air India cancelled flights , AI2204 and AI2872 — from Dubai to Hyderabad and from Hyderabad to Mumbai, respectively — citing technical problems. Incidentally the , flight from Dubai was scheduled to depart at 11.25 pm on June 19 and was rescheduled to 1.55 am on June 20. The flight bound for Mumbai was scheduled to depart at 6.15 am. E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar leeds from front India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill score hundreds in the first Test against England at Leeds on Friday. Gill became the fifth Indian to score a hundred in the first Test as leader. India scored 359 for 3 on Day 1 | AP | P11 Tharoor on fresh diplomatic push, leaves for Russia P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Days after wrapping up a multi-nation tour on Operation Sindoor, the Centre has assigned Congress MP Shashi Tharoor a second round of diplomatic outreach to countries such as Russia, the UK and possibly Greece, said sources. The MP who left for Moscow , on Friday is on a two-week mis, sion, said sources familiar with the developments. The mission aims to further bolster India’s position among all-weather allies and to amplify the country’s voice, said sources. During the twoweek trip, Tharoor will be liaising with Indian diplomatic missions in various countries. His visit to Russia assumes significance amid the softening of the ties between the US and Pakistan. India has reasons to worry after Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, recently held a one-onone meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House for more than two hours. Sources said that the government was keen on sending Tharoor for another round of diplomatic push as the all-party delegation led by him was considered as one of the most im- pactful ones. The team led by Tharoor has also visited the United States, where they met Vice President J D Vance and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. During the meeting with Landau, the Tharoor-led delegation explained to him India’s stance against terrorism, with Operation Sindoor being launched in response to the brutal April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tharoor and all the other members of the all-party delegations of Operation Sindoor at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg last Tuesday, sources said that the PM held a separate meeting with Tharoor the next evening. “The PM spoke with Tharoor for an hour on the new assignment and his responsibilities,” said the source. During his meeting with the MPs, the PM is learnt to have said that such endeavours could be institutionalised in future. Tharoor, heads the standing committee of the External Affairs Ministry chaired the meet, ing of the panel on June 17. It was not clear whether Tharoor had informed the Congress leadership about the new diplomatic mission. express read Open to talks with Naidu on Banakacherla: TG CM Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said that he was open to dialogue with his AP counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu on water disputes, including the Banakacherla project | P4 2 more held in Asifabad women trafficking case Adilabad: Kumurambheem Asifabad police on Friday arrested two more accused in the human trafficking case, taking the number of arrests to eight, including a police constable | P5 succession Dalai may name reincarnation on July 2 B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru The ageing Dalai Lama, Tibet’s highest spiritual leader, will make an important announcement, most likely on his reincarnation on July 2, four days before he turns 90. Speaking to this paper, Penpa Tsering, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) revealed that the Dalai will make an “important announcement on July 2. It is likely to be on his reincarnation.” The Dalai is scheduled to meet senior leaders of the four Buddhist sects - Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Gelug between July 2 and 4 at Dharamshala, the headquarters of the CTA. The identity of the Dalai’s reincarnation is keenly awaited not only by Tibetans but by people in the Himalayan region as well, from Lhasa to Arunachal Pradesh, as they look up to him as their spiritual guide. China, too, wants to know, as it sees the Dalai as a separatist leader and symbol of Tibetan resistance. In March 2011, the Dalai relinquished his role as the political head of the Tibetans in exile and handed it over to the CTA. He had said that his successor will be born in a free world, in a clear message to China on claim on having the sole right to choose the next Dalai Lama. “It is important to remember that the Dalai is not only the leader of all the Tibetans, but also of one million Indian Himalayans,” noted Tibetologist Claude Arpi said. It is not up to a Marxist govt in China to decide on the highly esoteric and spiritual issue of the Dalai Lama’s successor... But the succession has important implications for Beijing’s control over Tibet Claude Arpi, Tibetologist Tapgate SIT asks Bandi to appear as witness I r e d d y S r i n i v a s Re d d y @ Hyderabad The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged phone-tapping case has summoned Minister of State (Home Affairs) Bandi Sanjay to appear before it as witness under Section 161 CrPC. SIT sources confirmed that the team asked Sanjay to record his statement regarding the alleged tapping of his phone during the BRS regime. The sources stated that Sanjay told the investigators that he would inform them of the date and time he would appear. Meanwhile, former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief and prime accused in the case, T Prabhakar Rao, reportedly told investigators that he acted only on the instructions of his senior officers and had no links with any leaders of the previous BRS regime. During questioning on Friday, Prabhakar Rao is believed to have stated: “I do not have any connections with any key figures in the BRS government and carried out my duties as per the directions of higher officials.” Sources said Prabhakar Rao claimed he was following the orders of a former DGP and denied any association with political parties. He also maintained that no rules drafted by a committee of senior officials were breached. Prabhakar Rao appeared before the Investigating Officer at Jubilee Hills police station for the fifth consecutive day of questioning on Friday Sources . said that he repeatedly responded that he could not remember or was unaware of several matters raised by the IO.  continued on P4 EnC who ‘favoured’ KLIS EE shunted | p4